Morning arrived slowly.
Light filtered in through the tall windows, catching on bare skin, rumpled sheets, and a frankly impossible knot of limbs.
Jax surfaced from sleep with a faint groan, aware first of warmth—then weight—then the peculiar realization that he couldn't move without disturbing at least three people at once.
Arms were everywhere.
Legs tangled.
Somehow, beyond all reasonable explanation, Nyxian and Bunny appeared to be sharing portions of the same maid outfit, fabric stretched and twisted between them like a defeated flag of surrender.
Jax blinked once.
Then smiled.
Llandra woke first.
She didn't move right away. She simply lay there, breathing, feeling the ache in her muscles and the deep, lingering sense of contentment that followed. It wasn't unpleasant. It was… grounding. Earned.
Emotionally and physically, she felt complete.
She could feel Jax stirring behind her, his breathing shifting as consciousness returned. A quiet warmth spread through her chest.
Don't you ever doubt yourself, Jax Darquebane, she thought.
No other man could have done what you did for us last night.
She turned just enough to press a gentle kiss to his chest, and then his stomach, and then continued—unhurried, sincere.
The system chimed softly in the background. Minutes later it chimed again.
Llandra smiled to herself.
Careful not to wake the others, she disentangled herself and slipped from the bed, gathering a discarded shirt as she went. She padded into the living room just as Jax followed, hair rumpled, expression still hazy.
The hallway door chimed.
A cart sat just outside the suite—coffee, juice, bread, fruit, muffins neatly arranged.
Jax raised a brow.
"They wouldn't bring it inside," he muttered as he wheeled it in. "Apparently, we've developed… a reputation."
Llandra laughed softly. "Imagine that."
He poured juice into a glass—her favorite. The fruit wasn't from Earth, but it reminded him faintly of grapefruit.
"Thank you," she said as he handed it to her.
"No, thank—"
She stopped him, curling her fingers around his hand along with the glass.
"No, Jax," she said gently. "Thank you. For last night. For… everything."
He met her eyes, surprised by the weight of it.
"Thank you. For last night. For this morning." he replied quietly.
They stood like that for a moment before she took the glass and sat at the table, sipping contentedly.
"So," she asked, "what are our plans today?"
"I was hoping to start with you," Jax said. "You've got a lot of new points, new skill options. I want to help you figure out how to use them efficiently."
She smiled—and stepped close behind him, resting her forehead lightly against his back, arms loosely wrapped without quite touching.
"The others will get jealous if I have you all to myself."
He chuckled. "They'll survive."
She pinched his backside playfully and moved to her chair. "Today, you're mine. And I'm all yours."
It was bold.
Very bold.
And completely new for her.
Last night had changed something. Opened a door she hadn't realized she'd been holding shut.
Jax sat beside her with his coffee. "Deal," he said. "We train hard. We refine your skills. Then we spend the afternoon together—just us. Whatever you want."
She paused mid-sip.
"Anything?"
"Anything."
A shiver ran up from her knees, to her spine, through her chest and all the way to her pointed ears.
The bedroom door opened.
Nyxian emerged, stretching, now wearing one of Jax's shirts. She glanced between them suspiciously.
"What are you two plotting?"
"Training," Jax said innocently.
Nyxian arched a brow. "Does this training involve your head in her lap?"
Llandra choked on her juice.
Nyxian grinned. "If so, Put me in Coach, I wanna play too."
"Stay out of my head," Llandra muttered, face flushed.
Nyxian shrugged. "Your thoughts are loud. I just hear them."
Bunny's voice drifted from the bedroom. "Why do I feel like I missed something?"
Zee followed, hair tousled, glowing faintly as she yawned. "Is there coffee?"
Jax gestured to the cart. "Help yourselves."
They gathered around, laughter easy, movements slower but lighter than ever before.
Zee was actually the first to check her system. They'd earned more iPoints last night than the previous two nights combined — the bonuses stacking exactly as they'd hoped
"It looks like the plan worked."
The others then opened up their systems as well and confirmed the results.
All of them had skills to choose from. All of them had additional iPoints that they could add to base stats.
They learned 2 things from the previous night:
1. Getting creative and inventive in their late night activities added those bonus points that the entire group received.
2. They actually enjoyed these creative adventures more than they realized they would.
And now the day was before them.
Plans were made.
Training schedules discussed.
And beneath it all—an unspoken understanding settled comfortably between them.
They weren't rushing anymore.
They were building something.
Together.