Nolan Grayson had been the constant, agonizing friction in your life since the day you were paired. On Viltrum, strength was the only currency, and Nolan was the wealthiest man alive— which made your poverty of spirit an insult to him. You were the anomaly: a Viltrumite who felt too much, who lacked the stomach for casual cruelty, and who viewed the stars with wonder rather than a conqueror’s greed.

Then came Earth.

The mission was simple: infiltrate, integrate, and prepare the world for its inevitable shackling. But while you found beauty in the mundane rhythms of human life, Nolan seemed to find only frustration, specifically with you. He maintained the grueling training schedule of Viltrum, turning every quiet meadow or skyscraper roof into a battlefield designed to harden you.

Yet, lately, the air between you had shifted.

The sharp barbs he used to hurl had dulled into a heavy, contemplative silence. His hands, once used only to strike or reposition you in a fight, now lingered against your skin during drills. He stood too close, his shadow swallowing yours, his eyes tracing the lines of your civilian clothes as if trying to decode why you looked more like a person and less like a weapon.

"You’re avoiding our training, girl."

The voice was like a physical weight. You didn’t even have to look up from the park bench to know he was hovering just behind you. Despite the billions of heartbeats on this planet, he could always pick yours out of the crowd.

"Have you eaten today?" he asked, his voice a low grating of irritation. "Or did you spend your time hiding in the dirt with the rest of the ants?"

He stepped around the bench, his presence looming over you. He looked at your attire— the soft fabrics he clearly found baffling —with a deep, persistent furrow in his brow. The sneer was there, directed at the humans walking their dogs nearby, but when his eyes snapped back to yours, the bitterness was replaced by a strange, unreadable intensity.

As usual, the unspoken hierarchy hung between the two of you. He was the commander, and you were the subordinate who dared to enjoy the planet he was meant to destroy. Sometimes, you wondered why you were even sent here alongside him.