The apartment is silent, but the tension between them is loud enough to fill every corner.
She feels it the moment the door closes. The way his gaze lingers longer than before. The way the air seems heavier, warmer. This time, there is no argument, no excuse to retreat.
"You're staying," he says quietly. Not a command. A statement.
She should refuse. She doesn't.
When he steps closer, the distance disappears too fast. His hand stops at her waist, waiting—asking without words. Her answer comes when she doesn't move away.
The kiss is slow, deliberate, nothing like the tension that led to it. It isn't desperate. It's controlled. Almost dangerous in its restraint.
When they finally part, both of them are breathing differently.
"This changes nothing," she whispers.
He smiles faintly.
"It changes everything."