The first light slipped into the bedroom, dividing the expensive handmade carpet into squares of light and shadow. Nico Robin curled beneath the velvet covers, her face half buried in the crook of Boer's arm, her long hair scattered across the pillow. Her eyes were closed, but her toes unconsciously pointed as she gently kicked the soft duvet, making lazy, indistinct sounds through her nose like a cat.
"Not going... don't want to..." She turned her face away, her voice muffled by the bedding, carrying a rare trace of resistance. "I've come down with a disease called 'I'll die if I leave the Royal Capital'... I've only been back a few days."
Boer chuckled, winding a strand of her hair around his finger.
Robin suddenly rolled over to face him. The morning light traced her elegant profile. Her languor faded, replaced by a scholar's rationality, and she raised a hand, folding down her slender fingers one by one.
"You've just become governor-general of inspections for the West Blue. Although the 'customary payments' for the Navy routes have decreased, we need to weigh whether the extra budget should go toward benefits for Navy soldiers or strengthening our network of connections with commissioned officers. The Germa family's 'Lineage Factor,' 'medical technology,' and 'electromagnetic technology' need to be handed over. The first batch of standard components from the Seastone processing line is due next week. Several sensitive items among Sister Ginny's 'special-channel' supplies need a fresh risk assessment. Domestically..."
She laid everything out methodically, her voice clear and steady. Boer listened with a smile at first, but his gaze gradually wandered from her moving red lips to her long, pale neck, then to the suggestive contours rising and falling beneath the thin covers... His attention began to drift.
After murmuring for some time,