Marlowe
I found Nova sitting on an overturned crate outside the garage one evening, uncharacteristically quiet, chewing on her thumbnail in a way that told me something was weighing on her considerably heavier than her usual easy confidence allowed.
"You okay?"
"Theo's requesting his patch evaluation," she said, not looking up. "Wants to formally prospect toward full membership. Which is great, obviously, that's a good thing, except—"
"Except?"
"Except he asked me, kind of sideways, kind of terrified, whether I'd consider being more than just someone he's dating once he actually earns it." She finally looked up, something vulnerable and uncertain in her expression that I rarely saw from her. "And I panicked. Didn't answer. Just laughed it off and changed the subject like a coward."
I
