Ribbons of Love

Another Invidia Tale by Ami Meitsu

A/N: This is just a month before the Yamato 5 story line, February 2220.

"So, Invidia what are you doing for Valentines Day?" Nova asked as they rolled out cookie dough on Invidia's kitchen counter.

"I don't know yet, I've been looking into resorts though, I have three choices," Invidia told her.

"Really?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you, you might steal my ideas."

"No I won't, Derek and I already have our plan. We're going to celebrate Setsuna's birthday early so that we can go on a little weekend trip, somewhere quiet…We'll probably end up going up to our lake house, or, if everything checks out, we're going on a small island vacation."

"See! You did steal it! That's one of my ideas," Invidia snapped. "My first choice is to rent a small house on one of the Pacific islands over the weekend. It'll be a three-day vacation, Thursday through Saturday, well four since we'd be there half a day Sunday."

"That sounds nice, I think you should just go with it," Nova said.

"Really? It is kind of expensive though…"

"Since when have you ever worried about cost? You have more money than you know what to do with."

"But Father doesn't like me spending it all on frivolous things, he said he'd cut me off again!"

"But it's not frivolous, it's romantic, I think he'd understand."

"Maybe…"Invidia pondered, then she said, "Where are the cookie cutters?"

"In my bag," Nova said.

Invidia found them and looked in the bag; there were several different things such as: flowers, hearts and teddy bears. "These are cute, where'd you get them?"

"Some I've had, others I bought on sale last week."

"Well it doesn't really matter as long as Arty likes them…"

"You're not getting all of them, I told you, some of this is for the guys and the rest of it is for Setsuna. The senior class is having a party."

"I thought she was still a junior…"

"Her studies required an extra year," Nova shrugged. "So she's on a five year program, the last year will be served on the Argo through the cadet training program."

"Oh…" Invidia said as she sieved through the bag. "I like this one…" She held up a butterfly.

"But Invidia, butterflies are…"

"I know that, but we're going to frost them anyway, I can just make it a Valentine butterfly, it'll be cute and Arty will appreciate my creativity."

"Whatever you say…" Nova said.

They then spent the next two hours cutting, baking and frosting cookies, and another hour just cleaning up…

"Finally," Nova sighed when they were done.

"For you, I still have chocolate to make," Invidia said.

"But the point of making cookies is to have something different, and we made them so we didn't have to do chocolate."

"Yes, but Arty and I have a tradition. I always give him chocolate," Invidia said as she pulled some molds out of the cabinet, one for hearts and the other for roses.

"You still have those?" Nova asked as she looked at the rose molds, the last time she saw them used was about six years ago…

"Oh, no, these are only about three years old, I got rid of the other ones awhile back, the tray was bent and cracked and just unusable. The hearts too."

"Don't you have butterflies too?"

"And angels, and stars and comets…"

"Comets?" Nova gave her a look.

"What? What did you expect? I'm proud of my heritage and I like the shape…They look like my necklace without color…" Invidia said.

'Only Invidia would say that…' Nova sighed as she watched Invidia prepare the chocolate and start filling heart molds, then she asked, "You said you had three choices for Valentine's day and if the first is vacation then what are the other two?"

"Well, one was to just rent out a hotel room for the night and the other was to just take Arty out to dinner and then come home and set up the bedroom like usual."

"I really like the first idea better, it seems more romantic. And I'm sure he'll appreciate it. There seems to be a lot of stress with the upcoming March patrol."

"I know, Arty told me about it, there are some days where he comes home and just goes to sleep…I miss seeing him," Invidia sighed as she carefully painted the leaves on the roses with green.

"Then that's more than enough reason to go, you can have some time to yourselves and not worry about life," Nova said.

'She's right…Arty and I both need some time off…I don't even know why I considered the other ideas, this one is too perfect…' She thought, and shortly after Nova left Invidia made reservations online and started planning how she would tell Arty…

It took her a few days to make up her mind, but she finally decided on a during-dinner presentation only two days later, on Friday.

"So, what's all this for?" Arty asked in the middle of dinner.

"What are you talking about?" Invidia asked innocently.

"The dinner, the setting, the dress clothes, either you want something or you're about to give me something…"

"No," Invidia turned her head. "Maybe I just wanted to do something for you! But I guess you don't appreciate my romantic side."

"That's not true, I love it when you get romantic…but you've been acting strange, so I know this is more than just a romantic gesture."

"Well, actually, I have a proposal for you…"

"What kind of proposal?"

"Well, I want you take next Thursday and Friday off," Invidia said as she placed her hand over his.

"Why?" Arty gave her a look.

She slid the plane tickets across the table.

"What's this?" Arty asked.

"I rented a house on this island for the weekend so that we could go on a romantic vacation for Valentine's Day…"

"But Invidia…you know how busy we are and…"

"Exactly, you're so busy lately, I hardly see you. So, I thought it would be good for us to spend some time together and for you to get a break…" Invidia explained.

"Well…" Arty thought for a minute. 'I guess I do need a break and it would be nice to spend some time together.'

"Please?" Invidia gave him a cute look.

"I'll see what I can do," he said…finally.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Oh…Arty…I love you!" She hugged him.

"I know," he patted her head. "Now, how about we try and finish dinner?"

Invidia nodded and went back to eating, thinking about the rest of her preparations for vacation, including a little surprise for Arty. Unfortunately it didn't go too well…

"This is the fifth store we've been to!" Invidia raged as she stomped back outside.

"What exactly is it you're looking for?" Shamura asked.

"This," Invidia handed her a sketch. "I started thinking about what I could wear for Arty and came up with this, I was kind of hoping I could at least find someone to make it."

"I think I might be able to help you with this," Shamura said.

"Really?"

Shamura nodded. "I have a friend who's a lingerie designer."

"But it'll take too long and I need it by Wednesday…"

"She can do it, remember that white nightgown I showed you?"

"The lacey one?"

Shamura nodded. "She made that in only a week, but that included the sketching and since you've already done that, it should be easy for her to get it done by then."

"Alright, thanks," Invidia said.

"But, while we have some time why don't we go get your shoes? They should be easier to find," Shamura suggested.

Invidia nodded and they moved on, finding what she wanted in no time at all, then, she headed back home with Shamura, who delivered some good news the next day.

"I talked to my friend and she says she can do it," Shamura said over the phone the next morning.

"Really? That's great!" Invidia exclaimed.

"But she has to measure you first…"

"Measure?"

"Well I don't know your three sizes, and neither do you…besides…you want it to fit just right, don't you?"

"I guess…"

"She says she can do it today, which is probably better if you want it done on time."

"That's fine, you can come over any time this afternoon, the kids and Arty are going to be out until about six this evening," Invidia said.

"Alright, but where are they?" Shamura asked.

"Arty's taking them skating and then they're going to see his parents, why?"

"Just curious, since it's unusual for you be alone on Sunday."

"It's fine, just call her," and, with that, Invidia hung up.

Shamura and her friend arrived shortly after two; Invidia looked them over when they arrived.

'She doesn't look like someone who'd design lingerie, she's too normal… And what's with the glasses? You'd think someone who does this would find glasses un-sexy…' Invidia thought.

"Invidia, this is Hana," Shamura said as they came in.

"Hello," Invidia said.

"Hi," Hana said. "You know what I'm here for, so let's get started." She pulled a purple measuring tape from her purse.

"Isn't measuring tape supposed to be yellow?" Invidia asked.

"Supposed to be, but I like purple better, it's my favorite color," She said as she took out a small notepad and pen. "Alright, take your clothes off."

"What?!"

"You heard me, strip."

"Why?"

"Invidia you know why," Shamura said. "You have been measured before."

"Yeah, but I was always allowed to wear something whether it was my slip or…"

"Measuring for lingerie is different," Shamura said.

"She's right," Hana continued. "It's not like when you measure for dresses. They go over your underwear, so you can wear it to account for that, but since most lingerie is underwear I prefer to have my clients wear nothing. It helps me get a more accurate measurement."

"Of what?"

"Well, when you measure for this sort of thing…" Hana continued on, and after her explanation and a little convincing from Shamura, she agreed.

"I'll do it, but you can't watch me undress, got it?"

Shamura and Hana nodded, and Invidia turned to get undressed, unfortunately for her though, Hana's natural instinct kicked in.

"You know, you have pretty good taste," she said.

"What?" Invidia gave her a look as she came over.

"I know it would seem like lighter colors bring your hair and eyes out more, but dark colors work better in your case, especially in this and the design you gave me. Black lace is a good fit for you."

"Um…thanks…" Invidia muttered, as Hana turned again and she slowly finished.

Hana immediately went to work and occasionally made notes as she wrote down her measurements.

"Alright, I think I got it," she said a few minutes later.

'Thank goodness, this is embarrassing…I hate other people seeing me like this,' Invidia thought.

"Here," Shamura threw Invidia a bathrobe, which she immediately put on, then, she joined Shamura on the couch.

"You think you'll be done in time?" Invidia asked.

"Sure, it should be easy. You already did the sketching part for me."

Invidia nodded. "And thanks for making it…I really appreciate it."

"It's fine, I'd been looking for a new project to do anyway, I have to fill time while the company looks over and tests my prototypes. I'll come by to do a fitting on Tuesday and have Shamura give it to you when I'm done. Alright? "

"That's fine, just come before four, that's when Arty and the kids get home," Invidia said.

Hana nodded and left, only to return again at ten AM on Tuesday for the fitting.

"Here," she said when she handed Invidia her outfit.

"It's beautiful, just like I imagined it, but what about the lace at the bottom?" Invidia asked.

"I can't do that until I do this fitting. It would be a huge waste for me to put it on and find out that it's not long enough. Lace, especially black lace is expensive. And I only use the highest quality items."

"Right…I'm going to go change…" Invidia said, then, she lead Hana into the bedroom and went to change in the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later, finding that the outfit was perfect but…

"I think it should be longer…" Hana said as she looked at Invidia through the full-length dressing mirror that hung on the closet door.

"I guess so…My shoes are going to make me taller so maybe if it was just above my knees?"

"Not 'just above,' a little shorter… maybe three inches or so? Like this…" Hana let it out a bit to show her.

"Well it does look better, maybe a little longer though?"

"I guess…" Hana said as she brought out the hem and adjusted it. "Like this?" she asked.

"Perfect…" Invidia said.

"Good, now hold still so I can fix it…" Hana then worked for about an hour on marking and hemming out the bottom before she left.

Invidia never saw Hana again, but she saw Shamura late Wednesday evening when she dropped off the final product.

"Thanks…"Invidia whispered.

"No problem, have fun okay?" Shamura told her.

"Oh, I plan to…" Invidia told her. Unfortunately it didn't start until after a five-hour flight, which Invidia slept through most of, and another two hours just getting out of the airport and to the house.

"Finally…" Invidia sighed as she got out of the rental car and stretched.

"You were the one who wanted this…" Arty reminded her as he unloaded their luggage.

"Doesn't mean I have to like the traveling part…I'm taking a nap when we get inside…"

"Not before you eat. You haven't eaten anything since we left…"

"I can't help it, airline food is disgusting, and they didn't have anything vegetarian."

"But you're not a vegetarian…"

"I know that, but that way I at least get something good. I'd much prefer something tofu over something sloppy and greasy and…"

"I get it," Arty said as they walked inside. "Now, you go set up the bedroom and I'll make you a sandwich," he said as he set the groceries they bought on the counter. It was Invidia's idea, so they didn't have to eat out the whole weekend.

"Peanut butter?" Invidia asked.

"Fine," Arty said.

Invidia smiled at him and took her first two bags upstairs, which consisted of the bedding and bathroom stuff. She started with the bed and curtains and by the time she was done with that Arty called her down to eat. After which they both worked on cleaning and setting up the house to make it their own for the weekend.

"Arty, are you done yet?" Invidia asked as she watched him clean the bathroom.

"Does it look like I'm done?" Arty asked.

"No, but I really want you to be. I need a shower…"

"Well I don't think I'm going to be done for a while, I want to be ultimately sure that this place is as clean as our apartment back home."

'He's so nice to do that, especially since we don't know who was here before us…maybe I'll just sleep,' Invidia thought, then she said, "Alright then, I guess I'll just go take a nap…"

"You do that; I'll join you when I'm done."

"But before you do, can you set the clock to wake us up an hour before dinner?"

"Sure."

Invidia smiled at him and went to lie down. Arty joined her an hour later and they slept for about two and a half hours before the alarm woke them up. Invidia then got up, took a quick shower, and after Arty offered to blow dry her hair, got changed for dinner. It was going to be a fairly casual dinner at a café in the local town so she wore a dark purple, spaghetti strap sundress that fell just past her knees, a light, black coat and a pair of black sandals along with her comet necklace. Arty's outfit was a lot simpler, and just consisted of khaki pants and a polo shirt, with his casual dress shoes.

"Ready to go?" He asked when she was finally done.

Invidia nodded and grabbed his hand as he led her out into the car and then drove into town. The café Invidia had picked was beautiful, they got a table by the window where they could watch the sunset and afterwards Arty took her out for a short walk on the beach.

"It's nice, huh?" Arty asked as he looked at Invidia, who was holding onto his arm.

"Anytime I'm with you is nice," She said. "Can we sit for a minute?"

"You sure? The last time I checked, you hated sand."

"Not here, over on one those rocks, where I can put my feet in the water."

"Alright, Princess…" He let her lead him over to a flat spot and they sat while Invidia let her feet lazily bob in the water. Arty kept her sandals with him, just as he had done on their walk, since Invidia couldn't stand sand in her shoes.

"Arty?" Invidia asked.

"What?"

"I love you…" She leaned her head on his shoulder and he hugged her.

"I know. And, Princess?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad you convinced me to take this vacation…I needed it."

"And?" Invidia gave him a look.

"And I love spending this time with you," he continued.

"Good boy," She leaned closer to him and they sat for awhile before he said,"Why don't we go back? It's getting late and you know we're both tired."

Fine, I need a bath anyway…" Invidia then got up, quickly dried off her feet with a cloth in her purse and followed him back to the car.

As soon as they got back Invidia took a long, hot, bubble bath and immediately went to bed afterwards, so when Arty came out of the shower she was already sound asleep in bed.

'She's so cute…' He thought as he got into bed with her. "Good night, My Princess…" He whispered, then, he lightly kissed her head before falling asleep himself and then being woken up the next morning at eight by Invidia.

"Good morning and happy Valentine's Day," She said as she set a tray on the bed.

"Breakfast in bed?" Arty looked at her.

Invidia nodded. "It's your first surprise of the day."

"Princess, you didn't have to do this…"

"I wanted too, besides, it's better than chocolate, isn't it?"

"I guess so, I mean you even made bacon…"

"And I hated it, I don't know how you even stand the smell of that stuff."

"Well I appreciate it, thank you…come here."

She came closer and Arty hugged her. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too…" Invidia said back. "Now hurry up and eat, I'm taking you to the beach."

Arty gave her a look.

"I know I don't really like beaches, but you do…I was thinking we could go on another walk…"

"Alright," Arty agreed.

Invidia smiled. "Good, but make the bed before you come down, okay?"

"Fine…"

"Good boy," Invidia teased, then she left. She sat a the bay window reading when he came down with his tray. "I'll get those," She said as she took the tray from him. "You go get ready."

He left and came down stairs ten minutes later. "You ready?" He asked Invidia.

"I've been ready, let's go."

"What do you mean you've been ready? You can't go to the beach like that."

"What's wrong with it?" Invidia asked as she looked down at her usual red gown.

"Well for one thing, it and your cloak will just drag in the sand, they'll get dirty and the last time that happened it took forever to wash all the sand out by hand, remember?"

"You're right, I'll go change," She left and came back in a casual sundress and sandals. "Better?" she asked.

"Perfect."

Invidia then grabbed his hand and they headed off. Arty drove down to the beach, where they took a nice, long walk, then Invidia convinced him to do some shopping on the boardwalk before they headed back for lunch and some rest around noon.

"You already made breakfast; you didn't have to do lunch too…" Arty said as Invidia picked up his plate afterwards.

"It's fine, it was only sandwiches anyway…" Invidia said.

"Well at least let me get you desert. I bought ice cream…"

"Thanks but I'm full and I want to be able to eat tonight."

"That's right, you got reservations at that fancy restaurant."

Invidia nodded. "You remembered to bring dress clothes, right?"

Arty nodded.

"Good…I'm going to go take a nap, okay? Do you want to join me?"

"I guess."

Invidia smiled at him and they went into the bedroom to sleep, waking up two hours later with nothing to do…

"It is warm, we could always go swimming," Arty suggested.

"I didn't bring a swimsuit," Invidia told him. "And I have a better idea, I saw a garden on the drive up and I thought it might be a nice place to visit."

"That does sound interesting…" Arty pondered.

"So?" Invidia looked at him hopefully.

"Let's go."

Invidia smiled and they headed off, finding that the place was both a visitation garden and a nursery.

"It's nice…" Invidia said as they looked around. "And look…roses…"

Arty looked at them, and reading the sign next to them, thought 'on sale too…hmm…' Then he said, "Invidia, I'll be right back…"

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I left something in the car. But, while I'm gone why don't you go check out their seasonal flowers? I hear they're very pretty."

"Alright, I'll be waiting there when you come back…" She left, and when he was sure she wasn't looking he took off in the direction opposite the car. But he still came back like he said he would, and when he did she asked,

"So, what did you forget?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Then, why did you…"

She stopped when Arty presented her a small rose bouquet.

"Arty…They're beautiful…"

"Just like you," He said as he put one in her hair. "Happy Valentine's Day…Princess…"

"Thanks, but remember it's not over yet, we still have dinner…"

Arty then looked at his watch. "We should get back then if we want to make that reservation on time…"

"But it's only four, and the reservation is for seven…"

"Yes, but it's twenty minutes back, and another twenty to the restaurant and you mentioned a bath earlier."

"Right…let's go…"

He lead her out and when they got back, Invidia immediately went to take a 'quick' bath, which turned into a forty-five minute bubble bath, after which Arty blow dried and brushed her hair out before taking a shower himself, leaving her to get dressed.

'Good…' Invidia thought when she heard the water running. 'Now I can finally prepare my present, well part of it anyway…' She then went downstairs, dug the cookies and chocolate out of a box in the fridge, (Which Arty hadn't touched, per her request), put them in a small red bag, and tied it with a ribbon. 'Perfect…' She thought as she slipped it into her purse, then she headed back upstairs, quickly put her dress on and moved into the hall bathroom to do her makeup.

Arty was waiting downstairs when she came out, and watched as she carefully descended down the stairs in a black spaghetti strap dress with a dark red, sideways sash, with matching black sandals and a fake red rose in her hair that matched the sash.

"Princess you look wonderful," he complimented as he kissed her hand.

"Thanks, you do too…" She said as she looked over him in his black dress pants and suit coat, white shirt with a dark red tie, and dress shoes.

"Ready to go?" He asked as he offered his hand.

"Of course," She took it and let him lead her out.

The restaurant Invidia had picked was one of the best on the island; it was elegant and had a nice, formal feel to it.

"It's been a while since we've been to a restaurant like this, hasn't it?" Arty asked as he looked over the menu.

Invidia nodded, then she said, "And it's been a while since I baked for you too, hasn't it?"

"I guess, why?"

Invidia then pulled out the bag and handed it to him. "This is why, I made them special for you, as part of our tradition, happy Valentine's Day."

"That's the third time you've said that," Arty joked.

Invidia gave him a look.

"I'm kidding, thank you, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back. After that, dinner went on like normal and they went back, but on the way home Invidia started acting suspicious. Arty ignored it though, until she stopped him from going upstairs.

"Why don't you just stay down here and relax?" She said. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Um…okay?" Arty said as she went up stairs and locked the bedroom door. Then she quickly got to work re-designing the whole room and changing her clothes, afterwards she opened the door and called Arty.

"Arty, I need your help with something…" she said.

"Alright, I'm coming," he said and as he came up he asked, "what is it you need my help wi…" he stopped when he came to the door. Invidia had changed it completely…

She had replaced the bed sheets and curtains with the dark red, silk set and had candles set in a few places throughout the room, along with a trail of rose pedals leading to the bed with several more on it. But, what got the most attention from him was her.

Invidia stood before him in a short, dark red slip with two layers of black lace at the bottom and around her breasts, along with a pair of seven-inch stiletto heels and a very sexy come hither look on her face.

"Invidia…You look beautiful…" He said as he approached her, only to find that, for the moment, she was taller than he was, and she smelled of lavender…

"By the look on your face, I'd say you like it," she said.

"Oh I don't like it, I love it and you're not just beautiful, you're sexy…" He whispered as he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, then, he picked her up slightly and moved her onto the bed until she was backed up and leaning against the headboard.

"Arty…what are you doing?" She asked.

"Shush, don't talk," He said as he gently placed a finger on her lips, then, he kissed her again and began to trail his kisses down her neck, caressing her one of her breasts while doing so. But, after a minute or so, he stopped.

"Why did you…?" Invidia started to ask, but was cut off by Arty kissing her again as he started to gently work her out of her slip. Invidia then caught on to what he was doing and began to do the same with his clothes and soon enough they were both naked, unashamed and looking at each other with nothing but pure lust as Arty looked her over for a moment.

"What are you…?" She started to say, but Arty cut her off.

"What did I tell you about talking?" Arty whispered, then, he leaned closer and gave her a deep, passionate kiss as he ran a hand through her hair and held her with the other one. Then, he once again began to trail his kisses down her neck and to her breasts.

Invidia said nothing more; she just gasped and moaned as Arty's hands ran all over her body as he kissed her, making her feel as if she were in heaven.

Several pleasurable moments passed in this heaven as Arty worked with her, teasing, and touching and loving her in all the right ways…

Invidia felt hot, sexy and her heart was beating hard as Arty became sweaty, hot and began to melt into her like sweet chocolate. Invidia moaned in that low, sexy way that drove Arty mad, as he continued to work with her, and she fell into it, practically melting with nothing but pure, hot pleasure. A pleasure she had been waiting weeks for, and she reciprocated, making him feel just as wonderful as she did, maybe even more…

They spent quite a bit of time joined together in their act of love, which became more passionate as it went on, and, it wasn't long before Arty brought her to a wonderful, hot climax, as she cried out his name again and again and again, it was over all to quickly though, as they lay together on the bed.

"Arty…that was wonderful…I love you," Invidia said.

"I love you too," Arty said.

Then, at that, they kissed and Invidia took the lead as they began to make hot, urgent, passionate love again, and their heaven continued.

All through the night…