When he woke up, the first thing Liam did was try to slip out of Carrie's embrace, carefully moving his shoulders and barely turning so he wouldn't wake her abruptly. Even so, it took him several minutes to manage it, since she clung to him more tightly every time she felt him pulling away, murmuring something unintelligible in her sleep and nestling her face against his chest, clearly refusing to let go.
Resigned, Liam let out a silent sigh and ended up leaving a pillow in Carrie's arms as a replacement. Only when he was sure she wouldn't wake up right away did he get out of bed with gentle movements and go get ready for the day. His mood was noticeably good: he had completed his objective of killing Freddy Kruger, gained a new ability, and thanks to it he could now train something he knew he was seriously lacking.
Today was his day off, so once dressed, he ended up sitting in front of the television. He rested one arm on the back of the couch and changed channels without much interest, his gaze unfocused as he failed to find anything truly important that caught his attention.
At that moment, Carrie arrived, already dressed. She walked over to the couch and sat down beside him with a sharp movement, lightly crossing her arms. She puffed out her cheeks in a clear display of displeasure, turning her gaze away from both the television and Liam, making exaggerated pouting faces without saying a single word.
Liam glanced at her briefly out of the corner of his eye, noticing her expression, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know why she was angry now, and he didn't bother trying to figure it out. To him, only women understood each other. So he leaned back again, relaxing against the couch and returning his attention to the screen.
As he started to feel a bit bored, Liam couldn't help but drift off into his thoughts. His eyes unfocused as he recalled everything that had happened over the last three years, mentally reviewing events, decisions, and changes that seemed to have piled up far too quickly.
Somehow, technology had begun making enormous leaps in a very short time. Liam struggled to find a logical reason for it, and in the end he simply attributed it to the chaos caused by so many stories coexisting in the same world. It was as if reality itself had sped up.
He also remembered that during those years, Carrie had gradually stopped visiting her mother. She seemed to have grown tired of being called a demon—both him and her—every time she visited. The last time, as Liam recalled, Carrie had finally had enough: she used her powers to force her mother to shut up, giving her a serious scare, and before leaving she mocked her a little using those same powers. She probably wouldn't visit her again.
While Liam remained lost in those thoughts, oblivious to what was happening beside him, Carrie stayed seated next to him, watching him out of the corner of her eye, lips pursed and her brow slightly furrowed, clearly irritated at being ignored.
Carrie puffed out her cheeks even more, crossing her arms with a sharp movement. Her eyes shifted to the television, but she wasn't really watching anything. The silence stretched on for several seconds—heavy, deliberately uncomfortable.
Liam remained absent-minded, leaning back against the couch, his gaze distant as his thoughts wandered between dreams, systems, and training.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp tug on his sleeve.
He turned his head and found Carrie leaning toward him, staring at him with obvious irritation.
"Are you going to keep ignoring me for much longer… or are you finally done thinking about whatever it is that's apparently more important than me?" she said, using a forced sweet tone that fooled no one.
Liam blinked a couple of times, snapping back to reality.
"Huh? Ignoring you?" he replied, genuinely confused.
Carrie frowned.
"Exactly. Ignoring me." She turned her face away with a huff. "You didn't even ask why I was mad."
Liam let out a low sigh, scratching the back of his neck.
"I thought it was one of those things… you know. Woman things."
Carrie snapped her head back toward him, locking eyes with him.
"That was a mistake," she said with complete seriousness.
Liam felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
"So… why are you mad?" he finally asked.
Carrie looked at him in silence for a few seconds, evaluating him, as if deciding whether he was worth telling. Then her expression changed—the anger mixing with something softer… something hurt.
"Because you got up without me," she finally said, lowering her voice a little. "I woke up and you weren't there."
Liam's eyes widened slightly.
"Just because of that?"
Carrie pressed her lips together.
"I wanted to wake up in your arms," she continued, now looking straight at him. "I wanted to open my eyes and see you there. Not a pillow."
Liam fell silent.
Carrie lowered her gaze, fidgeting with her fingers.
"You held me all night… and when I woke up, I thought you were still there. But you weren't." She made a small pout. "I felt… abandoned."
Liam's heart gave a small jolt.
"Carrie…" he said more softly.
She slowly raised her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he added. "I didn't want to wake you. I thought you were comfortable."
Carrie hesitated for a second, then moved closer on the couch and rested her head against his shoulder, still looking upset, but without pulling away.
"Next time… wake me up," she murmured. "Even if it's just so we can start the day together."
Liam smiled faintly and lifted his arm, gently wrapping it around her.
"Alright. Next time I won't leave."
Carrie closed her eyes, settling more comfortably against him.
"Mmm… you'd better."
With that, now both ready to relax, cuddled up against each other, bodies pressed together and legs naturally intertwined, Liam took the remote control with one hand while casually wrapping the other around Carrie's waist. They changed channels until they landed on one that usually aired the anime Dragon Ball; today, the new season called Dragon Ball Z was starting.
Liam leaned back against the couch, getting more comfortable, while Carrie nestled against his chest, using his shoulder as a pillow. Liam knew this anime, since it had been very famous in his previous life, but it was one of the many he never had time to watch. So now, in this life, he was genuinely enjoying it, paying close attention to the screen.
With the rapid advance of technology, he had learned that many anime from his previous life also existed in this world. In his past life, Liam only had the chance to watch the most famous and recent ones, along with a few older ones that had caught his interest.
In this life, during their free time, he and Carrie would take advantage of it to watch anime and other series as they came out. The idea felt surprisingly peaceful.
"I can't wait to see what happened after Goku married Milk," Carrie said excitedly, lightly squeezing Liam's arm as the opening of Dragon Ball Z appeared on the screen, her eyes shining with curiosity.
"They probably had a kid," Liam said casually, without taking his eyes off the television, already knowing they had a child. Even though he hadn't been able to watch the series properly in his previous life, whether he liked it or not, there were some things he couldn't avoid knowing about an anime that famous.
"Oh, and he's probably just as enthusiastic about training and fighting as Goku," Carrie said, gesturing a little with her free hand as she imagined what Goku's child might be like, smiling expectantly.
"Probably," Liam replied, giving a small shrug, not entirely sure.
With that, the two of them watched the first episode attentively, following the story until Goku appeared with his child, confirming the guess.
"He's shy, he's not like Goku," Carrie said, lightly crossing her arms in disappointment, puffing her cheeks a bit while still watching the screen.
After that, they kept watching until they reached Kame House and Goku's brother appeared.
"So Goku is an alien. Now his giant monkey transformation makes sense. Liam, do you think they'll make him good too after defeating him, like with Yamcha and Tenshinhan?" Carrie asked, turning her head to look directly at Liam, remembering how most of Goku's previous enemies ended up becoming allies.
Liam slightly furrowed his brow as he tried to search his memory, his gaze drifting for a moment, but he couldn't recall anything clearly about that. "Probably. That's usually what happens when they defeat an enemy, and since he's his brother, it'll probably happen."
"Mmm," Carrie nodded slowly, resting her head back against Liam's chest and returning her attention to the screen, waiting to see what would happen next.
With that, the two of them watched the entire episode up to the point where they were about to fight Raditz.
"It was really good. I can't wait for the next one," Carrie said as she stretched lazily, lifting her arms over her head and letting out a small sigh of satisfaction.
Liam nodded with a small smile, absentmindedly running his hand through Carrie's hair. He had enjoyed the new episode too—more than he expected.
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AUTOR NOTE: If we reach 100 stones, I'll upload an extra chapter later.