Thank you for 600 powerstones! Here is your bonus chapter
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Noel paced the small apartment, glancing at her phone for the twentieth time in as many minutes. 3:17 AM. She'd thought about texting him twice already before finally breaking down with a direct question.
You alive?
The blue light from her laptop screen cast shadows across the cramped living space. Her business management textbook lay open beside it, abandoned hours ago when concentration became impossible.
The phone buzzed in her hand.
Heading home now. Why are you up?
Her thumbs hovered over the screen. She could lecture him about communication, about the importance of status updates, about the statistical likelihood of hunter fatalities during extended absences.
Instead, she typed: Missed you.
His response came quickly: Be there in twenty.
Noel tossed the phone onto the couch and resumed pacing. Twenty minutes. She glanced at the kitchen counter where she'd laid out protein bars and electrolyte drinks—standard post-gate nutrition that hunters needed to replenish depleted mana reserves.
The past two months had changed everything. Xavier, who for years had refused to even discuss hunting despite his registered D-Rank status, was suddenly taking gate runs. Not just taking them—excelling at them. The change had been so abrupt, so complete, it sometimes felt like her brother had been replaced by a doppelganger.
Except this version of Xavier was... better. Lighter. More like the brother she remembered from before Utah.
The sound of a key in the lock snapped her from her thoughts. Xavier pushed open the door, his white hair catching the apartment's dim light.
"You didn't have to wait up," he said, dropping his keys in the bowl by the door.
"Clearly I did, since you've forgotten how phones work." She crossed her arms, trying to look stern despite the relief washing through her.
Xavier set down his bag and opened his arms. "Come on. You know you want to."
Noel hesitated for exactly one second before stepping into his embrace. His arms encircled her completely, strong and secure, smelling of sweat and something else—something metallic and strange that must have been the gate itself. Whatever it was, it couldn't diminish the comfort of being wrapped in her favorite place in the world.
"I worry," she murmured against his chest.
"I know." He rested his chin on top of her head. "But I'm fine. Better than fine." He released her, holding her at arm's length. "In fact, we just cleared another kobold gate. Twenty cores."
Noel did the quick mental math. "That's what—three thousand after the split with Miguel?"
"And exchange fees," Xavier confirmed. "Not bad for a day's work."
She studied his face as he moved into the kitchen, grabbing one of the protein bars she'd laid out.
"How's Miguel doing?" she asked, perching on a barstool at the counter.
"Better than expected." Xavier leaned against the sink, consuming the protein bar in three bites. "His flame control is improving. He managed sustained flight for almost thirty minutes today."
"That's impressive for nine weeks in." Noel made a mental note to update her file on Miguel's abilities. "Any signs of mana depletion?"
Xavier shook his head. "His reserves are deep. Deeper than he realizes." He paused, studying her. "You should get some sleep. Don't you have class in the morning?"
"Afternoon," she corrected. "Strategic Guild Management with Professor Kim."
"The one who keeps hitting on you?"
"He's not hitting on me. He's recognizing potential." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Someone has to manage your hunting career when you finally admit you're better than D-Rank."
Xavier's lips quirked up at one corner—not quite a smile, but close. "About that. I've been thinking."
Noel straightened. "You're going for reclassification?"
"Not exactly." He pushed away from the sink. "But I think we should start looking for a bigger place."
The abrupt change of subject threw her. "What?"
"This apartment." He gestured around them. "It was fine when we were scraping by, but things are different now." He pulled out his phone, opened his banking app, and handed it to her.
Noel's eyes widened at the balance. $78,247.92.
"That's... that's more than..." She looked up at him, struggling to process the figure. Nine weeks ago, they'd had barely enough for next month's rent.
"It's just the beginning," Xavier said, taking back the phone. "At this rate, we could be looking at places in better neighborhoods. Somewhere with two bedrooms, maybe even a study space for you. An actual home."
Noel blinked rapidly, trying to absorb the implications. A home. Not this studio with its fold-out couch and shared bathroom. A place where she could have friends over without shame. Where they wouldn't have to coordinate shower schedules and whisper after 10 PM because of the paper-thin walls.
"You're serious," she said finally.
"Dead serious." Xavier stretched, his shirt riding up to reveal a glimpse of toned muscle. "I'm going to shower. We can talk details in the morning."
He moved toward the bathroom, but Noel caught his arm. "Xavi."
He turned, eyebrows raised in question.
"What changed?" she asked. The question had been building for weeks. "Three months ago, you wouldn't even consider hunting. Now you're clearing gates like you've been doing it your whole life."
Something flickered behind his eyes. "You deserve better than this place. Better than working yourself to exhaustion for a degree you're only pursuing because you think it'll help me someday."
"That's not—"
"It is," he cut her off gently. "Guild Management with a specialization in Hunter Operations? We both know why you chose that path."
Heat crept up Noel's neck. He wasn't wrong. Every class, every assignment, every late night study session had been with one goal in mind: creating a support structure for Xavier when he eventually returned to hunting. She'd never imagined it would happen so soon, or so dramatically.
"I'm just trying to understand," she said, more softly. "This isn't just about money. You're different. Happier. More like... before."
Xavier's expression softened. "Maybe I needed a purpose. Maybe I was tired of running from what I am."
"And what are you, exactly?"
His smile turned enigmatic. "Still figuring that out." He squeezed her hand. "Get some sleep, Noel. Things are looking up for us, I promise."
He disappeared into the bathroom, and moments later the shower sputtered to life, the ancient pipes groaning in protest.
Xavier was right—things were looking up. The financial pressure that had been crushing them for years was easing. Her brother was happier than she'd seen him since before their parents died. He was even joking again, that dry humor she'd missed so desperately.
And yet...
She reached for her laptop, pulling up the document she'd been compiling since Xavier's first gate run. Meticulously organized notes on his performance, his recovery times, his gear requirements. She added today's information: kobold nest, twenty cores, partnership with Miguel still stable.
Then she opened a second file—one Xavier didn't know about. This one contained her observations of the changes in her brother. Physical changes, behavioral shifts, inconsistencies in his accounts of gate runs. Small things, easily dismissed individually, but when viewed together...
Noel had always been observant. It was her greatest strength and, according to Xavier, her most annoying trait. And her observations told her that whatever was happening to her brother went beyond a simple return to hunting.
The shower shut off. Noel quickly closed the file and reopened her textbook, pretending to study as Xavier emerged in a cloud of steam, a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Seriously, go to bed," he said, rummaging through his drawer for clean clothes.
Noel watched him surreptitiously. The physical changes were undeniable. Her brother had always been fit, but now his body looked sculpted, with defined muscle where there had been lean strength before.
Some lucky girl was going to thank her someday for all the work she'd put into keeping him alive and functioning these past years.
"Noel?" Xavier waved a hand in front of her face. He'd pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt while she was lost in thought.
"Sorry. Just tired." She closed her laptop. "You're right. Sleep now, house hunting later."
Xavier's smile—a real one this time, not the guarded version he usually offered—made him look younger, more like the brother she remembered from childhood. "That's my girl. Always practical."
He moved to the kitchen, assembling a massive sandwich from leftovers. His appetite had increased exponentially since he started hunting, another detail for her file. "I was thinking," he said between bites, "maybe you could come with me to the Hunter Association tomorrow. When I exchange the cores."
Noel froze in the act of setting up the couch bed. "Really?"
"Why not? You're always asking about the process." He shrugged. "Thought you might want to see it firsthand. For your studies."
"I'd like that," she said, trying to keep her voice neutral despite the excitement bubbling up. The Hunter Association headquarters meant access to data, to other hunters, to the infrastructure that supported the entire gate ecosystem. A gold mine of information for both her official studies and her private research into whatever was happening with Xavier.
"Good." Xavier finished his sandwich and began helping her with the bed. "We'll go after breakfast. Meet Miguel there."
Whatever changes Xavier was undergoing, they weren't necessarily bad. He was happier, more engaged with life. Their financial situation was improving dramatically. For the first time in years, it felt like they were moving forward rather than just surviving.
And if there was something else happening—something beyond a simple return to hunting—well, that's what the file was for. She would observe, document, and analyze. She would protect her brother as fiercely as he had always protected her.
Because at the end of the day, they were Valentines. And Valentines looked out for their own.