The door clicks shut as he leaves and I let out a breath in relief. I did it again. My foolish side always works quicker than my more logical side.

And it thought ‘Oh yes Lapis, you’re now a blushing young bride, you need to kiss your husband goodbye!’.

I’m a dolt. Lily’s warnings are just constantly being wasted because of my fluff-filled head. Ugh… I don’t think I helped myself at all when I ended up just napping like a cat. Yeah; I’m so much like a cat its unreal. Girls are supposed to cryptic and hard to please, but I just rub up against the leg and purr at the first man that feeds and entertains me.

Gah! I rub my head furiously, ruffling up my hair.

And what now? I should unpack; but I don’t want to. It has a finality to it.

First, I’ll look around. I still haven’t seen everything here.

. . .

There’s not much to see, to be honest. The joint kitchen and living area is by far the biggest space. It has a sofa, a computer desk, an LCD TV, the dining table, kitchenette and a bookshelf. I check all the kitchen cupboards for some reason, and sure enough, its all ingredients, utensils and silverware.

There is a back room that has a washing machine and a strange warm cupboard with pipes in. I think its an airing cupboard. The fact that I want to sit in it confirms my hypothesis that I’ve turned into a cat.

The bedroom is the most decorated place. It has photo prints of waterfalls and nice natural sights. A chest of drawers and a wardrobe. And the single bed. Like a child, I leap onto it, and find myself pleasantly surprised at its softness. He has a gel mattress! Foam pillows! I sniff the sheets before blushing at the thought that this is rather perverted. Fortunately for me, it has the fresh floral scent of washed linen.

Finally, the bathroom is the smallest one I have ever seen. There is a power shower over the compact bath tub, and the toilet and sink are barely crushed into the remaining space. Though I could mostly fit in the tub, I don’t think he could, surely? Its still damp and has a fine mist in the air. An extractor fan whirrs in the ceiling, which is needed because there are no windows here.

I decide next to go and check out his PC. I start up Vapour, and a notification stating ‘CJimStar, do you wish to activate Vapour Family Sharing with new linked user LazuliLove?’ appears. Oh! Benefits! I obviously click yes, and my phone on the sofa vibrates. Yes!

This library of titles is vastly in excess of my own. I am alright at games (mostly due to Fran forcing me to play a wide variety), so perhaps I can waste some time with them later.

Maybe I shouldn’t go linking any other accounts though; I feel about guilty about doing that already.

I yawn a bit, still not fully awoken from my nap. Perhaps I’ll have a shower, and then unpack…

. . .

. . .

Hum; where can I put the shoes? I’ve already filled up my designated chest of drawers, and though I started to investigate the other side for space, I halted upon finding the boxer shorts, and was consumed by blushes.

The Airing Cupboard! They’ll always be warm to wear, then. I line them up in neat rows, tweaking them to make sure they’re in parallel lines. Donna always told me off for this, but I like them looking orderly!

I also hang up a few pairs of stockings here. Part of me wants to leave the underwear too; but I would be way too embarrassed leaving them out to be seen here when he just comes to grab a towel, not to mention I would have to walk commando from the bedroom to retrieve them. Much too lewd. The bottom draw will have to do.

Yes, the bottom. I read in a magazine that the first place a man looks for panties is the top, so the hidden treasures need to be placed elsewhere.

Satisfied with my clothes unpacking, I then transfer what remains of my small chest of cosmetics, makeup and toiletries to the bathroom, leaving them on the otherwise mostly derelict shelf above the toilet. That bleach bottle looked lonely. The shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, and moisturisers are already on the bath-side from my shower, ordered by size and colour, and mixed in with Jim’s items. He has more than I first expected for a man.

I cross my arms across my chest and nod dramatically.

Looks good. There is a certain catharsis in arranging things how I want them to look. Its why my favourite video games are Tower Flopper and Alien Crossing. I like organising and decorating rooms; and especially like how you get to decorate a magisters tower in Flopper. I wonder why I’m not an illusionist sometimes.

Part of me also wants to shift Jim’s pictures around so that they have a more consistent colour scheme; but I guess that would too rude without asking. I will mention it to him though.

Right now, I’m in my favourite red tartan flannel pyjamas, with a fluffy cat shaped hat holding back my hair (I’ve already determined my theme today is lost cat, right?). Big sister Ruby always taunted me about these pyjamas. I’m supposed to wear sexier clothes for bed. But why? Bed is comfy, why make it uncomfortable with a weird satin slip that itches your legs with its slidy-shifty nonsense?

I investigated the freezer earlier, and was tempted by the tub of ice cream, but, with great discipline, declined it, citing the fact to myself that I’ve already had too many pancakes today, and it will also give me a bad stomach before bed.

As I perch on the sofa, I survey my new domain. Even though it is a small space I feel at ease here. Home was larger, but it felt somehow… cold?

I think I can get used to it.

I pick up my phone again and type in chat.

LAZULILOVE>> [My new home is small. But I think I like it. Is that weird?]

LILYPAD_X>> [How small we talking? Five bedroom?]

LAZULILOVE>> [Um. It’s 1 bedroom. A Flat. In an apartment complex.]

KISSKRIS49>> [He’s dumped you in a tiny flat!? Why not the main house!? (╯°益°)╯彡┻━┻]

LAZULILOVE>> [(°ロ°)! N-no… this is actually is the main address, the marriage greeting I did here too!]

FRAN$KOMAX>> [@KISSKRIS49 GRL USE UR Brainz. You a zombie? suddenborn backstory rmbr.]

LILYPAD_X>> [Right. Well; I don’t think its weird. I lost quite a lot of estate in this move; but I don’t miss it. Not as much as that though.]

BACKSASH>> [Home is where ur ♡ is. And this Jim has already captured your ♡, hasn’t he?]

LAZULILOVE>> [No!]

KISSKRIS49>> [Yeh, not so bad maybe. Lots of spots for close quarter kissing! Ooh!]

FRAN$KOMAX>> [@LAZULILOVE Jeez ur flags r too easy to raise Lapis. Poor gameplay, 9/10 EGN.]

Agh! You girls suck! I hate you! I throw my phone onto the sofa again in anger. I don’t think they could understand what I’m saying anyway. Lily and Kris come from even bigger households than mine, after all.

Whatever. I go over to the PC.

Does he have Tower Flopper installed? He does! A fresh save with a new tower is just what I need right now.

. . .

I yawn and suddenly realise I’ve spent the last two hours decorating a virtual alchemy lab. Its nearly midnight. I decide to go to bed.

I brush my teeth, scrub my face, and rub some moisturiser in so I don’t have dry skin in the morning. I tie my hair back into a single tail and walk over to the bedroom, clicking off the lights.

The fresh floral scent of the bed is pleasing, and I lie on my back for a while, contemplating my wedding day.

Don’t the bride and groom normally do sexy things on the first night? I blush and inadvertently rub my legs together under the duvet.

I suppose this is just another one of the strange aspects of my life now. But since I ~am~ nervous about the idea and a bit of a coward, I do truly appreciate his declaration that he won’t do anything rash.

Feeling strangely safe and secure, I doze off…