Nepeta bit her lip just a bit as she smiled, if only to keep her excited and somewhat nervous giggles at bay. She'd been waiting for this moment, waiting for the right time to tell him. From the look on his face, she knew that he too realized what it all meant. She could hardly wait.

She wanted to lunge forward and leap onto him, but she didn't. That was the way she had always shown him affection. It had always been her to initiate it, and her to follow through. She never expected anything in return. It would be too hard on Equius if she ever asked him to try, and there was too much risk involved.

Standing in the Dead Zone, she didn't have to. For once, she would not make the first move. She stood there, still smiling, arms loose at her sides. Her feet wiggled out of sheer excitement, and her fingers played with the ends of her sleeves.

"It's okay now!" she said so assuredly. "You won't hurt me, I promise."