Clean pillows and soft blankets. Warm-colored string lights tied around the bottom bunk of his bed. Makeshift curtains for extra privacy, made out of his silk bed sheets.

Comfort could be hard to find aboard the Taranis, but Britz wanted to make things as snug as he could for his dear Sheena. He even waited until everyone else was asleep to set things up. Fresh off a shower, wearing loose and comfy pajamas, hair and fur brushed and dried gently... He wasn't sure why Sheena wanted to see him all dolled up, but he didn't mind. He'd flip the Taranis with his bare hands if it made her happy.

Of course, there was always the chance that Sheena would shy away from spending this night with Britz, or that it wouldn't be anything more involved than just snoozing together, and the timid Felineko would barely muster a "good night" before she curled under the blankets and slept without another word.

But the fact that she floated an idea like this in the first place, seemingly out of nowhere, suggested she had something special in mind, more than just spending time with the one she looks up to the most...

-----

"A gift?"

Britz's eyes lit up when he heard this. Even after all the horrible things the young Caninu had been through, there was still a sparkle in them, and they shined especially bright whenever Sheena was around him.

"Mm-hmm..." Sheena nodded, holding her doll Bleuette tight while avoiding eye contact. Her voice was soft and barely audible, but Britz had gotten used to it by now. He could understand her just fine. "I, um... I wanted to thank you for saving me, so..." Her squeaky voice trailed off, and her tail swayed back and forth.

"You've thanked me a lot of times already," he answered with a smile, "but a gift would be nice. What kinda gift is it?"

Sheena blushed and hid her face behind Bleuette; she held back a giggle, very unusual for her, and felt in the mood for being a little playful about it. "Guess."

"Is it big?" Britz asked right away.

Already, Sheena looked a bit stumped. "Umm... I guess it's kinda small."

Britz thought about it some more, rubbing his chin like it was a deep philosophical question and not a silly guessing game. "Is it heavy?"

Sheena let out a soft little laugh. "Maybe. I think you can pick it up, though."

This wasn't narrowing it down all that much -- not that Britz was ever good at guessing games, anyway. His next question, though, was as smart as it was disarming.

"...Is it cute?"

Sheena felt butterflies in her stomach right away, and that weird, prickly sensation seemed to travel all the way up to her cheeks. Her tail went stuff and fluffed up, and she squeezed her doll so hard her claws almost dug into its fabric. The Felineko couldn't speak, but she could nod.

This, somehow, wasn't enough for Britz to figure out what this mystery gift was. But he felt he had made enough guesses already. "Well, I dunno what it is," he went on, "but you can give it to me anytime you want."

Sheena looked up, making eye contact for a whole second before turning away. "I'll bring it to you tonight. We'll wait until everyone's asleep, then we can, um... enjoy it together."

-----

Sitting on the bottom of the bunk bed, surrounded by the warmth of the string lights and thick blankets, Britz began to put two and two together. Small, in a way. Heavy, in a way. Cute, in a way.

A figure approached the bed, and though Britz couldn't see her coming, he recognized the sound of her little pawpads stepping along the wood floor.

He got the feeling this gift wasn't something like a handmade sweater, or an oversized plushie. It was something beyond special.

Sheena peeked her head through the curtains, and saw Britz waiting patiently for her.

"Come in," he invited her. Her fluffy ears drooped, already growing nervous. Still, Sheena slowly stepped inside the safety of the bed, closing the curtains behind her. It was just her and Britz.

And the gift she brought.

Sheena climbed onto the bed, and sat down right in front of Britz, giving him a good, close-up view of the outfit she picked out for herself: a cute, pastel-blue babydoll nightgown that just barely reached her little thighs. He could see the bright-red blush that had formed on her face, and, through the thin fabric that barely hid anything, the three pairs of pink, perky nipples that adorned her chest and tummy.

She wasn't wearing any panties, either, so Britz could even see her lovely, pristine pussy under a small tuft of her precious white fur. The subtle glow of the lights around them only made her appearance seem more ethereal, almost angelic, like it was finally Britz's time to go, and Sheena had floated down from the heavens to guide him there.

*Oh...* Britz thought to himself, and he felt his own cheeks turning red, too. *...Sheena's the gift.*

"...You're staring really hard," she mumbled.

"Ah, sorry." Britz chuckled, making room for the Felineko to sit much closer. "I thought you'd be wearing your jammies or something."

Sheena took a seat right next to him, just inches away, and carefully placed Bleuette on a pillow to the side. "Yeah... I borrowed this from Hanna." She admired the curls and the texture of her babydoll, gliding the fabric back and forth along her pawpads. "Told her I wanted to, um, wear something cute for you, and she picked it out for me right away..."

Without really paying much attention, Sheena was already resting her head on Britz's shoulder, and he was already holding one of her paws.

"It looks so cute on you." Britz told her, trying not to stare too hard this time. "I, uh..."

He wanted to find just the right words to express how deeply he cared for his closest friend... But he didn't wanna sound creepy about it either, or make her uncomfortable. Even at a time like this, the self-doubt caused by his Berman upbringing lingered. Weeks of friendship and kindness, fending off *years* of brutality. They gnawed at his thoughts and cut off his words before they could come out of his mouth.

Sheena said: "It's okay."

Those two words, and a slight squeeze on his paw. That was all it took to keep Britz grounded, and safe.

Having his paw guided elsewhere helped too, though he wasn't expecting to feel it rubbing against Sheena's thigh. She placed it there, and let go, though he could see her own paw starting to shake. She was super nervous, as expected.

"Britz..." She spoke quietly. "I-I'm your gift, so... You can, um, stare as much as you want... And touch me wherever you want."

"E-Eh?!" Britz tensed up. His heartbeat sped up so fast it felt like he was about to pass out. "Sheena..." He whispered. If he was this worked up, then he couldn't even *imagine* what Sheena was feeling right now, offering herself to him like this. After all, she had gotten pretty good at hiding her own discomfort via her usual shy demeanor -- mostly thanks to those dark days as a Berman prisoner. "You... You sure about this, Sheena...? You don't have to--"

"I want to." The Felineko asserted herself for once. She was about as wobbly and anxious as her dear Britz, but he could see the determination in her weary blue eyes. "Britz... You saved my life. I'm not good at words, so this is the best way for me to say thank you, I think... Sorry if it's weird."

"But I..." He let go of her thigh.

Sheena placed his paw there again, and he didn't pull away this time. Instead, very slowly, he slid his paw along her delicate fluff, though she could see the anxiety still stuck to his face. "Ah, Britz..." She hasn't stopped shaking, but she doesn't wanna stop guiding Britz along, either; if she does, she worries she might chicken out entirely. "Are you worried that you might hurt me?"

It felt like a weight had slammed onto his chest and started pressing hard. Britz felt a tug in his throat, and he could feel his eyes getting watery. "...Y-Yeah," he stammered. "Sheena, I just don't wanna hurt you, o-or make you freak out or bring back any bad memories of the prison camp or--"

Sheena pulled him in close and gave him a tight hug. She could feel his tiny, frail body shivering with a mix of emotions that no cub should ever have to experience. They had both been through so much together, and yet the thing that was testing their resilience the most was trying to spend one night together without re-traumatizing each other.

Sheena was proving to be braver than she thought, having to be the one to keep Britz's emotions in check. His breaths got faster, and he was sweating a little... But being in Sheena's arms had the usual effect on him: soothing and calming. She petted his hair, and slid her paw along the scar on the side of his head, and wiped a couple of stray tears off his cheek. They did this for each other so often that they had gotten used to the scent of each other's fur, and figured out which spots were the most ideal for hair- and fur-brushing to calm their frayed nerves.

Even so, this time felt different. Sheena's choice of nightwear showed a lot more of her petite body than what Britz was used to seeing, and it was causing... *feelings* in him that he wasn't used to experiencing.

Not that Britz would be seeing her wear the babydoll for much longer.

She stopped the petting for a moment to start removing the only piece of clothing on her, pulling it above her head and discarding it to give Britz a great view of her cute, exposed chest and tummy.

Neither of them understood what they were getting into, really. But for whatever reason, they felt the urge to go along with it together anyway.

Britz got the idea. He felt Sheena tugging at his pajamas, both top and bottom. "It's okay," she assured him again. "I-I know it's scary, but... You're not gonna hurt me, Britz."

Slowly, and taking deeper breaths, Britz started to undo the buttons on his pajama shirt. His hands were barely coordinated enough to grip the buttons, but he tried his best. "I mean, if you're okay with it, then..."

"Y-Yeah..." She said, and she held up her paws so Britz could see them. They were just as shaky. "Um, look, we're both nervous, h-heh..."

This did help Britz feel a bit more at ease, enough to finish unbuttoning his shirt and toss it to the other side of the bed. But there was another half of his outfit to take care of, and he had already started to pitch a tent *down there* just from looking at Sheena, this close and this naked.

"Can I help?" She offered kindly, knowing the Caninu was struggling just to take his clothes off in front of a cute girl. When Britz nodded without a word, Sheena undid the strings on his pajama pants and carefully tugged them down to his ankles; Britz did the rest.

It was Sheena's turn to see a certain part of Britz for the first time: his cute briefs, fighting for dear life to hold back his growing bulge. Seeing him like this, almost completely exposed, seemed to kindle something in Sheena's brain, though she wasn't sure what it was yet. All she knew is that Britz had a very... effeminate physique, and she needed some time to properly admire the young Caninu's beauty.

Though timid, Sheena's curious side has a habit of coming out once she feels comfortable enough for it. She wasted zero time crawling over and sitting on top of Britz's bulge; she wanted a front-row seat to see whatever was hiding in there. Britz, meanwhile, could do little but cover his face and whine, and even then, his intense tail-wagging kinda gave away how he *really* felt about all this. He was, after all, more than happy to let Sheena take control.

What she found hiding under those briefs was... not really a surprise, but it did make her even more curious than before. Britz's penis was pretty typical for a Caninu his age, and it was looking pretty needy. Sheena's tail swayed, fascinated by this totally different set of naughty parts. She poked it here and there with a digit, played with his balls for a bit, squeezing out some cute shaky noises from him, even gave his foreskin a few gentle tugs to see how far back it could go...

Yet for all the touching and rubbing and massaging that Sheena was inflicting on the poor, needy Caninu, she needed to remind herself what she *actually* came here to do.

Sheena laid on top of Britz, and immediately he could feel her purring as she looked up at him, playing with his hair some more. "Britz..." She went on again. "I'm yours, so... you can touch me anywhere you want, remember?"

"I-I know." He was unsure, still, but seeing this much joy from Sheena just doesn't happen very often. If it makes Sheena happy, then... "Okay, I'll be on top this time."

Sheena just smiled. She didn't move; she wanted Britz to take charge this time. Sure enough, after shaking off the persistent nerves for just a few moments, he held her tight and rolled over, and put Sheena under him this time around, looming above her. His paws rested on top of her own, basically pinning her to the bed, and for whatever reason, Sheena felt like spreading her legs was the most normal thing to do here.

Britz could see it all. Her soft, tiny pussy, not just pink and delicate but actually a bit leaky, with a fluid that he didn't know much about. His dick throbbed when he caught a good look at her secret parts, not to mention the unforgettable, naughty scent, or the sight of her chest rising up and down as she took deep, still-nervous breaths.

His first move wasn't the naughtiest he could think of, but it was the one that made the most sense to him. He could touch her wherever he wanted. He could *do* whatever he wanted to her. With that kind of freedom, and the constant assurances that he wouldn't hurt the one he cherishes the most, Britz leaned in.

He planted a quick kiss on Sheena's neck. Right away, the Felineko drew in a sharp breath, wiggled her little legs and curled her feetpaws. The kisses didn't stop, either, traveling up and down her sensitive neck, along her shoulders, on her pawpads and the back of her hand, and even getting so, so close to her face...

"Sheena, your noises are, uh, really cute..." Britz told her, and he barely had the will to slow down and admire the occasional giggle he could squeeze out of her. Each one made her blush harder than the next, making her cheeks flush and her tail swivel wildly. The purring was at maximum power, normally reserved for things like Hanna's bedtime stories and relaxing hot baths...

And then Britz laid another kiss.

She felt his lips landing squarely on her cheek, and she *squealed*, and she felt... a *warmth* down there.

That was all it took to turn both of the affectionate cubs into messes again. This time, though, they weren't afraid of that feeling anymore. They knew how it felt, and they wanted it to keep going.

Sheena smiled wide, her gorgeous light blue hair laid around her with all the grace of a classic painting. And Britz, though still dealing with the shakes, seemed pretty comfortable taking the lead now, towering over his target of affection with rosy cheeks and ever-growing confidence.

"I'm yours, Britz," Sheena whispered those words again. "Don't be shy..."

She gave a quick glance *down there*, then back to Britz.

The Caninu knew what Sheena was offering. As expected of a nine-year-old boy, though, he had *no* clue what to do about it, exactly. All he knew is that it feels nice when certain places get rubbed, and so he wanted Sheena to feel really, really good. 

Britz had one thing going for him: he figured the thing that'd feel the nicest was his tongue.

He crawled back a bit, until he laid right in front of Sheena's wet pussy, slowly sliding his paws along her thighs. Neither of them knew what felt good and what didn't, or which spots to aim for, or how deep one could go before it starts hurting. In any other situation, either of them might've turned tail and left it for another time, when they're old enough to actually get it.

But they both wanted this.

Britz took a few curious sniffs at Sheena's pussy, pressed his snout against it, and... Started savoring it.

"Mmh...!" Sheena took a sharp inhale. She didn't know what this weird, new feeling in her naughty parts was, and her body reacted appropriately. It was warm and wet and tickled her inner folds in a way that made her a little itchy, for some reason. She placed a paw on Britz's head; her little claws poked at his scalp, but didn't scratch.

Britz pulled away and looked up for a moment. "Sheena, I'm not hurting you, am I--"

Sheena shoved his face right back where it was. "Please," she mewled, "keep doing that... Enjoy your gift."

With his snout shoved right up against her pussy, Britz tried not to worry about it. He took slower licks this time to get Sheena used to it, but it seemed to do the opposite. The Felineko let out a squeaky little whimper, and gripped the hair on his head while her legs locked him in place.

He could feel her starting to purr again... So his tail started wagging.

The licks got faster, and they got followed up by clumsy kisses and playful tongue flicks. Britz didn't really know what felt the nicest for Sheena. He just tried a little bit of everything and saw what worked. Most of it seemed to make her squirm and cause some cute, held-back noises, at least, especially whenever he brushed his tongue or his snout along the top of her folds to tickle a sensitive, tiny nub.

She'd just grabbed ahold of his head, but Sheena was already letting go to cover her face with her paws. Her legs shook, and her feet poked and pushed against the sides of her dear Britz. He looked up a few times, too, and he could see the mix of overwhelmed emotions that was forming on Sheena's face. She tried to giggle, but an errant moan made its way out instead, and each lewd noise she made only turned her cheeks a brighter shade of red, barely hidden underneath her paws.

Britz took this chance to show some more love to his squirming, fluffy present. Carefully, he slid his paws along her thighs and up to her tummy, starting to feel each set of her nipples as his fingers brushed past them. Once he reached the pair of nipples that adorned her budding, young breasts, he rubbed them thoroughly with his thumbs, to the delight of the shivering, whimpering mess of a Felineko under him. He even gave them a teasy tug every now and then, as delicately as he could...

"Mmrmmph, bwuh, B-Britz--"

She barely had time to blurt out his name before an unusually warm and sharp feeling overtook her. Her legs shook all of a sudden, way more fiercely than before, and they squeezed Britz's head tight, burying his snout even further into her pussy. She lunged forward and grasped his head with her paws, too, while the urge to scratch this weird new kind of itch grew and grew. She humped at his snout with rushed, sloppy timing while long and squeaky moans snuck out of her mouth. Her whole body quivered, and each lick and kiss that Britz gave her down there only seemed to make it quiver some more.

It was like all her senses short-circuited at once, and after that hot, throbbing sensation finally started to fade, Sheena reacted in the way that made the most sense to her. Barely a few minutes after Britz had started licking her pussy, she crumpled back onto the bed, shakily catching her breath, and she let out a tired whimper as tears formed in her eyes.

"A-Ah, Britz...!" She mewled, and Britz pulled away and leapt to her side, kneeling next to her and holding her paw.

"Sheena, it's okay," he comforted her, though a feeling of guilt took hold of the young Caninu, making his heart race. He spoke in a hurry: "Sorry I hurt you, I-I went too fast, and I just wanted--"

Sheena tightened the grip on his paw. "No no," she blubbered, "it didn't h... hurt! It felt... really good!" She wiped tears off her face, but they just kept on coming.

With a sudden tug, she pulled Britz closer, and he fell on top of her, his face just inches away from hers. Her paw cradled Britz's cheek, and she sniffled and felt a teardrop slide off her face, but running her pawpads along his fluffy face was helping her calm down. From this close, Britz could see her shaky smile behind all the tears, at least.

"Okay..." He sighed, trying not to cry, for her sake. "I just... I don't want any bad things to happen to you."

She let out a tiny, frail chuckle, and sniffled. "Well, as long as you're here, we don't gotta worry, 'cause you're gonna protect me..."

"Right... I will," Britz promised, with a sparkle in his eyes.

Sheena gave him a genuine smile. It's such a rare sight that Britz can't help but smile back (itself an even rarer sight). With the way they were both beaming at each other, you'd assume they've been lovers for their entire short lives already. They'd both be fine with that, even if neither of them have had the bravery to make the first move.

At least, not until now.

Sheena pulled Britz closer, rolled over, and shoved him onto the bed to climb on top of him. He was confused at first, wondering why she felt like switching places... and why her face was getting so close all of a sudden.

Then their lips met, and they both closed their eyes, and they both felt their hearts thumping hard against their chests. They just stayed like this for a while, lips locked, Sheena's hair drooping over and tickling Britz's face. They both wondered what was supposed to happen next.

They found it a little funny, that they had seen each other naked and done naughty things together before they even shared a kiss on the mouth, and yet *this* is what was making their tired souls feel fresh and new again.

Of course, neither of them knew how to kiss properly, nor were they taught by any of their older friends aboard the Taranis. They just kind of tasted each other's lips for a little while, before pulling back to catch their breath and do it a few more times, with even noisier purrs and harder tailwags than before.

Speaking of hard.

"Um, something's... poking at me?" Sheena looked under her, wondering what was growing and shifting against her tummy all of a sudden. She got a pretty good look at Britz's small, throbbing penis and fluffy orbs before letting out a nervous little laugh. "Heehee, bet that kiss felt really nice, huh?" She toyed with him, going as far as giving it a slight poke, and even tugging at its foreskin a bit. It's impressive how much she can get into this sort of thing when she feels comfortable enough for it...

Britz tried to play it off, but he was barely holding back a chuckle too, and his hips wiggled in an endearing way when Sheena rubbed along his glans. He could also see something wet clinging to her finger when it leaked from his tip, leaving a sticky string as a curious Sheena sniffed at it and gave it a few licks. It tasted oddly sweet.

When she gave his tiny balls a few inquisitive pokes and squeezes, the Caninu tensed up and thrust his hips upwards, startling her for a moment before she went right back to examining them. She rested her crotch on his own, still wet and a bit sore from all the licks and the mind-melting arousal she had gone through just a few minutes ago. Something about the way his penis twitched against her inner folds felt... tame, like it was completely expected for these two cubs to have gotten to this point.

Without saying another word, Britz started to grind against Sheena's wet pussy, squeezing her butt to keep her firmly in place, which made her tail poof up and quiver high above them both. Sheena, in turn, laid her paws on top of his chest, and took her time exploring the rest of his body while allowing him to take the lead again.

To think all she needed to loosen up was being treated like a lover, and reassured all the way through. She felt pretty safe by now, trusting Britz to handle her with care and be the assertive one tonight, even if she had this massive urge to pin him down and give him another mouthful of her crotch.

For now, he was in charge. The Caninu held her closely and let out some needy grunts while he picked up the pace, and his dick grew wetter and more twitchy as he got it covered in a mix of his own pre and Sheena's arousal.

He went a little further than last time, too; instead of soft kisses, he started to lick at and savor Sheena's neck and shoulders, and she barely let out a mewl before the high-pitched moans and gasps took over instead. Somehow, every time his slick tongue dragged along the contours of her shoulders and up her neck, her whole body felt it.

They weren't experts who knew exactly which buttons to press and where. All they knew is that doing this stuff together just kept feeling more and more amazing, and it was sending their young bodies into a horny frenzy, like they were figuring out how to go into heat on the fly.

It was quickly becoming the one thing they could do together without having to constantly apologize, or scurry away when something got too overwhelming, or let their insecurities drag them back down to earth. They could share something other than their similarly traumatic pasts and the bags under their eyes. They were both at their most vulnerable -- naked, inexperienced, with no one else around (or awake) -- and they were both totally fine with it.

No amount of nightmares or bad memories could take it away from them now. It was theirs, whatever "it" is.

Sheena spoke first.

"Love you, Britz."

Britz looked right into Sheena's eyes, and she wasn't looking away.

"Love you too, Sheena," he answered with a kind smile.

...They had said it to each other before. In hushed tones so neither of them could hear it, on opposite sides of the Taranis so the noisy machinery would conceal them, when one was asleep so the other might end up dreaming about it...

He held her tight, kept grinding on her pussy, and planted loving kisses on her cheeks and her forehead. He could feel something building up down there, and he wanted Sheena to feel it too.

...And Britz hadn't forgotten the look on her frightened face when she escaped the prison camp with his help, and she always remembered the solemn bravery he showed when he stayed behind to give her just a little more time. Both arrived aboard the Taranis scared and hungry, but neither were prepared to see each other again so soon...

She gave him kisses too, forehead and cheeks, but she insisted on mouth kisses too, since the last ones felt so full of joy for them both. Their lips locked again, and she couldn't stop the tears from welling up again too, but she insisted. Her whimpers were both overstimulated and wanting for more; she wrapped her arms around Britz and didn't let go.

...Because, in the back of their minds, they were prepared to spend years, if not *decades* looking for each other. That they both not only made it out safely but arrived at the same place felt like an impossible, unlikely pair of miracles.

Britz let out a long, muffled grunt, mid-kiss. He and Sheena pulled away just in time to see what was causing his head to spin so suddenly: his dick had started twitching and throbbing way harder than before, held in place by Sheena's pussy as she sat on top of it. He could only stare at it for a couple of seconds before he felt the urge to do something about it. He hugged Sheena as tight as he could, and bit into her shoulder as cautiously as he could, and he pulled on the scruff of her neck like a feral creature asserting its dominance.

Sheena didn't yelp or panic, though. Instead she closed her eyes and dug her claws into Britz's back, almost deep enough to leave a mark. She had been purring for a long while now, and her tail swished all around as she finally got another chance to catch her breath. She wasn't used to being grabbed by her scruff at all, but since it was Britz doing it, she had no reason to complain.

By the time Britz came to his senses again and let go -- of her scruff, her shoulder and her back -- he realized he was shaking all over, and a mix of relief and embarrassment washed over him. It's a good thing Sheena was right there, staring at him and coming down from her own peak of confusing emotions, or else he might've freaked out at some point.

These kinds of naughty things were completely new to them both, but since they happened to be doing them together, seeing their bodies react in such weird, silly ways... It wasn't so bad.

"Um... Britz, you're all shaky," Sheena told him -- not that she was perfectly still, either. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he stammered, sounding normal enough to put her at ease, even if the shakes were pretty obvious. "And you?"

She shifted in her seat; it wasn't until just now that she noticed the sheets were just *soaked* with both of their... fluids. Then again, since all that came out of his penis was a bit of clear, sticky fluid, they could assume most of it came out of Sheena.

"...A little sore," she whispered.

Britz laid down on the bed proper, resting his head on a soft pillow, and he beckoned Sheena to lay on his chest. She crawled closer, but not before picking up Bleuette and holding her against her own chest, too. When she flopped onto Britz's fluffy naked body, she got to hear his heartbeat much more clearer than before, and with her free paw she held onto his own tightly, fingers interlocked.

"Um, Britz..." Sheena wondered aloud.

"Mmh?"

"Am I pregnant now?" She asked.

If she looked a little closer, she might've seen Britz raising an eyebrow. "Wh-Why would you be pregnant...?"

"'Cause we rubbed our naughty bits together," she said, so casually. "Hanna said that happens."

Britz sighed. "It doesn't work like that. Malt told me that, uh, the thing that leaks out from my penis has to be white."

"Oh..." Sheena sounded disappointed, for some reason. "Sorry."

"You don't have to say sorry," he said with a half-chuckle. "You wanna get pregnant that badly? Huh?"

Britz said it in a jokey way, but Sheena looked rather genuine when she replied: "Maybe..."

"I see..." Britz blushed hard, staring at her fluffy belly. He began to think about a future where he and Sheena get to grow up together, old enough to raise a family, get a house somewhere quiet and full of greenery, and...

"Well... we can think about that stuff when we're grownups," she shrugged. "Right now, we're just kids..."

"Fair." Britz petted her hair, and took a long sigh before taking in a big, cutesy yawn. "Until then, I'll keep you safe."

"Me too..." she whispered warmly, rubbing the fur on his chest. She caught a whiff of something, though, and giggled. "Gosh, we're really sweaty right now... Sorry if I smell bad." 

"Huh?" Britz seemed almost offended by the idea of it, and his little sniffs on her head didn't change his mind. "You smell nice, though."

When Sheena shoved her face closer to his armpit, catching a full sniff of his scent as well, she didn't say anything; she just looked away to hide her blush and wiggled. "...Yeah," she mumbled.

Britz didn't have much else to say that hadn't been said already; sleep was overtaking him, and even on such an intense night, a boy needed his sleep. He brushed some hair off Sheena's forehead and kissed her there.

"When we wake up..." She began to ask softly, taking his paw and kissing the back of it. "Do you wanna shower together?"

For this, at least, Britz jolted awake for just a little longer. "Sounds fun," he told her, smiling, totally comfortable...

-----

Hot water splashed on the two lovers' heads, face-to-face, as they washed each other's hair in the tub. Sheena's precious, girly curves were accentuated by the wet fur clinging to her skin, though Britz's curves weren't half bad, either. She had always made her own coy remarks about how much of a gentle, feminine aura he gives off --  as a compliment, obviously. This was on Sheena's mind for sure when she spoke up.

"Sorry for the weird question, but... You ever grown your hair out, Britz?"

"My hair...?" He rinsed shampoo off of his head.

"Yeah, the hair on your head--"

"Er, I know where... I just never had the chance," he answered bluntly.

Sheena wondered, looking a bit more serious. "Is it a Berman thing? Boys can't grow it out?"

"It is," he said, sounding defeated. Despite no longer being beholden to them, he still had to fight off the urge to follow their rules.

"Well, you can try it anytime you want here," she assured him. "You won't get in trouble."

He rubbed his arm up and down. "As long as it doesn't bother anyone..."

Sheena couldn't help but smile. "It won't. When it gets long enough, I'll help you braid it."

"...So I'll have cute braids, too...?" His eyes lit up pretty quickly, and he stared at Sheena's long, drippy hair.

"Wuh??" It took her a moment to realize she was being flirted on, too.

Britz leaned in for another kiss on the mouth, and Sheena kissed back, of course. She placed her paws behind his head and played with the lower ends of his wet hair, as if she was encouraging it to grow faster. The Felineko rubbed her body with Britz's, and he felt the tiny buds on her chest pressing against him. They spent a while like this, just rubbing and folding each other, making each other smile, giggle, even shiver a little... They didn't mind that someone's bound to ask questions when they're seen leaving the bathroom together.

They're just protecting each other, after all, like they promised.