The moon glowed brighter as their lips finally met in a long overdue kiss.
The kiss lasted for quite some time. They were both, fortunately, experienced. They had only ever kissed one person in their lives, and tonight, that hadn’t changed.
They were each other’s first, and hopefully, their last.
After some moments, they slowly pulled apart and locked eyes.
"I like this new brazen side of you," Atticus said, voicing exactly what was on his mind.
"Me too," Zoey smiled.
If it had been the old her, she would’ve never done this.
She would’ve overthought it, wondered what could go wrong. Whether he’d allow it or not. Her mind would’ve been too focused on failure to even try.
But if you don’t try, you can never accomplish anything.
They both chuckled at the same time, parting gently.
’We’ve come a long way,’ Atticus thought.
The both of them.
If this had been the past, they would’ve both probably been blushing like kids. But now, Zoey was just… happy.
And somehow, so was Atticus.
"You didn’t answer my question," he said.
Zoey turned and raised a brow.
"How do you plan on burning down the Spirit World?"
"Seducing you?"
Atticus coughed at her blunt reply. She said it so calmly it caught him off guard.
But in the next moment, Zoey broke into laughter. "Just kidding," she said.
"After what the Spirit King did, I’m sure you’re already gunning for him. I’d lose if I tried to compete with you."
She laughed again, "So I’ll just piggyback. I want to be there when he dies… when his world crumbles."
’It’s still hard to get used to.’
Hearing Zoey talk about destroying an entire world so casually… it was surreal.
While he wasn’t exactly opposed to it, it still felt strange. A thought crossed his mind, and he decided to speak, curious to see her reaction.
"You know… to win the war, I killed every single Zorvan on their planet."
Zoey turned to him, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Why are you telling me this?"
"I just felt like it."
Zoey stared at him for a moment. "You’re trying to make me afraid of you?"
"Are you?"
There was a short silence before Zoey chuckled softly.
"Do you want to kill me?" she asked.
"No."
"Then no, Atticus. I’m not scared of you," she said plainly.
"The reason why you did it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t even have to be morally right. Right now, I only care about myself… and all of you. The world be damned."
’There it is again.’
Atticus felt his heart pound once more.
That directness. That bluntness. Not caring about what the world thought. This… this was what he loved.
What he wanted.
Someone who would stand with him, no matter what. A we-against-the-world kind of love.
And frankly, he found himself leaning into it.
The night went by quickly.
Apparently, the eight months in a coma had taken more of a toll on Zoey’s mind than she let on. While her body was fully healed, her mind was tired.
So, he carried her to his room and laid her down to rest before heading back outside to his usual training spot.
One of the perks of being a god, so long as he was in Eldoralth, he had endless stamina.
Same bright eyes. Same drooling mouth. Same silent plea for food.
And after she fed him, he never left her side. He followed her everywhere. Helped her with chores.
Then, once everything was done, he’d jump on her leg with a book in his mouth, nudging her to read to him.
Anastasia’s heart had melted.
Noctis reminded her so much of Atticus as a child. Especially in his curious years, when he’d always beg her to read to him.
Anastasia opened the door to her room, and a warm smile bloomed on her face.
Right there, in front of her, was Noctis.
"Kuu~" He looked up at her with his usual hopeful gaze, drooling.
"Come here," Anastasia said gently.
"Kuu!" Noctis beamed and leapt into her arms, licking her face with feverish joy.
"Let’s get you something to eat, okay?"
Noctis seemed to beam even brighter, licking her face more excitedly.
Anastasia chuckled, and just as she was about to step out of her room, she heard the soft sound of a door opening at the end of the hallway.
’Atticus?’
Only she, Avalon, Atticus, and Magnus had access to this floor.
With Avalon gone and Magnus most likely training too, that left one person.
’Did he actually sleep?’
She felt a wave of relief wash over her.
She peeked out of her door, and the moment her eyes landed on the figure stepping out of Atticus’ room…
Messy purple hair. Exhausted eyes.
She blinked.
Her son… had snuck a woman into his room?
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