Here comes the railgun.

  The testing range had been cleared. An asteroid, roughly five kilometers wide, drifted silently in the empty dark beyond the outer edge of the station’s perimeter.

  Vermond stood at the command deck with Erie, Jard, Ruen, and the others gathered around the main console. A low hum surged through the station—resonating in the floors, the walls, the bones of everyone aboard.

  “Target locked,” Erie said, eyes wide with anticipation.

  Jard’s fingers hovered over the control panel. “This… is gonna be loud.”

  Vermond nodded once. “Fire.”

  The god-tier railgun unleashed.

  A blinding light cut across the void, faster than thought. It pierced the asteroid in a blink—and then, the explosion. It wasn’t just soundless fury; it was beauty. A white and blue supernova bloomed where the asteroid had once been, a glorious blossom of destruction lighting up space itself.

  The shockwave could be seen rippling outward, even through the void.

  “Cool down: 1,500 seconds,” the system chimed. Steam hissed from the ceiling vents as energy readings began to lower.

  Everyone just stood there, mouths agape.

  Erie finally broke the silence. “I think I just fell in love with a railgun.”

  “Let it rest,” Vermond said. “We all need to rest too.”

  Later, the command room was quieter. The humming of systems and flickering data screens dimmed to a soft glow. Vermond laid down on the wide leather couch, one hand tucked behind his head, eyes half-shut. He needed to think. To breathe. To stop.

  But then… he felt her again.

  Soft footsteps. The faintest rustle of cloth.

  Then warmth. Kiana slipped onto the couch with him—her body pressing against his like silk over fire. She didn’t ask. She didn’t need to. She simply crawled over him and laid face to face with him, the curve of her body molding perfectly into his, her arms gently circling his neck.

  “Big brother,” she whispered, her breath dancing across his lips. “You look tired.”

  “I am,” he murmured, not opening his eyes. “Just… resting.”

  Her legs tangled with his, bare feet brushing against his calves. Her fingers slowly traced the line of his jaw.

  “You always carry too much,” she said softly, “Let me carry you tonight.”

  “Kiana…”

  She smiled, eyes glowing with that same tender obsession. “I won’t do anything bad. Just let me hold you. Just let me be with you.”

  He hesitated, but then—his arms wrapped around her waist. Their foreheads touched.

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  No more words. Just silence. Heartbeats. Warmth.

  She moved even closer, barely an inch between their lips now. “You don’t know how much I crave this,” she breathed. “To feel you. To be this close. To make sure no one ever takes you from me.”

  Then she buried her face in his neck, sighing contentedly. “Let the galaxy burn. As long as I have you like this, nothing else matters.”

  Vermond closed his eyes. Maybe just for now… he’d let himself fall.

  She pulled her face back just enough to gaze into his eyes—her green irises shimmering like stardust.

  "Big brother..." she whispered, her lips brushing his. "Just one moment. Just one kiss. Please..."

  Vermond's heart pounded. He wasn’t sure if it was the power humming inside her, the strange force she had grown into—or the intensity of her devotion that made the air so heavy.

  Her hand cupped his cheek gently.

  Her lips inched closer.

  And then—the door hissed open.

  "Hey, Vermond—wait. OH MY COSMIC STARS, THE GALAXY IS SOO VAST—"

  Erie stood in the doorway, holding a plate of snacks, mouth agape, eyes nearly falling out of his head.

  Kiana froze, her body still draped over Vermond’s, their faces barely an inch apart.

  Vermond didn’t move.

  Kiana, slowly—very slowly—turned her head like a predator caught mid-pounce.

  Erie just blinked. “I—I’ll just… I didn’t mean to—uh…”

  Vermond let out the deepest sigh in galactic history.

  Kiana didn’t get off him.

  Erie waved the plate. “You two hungry? Or… should I come back after you’re done playing ‘Stare at My Brother Like He’s the Last Piece of Cake in the Universe’?”

  “Erie,” Vermond muttered.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m leaving!” Erie backed out dramatically, covering his eyes like a child walking past something cursed. “You two need help. Therapy. Like, universal-grade therapy.”

  The door hissed shut again.

  A long silence followed.

  Then Kiana chuckled—low, melodic, and a little terrifying. She turned back to Vermond, eyes glowing with mischief now.

  “Well, that was rude.”

  Vermond didn’t answer. He just stared at the ceiling, cheeks red.

  Kiana leaned down again, forehead against his. “Where were we?”

  Vermond groaned quietly. “I don’t even know anymore…”

  “Don’t worry, Big Brother,” she whispered. “I never forget.”

  The silence returned—warm and electric—when Kiana’s fingers slid back along Vermond’s jaw. Her eyes, deep pools of green fire, searched his again, and her body pressed more closely against his, cradling him like he belonged only in her arms.

  “Big brother,” she whispered with a breathy sigh, her lips brushing the corner of his mouth, “let me show you how much I love you.”

  Vermond’s hand twitched at her waist. His throat tightened. Every fiber of his being was torn between the comfort of her touch… and the chaos he could feel surging just beneath her calm surface.

  Kiana moved in again, about to kiss him—

  SHHHHT—

  The door slid open again.

  “…Vermond? Are you here?”

  It was Ruen.

  Kiana froze mid-motion.

  Vermond's soul left his body for half a second.

  Ruen stepped in with a data tablet in hand, casually scrolling. “Hey, I was just gonna give you an update on the—”

  Then he looked up.

  The silence in the room turned weaponized.

  There was Kiana, lying completely on top of Vermond. Her arms still locked around his shoulders. Her expression? Annoyed. Lethally annoyed.

  Vermond was trapped beneath her like a man who had just triggered a bomb by breathing too loud.

  Ruen blinked, blinked again, then quickly turned around like a soldier facing a firing squad.

  “I didn’t see anything.”

  Kiana’s voice echoed like the edge of a knife. “You saw everything.”

  “I didn’t! I swear! My eyes are blind! My memory erased! I don’t even know where I am right now!”

  Kiana narrowed her eyes, slowly raising her hand—just enough for Ruen to see.

  Ruen raised both arms. “I’m out! I’m out!”

  He ran.

  Thud. Door closed.

  Silence.

  Vermond stared at the ceiling again, deadpan. “…I’m going to die.”

  Kiana, slowly, deliberately, looked back down at him.

  “…Don’t. Let them walk in again.”

  Vermond chuckled, exasperated. “At this point, I need a lock and a curse.”

  Kiana leaned in. “Then curse it for me, Big Brother. Because I’m not leaving this couch until you understand something…”

  Vermond arched a brow.

  Kiana whispered against his lips, “You’re mine.”

  “I don’t want you to run. Not from me.” She looked up, eyes shimmering. “I’m not some fragile girl, Vermond. I’ve seen what you’ve done… what you’ve become… and I still love you.”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but she rose.

  “I’ve always loved you,” she said, pressing her forehead to his. “Even before the powers. Even before we knew what we were.” Her hands slid into his hair. “But now… now I know exactly what I want.”

  Vermond’s hands found her waist instinctively. “Kiana… I’m not sure I can—”

  “You can,” she interrupted, firm but soft. “Because you already have. Every time you looked at me with those kind eyes.”

  She leaned in, her breath hot against his ear. “You’re mine, Big Brother. Mine. Say it.”

  His heart thumped in his chest, louder than the engines of a cruiser. Her warmth, her scent, the way she felt so real in his arms—it was overwhelming.

  “I’m yours,” he whispered.

  Kiana’s lips crashed into his—not gently, but like she had waited years to finally claim him. It wasn’t just affection—it was devotion, obsession, desperation. Her kiss deepened, and she pulled him closer, as if trying to melt into him, to become one.

  They broke only for breath.

  “I’ll never let you go,” she said, cupping his face. “I’ll follow you through black holes. I’ll kill gods if they try to take you. I don’t care if the universe ends, as long as you’re with me.”

  Vermond touched her cheek, a rare smile breaking through his usual guarded expression.

  “I don’t deserve you.”

  Kiana’s eyes burned. “No. You deserve more. But you’re mine now, and I’ll give you everything.”

  She leaned forward again, and this time, when their lips met, it wasn’t just passion. It was surrender.

  The galaxy could wait.

  <(?_?)>