Well. Maybeimpromptuwas a bit of a stretch.
After well over a week’s worth of deliberating, reconsidering, and arguing with myself, I had honestly given up. I could no longer help myself, considering the universe seemed Hel-bent on ensuring that Arken and I would repeatedly run into one another. No matter how much I endeavored to leave that poor woman alone.
It wasn’t until after she and I had our conversation about keeping things platonic that I realized I had a perfectly acceptable excuse to remain in her orbit. Hadn’t Hanjae asked me to keep an eye on her? I could do that.
With pleasure, Commander.
The only issue was that now the dam had broken through. I’d given in to impulse, and now I would be hard pressed not to pester Arken Asher on a daily basis. I mean, I had resisted the urge thus far… today, at least. I had left her alone for a solid twenty-four hours. Still, my mind kept wandering back to those little moments at the museum yesterday, those oddly comforting signals that maybe,just maybe,this friendship thing was actually a good idea. For the both of us.
We just had so much in common. I was an excellent mirror, able to parrot the mannerisms and behaviors of others to make them feel at ease—a very useful skill in my line of work. Around Arken, though? I didn’t have to. Our similarities were genuine, and strange as that was, as hard as it was to fathom…. It was nice.
Even without those eerily common threads—and those wide, golden eyes that stared straight through my soul—Arken was clever. Charming. Entertaining as Hel. And I had alittletoo much fun messing with her head, teasing her for the childlike wonder she still managed to retain over seemingly ordinary things.
Like a room full of dusty old star-charts, for example.
“Youreallylike astronomy, don’t you?” I had teased Arken yesterday after we had moved on from the Mural of Creation.
“Is it that obvious?”
“A bit,” I’d laughed—though I could hardly say I was surprised.
That was why I had brought her towards that exhibit, after all. It wasn’t particularly hard to deduce that a Light Conduit transfixed by Shadows might be drawn to something as alluring and enchanting as the night sky.
“I’ve always loved the stars. Though, the moon and I have more of an… antagonistic relationship,” Arken had replied.
“And why is that, Little Conduit?”
“Because I can never sleep under a full moon,” she huffed. “It’s infuriating. Every damn month. Amaretta always said it was because I was born under a full moon.”
“So was I, actually,” I’d informed her, surprising even myself over being that forthcoming.
“Really?!”
As I said… Those odd little similarities between us just kept stacking up.
“You’re in an awfully good mood today, captain,” Jeremiah said, eying me with suspicion.
“Why do you say that like you’re worried about me?” I asked, smirking.
“I mean…” my lieutenant trailed off, letting his expression say the rest—to which I just rolled my eyes.
“I had an unusually good day yesterday. Simple as that,” I replied.
“So you got laid?” Hans interpreted.
“That’s hardly anunusualoccurrence,” I shot back with a wink. “Well, I mean—perhaps it is foryou,Deering…”
Jeremiah snorted.
“Oh, fuck off! The both of you!” Hans sputtered.
“You’ll kick that dry spell any day now, buddy,” Jeremiah laughed. “You know, as soon as you learn how to manage your own expectations.”
“What are you trying to say?!”
“Nothing, nothing,” Jeremiah said in a reassuring, cheerful tone. “You’re a perfectly handsome bastard, Hans. Justmaybestop immediately going for the most sapphic woman in the room, and maybe then you can get some.”
“It’s a curse, it’s not my fault,” Hans moaned. “It’s not like there’s any way to tell at a glance! How am I supposed to know that I’m flirting with lesbians half the time?”