The Faust estate's living room had reached the point where it had stopped being a room people entered and had become a room people simply found themselves in.
Valerian had sat down with the reasonable expectation of having somewhere to think for a few minutes. However the reasonable expectation had not survived contact with reality.
Iris had found him approximately four seconds after he sat down.
She'd said nothing, announced nothing, simply arrived at his right side with the full-body commitment of a wolf who had located her preferred resting spot and had no intention of entertaining alternatives.
Ears out.
Tail out.
The silver of them catching the late afternoon light from the tall windows.
Her cheek was against his shoulder and her eyes were half-lidded, the amber softness of them entirely different from the Iris who'd kissed him without announcement in the entrance hall that morning.
