I felt my body twitch as another wave of cold air brushed across my skin. The air conditioner in the theater hummed quietly somewhere above us, pumping out a steady chill that seemed to sink straight into my bones.

  Me and Car were stretched out together on the rge bed—seat combination in the private theater room, some old movie from her childhood pying across the massive screen in front of us. I hadn't really been paying attention to it for the past few minutes though.

  Her arms were wrapped tightly around me from behind, holding me close against her chest while a thick bnket covered both of us. Under normal circumstances it probably would've been warm enough.

  But tonight it wasn't doing much.

  Another shiver ran through me, my shoulders twitching slightly as I tried to curl in closer to her warmth. The cold air brushed against my face again and my teeth began lightly clenching together.

  "C-can you turn the AC off...?" I stuttered, my voice trembling slightly. "I'm f-freezing."

  Car shifted slightly behind me when she heard that, her arms tightening around my body as she immediately noticed the way I was shaking.

  She leaned forward a little, her hand moving up to touch my arm beneath the bnket, probably feeling just how cold I had gotten.

  "Wow... you're freezing," Car said, her voice carrying a mix of surprise and concern.

  Her hand rested against my arm beneath the bnket, clearly feeling how cold my skin had gotten. I nodded slightly, still shivering a little as the cool air continued drifting through the theater.

  Without letting go of me, she reached over with her other hand and pulled out her phone. The glow from the screen briefly lit up her face as she tapped through a few controls.

  A few seconds ter the soft hum of the air system changed.

  The icy bst that had been filling the room slowly faded, repced by a gentler flow of warm air that began circuting through the theater.

  The difference wasn't immediate, but it was enough.

  I instinctively snuggled closer into Car's arms, pressing myself against her warmth as the bnket shifted slightly around us.

  "Thank you, Car," I muttered quietly, my voice softer now that my teeth had stopped chattering.

  Her arms tightened around me again as we both settled back into the couch, the light from the movie flickering across the room while the warmth slowly returned.

  We continued watching the movie for a while longer. The warm air slowly filled the theater, and the cold that had been clinging to my body finally began fading away.

  The screen flickered with scenes from whatever childhood movie Car had picked, though neither of us were really paying close attention anymore.

  Car let out a couple quiet yawns beside me, her arms still loosely wrapped around my body while we y under the bnket.

  Then her phone buzzed.

  Once.

  A second ter it buzzed again.

  Car made a small noise of acknowledgement and shifted slightly, pulling one arm free from the bnket so she could grab her phone from the armrest beside us. The screen lit up her face as she unlocked it and read the messages.

  "Hm..." she hummed quietly.

  Her eyebrows lifted a little as she scrolled.

  "Oh nice."

  "What's up, babe?" I asked, turning my head slightly so I could look at her instead of the movie.

  She tilted the phone down for a moment and looked back at me.

  "Cane's fighting next weekend," she said casually. "In Vegas. Her team invited us."

  I blinked slowly.

  I had no idea who Cane was supposed to be. The name didn't ring any bells in my head at all.

  But that wasn't what stuck with me.

  Vegas.

  And Car.

  Those two things together immediately made my brain pause for a second. I stared at her, trying to picture what that would even look like.

  "Are we going?" I asked, shifting slightly so I could look at her better.

  The idea still hadn't fully settled in my head yet. Vegas wasn't exactly some quiet little pce you could just slip into unnoticed. It was loud, crowded, packed with people from everywhere.

  I hesitated for a moment before continuing.

  "Isn't that a bit dangerous for you?" I added carefully. "I mean... you're one of the most wanted women on earth."

  The words came out quieter than I expected, but the worry behind them was real. The thought of something happening to her—of losing her after everything we had already been through—made my chest tighten slightly.

  Car didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

  She leaned back comfortably against the bed, still holding her phone loosely in one hand while the movie continued pying across the big screen.

  "I've got connections," she said calmly.

  Then she gnced down at her phone again before adding with a small, almost pleased hum, "And yes, we will be going."

  Her tone carried that confident certainty she always had whenever she had already made up her mind.

  "I haven't been to the States in a while."

  She said it like someone casually talking about visiting an old vacation spot, not like someone who had half the world's w enforcement looking for them.

  Meanwhile I just stared at her for a moment, trying to wrap my head around the idea of walking around Las Vegas with Car like it was completely normal.

  "Alright then... I trust you," I said after a moment.

  If anyone could pull something like that off without getting caught, it was probably Car. Still, the idea sat in the back of my mind as I stretched my legs out from under the bnket, my muscles stiff from lying there so long.

  The movie continued pying behind us as I pushed myself up from the bed.

  "I'll go make dinner," I added, rubbing the back of my neck as I stood.

  Before I could take more than a step away, Car shifted beside me.

  "I'll come with," she said, already getting up from the couch as well.

  The bnket slid down as she stood, and she stretched her arms slightly above her head before following me out of the theater room. The hallway outside was quieter, the distant sounds of the house faint as we started walking toward the kitchen together.

  Even something as simple as making dinner suddenly felt nicer with her tagging along beside me.

  "Actually, hold on... lift your arm up," I said.

  Car slowed her steps and turned toward me, her brow furrowing slightly in confusion. She was wearing a loose tank top that hung comfortably over her torso, the fabric shifting as she moved.

  "...Why?" she asked, though she raised an eyebrow.

  "Just do it," I insisted.

  She gave me a skeptical look but lifted her arm anyway. Her armpit was freshly shaved from earlier that morning, smooth and clean.

  The moment she did, I leaned in dramatically and sniffed.

  "My god," I said, inhaling deeply like I had just discovered the greatest scent on earth.

  It smelled like her sweat, her soap—something warm and familiar that somehow made me smile instantly.

  Car let out a quiet chuckle at the ridiculousness of it, clearly amused more than anything. She didn't pull away or look disgusted—just shook her head a little.

  "You're interesting Miguel," she muttered fondly.

  Then she nudged my shoulder lightly.

  "Alright, come on," she said, starting to walk again. "I'm starving."

  I let out a dramatic whine, dragging my feet for half a second like I wanted to stay there longer, but she was right.

  Food sounded pretty good right about now.

  But so did Car's armpits.

  ——