Clumsy at first but not a bad companion

After dinner, Noah cleaned the dishes, much to Aria's surprise. She sat on the sofa, watching him with a mix of curiosity and wariness.

"You're not what I expected," she said suddenly.

Noah glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know... You're calm, focused, and... you don't seem afraid."

He smirked faintly. "Fear doesn't help. It just gets in the way."

Aria bit her lip. "I'm afraid," she admitted.

Noah walked over and sat beside her, his expression softening slightly. "That's normal. Fear keeps you alive. Just don't let it control you."

They sat in silence for a moment before Noah turned on the TV. He scrolled through the USB drive's contents and selected an old romantic comedy.

"You like movies?" he asked casually.

Aria nodded. "Yeah... I used to watch them all the time."

As the movie played, they slowly began to relax. The lighthearted humor and cheesy romance provided a brief escape from the grim reality outside.

At one point, Aria laughed at a particularly ridiculous scene, and Noah found himself smiling. It was the first time he'd seen her let her guard down.

"You know," she said, glancing at him, "you're not as bad as I thought."

"Thanks... I think," Noah replied, his tone teasing.

They sat a little closer as the movie progressed. When the protagonist confessed his love to the heroine, the scene felt oddly intimate, and the air between Noah and Aria grew heavy with unspoken tension.

Aria glanced at him, her cheeks flushing slightly. "This is... kinda nice," she admitted.

"Yeah," Noah said quietly. "It is."

They didn't say much after that, but the small, shared moment felt like a step toward something more.

...

The next morning, Aria woke up in the guest bedroom Noah had assigned to her. She stretched, her body sore from the stress of the previous day. The faint smell of brewed coffee wafted through the air, drawing her out of bed.

When she entered the living room, Noah was already up, sitting at the small dining table with a cup of coffee and a plate of toast. The TV was on, but the signal had cut out, leaving a static-filled screen.

"Morning," he said, barely glancing up.

Aria nodded and hesitated. "Good morning."

Noah gestured toward the kitchen. "Coffee's in the pot. There's some bread if you're hungry."

Aria helped herself and sat down across from him. They ate in silence for a while before she finally broke it. "So... what's the plan?"

"Plan for what?" Noah asked, sipping his coffee.

"For... us," she said awkwardly. "Living here. Surviving. Whatever it is you're doing."

Noah leaned back in his chair, studying her. "I'll keep gathering supplies and finding people. The more resources and allies we have, the better."

"Allies?" Aria frowned. "You mean more people like my dad?"

Noah's eyes narrowed slightly. "No. I mean people who won't stab me in the back at the first chance they get."

Aria looked away, her expression conflicted. "He wasn't always like that..."

Noah sighed. "I'm sure he wasn't. But in this world, desperation changes people."

The rest of the day passed quietly. Noah spent most of it organizing his inventory and checking his supplies. Aria explored the apartment, marveling at the abundance of food and the high-tech soundproofing Noah had installed.

By evening, she found herself sitting on the sofa again, flipping through the USB drive's contents on the TV. Noah sat beside her, polishing his katana.

"Do you ever... just relax?" she asked, glancing at him.

"This is me relaxing," he replied without looking up.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Don't you ever take a break? Do something fun?"

Noah smirked. "Fun doesn't keep you alive."

"Maybe not," she said, leaning back, "but it keeps you human."

That gave him pause. He set the katana aside and leaned back as well. "What do you suggest?"

Aria grinned and pulled up an old board game she found in the corner of the room. "Let's play this."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Come on," she said. "It's better than sitting around sharpening weapons all day."

With a reluctant sigh, Noah agreed.

As the game progressed, Aria's competitive side came out, and Noah found himself genuinely enjoying the distraction.

"You're cheating," he accused as she made a suspiciously lucky move.

"I'm not!" she protested, though her smirk said otherwise.

"Right," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Next time, I'm reading the rulebook."

For the first time in what felt like forever, they both laughed—a real, unguarded laugh that lightened the oppressive weight of their reality.

Later that night, as they sat on the sofa finishing the last of their dinner, Aria turned to Noah. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, looking at her.

"For... everything," she said quietly. "For saving me. For letting me stay here. For not throwing me out after... you know."

Noah shrugged. "You're useful. You can cook, and you're not completely useless in a fight. That's enough for now."

Aria smiled faintly. "That's... almost a compliment."

He smirked. "Don't get used to it."

They sat in companionable silence, the soft hum of the TV filling the room. For the first time since the apocalypse began, they both felt a small glimmer of hope—not for the world, but for themselves. But a smile was tugging at the corners of Noah's lips as he was plotting something a

He pressed on his carpet....

...

Noah leaned casually against the counter, his eyes tracing Aria's movements as she cleaned the dishes. His gaze lingered on her figure, particularly the way her hips swayed as she worked. "She's got spirit... and one hell of an attitude. But damn, she looks good," he thought, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

When she finished, she wiped her hands on a towel and turned to leave. Just as she was about to disappear into her room, Noah's voice stopped her.

"Do you drink wine?" he asked, holding up a bottle of expensive red wine he'd pulled from his inventory.

Aria froze, her eyes immediately locking onto the bottle. She could practically taste it already. "Why not? I do," she said eagerly, stepping closer.

Noah smirked and poured two glasses, the deep red liquid catching the dim light. As she reached for her glass, her foot caught on the edge of the carpet. She stumbled forward, her hands instinctively shooting out to steady herself—only to land directly on Noah.

Their lips collided, a sudden and unexpected press of warmth. Aria froze, her eyes wide, while Noah remained entirely still, his expression unreadable.

For a few heartbeats, neither of them moved. The only sound in the room was the faint hum of the refrigerator. Aria pulled back abruptly, her face flushed as she stammered, "I-I didn't mean to—!"

Noah interrupted her with a raised eyebrow, his smirk deepening. "You're clumsy, aren't you?" he said, his tone teasing but calm.

She looked down, her face burning with embarrassment. "It was an accident!"

"Was it?" Noah asked, stepping closer. He handed her the glass of wine she'd been reaching for as if nothing had happened. "Drink. It'll calm you down."

Aria took the glass and practically downed half of it in one go, her heart still racing. Noah chuckled softly and leaned against the counter again, swirling his own wine before taking a sip.

"You don't seem embarrassed," she said, trying to regain her composure.

"Why would I be?" he replied, meeting her gaze. "It's not like I tripped."

Aria's face turned even redder, and she turned away, muttering under her breath, "Cocky bastard."

The two settled on the sofa, the bottle of wine between them. Noah didn't press the awkward moment, letting the silence stretch as they drank. The wine loosened the tension in the air, and before long, Aria was laughing at one of his dry jokes.

"You're not as bad as I thought," she admitted, her words slightly slurred from the alcohol.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Noah said, raising his glass.

As the night wore on, Aria's head drooped against his shoulder. She mumbled something incoherent, and Noah glanced down at her. She had fallen asleep, her breathing steady.

He sighed, setting his glass aside. Carefully, he shifted her so she was lying on the sofa, grabbing a blanket from his inventory to drape over her.

"Clumsy and loud," he muttered, shaking his head. "But maybe not the worst company."

With that, he sat back in his chair, his katana resting against the armrest, and watched the flickering screen of the TV.

...