By the time the rain finally stopped, the world seemed to exhale. The streets were washed clean, the air damp and cool, carrying the scent of cedar and salt.
Hannah woke to pale sunlight slipping through her curtains. For a moment, she just lay there, listening to the quiet hum of the morning. The night before still lingered — not in words, but in the feeling of it. The calm. The honesty.
She made coffee, the soft click and hiss of the pot filling the silence. On the counter sat two mugs, side by side from the night before. She smiled at that — small, ordinary, but meaningful.
A knock sounded, light and familiar. When she opened the door, Emma stood there again, holding a paper bag that smelled faintly of fresh pastries.
"I figured you might not have breakfast," Emma said, her smile uncertain but warm. "And I wanted to make sure last night wasn't just something I imagined."
Hannah shook her head, smiling softly. "You didn't imagine it."
Emma exhaled a small laugh of relief. "Good. I didn't sleep much, thinking about it."
"Me neither," Hannah admitted.
They ate together at the little kitchen table, sunlight spreading across the wood, the kind of quiet that doesn't need filling.
After a while, Emma said, "You know, I keep waiting for the world to tell us this is too much, too fast… but it doesn't feel that way."
"It feels right," Hannah said simply.
Emma nodded. "Yeah. It does."
The conversation drifted easily after that — talk of the mural, of lesson plans, of the weather clearing in time for the weekend. But beneath it all was a shared knowing: something had shifted, and neither wanted to undo it.
When Emma finally stood to leave for school, Hannah walked her to the door. They paused there a moment, the soft morning light spilling between them.
"I'll see you in a bit?" Emma asked.
"Yeah," Hannah said, smiling. "See you soon."
After she left, Hannah lingered by the door. The apartment was quiet again, but not empty. Not anymore.
She looked toward the window, where sunlight glowed faintly through the glass.
For the first time in a long while, the day ahead felt like something to look forward to.