Luminescence

Twenty-Eight.

I grab his hand and squeeze it, giving him reassurance that he wasn't alone. Not until Priscilla and I took our last breaths.

"Will you show me around the rest of the place?" I question, looking around at the very few rooms this small place had. He nods finally snapping out of his trance, pulling me along excitedly to look at different rooms around the house.

First, we enter a kitchen. It wasn't big, yet it was enough to fit a small group of people. Exquisite tiles covered the walls as wooden cabinets cover it giving it an earthy feel.

"Obviously, this is the kitchen. Don't worry about food, I've already sent the cleaning robot to pick up some groceries. Except..." Hudson looks down as if he were embarrassed. "I don't know how to cook."

"Lucky for you," I say flexing on him. "I am a master chef."

"Is that so?" He questions.

I nod, giving him a playful smirk. He rolls his eyes, leading me to the next room. The funny part was about all of this, was that our hands didn't leave each other's once. It was like Hudson was my last lifeline, and I was his. But I could care less. Because he made me feel protected and cared for, something that I rarely felt.

"This is Priscilla's bedroom," he whispers, standing in front of a closed door. "But she's sleeping right now." His eyes flash red quickly as he analyzes the room with his powers. "Now, it's time to see our bedroom." He begins to walk as my mouth drops in horror.

"Our bedroom?" I repeat, the tone of my voice sounding more disgusted than I had anticipated. We turn the corner of course to see a small room with one bathroom and a queen-sized bed.

"Are your ears not working, Miss Master Chef?"

"Shut up."

"Use your nice words, Mara."

"Fine, then I'm sleeping on the couch tonight." I grab the pillow off the bed with my good arm, as I begin to stomp towards the couch leaving Hudson plenty of room to sleep on his own bed.

The moment was short lived, until he pulled my good arm back to the bedroom as if I were a child on a leash.

"I'll sleep on the floor if I have to," Hudson whispers holding me in his arms softly. "But I hate sleeping in a room without you. I don't think you understood how hard reform was without you by my side," he openly confesses, making my heart soar as his eyes looked down into mine. "I never realized what a bit of care could do to someone, until you healed me on that battlefield. It felt absolutely dreadful being alone in that prison cell after reform. Just for now... please stay in the same room as me?"

I stand silently in his arms as I slowly rest my forehead on his chest, and he pulls me into an embrace. Taking in the scent of his cologne, I realized just how lucky I was to be here with him. Commander G-R72 no longer stood in front of me. This was purely Hudson DeMont, pride and true.

Minutes felt like hours as we stood there, letting nothing but our feelings consume us until we felt numb. His fingers softly played with my hair until we broke apart, understanding that both of us needed to get our pajamas on.

Priscilla had a heavy training day planned for us tomorrow, and she was going to show no mercy. Do you know how hard it's going to be running up hills and mountains?