Sandy lay fast asleep on the wooden rocking chair near Bibi's bed, his face buried into a sea of covers beside her. He wore his usual attire, save for his headdress, as his forehead was riddled in gause and undone bandages, so much so that blood almost sank into the blankets.

It didn't take long for Bibi to awake because of Sandy's snoring. She slowly opened her eyes, which felt chaffed and heavy. Groggily, she craned her head forward and scratched at her neck, leaning her head against the frame of her bed. She noticed Sandy beside her, his arms sprawled on the bed. Bibi could discern the large wrinkles and purple marks under his eyes. However long he'd been sleeping, it wasn't enough. Still, the sight of bandages and red splotches all over his body unsettled her.

"Sandy?" She croaked. Her throat felt as dry as parchment paper. Had she been out cold for a while, too?

Sandy didn't budge at all, and Bibi's grew more uncertain. Why was she in her room? How did Sandy get there? And why was he so bruised? She closed her eyes, trying to remember everything that happened the day prior, but her trial of thought was cut off when she noticed his purple head of hair on her lap. His head was weightless like a pillow, and Bibi gasped in surprise, and then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.

Instinctively, she put her hand through it, and then paused to see if he would react. When he continued to snore, Bibi hesitantly stroked his purple locks. They were soft as always, like memory foam, and she felt her hand sink into them. "Sandy?" She whispered again.

After a moment, she felt Sandy stir as he leaned into her touch. It was as if he were a cat. His eyes slowly fluttered open. "Bibi...?" He mumbled. He blinked again, eyes widening as he caught sight of her. Sandy's mouth went agape and then quickly formed into a smile. "Bibi!" He exclaimed. He jumped and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "You're okay!" He sighed, a little out of breath.

Bibi rested the bottom part of her head under Sandy's shoulder. She appreciated the embrace. His body was warm. She was about to raise her arms to Sandy's back, to pull on the soft pink fabric of his shirt and bring him closer. She wanted to embrace him too. But then he pulled away and put a hand on her forehead.

"W-what are you doing?" Bibi blushed at the intensity of his gaze.

"I'm making sure you're okay." Sandy replied, taking his hand off her forehead and holding her upright by the shoulders. "Does your head hurt?"

Bibi dodged the question, "Why wouldn't I be okay? Did something happen?" She tried to remember what had happened again, but everything was in a foggy blur. She remembered going to the diner with Sandy. Making a plan with Leon. Finding Sandy with Bull and Crow, and then escorting him away. And then . . .

And then.

Bibi's face flared up. She pulled away from Sandy's hands and covered her face. "I- you..." she stammered.

Sandy's lip wobbled and his eyes swelled up, becoming bloodshot. He quickly stood up and closed his eyes shut, ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry!" He bowed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He bowed many times more. Looking at him made Bibi feel a bit dizzy. "I should've asked, I shouldn't have done it so abruptly." He sniffled. His eyes were glazed in tears.

Bibi's eyes widened, and she took her index finger pressing it to Sandy's chest, looking him right in the eyes. He was shaking. "Sandy." She said firmly, grabbing him by his cheeks. He gasped in surprise, expecting her to slap him. "If you're apologizing about kissing me, don't even try. You should've kept doing it, you hear me?! You pulled out too fast." Bibi frowned at him, and then realized that she had said that out loud. She had only intended to think that in her mind. Quickly, she slapped a hand over her mouth. Why did she have to embarrass herself all the time? And in front of Sandy, no less.

Sandy stared at her listlessly. He could feel his heart beating through his ears. Had he heard her wrong? "...W-what?" He said, barely a whisper. It was a miracle that Bibi had heard him.

"Nothing! I said nothing." Bibi fanned her face, trying very hard to make it seem like she didn't care about him, when she was actually accentuating the opposite.

Sandy's blush deepened, "You...wanted-" His head was steaming.

"Nope! Nada. You didn't hear me."

Sandy stood there, blush overcoming his body, heat rushing all around him. Did Bibi really mean it when she said she wanted him to kiss her? The thought made him dizzy, disoriented, heated. He'd never experienced that before.

"I....I...." He mumbled.

The way that he was stuttering was too much for Bibi to handle.

"Can I borrow your pillow?" He wavered, putting his face in his hands.

Bibi raised an eyebrow, and then tossed her pillow to him. He fumbled with it before catching it. He turned around so Bibi couldn't see him, and then slapped himself with it multiple times and screamed into it. Although his scream was muffled and he had taken steps to hide it, Bibi could completely tell what he was doing. It was kind of cute how Sandy got flustered in this sort of way. It wasn't really helping her get less flustered, though.

When he turned around, his purple hair was ever so subtly ruffled, and his face was red in embarrassment. He opened his mouth to speak. Closed it. Opened it again. He took in a deep breath and mumbled something under his breath, looking dissatisfied with himself.

"I'll-" Sandy closed his eyes shut and pressed the pillow to his chest, as if he couldn't face Bibi's gaze, "I'll kiss you right now, if you'd like!!"