He hardly moved when Nomi slumped back into his lap, though he shifted his leg slightly so she could sit more comfortably.

  He ignored her when she started pushing his hand around with her index finger, tracing idle patterns on his knuckles.

  He managed not to react when she started bumping the back of her head against his chest—a rhythmic, annoying demand for attention.

  But he finally met her eyes when she tilted her head back and blew a puff of air directly into his nose.

  “...What is it?”

  He shifted his eyes down to her, slow and annoyed. The guilt sitting in his gut stopped him from snapping, but his patience was fraying.

  “Was I a cute kid?”

  Talos blinked. The absurdity of the question clashed violently with the pain in her eyes and the stupid little smirk pulling at her lips.

  “...What?”

  “I mean, you saw me as a kid, right? In the vision. Back when I was ‘Whisper.’”

  Talos stared at her, incredulous. She was really asking this.

  “Well?” she pressed.

  “...You… looked sad.”

  “Mhm.”

  “And cold.”

  “Yep. I hate Rethnia. Especially in Reth. Too far north.”

  “...And your ears looked ridiculous.” Talos finally grunted, looking away. “They’re the same size now as they were then. Way too big for your head.”

  She blew air into his ear the moment he looked away, causing his head to snap back to her.

  “Pay attention to me.” Her ears drooped into a playful pout, glaring up at him. He glared back and she grinned. “You don’t get to be mad; you almost stabbed me.” She stuck out her tongue playfully. “Seriously, I thought you said you were gonna start being nicer to me.”

  He tensed slightly, the shadows returning to his eyes.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “Stop it.” She cut him off with a little grin, tilting up to peck his lips before the apology could fully form.

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  His mouth snapped shut. He shot her a warning glare, but then he remembered he didn't actually have to listen to the preening fox in his lap. He looked at her properly—seeing the heavy weight in her eyes, despite the smile. She was trying. She was refusing to fall apart.

  It made him want to try, too.

  “Well, it’s miraculous I’m as nice as I am when you are such a brat,” he grumbled.

  “Touché. If only there was some other way you could take out your frustrations.”

  Her tone dropped, the words soft and low enough that only he could hear the invitation.

  “...Unbelievable.”

  They resumed their conversation an hour later in their room. Nomi lay on his chest, her eyes memorizing every detail of his face.

  “Are my ears still goofy?” she asked. She let them droop intentionally while she looked up at him with half-lidded eyes.

  “...No. I like them.”

  “Mm.” She watched his hand raise, lower, then finally shift toward her head. He scratched gently near the base of her ear, where the skin met her head, over the seam where they had been grafted into her skull. It shifted through her hair, smoothing out the tangles.

  After a few seconds, she spoke.

  “...What did you see in there?”

  His hand stilled.

  She let out a small growl of irritation, one eye cracking open to glare at him.

  “Didn’t say stop.”

  “...It was the night you wiped out the Choir. Carmilla must have pulled it out of your memories.”

  Nomi nodded quietly, and her eyes drifted shut again.

  “When you had my sister pinned... I started being able to move.”

  “...That’s when you started trying to catch me?”

  “Yeah. Probably. I couldn't see the real world.”

  Talos went quiet. His mind drifted back to the last hour. He had almost stopped twice during their intimacy when he accidentally made contact with the bruises on her ribs—dark, ugly reminders of where he had slammed her into the floorboards.

  “...But you didn’t kill me.”

  “...No.”

  “You had me pinned, and I know you couldn’t hear me. So… Why not?” She opened her eyes again, searching his dark gaze for answers. “Realized you can’t live without me?”

  “...I already knew that.”

  He smiled slightly, ruffling her ears and earning an annoyed glare. She didn't resist when he pulled her up, his hand resting over the burn scar on her side.

  “My sister has been dead for a long time. And so is the person who killed her. But I'm still so angry. At you. At myself.”

  She didn't have a biting response ready. Her eyes widened slightly, the humor fading into vulnerability.

  “I’m so tired of clinging to the past, Nomi. So tired of being a passenger in my own life, living only to pay off debts no one else is keeping track of.”

  His eyes shut for a moment, heavy with exhaustion, then opened again. Despite the fatigue, a rare, genuine softness pulled at his lips.

  “So I'm choosing you. If you'll have me.”

  Nomi felt tears prick the corners of her eyes for the second time that day.

  “...Y-Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “...I— was it…” She trailed off, brain failing to come up with anything playful, so she sucked in a shaky breath and smiled. “You better stay sane. You bastard. You don’t just say shit like that then slip away, alright?”

  “Alright.”

  “I love you, asshole.”

  “I love you too, whore.”