Chapter 419: Dangerously Close To Commitment
The answer made me look back toward the screen before he could see how much I liked it.
We continued watching as the volcano finally erupted and the city descended into predictable chaos. The rain around the terrace grew heavier, but none of it crossed into the sheltered space. Zhenlan’s power guided the wind around us so gently that the candles and small lights barely moved.
I rested against him until my tea cooled and the popcorn bowl became empty.
At some point, my hand settled on his wrist where it rested near my shoulder. I didn’t remember deciding to touch him, but my fingers remained there, feeling the steady beat of his pulse beneath his skin.
Zhenlan looked down at my hand.
"This doesn’t count as making the first move," I warned him.
"I didn’t say anything."
"You were thinking loudly."
His fingers slid along my arm until they reached my hand. He turned his wrist beneath my palm and threaded our fingers together, moving slowly enough that I could have stopped him without effort.
I didn’t.
"This is strange," I admitted.
Zhenlan looked toward the screen, although most of his attention remained on our joined hands. "The date?"
"Having nowhere else we need to be."
He was quiet for a moment before answering. "We always thought there was somewhere else we should be."
"Even when there wasn’t."
"There was always another report, another wall, or another problem that might happen tomorrow."
I traced my thumb over the side of his hand. "And now?"
"Now there’s a movie, a storm, and you."
"That sounds dangerously close to contentment."
"It might be."
I waited for the thought to make me uncomfortable.
It didn’t.
The world outside the barrier remained dark and ruined. The Devourer was still somewhere beneath the city, Gu Han was still sending bitten people in my direction, and the apocalypse hadn’t politely resolved itself because Zhenlan had prepared tea and hung lights across the terrace.
All those things would still exist in the morning.
Tonight, however, none of them needed anything from me.
I settled more fully against Zhenlan and let my eyes return to the movie. His thumb moved slowly across my hand while the characters ran from a collapsing building that they had been warned to leave almost an hour earlier.
Nothing came through the barrier. No radio called us downstairs, and no one needed killing before the credits.
For once, I had almost completely forgot about the outside world or my determination to stay at home and not get involved with anything.
I took in a deep breath and relaxed even more, letting the movie wash over me so that I didn’t have to think.
It ended with the city half-destroyed, the volcano temporarily satisfied, and the surviving characters standing together beneath a conveniently clear sky.
Real rain continued pouring around the terrace.
I remained against Zhenlan’s side while the credits rolled, our hands still joined beneath the blanket. Neither of us reached for the remote. The screen eventually returned to the menu on its own, filling the sheltered roof with quiet music that mixed with the storm.
Zhenlan’s thumb continued moving over the side of my hand.
I had expected him to become impatient at some point. Not because he usually rushed me, but because he had spent so long waiting that I assumed finally deciding to pursue me would turn him into something more aggressive.
Instead, he seemed content to sit there while I used his shoulder as a pillow and slowly consumed the chocolate he had arranged within reach.
It was suspiciously effective.
I lifted another piece from the box and held it out to him. "You haven’t eaten anything."
"I had snacks, that counts as dinner," I replied.
"So did I. That doesn’t mean that it counts."
"You’re still eating."
"That’s because I’m talented."
Zhenlan looked at the chocolate between my fingers before leaning down and taking it directly from my hand.
His mouth brushed the tips of my fingers.
I stared at him.
He chewed with no visible sign that he had done anything unusual.
"That was unnecessary," I said.
"You offered it to me."
"I expected you to take it with your hand."
"You didn’t specify."
I narrowed my eyes, but his expression remained calm. Only the faint movement at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
"You’re enjoying this too much."
"Completely."
Well... at least he was honest.
I wiped my fingers against the blanket even though there was no chocolate on them. Zhenlan watched the movement before returning his attention to the rain.
The storm had strengthened while we watched the movie. Water poured from the roof in thick sheets, and lightning moved more frequently between the clouds. Zhenlan hadn’t created the weather, but his power shaped it around the terrace, guiding every gust and drop away from us.
I could feel the control in the air. The wind remained warm where it touched my face, while the colder currents curved around the outside of the pergola. Leaves twisted in the gardens below, but the small lights above us barely swayed.
"You could have done this at any time," I said.
Zhenlan looked down at me. "Made it rain?"
"Kept the weather away from one spot."
"Yes."
"And you waited until now?"
"There wasn’t a reason before."
"You prevented rain from touching the couch cushions."
"That seemed like a good reason."
I looked around the terrace. "You could’ve made an outdoor movie space months ago."
"I could have."
"But you were too busy designing radio stations."
His hand stopped moving over mine.
I hadn’t meant to drag the compound back into the date. The words had escaped before I decided whether they belonged there, and for a moment I considered pretending I had only been insulting his decorating priorities.
Zhenlan didn’t pull away.
"Yes," he said after a moment. "I was."
There was no defense in his voice. He didn’t explain that the radios had been necessary or remind me of the people living beyond the private barrier. He simply acknowledged it and waited.
I rested my head against his shoulder again. "That was stupid."
"It was."
"You missed out on a lot of movies."
"I’ll survive."
"You also could’ve been making me tea."
"I can do that tomorrow."
"And the day after?"
"Yes."
I looked up at him. "That sounds dangerously close to a commitment."
"It is."