Chapter 90: A Future in Pen
By the time dinner was over, Val was back to herself again.
It was strange. Not the fact that she bounced back—she always did that, in her own dramatic, impossible way—but how fast she did it.
In the afternoon, she had looked like she might cry. Even when we got home, her eyes were quieter than usual, her shoulders a little slumped. I didn’t push her, didn’t ask, because I knew if she wanted to talk about Marina she would.
But then, sometime between her complaining about the rice I cooked being too plain and threatening to "marry the delivery guy if he brought sushi," she brightened. Like someone had flipped a switch inside her.
Now she was sitting cross-legged on the couch, my notebook in her lap, humming some nonsense tune under her breath while her pen scratched against the page. Duchess was curled up next to her like she’d been bribed into joining the performance.
I leaned against the opposite end of the couch, pretending to read but not really reading at all. My eyes kept drifting back to her—her messy ponytail, the curve of her smile when she was concentrating, the little sway of her head in rhythm with her humming.
She looked up suddenly, eyes locking on mine.
"You’re staring, husband." Her lips curved, mischief lighting up her face. "Is there something on my face?"
I blinked, caught. "Uh—" I opened my mouth, then stopped. I wasn’t about to remind her of the earlier fight, even if part of me wanted to ask if she was really okay.
Her smile softened, as if she’d read the thought anyway. "I’m fine, Kai."
I hesitated. "I know but..."
She raised a brow, humming still faintly under her breath. "But what, husband?"
"I don’t know," I admitted. "Sometimes I feel like you say you’re fine just so I’ll stop asking."
She grinned, tilting her head in rhythm with the tune she was humming. "And sometimes you overthink so much, I wonder if you might start charging rent for all the space I take up in your brain."
I huffed out a laugh despite myself. "So you’re admitting it."
"Admitting what?" she teased, eyes glinting.
"That you’re constantly trying to distract me."
"Wrong," she said, tapping her pen against the page. "I’m constantly trying to save you from being boring."
I shook my head, a reluctant smile tugging at me. "You’re impossible."
"And yet you’d die without me." She winked before looking back down at her scribbles like she hadn’t just declared herself the air I breathed.
I knew what she was doing. She was pulling me back, tugging me out of my own head the way only she could. And it worked. Besides, she really did look fine—scribbling, humming, swaying her head like the world couldn’t touch her.
I let out a slow breath and leaned closer, changing the subject. "What are you even scribbling over there?"
"Nothing." She snapped the notebook shut in one smooth motion, clutching it to her chest like a kid caught with candy before dinner.
My brow rose. "Nothing?"
"Mhm." She nodded quickly, lips pressing together to hold back a grin.
"Val..."
She hugged the notebook tighter. "Nope. Off-limits. Classified information."
I leaned over, stretching out my arm. "Give it."
She gasped. "Kai! Don’t you dare."
"You’re acting suspicious."
"Suspiciously cute, maybe," she shot back, nose scrunching playfully. "But if you take it, I’ll cry."
I smirked. "Nope. Not gonna work this time."
Her mouth fell open in mock betrayal. "You monster!"
"Notebook," I said, reaching again.
She rolled away dramatically, practically falling against Duchess who meowed in protest. "Stay back or the cat gets it!"
I snorted. "You’re unbelievable."
She peeked over her shoulder, grin wide. "And adorable. Don’t forget adorable."
I lunged before she could roll further. She squealed, twisting to the side, both hands clamped over the notebook. It turned into a ridiculous tug-of-war, me trying to pry it free while she kicked and laughed and threatened to bite.
"Val—" I grunted, finally managing to drag it from her hands.
Her jaw dropped as I flipped it open. "Kai! That’s illegal!"
"You whine too much," I said, eyes falling to the page.
And then I froze.
Inside the notebook wasn’t homework. No complicated formulas, no lists of things to annoy me with. Just doodles. Messy, uneven doodles, all scattered across the page like a kid’s secret diary.
In the center was a big heart. Inside the heart, she’d scribbled our names.
Celestia ♡ Kai
I blinked. Slowly, a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.
But it wasn’t just our names. In smaller handwriting, almost like she’d tried to hide them, were two other names. Justina. Kristen.
My brow furrowed. "...Who’s Justina and Kristen?"
Her face instantly went red. She shot forward, trying to snatch the notebook back. "No one!"
I leaned away, holding it just out of her reach. "Val..."
Her pout deepened. "You don’t have to know."
"That makes me want to know even more."
She huffed and sat back, arms folded tight like she was building a wall between us. "It’s private."
I raised a brow. "Private? You’ve literally read my group chat messages out loud to my face before I could even unlock my phone."
"That’s different!" she snapped, cheeks puffing.
"How?"
> "Because that was funny. This isn’t funny."
"Then why are you hiding it?"
Her lips pressed into a stubborn line, but her eyes flicked away, like she was searching for an escape route that didn’t exist. "Because... because you’ll laugh."
I tilted my head, softening my voice. "I won’t."
> "Liar."
"Swear I won’t."
She narrowed her eyes, still hugging her knees like the world’s most defensive princess. Finally, she sighed, muttering, "Fine. But you’re not allowed to tease me after."
"Deal."
She avoided my gaze, speaking so softly I had to lean closer. "Justina... is from Valentina, you know. Tina. So, Justina."
I blinked, processing. "...Okay."
Her cheeks were glowing now. "And... Kristen..." She paused, biting her lip. "I couldn’t think of anything to rhyme with Kai, so I just... took the first letter and made Kristen."
I stared. Then blinked again. "...Okay and?"
She whipped her head toward me, groaning. "God, you’re so clueless sometimes."
And then it clicked.
My eyes widened. "Wait—"
Her face buried into her hands with a muffled groan.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The sound burst out of me before I could stop it. "Oh my god, Val—"
She peeked at me through her fingers, pouting furiously. "You promised not to laugh!"
In between laughs I managed, "I didn’t promise. I only said I won’t laugh."
Her jaw dropped, scandalized. "Kai! That’s literally the same thing in girlfriend language. If I say don’t laugh, you’re supposed to pinky swear, cross your heart, and keep a straight face no matter how dumb it sounds. That’s the rule!"
I was still grinning like an idiot, holding up the notebook. "You literally made fake kid names for us."
"They’re not fake!" she shot back instantly. "They’re... options. In case we ever—" she stopped, cheeks blazing even redder, "—you know... need them."
I bit back another laugh, shaking my head. "You’re impossible."
"And you’re mean," she whined, smacking my arm lightly. "I hate you."
"Sure you do."
She glared, lower lip jutting out in a dramatic pout. "I do."
The corners of my mouth wouldn’t stop curving. I flipped the page again, chuckling. "Justina and Kristen..."
"Stop it!" she squealed, lunging at me to snatch the notebook back. We tumbled into a ridiculous mess again, her hair falling into my face, both of us laughing despite her protests.
She finally wrestled the notebook away, hugging it against her chest like it was treasure. Her eyes narrowed. "You’re never allowed to see my scribbles again."
"Too late," I teased.
Her glare lasted two seconds before breaking into a reluctant laugh. "Ugh. You’re the worst."
"And yet," I said, leaning back into the couch with a smirk, "you still love me."
She rolled her eyes, settling back beside me, the smile tugging at her lips betraying her. "Unfortunately."
Duchess meowed from the corner of the couch, as if in agreement.
Val sighed dramatically, resting her head against my shoulder. "Justina and Kristen are off the record, okay? You’re not allowed to tease me about them anymore."
"Fine," I said, even though my grin didn’t fade.
> "Promise?"
"Promise."
Silence stretched for a moment, warm and easy. Then, softly, she whispered, "But... you liked it, right?"
I glanced down at her. She wasn’t looking at me, just fiddling with the corner of the notebook, eyes shy.
And for once, I didn’t tease. My chest softened instead. "Yeah, Val. I liked it."
Her shoulders relaxed. "Good."
She hummed again, the same nonsense tune from earlier, and just like that, the heaviness from the afternoon was gone. Replaced by this—the silly, sweet, ridiculous girl who somehow managed to fill every corner of my life with chaos and warmth at the same time.
I leaned back, letting the sound of her humming fill the quiet.
And maybe, just maybe... I didn’t mind the thought of little names scribbled beside ours one day.
---
To be continued...