Work Text:
It was but another busy day in Justice HQ. Several meetings with the members themselves, other organizations from far away, with the higher-ups, etc…
As the one fulfilling the duty of leader, Elizabeth had to always be present. She was, of course, the spokesperson for all of Justice, so the pressure, especially to NOT mess up several times a day, was always there, and it really takes a toll on a normal person.
But if you were to find her outside, you’d never think so, or so does everyone around her say. They all comment on how she always has this composed look to her, no such thing as nervousness in her body, only confidence and a strong-willed woman ready to take on anything.
Well, everyone, except Raora Panthera. Apart from her having “The God Eyes” that let her see anything anytime and whenever she wants, she just knew Elizabeth really well. She was her partner, after all.
Not a big surprise to anyone. They were always seen together, normally with Raora cuddling up to Elizabeth while she worked. Or they overheard their conversations as one usually calls the other a sort of pet name. “Pretty kitty”, “My love”, “Honey”; “Sweetie”, “Cara”, “Amore”, the list goes on and on.
Their love was mutual, obviously, but with all the work piling up behind them, it was really hard for them to find time together unless it was the dead of the night, but normally Elizabeth arrived so late to their room that the other one was already asleep.
Raora knew that under that strong and capable façade, was but another person, and that her limit must have been broken many times, but to not worry anyone she kept her composure and continued forward with her daily tasks. Whenever they were alone, she could see how Liz felt more comfortable with her, as she saw her body slowly give up to exhaustion, but kept going either way to finish her duties.
Tonight was no different, it was already midnight and Elizabeth had already drunk her third coffee, made by her dearest.
“Hey, Liz, if you wanna change up a little bit, I can make you a superior beverage.” said Cecilia carrying a tea kettle and several bags of many different teas. Elizabeth chuckled at her request and shook her head.
“I appreciate the offer Cece, but I think coffee is enough.” The automaton shrugged her shoulders in a I guess you can’t always have good taste manner.
“Yeah Cece! Coffee is more than enough, it’s even better!” said Raora who was sketching right beside the automaton. Cecilia made a disgusted face which made the pair laugh their hearts out.
“More for me, then.” said the automaton, heading outside. "I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow, my lovebirds!" she remarked, giggling her way out of their field of vision and hearing.
It all became silent then. Raora made a fun remark or showed Elizabeth her sketch every now and then. Another hour passed, Elizabeth’s pile of paperwork wasn’t even halfway done. She noticed her panther yawning constantly, and dozing off more frequently.
“Honey, you don’t have to stay awake for me, you know this.” She didn’t lift her head from the sheet of paper, yet she knew she startled the artist.
“N-no! I want to! Just for tonight!” she said while grasping her sketchbook tightly to her chest. She really didn’t want to go through another night alone. She normally woke up when Elizabeth already woke up, so she couldn’t even feel herself sleeping with her lover as her schedule was so strict.
“I see you’re dozing off, you can go to sleep, I’ll go soon.”
“You always say this! And I never get to spend the only time we get together with you…” Her ears drooped. Elizabeth finally looked up from her paper, and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry... I know you're busy, but I just wished that we didn't have such a load of tasks to do everyday, but it's not really anyone's fault... I just really miss you whenever I go to bed..."
“Raora, my love, I’m the one that should be sorry, I swear that I want to spend time with you. I'll make sure to go tonight, okay? So please, go rest as I finish these quickly.” She got up from her seat and slowly walked up to her partner who was staring at the ground. As she reached Raora, she grabbed her by the waist and leaned in, making their foreheads touch eachother.
“Will you do it for me?” She asked, in a soft tone. Raora’s ears perked up at the feeling of closeness between the two. She looked at her lover's bright blood red eyes, they were staring at her with such unadulterated love she couldn’t help but grow a bit of a smile. As the redhead loved to tease her girlfriend, she began giving her kisses on her forehead, nose, cheek. “Can you forgive me, my love?” she asked in between.
Raora was burning as bright as her leader’s flame but such a red color she could blend right in with her. She broke off contact and huffed in a joking annoyance.
“Gosh! I can’t stay mad at you Liz.” said the panther while avoiding eye contact, but she knew her lover was smiling ear to ear. “I’ll go to our room, if I don’t see you soon, tomorrow I’ll tie you up so you won’t leave!” Liz released a hearty chuckle, which made the panther laugh as well.
She gave the redhead a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll wait for you, so don’t push yourself too hard, okay?.” She answered with a nod and a warm smile. As the panther left the room, Elizabeth knew it was time to get serious and speed through this paperwork like it was nothing, she wasn’t going to let work get in their way again.
— —- —-
Bad news. As the clock struck 3AM, Elizabeth glared at her one-third of paperwork left. She groaned loudly. It took her three hours to get through only two thirds of the original half she had left. Her heart felt heavy as the thought of her dear waiting alone in bed crossed her mind, so she tried to lock in, but with the stress and pressure accumulated from the whole day, it felt like it was finally catching up to her. She felt her vision more groggy, her movements way more slow, she couldn’t concentrate at all.
She came close to quitting and leaving it for the next day, but knowing her, she would wake up again and try to finish it so she doesn’t have a lot of work accumulated.
Another meeting with some new guard recruits, another meeting with The Gods to talk about the security in The Cell and how to improve it, a meeting for the meeting she had with The Gods with her girls… It was all too much.
4:25AM. She was able to finish everything, but now she couldn’t even get up from her seat, as if she was glued to it. She tried her hardest and almost fell into the couch head first. She composed herself and began to walk towards her room. She was already thinking of various apologies to say to Raora the next morning, but to her surprise, the light in their room was still on. Did she forget to turn them off? She thought.
“Ah! Liz, you're finally here!” The panther was wearing her cute pink and white pajamas with her sleeping mask on top of her head. She got up from the bed and ran to her dear. As if all her angst melted away, all the sorrows and pains she felt during that period of time slipped from her mind, her knees felt so weak she couldn't even stand up.
Raora took notice of this and swiftly caught her leader in a tight embrace. The happiness she felt in that moment could only be described as magical , she missed her beautiful queen.
“I told you to not push yourself, silly.” She said in a teasing voice. The embrace got tighter.
“I know. I’m sorry for making you wait, my love.” The tone Raora heard in her voice was sweet, really tired, but sweet.
The panther carried Elizabeth to bed, helping her put her pajamas on and everything. After all set and done, Elizabeth used her remaining strength to give another tight hug to her girlfriend, which she accepted gracefully. They plopped together onto the bed and began cuddling. Raora grabbed Liz’s head and put it on her chest. She slowly caressed her blood-colored red hair, giving her fair share of pecks every now and then.
“I love you.” She repeated countless times. All met with the same “I love you too” from her leader. Before she finally dozed off, she broke the embrace for a bit, to cup the panther's right cheek and make them connect through their lips.
This kiss, however, felt different. The yearn for each other, the amount of love she felt she hadn’t given was notorious in the way she couldn’t resist herself.
“I missed you, my pretty kitty.” She said after recuperating from such an emotional kiss. “I missed you so much too.” She approached to give her a smooch right on the temple and a peck on the lips.
“Thank you so much.” The redhead snuggled close to her neck, surprising the panther with the sudden change in mood. “What for?” “For always taking care of me, and dealing with my stubborn little head.”
“Well, I’d do it a million times if I could. I’ll forever be with you, for the better and for the worse.” she whispered into the redhead’s ear.
“In sickness and in health, too?” asked Elizabeth teasingly.
“Yes... Until death do us part.” she answered, leaving Elizabeth shocked. “I didn’t know you knew your bows!” Raora cackled.
“Of course I do, I gotta practice for someone y’know?” She winked at the redhead, leaving her even more shocked and more bright red than before. Raora laughed in both satisfaction from finally getting her revenge after so much teasing and from how cute her girlfriend looked. “Well... We should probably go to sleep, you need to rest asap.” said the panther, finally remembering that the both of them hadn't slept at all, Raora kept herself awake by pure will so she could receive Elizabeth properly.
They once again huddled up together. Raora’s legs intertwined with Elizabeth’s, a tail slowly made its way behind Liz’s thighs, and their faces got close to each other, to be the first thing they see in the morning.
“If you’re still tired tomorrow, I’ll order you to take a day off, we could probably handle it!” said the panther while rubbing her lover’s back.
"I probably should trust some of these responsabilities with you girls. I need to be more flexible with this stuff. Buuuuuuut, if that means I get to cuddle with my sweetheart every night, I'd rather do it myself." Raora giggled at her lover's comment. "I don't like seeing you this tired! So if you come back like this again, I'll make you sleep alone for weeks!"
“Yes, yes~” said Liz in between yawns. “Good night, my dear kitty. I love you to the moon and back.”, “I love you too, cara. Good night, and please rest well~ I'll see you in the morning~ ”.