The safe house is quiet around us. The city hums beyond the walls, indifferent to the violence we've done and the violence still to come. But here, in this moment, there's nothing but the two of us and the warmth of skin against skin.
He doesn't fall back asleep. Neither do I. We lie there in comfortable silence, breathing together, existing together. His fingers keep tracing patterns on my chest. My hand moves through his hair, working out the tangles, smoothing the dark strands.
"Lily," he says after a while.
"You heard that, huh? That's what she chose."
"I’m always listening. Good name choice." His voice is soft, thoughtful. "Better than a number."
"Jagger said she's been asking for you. Wants to know when you're coming."
He doesn't respond right away. His hand stills on my chest, palm flat over my heart.
"I broke her conditioning," he says finally. "Reached through whatever Helena did to her and found the person buried inside. She looked at me like I was the first real human she'd ever seen."
"You were. For her, you probably were."
"I don't know how to be that. Someone a kid looks to. Someone who's supposed to protect instead of destroy." His voice cracks, splits open. "What if I fuck it up? What if I'm too broken to help her?"
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
"I do." I cup his face, lift it so he's looking at me. His eyes are wet, wide and terrified. "I watched you drop your weapon and walk toward a child with a knife. I watched you talk her down with nothing but words and understanding. You reached her, Jinx. You saved her. That's not the action of someone too broken to help."
"She's going to need more than one moment of connection. She's going to need years of patience and care and someone who doesn't flinch when her conditioning kicks in."
"Then give her that. We'll give her that." I hold his gaze, let him see the certainty in my eyes.
He stares at me. "You mean that."
"I mean everything I say to you. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
"I'm a slow learner." But he's almost smiling now. "After. When all this is over. When the Custodians are dealt with and the Foundry is ashes."
"After."
"I want to take her. Lily. I want to give her what I never had." His voice steadies, gains conviction. "A home. A family. Parents. People who understand what she's been through because they've been through it too."
"Okay."
"Okay?" He blinks. "That's it? I tell you I want to adopt a traumatized child soldier, and you say okay?"
"What did you expect me to say?"
"I don't know. Something about how we barely know her. How we're not ready. How taking on a kid like Lily is a massive fucking commitment that we haven't discussed."
"We can discuss it on the plane." I pull him down, press my forehead against his. "But my answer's going to be the same. If you want her, we take her. If you need this, we do this. That's what partners means."
His breath catches. His eyes are bright, too bright, and I realize he's fighting tears again.
"I don't deserve you."
"Bullshit. You deserve everything. You've earned it." I kiss him, soft and slow, tasting the salt of his tears. "Now stop arguing and let me hold you. We've got three hours before we have to move."
He doesn't argue. Settles against me, tucks his head under my chin, wraps around me like he's afraid I'll disappear.
The morning light grows brighter. The city wakes up around us. Somewhere across the world, the people who destroyed Jinx's childhood are going about their lives, unaware that their time is running out.
