Ch’en chuckled softly as her partner’s rough hand gave her sore chest another gentle squeeze. “Would you stop that?” she teased.

Beside her, Hoshiguma held and read a book with one hand while she smirked and pinched at Ch’en’s tender and hardening nipple through her shirt with her other. “Stop what?” she teased back.

“Playing with my breasts!” Ch’en blurted out, exhaling softly as Hoshiguma kneaded her supple bosom.

“But they’re right there,” Hoshiguma said, then leaned her head down to kiss the side of her partner’s head and whisper into her ear, “And they are amazing… can you really blame me? I don’t know what Rhodes Island puts in their stuff, but I’m pretty sure you’re bigger than me now.”

Ch’en chuckled again in between light gasps, joined soon after by Hoshiguma.

“In proportion, maybe, but certainly not in… ah!” Ch’en paused to gasp. “-size!”

“Give it time,” Hoshiguma said, smirking wide as she rolled her nipples between her thumb and forefinger. “I believe in you.”

Ch’en and Hoshiguma both chuckled, followed by Ch’en letting out a constrained moan. “Just be… hah… a little gentler, please?” Ch’en asked.

“Aye, sir,” Hoshiguma said, putting her book down briefly to ruffle her partner’s hair.

The two lay together in bed with the sheets pulled up their torsos on an uncommon, mutual day off from obligations. It was the holidays, and around the landship countless Operators took the opportunity to relax and have fun, sleep off the previous day’s feasting, or spend time together with their loved ones.

Ch’en sighed again softly before she popped another chocolate from her box of Leithanian sweets into her mouth, her holiday gift from Reed the previous day. Meanwhile, Hoshiguma continued to read her new novel, gifted to her by Saileach, while still occasionally fondling Ch’en’s breasts under the covers.

“You know, if you keep that up, you’re eventually going to have to put out the fire you’re stoking,” Ch’en jokingly warned her, even finding her own hands drifting down her body subconsciously to the growing blaze she spoke of.

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Hoshiguma asked.

“We used our last condom last night,” Ch’en reminded her.

Hoshiguma immediately tilted her book down and playfully pouted hard at Ch’en, waiting for her to turn her head to see her reaction, after which she flatly said, “No.”

“But it’s Christmas!” Hoshiguma whined, half-chuckling into her words.

Ch’en raised an eyebrow. “Are you for real?” she asked.

Hoshiguma sighed. “You either have amazing self-control, or you secretly get off on being a killjoy,” she teased, smirking afterwards.

“One of us has to be the responsible one,” Ch’en replied taciturnly, but even she started to chuckle again after a short pause of silence.

Then Ch’en out and moaned after Hoshiguma gave her another squeeze, and the Oni swallowed hard.

“I’ll go to the store after breakfast,” she said, pulling her hand out from under Ch’en’s shirt. “But uh… before then, would you like me to uh… help?”

After a couple of seconds to think, Ch’en sighed softly. “Can we just cuddle for now?”

Hoshiguma nodded and set her book aside so she could turn toward her partner and hug her as the big spoon. Ch’en exhaled peacefully as she settled against Hoshiguma’s massive frame, holding her arm corded with thick muscle against her body as she wiggled her head to get just right under her chin.

“I missed this,” Ch’en whispered.

“Me too,” Hoshiguma whispered back.

And so they lay joined together in bed in silent, peaceful bliss, only broken up by Ch’en reaching for the nighttable to grab another chocolate, mostly for herself, but occasionally to pass to one to Hoshiguma.

Hoshiguma somehow always ended up with the ones that had coconut, which she couldn’t help but chuckle over.

“Almost want to hit the lights and get a bit more sleep,” Ch’en said, smiling. “You’re far too comfortable, how can you be so strong and yet hold me so gently?” she teased.

“Because my sole duty is to make you feel good, sir,” Hoshiguma replied earnestly.

They both chuckled in unison. “You’re cornier than a bag of popcorn,” Ch’en joked, the fluffy end of her tail squirming against Hoshiguma’s leg as she smiled even wider.
Hoshiguma then pulled her hand back and grabbed Ch’en’s tail halfway down its length. “H-Hey!” she screeched, wiggling in place as Hoshiguma lightly squished her Lung tail and ran her thumb along its underside.

“But you keep slapping me with this,” Hoshiguma teased, moving her fingers closer to the base of Ch’en’s tail, which drew further squirming from her. “And it’s soft… and squishy… it’s cute!”

Ch’en bit her lip to keep herself from moaning as Hoshiguma ran her thumb back and forth the base of her tail, eventually blurting out, “It’s not soft!” before clamping her mouth shut again for a couple of seconds. “It’s muscle! And… very sensitive!” she added, then, uncontrollably shuddered and gasped, to which Hoshiguma let go of her.

“...Muscle can still be soft,” Hoshiguma said, but then added in a softer tone, “Sorry.”

Ch’en took a few seconds to catch her breath before she exhaled hard. “Maybe I should just send you to the store then, seeing how committed you are to the bit,” she suggested.

Hoshiguma smirked. “I could just go down on you. I don’t mind, it means neither of us has to leave the bed, or get dressed, or let the the bed get cold,” she said.

Ch’en narrowed her eyes as she started to hug her knees closer to her chest. “That is very kind, but I would rather…” she started, then paused to sigh quietly, “well, I like it when we share the feeling… and after all, it’s Christmas.”

Hoshiguma lifted her upper body over Ch’en, looking down at her as she spun her body and head around to look up at her from below. Hoshiguma blinked and narrowed her gaze the bare amount as she scrutinized her partner’s face. Ch’en smiled weakly but kept her eyes pointed off to the side, only briefly making eye contact with the Oni a few times before she just as quickly turned her eyes away.

But then, after half a minute of awkward silence, Hoshiguma smiled and lowered her head to give Ch’en a light kiss. “Alright,” she said, smiling wider as Ch’en did the same. “I’ll try to be quick, so we can have our fun and then cuddle the day away.”

Ch’en kissed her back. “I love you, you know, Hoshi?” she said.

“I love you too, sir-” Hoshiguma replied, then quickly added with a smirk, “-Chenchen.”

As she got up, Ch’en threw a pillow at Hoshiguma and the two chuckled.

“Oh also,” Ch’en called out as Hoshiguma threw on a loose t-shirt. “Could you get the lights when you come back?”

Hoshiguma paused with her shirt around her shoulders and blinked back at Ch’en. “...Why’s that?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Ch’en also paused before she rolled her shoulders. “So we can snooze some more afterwards,” she answered, then hastily added. “It’s more efficient, isn’t it?”

“Fair enough,” Hoshiguma said. She then threw on a pair of equally loose and casual sweatpants and bent over to give Ch’en one last kiss before she left. “Don’t get too comfortable and sleepy,” she teased.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep myself… ready,” Ch’en replied, smirking before she returned the kiss. “See you back in a bit, and… the lights?”

“Alright, alright,” Hoshiguma said as she walked to the door and flicked the switch. “Back in a flash.”

Once the door clicked shut, Ch’en sighed and rolled back onto her side, drawing her tail over her hip so she could hold it in front of her. She ran her fingers through the soft, red fur at the end and worked out a small knot that had formed overnight, but soon found her hands drifting further down the length of the tail, all the way to its midpoint.

There, Ch’en began to squeeze and knead the thin, but supple flesh of her tail, getting closer and closer to the base and finding her fingers able to depress more and more into the gradually thickening appendage. Once there, she removed one hand to squeeze her hip and found a fair amount of plush to sink her fingers into.

Then, she ran her hand down her midsection. Where her stomach had once been nearly entirely toned and flat, with just the bare outline of abdominal muscles showing, her hand now glided over a tummy with an undeniable convex curvature, and ended with a tiny round hang that she could pinch between her thumb and forefinger.

Ch’en gritted her teeth and threw off the covers in one fluid motion. She got up, turned on the lights and quickly riffled through her drawers, pulling out a pair of shabby gym shorts that she immediately began to dip her legs into.

Then she saw the indent in the mattress left behind by her partner and sighed.

After a couple of seconds, Ch’en relented and put the shorts back in her drawer, returning to bed with just the oversized graphic tee borrowed from Hoshiguma on her. Once in, she glanced at the novel Hoshiguma left on the nightstand and picked it up, trying to make out the foreign characters which spelled out the title.

But no sooner had she put the novel back that she felt her stomach begin to gurgle, and she sheepishly glanced back to the still-open box of chocolates on her side’s nighttable.

Ch’en picked one up and held it close to her eyes, inspecting the tiny chunks of rock salt that adorned the brown chocolate sphere, and then looked down and pinched her soft stomach again.

“Well, ‘tis the season, right, Hoshi?” she said to herself and popped the chocolate into her mouth. “Just like the seasons before…” she added after chewing and swallowing.

By the time Hoshiguma returned, the box was empty, and Ch’en sat against the headboard with her knees pulled into her chest, looking off to the side with a slightly guilty expression and bits of chocolate still stuck to her lips.

“Oh, you turned the lights back on,” Hoshiguma commented, then took one look across the bed, Ch’en’s expression, and the empty box to her left, and put it all together. “I had a feeling you might have been hungry, so I picked up some egg tarts,” she stated, putting her bag down by the end of the bed.

Ch’en glanced at the bag. “Looks like you got more than just egg tarts and co-”

She was cut short as Hoshi walked close, bent over and sealed her mouth shut with a long kiss, during which she used her tongue to wipe off the bits of chocolate staining her lips.

As they broke away, Ch’en blushed immensely, and Hoshiguma smiled at her somewhat embarrassed partner. “You got room for more?” she whispered. “Or would you rather eat after we’ve had our fun?”

“That depends on…” Ch’en paused to sigh gently as Hoshiguma nibbled at and then kissed the side of her neck, working her way down to her collar. “...Whether you can keep your hands to yourself while we eat,” she explained, unable to look at Hoshiguma as she did the same dance around her shoulder.

“But there’s just so much of you to love,” Hoshiguma complained playfully, carefully climbing over Ch’en to spoon with her as before. “I could get drunk on you, sir,” she said, burying her face into the back of Ch’en’s neck and breathing hard as she kissed her way up to the top of her head. “Every single bit of you, Ch’en,” she clarified.

Ch’en blushed just a little harder as Hoshiguma wormed her arm under her to once again fondle her chest but as the two alternated between kissing, moaning, and laughing, Ch’en’s smile slowly faded away.

“Hoshi?” she asked, voice cracking ever so slightly.

Hoshiguma leaned over Ch’en’s shoulder, “What is it, sir?” she asked, her gaze narrowing under Ch’en’s call.

“Do you…” Ch’en paused for a moment, then sighed, grabbed Hoshiguma’s hand off her breast and stuck it up her shirt, deliberately pressing the Oni’s rough, calloused fingers and palm against her squishy midsection. “Like this bit of me?” she whispered.

“Of course,” Hoshiguma answered without any hesitation, even slowly rubbing her hand up and down her tummy for emphasis. “I told you I loved every bit of you, and I meant it,” she added adamantly.

“I-I’m not insinuating you were misleading or lying…” Ch’en said, biting her lip. “Just… this isn’t… an issue?” she asked.

Hoshiguma paused for a second before she raised an eyebrow. “Why would it be an issue?” she asked, but then quickly sunk back into bed, nodding her head. “Is it an issue for you, Ch’en? Is that why you want the lights out when we… you know…?”

She waited a good few seconds before replying, and even then, Ch’en only sighed.

“Cause it’s the holidays, right?” Hoshiguma asked. “You’d… always button your jacket up around this time, I thought maybe you were just cold, but you…”

“Put on a few?” Ch’en finally spoke up.

“Does it bother you?” Hoshiguma asked again.

Ch’en sighed again. “I honestly don’t know,” she answered, pinching her tummy folds before grasping Hoshiguma’s hand. “But knowing you don’t mind does help.”

After a second, Hoshiguma rose over Ch’en, startling her. “I don’t just don’t mind,” she said, smiling before she leaned down to kiss her partner. “I said I loved every part of you,” she reiterated, and began to kiss her way down Ch’en from her lips to her collar, to her chest, and then stuck her head under Ch’en’s shirt to kiss around her tummy. “Especially this,” she said, pressing her face against the Lung’s stomach, which muffled her next words. “I just never want to make you feel uncomfortable, Ch’en, sir…”

Ch’en smiled before she slowly started to laugh as Hoshi’s kisses began to tickle her stomach. She then made it to her mons, right below the dip of her stomach, and took great delight in kissing and then nibbling the wonderfully soft flesh there.

“H-Hoshi!” Ch’en cried, immediately kissing her the second she took her head out from under her shirt. “What did I do to deserve you?” she asked earnestly after their lips parted.

Hoshiguma didn’t have to think for a second. “You were yourself, Ch’en Hui-chieh, the wonderful woman I love.”

They both smiled, blushed, and began to close the distance to kiss, but then Ch’en’s stomach growled, followed shortly after by Hoshiguma’s much louder stomach grumbles.

“Perhaps we should go for the tarts first, then?” Ch’en suggested, and they both laughed.

“Well…” Hoshiguma grabbed the bag and took out not just a box of fresh egg tarts, but also a small box of butter tarts, roast meat skewers, peppermint bark, and stroopwafel. “I figured we probably were going to leave bed as little as possible, so I prepared for the whole day…”

Ch’en smiled, took out a still-steaming meat skewer, and took a bite before passing a second one to Hoshiguma. “And you’ve shown me why I love you,” Ch’en said, kissing Hoshiguma on the cheek as she chewed. “You care, you’re understanding, and you’re so very very thoughtful.”

“But I can’t keep my hands to myself, you said,” Hoshiguma teased as Ch’en began to munch on a crispy egg tart.

Ch’en kissed Hoshiguma before whispering into her ear. “And when have I ever said I took issue with that?”

Hoshiguma gulped before she kissed Ch’en back, and then the two began to pick up speed.

Then, in one fluid motion, Hoshiguma pulled Ch’en on top of her, and the two looked at each other with crimson-red cheeks and fire in their eyes.

The food could wait. They could not. Not any longer.