Hedi sat in the inner seat, leaning against the train’s sealed window like a winter lid on glass.

She scanned the carriage; emptiness pooled like a quiet pond.

She set her swollen right foot on Selina’s lap, a pale hill throbbing under fabric.

Before she could speak, Selina pressed her palm there, heat blooming like trapped embers under skin.

“Pretty good for warming hands,” Selina teased, voice light as drifting snow.

“Heartless.”

“Sprains need cold packs.”

“You mean ice, not your hand.”

Selina traced the ankle with cool, damp fingers, like a river mapping a stone’s curve.

She felt it bigger than usual, puffed like overfired porcelain.

The skin pulled tight, a purple-green sheen like glaze cooked too hot.

Underneath, the tissue brimmed with stray fluid; movement sent weak ripples.

It felt like a stubborn little lake hiding inside, refusing to drain.

“How do you feel?”

“A bit of pain.”

“It hurts just resting there? Did you hit bone?”

“I said it’s a sprain… hiss… go gentler.”

Anxiety pricked Selina; she looked toward the window, where scenery flipped like gray pages.

It would take a while to see a town; passengers would board then, like swallows returning.

“The patient’s calm—why are you flustered?”

“I want you bandaged.”

“It might not be that bad.”

“Then I can carry you to and from class, like a loyal pack mule.”

Hedi heard the meaning; pride rose like a small flame, and she shook her head.

“Worried about gossip?”

“To guard the authority I’ve built, I need one face, always, like a steady mask.” Hedi pinched her jaw, soothing herself. “With you, my mask loosens.”

“That’s good! A student complained you’re scary.”

“Who?”

“Uh…”

“Back row, gold curls, starts questions, short sleeves in midwinter like a frost-defying fool?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Look at you—”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“I won’t out you.” Hedi saw Selina’s tension, mischief rising like a cat’s tail. “But I won’t share my awkward stories with you.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t keep secrets, like a sieve in rain.”

“My mouth’s the tightest!”

“Do you even believe that?”

“I do… how could I not…”

Hedi leaned in, smoothing Selina’s face like a hand on calm water.

She set her thumb against Selina’s lips, a small bridge over a warm current.

Selina took it without shame; the inner cheek’s softness wrapped the finger, slick warmth through thin membrane like silk on skin.

Then her mouth tightened; an exaggerated swallow sounded, a playful gulp in a quiet room.

“Ew!” Hedi frowned and tugged out her thumb, wiping it clean on Selina’s shirt like brushing off sticky sap.

“Suddenly felt gross!” She said it and rubbed her arms, trying to shake off the feeling like cold ants.

“You bit my hand, and I didn’t mind!”

“That was different… the mood then wasn’t this.”

“What’s the mood now?”

“Sleepy, like a cat seeking sun.”

Selina puffed with mock anger and pinched Hedi’s cheeks, kneading and tugging with a rhythm like tide and breeze.

As Hedi’s lips parted at the teasing touch, Selina pressed them closed again, sealing them into a fine line like a stitched seam.

The sudden move made Hedi breathe a short hu—hu— through her nose, a sparrow’s chirp escaping.

“Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Seeing you like that, I thought—”

Hedi pinched the back of Selina’s hand, shaping each word like stepping stones: “But you touched my foot, then touched my mouth!”

“I… I didn’t notice…”

“Do that again, and I’ll bite you!”

“Don’t be mad. I just wanted to play.”

“I’m not that mad.”

“I knew you’re the best to me!”

“What else can I do?” Hedi mimicked Selina’s scolded face, pitiful as a wet puppy under eaves.

For a blink, Selina felt an illusion: the Professor would break the hush with a coy little whimper, like a nightingale in snow.

But Hedi made no sound; she only shifted her look, half-chiding and half-bitter, like sweet tea edged with tannin.

“Every time I scold you, you do that.” Her expression smoothed, a lake settling. “How could I stay hard-hearted?”

“That’s why you’re the best to me!”

“But—don’t touch my mouth out of nowhere.”

“You’ve licked it before—”

“Ahem… don’t talk nonsense!”

“I meant fingers, neck, things like that. Where’d your mind go?”

Hedi flushed, red as a ripe persimmon, and shook her head fast.

Selina hugged Hedi, humming, “It’s okay. I like you, so I accept the grime in your head like dust in sunlight.”

“I thought nothing!”

“Hush. You’re a big kid.”

“Really, I’m serious!”

“You’re even starting to talk like me.” Selina rested her cheek on Hedi’s, like two leaves touching. “But I really, really like you!”

“All the world’s snow melts into a sugared heart,” Hedi answered, words like candy shells.

“I said that first. You think of one.”

“I can’t think of one.”

“Just one line.”

Hedi held Selina with deep feeling, murmuring like a poem: “Mm… my liking for you is like walking into a forest full of Tiger Balm, all heat and comfort.”

Her hair carried a lovely orange scent, drifting like citrus wind, and it braided with Selina’s unique body scent, a mingled warmth melting into both hearts.

The moment slipped free of time, like a lantern floating on night water.

Meanwhile, the train kept its rhythm, racing north toward Northstar City like an iron arrow in flight.