A whisper of evening rain brushed the windowsill as Leo slid through the open window, feeling the gentle heat of the apartment wrap around his shoulders.
Three floors below on the dark street, a lone taxi hissed through the wet neon before vanishing around the corner into the night mist.
The window had been left unlatched for him, and he stepped onto the floorboards with quiet footsteps while shaking the cold water from his coat.
Luna turned from the small stove with a startled gasp, dropping her wooden spoon as her eyes took in his torn clothing and bloodied collar.
"what happened to you?" she gasped, crossing the small room before he could even begin to take off his wet jacket.
"Sit down on the couch right now before your legs give out beneath you."
"Haha, I’m fine, really," he answered with a faint grin, though his bruised ribs protested the movement as he settled onto the cushions.
"You’re bleeding through your shirt and you’re lying to my face," she scolded softly, gently guiding his shoulders back against the cushions near the radiator.
He let her push him down, resting his head against the wall as the mouthwatering aroma of chicken soup filled the warm, dimly lit room.
The apartment was the safest place he had stood all week, with yellow curtains glowing softly against the stormy darkness that blanketed the district.
Her long shift at the clinic was written all over the space, from her coat tossed over a chair to the exhaustion lining her brow.
"How were the patients from the clinic?" he asked softly, watching her fetch a warm bowl of water and a stack of clean towels.
"We treated forty people today," she answered with a weary sigh, kneeling on the floorboards beside his knees with her gaze full of sorrow.
"Dockworkers carried them in on doors used as stretchers, but everyone survived the night thanks to the extra medical supplies you bought."
"The cages are empty now," he said quietly, resting his hand near hers on the couch cushion.
"Nobody is going back into those pens ever again."
She looked into his eyes with a tender expression, resting her palm against his knee as a grateful smile touched her soft lips.
"Eat your soup first," she insisted gently, handing him a steaming bowl filled with shredded chicken, rich broth, and fresh garden herbs.
"Then I’m taking a proper look at those wounds."
He took the spoon and ate with the ravenous appetite of a laborer, feeling the hot broth spread soothing warmth through his tired chest.
She watched him eat with fond amusement, resting her chin on her palm while a soft rose blush colored her cheeks in the lamplight.
"Better?" she murmured, watching his tense shoulders finally begin to relax.
"It’s the best thing I’ve tasted in months," he replied, handing back the empty bowl with deep, genuine appreciation.
"You say that like you’ve eaten well lately," she teased gently, setting the empty bowl onto the small dining table.
"I saw your fridge yesterday, and there was only a single egg and something that used to be butter."
She reached for the hem of his torn shirt, gently working the fabric over his shoulders where the plasma graze had scorched the cloth.
A soft gasp escaped her lips when she saw the raw burns and dark bruises scattered across his broad chest and ribs.
"You’re writing a map of the whole district on yourself, one fight at a time," she whispered, her voice trembling with raw emotion.
She brought her hands to his chest, channeling her life ether until a soothing green-gold glow bloomed from her soft fingertips.
Warm vitality sank deep into his torn muscles, soothing the angry burns and knitting the damaged tissue back together without leaving a single scar.
Her thumbs worked slowly across his collarbone, following the path of the healing energy with gentle, deliberate care that made his skin tingle.
She reached for an amber jar on the side table, scooping a dollop of lavender salve to rub into his bruised knuckles.
"You never used the ointment I gave you yesterday," she murmured, her tone striking a balance between a gentle scold and a playful tease.
"I had my hands full," he answered softly, enjoying the soothing friction of her fingers.
"Then they can be busy resting right here," she countered, smoothing the sweet-smelling cream over each of his scarred fingers.
"I don’t even want to know who you were fighting out there in the cold rain."
"You should see the other guy," he joked, hoping to lighten the heavy worry weighing on her shoulders.
"I don’t care about the other guy," she said, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper as her hands suddenly stopped moving.
Her fingers trailed upward along his chest, coming to rest directly over the violet Progenitor brand pulsing beneath his skin.
The glowing geometric mark beat once beneath her palm, humming gently as if greeting a familiar, cherished presence.
"It likes you," he murmured, watching her eyes shimmer with unshed tears that caught the warm light of the room.
"Why do you keep putting yourself in danger like this?" she asked, her voice cracking as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"What am I supposed to do if you don’t come back through that window one night?"
"Luna," Leo said softly, catching her hand where it rested over his steady heartbeat.
"I keep fighting because you’re worth protecting, and I’m not letting anyone take you away from this city."
Her breath hitched in her throat, and the raw devotion shining in her gaze made his heart beat faster against his ribs.
He pulled her gently toward him, and she came without resistance, closing the distance between them as their lips finally met.
When they finally broke apart to breathe, she was flushed and breathless, hiding her burning face against his collarbone with a shy giggle.
"I only planned to feed you hot soup," she whispered against his skin, her heart gesturing wildly against his ribs.
"That was the best plan anyone ever made," he answered softly, wrapping the couch blanket around both of their shoulders.
She nestled under his chin, resting her head against his chest as the warmth of the radiator lulled her toward peaceful sleep.
[ Luna Emotional Resonance: 35% -> 50% ]
[ Desire Level 1 Unlocked: The First Kiss ]
[ Luna Love Rate Multiplier Active: 1.5x EXP & Ether Regeneration ]
He was still admiring the new stat bonuses when three loud knocks suddenly rattled the apartment door with startling force.
"Luna, open up, it’s me!" a cheerful, energetic voice called out from the hallway outside.
"I brought extra-large meat lover’s pizza from District 7 to celebrate surviving another week!"
Luna bolted upright on the cushions, her eyes widening in deep panic as she gripped his forearm with white knuckles.
"Pizza," she breathed, staring at the front door in complete disbelief as her face went pale.
"Of all the nights in the year to visit, she picks tonight!"
"Your friend visits with food and you look terrified?" he asked, raising an amused eyebrow as he took in her flustered expression.
"Yes, because she has the tracking instincts of a hunting hound," Luna whispered frantically, shoving him toward the window curtains.
"Don’t move, don’t breathe, and don’t make a single sound in there!"
He froze as the familiar voice registered in his memory, recalling the crimson gauntlets and fierce wind ether from their rooftop duel.
’No way,’ he thought, recognizing the sharp, confident cadence of that voice immediately.
’That’s Kestrel, the rising star from the Horizon Division.’
Luna looked back at him with wide, frantic eyes as the urgent knocking started again at the door.
"That’s Bekka," Luna whispered in mortal terror, her hands trembling as she pushed him toward the dark curtains.
"And she’s a licensed pro hero."