The room stayed quiet after that, warm, but none of them felt it was bad as all of them were too tired and fulfilled to care.
For a while, none of them spoke much.
Katsura lay against Aurelian, tired enough that she barely moved, while Yelena and Mirei settled on either side of him with the kind of comfort that only came from being around someone they trusted completely.
Aurelian kept one hand in Katsura's hair, brushing through it slowly, not really thinking about anything important for once.
That lasted longer than usual.
Then Yelena spoke.
"So," she said, her voice lazy but still sharp enough to be dangerous, "are we going to talk about her?"
Aurelian's hand paused.
Mirei smiled faintly. "That reaction means yes."
Katsura opened one eye. "Who?"
Yelena turned her head slightly. "The guest."
Aurelian sighed.
"There it is," Mirei said. "The sigh of a man who was hoping the topic would die by itself."
"It was a peaceful hope," Aurelian replied.
