It took Rin three minutes to register exactly what had happened. He grabbed his hair with both hands and tugged hard, as if he could wrench free of the moment.
He wished it were a dream, so the pain would wake him. But, it didn't. The tug hurt. The hot, solid ache was proof that it wasn't a damn dream.
He stepped away from Lucien, because stepping away was what someone would do when something huge and dangerous and private had happened and one needed to breathe.
He went to the window and leaned his forehead against the cool wood, cheeks burning. He bit his lip hard as his whole chest was still on fire with confusion.
Lucien did not answer him. He stood frozen in the middle of the small room, eyes wide and blank like a man who had been shown a miracle and didn't know whether to kneel.
For three long minutes, Rin fought panic and the stupid hope that Lucien would laugh and say, "Very funny" and leave the world back to the safe lines it had before.
