She glanced down at him, her gaze affectionate. "So," she said, drawing out the word. She hesitated before raising her eyebrow. "You love me, huh?" (Smooth, Pops.)
He mentally panicked, but his expression didn't show. "Do you have a problem with that?" he asked, watching her thoughtfully.
She didn't say anything, but she laid down next to him on her stomach, her head resting in her arms with the hint of a smile. "And you do realize," she said, twisting her watch around to check the time, "that we've been," She gestured vaguely between them," whatever 'this' is for only about 10 hours now?"
He shrugged, turning his head to look away. Abort. Abort. This isn't going well. "I suppose it was kind of stupid for me to say that. My apologies."
"No," she said, turning his face back towards her gently. "No, it wasn't stupid." She kissed him lightly, her hand brushing his jaw. "I mean," she said pulling away. "If I didn't love you back, I suppose it might be a little embarrassing." She kissed him again, a small peck this time. "But I guess it's a good thing that that's not the case here."
He smiled slightly. "I'm sorry," he said coyly, "but you're going to have to rephrase that sentence into a way I understand." He smirked, raising an eyebrow.
She gave him a look. "I love you too, Francis Craw," she said easily, brushing back a lock of his hair. "Is that clear enough?"
"Good," she said, nodding. "Glad we got that all figured out." She turned on her back and stared up at the ceiling, her gaze thoughtful. Her wristwatch beeped, and she glanced at it and frowned. "Phos needs me," she said, sitting up. "Apparently he needs to get into my notebook." She glanced up at Francis, her brow raised. "Want to come?"
"Sure. It's probably better than sleeping." He stood up, walking to the door. "I should also thank him. He kind of helped me gain the confidence to talk to you."
"Yep. But this time it actually helped me." He looked back at her, opening the door. "So yeah, I should thank him."
She laughed lightly as they stepped into the hallway. "You know if you thank him then you're just encouraging more of it," she said wryly. "Are you prepared for that?"
She shrugged as they set off, her arms folded across her ribs. "If you're willing to risk it, then go for it," she said easily. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."
She squinted at him as they turned around the corner, and then broke into a smile. "Hm. Okay. I trust you," she said simply. She paused before continuing, raising an eyebrow as a new thought came to her. "So, how exactly did he convince you to talk to me?"
"Ah. Well, that's a secret and I can't tell you because it's a secret. Sorry," he said, grinning. "Confidential."
She gave him a look, her brows furrowing as they did when she was feeling stubborn about something. She lifted her chin defiantly, and frowned slightly at him. "One of the perks of loving someone," she pointed out, "is that you don't really have secrets. You're open with each other. Right?"
"Why are you right?" He sighed. "I didn't think I had a chance until I talked to him. I didn't think you liked me."
