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It wasn’t often that Raora caused issues around the Justice headquarters. In fact the panther always did her best to be helpful, whether it was cleaning the headquarters whilst everyone else was away on field jobs or providing intel with the powers her god eyes provided her. She was even looking into how to do maintenance and basic first aid whenever she wasn’t busying herself with her hobby of drawing or collecting chattino merch. The woman was truly devoted to helping her comrades in Justice in whichever way she could.
However, there was just one major downside to this helpful panther…
Fur was absolutely everywhere!!
Everytime Cecilia wanted to play her violin? Boom, she had to clean off all the fur that had managed its way inside the case. If Gigi wanted to work out in the HQ’s gym? Nope, she had to sweep off any lingering fur on any equipment she wanted to use from the last time Raora was in the room first. Oh but what if Elizabeth was trying to work on paperwork and piece together intel? Well, actually, she was able to do that fine, there was just an odd amount of fur in her room and office specifically. Raora herself would even be inconvenienced by her own fur! She would proudly leave one room after cleaning it spotless and come back later to bits of pink speckling the floors and furniture due to her fur practically being part of the air!
While it wasn’t that big of an issue at first, but as the hotter days started to roll in, more and more fur started getting littered around the headquarters.The increase of fur only made the issues become more and more frequent! By now it had gotten to a level of inconvenience that was becoming a true issue. While not an entirely serious issue, it was still clear something had to be done…
–
It was a comfortable evening in the Justice headquarters, everyone was presumably still relaxing in their rooms while Elizabeth was already walking to her office for the day. The only notable noise in the building was the sound of her heels clicking against the floorboards. As she slipped into her office, Elizabeth carefully picked out some files she was meaning to sort through. She set them down on her desk after brushing away some pink fur and pulled out her chair to sit down. But right after Elizabeth had properly sat down in her chair…
*BANG!*
Her office door suddenly burst open, the red-haired woman’s eyes widened for a moment as she looked up at the two people now standing in her doorway. Though when she realized it was Cecilia and Gigi, she relaxed and raised an eyebrow at the two.
“What do you two need so bad that you have to nearly break my door down..?” Elizabeth questioned in an unamused tone, leaning back in her chair as the two fully entered her office and shut the door behind them. The two gave each other a look before motioning at Elizabeth, as if trying to decide who should speak up. There were small whispers of ‘you do it!’ and ‘no, i already did __’ between the two. Before Elizabeth was able to tell them to get on with it, Gigi groaned and turned towards her.
“We need to talk about Raora’s fur situation, it’s getting ridiculous!” Gigi stated as Cecilia nodded next to her in agreement. Elizabeth sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, she had a feeling this was what they wanted to talk about. She cleared her throat before she responded,
“I am aware of how…inconvenient the situation has gotten but there’s really not much we can do that doesn’t cross Raora’s boundaries.” Elizabeth reasoned, though from the remaining furrow in the duo’s brows, it was clear they weren’t really convinced. Gigi sighed as she tried to think of any rebuttal, which Cecilia had started doing as well, the crank on her head spinning slowly as she hummed in contemplation. Elizabeth waited in silence until Cecelia perked up with a smile.
“Oh! I know what to do!” She beamed, gaining both of the other girl’s attention, “So, what causes animals to shed in the first place? Loose fur from them removing their winter coats to prepare for the warmer seasons.” Cecilia explained as Gigi nodded along to her train of thought, whereas Elizabeth had a hunch on what the automaton was going to suggest and was unsure if it would be doable. “So, if we remove that loose fur all at once, perhaps via…brushing out her fur, then that’d reduce the amount of fur that ends up around the headquarters” Cecilia concluded with a nod.
“It’s a good idea in theory but maybe you’ve forgotten that Raora doesn’t let anyone touch her tail. I don’t think anyone wants to end up covered in scratch marks nor make Raora uncomfortable. Again, personal boundaries. I mean, sure, she could, of course, brush it out herself, but I would assume that it’d be hard for her to reach the base of it.” Elizabeth rebutted, looking up at the two and being surprised when she saw them glancing at each other with a…confused?...surprised? expression on their faces.
“It shouldn’t be an issue for you though..?” Gigi more so stated than questioned with a small chuckle.
“Hm? What do you mean?” The red haired woman raised an eyebrow in confusion, only getting more confused when the two once again shared looks of disbelief.
“What do i–? You know! You and Raora are super close, since you’re a couple and all-? Surely you would be an exception.” Gigi replied, slightly leaning over the desk as she kept adding more to her sentence. Immediately, Elizabeth blushed at the wording, though couldn’t help but be confused at the same time. The flame on her chest burned brightly in response to her being flustered.
“Exception..-- Wait! What do you mean by ‘since you’re a couple’??? Me and Raora aren’t dating???” Elizabeth said with almost too much haste, to the point where she was making herself sound less convincing…
“Uh huh, because just friends are practically always joined at the hip and seen walking around together all the time?” Cecilia butted in, smirking as she proceeded to recount the countless times Raora had so closely trailed behind Elizabeth to the point where she would almost walk right into her in just the past week alone. Gigi even started to list off the times she remembered seeing this exact scenario as well.
“Okay, I get it! But that doesn’t really mean anything..” The red haired woman interjected, crossing her arms firmly.
“It means a lot of things…But if that isn’t enough proof then how about the times Raora quite blatantly curls up against your chest and cuddles with you while purring so loud she could overpower a jackhammer!!!” Gigi exclaimed with wide eyes, “Oh also, let’s not forget that Raora literally nuzzles against you and lets you pet her ears???” The gremlin added, having a clear memory of what her tail had caught sight of in the few occasions she passed by the living room. By now, Elizabeth’s face was just about as red as her hair. Gigi and Cecilia smirked at each other as their leader stammered, trying to find a rebuttal.
“She just…Likes the warmth my blue flame makes….??” She tried to argue, but from the pure unconvinced looks the two gave her, she finally sighed and gave up arguing, “Okay, yes, maybe me and Raora are..ahem..more than close friends. But still, being able to touch her ears doesn’t automatically mean she’d let me touch her tail.” Elizabeth said in a softer tone, a little embarrassed about being found out like this, she’d have to find a moment to tell Raora that they weren’t being as subtle as they thought…
“Of course not, I mean it’s not like Gigi lets me touch her tail.” Cecilia agreed with a slightly dramatic and disappointed sigh, which got Gigi to pipe up..only for Cecilia to gently cover her mouth with her hand so she could continue speaking, “But it doesn’t hurt to ask. I’m sure Raora would at least apprecia– EW, ARE YOU LICKING MY HAND?!” Cecilia had tried to talk calmly but in the middle of her sentence, she yelped in disgust and swiped her hand away from the gremlin beside her only to see Gigi sticking her tongue out at her while simultaneously smirking at her. Cecilia grumbled in annoyance, about to make a snarky remark at the sight when Elizabeth suddenly stood up from her chair.
“Okay, you lovebirds can save your banter for anywhere but inside of my office. I’m going to talk to Raora.” Elizabeth decided, smiling to herself when Cecilia and Gigi were now the ones blushing. She watched as they walked out of her office, waving at them as they wandered off to the direction of the HQ gym. Soon after, she walked out of the office herself and made her way over to Raora’s room.
–
It wasn’t much of a walk to Raora’s room seeing as it was located fairly close to Elizabeth’s office. As she approached the door, she could hear soft humming coming from inside, the gentle sound made her smile grow a little bigger. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, said door suddenly swung open with a grinning Raora standing on the other side of it.
“Ah, Raora, Were you about to leave for something? I could come back later..” Elizabeth questioned, about to lower her hand before deciding against it and moving it up higher to bring it close to the panther’s soft ears. Though, she only kept her hand slightly hovering above the top of Raora’s head to let her decide if she was okay with the touch. Of course, Raora took less than a minute to pull the hand down and let it pet her ears, purring almost immediately after.
“Mmm, No no, I just heard you coming, that’s all…” Raora replied softly, melting into the scratches at her ears. Elizabeth nodded at that, it made sense, given the panther’s enhanced senses. After a quiet moment of standing in the doorway and enjoying the petting, Raora suddenly perked up, looking at the taller woman.
“Oh, right! Did you need me for something? Actually– do you wanna come inside fitst?” The panther questioned, gently gripping at Elizabeth’s arm, being mindful of where she positioned her hands to avoid any claws pressing on spots they shouldn’t be.
“I would love to, if you wouldn’t mind the interruption.” Elizabeth said with a small nod, letting herself be gently pulled inside the room, making sure to close the door behind them. Once inside, the red haired woman took a moment to take in the sheer amount of blue littered around the room from the countless amounts of chattino merch…especially the plushies..
“Pfft, oh please, I enjoy having you around…” Raora scoffed as she leaned against the other, bringing her head up to kiss the woman’s cheek. Then she happily padded over to her bed, giggling when she turned around to see Elizabeth’s blushing face staring at her in surprise. To say the woman wasn’t too used to this kind of affection would be an understatement. Although it only took a little while for her to snap out of it and walk over to sit down next to Raora, trying to ignore how the panther’s tail wrapped around her back as she once again leaned on Elizabeth’s shoulder.
“So…I wanted to ask you something. ” Elizabeth started, turning her head to look at Raora, feeling her breath catch in her throat at the way those golden eyes looked up at her intently and with an overwhelming amount of love. “I just talked to Cecilia and Gigi, and they suggested a way to help reduce the amount of fur around the HQ..” She continued, feeling a little bad for bringing up the topic at the way Raora’s ears lowered a little, but the panther continued to listen to what her partner had to say.
“We think that it would help to brush out your tail and remove all that loose fur in one go. Well- for me to brush out your tail. If you would be okay with that, of course.” The taller woman explained, hesitantly looking at Raora and noticed how the woman was blushing. The panther sat up a little bit as she looked to the side, probably thinking hard about it from the way her ears pinned back and her eyes closed. There were a few beats of uncomfortable silence between the two, which was starting to worry Elizabeth. Perhaps it truly was a better idea to just find another way to deal with this…
“Raora– I’m sorr–” Before Elizabeth was able to properly get the apology out, Raora started to giggle next to her. From all the responses that the taller woman was predicting, hearing her pretty kitty’s adorable giggles was far down on the list. But however unexpected they were, that didn’t mean they weren’t appreciated, as the soft giggles and the gentle way Raora looked at her melted away any tension that had gathered in her body. Although in exchange, she now looked positively confused about this response.
“Why do you seem to find this more awkward than I do?” Raora questioned as she sat up some more and gave the other a toothy grin, “There’s no need to apologize, you didn’t say anything wrong! I just wasn’t expecting you to be the one to ask me this.” She admitted, some more blush decorating her face as her tail flicked behind her, which usually indicated she was embarrassed but not exactly uncomfortable.
“You mean…You were gonna ask me this?” Elizabeth questioned, despite the answer already pretty much being confirmed. Raora chuckled a little at that before clearing her throat,
“Mhm, you see, letting your partner touch and groom your tail is actually a sign of trust for my species…” The panther explained, letting her tail wrap around Elizabeth again. Said woman let out a small ‘oh..’ at that, her face getting red again. “So since I really like you and trust you, I was meaning to ask about it, after all, we’ve been dating for a while…But it seems you beat me to it!” Roara giggled, getting louder when she saw the blush on her lover’s face only getting worse as she processed her words. Even though these words were coming from her girlfriend, Elizabeth couldn’t help but find them overwhelming. Though perhaps the very fact that it was Raora saying it was what made Elizabeth feel so…flustered..?
Raora smiled at the sight, leaning forward to press a kiss to her girlfriend’s lips, purring in contentment when Elizabeth snapped out of her flustered daze to kiss her back. Despite it being short, as the panther pulled away, there was still a lingering sweet taste on the pair’s lips. Raora moved over to her night stand and dug through the drawers, humming to herself as she eventually brought out a fur brush. Seems like she really was waiting for when this exact thing would happen. The panther sat back down and held the brush out to Elizabeth, still keeping that heart warming smile.
“Oh, you want me to do it now?” Elizabeth mumbled as she grabbed the brush, watching as Raora nodded and turned until her tail draped into the taller woman’s lap.
“Mhm! Isn’t it better to get this done as soon as possible? Y’know, so I leave less fur all over HQ!” The pink haired woman replied, doing her best to keep still as Elizabeth carefully held her tail in her hand and gently started to brush through it. It was an odd feeling to say the least, while not entirely uncomfortable, it was still something she wasn’t exactly used to. However, after a short moment of feeling unsure about it, Raora eventually started to purr, finding herself enjoying the feeling. It was similar to how she felt when she let Elizabeth pet and scratch at her ears. Which is to say that it made Raora feel so loved and comfortable, a combination of feelings she was used to when she was around her beloved.
The two remained in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company alongside the soft sound of Raora’s purring and the sound of the brush slowly pulling through the fur of her tail. Every now and then, Elizabeth had to pause the brushing to remove all the fur that got caught up in the brush. With how much fur that was coming out of the panther’s tail, they could probably create a mini Raora. Soon enough, Elizabeth had thoroughly brushed out the entirety of the panther’s tail, setting the brush down next to the pile of pink and white fur that had accumulated. As soon as Raora realized they were done, she leaned back against Elizabeth, turning until she was able to snuggle against the taller woman and rest her head in the crook of Elizabeth’s neck.
“Ah- Raora, I have to discard the fur…” Elizabeth said in amusement, though made no move to leave, especially when Raora started purring even louder now that she was as close as she could be to the blue flame and it’s warmth.
“You can do that later, no? I’m already so comfy like this…” Raora argued softly, tail moving to wrap about herself and Elizabeth as she nuzzled closer to the other woman. Elizabeth couldn’t find a rebuttal for that, so she just let out an amused sigh and let her girlfriend stay comfortable. Once again she brought a hand up to pet the panther’s ears, now just getting a soft nod from Raora as confirmation she could touch them. Raora was always quite the cuddly type, whether they were hanging out in the headquarter’s lobby, in Elizabeth’s office, or in either of their rooms, Raora never turned down an opportunity to snuggle against her beloved.
“Hmm…I love you…so much.” Raora whispered, adjusting against the woman for a little bit longer before completely settling and allowing herself to completely relax. Elizabeth felt her face become warmer at that, her heart beating faster as her flame got brighter. Despite the countless times she has heard those exact words, in that exact voice, it never failed to make Elizabeth flustered. The taller woman was silent for a moment as she wrapped her unoccupied arm around Raora, holding her close while continuing to pet at her ears.
“I love you too…My pretty kitty..” Elizabeth replied in a soft tone, expecting to hear a squeal of excitement from using that nickname, but heard no other sound outside the purring and soft breathing from her girlfriend.
“Raora…?” She questioned softly, glancing down to see that the aforementioned panther had fallen asleep, her soft breaths gently fanning Elizabeth’s neck. It wasn’t a rare sight to see Raora asleep, as she enjoyed taking naps in random spots around Justice headquarters. However, it was different when you had the panther snuggled against you and sleeping against you, basking in your supernatural warmth. It made Elizabeth feel so special…but she also had an odd feeling of not being allowed to move now…
“Good night, my love. Sleep well..” Elizabeth whispered, moving her head ever so slightly to press a kiss to the top of Raora’s head, heart almost melting at the noise Raora subconsciously made. She sounded just like a house cat sometimes, it was adorable.
Nothing else could make Elizabeth feel as overwhelmed as Raora and her natural and adorable charm.
Raora was Elizabeth’s only true weakness.
And her cutest weakness to boot.