SSS-Class Profession: The Path to Mastery-Chapter 202: Fragments of Solace

The aftermath of the broadcast had left us suspended, the world outside still in turmoil. The riots, the chaos, the political tempest, all of it seemed too far away to reach out to, even as we were experiencing it. Here in this moment, there was only the five of us, trapped in this small, charged room, weighed down by the fact that we had unleashed.

The silence between me and Alexis was oppressive, but somehow, familiar. I had seen her break down before me, something which I did not expect. And now, as the world around us burned to cinders, we were left here, with nothing to do but shards of each other’s shattered wills.

"Rey...." Alexis’s voice broke in, slow and hesitant. She’d been leaning back against the wall, arms wrapped around her as if holding a twister of emotions in.

I looked up where I lay prone on the couch, my eyes wearing out from rubbing. "Yeah?"

"I know you’re not okay," she said to me, her voice strained, but her eyes pleading for mine. "But you don’t have to do this alone, okay? You don’t have to bear all of it."

I didn’t know if it was the exhaustion or the weight of her words, but something inside me snapped. Maybe it was just the crushing weight of the moment, maybe it was the desperate need for some sort of connection in the midst of all this chaos. Whatever it was, I was getting up, moving towards her without even realizing.

I stopped in front of her, our eyes meeting in a silent dialogue. I had so much to say but could not think of the words. I had been so consumed by the impending war that I had not even taken the time to observe what was going on right in front of me.

"I don’t know what is happening anymore," I confessed, speaking more or less a whisper. "I thought I knew what I was doing, that I could fix everything. But it looks like I’m losing everything in the process."

Alexis breathed, her shoulders sagging as if the weight of the world had settled into her bones. "Rey, we’re all fighting, all of us. You don’t have to save them all. We’re here with you. I’m here with you. Please....take care of yourself. We need you."

Her words were like a rope, something tangible amidst uncertainty. I moved forward, nervous but desiring to span the distance between us. She didn’t retreat, rather allowed me to span the distance between us, her hands barely shuddering as she extended her hand to meet mine.

For a moment, all the rest, the protest, the cameras, the war we had been waging. All gone. There were only the two of us in this tiny, dimly lit room, the air thick with unspoken feelings. I leaned up, brushing a lock of hair from behind her ear, my hand remaining on her skin.

"I don’t deserve your trust," I murmured, my voice breaking. "After all that’s come before. I don’t deserve any of it."

"You do," she strangled, her voice breaking slightly. "You always have."

I could not wait. I drew her to me, my hand cradling her face, as I kissed her. It was slow, hesitant at first, as if we both feared letting go, in case the other one pulled back. But neither of us pulled back. We instead deepened, the world beyond receding slowly into nothing as everything else was muffled in the cacophony of background noise.

And as we finally pulled away, it was with a simultaneous intake of breath, foreheads touching in our attempt to catch our own. I closed mine, trying to slow my pounding heart. This, this brief peace, this was all that was left to me.

But then again, I opened my eyes and kissed her again.

This time it did not hold back. It was not hesitant or unsure. It was the kiss both of us required, the desperate stillness of two hearts that had lost too much and lived too long without this sense of comfort. Alexis dissolved into it, arms around my neck, mine around her waist. We were the anchors in the storm between us, and neither one of us could make sense.

It lasted longer than it ought to have.

When we finally parted, gasping, eyes still closed, there was silence between us that didn’t exist before.

And naturally—

A soft cough shattered the silence, and I reflexively braced, recoiling in horror from Alexis. My eyes flashed to Evelyn, who sat across the room, still blindfolded. Her cheeks burned red, and although her eyes were covered, I could sense the heat of her embarrassment pressing down upon me.

"U-Um. you two might remember I’m still here," she stated, her voice trembling slightly, as though she was embarrassed to be the one who was interrupting.

I glared at her, utterly speechless for a moment. Alexis, too, seemed flustered, her face reddening in a way I had never seen before. She looked at Evelyn, quickly away.

"Come on, this is the second time this has been cut off or seen by other people," Alexis complained, her voice irritated more than ever before.

Evelyn shifted uncomfortably, the blindfold askew a little to one side as she crossed her fingers tightly folded across her lap. "I-I wasn’t being clumsy on purpose," she began to explain nervously, voice still a little awry. "I just. I couldn’t. say nothing." freewebnσvel.cѳm

I couldn’t help but grin, but the second one was a cringe-worthy mixture of awkwardness and relief. Alexis stayed flushed with blush, half-heartedly attempting cool while letting out a trembling breath.

"Evelyn." Alexis started stiffly, tense smile distorting her mouth into lines. "You always have a way of doing things with such impeccable timing, don’t you?"

Evelyn, still reddening, squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. "I’m sorry, okay? But. I didn’t think you two would—"

I cut her off, trying to push past the stiffness before it dragged on for any longer. "It’s fine," I said with a stiffish voice. "We....we needed this."

Alexis looked at me, her eyes a trifle softer but still tension-filled between us. She nodded, and then turned to Evelyn. "I guess this is going to be a broken record, huh? Having our private moments intruded upon by the others."

Evelyn, still flushing, giggled uncertainly. "Well, maybe next time, you could arrange something....a little more private?"

"I’ll never forget that," the answer came from Alexis, still staring at me with a smile, still unable to shake off embarrassment.

The silence settled over the room again, tension of all around us slowly levelling once more. But between me and Alexis was warmth now, a bond that went deeper than before. We had all of that, despite everything, each other. And maybe, just possibly, that was enough for now.

And even though Evelyn’s taunts would still be a byproduct of our relationship, now it was all the peace we could hold onto.

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