A Bed, A Choice, A Moment [Part-2]
She raised an eyebrow again. "Warm you, huh?"
"I mean…" He shrugged indifferently, all innocence. "I am very cuddly."
Nova breathed out over her nose, trying—and largely failing—not to grin.
But something in his face changed. The teasing spark was still present, but now gentled. Below it, sincerity flickered—quiet and constant.
She stared at him a moment longer.
"Oh, so that's what you want?" she said, cocking her head as if she was seriously considering it. "And you really want me to stay?"
"I do," he said, this time without hesitation. Simply honesty.
There was no joke in that word. No teasing. Simply a quiet, honest appeal.
And for an instant, the air between them seemed charged—not with tension, but with something more solid. Nearer.
Nova hesitated. then allowed her arms to fall to her sides. Her pulse dropped.
For an instant, the burden of it all—the battle, the flight, the maelstrom of destruction—at last came to rest behind her.
