When all the birds are singing in the sky

Mary woke up to the dreamy sensation of a hand roughly fondling her boob.

“Mm… Nick… it’s too early for that,” she murmured, gently pushing the hand away. “Wait until later when I’ve woken up… mmm…”

Then she remembered that she and Nick slept in different beds. Startled, she cracked one eye open to see Gina practically lying on top of her, cuddled up into her side and using her breast as a squeeze toy, or maybe an improvised pillow.

“…Oh, right. That happened…”

Fully awake now, Mary sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well, I didn’t miss THIS about sharing a bed with you, I’ll tell you that…”

Gina was perhaps the sloppiest sleeper Mary had ever encountered. And having shared a bed with her for a couple weeks already, one of the things she appreciated about moving into the Master’s Suite was no longer having to deal with stringy, greasy hair in her face, or a foot kicking her in the boob.

It was nice while it lasted…

As happy as the redhead was that Gina was making improvements in her life, and as much as she would like to be at the punk girl’s side through the difficult undertaking, she would have to draw the line at sharing a bed with her.

Mary, as delicately as possible, tried to extract herself from Gina’s clutches. Fortunately, for as handsy as the punk girl was, she wasn’t as clingy as Mary feared, and she was able to get her breasts to safety along with the rest of her.

Uttering a sigh of relief, Mary turned towards the kitchen, when she caught sight of the other bed.

What she saw made her little heart feel all nice and cozy. Nick, Carly, and Dani were all cuddled up together under the covers, and Carly had a big bright smile on her face.

That brought a smile to Mary’s face in turn.

It looks like you’re having a good dream, then. I’m happy for you, Carly. And even Dani’s getting in on it, too!

The blue-haired tomboy had complained a lot about the dreams that had plagued her in the early days of the show, but ever since getting her Just One of the Guys transformation, reliving those sexy times with Nick apparently hadn’t been that big of a deal.

Just another thing for Mary to be thankful for. It would be hard for Dani to have Nick in her life and still think of things in that way. Even if she didn’t have to do anything sexual with him that she didn’t want to (in spite of the show’s machinations) it would still be for her benefit to get along well with Nick and everybody else.

To Mary’s eyes, everything looked nice and happy. So she headed off and got started preparing a nice warm breakfast for everyone to wake up to.

When Carly woke up, she felt as if a massive burden had been lifted off her shoulders, and she was greeting the world as a new woman that morning.

I cried my heart out, and I let Dani in. I feel wonderful. A small smile crossed her lips as she sat up and stretched. Two of the people she cared about most in the world were sleeping on either side of her, letting her know that she wasn’t alone.

Dani’s sleeping face was so serene and peaceful, and just so cute! The playful tease in her heart urged her to give a little pinch to those cheeks, but she refrained. Instead, she leaned back in bed and stared up at the ceiling. Nothing wrong with spending a little time to herself this morning just luxuriating in the company of people who loved her, right?

As she gazed up at the excessively ornate chandelier in the Master’s Suite, Emmy’s face popped into her mind, as it so often did. Seldom did a day go by when she didn’t think of her lost daughter.

But not every day was the same. There were days like yesterday where the thought of Emmy and what she’d lost crushed her so hard she couldn’t even get out of bed in the morning. And then there were days like today.

Today, as much as those thoughts hurt, they didn’t crush her. She could miss Emmy, and grieve her, and still have a lightness in her heart and a smile on her face.

Yes, it seemed like today was shaping up to be a good day.

“Mngh… oh… right, I came to the Master’s Suite…”

Dani rolled over in bed and rubbed the crust out of her eyes. She looked up at Carly with eyes that, for a moment, were bleary and dull, but as soon as they came into focus they brightened up like Christmas tree lights.

“Oh! Good morning!” She said, her voice filled with a lot more energy than it had been just seconds earlier.

Carly laughed. “…Good morning,” she chirped. “Glad to see you’re awake. Sleep well?”

“Eh, sleep the same as usual,” Dani said, faking a yawn. She looked past Carly over at Nick, who was still snoring away. “I like the dreams that have you in them.”

She gasped. “Err, but that doesn’t mean I’m saying we need to do more stuff together, with the three of us!” She quickly clarified. “I totally understand that you’re not up for that right now, not after last night! I was just making a cheeky comment, that’s all!”

Then she realized how that sounded, and backtracked a second time. “…But it doesn’t mean I don’t want to do that kind of stuff! I’m not opposed to getting Nick involved if that will make things better for you, I just meant to say, that is… I mean…”

Dani was fumbling for words. It was really early in the morning and her brain hadn’t fully woken up yet, which was only making her feel more embarrassed. After how sensitive and cogent she’d been last night, this definitely wasn’t showing Carly her best.

But then… that was the idea, wasn’t it? Even if she didn’t show Carly her best side, the other girl would love her regardless.

Carly chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Calm down, Dani. It’s fine. Maybe some other time, sound good?”

Dani sighed in relief and nodded. “Yeah, sounds good,” she agreed.

“By the way… I like that nightgown on you,” the cosplayer said with a saucy smile, glancing at the sheer midnight blue dress that clung to Dani’s curves. It was hard to make out in the low light, but you could see the outline of her body if you squinted.

Dani turned crimson and quickly covered herself. “I-I… well, I wasn’t planning on coming up here when I got dressed for bed last night,” she mumbled sheepishly. “I’m just glad Nick didn’t say anything.”

“It doesn’t look that comfy,” Carly pointed out, ignoring the fact that she herself was buck naked with only a blanket to cover her. “I imagined that you’d be going to bed in sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt or something.”

Dani blushed even deeper. Carly had her completely pegged, those were exactly the types of clothes she wore back when she lived at home.

“Well… even I want to look nice sometimes,” she admitted. “And like I said… I didn’t think I’d be pulled out of bed like that!”

She reached out and placed her hand over Carly’s. “…But I’m glad I was. I’m happy I was able to be there for you, Carly.”

Carly beamed back at her. “I’m happy too,” she agreed. “Thank you so much for being there for me when I needed you most. …And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was so scared… but you all were right. I need to be more open and honest with the people I care about.”

She turned and looked at Nick. “I should probably thank him, too, when he wakes up.”

Dani nodded in agreement. “That’s fair. …But let’s let him sleep, okay? He had a pretty long day yesterday, having to attend to everybody like that.”

“That he did,” Carly murmured, remembering how stressful yesterday had been. Even without the constant thoughts of Emmy plaguing her, anybody would have been exhausted. “And not only that, he’s got a date with Ella scheduled, too…”

“Assuming it will be Ella,” Dani noted. Her peaceful expression took a turn for the stormy. “Don’t forget… there’s Cinder, too.”

Carly bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah… that… it could end up being a big problem, huh?”

But it hopefully wouldn’t be a problem they’d have to deal with. It was one thing to offer support, but an entirely different thing to get involved with an issue that was none of their business. Dani and Carly were in total agreement on that.

The two girls got out of bed, agreeing to let Nick get as much rest as he needed.

“What’s your costume for today?” Dani asked, wishing there were some clothes around here she could throw on herself. She wasn’t exactly a fan of walking around in a skimpy negligee. “Not saying I don’t appreciate the view, but…”

Carly let out a chuckle. “Let’s see, shall we? Normally when I’m in the Master’s Suite, it’s left hanging by the bed. So since the room got a little redecoration…”

She found it pretty quickly, but she didn’t know what it was supposed to be. It looked like a jumpsuit or a flight suit or something along those lines, but upon closer inspection it seemed to be split into multiple pieces. Black stockings with heeled shoes, a pair of dark green shorts that were almost turquoise, and a very strange shirt in the same color scheme but with black accents and a big orange-red zipper. The odd part about the shirt was that it came with a pair of exaggeratedly-expanded sleeves that gave her a poofy look.

Carly stared blankly at the outfit. “…Yeah, I have no idea who this is.”

Dani’s jaw dropped.

“What?! You don’t know what this outfit is from?!”

Carly raised her eyebrow. “I’m taking it you do?”

Dani nodded her head rapidly. “It’s Miorine Rembran from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury!” She exclaimed.

“Hung… uh…” Gina grunted from bed, nearly roused from her slumber by Dani’s exclamation, so she lowered her voice.

“It’s such a great anime!” Dani continued.

Carly made a face and then **** a smile. “I-I see… okay then… Gundam, a mecha anime… yeah, not really my thing, sorry I don’t know anything about it.”

Dani looked completely betrayed.

“But… but it’s so much more than just a mecha anime!” She sputtered. “Miorine and Suletta, they… oh, I can’t spoil it for you! But it’s one of the best anime I’ve ever seen!”

Carly could tell that this meant a lot to Dani, so she just went along with it. She changed into the uniform, which was surprisingly comfy.

“Okay, now can you grow your hair out a lot?” Dani urged her. “Make it go down to about here.”

She held her hand to the back of Carly’s waist.

“Oh, and turn it white, too! As white as snow!”

Carly smirked. “You’re making quite a lot of demands, you know,” she teased, but complied all the same. “So if I turn myself into your perfect waifu, what are you gonna do for me, eh?”

Dani blushed and took a step back. “W-well…”

“Teasing, I’m teasing,” Carly laughed. “Don’t worry. Although maybe when I’m feeling up to it, we could play around a little.”

That certainly got the tomboy excited. But honestly? She would almost prefer watching the anime with Carly instead of getting up to any funny stuff. Sharing such a great series with her girlfriend would be absolutely amazing!

“Ugh… hey, I’m trying to sleep over here, and you two flirting is making it really difficult,” Gina groused from the bed, chucking a pillow at the two of them.

Dani and Carly looked at each other and laughed.

Yesterday had been pretty rough. But today was definitely looking to be a major improvement.

…Just as long as they left the Master’s Suite before Rose’s transformation wore out, and Marley turned back into a puddle of slime, of course.

While everyone was living it up in the Master’s Suite, there was someone who was definitely not living it up.

That would be Kim, who was quite enjoying her nice, quiet morning.

“Ah… that was such a good sleep,” she murmured, sitting up in bed and stretching her arms over her head. “A silk nightgown… it’s like going to sleep wrapped up in a plush ribbon.”

Her usual nightclothes were a schoolgirl uniform-styled nightgown that was made of a similar material. But the comparison was like night and day. Having access to all sorts of comfortable and stylish clothes that she’d never be able to afford in the real world sure had been nice.

If only she hadn’t soaked them in her sweat.

Kim looked down at the small puddle she’d been sleeping in all night. As comfortable as these clothes might have been, they sure wouldn’t last at this rate.

Not that it mattered, anyway- her state of dress wouldn’t last forever. Soon enough, her Sick Day transformation would wear off, and then it was back to schoolgirl skirts and button-up blouses, unless she wanted to go fancy and wear clothes that were absolutely not intended for casual everyday wear.

“…Nice while it lasted, anyway,” she said, turning to where she expected Dani to be. But the tomboy was gone.

Can’t say I blame her. I practically turned this into a water bed last night.

Kim had no way of knowing that her roommate had been spirited away in her sleep to the Master’s Suite. She just assumed that Dani had just gotten tired of sleeping in another woman’s sweat, and went for an early breakfast.

Speaking of which, she should probably get a move on. She’d used her Sick Day transformation rather early in the morning yesterday, and there was no telling when she’d end up getting her transformation revoked again.

“Hello there, Kim.”

Speak of the devil.

Kim sighed in exasperation and raised her head to see Dakota standing at the foot of her bed with a smile on her face that reminded her a lot of her days working as a used car saleswoman. The host had the same sleazy grin on her face that the rest of the sales team wore.

“Let me guess,” Kim said, cutting her off before she could say anything. “You’re here to convince me to take another day off work, aren’t you? Well, you can forget it.”

“My, Kim, how perceptive of you!” Dakota giggled, covering her mouth. “And you’re absolutely right. But don’t worry, I have no intention of trying to pressure you or anything like that! I just wanted to check in with you to see if you would consider it.”

Kim didn’t believe her for a second.

“…Okay, sure. I’ll consider it,” she said sarcastically. She was silent for about three seconds, not taking her eyes off of Dakota’s. “…There. Done. I considered it, and I’ll pass.”

“Oh? Are you sure? That’s a pity,” Dakota sighed, tapping her chin. “And here I thought yesterday would have given you some appreciation for taking time off!”

For someone who claimed that she wasn’t trying to pressure Kim, Dakota sure seemed to be pleading her case.

Not that Kim believed her, of course.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Dakota, it’s not happening. I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.”

“Really?” Dakota crossed her arms over her chest. “What am I trying to do?”

The pleasant tone in her voice had faded away, and a menacing glint had taken its place, which Kim didn’t fail to notice.

She wasn’t going to be intimidated, though.

“I know how my own transformation works,” Kim replied. “You want me to keep taking sick days, so I’ll keep stacking punishment transformations. I can do math, you know. Today is Ella’s day with Nick. She’s going to spend the whole day with him. And he’s also promised to spend tomorrow with Sylvia. And then it’s going to be my turn.”

Dakota nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s the schedule, but what’s your point?”

Kim crossed her arms over her chest.

“I want my day with Nick to be special,” she replied. “So I was considering using the Sick Day transformation to take some time off for that. Which I assume you must have figured.”

“Well, I did hope,” Dakota admitted. “You’ve got quite a lot of BP saved up, Kim. More than enough to afford some time in Dream Alley for a perfect date.”

Kim sneered in response. “Exactly my point. So what you’re trying to do is cajole me into skipping every day between now and then, so you can load me up with a bunch of punishment transformations in preparation for the date. Probably something like a slight libido boost, or maybe some bigger boobs or something?”

“Now Kim! I’m shocked that you would accuse me of such things!” Dakota held her hand over her mouth and recoiled, scandalized. “…You know that cosmetic physical transformations are excluded from that transformation.”

“Oh, come on, that is SO not the point!” Kim groaned.

Dakota shrugged.

“…Whatever. Never mind.” Kim shook her head in exasperation. “It’s not happening, okay? I’m not going into my date with Nick bearing four punishment transformations, and I’m definitely not going when I’m drenched in sweat. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to just let it run its course, alright?”

Dakota shrugged. “…Well, if that’s what you want,” she relented. But then a small smirk touched her lips. “…Of course… there are other things to consider, you know.”

Kim didn’t like the sound of that.

“…What are you talking about?” She asked suspiciously.

Dakota shrugged. “It’s just… yesterday really wasn’t much of a day off for you, was it? I mean, you had to go to that beach party and everything. Was it really much of a break?”

Kim shrugged. “I liked it just fine. I had fun.”

“Right, right, of course you did, I had a lot of fun, too,” Dakota said, shaking her head. “But what I mean is, you didn’t really get the time to just relax and take a day for yourself, did you? Just do the things you wanted to do? Instead of digging a big hole in the beach, for example.”

Kim raised her eyebrow. “…That was your idea.”

“…Not the point, but what I’m trying to say, is what would be the harm in just taking one more day off?” Dakota pressed. “It’s not like it would hurt anybody. You’d get the day to yourself, free from your transformations’ obligations, free to relax, do what you want, and all that would happen would be you’d get another temporary punishment transformation!”

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, see? This is what I meant. You’re trying to get me to fall for it again, but I’m not that gullible.”

Dakota shrugged. “Look, it’s as simple as this. You don’t want to go on your date with Nick packing four punishment transformations? Then just go to work tomorrow! That will cause them all to reset, and you won’t be stuck with anything. But take today off to relax and enjoy yourself! You deserve it, Kim, don’t you think?”

Dakota was not as good at manipulating people as she obviously thought she was.

On the other hand, Kim really DID feel pretty convinced by her offer, all things considered. She raised a good point, that long-term, there wasn’t any harm in taking another day off so long as she went to work tomorrow. And that was definitely going to happen- even if she worked today, she wasn’t about to take tomorrow off and have to go into the date dragging two punishment transformations with her. One would be risky enough.

“…I don’t trust a single word out of your mouth,” Kim said coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. “…But you’re not wrong. Taking today off would be nice, and I’m definitely going to work tomorrow, so… fine. But only because it’s what I want to do, just to be clear.”

Even as she agreed, and applied her transformation, part of her felt like she was making a big mistake. But she’d just have to see how things went.