17: to distract, with Y'shtola!
under the cuuuuuut! i'm here, i'm alive, i'm writing, i swear.
"Months of research, down the drain!" Y'shtola whines.
"Darling, it will be okay. I will help you rewrite your research, even! We can get it done in no time." Alaria places a hand on the back of Y'shtola's neck and kneads lightly.
Y'shtola leans into the touch, but still has a sour look on her face when she tips her head back.
"Months, Aria. We'll be working day and night for months."
"It's fine. You remember a lot of it, do you not?" Alaria questions, tilting her head to the side as she regards her girlfriend. "I can even beg a little and get G'raha to help us. You know how he is when he gets going on a research topic. Hard to get him to stop for anything. With the three of us working, we can whittle a month's worth of work into a couple of weeks!"
"I remember most of it, yes. But the little intricacies of inter-dimensional travel are not something that you just--"
Alaria interrupts her with a sweet kiss. Presses their lips together and hums against them. Her mouth tastes of the herbal tea she'd been drinking, earthy and sweet, and Alaria can't get enough of it as she deepens the kiss.
Y'shtola huffs a little into the kiss but doesn't break it. It's a huff that says, "I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work!" But Alaria knows what makes her girlfriend relax and how to get her mind off of things when the moment calls for it.
The merest touch of Alaria's fingers to Y'shtola's ears, soft and tender, makes Y'shtola melt. Her body goes lax almost immediately as Alaria's warm fingers trace their way over the edge of her white ears. Then Alaria moves a thumb to the inside of her ear proper and rubs lightly. Y'shtola purrs into the kiss her girlfriend is bestowing upon her.
When Alaria finally pulls away, there's a wistful, dreamy look hiding under the usual, carefully placed stoic face that Y'shtola generally projects.
"You always did know how to distract me, my love."