The Warrior's First Date
"You, okay?" Nova asked gently, her green eyes observing him with a sharpness that could cut steel—but at this moment, her voice contained something softer. Something unusual.
Leon gazed at her. Actually looked.
She was always tough. Tongue-sharp. A battle freak through and through. But in this moment—with her curled up in his lap, her sleep-frowzy shirt slipping over one shoulder, her ink-black hair falling loosely about her flushed face, and her fingers touching his cheek—she appeared heartbreakingly human. And lovely.
"…Yeah," he said after a moment, a small smile twisting his lips. "You just caught me thinking."
"Tch. That's not common," she grumbled, rolling her eyes, but her hand didn't release his face. Her thumb hung there, running along the rim of his jaw as if she wasn't even aware she was doing it.
The tension between them hung there—no longer awkward, but still. As if the night itself had stopped, waiting to draw breath.
