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“You’re strong.” Nate whispers, scarcely realizing he’s said the words aloud until Sonia halts in her stretch— fingers resting on the edge of the shelf above her head— and fixes him with a bewildered stare. “Ah,” he backpedals, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I’d spoken aloud.”
Sonia resumes her task, fetching the jar off the shelf and placing it in the shopping basket slung over her forearm. “It’s fine, Nate.” She offers a kind smile, a hint of mirth hidden in the corners. “Nice to know that at least someone doesn’t think I’m a weakling.”
“But you aren’t!” Nate insists, rushing around the corner of the aisle with more urgency than necessary as Sonia continues shopping, bringing her to a halt once more in front of the chilled alcohol. She turns to face him with a quirked brow as he spits out the words in a nervous rush— so unlike his usual, meticulously eloquent way of speech. “You stood up to Murphy for us.”
He glances around then steps closer, lowering his voice so as to not be overheard by other shop patrons. “I don’t think any other human would have done that do us— except Agent Wolfe. It’s... incredible that you would do such a thing for us.” For me, he thinks. Especially since we kept you in the dark for so long.”
“We’re a team, Nate.” She reaches out a hand, her touch gentle and full of warmth. “I could never let you get hurt because of me.” She blushes a pretty shade of pink, cheeks rosy and eyes dancing with an emotion Nate is too flustered by to name. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to any of you because you we’re stuck babysitting a human.”
“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Sonia. Many would have run from us knowing... the truth.” He steps even closer, leaning down as she tilts her face up instinctively. “I count myself lucky that you didn’t.”
“Perhaps you should get an extra dose of luck.” She murmurs, the flirtation evident in her tone well-received as Nate chuckles and raises a hand to cup the back of her head. “A ki—“
The store plunges into darkness and the two break apart, peering into the gloom for any potential threat. A minute passes before a store clerk finds them, a flashlight in hand as they apologize for the sudden outage. The moment broken, Sonia follows the clerk to the front with Nate trailing behind... wondering just what would’ve happened had they not been interrupted.