Steam still clung to Noel's hair as he stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel along the back of his neck. Clean at last. He'd scrubbed twice. Maybe three times. Noir had refused to come near him until she was satisfied he no longer smelled like "monster stew."

He pushed open the door to his room and froze.

The lights were dim. The faint scent of lavender filled the air. His bed was occupied.

Selene sat there calmly, legs crossed, a small hardcover book resting on her lap. She wore her academy uniform jacket loosely over her shoulders, glasses perched on her nose—the ones she only used when reading alone.

She looked up the instant he entered.

Her expression didn't shift dramatically.

But her eyes softened.

And the smallest smile appeared.

"Welcome back," she said quietly. "You took longer than usual."

Noel blinked. "…Selene?"

Noir darted past him, hopping onto the bed with a proud chirp. Selene automatically stroked her head, Noir melting into her touch like a spoiled cat.

Noel leaned against the doorframe, still holding the towel.

"I wasn't expecting anyone."

Selene closed her book with one finger marking the page.

"I know. That's why I came now. Before the others."

Her gaze drifted over him—wet hair, towel, fresh clothes, faint exhaustion behind his eyes.

"You trained hard today," she murmured. "I could tell the moment I stepped inside."

Noel rubbed the back of his head. "I thought I masked the smell."

"You did," she replied, sliding her glasses off with delicate fingers. "Some of your clothes didn't."

She placed the glasses beside her and patted the bed gently.

"…Come here."

Noel hesitated only a moment before walking toward the bed. Selene shifted slightly, creating space beside her—not much, just enough for him to sit. The moment he did, Noir curled contentedly against her thigh, purring like this was the most natural thing in the world.

Selene turned toward Noel, her expression unreadable yet gentle.

Without asking, she reached out and took his wrist.

Her fingers were cool—always a touch colder than human warmth, a side effect of her ice affinity—but her touch was steady, precise, almost clinical.

"You always say you're fine," she murmured, rolling his wrist lightly, checking for strain. "So I'll verify it myself."

Noel raised an eyebrow. "Are you checking if I broke something again?"

Selene didn't glance up. "That would be consistent with your habits."

Noel sighed. "…Fair."

Her hands slid up his forearm, feeling along the muscle, pausing at the spots where tension lingered. Then she moved to his shoulder, pressing lightly with her thumb. His breath hitched—she had found a stiff point instantly.

Selene's eyes flicked upward, studying his reaction.

"Hm. Overworked," she judged softly. "I knew it."

"You say that like it isn't normal for me."

"It shouldn't be normal for anyone," she countered, her tone firm but still quiet.

She raised her hand, and a faint blue glow gathered at her fingertips—Frost Diagnostics, a support spell she learned when she achieved the Archmage Rank and rarely used except on those she cared for.

Cool mana brushed over Noel's skin, scanning for swelling, microfractures, or hidden injuries. Selene's brows relaxed a little.

"…Nothing serious," she concluded. "Some muscle fatigue, mana stress, and…" Her eyes softened further. "…you're exhausted, Noel."

He didn't deny it.

Instead, he leaned slightly closer, letting her spell finish its sweep.

Selene's hand lingered on his shoulder a moment longer than necessary.

Then she whispered—

"Don't scare us like that again."

Noel blinked. "Scare you?"

Her eyes met his—calm, steady, sincere.

"Yes."

Selene's fingers slipped away from his shoulder, but her closeness didn't fade.

Her gaze drifted past him—to the small folded note on the desk.

"…You left that," she said quietly.

Noel followed her eyes. The letter he'd written that morning. A simple message.

Except apparently, it had worried them.

Selene continued, voice soft but not fragile:

"When we saw it, Elena thought you'd gone on another mission alone. Elyra and Charlotte thought you were hiding something dangerous again." She exhaled slowly. "And I… I thought you might disappear the way you used to. Handling everything by yourself."

Noel winced slightly. "…Right. I guess I earned that reputation."

She didn't deny it.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Selene… I'm not planning to leave you all behind. Not now, not ever."

His tone was steady, honest. "You know I don't want you in danger, but… if something happens, you'll run toward it anyway. All of you will. So the least I can do is let you stand with me."

Selene's lashes lowered, her expression softening—almost melting.

"…Good," she whispered. "Because we're not letting you face things alone anymore."

Noel nodded, then added:

"And about what comes next… I think we'll have to leave Valon soon."

Selene's posture straightened, alert.

"Where?"

"The Northern Isles," Noel said. "The shard we found in the Holy Capital? It came from there. And that's where the Second Pillar is hiding."

A chill—not from her magic—seemed to ripple through the room.

Selene absorbed the words quietly, processing.

"So that's where we're going next."

"Yeah," Noel confirmed. "It's unavoidable."

A faint spark of determination lit her cyan eyes.

"Then we'll be ready."

The determination in Selene's eyes lingered for a heartbeat—

then softened, melting into something warmer.

She exhaled slowly, letting the tension fade from her shoulders.

"…Enough about Pillars and shards," she murmured, voice dipping into a gentler register. "You just got back."

Noel blinked. "You were the one asking."

"And now I'm done asking."

She shifted closer, closing the small space between them on the bed.

"For tonight… I don't want to talk about danger, or missions, or the world."

Her fingers brushed his, cool and feather-light.

"I just want you to focus on being here."

Noel felt his pulse tighten. Selene rarely took the lead like this, but when she did, it hit him harder than any spell.

"…Is that so?" he said quietly.

Selene nodded, eyes flicking briefly to his still-damp hair, then back to his face.

"You trained until exhaustion." A faint blush spread across her cheeks again. "And then you came back looking like… this."

Noel raised a brow. "Like what?"

She swallowed once.

"…Like someone I missed."

The room seemed to shrink around them—warm light, soft sheets, the quiet hush of evening settling outside.

Selene leaned in slightly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No more missions tonight." Her hand slid to the back of his neck, gentle but firm. "Stay with me."

Noel's breath steadied—slow, controlled, but undeniably shaken.

Selene had always been composed, cold, analytical…

But right now?

She wasn't the prodigy of ice magic.

She was simply a girl who had waited for him to come home.

He lifted his hand, brushing a strand of blue hair away from her cheek.

Selene's eyes fluttered half-closed at the touch, her breath catching.

"…Selene," he murmured.

She didn't let him finish.

Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him down into a kiss—soft at first, tentative, as if testing whether he would pull away.

He didn't.

The second kiss was deeper, steady, melting, like frost thawing under sun.

Selene pressed closer, her cool skin warming against him, her hand sliding from his neck to his chest, feeling the rapid thrum of his heartbeat.

When they parted for air, she rested her forehead against his.

"I was the last one," she whispered. Her voice trembled—not with fear, but with relief.

"The last one who hadn't… crossed that line with you. Elena. Elyra. Even Charlotte—"

She stopped herself, cheeks flushing harder. "…I didn't want to be left behind."

"You weren't," Noel said softly. He cupped her face, guiding her gaze to meet his. "You never were."

Something in her eyes loosened—weeks of tension dissolving in an instant.

She leaned in again, lips brushing his jaw. "Noel… lie down with me."

He did.

The room dimmed to a quiet glow, shadows swaying softly along the walls. Selene moved closer, slipping beneath the sheets with controlled grace that faltered only once—when her hand trembled slightly before touching him again.

Noel caught her hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Are you sure?" he whispered.

Selene's breath shivered as their legs brushed under the sheets, her fingers tightening around his as though anchoring herself. "…Yes," she whispered. "I want this. With you."

Noel shifted closer, the warmth of his body drawing a soft gasp from her. Her usual composure melted—shoulders relaxing, lashes lowering, a faint tremble running through her as he brushed his thumb along her cheek.

She leaned into him instinctively.

His other hand slid to her waist, feeling the delicate rise and fall of her breathing. Selene exhaled shakily, her voice barely a murmur.

"Noel… don't hold back tonight."

He kissed her again, savoring the way she melted into him, the way her fingers curled in his hair, the way every barrier she carried began to dissolve in his arms.

The sheets shifted.

Her cold magic, usually ever-present, faded into gentle warmth as her body pressed fully against his.

For the first time, Selene allowed herself to be vulnerable and allowed Noel to be the only one close enough to see it.

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