The Morning After
Sky didn't sleep.
Or maybe he did, but if he did, it didn't count. His dreams were just replays of the alley. The blood. The cold weight of being hunted. Over and over again until even the silence of Day's penthouse felt like something was about to break.
He sat at the massive kitchen island now, wrapped in a hoodie that wasn't his. Day's, probably. It smelled like expensive soap and danger.
Scrambled eggs sat untouched in front of him.
Across the counter, Day stood leaning against the marble counter, arms crossed, watching him.
Not saying anything. Not asking anything.
And that made it worse.
Sky poked at the eggs with his fork. "You gonna stare at me until I combust?"
Day didn't flinch. "You didn't eat anything last night."
"Yeah, turns out being almost kidnapped kind of kills my appetite."
Still nothing from Day.
Sky slammed the fork down, the clatter echoing louder than it should've. "You're just gonna do that thing where you pretend feelings aren't real and I'm supposed to magically bounce back?"
"I'm not pretending," Day said quietly. "I'm trying not to make it worse."
Sky laughed—dry and cracked. "Too late."
He stood, pushing the plate away. "This is your world, right? People die. People disappear. And you just…live with it."
"Yes."
Sky turned to him. "So what does that make me? A distraction? A liability? Something you have to hide every time things get messy?"
Day finally moved. Walked around the counter until they were only inches apart.
"You're not a liability," he said. "You're the only thing that reminds me I'm still human."
Sky swallowed hard.
"Then why do I feel like a target?" he whispered.
Day looked away.
And that, right there, said everything.
Sky's voice dropped. "You said I should've stayed away. That I wasn't meant for this. But the truth is, you let me in. Every time you came back to my café. Every time you said nothing but still showed up."
Silence stretched.
"I can't go back," Sky said finally. "I'm never going to see the world the same way. I'll never walk alone without wondering if someone's behind me."
"I know."
"So what now?" Sky asked. "You going to keep pretending this thing between us doesn't exist, or are you going to admit you pulled me into your hell because you didn't want to be alone in it anymore?"
Day's eyes flicked up, sharp, like Sky had just exposed something raw.
He didn't answer.
But he didn't deny it either.
And maybe that was worse.