Chapter 82: Personal Space

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Personal Space

Nero moved into Sebastian’s bed without asking.

Not the room.

The bed.

Sebastian realized this approximately ten minutes after Claude finished the morning examination, when Nero disappeared into the adjoining dressing room and returned carrying a folded set of clothes, two tablets, a charger, and the expression of a man who had already made a decision and had no intention of opening it for discussion.

Sebastian watched him from the raised medical bed while Nero placed everything neatly on the bedside table, shifting Sebastian’s water and medication just far enough to make space for his own things.

"What are you doing?"

"Moving."

"You already live in the villa."

"I do."

Sebastian followed Nero’s gaze when it dropped toward the empty half of the mattress, then immediately understood.

"No."

Nero’s mouth curved faintly.

"Nero."

His amusement deepened as he returned to arranging his belongings, still dressed in the black shirt he had worn through most of the night, although someone had finally convinced him to change his trousers and remove the formal belt. His long white-blond hair had been brushed and tied loosely at the nape, which restored enough of his usual elegance that the exhaustion beneath his eyes was the only obvious evidence of what the previous night had done to him.

Sebastian pointed toward the adjoining door.

"There is an entire bedroom through there, with a perfectly functional bed that you have already been using."

"I’m aware."

"And there are at least three more bedrooms in this wing."

"I’m aware of those too."

"I asked you not to leave the villa, Nero. I did not announce that I no longer required personal space."

That finally made Nero look at him properly, and for the first time since the episode, genuine amusement softened the strain that had remained around his eyes.

"There you are."

Sebastian narrowed his own.

"Do not use my recovery as an excuse to become unbearable again."

"I was beginning to worry you preferred the frightened version of me."

"I absolutely do not."

"Excellent."

Nero lifted the blanket on the unoccupied side of the bed and inspected the sheets as though evaluating territory he had already acquired.

Sebastian stared at him.

"You cannot simply annex half my mattress."

"I’m Sahan royalty," Nero replied, perfectly serious. "Annexation is part of the cultural heritage."

Claude made a suspicious sound near the monitoring station.

Sebastian turned toward him.

"Do not encourage him."

"I said nothing, Lord Fitzgeralt."

"You nearly laughed."

"I coughed."

Roberta entered before Sebastian could challenge that lie, carrying the latest results on her tablet and looking between the three of them with immediate suspicion.

"What am I interrupting?"

"A territorial dispute."

Nero straightened.

"There is no dispute. I have already occupied the territory."

Roberta glanced at the clothes beside the bed, then at Sebastian, whose expression apparently communicated enough that she wisely chose her next words carefully.

"Given what happened last night, prolonged direct proximity is medically preferable while we determine whether the separation contributed to the episode."

Nero smiled.

Sebastian pointed at her.

"You are not helping."

"I am not commenting on His Highness’s interpretation of the word proximity."

"Coward."

Roberta ignored that with the ease of someone who had dealt with both Sahans and Fitzgeralts for too long, then approached the bedside and reviewed Sebastian’s monitor before lowering the tablet.

"Your readings remain stable, and if they continue that way, we can reduce continuous monitoring tomorrow."

Sebastian’s humor faded.

"There is something else."

Both physicians looked at him, and Nero’s expression sharpened immediately.

"I don’t want Trevor or Lucas told about last night."

Claude lowered his tablet.

Sebastian continued before either could question him.

"They already know the transition has been difficult, Lucas is worried enough to consider every fluctuation an international emergency, and Trevor is spending half his time preventing him from getting on a plane whenever my readings change."

A faint smile touched Nero’s mouth, but he did not interrupt.

"I’m stable now," Sebastian continued. "There is nothing they can do from another country except worry, and I don’t want them told about the berserk episode unless there is an actual medical reason they need to know."

Claude exchanged a glance with Roberta.

"There is no immediate medical necessity," he said. "You are an adult patient, so your information remains confidential unless disclosure becomes necessary for your care or safety."

Roberta nodded.

"We’ll respect your decision."

Some of the tension left Sebastian’s shoulders.

"Nero can tell Dax and Christopher, because they need to understand why his schedule is changing, but not my parents."

Nero studied him for a moment before giving a simple nod.

"Then they won’t hear it from me."

Sebastian’s gaze softened.

"Thank you."

There was no argument, no insistence that his family deserved to know because they loved him, and no attempt to turn concern into authority over a decision Sebastian had already made.

That mattered more than he said.

Once Claude and Roberta had finished documenting the instruction, reviewing the restrictions for the next twenty-four hours, and confirming once again that Sebastian’s readings were stable, they left the observation suite.

The moment the door closed, Nero resumed moving into the bed.

Sebastian stared at him.

"You waited until they left."

"I considered it polite."

"You’re actually serious about this."

"Completely."

"You have your own room."

"I have several."

"Then use one."

"No."

Sebastian rubbed a hand over his face while Nero removed his watch, placed it neatly beside his tablets, and climbed onto the mattress with all the confidence of someone returning to a bed he had occupied for years rather than invading it for the first time.

Sebastian shifted toward the opposite side.

Nero noticed immediately.

"You’re almost falling off."

"I’m establishing a border."

"We don’t need one."

"I do."

That made Nero pause.

Sebastian regretted the wording almost immediately, because Nero’s expression changed from casual amusement to focused curiosity.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"My moon."

"Nero."

"You suddenly look nervous."

"I nearly went berserk less than twelve hours ago. I am entitled to look however I want."

"That isn’t why."

Sebastian looked toward the window, where pale morning light was beginning to spread across the floor and turn the ends of Nero’s loose hair almost silver.

Unfortunately, silence only encouraged him.

Nero leaned closer.

"Have you never shared a bed before?"

Sebastian said nothing.

The smile began slowly.

"Oh."

"Don’t."

"You haven’t."

"I have had sex, Nero."

"I did not ask whether you had sex."

"Considerably more than once."

Nero’s mouth twitched.

"I’m devastated."

"You already knew that.

"I did. Please continue."

"There is nothing to continue."

Nero settled onto one elbow, openly fascinated now, and Sebastian recognized with some irritation that the prince he had spent the entire night worrying about was recovering remarkably quickly.

"I simply never slept beside anyone afterward."

For two seconds, Nero said nothing.

Then his smile turned slow, delighted, and entirely too pleased.

"So I’m your first."

Sebastian closed his eyes.

"Technically."

"My moon."

"Do not make this strange."

"I would never."

"You are already making it strange."

Nero moved closer until one long arm slid around Sebastian’s waist, ignoring the carefully established border as though it had never existed.

"You have half the mattress," Sebastian warned.

"I’m aware."

"Use it."

"I prefer this half."

"This is my half."

Nero lowered his face until his nose brushed Sebastian’s temple.

"It appears to be ours now."

Sebastian stared at the ceiling.

"This is why I asked for personal space."

"And yet you asked me not to leave."

"The villa."

"An unnecessarily broad distinction."

Sebastian turned his head enough to glare at him, but Nero only kissed his forehead before the teasing softened into something quieter.

His hand remained warm and steady against Sebastian’s back while the familiar scent of smoke and burning wood settled around the bed, no longer overwhelming, only present in the way Nero almost never allowed his pheromones to be around anyone else.

Sebastian felt his own body relax despite himself.

Nero noticed immediately.

"Comfortable?"

Sebastian closed his eyes again.

"Do not speak."

Nero laughed softly against his hair and tightened his arm just enough to keep him close.

Sebastian should have pushed him away.

Instead, he stayed exactly where he was.

Personal space, apparently, could survive until tomorrow.