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He jogs to his console to respond to a beeping signal and a red flashing light Once it’s resolved, he turns to me “You need to sleep Your body surely needs the rest”

We both look at the silveron the floor He picks theht?” He looks atsecond then smiles “Now that we have a deal, we don’t need these”

My sto about what he did when those cuffs were on is enough toI want to tell him, “What if ant them?”

But exhaustion takes over, and I yawn so widely that my face hurts

“Trust” I yawn again “Yes”

He grins I swear he’s thinking the sas I am—

“Maybe I will sleep” I barely get the words out before every oes leaden with exhaustion I slu the case to my stomach “Wake me when…” and I’m out

Khrys

She falls asleep mid-sentence as the collective events of the past hours hit her

I carry her to a sleep bay and lie her on one of the bunks I cover her with a blanket and adjust theinto her ribs She’s still holding it like it’s the only vecking thing in the world that matters—and I suppose it is A strand of hair falls into her face, and I push it back with er

“So soft,” I whisper

Her lashes brush her cheeks, and I resist the urge to kiss her lips while she slumbers

Don’t get too attached, I remind myself

Now that she’s asleep, I take the opportunity to slide a healing pack onto her ara sleep aid that helps human bodies recover from trauma Too bad it can’t fix her headaches

Too bad it can’t fix my issues