The Inescapable Embrace

The air in the master bedroom seemed saturated with concentrated syrup, thick and cloyingly sweet.

A warm orange wall lamp gently divided light from shadow. Aemeath lay on her side at the head of the bed, her pale pink silk pajamas glowing softly in the lamplight.

"A-Yan, come on up~ Are you planning to stand there like a telephone pole all night...?"

Aemeath's voice floated over to him, rising slightly at the end. Like a soft feather, it brushed precisely against Lu Yan's heartstrings.

Lu Yan stood about two meters from the bed, awkwardly lowering his head to count the grain in the wooden floor.

He thought he must look utterly stupid, feeling flustered and clumsy.

Tiny droplets of water slipped down his face and neck into the collar of his pajamas, bringing a momentary chill that did nothing to quell the heat surging up inside him.

His face was red all the way down to his neck.

As an artist who had spent years drawing 2D pretty girls, he prided himself on being highly immune to feminine charm.

But with the girl he liked lying right there before him, he found that his supposed self-control amounted to nothing.

"I... I'm coming." Lu Yan's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, and it even trembled noticeably.

He took a deep breath and tried to move his legs.

Yet those two short meters seemed to him as impassable as a chasm.

With every inch he edged forward, his heart beat a little faster.

He longed to draw close to this light, yet feared his clumsy affection would disturb the peace.

He craved its warmth, yet felt this sudden happiness was so overwhelming that he didn't know what to do with himself.

"A-Yan, you're walking so slowly."

Aemeath pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh, his helplessly flustered appearance reflected in her eyes. "Are you counting how many lines of grain there are in the floor?"

Lu Yan finally edged over to the bed and sat down stiffly, his back to Aemeath and both hands clutching the pajama pants over his thighs.

His knuckles turned slightly white from how hard he gripped the fabric.

With his back to Aemeath, he sat as stiffly as a stone, breathing so fast that even his shoulders trembled slightly.

Being alone together in this intimate atmosphere made the defenses he called reason melt rapidly in the sweet, steamy air.

"A-Yan~ If you keep gripping them that hard, you won't be able to wear those pants anymore."

Aemeath's gentle voice sounded behind him, accompanied by the faintest rustle of fabric.

Lu Yan felt the mattress dip slightly behind him, a sign that Aemeath was slowly moving closer.

"I... was just thinking." Lu Yan searched in vain for an excuse, his voice trembling so badly that even he found it unconvincing.

"About what?"

Aemeath was already right behind him. Lu Yan could feel waves of warm breath against his bare neck.

His fair skin had now turned the color of a fully cooked lobster, and nervousness raised tiny goosebumps across his back.

"Don't sit there. You'll catch a chill." A pair of soft, delicate hands reached over. Instead of embracing him, they took hold of his wrists.

Her little hands were as smooth as silk to the touch, but their grip was immensely strong.

"A-Yan, come up."

Like a puppet that had lost the ability to think, Lu Yan let Aemeath guide him, his body falling backward somewhat mechanically.

The mattress gave a faint sound as he fell into the warm bed.

Aemeath pulled up the blanket and tucked it snugly over them both.

Lu Yan lay flat on his back, staring fixedly at the chandelier on the ceiling, not daring to move a muscle.

"A-Yan, you look like a prisoner on his way to the guillotine." Aemeath turned onto her side, propping her head up with her right hand, her golden starry eyes glimmering faintly in the dark.

She didn't press close to him immediately, leaving about a palm's width between them. But to Lu Yan, that distance felt even more pressing than the cramped sofa in the old house.

"Th-this sort of thing should be taken seriously, after all," Lu Yan stammered.

His attachment to Aemeath surged forth in full at that moment.

He was afraid that moving too much would offend Aemeath, but also afraid that being too distant would make her feel uneasy.

This intense inner conflict made him look like a bow drawn taut.

"Pfft, you're so cute, A-Yan." Aemeath smiled, pressing her lips together, and reached out to tap a finger gently against Lu Yan's taut chest:

"It's beating so fast here. It's like it's about to jump into your throat."

"Aemeath, stop teasing..." Lu Yan grabbed her finger, only to realize afterward that he had only increased the contact between them.

It was as though he were holding a red-hot branding iron: he could neither let go nor keep holding on.

"I'm not teasing."

Aemeath's voice dropped to a dreamy murmur. "I just think that this moment is the most real one I've had since I crossed through that door."

"I can feel your pulse, A-Yan, and your body heat."

Aemeath slipped her hand free, crossed that symbolic line of defense, and gently wrapped her arms around Lu Yan's arm.

Her chest inevitably pressed against his arm. Through the thin silk and cotton, the astonishing springiness and softness made Lu Yan's brain shut down instantly.

"Mmm..." Lu Yan gave a muffled groan and closed his eyes in resignation, giving up the struggle altogether.

"A-Yan, are you happy we moved here?" Aemeath rested her cheek against his shoulder, her long pink hair spread across the bed. A few mischievous strands slipped against his neck, tickling him so much he wanted to scrunch it up.

"Happy... I guess." Feeling the weight of her dependence on him, Lu Yan felt the insecurity in his heart rapidly filling with something called responsibility.

"It's just that I feel like I've hardly made any effort, and I'm already making you suffer with me."

"Suffer?" Aemeath lifted her head, her eyes full of confusion:

"With you here, A-Yan, and a house this big, how could this be suffering?"

"I mean, I haven't earned enough to buy it yet. This handout from the client makes me feel like I haven't given you a house that's entirely ours."

Lu Yan spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a clumsy insistence.

He wanted so badly to protect Aemeath. No matter what, a gift from someone else wasn't his own.

Aemeath looked at Lu Yan's face, with "I want to become stronger" written all over it, and the possessiveness in her eyes was almost overflowing.

This fool has no idea that I built this fortress for him with my own hands.

"As long as you're by my side, that's already the most perfect effort." Aemeath comforted him softly, reaching out with her other hand to gently stroke Lu Yan's cheek, hot with embarrassment.

"A-Yan, look at me."

Lu Yan slowly opened his eyes and turned his head. They were so close now that the tips of their noses almost touched.

There was tenderness in Aemeath's eyes.

Lu Yan could clearly smell her faint natural scent, which intoxicated him more than any other.

Aemeath spoke each word deliberately. "From now on, this is our home. There's no savior here, just you and me."

Under her gaze, all of Lu Yan's resistance melted away.

He took a deep breath and slowly relaxed his stiff body.

Though his cheeks were still burning, he mustered his courage and reached out to embrace Aemeath's soft, slender waist.

This was the first time he had taken the initiative to touch so much of Aemeath's body.

"Mm, our home." Lu Yan repeated the words as though carving them into his bones.

Aemeath gave a satisfied little hum beneath the covers.

Like a kitten that had finally claimed its territory, she curled up in Lu Yan's arms, holding him tightly with both hands and constantly nuzzling her head against the crook of his neck.

"A-Yan, you're so warm."

"That's... because I just took a bath." Lu Yan blushed as he forced out a defense.

"No, it's not."

Aemeath spoke softly into his ear, her warm breath making half his body go numb. "It's because you're thinking naughty thoughts, isn't it, A-Yan? That's why your blood is flowing so fast."

"I'm not!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Lu Yan nearly sprang out of bed. "My thoughts are very pure when I'm drawing!"

"Pure enough that you don't even blink when you're drawing underwear?"

"That's artistic creation!"

The two carried on this childish, utterly pointless argument beneath the covers.

The once-suffocating atmosphere of intimacy had somehow turned warm and playful.

Lu Yan discovered that as long as he didn't think about those blush-inducing images, holding each other like this gave him a sense of security he had never known before.

That was what he ultimately sought: someone who would never leave, and a love of absolute loyalty.

"All right, let's go to sleep."

Having had her fill of teasing, Aemeath acted like a bossy housekeeper, grabbing the new pillow from beside the other one and stuffing it under Lu Yan's head. Then she had him lend her his other arm as a pillow.

"I'm putting this new pillow here to remind you," Aemeath said, slowly closing her eyes as her voice grew soft and languid:

"Even if our surroundings change, even if we have a big house, you're still my A-Yan."

Looking at the little pink head resting in the crook of his arm, Lu Yan felt his heart soften.

He understood that Aemeath hadn't crossed over in search of a luxurious life. All she had ever wanted was a place to belong.

"Good night, my Aemeath," Lu Yan said softly.

"Good night... A-Yan~"

He had thought he would be too nervous to sleep all night, but strangely, here beneath the covers filled with Aemeath's scent, amid the intimate contact that had made him feel so awkward, a powerful drowsiness came over him.

After the physical exertion of moving all day and the relaxation that followed the collapse of his mental defenses, Lu Yan's eyelids began to droop.

Listening to Aemeath's even breathing, he felt as though he were floating on a warm sea.

And at an angle he couldn't see, Aemeath, who had already fallen asleep, quietly opened one eye.

Her golden eyes gleamed faintly in the darkness.

She gently stroked Lu Yan's arm, feeling its abundant vitality.

A-Yan, this is only the first night.

This courtyard, this room, even this bed... I prepared them all for you.

Take your time getting used to it. Get used to a life... completely surrounded by me.

Aemeath snuggled farther into Lu Yan's arms until their bodies pressed completely together, without a gap between them.

Only then did she reveal a triumphant smile and truly sink into sleep.