Movie night had become a tradition for the Astral Express crew.
At the end of every week, they would gather in one of the cabins with blankets and snacks, dim the lights, and let Welt project movies until they all fell asleep or returned to their rooms. Usually, March and Dan Heng sat on a pile of pillows on the floor, cocooned in blankets while Himeko and Welt sat on one of the cushioned benches near them. This was the first movie night since Stelle joined the crew, and as Himeko had anticipated, March had dragged Stelle to join her and Dan Heng on the floor.
The movie Welt chose was one about a detective who used time travel to solve cases. He chose the movie based on Stelle’s request for a fast-paced mystery. Usually, the crew decided on the movie together, but since it was Stelle’s first time, everyone agreed she should pick. Although Himeko was only half paying attention to the movie, she could tell that Welt had chosen well. At least, if the heated whisper-debate was anything to go by. Dan Heng insisted that the true culprit was obvious, while March claimed he was totally innocent. Stelle stayed quiet for the most part, only occasionally interjecting with completely off the wall theories. After hearing a few of them, Himeko was convinced she was doing it just to mess with the other two.
But the majority of her attention was on Welt.
She watched him carefully, using the light from the projection to see in the darkened cabin. Knowing that he was prone to getting lost in his work and always putting the other members of the crew before himself, she was worried that he was pushing himself too far. He looked tired, but he always looked tired. That was one of the main reasons Himeko tried to get him to rest more. However tonight, he looked more tired than usual.
As if sensing her gaze on him, Welt turned to look at her, offering her a questioning look. She shook her head with a small smile which he returned before turning back to the movie. After a moment of hesitation, Himeko slowly moved closer to Welt so that their bodies were just barely touching. She was not sure where exactly their relationship stood. They had quickly become friends after Welt joined the Express crew, but as time went on, Himeko found herself often wishing they were more than friends. These thoughts seemed to have grown in frequency recently. She often found herself wanting to press a kiss to his cheek or run her fingers through his hair or intertwine their fingers.
It was ridiculous. Himeko was leader of the Astral Express, she had gone to countless worlds and risked her life to help the people there. On a few occasions she had nearly died. And yet, here she was, afraid of Welt finding out how she felt. Her and Welt had a good relationship and they worked well together, she didn’t want to ruin that.
She let out a breath she had not realized she was holding when, not only did Welt not move away from her, but leaned toward her. Finally, she turned her attention back toward the movie. It was nearly over. All that was left was to catch the elusive criminal mastermind behind a series of seeming unrelated crimes—at least, that’s what Himeko gathered after tuning back in.
In the end, Dan Heng’s prediction about the culprit had been correct. Himeko watched fondly as the three of them bickered about the movie’s ending as the credits rolled.
“Any suggestions for what to watch next?” Welt asked.
The three on the floor turned to look at them.
“I want something like that movie we watched last week!” March immediately piped up
“Another rom-com?” Dan Heng asked dubiously. Dispite his seeming lack of interest, Himeko could tell he had enjoyed the movie from last week as much as March had.
“I like that idea,” Himeko said.
“Alright. Any objections?” Welt asked. No one said anything so, after a few moments of thought, Welt began projecting another movie. In this one an astrophysicist follows a series of strange readings which lead her to an alien. The two end up teaming up and, obviously, falling in love along the way. It was rather entertaining. Although romantic comedies we not her favorite genre, Himeko still enjoyed it.
About half way through the movie she abruptly stopped paying attention when she felt Welt’s head fall against her shoulder. Looking over slowly, she saw his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep. She couldn’t help but smile, leaning her head to the side to rest on top of his as she turned back to the movie. At some point, he must have woken back up, because she could feel him laugh at a few of the jokes. But despite waking up, he did not move. The thought warmed her.
As the credits rolled, she could hear snoring from beneath them. March had fallen asleep. Stelle stretched and yawned as Dan Heng whispered, “I’ll take her back to her room.”
“I’m going to sleep as well,” Stelle said, keeping one of the blankets wrapped around her shoulders as she got up.
“Goodnight you two,” Himeko told them.
Dan Heng carefully picked up March and they left. Himeko glanced at her shoulder. As she had expected, Welt had fallen asleep again. She debated staying here and letting him rest, but she knew if she did, they would both have back pain the following morning, so she nudged him gently and said, “Welt.”
He grumbled slightly, but sat up, staring at Himeko with a tired, unfocused gaze.
“Everyone else has already gone to sleep.”
He hummed and, after a moment, said, “Apologies for falling asleep on you.”
“No need, I didn’t mind.”
He opened his mouth again, then closed it. He was hesitating about telling her something. Himeko did not move, waiting for him to decide on what he wanted to say. eventually he let his forhead fall against hers and her breath caught as their faces were suddenly brought much closer together. As he spoke, she could feel his breath warm across her face.
“Thank you.”
Those two words were loaded with an unexpected amount of emotion, as if he was trying to convey something more than just what he said. Himeko knew what she hoped it was, but she pushed that thought away. Now was not the time.
“For what?”
“For everything you do, for the whole crew, and for me. I know I’m not always the easiest person to be around,” Himeko wanted to object to that, but she kept quiet as Welt continued. “I get lost in my work and forget everything else, but you’re always there for me, I appreciate that. I appreciate you.”
Welt moved one hand to cup Himeko’s cheek, “May I?”
Himeko couldn’t stop the grin from forming on her face at Welt’s words even if she wanted to. “For the record, I have never found you to be difficult to be around,” Himeko said before moving to close the short distance between them.
She could feel his small, surprised gasp at her sudden movement and had to suppress a laugh as she moved her hands to a better position. One ended up curling around the base of his neck and the other, finally, carded through his hair. It was as soft as she had expected. Welt had moved as well. The hand that was not on Himeko’s face wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.
When they reluctantly separated, moving just far enough apart to lock eyes, they were both smiling. Welt moved forward to kiss her again but Himeko pulled back slightly, eyes still gleaming with mirth. “You need to sleep,” she told him. Welt sighed. He did not try to kiss her again, but he also did not move away.
A comfortable silence stretched out between them. Himeko also didn’t want this moment to end. After some time, Welt said quietly, “I’ve wanted to do that for some time.”
“As have I.”
Welt chucked softly and they fell back into silence. Less time passed before Welt spoke again, “Will you sleep with me?”
It was only after Himeko’s shocked intake of breath that Welt’s tired brain caught up with what he just said.
“I mean just sleep, nothing else,” he quickly added.
Now Himeko chuckled. “I would like that.”
As they walked back to the cabin’s where the crew slept, Himeko added, “And I would like to do that something else with you, just another night.”
“We could do it tonight.”
“Nope. I’m tired. You’re tired. We’re going to bed.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“Good.”