It happened once in a dream.

chapter 7

"Who are you?" Was Adrian's first question. Nova obviously expected this question, but.. she didn't expect it this soon. This was a simple question, but at the same time, it wasn't. Who was she? Was she a renegade? Or an anarchist? "I guess I should start with my real name. You know the first part of it. But I'm not McLain. I'm Nova Artino." She waited for some reaction, but Adrian just kept staring at her with anything but patience written in his face, so she continued. "My dad was Ace's brother, you must have heard of him." Still no reaction. "I already told you about the night of the.. the murders.." Her voice started to shake a little, but she kept on talking. This time, she told him the real story. Everything about her life with the anarchists and what she heard only a few hours ago. She had to stop talking a few times, to compose herself and then continued. She didn't tell him yet about his mother's murderer, because that might be too much on him for now.

Adrian didn't say anything the whole time, but so many emotions flicked through his mind during that monologue. He was angry and sad, shocked and angry again. But he was no longer angry at Nova. Sure, she did lot of bad thigns, but now, that he knew her story, it made him feel bad for her. But there was one thing that still bothered him more. What were they going to do about it? Even though he said, he would help Nova, clean her name, he had no idea how to do it.
And then there was the whole Sentinel thing. Surely she wouldn't let him get away with it that easily. But first thing first. "Wow. That's pretty intense huh? I mean.. all of this and yet.. you're still fighting for what you believe in." There was some change in Nova's expression. "I wouldn't call it fighting. I mean look at me. I'm literally running away. I feel like a coward. There's always been something I could do, but now.. I don't think a can change anything in this position." Adrian wanted to take her hand and say, that they were going to do something, that everything is going to be okay. But they both knew, that it might be actually hopeless. This time neither of them had any answer. "Do you have any more questions, or is it finally my turn now?" She didn't sound too angry now, but there was still some irritation in her voice. "You can ask for now, but my story is a little shorter."
Unsurprisingly, Nova wanted to know only everything. About the suit and the powers. Adrian rolled up his sleeves, so she could see the tattoos on his forearms and she inspected them closelly.
Curiosity overtook her and it was once again the same observant Nova. She wanted to know about the suit, the idea of becoming the Sentinel and how he come up with those tattoos. Adrian tried his best to tell her everything and was relieved, that she didn't seem so angry anymore. Was it possible, that she already forgave him?
"Have you tried giving these tattooes to other people?" Adrian shook his head when the question he had been expecting came. "I'd thought about it, but I didn't get the chance to try it yet. I wanted to test it on Oscar or someone from the team first, but if it worked, I'd like to give Simon immunity tattoo, so Max could live with us-" "Wait, immunity? Like the charm?" "Well.. yeah. That one was pretty much immediate decision." Adrian started to unbutton his shirt so she could see the rest of the tattoos.

Nova felt her cheeks burning, even though the air was cold. Adrian kept talking about those powers as he exposed the tattoos on his chest. She didn't know what to say. The engine of the car was still running, so she turned the key around and it fell quiet. Her fingers were twitching to touch the tattoos, but she wasn't sure if she had the permission to do that. She felt Adrian's gaze on her, waiting for some reaction. Nova inched just a little closer and lifted her hand to inspect the immunity tattoo. Adrian didn't move as her fingers brushed against the lines, inked into his skin, but she felt his heartbeat getting faster under her touch. Nova lifted her gaze to see his expression, and saw him watching her. "Is this okay?" Adrian nodded and suddenly there was that electricity between them again. Just like many times before, except this time it was stronger. Maybe because they both finally said the truth, or because there was no one else for miles away. At least she hoped there wasn't anyone. This wasn't exactly the best moment for a fight. This moment belonged just to them. She didn't know who moved first but she sighed happily when their lips finnaly met. It felt like they had said everything, but this was something she wouldn't be able to formulate into words.
What started as a soft, tender kiss, quickly escalated. Nova half climbed, half was dragged over the center console and sat on his lap, and then they were finally close enough. Nothing else mattered at that moment. She wanted this to last forever, but they had some work to do first. Suddenly she remebered where they were and that it was middle of the night. "As much as I'm enjoying this, I think you should get some sleep." She murmured against Adrian's mouth. He pulled away to look at her, then he checked the time. It was almost six AM. Then his arms tightened around her waist pulling her even closer and grinned. "I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep with all the adrenaline from this night." "I might at least be able to focus on driving, while you sleep." Nova smiled and started to climb back to the driver's seat, but Adrian held her in a place a little longer. "Even though you never ever ever sleep, maybe you should rest too. It's been a long night for both of us." Nova laughed quietly as he yawned and responed "That's really nice, but I'd rather get at least few more miles further from Gatlon before trying to rest." And with that, she started the engine again and drove back to the highway.

Hey everyone,
I'm super sorry for how long it took me to write new part. This one was somehow harder for me to write, bc I was out of ideas, but yesterday suddenly I had new ideas. No promises for when the new chapter will come, my summer is going to be super busy, but I'll try. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and leave me your thoughts down in the comment section. Thank you for reading, and have a nice summer ❤️