The city was unusually still.
Elian noticed it as they walked—fewer cars, softer footsteps, the sky holding a muted gray that made everything feel suspended. Juni walked beside him, hands tucked into his jacket sleeves, gaze unfocused but calm.
They didn't talk much.
They didn't need to.
At a small park near the river, they stopped. Elian sat on the low stone wall, and Juni joined him, their shoulders touching lightly. The water moved steadily below, indifferent to human pacing.
Juni traced a line along the stone with his finger. "I think we're good at this," he said.
"At what?" Elian asked.
"Not rushing," Juni replied.
Elian smiled faintly. "It's not my instinct."
"I know," Juni said. "That's why it matters that you're choosing it."
They sat in silence again, the words settling into something solid.
"I don't need a name yet," Juni added after a moment. "I just needed to know we weren't avoiding it because we're scared."
Elian turned toward him. "We're not," he said. "I'm scared of hurting what we have. Not of naming it."
Juni met his gaze, something warm and steady there. "Then we're aligned."
Elian reached out, resting his hand over Juni's. The contact was simple, grounding. No spectacle. No declaration.
Just presence.
They walked back toward the city as dusk gathered, stopping for coffee they didn't finish, sharing observations that didn't need conclusions. The ease between them felt earned.
Later, at the apartment, they settled into their usual places—Juni on the floor with his sketchbook, Elian at the table with his notes. The rhythm resumed without effort.
At some point, Elian glanced up. "You staying?"
Juni nodded. "If that's okay."
Elian smiled. "Always."
They didn't mark the night as special. They didn't need to. As they lay side by side later, facing the same direction, Elian's hand found Juni's, fingers interlacing loosely.
No promises were made.
But something had been chosen—again, deliberately.
Patience wasn't absence.
It was care, practiced daily.
And as sleep came, the stillness between them felt less like waiting and more like trust.