From the height of the hotel room, everything looked small, considering how overwhelming it had seemed just hours ago. The curtains were half drawn, letting the neon reflections into the room while the faint hum of distant traffic created a constant background noise that neither of them found particularly bothersome anymore.
Earlier, they had spent hours going through satellite feeds, orbital data and gravitational projections, breaking down the Moon's instability with a level of intellect that would have terrified any Earth scientist watching them work. Now though, the tension of problem-solving had faded.
The bathroom door slid open and Veneri stepped out, running a towel lazily through his long white damp hair. The residual heat from the shower dissipated quickly against his skin due to his natural control over his own body. He was already thinking about returning to their earlier discussion about refining the approach Narisva would use to stabilize the Moon without causing a catastrophic gravitational backlash, but that train of thought derailed completely the moment he saw her.
She stood near the bed wearing a white nightgown that clearly wasn't from Earth. In her hands was a bouquet of flowers. They were simple by Earth standards. The bed behind her had been arranged. The entire setup gave off an unmistakable atmosphere that made him pause.
"Alright, I'm not going to pretend I understand what's going on here, so I'm just going to ask directly. What is all this supposed to be?"
Narisva's grip on the bouquet tightened before she took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Apparently, on Earth, there is a tradition where people celebrate their relationships on a day called Valentine's Day. From what I gathered, it is meant to express affection, appreciation, and… love."
She glanced at the flowers for a brief second and took a small step forward.
"The hotel staff explained it to me and one of them said that I was lucky to be able to follow such a tradition for someone I care about, so I thought… I thought I should try it."
Veneri stared at her for a second longer than necessary, the pieces clicking together slowly before a quiet laugh escaped his lips.
"I actually forgot that was today. Spending too long in Spheraphase really messes with your sense of time."
His gaze went to her outfit, to the flowers, then back to her face.
"Also, that's definitely not from Earth. The nightgown, I mean."
"I kept it in my inventory for a special occasion, and I suppose this qualifies."
She nervously lifted the bouquet slightly toward him.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Darling. I don't fully understand every part of this tradition, but I understand enough to know that it is meant to show how much someone means to you, and I… wanted to do that properly."
She stepped closer and held the flowers out fully, offering them to him with a sincerity that was impossible to fake.
"Ever since you came into my life, things have been different. You are reckless in ways that don't make sense, constantly placing yourself in danger for the sake of others and yet you always make sure that the people you care about are safe, no matter the cost. You carry everything without complaint, even when you shouldn't have to. Despite all of that, you still manage to be someone worth following and loving."
She took a breath and continued.
"So this is my way of telling you that I see all of that, and that I appreciate it. And more than that… I love you, Veneri, with everything I am. I am not going anywhere, not now, not ever, no matter what happens or what you decide to do."
The room went quiet after that. Veneri didn't move, speak or even reach for the flowers right away. For the first time in a very long time, he looked genuinely caught off guard. Narisva's confidence faltered as the seconds stretched. She swallowed before speaking again.
"Say something, Veneri, or at least take them, please. This is starting to feel a little one-sided. I'm not used to that."
The silence didn't last much longer but when it broke, it didn't come out as words. Tears flowed down his face before he could even stop them.
Narisva froze for a second, completely thrown off by the reaction. She instinctively dropped the flowers and held him by his arms.
"Wait, is that… a bad thing, or did I completely misunderstand this whole tradition?"
Before she could say anything else, Veneri stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her with a force that would have crushed anything else in the room if she hadn't been who she was.
"Thank you, Nari. Seriously, thank you. Out of everyone, you're the last person I expected to do something like this for me. Oh, I don't mean that in a bad way. I just didn't think I deserved something like this from you."
He buried his face against her shoulder, exhaling like something he had been holding in for far too long had finally been released.
"At this point, I feel like I can die in peace—"
"Don't even finish that sentence, Vastarael. You're are not allowed to die. If you try to, I will drag you back myself no matter what it takes."
He pulled back at that before a small smile broke through. For a moment, he just looked at her without saying anything. Narisva let out a quiet sigh, reaching up to wipe the tears from his face with a kind of gentleness that didn't match her usual personality at all.
"You're such a crybaby. Honestly, this is not something that should make someone like you cry, you know that, right? But… I guess I'm glad you can, because at least that means I managed to get through to you."
"If you gave me an actual star as a present, I think I'd still react like this, so this is already more than enough."
"I can literally make one for you and turn it into a pendant. So don't worry, you'll get your star eventually."
There was a brief pause after that before distance between them disappeared completely. Before either of them even thought about it, they were already losing that careful distance they usually kept. They fell back onto the bed as their kisses got more fierce. The only reason the entire structure didn't collapse under them was because Narisva instinctively reinforced the space around it, stabilizing everything without even needing to think about it.
She pulled back to look around the room for a second before facing him.
"This is probably not a good idea. If we don't hold back, because this entire place is too fragile for us to go all out."
"You're the one who showed up like this and set everything up. So if anything, you're the one who started this. You should've been prepared for what comes after."
Narisva scoffed before she reversed their positions with her on top of him.
"Then don't hold back because tonight, I'm yours. Whatever happens, I'll handle it."