When he finally drew back—barely an inch—her lips followed, seeking his again. He brushed a feather-light kiss to her nose, offering a moment's reprieve. She used it to speak, voice breath-shaken yet bright with mirth. "Missed this," she confessed, sincerity slipping past her usual tease.
"Inconvenient roots and all?" he teased, voice low, mouth grazing her skin between words.
She shuddered at his proximity; he felt the motion echo in his own bones. "Mm… worth every splinter," she breathed, words warm against his cheek.
Their foreheads touched, shared breath mingling, and in that sliver of stillness dust continued its gentle orbit through the thin line of locker light, as if the stars themselves had come down to witness.
Within the narrow shaft of light spilling through the locker crack, dust swirled like stars. Each mote caught glints from her monocle and the silver pins in her hair, creating brief constellations that blinked out as they moved.
