Simultaneously in sector 7.

Zaeryn sat hunched in the high-backed chair at his desk, his eyes locked onto the dual monitors as his thumbs moved with rapid, practiced speed over the controller.

After the intense sparring session with Arya, he wanted nothing more than some mindless distraction, tapping away at his controller to burn off the remaining adrenaline.

With a soft, electronic hiss, his bedroom door slid open.

Aeris stepped into the room, her dark hair falling in effortless waves around her shoulders as her beautiful green eyes scanned his setup. "Hey," she said, leaning against the doorway with her characteristic swagger. "What are you up to?"

Zaeryn didn’t take his eyes off the screen as he executed a quick dodge mechanic. "Just passing some time."

Aeris let out a soft hum and walked further into the room, unceremoniously flopping sideways across his neatly made bed. She stretched out languidly, propping her head up on her hand. "Well, you could be passing time with me instead. Besides, I’m at home a lot more now, right? We should definitely hang out more often."

Zaeryn nodded, keeping his focus on a particularly aggressive wave of enemies on the screen. "That’s cool with me. I actually looked around for you earlier, but you were totally ghost."

"Marcie dragged me out to that new boutique near the promenade," Aeris explained with an exaggerated groan, rolling onto her back. "It took forever. But it was absolutely worth it though, I got this outfit," she said, gesturing down at herself.

Zaeryn continued playing, not bothering to look at what she was wearing just yet. But whatever it was, there was no doubt she looked incredible. That was just who she was; she pulled off everything effortlessly.

Aeris watched his profile, her lips forming a slight pout as she frowned. "Hey, pay attention. What do you think of this new outfit?"

Sighing, Zaeryn tapped the pause button, turned around in his high-backed chair, and finally took her in.

She was dressed in a sleek, emerald lounge set that looked entirely too high-end for just relaxing in a bedroom. The cropped tank top clung tightly to her curves, exposing a flat, smooth slip of midriff, while the low-slung, tailored shorts hugged her hips perfectly, highlighting the endless, toned length of her legs. She looked striking, the rich color perfectly contrasting her dark hair.

Zaeryn let his eyes trail slowly up and down before agreeing with her. "Alright, I admit it. Marcie has good taste."

Aeris’s pout instantly melted into a smug, triumphant grin. She leaned back against his pillows, thoroughly satisfied with the reaction. "I know, right? I told her... "

Before she could finish, the door console beeped and hissed open.

Ravena strolled into the bedroom, her striking green eyes instantly locking onto Zaeryn with a mischievous spark. "You’re home, finally," she murmured, entirely ignoring the fashion show as she dropped a wholly unexpected proposal. "We should get tattoos."

Aeris immediately sat up straight on the mattress, her arms crossing over her chest as she objected. "Don’t you have enough blackwork tattoos already? Look at your arm. And besides, Zaeryn doesn’t want them."

Ravena rolled her eyes, letting out a soft huff. "I still need to get my other arm finished to balance it out. And Zaeryn hasn’t turned me down yet. Don’t speak for him, Aeris."

"I don’t need to speak for him, I just know he doesn’t want them," Aeris countered, shooting back a defensive tilt of her head.

Zaeryn finally paused his game for a fraction of a second, glancing between the two competitive women. "I haven’t really thought about getting tattoos, but—"

"Don’t do it," Aeris cut him off instantly, her tone shifting from playful to possessive as her eyes raked over him. "Don’t go and ruin your beautiful body with a bunch of ink."

Ravena let out a low chuckle, entirely unbothered by the resistance. "It’s not ruining his body at all. Tattoos look incredibly cool. He’d pull them off perfectly."

"Only you would think that," Aeris fired back, arching a sculpted brow. "Also, aren’t you studying to be a literal noble judge on the Matriarch Tribunal? Do you really think having matching sleeves is a good idea for your future career?"

Ravena laid back against the pillows nonchalantly, her posture fully relaxed.

"Tattoos won’t affect that at all. The Tribunal cares about ruthlessness and law, not blank skin. Besides, look at Lady Terra—she’s a high-ranking Warlady and a prominent judge, and her entire upper torso is covered in traditional ink."

Shifting her weight, Ravena pointed a lazy finger toward his monitors. "Anyway, what are you even doing over there, Zaeryn?"

Right at that exact second, the massive health bar at the bottom of Zaeryn’s screen flashed red. The boss delivered a sweeping, unblockable area-of-effect strike that utterly obliterated his character’s remaining life.

GAME OVER blared across the screen in bright crimson letters.

"Fuck!" Zaeryn hissed, thoroughly frustrated as he slumped back into his seat. "Cheap, cheating piece of garbage boss."

Aeris burst into a bright, genuine laugh from the bed, the sound echoing through the quiet room. "Wow. You are truly terrible at this, aren’t you?"

The mockery instantly annoyed him. Zaeryn turned around in his chair and glared over his shoulder at her.

"Like you would do any better, Aeris."

Aeris simply grinned, perfectly unfazed by his challenge. She stood up from the bed, her high-cut lounge shorts highlighting her long, toned legs as her hips swayed with deliberate, teasing confidence.

"Move over," Aeris purred, walking right into his personal space. "I’ll handle it for you. Watch and learn."

Before Zaeryn could even shift his weight or stand up to give her the chair, Aeris took matters into her own hands. She stepped right into his personal space and sat down directly on his lap.

The physical impact was immediate and vivid. Her soft, rounded ass settled perfectly onto his thighs, her full weight sinking into his lap. The response from Zaeryn’s body was instantaneous.