"Y'know," you start to reply, but all that comes out is a dry rasping, so you swallow, take a breath and try again. "Y'know, when you bend over like that, I can see right down your top."

"Wha--!?" Instantly, she's standing up straight, arms wrapped around herself protectively (with the unintended effect of pushing her breasts together, making them stand out even more), staring at you with that oh-so-cute blush of hers. Then, just as suddenly, she's bent over double again, hands still clutching her sides, red-faced this time from laughter. It takes a second for it to actually come out, but when it does, boy, does it. Great, whooping intakes of breath, exploding out in bursts so loud, you'd swear you could hear the dirty dishes behind you rattling if you could hear anything else. The heavy atmosphere between you vanishes. You'd have been slow to gues such a girlish frame would even be capable of producing laughter like this. It's impossible not to get caught up in it yourself, although yours is definitely less boisterous and, perhaps, a little more nervous.

After a minute, she seems to be calming down enough for you to get a word in edgewise. "Hey, come on," you say, still grinning, "even I didn't think it was THAT funny."

"Oh... oh, I know," Sanae gasps out. "It was just... such a 'you' thing to say, Ku-chan..." As soon as she's said this, her laughter dies down and her eyes turn back to the floor, lost in thought. Eventually, she speaks again, very quietly. "Chulainn. This... I don't know if this makes any sense or not, but I've... never had anyone I didn't consider family as close to me as you've become. And I've only known you a day." A day? Holy shit, she's right. So much has been happening, it's somehow felt a lot longer than that, but... "I honestly don't know much about how this sort of thing is supposed to work, but it feels to me like... it's moving too fast. I can't keep up, and I don't know what to do, and... that's why..."

That's why. You think you understand enough, now. In two short steps, you're standing in front of her with a hand on each shoulder. "Hey. Apology accepted, Sanae. Don't worry about it."

She looks up at you in silent gratitude, her smile breaking through the clouds and pushing them away. You smile back down at her, and the two of you stand there, smiling at each other, for what seems like a blissful eternity. Alas, the moment comes when the spell must be broken. "Are you going back to bed?"

You let your hands drop back to your sides before replying. "No, I feel pretty rested, actually." Your stomach gurgles quietly. "I could use some breakfast, though."

"Yeah, well," Sanae frowns around you at the pile on the table, "everything we have is dirty at the moment. And I do mean everything. Tell you what: you help me out with those, and I'll fix you something as soon as there's a clear space."

"And then we can wash the dishes I use again when I'm done? Sounds fair. You wash, I'll dry?" She nods, and you move around her to start on the plate she just set down, picking up a nearby towel. "Looks like I missed quite the party," you start off conversationally, echoing your earlier line of thought.

"Yeah. I guess the negotiations went well, we've got a place to live in exchange for a few divine favors, so Kanako held a housewarming party. Invited anyone up from the mountain who cared to come, and there was a hefty turnout."

"Is there anything LEFT for breakfast, then?"

"Oh, sure. Quite a few people very excited to have their own set of patron deities, and a few more who probably just thought it was basic manners, brought up enough in offerings that we won't have to worry about food for a while." She finishes the next plate and hands it to you. "The kappa were especially keen. Hope you like fish."

"Well, hey! Good news, right?"

"Right. Of course, that means you and I are going to be busy for a while." Soaking a particularly filthy bowl, she takes her time explaining. "You probably noticed, but we moved in kind of a hurry. Shoved everything we didn't need into the nearest empty room, not to mention the total lack of landscaping."

You keep wiping down the one plate as she starts attacking whatever dried itself stuck onto the bowl. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Simple. While Kanako and the others are out paying the rent, so to speak, we'll be staying behind to try and make this place feel a bit more like... well, home. Understand?"

"I guess so," you say, setting down the plate and leaning against the counter to wait on the bowl. "Sort of. What are you wanting me to do, exactly?"

"Right now, I'm wanting you to focus on these dishes. The rest, we'll worry about when we get to it." Sanae rinses the bowl one last time and passes it over with a smile. "Time to earn your keep."

===

By the time I realized I'd screwed up the vote count, I was too far in and too lazy to go back and rewrite it, so yeah.

Anyway, more importantly:

LOL TIMESKIP!!!

Story's jumping forward one month. That's thirty days, each one mostly filled out helping Sanae fix up the place. How Cu Chulainn is going to spend his evenings and those other assorted spare moments, is now up to you. Surely you've got a pretty good idea of the options available, so just go ahead and write them in. Only thin I'll ask is, when multi-voting, list them in a descending order of priority, and don't get *too* carried away.

Get it? Good. See you niggers tomorrow. And by tomorrow, I mean THE GAME.