"Do you promise that if I let you go, you'll behave?"
He nodded quickly, a desperate movement.
"Okay... But don't do anything stupid, or I swear... I'll kill you!" She lowered her hand from her face, her posture a little more relaxed, but the threat still heavy with seriousness.
He nodded again, submissive like his younger brother when he was sulking.
Ketlen smiled. Not because Nunes was broken on the floor, but because, however distant it seemed, he reminded her of the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. Little Davi. She chuckled softly, a melodic sound that contrasted with the situation. She picked up a pistol in one hand and a key in the other, unlocking Nunes's handcuffs while coldly pointing the gun at his face.
"There... your hands might take a little while to get back to normal." She stared at him, now with a more studied attention, less cruel.
"Okay... thanks for letting me go, seriously." He gave a weak smile with dry lips, a mix of relief and gratitude.
...
"Can I...?"
"You want more stuff?" She frowned, her patience thin.
"Oh... no, no! I just wanted something to eat... And new clothes, these are soaked!"
"You think I'm your slave?"
"She might as well be," Nunes's thought was a cheeky flash amidst his misery.
"Ah..." He smiled with his lips. "Do you believe in God?"
She frowned, a questioning grimace. "What are you talking about, kid?"
"Answer me, come on. I said my name, now tell me, do you believe?"
She shrugged. "I do."
"Perfect. Now see if you can do something good to make up for the torture, God is watching..." He chuckled softly, pressing his lips together. "Do me a favor and grab me some clothes and some food, anything edible will do."
"My God... fine." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in resigned exasperation.
She stood up and went to the hallway first, her eyes fixed on him, still sitting on the floor. Nunes really had no plans to do anything to her.
"Where are the clothes?" She frowned, her eyes scanning the ship's giant interior.
"Oh... Like, right there is this built-in closet:" He pointed with a trembling finger, and she opened it immediately. "That's it! Yeah... There are clothes my size on the first shelf, under all those sheets and blanke-"
Her loud sneeze cut him off.
"Yeah..." He chuckled softly, more relaxed. "The smell of cloves and dust does that, for sure... But it's that folded set there."
She grabbed the bundle, slamming the door shut, then tossed the clothes to him, making the folded set unravel on the metallic floor.
"Put that shit on now," She pointed the gun at him, her face serious. "NOTHING... No changing underwear. Just these shorts and the t-shirt. Heard me?"
"Heard you!" he said, already pulling off his soaked t-shirt with difficulty. "And that swollen nose? Do you have allergies? Like..."
"JUST PUT IT ON, YOU CLOWN!" She roared, not wanting to make conversation, her nose red and congested.
"Okay, Ms. Rhinitis..." he murmured, trying to pull off the wet, heavy shirt.
When the clothing fell to the floor with a wet thud, she widened her eyes slightly.
Nunes's body—a reflection of his passion—was worthy of a bodybuilder in cutting season. His abdomen, perfectly shredded, from the obliques to the lower folds. Shoulders bulging, veins pulsing on his forearms. His biceps and triceps screamed in size, proportionally perfect to his over 6'2" frame. As for his chest... large, but still no match for hers.
She frowned again, pressing her lips together, heading towards the kitchen as if she hadn't seen anything. But he knew.
While putting on the shirt. "Turn away, torturer. Now I'm putting on my shorts!"
She shook her head, rolling her eyes. Nunes smiled with his lips, exhaling through his nose in a silent laugh.
When he finished dressing, the rebel grabbed a canned tuna and opened it, pouring the water out into the sink with a metallic sound. She walked over to him and handed him the can.
"Here, eat it with your hand, you idiot." She handed him the tuna, her voice serious and grumpy, but without the cruelty from before.
He, without further ado, grabbed the can and surrendered to the tuna, devouring it unceremoniously. There, she settled onto the cold floor in front of him, a gun weighing in her hand. Trying to strike up a conversation, she searched for words in the silence that enveloped them.
"At least he's not ugly," She thought, before opening her mouth.
"Ketlen." She gave an awkward smile with her lips, waving her hand at him.
He looked at her, his attention drawn to a faintly visible scar on her wrist, a thin line that seemed to tell a silent story, along with other smaller ones more faded by time.
"My name... I bet you've never met a Ketlen before, right?"
"No." He looked back at the tuna, trying to finish it, his voice dry.
Dry... A direct hit to her ego. How could he treat her so coldly?
"Holy shit, did you eat it all already?" She forced a surprised face, a hint of amusement in her voice.
He threw the empty can away with a dull thud.
"I was hungry."
"Hehe, I saw." She gave a genuine smile, a smile that illuminated her face, dissolving her mask of cruelty and revealing surprising beauty.
He remained silent, looking into her eyes. They were beautiful. Every detail of her face was captivating: the freckles on her cheeks, a little below her brown eyes. She seemed so delicate... Her smile was the most enchanting thing he'd seen since his life was destroyed after that night in the hotel. And her hair... A short, messy bob.
"So... About those messages, what you said..." She bit her lower lip, a gesture of apprehension.
It would be the first time they truly talked.