Bai You opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
It was as if her brain had been thrown into disarray along with those pale blue ripples, leaving nothing but a buzzing blank.
"Y-you... how did you get here?" Bai You finally found her voice, as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
She hadn't expected Varesa to appear right in front of her just as she was fantasizing about her. Her fantasy really had come true.
Varesa's gaze wandered for a moment. "It's thanks to that necklace you gave me. I didn't expect it to actually teleport me."
"More importantly, it's so cold. I was worried you'd catch a cold sleeping alone in the storage room."
She sounded perfectly justified, but her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of the quilt.
"I have a quilt..." Bai You protested quietly, pointing instinctively at the thin quilt behind her.
Varesa's gaze fell on the thin quilt, and her brows immediately knitted together.
"You call that a quilt?" She thrust the quilt in her arms forward. The movement was so sudden that the mattress rolled halfway over and nearly landed on Bai You's foot.
"Mine's filled with down. It's several times warmer than that one."
Bai You looked at the quilt Varesa was offering her, then at her face, which clearly said, "It's not like I want to sleep with you; I'm just afraid you'll freeze to death." Suddenly, something in her chest melted completely.
Outside the window, the wind and snow grew fiercer, howling against the glass.
There was no heating in the storage room. Bai You switched on the little lamp, and its light stretched their shadows long across the wall, where they overlapped.
"Then... you can just leave the quilt here." Bai You lowered her head, her voice growing quieter and quieter. "Go back to sleep. It's cold outside."
"...This is the quilt and mattress from my bed. What am I supposed to sleep on if I go back? Silly Little Bai You, I really will freeze to death if I go back to sleep."
"Can't we just sleep together? Don't listen to Odette. Her family doesn't live by the sea, so she can't tell everyone what to do."
Bai You looked at Varesa standing before her, pouting and looking a little dazed, and felt herself about to fall.
Because as Varesa said those words, her eyelashes trembled gently, and the faint blush on her cheeks still hadn't faded.
A hint of cautious pleading was hidden in those eyes that always held a confident smile.
Like a Snorlax exposing its belly, terrified as it was, it had still mustered all its courage.
"...All right, then stay and sleep with me," Bai You agreed softly.
Her voice was almost drowned out by the wind and snow, but Varesa's eyes lit up at once.
What followed was a bit of a scramble.
The folding bed in the storage room was too small, and the mattress Varesa had brought was a little too big. There had originally only been enough room for one person, and now they had to squeeze in a mattress too.
The two of them crouched on the floor, pushing the mattress back and forth, now bumping into a shelf, now stepping on each other's feet.
Varesa's hair brushed against Bai You's chin, tickling her and making her draw back her neck. They both looked up at the same time, and their foreheads bumped together with a thud.
"Ow-"
"Sorry, sorry!" Varesa hurried to rub Bai You's forehead. When her palm came down over it, it was startlingly hot.
With Varesa's hand over her forehead, Bai You's heart raced as if it were about to leap out of her throat.
She could smell the faint, delicate scent on Varesa.
She could feel the warmth of Varesa's palm seeping through her skin, bit by bit, and see her own face reflected in Varesa's eyes, so close to her own.
"I-I'm fine..." Bai You turned her head away from Varesa's hand. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Varesa withdrew her hand, her fingertips curling slightly, as if savoring the touch.
In the end, they managed to stack the two mattresses and fit them in, with only a narrow gap between them.
The two quilts were intertwined and piled together, puffed up like a little mountain.
When they lay down side by side, Bai You reached out and flipped the switch. The little lamp in the storage room flickered once and went out.
In the darkness, all that remained was the sound of the wind and snow outside the window, and their somewhat hurried breaths mingling together.
"Bai You," Varesa said suddenly, her voice unusually clear in the darkness.
"Mm?"
"Are you cold?"
Before Bai You could answer, a hand reached over, feeling its way toward her, and caught her wrist.
The hand was warm. Its grip wasn't tight, but it was firm, as if afraid she might run away.
"I'm not cold..." Bai You's voice was trembling. She didn't know whether it was from the cold or something else. Perhaps she was too excited.
"Liar." Varesa gave a soft huff, then shifted closer, the mattress making a faint sound.
The gap between them vanished in an instant. "Your hand is as cold as a stone."
She enclosed Bai You's hand in her palms, holding it between both of hers as if warming a little bird that was nearly frozen stiff.
Bai You's body went rigid, and she didn't dare move.
She could feel Varesa's shoulder against hers, and Varesa's breath brushing the top of her head.
She could feel her heartbeat-through two layers of clothing and a mattress, yet still so clear it was as if it were echoing in her own chest.
"Varesa..." Bai You called her name softly.
"Mm?"
"I... I..." Bai You bit her lip and swallowed the words that had risen to her mouth.
In the end, all she said was, "Thank you for the quilt."
There was silence in the darkness for a few seconds.
Then Varesa laughed, her laughter soft, carrying a trace of triumphant mischief and a touch of relieved tenderness.
"Silly," she said. "Go to sleep early~~"
Thanks to Gujia Shige Yinjian for one Like~~
Thanks to Xihuan Ye for one Update Reminder~~
And thanks, everyone, for the support and the gifts.
The gift goal for a bonus chapter has been reached again, twice at that, so there are three more chapters today ( ꒪Д꒪)ノ. Back to writing (づ-̩̩̩-̩̩̩_-̩̩̩-̩̩̩)づ~~~