Eleanor let out a huge sigh as she closed the door to her home and bent down to pull her shoes off onto the welcome mat. It had been a long day, helping the people of Stonebury rebuild after the string of daemon attacks that occurred after the elemental Empyreans were awakened. Her legs ached from standing all day and her arms ached from carrying her spear, directing the workers and keeping an eye out for daemons. There were very few these days since Laphicet's Silver Flame swept over the land, but there also weren't many people left who could see them anymore, let alone fight them. Still, her exhaustion at least came with the satisfaction of a good day's work. It was different from how she'd felt working for the Abbey, constantly doubting if leaving sparsely populated areas unmanned for the sake of reason was really the right thing to do. The villagers couldn't pay her much, but her work now had a simplicity to it, and gave her the peace of mind that it was just.
She was stirring a pot at the stove, breathing in the steamy spice of peppered vegetable stew, when a loud knock came from her door, followed by two more. It was odd, she thought, since while she was getting to know a few people here, she wasn't particularly close friends with anyone yet. Was it a daemon attack? Eleanor snuffed out the flamestone stove and strode to the door, yanking it open.
"Velvet?!" she said, stepping back. Velvet was standing in front of her, wearing the same ragged outfit as always.
"Miss me?" Velvet said, her lips curled in a small smile.
Tears pooled in Eleanor's eyes, and she dove forward, wrapping her arms around Velvet before she could object.
"You're really back," Eleanor sniffled, relief mixing with the bitter memory of Velvet sacrificing herself. She buried her head in Velvet's shoulder and her breaths slowed as she began to calm down again. She felt Velvet's hands pat her on the back, light touches with awkward pauses in between, and she stepped back, releasing Velvet. "How?"
Velvet's cheeks were tinged red, but her voice was as calm and measured as usual. "I woke up at the Empyrean's Throne three days ago. Laphicet told me that his Silver Flame purified me," Velvet said. Eleanor nodded.
"You can stay here if you like," she said after a moment, ignoring her initial impulse to ask about Velvet's brother. If he had died, as Innominat or not, that was the last thing Velvet needed to be reminded of, no matter how tough the girl acted.
"You don't have to be polite. I'm just stopping by to find out what's happened while I've been gone." Velvet said, looking away. Just then, a loud gurgling sound came from her stomach. Eleanor giggled, and Velvet's eyebrows furrowed, clearly annoyed.
"Stop being stubborn and come in. I just finished making dinner and there's enough for both of us." Eleanor said, waving Velvet inside.
Eleanor leaned back against her chair and gazed across the table, amused, as Velvet scooped spoon after spoon of stew down her throat as if someone was about to take it away from her.
"So you really are human again." Eleanor said. She'd spent so long thinking of Velvet as a daemon, it really was odd seeing her like this. She was just a girl with silky black hair the same age as her, albeit sloppily-dressed.
"Mhmm." Velvet mumbled with the spoon still in her mouth. She swallowed and took it out. "This is the first thing I've tasted in three years." She paused, as if contemplating something, before finally saying, "It's good."
"Thanks." Eleanor said, and smiled. Compliments from Velvet were as common as blue moons. "You said you wanted news?"
"First, how long has it been?" Velvet said, pausing with her spoon in midair. "All I know is that when I woke up I was alone, and Laphi was still asleep. Phi hasn't exactly seen a calendar recently either."
"Yes, I imagine he'd have a hard time fitting inside a building now," Eleanor said. Velvet chuckled, her mouth twisting into a rare smile. For a moment, her hard, yellow eyes transformed into warm, golden pools. Velvet looked carefree, maybe even happy. Eleanor hadn't seen her like that since Melchior's illusions in Aball. Would Velvet stay like this, now that she had taken her revenge and Laphi had survived in at least some form? Eleanor hoped so. Despite Velvet's many crimes, Eleanor would still like to see her friend happy. Artorius would probably call that irrational.
"Well?" Velvet said, an eyebrow raised. Eleanor's cheeks warmed, realizing that she'd been staring at Velvet for so long without even answering her question.
"Right. It's been three months since we defeated Artorius. Eizen is with the pirates on the Van Eltia, and Rokurou went off to find more enemies to fight. Kamoana, Dyle, and Medissa are living in Reneed." Eleanor said. Eizen sent her letters occasionally telling her about his travels, but Rokurou hadn't kept contact at all. She would give him a good talking-to the next time she saw him.
"And Magilou and Bienfu? She must be getting into trouble without us to bail her out." Velvet said, smirking, though Eleanor thought she heard a hint of affection in there as well.
"She comes here every now and then, but I don't know when she'll be back next. Who knows what she's up to?" Eleanor said. Magilou always was hard to read.
"Like a stray cat, huh?" Velvet said.
Eleanor giggled. "More so than Bienfu."
The rest of the evening passed in surprisingly pleasant conversation, with Velvet more talkative than usual. Though Eleanor supposed it was also one of the first times the two of them had spent a long while alone together. Before she knew it, it was time for bed, but Eleanor realized there was a problem.
"I only have one bed," Eleanor said, thinking out loud with her hand on her chin, her arm resting on the dinner table.
"I can sleep on the floor," Velvet said. All Eleanor could see of her was her long tresses swaying as she scrubbed the dishes, which she'd insisted on doing despite Eleanor's objections. Eleanor finally gave up since she knew Velvet actually enjoyed cleaning.
"Of course not. You're the guest. I'll sleep on the floor." Eleanor said, shaking her head. Her mother would be rolling in her grave if she let a guest just sleep on the floor.
Velvet finished scrubbing and put her bowl down, turning to face Eleanor. Her brows were furrowed in a harsh expression, as they often were before a battle.
"You should know by now that I do what I want. If I'm a hassle, I'll just leave and sleep outside somewhere." Velvet said.
Eleanor crossed her arms, exasperated. It was just like Velvet to be so stubborn! Not to mention how she continually pretended to be cruel when she was trying to do someone a kindness, even if it was unwanted. She really was utterly selfish.
"We'll just share the bed, it's large enough," Eleanor said, and when she saw Velvet open her mouth, she cut in, "No objections!"
Velvet paused, and then nodded. "Alright. If that's really what you want."
Eleanor led Velvet to her bedroom – not that it was hard to find, the house was essentially just three rooms – and gestured toward the bed. It may have been a bit generous for her to describe it as large – the previous owner hadn't been very wealthy and could only afford cheap, somewhat scratchy beige cotton sheets. Velvet lay down and scooted over to one end, turning to her side so as to take up only a third of the already limited space. Eleanor sighed but decided not to argue the point. Some battles were just not worth fighting. She took the other end of the bed and lay on her side as well, facing the opposite direction. Velvet probably preferred her privacy.
Eleanor lay there for a long time, listening to the crickets chirp from outside her window. She usually slept on her back so it would take some time for her to fall asleep. Suddenly the crickets were interrupted by a soft whistling sound of air passing through teeth. Eleanor turned to face Velvet, and suppressed a chuckle when she saw her snoozing, facing Eleanor with her eyes closed in a gentle expression and a bit of drool dripping from the edge of her mouth. It was, frankly, adorable.
Eleanor turned to the other side again and tried to sleep. Minutes passed, and she was drifting into a state of half-awake dreams about peach pie when she was woken up by the feeling of something warm surrounding her. When she opened her eyes, she realized Velvet had snuggled up behind her and had wrapped her in a tight hug. Eleanor's cheeks burned as she realized the soft feeling against her back were Velvet's breasts, the heat around her stomach was Velvet's arm, and the air tickling her ear was Velvet's warm breath. She couldn't move without waking Velvet, so she closed her eyes and waited for her pounding heart to slow.
It was comforting, actually. She felt warm and safe in Velvet's arms. She remembered the days when she'd lost her mother and slept alone as an orphan in the Abbey, cold without her mother next to her. Velvet would probably be too embarrassed to sleep together the next evening after realizing what she'd done, but for now Eleanor slipped into a deep, comfortable sleep.
A/N: This is a simple fluffy romance fic. I have an ending in mind but it's mostly going to be a set of slice-of-life chapters, so feel free to give me suggestions.