I needed to only hint at something, and Lauren gave it to me… After I had enticed her into kissing me on the sofa, she had not stopped granting my every single want. I wanted to be touched and fondled, she granted it. Hugged, granted. Kissed and pressed even further into the sofa, granted. But as much as I was granted what I was asking, because of her overwhelming commandeering presence, it felt like she was the one in control of it the entire time. And I liked it, I really liked it a lot. That was so hot and overpowering that I completely forgot I was almost freezing twenty minutes before.

But… that’s also why it was so embarrassing that, in the end and kinda in the middle of the action, I had fallen asleep. I couldn’t even fathom how that was possible, but it happened anyway… Travel must’ve tired me out way more than I had anticipated. And now I had awoken, laying on Lauren’s chest, with just a tiny bit of drool on her shirt. She was breathing slowly but steadily, with a content smile on her face. Both of her strong arms around my back. Keeping me close, warm and comfortable. I listened to her breathing as her chest slowly rose up and down with every cycle. The still crackling fireplace gave a pleasant ambient soundtrack in addition.

While I was stuck for the time being, embraced by my love, I wouldn’t wish to try to get away. I was perfectly happy to just lay here and bask in Lauren’s presence.

I don’t remember how much time passed before Lauren slowly started to wake up, but I know I had enjoyed every single second of it to the fullest.

She used her good arm to wipe the dust out of her eyes before laying it back on top of me. “Hey there, beautiful.” Lauren smiled at me.

“Hey.” I smiled back. “Sleep well?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever slept any better.” She squeezed me closer to her. “How about you?”

“I slept great.” I started blushing a little. “Sorry that I fell asleep…”

“We were both tired. But let’s definitely resume from where we left off another time.” Lauren gave me a cheeky wink.

“Y-yeah, let’s…”

“Hmmm.” Lauren herself was not in any hurry to get me off her, as she just looked at me with loving eyes. “To have my girlfriend all alone in my own home back on earth so soon, who would’ve thought.” She joked.

“It is quite a lovely home.” I chuckled softly.

“And you haven’t even seen half of it yet.” She looked up at the ceiling. “This entire thing is just quite the dream coming true for me.”

“I can definitely imagine that.” I nodded and ran my right hand over her cheek and then down her neck. “This is not a future I had imagined for myself two years ago, or even half a year ago for that matter, but I am very happy that I can share your home with you today.”

“And hopefully for quite a while longer than just today.” Lauren used her good arm to slowly rub my back.

“Yeah.” I used my hand on her shoulder to pull me up a little so I could reach her lips, giving her a short yet sweet kiss.

Lauren hummed contently and then gave me a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s stay like this for a bit longer. Is that okay for you?”

I kissed her again, this time on her neck. “More than okay.”

We lay on the sofa for another hour or so while Lauren just idly hummed some songs and played with my hair. But as comfortable as it was for the both of us, that time sadly had to end. The fire in the fireplace was starting to die down, and the heating system was still not operational.

I got from on top of Lauren so she could stretch a bit and put another log in the fire. “Looks like it’s almost time for the Antarctic sunrise.” She looked at the clock. “I will get to work on the heating system when it’s light. It will be easier to see, not that it will be that much lighter.”

“Do you want me to come out and help you too?”

She looked back at me while she opened the fireplace. “Hmm, I don’t think that’s a great idea.” She laughed. “I’ll do it myself. I don’t want you to get frostbite by handling tools in this weather.”

“Oh… right…” I twiddled with my fingers. Apart from helping Lauren, I didn’t really have a clue about what to do.

“What about going to the store? Would you want to do that? The pantry is rather empty, as you might imagine. It’s just around the corner, so it will only take you three minutes to get there. If you don’t want to, we can go together after I’m done.”

I’m sure Lauren knew that last part wasn’t going to be necessary. She’s noticed I wanted something to do and she’d given me a rather easy task. Although going together was rather tempting. “I think I can do that.” I smiled.

“Alright, then let me quickly go and grab you some thermal underwear and a good pair of pants. I’ll be right back.” She closed the fireplace back up. Hopped over to me, giving me a quick kiss after which she practically sprinted upstairs. It took her three minutes to return. She was puffing a little. “Yep, I really need to go and fix that heater. We probably would’ve woken up as popsicles if we slept upstairs.” She chuckled to herself as she walked over to me and handed me some thick black pants and some thermal black underwear on top of it.

“Just put it on like normal underwear?”

“Pretty much.” Lauren nodded, but her facial expression quickly changed to something I can only describe as… naughty. “Want me to help you put it on?”

I rolled my eyes. “I think I’ll manage. You should go and look for your tools so you can go and fix the heater.”

“Slightly disappointed, not going to lie.” She laughed and turned around. “But you’re right. Playtime can follow after we’ve had a full belly and we don’t need to worry about turning into ice cubes.” She started walking towards one of the other doors in the room, but before she opened it, she turned around again. “Oh, on that note, could you also bring us a bag of wood for the fireplace?”

“And how am I supposed to carry that and the food?”

“I’ll give you my cargo sled. It’s fun to use. You’ll see.” And just like that, she disappeared into the room beyond.

-A sled? I’ve barely touched snow and now I already need to use a sled?-

I decided to put my doubts aside for the moment and just get on the thermal underwear that Lauren had given to me. I folded up my other underwear because I wasn’t so sure where to put it yet, she must have a laundry bin somewhere, but I couldn’t see it right now.

As for how the thermal underwear felt. Even though it really wasn't my size, it did fit relatively well. What Lauren had said about the elasticity proved to be close to the truth. While it didn’t really feel much warmer at the moment, I guess it would only be put to the test when going outside. As for those pants... That thing really didn’t fit me well, it was much too big for me, but at least it had a belt so I could somewhat tie it together.

I was just about to put on the big winter jacket I had used yesterday when Lauren returned with a toolbox and a rather big sledgehammer, she softly put it down on the table. When she then looked at me, a grin crept up along the corner of her mouth. “Okay… That’s quite a comical sight.”

“Shut up.” I pouted.

“Let’s order some stuff for you when you get back. It should be here relatively soon, especially if we order from a local store. Might even be able to go and pick it up today if we are really lucky.

“Hmm. At least it will make you stop making fun of me.”

“Look, the jacket looks really cute on you. I just didn’t expect my winter pants to look that comically big in comparison.” She walked up to me and took me into a big old hug. “Then again, they already look big on me as well. Insulation isn’t very fashionable. Especially not the amount you need to live in this place.”

“I’m starting to think I’d rather you’d lived on a tropical island or something.”

“Whaaaat. Don’t say that. You’ll get used to it in no-time, and that’s when the real fun starts.” I’m pretty sure half of that was meant to be a joke, but you could also tell that she did in fact liked living like this a lot.

“I’ll keep an open mind about it for now.”

“Thanks.” She gave me a kiss and backed off from me just a tad. “Let me go and put on my jacket so I can show you the sled. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

It was rather cute how she was so enthusiastic about it.