Invidia's Favor

Art and Story by Ami Meitsu

---

“You sure you wanna go?” Invidia asked as she looked at Arty, he was just staring into his coffee cup.

Arty nodded, you see he was ordered to go to the ship dockyards to help with preparations for the Argo’s latest patrol, meaning he’d be gone all day the next day, he knew she was wondering why he’d give such short notice, but he had just shown up by surprise and came out with it.

“But then I can’t see you…” Invidia whined.

“I know, but besides that my place is a mess, I was gonna do some cleaning but I never got around to it.”

“But you’re usually very neat.”

“I’ve been busy,” Arty told her. “What with the ship and the work I do at the Earth Defense Forces…”

“You’re just buried in work.”

“I know it sucks…”

“It doesn’t as long as you don’t get lost,” Invidia teased.

“Too late…” Arty said as he got up and tried to leave.

Invidia grabbed him “Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked.

Arty checked his pockets “No.”

Invidia glared at him as she tapped her foot.

“I’m only kidding,” Arty said as he approached her, and kissed her.

After he stepped back she smiled at him again. “I love you.”

“I know,” And with that he left and Invidia got to thinking.

‘If the place is so messy why don’t I do some cleaning? He’ll be gone all day and I need something to do…’

The next day she did just that, as for how she got in-Arty told her about key he hides in the hallway plant next to his door.

‘It’s not that bad…’ Invidia thought as she took her shoes off and replaced them with the house slippers Arty kept for her. Awhile ago he got them so that she didn’t have to bring her ones from home, they were black and matched the bottom of the bottom of her blue/black dress. Her opinion about the place changed when she came into the kitchen.‘I was wrong, doesn’t he know how to do dishes?’ she sighed and headed over to the window; she pulled back the curtain and looked out of it for a minute. “Well I guess it has to be done,” she said to herself.

Invidia spent about two hours cleaning, leaving the high places and shelves for last, some of them being really high.

‘Why can’t he at least do some dusting?’ she thought as she dusted the top of his entertainment center, she couldn’t see over it all the way, so it’s not really a shock that she would knock something over-but she didn’t expect it to be a vase.

Invidia tripped and the vase fell to the ground, but not before leaving a whole lot of water and dirt on Invidia. “Oh now I’m soaked” she whined as she looked at herself. She had water dripping off of her in several places, her blue dress had all these dirt spots on it, and there was dirt in her hair. She stood up ‘I’m not leaving looking like this!’ she thought as she slipped her dress off and hung it up, hoping it would dry it off, she really didn’t care if it was a little dirty. ‘Sorry Arty…I’m gonna borrow your bathtub!’

Meanwhile Arty was on his way back from the ship yards, they had actually gotten a lot of help that day so he was allowed to leave early. ‘I guess I can start with the cleaning when I get home’ he thought.

Little did he know the only thing he’d have to pick up would be that fallen vase. And little did Invidia know Arty was coming back.

She sat in the water looking at her hair, she had spent 10 minutes trying to get it clean and it seemed to work. “There, all clean-finally” she whispered to herself. ‘Well now that that’s done I can relax a little more’ Invidia thought as she started to slip down in the water, she had to admit it felt nice. She had always enjoyed taking baths. Ever since she was little her father had used baths as a way to calm her down, if she was fussy or wound up she usually felt better once she was in the water. ‘The only thing left to do is pick up that vase-I’ll get it before Arty shows up and hopefully be out of here too…’

Unfortunately she was off-way off; Arty was down the hall… and coming back! ‘Finally I’m back…’ Arty thought as he tried to put the key in knob-but it was already unlocked. ‘Hmm…I know I’m not that stupid…’ he looked down ‘Those shoes…Invidia?’ he took off his own and went into the kitchen only to find out that it was clean-really clean. ‘Did she..?’ “Invidia! Princess where are you?” If her shoes were there she was there too, he knew it. He called her again “Invidia!”

This time she heard him. “Arty!” she muttered and sat up.

Arty had heard the water and stood outside knocking on the door “Invidia?”

“Uh, give me a minute!” she told him.

“Fine, but I want to know what’s going on here…” he said as he walked off.

‘I can’t believe he’s home early…’ Invidia sighed; things just weren’t going her way that day. After a little bit of clean up on her self she stepped out and found Arty on the couch. “Sorry Arty, I just thought I could do you a favor.”

“It’s okay and I appreciate….” His eyes widened when he looked at her, she was standing in the beginning of the hallway with only a bath towel for cover.

She smiled at him awkwardly. “I was cleaning and your plant fell, I had to get cleaned up, and my dress was soaked so I kind of hung it up” she pointed a little ways next to him.

“Oh” he got up and felt it, it was still damp. “It’s still damp…” he muttered.

“It’s all right, I’ll be fine.”

“No, you can’t wear this and I know you won’t wear any of my clothes....but you have a slip right?”

Invidia nodded how he knew that she didn’t care but he was right she had to wear something.

“Just put that on for now okay?” Arty told her.

“Kay...” Invidia muttered.

A couple minutes later she sat with Arty on the couch, she was trying to sit as far away from him as possible, in case he tried something.

“You seem tense, how about I get you some water or something?” Arty asked.

“Okay” Invidia told him. ‘God this awkward…I mean I’m half-naked!’ she sighed again.

“What’s wrong?” Arty asked as he came back into the living room and handed her a glass of ice water, she stared into it.

“Nothing.” Invidia told him, she was looking down to avoid eye contact with him.

“If this is about the plant it’s not big deal, the vase was plastic anyway and I can get a new plant.”

“I told you it’s nothing.”

He got closer to her and grabbed her hand; she pulled away and knocked her glass over. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him there, he just startled her.

“Sorry, you just startled me” Invidia said as she picked up the glass.

“It’s all right, it’s only water” Arty grabbed the cloth she has left on the table and tried to dry up the spot a bit.

Invidia put her own hand over his “it’s okay, I’ll take care of it.”

“No I…” he stopped and looked at her hand, then her, but some how ended up glancing down at her chest. One of her straps had slipped and he could see that her bra had black lace on it, it was kind of sexy. He wasn’t normally like that but with the way she was dressed he couldn’t help it.

“Arty?”

“Huh?” he looked at her again.

Invidia didn’t say anything else she just looked at him. ‘His face…he just looks so… so…’ Then she kissed him, she didn’t exactly know why but she did.

Arty was a little surprised, but he liked it, in fact, he deepened it.

After it broke they looked at each other again.

“What just..?” Invidia started with a slight blush.

“I don’t know, but I liked it” Arty licked his lips.

“Honestly you are such a perv!” Invidia hit him.

“Hey you kissed me!”

“You didn’t try and stop it…”

“This is true” Arty smiled at her.

‘He’s so sweet when he smiles like that…’ “I love you” Invidia blurted out.

“I know” Arty whispered, and then he kissed her again. “So…you wanna go out for dinner later?” he asked her after it broke.

Invidia nodded “Just let me go home and change…”

“Okay, meet you later?” Arty asked as she grabbed her dress.

“Okay” Invidia said as she headed back into the bathroom.

‘She’s so cute! Dinner will be fun…’ Arty thought as he leaned on the couch.

Then again anytime he was with her he had fun, he liked her company and she liked his…but more than that he loved her and wanted to be with her…