Deciding to just follow the feeling in her heart, Valencia brushed her hair behind her ear. Leaning forward, she pulled Astrid into a gentle kiss before using her hand to comb through Astrid's hair. "I went out to buy some groceries for making breakfast, but do you want me to also throw something together for you?"
"I'm not really that hungry, Cia..." Astrid admitted before patting Valencia's hand. "But... whatever you make always tastes good, so could you just keep it small?"
"Yes ma'am," Valencia grinned with a salute, standing up and hoisting the grocery-filled bags. Astrid was too sweet, how could she resist? Taking a deep breath, Valencia swore that she'd make the most taste-filled, drool-inducing breakfast she could—all within one plate too.
"I'll be right back then! Just sit tight. Also, do you feel well enough to go downstairs to eat or do you want to eat here in bed?" Valencia used her hands and arms to mime a balancing scale for the two choices. "I don't mind either way, so it's your choice."
Stroking her chin, Astrid flexed her legs beneath the covers. Her legs felt alright, so... it should be fine? Plus, Astrid didn't want to put Valencia through the effort of carrying all the food up. "Yeah, I feel great! Don't worry about me! I'll come down and join you, just let me know when the food is done! I look forward to it~"
With a nod of acknowledgement and a faint squint of suspicion, Valencia leaned down to give Astrid another soft kiss on the forehead before turning. Leaving the room with her groceries in hand, Valencia closed the door with a soft click before bolting down the stairs.
Astrid, on the other hand, sat there like a potato.
She still needed to muster up the motivation needed to get out of bed. Which—in her own humble opinion—was one of the hardest things to muster in life. The mattress was soft, the blankets were warm, and her clothes were so far away!
On the topic of clothes, Astrid had realized (while still not getting out of bed), the bags in the corner of the room filled with "mystery stuff" were actually just her own stuff. Astrid had no clue when Valencia had packed them, but she appreciated not having to repurchase her entire wardrobe.
Leaning over to grab some more tissues as she felt more coughs force their way through her body, Astrid laid back onto the pillows to take a minute to rest while building up her motivation.
Seven and a half months...
Clenching the blankets, Astrid, now aware of where the trash can was, tossed the red-flecked tissues while biting her bottom lip. Seven and a half months meant she had missed her and Valencia's five year anniversary. In fact, it was now—not that she had been awake for most of it—closer to their sixth year anniversary than their fifth.
Blinking away the tears with a deep breath, Astrid pushed herself up and swung her legs out from under the covers. Stretching under the sunlight peeking in through the window, Astrid smiled as she opened and closed her hands a few times.
Valencia was still her girlfriend! So it didn't matter what anniversary it was, as long as her hands were working, she could still make the drawing she had originally planned.
Her girlfriend being downstairs helped with the motivation aspect too... A warm bed was nothing compared to a warm hug.
Pulling the curtains the rest of the way open, Astrid pushed herself off the bed. Wobbling a bit, she made her way to the corner to get dressed. Throwing on a simple baggy white-knitted sweater and comfy pair of pants to just get her through the day, Astrid peeked her head out the door.
Coast was... clear.
Astrid had no idea what she expected anyway. A menacing broom, maybe? Valencia was bad at putting away the cleaning supplies after all...
With the stairs to descend just a few steps away, Astrid turned to look down the hall. There wasn't much, in all honesty. She saw another small room across from hers with a sign labeled [Valencia's Bedroom] draping from the door.
Past both of their rooms was an open space. There were a couple of couches, a TV, rugs, and a coffee table. It looked just like a living room. Peeking through the curtains covering the large windows lining a decent portion of the walls, Astrid could also see a small balcony on the far side of the living room.
With Valencia nowhere in sight, Astrid decided to leave exploration to another day. Stowing away some clean tissues in her pocket before meandering her way down the stairs, she steadied herself against a railing as she went.
Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Astrid froze like a statue. Turning towards the sound of cooking to her left, Astrid stammered, "Thi-this isn't... what I expected..."
"Astrid?" Valencia blurted, spinning on her feet as her eyes widened, "You didn't have to come down alone..."
"What? I'm fine enough to walk," Astrid flexed her arms with a laugh before raising an eyebrow. "I was going to have to walk anyway. Cia, you weren't going to just carry me down, right?"
With an awkward silence falling between them Astrid facepalmed.
"Yes, I was planning on carrying you down," Valencia nodded with a straight face, acting as if she had said the most obvious statement in the world. "Why wouldn't I?"
Squinting, Astrid shook her head with a sigh, "I never know how to deal with your weird common sense... Anyway, what is this place? Is it a cafe of some sort?"
Where Astrid stood looked like a dressing area. At the foot of the stairs sat several pairs of shoes, some Valencia's, some her own. Astrid assumed the dressing area she stood in marked the beginning of the "house" part.
The rest of the first floor, Astrid assumed, wasn't a house... well it could've been, but she wasn't sure. Windows with greenery sitting at their ledges lined the room. Small tables and chairs sat on the far side of the room creating a seating area. A small bar with stools, on which sat a register, was connected to a display case near the center of the room.
Behind the bar was a small kitchen where Valencia now stood, cooking breakfast for the two of them. It wasn't a big place, but Astrid thought the whole area looked cozy.
"It's a tea shop!" Valencia announced, plating the food and putting it on the bar, "Well... it's a little more complicated than that, but for all intents and purposes it's a tea shop."
Baffled, Astrid opened and closed her mouth a few times before slipping some shoes on.
Walking into the kitchen while shaking her head, Astrid wrapped her arms around Valencia's waist while basking in the warmth radiating off the stove. Nuzzling up against Valencia, Astrid smiled as she peppered a few kisses onto Valencia's neck and shoulder. "Thank you for the food, love."
Pressing a soft finger against Astrid's delicate lips, Valencia pushed Astrid's hair back. "Your kisses are distracting, let me cook, okay? I'll make you food all day, but you're making it a little hard."
"Okay~" Astrid stopped with a smile, deciding to just rest her chin against Valencia. "Thank you though... I'll make sure to cook more and make all your favorite dishes once I'm healthy again..."