NOVEL NEXT 18: Making Plans In The Warmth Of The Dark
Sharing a nice conversation with her fellow primordial deities, Valencia sent them off before long as the conversation began to drag. Giving them ‘kind’ smiles as she waved at them from the door, Valencia tidied up the shop and flipped the sign to “closed” before rushing back upstairs.
Marching upstairs with a clenched fist and self-righteous expression, Valencia stared at the ceiling.
How dare they drag the conversation so long! Didn’t they know she had a sick girlfriend to tend to?! Such disrespect!
Valencia, deciding a punishment was necessary for those inane actions, tapped her chin as she paused halfway up the stairs. Wracking her brain, Valencia spent a couple minutes blocking the staircase while wringing out her creative juices.
She’d just have to spoil Astrid more! What a splendid punishment! The more love she could shower onto Astrid and the more PDA she could shove into their faces, the quicker those stupid deities would bugger off to their own, single lives!
Sprinting up the stairs, Valencia paused once more as she came to a stop outside of Astrid’s room. Faltering, Valencia sighed as the sight of the strewn blankets that marked their use of the living room each night came into view.
It had been a few days and Astrid still hadn’t ventured outside...
Taking a few hesitant steps towards the living room, Valencia looked back and took a long glance at the sign hanging from Astrid’s door. Sighing and cursing herself for being such a softie, Valencia continued to the living room. Folding each blanket one by one, Valencia ranked them by how much Astrid liked them before stacking them in the same order.
Finished with her cleaning, Valencia rolled her sleeves up and pushed her hair back. “I’m still not used to doing all the chores...”
With her faint murmurs floating away under her breath, Valencia pushed Astrid’s door open. “Are you awake, my love?”
“I am~” Astrid’s languid voice answered from the darkness.
Sliding her feet across the floor to not trip or step on anything Astrid might’ve left on the floor, Valencia pulled over a chair. Taking a seat and tugging the lamp’s pull switch to illuminate the room in a dim light, Valencia clasped Astrid’s outstretched hand. “How are you feeling now? Did you sleep for a bit?”
“I did... I feel alright... not the worst I’ve had, but it’s not that great nonetheless.” Astrid shrugged, rolling over in bed to face Valencia. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Valencia teased, poking Astrid’s forehead to relax her furrowed eyebrows. Valencia herself, though, was a little worried about Astrid’s deflection. ‘Not the worst I’ve had’ told Valencia absolutely nothing, the worst thing Astrid had suffered from literally was going to kill her...
Dismissing her thoughts and letting go of Astrid’s hand, Valencia brushed Astrid’s hair back. “I closed early today because all four parties paid practically double. They also all ordered a lot too, so... yeah, plenty of time to tend to you, don’t worry.”
With Astrid’s worried eyes and pouting lips still facing her, Valencia smiled, cradling Astrid’s head as she leaned down for a kiss. “I’d give up all the money in the world to tend to you, okay? You’re much more important to me, so don’t fret over making me close the store for a bit.”
“Mkay...” Astrid murmured, trying to look away as a faint blush climbed her cheeks from the unexpected kiss. Yet, given Valencia’s hands were still cradling her head, Astrid’s attempts ended without much success before she remembered the existence of her eyelids.
Resigned to her fate, Astrid laid there with her eyes now closed—a little annoyed and a little flustered at the same time.
How was Valencia completely unaffected!?
Reaching up, Astrid looped her arms around Valencia who had sunk back into her thoughts. Getting a “Yes, dear?” from Valencia, Astrid froze for a moment before committing to her devious plan.
Without too much strength at her disposal, Astrid pulled the unsuspecting Valencia down. Trying her best to keep Valencia trapped for a few moments, Astrid let her affection flow forward as she shared a long kiss under the faint lamplight illuminating the room.
Valencia, on the other hand, for whatever reason, decided not to resist too much...
With her momentary burst of affection ending, Astrid pulled the blankets back up and curled up in bed while facing Valencia with tired eyes.
“Used up your whole battery?” Valencia raised an eyebrow while ruffling Astrid’s hair.
“That and more...” Astrid nodded as she cuddled up with a pillow.
Falling into a quiet silence, the two rested, their breathing the only sound filling the room. Staring off into a dark area of the room where the dim glow of the lamp didn’t reach, Valencia’s hand, moving without conscious thought, began to stroke Astrid’s hair.
Letting her heart settle and her mind calm down, Valencia closed her eyes as she let a few minutes tick by in the comfortable silence.
“Are you still awake, dear?” Valencia broke the silence with a whisper, cracking her eyes open as her hand came to a stop on Astrid’s forehead.
With Astrid’s faint nod and half murmur answering her question, Valencia let out a long exhale. “So... I was thinking...”
“That’s-”
“Don’t say ‘that’s rare,’” Valencia interrupted with a laugh, pinching Astrid’s nose. Getting a faint glare and a stuck-out tongue in reply, Valencia kept her firm grasp on Astrid’s nose. “Well... I was just thinking that you haven’t been outside yet, even though it’s been a couple of days. I’d like to show you around the city.”
Letting go of Astrid’s nose, Valencia chuckled as Astrid’s eyes lit up.
“I was thinking... y-... you know... a date. It’s been a while since we’ve gone out after all.” Valencia coughed into her fist as an imperceptible blush rose onto her cheeks.
Thank the heavens the room was too dim for Astrid to see anything.
Valencia’s appreciation for the darkness disappeared into mist, however, as Astrid reached up and pinched her cheeks while trying to keep her laughter at bay. “I can tell you’re blushing, Cia~ Did you miss me?”
Prying Astrid’s hands off with a huff, Valencia looked away as Astrid continued to chuckle.
A few deep breaths later to calm down, Valencia turned back towards Astrid and ran her hand through Astrid’s hair once more. Valencia, leaning down closer to Astrid with a melancholic smile, patted her a few times. “Of course I missed you, it... it was seven months, you know?”
Freezing up from the unexpected vulnerability, Astrid couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of her own before Valencia broke the silence and eased the tension. “Of course, we’ll wait until you’re healthy again. So let’s just give it a week or two. Then, we'll take it there, okay?”
“Mhm, I’m sorry we missed out on so much time together, I mean... well, it wasn’t really something I could control, but... uhm... anyway, yeah.” Astrid stammered and stumbled as Valencia leaned down to pepper Astrid in kisses while suppressing the urge to laugh. “Well... I’m looking forward to our date... love...”
