Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s a typical autumn day with Valen sitting at her desk, working on some paperwork.  Her desk is more cluttered than normal, with papers strewn about.  Five villagers have already come down with a cold this season, and the season just started!  She considers delivering some extra vitamins to some of the older townspeople when the bell above her door rings.

Valen looks up from her spot at the desk, eyeing Ari, the new farmer, standing by the door, wringing her hands.  She’s clad in her usual pair of blue overalls, with a pink long-sleeved shirt underneath, probably to keep her warm , Valen thinks.  There’s dirt on her knees, quite normal for the farmer.

“Oh, good afternoon, Ari.  Is there anything I can help you with?  Are you feeling under the weather by chance?”  She stands up from her chair, and to get a clearer view of the farmer; she makes her way around her desk.

“Ah, no… nothing like that.”  Ari separates her hands and brings one to the back of her neck, rubbing sheepishly.  She awkwardly glances to the side, then continues; “I’m actually here because I think I might have sprained my ankle?”  Her voice pitches up at the end, seemingly not knowing how to broach the subject.

“That’s not good,” Valen starts, motioning for Ari to approach the cot.  “Just hop on up here and I’ll take a look at it.”  

As Ari hobbles over to the cot, she shyly smiles at Valen.  “Thanks, Doc.  I try to not bother you with this kind of stuff… You have the whole town to look after.”  She slides up onto the cot and removes her shoes.  Leaning back slightly, she extends her foot out for the doctor to inspect.

With a gesture of her hand, Valen waves her words off.  “Nonsense, this is my job.  You’re part of this town too, you know.  Don’t worry about bothering me, I enjoy my job.”  She smiles warmly over to the farmer.

As Valen leans down and examines Ari’s ankle, she notices the farmer has a reddish hue to her cheeks.  Mentally noting that for later, she turns the ankle in her hands, feeling the structure of the bones and joints.

“Sss, ouch,” the farmer gasps out.  “It’s a bit tender there.” 

Valen nods in response. “Sorry about that, I have to check over it.”  Ari nods back at Valen, wringing her hands again.  Valen huffs a sigh and stands up.

“You’re right, it’s sprained.  I’ll get it wrapped up real quick and get you something for the pain.”  She turns and approaches her medical cabinet, rummaging around for some bandages.  “What did you do to cause the sprain, Ari?”

The younger girl’s eyes widen and she shrugs.  “Nothing!  Well, nothing more than normal.  I just twisted it when I tripped over a random log on my farm.”  Valen hums in acknowledgment and walks back to stand in front of her holding the bandage wraps.  “I have a few more trees to clear out for a new coop I’m looking to have Ryis build for me.  I’ve got my eye on some rabbits that Hayden has available.”

Valen nods along to Ari’s words as she carefully wraps her ankle. The doctor focuses intently on areas that are sensitive, trying to minimize any discomfort. Meanwhile, Ari continues discussing the various animals she’s considering adopting while Valen tends to her injury.  Once it’s done, Valen assists with sliding the farmer’s shoe back on.

As Ari goes to stand, Valen places her hand out to stop her.  “Just give me a couple more minutes of your time, please.  I would like to take your temperature, if that’s alright with you?  There’s a cold going around, and I noticed you had a slight flush when you first got here, so I’d like to check that out.  Again, if it’s okay with you, of course.”  Ari nods, and reclines back on the cot once more.

Valen approaches the side table she has prepared and retrieves her thermometer. Upon returning to the girl, she notices that her face is more flushed than before.

“Hmm, are you sure you’re feeling alright, Ari?  You’re looking more flushed than normal”  She gets the thermometer ready to put into her mouth, waiting for a response first.

“Uh, yeah!”  Her voice pitches up again.  “I’m just a little anxious, is all.”  She continues to wring her hands, as if emphasizing her point.

Valen nods, lowering her hand to pat Ari’s, trying to calm her.  “I understand completely.  But there’s nothing to be anxious about, Ari.  It’s just me.  We’ve known each other for how long now?”  Ari hums, and then smiles softly, her eyes twinkling at her thoughts.

“Three seasons now.”  Valen nods again and smiles back at her.  “But I’m not nervous about that, it’s just…”  She looks around, as if the answers were around her.  “Uh… I don’t know.”  Then, she turns her head away from the doctor, seemingly embarrassed.

Valen takes a deep breath and pats the farmer’s hand again.  “That’s alright, Ari.  We can be done for today then, if that’s what you want.”

Ari looks back at the doctor, finally.  She seems to mull over her words, looking for what she wants to say.

“It’s fine, Valen.  You can take my temperature.  I’ll be okay.”  She smiles up at the doctor and opens her mouth.

Chuckling slightly, Valen takes the thermometer, puts it under Ari’s tongue, and waits for the beep. Valen takes this short amount of time to look over the farmer, as they are closer than ever.  Her face is still flushed, so it can’t be from exertion; as she’s been relatively relaxed since she got here, Valen ponders.  After a few more moments, it beeps, signaling that it’s completed.  She takes it out of her mouth and looks at it.

“Ah, your temperature is perfect!  So no fever there.”  She motions for Ari to come down off the cot, and to follow her to the desk.  She wonders more, If it’s not from a fever or exertion, what else could possibly cause it?  I wonder…

Valen gets into her drawer, fishing out a document.  She passes it to Ari, along with a pen.

“I just need you to sign this, please, as I get your medication for the pain.”  She goes to the medicine cabinet again to grab a couple of bottles.

After grabbing the bottles, she returns to the desk.  Ari finishes up signing the paperwork, then looks to Valen expectantly.

“Okay, Ari.  You can take one of these every four hours as needed for your pain.  But!  You need to rest your leg, as much as you possibly can.  Do you understand?  No overworking yourself like I know you do.”  Pointedly staring at her, Valen hands over the first bottle.

The farmer shifts on her feet, wringing her hands again.  “Yes Valen, I understand.  I really wouldn’t have even needed to come if I didn’t fix myself up in the mines yesterday!  I just ran out of mana and I couldn’t fix my leg today.  I’m sorry.”

Valen’s eyes widened.  Mana?  Is she a witch of some kind?  Juniper hasn’t mentioned anything.  Wait–

“What do you mean fix yourself up yesterday?  In the mines?  Did you hurt yourself and not come to see me?!”  Now it’s Ari’s turn for her eyes to widen.  She seems caught off guard and she sputters, trying to formulate a reply.

“Oh uh, ha….  Well you see…  I normally fix myself up, like I said.  But sometimes I can’t!  So I just try to wait it out because I don’t wanna bother you.  Especially if you’re busy or like, what if you don’t want to see me or what if it’s worse than it looks and the other villagers see me, or what if–”

“Woah woah, there!  Breathe, Ari.  Everything’s fine, just take a breather, okay?”  Valen put her palms out, trying to calm Ari down.  “Do me a favor, hun, and take a couple of deep breaths.  Can you do that for me?”  She reaches out with one hand and softly grasps the other girl on the arm.  Rubbing it gently, she takes a deep breath as well, trying to get the other to follow her actions.

Ari slowly nods and closes her eyes.  She takes a moment, and then takes a long, deep breath.  Like Valen, she holds it for a moment, then releases it.  Following Valen’s lead once more, she takes another deep breath, all the while focusing on the sensation of her arm being rubbed.

Once they take a few more calming breaths, Ari finally opens her eyes once again.  She looks Valen in her eyes and smiles, soft and sweet.

“Phew, thanks, Valen.  Sorry about that, I talk a lot when I get nervous or anxious…”  She laughs awkwardly, glancing around.  While looking around, she feels a rub on her arm again; she looks down, noticing that Valen’s hand is still on her arm.  Her eyes widen, and she takes a sharp breath, looking up at the doctor quickly, her face reddening once again.

“Ah, well!”  She chuckles nervously, her voice pitching up once again.  “I’m good now, thanks so much for your help, Doc!”

Valen nods, taking her hand off of Ari.  “That’s no problem, Ari.  Happens all the time.  I’m just glad we were able to calm you down!  Don’t want you spiraling, now do we?”  The farmer shakes her head then, letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, no.  We definitely don’t want that.”  She wrings her hands out, trying not to think about it.  Valen hums, thinking of how she’s going to start her thought.

“So about something you said before your panic attack,”  She starts, gauging Ari’s reaction.  Seeing just slight discomfort, she continues on.  “I want you to know; you will never be a bother to me, Ari.  That’s simply not possible.  You can bring any problem you have here, and we can work on it together, yeah?”  The doctor looks down at her desk and grabs the other pill bottle.

“Any time, and I mean any time you get hurt, you come to me.  You don’t need to handle everything that you do on your own.  You can rely on me too, Ari.  Plus, I like seeing you.  I really only ever see you on Fridays at the inn and during the Saturday market.  I would be happy if you visited me when you weren’t hurt too, so don’t think you can only show up when you are.  I would love some casual visits from you, we don’t get to talk nearly as much as I’d like.”  She smiles at her, waiting for her reaction.

Ari’s face heats up with an even deeper shade of red, and she clears her throat and nods along.  Valen notices that she doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t push her.

“Oh and one last thing.  These are vitamins; I want you to start taking two of these a day.  Hopefully, it will stave off any colds that are going around.  Can’t have my favorite farmer getting sick, now can we?”  She winks at Ari, and Ari squeaks.  Her face deepens once again, and her voice pitches up higher than Valen has ever heard before.

“Nope!  Can’t…. Can’t have that, haha… nope.”  She laughs a broken laugh, taking the other bottle from the doctor, and then looks around the clinic, anywhere but at Valen.  She starts backing away, giving the doctor a double thumbs up.

“Okay, yup, I’ll take those.  A-and I’ll take the painkillers when I need them.  Thanks doc!  I’ll… I’ll uh… catch you later!”  And with that, she turns on her heel and runs out the door, the bell ringing at her departure.

Well.  This is going to be fun.  Valen smirks to herself, thinking she finally knows what’s got Ari so flushed.  She sits back down at her desk, looking over the documents that Ari signed.  After making sure they were all correct, she files them away in her bottom desk drawer.

She looks up from her spot in the chair, admiring the lowering sun through the window and the colors that come with it.  Autumn days are shorter, but she still has much to do.  So she pushes her feelings and thoughts aside, and she begins her plan for the older townsfolk.

The plans for her crush can wait.

Chapter Text

Valen is standing in her kitchenette, enjoying her early morning tea when the bell to the clinic door chimes.  She startles and yells down the stairs, “I’ll be right down!”

She keeps the teacup in one hand, and grabs her overcoat with the other, putting it in the crook of her arm and heading towards the stairs when she hears the bell ding again.  Oh no, it must be something major if more people are coming in!

She hurries down the stairs to be met with no one.  A completely empty clinic.  She looks around, thinking maybe she’s missed someone behind a curtain or something, but no such luck.  She’s alone.  She sighs and shrugs her shoulders; maybe it’s one of the children playing a game….  But it is a bit too early for that.  She shrugs her shoulders again and goes to her desk.  Might as well get a start on some tinctures, since I’m already down here, she thinks.

Hanging her coat on the back of her chair, she goes to pull open a drawer when something bright and yellow catches her eye.  And what do you know; sat on her desk, perfectly in the middle, is a vase filled with dandelions and chrysanthemums.  She’s shocked, to say the least.  Who could have come in and left this for her?  Or well, the question should be instead, who would have come in and left them?

Hmm.  There’s no note.  Now, who would have left you, little guys?  I can only think of a couple who would… but why wouldn’t they have announced themselves?

As she ponders the flowers, she decides to move them more towards the corner of her desk, so she can still make use of it.  Eying the vase, she takes in details about it.  It’s even more beautiful than the flowers; it’s tall, and made of orange-tinted glass with yellow and gold flecks scattered about it.  Almost like fire and ash wafting upwards off flames.  This couldn’t have been easy to come by around here.

After checking to make sure they have adequate water, she fluffs them up a little bit.  It’s a very sweet gesture , she thinks.  Been a long time since someone has gifted me flowers.  And secretly, I might add.  I wonder… could it be?

She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of her thoughts.  Whoever got the flowers for her isn’t here, so she has no reason to think about them.  She’s a busy woman, after all.  Stowing all the thoughts away for later, she pulls her medical book out of her drawer, ready to start the day.

She looks over her stock sheet, seeing what draughts and syrups she’s low on.  Making a mental note of which ones she needs, she opens her medical book to check on the recipes.  She then takes the medical book as she walks over to her other desk; the one next to her shelves that house all her potions and ingredients.

That’s how she spends her next few hours, bent over her mortar and pestle, making all the syrups she needs for the coming week, she hopes at least.  But now her ingredient stock is dwindling, and she will need to put an order in to Balor.

She walks back to her other desk, fishing her clipboard out of the top drawer.  The list she needs from the traveling merchant is lengthy, but he will be able to handle it, she knows it.  He’s never failed her before.  There are a few items on the list that she’s sure are possible to get around here, so maybe she’ll just-

Ah, that’s it!   She thinks.  That’s how I’ll get Ari here.  She looks at her clock, ecstatic that it’s still before 11 o’clock.  She will surely see the note I post on the community board if I do it now!  I just know she checks it multiple times a day.

Hurriedly scribbling a couple of notes out, she grabs her overcoat and puts it on as she rushes out the door towards the bulletin board.  She quickly makes her way through town and to the board.  Putting them up separately, she knows the people she needs will see them and meet with her, sometime today.  She steps back from the board with a smile on her face.  Figuring she has an hour or so before the two see her notices, she decides to head to the inn to pick up something to eat for lunch.

On her way, she catches sight of the town children playing.  They all smile up at her and yell out their greetings, and she, in turn, says hers as well.

Waving goodbye to them as she walks to the front door of the inn, she enters, immediately hit with the smell of the soup of the day.  Oh, it smells amazing, I wonder what kind of soup it is?

“Well hello there, Valen!”  Hemlock waves at her from his spot behind the bar.  “You’re here a little early today!  Anything I can get you?”

Valen smiles at the man, happy to see him.  She grabs a bowl from beside the cauldron and fills it up with some soup.  Oh perfect, vegetable soup!  My favorite!  She clears her throat, “Hello, Hemlock!  I had an early start this morning, so everything’s been pushed up an hour or so.”  He hums in understanding.  “And sure, I’ll take a glass of wine if you’ve got it.”

She brings her bowl over to the bar and sits down, waiting for Hemlock to bring her drink.  She gets into her pocket and pulls out some tesserae, leaving it on the counter for her wine.

Hemlock brings the drink, setting it on the bar top in front of her; then he smiles at her and leaves her to her lunch.

She sits in relative silence while she eats, other than the odd comment or question from Hemlock.  Once she’s finished eating, she stands up and stretches her back.  She still has a lot of work to do, but this was a good reprieve.

Waving goodbye to Hemlock she thanks him for the delicious lunch, then she heads out of the inn and back towards the clinic.

Once back at her clinic, she busies herself with her work.  This will make the day go by faster.  She muses.  I’m glad I always have things to do.

Halfway through reading over her old shipment documents, the bell above her door rings.  She looks up and sees the distinguished traveling merchant, Balor, smiling at her as he saunters up to her desk.

“Good afternoon, Valen.  I saw your post.  I see you need my help with something?”  She smiles up at him and stands from her chair.

“Yes, Balor.  I require a bit of your assistance.  I have some ingredients I’m running low on, and I need your help to get them from the Capital.”  She grabs her clipboard from her drawer and takes the top page off, handing it out to him.

While he’s reading over the list and going through numbers in his head, the bell above the door rings out once again.

Valen looks over from Balor, seeing Ari walk in.  She smiles and waves at her, welcoming her in.

“Of course Valen, I’ll be able to get these for you, no problem.”  Balor smiles over at Ari.  “By my calculations, it should come to around 900 tesserae.  And it will probably take me three days, as I already have an order for March.  If you’re alright to wait another day?”

Valen nods, “Of course, that’s not a problem.  I have all I need now, I just need to stock back up for next week.”  She bends down to get her tesserae pouch, grabs it, and counts out the amount he needs.  “If this doesn’t cover it, let me know and I’ll get you the rest I owe you when you come back.”

He smiles again and grabs the pouch.  “Will do.  And I’ll give you any extra back if they are having a sale!  We can always hope.”  Valen nods and sends him on his way.

“Oh, and those are some pretty flowers, there Doc.  Got yourself an admirer, huh?”  He pauses at the door.  “I’ll talk to you later Valen!  And I’ll be seeing you, Ari.”  He sends the farmer a wink and waves over his shoulder, leaving the clinic.

Valen reaches over her desk and touches the flowers, feeling a delicate petal between her fingers.  Ari walks up and quickly glances at the flowers, then back up to Valen.  Is it just my imagination or are Ari’s cheeks flushing?  They seem to be getting redder as I watch!

“Good afternoon, Ari.  I see you got my note?”  She motions to the page in the girl’s hand.  Ari stands up straighter at that, and smiles at the doctor.

“Yes ma’am, I did!  What do you need me for?”  She puts the paper down on the desk and watches as Valen rummages around on her desk.

“Oh, now where did I put it?”  She continues to look around, but can’t seem to find the note she wrote out for Ari.  “Give me a moment, let me take a look over there.”  The farmer nods as Valen proceeds to her other desk, in search of the note. 

As Valen looks for it, she glances over her shoulder at Ari.  She’s looking at the flowers with a slight smile on her lips.  “Those are really pretty, huh?  I got them this morning, but it didn’t come with a letter of any kind.  So I have no idea who brought them.”  Ari’s eyes go wide, and jump over to Valen’s, almost as if she was caught with something.  “It’s strange, you know.  Not knowing who sent the flowers.  As I’m a bit older than most of the other single ladies in town, I don’t tend to get as much attention.  It’s a great feeling though, don’t get me wrong.  I haven’t been gifted flowers in well over a decade!  It has honestly made my day.”  She smiles warmly over at Ari, hoping to get her point across without saying it straight out.

Ari fiddles with her fingers, seemingly unsure of what to say.  So Valen turns back to the desk and searches more for the paper.  “Yeah, they are pretty nice.  I think everyone deserves to get some flowers sometimes.  And it’s a wonder you aren’t gifted things more often, you’re a great woman…”

She thinks I’m great?  Okay, keep it together.  Valen finally finds the note she’s been searching for and brings it to her main desk.  “Thanks for that, Ari.  That’s very sweet of you to say.”  She beams at Ari, and Ari returns the favor.  Her face has gotten a lot more flushed, but that just makes her even cuter.

She looks over the note again and hands it to Ari.  “I heard from Celine that you’re very good at foraging.  Is there any way you can find these for me?  I need some heather, fog orchid, and rosemary for my tonics.”  The farmer looks over the list and nods, acknowledging she can get them.  “You can take your time though, I don’t need them for about another week, alright?  Don’t want you to overwork yourself.  Oh!  How’s your ankle, by the way?”

Ari shifts on her feet, swaying a little.  “Oh I’m completely healed thanks to you, Doc!”  She beams up at the doctor again.

Valen’s eyes widen in surprise.  “Already?  It hasn’t even been a week, yet!  You should still be taking it easy, hun.”  She reaches across the desk and rubs Ari’s arm.

Ari sputters and her voice pitches up.  “O-oh, yeah!  I-I heal really quick!  Like, lightning quick!”  She nods her head.  “And I can’t take it too easy, I have a-a farm to run!  And deliveries to make.  And fish to catch.  And a museum to donate to.  And–”

Valen laughs.  “Okay, okay, I get it, Ari!  No need to psych yourself up again, yeah?”  The girl nods and takes a slow, deep breath.  “You know, you do need to take it easy sometimes though, right?  You can’t run yourself ragged.  Take a break.  Go on a walk.  Not to catch bugs or to find a great fishing spot… but to just be .  And come to the inn on Friday, and hang out with all of us.  We all missed you last week.”  She then takes her hand away from Ari, trying to keep her feelings more subtle.

Ari takes another deep breath and sighs, nodding again in understanding.  “Okay, I’ll try to take it easy.  It’s just… fall is the hardest season.  I have to get as much done before winter as I can.  I don’t wanna complain… but it’s a pretty stressful time, you know?”

Valen hums, understanding where Ari is coming from.  She smiles at her, warm and inviting.  “Of course, Ari.  And it must be super stressful being your first year here.  Just know that you’re not alone, we are all here for you.  We will all be there for you if you need it.  Never, and I repeat, never feel like you’re being a bother to us if you ask for help.  We all help each other out.  You’ve helped all of us, so don’t feel bad calling on us to return the favor.”

Ari looks up at Valen.  Eyes glistening with unshed tears.  She lowers her gaze and wrings out her hands, then lowers her voice and squeaks out, “Thank you, Valen.”

Valen nods and gives Ari a soft smile.  “You’re welcome, Ari.” 

Ari looks back up at Valen, returning her smile.  “Okay…  So your list?  I can get these for you, not a problem at all.  I have some of them at home, already!  And I think I saw some heather in the narrows earlier that I didn’t grab, so I can nab those on my way back through.”

Valen clasps her hands together, her excitement evident.  “That’s fantastic!  I’ll have the tesserae ready when you bring me the ingredients.”

Bouncing on her heels, Ari smiles wide.  “Ok then!  I’ll get started right away.  You can count on me!”

Valen chuckles and she watches Ari make her way to the door.  Just as she’s about to leave, Valen calls out to her, “Oh, and Ari?”

Ari stops in her tracks and turns.  Looking at Valen, she tilts her head in waiting.  “Yes, Valen?”

The doctor raises her head and smirks slightly.  “Remember what I said about joining us at the inn on Friday?  I meant it.  I’ve got some special wine that I’ve been saving for a while, and thought this is as good of a time as any to share it.  So make sure you show up, okay?  I’ll save you a seat.  One right next to me, hun.”  She sends her a wink across the clinic, and Ari seems to nearly jump out of her skin.

Her voice pitches up two octaves as she squeaks out, “Okay, I’ll see you there!”  She runs out the door before Valen can get another word in.

Probably for the best, don’t want to overdo it with her just yet.  She chuckles and sits back down at her desk.

Once I secure Juniper’s help, I can implement step one of The Plan.

Chapter Text

It’s a pleasant Wednesday morning in Mistria.  The weather is a little warmer than usual, the breeze not having as much of a bite to it.  Valen had decided to take a break from her clinical duties; so she’s currently taking a leisurely walk around the town square.

Coming up to the fountain, she takes a book out of her bag and sits down on the step.  Opening the book, she quickly finds her place and resumes reading.

The serene sounds of the fountain and the early birds chirping are the perfect backdrop to a calm and peaceful morning.  She gets nearly 20 pages in, when she hears a familiar voice call from the other side of the fountain.

“Yoohoo!  Good morning, my dear Valen.  How are you this fine morning?”  Elsie, calls as she rounds the steps, coming to a stop in front of her.

The doctor knows this will be no quick talk, so she marks her place in her book and puts it to the side.  Looking up from her spot, she eyes Elsie suspiciously.  She seems even more chipper this morning, this can’t be good.

“Good morning Elsie.  I am well!  Just enjoying this nice weather we’re having.”  She smiles at Elsie and stands to talk to her.

“Oh it is very nice, isn’t it?  This fall has been milder than last year, that’s for sure.”  Valen nods in confirmation but waits for more, knowing Elsie isn’t here to talk about the weather.

“There’s something I must ask you, my dear.  There’s a bit of a… rumor going around about you, and I simply must know if it’s true.”  Oh great, I knew it.  Here we go.

Valen hums, “And what, pray tell, did you hear, Elsie?”  She takes a deep breath, steadying herself for whatever’s to come.

Elsie leans in, conspiratorily.  “Oh, Valen.  I heard a certain someone has an admirer!  That someone has left you a cute bouquet of wildflowers.  You must tell me everything!”  Her eyes light up, a smirk playing on her mouth.

Valen sighs and lets out a soft chuckle.  “There’s not much to tell, Elsie.  I went down to the clinic a couple of days ago and it was sitting on my desk.”

Elsie put a hand on her hip and waved the other, as if saying that couldn’t be all.  “Nonsense, Valen.  There simply must be more you’re not telling me!  What did the note say?”

The doctor shook her head, “There wasn’t a note.  It was just the flowers.”  Elsie groaned, not liking that answer one bit.

“There must be something more!  Come on, dear.  Give me something .”  The older woman put her hand to her head, feigning feeling faint.

“There’s nothing else to tell, Elsie!  I don’t know who brought them.  No one has said anything about them, other than commenting on their beauty.”  Valen shook her head, signaling that there was nothing to be said.

As Valen was about to make another comment to Elsie, she noticed movement behind the older woman.  She glanced behind her and saw Ari!  Ari was looking around and holding…. flowers?  A small smile grew on Valen’s face.

“My dear, what are you looking at?”  Elsie turns around and sees what Valen saw.  A wide smirk finds its way onto her face.  

Elsie waves as her voice rings out, “Oh yoohoo, Ari!”

Ari jumps nearly a foot off the ground.  Her eyes shoot over to Valen and widen to nearly the size of saucers.  She yelps, glances around, and throws her hand holding the flowers behind her back.

Sputtering out, “Oh hey Elsie!  Valen!  Uh… what’s going on with you guys?”  Voice pitching up, she awkwardly scratches the back of her neck with her free hand.  “Nice day out… Huh?”  Glancing around; she seemed to be looking for any way out of the conversation.

“Oh, it most certainly is a nice day!  Valen and I were just talking about-”  Elsie retrieves a quick jab from Valen to her side.

“We were talking about how nice of a day it was.  That’s why we’re out here.  I had to take a walk this morning because of it.”  Valen smiles softly over at Ari, trying to help calm her before she panics.

Not taking the hint, Elsie chirps, “My dear, what do you have there?”

Eyes widening even more, Ari all but screams out, “ Nothing!   I’ve… I’ve uh…  I’ve got nothing, but I just remembered… I think I left my kettle on.  I have to go turn it off before it burns my house down.  So yeah, gotta go, I’ll talk to you guys later!”  She then hurries off, practically running.

Once Ari is out of sight, Elsie clasps her hands together and turns back towards Valen.  “ So!  You did know!  I knew you knew more than you were letting on!”  She points to the doctor accusingly.

Valen sighs heavily.  “I had a suspicion, nothing more.  And this doesn’t necessarily mean anything.  She could have just been picking flowers for the fun of it.  You know how she is.  Constantly running around, picking flowers, helping everyone out.  She does so much for this town, you know?  Let her have fun and figure these things out on her own.  We definitely don't need you meddling.”

Elsie dramatically gasps, bringing her hand to her heart.  “Meddling?  Oh my dear I don’t meddle!  I just push sometimes, but it always works out!”  Valen shakes her head at her.  “But no matter, I’ll leave your little farmer alone.” She winks at the doctor, then clasps her hands together again.  “ Oh, I simply can’t wait to tell-”

“ No! ”  Valen interjects, pointing a finger at the older woman.  “You will not tell anyone about this!  Got it, Elsie?  There’s enough gossip making its rounds about us that you don’t need to add to it!”

Elsie pouts and sighs dejectedly.  “Fine, fine.  Just don’t leave a lady in the dark!  You’ve got to give me something once more happens.  I’m dying here!”

Valen takes a deep breath and nods slowly.  “When there’s more to tell, I will let you know.  But only if you keep it between us.  I don’t want the entire town to know our business just as we are finding it out ourselves.”

Elsie nods and waves her off.  “Okay, that works for me.  But don’t keep me waiting!  Make something happen soon, Valen.”

Valen laughs and shakes her head at her antics.  “Whatever happens is going to happen when it needs to happen.  I don’t want to rush anything.  Anyway, it’s getting later in the morning now, I need to head over to Juniper’s.”

Elsie’s eyebrows shot up.  “Oh?  And what, pray tell, are you going to talk to her about?”  She then wiggles her eyebrows at her.

Grabbing her book and putting it in her bag, she starts making her way towards the bathhouse.  “That’s none of your concern, Elsie.  Have a good day!  Drink lots of water.”  She waves over her shoulder at Elsie, then hears a snort from the woman behind her.

She better not stir up trouble for us.   Valen thinks as she walks up the steps to the bathhouse.  After opening the door, she’s greeted with the smell of essential oils and perfume.  Looking around, Juniper is nowhere to be seen; so she walks up to the front desk to see Dozy lying behind the chair.

“Oh, hey Dozy.  How are you doing, boy?”  Valen smiles at him, then his tail starts to wag.  He stretches, stands, and lets out a big yawn.

Valen walks around the desk to give him some much-deserved pats.  “Hey, boy.  Where’s your mom, huh?”  She scratches behind his ears, receiving a whine of protest when she stops.  “Oh, none of that!  I can’t sit around petting you all day.”  He whines again and lets out a big huff.

Valen laughs and stands up, stretching her back.

“Oh, I bet you could stay and pet him if you truly wanted to.  You don’t seem that busy over at that clinic of yours.”  Valen looks over to the back door to see Juniper sauntering in.

Valen puts her hands on her hips.  “I am a lot busier than you think I am, Juniper.”

Juniper hums, seemingly not buying it.  “Oh, and is that why you’re here in my bathhouse at nearly 8:30 instead of in your clinic waiting on your… line of patients?”

Valen shakes her head and makes her way around to the front of the desk once again.  “Today is Wednesday, Juniper.  I don’t start taking patients until 10 o’clock unless it’s an emergency.”

Humming again, Juniper makes her way to her desk, patting Dozy’s head on the way.

“So why are you here?  It’s obviously not to take a bath, because you usually just go on in if I’m not at my desk.”

Valen steels herself, preparing for the teasing of a lifetime.  “I need your help, Juniper.  It’s about Ari.”

Juniper gasps, her eyes lighting up in mischief.  “Oh ho ho!  About Ari , you say?  My my my, Valen.  What could you need my help with?”  She flips her hair over her shoulder.  “Could it be that you’re finally ready to confront your feelings for the little farmer?”

Reaching over the desk, she grabs Valen’s hand.  “You’re coming with me, Doctor.”  She pulls her around the desk and over to her plush purple couch, forcing her to sit down.

Groaning, Valen starts, “It’s not really about me…  It’s more about Ari.  Or well, I guess it’s about the both of us.  I just-”  She takes a deep breath.  “I’ve got feelings for her.  And I think she has feelings for me too, she’s just too shy and anxious to accept it.  That’s what I think, at least.”

Juniper reclines in her seat, a smirk playing on her lips.  “Oh, is that what you think?  Well, I think-no, I know you’re wrong.”

“Wrong?”  Valen tilts her head quizzically, fixing her gaze on Juniper.  The witch nods, fully smirking now.

“Yes.  Wrong.  I happen to know, as a matter of fact , that she has accepted it a long time ago.  She just thinks that you have no interest in her.  I also know that you are just as bad.  You think you’re too old for her to have an interest in you, that’s why you’ve not paid her any mind.  Well, I guess not anymore on that part.”

Valen opens and closes her mouth, at a loss for words.  She takes a moment to gather her thoughts, all the while Juniper is staring at her; a knowing smile on her face.

“I do have interest in her.  I’ve only just come to terms with the fact that she could be interested back.  But she just gets so shy and runs away when I try to flirt with her!  I just don’t know what to do, Juni.  That’s why I’m here.  That’s what I need your help with; getting her more comfortable with receiving flirtations… or whatever it is you want to call it.”

Rubbing her chin in thought, Juniper nudges Valen with her knee.  “We can figure something out, Valen.  Do you have any ideas?”

Valen folds her hands and sits them on her lap.  “I kind of already have a plan.  I’ve got her coming to the inn on Friday.  I told her I was going to save her a seat.  I planned on bringing some wine and somehow getting her to loosen up a bit.”

The witch nods along.  “Have anything else planned?”

Glancing around, Valen takes a deep breath before speaking, “Well, I was thinking about asking her on a date if all goes well on Friday.  I’m not quite sure when or how I will ask her, yet.  It’s more of a wait-and-see kind of situation.  But I already have plans for the date, I know exactly what I want to do with her.”

Juniper clasps her hands together, “Well this is something I can work with!  Just leave it to me, Valen.  I have an idea to get her to open up on Friday.  Just you wait and see.”  She stands, motioning for Valen to do the same.

Following closely behind, Valen groans at the implications.  “Should I be worried about your idea?”  Juniper stops at her desk and retrieves a small jar from the bottom drawer.

“Oh ho ho!  Worried, are we?  No need to be, doctor.  I’ll have everything under control.”  She smiles and hands Valen the jar.  “This is a special lotion I ordered from the capital.  I planned on giving it to our farmer girl for her birthday, but I think you need it more than I do.”

She takes the jar and looks over it.  The label is in a language she can’t decipher, but the design is beautiful.  Swirled patterns of leaves and fruits take up most of the label.  The lotion itself has a light lavender hue to it, and what seems to be a slight shimmer.  Something that would surely leave the skin sparkling.  “This looks expensive, Juniper.  Are you sure you don’t want to give it to her instead?”

Waving her off, Juniper laughs.  “Nonsense, you give it to her.  It was a bit expensive, yes, but I got a good deal on it.  Another witch made it and it was mostly a trade.  It’s Ari’s favorite scent, actually!  So she will love it, I’m absolutely sure of it.”

“Her favorite scent?”  She moves the jar closer to her nose to see if she can smell it without removing the lid.  It almost smells like-

“Yes!  Apples.  With a hint of a mix of citrus fruits.  She just loves apples, that Ari.  I told her she needed to be careful with apples around me.  You know what they say about witches and apples, right?”

Blinking at the witch, Valen shakes her head.  “No?  I don’t think I do.”

Juniper waves her off again.  “No matter, no matter.  Just give that to her, yeah?  She’s going to love it, I promise you.”

Valen smiles warmly at Juniper and gives her a tight hug.  We bicker, but she’s one of the best friends a girl could ask for.

“Thanks, Juni.  I mean it, thank you.  I can’t wait to give this to her.”  She pulls out of the hug and makes her way to the door to the bathhouse.  “I’ve got to get going now, but I appreciate all your help.  I owe you.”

Sending her a devious smirk, Juniper waves her friend goodbye.  “Oh, how wonderful .  I love the idea of you owing me a favor, Valen.  I’ll make sure I choose a good time to call it in.  Have a good day!  Catch you Friday.”  She playfully sends a wink in Valen's direction, leaving an air of mystery and charm to settle over her.

I hope I don’t come to regret this .  Valen closes the door to the bathhouse behind her.  Taking a deep breath, she readies herself for the day to come.  Letting the cool air wash over her, she smiles to herself.  Okay, let’s get this day going.

Chapter Text

Walking into her clinic after having her talk with Juniper, Valen is caught off guard by a new sight on her desk.  She slowly walks up.  Sitting in the middle of the desk, much like a few days ago, is a vase full of wildflowers.  Though mostly dandelions, it is interspersed with celosias and a couple of fog orchids.  These are absolutely beautiful , she thinks.  The vase is new too; made of what appears to be copper, with deep-set vertical grooves and a scalloped edge.  And sitting right in front of the vase, leaning against it, is a note.

You deserve to always have fresh flowers.  If you keep them where they are easily accessible, I’ll change them out every other week.  I’ll refill the other vase once they start to wilt in a few days, then every other week after that.  So that each week you will have new flowers in one of the vases.  I hope you enjoy them~

Valen covers her mouth with her hand, overtaken with emotion.  This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, I can hardly believe it.  She takes the vase and moves it to the side of the desk opposite where the other vase sits.  Taking the note, she walks to the other side of the desk and sits down.  Her fingers trail over the letters in the note.  The writing is soft, but legible.  While she wanted a note on the last vase, now that she has one, she wants more.  More notes, letters even.  She’s so deep in thought that she startles when the bell above the door chimes, signaling someone is walking in.

She quickly tears her top drawer open and tosses the note inside, then closes it while clearing her throat.  Looking up, she sees a very red-faced Ari standing in front of her desk.

“Uhhh, hi Valen.”  The farmer gives a little wave.  “I hope I’m not interrupting…?”  Valen closes her eyes for a moment, taking a calming breath and shaking her head.

“Oh, good morning, Ari.  You’re not interrupting anything, don’t worry.  I just got a new vase of flowers and I was admiring them.  They actually came with a note this time!  It was so sweet I almost cried.  They are just so beautiful, you know?”  She gave the girl a warm smile and stood up.  “Is there anything I can help you with, hun?”

Ari blushes even deeper and nods.  Taking a piece of paper out of her pocket, she says, “Yeah, they are really pretty.  I’m glad you like them.”  She visibly winces.  “I mean!  I’m glad someone got them for you and that you like them!  They sure do look nice sitting on your desk.  And they smell good too.”

Valen gasps and then puts a finger up.  “Oh!  That reminds me!  Hold on a moment.”  Ari eyes her quizzically while she digs in her coat pocket.  Pulling out the jar from Juniper, she holds it out to Ari, gingerly placing it in her open palm.

“This is for you, Ari.  You’re always doing such nice things for everyone around town, I want you to have this.  As a thank-you of sorts.”  Ari takes the jar and looks it over, tilting her head at the unknown language on the label.  “Oh, I don’t know what it says either, Ari; but, it’s lotion.  It smells mainly like apples, with some citrus undertones.”  Or so I hope.

Ari’s eyes light up.  She opens the jar and takes a tentative sniff.  “Oh wow!   It smells so good, Valen!  Thank you!  I can hardly believe this.”  Her smile almost splits her face as she takes a tiny dollop and rubs it on the back of her hands.  She brings her hand up to sniff it and then leans her hand over to Valen.  “Here, smell!  It’s so good!  Apples are my favorite, and this smells like a whole fresh basket of them!”

Valen leans forward and breathes deep, inhaling the scent slowly.  “Oh wow, it does smell good, huh?  I’m glad you like it, Ari.”  She smiles back over to the girl, happy to see her happy.  “So you don’t forget, hun; what did you need from me?”

Ari gasps and slaps her hand to her head.  “Oh, I already forgot!  Thanks for reminding me.  I need a few syrups from you, if you have them.”

Humming in affirmation, Valen says “Well, you’re in luck!  I’m completely stocked up as of a few days ago.  Which ones do you need?”

Holding up the note again, Ari reads off, “Okay, I would like three healing syrups, two stamina syrups, one fairy syrup, and one restorative syrup.  Sorry, I always have to write them down because I get some of them mixed up.”

Valen waves her off as she goes to the shelves holding her syrups.  “Don’t worry, I understand completely.”  She grabs all the bottles that Ari’s requested and returns to the desk.  “I’m a bit worried now, though.  With all the healing syrups you asked for.”

Chuckling awkwardly, Ari reaches up to rub the back of her neck.  “Well… With winter coming up soon, I figured I could spend most of the time stocking up on ores for March.  It’s kinda dangerous down there, the farther down you go.  So I don’t have a repeat of what happened with my ankle, I thought having some healing syrups on hand would help.”  Valen grimaces.

“I hate the idea of you being down there alone, Ari.  What if you get hurt more than a syrup can help?”  The farmer looks down and shrugs.  “Just promise me you’ll tell someone that you’re going to the mines that day, so someone knows where you are.  Okay?”

Ari looks up and nods with determination.  “Yeah, I can do that!  No problem.  I usually go through the narrows, so I’ll let Hayden know from now on.  I don’t think he would mind.”

Taking a sigh of relief, Valen nods.  “No, I don’t think he would mind at all.  He’s a gentleman like that.  Will want to hear when you come back as well, I’m sure.”  Ari nods again.  “Okay, with that settled, your total is 3000 tesserae.”

Ari grabs her coin pouch and opens it, getting her tesserae ready.  But she pauses, taking a moment to think.  “Oh, I think you missed one, Valen.  It should be 3500.  I needed three-”

“Oh, I didn’t miss it!  I’m giving you one for free.”  Ari opens her mouth to protest when Valen starts speaking again.  “Don’t fight me on this.  Most people don’t purchase seven at once.  I would give this deal to anyone.”  Ari sighs, knowing she won’t win this.

“Okay, Valen, whatever you say.”  She grabs the amount that she needs and hands the tesserae to the doctor, taking her syrups in exchange.  “Thanks so much, Doc!  I’ll put these to good use!”  She gives her a thumbs up and starts backing up towards the door.

“Yes, that’s what I’m worried about.  Promise me you’ll also be careful?  I really don’t know what I would do if you got hurt.  Well, other than fix you up, of course.”  She winks at the farmer and sends her a wave.  “I’ll see you Friday, Ari.

Ari lifts her head higher and smiles.  “See you Friday, Valen.”  And with that, she leaves the clinic.

Valen releases a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.  Wow, she didn’t get too flustered when she left this time!  Maybe I’m finally making some headway with her.  She sits back down in her chair and leans forward, crossing her arms over the desk.  I really hope Friday goes well.  I already have the perfect idea for a date…  I just need to be able to ask her.  Glancing over at the flowers, she smiles again feeling a new sense of confidence and determination.

It’s going to go well.  I can feel it.

Chapter Text

It’s currently 6:30 at night on Friday.  Valen has been pacing in her bedroom for the last half hour; her nerves getting the better of her.  She had a chance to talk to Juniper again, but she wouldn’t let any information about her plan to Valen slip.  Much to Valen's chagrin, she’s been keeping it close to her chest.

Ugh, I wish she could have given me something!  Why does she choose now to be so secretive?

Valen stops in front of her mirror.  She put on her favorite summer wrap shirt, but wore her usual fall leather jacket over it.  She may or may not have chosen that outfit based on compliments she received from Ari over the seasons.

Just calm down, Valen.  It’s not like this is a date.  That’s going to be another day!  Tonight is just a casual get-together to drink and talk about things.  No need to work yourself up over it.

She fluffs her hair once more and decides that her appearance is as good as it’s going to get.  Taking a deep and steeling breath, she grabs the wine bottle she’s been saving, then makes her way downstairs and through her clinic.  Glancing over at her flowers once more, she smiles to herself and leaves the clinic; closing the door behind her.

The walk to the inn is quick.  While the sun is still out, the temperature has already started dropping, so she tries to make the trip as fast as possible.  She knows she’s going to be arriving before most of the town does, but she figures she could have a glass of wine that Hemlock keeps stashed, to calm her nerves a little before the commotion starts.

Once she gets to the inn, she opens the door and is struck with spots of bright colors across all of the tables and bars.  She takes a deep breath and takes it all in.  It seems part of Juniper’s plan was to decorate the inn with bunches of flower bouquets.  Most of them not unlike the first one she found sitting on her desk.  Closing the door behind her, the thud makes Josephine and Hemlock look up from their places behind the bar and smile at her.

“Valen!  Good to see you!  We got your spot nice and set up, already.”  Josephine motions to her usual spot at the bar, and that’s when she notices there are a few candles placed around as well.  Groaning, she makes her way over to her spot and sits down.

“This is looking like a romantic date, guys!  It wasn’t supposed to be.  It was just supposed to be a cute get-together with friends.”  Valen puts her hand on her face out of slight embarrassment.

“Oh, friends , sure Valen.  You’ve never had a cute candlelit drink with your friends before?”  Josephine wiggles her eyebrows at her.  “You aren’t the only ones with candles too, by the way.  It’s just supposed to set the atmosphere of the night.  Nice and cozy, huh?”  She pats her on the arm to signal she has her friend’s back.

Nodding slowly, Valen sighs.  “It’s a little too cozy.  I’m just worried it’s going to give Ari anxiety.  I don’t want her thinking it’s too much, you know?”  Josephine hums and pats her arm again.

“Yes, it’s a bit much.  But, I think Ari will like it.  Just give it a chance.”  She smiles at Valen, opening her mouth to say more when-

“Oh yoohoo!”  Elsie comes strolling in, waving at the girls on her way over.  “And how are you doing, my dears?  My my, look at how lovely this place is!  Almost as if the little farmer decorated it herself!”

Valen groans.  Why did she have to get here early tonight too?  Maybe I should have just stayed at the clinic until it was time…

Glancing down at her watch, Valen notes the time.  Ari should be getting here in another 15 minutes or so.  I hope I can last until then.

Josephine notices Valen checking her watch.  “Oh, what time should Ari be here?  Do you know?”  Valen opens her mouth to answer when Elsie cuts her off.

“Aww, young love!  I remember what it was like back then.  Oh the nerves, the butterflies.  Sneaking kisses behind wagons.  How do you feel, Valen dear?”

The doctor all but shouts, “My gods!  It’s not like I’ve not been in love before!  I’m not a child anymore.  It’s just…”  She sighs.

“Ari’s different?”  Josephine guesses.  “Yes, we can all see that.”  The woman looks over to her husband.  “We’ve all seen how you look at each other.  We know this is something special.  That’s why everyone’s helping you out with this.”  Hemlock nods, walking up to his wife and hugging her from behind.

“We all know how special you are to each other.  It’s like you forget that we see you guys every Friday!  The eyes you make each other when the other isn’t looking, the blushes on your faces when someone mentions the other.  We see you.”

Valen groans once again, but this time in embarrassment.  It feels like my friends have been watching me , she thinks.  She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of her excess emotions.  “I appreciate all of you guys, you know that?  Though I’m really not used to all of this, it might take me a bit.”

Elsie pats her on the back.  “Well, you’ve got time!  Especially since Ari probably won’t be here for another-”

Just then, the door to the inn opens again.  And in comes a slightly disheveled-looking Ari.  She seems to take a deep breath, then smooths her hair down.  “Hey guys!  Sorry I’m a little early, I just wanted to get situated before everyone came in.”  She glances around and takes in all the flowers as everyone says their hellos back.  “Man, you sure do know how to decorate!  I’m glad I was able to find all those flowers for you guys!  I really hope Valen likes it.”  She smiles widely as she makes her way over to the bar, but freezes once she spots Valen behind Elsie.

“ Oh , hi Valen!  You’re early!  I didn’t realize you would already be here.”  Valen waves to her with a smile on her face.  She motions for Ari to join her at the other side of the bar.

“Wanted to make sure I got your seat saved.  Come on, it’s ready for you.”  Ari blushes as she makes her way over and plops down in the seat next to Valen.  She wrings her hands but looks up at the woman.

“Uh…  Hi.”  She croaks, her nerves seeming to get the better of her.

“Hi back.”  Valen coos, putting her hand on Ari’s, trying to calm her nerves.

“Well, Elsie!  I just remembered I wanted to tell you something, over here, over here.”  Josephine waves her hand, calling Elsie to the other edge of the bar to gossip.  Sighing dramatically, Elsie leaves the two women.

Valen clears her throat, and then looks at the bottle of wine she brought.  “Want a glass?  I got this on a trip to the capital a couple of years ago.  It’s apparently a very good vintage, coming from a vineyard right outside the capital itself.”  She removes her hand from Ari’s.  “We can get something to eat too, I’m famished.  You hungry?  My treat, since I invited you out.”  She smiles sweetly at the girl.

Ari nods and smiles back.  “Oh sure!  I would love a glass.  And food sounds great too, I forgot to eat before I left the farm.  Thanks!”

Humming in delight, Valen waves down Hemlock.  He bounds over with a bounce in his step.

“What can I help you lovely ladies with?”  He asks in his deep voice, full of mirth.

“We would like a couple of wine glasses for this wine I brought, please.  And we are planning on having dinner as well, so I’ll take a harvest plate with a side of cucumber salad.   And Ari, what will you like?”

Ari puts her hand to her chin and thinks for a moment.  “Oh, I’ll take a bowl of beet soup with some garlic bread on the side, please!”

Hemlock claps his hands and winks at them.  “Alright!  Coming right up, ladies.”  He starts with getting them each a wine glass, and pours the wine for them.  “Reina will get your food to you shortly.”

The girls say their thanks and take a drink from the glasses.  Oh wow, this wine is good!  I’m glad I chose this one.

“Mmm, the wine is really nice!  Thank you, Valen.”  

Smiling down at her, she notices that her skin has a slight shimmer to it.  Oh, she must be wearing the lotion.  That’s so cute, help me.

“So, Ari.  How’s your farm?  Everything going well?”  Her face brightens up with that, and she nods vigorously.

“Yes!  I should only have one more big harvest, and then I’ll be done for the season.  I have everything else ready for winter, too!”  She smiles wide, excited.

Valen laughs.  “Oh, I’m so glad!  That’s good!”  Ari laughs back and nods again.

As they wait for their food, the inn starts filling up.  They talk about the farm, about the clinic, and Valen’s idea of possibly expanding.  The conversation flows smoothly, as does the wine.

They are both on their second glass when Juniper comes waltzing in.  She makes a beeline straight to the two of them, and throws her arm around Ari.  “How’re my ladies doing?  Been behaving?”  She wiggles her eyebrows at them.

Internally screaming, Valen answers.  “Oh of course we are!  Ari always behaves though, she’s so sweet all of the time.”  At that, Ari blushes and chuckles.

“Well… I don’t know about that .  But I try at least.”

Throwing her head back and cackling, Juniper manages to get out, “Ohoho!  Is that right, our little Ari?”  She shakes her slightly.  “How about you give me some of that wine?  I want to see what all the fuss is about!”

Ari eyes Valen as she waves down Hemlock.  “Sorry Hemlock, but can we get another wine glass for Juniper?”  He walks up and winks at the witch.  “Well of course I can get that for her!  Would you like a glass of your usual too?”

She claps.  “Oh yes, that sounds wonderful.”  She releases Ari from her grasp and pats her on the back.  Then she goes to Valen’s other side and takes her usual seat.

Valen leans over and whispers to Ari, “What’s got her so hyper tonight?”

Giggling, the girl whispers back, “I’m not sure.  Does she seem… possibly a bit tipsy to you?”  Eyes widening, Valen pauses for a moment.  That’s exactly what it seems like.  Why would she be tipsy tonight of all nights?

“I believe you’re right, hun.  Maybe she doesn’t need those extra drinks.”  Ari giggles again and takes another sip of her wine.

Being this close to her, Valen can smell the lotion on her.  She starts to feel a little dizzy, a combination of her close proximity to Ari and the smell of her.

She clears her throat and backs up a little, taking a drink from her glass as well.  As she’s debating on what to say to Ari next, Reina walks up with their food.

“Here you go, guys!  Sorry it took a bit, I’m a little behind tonight.”  They both waved her off.

“It’s no problem, Reina.  I’ve got some good company to keep me busy.”  Valen says, sending a wink Ari’s way.

Ari blushes again and giggles into her hand.  “Thanks, Reina.”

“Yes, thank you, Reina.”  As she’s taking in sight of the beautifully plated food, Valen sees something out of the corner of her eye.  Looking up, she sees Ari doing a little dance in her seat.

Chuckling to herself, Valen playfully nudges Ari with her shoulder.  As she did, Ari’s eyes shoot up to Valen and she shyly smiles.

“Sorry, I just get really excited over garlic bread.  It’s my absolute favorite and Reina makes it so well!  I can seriously never get enough, and it just… makes me so happy.  I know that’s silly.”  

“Nonsense!”  Valen interjects.  “I think your little happy dance is cute.”

Blushing deeper, Ari looks away.  But then she whispers out a thanks.  Valen watches her for a moment.  Gods, she’s so adorable.

She nudges the farmer again, and when she looks up, she takes a bite of her food; as if inviting her to start eating.

Taking the hint, Ari grabs her fork and digs in as well.

“Oh, that looks so good! ”  Juniper leans forward in her seat, grabbing both the women’s attention.  “Ari!  Doesn’t Valen’s food look good?”

Valen raises an eyebrow at her, but Ari pipes up, “Yeah… it does?”

“ And Valen!   Don’t you think Ari’s food looks good too?”

Valen nods, looks over to Ari quizzically, then slowly nods again.  “Yes?  I think so.”

The witch claps her hands and sways in her seat.  “Well you know what I think that means?”  She looks at each of the girls.  “I think that means that you should share a bite with each other!”  She leans on her friend and scoops up her fork and shoves it in her hand.  “Go ahead!  Let her try a bite!”  She cackles and plops back down in her seat, taking a heavy drink from her wineglass.

Ari, fully blushing now, looks away from Juniper, to Valen.  Already looking at her, Valen wiggles the fork in her hand; a silent question as to if she truly wants a bite.  Valen watches as she visibly gulps, closes her eyes, and nods toward her.  She opens her eyes as Valen is loading up the fork, then opens her mouth when it gets close.

She closes her eyes again, this time to savor the bite.  Blush still evident on her face, she hums in appreciation.

The moment is soft, intimate.  So much so, that it causes the doctor herself to flush.  They are still leaning close when Ari opens her eyes.  Valen notices Ari’s eyes dart down to her mouth, then back up to her eyes.  It happened so fast, like a flash of lightning.  She almost isn’t actually sure that it happened, second-guessing herself.  That’s when Ari spins in her chair and grabs her spoon, loading it up in turn.

The farmer slowly turns back to Valen with her spoon, holding it out for the doctor to try.

So she does just that; she leans forward and takes a bite.  The flavors explode on her tongue.  She can taste all the ingredients, and they all come together so perfectly.  This is one of the best soups I’ve ever had, no wonder Ari got it.  I wonder if it’s a favorite of hers?  Because now it’s a favorite of mine.

Ari takes the spoon back after Valen releases it.  She puts it back in her bowl and looks at Valen expectantly.

“So?  How was it?”  Her eyes are big, sparkling with hope.  Valen can hardly control her heart at the sight.

“Good.  Really, truly good.  Great, even.”  Grinning so wide, crinkles appear on the sides of Ari’s eyes.  “In fact, I think it’s going to be one of my new favorites.”  Ari surprises the doctor by tilting her head back and letting out a breathy laugh; then reaching over to her and patting her on the thigh.

“That makes me so unbelievably happy, Valen.  Because guess what!  It’s my recipe!  I taught it to Reina last week when my ankle was hurt.  I couldn’t make it for myself, and I had a hankering for it.  So she offered to make it for me if I supervised her.”

Valen let out a laugh too.  That’s just so sweet , I can’t believe it.  “Well no wonder I like it so much, it originally came from you.”  They both laugh again, caught up in the moment.

After they are done laughing, Valen wipes her eyes.  Her emotions bubbled more than she thought they would, but it is not an unwelcome feeling.  Just as she’s grabbing her fork to take another bite, Juniper leans forward and puts her arm around Valen.

“ See?   Wasn’t that great ?  What’d I tell you?”  She wiggles her eyebrows at her friend. 

Lowering her voice as to where Ari won’t hear, Valen complains to Juniper, “Can you calm it down a bit, now?  I appreciate your help, I think I have this under control.”  Leaning back to gauge her reaction, she’s met with a giant pout.

“Oh, but Valen !”  She leans farther forward to get Ari’s attention once again.  “Ari!  Don’t you think you guys need my help still?  Or are you done being awkward?”

Both the girls gasp at their friend, but Ari speaks up first,  “I wasn’t being awkward, Juniper!  I’m just shy is all, you know this!”

Valen nods along, ready to stick up for her.  “Yeah, Juniper, no need to say things like that!  I think Ari has been perfect tonight.”  While she blushes at Valen’s words, Ari nodded with her.

”Yeah!  I might not be as smooth as you guys are, but I am totally trying my darn best, here.”  Putting her arm around Ari’s shoulders, Valen turns towards Juniper.

“For sure, and I think she’s doing a great job at it!  Maybe you should go pick on someone else, now.”  Nodding along with Valen, Ari smiles.

“Yeah, Juniper.  While I really appreciate your help for tonight, I think everything is okay now and we’ve got this.”  Juniper’s eyes widen and she leans back.  Then she fully smirks and lets out the loudest cackle they’ve heard from her in a long time.

Everyone in the inn looks over at the commotion, curious as to what is happening.  Juniper claps her hands, stands up, and winks at the both of them.  “Well, now that I’m not needed here, I can go have some fun elsewhere.  Hey, Elsie!  Have a spot for me?”

Elsie’s laugh rang out over the regular bustle of the inn.  “Oh, of course, my dear!  Come talk with me, I’m sure you’ve got loads to say.”

After Juniper saunters off, Valen looks back to Ari.  “Is it just me, or does she look like she sobered up immediately?”

She hums, thinking about it.  “It looks like it, but like… How?”  Valen shrugs at her, but then Ari’s eyes widen.  “Wait!  Do you think she was faking all this time?”

Valen’s eyes widen too, and she looks over her shoulder at Elsie and Juniper sitting at a table gossiping.  They are talking very animatedly, but she looks completely sober.

“Oh my gods, Ari.  I think you’re right.”  She looks back to the girl and laughs, shaking her head at the situation.  “I can’t believe she did that.”

Ari laughs too, lifting her hand to pat Valen’s that’s still over her shoulder.  “I can’t believe it either.  But…  She seems to have helped us both.  In her own weird way.”  She smiles up at the doctor, eyes full of mirth.

Valen smiles back.  She squeezes Ari’s shoulder, removing herself; then she bumps her with her own shoulder.  “Well, we will just have to find a way to thank her, somehow.”

Ari nods, but turns back to her food.  “Yeah, we will.  But first, dinner!  I’m still starving.”

Laughing, Valen joins in on eating too.

They continue to eat without being interrupted, thankfully, talking about all manners of things.  The upcoming seasons, the town festivals, plans for development, and more.

Once they finish, they both lean back and smile.  Bellies full, and happy from the good company.  They talk a little more until Ari starts yawning.  That, Valen takes immediate notice of.

“Have you been sleeping well, Ari?”  She watches as the girl puts her head in her hand and leans on her elbow on the bar.  She swirls the wine in her glass absent-mindedly.

“Well… not exactly.  Like I’ve said, fall is a very busy season.  But I’ll be fine!  I’ve been working on some stuff lately that’s been taking up more energy and time, but it’s… almost over?”  She takes another sip from her wine, then looks back to Valen again.  “Plus, I don’t wanna go home just yet.  We’re having fun, right?”

Valen smiles warmly at her.  She’s just too darn sweet.  What am I going to do with her?   “Well, while I agree with you that we are having fun, I also think you need your sleep.  It’s not good for your health if you overwork yourself and then not sleep well, on top of it.”

Ari slowly blinks and looks down.  Lowering her voice, she mumbles out,  “But I wanna spend a little more time with you…”

Blushing at the sweetness of her voice and words, Valen has an idea.  She smiles and nudges her with her leg.  “Well, what do you think of maybe sharing a dessert?  Then I can walk you home to make sure you get to your cabin without passing out.”

Ari’s eyes light up and she nods excitedly.  “That sounds wonderful!  I’ll pay for this one, since you’re getting dinner.”

Valen hums as if debating it, but decides to let her have it because she seems so ecstatic about the idea.  “Hmm, I guess I can let you get it.  But what would you like to eat?”

The farmer puts her hand on her chin, thinking.  After a few moments; she pipes up, “Oh!  What about an order of poached pears?”

“Mmm, that sounds delicious!  Sure, let’s do it.”  She smiles over at Ari as she waves down Reina, and asks for the dessert.

“Coming right up!  Give me like two minutes, ladies.”  As they are waiting for the poached pears, Valen puts her arm around Ari again.  The girl doesn’t seem to mind, as she leans more into her.

It doesn’t take long for Reina to bring the food, so they dig in right away.  They are about halfway through the dish when Valen decides to try something.  She takes a spoonful of the pears and holds it out for Ari.  Blushing, she takes the hint and leans forward, taking a bite.  Giggling, she does the same for Valen.  Both giggling now, they take turns feeding one another, until the desert is finished.

“Okay, Valen.  That was really good, and this was really fun, but I’m very sleepy.  I really don’t wanna ruin our night, but I think I should get going so I can turn in for the night.”

Leaning back and stretching, Valen shakes her head at the girl.  “You haven’t ruined anything, hun.  You’ve been perfect tonight.  Let’s get you home, yeah?”

Nodding and getting up, they both pay for their parts of the meal, and then say their goodbyes.  As they leave the inn, Elsie and Juniper holler their goodbyes to the pair, so they wave back.

They make their way through the town, by Balor’s cart, over the bridge, and onto Ari’s farm.  Valen pauses as they enter the farm, and takes in the sights, not having been down this way in years.  She sees her farm plots, neat and tended to.  The chicken coop stands tall and proud on the edge of the farm near Sweetwater.  To their left is a dragon statue, with a bench and lights surrounding it.

“Oh!  Let’s say goodnight to Caldarus before you drop me off at the cabin.”  Ari grabs Valen’s hand and walks her to the dragon statue.

“Caldarus?”  Valen eyes the statue.  It’s very clean and looks lovingly well-maintained, though it sticks out like a sore thumb on Ari’s farm.  It has what appears to be a blanket wrapped around its neck, mimicking a scarf.  With its size, it would have dwarfed the scarf, so a blanket makes sense, she muses.

“Yes!  Valen, this is Caldarus.  Caldarus, this is Valen.  The town doctor!  She’s the one I’ve told you about.”  Ari holds up her hand holding Valen’s and uses it to wave to the statue.  Valen looks towards Ari quizzically.

“You’ve told this statue about me?”  While Ari can be strange sometimes… this is much more strange than normal, she thinks

“Yeah!  I’ve told him about everyone in town, but especially you.  It can get a little lonely down here, sometimes.  And he gets lonely too, even though I think he’s too proud to admit it.  But it’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

Valen hums.  Oh, she’s lonely.  That’s actually very upsetting.  I’ll have to make sure to spend more time with her so she isn’t as much anymore.  “Well, I think he looks really nice.  Regal, even.”  She eyes Ari and notices how excited she is looking at the statue, so she decides to play along, “It’s nice to meet you, Caldarus.  I hope you have a good night.”

“Yeah, goodnight Caldarus!  I’ll see you tomorrow!”  Ari waves to the statue as she pulls Valen back towards her home.

“Your farm is really nice, Ari.”  Her hand gets squeezed in response.  “And I see you got your coop up and running.”  That causes Ari to smile wide, her happiness shining through.

“Yeah!  I’ve got a few chickens already.  I’ll show you sometime during the day, next time you come over.  I don’t wanna wake them up, they will be grumpy with me in the morning if I do.”  Valen hums in understanding.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”  She squeezes Ari’s hand.

“Nope!”  She popped her p and shook her head.  They make their way over to the cabin, stopping at the front door.  She lets go of Valen’s hand and starts wringing her own.  Pausing a moment, she takes a breath and then looks up to her.

“Thanks for walking me home, Valen.  I had a really nice night…  I hope we can do it again.”

Nodding to her, Valen speaks up.  “It’s no problem, Ari.  I’m glad you had a nice night, because I did as well.  I’m being completely honest here; I think it was one of the best nights I’ve ever had.  I really enjoyed myself.”

Ari blushes and shifts on her feet.  “Same here, you have no idea.”  She grins up at Valen, trying to convey her happiness.

Valen takes a deep breath and then reaches her hand out.  Cupping Ari’s cheek, she rubs her thumb across it.  “Do you think…  Would you like to go out with me?  On a date.”

Ari’s grin widens and she leans her face into Valen’s hand.  “I would love to, that sounds like a great idea.”

The doctor smiles back and swipes her thumb across her cheek once again.  “Fantastic.  What about Sunday?  You free at noon?”

Valen takes her hand away from Ari and takes a small step back.  Ari nods quickly, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

“Yeah!  I can get all my farming done by then.”

Smiling, Valen nods back.  “That’s great!  Dress warm and don’t eat lunch, alright?  I’ve got everything planned out.”

The girl giggles and puts her hand on the doorknob, about to head inside.  “You always have a plan, Valen.  I think it’s great, I’m not so good at plans.”  She smiles at Valen.  “I’ll see you Sunday then, I’ll be ready!  Get home safe, okay?”

Nodding, Valen takes another step back and turns to leave.  “Of course, Ari.  Get some sleep, I’ll see you Sunday.”

Ari smiles again and goes inside.  Valen starts on her way back to the clinic.  That went so well .  I can’t wait for Sunday, now.   She leaves the farm and continues walking on the path back.

I’m just so excited, I don’t know what to do with myself.  I’m so glad everything went according to plan.  I’m so glad she said yes .  I’ll have to make sure everything is ready for it.  I can’t forget to talk to Reina about the pie, too.

Walking up her steps, she opens the door and heads in.  She checks on her flowers once again, making sure they have adequate water, before heading up the stairs to her room.

This is fine, I have a full day to make sure everything is perfect.  She takes off her jacket and sits it on the shelf.

Just one more day, she thinks.  I can’t wait.

Chapter Text

“Ughh, I feel so miserable.  How long until I’m better, doc?”  Holt groans then coughs into his elbow.

Valen hums, looking over his chart.  “Probably a couple of days at the very least.  No more than a week.  You don’t get sick often, and this is just a simple cold, so I believe you will only be sick for maybe five days or so.  Less if we are lucky.”  He has another coughing fit, and Nora pats him on the back.  “You need to take it easy though, no working the counter at the general store.  You’ll also need lots of fluids, so keep the water flowing.”  She glances over at Nora to make sure she understands.

The woman nods and pats her husband on the arm.  “We can handle that.  I’ll either man the counter for him or I will try to get Olric to grab a day or two.”  Valen nods back and taps her pen to the clipboard.  As she opens her mouth to speak, the bell above the door to the clinic rings out.  Glancing over her shoulder, she sees Ari come in.

Valen shoots the girl a smile and she sees Ari wave back.  Then she turns to the couple again and says, “That’s perfect.  As long as he takes it easy and gets as much rest as he can, he will be back up to 100 percent in no time.”  Nora nods once again and helps Holt up and off the cot.  “I’ll give you some medication for the symptoms, and then you can go on to bed.”

The couple walk over to Valen’s desk and say their hellos to Ari.  Valen roots around in her cabinet for some of the remedies for Holt, then walks to the desk as well.  She has them sign some paperwork, and then hands over the medication to Nora.  “Take this every six hours, or as needed for the cough.  It should also help you sleep.”

Nora nods and takes it, and then grabs her husband’s hand.  “Okay, you.  Let’s get you to bed before Dell gets sick too.”  The man grumbles as they head out of the clinic, the door closing behind them.

Valen sighs as she rubs her hand down her face.  Then she startles, and looks at the farmer, checking her body up and down.  “Good morning, Ari.  I hope you’re not sick too?”

The farmer shakes her head and grins at the doctor.  “Nope!  I just noticed that you weren’t at the Saturday market, and I heard that you were working…  So I brought you something to help!”  Valen looks down at her as she pulls her hand from behind her back, producing a fresh cup of coffee.  “I figured you would like a cup of Darcy’s famous coffee!”

The doctor smiles wide at the girl, taking the cup.  She takes a sip and is met with the distinct taste of Darcy’s coffee.  It’s famous for a reason.  “Thank you for this Ari.  You have no idea how much I needed it.  They came over early, before I even managed to make my own pot.”

Ari smiles back and sways on her feet.  “I’m glad I could help!  If you need anything else, I’m your girl!”  She gets a look of determination on her face.

Valen raises an eyebrow at her choice of words.  “My girl?”  Ari’s eyes widen and she squeaks in surprise.  “Does that mean I can start calling you my girl from now on?”

Ari flounders, not knowing exactly how to respond.  “Haha…  Well…”  She looks down and wrings her hands.  Lowing her voice, she gets out, “I’ve been your girl for a long time…  In my eyes at least.”

Heart swelling, Valen puts down her coffee cup and makes her way around the desk.  When she gets close enough, she scoops Ari up into a hug.  She whispers into her hair, “You’ve got to not say things like that, Ari.  You’re going to give this old girl a heart attack.”

Burning her face into Valen’s chest, she hums.  “You’re not that old, Valen.  Plus, you’re not going to have a heart attack; I won’t allow it.”

The doctor pulls back slightly and looks down at the girl.  “Oh, is that right?”

She smiles up at her, “Yup, it is.  You’re always helping everyone in town, you aren’t allowed to get hurt.  But, you need to take a break sometimes, too.  That’s why I’m glad we are going out tomorrow.  That’ll make sure you take a break from working for a bit.”

She hums in response and pats the girl’s back.  She steps away from her but still stays close.  “Hmm, yes.  That’s a good thought, I didn’t even think about that.  I probably don’t take nearly enough breaks, but it’s my job to keep everyone in tip-top shape.  Or well, to try to anyway.”  She sighs, thinking about Holt.

Noticing her sadness,  Ari pipes up, “You can’t keep everyone from getting sick, Valen.  I know you do your best.  It’s a wonder I haven’t been sick yet, if I’m being completely honest here!  I get sick every fall, but I haven’t yet.  I think it’s those extra vitamins you gave me.  You’ve kept me from being sick so far.  Well, knock on wood.”  She leans over and raps her knuckles on the desk.

Valen chuckles, knocking on the desk as well.  Just in case , she thinks.  Leaning over, she grabs her coffee cup and takes another drink.  “I seriously hope you don’t get sick, Ari.  You’ll have me worried sick.”  She looks over to her clock and groans at the time.  “I’m really sorry to cut this short, hun, but I have some preparation I need to do for tomorrow.”

Ari nods and then blushes.  “That’s fine!  Plus you’ll probably get tired of seeing me so much, especially if you’re gonna see me for a while tomorrow too.”  She smiles and turns to leave when Valen reaches out and grabs her hand.

“Nonsense!  Listen to me; I will never get tired of seeing you, Ari.  You have no idea.  Seriously.  Seeing you brightens my day, and makes it a little easier.  Don’t ever think otherwise.”  Ari blushes deeper and throws her arms around Valen, careful of the coffee.

She squishes her cheek into her and sighs out, “You need to stop saying those things to me too, I’m gonna combust.”  She squeezes Valen, and then lets go, stepping back a few feet.

“I’ll let you get to it, though!  If it makes tomorrow easier for you, I’ll leave you to it.”  She turns on her heel and makes her way to the door.  “I seriously can’t wait for tomorrow, Valen.  I’ll see you at noon!”  She waves to the doctor and heads out the door, leaving Valen alone.

She takes a deep breath, readying herself for what she has to do today.  And to calm her nerves.  I don’t know how she can always work me up so much.  It’s some kind of gift, must be.   She goes over what she needs to do before she knows everything is ready.

Okay, I need to talk to Reina about the pie…  I hope she can do it for me.  Eh, who am I kidding, she’s such a sweet girl, there’s very little chance she won’t.  Then, I need to grab the picnic blanket from Celine.  She’s such a sweetheart for letting me borrow it for tomorrow.  I’ll also need to talk to Josephine about the sandwiches.  Oh gods, I hope I haven’t forgotten anything.

She finishes her coffee and walks to the door.  Grabbing her coat off the rack, she takes one more deep breath and heads out of the clinic and into the town.

This should hopefully not take long at all.

Chapter Text

Valen makes her way into the town, ready to check some things off her list.  I have to talk to both Reina and Josephine, I can’t forget.   Oh shoot, and I have to see if Celine is here too.  She eyes Reina standing near Darcy’s cart, so she heads to her first.

“Good morning, Reina.  Can I borrow you for a second?”  Reina is standing with her siblings, all holding some kind of sweets from Darcy.  The girl nods and pats Luc and Maple on the head as she makes her way to the side with Valen.

“What’s up, Valen?  Everything okay?”

The doctor nods quickly, glancing around.  She looks back to Reina and lowers her voice.  “Yes, everything is fine, Reina.  Thanks for asking!  I called you over here to ask a quick favor from you.”

The girl grins at her, her eyes sparkling with mischief.  “Oh, a favor you say?  Well, lay it on me.  What’s this about?”  She takes a bite from her parfait.

“Okay, well…”  Valen mulls over her words, worried she’s going to be teased.  “I was going to see if you could make me a pie for tomorrow?  I would need it at about 11:45 if possible.”

Reina hums and nods along.  “Oh, that’s not a problem at all!  What kind of pie?”  Valen’s eyes widen and she throws her hands out to the girl, shushing her.

“Shh, not so loud!  It’s supposed to be a surprise!”  She looks over her shoulder to see if Ari is around the stall, but thankfully she is nowhere to be seen.

Giggling, Reina lowers her voice.  “Oh, sorry .  I can keep it a secret.  But what kind of pie am I making for you and your sweet little farmer?”

Valen flounders, not expecting Ari to be mentioned like that to her.  She shakes her head to rid her of her nerves.  Leaning forward, she whispers, “I was thinking an apple pie would be great, since she loves apples so much.”  She made a point to not mention the sweet little farmer comment.

Reina hums again, seemingly pleased with the choice. Keeping her voice low, she gets out, “That’s such a good idea, Valen!  And since I know Ari likes the pie hot, I’ll make sure to have it warmed and ready at exactly the time you want to pick it up.”

The doctor leans back and smiles wide at her.  “Thank you so much, Reina.  I owe you one.”

The girl waves her hand, dismissing the doctor.  “Don’t worry about it.  I love seeing you two together, you’re just so darn adorable.  Glad I can help you guys out.”  She smiles back, taking another bite of her dessert.  “I’ll let you get going though, you seem to have a lot on your mind today.”

Valen nods solemnly.  “So much to do, so little time.  But I can handle it, you know me.”

She leaves the girl and starts on her way to Louis when she spots Celine standing with Nora near Vera’s stand.  She turns and heads there.

“Good morning, ladies.”  They both look towards her and smile.  “I was wondering if I could talk to Celine for a minute?”  Nora waves her daughter off with a nudge to her shoulder.

“Go on and talk to the doctor.  I need to find Dell, anyway.  Who knows what trouble that girl is getting into.”  Valen chuckles at that and waves goodbye to the woman, turning back to Celine.

“What do you want to talk to me about, Valen?”  Celine looks up sweetly at her, playing with her hands.

“I was just going to ask a favor of you, if that’s okay.  I noticed you took a picnic with your sister last season, and I was wondering if you still had that blanket you used?  If so, could I possibly borrow it tomorrow?  I’m going on a-” she leans in and lowers her voice, “on a date with Ari, and I thought a cute picnic would be perfect for her.”

Celine’s eyes brighten immediately and she claps her hands softly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.  “Oh, that’s positively adorable!  And yes, I still have the blanket!  Do you need a picnic basket as well?  Because you can borrow that too.”

Valen sighs, happy that she brought that up.  “I completely forgot about the basket, Celine.  I would love to borrow it as well.  Thank you so much for reminding me and offering!  I don’t know what I would do without you.”

The girl flushes slightly and smiles at the doctor.  “Not a problem, Valen.  If you want, I can bring them by the clinic later, so you have them when you need them.”

Nodding, Valen pats the girl on her shoulder.  “That’s absolutely perfect, thank you, Celine.  I’ll make sure to bring them back once we are done with them.”

Celine nods back.  “Take your time, I don’t need them!  Good luck tomorrow, I hope it goes well for the two of you.”

Smiling wide at her, Valen thanks the girl again and then heads up the street towards Louis’s shop, figuring Josephine would be looking at his wares.  And sure enough, she was standing directly in front of the stall next to Ari.  She pauses, not wanting to draw attention to herself, when she sees Ari take a bag from Louis, placing some tesserae in his hand in return.

She watches as Ari hugs the bag to her chest and waves to the few standing around the stall, before she turns on her heel and walks almost directly into Valen.

Valen reaches out to steady the girl, as she almost dropped the bag she was holding when she froze in her place upon seeing the doctor.  She rubs her arms up and down, trying to calm the girl.  “Woah, there.  You okay, sweetheart?”

Ari looks up, eyes as wide as saucers.  She quickly hugs the bag even closer to her chest, obviously not wanting Valen to see inside it.  “Yeah, I’m okay!”  She squeaks out.  “I’m sorry for almost running into you.  I should watch where I’m going better.”  She frowns slightly, looking at the doctor.

Valen moves her right hand up to Ari’s cheek, slowly rubbing it.  “Don’t be so worried about it, I was standing too close, anyway.  Everything is fine, hun.”

Ari closes her eyes for a moment, seemingly enjoying having Valen’s hand on her cheek.  She takes a deep breath before opening her eyes again, looking directly at the woman.

“Thanks, Valen.  I appreciate you always being able to calm me down before I even know I’m getting worked up, myself.”  She leans forward and wraps her arms around the doctor, squeezing her tight.

Valen rubs her back in soft circles.  She leans her head onto the top of Ari's, squeezing her back softly.  After about a minute, they separate.  Valen reaches out and grabs Ari’s hand, holding it.

The girl grins up at Valen, so utterly smitten with the doctor.  “I really wanna stand here and hug you, Valen, but I need to head over to see Marri.  I ordered a new dining table from her last week!  I’m so excited to see it.  The one I had before was barely big enough for just me .”

Chuckling to herself, Valen swipes her thumb across the back of Ari’s hand once more before she drops it and steps back.  “Well go on then!  Don’t Let me keep you.  I have another stop to make, myself.”  They smile at each other and part, both going their separate ways.

Valen walks up to Josephine, ready for the last item to get crossed off her list.  The woman was leaning on Louis’ table, talking animatedly to the man.  When she steps up beside her, she pauses.  Clearing her throat, she makes herself known.

“Oh hey, Valen.  I see you’re finally done with Ari, huh?”  The other woman wiggles her eyebrows at her.

Groaning, Valen blushes.  “Ah, you saw that, did you?”  Josephine straight out laughs , holding her belly.

“Honey, everyone did.  But it was so cute .  I’m glad we were all able to witness it.  I haven’t seen anything so adorable in a long time, maybe since Hayden showed off his baby strawberry cow.”

Valen groaned again, covering her face with her hand.  “Oh man, Elsie is going to have a field day with this, isn’t she?”  Josephine laughed again.  She looks over Valen’s shoulders and then back to the doctor.

“Don’t look now, but you’re not the only one being teased.”

Immediately, Valen spins around and looks at Ari.  She’s in front of Marri, standing between Olric and Hayden, hands covering her face, her bag on the ground beside her.  Both boys are laughing and patting her on the back.  Valen hears Hayden’s booming laugh across the town square.  Ari finally pulls her hand down from her face and pushes him, barely making him sway.  That just makes him laugh even louder.

She turns around, giving her girl some space.  “I can’t believe them.  Don’t they know how anxious she gets?!”

Josephine chuckles and nods at her.  “Of course they do, that’s why they are doing it.  Hayden loves getting a rise out of her.  Says it’s a neighbor thing .”  She puts air quotes around the words.  Valen humphs.  “But anyway, is there something you wanted, Valen?  Surely you didn’t come over here to just be teased by me.”

Groaning again, Valen sighs.  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do need something.  Do you remember those sandwiches you made when we had that girl’s day?  When we all had lunch together?”  Josephine hums in thought, then nods.  “Okay, phew.  Do you think you could make me a couple tomorrow?  Ari and I are having a picnic at noon, and since I know she liked them, I was wondering if you could make us some.  Oh and also, don’t mention this to her, it’s a surprise.  She knows we are doing something, but not what, so…”

Josephine nods again, then pats Valen on her arm.  “Of course, of course.  Anything for you two.  It’s taken you almost two full seasons to finally see that the other likes them!  So of course I’m going to help out now that you finally got your head out of your butt.”

Valem puts her hand to her chest, feigning offense.  “My head has been nowhere near my butt, thank you very much!  I was just trying to make sure that she really did like me before I said or did anything.  I didn’t want anything to be weird, you know?  I am the town doctor, after all.  I didn’t want her second-guessing anything that she needed to see me for, over some awkwardness.”

Shaking her head, the other lady chuckles.  “Valen, she was second-guessing things!  I was there the first time you checked her heartbeat out with your stethoscope, and you mentioned how fast it was beating!  She was so scared you were going to find out about her little crush, so she did everything in her power to not have to get checked out by you again.”

Valen groans again, feeling bad about the situation.  She never intended to make Ari feel that way.  “Well, now I’m sure she will come to me for anything.  So I guess everything worked out in the end.”

Laughing again, the other woman nods.  “I guess they did.”  She checks her watch and sighs.  “Well, it’s getting late, I should start making my way back to the inn so I can get started on the dinner rush.”

She starts to walk away when Valen yells after her, “Thanks, Josephine!  I’ll be there at about 11:45 for them!”

The woman waves over her shoulder, signaling she heard her.

Valen sighs and stretches her back out.  Since I’m here, I might as well see if Louis has anything I would like for tomorrow.

She turns and looks over his shirts, her eye drawn to a thick black partial button-up sweater with what appears to be vines that make their way down semi-puffy sleeves.

Hmm, that one will do nicely.  I’m sure Ari will like it.

Chapter Text

Checking her watch, Valen sees that it’s only 11:55.  She’s sitting on the bench near Caldarus’ statue, trying to calm her nerves.  I don’t want to be early, but I don’t know how much longer I can wait, she muses.  She’s been there for five minutes already.  After running away from all the teasing at the inn, she couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.

Since they were practically alone at the inn, Josephine and Reina both decided to tease her.  Normally she could handle some light-hearted teasing from her friends, but today, she just couldn’t.  She was far too anxious about the upcoming date.  So as she was making to take her leave, Josephine explained that she made extra food for them.  As her treat for the two, since they are always going above and beyond for the people in the town.  Valen was very thankful for it, and told her friends as much.

She checks her watch again.  Still 11:55.  She groans and throws her head back.  Maybe if I start heading to her cabin, the time will go by faster.  Plus, the longer I’ve been sitting here, the more I feel like I’m being watched.   She looks around, trying to find the reason for her discomfort.

Not finding anything that could cause it, she sighs and gets up.  Turning to grab her picnic basket, she eyes the dragon statue.

It’s standing tall and somewhat imposing over the bench and some lanterns.  After some late-night research, she found out that the dragon the statue is depicting is a type of deity; one that looks out over the town and the nature that surrounds it.  Figuring she doesn’t have much to lose, she makes eye contact with the statue and thinks hard about what she wants, as if praying.

Please.  Please let this day go well.  We both deserve something nice after everything that’s happened to this town, with the earthquake and all.  But Ari especially deserves this.  As soon as she got here, she has done everything possible for every single person here.  She’s put in so much work and effort into rebuilding this town and helping everyone in it.  Please, please let this day be good… for her.

As she goes to turn around, she thinks she sees a flash of blue in the dragon’s eyes.  Pausing, she looks closer.  Nothing seems amiss… Perhaps it was my imagination.   She takes another moment to study the statue, then shakes her head and goes on her way.

As she makes it to Ari’s cabin, she takes another moment to breathe and steel her nerves.  Once she feels like it’s enough, she knocks on the door.  Hearing a little ‘eep!’ from inside, she chuckles to herself.  Then the door is thrown open, and Ari is standing there, smiling at her.

Valen takes a moment to look her over.  She’s wearing a light lavender color cable-knit sweater dress with a thick turtleneck.  The sleeves are oversized and adorned with embroidered roses.  Her black leggings are tucked into chunky boots with a wool trim.  The doctor looks back up to her face and notices she’s wearing a light layer of makeup.  She doesn’t remember ever seeing her with eyeliner before.  She’s absolutely beautiful , Valen thinks.

Ari is smiling at her, completely and unabashedly.  “Hi, Valen,” she says.  “You’re right on time.”

Valen smiles back to the girl.  “Good afternoon, Ari.  It’s nice to see you.”  Ari tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and sways on her feet.  “Are you all ready to go?”

She nods to the woman and steps out of her house, turning and closing the door behind her.  Once she’s facing Valen again, she looks down at the picnic basket.

Her eyes widen and she hops in place, excited.  “Oh, we are going on a picnic?  That’s so fun!”   Valen chuckles and nods her head.

“Yes, you figured it out!  I thought since you like being outside so much, you might like having a picnic.”  She motions for them to walk.

Humming, Ari reaches out and wraps her arm around Valen’s free arm.  “I love picnics so much!  I haven’t had one in years though.  So, thank you, Valen.”  She looks at the basket once again.  “Do you need help with the blanket or anything?  I can carry something!  You don’t have to carry the whole thing.”

Valen thinks for a moment.  She wanted to do this for her, but she wouldn’t mind having her carry the blanket.  Maybe that’s a good compromise.  “Hmm, sure.  If you really want to, otherwise I can handle it just fine, Ari.”

Ari shakes her head and opens her other hand, shoving it in front of them.  Chuckling, Valen unwraps herself from Ari’s grip and pulls the blanket the rest of the way out of the basket, and hands it to the girl.  She takes it and wraps it around her arm, making sure to hold it far enough off of the ground.

Taking Ari’s free hand in hers, Valen continues walking, leaving the farm.  As they cross the bridge, Valen looks towards Ari.

“How are you doing today, hun?”  She takes a right turn after getting off the bridge.

The girl squeezes her hand as she responds.  “I’m doing great!  I seriously couldn’t wait for today.  I could hardly sleep last night!”

Valen frowns at her.  “That’s not good, Ari.  You need sleep!”  Ari nudges her with her shoulder.

“I’m fine , Valen!  I promise.  I was just really excited for today is all.”  They make their way across the next bridge, walking into the Eastern Road.

Humming, Valen squeezes her hand back.  “You better sleep tonight, then.  You’ll have me all kinds of worried about you if you don’t.”

Ari giggles and nods.  “I will.  I don’t wanna make you worry, so I’ll make sure I sleep extra well tonight.”

They make their way across yet another bridge and around the pond.  Valen stops in front of the bench and holds out her hand for the blanket.

“I think this is a good spot, don’t you?  Right in front of the pond, near the bench…”  Ari nods at her and passes half of the blanket.

They work together to get it laid out on the grass, and then they sit down on it.  Vallen pulls over the picnic basket and opens it up.  Reaching in, she starts pulling out food items.  A container filled with sandwiches, a bowl of potato salad, and a bowl of regular salad.  Even a thermos with tea inside.  She leaves the pie inside the basket, hopefully a nice surprise for later.

Next, she takes out the plates and utensils.  She passes one of each to Ari, who gladly accepts them with a big grin.

“Thanks, Valen.”  She says as the older woman takes the salad and dresses it.  Once she’s finished, she sets it down next to the other food.

Ari reaches over, grabs a napkin, and passes one to Valen.  “Here you go, don’t wanna be messy.”  She giggles and pulls her hand back.

Valen smiles at her and sighs out, “Thanks, sweetheart.”  She motions towards the containers of food.  “Let’s dig in, I bet you’re starving after all your farm work.”

Ari nods and grabs a spoonful of potato salad and puts it on her plate.  She takes another scoop and holds it out for Valen.  Holding out her plate so Ari can drop the spoonful onto it, Valen thanks her with a grin.

They take turns filling their plates, and once they are full, they sit back and dig in.

They’re about halfway through their sandwiches when Ari pipes up.  “It’s a really nice day today.  You know how to pick them.”  

Valen hums, taking a moment to finish her bite of food.  “I was lucky, to tell you the truth.  I’d been hoping the weather would stay like this, but we can never be sure, you know?  Another reason to plan for the date to be quick after I asked you, then I had some idea of what the weather would be like.”

Nodding along, Ari looks up at the sky.  She closes her eyes and basks in the sun for a moment.  “I don’t mind the rain, normally.  But I am glad it didn’t rain today.”

“Yes, if it would have rained, I don’t know what I would have done.”  Valen looks out to the lake, contemplating what would have happened.  “I would have thought the date would be ruined before we even started it.”

Ari laughs, startling Valen.  She looks over to the girl, eyeing her as she wipes her eyes.  “Oh, don’t worry about it, Valen!  We could have had a picnic in my cabin!  It wouldn’t have been the same, obviously, but it would have been nice too.”  Valen smiles at her and shakes her head fondly.  She’s always able to make something nice out of something rough.

“Maybe that could be our next date, actually!  I can cook for us and we can camp out in front of the fireplace.  I can grab all of my blankets for us!  I think it would be nice and warm.  And super comfortable.”  She grins towards the doctor, caught up in her idea.

Valen laughs right along with her.  “That sounds like a good idea, Ari.  We will have to keep that in mind the next time it rains.”

Ari’s eyes light up and she claps her hands.  “Oh!  I can make it rain!  Just let me know next time you want it to, and we can be set for the day.  We could even do it when it’s colder too, so it can be snowing !”  She squeals out the last word, giggling all the while.

Valen just stares at her.  Is she serious?  She can make it rain ?   Maybe she is a witch.   Taking a drink of her tea, she mulls over her questions, trying to find the best way to ask.

“Honey, what do you mean when you say you can make it rain?”  The girl clears her throat but smiles up at her.

“Like it sounds!  I haven’t used it since summer, really, but it’s super cool!  Caldarus taught me how.  Along with a few other things.”

Furrowing her brow in thought, Valen takes a deep breath and gets out, “Caldarus taught you…  The statue?”  Ari nods, continuing to smile.  “So the dragon statue talks to you and teaches you… types of magic?”

Ari nods again and takes another bite of her food.  Valen takes that time to think even more about what she just asked.  How is that possible?  The only thing I can think of is–”

“Yup!  I haven’t told anyone about him, really.  Mainly because I figured people would think I was crazy or something, but yeah!  Eiland helped me fix him up when I first got to town, and afterward, he started talking to me.  Apparently, I have some kind of magic in me that helps me connect with him?  I don’t really understand it myself, but…”  She shrugs her shoulders, looking over to the pond.  “When I do work around the farm and when I go to the mines, I get… stronger almost?  Like I pull more power from the nature around me and things.  Caldarus calls it essence.  I don’t really know how to describe it properly, but I can use the essence I get to boost my skill in things.”  She looks back over to Valen, mulling over her next words, seeming uneasy.

The doctor hums and reaches across the blanket.  She places her hand on Ari’s arm and rubs it softly.  The girl looks up to her, her face contorted in what Valen believes to be anxiety.

Feeling awful about how she seems to be making Ari feel, she scoots closer to the girl and puts her arm around her.  “Hey, hey.  It’s okay sweetheart.  You can tell me, I won’t think you’re crazy, I promise you.  I just want to understand.  But you can take your time, we’ve got plenty of it.”

Ari nods and takes a deep breath.  She lets it out slowly and nudges Valen with her shoulder.  Plastering on a smile, she looks up at her.

“You’re always so nice to me, you know that?  Always so understanding even though I’m very weird.”  Valen opens her mouth to protest, but Ari holds her hand up to stop her.  “And that’s fine.   I’m okay with being weird!  I’ve always been weird.  It actually makes more sense now that I’m here and I’ve talked to Caldarus.  A lot of weird things I’ve been able to do growing up, or things I’ve noticed that no one else seems to.  It’s all part of the essences and things, all a part of me.

“But that’s another reason I can get so good at things so fast.  I can use power to boost my skills in cooking, mining, farming… things like that.  Another reason March gets so frustrated with me, because I’ve gotten so good at smithing so fast!”  She laughs and shakes her head, eyes shining with mischief.  “I can’t really explain to everyone how I can do these things, because I don’t even know if Caldarus wants me telling everyone or not.  I know he’s okay with me telling you because you’re just so special to–”  She clears her throat, a flush crawling its way up her neck and into her ears.  “Because you’re special to me.  He knows… and has for a while.  Heck, everyone around town knew about my crush on you!  It’s completely embarrassing especially since they’ve been teasing me for a couple seasons about it.”

She shakes her head again and takes another bite of her lunch as Valen laughs. 

“Oh, tell me about it.  Since I’ve come out and told some of our friends about my crush on you, they’ve been infuriatingly nettlesome.  Always teasing and things like that.”

Ari swallows her food and groans, wiping her hand down her face at the thought.  “I know what you mean!  Always trying to meddle.”  She laughs and sips her tea.  “But they’ve helped me so much in the last couple weeks, I wouldn’t trade their teasing for anything.”

Valen chuckles at that.  “Oh, for sure.  They’ve helped me out too, and while I appreciate everything they’ve done for me, sometimes they can wind me up a bit too much.”

Ari hums in understanding.  “I’m just glad they were able to keep my plans a secret.  I honestly thought they wouldn’t have been able to, and that it would have gotten out immediately after asking for their help.”  Valen nods and she continues.  “Like Balor!  I asked him and March for help with getting vases for your flowers.  I had Balor grab me one from the capital when he went, and I had March make me one out of some copper I gave him.  But that day when I brought your first flowers and Balor was standing there?  I thought he was telling you all about it!”

Valen gasped and shook her head, leaning back to get a better look at the girl.  “No way!  One: I had no idea you got help from those boys, and two: I didn’t know you had him get it from the capital!  No wonder they were so beautiful.”  Ari blushes more as Valen stares at her.

“Hah, well…  I had an idea of what I wanted them to be like, and Balor was there when I was talking to March about them.  He volunteered to take a look around some pottery shops while he was out trading his wares.  I think the one he found was perfect.”

Finishing up her bite of food, Valen nudged Ari with her shoulder again.  “It was absolutely perfect, Ari.  You have no idea what all the flowers have meant to me.  All the things you’ve done for me, actually.  The way I felt when I thought a girl like you could possibly like an old gal like me.”

Quickly shaking her head, Ari grabs Valen’s free hand and squeezes it.  “No!  Don’t talk about or even think about yourself like that, Valen.  You’re not even that old!  You act like you are, but you aren’t.  You have no idea what it was like when you started calling me all those pet names.  I just about died !”  She giggles and shakes her head slightly.  “It made me have so much more of a crush on you, and I didn’t think that was possible.  I was so ecstatic when I noticed you never really called anyone else hun… that you only called me that.  I thought I had a tiny chance of being able to be with you, and it made me so happy.  Like, there were all these other single people in town, beautiful people , but here you were, calling me hun all the time.”

Taking a chance, Valen leans over and plants a quick kiss to Ari’s temple.  When she pulls back, she looks her dead in the eyes, saying as seriously as she can muster, “Ari.  Ever since you came here, to this town, I knew.  I knew I liked you.  I knew you were the one for me.”  She watches as Ari’s eyes begin to shine with unshed tears, but she continues.  “It’s been you this whole time, Ari.  It’s always been you.”

Ari puts her plate down on the blanket and quickly turns to Valen.  Throwing her arms around the woman, she buries her face in the crook of her neck.  Valen hugs her tightly, not letting go for a second.  She lays her head on the top of Ari’s, closing her eyes and breathing slowly.

They sit like that for a few moments.  Just holding one another.  Ari squeezes Valen once more, then pulls back, a blush covering her face.  Valen grabs her hand as she sits back in her spot, gently holding it.

Ari bashfully looks down.  Lowering her voice, she manages to get out, “Same for me, Valen.  I always knew I liked you.  That’s the reason I never really came in to see you… I was too embarrassed -no, anxious - to be around you without making a fool of myself.  I just… I get all tongue-tied and stuff around you.”

Valen throws her head back and laughs.  Squeezing Ari’s hand, she pulls her slightly more towards her.  “My sweet, sweet, girl; we all know about how bashful you get.”  Ari groans, covering her face with her hand again.  Valen reaches out and takes that hand in hers too, pulling it down from her face.  “ But, that just makes you so endearing.  Another reason I couldn’t stop myself from falling for you.”  She releases the girl's hands.  “You just look too darn adorable when you get all flustered.”

Groaning again, the girl grabs her plate and shoves a forkful of food into her mouth, pouting slightly.  Valen chuckles and grabs her plate again, taking a bite of her own food.

As they continue eating, Valen manages to get the girl to loosen back up.  She has Ari laughing and smiling in no time.  The conversation makes its way back to their friends, and how they managed to help them both out.

“Wait, you’re telling me you got help from Juniper too? ”  Ari gasps at that information.

“Yes ma’am, I did.”  Valen finishes off her plate of food and sets it to the side.  She leans back on her hands, stretching her legs out in front of her.  “It makes sense that you went to her, now that I think about it.  Because when I went to her for help, she seemed to have information she couldn’t have known without talking to you beforehand.”

Shaking her head, Ari finished off her plate as well.  She sets it to the side like Valen, but she scoots over to her side and leans her head on her shoulder.  Valen wraps her arm around her, leaning back into her.

After a minute, Ari starts shaking with giggles.  “You know what?  Juniper is so sneaky.  That’s probably why she acted that way at the inn on Friday!  She had to help the both of us, so she decided to do it in her own way.  Ugh, she’s just so… her sometimes.”

Valen hums in agreement.  “That’s very true.  But it all worked out, huh?  Because look.  We are both sitting here, enjoying the nice weather, the beautiful nature, the great company.”  She winks over at the girl.  “While it was a bit stressful as it was happening, all of our friends were able to come together to help us get this date.”

Ari sighs contentedly, rubbing her cheek on Valen’s shoulder.  They both sit there, looking over at the pond together, leaning into one another.  Everything worked out just perfectly.   The doctor thinks.

As they sit there, they enjoy the sounds of the birds flying overhead and the occasional fish splash in the pond.  With the slight breeze, the pond’s water causes ripples to start and flow all the way to the banks.  Every once in a great while, they hear a croak from a bullfrog.

It’s so peaceful that Valen almost forgets about the pie.  Oh, shoot!  I hope it’s still a little warm.   She moves slightly, causing Ari to look up at her quizzically.  “Sorry honey, but you’re gonna have to move for a minute.  I got an extra surprise for you.”

Nodding in understanding, Ari leans away from Valen and sits up.  She eyes the doctor curiously as she reaches into the picnic basket again.

Pulling out the pie, Valen hears the girl gasp in surprise.  “Oh!  A pie !  I absolutely love pie, Valen!”  She scooches forward and helps her sit the pie on the blanket.  Valen takes the top of the pie container off, showing beautiful latticework with a nice golden crust.  In the middle of the lattice lies a heart.  The sight brings a light dusting of blush to Ari’s cheeks.

Grabbing a knife and a plate, Valen looks over at Ari.  “I figured you did, I know how you like a lot of sweet stuff.”  The girl nods at her.  “And guess what, sweetheart; it’s apple!”  Ari squeals and claps in happiness.  “I hope it’s still warm.  Reina told me how much you like warm pie.  She heated it up, right before I met up with you.  So hopefully it still has some heat to it.”

Ari claps her hands again and helps Valen plate the slice of pie.  She puts her hand out, stopping her from cutting a second piece.

Valen eyes her curiously, but Ari just holds up a couple of forks instead.  “Maybe… maybe we could feed each other?  Like we did at the inn?  I thought it was really cute and fun.”  She leans back and forth, unsure of herself.  “Or, we can both get a slice too and just eat them like norm–”

Cutting her off, Valen reaches over and puts her hand on her cheek.  “That’s a really sweet idea, honey.  We can do that, no problem.”  She puts the lid back on the pie tin and moves it to the side, scooting closer to the girl.  “And if we still want more, we can always grab another piece.”

She takes one of the forks from her and scoops up a bite.  Holding it out for her, Ari takes a bite and hums, savoring the flavors of it.  “Mmm, it’s so good!  And it is still warm, so it’s even better!  Here, have a bite.”  She grabs a forkful herself and holds it out to Valen now, reciprocating the action.

Valen takes a bite.  She knows what Ari means now, it’s absolutely delicious.  The flavors meld so perfectly, and the apples are so fragrant.  The crust is still crisp on the edge, and nice and buttery.  “Mmm, you’re right, Ari.  This is so delicious.  Reina has completely outdone herself!”

Giggling, Ari nods and takes a bite of the next fork that Valen sends her way.

They both giggle and share the slice, taking their time eating.  Eventually, they grab a second slice, enjoying the pie very much.  They gossip about the other townies, Ari bringing up some good tidbits of crushing between March and Ryis she heard from Elsie.  Valen gasps at the possibility.  They continue gossiping until they finish their second slice of pie, setting the plate down and cuddling up like they were before.

Watching out over the pond, Valen rubs Ari’s side with her hand.  She pulls her slightly tighter into her, enjoying her warmth.  Sighing contentedly, Ari snuggles even closer into Valen, watching some birds fly by overhead.

After some time, Valen notices Ari shift, and then feels a small kiss placed on her neck.  Once she shifts back, Valen places a kiss on the top of her head in return.  Ari hums happily, making butterflies erupt in Valen’s belly.  She’s so cute, oh my gods.

After what feels like hours, though it was probably only one; Ari straightens out and stretches.  Following suit, Valen does the same and then checks her watch.  Dang, 3:15 already?!   She looks over at Ari.  “Hey, honey.  It’s getting pretty late.  I should probably be getting you home.”  Yawning, Ari checks her own watch.

“Oh wow!  It’s already after three o’clock?  Yeah, I should probably start getting back.  I’ll need to put my chickens in before the sun gets even close to setting.  They are anxious little guys, like me.”  Valen chuckles at that, and she accepts the help from her to start cleaning up the containers and plates.  “Oh!”  Valen startles at her outburst.  “I forgot to have you meet the chickens earlier!  You can meet them when you drop me off.”

Nodding, Valen smiles over at the girl.  “That sounds wonderful, Ari.  I’d love to meet them today.”  Ari starts doing another one of her happy dances, and the doctor chuckles again, caught up in Ari’s happiness.

Once everything is put away in the basket, they both stand.  Stretching out her back, Ari groans.  “Oh, this was so fun, Valen!  I haven’t taken time off and enjoyed myself like this in a while.”  Valen reaches down and takes the blanket, shaking it out as well as she can.

“I know what you mean, hun.  It’s been so long, I don’t even remember the last actual break I’ve had.  We should totally do this more often, I feel like I need it.”  Nodding vigorously, Ari reaches out and grabs the blanket from her, folding it up and placing it in the crook of her arm like earlier.

“You really should!  You keep telling me how I need to take breaks, but what about you?  You work just as much, if not more than I do!”  She grabs her hand and they start making their way around the pond and back to Ari’s farm.  “You’re always on call in case anyone gets hurt in the middle of the night or something.  You’re always thinking about everyone in town, coming up with ways to keep them healthier.”

Sighing, Valen nods slowly and squeezes the girl’s hand.  “Yeah, I know…  It’s just hard to take breaks when you think that the whole town’s health rests on your shoulders.”

Ari squeezes Valen’s hand back in understanding.  ”I know that’s hard, but you really need to take a break too.  What would happen to us all if you got burnt out or if you got hurt ?”  She shakes her head.  “We would all be absolutely screwed , Valen!”  Gasping, she pauses, pulling Valen to a stop next to her.  “And if you got sick, we would all get sick too!  And then if we all get sick, the whole town would get backlogged!  I couldn’t care for my farm, my animals.  Neither could Hayden!  Then the inn would have no food to make their dinners with and the store wouldn’t have any to sell!  Unless Balor took more trips to the capital… but then what happens if he gets sick too?  Oh no, Valen.  Oh no oh no oh no no no–”

Valen quickly puts the basket down and grabs both of Ari’s arms.  She begins rubbing them up and down, trying to calm her down.  Ari is still hyperventilating, so Valen pulls her into her arms and envelops her in a hug.  She rubs her back firmly.  “Hey, hey now.  You need to slow your breathing down, sweetheart.  Try to match mine, okay?  In,” she exaggeratedly takes a deep breath, “and out.”  She breathes out slowly as best she can.  She does it a few times, waiting until Ari is pretty matched up with her, and then she does it once more for good measure.

“Okay, good.  That’s good, Ari.  Nice and calmed down, right?”  She pulls back and examines her face, checking for any residual discomfort.  Seeing nothing but possible embarrassment, she plants a kid on the girl’s forehead.  “Good, you did good, Ari.”

She smiles bashfully but is able to maintain eye contact with the doctor.  She lowers her voice, whispering out a thanks.  Nodding, Valen turns back around and picks up the basket.  She loops her free arm around Ari’s and starts walking once again.

“You don’t need to be worried about any of that, sweet girl.  I can keep myself healthy just fine.  No colds or anything for me!”  She looks towards the girl and gives her the most determined smile she can muster.

Ari hums in thought, seemingly not buying Valen’s words.  “I don’t know, Valen…”  She looks out over the river as they pass over a bridge.  “Maybe if you promise me you’ll start taking breaks too, I’ll be sure.”  She looks over at her, expectantly.

Knowing she isn’t going to win this small battle, Valen signs and nods her head.  “Okay, Ari.  I’ll take breaks more often.”  Feeling her hand get squeezed, she looks over to the girl.  “I promise I will.”

Seemingly liking that answer, Ari fully smiles then.  She pulls Valen’s hand back slightly and stands on her tip-toes, quickly kissing her on the cheek.  She continues walking, not giving Valen much time to do anything but smile back at her.

It takes them a few more minutes, but then they are back on Ari’s farm.  As they enter, the farmer hollers over hello to Caldarus, and she waves.  After hearing everything about him from Ari, Valen does the same.  Want to keep on his good side, he’s obviously a very good friend of hers.  Don’t want to mess that up if I can help it.

Valen walks her to her door and sets the picnic basket down.  Ari drops off the blanket as well, grabbing Valen’s hand again and pulling her towards the fencing in front of her chicken coop.

“Okay, Valen!  Are you ready to meet The Brood?”  She wiggles her eyebrows at her stopping in front of the fences.  Valen chuckles and looks over into the pen, at a group of lovely multicolored chickens.  She looks closer and notices some chicks too.  Wow, she works fast, huh?

“Sure, honey.  Tell me all about them.”  She flashes Ari a warm smile, inviting her to introduce the chickens.

She claps her hands and bounces on her heels, excited to show off her chickens.  Explaining that she has given them all funny names, she makes Valen promise not to make fun of them.  After receiving the answer she wants, she begins pointing them out, saying their names.  “That rooster there in the middle?  His name is Eggbert!  The light brown chicken is named Nugget, and the gray and white spotted is Drumstick.  Oh, the red one over there is Hot Wings!  And the gray and white spotted one is Parm.  You know, like chicken Parmesan?”  She giggles but then puts on a serious face.  “I am not going to eat any of them, they are like my family.  But I love them having silly little names.  The little gray chick is called Stormy, and the little yellow one is Peeps.”

Valen looks them all over with a smile, happy to see all the little animals hopping around and playing with one another.  “They are all adorable, Ari.  And I love their names!  They are silly, yes, but undoubtedly names that came from you.  So I like them.”

Ari absolutely beams at her, eyes glistening with happy tears.  “I’m so glad you like them!  They are all so sweet, and they make me happy when I see them.”  She looks back towards them and then holds up a finger to Valen.  “Oh, hold on!  Give me a second.”  Valen tilts her head but nods at her.

She watches as Ari expertly hops over the fence.  She gapes at her in surprise.  She continues to watch as she bends down and scoops up Peeps, and brings it over to her at the fence.

“Here, you can pet Peeps if you want!  She’s super sweet, and doesn’t peck at all.”  Unsure, Valen reaches her hand out and lightly pokes the little chick on the head.  She begins petting it with her finger, surprised at how soft she is.

“Wow, she’s such a little cutie, huh?”  Ari giggles at that, as Valen continues to pet the bird.  Gasping, Ari reaches out and takes Valen’s hand in hers, opening her palm out flat and putting Peeps in the center of it.

“Here, hold her for a second!  I wanna show you something.”  Valen watches her as she bends down and reaches around the fence post for a long blade of grass.  She stands up and holds it out for Valen to take.

Doing so, Valen looks at her, wondering what to do next.  “Just do this!”  She pantomimes holding the blade straight up and down near her chin, then laying it down, straight out.

Valen gets the chick’s attention by clicking her tongue, and then doing exactly what Ari did, step by step.  Once she was done and holding the grass blade straight out, the chick cheeps, flaps its little baby wings, spins in a circle two times, then jumps up and grabs the blade, holding it in its beak.

Ari claps happily, bouncing and cooing, “What a good girl!  You did it!  Yay!”  She looks back up to Valen, who is currently smiling at her and the chick, and she reaches out.  Carefully taking the chick back into her hands, she walks over to the coop and puts it on the ground.  She then reaches out and rings the bell, and watches as all the birds make their way single-file back inside.  Closing the coop door after them, she bounds back over to Valen, hopping the fence once again.

Full out laughing now, Valen gets out, “Wow, Ari!  You sure do have them trained!”  Nodding, the farmer reaches out once again, but this time wrapping her arm around Valen’s, pulling her towards her home.

“I sure do !  I’ve been spending so much time with them, it’s no wonder they’ve learned a few things.”  They chuckle with each other, coming to a stop in front of the cabin.

Ari reaches for the door handle, turns it, and takes a step closer to the door.  She turns around, eyeing Valen, looking a little unsure of herself.  She begins wringing her hands, an old tell of hers, since Valen’s been paying attention.

“Thanks for today, Valen.  It was super fun and I enjoyed every moment of it.”

The older woman reaches out and clasps the girl’s hands in hers.  A way to make her stop fiddling with them.  She strokes the backs of her hands with her thumbs softly.  “Thanks for agreeing to come with me.  I had so much fun too, I couldn’t even begin to explain it.”  Bringing their clasped hands up to her mouth, she kisses the back of Ari’s. 

Eyes lighting up, Ari begins to blush as she grins at her.  “We should do it again, soon.  Or something like this!  Doesn’t exactly have to be a picnic.”  Valen hums in thought.  “Or you can just come over and I can cook you a nice dinner.  How does that sound, Valen?”  The doctor nods her head, liking that idea.

“That sounds excellent.  I’ll bring dessert, so that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.”  Nodding back, Ari smiles wide.

They stand there for another moment, just smiling and staring at one another, when Valen figures, It’s now or never .  She takes one of her hands and trails it up their arm.  Once it gets to her neck, she lifts it and places it on Ari’s cheek.  Ari closes her eyes and leans into Valen’s grasp.  Seemingly savoring the moment.  As she opens her eyes, Valen leans in, closing the distance between the two.

As they kiss, it’s as if the world around them stops.  They no longer hear the birds, no longer feel the breeze.  It’s just them.  Valen and Ari.  Valen’s heart is hammering so loud in her ears, but she pays it no mind, solely focused on Ari.

She thought there would be fireworks, Valen did.  But there weren’t.  What’s in its place is nothing but Ari .  Almost like the whole world dropped off outside of them.  She likes that more, she thinks, as she’s able to focus on the most important thing to her in this moment, and most moments anymore.  Ari.  Just Ari.

As she slowly draws back, it almost pains her.  As if there were nowhere else she would rather be, but with the girl in her arms.  She looks at her, her lips now slightly parted, and her face ablaze.  She opens her eyes once again and looks at Valen.  Something akin to love in her eyes.  She stays close, holding on to the woman as if she were a lifeline.

When did she grab me like this?   The doctor thinks.  She shakes her head the slightest bit at the thought, It doesn’t matter.  We’re like this now.  That’s what matters.

She makes up her mind right then.  She doesn’t want to be this far from her.  She wants to be ever closer.

Leaning down towards the girl, she kisses her once more.

Chapter Text

Sitting on the edge of her bed, about to get under the covers, Valen lets out a yawn.  She had a long day today, with extra paperwork from the kids getting the sniffles.  It’s the middle of winter, she had told their parents, it’s normal to have snotty noses when it’s this cold out.   But that doesn’t help the paperwork that comes from the visit, and from the medication she had given them to lessen it.

She grabs the blanket and makes to swing her legs in, when she startles at the slam of the front door to the clinic, the bell ringing right after.

“ Valen!   Valen, we need you down here!”  Olric’s booming voice sounds up the stairs.  Valen almost screams at the shock of it.  She jumps up, running to the stairs, grabbing her lab coat on the way.

“I’m coming!”  She starts heading down the stairs, freezing for a moment at the bottom when she sees something she’s been terrified of for a long time.

“Hurry, it’s Ari!”  Standing in the middle of the clinic is a disheveled-looking Olric holding an extremely battered Ari.  Standing next to Olric are Hayden and March, just as upset.

Fighting back tears, Valen hurries around the clinic and pats the cot where she wants Olric to put Ari.  He quickly walks over and gently places her down.  She looks her over, seeing dozens of cuts, splotches of bruising, an open wound weeping blood on the torn rags that are her shirt on her shoulder.  She turns to the two still standing at the center of the clinic.  “March; grab a bowl of warm water and bring it here.  Hayden, grab some gauze and antiseptic.  Some wraps too, quickly!”

She turns back to Ari, grabbing a pair of scissors from her side table.  “Olric, help me get this shirt off her, I need to assess the damage.”  He helps pull the shirt off after she cuts it open.  She looks at all the cuts littering her body almost shaking with worry.  “What happened ?”

March brings over the bowl, a large sponge placed in it.  Thanking him, she takes the bowl and starts wiping off all the blood from Ari’s skin.

Rubbing the back of his neck, March looks over to her.  “There was a mine collapse.  Hayden woke us up saying Ari hadn’t come home yet, so we rushed over to see where she could be.  We managed to get to the level of the mines she was on by using the elevator.  You have no idea how thankful we were when we found her on that level.  I don’t know how we would have gotten up a ladder carrying her in the state she’s in.”

March grabs the bowl to refill it with clean water once Hayden comes with the medical supplies.

“Yeah, we had to clear some rubble to even make it to ‘er.  She was pretty deep under a pile.  It looked really rough, Valen.”  Hayden sets the supplies down on the table next to Valen, moving it a little closer to her to help.  He looks at the brothers, seeing their discomfort.  “But she’s going to be okay, right doctor?”

Looking up momentarily, she eyes the boys.  “A lot of these cuts are superficial, but there are a few really deep ones.”  She looks back down to the girl.  “It’s nothing I can’t fix up, but it’s going to take a long time to heal.  She’s also lost a lot of blood, so she will probably be out for a while as well.”  Hearing their worried sighing, she continues.  “But she will be okay, thank goodness.”  She gulped.  “If you boys didn’t get to her as quickly as you did, we would be having a completely different conversation.”

She looks back up to all the men in the room, smiling at them.  “So thank you for that.”  They nod at her, thankful for getting there in time too.

Valen goes back to work on Ari.  Getting some more help from Olric since he had some medical training as a miner, they make quick work of getting her bandaged up.  She told March and Hayden that they could leave if they wanted since it was so late and the two of them seemingly had everything under control.  They rejected the idea immediately, saying they weren’t going anywhere until Ari was completely wrapped up, at the very least.

With Olric’s help, they manage to make quick work of getting her all bandaged up.  Once they are finished, they wash their hands and cover her up with a blanket.

“Okay boys, we’ve done all we can do for now.  Thank you so much for bringing her to me as fast as you did.  I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.”  They all nod and smile at her, knowingly.

“O’ course, Valen.”  Hayden gets out before a yawn.  “We gotta make sure your little sweetheart gets taken care of.”  She waves him off with slight embarrassment, grabbing a chair from the side of the clinic and dragging it over to the girl.

Looking at her worriedly, March reaches out to help.  “I thought you said she was going to be okay?”

Valen nods but still sets up the chair next to her.  She walks over to the cabinet and grabs out another blanket, bringing it back to the chair with her.  “She will be, I’m just… going to sit with her tonight.  If she possibly wakes up, I don’t want her to be alone.  She might not even recognize where she is and might start ripping the bandages off.  And we can’t have that.” 

The boys shake their heads at that and make their way to the door.  Olric smiles over at her.  “Well, goodnight doc.  Try to get some sleep, yeah?  You’re not going to help her if you’re sleep-deprived.”

Nodding again, Valen stifles a yawn.  “I got it, I’ll get some sleep.  You three do the same.”

They all say their goodbyes and goodnights, leaving Valen alone with Ari.  She sighs, running her fingers over Ari’s forehead and through her hair.  You better get some good rest and get better, sweet girl.  I’ll be upset with you if you don’t.   She thinks.

Figuring that’s all she can do for the night, she scoots the chair a little closer and lays her head on the bed next to the girl.  It doesn’t take long for her to fall into a light sleep, thinking of her.

After some unknown amount of time, she’s woken up by a stirring beside her.  Rubbing her eyes, she’s greeted with a groaning Ari.  As she makes to sit up, Valen carefully stops her, pushing her back down onto the bed.  “Shh, honey.  It’s okay.  Don’t try to get up.”  She hears her groan again.  Looking up into her eyes, she’s met with a tear-streaked face.  She’s absolutely worried now, pulling the blanket off of her and searching her for any injuries she could have possibly missed.  “What’s wrong?  Come on, sweet girl, tell me why you’re crying.”

Ari reaches out a bandaged hand and grabs one of Valen’s that are searching her over.  She holds it firm and steady, right over her heart.  “I just…  I just had a bad dream.  And I woke up all sore.”  She looks around, finally realizing she’s in the clinic.  “What happened, Val?”

Sighing, the doctor brushes some hair out of her face, leaning down and planting a kiss to her temple.  “You were in a mine collapse, hun.  You were pretty badly injured, but Hayden, March, and Olric managed to get you here before any lasting damage could be done.”  Ari sighed too, squeezing her hand.

“Well, I’m glad you convinced me to tell Hayden when I go to the mine, then.”  Snorting, Valen squeezes her hand back.

“You’re darn right, sweetheart.  I’d be really upset with you otherwise.”  Ari chuckles but groans slightly at her discomfort.  “Easy, Ari.”

Ari hums and closes her eyes.  “Sorry, Valen.  I’m pretty sore.”  Nodding, Valen untangles their hands and gets up.  She walks to the medicine cabinet and pulls out a syrup.  Bringing it back to the girl, she nudges her.

“I know you’re tired, but drink this for me, okay?  It’s small, and shouldn’t be a problem for you.”  Groaning again, Ari opens her eyes and glances down at the vial, then looks back up at Valen, pouting slightly.

“I don’t wanna.  It’s gonna taste bad.”  She continues to pout as Valen helps her sit up a bit.

Chuckling, Valen uncorks the vial and tips it towards the girl.  “It’s not going to taste great, but it’s not going to taste awful.  I promise you.  It’s just going to be weird.  The texture is the worst part, if I’m being honest.”  She begins pouting even more at that, if it’s possible.

“That’s even worse, Valen!  I don’t wanna drink it.”  Sighing, Valen puts her finger to her chin, pretending to think it over.

“Well, if you don’t drink it, you’re going to still be sore.”  Ari huffs, as if saying she could handle it.  “ And I won’t give you any kisses for a week.”  Almost choking at that, Ari quickly shakes her head.

“A whole week ?  Ugh, that’s not fair, Valen!”  She sticks her bottom lip out, emphasizing her pout.

Shaking the syrup in front of her, she grins.  “Yes, a whole week.  If you’re going to make me worry about you even more, and if you’re going to sit there and be difficult over the tiniest vial, then yes.  I will be difficult too.”

Frowning at her, Ari sighs.  Opening her mouth, she closes her eyes, squeezing them shut.  Valen takes that as a go-ahead and tips the vial into her mouth.  She watches and Ari almost immediately gulps it down.  Smiling to herself, Valen helps her lay back down.  She puts the top back on the vial and tosses it into the trash.

“See, Ari?  That wasn’t so bad.”  She chuckles again as Ari shakes her head.

“It was gross, Val.  I could have just waited until the morning and I wouldn’t have had to drink that stuff.”  Valen grabs her hand again, squeezing it.

“What do you mean, hun?”  Yawning, Ari wiggles in her spot, trying to get more comfortable.

“I should have enough mana in the morning to heal myself up, you didn’t have to go through all this work for me.”  Shaking her head, Valen gasps.

“I absolutely could not have waited until then!  You were bad off, hun.  I tried to make light of it for my sake, but if they didn’t grab you when they did, and got you to me as fast, you wouldn’t even be here in the morning to heal yourself.”

Ari takes a deep breath at that, squeezing Valen’s hand hard.  “I’m sorry you had to see me like that, Valen.  I didn’t realize I was so hurt.”

The doctor nods, rubbing her thumb across the back of Ari’s hand.  “You were.  But we managed to fix you up quite a bit, and now you just need your rest.  Or well, I guess to just wait until the morning, and then you can heal yourself?”

Nodding back, Ari’s eyes start to slowly close.  Yawning, she gets out, “Yeah, I can show you, if you want.  It’s not that big of a deal, not too much happens.  But it’s still cool.”

Valen hums and kisses Ari on the cheek, making the girl smile and open her eyes more.  “I would love to see it, Ari.  But why don’t you get some rest, now?  We can talk more about this in the morning.”  She pulls the blanket up for the girl and tucks her in.

Yawning again Ari closes her eyes then.  “Okay, Valen.  We can talk more later.  Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”  At that, Valen lays her head back down on the bed next to the farmer, getting comfortable again.

They sleep well, despite the situation.  Valen doesn’t even realize what time it is until the bell above the door chimes, startling her awake.

She looks back and sees Hayden.  Yawning, she checks her watch.  8:45.  Wow, I overslept a lot .   She untangles herself from Ari -sometime during the early morning, their arms got wrapped up together- and makes her way over to the older farmer.

Looking over her shoulder, she sees the girl is still sleeping, so she turns back to Hayden and lowers her voice.  “Good morning, Hayden.  Did you sleep alright?”

He chuckles, barely containing his laughter.  “I should be the one asking you that, Valen.  You sure do have a bad case of bed-head.”  She gasps, reaching up to smooth down her hair.

“Oh shush, you!  I think I’m excused after the night we all had.”

Hayden chuckles again, putting his hands out defensively.  “You’re excused, doctor!  You’re excused.  I just came by to check in on her.  I went ahead and fed her chickens this morning, figuring she wouldn’t be up to it.”

Valen beams at him, thankful for his help.  “She will appreciate the help, I’m sure.  I know I do, so thank you for that, Hayden.”  He nods.  “Around four o’clock this morning, she woke up, and I gave her something for the pain.  We talked a little bit, and from what I gathered, I don’t think she has a concussion or anything like that.”

“Oh, that’s good!”  He exclaims, smiling wide.

She nods back.  “It sure is.  She was just a little sore still, but after I gave her the medication, she’s been asleep since.  Me too, for that matter.  I think having her up and talking to me calmed me down enough to be able to sleep better.”

He hums.  “Yes, ma’am.  That would do it.  I know if I had a sweetheart like yours, I know I wouldn’t have been able to sleep well until I knew she was gonna be alright.  You’re lucky to have a girl like that.”

She sighs dreamily as she looks back over at her girlfriend.  She’s known for a while that she was lucky to have her, but to be said by someone else?  It makes her even more sure of it.

“Yes, I sure am lucky.  I think about it every day, to be honest, Hayden.”  He grins at her, knowingly.

Patting her on the back, he makes to leave.  “Good, I’m glad you know.  Not everyone is as lucky as you are.”  He turns around and heads to the door.  “Take good care of her, yeah?  Let me know if you need anything.”

“Okay, thanks, Hayden.  I will.”  She smiles at him as he leaves the clinic.  Turning around to face Ari, she slowly makes her way over.  She reaches out and puts the back of her hand on her forehead, checking her temperature.  Since it seems normal, she goes ahead and nudges her awake.

After a few moments, she hears a groan from the girl.  “Mmm, Valen?”  She opens her eyes and blinks, looking around the room.  She zeros in on the window on the far wall.  “Wha-” coughing slightly, she leans up.  “What time is it?”

Valen goes and fills up a glass with water from the sink, bringing it back to her.  She helps her sit all the way up and get the water in her, then she tells her the time.

“Oh, it’s pretty late then!  Ugh, I better get up and get ready.”  She makes to stand up when Valen puts her hand out, stopping her.  The doctor pats her on the cheek and swipes the hair out of her eyes.

“Oh no you don’t!  Not yet.  You’re going to get woken up before you head anywhere or do anything.  Hayden just left; he came by to check on you and to tell me that he fed your chickens this morning, so you won’t have to worry about it today.”  The girl grins, thankful for her neighbor.

“Ah, he’s so nice.  I’m gonna have to make sure I go and thank everyone for last night.”  She stretches her arms above her head, stifling a yawn.  She looks over to the doctor and reaches out.  Giggling, she runs her fingers through Valen’s hair.  “Looks like someone hasn’t brushed their hair this morning.”

Valen laughs.  “Yes, I haven’t managed to go upstairs for my brush yet.  Thanks; you’re now the second person who has told me I had bed-head this morning.”  She reaches out and pulls Ari close, giving her a quick kiss.  “After we get you fixed up, I’ll go up and brush my hair and my teeth.  I’m sure my breath isn’t the best now either.”

Humming in thought, she takes a moment, then Ari smirks.  “Well once I heal myself up, we can go take a bath together if you want.  It will be a nice way to spend the morning, after the awful night I’m sure you had.”  She hears the woman snort.  “And my breath and hair are probably bad too, oops.  Gonna have to fix those as well when I get a chance.”  She swings her feet off the side of the bed and nudges her girlfriend.

Taking the hint, Valen steps back, making room for Ari to stand.  She seems a little wobbly to the doctor, so she reaches out and steadies her, helping her to stand properly.  The girl thanks her with a smile, bringing her hands up to her sides.  “Watch out, Valen.  I’m gonna heal myself now.  I feel like I have enough mana this morning for it, so.”  She nods and takes another step back.

Valen watches as a blue glow starts forming on her hands.  The same blue as what I saw in the dragon’s eyes a couple of weeks ago!   She thinks.  Ari takes her now fully-glowing hands and raises them above her head slowly.  The glowing blue starts creating almost a circle of fog around her head, and then in the blink of an eye, it’s gone.  Valen gapes at her, she can hardly believe what she just saw.

Ari lowers her hands, takes a deep breath, and begins swinging her arms around, stretching her sides out.  “Nice!  I was worried I might not have had enough mana, but I did!  I think I’m completely healed up, doc!”  She giggles at Valen’s reaction.

“So that was some of your magic…  Huh.  It was beautiful, Ari.”  The girl blushes at that.  Valen takes a couple of steps closer to her now, reaching for her bandages.  “Here, let me get these off of you, then.”

They take a few minutes and unwrap all of her bandages.  Valen still looked her over; making sure all of her cuts and bruises were really healed up.  Seeing nothing was left on her, she scoops the girl up in a tight hug.

“Now I can squeeze you, sweetheart.  You listen to me.  Don’t you ever make me worry like that again, you hear me?”  Hugging her back, Ari chuckles into her neck, placing a kiss there.

“Yes, Valen.  I promise I’ll be extra careful from now on.  I hate making you worry.”

Squeezing her back once more for good measure, Valen releases her.  “You stay here a minute, I’ll grab you a change of clothes.”

The girl nods and waves her off.  “All good, I’m not going anywhere.  Take your time.”

Valen makes her way upstairs, heading straight for her dresser.  She looks through her clothes, trying to find some that would fit Ari alright, with her short legs and torso.  A shirt being long is fine, but the pants…  Hmm…  I’ll probably have to cuff them.

After looking around, she finds some that will do.  Grabbing them, she makes her way back down the stairs and over to the girl again.  She holds out her clothes to her, motioning for her to change.  “Here, Ari.  These should work well enough.  At least until we get you back home for your own.  Couldn’t find any of my pants that will likely fit you well, so I’ll just have to cuff them up.”

She giggles and starts changing her clothes with Valen’s help.  “Don’t worry about it, Valen.  Once we head to the bathhouse, everything will be fine.  I always keep an extra pair of clothes there in case I wanna stop by on my way home from the mines.”

Valen nods, “Ah, that’s good then.  You can just change there once we are done bathing.”

Ari’s eyes widen.  “Wait, you’re serious?  I thought you were going to try to talk your way out of it, saying you’re ‘busy with work’ or something!”

Taking her hand, Valen leans down and places a kiss on her cheek.  “After last night, I’m never too busy for you.”  She starts leading her to the door.  “Besides, you’re the one who keeps telling me I need to take breaks too.  So why not now?  I got my girl with me, and we could both use a bath.  So might as well.”  She sends a wink her way, opening the door and stepping out onto the path.

Ari giggles at her girlfriend and her antics.  “Sounds wonderful to me, Valen.”  She smiles up at her, eyes shining.

Now knowing that she will lose a substantial amount of her free time now that Ari got hurt, she laughs and thinks she should start taking even more time off work with her.