"Here you go," Reaper handed Nyx a warm cup filled with blackberry and vanilla tea, allowing her to warm her hands due to the cold night breeze. He then retook his seat beside her as he drank the hot chocolate he had prepared in between Nyx's tea. He relished the sweet taste of the cocoa in his mouth, allowing it to course through his body.

"Thank you," Nyx smiled, sipping some of it for a brief taste. The taste she was getting from it was just pure bliss. Her tongue literally sighed at the sauna-like feeling it gave her. "This is exquisite, as my family would say. How did you make it?" 

"Well, we had some blueberry juice left over, so I strained those and then added the vanilla tea. I mixed them on the pan until they were mixed well enough," He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit flustered at the compliment. He had never been praised so sincerely by anyone, so Nyx was bound to trigger his self-consciousness. "I had never made tea before, but Boss Hosstrich made them for me whenever I needed to calm down... I watched him long enough to know that tea comes from the essence of leaves." 

"Dried leaves," she corrected while giggling, noting that even though he didn't have the skills, he sure had the sincerity. That was why she had a crush- Wait, ignore that-

Her face went red immediately just thinking about it. Reaper had been so kind to her ever since she joined the Sky Pirates, yes, but it was still weird! They had been comrades for just a few months after all. How could she think that way?! That was what had landed her with her own scars. 

At that one words, scars, she shuddered, hugging herself although the temperature had gone down drastically. Reaper seemed to notice, because his eyebrows creased, worry written in his eyes, "Are you okay, Nyx?" 

"I-I'm fine..." she looked away, refusing to make eye contact. She couldn't worry him. She had to stay strong if she wanted to combat her own family and ex-husband. She couldn't let her personal issues, stewing and hot as they were, get in the way. 

"You're not," the feline cat shook his head firmly, ruby eyes burning. He was not convinced at all. "I can tell, believe me... I consider you a friend... And I don't want to lose my friends... So please... Tell me what's bothering you, Nyx..." 

"Reaper..." Nyx's smaragdine orbs, ever like an emerald, watered. Those words... They touched her so deeply. All this time, she had put up many walls. Many barriers to protect herself from being hurt again, after her family disowned her and left her for dead. After Snugglemagne's horrible abuse. 

But now...

All she could see in his cochineal-coloured eyes, a pair of priceless rubies just groomed, was worry. It was almost as if he was pleading to her. Begging for the truth. For the story to come out from her own mouth. 

She took in a deep breath. Her heart... It had so many scars. She had never been accepted and loved like most people. But he was willing to love her, flaws, scars and all, because he too had them, yet he never let them define him. He even got the courage to show her his scars. 

If he could...

Then she could do it as well. 

And so, she turned, ready to tell him-

Only to be greeted with a WAY-too-close Reaper. 

Unfortunately, she had turned abruptly as well, so....

Lips crashed. They could sense the other's heartbeat as the moon above shone brightly, supportive of the awkward yet meaningful kiss. 

Just as quickly as it happened, it stopped as the two jerked back simultaneously. Reaper's face was as red as his eyes. Nyx's emerald eyes now matched the blush that covered her cheeks. 

What had just happened?! 

"I-I'm so sorry!" Nyx stammered, trying to keep eye contact with him while struggling to keep her emotions together. Okay, that felt good, yes, but still that was embarrassing! Totally uncalled for! 

Reaper just nodded, keeping his eyes trained on the ground below, "I-It's fine, y-you didn't know..."

"I-It was unexpected," she agreed wholeheartedly, now unable to make look at any part of him without turning into a tomato. She really felt bad for doing that out of nowhere, b-but it wasn't like she enjoyed it! 

Wait, she had, hadn't she? 

She mentally hit herself for even thinking that. Yes, she considered Reaper a c-c-crush, yet there was no guarantee that he felt the same way. No one would actually fall for her, right?!

On the other hand, Reaper was sputtering so much in his mind. What had just happened? D-Did Nyx actually kiss him? T-That was so shocking! Unbelievable! Out of this world!

Where, oh where did the logic in this world go? Their brains have short-circuited, it seemed, from the kiss. Accidental or not, the two of them had enjoyed. Sadly, their emotions went into a frenzy. An utterly headaching frenzy. 

Thinking too much made them both go quiet. The atmosphere went awkward. Silent. The only sound that could be heard was their sipping. Their drinking felt like a futile attempt, a valiant effort to slice the silence into little pieces of sashimi. 

Welp, it didn't work, for sure. The atmosphere only got more awkward. 

At this point, Nyx was ready to leave this place on the spot, if only to save herself the embarrassment. It was just too much! Ahhh, save her from this! 

Unfortunately, it seemed like Reaper had read her mind. There was no way that he was letting her go. Not until he got answers. 

"Nyx, can you please tell me? About your scars?" He finally broke the silence, using a soft tone. He was trying to be gentle, for he knew all too well that he could trigger something accidentally if he didn't.

Nyx inhaled, taking in the tea aroma that wafted from her cup. It relaxed her a lot, and reminded her of her earlier resolve.

Might as well tell him.

"My scars... I didn't use to have them before I arrived here. But after I fell for Snugglemagne and foolishly married him, he... he started abusing me, taunting. Whispering my weaknesses," she flicked the small drops that escaped her eyes away. "Whenever he wasn't happy with me, he would hit me, yell at me... The result... What came out of that is this..."

She then lifted her cloak and shirt while turning to face the side.

Reaper was stunned to silence seeing her wounds. He suddenly understood how Nyx must have felt when she saw his. Those lines of red tracing her back, glowing ever so energetically under the moonlight without a care of the world.

"Nyx..." He finally spoke up again, crimson eyes wide in shock. He was absolutely horrified. How could anyone do this to her? "I-I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to pry..."

"It's okay," the wolf shook her head, a smile on her face as she leaned back, looking up to the sky. "You could gather up your bravery to show me yours. That's something I have to call impressive. You've always been a role model to me, and that just proved it."

"I-It's nothing..." Reaper smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his head. He felt self-conscious now. Being complimented by his own crush was really something else.

Nyx could only smile even wider before silence settled in once more. However, this time it was comfortable. The two enjoyed the other's company as they watched the dazzling skies, accompanied by crickets and their growing bond.