Sol turned seven in the blink of a desert monsoon, tall for her age, curls untamed, eyes that switched between Elara's sharp focus and Nova's quiet storm. She ran track now, little league, spikes too big but determination bigger. She photographed everything with the tiny Leica, developed prints in the home darkroom with Elara's hands guiding hers.
The casita had grown with them. A second story was added for guests. The courtyard expanded, the pond deeper for koi Flash liked to stalk. The fairy lights multiplied, wrapped trees and trellises like veins.
They were happy. Or the version of happy that came after surviving fire and distance and the long quiet of raising a child.
But ledgers never close.
It started with an email in Nova's inbox, subject line innocuous: *Urban Explorers Reunion – Vireo City*.
The Ledger. The secret society from college, urban explorers tagging trains, trespassing subways, the one that pulled them into city adventures sophomore year.
Nova stared at the screen. Attachment: a photo of their old tag, intertwined initials on a train car, faded but visible.
Elara found her there, coffee cooling.
"What is it?"
Nova turned the laptop. "They want us back. Anniversary expedition. Abandoned asylum outside Vireo. The one we never finished."
Elara's stomach twisted. Memory flooded: sophomore year, scavenger hunt clues in the asylum, horror chase scene, polaroid of them kissing that became iconic.
"We're parents now," Elara said.
Nova's eyes are distant. "One night. Sol with abuela."
They fought about it softly. Not yelling. The kind of fight where words land carefully but cut deep.
"You want to go," Elara accused.
"I want to remember who we were before diapers and mortgages."
Elara's throat closed. "We're still us."
"Are we?" Nova's voice cracked. "Sometimes I look at you across the breakfast table and miss the girl who photographed me naked in a blackout."
Elara flinched.
They made up in the darkroom. Door locked. Nova pushed Elara against the enlarger, hands rough, mouth punishing. Clothes ripped. Elara's back to cold metal, Nova's fingers inside hard and fast, thumb on clit merciless. Elara came biting Nova's shoulder to stay quiet.
Nova on the safelight table, legs spread, Elara's tongue and fingers until she squirted, chemicals sloshing. They held each other after, breathing chemical fumes and regret.
"We'll go," Elara whispered. "Together."
They flew to Vireo with Sol in tow, abuela meeting them for "vacation." Left her at the old dorm with stories and mangoes.
The expedition met at midnight in a parking lot outside the city. Old faces aged softly. New ones eager. Jett there, nonbinary still, hair buzzed, grinning huge.
The asylum loomed, bigger than memory, windows boarded, graffiti fresh.
They slipped in through a basement window, flashlights cutting through the dark. Dust thick, smell of mould and old medicine. Floors creaked. Rats scattered.
Nova led, blueprints memorised from college scans. Elara photographed everything, Leica silent.
They found the old clue wall, paint peeling, but their mark was visible: intertwined initials inside a heart.
Someone new gasped. "That's you two. The legends."
Nova smiled proudly. Elara's chest ached.
Deeper in, the chase memory lived. Hallways narrow, doors hanging. They split into pairs for "fun."
Nova and Elara together. Old habit.
A wing collapsed years ago, a beam fell, and dust was unsettled.
Elara stepped wrong. Floor gave. She fell through, leg twisting, scream echoing.
Nova lunged and caught her wrist just in time. Elara dangled over darkness, beam cutting her palm, blood dripping.
"Nova."
"I got you."
Others rushed. Pulled her up. Leg broken clean, ankle swollen purple.
Hospital. X-rays. Cast. Pain meds that made Elara loopy.
Nova held her hand the whole time, face pale.
Back at the hotel, Sol, with abuela downstairs, they fought really this time.
"You almost lost me," Elara hissed through tears.
Nova's eyes are wet. "I saved you."
"Like always." Elara's voice broke. "But what if you can't next time?"
Nova crawled into the hospital bed carefully and held her. "Then we fall together."
They made love carefully. Nova's mouth is gentle on Elara's neck, fingers slow inside, avoiding the casted leg propped on pillows. Elara came quietly, tears on cheeks.
Flight home delayed. Cast awkward. Sol fascinated, drew on it with markers.
Healing slow. Elara on crutches, darkroom off-limits. Nova carried her to the courtyard, set her in the hammock, fed her mangoes, and read old poems aloud.
Sex adapted. Elara on her back, good leg over Nova's shoulder, Nova's tongue and fingers gentle. Nova riding Elara's hand, slow and deep, rings touching knuckles.
The ledger closed with a snap.
No more expeditions.
They stayed home.
The catastrophe that almost was became the one that wasn't.
And the home stayed safe.