[This chapter is dedicated to Imago_Dei. Thank you for being one of the best power stones fairies to our story. Cheers!]

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After their late breakfast, Jess went back to Noah's bedroom to change her clothes so she could go to her own places. Even though her apartment was just a few steps away from Noah's, the corridor between her apartment and Noah had CCTVs.

She won't dare go to her apartment, wearing Noah's clothes.

While she was in his room, Noah washed the dishes. He was done with the dishes but Jess hasn't come out of his bedroom. He was about to go call her when she came out wearing the clothes she was wearing last night.

"You had clean clothes in my closet, why -?"

"I don't want to use it. Just want to keep it there."

His eyebrows furrowed with Jess's reasoning but didn't push it.

"I'll go ahead to my place," she told him when they stepped out of his apartment.

Noah didn't ask or suspect whatever Jess was thinking since he was still occupied with what he found out.

Jess on the other hand didn't give Noah's action too much thought. The only thing she wanted was to accomplish what she had in mind.

The moment they reached the end of the hallway from Noah's apartment, she made a right turn while Noah made a left turn to get to the elevator.

"Later," she called to Noah as they went their separate ways.

Noah watched her enter her door before he took the elevator down to the basement parking where his car was to get Jess's laptop.

Jess hurried inside her apartment and went directly to her bedroom to change. She doesn't like the thought of wearing the clothes she had already taken off, but she doesn't want to use her clothes in Noah's apartment. She wanted to keep a lot of clean clothes in his closet even though she won't be in his place for a while.

The moment she entered her room, she stripped her clothes and went to her bathroom. She took a quick shower, put on a comfortable house dress, and waited for Noah.

The reason why she suddenly asked to move to her place was that she remembered Noah saying that he wanted to open her apartment using the passcode she gave him. And now that she will be gone for a while, Noah won't have that opportunity.

She wanted him to open her apartment before she left. She knew it's something petty but she knew Noah would like the thought of it.

She was sitting on her vanity table, drying her hair when a soft knock came at the door of her bedroom. She chuckled softly, before answering, "Come in."

Noah peeked on her bedroom door, grinning. "You set it up, didn't you?"

"Set what up?"

"It was fun," he looked around her room, and a crease formed between his eyebrows. "What happened to your bedroom?"

"Oh, it's the first time you see it like this." She looked around, seeing the bewildered look in Noah's eyes, she suddenly felt embarrassed.

He could tell that she fixed her bedroom with the thought of his preference for a dark bedroom because she pushed her bed away from the window.

He cocked his head to his side, then chuckled softly when Jess looked embarrassed. How can his minx be so freaking adorable, he thought to himself.

He closed the distance between them and pulled her closer to him. He rested his chin on top of her head, "Baby, I'm happy with the thought but you can just hang a black-out curtain, for nights I am here, right?"

"I thought of that. I was gonna fix it but I got busy," she mumbled her reply because she was still embarrassed.

She didn't think of Noah being in her bedroom again after what happened.

"You got my laptop?" She asked to divert the topic.

"I put them in your study. I can set it up a bit but I was thinking, I miss your bed."

Jess shrieked when Noah suddenly picked her up from the floor and brought her to her bed.

"Noah, what are you thinking?" she asked, panicking.

"What? I just told you, I miss your bed." He laid next to her on her bed, pulled her into her arms for a tight embrace. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Ditto," she murmured at the crook of his neck.

Noah began to caress her back with his hands as they slid on her back. And they lay next to each other on her bed in silence, for it seems words weren't needed at that moment.

They both know how much they will miss each other. However, it was just something they had to deal with since it was part of Jess's work. Likewise, Noah knew that right now, Jess is the one who is going away, but in the near future, it would be him. His job would also require him to travel and be away from Jess for a period of time.

A time when they were apart would be something that would be normal for them in their relationship. Both their jobs would call for it. Now it's Jess' turn.

"Noah, you're making me feel sleepy with what you're doing with my back," she murmured.

"Other than setting up your new computer, is there anything that you must do?"

"None, I think. Dr. Sison didn't give me any instruction other than what she told me last night. My suitcases were packed, travel documents ready. I don't need to do anything other than get to the airport in time for my flight."

"Then, sleep. Setting up your computer won't take a lot of time."

Jess, drowsy from the rhythmic movement of Noah's fingers on her back, sighs with contentment as she continues to bury her face on the crook of his neck.

She has been yawning for a while now, thus, she expected to fall asleep soon but she couldn't. She just kept on yawning but sleep didn't come. When Noah's hands stopped sliding up and down along her spine, she opened her eyes and craned her neck.

If she can't sleep, it would be better to just talk to Noah. And yet, when she looked up she saw Noah's sleeping face. He told her to sleep but he was the one who fell asleep first.

She shifted her position on the bed and stared at Noah's face. It's the first time that she watched him while he sleeps. She knew Noah was handsome as hell, but there's something about Noah in his defenseless mode.

His face looks softer thus younger when he sleeps. The usual stoic expression he had whenever he was working was gone.

She softly poked his cheek and Noah snored lightly. She clamped her mouth with her right hand to stop the giggle from escaping her mouth.

She lifted her body up the bed to grab her phone that was on her bedside table behind Noah. She just grabbed her phone when Noah groaned in his sleep and pulled her closer to his chest.

His hands started moving on her back again. She couldn't help a chuckle from escaping her mouth this time.

She didn't know that Noah could keep caressing her back even though he was in a deep sleep.

She didn't move and simply listened to his light snoring. When she thought Noah wouldn't wake up, she quietly opened her phone and took a photo of Noah's sleeping face.

She giggled and took another photo after the first and before she knew it she had clicked her phone too many times, taking pictures of the same thing - Noah's sleeping face. He didn't even move an inch and basically all the photos she took look exactly the same.

After taking too many photos of Noah's sleeping face, poking his face multiple times, and when Noah didn't wake up, she threw her phone somewhere on the bed and buried her face on Noah's chest, and started counting the rise and fall of his chest.

Noah blinked his eyes when he heard a phone ringing on the pillow above Jess's head. He stretched his arm to grab the phone to stop it from ringing, as not to disturb the sleeping Jess inside his arms.

He didn't realize he fell asleep. When he grabbed the phone it stopped ringing. Moving ever so slightly to make sure not to wake up Jess, he glanced at the time on her phone screen and saw that it was already past two in the afternoon.

He saw that her caller was Luke when he saw a message from him on her phone screen. He was debating either to wake up Jess when she stirred from her sleep and scratched her nose.

"Hey, baby, aren't you hungry?"

"Hungry," she mumbled groggily. Her voice was laced with sleep.

"Sleep some more, I'll go check what I can cook in your kitchen," he said, lifting her hand that was draped over his shoulder. However, she fought him and tightened her arms around his neck.

"Stay," she mumbled. And stay he did.