It was warmth that woke him first.
Vastarael's eyes fluttered open to a ceiling he didn't recognize immediately, then to the faint, rhythmic breath near his neck. A hand was clasped in his.
Narisva was curled up beside him in the wide bed, her fingers loosely intertwined with his. Her forehead was barely brushing his shoulder. The blanket covered her only partially and her arm was draped across his waist like she'd been doing it for years. He moved slightly and she moaned in her sleep, nuzzling against him unconsciously as if he were a pillow she didn't want to let go of.
Vastarael blinked in disbelief. She was hugging him. Narisva looked peaceful. Her usual edge, the bold defiance she carried like a crown, had melted into something softer while she slept. His gaze traced the gentle part in her lips, the lashes like ink strokes against her cheeks and the way her usual expression now looked so... cute?
He couldn't help himself. His hand moved instinctively, brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her skin was warm.
She stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly.
Her irises were bottomless like the unknown between stars. But the moment she focused on him, those obsidian eyes shimmered like galaxies beginning to spin, the stars igniting with a quiet brilliance at seeing the one person they were made to orbit.
"Morning."
Her voice was so soft in the morning and by the stars he couldn't help it.
He reached forward and wrapped his arms around her in one swift, protective motion, pulling her into him. Her body tensed immediately. She blinked in shock.
"How the hell did I get so lucky? How did someone as powerful so... beautiful and insane as you fall in love with a disaster like me?"
She didn't answer immediately. She couldn't.
She asolutely frozen. Her cheeks had gone red. Her pupils dilated. Her lips parted in stunned silence. The weight of his Divine Energy was pressing on her but more than that...
His Love Divinity was active.
Unintentionally or not, it surged through him, coiling around her like whispers of all the softest emotions she'd never let herself feel fully. It wasn't lust. It wasn't desire. It was pure, untainted love so deep and sincere that she choked on it. Her body trembled under the sensation, her eyes glistening suddenly with tears she didn't even know were forming.
She bit her lip and shook her head weakly, her voice breaking.
"V-Vastarael, you need to stop. Your Love Divinity... it's too much. I feel like I'm drowning in it."
He immediately let go, gently pulling his arms back. His eyes widened with guilt.
"Shit. Sorry, I didn't even realize it was active—"
Narisva let out a deep breath, her cheeks still bright red. Her hands were shaking. And then she pouted.
"Agh, you idiot. You... you shouldn't be that sweet to me first thing in the morning..."
She looked up at him and realized something.
'Damn. He's so handsome in the morning. What the hell is wrong with me...?'
She pulled the covers over her head and curled into a ball. Her cocky, explosive nature had officially short-circuited. Vastarael just smiled, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"Guess I should go make breakfast or something..."
From under the blankets, she let out a soft groan.
"Just give me five minutes to recover. Or maybe five years..."
Vastarael sat on the edge of the bed, shirtless, rubbing the back of his neck as Narisva sat cross-legged in front of him, still recovering from the sheer weight of his Divinity. Her cheeks were finally beginning to fade from red to a warmer flush and her expression was calmer now, though her star-specked eyes still glimmered with that stunned shine from moments ago.
"About that. It's my Love Divinity."
She blinked slowly and tilted her head, one of her brows raising in curiosity.
"It's... complicated. Out of all my Divinities, it's the hardest to control. Unlike Time, or Protection, or even the minor one like Water, Love isn't something I can will into stillness. It reacts to my emotions, especially when I'm around someone I care about deeply."
Narisva narrowed her eyes a little, crossing her arms.
"So, it only works on people you love?"
"Not just romantic love. It extends to anyone emotionally connected to me. Loyalty, like my subordinates in Insignia, Parental, like the bond I have with Shimmer and Runner. Romantic, like with you. That connection allows the Divinity to manifest. It doesn't charm or manipulate. It's just... felt."
He glanced down at his hand, flexing his fingers slowly.
"I've tried suppressing it but when my emotions get intense, it floods out, like it did just now. That's why you felt like you were drowning. It wasn't intentional. I just... I guess I really was grateful to wake up to you beside me."
Narisva looked away, one hand pressing to her chest, trying to stabilize the storm of feelings that still clung to her like dew.
"Next time, warn me if you're about to weaponize feelings like that."
"Right. I'll install a warning system."
But before he could make his grand escape from the moment, she lifted a hand and gently pressed it against his chest. Her palm rested flat over his sternum, her eyes fluttering closed. A faint shimmer of Spatial Energy pulsed through her.
"Your Soul Energy's back to full. So's your Divine Core. And your body's fully reconstructed, even your pseudo-cores are stable. Already? You drained all of it blessing us and yet now you're completely recharged?"
"I'm... very good at being alive."
Narisva didn't smile. She just tilted her head with that calculating expression only Celestials ever seemed to pull off.
"Just how many people believe in you? Your Divine Core doesn't recharge that fast without intense faith."
"Faith isn't the only thing I use. I have Soul Energy too. Remember? I'm an Aeterium. Divine Cores recharge slower with faith and belief, but Soul Energy restores through my pseudo-cores. My Omniphage helps slowly but it's persistent."
Narisva shook her head and looked at him like he was an unsolvable puzzle.
"You and your impossible existence. "Even Divines struggle to balance two energy types, and yet you do both without blinking..."
She stood up, brushing her hands down the sides of her pants. Then she turned to him, placing her hands on her hips.
"You're good to go. You can move."
"So I can leave?"
"No. You can move but I'm not done with you."
"Huh?"
Narisva smirked slightly and crossed her arms.
"I want a date with you. Just you and me. No one around, no dynasty duties."
Vastarael blinked again, then smiled. She turned to the door and tossed her hair dramatically.
"A date, huh?"
"Yeah. So get ready, Monarch. I'm not waiting."
And with that, she exited the room but with a soft bounce in her step.
Vastarael watched the door swing closed behind her, stunned for a moment. Then he laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling with a deep sigh.
"A date with a Celestial. Better get mentally prepared... or emotionally wrecked."
He sat up again, cracking his knuckles, then stood.bIt was time to get ready for something far more dangerous than a Divine war.
A romantic day with Narisva Starisnova. And he wouldn't dare be late.