The Only Exception

5. Shared Walls

Asi smiled widely. "Shut up!"

"You don't have to go," Ruya said, not for the first time. "He said he'd make the apartment safe for you. You could stay."

"And miss my chance to monitor one of the most ethically slippery men in the AI world from inside his fortress?" Asi teased, but it was halfhearted. "You know I need to see this through."

"Yeah," Ruya murmured. "Because you're the only one stubborn enough to try and civilize him."

"I'm not trying to civilize him."

"You say that now."

"I'm not!" Asi insisted, grinning in the dark.

"You're halfway through a redemption arc and you don't even know it."

"I'm not writing him a redemption arc," Asi said, nudging her with an elbow. "He doesn't get one unless he earns it."

"That's exactly what someone writing a redemption arc would say."

They both burst into quiet giggles, the kind that made their chests shake and their noses wrinkle. When the laughter faded, there was that silence again — heavier now, like the room itself was preparing to say goodbye.

Outside, the wind scraped against the windows like fingernails, and Asi wondered if the movers had remembered to pack her winter coat. Probably. Alaz had hired the best and fastest team in the city — absurdly efficient men in dark uniforms who moved like a swarm and didn't blink twice at Asi's half-apology for the chaos.

It had been three days since the hospital. Alaz hadn't hovered, but he hadn't disappeared either. His presence had been a cold star just beyond the frame of her day — emails with security codes, floor plans, gentle but firm reminders to "please don't lift anything." The apartment was ready, apparently. Heated floors, filtered air, soft-close drawers. One of the rooms had been converted into an office for her before she even asked.

Everything was prepared. Everything except the emotional part.

"Do you think he's scared?" Asi asked suddenly.

"Alaz?" Ruya asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... not of me. Of the whole thing. Of what it means."

Ruya hesitated. "Maybe. I think he's scared of being seen. Like, actually seen."

Asi nodded against the pillow. "That makes two of us."

Ruya reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind Asi's ear. "You're going to be okay."

"I know."

"And if he turns out to be a tyrant," she added, "you can always come back. We'll put the futon in the living room, and we'll drink tea like nothing happened."

"Deal."

Eventually, they drifted into something that wasn't quite sleep but wasn't fully awake either. In the half-light of early morning, shadows stretched across the walls, long and gray. Ruya stirred beside her and grabbed her face.

"Promise me something," she mumbled.

"Anything."

"If he hurts you — in any way, big or small — you tell me. I mean it, Asi."

"I promise."

"I will actually break his nose."

Asi smiled. "You'd need a ladder."

"Then I'll break his knees first."

They both lay there for another few minutes, listening to the wind and the ticking clock on the nightstand.