The morning sunlight slipped through the gauzy curtains, painting thin stripes of gold across the quiet room. Dust motes floated lazily in the beam, dancing like drifting spirits above the white carpet that covered the chaos of last night.
Luna stirred first. Her eyes fluttered open, lashes brushing against her cheeks as she blinked groggily at the soft light. For a moment, she didn't remember where she was. Then, as the scent of Michael's body and the faint memory of warmth beside her reached her, a slow, knowing smile curved her lips.
She turned her head.
Michael lay there, half-buried under the sheets, his dark hair tousled, breathing steady. His face—calm, innocent even—looked nothing like the man who had stolen her breath mere hours ago.
Luna's heart gave a small, involuntary flutter. Then the memories of the night before flooded in—a mixture of passion, long-suppressed emotions, and something far more dangerous.
She flipped back the sheet and glanced down at herself, her pale skin glowing faintly in the morning light. No marks of exhaustion, no sign of weakness—only that feeling deep inside her, a strange fullness she hadn't felt in centuries.
Her hand slid over her lower abdomen, her fingers trembling slightly. "Fufu~ My and Michael's baby is here…" she whispered, a smile forming that was both tender and chilling. "Hehe~ Now he won't be able to run away from me anymore."
Her eyes darkened with possessive joy, the faint glow within them shifting into something obsessive. She leaned closer to Michael, her fingers brushing his hair gently, lovingly.
If anyone saw her now, they'd think she was just a doting lover admiring her sleeping partner. But beneath that sweetness lay a quiet, suffocating madness.
What Luna didn't know… was that Michael wasn't actually asleep.
He had woken the moment she stirred, and every word that followed sent a cold shiver crawling down his spine.
'Oh great,' he thought grimly. 'Now she thinks she's pregnant. That's… new. Please let her just be exaggerating. Please.'
He kept his breathing steady, his expression unchanged, pretending to still be asleep. He had survived battles, illusions, and gods—but nothing terrified him more than a woman whispering "my baby" with that kind of smile.
Luna kept caressing his hair, humming a sweet little tune that somehow made his anxiety worse.
Then—a knock came at the door.
Knock. Knock.
Both froze.
Luna turned her head toward the sound, her expression briefly softening. She recognized the voice that followed almost immediately—Michael's mother.
"Michael? Are you awake, dear? Breakfast is ready!"
For a moment, the room was perfectly silent. Then Luna's lips curled upward into a wicked, mischievous grin.
"Oh, this might be fun," she whispered.
Before Michael could even react, Luna stood up, the sheet sliding off her body. With a faint shimmer of light, a white towel materialized around her form—barely modest, draped carelessly around her chest and thighs.
'Wait. Wait wait wait. She's not actually going to—'
She was.
She opened the door.
And there, standing awkwardly in the doorway, was Michael's mother.
The older woman froze. Her eyes darted between Luna—ethereal, towel-clad, hair slightly messy—and the bed behind her where Michael lay half-covered by the sheets.
There was a silence so deep you could've heard a pin drop.
"I… I think I came at the wrong time," his mother stammered, her face reddening furiously. "Y-you two… can come down when you're, um, decent. Okay? Bye!"
And she fled—practically sprinting down the hallway.
Luna shut the door slowly, her expression smug and satisfied. "Hehe~ My plan worked perfectly. Now Mother-in-law will have no problem with our marriage, fufu~."
Michael's soul left his body.
'WHAT PLAN?! What do you mean "Mother-in-law"? I only asked if I should get a girlfriend yesterday morning!!!!'
He stayed still, barely breathing, desperately pretending to sleep again. Maybe if he played dead, she'd leave him alone.
But Luna turned around, her towel swaying with each slow, deliberate step toward the bed. She stopped right beside him, her shadow falling across his face.
"You're pretending to sleep," she murmured softly, brushing her hand over the sheets. "I know that. And you just thought about not marrying me, didn't you?"
Michael's body went stiff as a board.
'She can read minds again. Oh god, why did I ever teach her how to—'
"Seems like yesterday's punishment wasn't enough," she added, her tone deceptively sweet.
That did it. Michael jolted upright like a man electrocuted. "N-no! Luna, please—don't! I wasn't thinking about anything, I swear! Haha… see? Totally relaxed! No suspicious thoughts here!"
Luna's lips twitched upward, half amused, half predatory. She leaned close until her breath brushed his ear. "Good. Then you have no problem marrying me, right? We'll make it grand. The entire multiverse will attend our wedding, fufu~~."
Michael's face drained of all color. Sweat gathered at his temple as he forced a shaky laugh. "H-hehe… multiverse, you say? Sounds… expensive?"
She pulled back with a knowing smirk, turning toward the sleek wall at the far end of the room. With two taps on the oak table nearby, the wall shimmered and transformed—revealing an elegant, high-tech doorway. Without another glance at him, she stepped inside.
The faint hum of water followed—the advanced shower system coming to life.
Michael exhaled, collapsing backward on the bed.
"How much did she even explore in here?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "She found the secret door… she probably even knows about the containment array under the floor. Fantastic."
Despite his complaints, there was a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"She's always so lively," he admitted quietly. "Always trying to make me happy… even if it kills me."
His expression shifted, a faint spark lighting in his eyes. "Still… maybe it's time for me to take the lead. Yeah. Maybe I can turn this whole 'marriage' thing around."
He sat up, the gears in his mind turning rapidly. "If she's obsessed with staying by my side, then maybe I can redirect that energy somewhere harmless. Like…"
He snapped his fingers. "College! Normal human life! Brilliant, Michael. Absolutely brilliant."
He grinned to himself, rehearsing lines in his head like a man preparing for battle. "She'll never say yes, but at least I'll die trying."
Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom door slid open with a soft hiss. Steam rolled out, carrying Luna's scent—a mix of floral sweetness and something ancient. Her towel clung to her damp skin, the drops of water tracing lazy lines down her shoulders.
Michael gulped. His brain momentarily froze.
'Composure. Maintain. Eye contact only. Do NOT look lower.'
Luna tilted her head, one eyebrow arched. "You have something to say to me, don't you, Michael?"
He cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. "Y-yeah! I do! It's about yesterday. You wanted to know about my college, right?"
She nodded cautiously.
"I have an idea," he continued, his tone shifting, confident but nervous. "What if… we lived as normal humans for a while? Like a regular couple. Go to college together, experience life the human way. Just you and me. If it doesn't work, we can stop anytime."
Luna blinked. For a long moment, she said nothing.
Her mind spun in quiet chaos.'Michael… wants us to live as normal humans? As a couple?' Her heart, normally so composed, skipped a beat.
'Wh-what's this feeling? Why is my chest so warm? Is this… excitement? No. No, keep it cool, Luna. He should be punished, not rewarded… but… still…'
Michael's nervous smile faltered under her intense stare. "You don't like it? It's fine if—"
"F-Fine!" she interrupted abruptly, cheeks faintly pink. "I'll play along for now. But if it doesn't fit well, we're not staying like humans. Understood?"
Michael blinked once. Then twice. Then broke into a grin. "Haha! Luna, you're going to love it! You'll be the most beautiful girl the college has ever seen."
Luna froze. Her entire face turned crimson.
'H-he called me beautiful. He actually said it.' Her fingers brushed her lips unconsciously, her heart pounding in a way that felt both unfamiliar and addictive.
She looked at him again, really looked. The brightness in his eyes, the way his smile curved—it was the same as long ago, before everything fell apart.
Her chest tightened. 'Ahh… I can't win against him when he smiles like that…'
Her expression softened, the faintest trace of genuine happiness breaking through her usual possessiveness.
'Ah, Michael… I really love you so much.'
As sunlight poured through the window, the two of them stood silently for a moment—one smiling with relief, the other hiding her blush behind pride.
The day had barely begun, and yet, somewhere in the shifting currents of fate, the universe itself seemed to pause and watch them—Two cosmic beings, both equally unaware of the storm their "normal" college life was about to unleash.
Because when beings of cosmic power try to live among mortals… nothing ever stays normal for long.
_____________
To be continued...