Orion blinks. Clears his throat, once, twice. "Yes?"

"You were spacing out," Nikita says, not unkindly. His eyes are so blue that they remind Orion a little of an ocean – endless and beautiful until you think about it's depthness too hard, your awe changes into fear.

"Sorry. Just thinking."

"What about?"

He is endlessly curious, always asking questions – always pushing. Honesty can sometimes hurt. Orion knows it intimately. Orion wants to shield Nikita against it.

You, Orion thinks. Always you.

Sometimes he feels like he doesn't think about anything else. Sometimes he feels like his thoughts are utterly consumed by Nikita.

Ridiculous.

"You," he says aloud, surprising himself most of all. The admission is heavy in the air and Nikita eyes widen a fraction. Then his pale face flushes deep red. Orion allows himself to think that it's pretty adorable.

"Good thoughts?"

Orion makes a non-committal noise. Nikita makes a face. He has a good face. Even before everything, Orion has always thought so.

Neither of them say nothing for a moment.

"You should kiss me," Nikita says then. Out of nowhere.

It's the middle of the night and they are alone in a private corner of the hotel lobby, sitting on a sofa, facing each other. Orion is pretending to work. Nikita is pretending not to want him.

But it seems like he is also at his limit. It's a certain kind of relief.

Orion finds himself chuckling at the boldness, something gentlening inside the valley between his ribs. "The thing is…" he says. "The thing is if i kiss you now, I'm afraid won't be able to stop," he admits, and Nikita's breath catches.

He can see the utter surprise on his face and it makes him feel a little guilty for some reason. It's an unreasonable feeling. He has always been honest with Nikita and Nikita has always been honest with him.

They can't do this. They both know it.

That doesn't stop either of them from wanting it.

"Oh," Nikita says eventually. He smiles.

"Yes. Oh," Orion answers and can help the slight answering smile on his face.

Then he sighs and rubs his face. "You should sleep. You have an early morning," he murmurs and closes his laptop with a click.

"Okay," Nikita says eventually and gets up from the sofa, because he is not the type to demand anything. Orion is not disappointed by it. He's not. That would be inapproriate and ridiculous.

He shoots Orion a confused look over his shoulder and then he's gone. Orion watches him go. Moth to flame.

Ridiculous, he thinks again.