"You." I looked at him in surprise when I opened the door and found him standing there.

"Me." He smiled.

"What are you...Odin." My gaze dropped to Odin standing next to Killian.

I immediately bent down to him, even though it hurt quite a bit, and he walked over to me. He was constantly wagging his tail while his tongue was sticking out.

I scratched behind his ears and greeted him before turning my attention to Killian.

"What are you doing here?" I didn't stop petting Odin.

"Odin needed to go for a walk, I thought since you can go for walks, you might as well join us."

"Really?" I smiled. "So Odin needed a walk." I laughed.

"Exactly."

"I'll go get my jacket." I shook my head before laughing and picking myself up off the ground.

I quickly grabbed the first sweatshirt from Luna's closet and returned to them. They were there exactly as I left them.

Killian leaning in the doorway, surprisingly not in a suit, but in casual clothes. A gray sweatshirt with black sweatpants and plain white shoes. His hair was a little messy, but he looked good. He looked like any other person.

And next to him Odin, whom he had on a leash. They looked amazing like this next to each other. Too good.

"Ready to go." I stopped in front of them and took the keys.

Without a word, Killian stepped back so I could lock behind us and waited for me before he and I started walking towards the elevator.

The ride down the elevator was quiet and I wondered if it would be like that the whole time. But Killian spoke as we exited the building.

"Do you want to take him?" He gave me Odin's leash and I accepted it with a smile.

Odin walked slowly beside us as we started walking towards the center of the city.

"I think I owe you a thank you." He spoke first again.

"For what?" I frowned.

"Finn's back."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

"Really?" He laughed. "If you don't want to take credit for it, I won't force you to. But thanks."

"I just opened his eyes. He's just in a difficult place, give him time, he'll grow up."

"I wish he'd never grow up. I wish he'd be twelve again and have no opinions of his own." He laughed nervously.

"Everything was easier when we were kids." I tried to hide my disappointment.

I miss being a kid. Doing stupid things and getting in trouble later.

"At one point, yes." He exhaled heavily.

When Odin decided to move to my right, I switched the leash in my hand.

"You don't have your bandana." I shifted my gaze to Killian.

"I took it off and forgot to put it back on."

How did he even notice such a detail? Even I forgot that I don't have it.

"We can go back for it." He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What? No." I laughed. "I can survive without it for a few hours." We started walking again.

"By the way, I was on the phone with Collin. He asked if you wanted to stop by at some point."

"He told you I ran away from him last time, didn't he?" He nodded. "I went to the dock right after that. I lost it. I was upset after he told me I had a panic attack." Why am I telling him this? "I guess I didn't know how to accept it from an expert." I shrugged my shoulders.

"I know panic attacks are bad, but why..."

"Do I act the way I act?" I finished for him. "I don't know. I think my brain is still set on white snakes. If that ever happened there, I'd end up strapped to a hospital bed while they tried to 'fix' me."

I looked at Killian and noticed his horrified expression.

"You don't know much about white snakes, do you?"

"Just the basics, I guess." He tried to return his expression to normal.

"And even that would scare a lot of people away."

"It has its reasons. From what you said, there are no good people there."

"What is the definition of good?" I asked, not waiting for an answer. "I take it that they treated us as best as they could. Although the term best is probably different for everyone."

"How did you even get to them?"

"We're not at that stage yet, Killy." I laughed. Even though he knows Charles brought me there, he doesn't know everything behind that. The full story.

"I get it." He shrugged his shoulders, not pushing me into it. "Here, let's sit down." He pointed to a bench a few meters away from us.

I sat down with a heavy sigh. Not that I was in pain, but I just felt like it. It was as if a burden had been lifted from me.

"I can't even remember the last time I just looked at the stars." I said after a moment of observing the sky that had been replaced.

Today, the evening sky is cloudless. The moon and stars shine beautifully. The air, which is neither warm nor cold, is refreshing and pleasant.

"Makes two of us."

"How come we can't find time for such a simple thing?"

"We are busy people."

"I'd say more broken, but yours is probably better."

"You think we're broken?" Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that he was looking at me.

"And you don't?"

"At least you could say it nicer."

"How?" I turned to him with a smile. "That we are unique?"

"For example." He laughed.

"Broken sounds more tough."

"You, using the term tough while describing broken, is something different let me tell you."

"Oh shut up." I punched him in the shoulder.

"Whatever you say." He tried to hold back his laughter. "Looks like your strength is coming back." He grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't exaggerate." I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't that strong."

"I'm going to have a bruise."

"If you don't stop, you'll have another one." He put his hands in a defensive gesture as soon as I finished.

"You really do feel better." He chuckled.

"I could handle you even with a hole in my stomach."

"Are you sure about that? Because to me, it looked like I had to carry you to the car."

"My legs hurt, I took advantage of the situation." I defended myself.

"If you sleep better at night."

"You're really begging for another bruise."

"Me? Never."

*****

"Thank you for tonight. I really needed to get out." I stopped in front of the entrance to the building.

"I think we both needed it."

"And let's not forget Odin." I laughed and petted him.

"Of course. I guess this is the time to say good night."

"Good night Killy." I couldn't stop smiling and turned my back on him, walking towards the elevator.

When I was already standing in it, I could still see him standing there through the glass front door. We stared at each other until the elevator doors closed.

Why do I wish they wouldn't close?

But when they reopened, already on my floor, I wished they would stay closed.

My gaze fell on a person leaning against the door of Luna's apartment. I noticed the T-shaped dagger she was playing with in her hand. Nyx.

It is a specific weapon for her.

I regretted not having a single weapon with me to defend myself.

By the time the elevator doors closed again, Nyx was already aware of my presence.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" She said without taking her eyes off her hands.

"If you came to kill me, I won't make it easy for you."

"If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead already."

I confidently walked out of the elevator, ready to fight her with my fists and an unhealed stab wound on my stomach.

"Last time we were interrupted. This time," she looked up at me and pushed away from the door "there is no one to disturb us. Since Aceso is out of town and your boyfriend left."

"Killian is not my boyfriend." But after tonight, I would easily call him a friend.

"Like I care." She snorted. "I'm here to give you a message."

"So you became a pigeon? Good for you Nyx." I smiled.

"Ha-ha-ha, incredibly funny." Her jaw clenched. "I'm supposed to tell you to stay away from the Acker family."

"Sorry, what?" I frowned.

What does that even mean? Why would the white snakes be interested in someone like the Ackers?

"You heard me." She came a little closer to me. "Stay away from them."

"Or what?"

"You don't want anything to happen to young Finn, or god forbid the beautiful Val."

Val? Who the hell is Val? This is the second time I've heard this name.

"What do you want from me?"

"Just to stay away from them. Nothing else. It can't be that hard."

"Why? Why are you so interested in who I'm seeing?"

"You don't have to worry about that." She tried to slip past me but I caught her arm.

"Answer my question." I said between my teeth.

"Like I said, you don't have to worry about it."

"Too bad, I'm interested. And you won't leave unless you tell me what the management wants with them."

"That is information you are no longer qualified to know."

"Don't play with me. You've never won against me, this time won't be any different. Answer me. Now."

"The Ackers have many enemies, do you want to add us to them?"

"Do you know who sends people to kill them?"

"Perhaps." She smiled. "But you won't find out from me. Stay away from them or their blood will be on your hands. Final warning." She tore herself from my hand and started walking towards the elevator. "You're smart." She stood in the elevator. "You know what will happen if you don't listen to them. Make good decisions."

With another clang of the bell, the elevator doors began to close.

"No matter how many times a snake sheds its skin, it will still be a snake." She said seconds before the door closed completely.

And what now?

*****

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