The oil lamp cast flickering shadows on the cell wall, tracing ghostly figures that danced to the rhythm of the wind that blew through the gaps in the basement stones. Loona remained motionless, her gaze fixed on Blitz's hand that touched hers through the cold metal of the bars. It was such a simple touch, but it seemed to carry an indescribable weight.
Blitz, as always, was the first to break the silence, his voice raspy but surprisingly warm.
"You know, Loona, if someone had told me that my last night would be chatting with a colonel from the enemy side, I would have thought they were crazy," he said, with a crooked smile. "And, well, maybe they are, because you and I are not exactly what you would call… a normal couple."
She looked at him with a mix of irritation and curiosity.
"Who said anything about being a couple?" he replied, his harsh tone trying to hide the slight blush on his cheeks.
Blitz let out a laugh, low and throaty, but not mocking.
"Oh, come on, Loona. I admit I have a peculiar charm. I can see how you look at me when you think I'm not paying attention. It's almost flattering… if it weren't so terrifying."
Loona frowned, but the smile she was trying to hide betrayed her facade.
"You're an asshole, you know that?" she said, with a mix of reproach and amusement.
Blitz shrugged, leaning more comfortably against the wall, though the movement elicited a slight groan of pain from the wounds on her body.
"Yeah, but I'm your asshole, aren't I?" he replied, his eyes shining with a spark of humor.
She shook her head, trying not to give in to the strange warmth that was beginning to fill her chest.
"I don't know why I waste my time with you," she said, though her voice lacked its usual harshness.
Blitz took advantage of the opening, leaning forward a little further, his dark eyes shining with a mix of amusement and something deeper.
"Maybe because I'm the only one here who isn't afraid of you," he replied, his tone becoming softer but no less provocative. "Or maybe… because you know I understand you."
Loona looked away, her fingers lightly drumming against the bar. There was truth in his words, and that was what made her uncomfortable more than anything else.
Blitz let the silence settle for a moment before continuing, his voice now more serious, almost vulnerable.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Loona. I'm not a hero. I never was. But tonight, here with you… it's the closest I've ever come to feeling like I did something right in my life."
She looked up, surprised by the honesty in his tone.
"What are you saying?" she asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
Blitz smiled, but this time it wasn't the sarcastic or cynical smile he usually displayed. It was something softer, more genuine.
"I'm saying that if I'm going to die tomorrow, I'm glad my last conversation is with you."
Loona felt something inside her break, a barrier she'd built up for years that now seemed to crumble with every word he said.
"You're an idiot," he muttered, though his tone lacked the usual bite.
Blitz chuckled, leaning a little closer to her.
"Loona, if there was an afterlife, do you know what I would do?" he asked, a spark of humor returning to his eyes.
She arched an eyebrow, taken aback by the sudden change in tone.
"What would you do?" she asked, with a slight skepticism.
Blitz leaned against the bars, getting so close that his face was inches from hers.
"I would ask you out on a date. A real one, without bars in between or uniforms hiding who we are. Maybe I would take you to a place where no one knows us, where we can just be Loona and Blitz, without titles or wars."
Loona stared at him in silence, unable to find the right words. There was something in the way he said it, a mix of sincerity and desperation, that made her chest tighten.
"That could never happen," he finally answered, his voice almost a whisper.
Blitz nodded, his smile turning wistful.
"I know," he said, his tone more resigned than sad. "But it's okay to dream, isn't it?"
She looked away, fighting back the emotions that threatened to spill over.
Blitz leaned back again, but his gaze remained fixed on Loona.
"Tomorrow, when this is all over, would you do me a favor?" he asked, his tone unexpectedly serious.
She looked at him, surprised by the sudden change.
"What kind of favor?" he asked, his tone more cautious.
Blitz shrugged, as if what he was going to say was of no importance, though his eyes said otherwise.
"Remember this, Loona. Remember this night, not as the last of a damned man, but as the first time we both let our masks fall."
Loona felt tears begin to fill her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly, refusing to let them fall.
"I don't know if I can do that," she admitted, with an honesty that pained her to say out loud.
Blitz smiled, tilting his head to the side.
"Of course you can. After all, you are the scariest colonel I've ever met."
She let out a soft laugh, though it was laced with pain.
"You're insufferable," she said, shaking her head.
Blitz winked at her, his smile returning to its usual self, though this time it seemed lighter, less laden with cynicism.
"I know. But admit it, Loona: you'll miss me."
She didn't respond, but the way her hand lightly squeezed his was enough to confirm it.