[Thursday, Davis residence, afternoon.]

Once again, the day went on as usual — well, his new usual, anyway.

Although he had tried to comfort them, Marianne, Elizabeth, and Rachel were still unsettled about what he had to do. At the very least, the last of the three was already a bit calmer about it. The real trouble was the other two.

That was clear by the way he was, at this very moment, talking with Rachel.

Sitting on the living room couch, they had already been talking for a while.

She was beside him, wearing a large white T-shirt, gray sweat shorts that reached halfway down her thighs, her legs crossed. One hand rested on the back of the couch, and the other held the TV remote over her thighs.

"This is a really complicated situation. But you've already made your decision very clear and that you don't have much of a choice, right? So… all that's left for me is to accept it. It's not like I can do much either." After a sigh and a neutral look, she responded to his previous question.

Leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs, Jonathan nodded, his eyes on the TV but his mind entirely on her.

He knew that even though she said she was fine, inside she must be feeling completely useless — besides the worry that was probably eating away at her mind.

Unfortunately, in this kind of situation, there really wasn't anything she could do.

The only thing he could do to try to put her at ease was reassure her and make sure she knew he'd be okay.

"I promise you, Rachel: at the first sign of danger that puts my life at risk, I'll run. Even if it means abandoning the others." Jonathan said, turning his gaze back to her, looking at her seriously.

Meeting his eyes for a moment, she stared back before huffing and smacking him on the head.

"Ow…" Jonathan's head tilted slightly as he muttered.

"Do that and I'll beat you up. I didn't raise you to be a coward who abandons his friends when they need him the most." She said with a scolding tone.

Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck as he replied: "First of all, they're not my friends. They're acquaintances at best. And even though that definitely doesn't please me one bit, I'd do it if it were really necessary. After all, you three are my priority, not them. What do you expect me to do?"

"Don't do that. It's simple." She replied as if it were obvious, turning her gaze back to the TV.

Jonathan just stared at her with a blank expression. 'Make up your mind, woman.'

He was about to speak again when she waved him off dismissively with her hand.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry. Go talk to the other two."

"Are you sure?", he asked, looking straight into her eyes.

She looked back at him and gave a soft smile. "I'm sure. You can go."

Seeing how sincere she seemed, Jonathan accepted it. Standing up. "In that case, I'll do as you said. Good night." Then he leaned close to her, gently held her chin, and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

Then he stepped back, not waiting for a reaction or answer.

Understanding full well what he had just done, Rachel simply watched his back silently as he walked away and disappeared up the stairs.

Huffing lightly, she shook her head, murmuring in a low tone: "Greedy brat."

Although the faint, amused smile that appeared on her face contradicted her words — she clearly didn't actually mind.

Already upstairs, Jonathan arrived in front of Marianne's room.

Opening the door gently, he found her lying on the bed. Different from her usual — when she'd be in front of the computer — and just from that, he already knew she wasn't in a very good mood.

Sighing softly, Jonathan finally walked into the room, closing the door behind him, then observed her in silence.

She was wearing the same sleeveless yellow shirt from some time ago. This time, however, she had on shorter black shorts, reaching only halfway down her thighs, while she lay on her side on the bed, one leg over the other, holding a manga above her face.

Approaching, Jonathan asked. "So, how are you?"

She looked at him for a moment, then went back to the manga while flipping a page. "I'm fine. At least as fine as someone can be knowing you're gonna play super spy and risk dying. I'm super fine."

Sighing, Jonathan crossed his arms. "Look, Marianne, you already know that even if I didn't play super spy, my life would still be at risk. I'm literally being hunted. Even if I did nothing, I'd still be in danger. So it's better if I'm proactive and deal with this whole thing at once, don't you think?"

She stayed silent for a while. Then she sighed, lowered the manga, and stared at the ceiling.

"I know that. It's just that… it's frustrating that I can't do anything but watch." Then she gave a mocking smile, with a self-deprecating look. "And I even acted like some irrational brat, getting mad at you as if it were your fault. Very mature of me."

In response, Jonathan raised his eyebrows, sending her an impressed look. "Well, oh my, you acknowledged your own mistake. Now that is a very mature attitude from you."

She answered with a deadpan stare.

Jonathan just smiled.

Rolling her eyes at him, she pushed herself off the bed. Standing in front of him, only a short distance away, she placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. "That said… you better be careful, got it? The last thing I want is to see you in a coffin."

Jonathan's smile softened as he spoke: "Don't worry. I'm not going to die… probably." He shrugged at the end.

She huffed a laugh, and they stood there staring at each other in silence for a few seconds, until she suddenly moved forward and hugged him, burying her face in his chest as she squeezed him tight.

"I'm being serious, you idiot… you better be careful. If… if you come back without a scratch from this mission… I'll let you use my thighs as a pillow." Her voice came out muffled against him.

"I'll get to use your thighs as a pillow after coming back from a dangerous place? Hmmm… that sounds like a very valid reward to me." Jonathan smiled and returned the hug.

They stayed like that for a while, just feeling each other's warmth.

Until his smile widened and he asked. "By the way… could I use other parts of your body as a pillow too?"

"Hmph. Keep dreaming." Marianne said, breaking the hug with a teasing smile. "Now go. Get out of my room. I want to go back to reading." She pushed him to the door before returning to the bed, lying in the same position as before and picking up the manga.

Shaking his head slightly, with a faint smile, Jonathan left and closed the door with a soft click.

Then he headed toward the room of the last one left.

Standing in front of the door and opening it the same way — without warning — he found Elizabeth sitting at the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow, her legs pulled up on the mattress while she swung her feet absentmindedly.

Caught off guard by her in that distinctly feminine pose, Jonathan just looked in silence for a moment.

As soon as the girl met his eyes, she snapped out of her daydream. He closed the door behind him and approached her.

He sat beside her and asked. "How are you?"

Dropping the pillow onto the bed, she lowered her legs to the floor, placed her hands by her sides, and looked at the ceiling.

"I'm fine. As fine as someone can be when we know you're going to a dangerous place and I can't do anything about it."

Jonathan smiled when he noticed how similar her answer was to Marianne's. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. At the first sign of danger, I'll run."

"Hmph." She crossed her arms. "Knowing you, you'd feel really bad afterward if you did that. So you better not. Don't turn your back on anyone." She lowered her head and looked back at him.

Meeting her eyes, Jonathan let out a small laugh — the similarity with Rachel was there too. "I can only promise I'll try."

"Good." She nodded, looking satisfied. Then she looked away and stared at the ceiling again.

When she seemed truly okay, Jonathan was about to ask if she wanted a hug — since that would probably comfort her better than words — but then she spoke:

"You know what, Jonathan? All these things… they finally made me realize something."

She started speaking absentmindedly. "They made me realize that life is short. Too short for you to stay undecided."

Lowering her head, she slowly stood up. Her gaze fixed straight ahead.

"That's why I finally made up my mind."

With clenched fists, she turned to him and, with a serious look, declared.

"Let's have sex."

Jonathan didn't react immediately. He just blinked slowly, staring with no expression. "...What?"

Immediately flustered, Elizabeth looked away and crossed her arms.

"That's what you heard… isn't this what you wanted so much?"

Still staring silently for a few seconds, Jonathan remained quiet until a faint smile appeared on his face. He stood up and faced her. "Are you serious?"

Elizabeth's mouth opened a little to respond, but then she frowned and asked. "You… why are you so calm about this?"

He laughed when he caught the faint indignation in her voice. "Don't worry about that. I'm really excited. You can be sure of that. I'm just not showing it. I promise that, inside, I'm screaming like a little girl."

She let out a small laugh. "Right… if you say so."

Then she looked away again, once more seeming embarrassed. "I'm sure. This is what I want."

"All right. If that's the case, let's wait until later, when Marianne and Rachel are asleep, so the two of us can have the most privacy possible. Okay?" He asked with a smile, hands on his waist.

Her lips trembled slightly as she realized he was already making plans. "Okay." She answered with a weak smile.

"All right then. I'll see you in a few hours."

Approaching without warning, he gently held her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Then he immediately turned to leave.

Watching his back disappear through the door, which closed right after, Elizabeth stood there, feeling the soft, warm spot still lingering on her cheek as her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

Looking at the bed beside her, she couldn't deny her own nervous anticipation, her mind diving into what would happen.

...

[A few hours later]

Inside the Davis residence, everything was completely dark. Its residents were asleep.

Well… at least two of them were actually asleep.

Quietly opening his own bedroom door, Jonathan closed it with equal care. With soft steps, guided only by the faint light of his phone screen, he moved toward Elizabeth's room.

Stopping in front of it, he knocked softly on the door and whispered. "It's me, Liz. Open the door."

With a soft click, the door opened and he entered.

In the completely dark room, Jonathan looked around illuminated by his phone before bringing the dim light and his gaze back to the girl near the door, who already looked a bit awkward.

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