Page 41 of Snowed in With the Yeti
“Maya.” I couldn’t form full sentences. “That’s stunning. You made that?”
“Yeah. The armor plates are EVA foam with a thermoplastic coating, painted and weathered. The leather is real. I did the tooling myself. And the chainmail is aluminum at the top, and 3D printed in silver colored PLA because real steel is too heavy.” She was rambling now, nervous. “I know it’s nerdy.”
“It’s incredible. You’re so talented.” I stood, moving closer to examine the details. Every piece was perfect, the craftsmanship obvious even to my untrained eye. “You made all of this?”
“Well, yeah. That’s kind of the point of cosplay. Making the costume is half the fun.”
“This isn’t a costume. This is art.” I touched one of the armor plates gently. “Can you move in it okay?”
“Oh yeah, full range of motion. Watch.” She demonstrated, bending, reaching, even doing a practice sword draw with an imaginary weapon.
The movement was fluid and natural, and watching her move in armor she’d crafted herself was doing things to me. She looked powerful. Dangerous. Mine.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, catching my expression.
“I’m thinking you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” I moved closer. “And that you look incredibly hot in armor.”
“Yeah?”
“Extremely yeah.”
She bit her lip, a gesture I’d come to recognize as her being nervous but interested. “I have other costumes too. If you want to see them.”
“Maya, I want to see everything. Every costume, every creation, every side of you.” I pulled her close, careful not to damage the armor. “But right now, I’m very interested in figuring out how this comes off.”
Her eyes darkened. “It’s actually pretty complicated. Lots of buckles and straps.”
“I’m a patient man.”
“Are you though?”
“For you? Absolutely.”
She laughed, the sound light enough to fill the room. “Okay. Help me out of this, and then maybe I’ll show you the other costumes.”
“Only show me? No fashion show?”
“Well.” She walked backwards toward my bedroom, pulling me with her. “We’ll see where the evening goes.”
Where the evening went was exactly where I hoped it would. Maya modeled three more costumes. The first was a mage with intricate robes, then a steampunk inventor with goggles and gears, and the last was a warrior priestess with flowing fabrics. Each one was more impressive than the last, and each one ended up on my bedroom floor.
Later, much later, we lay tangled in my bed again, the cosplay pieces scattered around the room like colorful debris.
“I can't believe I let you talk me into that,” Maya said, but she was smiling. “Bringing my cosplay suitcase instead of my clothes.”
“It was an honest mistake.”
“You knew exactly what you were doing.”
“Maybe.” I kissed her temple. “But you enjoyed it.”
“I did.” She traced patterns on my chest, her touch light and soothing. “Thank you. For today. For taking me home when it got too much.”
“Always. Anytime you need to escape, we come home.”
“Home," she repeated softly. “I like that."
“Good. Because this is your home too, for as long as you want it to be.”
