The Nest Was Complete

The night grew deeper, and the small courtyard fell completely quiet.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Lu Yan walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair. Aemeath had already finished bathing, changed into a nightdress, and was sitting obediently on the edge of the bed.

Aemeath's hair was still wet, droplets trickling down her strands onto her fair collarbones. Her face, hazy with warm moisture, looked especially alluring.

"Why aren't you drying your hair?" Lu Yan picked up a dry towel and walked over.

"My arms are sore. I can't hold the hair dryer~" Aemeath stretched out both hands toward Lu Yan, asking for a hug.

Lu Yan smiled helplessly, found the hair dryer in the bedside drawer, and plugged it in.

He walked behind Aemeath. He switched on the hair dryer and set it to a warm, gentle airflow.

The sound of the hair dryer filled the quiet bedroom.

Lu Yan threaded his long fingers through Aemeath's soft hair, rubbing it with the utmost gentleness. The warm air gradually carried away the moisture between the strands, while her distinctive scent—a mixture of shampoo and her own fragrance-lingered around his nose.

Aemeath narrowed her eyes in comfort, just like a cat being stroked, enjoying the indulgence of being cared for.

Aemeath tilted her head back slightly, resting it against Lu Yan. Her hands wandered around his waist, and she rubbed her cheek gently against his thin pajamas.

"A-Yan, your heartbeat is so steady," she said loudly over the hum of the hair dryer.

"Because I feel very safe right now." Lu Yan turned off the hair dryer and set it aside.

He lowered his head, his hand brushing lightly through her now completely dry hair.

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

The light went out.

The bedroom sank into darkness, and the two of them lay down under the covers.

The instant Lu Yan lay flat, Aemeath wrapped herself around him with both arms and legs.

This time, she held him even tighter than she had the night before.

One smooth, snow-white leg pressed firmly over Lu Yan's, and her arms circled his neck as she clung to him with her whole body.

Their bodies pressed snugly together. Through their thin pajamas, they could clearly feel the warmth of each other's skin and their gradually synchronizing heartbeats.

"A-Yan~" Aemeath felt around in the darkness, found Lu Yan's lips with precision, and planted a gentle kiss on them.

"This is today's goodnight kiss. We have one minute, and the countdown starts now." Aemeath spoke against his mouth, her voice a little muffled.

Lu Yan reached out and wrapped an arm firmly around her soft waist, deepening the kiss.

For the next minute, time seemed to lose all meaning.

An intoxicating scent filled the air, but all their impulses ultimately became a tighter embrace.

A minute later, Aemeath pulled away from his lips, breathing lightly, but kept her cheek pressed against his chest.

"Tomorrow, the new sofa and bed will be delivered." Aemeath's voice grew softer and softer, thick with sleepiness. "Then... on that little sofa... we'll be able to sit even closer."

"Mm. Very close." Lu Yan patted her back gently.

"A-Yan~ I love you so much..."

Aemeath's voice gradually faded into a sleepy murmur, and her breathing grew slow and steady.

Lu Yan opened his eyes and fought back his urges. By the faint moonlight slipping through a gap in the curtains, he watched the peaceful sleeping face of the girl in his arms.

"Goodnight... Aemeath."

Lu Yan closed his eyes and fell into a sweet sleep in this nest filled with her scent.

The next day, the sunlight was bright and gentle.

The steady rumble of a moving company's truck broke the quiet of the courtyard.

Lu Yan signed the delivery slip, and several nimble workers began carrying furniture wrapped securely in protective film into the house, one piece at a time.

As the old furniture was carried out of the courtyard and the new pieces were gradually put in place, the rooms began to visibly transform.

Like a conscientious little foreman, Aemeath wore that slightly oversized men's sweatshirt and darted excitedly between the living room and the bedroom, directing the workers as they adjusted the furniture's angles.

"Yes, yes, move this little sofa a tiny bit closer to the TV... Don't center it. Put it a little closer to the floor-to-ceiling window. I want the sunlight to fall on exactly half of it!"

Lu Yan leaned against the doorframe, watching her lively figure with a smile he couldn't suppress.

In less than two hours, the workers finished the installation, cleared away the packaging, and left the courtyard.

As the courtyard gate closed, the whole house regained the privacy and quiet that belonged to the two of them.

But the atmosphere was completely different now.

"A-Yan! Come on, come on!"

Aemeath couldn't wait to run into the living room and flop onto the newly bought two-seat fabric sofa.

Lu Yan walked over and sat down in the only remaining space beside Aemeath.

The moment he sat down, he understood exactly what Aemeath had meant at the mall yesterday when she said there would be no room to spare.

The sofa might as well have been designed to force people to cuddle.

As soon as Lu Yan sat down, his shoulder pressed tightly against Aemeath's. Even the slightest rise and fall of their breathing let them clearly feel each other's body heat.

The outside of his thigh was also pressed against her leg without a gap.

If Lu Yan wanted to lean back comfortably, he had to lay one arm along the back of the sofa, and that movement happened to draw Aemeath halfway into his embrace.

"Well?"

Aemeath leaned over, letting all her weight rest against one side of Lu Yan's body. She wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted her chin proudly. "I told you this size was just right! Now, even if you want to hide at the other end of the sofa and be by yourself, you can't."

"When did I ever say I wanted to get away from you?" Lu Yan smiled and pinched her cheek, then tightened his arm around her, holding her securely in his embrace.

"This sofa is practically a mousetrap. Once you're in, you can't get out."

"Then it's a Yan-trap!" Aemeath was amused by her own pun. She shook with laughter in Lu Yan's arms, rubbing her head vigorously against his chin like a kitten.

After cuddling on the sofa for a while, the two went hand in hand to inspect the master bedroom.

The double bed, which had been deliberately made a little smaller, was already dressed in the new bedding Aemeath had washed and dried overnight: a faintly fragrant, four-piece set in nude pink.

Aemeath kicked off her slippers and flopped straight onto the bed. She rolled twice across the soft quilt, then lay on her back in the very center.

She stretched out her arms and gave Lu Yan, who stood by the bed, an intensely seductive smile.

"A-Yan, the bed is made. Now there's only one last step before it truly becomes our territory."

"The last step?" Lu Yan walked over to the bed and looked down at her.

"Getting our scent on it." As she spoke, Aemeath grabbed Lu Yan's wrist and pulled hard.

Lu Yan fell onto the bed with the pull, pinning her beneath him with his hands braced on either side of her head.

They sank deep into the soft mattress, and the bedding rose around them at once, squeezing them closer together.

Lu Yan looked at the breathtaking face of the girl beneath him, so close to his own, and the unreserved love in her eyes. The sense of security in his heart reached its peak.

Those filled corners, this bed that was neither particularly small nor particularly large-all of it silently declared that he was no longer alone.

"Now it belongs completely to us."

Lu Yan lowered his head and precisely sealed the lips that still seemed ready to say something more. With a kiss, he completed this final marking of their home.

Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains onto their overlapping figures, and even the air in the room was steeped in sweetness.