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Rosen seemed to start enjoying this though he remained passive like usual.

--

Laurel let out a sigh of relief and slowly looked into Nic's eyes. "Can I ask you... a really personal question?" she hesitantly asked. She had managed to push most of her nightmare back but glimpses of it remained in her gaze.

Nic didn't say yes. But he didn't say no.

"... How did your brother die?" Laurel whispered, eyes still locked onto his.

Nic didn't flinch or look away. He was just quiet for a short moment before replying, "He couldn't get the medical treatment he needed in time."

Laurel's eyes widened. She seemed to freeze for a long moment. Her worst nightmare, that had kept her up night after night, was Nic's reality. Surprisingly though, Laurel did not look sad and she didn't cry. She continued to stare at Nic, understanding that they shared a common pain. She didn't appear to be as naive as she had been a week ago. She seemed to have already accepted the realities of life she had been ignorant to.

"Is that... why you joined the Yin Long?" she asked after a long pause.

As always, Nic was hard to read, trying not to associate the emotions with the facts. He nodded slowly in response to her question.

"Then... I can never judge you, Nic." she whispered, "No matter what you did within the Yin Long, I cannot judge you. Just as I hope you aren't judging me by my illegal actions for money." She pulled one arm from around him and reached up, stroking his cheek. "I'm stronger now, Nic. I'm not afraid of the darkness, I won't hide from it anymore." There seemed to be a double meaning in her words as her eyes distanced a little.

Nic glanced away, almost as if he wished he hadn't heard that.

Laurel rubbed Nic's neck a little, "... I couldn't keep my head in the sand forever, Nic. I can't keep standing behind you," she explained, "There's things I have to face by myself as well. When you return to your gang, I'll return to mine for awhile," she explained in a calm voice, as if she'd already come to terms with the future.

Nic still didn't look at Laurel. He didn't like this plan.

Laurel was silent awhile, just looking at Nic. "... I'm not giving up on us," she stated quietly after a moment, "I'll never stop fighting to get back to you either. We'll... work through everything life throw at us, I'm sure of it." She smiled weakly and kissed his neck, "Regardless, you said it won't happen for a long while yet so... who knows what might happen between then and now."

Nic closed his eyes, trying not to think about Laurel's words too much. He absentmindedly traced her side with his hand. He'd think about the future some other time.

Nic could feel a small shiver go up Laurel's spine as he touched her. She leaned up and was a hairsbreadth away from kissing him when, "Laurel?" the Juttle door opened to allow James inside.

Laurel instantly pulled away from Nic, "James?" she called back in a concerned voice, "Are you alright now?"

--

"Now are you done?" Rosen demanded.

Nic's expression didn't change, but Laurel could tell he was annoyed. He kept his hand on Laurel's hip, wondering if James would take the hint and leave.

--

"It would go faster if you'd stop hounding me," Missy spat at him.

Unfortunately, Laurel wasn't paying attention to Nic's mood at the moment. She brushed his hand off her hip herself and moved to sit up as James walked inside.

"Yeah... I'm fine now," he smiled.

"You're sure?" Laurel asked, still very concerned, "You weren't acting like yourself at all."

"I wasn't myself," James said quietly before pausing, "But I didn't come here to talk about that! Let's do something fun!"

"Huh?" Laurel asked, confused now.

--

"But you're so slow at this," Rosen retorted.

"There has been enough excitement today," Nic said blandly.

--

"I'm fast. You're impatient," Missy corrected.