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I heard a knock at the door. Juniper was out for the night, though I couldn’t exactly remember why. Maybe she left her keys, it wouldn’t be the first time. It’s a struggle to rise to my feet, one hefty limb after the other, as another knock rung out. This time it was more persistent, and honestly a bit loud for nearly midnight.
Low and behold, it was the Queen herself. QueenBee that is, not the actual Queen of England, but certainly the queen of my heart. She had developed the habit of swinging by the apartment in the dead of night to whisk me away on some adventure or quest, or whatever struck her fancy really. Her team had been really going all out with the training, so she hadn’t really been able to visit between that and the tournaments. Until now that is, honestly a welcome reprieve from this rut. A mini rut to be sure though. I’ve made a lot of progress certainly, and I’ve been doing better as of late. Depression, however, is a stubborn bitch, just like most other illnesses. It helped that Funplex Respawn was booming, and her repeated victories brought more than her fair share to the table by far.
I realize now that I’ve been staring at her for the past half minute.
“Hey, what the @!#?@! you staring at, are you gonna let me in or what?” as always, the harshness of her language conflicted with her deminer and tone. She was soothing when she looked at him like that, like she sees deeper into me than I can myself and still love me, the tenderness of her voice—well, tender in QueenBee’s way.
“Right, right, my apologies, my queen-” I take a step back, swinging the entrance to our meagre apartment for some pseudo-grandiose entrance. I even struck a butler pose (Ashley taught me in her down time, I’ve always wanted to move with such elegance), “-I present, the magical land of Juniper and Ryen, home to us and my faithful companion and friend, Iris!”
Iris then decided to make her own entrance, “Hellooo! Welcome back home, QueenBee! Always a pleasure”
“Likewise, Iris, I missed you three… I’m guessing Junpier’s…?”
“Out, won’t be home until tomorrow afternoon or something” I replied, stifling a yawn.”
“Damn, I was hoping to catch her. Oh well, tomorrow will have to do I suppose” QueenBee seemed a tad dejected, not often something she’d let slip past her armor.
“I suppose it will. I’ll leave you to it then, lover boy, make sure to treat her right. You already called tomorrow in anyhow, so you’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you may so wish” she said with a far too suggestive wink. Iris might need another conversation about not embarrassing me in front of my friends, especially QueenBee, “Toodaloo~” and with a wave she retreated back to her little home in my phone (oh how I love the occasional rhyme), but I’d bet my left hand she was still listening in. I’m not sure what for, though I could guess it was her whole ‘human studies’ thing, whatever that meant.
QueenBee simply giggled into the back of her hand as I shut the door with considerably less grace than when I opened it. I could feel the pink rush to my cheeks, denying me the respite I so desperately craved.
“What’s so funny there, Queeny?”
She gave a groan with a playful roll of her eyes, “I’ve said it once and I will say it once more; that is not a good nickname.” Despite her lashing words, she was laughing even more now. It took a few moments for her to settle back down, but eventually she got back to the conversation at hand, “Just how you get embarrassed by, like, everything. It’s cute” now she was winking. Good heavens help me. I didn’t notice how hot I was before, but I sure did now. Or maybe it was the room, yeah, blame it on the room. How am I this weak for her, or is she just that strong of an individual? I defeated Polybius itself, and yet my partner here was affecting me to such an extent with the tiniest of things. The ability to move mountains with nothing but a glance and a grin was a powerful magic. It was something that first attracted me to her, and still does to this day—even when we were just friends, she had this look that could melt me in an instant, practically putty in her hands. I think she probably knew early on. Almost like a game of benevolent cat and mouse.
Let it never be said that we didn’t make one hell of a power couple, however.
The two of us stared at each other for a long while, just enjoying the mere proximity to one another. Once again I’ve been had, dazzled, bewitched. A mere schoolboy before her. Her eyes seemed to swirl with honey. I couldn’t avert my eyes from her own before she pulled me back to reality. Fortunately, Queen isn’t Polybius, so my pants won’t catch on fire every other conversation I get absorbed into.
“Heeello? Earth to nerd! You Ryen’d out for a moment, you good?”
Apparently I had a sort of zone out stare. Everyone could recognize it but me. They coined it ‘the Ryen look’. Then again, that’s probably because I’m on the inside. It’s easy to get lost in your own head, or at least, it is for me.
“I… well, Funplex Respawn was insanity all week, as per usual. This weekend’s been a bit of a rut too on a personal front. Nothing serious, just happens from time to time, as things do” I was received with a pout, a very grumpy, yet oddly mopey, pout.
“Hun, you need to be taking care of yourself”
“I have been! Keeping up with the chores, even wash my face like they do in the movies”
“Does it help?”
“Surprisingly refreshing, would do it again. Got pretty wet earlier in fact… Phrasing”
“Phrasing”
Her concern was fully heard, received, and acknowledged. I know she’s right, and if she wanted to help me, I wasn’t going to fight her on it. Partners are in it together, having one another’s backs in life… or something like that, depends on who you ask. Then, however, the conversation came to an awkward silence with the two of us looking away from one another. I didn’t rightfully know what to say. She’s just… so much better than me. Yes yes, positive self-talk is important, but I can’t help but compare us. I’ve definitely come a long way, I mean, I had my own arcade, I had my dream. Tanvi though? She had that and more. Literally renowned, a living legend, the fourth Heavenly King, a god amongst scrubs and FoDder alike. I was nothing to sneeze at, but she was something so very, truly special. Her gaming prowess was pretty low on my list though. Strong, powerful, independent, fierce—all the things I struggle with. Have always struggled with really. What could I ever say to someone like her? Kind of a stupid question considering we’ve been dating for months now.
It went on like this for a few good minutes, just silence; eyes would meet, blushes would be exchanged, we’d look away from embarrassment, then start the process all over again. Eventually, she slowly turned to me, looking my face up and down. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it were an appraisal. Whether or not is was benign or malevolent I couldn’t say, but there seemed to be a tenderness about her. Whatever she was considering vanished though when she burst out yet another laugh, “@!#@!, I’m not good with stuff like… this”
“I know. It’s ok, my Queen. I actually find it kind of cute”
“Don’t call me that”
That certainly snapped me back a bit, “Wat”
“Queen, Queenbee. I don’t like it, not coming from your lips”
“Alright, so forgive me for back tracking, but I thought you hated your name. Like intensely so. Why the sudden change of heart?”
Tanvi sighed as she turned to the kitchen counter. On the surface it wasn’t abnormal, but my Floor Attendant Senses™ were tingling. My ears picked up the fatigue, or at least the weight of what was to follow.
“It’s not really a change of heart, I still want to keep my name just to ourselves but-” she paused, turning back to me with her lip between her teeth “-I don’t know. It’s kind of dumb”
I stepped forward, taking her hand in my own, “I won’t think it’s dumb. You can trust me, always.” There was that warm smile again, positively loving in her way.
“Thanks. I think I’m just starting to feel like, while I am the Queen, it’s not all of who I am, especially not with you” I felt a warmth on my cheek, her fingers stroking my features with the upmost tenderness, “you’re different from everyone else. Special to me, real special”
I couldn’t think of any other response aside from nuzzling into her hand. Sometimes I forget just how far we’ve come in terms of intimacy. She was so used to keeping up with her shield of a mask, however genuine, that I didn’t figure she was anything but in the beginning. My eyes were closed, but I could sense her smile nonetheless. Before I knew it, her hand was gone, and my eyes opened to her ducking into the fridge.
She flashed me a big, wide grin before saying anything, “-@!#?@!, did you really get the stuff to make Banana Boats?! @!#@! yeah, this is gonna be the t i t s.” and at once she sprang into action, masterfully balancing all the necessary components. After our Flotsam date, the drink I chose half on whim, but namely because I just really like bananas, became our signature of sorts. Our. I really liked the sound of that
“I guess the plan is to drink and… drink?”
“Isn’t that always the plan?” she gruffed as she rose from the fridge once last time, the drinks of decadent rum and banana were ready. I reached out, admittedly a bit eager, only to be met with a mighty smack against the back of my hand and a piercing glare.
“Gagh!”
“Not yet” and with the upmost seriousness QueenBee could muster, she slowly placed two tiny umbrellas against the edge of each drink in sync with the upmost. It almost reminded me of that show How It’s Made™, “a good Banana Boat is never truly complete-”
“-without a little umbrella” we said in unison, resulting in another fit of giggles between the two of us. This also resulted in snorted drinks, pointed laughter, and our bodies desperately clinging to one another for support. Not at all unwelcomed. The laughter died down once again, but this time we just stayed there in each other’s arms, mine beginning to lower, wrapping around her waist with her own arms comfortably draped across my shoulders. I could feel her hot breath dancing along my collar bone and neck. My gaze darted around her features; the sharp rig of her jaw, her golden irises, her warm tawny skin, her adorable, ever so arched nose. She was simply… perfect. I just hoped she couldn’t see the goosebumps she was gifting me. From what I could tell, from what I could feel, she was doing the same to me. The sensation of her gaze nearly felt physical on my skin wherever I could trace her sight. Our bodies searched for subtle ways to press ever closer. My face inches forward through instinct, and I find my long-awaited kiss returned with a tender passion.
We continued to talk, sitting at the table as we downed a few drinks over the course of an hour or two. I had no idea just how long though, I didn’t much care about time when I was with her. The rosey flush of her cheeks grew stronger as the night went on, and I couldn’t ignore the heat in my own face either. Blushing has been a totally and completely uncontrollable reaction since I was a child. My body constantly betrayed me growing up, no matter how hard I tired, I’d turn tomato red if anyone outside of my family or Juniper looked at me. Needless to say, it’s gotten better as I’ve gotten older, though it’s still just as embarrassing.
“Hey, you get a disk player when you got your new TV?” as I said earlier, Funplex Respawn was booming, so I decided to treat myself to some retro tech. Don’t judge me. Your fancy streaming is nice and all, but it could never catch that grainy nostalgia of sitting no more than four feet from the tv to watch that special show dear to your heart, eye damage be damned.
“Yeah, why?” no sooner had the words left my mouth that stood up with a fiery determination that didn’t at all match her coordination. No help necessary, at her insistence of course. Once safely at the coat rack, she produced a case from her coat pocket. My focus was on her and her alone, so I couldn’t quite read it in the dizzying blur of hiding it behind her back. Or maybe I had one too many banana boats, the farther I looked out the fuzzier it was. My gut instinct told me to duct off to the side, but I ignored the urge as best I could. This wasn’t a gang war in my arcade, it was my girl giving me a gift in my own home. I was able to cling to my seat with white knuckles until it subsided fortunately. I just hoped she saw it as excitement rather than a brief flash of base terror.
Once she got close enough, she whipped whatever it was from behind to proudly present me. It took me a moment to read the cover, Wyvern Keep.
No @!#?@!ing way.
“How the @!#?@! did you get that?!”
“I asked around, kept my ear to the ground, and soon enough I found a good condition copy of Wyvern Keep the Movie! Just for you babe” she ducted in a little closer, planting a loving kiss on my cheek as she deposited the movie into my hand before stepping back to appraise my reaction. I had to admit, the attention was quite a bit to bear, especially for my poor tomato cheeks. Just as before, I could feel her looking at me, eyeing me up and down, but this was so much more… intense. A different kind of intense, different from the normal I’m hungry but not for food look. No, this was something else.
I threw a hand up, “Now what are you staring at?”
She chuckled a little bit, melting away into a gentler expression, “I just… like seeing you happy, y’know? Things have gotten better-”
“Way better”
She nodded “-but I know life is still hard, especially for you”
My shoulders with an apathetic tone, “So’s everyone at the Funplex; Gavin, Naomi, Ashley, all of them. I don’t see how-”
“You’re still going with that false modesty complex, huh? You got @!#?@! shot for @!#?@!’s sake”
“I wouldn’t call it a complex”
“It is”
“It really isn’t”
“It’s definitely a @!#?@! complex”
She smirked, then I smirked, then before we knew it, we were a giggling heap all over again. It took more than a few minutes to finally pry ourselves apart, “Alright, alright, you win… for now. I’ll go make sure everything works while you…?”
“I’ll bring my luggage in, stay the night if that’s alright with you”
“More than alright!”
And so, QueenBee decided to settle in as she normally did on weekend visits. Dropped her two suitcases in my room as her wardrobe on the go and streaming gear resting for the next show… anything that had to be brought inside was brought to my room really. Not that I mind. She doesn’t take up much space with her things and she’s been more than a considerate guest. No problem in my book. Plus, there’s that whole love thing.
Before I knew it, we were in bed, all snuggled and cozy in one another’s arms. No, not in the dirty way. Pervert. Well… not yet at least, you never know how the mood may shift.
And I was a shift manager so I should know.
“Did you get new pillows too?”
“The old ones may as well’ve been rags”
“Oh thank @!#?@!. Wait, this is a new bed too, far less cramped!”
With that I gave her a grin, “A surprise of my own. Needed a new one anyhow, and I figured I’d upgrade”
Tanvi’s face tilted just a tad to lay a few well-placed kisses along my jaw. Targeting the weak points wasn’t appreciated. Ok, maybe they were, “It’s lovely, let alone comfortable as all @!#?@!”
“Glad you approve, my queen”
“Hey, what did I say, punk?”
A sigh escaped from between my lips, “yeah, yeah, I got it”
“Good boy” yet another vulnerability exploited. Please, mistress, a little more for a poor beggar?
Mere moments following her praise I could feel her lips again, this time just below the edge of my jaw where the neck begins. Electricity shot along my spine and I couldn’t help but squirm. She absolutely reveled in it every time. It was out of sight, but I’m almost entirely certain she was grinning. Cheeky as ever.
My words stumbled from my mouth as I did my best to ignore the temptations being thrown at me, “So are we gonna… y’know, watch the movie?”
She simply gave a sigh before tossing the remote on my chest, “Start it then, lover boy~” was there something about me that’s just so damn teaseable that no one can resist? It’s unappreciated. Most of the time. Being the center of someone’s attention wasn’t too terribly bad.
Now we were actually paying attention to the movie, though not ignoring each other. Little strokes and pets and whatnot were exchanged. After the week I had, this was a welcome change of pace. Just me, Tanvi, and a sweet ol’ childhood memory.