[Memories] How Two Lovebirds Spent Their Days: 2

[A/N: The story in this chapter took place a couple of months before the first <Memories> chapter.]

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"That's huge! How did they manage to build it this tall?" Stella exclaimed as she took in the majestic sight of the sky-high skyscraper.

"It has one thousand and sixty floors, and it's over three kilometers in height." Zero chuckled as he described the building.

"That tall?! But how did they build it? How is the structure not falling apart?" Stella was curious. She had seen many many wonders, and every one of them was truly intriguing.

"They used nano-carbon and titanium fibers as the main building materials. The whole structure is built from the top. And each floor has a gravity dampener in them to reduce the effective weight of the building." Zero explained as he pulled her along the streets.

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They were exploring a highly advanced reality that was focused solely on progressing their technology.

The laws within this reality were much more dormant and so-called 'magic' did not exist here.

Stella nicknamed this reality 'Automata'. She kept pestering Zero to bring her to all worlds that had spaceships, artificial planets, and.... good video games

Well, in truth, she was here for the video games and not for anything else. But she couldn't say that out loud to Zero, could she?

At this point, She didn't know Zero's identity, so she felt her thoughts were safely confined.

But Zero didn't mind. He was accompanying Stella after all, it was fine as long as she enjoyed exploring, the reason didn't matter.

"Nobody eats any food here, but I saw a lot of people eating on another planet. Both of their technologies seemed to be at the same level, so why is there a difference?" Stella kept asking questions after questions. This was a common routine for her each time when they visited a new place. But Zero would answer all of her questions, every time, no matter how many she asked.

"It's because of cultural differences. All of their bodies are modified to incorporate enhanced strength, speed, memory, and so on.

They don't need to eat as long as they directly recharge their cells with bio-energy. However, they can still consume food if they did not remove their digestive system to accommodate something else. But the people on this planet have more emphasis on being efficient. So, they don't eat food as the people on the previous planet do."

"I see. But why did they retain their normal appearance? They could modify everything to their liking right?" Stella shot out another question.

Zero chuckled. "Again, cultural preference. The people in this universe have a culture to retain their normal appearance. I'm simply not taking you to a universe that has grotesque and deformed-looking people according to you. You're not ready for that."

"Hmmph. I'm not small anymore. I can handle these things just fine. But you still treat me like I'm still a little girl." Stella pouted. Even though she mostly resembled a human being, Stella realized long ago that she wasn't a human at all. She felt no sense of kinship with humans. To her, they were the same as countless other sentient species she had encountered before.

"Look at you, you're so small.... and short. You barely reach my shoulders even when you jump." Zero replied with a mocking tone.

"You! You're the one responsible for keeping me like this! I'm not small at all. You're so mean to me *Sob* *Sob*." Stella sulked as she lowered her head.

"Alright, stop sulking. I'll bring you to the store that has all the game consoles that you want." Zero patted her head and showed her an extremely big store further in front.

"Mm-hmm. Let's go." Stella cheered up considerably.

Stella was wearing casual jeans and a simple t-shirt. But she had her [Wanderer of Gold-Chalk] robe on top. So she never had to worry if her attire matched the world she was in.

As for Zero, his attire was also simple, just like Stella. He wore a black shirt with black trousers. He didn't need any concealment methods. Stella only needed her robe because he didn't unseal her powers yet. But she really liked the [Wanderer of Gold-Chalk] that he gifted her a long time ago, so Zero thought it wasn't okay to make it obsolete by unsealing her ability. And the cycle continued year after year since she was a child.

As soon as they came in front of the store, the door automatically scanned them and opened after confirming no 'weapons' were on them.

They entered the store.

"Hello. Welcome to VEN, the biggest entertainment store on the planet. Please navigate to your desired area with the map sent to your brain interface." A robotic voice of an AI sounded out from the nearby speakers.

"Sigh. This store is so big.... and the decorations of the interior are good too. But the atmosphere is ruined by the robotic voice. Why not spend some effort on making the AI sound nicer?" Stella grumbled as she started exploring, completely ignoring the instructions.

All the people in this world had modified brains that had custom operating systems, artificial intelligence along with artificial neurons. So, to avoid any communication issues between Stella and the people in this world, Zero simply emulated a second consciousness for her with everything included.

"Stella, stop wandering around. Let's go to the games section." He reminded her.

"Aww, but I wanted to see what movies they had." Stella came back to follow Zero to the games section.

"Movies? In this part of the store? They're adult games that are played directly inside the brain interface." Zero chided Stella as they kept moving.

"What?? I...I didn't realize they were that kind of stuff." Stella went red with embarrassment.

"That's right. You're helpless already, and I'm not allowing you to go anywhere near this kind of stuff." Zero sighed as he pulled her along.

"Hmmph. What do you mean I'm helpless? I'm a pure, gentle, and dignified lady." Stella tried to refute him, but her face was still red.

"Really? Should I remind you of the few of your recent 'dignified' tales? Like that time you wore lingerie to show me your enhanced beauty that I underappreciated according to your opinion?" Zero said in a low voice.

"Waaah! I'm sorry. Please don't remind me about any of it. I was foolish and idiotic. I'll never do that again." Stella almost burst out in tears as she covered her face and almost dropped down on her knees.

"What were you even thinking? You always say that you've grown up and are no longer childish. Yet you still ask me to bathe you and wash your hair. So, whether you say you have grown up or not, I have my own opinions concluded from your actions." Zero replied.

"That's... that's because.... I'm just lazy! It's so tiring to bathe and wash my hair at the same time. Why can't you bathe me every day like you used to before? Now you only bathe me if I wash my hair that day. You're so mean *Sob*." Stella started sobbing. But it was apparent that she only did this to cover up her embarrassment.

"Why do I have to bathe you every day? I did that before because you were little. Now that you've grown up, you should do it yourself. You're not a child anymore. Or are you admitting that you are?" Zero was vexed with her silly excuses.

"No, I'm not! Don't say that again!" Stella immediately replied. There was too much at stake for her to lose this argument.

"Alright, fair enough, you're not a child. So what's the actual reason then? Be honest, okay?" Zero stopped teasing her because he knew how nervous she was on the inside.

"Okay." Stella nodded her head. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep giving out excuses for this anymore.

She was always direct when it came to expressing her love for him with her actions. But Zero subtly wanted her to be more verbally upfront about her feelings too.

"I... You make me feel happy, Zero. Your gentle care and love make me want more and more. More of your love, more of your pampering, more of your affection. But when you stop doing something that you've always spoiled me with before, I feel I've lost a part of you. I'm selfish, Zero. I don't want to lose any part of your love, I just want more. I'm... sorry....for being so selfish." Stella quietly laid out her feelings.

Zero already halted the entirety of [All of Creation] quite a while ago so that no one would disturb them. But he didn't let her realize everything was frozen. It was overkill to freeze everything, but that's how he did things when it came to anything about Stella.

"Are you angr..." Stella couldn't complete her sentence as she was pulled into his embrace.

"You're so gullible when it comes to expressing your love vocally. Yet you do completely unexpected things. You said all these things just because you'd be too embarrassed to say that you love me?" Zero smiled as he kissed her on her cheeks.

"!!!!!!... What?! No!... Not at all! I'm not...." Stella stammered to give an excuse.

"Stella, look at me...." He said with a gentle voice.

"What is it?" Stella looked up shyly.

"Why are you even embarrassed? Your actions have already gone past that point where you'll be embarrassed to voice your feelings." Zero explained to her.

".....That's right. I've already gone past that point. Why am I even embarrassed to say something to you?" Stella slowly came to a realization. "....Thank you, Zero. You're always patient and understanding towards me."

"Well, how can I not? You're too adorable." Zero chuckled as he lightly pulled her cheeks.

Stella slowly came close to Zero as she locked her eyes with him, not wanting to miss a single glimpse.

But then she became a bit dazed a few moments later to see the warmth and love in his eyes. Stella couldn't hold back anymore.

"Zero... I... I love you. I've loved you ever since I remember. You're my life, my strength, my courage. And your embrace is my home. And saying these things directly to you... it means a lot to me. Long ago, I never thought you'd accept my love. But soon I realized you love me even more..... and that you'd accept all of my love, I was so happy. That was one of the happiest moments of my life. So, thank you, Zero. Thank you for placing me in your heart." Stella poured out all of her feelings as tears formed in her eyes.

Zero's gaze became even gentler and pulled her into his embrace again as he whispered softly, "No, it's me who's grateful. You won't realize this yet. Stella... your love is my solace. You are much more important than you could ever imagine. You are the most precious thing in my life. And you'll understand everything when the time comes."

"What...what are you talking about?" Stella glanced at him, still shy from her previous confession.

"I'll tell you when it's time." Zero gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her on the forehead.

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*******

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"Do you like it?"

"Of course! This one is the best! The graphics are indistinguishable from real life." Stella was so excited she felt she could jump sky high.

After their heartfelt conversation, they went ahead and brought all different types of game consoles and their games from the store as usual. All of them. And then she started checking out the features each of them had.

She had tens of thousands of different game consoles and millions of games by now, collected from many many different realities. But they always gathered dust. Because, whenever she got a new console and their games, she would ask Zero to 'modify' her favorite handheld console to make the games from the new consoles 'mysteriously' run on it. So that little handheld console had a game library that consisted of over ten million titles. And she could play online with players from all the different realities too!

That handheld game console was undoubtedly her ultimate treasure. But Zero would frequently 'punish' her for some of her absurd actions by taking away her console. Also, she wasn't allowed to play for more than 3 hours each day. So she didn't get to play that much. But she definitely played more than 0.1% of her game library.

"At least chew properly before swallowing! What do I even do with you?" Zero chided her.

"Whatever, I won't choke." Stella replied as she focused on beating the first boss.

Naturally, Zero was feeding her as she indulged in playing the new games she had got.

They had returned to their home for the day. As for where their home is, that's something nobody could answer. Except one, of course. But to Stella, home meant something different. It was home as long as Zero was there, no matter where it was.

They were on a golden 'planet' filled with lush greenery, tall mountains, and huge golden seas. It didn't have a star for light, nor did it spin. But everything was normal within it. Day and night came, along with the seasons.

Curiously, this planet had only two manmade structures. An enormous crystal castle, and a cozy little cottage.

Both of them were built according to Stella's preferences. She had designed every part of it. And she really liked them too.

The castle had a silver glow to it, making it a stark contrast to the golden color all around. But the cottage had a much more reserved and relaxed appearance. But both of them were filled with futuristic technology despite their rustic appearances. This was Stella's taste in architecture.

Naturally Stella and Zero were the only ones on this 'planet'. They were currently in the castle, sitting on a couch as Stella played with her handheld console.

"It's noon already, stop playing. Don't you want to visit the next planet in the evening?" Zero reminded Stella.

"Um...Zero?" Stella called him quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Can we not go today? Let's just stay here." She nervously asked.

".....Of course. We'll go when you feel like it. We're only going for your enjoyment, after all. Won't it be useless if you don't enjoy it?" Zero perfectly knew when she was just being lazy and when she was being emotional. So he didn't refuse.

Stella was taken aback by his direct acceptance.

'He would always pester me for being lazy before. But he didn't say anything today. He understands me a bit too well.' Stella smiled.

That was indeed the case. In truth, Zero rarely ever read Stella's thoughts. He always knew what was going on in her mind. He was the one who watched her grow up after all.

Stella stood up and started tiptoeing, "It's bath time."

Zero sighed, "Let's go."

"Yay! I told you the real reason when you asked. So you better promise me you'll bathe me every time like before." Stella was excited. This was the first time in a couple of years she didn't have to pester Zero for more than an hour to get him to agree to bathe her. But she pestered him every other day when she washed her hair, so it was a common occurrence.

"Come on, promise me, you'll bathe every day from now on. Just like before." Stella didn't let this chance slide.

"... I promise." Zero inwardly was impressed with her cunningness. She utilized every chance she got to be more intimate with him. But he was slightly vexed too.

He had already suppressed his charm to the limit to stop Stella from generating any feelings of lust. But looking at the way things were going, it was quite likely she already did.

He only used his true powers when he had created Stella.

After that, he had promised himself that he would never use his powers on her again to change even the slightest bit of her existence. He would accept her for who she truly is. So, if her feelings of desire strengthen so early on, it would be quite troublesome. Because she wasn't ready to form her [Consciousness of Eternity] yet. She needed a little bit more time.

"Come on! What are you waiting for?" Stella happily skipped away to the huge bath in the castle.

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Stella entered the bath and set the water heater to a comfortable temperature for skin burns.

Then she brought out all her soaps and shampoos, conditioners, gels, oils, and so on. And she had a sizable collection too. They were the best of the best, collected from many different worlds.

Stella put soap and perfume into the water as she checked for its temperature.

"Stella, stop putting so much soap in the water. Look at it, there's enough foam to feed you for an entire year." Zero entered the room and chided her by looking at her actions.

"Hmmph, it's my soap. I'll do whatever I want with it." Stella paid no mind to his scolding as she removed her clothes and underwear to enter the bath.

She felt no embarrassment to be naked in front of Zero. Stella jumped into the huge bath as water splashed outside.

"Stella, stop jumping around. If you want to jump and swim, let's go to the pool." Zero always felt vexed with her troublesome actions. Whenever he gave her a free permit to do whatever she wanted, she would show her full mischievous side. That's why he always kept her a bit pressured.

"I'm just happy. A blockhead finally listened to my words." Stella chirped as she blew bubbles in the water.

"Uh-huh. I'm sure the blockhead was very concerned about your game console malfunctioning so he didn't put much thought into it when he listened."

"I'm sorry! I won't be mischievous anymore." Stella quickly came back to the side of the bath.

Zero glanced at the huge assortment of skincare products and sighed.

They were useless to her in every way. Her skin would be unaffected no matter what she applied. But she didn't know that yet. So he did the usual.

First, he washed her with soap and applied moisturizers to her whole body, then started washing her hair with shampoos. Yes, multiple of them.

Stella realized a few years back that she was getting noticeably prettier each day. But she had a nagging feeling it had nothing to do with her skincare. But Zero kept his mouth shut. So she never truly realized the truth that she would simply get more beautiful each day without doing anything at all.

She relaxed back as he washed her gently. She would sometimes fall asleep in a few minutes. But Zero didn't disturb her while she slept as he would be even more gentle with his movement.

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"Stella, wake up. It's time to wash up again." Zero whispered softly as he rubbed her cheeks.

"Mmm... why not a little while longer.... Why don't you give me a.... massage?"

"....."

"What...what is it?" Stella said as she woke up groggily.

"Nothing. I've cleared the bath with new water. Time to wash up again."

"Huh... Why... why don't you join me too... in the bath from now on?" Stella said as she tried get up.

"...Maybe later, when you grow up a bit more."

"Huh? But I've already..." Stella was still confused from sleeping inside the bath.

"That's enough. Sigh. Come on." Zero washed her with cold water to clear her head. Then he pulled her up from the bath, sat her down on a stool, and brought out a few towels to dry her.

Zero always used multiple towels to dry her. He used different types of towels for her hair, face, upper body, lower body, and legs. But Stella was lazy, so she used only one when she had to bathe by herself.

He sighed and dried her with the towels as she finally sobered up.

"....You're the best." Stella slowly spoke as she got hold of herself and saw him drying her with the towels.

"....."

"Hehe. The way you take care of me so gently with love, you've spoiled me too much with it. Now I can't do anything by myself." She giggled at her own predicament.

".....And you think this is healthy?"

"Mmm. Absolutely." Stella nodded without hesitation.

"....."

"What is it?" Stella tilted her head.

"....Nothing." Zero stopped trying to make her more sensible. He completed drying her hair and then wrapped a towel from her chest down to her thighs to cover her body. "Alright, go and wear your clothes now." He stood up and took Stella to the dressing room.

"Why don't you..." Stella tried to say something but was interrupted.

"No, dress up by yourself." Zero directly refused.

He knew her desire was slowly starting to get a bit out of hand. 'Sigh. I'll probably have to say something before she goes too overboard.'

"....Okay. Wait a bit, I'll search what to wear for today." She started to search in her massive collection of clothes.

But she still hadn't chosen anything after a while.

"Hmmph! I have so many clothes. At least let me buy some matching underwear that isn't plain colors or polka dots." Stella was unhappy because he didn't let her buy anything more mature after her recent 'lingerie' incident. All of her remaining 'stashes' were confiscated too.

"No. Hurry up. You've already spent half an hour here."

"Sigh. Alright...."

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*******

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"Zero?"

"Hmm."

"Why don't you want to be more direct with your affections?"

"Sigh. What are you trying this time?"

They were in bed. Stella rolled and wiggled like a worm on top of the blanket as she hummed a song in a happy mood. She couldn't fall asleep today.

Zero was vexed. He perfectly knew what she was planning to do. And he prepared all the responses he would use to neutralize her antics without hurting her in the process.

Stella slowly wiggled her way to Zero and then sat on top of his chest.

"Stella...."

"What is it?"

"Please...go back to sleep. I promise I'll make you a tasty burger for you tomorrow if you don't try anything."

"What are you talking about?" Stella completely feigned ignorance.

"...." Zero knew she was dead set on doing this. But it was worth persuading her a bit.

Stella slowly removed her nightdress and brought her face close to him as she kissed him on the cheeks. Her breathing became heavier as she closed in on his lips.

Zero had to carefully stop her from doing anything too drastic. He couldn't refuse her outright as she would get hurt. So he slowly got up and pulled her into his arms.

But Stella didn't stop. Her confession earlier broke the last remaining wall between them. Her bottled feelings were starting to spill out. She pushed Zero down on the bed as she removed her last remaining cloth on her body too.

"Zero... I... can't stop anymore. I want you. You're always so close to me, yet you're so far away. I'm frustrated. I want to feel more of your love. I want to feel your desire, I want to feel your lust. Please don't stop me anymore." Stella caressed his face as tears formed in her eyes.

"Stella... It's okay. I'm always going to be yours. You don't have to be this impatient. You're not in your proper state right now. Your emotions are in a mess." Zero couldn't use force to stop her. This was a very delicate situation.

"No! You're just saying this to avoid making love to me! Why are you avoiding me like this?! Why are you hesitant?!" Stella started crying.

Zero went silent for a while. She still wasn't ready to know everything. So he could only stop her in a roundabout way. And under no circumstances they could be sexually intimate before she was ready to form her [Consciousness of Eternity].

"Well, you're still physically small. So we shouldn't do it." He had finally given in and decided to coax her using this reason.

"I don't care! My body isn't normal in any way. You don't have to worry about it." Stella refused to back down.

"But I care. I won't do something like this."

"But you're the one who is keeping me physically small somehow! So in the end, you're still doing this to force me to back down." Stella felt that he tried to avoid being too intimate with her despite loving her this much. She perfectly knew how much he loved her. He couldn't do something so cruel for both of them without a reason. "Why??! Why are you doing this? I can't suppress my feelings like this."

"I'm not doing this to hurt you, Stella. You have a very important task in the future. And before that, we can't be sexually intimate together. So please understand, I'm only doing this for both of our futures. Don't you want a family? Don't you want to see our children? I'm only doing this so that we can be together, forever. You'll understand soon. But for now, please forgive me for suppressing my lust and desire for you." Zero softly spoke as he caressed Stella's head.

"Then don't force me to stay small anymore. I don't want to be like this. Please." Stella was still crying as she heard his firm but gentle refusal.

".... Alright. I will no longer force you to stay small. You'll grow up from now on. But you have to promise me one thing, Stella. You can't forcibly do anything like this again until I say so. If you promise me, I'll remove your restriction."

"I.... Are you really going to lift the restriction? I won't have to stay small anymore?" Stella slowly glanced up at him with hope in her eyes.

"Hmm. Absolutely. But you have to promise me first."

"Okay... I...I promise." As soon as Stella promised to him, she felt something changing in her body. But she couldn't find out exactly what.

"Please stop crying. It's okay." Zero felt vexed about the situation, but this was the only way.

"I... I won't." Stella stopped crying after a while.

But she felt both her body and mind become heavy. She couldn't keep her eyes open as she fell on his chest, and started drifting off to sleep.

Zero gently took her into his embrace and softly spoke, "I'm sorry, Stella. I promise I'll make up for your bottled desires when we will have sex. I'm sorry for making you feel like this."

"I... I know. You don't have to apologize to me like this. I'm sorry for being so forceful with you." Stella slowly muttered as she hugged him tighter.

"Try to sleep now, Stella. Your body's properties are changing. You'll feel very disoriented if you stay awake."

"Okay... Good night, Zero."

"Good night, Stella."

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"Um... Zero?"

"Yes?"

"I just want to ask... If I ever told you that I love you before."

"No, not directly, at least. This was the first time you said it."

"Ah. I see." Stella slowly closed her eyes with a smile.

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*******

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[A/N: And that concludes how Stella got to lift her age restriction considerably, and the bold actions she had performed to make Zero give in to her request.

Sorry for the delay. A <Memories> chapter is 3-4x bigger than normal chapters. Also, it has a very heavy emphasis on emotions. So it takes a lot of editing and rewrites to make a heartfelt story that both Stella and Zero truly deserve.]