A silent tension permeated in the room, gripping Nero and Vanessa, holding them still. For a brief moment, even their minds were still, just as their expressions were. It was a self defense mechanism. By showing no reaction, they could keep their true thoughts about what had just happened hidden.
Yet after the first shock wore off, their minds began to race, as if to make up for what had just happened. Vanessa, who might not have the habit of remaining as stoic as Nero but had sufficient experience in public relations, lost her composure so quickly that she didn’t even realise it.
’What does he mean? Is he confessing to me? What should I say? But we’re going apart. This doesn’t make sense. How can this work? Won’t this affect my plans?’ she thought in a split second, and in the next, she thought even more!
Nero, on the other hand, could not understand what had gotten into him, yet at the same time he did: puberty ! That irritating, annoying hormonal process by which his carefully and meticulously trained mind was being corrupted!
But, since the words had already been said, he needed to think of something to rescue him from this infernal predicament. Fortunately, once his brain actually started to work, it wasn’t so hard.
"See," Nero said with a soft smile, his expression relaxing. "Even you aren’t immune to the devastating consequences of nicknames. What would people in Nova think if such rumors started to spread?"
Hearing that Nero had only been joking, Vanessa relaxed. Though, after a moment, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret.
"Fine, fine, point taken. And here for a moment I almost thought that the great Nero Grant had turned into a romantic. I was beginning to wonder if I would have to break your heart just before leaving," Vanessa responded, her expression easing as well.
Nero shook his head, his gaze suddenly turning distant as his thoughts went to Irene.
"No, my brother was the romantic one," Nero said. For a long time, he had stopped talking about his brother to others, had stopped bringing up his stories. He believed that he needed to show himself as perfectly stable, as if he had moved on from the loss. After hearing Vanessa’s talk about not keeping so many secrets, and being sincere, he couldn’t help but bring him up - though it was unlikely he would mention Patrick to others. Vanessa was an exception.
"Right before he was taken away, he married his longtime girlfriend," Nero revealed. "She changed her name, and he tattooed a ring on her finger, promising to give her a real one when he came back. Till the day I last saw her, she had been waiting for him patiently, unwilling to move on with life."
For a moment, Nero paused, and Vanessa almost felt like she should console or comfort him somehow, but couldn’t find the words. Then, he continued.
"To me, it doesn’t make sense," he said, looking away from Vanessa, his gaze thousands of kilometers away. "For years she waited, without knowing whether he would ever make it back or not. We haven’t heard anything from him in years - we don’t even know where he was sent. In the face of such certain danger, why would anyone choose to affirm their romantic relationship? Wouldn’t that just make the suffering worse? Wouldn’t it have been less painful for her if she had the opportunity to grieve, and move on?
"I definitely don’t understand what he was thinking, but I can’t make the same choice. I have different goals in life. Getting myself involved with someone will only add unnecessary distractions in my life. Falling in love, getting emotionally invested, these things will add hesitation in my heart, dull my spear. I just don’t see myself being as fearless as I am now if I have to worry about someone. So, for me, becoming a romantic is not really an option."
Nero turned to look towards Vanessa, realising that he had been speaking as much to her as he had been to himself. It seemed he had discovered his baseline as far as romantic relationships were concerned. Now he just needed to set one for everything else and he’d be set.
"As if there’s a host of girls just waiting to fall head-over-heels for you," Vanessa said as she rolled her eyes and stood up.
"This is for you," she said, handing him the sealed envelope. "Our close relationship will have been noticed by more than just a few soldiers. If, down the line, you’re ever in consideration for a job or mission that is extremely sensitive, any and all doubts can prevent you from getting selected, and our close relationship can be just that - an excuse to doubt you. In that case, this letter will serve as a way to alleviate some of that doubt.
"Enclosed within is an invitation for you to come join the Novan army under an exchange program - one that is already in place. The offer comes with quite a few benefits. You can go turn this in to your CO, informing them of the offer and telling them that you rejected it. It would be even better if you did so without as much as opening the letter.
"That will add evidence of your loyalty onto your record. Of course, if anyone wishes to doubt you, then they will do so with or without the existence of this letter. Naturally, you could also avail the offer if you wish. The invitation enclosed within is genuine. If you find the thought of parting with me so unbearable, you’re free to follow me back."
Nero snorted as he took the letter and set it aside, not bothering to check the contents within.
"Are you leaving now?" he asked, seeing that she was ready to depart.
"Yes, obviously. I can’t stay here forever, I’ve already delayed my departure by quite a bit to educate you," Vanessa answered.
"Help me with the wheelchair," Nero said as he unhooked all the drips connected to hims, and slowly got off the bed. By now he could stand, and could probably even walk assisted, but staying on the wheelchair was still the preferred method of travel.
"Thanks for the letter. By the way, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to need to betray you," Nero said casually as he set himself in the chair.
"Huh?" Vanessa uttered, confused by his casual statement. She thought he was joking, but when he looked up at her, the expression in his eyes said otherwise.
"I can’t tell you why, and I can’t tell you when, but I will need to betray some of your secrets," Nero said again. "If you could tell me which of your secrets you don’t mind having leaked, I would greatly appreciate it."
Vanessa’s jaw dropped in shock, and then she started laughing, unable to believe the audacity of Nero Grant! But... for reasons she couldn’t explain, hearing him ask that question put her in a great mood. She was practically ecstatic.
It was almost as if... he was displaying his trust to her, instead of going behind her back and utilizing their relationship for his own gain. Honestly, she wouldn’t be surprised if he did that. After all, compared to Nero, she was better versed in the duality of people - of how they could be close allies one day, and enemies the next. She considered no secret that was revealed to a single soul safe, and that included things Nero knew. In fact, she was already prepared for the eventuality that Nero might reveal these things to the army after she left to serve his own career.
So the fact that he was asking her was just... too cute. Was this the ruthless, coldblooded killer he had been pretending to be when they first met? That
Vanessa quickly gave him a list of secrets that he already knew that were safe to reveal to secrets that were increasingly dangerous to spread, and left it up to him to choose what he wanted to do.
Afterwards, the two of them left the room, showing no signs of the dangerous conversation that they had just had.
Just one step behind Vanessa was his assigned security guard, following every step of the way.
Nero, originally, had been going towards the exit of the hospital, but Vanessa stopped him.
"Not that way," she said. "Follow me."
Instead of going out, she went deeper into the hospital until she arrived at some stairs. Lacking an elevator, the only way for Nero to follow her was to stand up and climb, but he didn’t get the chance.
The terror of Dr.Iris was far more widespread than Nero was aware, so the moment some soldiers saw Nero trying to climb, they quickly stepped forward, grabbed his wheelchair, and carried him up against his wishes.
Who didn’t know the patient the doctor had spent three days taking care of herself? They would rather face a Curseflare - basically a cursed event - on their own than face the doctor’s wrath.
An increasingly confused Nero followed Vanessa all the way to the top of the hospital until they reached the ceiling, at which point his jaw dropped. Up above the hospital was a ship - a flying ship - displaying Novan colours!
"You still have the chance to join," Vanessa said as she wore a smug smile, looking down at Nero’s shocked expression. "The technology of Nova is far beyond what you know. This ship isn’t even anything special. If you follow me, you’ll see a whole new world."
Nero woke from his stupor and turned towards Vanessa, She was publicly stating her offer to give more credibility to his rejection when he handed the offer letter over to the army. It seemed that she was quite thorough.
"Have a safe trip, Vanessa," Nero said, not acknowledging her offer.
What neither Nero, nor Vanessa realised was that her final offer had been far more genuine than she had meant it to be.
"Farewell, Nero Grant," Vanessa said, and signaled the ship.
A rope ladder was dropped from up above, and Vanessa stepped on without any ceremony, being slowly pulled up into the ship hovering above the base.
Nero watched her rise through the air, and eventually enter the vessel through a sidedoor, no longer visible to him. Yet he did not move.
Slowly, the ship rose higher in the sky, the engines beginning to roar as it climbed, until eventually the ship shot forward towards the horizon.
Nero stayed up on that ceiling for a long time, silently watching the cloudy blue sky, the snowcovered landscape, the stillness of the world, his thoughts entirely unknown to the world.