A/N: This may have been inspired by the meme about Marie Kondo but hey, if it sparks joy, who am I to argue, right? XD
The ring had Griffin's heart doing that little jump the elevator did right before it stopped at the thought of Valtor coming home. And it wasn't even six o'clock yet according to the numbers she glanced at the corner of the tablet. She'd just tapped on the video she'd set out to watch but it played before unseeing eyes now that he'd arrived, and unusually early at that. He was spending more time at home with her lately and while only delighted hums and the occasional squeal left her mouth at his closeness and the warmth of his voice, she couldn't help the question in her mind about the change in routine.
She left the tablet on the coffee table, her efforts at pausing the video unsuccessful but she could always rewind when she came back to it. All that was left in her head was the want to be engulfed in his arms, possibly while she cooked the dinner they weren't always given the chance to enjoy together.
He matched both her impatience and the direction of her thoughts, for he was right there in front of her the moment she got up from the couch and turned to meet him, his arms finding her waist instantly and drawing her into him, prompting her to wrap hers around his neck and hold on tight. He only pressed himself closer into her and drew her into a kiss, his lips on hers the perfect way to say hello in a pledge of their undying passion for each other.
Their tongues came out to play as well and she was already holding back a moan, the strain in her he could feel making him pull back, for they both knew just where this would end if he didn't. And while she rarely lacked the energy and almost never the desire, she'd like to get to see him first, ask about his day and tell him about hers, get the chance to melt in his softness before she did the same in his intensity. The emotional closeness and the connection they had only set up the physical pleasures better and gave them both context and content. The why behind the moans and throbbing her touch and kisses elicited stocked her craving to explore again everything he'd already let her see. Not in some egoistical exploit for more but in speechless awe of the whole they already shared. Every time he touched her was a discovery of the everlasting love they held in their entwined hands.
She took a deep breath before letting the smile take over her face and opening her eyes. "Welcome home," she said, her voice small from the lack of oxygen but it only made the words sound more intimate, like they were only meant for the two of them which was exactly the case. The penthouse was their home and theirs only and she loved how secluded it was, rising above all the other buildings around like a tribute to their solitude. They were in their own universe. It was all she wanted.
"My day was just made," Valtor cupped her cheek, his other hand still wrapped around her in expression of affection and not in a desperate attempt to make sure she wouldn't slip away. They'd been there but she'd seen the sinking fear disappear to make space for the open tenderness he was touching her with now. "I'll never understand how you can do that with just one sentence," his eyes were full of deep gratitude and at his mouth pulled a small smile, just gentle instead of timid. A breathtaking sight.
"I think your own heart might play a part here as it's beating with love for me," Griffin tugged playfully at the lapel of his coat. He hadn't even taken that off in his hurry to hug her. "It gives me the power to work all this magic that has you so entranced," she leaned in slightly, their lips almost touching again, before she pulled back, giving him a knowing smirk as he followed her movement striving to reach her. They'd get too tangled in each other if she didn't move now. "You must be so hot," she laced her tone with mischief despite her own best intentions. The opportunity was too good for her to pass up on it. "Perhaps you should take this off," she tugged at his coat, this time aggressively, only to let go of it and step away the moment he released her to let her pull it off of him.
She sat back down on the couch under Valtor's gaze as he looked at her like a puppy she'd promised to play catch with only to send him chasing after nothing. Still, he was quick to remove his coat and, after throwing it carelessly over the furniture, join her.
"What are you watching?" he looked at the tablet, his eyes reading over the subtitles while Japanese filled the penthouse.
She adored the sight of his concentration, especially after the long day he must have had. He could be overdramatic at times but the stress and tediousness of his job were no lie. Her heart swelled to aching with admiration for his willpower. She herself had paperwork, of course, but her students were what kept her spark alive. The serious interest he was taking in her passions despite the desire his hunched form and squinted eyes exuded to curl up at her side and let the world melt away was like a stroke directly to the pulsing organ in her chest.
"I'm watching a video about Marie Kondo," she indulged his attention. "She's a tidying expert and an organizational consultant." That was about as much as she'd gotten from the video before his arrival. "What? Faragonda told me about her philosophy and I got curious," she explained to melt away the questioning look that was by no means misplaced. The parts of her life that were a mess she preferred that way, and the others were organized already as could be evidenced in the books lined up on her shelves and the order in her closet. But she was glad Faragonda was taking steps in freeing herself from old burdens, as the method she was now following wasn't only about organising but about helping you let go of things that don't bring joy in your life anymore. She was thrilled Faragonda was finally grasping at the need to move on from situations and people that didn't deserve her and her efforts and was holding on tight.
"I'm surprised you haven't gotten the books," Valtor's eyes remained on the screen in front of him, though she couldn't blame him. He had a few other languages besides English mastered–she might have exploited his abilities for translating some poetry, more for the experience of hearing his voice forming the soft words rather than for the content itself–but Japanese was not amongst them so he needed to rely on the subtitles. Something she was surprised had not irritated him already sincr the rule was that he wasn't a fan of having his attention pinned on them.
"I wanted to see if I'd find something for myself in this idea. I hardly have any space left on the shelves."
"Are we in need of another remodeling?"
She didn't appreciate the smirk on Valtor's lips after what they'd had to go through when they'd been adding a kitchen that should have already been there. There'd been people all around the penthouse and their secluded paradise had been overtaken. She had no desire to repeat the experience even if it meant she'd get more book storage space. She'd just have to make do with what she had, perhaps donate some books that she didn't need anymore. That could be her own attempt at tidying up.
"Or does that not spark joy in you?" Valtor pursed his lips to contain the grin blooming on his face at her displeased expression. "Your little trick before did not spark joy in me," he continued, still playful but there was a heavy layer of seriousness that did not allow his voice to rise quite to the level of mirth it'd been at before. It sank her heart sink as if it filled it with lead.
"No?" Griffin exaggerated her bewilderment to the best of her abilities in her attempt to get the joy back to him. "Does this spark joy then?" She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips, not quite a peck but not too deep either as they were still in danger of getting too lost in the world of each other's beings. It was a constant threat with them and while it didn't scare her, she wouldn't have the time to pay any attention to his thoughts if she let herself succumb to it every time it tugged at her.
Valtor hummed, turning to her, his hands on her again but not before he'd made sure the noise from the video wouldn't distract them. His will was gone all to work and he couldn't find it in himself to hold back from touching to his heart's content.
"What about this?" Griffin kissed his cheek in a half-hearted attempt to hold both their attention where it needed to be but she failef miserably with his hand on her thigh and the other one tracing her neckline, not to mention the low sound of confirmation that left him and drew her to his neck. "And this?" her own voice dropped as she moved downwards, her lips kissing at his throat only to feel the vibration of a quiet moan move through her whole body. And she was gone, just like that, his eagerness too infectious for her to stand a chance against it.
He pulled her closer and she let him, her hands moving to the buttons of his shirt to get more skin exposed to the caresses of her lips. His mouth was moving over her now and his hands joined it, too, roaming over her body and pulling at her to have her straddling his lap. He would've gotten her right where he wanted her if the ringing of his phone hadn't sliced like a knife between them.
Valtor sighed, moving away and nearly shoving her farther from him to protect her from the crushing burden of his job. "This does not spark joy," he muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, the device almost flying out of his grip at the jerky motion. He froze at the sight of the screen before turning to look at her, the apology acute in his gaze. "I have to take this," he all but apologized and got up, heading for the fading light spilling in the apartment in waves over the sill of the balcony.
Griffin followed him with her gaze, her mind racing with the puzzle pieces it'd gathered on the way. He'd always hated work-related interruptions but there was something else there. And the few letters she'd caught from the caller's ID were making her jump to conclusions. It wasn't like him to spoil the surprise if he was planning one, but on the other hand, getting a call from the jewelry store could mean many things. Of course, after Faragonda's countless remarks, her mind immediately hopped in engagement territory but it could be anything else. And she wouldn't mind, the monad necklace he'd given her still one of her most treasured possessions. Yet, her heart still accelerated dangerously at the thought of him putting a ring on her finger to make the union between them official.
She was his, completely and without question. And she didn't need silver or gold, or a signature to know it and be happy. He could very well never feel ready to ask her if she'd be his for the rest of his life as the potential for rejection a question like that carried came alive in the form of not one monster but many that she couldn't even aid him to fight. She was secure enough in the feelings between them not to need him to prove anything when all the evidence was right there, captured in the ice of his eyes every time he looked at her. But despite herself she found herself straying to wander through the fantasy of getting to call him her husband and hear him call her his wife. It wasn't something she'd been able to imagine before she'd fallen in love with him, and she couldn't imagine it with anyone else to make it yet another confirmation that she didn't need him to put a ring on her finger and she would never pressure him to do it.
It did spark joy to think about it, though, and think that it was possible. One day, when he could find it in himself to reach without fear for what was waiting for him. She truly wanted it, wanted to see him believe in their love the way she did and not let the three monsters that he'd called family and the pain they'd instilled in him cripple him anymore. That was the only thing standing between them and being an official family. But she was his family anyway, and she would always be, bound to him by her feelings that were far more powerful than anything else he could ever find.
Valtor ended the call soon, almost in sync with the sun sinking in the horizon to disappear as if it'd never been there. And the same happened with her inner debate now that he was free of anything else and that invited her to capture his attention once again.
Griffin slipped out on the balcony herself, earning a smile from him the instant she was back in his world and the welcome made her want to never leave which was exactly her intention. It was why she kept following him and waited for him to come find her after all the obstacles they'd been through. Their road hadn't been easy but there was nothing easier, nothing more natural to her than loving him.
Valtor offered her a hand and pulled her into him again, wrapping her in his embrace once more now that there wasn't anything to keep him away from her. "Sorry," he looked away as if it was too hard to handle the reassurance in her gaze that he didn't need to be. She wouldn't judge him for wanting to be considerate. If that was what the apology was for. "This won't be forever," he cleared up that he was talking about anything else but work. As much as he himself wanted it, he couldn't pull himself away from that. No more than he could leave her. And she didn't understand but she tried to respect it just like she did with every other part of him. She loved all of them, all of his being.
"This will be," Griffin said and leaned in to let their lips meet again and join together in a show of their love. There were no stars in the sky yet, but the endless darkness was a better witness anyway with how utterly inconsequential it was to the happiness they shared.