✓ | rarity. ( john murphy )

nine. (crossing boundaries)

NINE | "for not giving up on me"

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ALL Nova has longed for in her life is something constant, something that will be there no matter what. Up until a few days ago, she felt she had that with Murphy and the bunker, but realisation soon set in. He's going to be set free one day, and that day is probably coming quicker than she first thought because of the war.

She has mixed feelings about him leaving. Obviously, Nova wants nothing more than him to be free of endless torture. Of course she wants Murphy to have his freedom back. It's been painful to see him almost every night with new injuries and bruises, and for her to have to patch him up every time. But her visits to the bunker have become the only constant in her life at present, and she's relied on his company to get her through the day, knowing that she will see him at night.

Nova understands it's a toxic and unhealthy environment to have built a friendship in. He's imprisoned in a bunker against his own will, for Christ's sake. But she can't shake the bond they've formed from this experience.

   The next night, at the moment Nova enters the bunker, torch ablaze in her hand, Murphy's eyes slowly look her up and down. Through the flickering flames, she notices his not-so-subtle gaze and glares back at him.

   "Now that you've undressed me with your eyes, would you like to dress me back up, thank you," she taunts, displaying a playful smile as she wiggles her eyebrows. He doesn't seem fazed by Nova calling him out, only drawing a breath with a hint of a smirk playing on his face.

   Setting the torch in its hold once more, like she does every night, she slides down the wall to sit next to Murphy, their shoulders touching slightly as she silently hands him a bowl of fresh berries, another ritual of theirs. As soon as he starts eating the fruit, her first instinct is to check for any fresh wounds, but, before she gets the chance to, he reassures her, saying, "Nobody came here today. Not being tortured was the highlight of my day."

   "Yeah..." Nova sucks in a breath, pausing. "Anya's been busy starting a war, so..."

   Murphy's head snaps to face Nova, his brows furrowed as he stops eating, trying to figure out if she's being serious. "A war? Really?"

   For the most part, Nova's been avoiding talking about the current situation with him. Partly because she's been locked away in the village for the last week, so she hasn't had first-hand experience of the conflict. Despite Harlo and Astoria occasionally filling her in, Nova has never known the full extent of the events that unfolded with the teenagers from the dropship. On top of that, she had an inkling Indra didn't want her to know, so she has really been kept out of the loop, like usual.

   "Surprise..." Her face scrunches up as she sarcastically does jazz hands, her heavy body armour shaking at the same time.

   "If that's your idea of a surprise, I'm really questioning our friendship."