Ice cream...sugar makes me so happy, I sang in my head as I stored the half-full tub of chocolate ice cream in the freezer. With a satisfied grin on my face, I fondly gazed at the strawberry-flavored pint beside it, planning to eat that one tomorrow, or maybe later if Deen wouldn't judge me for bingeing sweets. Enough of that, I thought as I closed the fridge. Time to do the dishes.

Carefully balancing the glasses on top of the plates, I carried the stack of dinnerware and utensils we used for breakfast to the sink.

Dinnerware for breakfast? Should I call these 'breakfastware' instead, maybe in the morning? Whatever was the correct term, these all looked pretty expensive, and they probably were, so I didn't want to break any. Deen wouldn't care if I smashed a plate and certainly wouldn't let me pay for it, but I'd feel like an absolute moocher.

Well, I was already mooching off her.

And that was the reason I offered to do the dishes after each time we ate. This new routine was a complete one-eighty from when I lived alone in my condo; I used to just let the dirty dishes pile high by the sink until I was out of clean plates and was constrained by the necessity to actually do some fucking chores. I'm a pig, I know.

I turned the faucet on and let the cool water flow over my hands before twisting the bronze knob to raise the temperature. Just something stupid I’d do before washing the dishes, kind of like wetting the toothbrush before brushing.

This house had an automatic dishwasher behind one of the panels that lined the massive kitchen island counter, no surprises there. But I told Deen it was a waste of water to wash just a few dirty plates using it. I didn’t actually know if that was true, but I get to look helpful by doing some manual labor around here while having an environmentally conscious image.

A tall shadow covered me as I waited for the water to heat up before I began washing. Deen walked barefoot around the house so I didn’t hear her sneaking close. I was about to look over my shoulders in surprise when a couple of soft but firm globules pushed against my upper back. This must be what lying on a waterbed felt like, although I hadn’t tried it. Really comfortable. If only this was an actual bed and not a freakin’ human invading my precious personal space!

"Deen, I'm trying to wash the dishes here," I evenly said, letting a tinge of irritation noticeably seep through my voice. It wasn't contradictory to my face for her because she was well aware I hated any form of skinship. From all the hugging earlier after my emotional revelation that I was Blanchette, I'd say she already maxed her daily quota on clinginess.

"I just noticed you look so happy." Since she was a head taller than me, Deen had to bend down to nestle her chin above my shoulders. Golden strands of her unkempt morning hair caressed my neck. "I was just wondering why. Care to share?"

"It's because of the ice cream, okay? Pretty normal to be happy with ice cream."

"Yeah, I guess so." She wasn't leaving. “I’m glad I bought them for you.”

"There, you have your answer. Shoo!”

“Eh? So harsh.”

“I thought your schedule after Sunday breakfast was to study for the entire morning?" I tested the water with my hands. Feeling it was hot enough, I started cleaning off the sticky scraps with the water.

"I already studied for Monday," she said. "And all my classes for Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled because of yesterday's Adumbrae attack. I don't have anything to do, so I decided to be here with my best friend." She moved closer—she was already sticking to me, so that really meant pressing her body more against mine.

"Cut that out,” I snapped at her. “I know what you're doing.” This reminded me of when I first moved to this city and had no idea how jampacked trains were during peak hours; I ended up trapped in the middle of a horde and had a hard time getting out of the carriage because I was tiny.

"Hmm?" she coyly purred. "What am I doing?"

"You're teasing me."

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m going to throw water at you if you don’t scoot off.”

“Scary Erind,” she said with a giggle, taking a step away from me. The squishy pressure on my shoulder blades eased. But she was still quite close that her breasts lightly brushed against my back each time she inhaled. "Sorry for acting like this.” Her tone changed into a serious one. “I'm just relieved you didn't die yesterday. Hearing everything you've been through...I just can't imagine the pain and suffer—um, sorry. I'm sure you don't want to relive your awful experiences."

"There's no need to tip-toe around me," I mumbled. I held a wet pink sponge under the soap dispenser attached to the wall. It automatically squirted green dishwashing liquid. I gave the sponge a couple of good squeezes to lather it up. "I'm not as fragile as you think. But...but I do appreciate the thought."

"I assumed you'd find it comforting if I stayed with you." Her fingers subtly crawled on my left hip. "So you'll know you have someone to rely on even if you're, um..." She hesitated using the word 'Adumbrae'. It would've been a powerful emotional moment if she wasn't tapping my side like she was playing the piano, just pressing light enough that I wouldn't get tickled.

Dratted Mother Core, I really wanted to elbow her. What was her Guardian Angel doing? Was it not warning her to cut this shit out to avoid getting her arms broken? Or perhaps in all the possible futures it saw, I was able to control myself and stuck to my face? If it did, then it was something to be proud of. I still wanted to drive Deen away without resorting to violence. "Deen, if you continue this unapproved touchy-feeliness, I'm really going to be forced to throw water on you. I’m serious!"

"Oh, come on." She leaned forward so she could look at the side of my face. A whiff of her candy-scented soap or maybe shampoo momentarily distracted me with thoughts of eating more sweets. She gave me an obviously fake hurt pout, sticking out her soft dewy lips as she sulked. "I wasn't tickling you or anything."

"Yes, you are," I said as I lathered the last piece of dinnerware...breakfastware. Just going to rinse these off and I was going to escape to my room.

"Real tickling is something like this."

"Something like wha—? Fu-Yaaah!!" A wisp of cool air licked my left side as Deen lifted my shirt and playfully scratched my skin with her nails. My reaction was anything but playful. My muscles spasmed in repulsion, and a shiver so strong she should've felt it ran through my body. I instinctively lashed out with my arm.

"Woah!" Deen ducked under it and retreated as she laughed. "So that was what Gabe was warning me about."

"Yet you still did it," I hissed, glaring at her with furious eyes. I filled a glass with water.

"Sorry. For real this time, I'm going to stop. I didn't know you were really going to get angry. Um, what is that?"

"Like I said, I'm going to throw water at you."

"Erind, don't get angry, okay?" Deen held her hands up in surrender. "I'm going to behave now."

But that didn't stop me. I tossed the water in the glass at her. And...she didn't evade. It splashed across her chest, thoroughly soaking her shirt. "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" I blurted out in genuine surprise. “I thought your Guardian Angel was going to tell you to move aside!"

"It didn't," Deen said, her eyes wide in shock from I wasn't sure what—from her Guardian Angel not telling her anything or that I actually followed through with my threat.

"For reals? You're lying. If you're not, then I'm super-duper sorry. Um, I didn't mean to..." I approached her with one hand holding an empty glass and the other the sponge. I’m such a dumbass. What was I going to do? Wipe her down with a sponge? "Towel, towel," I muttered, looking around for something to dry her with.

"Don't fret about it. It's no big deal." Holding the hem of her pink shirt emblazoned with the Eloyce University logo, she stretched it out and flapped it up and down in an attempt to dry it. That didn't do anything because the wet shirt tightly clung to the upper part of her body. “My gosh, it’s getting cold from the air-conditioning.”

It was obvious she wasn't wearing a bra, but then again, neither was I. We were both inside the house and had no plans to go out this lazy Sunday so we didn't want to get caged.

It was almost mesmerizing to see how the wet shirt wrapped around one of her breasts like those fruits in the grocery vacuum sealed with plastic wrap. I had no idea why that imagery popped into my mind. Actually, this reminded me more of water balloons.

Societal pressures forced pretty little kid me to attend a stupid pool party I was invited to, and a dozen little shits were throwing water balloons at each other there. A particularly large balloon—it was probably also colored pink—hit me right on my nose. Not only did it hurt a lot, but it also didn't explode on impact and just knocked me down to the ground. Even though I was only a child, I knew it was bad to stab other children, so I didn't. Though I hated water balloons since then. Would it also hurt if I'd get slapped by Deen's bre—?

"Earth to Erind," said Deen as she snapped her fingers. "You look like you're thinking deeply about something."

"Just planning how to outsmart your Guardian Angel so I can dump a bucket of water on you next time." Of course, I wasn’t going to tell her what was really on my mind.

"Wow, you're such a bully."

"You started it,” I huffed. “Anyway, you should go and change or you might get a cold."

"What are you talking about? I won't get sick from wet boobs. Can we even get sick?"

"I dunno." I shrugged with an unsure tilt of my head. "I got a headache last time, so probably? Just go and change already or I'll splash you again."

"Yes, mom!" She stuck out her tongue as she threw my usual joke back at me.

"Jeez," I groaned as she finally left me alone. "Now, where's the mop?