Tiger and bunny: Lucky to be a lady tonight

Chapter 23

Morning light streamed in through the window across the couch, Kaede humming and shifting to turn her head away from the light on her face. She lay upon Karina's chest, snuggled into his warmth. Karina was still asleep, arms loosely around Kaede. His breathing was deep, and his chest rose and fell gently with each breath he took.

Kaede awoke slowly, rubbing her eye as she lifted her head and blinked, quickly noticing the blond under her. Gasping, she fell to the floor with a thud.

Kaede hitting the floor woke Karina up quickly, and he sat up with wide eyes. He looked down at the girl, hair falling in his face. "Kaede, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." She flushed and sat up, "I—I just...I was sleeping on you..."

"Oh yeah?" He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Last thing I remembered was us sitting. I have no idea how we ended up laying down."

She shook her head and rubbed her cheek, "I don't even remember the end of the movie..."

"You fell asleep before it was over. I turned it off." He swung his legs over the edge of the couch and stood up, staggering a little. "Well.... This is different..." He shook his head and headed off to the bathroom a little too quickly.

"Hu? Are you okay, Karina?"

"Yeah," he called from the bathroom. "I just... really had to pee. Oh god how do I do this?!"

"How would I know? I've never been a guy!" Kaede called through the door after following Karina.

"I know!" He mumbled to himself about how in the world the boys dealt with waking up every morning like this, and was he supposed to aim as he peed? It was all lost on him, but after a bit Karina figured out a way to empty his bladder without making a huge mess, though he disliked the experience all the way through.

Kaede had moved to the kitchen, starting to make pancakes, one of the only hot breakfasts she could make without burning anything. She called out when she heard the bathroom door open again, "I'm making breakfast if you want any before we go."

"Sounds good. Smells good too. How long have you been cooking?" Karina leaned up against the counter next to Kaede.

She shrugged, "A while, but I don't do it often. Dad and Grandma usually do all the cooking."

He chuckled. "I think your dad only knows how to cook one thing. She makes it all the time for Barnaby it seems."

"Fried rice is her favorite, but she can make a good number of dishes."

"Well, I hope you learn a lot then. Looks like you can do a pretty good job of making pancakes. I'm no good at cooking."

"I'm average." She shrugged, plating the cakes and handing one plate to Karina. "There's syrup in the fridge."

"You have butter too?" He opened the refrigerator and grabbed the syrup for the pancakes.

"We should." She nodded, "Want some milk before I put it away?"

"Sure," he replied, pulling out the butter and setting everything he had on the counter. He put the butter and syrup over the pancakes.

She poured two glasses before putting the milk away and smothering her pancakes in syrup. The two then sat down at the table to eat.

"Um..." Kaede said after a moment, "...We should...not tell dad that we fell asleep together..."

"Why's that? It's just me that you fell asleep with." He tilted his head and pointed his fork at Kaede. "You worried she'll be upset about that? Or is it more for your own reason?"