Unfortunately for Lux, and fortunately for Talon, she had had so much work in the upcoming days that the two didn't even cross paths.

After settling in in her new office, she had scheduled meetings with the involved departments, discussing the necessary steps to get the project started.

There was a lot to be done, and they had at most 12 months to complete the project. Which meant that there was little margin of error.

They had to launch the programs in Alpha and Beta versions first, once the coding was finished, needed to gather a few samples from both operational systems, needed a focus group which would serve as testers firsthand, needed to expand their customer support website now to also include the application version, needed a smart marketing scheme and advertising as well.

There was much to do, but luckily for Lux, she had come up with some ideas and approaches in each aspect, and after further discussing with the Head Departments and listening to their inputs as well, they were able to come up with a solid action plan.

Katarina had remained in Noxus for a few days, but since she didn't have a position which required her constant presence, she could come and go as she pleased.

She and Lux did hang out a few times, mainly during lunch, sometimes just the two of them, sometimes with Darius, sometimes with Quinn and Shauna. But of course, the time for her departure was soon closing in, and Katarina had to return to Demacia, and to her husband.

"You'll be fine, right?" The redhead asked with slight worry in her voice, as she was gently caressing the blonde's shoulders.

Lux had gone with her to the airport, right before heading to work.

Granted, Katarina would use a personal jet, but it did not make it any easier.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I managed to get the basics down with almost everyone." Lux nodded slowly.

Pulling her lips together, Katarina kissed her on the cheek lovingly. "Talk to my brother. It's already been a week."

Lux averted her eyes the moment his name popped up in the discussion. For the most part, Katarina didn't bring him up, nor did she insist on sorting things out as quickly as possible. She knew the two needed time. And besides, it would be inevitable to postpone it any longer, given the nature of their relationship – on as well as off working hours.

"I will." She nodded, once more.

Katarina pulled Lux into a tight hug, and soon after boarded the jet.

They'd still keep in touch but somehow, Lux felt safer while Katarina's presence was nearby. Regardless, she couldn't rely on other people forever, as there were some things only she could handle.

With her heart in her teeth, Lux headed back to the Enterprise, after making a short stop at a nearby café.

Talon was definitely not a morning person. That and the fact that he could barely sleep for the past week, due to the excessive thoughts and worries inhabiting his mind. He did try to drown himself in work, but even the work he'd been so desperately clinging to seemed pointless, now that she had crushed his plans and hopes. She did save herself, found a way to escape those cages of gold, and there was no need for him anymore.

He had been reduced to nothing but a lapdog.

Yet, as he was rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes, an extra large paper cup of coffee was placed in front of him. Blinking in surprise, Talon looked up to see where the coffee had come from, and was met with sunkissed hair and curtain bangs framing baby blue eyes.

She had a hesitant, almost afraid expression on her doll-like face, uncertain how to approach him.

"Good morning," she greeted, while looking away and tucking a strand of golden behind her ear.

"Uh, yeah, morning." He greeted back awkwardly, tearing his eyes off of her petite frame. "Thanks." He then added, as he grabbed the coffee and took a sip.

Talon was pleasantly surprised to realise that it was his usual black coffee, the right amount of darkness and gloom, just as he preferred it.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" He asked her on a lighter tone, while sipping some more heavenly caffeine and sneaking glances at her.

A light blush turned her cheeks rosy but she chuckled lightly. Baby blue melted into amber once more as their eyes met.

"Perhaps?" She asked playfully. "Is it working?" She then pressed on after a few moments.

"Perhaps?" Was his cheeky reply, but he had to hide his grin behind the paper cup.

Lux's smile eased naturally as she looked down towards him. "Lunch?" She then dared.

Talon was caught off guard by that question but he regained his cool a few moments after. "Sure. There's a lot we need to discuss."

The atmosphere turned a bit rigid between them after that exchange but Lux cleared her throat and checked the inexistent watch on her wrist. "Oh, look at the time. I should head in." She spoke in a rush, feeling a bit flustered. "I'll pick you up at lunch then."

And she left.

Talon, on the other hand, found himself staring at her retreating back, up until she disappeared behind a corner which led to her small office. He hadn't been in there yet.

His curiosity would have to lie low for a bit longer though, since they had more important matters to address.

"I'm not sure how to feel about having lunch with my boss," he teased, once they were seated.

Lux was visibly flustered at his cheeky comment but she pouted at him angrily. "I am not your boss."

Talon chuckled between sips of water. "You have a higher position than Darius."

Her protests didn't end there. "I am just a Project Owner. Being a shareholder or part of the board is just semantics."

Earlier that day, Lux had indeed come to pick him up and the two headed to a small restaurant they had frequented in the past for lunch. Their conversation mostly consisted of polite, safe exchanges, up until Talon made that joke.

"Was it necessary?" He then asked, his tone lower, more dangerous.

Lux seemed surprised for a moment, unable to understand what his question meant. To which, he added, "Going through such lengths to return here."

Putting the menu back on the table, Lux pondered over her answer for a bit. She wasn't ready to dwell on that matter yet, didn't feel mentally prepared to bare herself in such a way before him, at least not before they resolved everything that needed to be fixed.

"It was necessary." She decided on a reply not long after. "But, it's not something I'm ready to discuss just yet. There's so much more to it."

Taking notice of the hint of sadness her voice bore, Talon thought it would be best to drop that subject for the time being.

They ordered their own dishes and were served tea in the meantime.

Talon did notice how she was fidgeting ever so slightly, unsure how to start that topic. He had his own reservations about opening that subject up for discussion, but it had to be done at one point. She took the first step and approached him. It was his turn to take the lead.

"I'm sorry."

Lux blinked up in surprise at him for a bit, since his apology came out unexpectedly.

"I shouldn't have lashed out on you like that. You had your own circumstances, and tried to make the most out of them." Taking a moment to further gather his thoughts and carefully select his words, he then continued. "I haven't been exactly supportive of you either during our time away, nor have I tried to be more communicative with you. So I'd like to apologise for my actions and behaviour. I did not mean to hurt you so."

Lux's eyes swelled with tears at his words. She did not expect him to be the one taking the first step, but hearing where he stood, it provided her with a layer of safety and comfort.

"I'm also terribly sorry for what I said to you, the other day. I acted selfishly and did not share anything of what I planned with you. You had every right to be angry with me."

He felt a soft smile spreading on his lips. He couldn't help it, his heart finally felt at ease.

And as she looked back at him, her body also calmed down, the previous tension she had felt while in his presence long forgotten.

"So, what then?" She asked, biting the bottom of her lip in mild worry.

"I'm still not sure if I can get used to the idea of dining with my boss," he teased with a grin.

"You!" She raised her voice a bit, showing anger, even though it wasn't serious.

At least they got to a stage of being comfortable enough to joke around.

After their food arrived, they started eating, but their discussion slowly shifted towards the work environment.

"Truth be told, I'm glad you started working on coding ahead of time. Although I'm not sure how you were able to simultaneously code for multiple projects." Lux spoke as she took a sip of water.

She could have lied to herself all she wanted, but the truth was that Talon had surprised her with his skills. It was no easy task to code, since one had to be constantly focused on what they were doing, and even the smallest typo could prove to be fatal. Not to mention the fact that he was working on 2 (if not more) projects at the same time.

Talon eyed her with a raised eyebrow. "I did it after I finished my shifts."

She felt ashamed all of a sudden. Having blamed him for lack of communication for so long, all the while he had been straining his health for her – no, their – sake.

"It helps us push up the schedule by half a year at least. At what stage are you now? Since you can fully shift your focus on Mental Health now."

Talon took a few moments to mentally gather the data for an appropriate answer.

He had to admit, she was a cunning little thing. Asking him out for lunch, mending their loose ends while also discussing work related topics was indeed time effective. And a much more casual and relaxed setting, compared to the two of them sitting awkwardly in her new office. Talon smirked upon realisation, and he felt his chest swell with pride towards her.

What a cunning, lovely, little thing.

"Beta version can be launched, once the testers will be available. I didn't have enough time to work on two separate OS versions, so I had to cut some corners in that area. But if it works out, then it will kind of revolutionise coding." There was a tone of pride mixed with expectations, and Lux couldn't help but poke it a little further.

"What does that mean?" She asked innocently, although she knew exactly what she was doing.

He knew exactly what she was doing as well. But that did not stop him from willingly stepping in the trap she set.

"So since the Emdroid and uwuOS are basically 2 different operational systems and we plan to launch the app version everywhere, the coding needs to be compatible with both. But since I was working on it in my 'free time'," he used air quotations there, "I didn't have much time available to start from scratch for both. So I reversed some coding from both systems and basically created a variation formula which will be triggered upon downloading the app, and based on the existing OS running on the device, it will activate the OS's correct version. For that, I took some shortcuts and requested the original coding for both OS, which I implemented in my own writing." He stopped and chuckled when he looked at her blank face.

Lux had no idea what he had been talking about but she still wore a small, polite smile on her face as she tried her best to follow through his thinking process.

"You didn't understand anything of what I said, did you?"

"Nope, I barely understood anything." She replied with a grin.

They both started to laugh at that.

"I suppose we can figure out whether your shortcut will work once we start the testing process." She then added, after they both calmed down.

Talon nodded as he resumed his lunch.

"Well, I hope we can start with it, at the very least." The woman spoke with a pout on her face.

He looked at her curiously. She sighed and answered his unasked question.

"For this project, we can't use just any tester. We need someone who wouldn't only understand the whole app tester task, but someone who'd also relate to the application. And finding such people is proving to be such a hassle already."

It made sense. Unlike other websites or applications / games, the quality of the content needed to be also evaluated, not just the functionality or possible bugs of it.

"Alas, I spoke with Quinn and from a Marketing perspective, she agreed to help post some anonymous ads about testers. Of course, their identities wouldn't be revealed and only previous customers of Mental Health would catch on the ad, but so far we've received no applicants. Not to mention that we also need to receive the samples so we can start off with installing the apks on them so they'll be ready for when the testers' lineup is finalised."

Lux's pout deepened and she wanted to suddenly take a nap. There were so many details, so many unexpected issues that have risen along the way that she wasn't sure how to handle them anymore. It hadn't even been a week since the project was started, yet she felt like she was dying.

Well, at least she got some closure with Talon, so that did help with her own mental state.

"I'll see what I can do to help the other departments, since I'm ahead of schedule." He suggested and she appreciated it.

Although she knew her own mistakes and bad approaches, she felt some sort of weight lift off of her small shoulders, upon hearing him speak the way he did.

She didn't really want to end things with him, and not because it was convenient to have him around. No, it was more than that. She didn't want to put an end to something that hadn't even properly begun.

"Do you want to start over?" She asked with newfound resolve, her eyes locking his in a deadly grasp.

Talon was trapped, and he knew that very well. There was no escaping the web she carefully laid out around him. And truth be told, he didn't even consider escaping.

"I'd love to."

Meow