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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.

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Chapter 7: Yearning for Warmth

My flat was prepared for Hope. Hope-proof. Sorta.

I wanted to believe I took everything under account, making sure that nothing insanely silly could be used to make things awkward or plain uneasy for her, me, for both. I had planned this one out and made sure that I had no other situations to deal with for the whole day as I had to put my full attention on how this visit ended up. And... I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out due to the few 'close calls' resulting in some amusing scenes.

Hope arrived early in the morning, biting down a yawn before greeting me by the door. She looked sleepy, perhaps not accustomed to waking up this early in the day to do anything like this. Her greeting consisted of a quiet good morning followed by a hug and kiss to the cheek. Both gestures returned to her silent delight, her emerald gaze soon glancing all over the place, noticing all details, memorizing it all and... then eyeing the long couch placed right in front of the small TV I had in my living room/kitchen.

"You can sit on it, if you want."

A brief hint of surprise at the offer, but Hope seemed unwilling to even consider it. "Nah, don't want to give you the wrong impressions and... offering me sex? John, did I finally seduce you?"

"Just bringing up the fact you are ogling at the couch."

"I'm not 'ogling', I'm just... how do I put it? Admiring the furniture?"

"If by admiring you mean 'drooling over the notion of a few hours of sleep on it', then yes, you would be right."

She pouted. "Party pooper. Still, I'm not planning to fall asleep on it."

I could feel a weakly-hidden 'yet' in that sentence, but I decided to not push her into it. Sounded like she was really tempted and yet quite easy to push away from going for it. Considering how tired she looked,

"Also, how about you take me around and show me how's your lair? Wanna see what's the human disposition of things."

"...I'm quite sure it's pretty much the same as a normal Prime."

"Yeah, but you are a unique human. Why wouldn't I think this is different?"

...Was that even a compliment?

I didn't ask, and I just complied with what she asked. I was the host and I was meant to introduce her around. The Gazelle Prime listened, nodding as she seemed genuinely invested in learning what was my living situation. Despite the tiredness, the girl pushed through and seemed to get a clear understanding of how my flat was organized. After a few minutes, we were back to the living room, this time sitting by the couch.

"Would have expected a messier bedroom. What, did you rush to clean it up because I was coming~?" She inquired with a teasing tone and... I smiled back.

"Nope. Always been clean with my room and... you need the bathroom since you're coming?"

"Weak," Hope hummed, booing as she was done saying it and yet smiling at my smug look. "Oh, don't give me that. I had a long night yesterday."

I raised a brow at that. "Work or sex?"

"What do you think~?" The young woman asked rhetorically. "Penka, she is a good friend of mine and... also a nice lay from time to time. Very sweet, sharp wits, and beautiful... We know each other rather well. And we cuddle a lot."

I blinked. "But?"

"But I'm done yapping about myself. How about you tell me some more about yourself? How's it been the rest of the week?"

"Fine."

For the most part. If I ignored the glances Naerie gave me while Shin was around. Surprisingly enough, the blond didn't leave us alone and appeared quite nervous. I wasn't sure why, but I could tell that it was tied to me. Did Naerie lie about their open relationship? Shin confirmed it was open alright so... what was wrong with these two?

"Oh... something happened! Did Vix ask for a booty call?"

"Actually... no. We just talked on the phone about food. Tiggs was making stuff at the moment and wanted to know if I wanted to buy some pancakes from them."

"Wait, really!?" Hope tensed up, appearing angry. "Why didn't they tell me about it?"

"Do you... have their phone numbers?"

The young woman's mouth opened but no words came out of it. Only the small groans of someone that actually forgot to give out the new phone number she had to the two ladies. From what I remembered from previous conversations with Hope in that regard, the girl had to change phones a lot due to fans doxxing her and harassing her wherever she went. In the end, she just forgot to update her old friends about it and Tiggs and Vixy had no means to contact her.

"Shit, I felt like I was forgetting to give them something... I had the business card ready and... man, I just need to..." She didn't add more to it, preferring to show me rather than tell. Her head leaned down, lowering down as it set itself by my lap. I tensed up a little at the development, but I noticed that the reason Hope did that was to get herself a lap-pillow.

"You could have asked," I pointed out and she grinned.

"But doing it like this is funnier. What? You thought I was going to do something naughty?"

"Sorta. But I know you're too tired and going through a bit of a headache about it."

Hope yawned. "Fair point. So... wanna watch some TV?"

There was no opposition to that and soon we were keeping quiet, watching some cooking program. Nothing new, nothing unusual, but definitely quiet enough for Hope to find herself at ease. From awkward then the situation turned cuter as Hope proceeded to pull her tail between her legs and use it as a pillow to hug to her chest as we both enjoyed the moment. It was kind of mesmerizing due to how adorable it felt at a long glance and... I couldn't resist. To her credit, Hope didn't jump as she felt my left hand carefully reach the side of her head, just a bit below her closest horn and... scratch.

A jolt went down her spin, but it was one of delightful bliss that further pushed her into a state of comfortable peace. A pretty and thankful smile appeared on her face as she allowed me to treat her to that mini-massage. To me it was relaxing as it felt like dealing with a cat. A very talkative cat that was happily leeching a lap-pillow off of me. Another yawn, she nuzzled my lap a bit more in response to the head scratching and... she sighed in relief.

"You know, I don't mind staying like this forever."

I blinked at her words, sparing her a glance as she quietly continued to watch the TV screen.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, feeling like she was trying to tell me something big.

"More like I dislike the way sex feels so tiring at times," She pointed out tensely. "Sex is fun and fun things tire people. Why couldn't it be for boring things while fun things are something we can always do forever."

"That would make sex the new 'boring thing'."

"Bullshit and you know it, John," Hope argued, huffing and puffing as she hugged her fluffy tail closer. "You just don't know how great it can be at times. The way they go at it and... makes you forget about your worries."

I paused over that last part of her response, and I couldn't help but frown at it. Forgetting about her worries? It sounded like she was treating that kind of sex as... a numbing factor to her life?

"Not gonna lie but... that sounds like the wrong way to see sex?"

"Sex is fun," The girl rebuked and I growled.

"I meant as a way to 'forget your worries'. Seriously, Hope, what's all of that about?"

There was silence, and yet I could tell she was tensing up through her current posture. "Nothing of importance."

"If I hadn't known you better, I would have accepted but... I think it's about time you spill some stuff, dummy."

"I'm no dummy," The Gazelle Prime groaned. "Just... bored. Out of my mind. And sex isn't working like usual. In fact... I think this is doing more than that."

"Lap-pillow is better than sex?" My question was met with an amused snort.

"No, it's... being there, talking, bickering, getting treated nicely- it's... it's pleasant. And new."

And she likes it. To be pampered? To be treated with that kind of simplicity? I wasn't exactly sure how, but... I think I understood what was up with her.

"Maybe you related Sex so many times to a necessity rather than a pleasure that you just grew to not see it as good as it is meant to be. You are just growing more resilient to it the way you go for it."

My guess seemed to hit a chord or two from the way Hope pulled her head up and suddenly stared at me. Her hands were by my lap, but her expression showed no plans in doing anything awkward. No, she just looked at me, intensely with those green gems she had for eyes and... her confusion as she tried to make sense of what I said. No, it wasn't making sense. Not just that. It was trying to understand why it felt fitting to her situation. And it was all painted within her lovely face.

"John?" She finally spoke, her voice sounding so soft and quite... frail. "Are you a therapist or something?"

...I smiled. "I'm just talking with ya, you dummy. It's not my fault you're actually... simple to understand."

She frowned at the word-choice, seemingly not appreciating 'simple."

"Oh? I'm simple?"

"To understand and... for me. After all, I think I'm getting you at this point differently from others."

"...Yeah."

Instead of pressing more, Hope just went back to her previous napping position and... she actually fell asleep. She snored, quietly and cutely so, and I had a bit of trouble picking the right time to wake her up. I ultimately left her unbothered up to the time I needed to get lunch ready, and even then, she was a bit sleepy but well-rested. Lunch brought her out of her lethargic behavior, rekindling her usual vibe as she beamed happily at the visit, mentioning that she would have to do a lot to 'outdo' me in this situation.

I wasn't sure if I would end up liking it but... this visit was fun. And by the time it was over, with Hope leaving to get back home and prepare for next week, I felt far from 'at ease' despite being on my own. There was just something that I could tell was happening and I was somewhat tied to it. Like a 'shiver' or the need to 'sneeze' when someone spoke about you from somewhere else. Something important and... troublesome. I couldn't just shrug that feeling off and yet nothing important happened for the rest of the weekend. The real unusual factor would ensue that Monday when, as I reached the workplace, I was greeted with Shin and... someone that bore some resemblance to him. Sorta.

Slightly taller than him, the young woman was a White Tiger Prime like Shin, except she had long white hair left untouched, light-blue eyes and curious markings in her forehead, something that was made mostly by her white and black fur and... a small blue orb in the middle of it. A true jewel? I couldn't tell on the spot. She had big breasts, roughly a bit smaller than Hope's but still retaining an hourglass figure despite the 'lesser measures'. She was wearing a particularly light set of clothes. A half-sleeved light-blue shirt, knee-long pants and brown boots.

Now, I looked like a real cutie and... that thought perished as soon as Shin uttered the first nervous words that I knew warranted some unusual situation I would have to handle. At this point, I was ready to face everything... or so I thought.

"John, I know this is much but can you please house my little sister at your flat for tonight? Just for tonight."

First, WHAT? And second, THAT'S YOUR *LITTLE* SISTER?!

The girl merely smiled in amusement at the exchange as I tried to make sense of what was going on and why I found myself in this situation. From Shin's own words, Hikari had been wandering around the continent for a while and decided to stick around this part of town for a few months. So, she had thought Shin would have housed him and... well, him and Naerie plus the fact that he barely kept at home for any surprise visits from other girls... yeah, he had put her under my responsibility. Because he trusted me. And the reason why he had been nervous these days is because he didn't know how to make this good for me to accept. After all, it sounded extremely nutty for me to just nod at.

Nonetheless, an introduction soon ensued.

"I understand my Oniisan can be particularly silly in planning these things, I would understand if there are any issues with these arrangements. By the way, I'm Hikari, Hikari Aryoko. Nice to meet you, John-san. My Oniisan told me a lot about you. Good things."

... Oh well, she is at least polite. Surely she will not be problematic to keep at the flat for a single day. Surely.

AN

Ever heard of accidental ecchi/lewd situations? Anime-viewers know about it. And well... Hikari is a bit dense and clumsy in that regard. xD