Khana padded softly up the stairs of someone else's house. Her path was lit by the warm glow of the lamp in the bedroom that resided at the top. A man laid leisurely in his bed, reading. Although he had sensed Khana before she even reached his property, he didn't acknowledge her arrival.
She joined him on the bed, not waiting for an invitation, and molded herself next to him.
"Read to me."
Nagato glanced at her, a little surprised. But he complied to Khana's demands, as he always did.
"Your books are boring," she mumbled after a while, tracing the delicate blue veins of his wrist with her finger.
Nagato looked down at the girl cuddled beside him. "Would you rather me read something else?"
"No," Khana replied absent mindedly, as her eyes moved up the other's lithe figure to meet his gaze. She almost shivered; there was something about his stare that was always so intense.
He almost smiled when their eyes locked. The young woman had discarded her arrogant, bratty persona and was instead pondering him with innocent and inquisitive look. Nagato could sense her heartbeat: rapid and fluttering, though her outward demeanor was calm. Khana made herself vulnerable for him. He liked it.
"Alright," he said softly. Nagato was about to resume reading to himself when the girl shifted herself into a sitting position. Usually the first to look away, Khana hadn't broken their eye contact this time. Now their gaze was even.
Nagato made no move to close his book; he wasn't going to encourage this. However, he didn't look away, either.
Khana closed most of the small distance between them, still refusing to be the loser of their little staring contest.
Neither spoke. Nagato kept still.
Finally, Khana gave in when their noses were almost touching. She averted her eyes, face warming as her confidence waned.
Tilting his chin down slightly, Nagato gently rested his forehead on hers. He had told himself he wouldn't encourage this, that he wouldn't make the first move, but the faintly intoxicating smell of jasmine emanating from her made that a hard promise to keep. His book wobbled as his fingers twitched. Her skin looked so soft; he longed to touch it.
Khana gave a small sigh, picking up on Nagato's tensing muscles. His tongue flicked out to wet his lips as her breath ghosted over them.
Who would be brave enough to break the limbo they had locked themselves in?
After a century of breath-catching stillness, Khana leaned farther forward. She lightly pressed her lips to Nagato's cheek, lingering.
The other let his eyes slide closed. Khana was so warm, so tender. He was disappointed when she finally pulled away. Their eyes fluttered open to meet each other once again. Both stayed silent.
Khana's cheeks held the faintest blush, and her eyes shone. Her image wavered as a smile slowly spread across her face. Then, with a quiet "poof", she was gone, leaving Nagato alone once again.