I stared down at the top of his spiked head. Would he mind if I ran my fingers through his hair. Normally, to get that level of wild hair, you'd have to douse it with gel that would harden and touching it would be like feeling a ceramic figurine.
But his hair looked soft. My hand had moved before I realized it, but I caught myself before doing something I shouldn't.
It would be rude to take such liberties with someone I had just met, regardless of the situation. Uchel looked up at me and smiled, and I was struck again with how cute he was. Like one of those bubblegum idols that would dye their hair pink and act super cute.
"Our pup seems to be strong," he said before pulling away and clearing his throat. "We should be done with the bedroom here soon, but we will need to get new mats."
"Are they needed? The ones up there were gross." I asked.
"It is better to have them. It gets cold and the mats keep the cold from becoming unbearable." Ocello said. Uchel nodded.
"Those were like that because no one has lived here for a long time and they were never aired out."
At that, we all returned to cleaning. The afternoon passed with relative ease. The two men did most of the scrubbing.
Once the bedroom had been cleaned out enough, they took some of the hides and blankets up and insisted on letting me rest.
I tried to argue, but they were insistent. I sat on the edge of the bed platform. I was still in my dirty clothes and didn't want to sleep in the clean bedding with them on.
But it wasn't long before I laid down on the edge of the bed in exhaustion and fell asleep.
When I woke, I could tell from the light seeping through the closed shutters that much of the day had passed. Even though the heat outside was awful, the coolness of the cave like room made me want to snuggle under the covers.
I was surprised that I was under them. Had one of my beastmen come in and tucked me in under the blankets?
But nature called and I was forced to extract myself from the twisted sheets. My muscles were a little sore from the cleaning, but a quick stretch helped. I swung my legs off the bed platform and put my shoes back on.
Heading down the stairs, I could smell a sweet floral scent. Looking around, the floor looked amazing. From the stairs, I saw that the room below had the tiles shaped into a giant lotus flower. It was lovely. The floor shined as if it had been buffed.
Someone had gathered some flowers and put them in a vase on one of the kitchen prep tables. I went over to in and inhaled the heady scent.
I didn't see either of the men and I didn't see Cuddles. I went over to the door and peaked out, but there was no sign of them. Even the other people on the mountain seemed to have disappeared in their homes.
My bladder sent me an urgent reminder of why I needed to get out of bed. Ever since the little one started kicking, I had to go more often. Walking over to the convenience room, I pulled the door open to see them scrubbing.
For some reason, tears sprung to my eyes. Earlier, I was thinking that I should ask them to clean this area, but I had forgotten to ask.
But here they were, taking care of it without me having to say a thing. They just took the initiative and did it.
Ocello rushed over to me when he saw my tears.
"Are you alright." Uchel wasn't far behind and stood next to him with one of the brushes in hand.
"I am perfect." I gave a watery laugh. In that moment, I felt relief knowing that I may not have to be the one always remembering what needed to be done.
"I need to go. Are you almost done?" I asked. They looked at me in confusion as I wiped my tears away.
"We just need to rinse everything off and wipe it down. Can you wait a few moments?" I nodded. The two worked together and finished up, leaving me to take care of myself.
When I came out, they had started working on the bathing room. I peeked inside. This room seemed to be a lot less dirty than the others. It made me wonder if someone sneaked in to bathe every once in a while.
"Would you like to take a bath after we clean up in here? It is almost time for the welcome party." Uchel reminded me.
"Is there anything for me to change into?" I asked.
"The chest's might have something, or we can see if any of our clothes would fit." Ocello walked over to the chest and lifted the lid. We had already gone through the one with the blankets and hides. This one seemed to contain mostly things that would be used to cook with and some food staples.
Uchel opened the other one that contained thinner fabric that looked like it was meant to be for apparel. But there was nothing ready-made.
"Ocello's clothes are going to be too big but mine might work." Uchel started to head out but Ocello stopped him.
"Before you go, I wanted to settle something." He turned to me. "Since Uchel is your husband, are you alright if he moves in?"
I could see that Uchel tensed up at Ocello's question. I wish I knew why he was worried. Was it because he didn't want to, or maybe he was worried I'd say no?
It may have been too soon, but I believed that you should begin as you mean to go on.
"I have no problem with that so long as Uchel wants to." I said, unexpectedly shy in the moment. Looking over to my husband, a bright grin spread across his face before he gave a curt grunt and turned to head out.
"I'd like that." He said as he left. My lips twitched in humor, but I controlled myself. He was just so adorable. I looked over to Ocello, and he was smiling at me too.
"I know you probably don't realize why, but you have made his day."
"Why is that?"
"Any man who doesn't live with his wife is looked down on." Ocello frowned. He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"And since he already has some trouble with his family, he will be happier here."
"What kind of trouble?"
"He should explain that himself." I nodded. Some stories had to be told by the people who lived them. There would be plenty of time to get to know each other, so I could be patient.
"What about you? Don't you need to get some stuff to stay here too?" I pointed to the bag he had brought with us. "I'm guessing that bag isn't all you need now that you are home."
"I'll grab my stuff after the welcome party. If I go now, my mother will interrogate me."
I chuckled. She did seem like the kind of larger-than-life personality that would keep him for days if it suited her. I saw Cuddles walking up to me and realized that he had been cleaned too.
"You were able to do a lot of work today. Thank you," I picked up the creature and scratched behind its ear.
"We are going to have to put something on him if we want to let everyone know he shouldn't be eaten." Ocello took the creature out of my arms.
"I can try and make something," Ocello sent Cuddles down and went into the bath. "You should sit down while I finish up the bath."
I decided to go thought the chests a little more an began pulling out the things I would need the kitchen. As I explored, I found some hooks on the wall. I decided to hang the giant spoon and ladle from them. Getting the pot out, I set up on the table nearby. I could really use some drawers and cabinets, but this would have to do.
Fifteen minutes later, Ocello came out of the bathing room.
Why don't you go in and take a bath, now. I think the water should be warm enough. Uchel should be back by then with something for you to wear."
I nodded and went into the bath, shutting the door. It was a relief as I stripped off my chef's uniform. I wish I had been able to change before taking a nap. I peeled the black pants off. It tried sticking to my skin in places.
I felt the bath and the temperature was perfect. I got into the warm water and let myself relax. The heat soaked into my bones and helped release the tension that had been building since I got here. I looked around for something to clean up with before realizing that I didn't even know what they used to wash up.