A Cuddle's Worth Double on a Birthday

Hella hadn't really celebrated her birthday properly in a couple of years. Back home she had sequestered herself away because she knew another birthday would mean more of being paraded around as her father's son and heir. But things were different now: she was in full control of her life and she was determined to be happy.

Even though they were spending the evening in, Hella wanted to look nice. But her clothes fell into two categories that made that a pretty difficult task. The plain, unassuming clothes that she had for work mostly. And then in the back of her closet were the few outfits she had struggled to throw away from her brief rebellious party-going phase. She finally settled on a pair of denim shorts and a button-down shirt over it, with some plain knee socks to hide her dance scars. She was definitely still not ready for that.

She had already spent the morning with her sisters; Hella had figured that one day off from school wouldn't hurt them. Now the nanny was entertaining them so that she could have some quality time with her girlfriend. The knock at the door stopped her midway through brushing her hair and she checked the time on the wall. Time had flown faster than she had realized.

Running through the house, Hella nearly slipped on the slick hardwood floor before she reached the front door. She had to remind herself not to fling it open; she didn't want to startle Aura. She smiled, but quickly blinked and found her cheeks warming a bit at the large box. Her hands went to grab at the opposite side of the box, helping balance its weight a bit, "Hey Aura I- do you need help with that? Come on in, it looks heavy."

Inside the house was clean as always, but unlike usual the reason was out and about: Hella's stuffies were hard at work finishing up their daily chores. Kjetil and Kanna were finishing up the sweeping in the kitchen for one.

As the two of them set the box down and moved in to hug, Hella found herself nuzzling her nose into Aura's neck a bit. "I'm glad you could make it. You didn't have to get me anything though. Just you being here is-,"

She took the card as the two moved back a bit, opening it to read and biting her lip a bit to hold back a laugh. "Cute. But I think the mirror is facing the wrong person. hella turned the mirrored paint to face Aura, adding, "that's better."

"We have the whole evening, at least. I called my manager and asked off of work for tomorrow, so I have no engagements. I'm all yours." The truth was Hella really didn't know how to celebrate her own birthday that wasn't a glorified pageant of the families that her Da had rubbed elbows with.

Hella's smile almost faltered, but she was good at masking anything like discomfort most of the time. She hadn't realized that Aura hadn't had a decent birthday herself. She would have to remedy that later. "Well, we can play it by ear then. Low stress."

But yes, the gift. Hella opened the box and wiped across her face a bit, breaking into a smile as she pulled out one of the tricycles. "Aura these are fantastic. How did you even manage..." She cut herself off, reminding herself that it didn't matter. Aura had gotten these and that was what mattered. She didn't have to repay this like a debt.

A quick command in Norse called over her stuffed animals, who crowded around the tricycles and decorations. They squeaked amongst themselves as though having an excited conversation. As they began to mess with the cycles, Hella stood back and leaned over to kiss Aura gently on the lips.

"I love them, and so do they. I think they'll have a lot of fun decorating them. Thank you Aura."

Taking her hand, Hella led Aura over to the couch to have a sit. Tucking her legs underneath herself, she snuggled in close to her girlfriend and basked in her warmth.

"I couldn't ask for a better birthday present than just getting to relax with you, love," Hella said, her voice low as if speaking too loudly would break the moment. Even coming back and settling into her routine, things hadn't been easy. She had no idea where she stood with Lynn anymore, though if what Destra had said was any indication then she could guess. And then there was wall after wall in her research in how to help Aura with her problem.

But none of that mattered at that moment. She was alone and happy with her girlfriend and nothing could take that from her. "You're cute," she said, giving Aura a peck on her blushing cheek. "I wish my parents could have met you. Da would be all ornery and grumpy, but he would have liked you I'm sure. And Ma would have fussed over you like she did my sisters." Hella didn't sound sad talking about her parents. She had had time to more or less deal with those feelings, and besides no amount of sadness could top the drop she'd felt when the news had first hit her.

"I did have to handle keeping up with all three of my brothers, so yeah. Probably." Hella joked a bit, pulling Aura more on top of her as she leaned back to lie on the couch. With the two of them this close, she could really feel Aura's heartbeat against her, and her own evened out a bit.

She ran her fingers through Aura's hair, combing it gently and just taking in the moment. The feeling, the sound, the smell. All just. Working together to put her at peace. "I do love you. I know it's my birthday, but I'd do anything for you, Aura." Hella's voice was barely a whisper, soft and sweet. Almost sleepy, but not quite. Just relaxed, honestly.