Sector B

54

Rory took a deep breath, but her heart pounded when Decha came out soon after. "Thank you, again." Rory avoided his eyes. She wasn't sure what to say to him. She worried that he was angry that they had been caught at first, but his calm demeanor was intimidating her.

"When Jessica schedules the day for your kidney transplant, I'll let you know."

"It's okay, I can just ask her myself. You don't have to go through all that trouble—" Rory froze when Decha tilted her chin up to look at him with his finger. "Do you have to go back to work tomorrow?" Rory blurted out suddenly. She wished Decha knew just how flustered and discombobulated she was.

"Maybe, it depends..." Decha leaned closer to her and Rory pressed her hands against his shoulders. Whatever he was doing, she wanted him to stop. They were still in the hallway, and anyone could walk by and see them.

She had enough shame that she had to endure tonight. "If you go back to work, you should go rest!" Rory shrieked when Decha pulled her waist against him.

Decha moved in to kiss her, but Rory turned her head wondering who in the world this man was. Wasn't he the same man that hated affection? He was also the same man that said he couldn't express himself easily. So what the heck was he doing? Why did his attitude change?

"I want to start with a pure and wholesome relationship first!" Rory panicked and announced as loud as she could.

"What?" Decha paused and eyed her suspiciously.

"I... I don't know where our relationship stands! What is this? What are we doing?" Rory whined. "You tell me one thing, but then you completely act another way."

"Why are you worried about that?" Decha groaned. He thought he had already made it clear to her what they were the night before. He already explained that his protection would expand much farther than just because she has IDS.

"Because I don't think I'd enjoy it if you just abandon me for another woman whenever you feel like it. You already said you didn't care whether I was a Bracketer or an Astellian woman. And you've told me before you didn't want to get married. You also aren't... like this..."

Decha rolled his eyes.

"What am I to you, Decha?"

"You're a lot of things..."

"Can you be more specific?"

"I should ask you the same thing," Decha voiced lazily.

"I asked you first!" Rory argued. "I'm serious! I don't care how cool or good-looking you are, I still have standards—" Rory stopped mid-sentence with a yelp when Decha snatched her hand and pulled her closer.

Rory grunted when her weight was forced against his. "What are you—" Rory huffed. Decha pressed his fingers on his watch and it fell off his wrist.

Then he clipped the strap around Rory's wrist and tapped the button again. It clasped around tightly. When Rory felt the sharp accessory graze her skin, she whimpered. It was quite a painful tug.

"Decha!" Rory shouted. The pain simmered down after a second, and Decha pressed his thumb against the display. It scanned his fingerprint and a small round metal piece was extracted from the watch.

He smiled softly, satisfied by the watch locking in place. The metal piece was a disk containing all of his personal data that was on the watch.

"It's pinching me!" Rory complained.

"It's supposed to," Decha shrugged.

Rory clasped her arm in horror. "What the heck is wrong with you!?"