Chapter 29: You're Not Sneaking Off, Little Flame III
They stayed there like that for a while — tangled, teasing, but quieter now. Aria eventually shifted enough to grab her jeans from where they were half - draped over a nearby yoga block. She tugged them halfway up before Selene whined dramatically and flopped a leg over her hips.
"No pants," Selene said. "You're not escaping that easy."
Aria blinked. "You've had me naked under this blanket for hours. Now I'm finally getting dressed, and you have a problem?"
"Yes. Because I'm not done admiring your thighs."
Aria turned a deep shade of crimson. "Selene —"
"I mean, really. All that softness and power, and you expected me to just let it go?" Selene slid her hand down Aria's thigh like she was proving a point. "You're lethal and you don't even realize it."
"Can I please put my pants on?"
Selene sighed dramatically and rolled back over. "Fine. But only because you look flustered and I like that."
Aria pulled her jeans up with as much dignity as she could muster, then grabbed one of Selene's discarded shirts and yanked it over her head. It was a little loose, smelled like her, and clung in just the wrong places.
Selene smirked. "Cute."
"Shut up."
"I love it when you wear my clothes."
"I will throw your other boot at you."
"Promises, promises."
They both laughed. The tension dissolved a little. Aria started braiding her hair loosely, fingers trembling just slightly from lingering nerves and lack of sleep.
Selene sat up finally, her bare back to Aria, the sharp lines of her spine and shoulder blades catching the light.
"You okay?" Aria asked softly.
Selene glanced over her shoulder. "I'm perfect. But you're still anxious."
Aria shrugged. "Can't help it. I feel like everything's going to break the second I relax."
Selene stood and pulled on her own pants, not bothering with a shirt yet. She crossed the room barefoot, crouched down in front of Aria, and took her hands.
"You don't have to relax," she said. "You just have to stop running."
"I'm not running anymore," Aria whispered.
Selene leaned in and kissed her — not hungry this time, not teasing. Just slow, cool, and quiet. It was the kind of kiss that made you forget the world had ended outside.
When she pulled back, she rested her forehead against Aria's.
"You're not sneaking off," she said again. "Not ever again."
Aria didn't argue.
Selene finally pulled on her shirt, though she left it unbuttoned — just to torture her. Aria didn't say anything, but her eyes kept drifting, and Selene definitely noticed.
"You're terrible," Aria mumbled, pretending to focus on tying her boots.
"I haven't even started," Selene said, brushing her fingers down Aria's back as she passed. "But thanks for confirming I still have it."
"You've never lost it," Aria muttered under her breath.
Selene grinned. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
Outside, the sky was gray and lazy, not quite raining but threatening to. The cracked window in the yoga studio let in a breeze that tugged at loose papers and dust. Aria wandered to the far end of the room and picked up a can of instant coffee from the supply bag they'd hauled in.
"We still have that little burner?" she asked.
Selene nodded, pulling it from the corner and clicking it on. A small blue flame hissed to life, casting a faint glow across the mat-covered floor.
"You're really making apocalypse coffee," Selene said, half amused, half impressed.
"I'm not doing it for taste. I just need something hot that isn't your mouth," Aria deadpanned.
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you admit you need my mouth?"
Aria turned around slowly, completely unamused. "Do you want this coffee or not?"
"I want you," Selene shrugged, grabbing one of the metal cups and holding it out.
Aria poured without breaking eye contact, which honestly just made it worse. She'd spent all night wrapped around Selene's cold body like it was a lifeline, and now she was pretending a simple conversation wouldn't make her knees weak again. It was pointless.
They drank in silence for a moment. The kind of silence that had weight — heavy, but not suffocating. Just honest.
"Is it always going to feel like this?" Aria asked suddenly. "Like… too much?"
Selene looked at her over the rim of her cup. "Probably. But that doesn't mean it's bad."
"I didn't say it was bad," Aria said. "Just overwhelming."
"You've lived so long trying not to feel anything. Let it be overwhelming."
Aria shook her head. "God, how are you this emotionally stable after everything?"
"I'm not," Selene replied. "I'm just cold enough to hide it better."
That earned a laugh. Aria nudged her shoulder against Selene's. "You're an ice queen."
"Correct."
"Who kisses like she's on fire."
Selene leaned down until their foreheads touched. "Only for you."
They stayed like that longer than they meant to. Aria's cup cooled in her hands. Selene's arm found its way around her waist again. And for a moment, it felt like the world outside wasn't collapsing. It felt like they could just… exist.
But eventually, reality crept back in.
"We should pack up," Aria said quietly.
Selene sighed, like she didn't want to move. "You're right."
She stood first, stretching in that unfair, feline way that made Aria's brain stall. Then she started rolling up the bedding while Aria checked the windows again. No roamers. No signs of life. Just the wind and their soft movements across the floor.
As Aria bent to gather the burner, Selene came up behind her, cool hands brushing her hips.
"You're really not sneaking off?" she murmured.
Aria exhaled slowly, leaning back into her. "No. Not unless you try to hog the blanket again tonight."
Selene nipped her earlobe gently. "Fine. We'll share."
They packed in silence after that — coordinated, clean, practiced. Like they'd done it a hundred times. Maybe they had. Just not in this version of the world.
Before they left the studio, Aria paused by the door.
Selene watched her from a few steps away. "What?"
Aria looked back, expression unreadable. "I think I'm scared of what happens if I let myself keep this."
"Keep what?" Selene asked, stepping closer.
"You."
Selene's hand slipped into hers. "You don't have to keep me."
Aria blinked.
"I'm not a burden," Selene said quietly. "I'm already yours."
Aria closed her eyes for a second, then smiled — small, real.
"Then I guess we better not get separated."
"We won't."
Selene kissed her again. Just because she could.
And together, they stepped out into the broken morning, ready for whatever tried to tear them apart next.
But for now?
They were still tangled.
Still theirs.
Still fighting — together.