Ravela Love Event

I let the shower run over me for a long moment, letting the hiss drown out my thoughts.

“I forgot what this was like,” I said, my fingers dragging along beneath my eye.

Then the door creaked open. A second later, the lid of the toilet seat clacked down.

“What are you doing?” I asked over the water.

Her voice came without hesitation. “Relax. I’ve seen you naked before.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

"I just figured we could keep talking.”

I snorted. “In the bathroom?”

“You’re here. I’m here. We’ve talked in worse places.” Then came silence. “And I don’t feel like leaving now.”

I shrugged and accepted it. It made it easier to stay out of my memories of my doomed world and stay in this world that still had hope.

I could hear her scratching her head—a quick, awkward rasp. It made me smile.

“You’re feeling awkward,” I said.

“I’m not feeling awkward.”

“You are. I can hear you scratching your head.”

She grunted, but didn’t argue further.

“I didn’t touch Meredi,” I said, gently. “We barely talked.”

Another pause. Then a long sigh from the other side of the curtain.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “I figured as much. She just wanted her little family portrait moment. The noble sister, the black sheep, the lovely daughters, and the adopted kid who’s been warmer to her recently.”

I chuckled softly.

“I’m not trying to stop you, Tim. Not from anything,” Ravela said. “If you want to chase Meredi, or Elsbeth, or whoever—go for it. You’re allowed to want something for yourself… Especially when I cut you loose in a month or two.”

I pushed the curtain open.

Her eyes snapped to me.

I stood there, water still running down my chest, droplets clinging to my arms. 

Her mouth opened, then clamped shut.

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen,” I said, responding to her reddening cheeks and ears.

Her eyes darted down for a fraction of a second before jerking back up like she'd touched a hot stove.

“Be honest with me, Rav. You came into the shop ready to lay into me. So why talk about this like you can just ‘cut me loose’ just like that?”

She looked everywhere but at me, her jaw clenched tight.

Then, quieter, she spoke. “I... got caught off guard, alright? It bothered me. I reacted.”

I waited.

“I’m fine,” she added quickly, before I could press. “It’s not a big deal. I’m over it.”

And that’s when she peeked again. Just once. Just a quick, involuntary flick of the eyes downward, like gravity pulled them down.

She saw me see it.

Her cheeks turned a little pinker, and she clicked her tongue in frustration.

I let the silence linger, just long enough for the weight of it to settle. Then, still standing there, I asked, “You gonna stay out there while I finish, or are you coming in?”

She froze. I could practically hear her thoughts scrambling for a direction.

I waited.

“I’m not doing that. Please just get back to it.”

I smiled, closed the curtain, and resumed my shower.

Her sigh was clearly audible. “I’m glad you got to see her.”

“I’m kind of done talking about Elsbeth for now. I want to talk about you now.”

“Me?”

“You know that if I thought you were in trouble, I’d get as twisted as I would for Elsbeth.”

She grunted and seemed to shift uncomfortably.

“Ravela, do you know that?”

“Come on, man. You don’t have to talk like that,” she said, her voice almost a whimper.

“It’s okay if you don’t believe me. I know I haven’t earned your faith.”

“H-Hey—”

I opened the curtain and stepped out, snatching the towel from the rack. “You don’t have to worry about me, Rav,” I said with a grin. “Everything has its time.”

She kept eye contact with me for a few beats and then looked away.

“And about you cutting me loose… I hope you’re still going to give me a chance to convince you to stay with me.”

“Tch, yeah, I told you I’m keeping an open mind.”

“The next time I’m staying over… I’ll tell you. I won’t make the mistake of not telling you again.”

Ravela didn’t move from her spot. I walked to the door and opened it. Ravela spoke up.

“I want to shower. Can you fetch my change of clothes?”

I grinned at her. “Is it in the bag?”

Her bangs obscuring her expression, she nodded. “Yeah. It is.”

“I’ll get them for you.”

“Wait until you can hear the water running… And don’t peek at me… Please?”

“Whatever you want, Rav,” I said with a smile.

My smile faded as soon as she couldn’t see me. I got her clothes, waited until she was in the shower and the water was running, and placed the clothes on the toilet while keeping my eyes on the floor.

Then I went to my bed and threw myself onto it, resting with my thoughts still swirling.

After some minutes of thought, I nodded.

“Yeah, I know you devs aren’t responsible for this world actually being real but…” I rubbed my eye. “I forgot what it felt like to be so worried about someone so real.”

I thought of Ravela and all her little quirks. I thought of Meredi and her simple desires and innocence. I thought of Elsbeth and all the flags she was raising—no, speaking about it in game terms could cause me to not be as focused as I should be. No, those emotions were deep. I had to respect these women.

I grinned at the ceiling.

“I’m only one person but… To just you three, I’ll devote everything.”

I activated my Mana Vision and looked at the network in my hand. Before the brains, the network was so dim. During the reaction, the network was like lava. After all the brains, it was just a little brighter. I was nowhere near the notable people I had met so far, but I still had the year.

“Tim?” Ravela asked, her voice quieter than normal.

I looked over to see her in the doorway, hair wet, and white shirt covering her down to her thighs. 

She cleared her throat and smirked. “About what you said—if I were ever in trouble. If I were the sort who would be in trouble at my age, I would have been dead at twenty-five.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Best believe,” she sang back. And then her bravado faded. “Can I lie down with you?”

“You don’t have to ask.”

Ravela climbed over me, bracing herself with a hand on the mattress before dropping to my side in a huff of breath. For a moment, she just lay there, eyes on the ceiling like she wasn’t sure what to say.

Then she reached out and tugged at my arm.

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

She didn’t answer. Just gently pulled my arm until it was under her head. She rested there, cheek warm against my bicep. Her hair was still damp, and the scent of the herbal shampoo mingled with the remnants of steam in the room.

“You’re going to fall asleep like that,” I said.

“That wouldn’t be bad. I need a nap.”

“I meant you’re going to drool on me.”

“Why stop there? I might bite you too.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

“Weirdo…”

Her hand drifted to my chest. She didn’t say anything more. The room quieted again, the only sounds our breathing and the drips of water echoing from the bathroom.

I looked down at her.

She looked back up.

It started with just a shift — the barest inch closer, like gravity pulled us together. My nose brushed hers. Then our lips met.

It was soft, almost cautious at first, her fingers twitching against my chest. We parted, breathed, made sure we were both real. Then we kissed again.

Ravela made a sound, small and involuntary. I turned toward her, let my hand slip around her waist, pulling her tight to me. 

I guided her onto her back.

She went with my motion.

Then—she tensed.

Our lips parted, and her hands were suddenly on my chest, pushing me away.

“No, no, no. Stop. Stop!” she said, her voice cracking. “Get off me. Stop. Stop, Timaeus!”

I was off her in an instant, rolling to the side and sitting up with my hands in the air.

“I’m off. I’m off. I’m not touching you,” I said, chest thundering. “It’s okay.”

Ravela sat up slowly, arms wrapped around herself. She was panting, wide-eyed. Her eyes weren’t on me. They were locked on the bed, looking at something I couldn’t see.

My heart cracked. Once more, I was reminded of how real this world was.

I reached out, slowly, openly. “I’m here, Rav,” I mouthed.

My fingertips brushed her cheek, and she flinched at first. Then leaned into it.

“I just want to know that you’re okay,” I said gently.

Her breath hitched.

Then she looked at me, not with anger, not even shame. Just disbelief. Like she couldn’t understand what kind of person I was pretending to be.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered.

The question stabbed me like a knife.

“I’m a mess,” she said, trying to keep her jaw clenched.

And then the tears came.

They weren’t loud or dramatic. Just this quiet, crumbling sound from her throat as she pressed her hands to her face and curled forward.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I’m so sorry.”

Her voice cracked. My heart cracked with it.

“If you want to cut me loose, I won’t fight you.” She wiped her eyes with trembling fingers. “I swear I won’t fight it.”

I blinked. “Rav—what? No. No. Why would I ever do that?”

She couldn’t look at me.

“I don’t know. Because you’re tired of how much of a difficult bitch I’m being?”

She shook her head violently.

“Meredi wouldn’t give you this type of thing,” she said, voice raw and shaking. “I messed it up. I—I wanted to—I thought maybe I could—” She choked. “And then I just—I just couldn’t do it? What does that say about me—I’m crazy.”

I put my arm around her shoulders and slowly and gently pulled her.

“You didn’t mess anything up,” I said. “Nothing’s ruined. Not for me.”

She gave me the first little bit of resistance as she tried to pull away. “No, don’t, Tim… You’re tired of me!”

“I’m not—”

“How?!” she yelled, breathing hard, eyes on me again.

I grinned. “I must really love you.”

She froze.

“That must be what it is. I think I really do love you, Rav.”

She shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. Me?” she asked, her voice breaking from sheer disbelief.

“Sure it does. When you love someone, you’re able to be patient and take the brunt of their worst traits, right? Not saying that this is your worst trait. You’ve got others. Like taking boots into the bathroom.”

“Pfft.”

And there it was. The spiral faltered. She knew I knew it too.

She let out a breath and directed a laugh toward the ceiling. “Why are you so dumb? I feel so crazy.”

“I might just have that effect on you.”

She glanced at me. “Yeah. Maybe you do… If you say it one more time, I’ll believe you.”

“I think I love you, Ravela. Hidden daggers and all.”

She let out a roar of frustration. “Fuck, Tim,” she said, half roaring, half laughing. “Why are you saying this sort of stuff? Just tell me to do intimate stuff—I’d know how to react then!”

I play winced. “That’s kind of fast, isn’t it?”

She looked at me with a fierce, hastily made-up scowl. “Ha-ha. You’re a real jokester.”

I grinned back. “Set the pace, Rav.”

“Pardon?”

Whatever you want to do.”

She looked away slightly, sneaking peeks at me from behind her bangs. “Would that… really be enough for you?”

“No,” I replied, drawing her full attention back. She looked wounded by the admission. “Let me use one arm to hold you. That’s all I really want. I just want to cuddle you.”

Ravela’s hands covered her mouth and she released a small groan into them. "Okay..."

She held the bottom of her shirt and lifted it slightly. 

“I'm going to let you see extra, but that's it.”

“What I do?” I replied, mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this goddess.

“You were being too sweet, fool!”

"O-Oh."

“Hold me, fool!”

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

...

We had a very nice cuddle.