A Nice Change of Pace

John’s eyes flickered open as Vivian’s car came to a stop in his driveway.

‘Home already?’ he blearily thought, his mind sluggishly booting up.

‘It would seem so,’ Senka remarked. ‘You passed out right after we left the goblins.’

‘Didn’t think I was that tired,’ John thought back as he yawned before he looked over to Vivian as she turned off the engine. “Sorry I passed out.”

“That might have been for the best,” Vivian said quietly before tilting her head back. “You weren’t the only one.”

John glanced back to see Kiera passed out in the backseat, her head resting on her shoulder.

“Guess having Verida take over took a lot out of her,” John muttered as he saw Vivian type something on her phone. “You let the others know things went well?”

“Did right as we left,” the redhead answered. “Just seeing if they made it back here. And they’re here. Beth says Lynn took Harker and Martius to their place. Feel a bit bad we’re leaving Verida alone.”

“She said she had some things she needed to do on her end and we need to be rested for tomorrow,” John said. “Between not having anywhere to sleep in there and the lack of phone connection, it makes more sense for us to be outside. If Verida needs us, I’m sure she can reach out to one of us. She reached Teri when we were fighting those abominations.”

“True,” Vivian murmured. “I hope Harker makes good on his offer of procuring a relay for our phones. Being isolated like that really doesn’t sit well with me.”

“After Sunday, I don’t think any of us are,” John admitted as he undid his seat belt. “And if Harker doesn’t pull through, we’ll find some way of getting one.”

Vivian smiled at John and leaned over to press her lips against his. “Come on. Let’s get inside and relax.”

“That does sound nice,” John said in an airy tone as the two of them exited the car. Vivian carefully shut her door and opened Kiera’s, the bluenette still very much asleep.

“I really hate having to wake her up,” the redhead said in a glum voice as she lightly touched Kiera’s shoulder. “Kiera, we’re back at John’s house.”

The sleeping girl let out an annoyed groan and turned away from Vivian as best she could as she remained buckled in. Vivian glanced at John, conveying her idea to him wordlessly. John worked his way around the car as Vivian reached in and unbuckled Kiera, who didn’t even react.

‘Guess all that stuff really wore her out,’ John thought as he bent down to pick her up. He froze as she shifted in the seat; realization dawned on him that unlike last time, Kiera wasn’t in a magically induced sleep, just a normal one. One she was far more likely to suddenly wake up from.

‘It’s just a quick carry inside,’ he rationalized. ‘No need to make it weird.’

John slipped his arm under her legs and behind her back and pulled her out of the car. Vivian shut the door once he was out of the way, the dull thump of it closing causing Kiera to scrunch her face up and bury herself into John’s chest.

‘Well, Kiera seems to have made herself comfortable,’ Senka teased, her voice far quieter than she normally was.

‘Isn’t this where you’re supposed to go all protective girlfriend?’ John shot back.

‘Doesn’t really work when I’m one of four,’ the spirit answered. ‘Nor for me specifically since I’m not adverse to more joining in.’

‘I, what?’ John tripped over his words and nearly his feet.

‘I suppose this isn’t the right time for this sort of discussion,’ Senka mused. ‘Far too much to worry about.’

‘You say that, but I’m going to be thinking about it anyway now,’ John groused, suddenly very aware of Kiera’s weight and pleasant warmth.

‘I’m sure there’ll be something to distract you,’ Senka thought. ‘We certainly aren’t lacking in conversation topics. You could tell your mother about our trip.’

‘I’m sure she’s really eager to hear how we ended up in the sewers or how I performed psychic surgery on Harker and Kiera,’ John sarcastically remarked.

‘We both know you don’t want to keep anything more from her,’ Senka softly whispered.

‘Doesn’t make the life-or-**** stuff any easier to talk about,’ John replied. He sighed, the sound making Kiera shift in his arms, her body twisting until her face was nuzzled against his chest. She let out a soft content coo and stilled.

‘Don’t think about it,’ John thought to himself, doing his best to keep the intrusive thoughts about how cute Kiera was from bleeding through to Senka. He didn’t want to give her any more ammo. ‘Get everything else settled then maybe unpack this.’

Focusing back on reality, John carefully carried Kiera inside, slipping past Vivian as she shut the front door. Brenda poked her head out of her office at the sound, her face blossoming into a warm smile.

“Welcome home, sweetie,” she quietly said.

“Hi, Mom,” John replied, letting Senka manifest next to him.

The spirit waved at Brenda. “Have Aeolia and Beth told you what our day was like?”

“A little,” Brenda answered. “Something about that Order group finding out about you. Is that going to make things more complicated?”

“Probably,” John replied. “Um, Kiera’s a little worn out. I’m just going to put her down so she can keep sleeping.”

“You can use my bed,” Brenda quickly said before pressing a finger against her chin in thought. “But we’ll need to come up with something for later. I don’t think using the couch is going to cut it.”

“We can always make a barrier around your bedroom,” Senka suggested. “It should copy the bed over in a decent enough quality for a good night’s rest.”

“I’m not sure I like the idea of having her, or anyone really, have to slip into a pocket reality to sleep,” Brenda remarked with a frown.

“We can think of a better solution once I put Kiera down,” John said, moving towards the stairs. “Might just have to buy a cot or something off the Auction. Might even find one more comfortable than what we already have.”

John carefully ascended to the second floor and made his way to Brenda’s room. The door was closed but John quickly figured out a way to open it. With a pulse of mana, John let his wind spirit out and directed it towards the doorknob. It swirled around the knob and twisted it open, giving one weak push to swing the door ajar.

John nudged it with his foot and strode into the room. The room was as tidy as he’d come to expect, the bed perfectly made.

‘Be rude to just dump her down on top of the covers, right?’ John thought to himself as he willed the wind spirit to push back the comforter. It wasn’t a graceful maneuver, the gust of wind threw it back haphazardly, but it was enough for John to slide Kiera into the bed without it getting caught on her feet.

Before John could fully deposit Kiera and tuck her in, the bluenette took hold of his shirt with an iron grip, her face twisted into a displeased frown.

‘Oh, come on, Kiera,’ John complained. ‘You aren’t making this any easier.’

Gently, John slipped his hands from under Kiera and placed them over hers. For a brief second, he noted the softness of her skin but he pushed that observation away as he carefully pried her fingers open. Kiera let out a displeased whine but didn’t wake or resist as John eased her hands away from his shirt and placed them below her chest.

John swiftly grabbed the comforter and drew it over Kiera, who quickly latched onto the warm covering and twisted until she was on her side, wrapped up like a burrito.

‘Now that’s unfairly cute,’ John thought as he crept out of the room and gently closed the door. He shook his head. ‘Not the time to think about anything like that. Way too much going on.’

A small, treacherous part of his mind perked up and noted that he had been neck deep in shit since last week and still managed to get into a relationship with four women.

John pushed that thought back into the dark corners of his mind as he walked back to the living room. As he descended, he saw Senka on the couch, Beth and Vivian seated on either side of the spirit, both leaning into the bustiest member of their group, Senka’s arms wrapped around both of them. The redhead looked to be asleep while Beth and Senka engaged in small talk, their voices low to keep from disturbing Vivian.

John smiled at the sight, one reciprocated by the pair as they noticed him.

“Kiera’s all snug up in bed?” Senka asked. There was no pull from her seeking the information straight from his mind, she wanted to hear him answer.

“Yeah, all wrapped up,” John answered as he walked to the chair. “Went full on burrito once the covers were over her.”

Senka chuckled. “Didn’t take her for a blanket hog.”

“How much did that thing she did with Verida take out of her?” Beth asked.

“A lot, apparently,” John said as he sank into the plush and comfortable chair. “She was just barely able to stay awake on the walk back to the car. Plus, she was able to somehow give Verida the ability to speak in Teri’s language. So we can’t rule out it was all our new patron’s doing.”

“That’s going to take some time getting used to,” Aeolia remarked as she flew in from the kitchen. She flew over the couch and glided down towards John, shifting to her full size as she landed before him.

She eyed his lap and with a sly grin asked, “Is that seat taken?”

“No,” John answered with a grin of his own. “Spot’s open.”

“Perfect,” Aeolia sighed as she spun around and sat herself down, her wings pulled in close. John wrapped his arms around her waist as she relaxed against him. “Hate to bring down the mood, but I got a feeling we’re not going to get to relax tomorrow. Or for the next few days.”

“Best to enjoy what little peace we have, then,” Senka said. Despite her usual lascivious leanings, it was clear she didn’t have anything like that in mind, content with just being close to each other in a safe locale.

John had to agree. While sex was awesome, being able to just hold on to each other in the safety of his home let a sense of peace wash over him. He found himself starting to drift back to sleep, lulled by the soft conversation between Beth and Senka and Aeolia's own slowing breath.

---

Kiera was pleasantly warm as awareness came back to her, something soft wrapped around her. For a long moment, she let herself lounge in the comfortable warmth, but two certain needs began to impose upon her and the bluenette reluctantly sat up.

She blinked slowly, trying to piece together how she ended up wherever she was.

‘We did the goblin thing,’ she recalled. ‘And we were going back to John’s, right?’

Realization struck like a lightning bolt as she recognized the features of the room she was in.

‘This is Brenda’s room!’ she thought with a start. ‘But, the last thing I remember was going back to Vivian’s car.’

A gentle presence pushed against her mind, like a soft knock. One loud enough to be known, but careful to not spook her.

‘Verida?’ Kiera asked.

‘I hope your rest was well,’ the goddess said. ‘I apologize for not considering just how much strain it would put you under.’

‘You don’t need to do that,’ Kiera quickly remarked. ‘We didn’t know it could happen. And my tiredness could have been because of what I did so we could use Teri’s language. Never did anything like that, remember.’

Kiera fell silent for a moment, before continuing, ‘And, it felt nice to be able to use my powers for something good.’

She stiffened at the sensation of arms wrapping around her which felt both pleasant and odd. Pleasant due to the comforting feel and genuine emotion flowing from the goddess and odd as it clashed with the fact it wasn’t affecting her clothes or blanket, nor was there something to lean into.

‘I suppose I owe you a proper one tomorrow, then,’ Verida said in an amused tone.

Kiera flushed, mortified. ‘You heard that?’

‘Heard is a strong term,’ Verida answered. ‘More understanding where your mind was headed. I suppose we should talk with John and Senka if we’re going to be continuing this partnership’

‘I thought we were going to look for a way for you to move outside the Kingdom on your own?’ Kiera asked, doing her best to stamp down a surge of twisting displeasure over ending their current, if short lived, arrangement. It was odd, but it was a good odd. Fragmented as her memories were, she knew she had spent a long time without any real companionship, and having someone literally a thought away left her feeling connected in a way she craved deep down.

There was a flicker of something from Verida, but Kiera couldn’t place what it was before the goddess replied, ‘That could be something a long way from being possible. Best to be ready to maintain our partnership. Unless that’s something you have issues with now, given how much it has drained you.’

‘No!’ Kiera loudly thought back. ‘I don’t have any problem with that. Just, I thought the plan was to be able for all of us to go out together?’

Kiera could feel the warm smile Verida had. ‘That is the long term goal. But for now, let us walk as one when needed. I do like having someone to talk to.’

‘I like that as well,’ Kiera softly admitted. Recalling what woke her, Kiera shuffled slightly, not entirely sure how to ask for privacy. Thankfully, Verida quickly understood the bluenette’s distress and excused herself, letting Kiera attend to her business in the nearby bathroom.

Once she was done and back in the hall, Verida’s presence returned, ‘Are you going to return to sleep?’

‘I don’t think I could,’ Kiera answered as she walked towards the stairs. ‘Besides, I’m a bit hungry.’

Kiera glanced out of a window, trying to assess the time. They had finished dealing with the goblins a little after one, but she didn’t have a clue on how far it was from there back to John’s house, or if they had made the best possible time back or were delayed. By the light coming through the window, she guessed it was around four or five.

‘We did partake in an early lunch,’ Verida noted. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if a meal is already being prepared. I wonder if I could taste things through you?’

‘Can you smell things?’ Kiera asked, curiosity over her link to the goddess winning out over any lingering awkwardness or nerves over the situations. The goddess’ calming presence helped with that issue.

‘I haven’t noticed,’ Verida answered before a wave of surprise struck through their link. ‘It seems I can. Interesting I could only do it once we thought about it.’

‘Could be that we default to sight and sounds over anything else,’ Kiera postulated. ‘And to save on mental strain, we subconsciously tune it out.’

‘Sounds like a plausible theory,’ Verida noted. ‘I think I would like to test it. Shall we go and see if there’s anything to eat?’

Kiera nodded, knowing that even without seeing it, Verida would know she did it. She slowly crept down the stairs. Halfway down, she began to make out the sound of quiet conversation from the kitchen, alongside a delicious but faint smell of herbs and tomatoes.

‘Oh, that does smell nice,’ Verida remarked in an appreciative tone as they reached the main floor. Their approach did not go unnoticed, as Brenda stepped out of the kitchen with a warm smile on her face.

“It’s good to see you up and about,” Brenda said in a happy tone. Behind her, everyone else peered out of the kitchen to watch their interaction. “John and the girls were telling me about what happened on your trip and today. I’m glad it all worked out.”

“Yeah,” Kiera awkwardly said, rubbing one arm. She really didn’t want to talk about that.

Brenda carefully stepped closer and gently placed a hand on Kiera’s shoulder.

“I bet you’re hungry,” she said quietly. “I hope you like spaghetti.”

Kiera found herself smiling. “Spaghetti’s great.”