Ria the Orc: Part Three (special preview)

The moving boxes were stacked precariously all throughout the house. The actual move itself took place a few weeks ago, but both you and Ria had been extremely busy since. Bit by bit the boxes were getting unpacked, but it was usually little things and stuff you needed. Both of you were usually too tired by the end of the day. You were taking on a longer work day for a while, as several coworkers had something serious pop up int he past few weeks. Ria had been given a promotion at work, which required her to teach an extra class after her personal training sessions.

As nice as the new apartment was, you hadn’t had a chance to really enjoy it yet. You had somehow snagged the place for a steal, and it was the biggest place you’d ever lived in.

“With the two extra rooms we could put in an office and a guest room,” Ria suggested.

You liked the idea, but something didn’t strike right with you. “What do we need with an office?”

“I don’t know. Don’t most people have an office?” Ria asked.

“I mean, I guess some people do. But we don’t have anything we would need an office for,” you said.

“Oh.” Ria murmured. “I thought it was just something people had.”

The conversation didn’t move far past that. There were other things to worry about over how to use an empty room.

Ria went on early morning runs most mornings. Most of the time you stayed asleep until you heard her in the shower, but one morning you woke up to see her getting undressed from her sleep clothes.

“Oh sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

You yawned and sat up, watching her for a second. “I feel like we’re ships passing in the night these days.”

Ria looked at you with a concerned look upon her face.

“We’re both working so much. I mean...you have your promotion and everything, that’s amazing. But all this extra work at the call center is making it hard to, you know, connect with one another.” You rubbed the back of your head, suddenly having doubts about bringing this up.

Ria came and sat down on the side of the bed. “I know,” she sighed. “This apartment was suppose to be a chance to spend more time together. But it feels like all we’ve done since we got here is work and sleep.”

You nodded and huffed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up when you’re getting ready to go. Go on out on your run, since I’m up I’ll make us breakfast for when you get back.”

“No, no, I’ve been meaning to talk about it too. It’s better now than never.” She turned so she could face you better. “I don’t have to go running.” She placed her palm upon your face. “Since we’re both up, we might as well enjoy the time together.”

You smiled softly, nuzzling into her palm before she came in close for a kiss. You couldn’t remember the last time you kissed like this, when she was so close her tusks rubbed against your cheeks. All the kisses lately had been soft and sweet, but ultimately too short.

“Are you sure?” You asked.

“Positive.” Ria kissed you again, moaning softly as it deepened. She pressed her forehead to yours and sighed. “How much longer are you going to have to work all these extra hours?”

You grumbled. “Hopefully not much longer. I’d like to have some free time to actually unpack everything.”

Ria nodded. “I’ve been thinking about talking to my boss about changing my shifts around. But I’ve been chickening out of it.”

You were surprised. “Really?”