Sunny slowly opened his eyes, feeling himself lying on something soft and, most importantly, warm. It was a comforting warmth he hadn't felt in what seemed like an eternity. After all, he had spent the last four months in the freezing, hostile wasteland of Antarctica, sleeping in places that barely qualified as shelters. Cold and desolate, those places felt designed to remind him constantly of life's fragility.
A small smile curved his lips.
The reason for his smile was unmistakable: Nephis was asleep beside him. They were wrapped in each other's arms in an awkward but incredibly soothing embrace. Their legs were intertwined, and her arm was tucked beneath his head, serving as an improvised pillow, while her other arm rested limply at her side.
Sunny felt his cheeks flush as he realized how close they were. He hadn't seen her in months, and now having her so near felt almost surreal. After so much sadness and despair, this moment felt like a glimpse of heaven, a stolen fragment of peace in an otherwise chaotic existence.
Though the weight of the fallen still lingered in his soul, the oppressive loneliness that had haunted him for months had finally lifted. Yes, he had traveled back with Master Jet, who had stayed by his side after the fall of Falcon Scott.
But Jet... Jet had been little more than a walking corpse, consumed by her soul's defect. While her biting humor had kept him from completely losing his mind, her presence couldn't compare to this.
This... this was different. This was Nephis.
She was the reason he had fought so hard to survive. She was the anchor that kept him from surrendering to despair. The mere thought of seeing her again, of standing by her side, had been enough to keep him going even in the darkest of moments.
Sunny studied her, letting his eyes linger on her peaceful face as she slept. Her breathing was soft, her silver hair fell messily across the pillow, and that faint crease that often marked her brow had completely disappeared in this state of calm.
For someone like him, who had grown up without friends or family since the age of four, who had learned to survive by eating once a week and stealing whatever he could just to see another day, this was unimaginable.
Even after the hell he endured in Falcon Scott, he never thought he would experience something like this. This... this was love, wasn't it?
"It's good... as long as it's mutual," he thought with a smile.
Being by Nephis's side was something special, something unique. There was no other way to describe it.
His mind drifted back to something he had once heard in the Forgotten Shore. A soldier had referred to him as "Nephis's shadow." At the time, those words had irritated him. He wasn't anyone's shadow.
But now...
Maybe, in the end, he was.
The shadow, he mused, is tied to the soul more deeply than people realize. If the soul is destroyed, the shadow vanishes, and vice versa. The connection was absolute, unbreakable.
"So... am I her soul?"
It was a ridiculous thought, but somehow comforting. He doubted anyone else in the world had the chance to be someone else's soul. But then again, he was a divine shadow, wasn't he? Maybe that made him special.
She is the star that guides me, he thought, and I am the shadow that makes her shine brighter.
How corny.
A quiet chuckle escaped him as his lips curved into a soft smile. Amused by his own thoughts, he leaned closer to Nephis. She had just woken up, her eyes barely fluttering open seconds earlier. He decided to greet her the way she deserved.
Gently, Sunny gave her a quick but incredibly tender kiss. A gesture that, though brief, carried all the weight of what he felt for her.
Nephis was momentarily surprised. The first thing her mind registered upon waking, before she could even fully orient herself, was Sunny's lips against hers. As always, they were soft, but the contact was far too brief for her liking.
She frowned slightly.
Nephis was never someone who settled for less, especially when it came to something she truly liked.
Without hesitation, she leaned toward him, taking the initiative this time. Her hands slid firmly to Sunny's waist as she caught him in a much longer kiss. Naturally, the dark-haired boy offered no resistance; not that he could say anything about it in that moment.
The kiss lasted much longer than usual, almost as if Nephis were curious to test how long an ascended could hold their breath before giving in.
The answer: quite a while.
When they finally broke apart to catch their breath, Sunny let his forehead rest against Nephis's shoulder, his breathing slightly uneven. She smiled to herself, enjoying the moment. She liked seeing him like this, though it did bring a faint blush to her cheeks. She could feel Sunny's warm breath against her collarbone—something that, far from unsettling her, sent a gentle shiver down her spine.
It was a strange contrast: his presence was both comforting and electrifying at the same time.
And even though they had shared close moments before, she couldn't help feeling a bit nervous. Perhaps it was because, if she thought about it, the time they had actually spent together was minimal. Just one month in Sunny's house before he left for Antarctica, and of that month, only a single week had passed since his confession during the ball.
Far too little time.
To be honest, in this moment, she felt no better than a teenager who hadn't seen her boyfriend in months. Well, technically, that part was true. But she was supposed to be beyond those teenage feelings...
Nephis sighed, frustrated with herself.
Still, she had to keep her composure. Even though her mind wandered into places that made her blush, she knew the other members of the cohort would arrive at any moment. And honestly, she wanted to avoid Effie's inevitable teasing.
Although... then again, what did a little teasing matter?
Damn it, Nephis. You're such a pervert, she scolded herself internally.
As she wrestled with her own thoughts, she suddenly realized something: her hands were resting on Sunny's head, softly stroking his hair. She couldn't even recall doing it consciously. Sometimes, it seemed as though her hands had a mind of their own and knew exactly what she wanted.
She didn't bother to stop herself. She had always loved his hair, and now it was especially long, making the sensation of running her fingers through it even more enjoyable.
It was something so simple, so mundane, and yet so intimate. A connection that only they shared.
In silence, she let her fingers glide through those dark, silky locks, savoring the moment as time seemed to come to a standstill around them.
Nephis was caught off guard. Everything she had wanted to avoid—Effie's relentless teasing and the inquisitive stares of her cohort—was about to happen.
Why? Because she couldn't resist Sunny's lap.
At the moment, she was lying comfortably, her head resting on Sunny's legs while he absentmindedly played with her hair. She wasn't exactly sure when the roles had reversed, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Sunny had soft hands, and that was more than enough.
And his legs? Damn it, they were soft too. When had her beautiful little doll turned into the perfect pillow? She frowned slightly at the thought, but it vanished as quickly as it came. Complaining wasn't an option, not when the sensation was this comforting.
The view was amazing too. Observing Sunny from below had its... advantages.
Still, this moment couldn't last forever. In a few minutes, the rest of the cohort would arrive, and their current position would be impossible to explain without Effie making some sort of obnoxious comment. Nephis sighed, mentally preparing herself to get up.
No matter how much she wanted to stay, it seemed Sunny had other plans.
Suddenly, his hands moved from her hair to her head, and then to her cheeks. His touch sent tiny, warm shivers down her spine, both soothing and electrifying. Before she could react, Sunny began gently stroking her cheeks, his fingers tender and deliberate, as if he were committing every detail of her face to memory.
Heat rushed to her face, blooming in her cheeks.
What the hell is this idiot doing? Does he have no shame?
She couldn't let him get away with this. If Sunny was going to be bold, then so would she.
—"Why are you touching my face?" —she asked, her voice calm and even, her expression stoic as always. The words came out sharp, almost cold, as though she were genuinely annoyed. Of course, it was all part of her plan.
For all the progress Nephis had made, she was still a deeply antisocial person. Not that she'd ever admit it aloud.
She knew her words would likely make Sunny nervous, especially with his inability to lie. That was precisely why she said them—a little playful jab to catch him off guard.
Sunny's gaze shifted from the door, where he had been watching for the cohort, down to meet hers. His dark, deep eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
—"Because I want to," —he replied simply, his voice as soft as a warm breeze.
Nephis blinked, momentarily thrown by how straightforward he was.
—"You don't like it? Sorry..." —he added, his tone tinged with what sounded like genuine regret as he began to withdraw his hands from her face.
A pang of something sharp hit her chest.
What kind of trick is this? How did he just turn this around on me?
And worse—she didn't want him to stop.
Without saying a word, Nephis grabbed Sunny's hands, her grip firm but careful not to hurt him, and guided them back to her cheeks. Then, in a moment of pure impulsiveness, she stuck her tongue out at him.
What are you doing, Nephis? she thought, mortified by her own childish behavior.
And that was when the door swung open.
The rest of the cohort stood there, frozen in place. Effie's eyes widened as she processed the scene before her, and then, as expected, her lips curled into a mischievous grin.
—"What... is going on here?" —Effie asked, her tone dripping with amusement and mockery.
Her grin promised endless teasing for days to come.