One could say that Valles was often glowing. As a Peacebringer, the fusion of a human with an alien being composed of pure energy, most open displays of her powers involved copious displays of the raw quantum flux energy that the Kheldian race had evolved into. It was necessary for any number of her abilities, from the energy that kept her aloft in the air, to the defensive fields that protected her in combat. All of these, by their nature, generated a powerfully bright white light that most had come to associate with the alien fusions as much as their darker kin were known by the clinging purple energy they manifested.
And all of that had absolutely nothing to do with why Valles was beaming today.
Her coworkers had noticed it at Portal Corp. More than a few had been curious about her good mood. She'd just waved it off as a private thing. Most of her coworkers had promptly known exactly what it was about, with quite a few reactions racing about the intern ranks. It boiled down into three general groups, barring overlap: happiness for her situation (from most of the straight women and a few of the men), jealousy over how lucky she was (from most of the straight men and several of the women, straight or otherwise), and the occasional bouts of weary tolerance of the sheer good cheer radiating off of her.
As the latter group consisted of the people who'd remember the precise date of Valentine's Day better than actual celebrants so they could log onto the internet and gripe about a holiday that excluded single people, most people ignored them.
The intern pool at Portal Corp was always where more long established staff went fishing for new available singles, mostly because it was easy to work out who you shouldn't be fraternizing with based on their project code. And Valles had certainly attracted significant attention when she'd started work, for two large reasons and a half a dozen smaller ones. However, she'd made perfectly clear that she was taken, and the general consensus from rumor was that whoever she was dating must be a hell of a person to keep the unchallenged affections of a girl who could clearly have her pick of about any person she cared to show attention to. And whoever it was was clearly reliable as well, as V-chan's good mood could be identified to be on the same day every year... which wasn't her birthday.
It was on one such day that she landed on the steps to their flat, observing the supervisor’s rules about no unnecessary flying to upper floors, and started the jog up. The stairwell leading up the front was an efficient design, albeit with less of the old 50s sensibilities that had gone into the design of similar apartment complexes in the Row about housing the stairs indoors. Ms. Kala from 209 was just heading out to walk her dogs and V-chan exchanged a few friendly words with her as well as their mail which had been put in her slot by accident again. V resolved to speak to the mailman about that at some later date, but filed it away for later. Nothing was going to ruin her mood today.
Stepping into the living room, V-chan was surprised to find it deserted, but smiled at a small wrapped box sitting on the dining table just past the couch. A black box tied in a silk-like white ribbon, it unfastened with little trouble, leaving Valles to open the box and blink at... nothing, save a small note written in Lynna’s handwriting.
For you to wear when I give you your *real* present in the bedroom
- L
V shook her head mildly at her lover’s sense of humor but walked over to the front door, locking it before disrobing as the note’s implication had instructed. As she walked down the hall, Valles found herself wondering what precisely Lynna had gotten her rather than the usual lingerie that she’d been expecting in the box, but decided to let herself be surprised. Most people didn’t have to make an active choice about such things, but most people also couldn’t see through walls like Valles could. Being able to see more energy wavelengths than possible for the average science lab was one of the more useful things that came with Kheldian symbiosis.
Once she walked into the room, V-chan looked around, absently wondering if Lynna’s choice of gifts was something that would’ve led to awkward questions on the tram home if someone’d spotted the bag. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of motion out of the corner of her eye. The coloration and build was wrong for Lynna, and Valles started to bring her hands up to try, however futilely, to cover herself...before she stopped and actually looked at the naked woman trying to cover her substantial assets looking back at her.
A reflection.
“Surprise,” a familiar voice said as Lynna appeared at her shoulder, having probably turned invisible to let her girlfriend walk in without noticing her.
“Very funny,” V-chan said, a little sourly, as she looked back at the full-length mirror sitting with a bow on one corner in front of the closet. “Was there a point to this besides raising my blood pressure?”
Lynna smiled softly, which left V-chan staring at her, anger fading into perplexity. The Warshade, however, spoke up as she looked at her. “Just look at it, hmm?”
Valles turned, looking back at the mirror, taking a moment to force herself to relax from the brief fright Lynna’s plan had given her. The darker skinned woman was looking at the reflection too from her place behind Valles, chin resting on her shoulder. “What do you see?”
“...me, I guess. And you.”
“Correction: you see an attractive young woman with a body that most preppy cheerleaders and would-be social divas would slit their own throats for,” Lynna corrected her, still smiling slightly. “That’s why I got you this.”
Valles frowned at her, before Lynna sighed and rapped her knuckles gently on the shorter woman’s head. “Dummy. I wanted you to see what I see when I look at you. Not what you think you look like,” she said warmly.
The click of everything sliding into place left Valles at a loss for words for a moment, before she blushed. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Lynna returned, not saying anything else as V-chan looked back at the mirror and her reflection in it, this time not avoiding taking a long look at herself. After a moment, she smiled, the blush still there.
“When did you become the sensitive one, Lynna?” V-chan wondered, looking over her shoulder.“Well, there are other side-benefits to getting you naked in the bedroom, I’ll admit,” Lynna chuckled, her grin growing a bit more crooked.
“There’s the girlfriend I remember,” V-chan laughed as she turned around to give herself a position to reach under Lynna's shirt in turn.
“Happy anniversary, Nat.”“Happy anniversary, Lynna.”
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
And all of that had absolutely nothing to do with why Valles was beaming today.
Her coworkers had noticed it at Portal Corp. More than a few had been curious about her good mood. She'd just waved it off as a private thing. Most of her coworkers had promptly known exactly what it was about, with quite a few reactions racing about the intern ranks. It boiled down into three general groups, barring overlap: happiness for her situation (from most of the straight women and a few of the men), jealousy over how lucky she was (from most of the straight men and several of the women, straight or otherwise), and the occasional bouts of weary tolerance of the sheer good cheer radiating off of her.
As the latter group consisted of the people who'd remember the precise date of Valentine's Day better than actual celebrants so they could log onto the internet and gripe about a holiday that excluded single people, most people ignored them.
The intern pool at Portal Corp was always where more long established staff went fishing for new available singles, mostly because it was easy to work out who you shouldn't be fraternizing with based on their project code. And Valles had certainly attracted significant attention when she'd started work, for two large reasons and a half a dozen smaller ones. However, she'd made perfectly clear that she was taken, and the general consensus from rumor was that whoever she was dating must be a hell of a person to keep the unchallenged affections of a girl who could clearly have her pick of about any person she cared to show attention to. And whoever it was was clearly reliable as well, as V-chan's good mood could be identified to be on the same day every year... which wasn't her birthday.
It was on one such day that she landed on the steps to their flat, observing the supervisor’s rules about no unnecessary flying to upper floors, and started the jog up. The stairwell leading up the front was an efficient design, albeit with less of the old 50s sensibilities that had gone into the design of similar apartment complexes in the Row about housing the stairs indoors. Ms. Kala from 209 was just heading out to walk her dogs and V-chan exchanged a few friendly words with her as well as their mail which had been put in her slot by accident again. V resolved to speak to the mailman about that at some later date, but filed it away for later. Nothing was going to ruin her mood today.
Stepping into the living room, V-chan was surprised to find it deserted, but smiled at a small wrapped box sitting on the dining table just past the couch. A black box tied in a silk-like white ribbon, it unfastened with little trouble, leaving Valles to open the box and blink at... nothing, save a small note written in Lynna’s handwriting.
For you to wear when I give you your *real* present in the bedroom
- L
V shook her head mildly at her lover’s sense of humor but walked over to the front door, locking it before disrobing as the note’s implication had instructed. As she walked down the hall, Valles found herself wondering what precisely Lynna had gotten her rather than the usual lingerie that she’d been expecting in the box, but decided to let herself be surprised. Most people didn’t have to make an active choice about such things, but most people also couldn’t see through walls like Valles could. Being able to see more energy wavelengths than possible for the average science lab was one of the more useful things that came with Kheldian symbiosis.
Once she walked into the room, V-chan looked around, absently wondering if Lynna’s choice of gifts was something that would’ve led to awkward questions on the tram home if someone’d spotted the bag. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of motion out of the corner of her eye. The coloration and build was wrong for Lynna, and Valles started to bring her hands up to try, however futilely, to cover herself...before she stopped and actually looked at the naked woman trying to cover her substantial assets looking back at her.
A reflection.
“Surprise,” a familiar voice said as Lynna appeared at her shoulder, having probably turned invisible to let her girlfriend walk in without noticing her.
“Very funny,” V-chan said, a little sourly, as she looked back at the full-length mirror sitting with a bow on one corner in front of the closet. “Was there a point to this besides raising my blood pressure?”
Lynna smiled softly, which left V-chan staring at her, anger fading into perplexity. The Warshade, however, spoke up as she looked at her. “Just look at it, hmm?”
Valles turned, looking back at the mirror, taking a moment to force herself to relax from the brief fright Lynna’s plan had given her. The darker skinned woman was looking at the reflection too from her place behind Valles, chin resting on her shoulder. “What do you see?”
“...me, I guess. And you.”
“Correction: you see an attractive young woman with a body that most preppy cheerleaders and would-be social divas would slit their own throats for,” Lynna corrected her, still smiling slightly. “That’s why I got you this.”
Valles frowned at her, before Lynna sighed and rapped her knuckles gently on the shorter woman’s head. “Dummy. I wanted you to see what I see when I look at you. Not what you think you look like,” she said warmly.
The click of everything sliding into place left Valles at a loss for words for a moment, before she blushed. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Lynna returned, not saying anything else as V-chan looked back at the mirror and her reflection in it, this time not avoiding taking a long look at herself. After a moment, she smiled, the blush still there.
“When did you become the sensitive one, Lynna?” V-chan wondered, looking over her shoulder.“Well, there are other side-benefits to getting you naked in the bedroom, I’ll admit,” Lynna chuckled, her grin growing a bit more crooked.
“There’s the girlfriend I remember,” V-chan laughed as she turned around to give herself a position to reach under Lynna's shirt in turn.
“Happy anniversary, Nat.”“Happy anniversary, Lynna.”
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."