As the stream ends, Anastasia looks at Alex. "I didn't mean it," she tells him.
"Mean what?"
"That you were making a bad joke. I just didn't wanna do it on stream. But . . . I like you. And I'd like to go out, if you'd really to."
Alex blinks in surprise and then laughs, relieved by her confession. "Yeah," he says softly. "Yeah, that sounds good." He leans across his bed to kiss her gently, hoping to show her how grateful he is for this offer.
It's been difficult being so close to someone who can literally see into his soul, but Anastasia has been patient with him throughout it all. She's never given up on him, even when he'd thought he was lost. He wants her to know how much she means to him now, and he hopes she will accept it not as a gesture of friendship but as something more. Something real and genuine.
As their lips part, he takes a small step back and reaches up to brush away a lock of hair from her face. Anastasia smiles at him, and he smiles right back before reaching down to take her hand. She squeezes his hand lightly as they walk towards the door together. They enter his bedroom and sit on his bed.
Before they know it, they're making it out with their favorite show on his TV as background noise. Alex pulls Anastasia onto his lap and wraps an arm around her shoulders, smiling fondly at her. She's looking down at the remote as she selects a new episode to watch, but when he kisses her on the cheek, she looks over. He's staring at her.
"What?" she asks.
"You're pretty," he says, and suddenly she's blushing again.