In the early hours of morning, a sleeping Krystal lay in bed, warm and safe inside her dreams. She dreamed of Amber and herself from last night, of the first time they made love, and she dreamt intensely of every moment that led to the satisfied feeling that encompassed her as she lay curled up inside her favorite red blanket. The dream slipped away as Krystal started to wake up. She clung to the fleeting feelings of love and warmth, unwilling to let go, but ultimately Krystal could not hold on. 

Stubbornly, the sleepy young girl kept her eyes tightly shut despite having lost. Krystal was annoyed that she had been unable to stop the dream from ending, but a sudden fear froze her in place. As her mind began to wake more fully, Krystal suddenly worried that her memories from last night were nothing but a dream.

"Last night was real, wasn't it?" Krystal asked herself, praying she had not just imagined having with Amber yet again. Krystal had woken up from a dream more times than she could count as of late, and each time she felt the crushing blow of remembering that her relationship with Amber still hung in limbo and that they were a far cry from any kind of intimate contact. 

But last night felt too real to be a dream. The beautiful memories were already deeply ingrained in Krystal's heart, and she didn't know if she could handle it if the memories weren't real again. Nervously, Krystal ran her hand down her body and confirmed that she was completely , much to her relief. Krystal remembered falling asleep instantly after last night, before either of them could put on any clothing, so was a good thing in this case.

Krystal slowly opened her eyes and found that the precious red blanket that Amber had wrapped around her last night was still tucked under her chin. She gently rolled over and let out an audible sigh of relief as her eyes feel upon a sleeping Amber curled up beside her. The anxiety drained out of Krystal's delicate heart and relief washed over her like a warm hug.

As Krystal gazed into Amber's face with an affectionate smile, she found it funny that it had taken her so long to fall in love with Amber. How had she spent all these years looking at Amber as just a friend? The traits that Krystal loved so much about Amber had been there since the first day they met so long ago. Why was it only recently that Krystal had been able to interpret her feelings for Amber differently and realize that she was in love? It was strange how everything felt different to Krystal, but at the same time it all felt the same.

Krystal carefully inched closer to Amber, trying not to disturb her as she slept. In her sleepy eyes, Amber looked ethereal and perfect, and Krystal could not trust that the other girl was real. She wanted to touch Amber to make sure that her eyes were not deceiving her. But as she gently extended her fingertips toward Amber's cheek, Krystal pulled away and impulsively decided to confirm Amber's existence with a kiss. Amber always embodied the role of her knight in shining armor, but just this once Krystal wanted to be the prince who woke the princess with a kiss.

Krystal leaned over the older girl and pressed her lips against Amber's. As she did so, Krystal felt Amber stir beneath her and a pair of arms instantly embraced her body. The younger girl pulled back in surprise, but Amber held her tightly through the shock. She realized that Amber had been awake all along, and so she rested her full weight onto Amber and settled in for a proper kiss. When they pulled apart gently, Krystal found Amber gazing back at her with gentle brown eyes.

"That was a nice way to wake up," Amber said, smiling sweetly at Krystal.

The younger girl couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Obviously you were already awake. Why were you pretending to be asleep?"

"I wanted to see what you would do after you woke up, and I was not disappointed. Thought you'd take advantage of me while I was sleeping?" she asked jokingly.

Krystal shook her head and smiled shyly. "I just wanted to make sure you were real."

"Oh," Amber responded, somewhat surprised by Krystal's response. "I guess I should have been confirming if you were real, too..." Amber reached her hands towards Krystal, who was now straddling her waist. They were both completely , and Krystal found the skin-on-skin contact to be breathtaking. From her lying position, Amber placed both hands on Krystal's cheeks and slowly, gently, trailed her fingertips all the way down Krystal's shoulders and arms. The younger girl shivered and closed her eyes, feeling the depth of the simple action.

Amber's hands grasped her wrists and pulled Krystal towards her. She fell forward onto her hands and knees and hung over Amber so that they were staring directly into each others eyes. And then, ever so gently, Amber placed her right hand on Krystal's , right over her heart. The warmth from Amber's fingertips penetrated Krystal's chest and Krystal knew that Amber was feeling her heart beat.

"Yeah," Amber murmured softly, staring up at Krystal. "You feel real to me." Krystal lowered her eyes shyly at Amber's tenderness. "What about me?" Amber asked. "Did I pass your test?"

Krystal brought her gaze back to meet Amber's. Wordlessly, she leaned down and teased the older girl for a kiss. She hovered her lips over Amber's and stayed just out of reach, moving her head side to side slowly. Krystal did this over and over with a wicked smile until Amber couldn't take it any more. The older girl grabbed Krystal's face with both hands, pulled her closer, and kissed her fully on the lips. Their tongues danced languidly over each other, making Krystal's heart melt.

"You're definitely real, too," Krystal breathlessly informed the other girl. She rolled off of Amber's body and settled back into the bed. They laid down side by side, facing each other so that their noses were touching and their lips were just inches apart.

"Good morning," Krystal murmured.

"Morning," Amber murmured in return. Their eyes were fixed solely on each other, as though nothing else existed in their private little world. "Did you sleep well?"

The younger girl nodded earnestly with a satisfied smile. "Yeah, really well. You?"

Amber nodded. "I feel 100% refreshed."

Krystal touched Amber's face gently, happy to see Amber looking so relaxed. "Were you awake very long?"

"Long enough to know that you're beautiful when you're asleep," Amber replied.

The compliment instantly made Krystal feel self conscious. She dropped the hand that caressed Amber's check and buried her face into Amber's shoulder in embarrassment.

"God, you're such a creeper," Krystal retorted, trying to find a happy middle ground between annoyance and embarrassment.

"You always get so shy when I tell you how beautiful you look," Amber observed. She ran her finger