After Aria leaves the bathroom, Arthur becomes calmer and lies down in the bathtub, letting the hot water wash over his body.
'I'm glad everything ended well...' He sighs, relieved.
With no one else to disturb his bath, he goes back to washing his body, but after seeing that red-haired girl, he can't help but think about her again. His attention is involuntarily drawn to his Nexus, the pink heart in his lower belly area.
'I wonder if...' He can't help but think if he touches his member whether that girl would appear again. Of course, he doesn't want to go through that trouble again, but the curiosity of seeing if it works gets the better of him.
'What if I... just a little...' That dangerous thought doesn't leave his mind.
'Don't touch it!' The girl's voice sounds loud and timid inside his mind.
'What?!' Arthur looks around, but he doesn't see the girl, just as his Nexus does not react. His mother would certainly have heard the girl's scream, but there is no sign of it, so Arthur is confused.
'Did I imagine it?' He looks at his Nexus again. 'Am I going crazy?'
'No, you fool!' The girl's voice sounds again.
Arthur seems to guess that her voice is coming from his mind, which is even weirder. 'Are you reading my mind?'
'That's not it,' The girl quickly responds, her voice becoming less shy and more normal. 'It's just that I can hear some of your thoughts...'
'Some thoughts?' Arthur is frightened by that idea; after all, he has locked away some dark memories inside his mind. The girl takes a while to answer, making him even more worried. 'Oi, oi, are you there??'
'Do you think I have any other choice??' The girl asks in a timid tone.
Arthur can't help but notice the girl's erratic response, which makes him think that she may have been scared by his earlier reaction to her appearance.
'I'm sorry about my earlier response, little girl. I didn't mean to scare you,' He addresses her in a kind and friendly tone. He just promised his mother that he would be good to women, so he wants to keep that promise as much as he can.
The girl takes a while to answer but does so in a much calmer tone, seemingly appeased by his apology. 'All right, I can forgive you since you did not know who I was.'
Arthur has many questions, but he knows he can't simply demand answers from the girl, or she might distance herself from him right after he managed to build a friendly rapport with her.
So, he tries a more indirect approach. 'Do you know anything about what's happening to us?'
'No,' She responds quickly.
'I see...' Arthur goes silent as he keeps thinking about the situation.
After a few seconds of silence, the girl speaks to him again. 'I don't quite understand what's going on, but I think it's like the Astral Beasts that Aria mentioned.'
Arthur was also thinking about that since his Nexus disappeared after she materialized. But he is more interested in the familiar way she used his mother's name. 'Do you know my mother?'
'I was here all the time.' She seems to be trying to be friendly, so Arthur feels that this is a good start in their relationship.
'What does all the time mean?' Arthur is worried about her words as it would mean she has been spying on his entire life since day one.
'Yes,' She says in a tone that becomes increasingly shy. 'W-we- w-wee- we have a...' Her voice becomes lower and lower, and in the end, it sounds like an almost inaudible whisper. '..bond!'
Arthur still doesn't understand anything about his relationship with the girl and how she stays in his Nexus, but he can't help but smile at the way she easily gets embarrassed. How bad can it be to be bonded to such a cute little girl?
'Not bad at all!'
"..." The girl doesn't react to Arthur's affirmation, and silence returns to the bathroom. Arthur wants to talk more to her, but he doesn't want to stress her either, so they both enjoy the silence.
In the end, he smirks and tries to tease her. 'So... if I were to touch...'
'Don't touch! it!!' The girl exclaims shyly and concerned.
Arthur cannot help but raise his eyebrows in shocked amusement and try counter. 'Do you want me not to touch my own body?'
Arthur feels sorry for her, and the desire to protect her only grows in his heart.
'That's not good; I need a name to address you in the future.' He replies in a concerned tone.
'I don't...' The girl seems about to refuse but stops to think about something. Arthur is quickly learning how to deal with her and finds that being calm and patient with her seems to make her more open to cooperate with him.
As he is waiting for her to continue her thoughts, she asks him. 'Can you give me a name?'
'Me?' Arthur is taken aback by the request. He thought she would choose a name on her own, so he wasn't prepared for it.
'Don't you want to?' He feels like she's pouting behind his back, finding her reaction cute. He knows he has to think of something quick, or the good development of their relationship might be affected.
'Nyx!' He exclaims mentally.
'Nyx?' The girl asks, confused.
'Your name. Don't you like it?' He asks.
She wonders about that and ends up liking how Nyx sounds, but the most important thing is that it was Arthur who chose that name, though she won't tell him that.
'It will do,' She tries to speak in a calm and neutral tone, but she sounds shy and happy instead.
'I'm glad you liked it.' Arthur smiles upon hearing that, and she blushes even more.
After a few more seconds of silence, he speaks without turning around. 'Good night, Nyx.'
He can't see her, so she does not contain the urge to smile and even speaks to him in a softer tone.
'Good night... Arthur.'
They both fall asleep after that, feeling comfortable next to each other. Unlike the usual visions of Liam's dark life, Arthur surprisingly has good dreams this time.
__________
*Knock-knock* *Knock-knock*
Arthur wakes up to the sound of his mother knocking on the bedroom door.
"Time to wake up, darling." Aria's sweet voice sounds from the other side of the door.
He tries to get up as usual while opening his eyes, but something strange happens, and he feels something heavy and warm on his body.
He opens his eyes quickly and sees Nyx lying on top of him. 'Huh??'
She also wakes up and opens her eyes.
'WHAAAA?!?!' Shocked, she exclaims in his mind.
The sound of the doorknob turning and the door opening reaches Arthur's ears.
"Coming in..." Aria's voice follows.
"No!" Arthur shouts to his mother at the same time he sees Nyx's body turn into pink smoke, which turns back into a pink heart in his lower belly area.
Aria enters the room and sees Arthur in bed with a surprised expression. "Anything wrong, darling?"
He breathes a sigh of relief. "Sorry, Mom."
Aria is confused, but then she notices the big tent in the blanket in front of Arthur.
"Fufufu~!" She smiles lovingly. "You woke up so energetic today, baby."
Arthur is very embarrassed by that situation, but he just lays his head back on the pillow and sighs. He can't help but think that the following days will be full of such events, but also smiles thinking about the little girl.