Thrice Upon A Choice

Chapter X

That night, I was too buzzed up with anticipation to sleep so I snuck out, up onto the roof. Not a minute after the thought had popped into my head that it was potentially too cold for me to be out here, I heard the door open below me and was frankly unsurprised that Bastian had followed me out. I was thankful however, for the blanket draped over his shoulders as he climbed up to sit next to me.

I pulled it so that it covered me as well, leaving my bare toes sticking out the ends as I huddled into Bas's warmth.

"It's a beautiful night," he whispered, the volume suiting the situation.

"Mmm," I agreed, eyes straying to the twinkling stars overhead.

"Reminds me of you."

"No, you lose points for that," I said, leaning out to look at him, "That was tacky."

"You're tacky."

"You're an idiot."

"You're beautiful."

"You're—" I faulted, taken by surprise.

Bastian laughed at my struggle, his arm snaking around my back. I frowned, but let it go, annoyed at myself for falling for his compliment. Being so close, Bastian moved and touched my chin with a hand wrapped in the blanket.

"You are though," he said, this time in all seriousness.

I looked away, never having been really comfortable with this kind of affection, "You're not bad yourself."

"Glad to hear it," and his blanketed hand turned my face so that I was facing his, "Emmy was right. You are totally snog-able."

I smacked him in the arm but took the cue and leaned in. The kiss was passionate, making up for all the time we had spent apart. He pulled me onto his lap, a way to keep the blanket around us both. One of my fists bunched up in the edges of it to secure it, my other hand around the back of his neck, hair tickling my fingers. Fireworks were going off in my head, drowning out the silence of the night, and my blood seemed to turn electric everywhere he touched. Hands ran the length of my back, coming up to tangle themselves in my still blonde-dyed hair.

"There was a while there," Bas whispered, forehead resting on mine, "When I was out with Andy and the others. And I got it in my brain that you hadn't made it with Emmy, that somehow you got separated and couldn't get back."

I watched his mouth move, breath heavy.

"I think I had a dream about it and believed it from that."

"What happened?" I asked him, voice almost not even there.

"I just...lost it. I blew up at Andy for getting me away with the others and pretty much blamed her for everything."

I frowned, "Because you thought I had gotten lost."

"Andy is a hell of a lot stronger than she looks. And she looks pretty damn fierce. She took it all like I hadn't just blamed her for something that didn't even happen."

I didn't really know what to say, so I stayed silent, letting him talk.

"Then she told me about her girlfriend, Bess."

"She's undercover in Corra," I said, remembering.

"Yeah," this time he met my eyes, "And I just remember thinking that if it was you; if you had been forced undercover and I couldn't see you and you were in that kind of danger, effectively able to be executed for espionage...I don't know what I would have done."