She watched him disappear into the stream of evening foot traffic, the city still pulsing with festive energy around them. Their private sanctuary was transitioning back to shared space, but something had shifted permanently - like a wire’s girth - upgraded to handle a stronger current. Whatever they were now, it wasn’t in any professional manual she’d studied. Their synchronization had exceeded normal parameters, running deeper than she cared to diagnose.

“Maybe I’m in trouble here,” she muttered with a small smirk, her eyes casting sideways at nothing in particular.

As Juniper made her way through the holiday crowds, she felt a profound sense of alignment… with herself, with their purpose. Roma’s threats held no power here. They were building something stronger than intimidation - a case that would expose everything. And if there happened to be some unauthorized current running parallel to their legal work, well. She’d deal with that system error when she had to.

O yeah, definitely in trouble here.