Chapter 41: Stay
The room was quiet now, lit only by the faint amber spill of streetlights beyond the windows. The city murmured below like a distant ocean, hushed and indifferent. Aria sat curled at one end of the couch, knees hugged to her chest, half - daring herself to speak. Selene stood by the window, her silver hair catching the glow like moonlight trapped in motion, arms crossed over her chest, utterly unreadable.
"You don't have to hover like a ghost," Aria muttered, softer than she intended. "You said you'd stay."
Selene turned slowly, her gaze narrowing as if she hadn't expected Aria to call her out. She stepped forward with deliberate slowness, her presence impossibly quiet and heavy all at once. "I did," she said coolly. "You asked. Nicely."
Aria flushed. "That's not what I meant."
"I know." Selene's lips curved faintly, a shadow of amusement behind her usual detachment. "But I like hearing you ask for me."
Heat crept into Aria's cheeks. She looked away, pretending to fiddle with the edge of her blanket. "You're insufferable."
"And yet," Selene drawled, "you begged me to stay."
"I didn't beg," Aria said quickly, though her voice cracked on the second word.
Selene was closer now. Aria could feel the drop in temperature as she moved — air thinning, colder, like a storm had wandered into her living room wearing a leather coat and a smirk. She refused to look up. She knew what would happen if she did.
"You did," Selene said. "Sweetly. Desperately." Her voice lowered. "Like you needed me."
Aria's eyes snapped up, fire sparking in them, but Selene was already leaning down, bracing one hand on the back of the couch beside Aria's head, her body close enough to feel without touching. "Don't get all defensive now, little flame. It's charming when you're flustered."
"I am not flustered."
Selene's brows lifted. "You're blushing so hard your ears are red."
"Shut up."
Selene tilted her head. "Make me."
Aria's heart nearly choked her. Her breath stuttered. Selene's face was so close. The faintest tilt of her head and —
"You're terrible," Aria whispered.
"Terribly patient," Selene murmured back. "I've waited this long."
Aria's chest ached. "You left."
"I came back."
"You always do." Aria swallowed. "But you never explain why."
Selene's expression shifted — something raw flickered through it before she masked it again. "I can't always explain the things I have to do."
"That's not good enough."
"I know," Selene said, barely audible. "But it's what I have."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Aria's fingers tightened around the blanket, then loosened. She looked at Selene again — really looked — and saw the faint shadows under her eyes, the tension clinging to her shoulders like a second skin. Selene wasn't just standing there like a predator waiting to strike. She was exhausted.
"You haven't slept, have you?" Aria asked quietly.
Selene blinked, caught off guard. "Not much."
"You look like you've been living in alleys."
"Close," she said dryly. "Warehouses. Rooftops. Cheap motels. Places they wouldn't think to look."
Aria hated that — hated the image of Selene curled up somewhere freezing and alone while she paced this apartment, furious and aching and missing her. "And you didn't think to tell me? To let me help you?"
"That's the thing, Aria." Selene's voice dropped. "You are the thing they'd use to hurt me. I'd burn the world down if something happened to you because of me."
"I'm not fragile."
"I know you're not." Selene's gaze darkened. "But I am when it comes to you."
That silenced her.
Selene pushed away from the couch and paced toward the kitchenette, more to escape the moment than from any real need. Aria tracked her with her eyes, silently watching the way she moved — graceful even in exhaustion, her body honed from years of survival. But tonight, she looked more human. Unmasked. Tired.
"Did you mean it?" Aria asked suddenly. "When you said you'd stay?"
Selene paused at the counter, resting both palms against it. "Yes."
"For how long?"
A pause. "As long as you'll let me."
Aria's breath caught.
Selene turned back slowly, her features cautious now. "Do you want me to stay, Aria? Really stay? Because if I do… I'm not going to pretend I can hold back forever."
Aria stood, the blanket slipping off her legs and pooling on the floor. "Then don't."
Selene stilled completely. "Are you sure?"
"No," Aria admitted. "But I'm not going to spend another night wondering if you're going to disappear again."
Selene took a slow step forward. "I can't promise I won't leave if I have to."
"I know." Aria met her halfway. "But if you leave without saying goodbye again, I will find you — and I will punch you."
"Hot," Selene deadpanned.
Aria laughed, half - shocked at herself. "You're an ass."
"You like it."
Aria looked up at her, eyes glinting. "Unfortunately."
Selene's smile was slow, wicked, devastating. "Then let me show you what staying looks like."
Their lips collided before Aria could say yes again.
Selene kissed like she fought — decisively, unapologetically. Her cold hands slid into Aria's hair, angling her head back with infuriating control, and Aria moaned into her mouth, caught between defiance and surrender. She grabbed Selene's coat, pulling her closer, until there was no air between them at all.
Selene's mouth moved down to her neck, sharp kisses and colder breaths tracing the delicate line of her throat. "You're warm," she murmured. "Burning up."
"Your fault," Aria gasped, tilting her head to the side, baring her throat without realizing it.
Selene bit gently — not enough to mark, just enough to make Aria's knees buckle again.
"I should stop," Selene whispered. "I really should."
"Then do it," Aria challenged, voice shaking.
Selene kissed her again, slow this time, as if trying to memorize the shape of her mouth, the taste of her defiance. When she pulled away, her breath ghosted against Aria's lips. "No."
Aria took her hand, pulled her gently toward the bedroom. Her heart was battering her ribs, and her legs felt unsteady, but she didn't stop. Selene followed.
Inside the room, it was warmer — barely. Aria let go, stepped backward until her calves hit the bed, and sat down with a defiant toss of her hair. "If you're going to stay, then actually stay."
Selene kicked off her boots and shed her coat, revealing the thin black shirt beneath. She looked almost uncertain for a moment, until Aria grabbed the hem of her own oversized sleep shirt and yanked it off without ceremony.
Selene's breath visibly hitched.
Aria smirked. "Still want to pretend you're patient?"
"No," Selene said hoarsely, and crossed the room in two strides.
She crawled onto the bed like a wolf, slow and deliberate, until she was above Aria, not quite touching. "I missed this," she whispered. "I missed you."
"Then don't vanish again," Aria said, voice catching. "I can handle the danger. I just can't handle not knowing where you are."
Selene dipped her head, kissing the corner of her mouth. "You'll always know."
Aria pulled her down fully, burying herself in Selene's cold body, the contrast of frost and fire almost too much. But she didn't pull away. She wrapped her legs around Selene's waist and kissed her like it might hold her there forever.
Later, tangled in sheets and silence, Aria ran her fingers slowly through Selene's hair. "You really staying?"
Selene pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. "For as long as you'll have me."
"You'd better," Aria said softly. "Because I don't think I'd survive losing you again."
"You won't," Selene whispered. "And neither would I."
Aria smiled faintly and closed her eyes, her hand still tangled in silver — blonde hair. Selene's breath cooled the back of her neck like a breeze from the north.
This time, there were no doors between them. No threats. No windows to shatter.
Just warmth and frost curled together in the dark, daring the morning to come.