Chapter 199 – Sleepover II

Ellie was finally having her long-awaited sleepover at the couple’s mansion, and she was having a lot of fun. Sophia and Maya enjoyed it just as much, though. They lovingly took care of her, almost as if being their own, and they played a lot. The girls also ate dinner already, and all three had taken a relaxing bath together, as well. Once everyone was all squeaky clean, the girls dressed into their pajamas and relaxed some more in the living room.

“Are you sleepy yet, Ellie?” The three were sitting on the sofa while the little tiger was in between the couple while doing her best in cuddling with both at the same time.

“Not at all! Ellie can still play lots!” She also sounded very energetic still.

“Perfect!” Sophia liked her strong reply. “Do you like card games?”

“Card games?” The princess tilted her head.

“Yes.” She pointed at the table. She had placed a box there before everyone went to take a bath because she didn’t want to surprise Ellie with her storage magic. “It’s called Memory, and I bought it a few days ago.”

“How do we play it?” Ellie seemed interested.

“There is a pair of each card you have to find. The cards are placed upside down, though. You’re allowed to turn around two cards each time, and if you get a matching pair, you can try again. If not, the next player can try their luck.”

“Let’s play!” She apparently liked it.

“The name’s quite literal, huh?” Maya looked at the cards. “It’s training your memory, but in the form of a game. That’s perfect for kids, huh?”

“Yes. We had the kids play it in the kindergarten a ton, too. It’s very good.”

“I see.”

“Less chatting, more playing!” The little tiger was getting impatient.

“Sure~!”

Afterward, Sophia grabbed a handful of cards and placed them upside-down on the coffee table in front of the sofas. She started with only a few pairs to let Ellie get used to the game. After all, it can get a little overwhelming and hard to find a match with a full deck of cards.

“Hmm… This one!” Ellie had already turned around a card that showed a sun on it and just decided on the second one. “Aww… sunflower…” It was the wrong one, though.

“Don’t mind it.” The blonde patted the head of the dejected girl. “It’s very unlikely to get a match on your first try. “See?” While saying so, Sophia went next and also uncovered two cards that didn’t match. “Make sure to memorize which cards I got so that you know which you have to pick the next time.”

“Okay!” Her mood improved again.

“Alright, my turn~.” Maya decided to pick two new cards and ended up with a cow and a sunflower. “Too bad…”

“Ah!” The princess’ face suddenly lit up. “Sunflower!”

“You had that before, didn’t you?”

“Yes!”

“Do you still remember where it was?”

“Probably!” The confident tone in her voice didn’t particularly match the word she used. Circling with her hand above the cards for a moment, she then turned one of her previous cards around again. “Sunflower! Next is Maya’s card… here! Yay!” She got her first matching pair and seemed pretty happy with it. “Ellie did it!”

“Good job!” The couple clapped their hands a few times.

“Ehehe.”

“Okay, you can try again, Ellie.”

“Really? Let’s see… This one!” She uncovered a card with a red rose this time. “Ellie has no need for that!” Saying so, she turned another card around, and it was another cow. “A-Ah!”

“Thank you very much.” It was Sophia’s turn, and she quickly turned around the cows from Ellie and Maya before.

“No fair!” The princess didn’t like this move.

“Why not?” She smiled at her. “You did the same with Maya’s card, didn’t you?”

“Oh… right…” Ellie still didn’t like it, though.

“Both of you stole my cards, and I didn’t pay attention to the others, so… I’m the only one who’s allowed to say that it isn’t fair!” The cat-girl splendidly played along. “Well, let’s try those two next.” She turned around yet another new pair and ended up with a house and an apple. “That went way poorer than I had hoped.” She had no intention to win, though. Instead, her motivation was to uncover as many different cards as possible and make the little tiger remember them.

“Maya’s super bad at this!” Ellie let out a giggle before trying her luck again. “Ah…” Unfortunately, she got no pair, either. “Ellie’s sorry for saying this…”

“Hehe, though luck. Okay, let’s see… Oh, another apple~. Maya had that before, didn’t she? It was that one, right? Oh…” She, unfortunately, picked the wrong one.

“Nope, it’s this one.” Maya quickly grabbed the right pair and got her first set of cards.

“Aww…” The tigers started pouting. One was only playing along, though.

“Ellie’s turn!” Highly motivated, she uncovered yet another card. “A sun…? Didn’t Ellie have that before…?”

“Who knows~? You’ll have to remember where it was to make sure.”

“Hard…” She scratched her head while looking over the cards. “It’s that one! Ellie’s first card was that one!” The princess picked the card right in the very middle of the table. “Yay!” She was right and got another pair to keep.

“Wow!” The couple seemed impressed.

“Ellie can go again, right?”

“Yep.”

“Great!” Wasting no time, she instantly reached for her next card. “A house…” The little tiger tilted her head. “Maya had a house before, too… Where was it… There! Yay, Elli’s the best!” She managed to remember the cat-girl’s earlier card, too.

“Amazing!” Sophia praised her while petting the princess’ head again. “That means you can have yet another try!”

“Really?!” Her face lit up even more. Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to score a third time.

The girls kept playing for a long time. Each time all cards got uncovered, Sophia added a few extra pairs to the table to increase the difficulty. Needless to say, Ellie won almost every round. The couple made her struggle a little every now and then, but the end result ended in favor of the princess. Sometimes only barely, though.

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“How did you like the game?” Once they were done playing, the trio went back to cuddling on the sofa, and Sophia looked at the princess.

“Ellie loves it!” She showed them yet another great smile. “Very fun!”

“Great to hear. You’re very good at it, too!”

“Ehehe~.” She liked getting complimented.

“It’s getting late, though…” Maya noticed that the little one’s lids seemed to be getting heavy.

“E-Ellie isn’t tired at all!” She apparently didn’t want to go to bed yet. “Ellie wants to stay with Maya and So… phia for longer…”

“How about we go all to bed together, then?”

“In the same bed?!”

“Do you want to?” Sophia never had any other plans, to begin with, but she wanted the princess to decide on it.

“Yes!” She gave her a big nod. “Ellie wants to sleep together with Maya and So… phia!”

“Me, too~.” The cat-girl also was a fan of the idea.

“Should we get ready, then?”

“Yes!” Ellie nodded once more at the blonde’s suggestion.

Afterward, the trio hit up the bathroom again to take care of some necessities before finally heading to the couple’s bedroom.

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“Alright, where do you want to sleep?” Maya looked at the princess.

“In the middle! Ellie wants to lie in the middle!”

“Was there even a need to ask?” Sophia tilted her head.

“Was there a need to ask whether she wants to sleep with us?”

“Fair point.”

“Hurry!” While the couple was chatting, the princess had already jumped on the bed and was getting comfortable on it.

“Yes!” Not wanting to make her wait, the two immediately followed suit. They laid down at each side of Ellie, Sophia on the left and Maya on the right, before pulling the blanket over them.

“Ehehe.” She liked being surrounded by the two.

“Aren’t you missing the castle?” Sophia turned to look at her.

“Hmm…” The little tiger needed a moment. “Ellie misses mama a bit, but it’s sooo much fun here that it’s okay!”

“Aww…” The couple was touched.

“What about your father?” Maya also looked at her. “Do you miss him?”

“Ellie’s fine.”

“Wow…” The two awkwardly glanced at each other over the princess’ head. “Poor king.” They had the same thought. Sophia also tried to hold back a laugh, though.

“Ellie wants to have many more sleep over!”

“Of course!” The couple felt the same.

“Yay!” She loved the answer.

The three kept chatting for a little longer, but Ellie, once she finally was in bed, ran out of steam pretty quick. Compared to their nap from the other day, the position changed a bit, though. Instead of Sophia hugging the little princess after she fell asleep on the sheepskin rug, Ellie had turned towards Maya and hugged her instead. She nuzzled her head between her cat-girl’s neck and chest and fell asleep in a few seconds after the princess had also wrapped her arms around the girl. Ellie had also curled up into a ball again underneath the blanket while lightly pressing her legs against Maya’s stomach.

“…” The cat-girl needed a moment. Caressing Ellie’s head for a while, she eventually glanced over it to face Sophia. “T-This is almost a bit too much for me…”

“S-She’s too adorable, isn’t she?”

“Y-Yes… But this whole situation…” Maya paused for a second. “You and I in the same bed while a little kid is tightly clinging to me while being fast asleep. To add to that, this little girl looks a bit like you, and your characters are quite similar, too. It’s almost as if she’s…” The cat-girl didn’t finish her sentence.

“It’s making you feel things you don’t want to feel yet, huh…?”

“You know what I mean…?”

“Yes…” Sophia gave her a slight nod. “When I saw you napping with her yesterday, it did quite a lot to me… The two of you together are bad for my heart. Right now, it is the same… The view I have at the moment… It’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen, and being a part of it messes with me way too much…”

“It’s the same for me…” Maya closed her eyes for a moment. “Do we need to have another conversation…?”

“No…” The blonde took a second before answering. “I love Ellie, and spending time with her is one of the most fulfilling things I ever experienced, but…”

“But?”

“D-Don’t get me wrong, I want to, and I’m looking forward to having a future with children, but it’s that. The future. Nothing would make me happier having this future with you, but we’re dating for only like half a year… so…”

“It’s too early…” Maya finished her sentence. “I-I feel the same… About everything you said…”

“Great.” She had nothing more to say. “Let’s just enjoy our time with Ellie for what she is. Hopelessly adorable. It might also be a good… training, but let’s not interpret anything else into it.”

“Y-Yes, I like that.” Maya agreed with the tiger. “W-Why are you so good at dealing with this topic…? I-It makes a complete mess out of me…”

“No idea…” Sophia, too, was surprised about it. “I’m still a little overwhelmed that I even have the possibility to have my own children in this world… I also really love kids, so… I do slowly get more emotional by it, though. Yesterday and today especially… It just doesn’t entirely feel real yet. Once it becomes actually relevant, and I understand what’s going to happen, I can guarantee you that I’ll turn into the embarrassed mess you know and love again. More than ever before, I’d like to add.”

“I look forward to that.” It really gave the cat-girl a peace of mind.

“Ehehe.”

The two eventually put the topic on hold and decided to follow after the already sleeping Ellie. Maya returned the hug of the little girl before closing her eyes. Sophia got closer to the two and wrapped her arms around the princess, as well. Afterward, she also closed her eyes while brushing with her forehead against the cat-girl’s because she also wanted to be connected to her. It was more or less the same sleeping position as the girls had on the sheepskin rug the day before, only with Ellie facing Maya now. Feeling beyond comfortable and happy, the couple also fell asleep in an instant.

No blanket for extra cute:

Teanam

If I didn't get you with the illustration in the last chapter, here's another try.

Happy family time~. Or, at least a test run/training for a possible future where this sort of sleeping arrangement becomes a regular occurrence. The hair color of the kid in the middle would be different in that future, though.

Once again, a gigantic THANK YOU to everyone supporting the story on Patreon for making those illustrations possible!