Raine\'s Residence, Moon Clan Territory, Country V

Levi stayed in the control room with Mia. It had been a while since they last saw themselves staying together for this long in a single room; maybe around three days or so ago. It had been their arrangement since Levi usually accompanied Lyne at the office during those days.

Even so, that wasn\'t the only thing Levi had been thinking about. He was still in a dilemma regarding that night when Mia sleepwalked and kissed him. He was itching to ask her about it, but he didn\'t even know where to begin, especially since Mia wasn\'t mentioning anything about it at all.

\'Does that mean that I\'m the only one who\'s feeling like this?\' Levi annoyingly huffed to himself. He was way too disturbed and affected by that one incident.

"How are things here?" he asked, filing his question at the back of his mind for the meantime.

"Good so far. Boris isn\'t a bad companion if that\'s what you want to know," Mia casually replied before cracking open her late-night snack.

"Yeah, I noticed you two getting along well," Levi snorted.

"Well, he\'s a nice person. Very transparent," Mia complemented. "I like men like him… They\'re not afraid to show their true colors, whether it be good or bad. He\'s… bold enough to speak whatever it is that\'s on his mind, you know?"

Levi\'s face twitched as he scoffed, "I guess it\'s too bad that you\'re not his mate then."

Mia raised an eyebrow. She turned to Levi and questioned, "What\'s wrong with you? Do I sound like I want to be his mate? Am I not allowed to appreciate the good qualities I like in him as a person?" She shook her head, "Why do you even look so grumpy? You sound more sarcastic than the usual."

Levi felt a lump form in his throat as he quickly defended, "I\'ve always been like this. Aren\'t you already used to me being a casual jerk-ass from time to time?"

"Huh? You only act like that whenever you\'re around the Boss, especially if men are lurking around her…" Mia\'s trailed off, her eyes widening as she stared intently at Levi. It was as if she was deeply searching into his soul, her penetrating gaze seeing beyond the underneath.

"What?" Levi mumbled with a frown. He could feel the erratic beating of his heart as Mia held her gaze. He became more nervous and uneasy in his seat the longer the staredown continued.

"You act like that because you\'re infatuated with the Boss. Well, you thought you loved her, but I believe it\'s just a crush…" Mia postulated without pause. "Wait… Don\'t tell me you have a crush on me too? Or perhaps you ended up liking me along the way?"

Deep down, Mia was already counting her small mercies. It was a risk, but she was ready to hear his rejection, knowing Levi\'s personal character. Even so, she still wanted to try her luck. Who knows? Levi might end up saying the exact words that wouldn\'t leave her disappointed.

Levi\'s face paled. That question was way too sudden. He practically clammed up, unable to answer Mia quickly as he stuttered. "W-what nonsense a-are you saying? D-Don\'t flatter yours-self!"

Hearing his reply, Mia let out a disappointed sigh and muttered, "Just I expected..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just stay focused on monitoring Yera\'s bugged phone," she sneered before stuffing her mouth full with her snack, not bothering to ask Levi if he wanted some since she was far from being in the mood to treat the dense idiot nicely.

Meanwhile, Levi found himself scratching his head. Mia looked annoyed at him, and he wondered why.

Time ticked on, and there was this awkward silence that Levi wasn\'t used to whenever he was with Mia, who loved to talk and chat around.

"How about your sleepwalking? If you want, you can sleep early tonight and I\'ll cover for you," he offered, breaking the silence.

"No need to worry, Levi. I can handle myself just fine. And for the record, I got enough sleep while you\'re not around. Boris was good enough to cover simple tasks for me and let me get some sleep in while you\'re gone," Mia blurted out, not caring about how her words would sound since what she was saying was the truth. Boris did ask her if there was something he could do to help her while Levi and Lyne were both busy outside.

"Why do you have to mention that werewolf again?!" Levi complained. He was annoyed at constantly hearing Mia say nothing but praises for Boris as if the man was a better companion than him.

"What\'s wrong with it? What\'s with you getting worked up like that? You look like some jealous man who strongly denies how it\'s nonsense to like me," Mia grunted. She was really pissed off right now.

"That\'s what I meant… you make it sound bad. It\'s not like that, okay? It\'s-"

Levi froze midsentence. He couldn\'t continue, the proper words never seeming to show up on his lips. It was bad. He didn\'t even know how he would express himself when he didn\'t even have the proper tools to interpret what was happening to him at the moment.

"So, you mean you like me?" Mia asked, hope coloring her face as it lit up.

"Uhh… No?"

"No? You mean don\'t like me?" she continued.

"No- I mean yes- I-I don\'t know, okay?" Levi shook his head in both confusion and frustration. "Something\'s just… off. I just don\'t like hearing you praise other men…"

"And why don\'t you like it? Is it normal for you to act like that with a colleague or a friend?" she questioned with a pout. She wanted to hit Levi\'s head so badly… It was as if she was giving an impromptu psychiatric session to a teenage boy when Levi was a whole damn year older than her!

"Mia, I\'m… I\'m confused," Levi confessed.

Mia sighed as she shrugged her shoulders, bleeding off some of her annoyance as she looked at him straight in the eyes, "Confused about what? Your feelings towards me?"

Levi nodded.

\'Well, that was great progress,\' Mia thought. At least he was confused with his feelings, which meant there was like… what? A fifty-fifty chance?

"Okay, fine. Go figure out what you want with your life. But in the meantime, don\'t get into my nerves about other men since I\'m a free woman, Levi," She let out another sigh. "I can admire anyone and even hang out with whoever I want. I might even try to go on blind dates as soon as we finish up with the attack on the Convel Society…"

Levi\'s frown mixed with his own swirling emotion, culminating in a slight mumble as he asked, "What I want? Well…What is it that you want, Mia?"

"Why? Will you give me what I want, Levi?" Mia countered without batting an eye at him.

Levi opened his mouth, but his gaze went to the sudden commotion on the screen. In shock, he yelped in alarm, "Boris. He collapsed!"

Mia followed his gaze at the monitor. It was the CCTV footage in the kitchen where Boris was now lying on the floor.

Without any time to waste, the two of them immediately rushed towards the kitchen.