A.N: I've gotten attatched to these two. I love every pairing in this manga, but... these two.

It was sometime in midwinter, when Christmas was nearing, that Nozaki had Sakura over to help him with inking again. It was a normal day, he found, sitting with Sakura and having her freak out at some of his storyboard ideas, while she inked away determinedly. He really appreciated her going out of her way for him, especially since she wasn't getting paid.

"Nozaki-kun," Sakura suddenly said, her light voice a bit shaken. "I just got a text from my mom, and it looks like all the trains are shut down because of the weather..."

Blinking, Nozaki headed for the window. Sure enough, snow whirled around wildly outside, and sending Sakura out in a storm like that would be cruel and insane. She'd probably get swallowed by a heap of snow, Nozaki thought, or killed by a bitter winter demon.

"They won't be back on until morning..." Sakura said, eyes widening as she stared at her phone screen. She looked frightened, and Nozaki had no idea how to comfort her. What was he supposed to do? Kick her out?

"You'll have to stay the night." He said, bluntly.

Sakura went red from her neck to her eyebrows, gaping at Nozaki like he'd just said that the devil was out to get her. "No! I couldn't possibly!" She exclaimed, waving her hands around and almost spilling ink all over the manuscript.

"It can't be helped," Nozaki told her, and then he lit up. A situation like this was perfect for Suzuki and Mamiko! "Sakura! We have to take notes!" He said, excited by his new inspiration.

She guessed his thoughts again, sighing loudly and all embarrassment fading. "Sheesh, what kind of cheesy chapter would that be? Oh, you can sleep on my bed. I'll take the futon." Sakura snickered, "What a silly..."

Nozaki's eyes were sparkling, and she frowned. "Absolutely not! It's improper!"

"Do it for Mamiko!" Nozaki cried, flinging himself over to her. Though he still had his pokerface on, he prayed she could tell how desperately he needed her help. A woman's opinion might suit a Shojo manga better, after all.

"Nozaki-kun, I have no pajamas. I don't want to trouble you..." Sakura raised her hands as if surrendering, and she looked at the ground nervously. "I'll stay on the futon."

He found himself disapointed, but he supposed he couldn't force her into his bed. Running that thought over again, Nozaki felt slightly flustered. He hadn't realized how awkward the situation was until just then. Why am I so slow?! He sat back across from her, getting back to his sketches and trying not to make her uncomfortable. Sakura was a good friend, and Nozaki did care about what she thought of him. She probably considered him kind of pervy for suggesting a sleepover, now that he thought about it.

"Sorry," Nozaki mumbled, feeling sheepish. Sakura looked up at him in surprise, and then she smiled a big, goofy grin he'd only seen her give whenever he was particularily nice to her.

"It's okay, Nozaki-kun!" She chirped, and she kept smiling like that for ten minutes, even when she bowed her head and started inking, Nozaki could just barely see it.

They worked hard on the manga until it was nearly midnight, and Sakura began to yawn. Nozaki hurriedly got the futon out, setting it up next to his bed.

"Why there?!" Sakura squawked, embarrassed once again.

"For the heart pounding!" Nozaki insisted, "I'll be Mamiko, and you'll be Suzuki; if she's up on the bed, she'll be looking down at him on the floor, and her heart will be pounding like crazy."

Sakura looked at the futon nervously, and then she let out a small huff. "You're right, she's probably really freaked out at the idea of sharing a room with him." The way she said it made it sound like she was talking about someone else, but Nozaki let it slide.

"Okay, let's sleep then." He said decisively, and Sakura went red again.

"I... I can't brush my teeth or put pajamas on..." She slumped as if defeated, "I'll look like a wreck in the morning!" Sakura wailed the last part, shaking her head rapidly.

Nozaki was then struck with an idea, and he rushed for his closet. When he returned with a particular outfit, Sakura looked ready to scream bloody murder.

"No! Not the damn sailor's outfit!" She snapped, but Nozaki knew she had no choice. After all, she wouldn't want to be smelly and gross in her clothes all night, especially at a friend's house. After a long pause, Sakura reached up and took the outfit with a scowl, grumbling and walking into the bathroom.

Nozaki changed into his pajamas while she was gone, and then sat himself down on his bed, writing down ideas in point-form. When Sakura returned, she had taken her ribbons out of her hair, and her face was a little wet. She had probably washed it when she was in there, or perhaps she was a little warm, because her cheeks were almost as pink as peaches.

Immediately, Nozaki flipped out his phone to take a referance picture of the sailor's outfit, but then he paused and looked at Sakura. She was barefoot, and her hair looked kind of frizzy in the parts where the ribbons had been tied, but other than that it was straight, and fell over her shoulders. He noticed she was fumbling with the tie of the suit nervously, and her legs, which he normally saw covered by black socks, where completely bare. Nozaki gulped, and Sakura noticed him staring at her and quickly stammered some jibberish and looked away.

"You took out your ribbons," was the only thing Nozaki could think to say.

Puzzled, Sakura slowly looked back at him, still blushing. "What? Did you think I slept in them?" She twirled her hair and raised an eyebrow, a funny look for her.

"Yeah, I thought you had bedtime ribbons." Nozaki admitted, deadpan. Sakura looked amazed with his stupidity, and then she giggled at him.

"I guess I do look kind of silly without them, huh?" Her shoulders came up a bit, and she shyly crossed her arms.

"No, you look good. But I like the ribbons," Nozaki told her, trying to choose his words carefully. In truth, he thought she looked more mature with the ribbons off, but she was also incredibly cute with them on. It surprised him that she didn't have boys going after her, she really was a good looking girl, despite her occasional weirdness.

Sakura smiled a little bit, "I guess we should go to sleep now, right?"

He snapped out of it, and pulled his phone back out. "Referance pictures, first!"

"Nooooo!" She cried, and for the next half hour, he chased her around his apartment until he got his goddamn photographs. By then, they were both tuckered out, and Sakura slumped to floor when he went for the washroom.

After he washed up, Nozaki got into bed and turned the lights out, squinting through to dark to watch Sakura get into the futon. They were both quiet, Nozaki trying to figure out how Mamiko would act in a situation like this, and Sakura drifting off to sleep.

He peeked at her a few times, wondering if she was still awake. She looked so ridiculously tiny, all bundled up in the futon like that. It was kind of cold, Nozaki realized, and he stood up, going for his closet again.

"Nozaki-kun?" Sakura's sleepy voice called after him, "What're you doing?"

"It's cold, I'm getting you a blanket." Nozaki called back, and he smiled because that would be a good winning line from Satsuki if he said it with a little more attitude. He had a tsundere reputation to uphold, after all.

When he came back and draped the blanket over Sakura, he could tell her eyes were bugging out even in the dark. Well, to be fair, he was a pretty big guy compared to her, so his shadow might look a little creepy. He knelt down next to her to apologize for scaring her, but was met with her quiet, shaky voice.

"Thank you, Nozaki-kun." Sakura seemed tp squeak, and since his eyes were adjusting, Nozaki could just make out her small smile.

"This would be a good kiss scene," he voiced his thoughts by mistake, and Sakura let out an inhuman noise.

"N-N-N-Nozaki-kun!" She stuttered, and he wondered if she was still cold. "It's too soon, don't you think?"

"Actually, it'd be pretty good at this point in the manga. Ken-san said the fans are getting antsy." He shrugged, even though she probably couldn't see him. "Think I should go for it?"

"The moment's a little inappropriate, you know?" Sakura mumbled, seemingly regaining some composure. "They're alone in the dark, it would look bad. Maybe an almost kiss would work, since it's such a situation."

Nozaki thought about it, and he grinned. "An almost kiss... That's a great idea, Sakura! But how would he go about it?"

Sakura hummed, "Oh, I don't know, maybe when he gives her the blanket, she swears she feels his breath really close to her lips or something, but since it's dark she can't tell... That sort of thing?"

"Another great idea," Nozaki murmured, and he thought about drawing that scene and smiled. "I'll pitch it to Ken-san!"

"Glad I could help, Nozaki-kun." Sakura yawned, and that was when he realized how close they were in the dark. He hadn't really thought about it, but now he could hear Sakura's every breath.

An almost kiss, Nozaki thought, leaning down. He had to see if it would work, so he leaned as close as he dared. Sakura, just like Mamiko, didn't notice. Satisfied, Nozaki began to pull back when the girl quietly sighed.

"I'm your fan," she whispered, as if she didn't really want him to hear. And her breathing evened, and then Nozaki realized she had fallen asleep.

Did she want another autograph? He could draw one on he face. Nozaki sat, pondering, as Sakura quietly snored beside him. An autographed face would surely make her mad at him...

And then it hit him! A way to give her his autograph on her face without the use of a pen!

Nozaki leaned over her again, this time looking carefully at her face so he didn't mess up, and he kissed her forehead. She didn't even stir, but she did happily sigh in her sleep. That proved that Mamiko would be able to sleep through a kiss, as well. Satisfied with himself, Nozaki climbed into bed and felt a swell of pride.

This lasted for about a minute before he realized he had just kissed Sakura without even thinking about it when she was asleep. Maybe he was a pervert, after all. He shuddered, and felt guilty. At least she didn't know! He would just be extra nice to her tomorrow to clean out his karma! Guiltridden, Nozaki fell into a nightmarish sleep.

Needless to say, when Sakura awoke the next morning to breakfast in bed and Nozaki looking cutely anxious and all but catering to her every need, she was smiling for the rest of the weekend.