a/n: i just want to say a quick thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this book, especially the ones that comment on the chapters, it really makes me feel amazing that anyone can be bothered to do that, even though they're not obliged to. i try to pay you guys back with daily updates because honestly, the comments are where the majority of my motivation comes from so thank you so much for enjoying the story and giving me the will to continue writing, i really appreciate it

Nimue hung up on her mother, holding her head in her hands as she waved away a man that had stopped to stare at her in concern.

Every time they'd talk or meet, this would always happen. Eirene would get worried about her, and Nimue would end up hanging up or leaving the avoid the conversation. It was a tiring cycle.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to compose herself again before she dialed the second person she had to call today.

'Hello.' His deep, velvet voice rang out through the speaker. 'Is this Nimue?'

"Yes," She replied, "It's me. I have something to ask you."

'What is it?'

"Uh- can I please have some more time off? I was just talking to my mother, and I know that we're already behind schedule, but she really wants to see me and-"

'No.' His voice showed no emotion, but she knew that he was furious behind his smooth exterior. 'I don't like you talking to her.'

"But she's my ​​mother."

' And? You work for me. I control everything and anything you do. Unless, of course, you want to quit, and let me have full control of Project M.'

"No, no I don't want that." She ran her fingers through her hair and chewed on the inside of her cheek, struggling to think of what else to say. "It's just- uh, well. I mean... nevermind. I'm sorry."

'Good. And how is my son, by the way?'

...

"Nimue! Hiya!" Tiro ran up behind her, clutching medical records and papers in his arms, trying and failing to hold them all as they continually fell to the floor.

She gave him a weak hello but mostly ignored the man, crossing her arms over her torso as if the hallway was below freezing.

"Hey! Nimue! I forgot to tell you about something that Dot did- wait, are you okay?"

At the mention of Dot she stopped in her tracks, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and gripping her arms harder. Tiro was still speaking to her, but it was all a blur.

"Are you good? What's wrong? Am I allowed to hug you? Answer me, okay? What happened? I'm going to hug you now, push me off if you don't like it." And with that, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly, whispering comforting things into her ear as she finally allowed herself to cry, the medical records lying forgotten on the floor.

They stayed like that for many minutes, Tiro never ceasing to comfort her as her sobs turned from wailing, to sniffling, to silence. Even then, he made sure she stayed next to him so he could make sure that she was okay.

After she had recovered, he sat in a chair in her bedroom with her on his lap as she tried to explain.

"He- I- we, I don't know, I don't know." She repeated, causing him to hug her tighter and stroke her hair to calm her down. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," He reminded her, "There's no pressure, I promise."

"I don't think I can say."

"That's okay. You don't have to. Do you feel a bit better now?"

She nodded, resting her head in the dip just above his collarbone while he shifted her onto the bed and joined her there, hugging her tightly.

They laid in the bed for a long time after that, him kissing her forehead softly every few tender moments as she recovered.

"I think I can explain now."

"I'll listen."

...

"Oh my God."

"Yup."

"You're not the boss?"

"Well, I am. I just don't own the place."

"And Dot- Dot is his-"

"Yeah."

" Jeez."

Nimue snickered. "Yeah," she yawned and put her hands around Tiro's shoulders. "I didn't say everything. But I'll tell you another day."

"Only when you're comfortable."

"Of course."

She pulled herself closer to his chest so she could hear his steady heartbeat, rosy pink blush painting her face.

"Tiro."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

Nimue looked up at him, making eye contact in a way that sped up his racing heart and split his face in a grin. "What is it?"

"Can we date?"

His hands gripped her back tighter, expression turning from joy, to shock, and then back to joy. "Date as in date-date? Romantically? Boyfriend-girlfriend?"

She giggled and wrapped her legs around him. "Boyfriend-girlfriend? How old are you?" Then she tugged his face over to hers and gave him a gentle kiss, melting him where he lay. "And yes, romantically."

"Uhm- I- yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes. 100%. Yuppers."

"Yuppers?"

"I uh. I don't know what I'm saying- I'm happy. Yes. Girlfriend."

His speech failed him, radient expression giving away how he truly felt as he beamed down at her, clutching her in his arms like she was the most precious being on the planet. And to him, that's exactly what she was. Precious.

"Hmm. Boyfriend." She kissed him again and he kissed back, inexperienced and sloppy but loving nonetheless. It was good. A very sweet way to end a rather awful day, she thought.

"But," he pulled away for a second. "Didn't you like- hate me? Because I tried to- um, tried to you know Dot?"

She pursed her lips and gripped his hair. "I did. But honestly, I was being stupid. Stupid for treating you like a failure. Stupid for..." She thought back to how Dot had greeted her after she had been gone for so many weeks, how he had wanted nothing to do with her, refusing to even take a look to say hello. "Stupid for liking him so much. For caring. He hates me."

"That's my fault though. It's the experiments that made him hate you."

"It's not your fault. The first time he saw him, back when he was just a baby, my boss gave me two options. I could keep him with me, but I had to find a way to earn enough money off of him, or I could hand him over, and let him own him. I thought I'd take better care of him. But then the experiments got more and more brutal, until... I don't know. He's still better off with me, I know that for sure, but I don't know if I can keep justifying what happens to him here. I know it's not your fault though- if you hadn't thought of the experiments, I would never have been able to find a different way to earn money. I would have had to hand him over."

"And that man, Felix- he's turned Dot against me. When I walked into his room the other day, after not seeing him for weeks, he refused to even look at me. It hurt. That's why we need to go through with Plan B. I need to own him too, then maybe Dot will see I'm the one he needs to be with for protection."

"I kid myself into thinking that Dot likes me really, but deep down, I know it's not true. I pretend that I think what we do here is okay, but it's not. I want him to like me, Tiro. I really need him to. He's everything I've ever wanted and more, and so, so precious. When he escaped I was terrified. One more misshap like that, the boss said, and I'll never see him again."

"I think to myself, if I pretend I don't care then maybe he'll end up wanting to try more for me. Stupid, I know. But he gets nervous when I'm nice to him. He loathes me. I always act like I find it funny when he flinches away, or jumps when I go into a room, or turns away so he doesn't have to look at me, but it hurts. It hurts so much that I don't know how to deal with it and in the moment, all that I always end up doing is being this weird, horrible person that I really don't want to be. And I don't know how to stop."

Tiro had no idea how to respond to that. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish out of water before settling on just stroking her hair. "I didn't know you felt that way. I regret what I did to him... all the things I did. Do you think we could explain to him?"

"Explain what to him? That he's better off here?" She gave a barking laugh and wiped her eyes, trying to kid herself into feeling better. "Fat chance."

He sighed and pressed their noses together, holding her hands away from her face and letting her sob freely.

"You like me, right?" She mumbled, taking deep breaths to stop herself from crying. "Why?"

"Well," he began, "For starters, you're beautiful. You put yourself through so much to help your family and make sure they're okay, even when you don't feel like you can go on any longer. You're so determined that I think you could do anything you wanted if you put your mind to it- hey, I'm sure if you wanted to go to space you'd find a way to build your own rocket. You're dedicated, hardworking, and you care about the people you love so much that you'd give up the world for them. I wish I was one of those people."

Nimue wiped her eyes and laid down on top of him, putting her forearms on either side of his head so their faces were close together. "I think you just became one."