It was...impulsive and in the scant few seconds that followed, she regretted it. Regretted being too much, pushing Kell for more. And her gaze went unfocused in that brief moment, the smile briefly fading. Her thoughts pulled away from him. Stupid, so stupid--

Kell reached up and brushed her cheek and Neria turned her head to him, into his fingers, wanting to apologize.

He kissed her instead.

Her eyes went wide, flying open, too many thoughts coming to a screeching halt. Seconds ticked by. A heartbeat, two.

And then Neria canted her head just slightly to kiss him back. The first press was tentative, not uncertain so much as testing, seeing if this was all right. Neria parted from him, not even inches separating them as she sucked in a breath. She kissed him again, warmer, direct. An answer.