"I’ve made you worry again."

The warm breath traveled across her neck, and her body froze from the sudden warmth, only to relax deeply.

"Just be waiting. I heard..."

Nova was speaking when he shushed into her ear, halting her words.

"Let’s not make tonight about me. Tell me something you want to do. Anything at all..."

He said, rising from her shoulder as his hands gently brushed the white strands from her face and tucked them behind her ear.

It drew her head down a little, her eyes lifting to the sky, gazing at the soft purple clouds where snow drizzled down.

"Take me to the sky."

Nova said softly, and in the next moment, it was suddenly as if gravity didn’t exist as she floated off the seat, her hands reaching out to grab something.

A back appeared in that moment, and she held onto it, only to find the corner of White’s eye looking at her amusedly.

"Hold tight."

He said, and in the next moment—

VROOOOM!

The air blurred as White took to the sky, flying high above.

He moved fast, so fast Nova tightened her hands around him from the fear of falling, but then came the feeling as if she were lying in her bed.

She opened her eyes once more, and the sight made her lose her breath.

They were high within the clouds, starlight illuminating her face.

Xtremecyber Academy was only a pocket realm.

Most of the clouds and stars were constructed to resemble a true world, but the stars weren’t in space.

They were simply within the clouds, and White was flying right among them.

Her hands reached out unconsciously as they entered a place filled with those stars.

By their brightness, it seemed like they would burn her hands, but they didn’t.

If anything, they sent bursts of essence energy through her, making Nova giggle from both the sensation and the shock of it.

The flight was smooth, and he continued wordlessly through the purple starlit clouds.

Surrounded by stars, lying on a steady back that gave not only stability but a deep feeling of security.

It was only a matter of time before she drifted into sleep, her hands falling loosely to her sides.

White continued to fly quietly for a while, and when she had truly fallen deep asleep, he lowered himself closer to the ground, making his way to their dorm building and flying straight into Nova’s corridor.

They avoided the noise and attention that would have followed them if he had taken the main from building and through the elevators on the base floor.

White had already marked her runic watch command for automatic proximity before she slept, so he wouldn’t have to wake her to enter. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And he put that to good use, unlocking her door.

He stepped into the room, which held a cozy aura all around, then moved into the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed.

She stirred in that moment, but him holding her a little tighter against his chest stopped her from waking, and she drifted back into sleep.

Nova had always been beautiful. She hadn’t been called the school’s Snow Girl for no reason, but seeing her asleep, the soft halo of moonlight illuminating her face, she appeared beyond beautiful.

A small smile tugged at her lips as her hands curled around one of his fingers.

"I am so lucky I have you."

White whispered, giving her a light kiss before removing himself from the bed, dimming the lights, and leaving.

---

He was planning on climbing down the balconies to reach his own floor when the sight of smoke drifting from a higher tower drew his attention.

He froze, then like a spider crawled upward, pausing when he found eyes settled on him just two floors above.

"White? What are you now? A thief?"

She called out, and White rolled his eyes, leaping once and landing on the railing beside her.

"If I were a thief, you’d be the first to no longer have a dorm room to sleep in..."

He joked, eyes noticing the pack of cigarettes at the corner.

"Bullied some poor soul out of a pack of cigars once again, huh?"

White asked, grabbing the pack and taking one out.

Morgaine brought out a lighter, shielding it with one hand as she lit the cigarette for him.

"I bought this one myself. It doesn’t cost much..."

She said as he shifted aside, giving her space to sit.

She took it, and both their legs dangled off the railing as they quietly inhaled and exhaled smoke.

"I heard you got locked up for fighting some second-year students in their area?"

"Conceding defeat to Zion, then exchanging blows with second-years? What’s all that about?"

She asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

"Who knows? Maybe I’m just losing it..."

White said, though Morgaine shook her head.

"You’re not the type to lose it. You think through every one of your actions before making them."

She said, and while it sounded like a compliment—

It wasn’t to Morgaine. It was simply fact.

"You’re right. I did think things through. You can’t think your way out of every mishap though, and so I got punished a bit... consequences of the mishap."

He explained, and she nodded quietly.

"Now, that’s more like you."

Morgaine mumbled.

"That reminds me, I never got to ask how you’ve been doing these past half year in Xtremecyber."

He said, and she paused before replying.

"Surviving. Just like everyone here..."

"You went up the rankings."

He continued.

"If I remember right, you saw the challenges as life-and-death fights, and struggled with challenging others."

"I’m guessing that got better with your current ranking?"

He noted as she hummed quietly, giving no answer.

White didn’t press it, simply taking another cigarette after he was done and lighting it.

Both of them remained silent, lighting cigarette after cigarette until only one-fourth of the original pack remained.

Then, the silence was finally broken by her.

"No."