(Morana's POV)
I should've walked away.
I should've dropped Astria off at her dorm, given her a half-hearted "stay safe," and pretended none of this ever happened.
But I didn't.
Instead, we ended up at my place.
Because apparently, almost getting jumped in an alley wasn't enough for one night. No, the universe decided to add 'soaked to the bone and shivering' to Astria's problems.
So here we were.
Her, sitting on my couch, wrapped in one of my hoodies—which drowned her completely, by the way—while I stood awkwardly in the kitchen, pretending to be way too focused on making tea.
"...You're quiet," she said after a moment.
I scoffed, not looking at her. "I'm always quiet."
"Not like this."
I clenched my jaw.
Because she wasn't wrong.
The thing was, I didn't know what to say.
What were you supposed to do after something like that? After hearing someone scream your name in panic and realizing you'd burn the whole damn city down before you let them get hurt?
Yeah. I wasn't built for this emotional crap.
"...Thanks for earlier," she said, softer now. "For coming."
I exhaled. "Yeah, well. I wasn't about to let you get murdered in an alley."
She huffed out a laugh. "So dramatic."
I finally turned to her. Big mistake.
Because she was smiling. Really smiling.
Not the polished, picture-perfect one she gave everyone else.
This one was small, a little tired, but real.
And damn it all—it did something to me.
I looked away way too fast. "Whatever. Just don't make it a habit."
She tilted her head. "What? Getting attacked or calling you for help?"
"...Both."
She grinned. "Noted."
I groaned, running a hand through my damp hair. "You're impossible."
"And you're not as heartless as you pretend to be."
My heart skipped.
I snapped my head back toward her, about to argue, but—
She was already watching me.
Closely.
Like she had just figured something out.
Like maybe… maybe she wasn't so blind to this mess after all.
The air shifted.
She was still curled up in my hoodie, still damp from the rain, but she looked at me like she saw something I didn't even know I was showing.
I swallowed hard. Broke eye contact first.
"Drink your tea," I muttered, turning back to the kitchen.
She didn't push.
Didn't tease.
She just watched me for a second longer.
Then, quietly, she said, "Okay."
And I had never felt so caught in my life.