Chapter 10：Ch. 10 - See You Soon

The man simply stared down at the two , waiting .

It didn't take long for Luna's mind to question the shadow looming over their bodies , to look up into the slate grey eyes of her opponent .

" Hello . "

That was all the warning she got as she was yanked from Cor's side by two men in dark suits similar to that of the overbearing man that was Cor's former boss . They seemed to appear from thin air to lift Luna from the ground and off her feet and slam her against the solid wall of the room , the thud of her body hitting the wall and the sharp whine that resounded from her throat jolting Cor into alert . He weakly attempted to lift himself on his elbows , barely able to do so as he shook out a breath .

" Stop , you said — "

" I said I was taking care of them and sending them back , " Ber stared in unwavering cruelty down at the man sprawled on the floor, " respectively , of course . "

" What ? "

" I'm letting them go on the basis that they're trustworthy — as you said , sworn to secrecy — , yes ? " Cor could only muster a small nod as Luna , arms strangled from the grip of the men holding her , slowly began to piece his words together — the dumb , very human mistake they made unfolding before them .

" Well , how are we supposed to trust someone that can't pass a simple intesensory truth test !? "

He was yelling now , down at the helpless figure of Cor who lie there , motionless , thinking . Thinking just as Luna was .

Somehow , someway , they'd mixed up Raya with Luna .

She thought hard about this fact , looking to Cor who's eyes she saw racing with ideas as they stayed fixed to a spot on the floor . Could they use this to their advantage somehow ?

Ber huffed under his breath as a calming gesture and turned from Cor to Luna , boots stomping across the slick floor to stand in front of her as Cor struggled to lift himself further from the ground .

" The other girl has been sent back to a hospital on their planet , the pressure barrier we set up must have been too much for her but she will be fine now . "

Cor was actually ecstatic . They'd boxed themselves in now , all he had to do was wrap it in a pretty bow . A small laugh made its way to Ber's ears and he flipped back around to see Cor , stifling laughter .

" Someone's getting fired , Ber , " Cor spoke softly , lifting himself to his knees with a grunt before smiling up at the man , " This is the trustworthy girl . "

There was a brief silence in the room . Technicians looked at each other skeptically and even the two men holding Luna up glanced from each other to Ber . There was a crack in Ber's demeanor as his expression grew from amused to boiling with rage , teeth flashing as he growled .

" This girl is Raya ! Raya , correct !? "

Cor shook his head and Ber looked to Luna , who smiled much more smugly and shook her head . Ber covered his face and let out a deep sigh before letting his gaze rest on Cor again .

" I didn't even have to try to trick you , Ber , you tricked yourself . "

The two men released Luna and she grabbed at her forearms , rubbing them gently while she glared at the two men who unnecessarily left some harsh bruises .

" Tricked myself ? You forget yourself , " The two men were at once holding Cor in the same way they'd previously held Luna except with him dragging along the floor . His feet were left dangled behind him as his body hung loosely from their arms , " This doesn't change your fate . Sorry for the inconvenience , ma'am . "

Ber had said the last part turned towards Luna with a slight bow , as if she were just going to stand there and let Cor be pulled away .

A light was starting to fill the room as the few techs started clicking more and more on their keyboards , each sound a different , soft beep that drowned out the noise of footsteps and Luna's yell . She started to run past Ber , but was immediately grabbed by the wrist — her already sore wrists — as if she were a toddler storming off . She yanked and clawed against the man's grip but he was way too strong . Just like the two men . Just like the pressure barrier or whatever knocked her out . Just like everything from Cor's God forsaken planet , she was useless against it . Useless to help him .

Even as her vision blurred and the light drowned out every other sense , she reached and called for Cor , just a dark figure slowly dragging behind two other figures now .

The only thing that was clear and crisp , full of strength and hope that she'd thought was exhausted until that point was a single thought that flowed through her head as she caught the iridescent white iris of the man who'd glanced back at her .

I'll be back .

~~~~~

It was another dark night , eerie sting of cold wrapping around her uncovered feet as she tucked her body back into a tight ball and mumbled nothing under her breath . Whenever Raya came home from late classes she'd always turn up the AC ridiculously high to counteract Luna blasting the apartment with subzero air , but — ah , right . Raya had moved out not too long ago . After the incident she had changed . Of course , the two talked about what happened — consoled each other like good friends did — and actually did swear themselves to secrecy , but Raya was a new person . More alert , more contemplative , more understanding . She said she wanted to go back home and see her family and rethink what she wanted to do with herself , knowing that there was a whole universe of options out there . Luna had accepted the idea , thinking it would be good for her and better than having her sit in the apartment and fear the sky . So Luna saw her off — after giving Raya her brother's number because Raya was still Raya . And that was that .

She was alone in an empty house with thoughts of space boys and the cold , hollow hope that kept her up at night , staring at the sky and wishing for not a shooting star but a falling one to climb through her bedroom window again .

Her eyes opened , slowly , at the sound of the AC kicking back up and she separated from her thoughts enough to climb out of bed and venture to the living area to shut the increasingly unpleasant gusts of air off herself .

If it hadn't been for the wooden floors soaking in the cold air and making walking 10x more unpleasant , she would've been in and out of the living room in a flash to make sure the warmth of her covers didn't dissipate in the short time she was gone . Instead , the chill had found its way into her bones and the only way to cure her frostbite was the best self-prescribed medicine she had around for it — hot tea .

Chamomile was best for this sort of night , she'd found , so she took her time boiling the water and steeping the leaves before she started back towards her room with cup in hand , blowing softly before she made herself miserable with a burnt tongue .

The cold just from the entrance of her room was unbearable and she didn't even want to step in — contemplating sleeping on the couch instead — until she saw the white glow of the moon reflecting off the floor . Was it in her luck to be getting excited over being robbed tonight , or was she justified in hoping ...

She stepped inside and looked to her left , towards the open window , curtains drawn back and beautiful Cor standing there with his head leaned against the window's border , his lazy pose not matching the bright smile plastered across his face .

" Hey , I was going to ask if I could come inside this time . "

She didn't bother letting the cup down gently — she threw it to her bed and ran over to Cor , grabbing the sides of his head and pulling his face towards hers so she could smash their lips together . The pure joy she got from seeing him there — finally seeing him there — filled her with so much warmth she didn't care about the Chamomile spilled over her bedsheets . This was what she really wanted .

She could feel herself crying and laughing at the same time as she pulled herself from his lips , grinning . He returned the smile , sheepishly , and hopped through the window to fold her into his arms . Brushing his hands through her hair , he spoke softly and let her hold onto him for dear life as he smiled .

" I'm back , just like I said I would be — just like I promised . "

☆ Thanks for reading my short story , hope you enjoyed ☆