[Best Sleeping Embrace Position]?
Bai Ming blinked at the notification hovering in her vision, momentarily baffled.
Sleeping position? Her gaze drifted to the bed beside them, and understanding dawned. Sleep implied a bed. A bed implied... well.
A slow, utterly mischievous grin spread across her face. The gears in her head audibly clicked into place.
"Hehehe~" she purred, her voice dropping to a husky, playful register. "March. My March~"
The shift in tone was immediate. March 7th's eyes widened, her hands flying up instinctively to shield herself. "Y-you, what are you scheming now?!"
"Nothing at all~" Bai Ming singsonged, rubbing her palms together with exaggerated glee. "Just fulfilling the mission parameters~" With that, she bent at the waist, easily hoisted a sputtering March over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, and deposited her unceremoniously in the center of the bed.
Click.
The room plunged into near-darkness, illuminated only by the faint, shifting starlight from the panoramic window.
In the dimness, a new tableau was set. Bai Ming loomed above, her arms braced on either side of March's head, caging her in. Her silver hair formed a curtain that blocked out the rest of the world, her golden eyes glowing with intent in the low light. March lay beneath her, breaths coming a little faster, her own pink-and-blue eyes wide as she stared up at the predator who had captured her.
The air grew thick, charged with a potent mix of anticipation and intimacy.
Bai Ming shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall to the floor beside the chair with a soft whump.
"March—!" she declared, her voice a triumphant whisper. "The main event begins!"
"Eh..." March could only watch, heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs, as Bai Ming's face descended toward hers.
Yet, in that suspended moment, a nagging thought broke through the haze. A memory of strained silence and weighted glances in the Parlor Car.
Her hand shot up, palm pressing firmly against Bai Ming's forehead, stopping the advance.
"Hold on! Serious question time!"
"Hmm?" Bai Ming halted, hovering inches away. "Shoot."
"It's about you and Uncle Yang," March blurted out, the words tumbling free now that she'd started. "What's the deal? Every time you two are in the same room, the atmosphere gets all... heavy and weird. It's like watching two glaciers drift into the same bay."
Finally voicing the concern was a relief, but it left Bai Ming's playful mood deflated. Her expression sobered. She released her stance, rolling to lie on her side next to March, propping her head up on one hand. A faint frown touched her lips.
"Is that... really so important to you?" she asked, her tone uncharacteristically subdued.
"Eh?" March was taken aback by the shift. She thought for a moment, then nodded with conviction. "Yeah. It is."
"Because you need to know where I come from?" Bai Ming pressed, a trace of vulnerability seeping into her voice.
"No." March shook her head, her gaze softening. "That's not it at all." She reached out, poking Bai Ming's cheek. "It's simple. You never pried into my blank past. So I don't care about yours. I just... I don't want there to be some big, messy conflict. Especially not with Uncle Yang." Her brow furrowed with genuine worry. "He's... really strong, you know? He can make black holes with that cane of his! We've even used one to dispose of space junk before! What if you two clash and you end up getting... sucked away?"
Bai Ming's jaw went slack. "Ehh—?! You use black holes for garbage disposal?!"
"Y-yeah? Is that... bad?"
"I was just thinking about the intergalactic littering laws..." Bai Ming muttered, scratching her cheek.
March couldn't help it; a giggle escaped her. "Bai Ming, your brain works on such a weird wavelength. It's amazing."
"Heh. So I'm special?"
"In the most baffling way possible, yes." March smiled, but it soon faded back to seriousness. "So? Spill. What's the story?"
Bai Ming fell silent, the playful energy gone. March had asked with such earnest concern that evasion felt wrong. But the truth was a tangled, dangerous mess. Her mind raced, searching for a middle ground—a version of the truth that was safe.
"March."
"Hmm?"
"What if I told you," she began slowly, choosing her words with care, "that I once... witnessed Uncle Yang's past. Not as a participant, but as an observer. Like reading a very detailed, very tragic biography. Would you believe me?"
The moment she said it, she cringed internally. Observer? That sounds so lame.
Yet, March didn't hesitate. Her eyes, the color of crystallized hope, met Bai Ming's with unwavering trust. "Of course I'd believe you. Why wouldn't I?"
The simple sincerity of it struck Bai Ming straight in the heart. "March, I really, really want to kiss you right now."
"W-wait! Not yet!" March pushed against Bai Ming's shoulders, holding her at bay. "Answer the follow-up! Where did you 'read' this... biography?"
"Ugh, fine!" Bai Ming grumbled, her face squished by March's hands. "Think of it as... a storybook! A really, really sad storybook!"
"A storybook?!"
"Yeah!" Bai Ming nodded vigorously against the pressure. "One full of heroes and sacrifice and... a lot of heartbreak."
"You..." March's resistance lessened, her expression melting into sympathy. "Why would you read something like that?"
"Because..." Bai Ming's movements stilled, her focus turning inward. This was her "serious thinking" mode—single-track and utterly absorbed. "Because after all that suffering, they deserved a happy ending, right? I wanted to see them get one."
"And did they?" March asked softly.
"The ending..." Bai Ming sighed. "It was... okay. Bittersweet. Maybe the best that could be hoped for, given everything."
"Oh..." Hearing the melancholy in her voice, March's hands fell away completely. Bai Ming took the opportunity to wrap her arms around March, pulling her close until their bodies were flush, separated only by thin layers of sleepwear. In the quiet dark, their breathing synchronized.
"One more question," March whispered, her fingers tangling with Bai Ming's. "Promise me. You won't get into some huge fight with Uncle Yang and then... just vanish from the Express, will you? Without a word?"
"Ah?" Bai Ming pulled back just enough to see March's face. "Why would you even think that? March, it sounds like you're trying to get rid of me! Do you secretly hate me?"
"Idiot! Of course not!" March's cheeks flushed. "I'm scared you'll pull a disappearing act like the other passenger."
"The... other passenger?" Bai Ming's intrigue was instantly piqued. "There was someone else?"
"Mhm." March snuggled closer. "Himeko mentioned him once. He boarded with Uncle Yang, way back."
"Boarded with him?" Bai Ming's mind whirred, connecting dots. "Where is he now?"
"Gone. Long before I arrived. No one really talks about it."
"Uh—?" Bai Ming ventured a guess, her tone conspiratorial. "He didn't... get on Pom-Pom's bad side and get deported, did he?"
"Eh! You think so too?!" March gasped, then clapped a hand over her mouth.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed, before identical, stifled snickers broke the silence.
"It's your fault!" March giggled, swatting Bai Ming's arm. "Now you've got me thinking ridiculous things!"
"Hey, I wasn't even here! I plead innocence!"
"I guess that's true..." March conceded, still smiling. "But seriously, about that guy... Himeko said he had golden hair."
"Golden hair?" Bai Ming's playful mood evaporated, replaced by sharp alertness. "Green eyes? Tall? Kind of a... confident, maybe smug, vibe?"
"No idea," March said, shrugging. "She just said 'golden hair.' That's it."
"I see..." Another puzzle piece, but it only deepened the mystery.
Seeing the thoughtful look on Bai Ming's face, March returned to her original worry. "Bai Ming, so you'll stay, right? No matter what?"
"Oh, that." Bai Ming's seriousness melted away. She nuzzled her nose against March's, her grin returning. "As long as you're on this train, you couldn't pry me off with a crowbar. Even if Pom-Pom personally booted me out the airlock, I'd just chase you down again. I'm faster than this old train, remember? Not scared at all."
"You..." The statement was outrageous, utterly lacking in common sense. Yet, March felt a profound sense of security settle over her. Because Bai Ming had already proven it. The image of her, a determined silver streak against the starscape, clinging to the speeding Express, was burned into March's memory. In that moment, her heart had known a fear deeper than any battle, followed by a relief so sharp it was almost painful.
"Good," March whispered, contentment warming her voice. "Then we need a proper title for you on the crew."
"A title?"
"Mhm!" March's eyes sparkled with pride. "Pom-Pom is the 'Conductor.' Himeko is the 'Navigator.' Dan Heng is the 'Guardian.' Uncle Yang is... 'The Omniscient.'"
"And you?" Bai Ming prompted, amused.
"Me?" March puffed out her chest. "I'm the 'Valiant Warrior'!"
"Oh—?" Bai Ming's eyes glinted. "So you're pretty tough, huh?"
"Just kidding~" March boasted, striking a pose even lying down. "I'm incredibly tough!"
No sooner were the words out than Bai Ming pounced, rolling them both over and tangling them in the blankets until they were wrapped together like a giant, squirming burrito, only their heads peeking out.
"Bai Ming, your hand!" March squealed, her face scarlet. "It's wandering again!"
"March, let me just... appreciate the architecture!"
"You have your own architecture! Appreciate that!"
"Self-appreciation lacks the... artistic nuance of appreciating your masterpiece!"
"You...!" March was scarlet, but a competitive glint entered her eyes. "Fine! Then I'm conducting a geological survey too!"
"Eh?! March, your hand—!"
"See how it feels?!"
"So this is the sensation... Hehehe~"
"Why are you so happy about this?!"
"Because it's you exploring, March! I'm delighted... to discover you're such a hands-on researcher~"
"Research your head!"
And so, the human burrito bundle of limbs and giggles rolled and wrestled across the bed. Their playful struggle culminated in a soft thump as they, still entwined, toppled over the edge and landed in a heap on the floor. There, wrapped in blankets and each other, their breathing gradually evened out, and they drifted into sleep. It was far from the most ergonomic sleeping position, but it was theirs—chosen in a mess of laughter and comfort.
The silence of space held no measure of time, but mortal bodies still required rest.
They slept deeply, unaware of the passage of hours.
Suddenly, a shrill, urgent broadcast shattered the calm, Pom-Pom's voice cutting through the door with conductorly authority.
"Testing—testing! Attention all passengers of the Astral Express! Warp transition will commence in one hour! All personnel are to secure themselves in designated seating areas and utilize provided stabilization grips! If your current location lacks these safety features, you are ordered to vacate immediately and proceed to the nearest compliant zone! I repeat! Warp in one hour! Find a seat, hold on tight! If you get ejected into the great beyond, don't expect a rescue party! Pom-Pom is not a search-and-retrieve service!"
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
Honkai Impact 3rd, I Can Transform into a Valkyrie!
patreon.com/deadlygoober