The sound of hydraulic locks sealed the room. The walls shimmered faintly, turning matte black, muffling the hum of the city outside. Nikhil flicked his mechanical wrist; a faint shield grid rippled like a translucent veil before vanishing.
"Bas. Done. Ab safe hai. Yahan koi sensor, koi scanner, kuch bhi tum dono ko detect nahi karega. You can act normal… jaise insaan," he said )
("That's it. Done. You're safe now. No sensor, no scanner—nothing here can detect you. Act normal… like humans," he said)
The moment the words act normal hit, Luna's eyes lit up like twin moons. Finally… finally I can breathe! No more tight wires clinging, no more suffocating second skin! She practically jumped to the nearest console, pressed the release glyph on her collar, and in a shimmer of violet light the biomechanical layering folded in on itself, becoming a soft sheet of metallic fabric. She peeled it away quickly, tossing it aside with relief.
"Ahh! At last—" her voice broke halfway through.
Then it hit her.
Her breath stopped. Her face ignited crimson. Her entire body stiffened as she realized with horror—beneath the layering she wore only her tactical undergarments. Thin straps of her combat bra and dark compression briefs. Nothing else.
Her arms shot up, wrapping around her chest, knees buckling. She collapsed into a curl on the metallic floor, pulling her knees in tight. "No no no no—! Why didn't I—why didn't I think! I'm dead. I'm absolutely dead."
Her thoughts spiraled like wildfire. Valerian's here. Nikhil's here. They both saw. Oh god. I should just eject into space. Just self-destruct. Forget S-rank, I'm Useless-rank!
Nikhil, meanwhile, was grinning ear to ear. His human eye crinkled, while his cyber-eye zoomed comically, lens whirring. He muttered in Hindi, shaking his head.
"Thomas sahi bol raha tha… bilkul careless hai yeh ladki. Yeh S rank hai? Arey yeh toh… bacchi jaisi hai!"
Valerian, by instinct, had turned his face toward the darkened window, jaw set, posture rigid. He didn't move an inch, as though forcing himself to stare only at the mechanical skyline. His stormy eyes fixed on neon roads below.
But Luna—half-hidden between her arms—caught something. The tiniest twitch at the edge of his lips.
He was holding back laughter.
Her heart skipped. Then it exploded. He's… he's enjoying this?! He won't even look at me but he's smirking inside. I KNEW IT. He thinks I'm ridiculous!
Nikhil, still chuckling, switched to broken English for Valerian's benefit. "Thomas said right. She… careless. Bahut careless. Yeh… S rank? No no… A joke!"
("Thomas was right. She… she's reckless. Far too reckless. This? An S-Rank? No, no… what a joke!")
He slapped his cybernetic thigh with a clang, the metallic echo filling the room.
Luna buried her burning face deeper into her knees. "S-stop it! Stop laughing at me!" she shouted, her voice muffled, trembling between humiliation and frustration.
Valerian's voice came low, cool, but there was that unmissable undertone. "Compose yourself, Luna. You're supposed to be S-rank."
Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "Y-you—!" She saw it then. His lips weren't twitching anymore. They had curved just slightly, almost invisible, but unmistakable. A ghost of amusement.
"You're… you're laughing at me too!"
"I'm not," Valerian said flatly.
But Luna knew. Oh, she knew. Her heart hammered so fast she thought her chest would burst. Cold liar! He never smiles—but of course the first time he does, it's at my expense…!
Nikhil was full-on chuckling now, muttering in Hindi
"Arre wah! S rank girl par kapde bhool gayi! Kya team banegi yeh dono ki!"
(Wow! S-rank girl but forgot her clothes! What a team these two will make!)
He tapped something on his console, projecting a holographic laughing emoji above Luna's head just to mock her further.
"Don't—don't put a hologram on me!" Luna flailed, swatting at it, her face a furnace of crimson.
Valerian's voice cut through, low, steady. "Enough. We have a mission."
But Luna could feel it—he was suppressing it, locking it down, the same way he controlled everything. That tiniest, rarest spark of mirth in his storm-grey eyes.
Her heart twisted painfully sweet. I wanted him to look at me differently… not like this! Not laughing because I'm… half-naked on the floor!
She curled tighter, muttering into her knees, "I hate this… I hate this stupid suit… I hate Nikhil… I hate myself most of all…"
Nikhil clapped his cybernetic hand, startling her. "Bas! Enough drama. Ab suno. Mission ki baat karte hain. Clothes later."
Valerian's reply was immediate, firm. "Agreed."
But when Luna peeked up, his eyes were still fixed on the window, expression schooled into icy calm. Only she noticed the subtle flicker of amusement that hadn't entirely faded.
And that—more than her own exposed state—was what set her heart spinning uncontrollably.