Bery sat on top of Valerie's lap in a bath tub full of hot water. After their adventures in the bed, the kitten had acclimated to being nude in front of the dragon. Besides, it had felt so comfortable for her to let go of those negative feelings plaguing her. All of the fears and doubts. All of the insecurities. It was easier to let them sink away into the bath water. It felt much better to lean back and let the dragon embrace her.
Valerie held onto Bery. The soap bubbles from cleaning each other still graced the water's surface, and neither of them wanted to get out when they could hold onto each other like this.
The dragon pressed her chin against the top of Bery's head. "How are you feeling right now, kitten?"
"I feel better than I've ever felt. This...Being here with you was something that I never thought I'd be missing in my life."
Valerie smiled and hugged onto Bery a little bit tighter. "I know exactly how you feel. Only, I knew that I was missing it. I never expected our fates to intertwine like this."
"What would you have done if that never came to pass?"
"I don't know. Perhaps I would have stolen you anyways. You saw my piles of treasure, did you not?"
Bery turned around and grabbed onto Valerie's cheeks with her hands. "How did you know about that?"
"I saw your blood when I went to check. I knew there was something you hid from me, but I didn't think it was bad."
Bery's ears wiggled, and she tilted her head. "Really?"
Valerie pecked her cute kitten on the lips before answering. "I assumed you aren't capable of hiding anything truly nefarious. If a silly kitten wants to hide a ball of yarn, then it's hard to be angry."
"Hey…" Bery pouted, pretending to be angry. "Sometimes kittens can be evil."
"I suppose...But then, what evil could you be hiding from me?"
Bery's expression wavered. By now, Valerie had proven herself as someone that could be relied upon, but Bery had no idea what the thoughts of Yuri would be on the subject matter.
"Notice. Y.U.R.I predicts that no harm will come to the administrator for relaying the truth. However, no prediction can be made about Y.U.R.I. Advising the administrator to do whatever she feels is best."
Bery sighed, sinking down into Valerie's chest and straddling the dragon. She pulled the arm that contained Y.U.R.I out of the water.
"The truth is…"
"Something got in your arm."
Bery's eyes widened at the dragon's words. "How did you know?"
"I figured it out from the trail of blood. I smelled your drops of blood on the ground, and they led me to my treasure pile. I found an even larger pull of blood there, and I grew worried. Despite knowing that you were okay because of your scent, I still ran to your room. However, when I found you, you looked even better than when I first picked you up."
The dragon grabbed onto Bery's arm and inspected it. "I saw you talking to your arm, so I made the conclusion that something in my treasure pile invaded."
"You were able to figure out all of that? Why didn't you say anything before?"
"Whatever it was healed you, and you didn't want to say anything, did you?"
Bery nodded. "You're right. Somehow, my blood activated a magic device who calls herself Y.U.R.I. Do you know if there's a way to get her out without hurting either of us?"
Valerie shook her head and pressed a finger against Bery's lips. "Let's leave all of the worrying for tomorrow. You have a habit of worrying about a lot of things don't you? This Yuri is your friend, isn't she?"
"Yes…"
"All of your friends will be protected. I will ensure that everything you care about remains under my protection. So long as they do not try to harm you. I would never let anything hurt any of my precious treasures, especially not you. In my eyes, you have become the shining jewel of my entire world. This entire castle and all of the things in it could be plundered so long as I have you in my arms. And so that your smile remains as my brightest star, I will devote my life to protecting all that you cherish."
Bery's face heated. Her tail waved around, but her smile was pure. "I don't know what I did to ever deserve this, but you keep finding a way to dig further into my heart."
"This is as it should be. You will deserve every ounce of love that I can give you. If it shall take an eternity for me to prove it, then I will do it by your side. So just lay all of those silly kitten worries to rest, and lean against me."
Bery rubbed her cheek against Valerie's as if claiming the territory. "You should know that I'm not very good at many things. I'm not very strong, so I will need you to fight. I think I will end up leaning against you so much that I might be a burden. And just like earlier, my desires will burn strong, but I'm not very good at voicing them."
"You would never be a burden to me, and I will never let you become useless. Strike down that notion of you being inferior to anyone in any way. Let your desires flow like the paint on your canvas. Should you desire my body, I will also desire yours. Should you desire to see the world, we will do it together."
Bery sniffled. "I'm...I'm also a cry baby."
"Not at all. You're my little kitten, and crying is not a weakness. You can cry tears of happiness or sadness, so long as you share all of those feelings with me. I want to feel both of those things with you."
Bery let the dragon pick her up out of the bath tub.
"Me too," Bery whispered into Valerie's ear. "Can you share more with me? I want this kind of connection that I've never had before."
The dragon walked the two of them over to Bery's mattress, and the two of them climbed beneath the blankets.
"I will share with you also. Everything will be learned in due time, and we will make new memories together. Just like this." Valerie pulled Bery closer to her, sharing in her warmth. Then she planted another kiss on Bery's lips. "I find you to be positively irresistible."
"I find you to be," Bery said, wrapping her tail around Valerie's leg. "I had this thought before of what it would be like to wake up and see you in the same bed. Now I won't have to guess."
"I've had similar thoughts. I wondered what it would be like to hold a purring kitten in my arms all night, and it's even better than I imagined." Valerie's tail wrapped around Bery in a warm hug.
At first Valerie's tail had felt a bit strange to Bery. She never knew what a dragon's scales would feel like, but it was both warm and pleasant. It got the purring in her chest to start up right away. Often times, Bery didn't know how to feel about involuntary reactions, but right now, it was pleasant.
She marveled at the grin of her dragon. Had someone so gorgeous really fallen for her? That much was obvious if she looked at the sappy love-stricken eyes of Valerie. Even though Bery's senses were not as attuned at other beast kin, she could still hear the pleasant thumping of Valerie's heart. Especially when she pressed her ear to the dragon's chest.
Her hand found Valerie's, and the two interlocked their fingers. The dragon's larger hands made Bery feel safe and protected. It was something so alien to her that it was hard to believe. Bery read a few books, but she'd never heard of love that was like this.
"I love you, dragon."
Valerie chuckled and massaged behind Bery's fluffy ears. "I love you too, kitten. Tomorrow we should go on an adventure."
"An adventure?"
"Yes, I think you would like it, but it might be scary at first."
"What is it?"
The dragon pointed to her horns. "Haven't you ever wanted to see what it's like to ride on a dragon?"
Bery grinned deviously. "I'm thinking I might want to ride a dragon every night if it ends like tonight."
"That can be arranged. I'd love to hear how gleeful you sing out when the positions are swapped."
Bery's face heated once more. She expected the dragon to be the one to get flustered, but in the end it was still her.
"No fair," Bery said, biting down on Valerie's hand.
Valerie laughed and pulled the kitten into her chest. "For now, we should sleep. Sweet dreams, kitten."
Bery yawned. "Sweet dreams, dragon..."