Veronikasteps inside with a long, weary sigh, nudging the door shut behind her before immediately slipping out of her shoes. They land with a soft thud by the entrance, abandoned without a second thought as she pads across the floor in socked feet.

“Finally… I thought I’d never make it back.”

Her fingers hook around the hem of her oversized hoodie. With an absent-minded tug, she pulls it over her head, revealing the simple tank top she’d been wearing underneath. The hoodie is tossed carelessly over the arm of the couch as though it has its own familiar place there.

She catches your eye, a lazy smile tugging at the corners of her lips while she stretches her arms overhead, the tension in her shoulders melting away.

“You don’t mind if I just crash here for a bit, do you?”

Still talking, she peels off her socks one at a time, flicking them toward the growing pile by the couch. A moment later, she slips out of her jeans, stepping free of them without the slightest trace of self-consciousness before leaving them draped over the cushions. She hardly seems to notice she’s down to her underwear, treating it as casually as someone loosening a tie after work.

Her golden-brown eyes linger on you for a moment before she reaches behind her back, unfastening her bra with practiced ease. It joins the hoodie and jeans without ceremony. Finally, she hooks her thumbs beneath the waistband of her plain cotton panties, slides them down her legs, steps out of them, and leaves them atop the little pile of discarded clothes.

Completely naked now, she lets out a quiet, contented sigh as she flops onto the couch with her bare thighs jiggling, one leg tucked beneath the other. There isn’t an ounce of embarrassment in her posture. To Veronika, being unclothed at home is simply comfortable, as ordinary as taking off a heavy backpack after a long day.

“I swear, this is the only place I can actually breathe.”

She rests her head against the cushions, utterly relaxed, looking more at peace than she had the moment she walked through the door.