The atmosphere in Nyx’s room was unusually soft. She and Alexandra sat cross-legged on the bed with mugs of hot chocolate between them.
For once, there was no tension, no need to posture.
"... And do you remember when we snuck out past curfew just to catch fireflies?" Nyx asked with her lips quirking upward, full of nostalgia. Alexandra’s eyes widened, then softened as if the memory had tugged her out of a dark pit. "Y-yeah... you tripped on that stupid root and dragged me down with you."
"You called me a ’chick who drank too much milk,’ namely, you called me a fatty," Nyx grinned.
Alexandra, of all people, giggled. Actually giggled.
"I... I did, didn’t I? Gods, I can still feel the dirt in my teeth."
The sound of her laughter was strange but precious. Every giggle, every shy smile chipped away at the extreme amounts of reservations she carried, letting her shoulders drop just a little lower.
"I don’t hear an apology, though," Nyx grinned.
"Apology? For what? I stand by what I said..." Alexandra replied slyly just before sipping another mouthful of chocolate while looking directly into Nyx’s eyes with a playful gaze.
Nyx narrowed her eyes. A smirk was tugging at the corner of her lips. "Is that so? Then let me help you not become a fatty like me."
She lifted her hand, pointed a finger toward Alexandra’s cup, and with a subtle curl of her finger backward, the liquid Alexandra had just sipped rushed right back out of her mouth, zipping through the air and neatly plopping back into her mug.
Alexandra froze, staring at her cup, then at Nyx. Her jaw dropped. "T-That’s awakened violence against a civilian! It’s illegal!"
Nyx sported a wicked smile. "Violence? Please. I just saved you from getting too fat for your own good. If I didn’t, the gremlin would start calling you a fat cow as well. That practically makes me your savior."
"You!" Alexandra puffed her cheeks, pouting so cutely it completely betrayed her sharp glare. "Don’t you dare do that again."
Nyx leaned back, lazily raising her finger again with a smug grin to repeat the trick.
But Alexandra’s glare sharpened like a blade, turning absolutely lethal. Her body leaned forward, and for a moment, the air between them grew taut.
Nyx blinked, then chuckled before bursting into full laughter, lowering her hand. "Alright, alright. Girl, it seems you really need your chocolate."
"I do," Alexandra huffed, though her lips were twitching as if she was holding back a smile.
That was when the door creaked open.
Both women looked up.
But before her old friend suffered a heart attack from PTSD, she reached over and embraced Alexandra in a hug. "Shhh... It’s okay. Luna is just being as abrupt and chaotic as ever; we’re not under attack or anything. You’re safe here. Maximilian can never reach you here, nor can he reach your parents in the Ashborn manor."
"... Kill me," was all Luna grumbled when she realized what her actions resulted in. She looked down at her naked body dripping bodily fluids, combined with her teary expression she knew she sported, the girl knew she fucked up.
’One more big mistake added to the list...’ she cursed inwardly and rushed back to the harem room to get dressed.
"I’m sorry... It seems I can’t keep my thoughts under control..." Alexandra whispered dejectedly. "At this rate, all of you will have to walk on eggshells in your own home."
Nyx wanted to hear none of it. "First of all, no, expel the mere thought out of your stubborn head. Second, I wouldn’t worry about that; it’s not like we’re nudists. Luna is just a very abrupt girl. You won’t see the others running around naked. Though Bastet might sunbathe in questionably skimpy clothes."
She then smiled tenderly and offered the girl another sip of her chocolate before adding, "We have doors with locks for a reason. Only perverts do it outside the bedroom."
"... Says the pornstar. I can easily count at least three instances where you had sex outside the bedroom."
"... Why do you have to be so sharp-witted when it comes to the most useless things?"
"Are you saying I’m dim-witted otherwise?" Alexandra asked with a cute pout now that her PTSD attack was more or less gone.
Before she could answer, the door creaked open again, and in came Luna, accompanied by Kaiden.

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