By the time Damion and Hannah pulled into their driveway, the clock on the dashboard read 10:32 p.m.
"Well. We're home~" Damion stated cheerfully as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Now, let's go make that tea~"
He turned to his left to open the door and slid himself out, but before he could shut the door, he noticed that Hannah didn't move. She stayed buckled in, with her arm propped up on the window, still looking out. She seemed to have not even noticed they were home.
"Hannah?" Damion asked, puzzled. "We're home, baby."
She lifted her head off her hand and dreamily looked around. "Oh~"
Damion smiled slightly as he walked over to Hannah's side of the car and opened the door for her. She unbuckled herself and slid out of the car, and from there, they made their way to the front door together. Damion pulled the keys back out of his pockets temporarily to lock his car, and once he heard the beep, he then used those same keys to unlock the front door.
Damion stepped in first and switched on the lights which illuminated most of the first floor of their house. As you walked in, the living-room was on the right; it was a cozy little area with a couch facing perpendicular to a large television that occupied the corner of the section. To the left of the television was a fireplace, which they barely used due to the fact that their part of the city never commonly experienced extremely cold weather. In the center of all this was a small, rectangular, wooden table with a bowl of fruit that Hannah would sometimes sneak snacks out of, and Damion would have to refill it and tell her how it was for "decorational purposes only."
On the opposite side of the first floor was their kitchen, which consisted of cabinets located around the walls and a bar that cradled the room itself. They had a granite countertop with various appliances and a fridge that nearly stayed empty, not because they couldn't afford food, but because the couple had their moments where they, unadmittedly, turned into quite the heavy eaters. Between these two areas of the floor was a staircase that lead up to the second floor.
Once you walked up the stairs, you were greeted by a short hallway which connected to a bathroom on the left, and a guest bedroom with another bathroom inside of it just further down the hallway. On the opposite side were two offices that connected inside where the two would do their work. At the very end of the hallway was undeniably the specter of the entire floor, however; it was the master bedroom, the place where they slept. As you walked into the room, you found a King sized bed with a nightstand on both sides; above that, a white ceiling fan. On the left side of the room, the wall held a large window that would provide a good channel of breezes at multiple points through the day and night, prompting the silk curtains to gently flow with it. On the right side of the room were some bookcases, each holding 50-60 books. Surprisingly enough, most of the books there were not scientifically acclaimed, but rather fictional tales and novels. Indeed, this was a nice home located in a place that was vastly better than the Slums they were in an hour or two before.
Damion walked over to the kitchen and reached into the counter cupboard, pulling out two little packets of Black tea leaves. He then reached into the opposing cabinet and grabbed two mugs and a little kettle.
Hannah decided to go lay on the couch while Damion prepared the tea. She contemplated on turning the t.v. on, but decided to keep it off due to the fact that she was starting to get a slight headache. So she rested her eyes and focused purely on the sweet, generous aroma coming from the kitchen about 20 feet away.
Once the tea was done, Damion carried over the two mugs and sat down beside Hannah's feet on the couch. He glanced over her body to see her chest rising and falling slowly--she had fallen asleep while awaiting for him. That is when Damion got the devious idea to tickle her toes to pry her awake. He set the mugs down on the center table and used his fingertips on his left hand to gently glide over the bottom of Hannah's feet, which in turn, awoke her. She giggled a bit then playfully kicked Damion on his thigh.
"Tea's done~" He whispered to her as he decided to lay down behind her.
"I know~ I could almost smell it while I was asleep~" Hannah giggled. She reached down to the table and grabbed one mug of the tea, then slowly sipped it.
"Oh my goodness, that's so good."
Damion chuckled. "Did I make it correctly, baby~?"
Hannah nodded as she took another sip with her eyes closed, savoring it a bit.
Damion reached over her and grabbed the remaining mug to take a sip for himself, and he was also pleased.
Hannah took one more small sip, and her smile slowly faded. Her recollections from the previous couple hours came bleeding back into her memories, and this brought back on the sadness.
"Honey, have you..," she started, softly, "..ever felt like you were at war with your morals?"
Damion scoffed slightly. "Might seem surprising but yes. More times than you'd think. Why?"
"I feel like that. I've, felt like that for a while, actually." She stated, glancing down at her cup.
Damion snuggled closer to her as he nuzzled his head on the back of her neck. "Why do you feel like that?"
She sighed and took a deep breath. After that, the words flooded out of her mouth as she told him everything; starting with the situation involving herself and three of her friends, and how a group approached them, inquiring if they would so graciously help them with a bit of a pickle they were in. They were from a place that no one even knew existed, supposedly a small country, a micronation, whose relevancy was registered only months prior. They were looking for people to make weapons, and we're not talking handguns, here. These men wanted borderline weapons of mass destruction.
There were four scientists of interest, Hannah being one, and in return, the men wanted four separate types of bombs; Smart, Chemical, Nuclear, and Electromagnetic. Hannah received Chemical. They wanted to fill their arsenal as quickly as they could for fear of a possible attack any time now. Hannah told Damion that obviously they realized it was shady that a country so new was already having negative foreign and domestic affairs, but later added how they had no other choice than to accept; they were almost too scared to even ask these men questions. They offered a great sum of cash for a demo of each respectful weapon, and promised the four of them an even greater sum, "eighty times this amount" as one of them put it, if they stayed on board and made more. So they agreed. In three weeks, they will have a demo-bomb. In five, they will have the real thing. In seven, they will have 40 consecutive weapons, or 10 a piece. What happens after that will be discussed at a later date.
And then there was Zara. What a more perfect time to go through a "Oh, I wanna help a poor child!" phase, Hannah told Damion. Hannah sees potential in the girl, and has been looking for a lab assistant for months, as the work is becoming a little too big for a one-person show now. She's well-established in the scientific field, and she needs to expand in order to keep her ship sailing, and to do that, she needs a partner. So she accepted her, but until all the paperwork is finished, and she completes her mental examination, Zara remains out of Hannah's hands. And that's the true problem here. Zara might be more than a handful, and she might even be dangerous, leaving Hannah to pray that two bombs don't explode in her face in the near future.
For that entire night until 5 a.m. when they eventually fell asleep, Hannah told him everything. And afterward, as Damion pulled a cover over them both on the couch then resumed laying down behind her, he wrapped his warm arms around her waist.
"Everything is going to be okay, darling." He whispered softly as he drifted off.
Hannah glanced over at his closed eyes then found herself fixated on the ceiling.
"Maybe."
"Well. We're home~" Damion stated cheerfully as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Now, let's go make that tea~"
He turned to his left to open the door and slid himself out, but before he could shut the door, he noticed that Hannah didn't move. She stayed buckled in, with her arm propped up on the window, still looking out. She seemed to have not even noticed they were home.
"Hannah?" Damion asked, puzzled. "We're home, baby."
She lifted her head off her hand and dreamily looked around. "Oh~"
Damion smiled slightly as he walked over to Hannah's side of the car and opened the door for her. She unbuckled herself and slid out of the car, and from there, they made their way to the front door together. Damion pulled the keys back out of his pockets temporarily to lock his car, and once he heard the beep, he then used those same keys to unlock the front door.
Damion stepped in first and switched on the lights which illuminated most of the first floor of their house. As you walked in, the living-room was on the right; it was a cozy little area with a couch facing perpendicular to a large television that occupied the corner of the section. To the left of the television was a fireplace, which they barely used due to the fact that their part of the city never commonly experienced extremely cold weather. In the center of all this was a small, rectangular, wooden table with a bowl of fruit that Hannah would sometimes sneak snacks out of, and Damion would have to refill it and tell her how it was for "decorational purposes only."
On the opposite side of the first floor was their kitchen, which consisted of cabinets located around the walls and a bar that cradled the room itself. They had a granite countertop with various appliances and a fridge that nearly stayed empty, not because they couldn't afford food, but because the couple had their moments where they, unadmittedly, turned into quite the heavy eaters. Between these two areas of the floor was a staircase that lead up to the second floor.
Once you walked up the stairs, you were greeted by a short hallway which connected to a bathroom on the left, and a guest bedroom with another bathroom inside of it just further down the hallway. On the opposite side were two offices that connected inside where the two would do their work. At the very end of the hallway was undeniably the specter of the entire floor, however; it was the master bedroom, the place where they slept. As you walked into the room, you found a King sized bed with a nightstand on both sides; above that, a white ceiling fan. On the left side of the room, the wall held a large window that would provide a good channel of breezes at multiple points through the day and night, prompting the silk curtains to gently flow with it. On the right side of the room were some bookcases, each holding 50-60 books. Surprisingly enough, most of the books there were not scientifically acclaimed, but rather fictional tales and novels. Indeed, this was a nice home located in a place that was vastly better than the Slums they were in an hour or two before.
Damion walked over to the kitchen and reached into the counter cupboard, pulling out two little packets of Black tea leaves. He then reached into the opposing cabinet and grabbed two mugs and a little kettle.
Hannah decided to go lay on the couch while Damion prepared the tea. She contemplated on turning the t.v. on, but decided to keep it off due to the fact that she was starting to get a slight headache. So she rested her eyes and focused purely on the sweet, generous aroma coming from the kitchen about 20 feet away.
Once the tea was done, Damion carried over the two mugs and sat down beside Hannah's feet on the couch. He glanced over her body to see her chest rising and falling slowly--she had fallen asleep while awaiting for him. That is when Damion got the devious idea to tickle her toes to pry her awake. He set the mugs down on the center table and used his fingertips on his left hand to gently glide over the bottom of Hannah's feet, which in turn, awoke her. She giggled a bit then playfully kicked Damion on his thigh.
"Tea's done~" He whispered to her as he decided to lay down behind her.
"I know~ I could almost smell it while I was asleep~" Hannah giggled. She reached down to the table and grabbed one mug of the tea, then slowly sipped it.
"Oh my goodness, that's so good."
Damion chuckled. "Did I make it correctly, baby~?"
Hannah nodded as she took another sip with her eyes closed, savoring it a bit.
Damion reached over her and grabbed the remaining mug to take a sip for himself, and he was also pleased.
Hannah took one more small sip, and her smile slowly faded. Her recollections from the previous couple hours came bleeding back into her memories, and this brought back on the sadness.
"Honey, have you..," she started, softly, "..ever felt like you were at war with your morals?"
Damion scoffed slightly. "Might seem surprising but yes. More times than you'd think. Why?"
"I feel like that. I've, felt like that for a while, actually." She stated, glancing down at her cup.
Damion snuggled closer to her as he nuzzled his head on the back of her neck. "Why do you feel like that?"
She sighed and took a deep breath. After that, the words flooded out of her mouth as she told him everything; starting with the situation involving herself and three of her friends, and how a group approached them, inquiring if they would so graciously help them with a bit of a pickle they were in. They were from a place that no one even knew existed, supposedly a small country, a micronation, whose relevancy was registered only months prior. They were looking for people to make weapons, and we're not talking handguns, here. These men wanted borderline weapons of mass destruction.
There were four scientists of interest, Hannah being one, and in return, the men wanted four separate types of bombs; Smart, Chemical, Nuclear, and Electromagnetic. Hannah received Chemical. They wanted to fill their arsenal as quickly as they could for fear of a possible attack any time now. Hannah told Damion that obviously they realized it was shady that a country so new was already having negative foreign and domestic affairs, but later added how they had no other choice than to accept; they were almost too scared to even ask these men questions. They offered a great sum of cash for a demo of each respectful weapon, and promised the four of them an even greater sum, "eighty times this amount" as one of them put it, if they stayed on board and made more. So they agreed. In three weeks, they will have a demo-bomb. In five, they will have the real thing. In seven, they will have 40 consecutive weapons, or 10 a piece. What happens after that will be discussed at a later date.
And then there was Zara. What a more perfect time to go through a "Oh, I wanna help a poor child!" phase, Hannah told Damion. Hannah sees potential in the girl, and has been looking for a lab assistant for months, as the work is becoming a little too big for a one-person show now. She's well-established in the scientific field, and she needs to expand in order to keep her ship sailing, and to do that, she needs a partner. So she accepted her, but until all the paperwork is finished, and she completes her mental examination, Zara remains out of Hannah's hands. And that's the true problem here. Zara might be more than a handful, and she might even be dangerous, leaving Hannah to pray that two bombs don't explode in her face in the near future.
For that entire night until 5 a.m. when they eventually fell asleep, Hannah told him everything. And afterward, as Damion pulled a cover over them both on the couch then resumed laying down behind her, he wrapped his warm arms around her waist.
"Everything is going to be okay, darling." He whispered softly as he drifted off.
Hannah glanced over at his closed eyes then found herself fixated on the ceiling.
"Maybe."
