A/N: A little bit shorter than previous chapters, but a lot of scenes to enjoy! Some light, some serious, a little bit of everything. Again, I hope you all like how I'm doing this. A few more chapters and ideas in mind. Another big moment for them in the next chapter! Thank you all readers and reviewers, keep it up!
EDITED
When they got back, Daine suggested they go outside to the back, for it was too nice a day to waste inside. They stretched out casually in the backyard, laying side-by-side with their heads touching as if they were stargazing at a bright, cloudless sky. Daine watched two birds spiral through the sky, falling behind trees and then rising back up again in rapid twists and turns. Numair was looking up too, but his gaze kept flickering back to Daine, peaceful beside him.
She flipped on her side so she was facing him. "What are you thinking?"
"About what?"
"About anything. Preferably something about us, though, considering that's kind of important right now."
Numair smiled, turning his head so he could see her more clearly. She was grinning too, her eyes gleaming.
"You can read my mind," Numair said. Reaching out, he cupped her face in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, pulling back slowly and leaving his face close. Her breath was warm and sweet, and when he looked at her again, her cheeks had just the faintest bit of a pink tinge.
"So?" she said at last, sounding slightly breathless. "Do you think this will work?"
That was the question. It was simple, a yes or a no, and Numair didn't know the answer. He knew what he wanted. But that wasn't always the same as reality. He let his fingers brush lightly across her face, trying to read the emotions in her eyes. They looked like an ocean now, wilder and even more unpredictable than a storm. But even more beautiful, too.
"I don't know," Numair said bluntly. "I want it to. That's all I know."
"Me too."
"Is that all we need?"
Daine paused. She looked down at the overgrown, itchy grass, then back at his face. Numair still couldn't read her eyes, but her hand moved to whisk across his cheek. "It's enough for now," she murmured.
Numair smiled. Catching her fingers in his, he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her palm, keeping his eyes on her darkening cheeks and flashing eyes as he did so. "I'm glad," he said against her skin. Daine smirked at him.
"Do you know what I just thought of?"
"What?"
"I can't wait to see Onua's face when she finds out about this."
Numair couldn't suppress a sudden snort of laughter.
"You're taking this remarkably calmly, you know."
"Well, I can't say I'm overly surprised," Onua said, grinning. "I'm proud of you, though, Numair – I never would have thought you'd have had the guts."
"I'm glad to know you think so highly of me," muttered Numair. Daine had to practically shove her fist in her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
"Was it really so obvious?" Numair asked, rubbing the back of his neck and looking slightly embarrassed. "How could you know, when neither of us had exactly thought it through, or - "
"Because you think too much," said Onua scathingly. "It can make you miss out on life sometimes. Now you know that the best things happen when you finally stop thinking. I say you two just continue to not think and therefore live happily ever after, because if you start worrying again, you'll make everything a hell of a lot harder for yourselves."
"We didn't come here for relationship advice," muttered Daine.
"Well, that's what you're going to get from someone who knows you just a little too well," Onua said, glancing between both Daine and Numair. "You guys clicked from the moment you met. Daine, you trusted him, and Numair, you were fascinated by her." The woman gave a casual shrug. "After a few years, I could see that it was only a matter of time. Odd to think about, at first, but it works with you two."
"This was definitely not what I excepted," Daine murmured to Numair out of the corner of her mouth.
"Me neither," he replied.
Onua glared at them. "I'm doing my best here!"
"Sorry!"
Shrugging, Onua stood and dug in her pocket for some cash to put on the table to pay for her drink. When that was done, she looked over them carefully one last time, her critical eyes lingering longer on Numair than on Daine. "I trust you," she said at last. "You'd better do this right."
With that, she was off, waving amiably over one shoulder as she went. Numair and Daine were left staring after her, blinking confusedly. "Well. That was interesting."
"Indeed it was." Numair rubbed his temples, tilting his head to look at Daine. "Who else will know?"
"Miri will force the truth out of me as soon as I see her. Nothing I can do about that. At the moment, though, I don't know how well this'll all go over with a more general audience."
"Maybe you're right. Shall we keep it quiet for now?"
"As quiet as these things can stay," sighed Daine. Quiet never seemed to last long.
He didn't come to the door when she knocked; instead, Daine heard a tired voice telling her to go ahead and come in. Frowning, she fumbled with the doorknob until she could push her way in, navigating through the hallway to Numair's living room. Her teacher was stretched out across the couch, a bag of half-melted ice on his head and his eyes closed. He was wearing dirty clothes and his hair was completely disheveled; he looked like he was some sort of weekend pickup at a roadside gas station. She stared, her mouth open slightly.
"I thought you were having dinner with a bunch of molecular physicists last night," she accused, but she couldn't prevent her lips from turning up in a smile.
Numair opened one eye narrowly, squinting at her as if even the dull lamplight was still too much. "I was. I didn't know physicists could drink."
"Well, then. We learn something new every day."
"Indeed we do. Can you – not talk so loud? Please?"
"Sure," Daine said, dropping her voice to an almost-whisper. She lifted the bag of cold water-ice from his forehead. "You've got a headache?"
"A miserable one. No lessons for you today."
"Because you're hungover."
"Shh."
Daine laughed, quickly smothering the sound so as not to make his head throb any more. She put the bag back on his forehead and kissed his cheek.
"Don't you dare do this," Numair muttered grumpily, "for another four years, all right?"
"Such a great role model you are."
Numair just groaned, rubbing his temples with his hands. "I can't think right now."
Standing up, Daine considered him carefully for a moment. Then, in one swift motion, she grabbed the bag of ice water, unzipped it, and dumped the entire thing directly over Numair's head.
"What the - ?!"
Numair spluttered, jerking upright and gasping. He coughed, dripping wet, and shook his head fiercely, then glared up at Daine. "What was that for?!"
"It worked, didn't it?" grinned Daine. Numair just cursed, staggering to his unsteady feet. He didn't move with any of the grace that his lanky body usually possessed. Daine pressed her hands against his damp chest to steady him. His arms caught hers by the elbows, keeping her close.
"I'll get you back for this," he grumbled.
His proximity made Daine's heart beat suddenly faster. "I'm terrified," she said sarcastically. Numair just rolled his eyes. He took one hand from her elbow to rub his forehead; apparently, the problem wasn't completely solved.
"Sorry if that made it worse," apologized Daine.
"No, I'm fine," Numair assured her. He caught her elbow again and leaned down, catching her mouth in a kiss, his lips warms and soft, though she could still taste stale drink on his breath. They eased over hers, gentle and careful, retreating for just the tiniest of seconds and then coming back, leaving Daine helpless, like jelly in his arms. He let out a small laugh. "See. I'm not the only drunk one here."
Daine grinned against his lips. She couldn't deny it. She was drunk on him; his hands running from her elbows to her back, their bodies pressed close, their lips tangling. Thinking about it, Daine decided she couldn't exactly berate him for being hungover. She enjoyed this kind of drunk far too much to blame him for enjoying any other kind, after all.
A soft creak made Numair look up; the room was so dark that he couldn't discern anything past his bedpost. Effervescent moonlight and starlight glittered through his windows, but there was nothing illuminated by them that was out-of-the-ordinary. Everything was like it always was. His bookshelves were messy, his clothes were cast all over the floor, his closet door and main door were both open. The many papers scattered over his desk did not hide the tiny red, flashing light that meant that he had, accidentally, left his computer on all night. But other than that, nothing was moving. And then someone stepped out of the darkness; the soft light cast a glow over her skin and set her face into shadow. She stepped forward, a cautious look in her clouded eyes. It was Daine, wearing a white tank top and long, plaid-patterned pajama pants. The rolled-up bottoms that let her bare feet just barely poke out looked damp and muddy. Her hair was tousled and windswept. Shivering, she rubbed her arms and looked carefully at Numair.
Numair scrambled to a sitting position, his heart pounding. She looked too beautiful in the moonlight.
"Daine? What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to be with you," she said simply, meeting his eyes. "Is that so bad?"
"No," he said at once. "No, not at all."
She smiled, and walked over to the bed with light, silent footsteps. Before Numair could protest, she slipped in beside him and curled up under the blankets, her head barely brushing his chest. Her skin was icy cold. Numair didn't mind, he only worried; she had to have been exposed to the night air for too long. Out of instinct, Numair wrapped his arms around her small form, holding her close. A soft sigh whispered against his neck where her face rested. She was so tender in his arms.
"I'm glad you're here, Numair," she said quietly. A shiver raced up his spine.
"You shouldn't be here," he murmured, threading his fingers soothingly through her hair. Despite his words, Numair made no move to release her from his arms, and Daine just laughed, shaking her head.
"I know you too well. You're only saying that because you think you have to."
Numair felt a kiss linger on his cheek. Then Daine pulled away, her eyes bright in the darkness. Lifting a hand, Numair ran his fingers lightly over her lips and tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear, his heart splitting.
"But it's true," he said quietly. "You shouldn't be here."
For a fraction of a second, fleeting uncertainty flashed across Daine's features. But then Numair lifted her chin, and, without paying any heed to his better judgment or heart, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, soft and sure. Daine did not protest; her hands moved to tangle in his hair, her body curved close to his, and all the while she was kissing him fiercely, demanding more than he could give. Sparks rocketed around in Numair's mind like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was like swimming in fire, running in a storm, falling through the sky. He had to stop – he knew couldn't do this, he knew it had to stop. It had to. Her hands feathered over his face, barely touching, so faint he hardly could tell they were there.
She was too close, too beautiful.
With enormous effort, Numair pulled away, breathing in sharply to fill empty lungs. Looking up, he could see that Daine too was breathing hard, her gaze suddenly strong and challenging.
"Stop," Numair said, his voice low. "Daine, I can't – you've got to stop."
"Why?"
Her voice was quiet and calm, as if it were a simple throwaway question of no great importance. But both of them knew that it wasn't. Both of them knew what it held. He could hear the suppressed emotions of fear, love, intensity, desire. Everything. It was too hard for Numair to think straight; his thoughts were muddled by her slender form curled under his arms, close to his body. Her head rested on his chest, right above his thundering heart. She had to be able to hear it and feel the longing that ran through his veins like wildfire.
"Daine," he murmured, his lips against her hair. She smelled like subtle shampoo and the outdoors, nature at its finest. "Not now, all right?"
"But why, Numair?" Now her voice was harder, and she sat up to glare at him through the darkness. "I know how you are. There has to be a reason."
"Because," breathed Numair. "If this goes any farther, I can't guarantee that I will be completely in control of my actions for much longer."
"But why do you have stay in control?"
"Because it's illegal, maybe?" hissed Numair. He hated himself just a moment later when he saw Daine flinch from his words. Reaching out a hand, he touched her face carefully. Daine sighed.
"I'll be eighteen in six months," she muttered irritably. "How can that make so much of a difference, Numair? I don't even have a legit birth certificate, anyway, so really - "
"It makes a difference to my conscience, my dear. And to the cops."
Daine just sighed again. But she dropped the argument, sliding back down and letting Numair hold her once more. Her breath tickled the skin at his collar, making his heart race and his mind cloud over. This will not be easy. How did they end up like this? Most situations were reversed – the guy arguing for, the girl arguing against. Numair let out a long, soothing breath, deciding that it only made sense, with how strange it all was for them in the first place.
"Do you promise, then?" asked Daine. "This is so not normal, you know. You won't make up another excuse once I'm eighteen, will you?"
"I promise, I won't. Do you think this is easy for me? I shouldn't even let you be here, remember?"
His words were whispered lightly into her ear, and Numair felt a sort of shiver run down her back as she shifted in his arms. "Is this all right, then?" she asked, a slight hint of breathlessness creeping into her tone. "Just this?"
"I can deal with this," murmured Numair, running a hand over her back. There was a pause.
"This is what I want, then," Daine stated, curling close to him. Numair wrapped an arm around her and kissed her ear.
"You don't even know what you do to me sometimes, Daine."
"You started it."
"That's not fair. You were the one who came here."
She gave a little laugh, and her hand found his somewhere under the sheet. She wrapped her small fingers around it, and then lifted their clasped hands to her chest. She pressed his palm flat over her heart so that Numair could feel her heartbeat. It was fast, but steady, every touch like the tap of a finger on a cold window. Numair's breath caught in his throat.
"This is enough."