Free

While Maria looked nervous as she felt caught, Steve's response was nothing but the embodiment of happiness and cheerfulness. With a big smile he exclaimed, "Maria! How are you still up? I thought you would have gone to bed an hour ago."

Still seeming a bit nervous, Maria tucked her hair behind her ears as she tried her best to use her fingers to straighten the mess she figured her hair was. She replied by saying, "Well I did go to bed but when I heard your door I woke up. So, I thought I should come and look in on you. See how you are doing. I hope you don't mind me coming over."

Steve shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm happy that I get to see you before I get to bed. If anything I should be sorry for waking you up."

Maria blushed and looked away for a bit to hide her flushed cheeks and tried to change the subject, pretending to not have heard Steve's attempt at wooing. "Never mind that. I got plenty of sleep, unlike you. You must be feeling really tired. Did you manage to get everything done?"

"I was feeling tired but now that I am talking to you, all my tiredness seems to have vanished. Since I got everything done for tomorrow, I was feeling content. But now I can confidently say that you have changed that into feeling happy. To see that you were concerned enough about me to get out of bed and check up on me. Would it be arrogant for me to think that you even tried to stay awake for me?"

Maria felt her cheeks getting even redder. Seeing that her attempt to change the subject and ignore Steve's flirting had been unsuccessful, she decided to stop trying. "Well, you're not wrong but do you really have to say those things out loud. Isn't it obvious by how I am looking and by how fast I got here. Geez." Steve chuckled and pretended to not understand what she was talking about. "Whatever do you mean? All I did was ask a question." Maria narrowed her eyes to glare at him as a way of an answer before she said, "Of course you did. But seeing as you're doing okay, I will return to my room and let you get to bed as well."

Steve jumped forward and yelled out, "Wait!" as he grabbed Maria's arm. When Maria turned around she saw the anxious expression on Steve's face before he said, "Please. Don't go yet. I'll stop with the teasing. I came home hoping you were still awake, while telling myself that there was no way. When I saw that your door was closed and all the lights downstairs had been turned off, I thought I was indeed out of luck but then you suddenly appeared by my door. It seemed like a gift from the Universe. I was so excited that I could still talk with you a bit before I go to sleep. If you leave after just two sentences, I'll think I did something to make you leave." After a split second of hesitation he added, "No, even if that is the case. Give me a chance to redeem myself. I promise I won't make any remarks. I just want to chat for a bit."

Maria stared into his hopeful, begging eyes for a few full seconds, as if she was trying to read his mind or peer into his soul, before she said, "Well alright. But just for a bit. It is late and we are both tired. There is plenty of time to talk tomorrow." Though she had responded coolly just now, Maria's heart was beating a mile a minute at that moment. She had not expected any of the things that had happened in the short time since Steve had returned home. Not the words he had said and certainly not him grabbing her arm or looking so sadly at her.

Steve instantly cheered back up after Maria had agreed to stay a bit longer and he returned to what he was doing as she quietly followed him into his room. With a nervous heart she sat down on the corner of his bed and looked in the other direction, while he talked to her and changed into pyjamas.

Trying to add to the conversation Maria asked Steve, "So, what is your plan for tomorrow then? Will you be free until you have to get started on the Wicked Witch's house? Or do you still have work left to do for tomorrow?"

"No, I am free until somewhere in the afternoon. Maybe I'll do some light digging in the morning. See if there is anything I can hack into at her home. If I can spot any security cameras inside the house. That kind of thing. But other than that I am free to enjoy myself." After a short pause he added, "And I was hoping I could enjoy that time with you. At least, if you don't have anything planned yourself..."