Upon learning that Stelle and Aidan had napped together during the noon break, March 7th's eyes widened.
"What? Since when did the two of you get close enough to share a bed?"
Haven't you only known each other for a day?
"March, can I sleep in your bed then?"
Stelle, with her hair in a high ponytail, looked at March 7th with sparkling eyes.
"Eh?"
"Your sleeping posture is terrible; I got kicked in the stomach by you." Aidan expressionlessly exposed Stelle's sleeping habits to March 7th. "She was basically throwing punches during her nap and even landed one squarely on my face."
Stelle stood to the side, hands behind her back, her toes scuffing the floor innocently. "Sorry, but your bed is just so comfy, and the pillows too. Hugging them feels really nice."
"You weren't hugging a pillow, you were hugging me. I almost got strangled."
Aidan sat on the sofa, rubbing his cheek. That spot still throbbed with a faint pain; Stelle's punch during her sleep had landed quite solidly.
March 7th shook her head as she listened, the shock on her face slowly turning into helplessness. She turned to look at Stelle, hands on her hips.
"So, you've set your sights on my bed now?"
Stelle nodded vigorously, her high ponytail swaying behind her head, her golden eyes full of expectation.
"March, your bed looks so soft, and you always smell so nice. I'll just borrow it for one night. I promise I won't hit anyone or kick your stomach." Stelle leaned in and gave March 7th's sleeve a tug, "Pretty please? Pretty please?"
March 7th was worn down by her nagging and let out a sigh.
"It's not that I can't let you borrow it for a night. But you have to take a shower first. You have to smell nice to sleep in my bed. Also, if you hit me in your sleep, I'll definitely kick you out!"
"Deal!"
Stelle happily slipped away.
"She has amnesia and doesn't know any better, but what about you?"
March 7th looked at Aidan with her hands on her hips.
"I'm walking the Path of Trailblaze today, focusing on being helpful." Aidan spread his hands. "She doesn't even have a place to sleep. We can't really let her keep sleeping in a cardboard box."
"She slept in a cardboard box last night?"
"Yeah."
"Tsk, then again, she just wasn't willing to stay in the guest room originally prepared for Dan Heng."
Dan Heng originally had his own guest room, but he chose to live inside the Data Bank.
The plan was to have Stelle stay in the room Dan Heng used to have, but Stelle wanted a bigger room.
There was only one place that satisfied her criteria—the Storage Room.
The largest room on the Astral Express—it's indeed huge, big enough to fit a Doomsday Beast.
The two of them caught Stelle and went to help her tidy the room. With people helping, Stelle's efficiency was quite good.
"I feel like she really is just like a child."
"Actually, you're not much different."
"?"
"I mean you're very child-at-heart."
"Oh, oh, I see."
March 7th didn't suspect a thing and happily accepted this explanation.
"I'm exhausted. Thanks for getting me this big bed."
Stelle had done most of the work herself, and she had done it quite well.
"Actually, Aidan earned a large amount of funds. Last time, he went to dismantle a space station and took me and Dan Heng treasure hunting in a derelict spaceship, earning some shared funds for everyone."
March 7th explained to Stelle, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Dismantle a space station?" Little Grey Fur blinked and turned to look at Aidan, who was leaning against the doorframe. "Why did you dismantle a space station?"
"Work requirement," Aidan replied. "The Interstellar Peace Corporation had a batch of scrap metal to deal with, and I just happened to need to vent a bit."
"Vent?"
"He was on the Path of Destruction that day," March 7th added an explanation from the side. "The kind where he feels uncomfortable all over if he doesn't smash something. Since the IPC had a job, he went and served as a demolition crew."
Stelle nodded thoughtfully, and then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Take me along next time there's a job like that."
Stelle waved her Baseball Bat.
Although she was missing a few screws, this Raccoon heartfelt directness and sincerity really made it impossible to dislike her.
"Alright, I'll take you along next time."
— — —
At night, March 7th was in a daze when she heard some movement at her door.
"...March, March, are you asleep? I've come to find you."
March 7th, wearing a sleeping cap and fluffy pajamas, opened the door with sleepy eyes.
March also didn't sleep.
"Ah... oh..."
"Well, let's sleep together then."
"Okay."
March 7th yawned.
A minute after lying in bed, March 7th opened her eyes and looked at Stelle beside her.
Stelle giggled.
"...Don't you have your own bed?"
"I want to sleep with you."
March 7th:...
"Sigh, I really can't do anything with you. After all, I am the senior."
March 7th turned her head and patted Stelle's head.
Sigh, Aidan is still the best. Stelle doesn't even call me'Senior'; only Aidan calls me'Senior' with such sincerity.
Stelle buried her face in March 7th's pillow and took a deep breath.
"Smells so good."
"Hey, hey, don't sniff!" March 7th's face turned a bit red, and she reached out to push Stelle's head away, but the force was more like symbolically pressing her head a couple of times. "Are you a puppy? Sniffing around like that."
The two girls quickly grew closer and became good friends.
"March."
"Hmm?"
"Is Aidan... always like this?"
"Like what?"
"Just..." Stelle weighed her words, "is he that nice to everyone?"
March 7th was taken aback for a moment.
She turned her head and looked at Stelle's face, which appeared exceptionally serious in the dim light.
"It feels like the way he's nice to me is a bit different. The way he's nice to you all is different too. The way you all are nice to me, and to others... there's a difference."
March 7th's sleepiness mostly vanished.
She turned on her side and looked into Stelle's golden eyes in the dim night light.
"Is... is there?"
"Yes," Stelle nodded with certainty. "With Dan Heng, he talks a bit less but is very serious. With Uncle Yang, he discusses things I don't understand. With Sister Himeko, he's very obedient."
March 7th's slightly slow brain whirred, and she finally got a general idea of what the "different kind of nice" Stelle was trying to describe might be.
Now that Stelle mentioned it, it seemed... indeed a bit different?
"Oh, that's normal. Think about it: Uncle Yang is an elder and shares similar hobbies with Aidan. He usually gets along really well with Uncle Yang and is always thinking about getting him some Mecha Models and such. As for Sister Himeko... cough, anyway, he's just like an obedient little brother to her."
Stelle stared at March 7th's face and nodded thoughtfully.