#velealnor

[larkawolfgirl]

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder (Velvet/Eleanor)

Eleanor took a steadying breath, clutching the card tighter to her chest. You can do this, she told herself. One more breath, then she gave one tiny rap to the inn’s door with her knuckle.

“Eleanor is that you?” came Velvet’s voice in her rare soft tone that always made Eleanor’s heart flutter. “Come in, silly. It’s your room, too.”

When she opened the door she was somehow unsurprised to see Laphicet sitting on her bed across from the other woman. (He was one of the few things that brought that soft tone out of her, after all).

“Hi, Eleanor,” the malak said, beaming at her. Then he crooked his head to the side. “What’s that you’re holding?”

“Oh, this?” She tried to play innocent but she could feel a flush rising in her cheeks. “It’s for Velvet, but I can give it to her later.”

“Why wait? Phi and I were just talking.”

“I’d, uh, prefer to give it to you in private.”

She raised an eyebrow at her. “Hm. Now I must know what it is.”

Laphicet sent her a curious stare. “Can’t I stay? I want to know what it is, too.”

Eleanor sighed. “I guess it’s fine. I doubt I could hide it from you for long as your vessel, after all.” She bowed, extending the card out to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Velvet’s face remained stoic as she read the card. Finally, she lowered it and met her eyes. “This better not be a joke.”

“I would never!”

“Then,” she said with a smirk, “I accept.”

“Accept what?” Laphicet asked.

“To become her girlfriend.”

“My what?” Eleanor could hardly breathe.

“Aren’t Valentine’s gifts a proposal? Celica always said accepting a gift was an agreement for courtship. You also wrote right here that you like me very much.”

“Well, yes, I did, but…I never imagined you would return the sentiment.”

“Because revenge is all that matters to me?” Velvet scoffed. “I’ve never dated anyone before. It is yet another thing Artorius took from me.”

The look on her face was so hard now, Eleanor bit back any other quibbles. “Alright, we shall we girlfriends then.” She tried yet failed to sound confident as her heart bounded in her chest.

Suddenly Laphicet was clapping and bouncing a tiny bit on the bed. “Congratulations, you two.”

“Thanks,” Eleanor nearly whispered, fiddling with one of her ponytails.

“Now we just need to find you a nice, cute little girl.”

“Velvet!” he exclaimed, embarrassment written on his face.

“Hey, Phi.”

Laphicet turned at the sound of his nickname. “Yes, Velvet?”

“I would like to know if you know of anything troubling Eleanor.”

“Troubling her?” he asked with a tilt of his head.

“Yes. We’ve been dating for a couple weeks now, but we’re hardly any closer than before. It feels like there’s a wall between us.”

“Well…” He trailed off in thought for a moment before he made an affirmative noise. “Oh, she told me before that she’s self-conscious of her body. Do you think that could be it?”

“Why would she feel self-conscious? She’s so pretty. Men ask her out in every town we visit.”

“She has a scar.”

Velvet sucked in a breath, voice coming out harsher than she meant it to. “Thank you for the information.”

Eleanor continued to stare at her reflection. Pretty face, silky hair, smooth skin, all marred by one grotesque imperfection. She almost wished she were ugly so that it didn’t have to be her personal secret. So that people didn’t assume she was beautiful. Touching at the jagged scar line, she lamented that she wasn’t even beautiful on the inside. It was her fault Kamoana’s mother was dead. Why the girl now believed herself too ugly to ever love. Why her own mother was dead while she paid with only this one scar as a constant reminder of her own helplessness.

She didn’t mean to cry, but before she knew it there were already tears in her eyes. A knock sounded at the door, but she made no move to answer it.

“Eleanor!” Velvet called, and Eleanor gave a tiny sob. She didn’t want Velvet to know how ugly she really was. She didn’t want her to turn her eyes away in disgust. Yet this thought kept her staring acutely at the scar’s image in the mirror with disdain rather than righting her clothes to shield it.

“Eleanor, I’m coming in!” Before Eleanor had time to even grasp the hem of her lowered slip, Velvet burst through the door. As soon as her eyes took in the sight before her, she slammed the door shut with a thud, locked it behind herself, and gave the former exorcist an icy glare. With pounding footsteps, she came intimidatingly close. “What were you thinking? Why are you crying?”

“About my mother.” About you she didn’t say.

“The scar is from when you lost her.” It was more statement than question, but Eleanor was compelled to reply nonetheless.

“From when she died protecting my pitiful self, yes.”

Velvet took her bare shoulders in hand, face staring intently at hers. “You aren’t pitiful.”

“Yes, I am,” she sobbed with a shake of her head. “I followed the Abbey for years without ever realizing the horrible things they were planning. I let Kamoana’s mother be killed, and worse, I confessed to you.”

Velvet wiped at her tear stained cheeks. “I’m happy you confessed to me.”

“But I’m not the beautiful person you think I am.”

“Yes, you are.”

Eleanor opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, Velvet’s mouth was on hers. It was her first kiss, so she had no idea what she was suppose to do in response, and her emotional state didn’t help any. In the end, she let her hands find Velvet’s upper arms, and just clung to her in near stillness, feeling her tears slowly recede.

When Velvet pulled back it was with a smile Eleanor had never seen before. It was gentle, but not the same sort of gentle she showed Laphicet. Her lips pulled up further and a spark shown in her eyes. “You joined the Abbey because you wanted to help people. You understand Kamoana’s pain and are trying your best to protect and make it up to her. And you confessed to me because you wanted to let me know there was more to life than seeking vengeance. You are the most beautiful person I know.”

“Velvet.” Her voice shook. “Still, the scar…”

Velvet took a step back, eyes roaming her exposed torso, and Eleanor shivered slightly remembering that her breasts were exposed along with the scar.

“Beautiful,” she murmured in near reverence.

“But how? How can you say that?”

“We all have scars, imperfections.” To highlight her point, she shifted into therion mode. Her deamon hand shimmered with an otherworldly red gleam and the claws appeared to twitch in hunger even in stillness. Eleanor couldn’t help staring at it transfixed. “None of us choose them. What matters is what we decide to do afterward.” Closing her eyes, she shifted back.

As soon as she did, Eleanor took her once-again human hand, entwining their fingers. “Thank you, Velvet. I feel better now. Truly.”

“Good,” Velvet said, bringing her free hand up to trace her index finger along the scar’s raised flesh. It sent a little tickle down Eleanor’s torso. “Because you really are beautiful, you know. Inside and out.”

Eleanor almost cried again. Almost. Instead, she allowed herself to shudder under her touch before joining their lips together again, this time experimenting with her lips. Velvet’s finger continued tracing up and down her exposed chest, deviating from the scar somewhat, and eventually Eleanor couldn’t take it anymore, gasping against the other woman’s mouth. As soon as she did, a tongue was pressing against hers, and her mind went blank. All thoughts of her appearance vanished, all thought entirely vanished. All that was left was Velvet’s finger tracing little patterns across her skin, Velvet’s tongue so foreign in her mouth, and Velvet, Velvet, Velvet.

She had no idea how long they kissed, but it felt like either one infinitely extended minute, or infinity made all-too soon finite. Whichever was longer, which her mind currently could not decide on. She must have been scrunching her face up in thought on the matter, for Velvet laughed in a velvety tone, one she had never heard before but instantly fell in love with.

“You’re so cute like that.”

“Yeah?” Eleanor asked with a high, light tone. “Well, your laugh is absolutely lovely.”

Velvet laughed a bit louder now. “I’m glad. It feels nice to laugh again.”

Eleanor grinned. “Then, I’m glad I could make you laugh.”

She returned a sincere smile. “And I’m glad I could make you feel beautiful.”

“And I’m glad,” Eleanor, gave her own light chuckle at repeating her words like it was a competition, “that you agreed to become my girlfriend.”

“I think we can both be thankful for that,” she said before kissing her once more.