moments outside of time [8/???]
Added 2025-04-23 22:07:09 +0000 UTC
"Don't. Move," Nadia orders.
But it's hard not to wriggle a little when her breath is like a coal on your neck. Like a controlled burn in the forest. Like -
"Stop. Breathing. So. Loud," Nadia hisses.
You purse your lips, close your eyes, and do your best not to think about how close your bodies are. How tight the space. How the temperature is skyrocketing, how you can feel a bead of sweat slide down your spine.
How Nadia is strong and still, her body flush with yours. Only a single part of your body is not touching hers, and it's your face.
Just barely.
Somewhere in your mind, you know you're hiding in a library nook because Deerly made an unprecedented midnight visit. Because if Deerly saw you and Nadia together, your spying days would be over.
And your life, probably.
You try to steady your breath and somehow manage despite Nadia's hands pressed to your breastbone. Despite how she's looking at you with her dark gaze. You can only see a glimmer of it in the shadows, but you can feel it.
The sweep of a flashlight comes dangerously close to your hiding place, but it sweeps past without lingering. Deerly passes and moves on, ghostly quiet.
When you hear the click of the library door closing again, your muscles relax. You start to shimmy out of your corner, but Nadia grabs your shirt, pulling you back into position.
"Wait," she breathes in a rougher voice than you're used to. Hoarse. "Just in case she comes back."
You do as she asks, slotting yourself against her. Your arms curve around her waist, pulling her in, closing the last centimeters between you.
Just in case. 
