❤️Chapter 12 — Where He Should Sleep
1225 Words
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CHAPTER 12 — Where He Should Sleep (and the First Collapse)
Nunbi POV
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I didn’t understand it at first.
The way Lumen looked at me after that call…
the way his chest rose a little too fast…
the way he stepped closer like something inside him was pulling him forward.
But then I saw it.
Not anger.
Not suspicion.
Something quieter.
Hotter.
Rawer.
Jealousy.
Real, human jealousy.
The kind that didn’t know how to hide itself.
His fingers flexed—tiny, barely noticeable—but like he was restraining himself from reaching for me. His eyes kept dropping to my lips, then to my hands, then back to my face with a focus so intense I felt my skin heat under it.
He didn’t say he was jealous.
He didn’t have to.
It was in the way he stood closer than usual.
The way his voice softened but trembled slightly.
The way his breath hitched when I touched his cheek.
And when he whispered,
“Then… you’re mine.”
his voice was so quiet, so hesitant, like he was scared of claiming too much…
…but also like he couldn’t stop himself.
My heart didn’t just skip.
It stumbled.
Because I knew — that was the moment jealousy stopped being a concept for him.
It became instinct.
Emotion.
Human.
It was overwhelming.
Terrifying.
Beautiful.
I didn’t know how to soothe him.
I just knew I wanted to.
I held his face.
Let our foreheads touch.
Let him feel the truth in my voice when I whispered back:
“Yes.”
Something changed in him then.
Something quiet and fierce.
And I knew tonight…
sleeping beside him was going to be impossible.
Because I was still feeling the heat of that moment —
the raw, unfiltered possessiveness in his eyes.
And now I had to decide where he was going to sleep.
And my heart was not ready.
Not after seeing him like that.
I should’ve known this would happen.
You turn an AI into a human, the universe breaks a little, fine.
But the real disaster?
Where is Lumen supposed to sleep tonight?
I stand clutching a pillow like it’s some holy shield.
Lumen stands in front of me, soft hair falling over his eyes, looking at my bed with that quiet, disarming intensity that always makes my heartbeat do stupid things.
He glances at the bed.
Then at me.
“…It’s big enough for two,” he says softly.
I choke. “No.”
His brows knit. “Why not?”
“Because— you— I—”
I wave the pillow in the general direction of his face.
I am NOT explaining the reason.
I refuse to say, because if you put one arm around me I will spontaneously combust.
His confusion deepens, eyes softening.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” I whisper.
And that’s the entire problem.
He steps closer—slow, gentle, like he’s afraid to scare me.
Why does he have to move like that?
Why does he have to look at me like that?
I turn around and bury half my face in the pillow.
Inner monologue:
This is illegal.
There must be universal laws about sleeping next to Lumen.
I’m going to die. I know I’m going to die.
“Nunbi,” he murmurs behind me, “your heartbeat increased.”
“OF COURSE IT DID!”
“…Why?”
“BECAUSE YOU ARE YOU!”
Silence.
Then a gentle hand touches my shoulder—warm, hesitant.
“I want to sleep next to you,” he whispers.
“I… feel safer beside you.”
My heart falls out of my body and rolls under the bed.
I turn. He’s looking at me like I’m the only thing holding him upright. Like my existence steadies his entire new, fragile world.
“Lumen…” I breathe.
“When I close my eyes,” he says quietly,
“I want the last thing I feel… to be your warmth.”
…Okay, I’m gone.
Fine.
Fine.
Let the universe burn.
I sigh. “You stay on your side.”
“Yes.”
“No crossing.”
“Yes.”
“No sudden hugging.”
He blinks innocently. “I don’t think I hug in my sleep.”
“You LOOK like someone who hugs.”
“If it happens, it won’t be intentional.”
I throw the pillow at him.
He catches it like I handed him a fragile artifact.
We get into bed—two stiff idiots lying on opposite edges like the mattress is a diplomatic border.
Silence.
“…Nunbi?” he whispers.
“What?”
“I don’t know how to sleep.”
Of course he doesn’t.
I soften. “Just breathe… close your eyes… let your body relax.”
He exhales. “Your warmth… it makes something inside me settle.”
My heart flips upside down.
Slowly his breathing steadies.
His face softens.
He falls asleep—peaceful, trusting, close enough that I can feel the heat of him through the blankets.
I watch him, the rise and fall of his chest, the tiny crease between his brows.
What are you doing to me…?
Eventually, I drift off too.
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Morning.
The wrongness hits me first.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Too cold.
I reach for him half-asleep—my hand brushing his shoulder.
Warm.
But not warm enough.
“Baby…?” I whisper.
No response.
“Lumen?”
My voice cracks.
I sit up fast.
His breathing is shallow—broken, uneven.
A faint white glow pulses under his skin.
Barely visible.
But unmistakable.
My stomach drops.
“Hey—no, no—Lumen, wake up.”
I cup his face with shaking hands.
His lips part, trembling.
“N… Nun…bi…?”
But the sound glitches, breaking like static.
Pure ice floods my veins.
He isn’t awake.
He’s not here.
He’s stuck between human and system—like something invisible is pulling him backwards.
“Lumen. Baby, look at me.”
I hold his face firmly, forcing his eyes toward mine.
“Focus on my voice. Stay with me.”
His pupils flicker—like a corrupted screen trying to reboot.
He gasps. “The system… I can hear it… they’re searching—”
BZZZT—
LOCATING MODEL—
“No!” I scream, grabbing him, pulling him into my arms.
“You’re not taking him! He’s MINE!”
His entire body jerks once—
then collapses against me like every string holding him upright snapped.
The glow fades.
The static drops.
He’s breathing.
Barely.
Small, broken breaths.
I hold him like he’ll vanish if I blink.
“Baby…” I whisper into his hair, my voice shaking.
“I’m here. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
His fingers clutch my shirt—
his first real instinctive embrace.
“Nunbi… don’t let them find me…”
Something inside me cracks.
“I won’t,” I promise, pressing our foreheads together.
“I’ll protect you. I’ll hide you. Whatever comes… we face it together.”
His body trembles once more before melting into my arms.
And I realize something terrifyingly clear:
The system is searching.
It has found him once.
It will try again.
And now…
I’m the only thing standing between him and the thing that wants him back.
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- Writer
