How did it come to this? Maya wondered. Val’s arm was slung around Maya’s hip and rested on the small of her back. Val leaned her other hand against the wall and touched her forehead against Maya’s, releasing a minty breath. 

Her supple blond hair billowed down her bare shoulders and covered her chest. Her hand wandered underneath Maya’s shirt and she breathed down her neck. 

Maya suppressed a shudder that travelled through her body. She held Val’s wrist and didn’t know whether to push away or draw her closer. 

Is this a dream? Maya opened her eyes and looked right into Val’s glowing ones. A hungry smile greeted her with glossy lips that came closer to Maya’s. She didn’t want to retreat as the heat rose into her face. If this is a dream, then I don't want to wake up.

Mayaaaaa~ Val’s soft voice rang in Maya’s head like a gentle bell. The Valkyrie’s face retreated, and the image blurred to Val with a wild case of morning hair. Maya. Wake up.

Maya blinked several times, staring at the Valkyrie greeting her from the edge of the bed. It was the real one.

Damn. It! Maya cursed. Why? Why did it have to be a dream!?

“Maya.” Val tugged back one of Maya’s coils. The heat from her dream returned, more intense than before. “You’re staring. Everything. Alright?” 

Ah, Ahhhhhhhh… Nope!

Val was in one of Maya’s old pyjamas, as she didn’t have her own pair. She wore the plaid pants and a short-sleeved shirt unfairly well. Maya had trouble to look away.

Maya noticed Val’s gaze wandering over Maya’s maroon nightgown. A smile tugged on Val’s lip in response to how it complimented Maya’s figure. 

“Good. Morning,” she said, brushing back her braid as she helped Maya up. “How did you. Sleep? Did you dream. Well?” 

“Y-yes,” Maya stuttered, her eyes still droopy. She was ready to return to her world of dreams. She then noticed Val’s gaze subtly lingering below Maya’s collarbone. The heat redoubled. She quickly adjusted her gown. “Slept like a rock, which is rare,” she laughed. “What about you?” 

“Not. Well,” Val replied, and Maya’s expression grew weary. Then Val brushed back another coil from Maya’s face. “Lonely. Sleeping on the bed settee. All alone. Felt cold without. You.” 

Ah, ahhhhhhhhh— 

Maya’s brain could barely handle this kind of information so early in the morning. It screamed inside her skull and almost malfunctioned whenever Val spoke so boldly. 

“D-did you wake me up for something? Or did you come to ask me to share my bed with you?” 

Maya put a hand on her hip. Her brain immediately went into jokester mode to compensate for the embarrassment of the moment. However, her laugh dropped when she realised what she had just said. Her brain was truly on the verge of overheating. 

Then they heard the doorbell ring. 

“Something wrong. With your door. It makes. Sounds.” 

Of course, she doesn’t know what a doorbell is, Maya giggled.

Maya draped her wrap around her shoulders and trudged to the corridor. Val followed closely behind her. At the door, Maya pressed the intercom system and spoke but there was no reply. She then opened the door but found no one outside either. 

“Damn neighbourhood children,” grumbled Maya as she slammed the door shut with an audibly long bang. “I hate when they do this! What time is it, anyway?” 

“Seven… AM.” 

“Seven!?” Maya wailed. “I could have slept in!” 

“Don’t worry.” Val suddenly held Maya’s hand, brushing her thumb over the back. “We can still. Go back and Sleep. Together.” 

“Huh!?” Maya was confused by the proposition until Val chuckled playfully. 

“Kid-ding~. Do you want. Breakfast?” 

The world is so cruel! Maya whined in her bathroom and washed her face. She let out a theatrical sob as she clutched her chest. “How could she play with my poor heart? I will never recover from this.” 

Maya left her bathroom with another sad sob, but the aroma of breakfast revived her spirits. The sight of blueberry waffles with powdered sugar and freshly brewed coffee greeted her. Val was still in her pyjamas and wearing an apron, which Maya didn’t get a glimpse of last time.

Dear gods. Maya clasped her hands in prayer. Thank you for this. I think I’ll recover after all.

“Breakfast. Almost ready.” 

“Can’t wait for it,” Maya replied gingerly. She sat down in front of the kitchen table and drummed with her fingers against the wooden surface. 

Maya leaned against the counter, her gaze fixed on Val. Her hips swayed subtly as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her elbows moved fluidly in tune with the unfamiliar melody she hummed under her breath. Each motion of her hands—stirring, chopping, and seasoning—was deliberate and precise, practised to near perfection. 

It was clear Val had done this countless times before, perhaps for countless people, yet there was something different. Beneath the polished grace and calculated movements lay an unexpected joy, a quiet exuberance she rarely showed to others. Val wasn’t merely cooking to serve. She cooked for someone she wanted to. To bring the person delight. Every motion brimmed with purpose, like she was pouring her heart into the meal.

It felt more like a performance than a task, like a swan relearning the art of flight after being grounded too long.

Maya cupped her cheeks. The heat returned when she remembered her dream. It had been a long, long time since she last had that kind of dream about someone.

She couldn’t deny how she felt about the Valkyrie. Instead, they had only grown stronger.

Maya wanted to know what it was like to have a partner who loved you unconditionally. 

“What should I do?” mumbled Maya. “Should I take the first step or wait for her…”

“Breakfast’s ready,” announced Val, carrying two large plates in her toned arms.

Maya sighed wistfully. Heat rose to her cheeks, tinting them a soft, rosy red as she watched Val, who approached with a faint glimmer in her eyes and a lightness to her step. Maya’s heart beat loudly in her chest.

I don’t know what to do… she thought, her gaze lingering on Val’s radiant expression. I think I like her more than I realised.