Beep. Beep. Beep.
The digital alarm on the bedside table cut through the silence like a scalpel.
Nurse Joy stirred, a low groan vibrating in her throat. Her eyelids felt heavy, glued together by the deep, comatose sleep of exhaustion. She tried to roll over, to hit the snooze button and steal five more minutes of peace, but she couldn't move. There was a weight on her. A heavy, warm, solid weight pressing her into the mattress.
She blinked, her vision blurry in the gray predawn light filtering through the blinds. She wasn't under her duvet. She was skin-to-skin with something—someone.
She looked down.
Her breath hitched in a strangled gasp.
Tangled with her limbs, his arm draped possessively over her waist, his face buried in the crook of her neck, was Kian. And they were both completely, starkly naked.
The memories of the night before didn't trickle in; they crashed into her like a tidal wave. The dream. The mirrors. The waking up. The begging. The sensation of him stretching her, filling her, breaking her.
"Oh my god..."
The reality hit her with the force of a physical blow. She wasn't dreaming now. She was the Head Nurse of the Viridian City Pokémon Center, and she was lying naked in her single bed with a rookie trainer she had met less than twelve hours ago.
Panic, cold and sharp, flooded her veins.
She pushed Kian's arm off her waist—perhaps a little too roughly—and scrambled out of the bed. Her feet hit the cold linoleum floor, and she nearly stumbled, her legs feeling weak and foreign, trembling with the aftershocks of the vigorous activity.
She stood there, shivering, her arms wrapped around herself, trying to cover her breasts and her groin, though the room was dim.
On the bed, Kian stirred. The loss of warmth woke him. He stretched, his back cracking audibly, and opened his eyes. He looked lazy, satisfied, like a lion waking up after a feast. His dark eyes landed on Joy immediately.
She was standing by the desk, her face turned away from him. Even in the shadows, he could see the deep, burning flush of pink that covered her neck and ears.
Kian sat up slowly, the sheet falling to his waist. He didn't bother to cover his chest. "What happened, Nurse Joy?" he asked, his voice rough with sleep but laced with a calm amusement.
Joy flinched at the sound of his voice. She didn't turn around. She couldn't look at him. If she looked at him, she would see the man who had seen everything.
"Kian... I..." Her voice cracked. She took a shaky breath. "I am so sorry."
"Sorry?" Kian repeated, tilting his head.
"I forced you," she whispered, the words tumbling out in a rush of guilt. "I forced you to do... that thing with me. I don't know how, but I lost control. It was just... a dream. I was having this vivid dream, and then I woke up, and I couldn't differentiate between the dream and reality. I don't know why I acted like that."
She finally turned slightly, just enough so he could see her profile. Tears were pricking at the corners of her blue eyes, threatening to spill over.
"I'm sorry, Kian. It's my fault. I took advantage of the situation."
Kian watched her. She looked devastated. Beautifully, tragically devastated.
He didn't say a word. He stood up.
He walked across the small room, completely unashamed of his nudity. He stopped right in front of her. Joy stared at his chest, refusing to look lower, refusing to look higher.
Kian reached out and cupped her face with both hands. His palms were warm. He gently forced her head up, making her look him in the eye.
"Joy," he said softly. "Look at me."
She blinked, a single tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. Kian brushed it away with his thumb.
"It's not your fault," Kian said firmly. "You didn't force me. I was there. I made a choice too. So how is it your fault?"
"But..." Joy sniffled, her resolve crumbling under his gentle touch. "I'm a Nurse. You're a trainer. There are rules. I... I felt so hungry. I've never felt like that before. I always suppress my feelings. I have to be perfect. I have to be professional."
"And that's the problem," Kian interrupted, his voice dropping to a soothing, hypnotic timber. "You're not a robot, Joy. You're a human being. You have needs. You have desires. You deserve pleasure just as much as anyone else. Last night... that wasn't a mistake. That was you finally letting go."
Joy looked at him, her lips trembling. She wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to believe him. But the shame was deep.
"But you are a stranger," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You were here for one night. And I did... this. I am such a bad nurse. What will happen if everyone knows? What will they think of me? Officer Jenny... the Professor... they'll think I'm a slut."
Kian smiled—a warm, reassuring smile that hid the wolf beneath. He moved his hand from her cheek to press his index finger against her lips.
"Shhh."
The silence in the room was absolute.
"Don't say anything like that," Kian commanded gently. "And no one will say anything about us. You know why? Because no one will know."
He glanced at the digital clock. 05:03 AM.
"It's 5 AM, Joy. The lobby is empty. Most of the people—trainers, staff—they're all sleeping. This room is a vault. What happened here stays here."
He stepped closer, his body brushing against hers. The contact made Joy gasp, her nipples hardening instantly despite her guilt.
"And you know what?" Kian leaned down, his lips ghosting over her ear. "You weren't a bad nurse. You were incredible. You were looking so beautiful while I was fucking you."
A violent blush exploded across Joy's face, turning her skin crimson. Her knees knocked together. The vulgarity of his words clashed with the tenderness of his tone, creating a confusing spike of arousal in her belly.
"Kian... no..." she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't say that."
Kian pulled back, smirking. "Why? You were the one begging for it. 'Fuck me, Kian.' 'Fill me.' You remember, don't you?"
Joy's breath hitched. She did remember. Every word. Every sensation.
She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him with a mix of defeat and lingering desire. "Yeah... you are right."
She took a step back, breaking the contact, wrapping her arms around herself again. She needed distance. She needed clothes.
"But... I think we should change now," she said, her voice regaining a shred of its usual firmness. "Before the morning shift starts. And... and we should never talk about this again. It never happened."
Kian watched her retreat toward the wardrobe.
"Yeah," Kian agreed, reaching for his boxers on the floor. "You're right. It never happened."
He pulled his underwear on, hiding the smirk that played on his lips.