Fortune Favors the Bold

43

Convict 286 woke up before Kalani did, facing the area of the room opposite the sleeping girl. His heavy eyes scanned over the floor, looking at the rays of light that decorated the floor.

A quiet murmur came from behind him. Adrian turned onto his back and watched Kalani, who already faced him with both hands tucked beneath her cheek. The blanket slipped past her ribs and left the skin her arms didn't cover exposed to his eyes only. Her black hair was thrown over the pillow around her head, matching her bold eyebrows and eyelashes.

Adrian's eyes roamed over her features, taking in every sparse freckle on her skin. He watched her silently for enough time to make sure the image would never leave his mind.

His ears caught on the shout that came from the hall outside before its matching footsteps hurried toward their door. Convict 286 swiftly gripped the blanket with a lightness that kept from waking the snoozing girl and lifted it over her body just before the door flew open.

"86, Kalani's missing. She's not-," Javi began frantically before he noticed the outline of a second person beneath the covers. He instantly fell silent, his eyebrows lifting. "A different room she said," he rolled his eyes in evident bother but said no more before closing the door after him to leave them in the room's privacy.

Convict 286 glanced at the clock hanging above the door, its proximity to 9 AM telling him they'd have to make their departure soon. But the deep sleep Kalani appeared to be in created a pang of guilt in his chest at the idea of having to force her away.

Instead, he lifted the blanket above himself and slid off the bed to dress. His pants were hanging off the bed's end in their place since last night, so he easily pulled them over his boxers.

A hushed gasp came from Kalani while he searched for his shirt, hardly enough to be heard. But his sharp hearing had already caught the uneven patterns in her breathing before her eyes could shoot open. She woke up just as he lowered himself onto the bed beside her, his thumb grazing the exposed area of her shoulder.

He contemplated asking her if she'd had a bad dream, but the way her smile grew at the sight of him chased the question from his mind.

"Hi," Kalani whispered.

"Hi," he responded, caressing the warm skin beneath her jaw.

Kalani's eyes slipped over his body to notice the clothes he'd begun to dress with. "Were you trying to escape?" She asked quietly, pouting for emphasis on the question.

Adrian shook his head, touching the corner of her mouth. "Never."

"Then," she lifted the blanket's side and placed it over his body. Convict 286 adjusted his position as she slipped closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Sleep in with me," she tilted her head back to peer up at him. Her hair bunched over her forehead.

"I'd love nothing more," he slipped a hand into her hair, massaging the back of her scalp. "But we should get ready to leave if we want to get where we need to go by tonight."

At the sound of the day's plans, Kalani whined in complaint. She pressed her head against his bare chest. "I want one day off. One day to just lay in bed and do whatever we want. That'd be fun."

Her words reminded him of the point he'd been pondering on for days already. "You can have a day off," Adrian pulled her head up to meet his gaze. "You don't have to do this, you know that."

Kalani waved him off. "That's not what I meant."

"I'm serious, Kalani."

"So am I, Not-Castiel."

"It's dangerous."

"It'll always be dangerous if we don't do this," she retaliated, her index finger tiredly sliding down the side of his neck. "I already told you that I'm in this and you won't be able to force me out, no matter how hard you try. I'm doing this for them."