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Nova knew it had been a bad idea to investigate the strange noises echoing outside of the daywalker cabin, but as the unofficial leader, she had some twisted sense of dedication to protect the teenagers trying to propagate a civil war she was very against the idea of.
Her back pressed against the wood of the cabin’s wall as she crept towards the darkened window, a sliver of moonlight filtering through the golden curtains; no where near enough light to ease the ball of tension in Nova’s chest.
Nova prided herself on being fearless, but in an unfamiliar location where the moon and a cabin-full of her town’s mortal enemies existed mere feet away, she couldn’t help but lean into the unease she felt spreading through her.
Reaching out, Nova gently pushed aside the curtain, her fire gauntlet glowing a soft yellow as her eyes adjusted to the dark void outside of the window. The corner of the vampire cabin and the row of towering trees beyond it were barely visible as Nova scanned the area, her gaze flicking between the grass below the window’s ledge and the tree line.
Nova was about to close the curtain and chalk up the sound to a rogue animal when a soft groan interrupted the silence, Nova’s chest tightening as she squinted in an attempt to see through the darkness. Another pained groan drew her attention to a darkened figure leaning against her cabin, inches away from the far side of the window.
She couldn’t control the sharp gasp that fell from her lips as a spark of recognition lit inside of her, the figure’s maroon-tipped hair, dark jewelry, and all-too-familiar black cape painting the image of the one person she didn’t want them to be.
Nova bit her lip hard, hard enough to remind herself that what she was seeing wasn’t a hallucination or pieces of another vision. Sure, the boy crumpled against her cabin had appeared in her visions for over a decade, but it was still a jarring sight to see him so real , so present .
The boy shifted enough for the moonlight to catch his face, enough for Nova to take in the reddened skin of his neck and the charred sleeve of his cloak. Drawing in a shaky breath, Nova realized he wasn’t just in pain - he was injured, burned , badly.
Indecision coursed through her as she stood frozen, unable to move. Facts flew through her mind, fragments of stories and conversations she’d overheard growing up.
Vampires don’t have any burn resistance. They aren’t taught fire safety in the way her people are from birth. Burns drain their energy and their powers. Without help, they’re as good as dead.
“Shit,” Nova muttered to herself, already regretting what she knew she was about to do. It went against the foundation of her loyalty to her people, to her father .
Despite that, Nova found herself creeping to the cabin door, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was awake to witness her moment of weakness.
She always had been weak when it came to him .
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Victor knew it had been a bad idea to attempt to break up a fight that involved fire , but he felt a twisted sense of civic duty to protect the younger vampire boy that had gotten in the way of a particularly enraged daywalker.
Really, he should’ve realized just how much of a bad idea it was when he jumped in front of the fireball hurtling towards the boy without thinking for even a second .
He’d barely managed to peel himself off of the grass and stumble as far away as possible, not choosing to stick around to get another taste of a fire gauntlet. It’d taken five minutes for the world to stop spinning, and another ten minutes for his breathing to return to as normal as it could be post-fireball.
Glancing around, Victor took in his surroundings, slowly realizing that the cabin he was lying against wasn’t the same shape as his cabin. It wasn’t even the right color .
Victor was about to debate how much it would hurt to drag himself to his cabin and face the wrath of Willa for breaking curfew when the crack of a branch sounded from behind him. He spun around, his gaze catching on a figure a few feet away. They froze before darting behind the cabin, the silhouette of a short skirt and long tresses of hair spilling down their back.
His heart beat faster as a flicker of recognition filled his mind, flashes of the daywalker girl he’d dreamed of for years overtaking his thoughts. There’s no way, he thought to himself.
Another flash of golden hair drew his attention as the girl peeked around the cabin before ducking back into her hiding spot. Sighing, Victor bit back a groan as he sat up straighter. “I can see in the dark, you know,” he spoke aloud, his voice rough with pain and exhaustion.
A moment passed in tense silence before a soft curse resounded in the silence and she stepped out into full view, her fire gauntlet softly glowing as she eyed him warily. Victor nodding towards her wrist, shifting painfully. "I can't really defend myself, so go ahead."
Nova looked at him for a moment before sighing, the light fading from her gauntlet. "Are you always this sarcastic?” she finally spoke, her voice softer than he’d expected. It’s not like she spoke in his visions, and he’d been too preoccupied during the Camp Rayburn plan proposal to really listen to anything may have spoken aloud.
“It’s a coping mechanism,” Victor replied, wincing as pain shot down his side where the burns were still fresh. Nova stepped closer, close enough for him to read the reluctant concern painted across her face.
He was too vulnerable to be this near to his sworn enemy; but between the pain he was in and Nova’s glittery eyeshadow that was way more distracting than it should have been, Victor realized he didn’t care.
“What happened?” Nova asked, crouching down and running her gaze over his burnt side. “Got in the way of a fireball,” Victor choked out, another fresh wave of pain wrecking his body. He caught a flash of sympathy in her blue eyes before she stood abruptly.
“I’ll be right back,” she whispered before she ran back to where she had been hiding behind the cabin and reappeared moments later holding a small box that looked suspiciously like a first-aid kit.
In the back of his mind, Victor wondered how she had that just lying around but decided not to worry about when the pain returned, his vision going blurry for a moment. When it cleared, Nova was suddenly inches away, already unlocking the box and digging into its contents.
Victor could only watch as she pulled out various items, unable to focus on the details as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth in concentration. If this was how he was going to die, Victor didn’t mind.
At least the last thing he’d see is a pretty girl who he definitely shouldn’t be developing feelings for.
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Nova spread out the various rolls of gauze and packets of burn cream on the grass in front of her, ignoring the coolness of it against her legs where she was kneeling. She’d almost woke up Ray trying to retrieve the kit from under her bunk, but deep down she knew she’d need it to help Victor.
Victor’s pained groan drew her out of her thoughts, her fingers closing around the burn cream as she looked up at him. Her heart stuttered as she took in the way his dark hair fell into his brown eyes, the way his lips were parted in pain, the way the silver rings on his fingers reflected the soft moonlight.
Nova was grateful for the darkness as a warm blush spread across her cheeks. Swallowing down the butterflies, she ripped open the packet and squeezed some of the cream into her palm. “This will hurt,” she spoke, her voice shakier than she meant it to be.
Victor’s face contorted into pain, his breathing heavy as he watched her reach up and gently tug on the collar of his cloak. “Take it off,” she whispered. Victor studied her for moment before letting the clock fall off of his shoulders, pulling his arms out of the sleeves.
Nova tried her best not to notice the way his maroon t-shirt clung to his arms, instead focusing on the reddened skin on his neck and shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she apologized before spreading the burn cream over his skin.
Victor gasped in pain, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the cloak lying in his lap. A string of curses fell from his mouth as she leaned closer, close enough to smell his cologne.
Taking in a breath, Nova slipped her fingers under the neckline of his t-shirt, Victor’s skin burning hot against hers as she spread the cream down his shoulder. She didn’t dare look up at him, already feeling his gaze on her.
Pulling back, Nova reached behind her until she felt the roll of gauze, realizing with a start that she couldn’t exactly wrap his shoulder and neck with the fabric of his shirt in the way. She finally glanced up at him, her eyes flicking between the his, the gauze, and his fabric-covered chest.
Realization seemed to dawn in Victor’s expression before a cocky smirk spread across his face. “I assume you want me to take my shirt off too?” Nova felt her face burn as she resisted tossing the gauze roll at his head.
“You wish I did,” she shot back, before realizing she actually did want him too. But sure as hell not in the way he was implying.
Victor chuckled lowly at her response, his eyes roaming her face. “I guess it would be hard for you to wrap my shoulder with a shirt in the way,” he replied, pulling his shirt off in a clean motion despite the pain that filled his face as he moved his shoulder.
Nova really attempted to school her expression as she unrolled the gauze, tearing off a large piece. She also pretended not to notice how training to fight her kind had clearly done him some favors.
This whole situation was a death sentence for her emotions.
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Victor would’ve laughed if someone had told him an hour ago he’d be shirtless on the ground outside of the daywalker cabin with their leader leaning over him, wrapping gauze around his shoulder, her long blonde hair falling into his face.
Despite knowing he shouldn’t, he let his gaze wander over Nova’s crouched position in front of him, taking in the way the fabric of her skirt brushed against his legs and the way her floral perfume was the only thing he could focus on.
“There,” Nova exclaimed, her face twisted in determination as she finished tying the gauze under his arm. He glanced down to see an intricate wrap job decorating his right shoulder, the gauze crossing over itself in a symmetrical pattern he never could’ve achieved on his own.
Nova must’ve noticed his stunned silence because a soft blush spread across her cheeks, her fingers gently toying with the gauze roll in her lap. “I’ve been taught burn safety since I was young,” she explained, her gaze locking on his. “Wrapping a burn is one of the first things we learn how to do.”
Victor watched her, unable to look away. “You helped me,” he whispered, his chest tight with an unfamiliar emotion. Nova remained silent, beginning to gather the scattered supplies on the grass. He could almost feel the distance growing between them with each second.
He felt an unexpected sense of panic as he watched her tuck the items back into the kit, snapping the lid shut. “You’re welcome,” Nova replied, her tone sharper, more distant than it had been before.
She had just began to lift herself off the grass when Victor’s hand shot out on its own accord, his fingers gently grazing the skin of her arm and stopping her cold. Nova’s eyes widened, her gaze trained on the way his fingers rested on the soft skin of her wrist.
“That’s it?” Victor spoke, his voice wrecked. “You’re just going to walk away?” Victor couldn’t quite believe the words coming out his mouth. It was as if his heart took control of his mind, rendering him helpless to stop the feelings threatening to spill out of him.
Nova swallowed, her arm trembling slightly under his touch as she studied him. “We’re supposed to be enemies,” she replied, her voice barely audible despite the silence of the darkness surrounding them. “I did what was right. Now it’s time to move on.”
Victor laughed cynically, his thumb brushing against her skin, noting the way her breath hitched at the motion. “You and I both know nothing about tonight was right ,” he replied.
Nova stilled at his words, tearing his gaze away from him. Victor couldn’t stand the wall forming between them, the way she kept pulling away from whatever was simmering in the air around them. He felt like he was about to suffocate under the weight of the unspoken emotion and unnamed tension.
Reaching out, Victor grit his teeth against the pain in his shoulder and gently turned Nova’s face to his, his fingers resting on her cheek. The unabashed surprise painted on her face was enough to draw his body closer to hers, his other hand finding its place on her waist.
Nova sucked in a breath at their proximity, her pink lips parting slightly as her eyes roamed Victor’s face. “What are you doing?” she whispered, shifting under Victor’s touch as his hand slid into her hair, the golden strands impossibly soft under his touch.
“Nothing that’s right ,” he replied, his gaze falling on her mouth. Victor could feel the distance between them decreasing as she leaned into him, her bright eyes wide with surprise, with need .
“Don’t you think it’s time we changed the rules?” he spoke again, waiting for a sign.
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Nova’s head was swimming with conflicting emotions as she hovered inches away from Victor’s mouth, her heart pounding as his hand slid further into her hair and his other tightened around her waist.
“Maybe,” she spoke, the word falling from her mouth before she could stop it. She couldn’t stop any of her actions anymore, helpless against the magnetic pull between herself and her sworn enemy.
Suddenly, the word “enemy” didn’t sound right in her head. It hadn’t since she stepped outside and looked into Victor’s brown eyes.
Nova barely had a second to realize Victor surging forward, his lips sealing over hers and his strong arms pulling her into his lap. Her hands landed on his chest, his skin smooth against her fingertips as he teased Nova’s lips open.
Nova gasped against Victor’s mouth, threading her fingers through his messy hair and flushing as he groaned in response. His tongue brushed hers, his right hand sliding down her leg and settling just under the hem of her skirt.
She pressed herself closer to him, her body burning with the heat of Victor’s hands, lips, and skin. Nova couldn’t quite convince herself she wasn’t dreaming as his mouth moved against hers, particularly when he shifted so her legs were straddling his lap; his black jeans rough against her skin.
Nova couldn’t tell if minutes or hours passed before she pulled back, struggling to draw in a breath as she took in Victor’s messy maroon hair and swollen lips; sure she looked just the same.
A soft smile crossed Victor’s face as his gaze caught hers, his hand reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “That felt right,” he spoke, a question dancing in his eyes.
Nova faltered for a moment, knowing whatever she spoke next would alter things beyond her control, knowing that she was standing at the edge of a cliff that jumping off of would only lead to unknowns.
Victor was right, nothing about tonight was right.
But, maybe something was.
Maybe the delicate thing between them was enough to take a step off the edge.
Nova let a smile lift her lips as she slid her fingers between his, leaning close enough for her lips to brush Victor’s as she spoke.
“It was right.”
She knew he agreed when his lips met hers and stole the rest of her words away.