For the next twelve hours, they were both taut with nervousness.
In the middle of it, Scarlett had gotten about two hours of sleep, but Ethan hadn't dozed a wink; his eyes were wide open, his dimensional senses calmly waiting for a tingle in the fabric of space, anticipating an abrupt intruder. Yet nothing of the sort happened again.
Scarlett fell asleep once more, drool dripping all over his lap, and just like that, about twelve hours had passed since they arrived here.
Bizarrely enough, the outside world was still dark. No sun had appeared.
The storm had long since been quelled, though, leaving the ship calmer in its unmoving course. The people inside also got the chance to be calm themselves, due to that.
...
Scarlett woke up, startled that she had fallen asleep in such strange environs, but feeling the hand gently combing through her hair, she calmed down and closed her eyes. She felt far too lethargic.
Ethe was here, wide awake. What could go wrong?
Ethan inserted his hand into her upper garment, gently squeezing her milky breasts. "Wake up," he said.
She opened her eyes, groggy with sleep, and looked at him frustratedly. "You can grope all you want, five minutes more, please… pretty please..." Her eyes grew heavier by themselves.
So comfortable… it had been so long since she slept in his lap.
Please, Ethe, let me sleep…
The area was filled with light, leading her to think that maybe the dawn had already broken.
"I closed the windows using a dark cloth, completely opaque," he said. His hand, firm yet gentle, found the soft curve of her breast, an audacious touch that spoke of his confident claim. "And I also used an emergency light from my Dimensional Pocket. This room is very safe, and light won't leak out."
"Genius! Light won't go out again…" Her voice was groggy from sleep.
Ethan's gaze lingered on her, tracing the gentle curves that lay soft and yielding in the cradle of his lap. A faint smile whispered across his lips as his hand moved with a familiar, unhurried ease over the smooth fabric covering her breast, a touch as featherlight as it was intentional.
In these moments of quiet intimacy, their private world was always reduced to the warmth of skin and the unspoken words that passed between them. Her slumbering form surrendered to his silent watch, her breaths a rhythmic symphony to which his movements kept time.
Her protests, when awake, he knew, were nothing but the playful dance of their intricate tango, a delicate thing with boundaries that they both enjoyed. It was a game of push and pull, a tender tease that only heightened the electric charge of their connection; any say nos and don't wants are usually just appearances.
They had always known they were meant for each other, even from a young age. Whenever it took a long time that they were apart, in one way or the other, one of them would find an excuse to get back together.
In fact, in a sense, even he himself was amazed they hadn't actually had outright intercourse yet. It was a curious fact.
Smiling, Ethan pushed away a lock of hair from her face. Sleep then...
He still remembered the day he had jokingly teased her out of some passing whim that he had lost his virginity; she was like a dead ghost, pale-faced and angry, looking at him coldly as she ran off with a slap on his face.
He knew she killed someone for the first time that day—it was a heinous criminal, but still, a murder.
Ethan had come to learn that only a long time later. He regretted his foolishness, but regret couldn't wash away his guilt. So, even though he dialed her number a lot, he could never go on to click that call button. He had cowered.
He knew Scarlett was becoming a popular topic of discussion worldwide, and he knew she would be in trouble soon, so he kept her news in check. He was always ready to teleport near her at a single ring from her Voice Transmission Heritage.
He had left many [Dimensional Marks] littered across her whole body, so he could always sense her even at a distance, and she knew it clearly; she even knew the weird places he had put some of them.
If it actually got dangerous, he could always keep her protected. Ethan also had trust in her. She would call for help if it came to it. Scarlett was never shy about taking his help for granted.
After she moved out, he often took care of anyone who might have posed a real threat to her who was on her back. He always kept an eye on her from a distance, watching as she got stronger by the day. He didn't step away until he was sure she was powerful enough that no one could take her down covertly. Only then did he stop watching over her, confident she could handle anything on her own or atleast call for help.
Regardless, he didn't dwell on his guilt when he knew he did not have much time left on Earth. He immediately called her back yesterday to the bar he was working for in his boredom, a bar without any customers. As expected, pouty and frustrated, she came back.
Once more, they were together, but she was rather distant to him all throughout the day, not even talking about her growth. She seemed pissed, and he could tell why; she didn't put the thought of his lost virginity away.
'How dare some other wench?!' She had unknowingly said before falling silent.
He wanted to tell her about his plans to go to another world, tell her the truth, but he kept it to himself for a better moment; her jealousy was cute anyway. Moreover, It was hard to confess his love.
To say that he wanted her to come with him among all the people in the world. She might even make fun of him. Then, there was that episode with the S Ranker old man.
And now, here they were.
Ethan's gaze smoldered with a mix of desire and something softer, more vulnerable as he tenderly brushed his thumb across her cheek. He leaned in, his breath mingling with hers, his lips a mere whisper away from touching her own. But in a swift motion, her eyes flew open, capturing him in their depths. A moment of vulnerable honesty hung between them, a stark contrast to their usual dance of seductive jests and playful provocations.
Caught in the unexpected intimacy of the moment, they both hesitated, their cheeks tinted with the rosy hue of a blush. This was uncharted territory, far beyond the boundaries of their frolicking. For once, the air was charged, not just with raw attraction, but with the palpable pulse of genuine emotion.
Ethan instinctively leaned back with a cough and began fondling her breasts instead, alleviating the awkwardness and making it settle into a sweet silence.
"Your boobs did indeed become bigger, Scar," he said awkwardly, gently pinching her nipples. "It is now easily bigger than my hand… It used to be way smaller when you were young."
"Don't grope me," she said with a click of her tongue, face flushed. "So gross. Did you grope me all night?"
"Yes, you will have my children ten months later."
She blushed and turned silent. Deep down, her heart felt much calmer than it had been for months. She was supposed to be together with him like this, always. Being mad with him was no good for her own mental health.
"Continue what you were trying. I am asleep," she said softly, closing her eyes.
Ethan felt his heart thud at the lethal attack.
Slowly, he brought his lips close to her; their hot breaths mingled, and their soft lips met each other.
A second later, they parted.
He licked his lips. It tasted like her. He was quite familiar with the taste. She habitually chewed on lemons after drinking wine, so she tasted a bit sour.
His groping on her chest increased slightly till she held his hand. "Enough now, my nipples hurt, you idiot. If you want to do it, do it later when we find a nice bed or something. And be gentler. Why are you such a pussy in the first place?"
Ethan felt a clump stuck in his throat.
"I am just not yet used to it. When we are out of here, I'll be more direct."
Surprisingly, Scarlett smiled at him. "No, take it slow, I don't mind it. More than that, I was just thinking of being dragged into this world (forcefully) and how I happened to hear someone practically beg me to love them above that building. Ah, what a sight that was!"
Ethan smiled wryly. Here it comes.
She sighed forlornly, "I am now destined to be such a person's woman. Ugh, what a sad fate."
Ethan grimaced. "Yeah, at least you don't have to endure the 'ugly' personality of the 'ugly' nerd. Even the whole planet hated you for real."
Even though she had gotten to wearing lenses instead of those heavy glasses some time ago, she would always be a nerd to him. That mentioned, of course, before she fell asleep, he removed the lenses using his extremely good senses and even changed her clothes into something dry from the wet robe she was wearing.
Now she was in his baggy white t-shirt and shorts.
"Ugly…" Scarlett sighed.
Ethan gently patted her cheek. "Do you feel remorseful you had to kill?" He knew first kills could make one nauseous.
She nodded. "And you weren't even there for me to cry about it…"
"…I have been bad to you. Sorry, I will never repeat it again," Ethan said, his soft voice clearly audible in the silent ship. "I wanted to contact you a lot at that point, but sorry, I chickened out."
She shook her head. "You also murdered others for me, I noticed it. How many have you killed in total?"
"...Four, all of them heinous people."
"I only killed that one person, but he was the most heinous of all…"
Ethan shook his head. He felt sleepy after being unrested for a day, but he smiled.
"I know what you are worried about. If you are a bad person, there is no good one in this world. My nerdish Scarlett is an angel as far as I know, even though she has a penchant for stealing other people's things, like abilities, these days."
Scarlett turned silent for a second before bursting out laughing.
"So cringe and cheesy I want to vomit for real."
Ethan laughed, too. As long as she felt free from the guilt, there was nothing to lose by being a bit cringe.
But... good and bad…
It should be the second if he had to say what he was. He couldn't help but think why he felt so calm when he had killed them. For a reason as it was, he had felt nothing for them. In fact, he didn't think he would hesitate to kill anyone for his or Scarlett's benefit.
"We should really have a talk after being apart for so long, Ethe. Especially about ourselves…" Scarlett's words brought him back to reality, and he nodded. They really should.