Yukari awoke to the morning sun shining down on her through the window, it's warm rays working its primal magic to stir her body to action. She sat up in bed and stretched with a yawn, working some of the sleeptime kinks out of her body. Tossing off her covers she swung her legs out over the side of her bed, suddenly remembering at the last moment that she was not alone in her room and made sure to be careful where she placed her feet.

Erwin lay in the spare futon on the floor, snuggled inside it so that only her shoulders and head were exposed. The rays of the sun seemed to dance in her hair, giving it a golden glow that seemed to fill the room. Her face had a look so tranquil and peaceful that it almost didn't look like Erwin. Taking it all in, Yukari couldn't help but find what she was seeing as anything less than beautiful and was reluctant to wake her.

'Well it is summer break and she had a rough night.' Yukari thought to herself. 'She's a guest too so no harm in letting her sleep.'

Yukari carefully stepped around Erwin and slipped her feet into her slippers, quietly tiptoeing out of the room and heading downstairs.

The smell of freshly cooked eggs filled her nostrils and helped wake up the last few dozing holdouts in her brain, bringing her up to full consciousness.

She arrived in the kitchen where her father sat reading a newspaper and her mother was tending the rice cooker. She noticed her first and gave her a smile every bit as warm and radiant as the sun.

"Good morning sweetie. Did you sleep well?"

Yukari smiled back at her and wandered towards her chair at the table. "Yes Mom, it was the most peaceful sleep I've had in awhile."

"Oh good. Hungry for breakfast?"

"Yes please."

As her mother turned to pile some food onto a plate, Yukari brought a conscious hand down to her middle to feel how much the swell in her stomach had subsided. Yukari's fingers glided along her abdomen, feeling it through the soft fabric of her pyjama top until she found a very slight rise. So it was still there but barely noticeable. Somehow she doubted Erwin was going to be as fortunate.

Yukari's breakfast landed in front of her, a healthy dose of rice and two sunny-side up eggs. "Itadakimasu!"

As Yukari dug into her food, her mother started to prepare some more. "Yukari, is your friend still asleep?" Yukari nodded and swallowed.

"Yes, I thought I should let her rest. I don't think she had as pleasant a night as I did." Her mother sighed.

"No, I can't imagine she did. Make sure you look after her today alright?"

"Yes Mom."

Yukari ate quickly and despite her huge meal last night she didn't feel any more full than she usually did after breakfast, which she took as a good sign. She brought her plate to the sink and then excused herself to check on Erwin.

The blonde was still sleeping soundly in the futon, her head tilted at an angle that prevented the sun's rays from shining in her eyes. Yukari did want to let her sleep but on the other hand she didn't want Erwin to miss breakfast either.

She glanced over at her alarm clock which indicated 07:45. That wa a late morning for both of them, being used to getting up by five AM for tankery practice and Erwin was an early riser by nature.

"She really must have had a hard time." Yukari mumbled to herself, kneeling down next to the dozing girl.

Her eyes were drawn once again to Erwin's shimmering golden hair, the way it painted everything close to it in an ethereal glow. She'd never noticed it before, but Yukari found Erwin's face to have a fascinating angular beauty to it; quite unlike most of the other girls on the team who tended to have softer, rounder faces from what she could recall. Looking at her more closely, Erwin had a kind of predatory grace to her facial features, and yet she also looked so peaceful right now, so harmless and inviting.

Something unknown drew Yukari's hand down onto Erwin's sun warmed head and her fingers touched her silken, golden hair. Yukari was surprised; she had expected Erwin's hair to be firmer and rougher, especially considering its shape, but it was actually very soft and much more manageable than her own. She freely admitted that her hair was hardly a good example of good hair care and tended to be rather unruly at times, but that didn't take away from the surreal delight she felt running her fingers through Erwin's short brilliant locks.

Erwin stirred slightly and let out a long breath, causing Yukari to pause. 'Wait a minute, what am I doing?' She asked herself incredulously. Why was she casually running her fingers through another girl's hair?

She gazed down at Erwin's face, seeing the contentment on it and swallowed. Something primal inside her didn't want her to stop what elicited such a lovely expression. She couldn't discern from where within her this strange feeling came from but she suddenly became filled with a feeling of serenity and compassion. This strange desire to simply make the sleeping girl comfortable; this odd feeling compelled her to continue gently caressing Erwin's sun-warmed hair, feeling the warmth in every strand.

She continued to puzzle over why she was still doing this and enjoying it so much. She had never done this before to her recollection, so she didn't understand this fierce compulsion to.. well… she wasn't sure what it was. She couldn't describe it as anything other than wanting to care for Erwin somehow. Suddenly it dawned on her.

She had seen Saori do this with Mako many times. The sleepy girl would lay her head on Saori's lap and the ginger girl would happily stroke her head and soothe her, all while having a smile on her face, even as she complained about Mako's laziness.

Yukari couldn't help but smile a little herself as she recalled it. Saori and Mako seemed closer than friends, more like sisters, but perhaps even closer than that since they were the same age. Yukari wondered what the word was for someone closer than a friend, closer than a sibling, but not having a romantic relationship. Was that what she and Erwin were becoming? Was that why she felt this way, or was this simply a spur of the moment thing brought on by her earlier feelings of loneliness?

"Is she still asleep?" Yukari's heart seemed to stop mid-beat as the other voice registered, realizing that there was a third presence in the room. Her mother was standing just inside the doorway, carrying a breakfast tray, smiling at her.

Yukari's face coloured to a bright vermillion, realizing what she'd been caught doing, but her mother's smile was reassuring. "It's alright Yukari dear, I'm not going to misunderstand my own daughter so easily. Besides, this is a normal thing for girls to do."

Yukari tried to swallow her supreme embarrassment, unable to meet her mother's gaze as she placed the tray on her desk. "Y-yes t-two of my f-friends do thu-this quite often." Yukari managed to squeak.

"Ah I see. They must be close." Yukari nodded.

"Yes, they seem to be." Yukari's gaze turned inward, even as they seemed to fall back on Erwin's picturesque face. 'Normal…' She thought. 'If this is normal then I should know more about this, but I don't know what this means, what these feelings are. But then, I've never had friends before either.'

Yukari's mother knelt beside her and gently wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "I'm happy that you have finally found someone that you're this close to. You've made so many friends in the past year, and it's made me so happy for you."

Yukari leaned her head against her mother, embracing her mother's compassionate gesture and feeling a reassuring sense of security.

"Mother." She began. "What do you call it when a girl is more than friends with another girl but they aren't lovers. I mean, there's no romantic feelings, you just care about them a lot." Her mother giggled softly.

"I think that is just what you call a best friend sweetie." Her mother patted her on the head gently. "You've never had one before I suppose."

"No, Yukari replied quietly. "I suppose not."

"Well you have one now, so make sure to treasure that and don't let your friendship be broken."

"I won't." Yukari replied. Her mother nodded in satisfaction.

"Well then, I'm off to help your father with the shop. I'll leave you two alone."

"Thank you Mom." Yukari called as she left. She brought her gaze back to Erwin who appeared to be stirring a little more. Yukari wasn't surprised; after all, Erwin was normally an early riser and the smell emanating from the breakfast tray on her bed was probably helping to wake her. The blonde rolled onto her back and let out a soft groan before slowly opening her eyes to the world.

Yukari smiled down at her. "Morning." Erwin blinked in confusion, probably just remembering that she had slept over but eventually she smiled back.

"Morning." She groaned and slowly extracted herself from the futon, sitting up and revealing the yellow pyjamas she borrowed. Yukari had worn those pyjamas back in middle school so they were a bit small to begin with. Add in the bounty of Erwin's huge meal with the effects of puberty, and it was an especially tight fit.

The pyjama top had to be unbuttoned below the collar to accommodate Erwin's assets and only two buttons were fastened between her chest and midsection to accommodate her stuffed gut as well, which much to Yukari's surprise had barely gone down at all. Considering how immodest the outfit seemed on her, perhaps it was best that she slept through breakfast.

Erwin yawned and stretched, working the stiffness out of her body. "Mmm something smells good." Yukari chuckled and stood up, heading to her desk to pick up the breakfast tray, placing it over Erwin's lap.

"Mom brought you up some breakfast. Even with everything you ate last night I doubt you wouldn't still be hungry for breakfast." Erwin laughed and patted her stomach.

"You bet! I've spent all night making room for your mom's breakfast. If it's half as good as dinner, these plates are gonna be so clean you won't even have to wash em. Itadakimasu!"

Yukari smiled as Erwin dug into her breakfast. She certainly seemed to enjoy her mother's cooking. "Careful, or you won't fit down the stairs." Yukari smirked.

Erwin laughed. "A small price to pay for a meal like this; although, I'd probably take up most of your floor if that were the case." Yukari grimaced, imagining Erwin so fat that she took up a large portion of the floor.

"It would be hard to try and fit you into the STuG."

Erwin quickly downed the last of her rice and then gave Yukari a wry grin. "I could be a great mascot though. I am in Hippo team after all." Both girls burst out laughing. Yukari couldn't remember the last time she had such a pleasant morning.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ah, good to be mobile again." Erwin stretched one arm up and leaned back, exposing a sliver of midriff between the waistband of her skirt and her uniform shirt. Tucked under her other arm was a large container of leftovers from last night's dinner that Yukari's mother had given her.

Erwin was on her way back home after the overnight stay, and Yukari was going with her as an escort and because Erwin invited her. Yukari was happy to accept Erwin's offer, having little else to do and virtually no other friends around at the moment.

"At least it doesn't show." Yukari told her. "Unless of course you plan on eating all of those leftovers in one sitting."

Erwin laughed. "Nah, I think I'll go easy on my tummy for the next little while. This should last me the few days, at least for dinner." She sighed. "I'm kinda sad that I won't have your mother's excellent cooking after that but I guess I'll just have to learn to cook better myself and worry less about the…. authenticity of eating at the front. I know Oryou has been wanting to cook much fancier meals, she's the only one of us whose soul name is a woman after all."

"Aha, I guess that's true." Yukari nodded. "Don't worry though, I'm sure Mom would be all too happy to feed you again."

"Ah yes well for the sake of my wardrobe, we better make it a once in awhile kind of thing." She tugged at the waistband of her skirt which was still snug around her middle. "I still need to fit in the STuG for at least another year and a half."

"I think it had more to do with you overindulging than with Mom's cooking directly." Yukari said wryly.

"Well it was directly delicious, so I couldn't help but eat as much as I could." Erwin grinned back. 'You don't know how good you have it."

"Well I've never been a picky eater." Yukari replied. "I like rations just as much."

"Not exactly a gourmet are we?" Erwin placed a hand on Yukari's middle, feeling the tiny rise of her stomach behind the steel-like abs. "I bet those muscles would miss your mom's cooking."

Yukari blushed. "I-I suppose I wouldn't be in quite as good a shape without Mom's good food." She admitted. "Which reminds me, were you planning on going to a culinary school to become a baker?"

Erwin removed her hand from Yukari and blinked in confusion until she recalled the discussion they had last night. "Ah, right. Well I was thinking about it but I'm still not sure that's what I want to do for a career. I do enjoy baking a lot and I wish I could do more of it, but there are other things I want to do too. Like maybe be a historian, or maybe engineering."

Yukari smiled. "Well if you like, I can ask my mom if you can borrow our kitchen once in awhile to practice baking."

"Are you sure?" Erwin asked, a little surprised. "I mean I'd be grateful but I don't want to be a bother."

"Oh it's fine." Yukari assured her. "I'm sure mom would be happy to see you more often and help you out."

Now it was Erwin's turn to smile. "Well then I'll be sure to take you up on that. I'll provide my own ingredients of course. What about you then? Have you decided what you want to do?"

Yukari paused and grabbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well I had been thinking about it after we talked and I was thinking I should start with some more immediate goals, maybe something significant but also outside my usual comfort zone so that I may develop. My mother has been trying to get me to be more involved in school life while I'm still… uh, in school."

Erwin chuckled. "So what did you have in mind."

"Well, I was thinking of maybe joining the Student Council for next year."

Erwin's eyes went wide and she stared at Yukari, not believing what she had just heard. "What? Really? That doesn't sound like you at all! And you said that so confidently."

"Yukari blushed. "Well, for a while I've been thinking and wondering what I can do for next year. The student council loves Lady Nishizumi for everything she's done, but there's no guarantee the next one elected will. So I want to make sure that she and the tankery team will be well supported. I'm not sure exactly what I can do but I want to do what I can."

Erwin laughed. "That sounds more like you." She playfully ruffled Yukari's hair. "Why not try to be elected president then! Go for the top!" Yukari grimaced.

"No, I think that's a bit much for me. I'm best in a support role. I appreciate your faith in me though." Erwin wrapped an arm round Yukari's neck and yanked her close.

"I have nothing but faith in you Guderian, and friends should support each other."

Yukari's cheeks coloured and she swallowed. "Especially best friends right?" Erwin smirked and gave her a friendly shake.

"Especially best friends."

Finally done!

I hope you're all not disappointed that this chapter was more on the short side. This was a fun little story to write and I think my writing in really improving. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved and followed, but this is the end of the story. There may be a sequel at some point in the future but probably not anytime soon. Thanks for reading!