WMMAP - [S1] Shelter You - (愛)してる

Chapter 9: Trust Fall

Athanasia's eyes gradually opened. She blinked, trying to adjust to the surrounding. Each time she had her nap, a headache usually occurred. But not this time. Maybe it was the damped cloth that was placed on her forehead.

Lily must have been the one who laid it there...

As she was about to remove the fabric, her hands were stuck, entangled with something. She blinked in confusion before studying the obstacle. It almost made her jump out of her skin when she noticed another person's hands intertwined within. Another chill ran down her spine as she deliberately turned to the source of breathing.

She stealthily loosened her grip and rose from the soft yet firm cushion that she believed to be no other than a pillow.

But that was not a pillow, she slept on.

I WAS SLEEPING ON HIS LAP??

Realizing what it was, Athanasia bit her lips when a shriek threatened to escape.

But, that person was sound asleep and it made her feel a tad calmer. Maybe it was his face that made her unknowingly drawn to it and she would just stare silently at the person who was cast under Hypnos' spell.

What she saw right now was a state of his tranquil expression.

His head rested on the sofa's headboard, making his nixie black hair, which was now growing slightly longer, splattered across his forehead, and shielded his eyes. Those pair of scarlet orbs were nowhere to be seen as much she was searching for them.

Athanasia shifted her eyes to his lips. The usual self-satisfied smile, his signature smirk, was missing.

Suddenly the memory of what happened earlier, before she fell asleep, flashed through her head. She recalled how his eyes flickered merely inches away from hers. They were intimidating but intoxicated the more she looked through those spheres.

Athanasia managed to suspend a scream when Lucas' head stirred to the left side, weighing his body along with him. Before she knew what she was doing, her arms were already encircled around his neck.

She froze, screaming internally while questioning her instinct. Not knowing what to do, she held him still, in mid-fall. She was literally praying that he would not wake up at times like this

She thought he would either land on the sofa or fumble forward and he would hurt himself. But, she was already holding him regardless.

Slowly and steadily, she laid him on the couch as she let out a breath that she was holding. One step at a time, Athanasia gently backed away and noiselessly went up to her room and plunged onto her bed, suffocating herself with a pillow. Then, from suffocating herself to rolling around her bed.

He fell asleep before me, that means right?! So that means he didn't know I was sleeping on his lap—AAAAAAAARG THAT WAS EMBARASSING!!

Just then, an idea popped up that it would salvage her dignity.

If I walk down the stairs later, he won't notice. He would assume I went to my room and slept there. Perfect!

Meanwhile, in the living room, someone was smiling in delight. He was already awakened the moment she woke up. Initially, he wanted to tease her, planning on holding her hand still, but it was worthwhile with the outcome of his sacrifice. The trademark smirk grew wider, although his eyes were still sealed shut.

"I thought she would even strangle me in my sleep...," he laughed to himself, "You never failed to entertain me, Princess..."

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