"I should head home," I said as soon as Llewellyn came back, checking the time. It was past two in the morning already. "Thanks for—"
Llewellyn frowned. "You're not going anywhere."
Huh?
"What?"
"You were unconscious four hours ago, got electrocuted, and lost enough blood to fill a small bucket. Unless you're heading to a hospital or you live with someone who can drag you there if needed, you're not going anywhere. Do you?"
I closed my mouth.
I felt fine—but. Well. If the roles were reversed I'd tell him the same.
Besides, Llewellyn was clearly ready to argue, and I couldn't be bothered right now.
"Fine," I relented with a sigh. I placed Lumos on the floor and got up. "What then?"
"I'll show you to the guest room," Llewellyn said, shoulders relaxing. "Come on."
He led me down a hallway with Lumos trotting beside us, while Penguin chirped down at him from my arms.
I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but they seemed to have become friends. Lumos's nose was pointed toward Penguin, and whenever Penguin chirped at him, his tail wagged.
***
The guest room looked like it came straight out of a magazine—which to be fair, after seeing the rest of the house, was not really a surprise.
Still. It looked amazing.
On the right, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Baekhaven. The blackout curtains were pulled wide open, showing the city lights in the distance as well as what looked like lights from boats. Or, well, if that really was the promenade and I wasn't just getting it wrong in the dark. My sense of direction generally sucked.
The bed was huge, with soft white bedsheets, and there was a sitting area with a cozy armchair and a small desk.
"The bathroom's through there," Llewellyn said, pointing to a door on the left. "There should be everything you need. Ah, wait."
He disappeared for a moment, then returned with a set of pajamas and a new toothbrush still in its packaging—and pushed them into my arms.
I sighed. This was really unnecessary.
"Don't start," Llewellyn said. "You never know when a new Distorted Realm is going to open up and if you fight in this state you'll get yourself killed. Get some rest."
Penguin chirped and hopped off my arms and onto the bed, immediately testing the pillows.
"I'll grab another blanket," Llewellyn said. "This room tends to run cold."
Before I could tell him not to bother, he was gone.
Ah, well.
Lumos looked torn for a moment, clearly unwilling to be separated from Penguin, but in the end loyalty won out and he trailed behind Llewellyn.
"See?" I told Penguin. "You should learn from him."
Penguin didn't dignify that with a chirp.
I changed into the pajamas Llewellyn had handed me and went to brush my teeth in the ensuite bathroom.
This one looked less dramatic than the previous one, but... not by much. The mirror lights came on automatically and I was afraid to touch anything in case it activated a massage session or revealed a hidden sauna or something.
I dried my face on what was definitely an expensive towel, and padded back into the guest room.
By then, it had already been a while. Llewellyn still hadn't come back and I was exhausted, so I just climbed into bed.
I shouldn't be this tired, surely? These weren't my normal sleeping hours; usually I'd still be at the beginning of my shift—and I'd slept on Llewellyn's sofa too. Maybe it was the blood loss.
It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't bought a new mattress yet. Should I ask Llewellyn where he got this one? It was stupidly comfortable.
Penguin chirped contentedly. It looked like he also agreed.
A few moments later, Llewellyn came back, holding a fluffy blanket. He saw me collapsed in bed and snorted.
Ah, damn it. I'd hoped he'd forgotten.
I pulled myself up.
"Don't bother," Llewellyn said, draping the blanket over the bed. "No need to get up."
This was really too much. What was next? Breakfast in bed?
As I tried to find a non-awkward way to thank him, the System pinged.
[System Alert: Partner's Vital Signs destabilized! Risk of delayed collapse! Recommendation: Maintain sustained proximity to stabilize.]
Wait—what?
I stared, suddenly alert.
Llewellyn froze too, looking confused.
"What did you do?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
Llewellyn blinked. "I didn't do anything."
"This says your vital signs are destabilized and you risk delayed collapse!"
"Yes, I'm seeing it too." He frowned. "I'm pretty sure I'm fine."
Tall, smug bastard—always thinking he was indestructible. Even the System was probably in love with him.
I must have lost more blood than I thought, but—
I reached for his forearm, and pulled him down onto the bed.
Llewellyn fell forward, looking startled, and braced himself on top of me.
We stared at each other. For a moment, neither of us moved.
"What are you doing?" Llewellyn asked. His voice was weird.
"It says 'Maintain sustained proximity to stabilize'."
Llewellyn looked down at me, like he was trying to figure out something.
"I'm sure being in the same flat would suffice," he said, but he still didn't move off.
"Does it?"
His arms were on either side of my shoulders, and he briefly glanced down at my mouth.
…Maybe I'd imagined the last part.
The System pinged immediately.
[System Notification: Physical contact is recommended for increased Healing Bonus!]
I grinned. Ha!
The bed dipped a little further under his weight. I wet my lips.
"You didn't seem to mind it on the sofa," I said.
Llewellyn's eyes unmistakably landed on my mouth this time.
"You didn't seem to mind it at the cabin."
"I didn't."
Neither of us moved.
His gaze dropped again, and when he looked back up, I felt it in my stomach.
He hovered there for a second longer, then let out a breath.
"Fine," he said. "Scoot over."