Holy Moly, Here We Go

The tension was palpable. Ravela seemed so sure of herself, but it was like every step she took sapped her of her bravado. Even so, we were still in the bathroom together, stripping—or rather, in the process of it.

Ravela had her back to me when she grunted. “Help me unlatch this vest?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

The thing was really secured, held tight by four latches, two on her back and another two on her side.

I unlatched it without any trouble, and Ravela stepped away, still not looking at me, and still holding the vest to her body like she didn’t want to take it off.

I paid it no mind and kept stripping.

But then I heard Ravela’s sigh, and I remembered who I needed to be.

“Rav, I’m going to close my eyes, okay?”

There was a beat of silence and then a whispered “Thanks.”

A gulp followed, and then the rustle of clothing.

“Can you hold on until I’m in the shower?” she asked, the confidence returning to her voice.

“Of course!”

“You don’t have to stop taking off your clothes.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

There was more rustling of clothes, and then the sound of the curtain being pulled. Ravela stepped into the tub, and the sound of the squeaky handle preceded the stream of water.

“I’m coming in,” I announced.

I got no response, but I could hear that she was in the shower stream. With eyes closed, I followed the wall to the tub and very carefully stepped in. I was greeted by a chuckle.

“Still have your eyes closed?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’m more than happy to go at your speed, Rav.”

“That so? Then… Don’t open your eyes at all.”

I saluted her. “Tell me to sew them shut and I will, Ravela!”

“Pfft, come on. Don’t be so over the top.”

“Sorry, Ravela. It’s my passion and excitement!”

She snickered. “Yeah… I can see that you’re excited.”

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before!” I responded, echoing one of her favorite things to remind me of.

She grunted. My words had hit their mark.

For the next few seconds, I only heard Ravela moving around, probably washing her hair.

“Is this really okay with you, Tim? I’m getting a really nice eyeful, and you’re just getting darkness and probably a chill.”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” I replied, not thinking much of it. “This is already way more than I thought I had earned.”

“Oh come on, Tim,” she said, a sadder inflection to her words than I was used to hearing. “It’s not about earning anything. You don’t have to earn this… You can… You can ask more of me.”

“Hmm… I don’t think I want to.”

“Why not?” she asked, sounding offended.

“Because I’m already asking plenty of you.”

She responded with silence.

“You’re tolerating my ambitions when I haven’t done much to earn it. That’s not something to take lightly.”

Her voice came out lower. “You fought slimes all day, you killed the largest slime in history, and you found us so much treasure, and you think this is appropriate for me to do? You think you haven’t earned something better?”

I shrugged. “The only thing that made this anything other than a normal day for me was that I got to spend it with you.”

“Oh god, Tim,” she said, her voice cracking.

I thought I heard a sniffle, but it must have been the sound of the water falling.

There was another stretch of silence.

“I’m someone’s mom,” she muttered.

“Yeah. Did you know that I know your daughter?” I joked.

“That’s not what I mean.”

Her forehead landed on my chest.

“Ravela?”

“I’m almost forty,” she whispered. “I know that’s not much older than you and Elsbeth, but every year after 35 just really adds on, you know,” she said, her voice shakier than before. “You don’t have to be so nice to me. You don’t have to tell me I’m beautiful…. I’m someone’s mother.”

“I don’t understand. Why does being someone’s mother strip you of your beauty?”

Her arms wrapped around my lower back.

“Hey, just look down a little, Timaeus,” she whispered.

I did so, and then I felt the warmth of her lips on mine. For a second, I felt like I could be deluded into thinking the worst future wouldn't come.

Her lips parted from mine.

“Can you look at me, Timaeus?”

I opened my eyes, and saw her eyes, so earnestly, looking into mine.

“My breasts are too big for their own good. They’ve been drooping.”

“Age will do a whole lot worse to us by the time we’re eighty.”

Her lips didn’t react. “Did you see the stretch marks on my stomach?”

I chuckled. “You can be honest. Was Val a fat baby?”

Her lips parted. The answer stunned her. But then she almost broke into laughter.

“Stop. I’m trying to be serious.”

“I think you’re trying so hard that you’re overthinking this.”

She looked at me with watery eyes and a quivering smile she was doing her best to keep from breaking.

“Do you really think I’m beautiful? And sexy too?”

“One hundred percent. Do you really think I’m a hunk?”

She gripped my bicep and squeezed. “Mhm. Yup. I’m still in shock.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. I had to remember to give the gym crew a full set of muscle enhancement and energy boosting products.

Giggling, Ravela hugged me tighter and rubbed her face against my chest. Overwhelmed by her warmth, I rested my head on hers. My eyes were still closed. I didn't want to tell her, but I was a few eyefuls away from a bliss-induced heart attack.

“We’re in the shower together now… I’m right here, Timaeus. Do you have a wish, Timaeus? About what could happen here? You can tell me.”

“A wish?”

“Yeah… Just tell me something. It could be anything.” 

“Actually… If I have a wish, I think I’m kind of already living it.”

She pulled away slightly. “What?”

“I mean, I just have this vision of being here with you, chatting, washing, smiling. You know, you telling me about your day as I’m rinsing my hair, or maybe, I’m telling you about my day while I’m scrubbing your back or something. The awkward shifting around to wash off because we’re in a small tub, and maybe some playful elbowing—I know it’s mundane, but… I think that’s what I wish for.”

Ravela let go of me completely. 

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re perfect,” I said.

“Really?”

I smirked. “Okay, maybe you’re a little too vulgar.”

“Fuck you,” she snipped back.

"Told you."

Ravela sighed and collected herself enough to strengthen her voice. “Turn around.”

I turned around and placed my hands on the wall. Before I could ask what Ravela wanted, I felt a rag on my back.

“Oh, no way,” I said.

Ravela chuckled. “This is your wish, right? A scrub? How was your day?”

I gasped and restrained the giggles that wanted to come out. “It was amazing! We found so much stuff!”

“Oh, I know,” she said, pressing her chest into my back. “I’m still in shock. Good work.”

After some more scrubbing and a few playful quips from Ravela, we were done showering. Ravela asked me to close my eyes again as she stepped out of the shower. Once her towel was wrapped around her, she asked me to follow her out, and I did.

We went back to my bedroom.

I started pulling clothes out of my dresser, but Ravela stopped me with a simple command.

“Come to bed, Timaeus. And leave your towel behind.”

"W-What?"

"You hear me. Come here."

I wasn’t one to disobey a command from a god, so I jumped into bed with Ravela, who still had her towel wrapped around her body and prayed that I wouldn't die tonight.