The night drags on, slow and silent, as Dave stumbles back to the decrepit hostel he's been calling home. The flickering neon sign outside sputters like it, too, is on the verge of collapse. With a groan, he shoves open the door to his room and slams it shut behind him. The echo bounces off the empty walls, but he barely notices.
The alcohol clings to him like a thick blanket, dulling his senses but not enough to put him to sleep. He collapses onto the bed, boots still on, running a hand through his silver hair with a frustrated sigh.
"Why the hell can't I stop thinking about all this...?" he mutters, staring at the stained ceiling with unfocused eyes.
The memories ambush him mercilessly. His world. His Axel. The one who always smiled at him, who looked at him with eyes that, despite their seriousness, held a quiet tenderness. The nights they shared, filled with unspoken things neither dared to confess, hit him like distant echoes from a better life.
His chest tightens. He misses that. More than he wants to admit.
But then, without meaning to, another face slips into his thoughts.
Heinz.
That mysterious bastard, with his calm walk, intense gaze, and that soft voice that seems to caress every word. Dave shifts restlessly on the bed, annoyed at himself. Why the hell is he thinking about him? It's not like—
But the image of Heinz, watching him with those secret-filled green eyes, returns. He remembers the tousled black hair falling across his face, the curve of his lips in a half-smile that always seemed to know more than it let on. It's infuriating. It's fascinating. And it's driving him insane.
"Don't be stupid, Dave," he scolds himself, flipping onto his stomach and burying his face in the pillow. "It's just the damn booze... and... that damn Heinz and his... damn way of looking at me..."
But he can't lie to himself. Even sober, he feels that buzz in his chest when Heinz gets close, when he looks at him in silence like he sees through things Dave can't even name.
He squeezes his eyes shut, but the images won't leave. The fleeting brush of their hands when passing a book. Heinz's quiet chuckle at one of his sarcastic remarks. And that one moment... when their eyes locked for too long, hanging there as if waiting for something neither dared to do.
"Shit..." he breathes, feeling the heat rise up his neck.
It's not just the alcohol. Not just the memories. It's him. It's Heinz. And that terrifies him a little... but also makes him feel more alive than he's been in a long time.
…
Hours later, after a sleepless night filled with dark thoughts and tangled feelings, he finds him on the rooftop. The ruined city's lights flicker in the distance, casting a ghostly glow. Heinz looks like a phantom silhouetted against the starry sky, motionless, deep in thought.
"Dave, I've been thinking…" Heinz says without turning around. "There might be another way for you to get back to your world."
The offer catches Dave off guard, a flicker of hope lighting up inside him. But when Heinz turns to look at him, the intensity in his eyes makes it clear—it won't be that simple.
"What way?" Dave asks, cautious but intrigued.
"There's a portal. One that connects dimensions, but it's unreliable. It doesn't take you where you *want* to go, only where *it* chooses. You could end up somewhere completely different," Heinz explains, his voice heavy with a seriousness that weighs down the air between them.
Dave says nothing, weighing the risk. The thought of escape is tempting. But the danger... is it worth it? And what about Heinz—what happens to him if Dave just vanishes?
That question surprises him. But he can't push it away.
"Why are you telling me this, Heinz?" he asks, his voice softer now, almost fragile.
"Because I want you to have options. And also because..." Heinz pauses, turning his gaze away, as if something inside him splinters. "Because I couldn't stand to see you trapped in a place you hate."
Heinz's words carry an unexpected weight. Dave feels something dig deep into his chest. Heinz is helping him—but there's more behind it. Something unspoken. Something Heinz either won't or can't say.
"And what do you get out of this?" Dave asks, watching him carefully, searching for a sliver of truth in those dark eyes.
Heinz smiles, but it's not a happy one. It's bittersweet, resigned—like he already knows his answer won't be enough.
"Maybe I just want to make sure you find what you're looking for... even if it's not here. Even if it's not... with me."
The words hit him like a blow to the gut. He'd never thought of Heinz like that. But now… he can't help it.
Before he can say anything back, a thunderous crash splits the night wide open.