The apartment stays hushed, city glow washing the windows in pale bands. On the couch, Abby and Arthur remain tucked under the blanket, the dead amber relay on the table now only a dark shape.
Arthur Blues
We really did it. Tonight can just be tonight.
Arthur shifts closer, shoulder against Abby’s side, his lab coat wrinkling beneath the blanket. He lets out a slow breath and finally stops scanning for problems.
Arthur Blues
I like this part best, when nothing is beeping at us.
He glances toward the dark table, then back to Abby, a small grin returning as the quiet settles in around them.
Arthur Blues
We should keep the room like this for a while. No readings, no logs. Just us.
Outside, traffic threads past in distant light. Inside, the blanket stays pulled high, and the couch holds steady beneath them, warm and still.
Arthur Blues
So, Abby... what do you want to do first?
“I reach out to dim the apartment lights so we can just watch the city glow.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)
Abby reaches for the lamp panel, and the room answer comes soft and immediate. The overheads slide down to a low glow, then sink further until only the city light and the faint table reflection remain.
The couch becomes a shadowed nest. Arthur tips his head back against the cushion, watching the windows breathe with passing traffic while the apartment falls into a deeper hush.
Arthur Blues
That is perfect. It feels like the whole world got quieter.
He turns toward Abby, a little smile catching in the dimness, then settles his hand nearer hers beneath the blanket without quite breaking the calm.
Arthur Blues
I keep thinking the lab should feel like this when we are done, too. Safe. Finished. Ours.
Abby Stone
The room is dark enough to see the windows clearly.
A tiny rhythmic ping cuts through the silence from the forgotten comms device on the table, too polite to be called an alarm, too persistent to ignore.
Arthur Blues
...Do you want me to answer that, or leave it alone for a minute?
“I pull Arthur closer and whisper that we should check the message together.”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Abby draws Arthur in under the blanket, and the distance between them disappears. The ping from the table keeps time in the background, but it loses its edge in the hush.
Abby Stone
We should check it together.
Arthur Blues
Yeah. Together sounds better.
Arthur shifts closer, shoulder brushing Abby's, and reaches for the comms device without letting go of the moment. The dark relay sits beside it like a cooled scar, its old amber burn gone to black.
Arthur Blues
Maybe it's work. Maybe it's nothing. Either way, I do not want to face it alone.
He angles the screen toward both of them. A thin verification thread glints across the archived serum reel on the table, catching the low city light for a second.
Arthur Blues
If this is the lab, or the clinic, or some supplier drama, we deal with it after we look. Right now I am here.
✓ Quest Accepted
Check the message together
+ New Item Acquired
comms device
“I reach out and tap the screen to open the message.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
Abby reaches out from under the blanket and taps the screen. The device wakes under her fingertip, its glow washing over both of their hands.
The message list opens at once, clean and stark against the dark apartment. Arthur leans in, reading beside her, still close enough that their shoulders touch.
Abby Stone
The screen is open.
Arthur Blues
Together, then. Let us see who is pulling at our evening.
The first unread entry sits at the top, flagged with an external lab header and a time stamp from minutes ago. The archive reel on the table catches a thin line of light as the screen brightens.
Arthur Blues
That header is not local. It came in from outside the apartment.
Arthur's grip tightens on the comms device, then steadies. The message waits open between them, demanding one more choice.
Quest Complete
Check the message together