The sun was warm as Shizuo relaxed on the beach. He had a cigarette in between two fingers while his free hand rested on the warm sand. With a content sigh, Shizuo closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of the salted water... And then something brushed across his face. Frowning, Shizuo lifted his hand to wipe at his face, but whatever it was that was flicking across his face did not stop. His eyebrows furrowed and he sat upright, eyes opening to see what the hell was ruining his perfect moment...

     The dream faded away and Shizuo moaned softly. Cracking his lids open, he saw that the sun was already shining into the bedroom, filtering through the half-closed curtains. Samaru had forgotten to close them again... Sighing, Shizuo closed his eyes once more, raising his arm to cover his eyes... But something soft flicked over his arm, tickling his cheek on the way, and he frowned. What was that? He tried to ignore it, but whatever had touched him flicked across his face again, tickling his nose. Shizuo pushed himself upright, fighting a sneeze as he turned to look at Samaru.

     He was sleeping peacefully, dark lashes brushing across tanned cheekbones. A few strands of hair fell across his closed eyes and a sleepy smile curved Shizuo's lips. Dammit, he loved Samaru like this with his face softened in sleep and his dark cat-like ears relaxed...

     Wait, what? Shizuo's golden eyes widened as the cobwebs of sleep were brushed away from his mind. His lips parted, shock causing his body to tense... And then something soft wrapped around his wrist and Shizuo glanced downward to see... A tail?! It was dark and silky and had curled around Shizuo's wrist. Not daring to breath, Shizuo followed the path of the tail and a jolt shook his body when he realized that the tail was attached to Samaru.