Neville looked up and gave a small smile, like he didn’t mind any of this.

But god knew just how much he wanted to trash every single one of the bottles in this bar into Grayson’s head.

But still, he tried to rationalize it in his head.

"I don’t mind," he said out loud as light-heartedly as possible. "I just wanted something to drink. I’m thirsty."

Why would I mind? Neville thought, not realizing the sour thoughts he had that didn’t match the gentle curve of his lips. Only girls cry over things like this.

The dismissiveness was his defense mechanism. He told himself that he was being unreasonable and therefore ignored it altogether.

However, it didn’t work.

Pete looked at him for a moment. Having a secret relationship with Chronos for a long time made him develop a keen sense for the gap between what a person said and what a person meant.

The gap, in this case, was wide enough to fly a starship through.

But Pete was also wise enough to know that pointing it out would do nothing good except make Neville feel exposed.

So instead, he straightened up and moved behind the bar. He carefully eyed the selection of alcoholic drinks and thoughtfully recalled the drinks that Bryan had mixed before.

"What do you want?" he asked. "We can make a lot of things with the selection we have here. We also got everything from Xylos-distilled spirits to imported Federation wines."

Neville tilted his head, contemplating. "Something... not too strong? I’m not really experienced with this."

Pete’s hands paused over a bottle. He turned back, one eyebrow raised. "First time?"

"Not really," Neville said, uncertain, without embarrassment. "But I don’t usually drink. So, I don’t know much about it."

Neville picked up an avoine cookie from the snack plate on the bar and took a bite. The crunch was really satisfying.

Pete huffed a quiet laugh and pulled down a bottle with a sleek, frosted label.

"I’ll make you something light, then."

He uncapped the bottle, poured a measure into a glass, and reached for a mixer—something citrusy that smelled faintly of khe citrone.

"But fair warning. Even if I said it’s ’Light’, it can sometimes depend on a person’s alcohol tolerance. Even something that tastes like juice can sneak up on you if you’re not used to it."

"I don’t think I’ll be bad at it. But I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Pete mixed the drink with a few efficient motions. The liquid caught the bar’s recessed lights and turned a pale, luminous gold in the glass.

He slid it across the bar toward Neville, who accepted it with both hands and took a cautious sip.

The taste was bright. Citrusy, with a soft burn at the finish that traveled down his throat. It settled warmly in his stomach, making him crave more.

"Good?" Pete asked.

"Mm." Neville nodded, taking another sip. "It’s nice. Thank you."

Neville took another bite of his cookie, letting the familiar sweetness balance the lingering burn of the drink.

"Pace yourself," Pete said, leaning back against the bar. "The second glass always goes down easier than the first. By the third, you’ll be making decisions you’ll regret."

Neville’s lips twitched. "Spoken from experience?"

"From watching other people’s experience," Pete corrected. "I’m the usual observer at events like these. Someone has to remember everything the next morning."

"That sounds exhausting."

"You have no idea."

✦ ✦ ✦

’Helena’’s fingers tightened on her glass. She could feel Chronos watching her for a while now. His intense stare made her incredibly excited.

She was loving every single bit of it.

But she still had a lot of things to do. So, Chronos could only stare as much as he wanted without much to gain.

’Helena’ acted naturally and smiled as she pulled Lilianna into a warm embrace.

"There you are," she had said, pitching her voice just the right amount of fondness. Then, she made sure that no one could see her lips when she kissed Lilianna.

She whispered to Lilianna’s ear, "Keep your emotions in check. Remember the plan."

Lilianna instantly melted into the hug like a woman starved for comfort.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, and then snuggling to tighten the hug to hide the fact that she was trying to calm herself down.

Despite their warm act, ’Helena’ could still feel Chronos’s gaze following her like a laser light.

Good boy, she thought, without turning around. Keep watching. That’s exactly what I need you to do.

✦ ✦ ✦

Sarah practically glowed as she recounted the pool match from earlier, her hands moving in wild, enthusiastic arcs.

"—and then, then—Lily, I swear—Neville did this insane back shot and the ball just kissed the pocket. I thought Bryan was going to cry."

Sarah clutched Lilianna’s arm.

"You should have been there to see it!"

Lilianna laughed—a bright, bell-clear sound that carried across the room. "Really? He doesn’t look like it."

"Oh please," Sarah said, "You should’ve seen him, he’s got this whole—"

"Sarah," Iris said, one hand landing on Sarah’s shoulder. "Let’s not gossip about people who are standing ten meters away."

Sarah had the grace to look sheepish. "Right. Sorry, sorry."

Lilianna waved it off with a magnanimous hand. "I’m sorry. I’ve just loved to hear the new things that happened. I didn’t mean anything."

She smiled with a warm, self-deprecating smile.

And beneath that smile, a voice stirred.

’Look at them. Fawning over some parlor trick with a pool cue. These people are so easily impressed. Haven’t they played like that at least once?’

Lilianna’s expression didn’t flicker even after hearing ’herself’ said that.

It had been like that since she had woken up from that tube. She just thought of it as a side effect of the medicine that healed her, even with those heavy injuries.

Even though she knew this was an abnormal thing, Lilianna still welcomed its presence. It was like a long-lost twin sister who knew her and empathized with her feelings

’But that’s fine. Let that idiot sister talk; we still need her to spout more information. Smile wider.’

Lilianna smiled wider.

"So where is this Neville now?" she asked, tilting her head with curiosity.

Sarah looked around for a second and then pointed across the room with her glass.

"He’s over there by the bar."