Damon looked at her, his hand still holding hers, thumb brushing over her knuckles.
Svetlana's eyes were open now, really open. Glassy from everything she'd been through, but clear enough.
She stared at him like she was seeing him in a different light. Maybe she was.
Just as the moment settled, the door cracked open.
The nurse popped her head in.
"Oh! Sorry," she said quickly, realizing what she was walking in on.
She gave a sheepish look, then quietly closed the door again.
It broke the rhythm for half a second.
But then Svetlana chuckled, that familiar, quiet laugh of hers that always brought Damon back down to earth.
"Guess even perfect moments can't be perfect," she said.
Damon smirked, shaking his head, but he didn't move from where he was, still kneeling beside her bed.
"I don't care," he said.
And he meant it.
Svetlana's eyes softened, filling with something deeper.
"You know," she said, her voice low, "I used to think I was hard to break."
