Over the next few days, the group settled into a rhythm that was almost unnervingly peaceful. The chores that had seemed daunting on day one were now muscle memory. Mark could run the system diagnostics in his sleep and actually started enjoying the perimeter walks with his rifle. Jenna had named every single cow and had a surprisingly gentle touch with the milking. Even Mina stopped complaining (mostly) about the compost, treating it like a gross science experiment she was conducting.
However, the social dynamic had shifted.
Whenever there was downtime—which, thanks to Alex's miscalculation, was often—Alice was nowhere to be found. She would grab a book and vanish, usually heading out to the garden or the porch, claiming with a polite smile that she "couldn't focus on her reading with all the noise inside."
Meanwhile, inside the house, a different pattern emerged. Alex generally kept a respectful, gentlemanly distance from the women, sitting on the far end of the couch or in the armchair. But whenever he settled down, Jess would inevitably drift over. She didn't ask; she just comfortably tucked her legs up and sat right next to him, their shoulders often brushing as they watched a movie or looked at the farm logs. And Alex, the guy who built a house with one-way glass to avoid being seen, didn't move away.
Three days of this was Mina's limit. She had had enough of her "sulking" sister. To her, the equation was simple: Alice was sad, Alex was dense, and Jess was making moves.
On the afternoon of the third day, Alice once again excused herself, taking a thick novel out to the large oak tree behind the house. She sat down, leaning against the trunk, looking less like she was reading and more like she was brooding.
Inside, Mina watched her from the window. She narrowed her eyes, stood up, and marched over to Alex, who was tinkering with a radio on the coffee table.
"Alex," she said, her voice sweetly demanding. "Come help me with something upstairs. It's urgent."
Alex, assuming a shelf had collapsed or a drain was clogged, nodded. "Sure."
He followed her up to her room. The moment he stepped inside, Mina shut the door and spun around, planting her hands on her hips and looking thoroughly aggrieved.
"Something," she declared, "is wrong with my sister."
Alex looked surprised. He blinked, trying to replay the past few days in his head. He thought about Alice weeding the garden, cooking dinner, braiding Mina's hair. "Wrong? She seems fine. She's doing her chores, she's eating..."
Mina stared at him, her mouth slightly open in disbelief. "Really? That's your assessment?"
She walked closer, poking him in the chest. "Alex, answer me this. How is it that you can spot a roadside ambush from a hundred yards away while driving a truck, figure out a trap instantly, and shoot three bad guys without blinking... but you spend three days sitting in the same room as someone and notice nothing?"
"I noticed she's... withdrawn," Alex defended himself, though he sounded unsure. "But she said she wants to read. We're loud. Maybe she just wants quiet."
Mina facepalmed, the sound loud in the room. She dragged her hand down her face. "Alex. Think. Do you think she ever had a quiet place to read with me around before? We shared a room for seventeen years! She's used to noise! She likes the noise!"
Alex paused. He processed this new tactical data. "Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Now that you say it... that makes sense."
"Exactly!" Mina exclaimed, throwing her hands up. She marched to the window and pointed dramatically at the figure sitting alone under the tree in the garden. "So. Go and solve it."
Alex frowned, looking out the window, then back at Mina. "Why me? Aren't you her sister? Shouldn't you go talk to her?"
"Don't you think I tried?" Mina hissed, urging him toward the door. "I asked her! She just smiles that fake smile and dismisses me, saying 'It's nothing, Mina, don't worry.' She won't talk to me because she doesn't want to worry me."
"Well," Alex hesitated, looking at the door. " maybe it really is nothing..."
Thwack.
Mina kicked him in the shin. Not hard enough to bruise, but hard enough to sting.
"It is not nothing!" she glared at him. "Go. Fix. It."
Alex walked across the manicured lawn, practically feeling Mina's "kick" ghosting on his shin. He grumbled under his breath, "She's probably overreacting. Everyone wants a little peace and quiet once in a while. I know I do."
He reached the large oak tree. Alice looked up from her book, startled by his shadow. She offered a smile. "Alex? Do you need something?"
Now that he was looking closely, looking for the "signs" Mina had drilled into him, Alex could see it. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes. It was polite, a little tight—unnatural.
He sat down on his heels, keeping a respectful distance. "Is... is something wrong?" he asked, trying to be tactful. "Do you feel uncomfortable with us? Or the house? I noticed... you withdraw quite often lately."
Alice raised an eyebrow, her book lowering slightly. She seemed to be calculating an answer, maybe wondering if she'd been caught.
Alex interpreted the silence as disbelief. He sighed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay, look. I didn't notice anything. But Mina swears something is wrong and literally kicked me out of the house to 'fix it.'"
Alice stared at him for a second, then chuckled. It was a genuine sound this time, the tension breaking. "Of course she did." She offered a softer, real smile. "Nothing is wrong, Alex. Really. I was just... thinking about my parents."
It wasn't exactly a lie—she did think about them constantly—but it wasn't the whole truth of why she was hiding out here, either.
"Oh," Alex reacted, his face softening. "They'll be alright. Don't worry about it too much. If they're anything like you two, they're survivors."
Alice nodded slowly. "You're probably right."
Alex glanced back at the house, where he could practically feel Mina staring from a window. "If I go back so soon, Mina might not leave me alone," he said jokingly. "So... if you don't mind, I'll keep you company for a bit? Just as a shield. Don't worry, I'll be silent."
Alice patted the soft grass next to her. "Be my guest."
Alex sat down, leaning his back against the sturdy trunk, mirroring her position but facing slightly outward. The garden was peaceful. The wind rustled the leaves, and the distant sound of the cows lowing was grounding.
A few minutes passed. The silence wasn't awkward; it was heavy and comforting. Alex felt his eyelids growing heavy. The early mornings and the constant vigilance were catching up to him. He closed his eyes, just to rest them for a moment.
It didn't take long. His breathing evened out, his head lolled, and he slumped sideways. His head came to rest gently on Alice's shoulder.
Alice flinched, freezing in place. "Alex?" she whispered softly.
No answer came, just the rhythmic sound of his breathing. She looked sideways, seeing his face completely relaxed, the usual furrow between his brows smoothed out. A blush crept up her neck.
She tried to stay still, but her leg was starting to fall asleep. She shifted a bit, trying to get to a more comfortable angle without waking him. But as she moved, Alex's support shifted. He slumped down further, gravity taking over, until he slid from her shoulder and landed in a full lying position, his head coming to rest squarely in her lap.
Alice let out a weak, startled, "Eh?"
She froze, her hands hovering over him. But... she didn't push him away.
The sudden shift, of course, woke Alex up. His senses snapped back online. He felt the texture of denim against his cheek. He felt the warmth. He felt the unmistakable softness of a... pillow that definitely wasn't a pillow.
His brain fired a Code Red. I am in her lap.
He realized the predicament. If he shot up now, it would be mortifying for both of them. He'd have to explain why he was drooling on her jeans. "Fearing" the awkward outcome more than the current situation, he made a tactical decision: Fake it.
He kept his breathing steady. And honestly... he thought to himself... this feels really nice.
Alice, seeing he hadn't stirred, relaxed. She looked down at him. He looked so defenseless like this. Not the commander, not the killer. Just a guy.
She felt an irresistible urge. Slowly, her hand moved down. Her slender fingers brushed his forehead, then started gently fidgeting with his hair, combing through the strands.
Alex almost shot up. The sensation sent a jolt of electricity down his spine. It felt... incredible. It took every ounce of his self-control to remain limp. But as her fingers continued their rhythmic, gentle caress, the tension drained out of him for real. It was soothing on a level he hadn't experienced in years.
Deciding it wouldn't hurt to remain here for just a little more time, he let the darkness take him. This time, he didn't have to fake it. Real sleep washed over him.
Minutes turned into nearly an hour. The sun began to dip lower, casting long, golden shadows across the grass. Alice looked down at his face, her hand never stopping its gentle motion. She smiled—a smile so brilliant, so tender and unguarded, it could have melted a block of ice.
"I know you don't think of yourself as a hero, Alex," she whispered into the quiet afternoon, knowing he couldn't hear her. "But... to me... you really are the knight in shining armor from the fairy tales. Thank you."
With one hand still absentmindedly playing with his hair, she picked up her book with the other and resumed reading, a sense of peace settling over her.
Soon, the time for the 18:00 milking arrived. It was supposed to be Jenna and Alice's turn.
Jenna came trotting out of the back door, wiping her hands on a towel. "Alice! It's time f—"
She stopped dead.
She saw them under the tree. Alex, fast asleep, sprawled out with his head in Alice's lap. Alice, reading peacefully, her hand in his hair.
Jenna's mouth snapped shut. A wide, knowing grin spread across her face. She didn't say a word. She backed up a few steps, then turned around.
"Don't worry about it!" she whispered to herself, winking at the scene. "Mark said he wanted to learn how to milk a cow today anyway."
She quietly headed for the barn, leaving the two of them undisturbed in the golden light.
The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, leaving the garden bathed in the soft, purple-grey hues of twilight. Alice hadn't moved an inch. Her legs were numb, and her stomach had rumbled quietly an hour ago, but she didn't care. She sat peacefully, book in one hand, the other still rhythmically, gently drawing circles in Alex's hair.
Alex started to stir. He shifted, groaning low in his throat. Usually, he woke up instantly—from sleep to combat-ready in a heartbeat. But this time, surrounded by the scent of her shampoo and the warmth of her lap, he was slow to rise. He opened his eyes, blinking against the dim light, his mind thick with a fog of comfort he hadn't felt in years.
"Good evening," a gentle voice floated down to him.
He looked up. Directly above him, a pair of bright blue eyes looked down tenderly. Alice was smiling at him, a brilliant, unguarded expression that seemed to catch the last of the day's light.
It was so captivating that Alex's brain simply stalled. He just stared, entranced, for a long, silent moment.
Then, reality rushed back in. Lap. Alice. Night.
He scrambled up, nearly tipping over in his haste to get off her. "I... I'm sorry!" he stammered, brushing grass off his clothes, his face burning even in the dark. "I didn't mean to sleep that long. It won't happen again."
Alice chuckled lightly, closing her book and standing up, wincing slightly as blood rushed back into her legs. "I told you, Alex. I didn't mind it."
"Heh?" Alex let out a confused sound.
Alice, suddenly full of a new, strange courage fueled by the intimacy of the afternoon, stretched her arms above her head. She looked at him through her lashes, her tone teasing. "In fact... you can come to me if you want to rest like this again. My lap is available."
Alex, completely short-circuited and not knowing how to process this flirtation, just awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Uh... thanks?"
Alice laughed again, a bright, happy sound. "Come on. Dinner is already ready. You woke up just in time."
She started walking back toward the house, leaving a bewildered Alex to trail behind her.
When they stepped into the brightly lit living room, the atmosphere shifted instantly. Mark, Jenna, and Mina looked up from the couch. As soon as they saw the pair, identical, knowing grins spread across their faces. Only Jess kept her expression carefully neutral, turning a page of her medical journal a little too sharply.
Mina didn't waste a second. She marched over to Alex, grabbed his sleeve, and started pulling him further into the room, putting on her best "aggrieved little sister" performance.
"You!" she scolded, wagging a finger in his face. "Because of you, my big sis had to suffer outside for hours! She hasn't eaten, she hasn't had a drop of water, and she couldn't even move her legs because you were using her as a pillow! Look at her, she's practically fainting!"
She poked him in the chest. "You have to think of something to repay her! Take responsibility!"
Alex's eye twitched. He looked down at the bratty teenager. "Mina," he said, his annoyance rising. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't kicked me out of the house in the first place."
Mina stopped in her tracks. She turned around, raised a closed fist to her temple, tilted her head to the side, and stuck out her tongue.
"Tehe!" she squeaked, acting all cutesy and innocent.
The tension in the room exploded. Everyone, even Alex, burst out laughing. It was impossible to stay mad at her.
Later that night, after the house had fallen silent, the door to Alice's room creaked open. Mina slipped inside, closing it softly behind her. Alice was sitting up in bed, staring at the moon through the window.
"So," Mina whispered, crawling onto the foot of the bed. "Did you like my little 'gift'?"
Alice knew exactly what she meant. It was this little minx's setup from the start—kicking Alex out, knowing he'd come to her. She turned to her sister, her expression soft.
"I did," Alice admitted, smiling in acceptance. "I really did."
She pulled her knees to her chest. "Thanks to... well, thanks to him being so tired... I found some courage." She looked down, her voice turning shy. "I realized... I realized I like him. A lot."
Mina's face lit up like a beacon. She jumped off the bed, doing a silent victory dance. "YES! Finally! I knew it! Oh, this is perfect!" She beamed at Alice. "Now I can really start all my plans! Operation: Brother-in-Law is officially a go!"
Alice humphed, tossing a pillow at her. "Why would I need your help? I told him he could come back. I can manage on my own."
Mina caught the pillow, looking at her sister skeptically. She shook her head slowly, with the wisdom of a sage. "Sis... you sat under a tree for four hours and the only move you made was petting his hair. It was only because of me that you even reached this point."
She threw the pillow back, grinning. "Face it, Alice. Without me, you are truly hopeless."