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A pleasant quiet was installed between them. Lynae is sitting in a corner of Mornye’s office at the academy, seemingly focused on her phone but still glancing up every few minutes to see a full on concentration Mornye write and delete paragraphs from a document she was preparing for her next project. Lynae doesn’t know when it started but it had become a habit already.
At the start, Lynae visited Mornye during her free hours at the academy and asked her about her day or how a project was going and they chatted for a few minutes before they had to part ways again. One of those days, Lynae saw Mornye discarding one of the energy sachets the latter called “Healthy and easy to consume”.
“Are you really just eating that during your work hours?” Lynae asked with a certain concern disguised in playfulness. Pointing at the pile of sachets the professor had next to her desk.
“Yes, they are practical and give me the energy necessary to continue working during the day” Mornye said stone-faced d as if it was an obvious fact.
She felt Lynae softly pulling on her Jacket “That can’t be good, come with me we’re getting actual food from the cantine”
“There’s no need, as I said these are more than enough” She insisted a bit more
“Can’t believe it sorry, come, my treat”
In the end Mornye stopped resisting and let the younger woman guide her through the corridors. They didn’t really talk, instead, Mornye looked at a distracted Lynae who in turn smiled at her waiting for her to be finished.
“See? I think solid food is better than whatever those sachets have inside” Lynae remarked “You should try it more”
This habit only grew and Lynae started bringing Mornye food to her office from time to time “real food” as she called it. She would simply bring it to her desk and ask if she could stay in her office for a while. Mornye didn’t seem to mind, after all, having some company wouldn’t harm right?
Even when Lynae thought she was subtle when looking at the professor, Mornye would sometimes catch her staring through the reflection of her pc’s screen but wouldn’t say anything because, who was she to judge her, for something she too was guilty of. Mornye had even come to distinguish some of the expressions Lynae made at times and what they meant.
When she was frowning a little, looking at her phone meant she was concentrating on playing some video game. On the contrary if her violet eyes seemed to roam a bit everywhere it meant she was eager to ask her a question or talk about something so Mornye would initiate by asking her about her academy projects just so they could exchange information on their respective field of work. Lynae showed great interest even when Mornye herself thought she was deviating too much from the topic.
“Sorry, I must be boring you with this! wanna talk about something?” She would ask trying to change the mood.
“No, no, I’m listening, don't worry. I like hearing you talk, you sound excited” Lynae didn’t know why she had added that last part.
“Do I?” Mornye asked, she thought her voice was as monotone as ever.
“Y-yeah, I mean, it’s…endearing in a way” Lynae kept adding adjectives that she would later regret when she got home. But if she was being honest, it was definitely endearing. Mornye’s tone changed when she spoke about a project, the way her eyes lit up, her whole composure changed and she made gestures to try and show the others her idea. Lynae liked it.
Neither of them spoke, but their eyes met halfway and it was enough so they each turned to their respective activities, still in peaceful quiet, still stealing glances when they thought the other was too distracted to notice, still together.
One of the activities Lynae had gotten Mornye to do with her was going on a ride on her motorcycle. Surprisingly for the younger woman, Mornye seemed to really enjoy it. Even if she hadn’t said a word since the ride started until it ended. Lynae could see it, in her eyes. In the way they twitched in the slightest when Lynae stopped at a great viewpoint and she looked at the woman who was previously holding to her waist, which made Lynae blush a little but she would never say it out loud.
“I can tell you enjoyed it” Lynae said when the ride ended, sitting on the grass and looking at the sky. Mornye was sitting next to her, close, dangerously close, close enough for their fingertips to cross paths in an unfortunate movement of Lynae’s hand.
“I did enjoy it, thanks for the trip” Mornye’s tone was soft, almost whispery and Lynae was sure it would make for a great lullaby singer. It relaxed her.
“I noticed from your eyes, the way they looked around when we passed through a pretty view, the way they closed when you felt the breeze of the air against your face, you seemed liberated, happy, less burdened than usual” Lynae was good at reading the older’s eyes, maybe, just maybe because she looked at them way too often. At least more often than necessary.
“You seem to read me well Lynae” Mornye confessed, still not looking at her maybe to avoid the embarrassing moment of the other noticing the slight pink blush on her cheeks.
“What can I say, I’m pretty observant even if I don’t seem like it at first sight” She shrugged her shoulders trying to downplay it. Her heart rate on the other hand was telling a whole other story. She lay down on the grass, looking at Lahai Roi’s rosy sky. A Sky to which Mornye had given its stars.
“Ever thought about giving up? on the stars?” She asked that out of the blue, not really expecting the other to answer, instead she was met by a firm voice, different from what she usually heard from the professor.
“Never, not even for a second, this is the project of my life. I was ready to risk it all for Lahai-Roi to have its own sky. For everyone to have something they could look up to and feel seen and heard”
It was true, the stars made Lynae feel heard in the past, when she wished for a new life, far from the Lawless Zone. And here she was, next to Mornye, with the grass caressing her skin and the stars falling before her eyes. She was right where she once wished to be.
“Thanks, for creating this, I’m sure everyone is grateful for having such a treasure, a sky no longer void, but filled with stars, hopes, messages” She turned her body and faced Mornye, who was already looking at her.
“I’m glad everyone gets to see the stars, and I’m glad to be seeing them with you, here, now.” Lynae could swear she saw a spark in the professor’s eyes, one that was going to lead her into doing something impulsive, stupid, but she stopped herself before her hand could reach for the other’s and she got up slowly.
“I think we need to get going, we’re going to catch a cold” She said, turning back to her bike, avoiding any eye contact with Mornye who simply followed her.
It’s in the quiet of the night during one of Mornye’s working sprees that Lynae decided to accompany her through that their eyes finally linked, at a specific moment, for more than five seconds. Lynae tensed up, still looking at the professor from the seat she always used when she went into her office just to watch her work.
“Lynae, are you too tired? you should go home, I’m almost finished here anyways” Mornye spoke first, trying to persuade the other to go home and rest, not waste her night watching her work and question herself over wrong calculations and formulas spread on her desk.
Lynae managed to get a few words out “No, I’m not, no worries I can wait for you, tomorrow is Saturday anyways I don’t have anything better to do” Mornye couldn’t help but laugh.
“Really? got nothing better to do than watching me work?” She stood up walking towards Lynae who took a few steps back.
“Really! I don’t want you to go through this alone and I already know trying to persuade you to go home early wouldn’t work so here I am.” She was right, Mornye had the idea of finishing the final report on this experiment that night and once an idea installed itself in her head it was impossible to make it change. Lynae knew that too well.
The declaration hit the professor harder than she thought, maybe it was the effects of not sleeping and trying to stay awake so late. “Thanks, for staying with me, even if you don’t have to”
“I don’t have to, but I want to” Lynae committed the fatal mistake of looking at the shorter woman’s eyes once again. Their eyes locked in for a few seconds. Telling everything Lynae meant to keep hidden, showing how her heart rate went exaggeratedly up when she was with Mornye, showing how she craved something she considered too risky to try.
They stood in front of each other seconds passed by, the sound of the computer screen blinking and the air easily flowing through the window was interrupted by a light stomp, a sudden movement. Mornye grabbed Lynae’s tie and brought her down, lips softly crashing together, Lynae’s hands holding onto her waist in search of balance. The air stopped flowing, the screen stopped blinking. Time stopped and Lynae opened her eyes. Mornye slowly pulled away.
“You’re not the only one who can read eyes Lynae” She said simply as she grabbed the younger’s hand “This was bound to happen, someone just had to make it happen”
Lynae was left speechless, not even in her wildest dreams would she imagine Mornye kissing her first. She was about to speak when a quick peck into her lips interrupted her again and made her brain malfunction.
“Thanks for staying with me, I think we should both go home, meet tomorrow if you want? To…talk about everything”
Lynae could simply nod “Y-yes, sure, want me to get you home?” she tried not to rush her words but it was impossible, her brain was working faster than her mouth right now.
“If you were so kind, I would like that” Mornye couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of the younger furiously blushing. She liked that, she could grow accustomed to it.