It Gets Cuter
Zane has plans for Valentine's Day that no one was expecting. Takes place shortly after Crystalized. ~1100 words
Valentine's day was always a bit of a mess at the monastery. Love is great, but stopping danger takes priority, and it seemed like every year there was someone intent on feeling most important. This year had been Killow’s turn, and the team was now stuck in the Samurai X cave, repairing surface level damages to their vehicles after the fight so they could be safely stored for the night. Groups were scattered across the room, but Zane, Nya, and Kai were gathered around the Dragon Raider, finishing out their required repairs at a decent rate.
“You and Jay have dinner reservations or anything?” Kai asked.
“No, we’re doing junk food dinner.” Nya smiled, glancing up from her work. “Nothing but piles of snacks and sweets until we eat ourselves into a coma in front of the TV. It’s fantastic.”
“That actually does sound amazing,” Her brother agreed.
“What about you? Did you make plans with Sky?” Nya asked.
“Yeah, she asked me to do this escape room thing with a bunch of friends. You know, a group date to keep things light while we’re starting out.”
“Honestly, that’s a good idea,” Nya shrugged. “You go in too fast, and sometimes things get… messy.”
Kai glanced over at his unusually quiet teammate. He seemed rather distracted as he worked, his mind obviously occupied by something else. “What about you Zane?”
Zane’s eyes popped up to his friends, pulled out of his internal world. “What about me?”
“Yeah,” Nya shrugged. “You have any Valentine’s plans tonight?”
Zane cast his eyes to the ground, embarrassed, letting out a long sigh. His complexion turned upward again, his voice lowered, and his lips smiling with tentative excitement.
“I’m finally going to tell Pixal I have feelings for her.”
The faces of his companions froze in their anticipation, Kai in particular shutting down as he tried to process the news he had been given.
“You… what?” Nya leaned forward in concern, placing down her wrench.
“I’m finally gonna tell her how I feel.” Zane reiterated, his face distorted in worry at the blank responses he got back. “Do you think it’s a bad idea, or-”
“Dude… I think she already knows.” Kai pressed, his own words still unsure of the situation as he spoke them.
“You think so?!” Zane’s eyes grew wide in surprise, glancing behind him at the nindroid in question. “She is pretty good at reading people,” he reasoned.
Nya stepped forward, putting a hand on his arm. “Zane, she’s your girlfriend, I think-”
Zane began to chuckle. “What? No! I wish! I mean, maybe. Hopefully! That’s why I’m gonna tell her. I’ve had a crush on her for a while now.”
“But you-” Kai chimed in, still frozen in place, his face stuck in a state of stupor, the gears in his head churning away as he tried desperately to make sense of the interaction. “I’m sorry.” He finally broke, shoving his hands through his hair.
“Have you two really not talked about this before?” Nya stepped in front of her brother, attempting to distract the newly fragile Zane from his reaction.
“No. Why? Do you think I waited too long?” The panic in his voice was palpable, but the confusion which filled the air was still much stronger.
“Yeah! I mean, no,” Nya calmed herself. “I don’t think you’ve missed your window or anything, but… I definitely think you could have done it earlier.” She sighed as she began to mutter. “Like the second after you met her earlier.”
“Hold on.” Kai broke in again, stepping forward, having found some sense of footing. “I’m still… But you two were like, the same person, right?”
“She was implanted into my systems for a period, yes.” Zane agreed.
“How is that not like… the most intense form of dating?” Kai’s eyes turned down as he spoke, the question more for himself at this point.
“Zane, if she was in your systems for all that time, couldn’t she… read your thoughts? Wouldn’t she already know how you feel about her?” Nya offered.
“I suppose it’s possible.” Zane mused, turning back around to observe his hopeful Valentine. “I never went as far as to observe her thoughts. She was very respectful of my privacy as far as I’m aware, but I suppose there are some things it would be difficult to conceal-”
“How did we not know?” Kai began a sibling sidebar as Zane continued to analyze his situation. “...Do you think she knows?”
“I think she- I mean she has to, right?” Nya reasoned, both of them now stuck watching Pixal as she noticed the glance of her admirer, and softly waved at him, a bashful amount of blush gracing her cheeks. “...honestly, I can't be sure about anything anymore.”
“I’m so nervous.” Zane turned around to face his companions. “If she does know, why has she not spoken to me about it?”
“Hey, buddy,” Nya grabbed both his hands, attempting to focus him. “If it makes you feel any better… I think she likes you too.”
Zane’s face exploded with hope, perhaps even on the verge of tears. “You think?!”
“I can guarantee.” Nya nodded.
“I’m going to do it. I’m so excited!” Zane again turned around, not being able to help looking at the center of his affection.
“How are you going to tell her?” Nya asked, the shock finally beginning to subside a bit.
“Well, I spoke with her father,” Zane started, spinning back around. “And he helped me make up a pair of those heart necklaces, only the heart isn’t a heart, it’s meant to look like the two halves of our power source, and the metal is reclaimed from my original technoblade, which brought us together in the first place.”
“Oh gosh, it’s so cute.” Kai breathed out, leaning over his vehicle.
“Right, because that’s how you freed her from the overlord’s control.” Nya nodded along.
Zane grinned, beginning to chuckle. “Well, no. Because she fought me for them in the woods.”
Kai fully crumpled over the hood of the car. “It gets cuter-”
“You know what,” Nya started, her heart also melting at the gesture described to her. “We’re almost done here, why don’t you go get ready to surprise her, and we can finish up the rest.”
“You’re sure?” Zane nearly jumped with excitement.
“Go!” Kai urged him, raising his head back up. “Master knows you’ve waited long enough already!”
Zane looked at them both graciously. “Thanks so much for your help!” His energy took him across the room quickly, almost skipping. At one point he turned around to wave back at his friends, which they both, much less exuberantly, returned.
“There he goes,” Nya mused.
Kai remained slumped over the Dragon Raider, his mind now as full as Zane’s had been just a few moments earlier. “I think I need to like… go lay down for a second.”
“Maybe you should talk to Skylor-”
“I really should.”
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Bright. Way too bright.
And warm. Unusually warm.
Cracking one eye open, the first thing she noticed were the open blinds. She must have forgotten to close them before she fell asleep. Explained the brightness.
Only after she closed her eye again did she notice the arm around her waist. She wasn't able to hold back the smile on her face as she turned around in his arms to hide her face in his neck and doze off again.
She hated waking up. Loved to sleep, to dream. But she loved waking up when it was next to him. Because instead of waking up to her alarm and going about her usual day, waking up next to him meant endless warmth.
Not the kind that gets uncomfortable when you try to fall asleep in the summer. It more so felt like the sun warming tan skin after a dip in the pool. Like being warmed from the inside.
That was the effect he had on her. Always had been. He was like a bonfire at the beach for her. Like a fire in the chimney when it snowed outside.
So when he came home from race weekends it felt like the start of summer everytime.
When she woke up again, it was to soft circles being drawn on her shoulder. As she stirred a little to cuddle closer, a chuckle rumbled through his chest and a soft kiss was pressed to her forehead. A satisfied smile found its way onto her face, followed by featherlight kisses wherever she could reach on his neck and shoulder.
With a quiet sigh she turned to lay on his chest, propping her chin up on it and blinking to try and open her eyes to the sun shining through the windows over her bed.
Her heart jumped in her chest when he started speaking and his voice was still scratchy. "Hi darlin' ", which made her "Good Morning" come out way too giggly for her liking. "Did you want some coffee?", she asked. "Yes please, but first I'd really like a kiss from my pretty lady. I did come to surprise you after all."
One kiss turned into quite a few but they had managed to get up at some point, moving around the kitchen quietly, occasionally singing softly when the music in the background shuffled to a particularly good song.
She'd started making coffee while he'd put her favourite playlist on and, after standing in front of the fridge for a solid 10 minutes, decided that he was gonna need some avocado toast to start the day right, obviously. Meanwhile she'd poured the coffee into two mugs and jumped onto the counter with hers between her hands.
He'd started preparing the avocado toast right next to her so she could lean into his side as they enjoyed a cheesily domestic morning. And when Taylor Swift's "Lover" came up next, she moved her head from his shoulder to steal a gentle kiss, which made him put his toast-making to a stop, step in between her legs and sway with her in his arms, humming along as Taylor asked, "Can we always be this close?"
And her world felt bright. And warm. And at peace the way it did only when he first came home again. Like this was exactly the way it was supposed to be.
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