"I'm sure you did, you just kind of embody peace and understanding, I always thought." Which was the fancier way to say he was a sweetheart. Lux smiled as she watched him. She had no idea when it had happened, but Troy was definitely meaning something different, stronger, to her these days. The fact that he was replying to what she had muttered, which meant he had heard it startled Lux, who looked up in surprise as he asked about it. Then Troy grinned, and Lux found herself relaxing and smiling as well. His wink made her giggle playfully.
Lux had never done the domestic thing before in any relationship she'd been in. Sure she had stayed over at his or her place, and them at hers, but it never really clicked like that. Finding that she and Troy did it so naturally - probably more so because she knew his apartment as well as he knew hers - added another dimension to the argument she was having with herself over whether or not to just go with it completely. It wasn't hard to guess which side was winning, despite the doubts and the fear that were still there. She did not fight when Troy pulled her closer, and instead nuzzled his neck, wrapping an arm around his waist.
If he didn't want to push her into something she didn't want, what then of her, who was omitting something very important out of fear that he meant all the things he said except under those circumstances? Lux knew she couldn't expect everybody to be as understanding as Simon had been, and fear was to be expected - she was a kind of beast after all. "Troy," She heard herself say, heart beating wildly. "I have a secret." Lux pulled away, trembling slightly. She looked at him but then looked away. "When I got bitten...it wasn't just a normal cougar." Every instinct was telling her to bolt for the door and disappear, but Lux knew better. "So every full moon I turn into this horrible monster. And I don't remember much of anything. I understand if you want me to go, but I had to come out and say it before we went any further with this. I'd be sort of tricking you, I mean, who wants to be in any sort of relationship with a traumatized basket case who's also an irrational monster, right?" And in that moment Lux realized how destroyed she would really be if Troy stopped seeing her the way he did before.