The metallic door slid open with a faint hiss as Nikhil stood in the frame, hair messy, eyes half-red from staring at glowing holographic schematics all night. He squinted at Valerian and Luna stepping inside, both reactors faint under the dim light.
"Arrey, tum dono…" Nikhil muttered, checking the wall clock that glowed 04:02 AM. Then his eyes widened, his voice rising in mock anger. "Itna jada late? Puri raat kahan the? Honeymoon mana rahe the kya?"
(Arrey, you two…" Nikhil muttered, glancing at the wall clock glowing 04:02 A.M. Then his eyes widened and his voice shot up in exaggerated irritation. "This late? Where were you the whole night? Were you out celebrating some honeymoon or what?")
Luna froze like she'd been electrocuted, her life reactor flaring violently pink. "H-honeymoon!?" Her voice cracked, cheeks igniting like reactor overheat.
Valerian didn't even flinch. He just brushed past, his storm-blue glow fading toward the bedroom.
Nikhil shook his head, lips curling into a mischievous smirk.
"Dekha? Ek react kar raha hai jaise blast hone wala hai aur dusra… bas robot jaisa. Achha, ab bas. It's four in the morning. Sone jao dono. Tomorrow you'll need your heads intact."
("Look at this—one of you reacts like he's about to explode, and the other stands there like a robot. Enough now. It's four in the morning. Go sleep, both of you. Tomorrow you'll need your minds functioning.")
BEDROOM — FEW MINUTES LATER
Valerian lay down first, his stormy blue suit dimming faintly as the auto-rest protocols engaged. His life reactor flickered between red and green an unstable rhythm he ignored as his breathing steadied, eyes closing.
Luna lingered by the corner, chewing her lip, glancing at him. When she was sure he was asleep, she pressed the hidden panel on her wrist. With a soft shhhk, her biomechanical layering loosened and unfolded, peeling away from her like shedding a second skin. The lilac plating shimmered faintly before collapsing into its compact mode beside her.
Instant relief washed over her without the armor she felt light, fragile, warm. She touched her bare chest where the suit's reactor usually glowed; nothing pulsed there now. Just her human heartbeat, quickened from nerves.
She glanced back Valerian's back was to her. Good, he's asleep.
Her cheeks turned red as she realized she stood only in her tactical bra and panties. Just quickly… just slip under the blanket. He won't know.
But before she moved, something soft smacked into her face. She yelped, muffled by fabric. Pulling it down, she saw it was the blanket.
Her entire face burned crimson. H-he saw!?
Valerian's voice cut through the air, calm but edged with cold steel. "Careless. Don't even think to change here. Use a closed room. Bathroom. Anywhere else."
He hadn't turned his head, still facing the wall.
Luna's pulse spiked. Wrapping the blanket around her frantically, she stammered, "Y-you were awake!? You you were pretending to sleep, weren't you? You like seeing women change in front of you, hai na?"
Valerian didn't answer.
Her eyes widened. "Y-you didn't deny it!" She pointed at his back dramatically, cheeks glowing pink. "Caught red-handed, Mr. Stormbane!"
Still silence.
Luna's reactor flickered uncertainly. She fumbled, realizing again she had mocked him. Her voice shrank. "I-I'm sorry. Sorry sorry sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just I keep saying the wrong things to you. I didn't mean to make you sound like…"
She hesitated, guilt hitting. "…like that mutt thing earlier. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Please. Please."
For thirty full minutes, she whispered apologies in every variation she could think of, her face half-buried in the blanket, until finally Valerian exhaled slowly.
"…Okay."
Just that. Cold. Flat. But it was enough.
Luna pouted faintly, cheeks puffed. "That's it? After thirty minutes of begging, just okay?"
No answer.
She sighed, then shuffled under the blanket beside him, her warmth creeping closer than it should. She giggled softly. "You know, I could tease you all night, but I'll let you off. Spineless mutt."
Silence again.
Then, as she turned her head, she noticed it on the wall Valerian faced, a faint reflection glowed. Not red this time. Not unstable. Green. For just a second.
Her breath caught.
Did… did his reactor pulse green? That means…
Her face burned hotter. "N-no, Luna, stop it. Don't think like that. It's impossible. Completely impossible. He's too cold, too focused. Not like that. Not for you."
She wrapped the blanket tighter, shaking her head. Me, half-naked under this blanket, in one bed, beside Valerian Stormbane… No, no, no. Just sleep. Sleep. Forget everything.
Her eyes closed, reactor pulsing pink in soft rhythm with his faintly stormy glow.
CTS TIME RE250.09.05 6:00 AM
The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the city filtering through the walls. Distant drones flew in strict patterns outside, their engines blending with the low pulse of synthwave drifting faintly from some street vendor far below.
Valerian's eyes opened. The chrono in his visor flickered: 06:00 AM.
Sleep hadn't truly come. His body had rested, yes the storm-blue biomechanical layering repairing microscopic fractures from last night's fight but his mind had not stilled.
He turned his head slightly.
Luna was still asleep beside him, wrapped tightly in the blanket she had stolen the night before. Her lilac glow had dimmed into the softest pulse, reactor barely visible beneath layers of fabric. Her breathing was steady, untroubled. Even in rest, she kept a respectful distance—no accidental brushes, no reckless closeness. That in itself surprised him. For all her clumsy words, she had discipline when unconscious.
Valerian's thoughts sharpened like blades
We joined Vault Void Club. That gives us leverage. Their network spreads into the lower sectors—dirty markets, underground transport rings, chip smugglers. If Flame passed through the underbelly, someone will have seen him. This club could lead me there.
He glanced again at Luna, her cheek faintly flushed even in sleep.
But Luna… she feels too much. Gives too much. Yesterday, she handed them 1.5 million star credits without hesitation. Too trusting. Too… human. I can't let that softness destroy the mission.
His jaw tightened.
I could assign her the Vault Void angle. Let her deal with Oliver, Clara, the repaired ones. Machines respond better to warmth. Sympathy. She has that. Too much of it. And I
His fist clenched slightly on the bedsheet.
I will move in the opposite direction. Find the places where no smile can survive: black markets, reactor harvesters, trafficking vaults. If Flame is tangled in something darker, that is where I will find him.
He exhaled slowly, reactor on his chest flickering green, then red, then settling into a conflicted mix.
It's logical. Divide and infiltrate. Two angles of attack. One day one clue. That's enough.
His eyes lingered on Luna one last time.
But… last night, when she gripped my hand I couldn't move. It wasn't just strength. Why do I still feel that grip now, echoing? Why do I keep remembering her smile when she helped repair those androids?
He shut his eyes tightly.
No. Silence is strength. Emotion is liability. I will not repeat the academy days. Not now. Not here.
The chrono flickered again: 06:05 AM.
Valerian sat up, reactor pulsing stormy blue-green, and prepared to move before she woke.