Every Wish

The second round began.

Lu Yan stopped holding back. Drawing on his years of gaming experience and instincts, he began trading blows fiercely with Aemeath.

The living room filled with the rapid clacking of joysticks and tapping of buttons.

"Take this!" Aemeath supplied her own lines as she played. "Sweep away all calamity!"

Her body swayed from side to side beside Lu Yan, following her character's movements.

When her character jumped, she would straighten up slightly. When her character was hit, she would cry out and hunch her shoulders, as though she herself were the character in the game.

In between defending, Lu Yan occasionally caught a glimpse of the girl beside him out of the corner of his eye.

He watched her lower lip press together slightly in concentration and her cheeks flush with excitement, listening to her clear, delightful laughter.

At that moment, winning and losing, the wager-none of it mattered anymore.

Lu Yan felt that if he could keep watching her look so carefree and full of life, he would willingly lose every game.

In the end, even after giving it his all, he couldn't overcome Aemeath's freakish reaction speed.

"K.O.!" came the final call from the screen.

Another three consecutive wins.

"Yay! I won!" Aemeath cheered, tossing her controller aside and throwing her arms open as she lunged into Lu Yan's embrace.

The impact caught Lu Yan off guard and sent him tumbling backward. The two of them landed hard on the soft carpet.

Aemeath lay on top of him, her hands braced on either side of his head as she gazed at him.

Her long hair fell around them like a gentle cage, keeping Lu Yan's gaze entirely within her world.

"A-Yan, you lost," Aemeath said breathlessly, her starry eyes shining with a victor's light, as well as something hotter.

"Yes, I lost. You beat me fair and square."

Lying on the carpet, Lu Yan naturally wrapped his arms around her waist and looked at the girl before him, whose eyes were fixed on him. "Go on, then, almighty Lady Aemeath. What reward do you want?"

Aemeath lowered her head and leaned close to his ear.

"I was serious about that bet."

Her voice dropped low, taking on an irresistible, seductive quality. "A-Yan, I want you to..."

She deliberately paused, then smiled wickedly as she watched Lu Yan's Adam's apple bob slightly with nervousness.

"From now on, you have to be the one to give me a deep kiss every day," Aemeath declared. "And every kiss has to last at least a minute. No going through the motions, and no resisting me."

"I want you to spend the rest of each day savoring nothing but my taste."

Lu Yan was taken aback by her condition, but then a sweetness so intense it wouldn't dissolve welled up in his heart.

That was his Aemeath.

Even the condition she set after winning a game was another way of asking for love, of wanting to keep him firmly by her side.

"All right." Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Yan gave her a light peck on the lips. "A bet's a bet. I promise."

For the rest of the afternoon, the little living room became an arcade belonging to the two of them alone.

From The King of Fighters to Metal Slug, and then Double Dragon.

Aemeath displayed astonishing gaming skills, crushing her way through nearly everything.

But she never tired of it, because the games themselves didn't matter to her. What mattered was playing with Lu Yan, shoulder to shoulder, and the physical contact when they occasionally got excited and tried to snatch each other's controller.

Every time she won a round, she demanded a little reward from Lu Yan, one that marked him as hers.

Sometimes she made him close his eyes and guess what flavor lip balm she had put on that day.

Sometimes she made Lu Yan hold her in his arms, soothe her like a child, and sing her a "lullaby."

Or sometimes she simply made him say, "Say you love me and only me."

Lu Yan agreed to everything.

Like a drowning man, he willingly sank into the vast, gentle net Aemeath had woven and called love, no longer struggling, no longer thinking.

Time slipped quietly by amid the clacking of joysticks and their affectionate laughter and chatter.

When GAME OVER flashed on the screen once again, Lu Yan looked up and finally noticed that the sky outside had grown dark.

Without either of them noticing, the sun had sunk completely below the horizon, leaving only a faint red afterglow at the far edge of the city.

The lights in the living room were off.

The only source of light was the cool blue glow from the television screen.

It fell across the floor and over both of them.

"It's almost dark already..." Aemeath noticed how much time had passed too.

She gave a little yawn, tossed her controller aside, and leaned against Lu Yan's shoulder like a cat tired out from playing.

Her once-straight back relaxed, and she surrendered her full weight to the lover beside her.

"Tired from playing?" Lu Yan adjusted his position to make her more comfortable.

He reached out and gently rubbed her temples, which were a little tired from staring at the screen for so long.

"Mm, a little." Aemeath closed her eyes and enjoyed Lu Yan's ministrations, her voice growing a little languid.

The living room fell quiet, with only the game's idle music still playing on a loop from the television.

In the dimly lit room, the lively, boisterous atmosphere gradually gave way to utter warmth and tranquility.

"A-Yan," Aemeath said softly, her eyes closed.

"I'm here."

"I suddenly think... this is pretty nice too." Her hand felt around until it found the hand Lu Yan had resting on his knee, and she laced their fingers tightly together.

"I don't have to live in fear that you'll leave me anymore."

Aemeath buried her head deeper in the crook of Lu Yan's neck, greedily drawing on his body heat.

"We only have to be like we were this afternoon. We can go to the market and buy fish that tastes awful, cuddle on the couch, and sit on the carpet playing games all afternoon."

"And when it gets dark, we can snuggle up together."

Her words were filled with a longing for an ordinary life after enduring countless hardships.

For a girl who had once saved the world, this kind of ordinary daily life was what she wanted most.

Lu Yan clasped her hand in return and pressed the back of it to his cheek. "Mm, this is what our life will be like from now on."

Lu Yan turned his head and gazed at Aemeath's breathtaking profile by the television's faint light. "No mission. Just Lu Yan and the Aemeath who belongs to him."

"Whenever I have time, I'll spend it with you. We can play games too. If you win, I'll grant any wish you have. If I win, I'll grant any wish you have too."

Aemeath slowly opened her eyes at his words. Her eyes, still bright in the dimness, reflected the light of the television and all of Lu Yan.

She said nothing. Instead, she suddenly leaned forward and found Lu Yan's lips with her own.

It was unlike the fierce kiss at noon, mingled with tears and anger.

This kiss was exceedingly gentle.

It was as though she were setting an indelible seal in place, or signing a contract that would last a lifetime.

"Grrr~~" Just as the atmosphere grew unbearably intimate, their breaths mingling once more as they prepared to deepen the kiss-

An untimely and rather loud sound suddenly rang out in the quiet living room.

They both froze.

Lu Yan pulled back a little and looked down at the source of the sound.

In less than half a second, Aemeath's face turned as red as a cooked shrimp, the color spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was a protest from her stomach.

After all, although Lu Yan had forced down that strange meal at noon, Aemeath hadn't eaten a single bite.

She had cried and made a fuss in the living room, then spent the whole afternoon playing games. By now, she was starving.

Seeing Aemeath looking as though she wanted to find a crack in the floor to crawl into, Lu Yan couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"You! Don't laugh!" Aemeath flushed with embarrassment and anger, raising a small fist to give Lu Yan's chest a gentle thump.

"I'm practically starving, and you're laughing at me!"

"All right, all right, I'll stop." Lu Yan caught her hand, though he couldn't hide the laughter in his eyes.

He stood up from the carpet, then offered Aemeath his hand.

"Come on, my leading lady. Game time is over. Now it's dinner time." Lu Yan pulled her to her feet.

"You cooked lunch, so to make it fair, I'll make dinner. What would you like?"

Aemeath patted the dust off her skirt, immediately seized the opportunity, and wrapped herself tightly around Lu Yan's arm, hanging off him.

"I want sweet-and-sour spare ribs! The sweet kind! And stir-fried tomatoes and eggs!" Aemeath ordered without hesitation, and true to her nature, she didn't forget to add, "And while you cook, you have to let me hug you from behind!"

"Okay~ Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs are no problem, but I don't know how to make spare ribs."

Lu Yan took her hand and walked toward the kitchen.