The apartment was too quiet when consciousness crept in no alarm, no birdsong, just the muted hum of traffic filtering through the curtains like a distant warning.
Noel's eyes opened first, blinking slowly at the ceiling.
His body felt heavy, weighed down by the kind of exhaustion that came from thinking too much and sleeping too little.
For a moment, he just lay there, staring at nothing, the events of yesterday still sitting like stones in his chest.
Then his brain clicked into gear.
What time is it?
He turned his head slightly.
Luca was still asleep beside him, face half-buried in the pillow, breathing deep and even.
The space between them on the bed felt like an ocean.
Noel reached for his phone on the nightstand, squinting at the screen.
**8:47 AM.**
His heart dropped.
"Shit," he muttered, sitting up so fast the room spun slightly. "Shit, shit, shit."
Luca stirred, his brow furrowing. "Mm... what?"
