Not for the first time, and most certainly not for the last, Hope found himself pacing back and forth in Lightning's one-room apartment. Lightning watched him from her neatly made bed, making non-committal noises every now and then as he ranted about his new-world work and his new-world colleagues.
"They just don't listen," he said with an exasperated sigh. "Back in Academia, people listened to me."
Lightning cocked an eyebrow. "Back in Academia, people let you get away with pretty much anything. Look where that got us."
Hope groaned. "Don't pull the Bhunivelze card on me."
"All I'm saying is that working with people who don't worship you might be good for you in the long run."
He ran his fingers through his hair. She was right, of course. She usually was. Their partnership from the old world may have ended as the new age began, but she was still the one he turned to every time something bothered him—which was why he kept ending up pacing back and forth in her apartment all the time. Leading the process of retrospectively smoothing out the transition between one world and another had turned out to be quite a bothersome experience.
"I need to get back to work." He forced back a yawn. "And some coffee. I probably need some coffee, too."
"What you need is rest." She eyed him head to toe. "You look like you're about to collapse."
He snorted. "I haven't been home in three days. Haven't slept in—" he checked his watch "—thirty-four hours. I still have a ton of things to finish by the end of the week. Resting isn't on the agenda today."
"It is now." She patted the mattress.
He stared at her. "I'm not—"
"You are." She gave him the look she used to give behemoths before slaughtering them. "Now."
Hope awkwardly made his way to the bed, fidgeting with his tie. There were a lot of things he and Lightning hadn't talked about yet since they joined the new world. A lot of subjects that suddenly felt very, very urgent.
Lightning grabbed his arm and pulled him down next to her. "Rest."
His heart started to race. "Light—"
"Don't overthink it." She turned to her side, wrapping his arm around her. "It's just a nap."
It wasn't. It was way more than just a nap, and they both knew it.
Hope took a deep breath. The warmth of her body and the smell of her hair were already calming him down, just like she'd probably known it would. Oh yes, there were definitely things they needed to talk about—but, Hope decided, not today. Today, he'd indulge in being near her, upholding this fluctuating gray zone of a relationship for a little while longer.
In the end, being near her was all that mattered anyway.