[se] worth the wait

“Alright,” Shaelyn said softly, pulling him close to press a gentle kiss against his lips before letting him go. She watched him leave, then turned back to the stall he’d stopped at before. Looking at the Eevee the man was still carving, she beckoned him over. “Can you send that one to me when you’re done?” she asked with an eager smile.

It would be a reminder of their second date, a gift to be given later. She smiled as she paid and wrote down her address, handing it to the man before eagerly walking away again. She wasn’t anxious, didn’t wonder if they’d still be together by then. With Vik, for the first time ever, she dared to be confident.

…

He was taking a bit too long to find her. Wondering whether he’d gotten distracted or lost, Shaelyn walked back in the general direction of the car. Thanks to Vik’s size, she easily spotted him looking at...

Oh, dear God.

Walking up to him and soundlessly taking a place next to him, she peeked at what he was holding. “Are you going to buy it?” she wondered, her red eyes curiously looking up at him.

Amusedly, Shaelyn looked up at Viktor, pulling him from his thoughts. It wasn’t something she’d noticed at first when they just started hanging out, but over time, his little moments of distraction had become obvious. He would see one thing, and the world seemed to fade away.

Another might feel ignored, but Shaelyn thought it was endearing. A part of her wanted to test just how outrageous she could be when he was lost in thought before he’d actually notice and register her words. A little game she could play at home, not here.

He told her he didn’t want to go back to the car again and stated the obvious: he’d gotten distracted. A mischievous grin pulled at her lips. She looked back at the paint he’d been staring at, then stood on her tiptoes, placing one hand on his arm as she leaned in close so no one else could hear.

“Imagine all the things we could do with that paint,” she whispered, her breath warm against his ear.

Leaning back, she let the words hang in the air for a moment, a playful smile on her face before turning away from the stall.

“Not particularly. Are you hungry?” she asked, raising her brows and blinking innocently.

The stall owner looked at the two of them in pure confusion when he heard Vik say he didn’t want to buy anything, only for a single whisper from Shaelyn to change his mind. She turned around, glancing over her shoulder with a chuckle.

Viktor called her the devil, and Shaelyn replied with a wide smile, “And you love it.”

She thought he deserved to indulge in whatever he liked, to spend a little more time on things that might not be useful but were fun. He had the money, and no one was stopping him from enjoying himself. All he needed was someone to keep him from overworking, and that seemed like a task made for her.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders, and Viktor whispered in her ear, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine and causing her cheeks to heat up. “Hold that thought for later,” she winked.

“Perfect. A bite is all we need,” she replied when he said he could go for a bite. “There’s one dish they always have—” she continued, leading the way to the stall she had in mind.

“Hey! Can we have one Dahi Puri?” she asked with a smile. The stall owner instantly started preparing a plate of the snacks, giving them the option to eat at the stall or sit down for a moment.

Normally, Shaelyn would have given Vik a chance to order something he liked, but this time she was eager to share one of her traditions with him. The colour festival originated from a different region, and this stall sold the authentic snacks from there. Dahi Puri was a must-eat for that reason.

Vik paid for the food and took the plate while Shaelyn picked out a small table to the side, away from the main flow of people. The set-up was typical for a market: small foldable tables with slightly wobbly chairs. But it would do.

“So, this is one of the original snacks from when this event started in Cerynia,” she explained as they sat down. She took a piece from the plate, unbothered by the heat still rising from it, and blew on it briefly before holding it out to him. “Open up. Don’t burn your mouth,” she smiled, determined to feed him a piece herself.

Oh.

Shaelyn stared in horror as Vik coughed. She had forgotten one painful detail: other people couldn’t handle the heat of food right out of the pan. She blinked at the culprits on the plate for a moment before jumping up from her seat.

“Oh my—I’m so sorry,” she gasped, rushing to the stall owner to get a glass of water. She hurried back to her poor, poor man, putting one arm around his shoulders as she walked up to him from behind, holding the glass of water in front of him.

“I’m sorry. Are you alright?” she asked, a slight pout on her lips. So far, her attempt at being cute was not a success.

Shaelyn pouted as she looked at her man in pain. She’d warned him—she truly had! Nevertheless, it was difficult for her to imagine burning one’s hand or mouth.

She could only remember one instance where she’d ever felt the hurt of heat, as that one stuck out so vividly. Ever since that day, heat had never hurt her. It had been a comfortable companion, the one certainty in her life.

Cold, on the other hand, scared her to the bone.

Vik told her that he’d call her if he wanted to scorch his innards, and her pout only grew worse. “I told you to watch out,” she said, worry in her eyes as she gave him one more pat on the shoulder, before sitting down in her seat again, taking one for herself and easily biting into it.

“I don’t—” she started softly, furrowing her brow for a moment. “It’s not just my affinity. Some still get burned if they can’t match the heat,” she explained with a smile. “But I do not. I can’t even imagine the heat ever hurting anymore. I try to remember it’s different for others, but…” She let out a soft sigh, turning the scalding hot snack between her fingers.

To her, the memory of burning was equivalent to the fire she’d stepped through, her skin melting away as she held the crying child to her chest. Something like this… it seemed so harmless in comparison.

Even in pain, there was no blame directed at her, and Shaelyn almost wanted it to come, to prove her right. To not cower in fear for nothing each time something went wrong. It confused her, though it only strengthened her faith in him.

Her hand was squeezed, and Shaelyn looked at him with a soft smile as he reassured her everything was fine, and that he should have listened. To this, she nodded. “Please do,” she decided, her smile turning into a grin as she took another small bite of the snack. Besides that, he probably shouldn’t have put the whole thing in his mouth, but he was who he was.

“Do you want another glass of water?” she asked, her eyes falling on the glass for a moment. The poor soul must have a painful throat now. She wished there was something she could do. While she could manipulate heat and pull it from a wound, technically, that hardly worked when someone burned the inside of their throat.

Shaelyn rubbed her thumb and index finger together, creating a small spark between them as she hummed softly. Vik had asked her how much heat she could produce or handle, and she furrowed her brow.

“There’s still so much even I don’t know,” she chuckled, letting her fingertips run over her lower arm, recalling those wounds she’d seen only once before she was supposed to close her eyes forever.

“I could step into a burning building, if the danger of collapse and the lack of oxygen would not take me out,” she told him. “Nothing I’ve tested would burn through my skin, but I’ll admit there’s plenty I have not tried.” There had been a period in her life where she’d considered sticking her hand in a blue flame, but she feared it would be too much.

“Producing… I can create fire, but I’ve never been able to create a white flame,” she explained. As an orange-yellow fire ran colder than that, she considered her limit to be there.

At this moment, Vik did not understand why Shaelyn would have traded her affinity for his if her soul wasn’t so aligned with fire.

She’d heard of the potential a ghost affinity could have, and she wished to show him this—yet she had to wait. She wouldn’t push him in any direction but instead gently guide him on whatever path he wished to walk.

“Most affinities are,” she replied when Vik called it fascinating. She could see the cogs in his mind turn as he thought about it, and it was enough for her to smile. There was still so much left to discover. She wondered what he’d be able to do a year from now.

With a chuckle, Shaelyn took the food from him and nodded. “Don’t worry. Eat up,” she told him, taking a small bite of the snack. “You need it more than I do,” she continued with a laugh. She didn’t need too much; he was a much bigger man.

It hadn’t always been one of her greatest passions. Shaelyn could scarcely remember a time when she’d thought she’d grow up to be a dancer. Her body had always listened well to her command, and perhaps that had helped her find control with her affinity so well.

It wasn’t until long after the fire had consumed her and she’d sat down in the temple that her interest in affinities and religion had truly kickstarted. So, she knew how most people viewed them—that so many held absolutely no interest in them. It was why she eagerly answered any and all questions.

“We can go,” she smiled when Vik asked if she wanted to stay here. “Do you want to take a bottle of water? Just… in case,” she asked, showing him a somewhat awkward smile as she pushed herself up from her seat, already grabbing the plate to return it, despite it not being necessary.