#fanapp

Warm…

She was warm.

Why?

She rolled over suddenly, slowly returning to consciousness. Morning. It was morning, and she’s in bed, that explains why she was warm. Blankets, pillows, and… Julian.

Wait, Julian?!

Her eyes snapped open suddenly, panic flooding her veins as she realized she was snuggled up against him. Why was he here? He should be gone! Nadia’s going to-

… Wait. Wait a second.

Her anxiety subsided when her semi-muddled brain recalled what happened. Julian’s almost hanging. The masquerade. The fiery goat man. … Free. Julian was a free man.

Gloria looked up at his peacefully sleeping face, grin slowly stretching from ear to ear. He was free. No more having to worry about ducking from guards, secret rendezvous, stolen kisses, and gone-before-mornings. She could finally wake up in his arms; she could kiss him good morning.

She snuggled closer to him at this thought, both excited for him to wake up and wanting to stay in his arms for hours. His cuddles were the best, she reasoned, nuzzling his neck.

Warm….

She could feel her drowsiness overtaking her again as she laid in his arms, sighing contentedly. It was completely peaceful…

…. Until she squeaked, feeling his arms tighten around her and smoosh her face closer to his, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Good morning, my love.” He mumbled against her forehead, and she giggled from shock.

“G-good morning Julian?” She laughed again, grin returning at full force. “And here I was, planning to surprise you.”

He grinned back, touching his nose to her forehead. “Were you now?”

“Of course. I’ll get you for that.” She sighed again, scooting closer to him. “How's it feel to be free?”

“Dreadfully boring,” came his flatline answer, “but… it has its perks.”

“Boring is good sometimes,” she mused.

“Yes, but most of the time, it's not,” he grinned, “and you know my penance for trouble. If I cannot find it, I'll make it.”

“Don't do anything too troubling, now.” She laughed again, and he joined in, pressing their foreheads together.

“Freedom is a good thing,” he said, softly, “as long as I can be with you.”

“I don't plan on going anywhere,” she winked, “so we should be set, then.”

“.... I love you.”

“I love you too, Ilya.”

And his lips were on hers in a barrage of kisses, his arms wrapped around her, and she was bringing her hands to rest upon his chest.

“Freedom sounds good,” he said between kisses, “but forever sounds better. Would you like that?”

“I don't think I would mind.”

“Good. Perfect, actually.” After one last, lingering kiss, he whispered, “Stay with me.”

It was February 14th, Valentine’s Day, yet Adonia’s valentine was nowhere to be found. Julian had practically run out of the shop that morning without so much as a backward glance, and she had the sneaking suspicion that he had completely forgotten what day it was. Not that she really expected him to remember, he was always rather busy, but it still would have been nice…

Adonia let out a huff and glanced around her completely empty shop. Seated at the counter, she resigned herself to being alone pretty much all day. Everyone in town was probably out with their sweetheart, the holiday was so popular here. She picked up her book on the medicinal properties of plants and fungi and thumbed through, trying to get herself interested. Thankfully, the tinkling of the bell on the door shook her out of her bored haze.

“Hi Addy! I’m here to pick up some things for the countess!” Portia greeted her as she sauntered into the shop, beaming.

“You’re a welcome sight Portia,” Adonia said, taking the list Portia handed to her, “Nadia’s in luck, we have all of these in stock at the moment!”

“Milady will be very pleased then!” Portia exclaimed and clasped her hands together, still beaming as she glanced around the shop. “Is Julian around?” “He’s hardly ever around,” Adonia grumbled. She turned around and pulled out her stool so she could reach the candles on the top shelf. She could almost hear Portia’s smile instantly sink into a frown.

“What do you mean?”

Adonia found the votive candles from Portia’s list and hopped off the stool. She was trying to suppress her growing agitation with the doctor but it was becoming difficult with his sister here.

“He left early this morning, said something about an appointment that needed to be kept. Didn’t even notice the date…” She waved her hand in a way that said she didn’t care, but Adonia was very aware of the tears building up behind her eyes. She wasn’t even that angry, just frustrated that the doctor didn’t seem to have a romantic bone in his entire body. Then she remembered the flowers. The flowers for Asra. Well, he wasn’t a romantic when it came to her, then.

“Adonia…” Portia was making that face, the sympathetic, sad puppy one. If she was going to make her feel sorry for Julian, she would probably scream. Suddenly, Portia let out a huff. “My brother can be such a tit sometimes.”

Adonia barked out a laugh. “Tell me about it. I mean, it’s not like I expected anything grand today. Just him acknowledging it would’ve been nice. Maybe… Maybe it’s not so much the date as it is about us. About him acknowledging what there is between us.”

“Then tell him that!” Portia’s wide eyes were sparkling with hope as she stared at Adonia. She swore Portia went through more mood-changes in five minutes than she did in an entire day.

“Maybe. I just need to stop thinking about this or it’s going to drive me crazy.” She was starting to get a headache just thinking about talking to her lover about the great and terrible future. “Do you have time for tea?”

“Perhaps just a cup, best not keep the countess waiting!”

After Portia left, the day passed quite uneventfully. She only had one other customer come in, and she had been looking for some sort of love potion. Adonia had to explain that love wasn’t something someone could fabricate, but the woman pestered her until she gave in and whipped her up a “love potion” (which, in reality, was lavender-scented tap water in a pretty magenta bottle). She made a sad dinner of dried beef and some assorted vegetables, then went to brew some valerian root tea to help her fall asleep. When she picked up the tin, a little note fell out of the bottom. It was a small scrap of paper with something scribbled on it. It had to be from Julian, his handwriting was atrocious, but if she squinted she could make out the simple phrase he had written for her.

Sleep well, love J.

Her frustration with the man diminished instantly when she read the note. She knew she had overreacted a bit today. He did care about her, in a quiet way that confused her sometimes. Perhaps he didn’t care for big gestures or grandstanding. She was fine with that. Little gestures often spoke volumes about how much a person truly cared.

She sighed, headache growing as she finished brewing her tea. Grabbing the cup and her book, she crawled into bed for the night. It wasn’t long before her eyes grew heavy with sleep, and she didn’t even manage to put her book aside before falling into a deep slumber.

It felt like she had been asleep for ten minutes when she heard the front door to her shop open and close. She groaned and rolled over, blowing out the candle that she had forgotten and snuggling deeper into her blankets.

“Adonia?” came a quiet voice from her doorway. She knew it was Julian, but the tea had kicked in stronger than she had anticipated and she didn’t really feel like indulging the doctor right now. “Addy, are you up?”

She grunted in reply, pulling her blankets past her chin and silently begging him not to wake her. Her mental pleas were all in vain, however, as she heard his boots on the wooden floor of her bedroom. She felt the bed sink a bit as he perched on the edge of it next to her. She could feel his warmth through the blankets and snuggled a bit closer in hopes of absorbing some of it. He leaned down and cupped her cheek in his hand, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. She felt his other hand pull her book gently out of her loose grasp.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Addy,” she heard him murmur. She fought past the sleep and cracked her eyes open at that, feeling the doctor’s weight lift off the bed.

“You remembered,” she murmured. He seemed to freeze where he was standing. She pushed herself off the bed and lit the candle once more, illuminating the back of Julian’s black leather coat. After a moment, he turned, expression unreadable.

“Of course!” he exclaimed. She smiled sleepily at him and held out her arms, willing him to embrace her. He obliged, of course, and pressed a kiss to the top of her chestnut-colored hair. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in the smell of leather, spices, and something floral she couldn’t quite place.

“I missed you today,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“I’m gone a lot, aren’t I? Well, I’ll just have to change that,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head. Suddenly, he pulled away. “Come to the other room with me.”

“Why?” Adonia asked, looking at him quizzically. “There’s a perfectly good bed right here.”

“Tempting as that is, I need you to look at something. I wanted it to be a surprise in the morning, but now is as good a time as any.” She allowed him to lead her into the other room, and what greeted her took her breath away.

The counter of her shop was covered in flowers, frilly boxes of chocolates, and one huge stuffed bear. Adonia was aware of her jaw hanging open, but she couldn’t seem to close it as she approached the mountain of gifts. So much for him being afraid of grand gestures.

“How did you carry all this back to the shop?” was the only thing she could manage to get out before gingerly picking up the stuffed bear. He chuckled at her awe.

“Let’s just say it wasn’t easy,” he said, grinning at her. As she examined the flowers and chocolates, his grin started to sink. “Actually, I have a confession to make.”

She turned, hugging the bear to her chest and looking curiously at her lover.

“I... forgot all about the holiday until I was almost home. I saw a few shops that were about to close and grabbed everything I could carry. Most of them practically gave away their flowers. I feel horribly about it, but I-”

“Julian, it’s all right,” Adonia sighed, smiling at him.

“It’s not all right. You deserve so much more than me. I was careless, callous.” He turned a bit from her, crossing his arms with a deep frown on his ivory face.

“That’s not true!” Adonia was shocked at how upset he seemed. She sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time today and set the stuffed bear down. “In truth, I was frustrated this morning when you left without saying anything, but I realized that things like holidays are frivolous, trivial in the grand scheme of our relationship. You show me you care in all the little things you do, like finding me that tea, or when you fixed my boot heel last week without me even mentioning it, or how you kiss my forehead every single morning when you wake, even when you think I’m still sleeping.”

She wasn’t surprised at how emotional she had suddenly gotten. She cared deeply Julian and could only hope he felt the same about her. He had turned back towards her, his brow creased in concentration and his hands folded across his chest. She wasn’t sure what she anticipated his reaction being, but what he said surpassed all her expectations.

“I love you.” Shock flitted across her face as the words passed Julian’s pale lips. Adonia couldn’t move. No one had ever said those words to her, not like this. He took in the shock on her face and immediately developed an air of regret. “If now wasn’t the right time- or, that is to say, if you aren’t… there yet, it’s not the end of the world. You don’t, um… You don’t have to feel the same way right away. Not that you’re ever obligated to feel that way for me! I don’t want to pressure you, and-”

“Julian, I love you, too.” She had never felt more sure of that as she watched him babble away at her. She reached up and took his face between her hands, watching the relief sweep across his angular features. She slid her hands down around his neck and felt his own arms wind around her waist. “Kiss me?”