A Valentine's Day Special, Part 2

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Author's Note:

This is a 'good end' side story, I swear! Maybe a little too... happy an ending? Yes, that is innuendo. Nothing *graphic*, but you've still been warned!

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The city lights outside the window shone on the intimacy that was in full swing for countless other couples. But unlike them, Elly only huddled in her girlfriend's clothes in their shared apartment. Waiting for the only person that mattered to burst in and blow all this silly dark pressure away.

The minutes past 8 PM stretched like an eternity, but the brunette eventually worked herself up to go wait on the couch instead of hiding in the room. It would hopefully make her behavior look 'better' and be closer if the door opened.

'WHEN the door opens.'

The screen flickered to life as she pressed the power button on her phone, Katra's smiling face looking back at her from the lock screen until the screen timed out and she could press it to make her appear again. After a couple minutes of this, she actually unlocked the screen and tapped a few times.

Elly's thumb hovered over the call button as a war raged in her mind. Part of her desperately wanted to hear Katra's voice. To know she was safe and on her way home. But another part - the part that always feared the worst - couldn't bear the thought of the call going straight to voicemail…

With a painful sigh, she instead navigated to their text thread. Scrolling through the messages from earlier in the day, she saw her own cheerful 'have a good day' text that started it off.

Then the flirty exchanges that came next - a few messages rapid fire every time Kat sent one back. That silly meme she'd sent to hopefully make Katra laugh during her lunch break.

No pressure about *exactly* what day it was.

'I always stop talking about things I'm concerned about…'

The further down she scrolled, the more one-sided the conversation became. Her own messages grew increasingly short and frugal despite keeping the number up. The gaps between responses lengthened with each passing work hour as her girlfriend threw herself into finishing it all.

A wave of loneliness crashed over her. She knew Katra had already said she loved her. She knew she was probably just caught up at work. But the insecure part of her brain couldn't help but whisper that maybe, just maybe, Katra had forgotten about her completely today.

That on a holiday they were supposed to share like they were lovers anew…

In a desperate bid for distractions, Elly promptly switched to her chat with Denise. The Computer Science TA had been a source of support and guidance in her studies that she appreciated. However, for her personal life… it was more like she and the older woman were absolute frenemies.

She settled on the jumpscare video she found the other day and hit send. Picturing the woman dropping her phone or choking on her drink was a nice few moments of thought! Denise's response came a few moments after that distraction started to fail.

De: / Shouldn't you be lovey-dovey by now instead of trying to make me fall out of my chair? What's wrong? /

Elly let out a weak chuckle before she swiped at the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. The woman knew her too well and could see right through the lack of normalcy in this sort of timing. But she was the only person that could be bugged at this hour.

'Nora and Fulgencio are at their night classes…'

El: / She's not home yet. I'm really starting to worry. /

The typing bubble appeared, disappeared for a minute, then reappeared. Elly watched it dance, her heart in her throat.

De: / She'll be there. She loves you too much to let you down. /

A sob caught in Elly's throat. Relief and longing. She knew Denise had to be right. Katra was the type to keep a promise to anyone. It was only because she hadn't made a big deal about the holiday!

Of course, she didn't know that the bluetooth on the Yasune's motorcycle helmet had taken a call as she warmed up the bike's engine. That the TA had taken the liberty of checking on things herself and relaying the message… because her troublesome juniors had strange principles.

Truthfully speaking, she was surprised the younger one hadn't hidden an app to backdoor the GPS on her lover's work phone yet.

'They might be a security company, but that coding prodigy would type circles around their in-house team. Makes me wonder what I'm doing with my life…'

That small prodigy's finger hovered wastefully over the call button once more. Her breath came in shallow gasps. One press and she could end this agony of not knowing one way or another. One press and she might finally hear the low voice she'd been craving all day.

A thud sound from the hallway made her heart skip a beat. The scrape of a key in the lock made her leap to her feet. The creak of the door swinging open made her drop her phone.

'Kat!'

The brunette raced to the entryway… and there she was - her Katra. Tired eyes looked spent from her day and her blonde hair was windswept from the ride… but nonetheless the sight was so, *so* beautiful to the Goldborn daughter.

Mint and blue irises met as a thousand emotional variations passed between them. The dull, listless expression of the wrongfully depressed college student transformed in an instant. Her face lit up with a radiant smile that rivaled the sun.

The shadows that had clung to her all evening evaporated under its light. Everything was chased away by the sheer joy of Elly seeing her Katra. She closed the distance between them in a heartbeat and leapt into the air, confident that Katra's strong arms would catch her.

The other woman stumbled back a step through the doorway. As she wrapped her girlfriend in a tight embrace, her own shadows of guilt lengthened… but also lightened their depth due to the other's pure exuberance. With a few quick steps she entered the apartment and kicked the door closed.

Katra spun around in circles as they clung to each other, so that she could provide a little more of her own cheerfulness to the greeting she'd been given. Because while she felt like she had ruined things somehow, it was hard not to be happy with the affection she was being shown.

"I missed you."

The sugary little voice mumbled into the tall woman's neck. Even muffled by her skin, the sound sent bubbles popping in the blonde's chest. She pressed a kiss to the top of Elly's brown hair, while inhaling the peppermint scent of her shampoo.

"I see that. I feel it. Really, more than you know."

The brunette pulled back and her hands moved to cup Katra's face, trusting the other woman's grip and strength too much. She searched her girlfriend's sharp, slightly almond shaped blue eyes. Then she started to look for even a single eyelash out of place!

As she was being worried over, the woman carried her smaller girlfriend further into the apartment. Her gaze swept over the candlelit table while hands turned her chin and looked for any signs of bruising or other conflict that might have held her up this evening.

The artfully arranged dishes, candles, the flower, and the small wrapped box that could only be a gift.

"Wow, you really worked on a lot today."

The low voice spoke softly while setting the other down on her feet. Katra continued to hold the hand that slipped in hers, and gripped back tighter before she opened her mouth again.

"Did I ruin your food?"

Elly bit her lip before glancing at the kitchen where the beef wellington had surely grown cold. She wanted to brush it off and pretend like the hours she'd spent slaving over the stove didn't matter. Then there was the part that had been *waiting* and *worrying* all evening!

That part that couldn't let it go nodded dutifully.

"It's... it's okay."

She quickly said, though her voice came out smaller than she intended.

"We can always reheat it. Or maybe order takeout if… they aren't too busy. What do you think, Skydancing Pavilion or Ironsteak Orders? Should we even have that argument tonight?"

Katra's heart broke at the forced lightness in her girlfriend's tone. She knew Elly was trying to be understanding and trying her best not to make her feel guilty. But the strain was there, just beneath the surface. She didn't want the person she liked to have to walk on eggshells.

"Baby, I'm so sorry."

The blonde got to her knees and pulled her sweetheart close once more. The side of her face pressed into the shorter woman's stomach underneath the black blazer as her arms wrapped around her thighs. Elly melted into the embrace, the last of her tension draining away as she pet the top of Kat's head.

"Why are you sorry?"

"It's not a good excuse, but I got caught up at work and lost track of things."

"Mm."

"I should have called when I started to stay late."

"...Mm."

"I should have been here for tonight instead of not even realizing the day it was."

Her hand stilled. She had been disappointed, yes. The evening hadn't gone according to plan. But none of that mattered now that Katra was solid and real and holding onto her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

Small hands tapped on the kneeling woman's shoulders.

"But you're here now. That's all that matters to me."

Katra looked up before pulling her down to capture Elly's lips in a gentle kiss. The contact quickly grew heated, the brunette taking out some of the 'vengeance' left in her heart. When they finally broke apart, both of them breathless and flushed, Katra rested her forehead against Elly's shoulder.

"R-right. Happy Valentine's… Day."

Eleanor Goldborn grinned with a heart so full it felt like it might burst. The fifth time hearing it from her felt just as good as the first!

"Happy Valentine's Day, love. Now, what about that takeout..."

A deep chuckle rumbled her ribcage. Nigel had called her a house goblin, but house glutton fit a lot more… and Katra had no idea where it all went! She understood the amount of protein and carbs she had to consume herself, but her girlfriend was a black hole.

"Skydancing Pavilion, definitely. I know how much you love their mapo tofu."

Hearing that, Elly's smile turned sly. Fingers danced around Katra's neck and up to her ears, causing the blonde to pull back from the ticklish spots. With ineffective glares, she saw the look on the brunette.

That look. THE look.

"Giving up your burger and shake for me? Well, then it's a trade. After all, I know how much you'll love me in that spicy little silver number I bought… just, for, tonight."

Breath caught in her chest and her pupils dilated away the blue. Sudden, deeper arousal burned up her back. The sort of lacy lingerie that Elly's mother had turned the young woman onto last year made her mint-eyed angel impossible to resist on some… lazy, never leaving the apartment weekends.

"Really? Is that what was in the box?"

The blonde swept her up once more in excitement, with the brunette's delighted laughter ringing through the apartment as hands tugged that spare blazer off the cute girlfriend's arms. Elly got control of herself enough before things got out of hand to puff out her check and wag her finger.

"Oh no. You made *me* wait so you can learn how it feels just a little. We eat! I take a lot of nicely staged pictures showing our great time. And then..."

All the stress and heartache of the middle of the evening had faded away. They were together and that was all that mattered - the rest was just details. Elly shrugged off the remaining black outer layer so she could be that much closer to the real thing. She hugged the woman's head and whispered over her ear.

"I know there's always room for more dessert for you, but after I go through the effort to change into that outfit… *I* might need to be the one 'fed' first~"

She wriggled out of the blonde's dumbstruck arms and landed lightly on her feet.

"First, I'll go warm things up. Well, the dinner… you seem a little *warmed* already."

"Ah? Huh?"

Her thoughts of starting right after taking a very fast shower… or maybe even together in the shower started to fracture. Katra resisted the urge to complain about waiting that long. She was in no position to make intimate demands - she was lucky not to be sleeping on the couch!

"I worked hard on this and I want to enjoy it with you. You can go start streaming our show, I really want to see what happens next."

"Alright."

After half an episode, they eventually settled at the faux-candlelit table. Elly served up generous portions of the beef wellington and roasted vegetables that she'd cut off before storing the rest away as leftovers. Throughout the meal, Elly snapped photos of the food and the decorations - of course with Katra in every frame.

She wanted to remember every detail of this night. Even the imperfect parts were just flavor that made the rest better! A select few were sent to her friends, including the one of a truffle being eaten by Kat forwarded to Denise. The woman had just complained about her new diet last week and the photos made her want to spit up blood.

"Hey…"

"What is it?"

"Can I take another photo?"

The look on Elly's face made her think she was up to no good, but Katra smiled back while reaching across the table to play with her small fingers.

"If you're asking, it must be something mean. Who are you teasing?"

"Sister."

She squeezed Katra's larger hand while standing up and pulling her along to the bedroom. Even if she wasn't making up for tonight, she still would have followed along willingly. After all, ever since they met her little schemes had always been good natured.

⟠ ⟠ ⟠

A message was waiting from Ollie after they got out of the shower. Elly opened it to find a sticker with eyes peeking through hands held over a face - and a line that just said:

Ol: / Don't show me that! /

The brunette snorted while shaking her damp head.

"What's so funny?"

The blonde asked while leaning forward to peek at the screen. Elly tilted the phone to freely show Katra the messages. They knew each other's passcodes, though they hardly ever bothered to snoop.

"Just Ollie being Ollie. She liked the fan service."

"I see. Send me that picture too, please."

"Why, who are you going to send it to to make jealous?"

The defensive response and pulled away phone made Kat knock her playfully on the head.

"I just wanted a print for my locker. I don't like showing people my abs as much as you do."

They talked and laughed, kissed and cuddled for a while - long enough to finish the last half of their current favorite program. When Elly finally got up from the living room couch and hit the power on the remote, she held out her hand with a coy smile. Katra let herself be led toward their bed once again.

This time, it wasn't just for a suggestive picture.

Elly pushed her back gently onto the bed and told her to wait a few minutes. The silver lace lingerie she came back into the room with was every bit as tantalizing as Katra had imagined. The delicate 'clothing' hugged her girlfriend's curves in all the right places.

But ultimately it was that usual look in the mint-green eyes. The pure, unfiltered love and desire to be connected to her - to Katra - that took the blonde's breath away. The thing that made every little touch fire and made her surrender herself to Elly's explorations.

The rest of the world faded away over the hours of their back and forth. Work stress, forgotten gifts, and ruined plans were problems of the past and worries of the future. The present was much more happily physical and fulfilling for the pair of young lovers.

When the first light of dawn eventually crept through the curtains and painted their tangled limbs in its rays, the stirring Katra Yasune knew more than ever that she would spend the rest of her life like this. Seeking to make sure Eleanor Goldborn felt this cherished… this adored every single day.

Because in the end, that was what really mattered. The steady devotion of two hearts that had chosen each other, again and again and again. After every question about their love and choices. Not the grand gestures or the picture-perfect moments, as beautiful as those were.

"I wanted her to graduate first…"

The blonde rubbed at her own temple while being hugged tighter by the sleeping brunette. Forever and always. In sickness and in health. In missed dinners and forgotten holidays. The thin ring box that had long been taped at the back of her nightstand drawer was… an inevitability.

<3 <3 <3

Elly and Katra.

Qatrand and Elua.

Their fantasy power might not cross dimensions…

But their love certainly does.