Nyra didn't plan it.
That alone should've been a warning.
"Relax," she said, slipping her jacket on. "You've already been here before. Just not like this."
Elias smiled, a little tense. "You mean not after dark, not off-duty, and not with your real neighborhood watching?"
"Exactly," Nyra replied. "Congratulations."
Eastside was alive tonight. Loud music. Shouting voices. The smell of food, smoke, heat. Nyra walked differently here looser, sharper, like the streets recognized her.
Elias noticed.
Shark was already waiting near the corner, same calm posture, same unreadable eyes. No surprise when he saw Elias just a brief nod.
"You're late," Shark said to Nyra.
"You love me anyway," she shot back.
Shark snorted quietly. "That's not how that works."
Elias laughed under his breath. "Good to see you again."
Shark gave him a look not suspicious, not hostile. Familiar. "Didn't think you'd come back on your own."
Nyra smirked. "That's my fault."
They moved through the neighborhood together, not rushed, not hiding. Nyra greeted people casually. Some nodded at Shark. A few eyed Elias with curiosity, then lost interest when Nyra stayed relaxed.
"This is different," Elias said quietly as they walked. "Last time I was… focused."
"On keeping me locked in a mansion?" Nyra teased.
"On keeping you alive," he corrected.
They grabbed drinks from a corner spot nothing fancy, nothing legal. Nyra sat on a low wall, Elias beside her, Shark standing nearby like gravity.
"This is where I learned logistics," Nyra said casually. "And people. And patience."
Elias shook his head, smiling. "You learned all that before you ever touched code."
"Exactly."
Later, they ended up on a rooftop same unofficial kind Nyra always chose. Music played low from someone's phone. The city stretched below them, messy and real.
Nyra laughed more than Elias had ever seen her laugh. Not sharp. Not guarded. Real.
"That's why you don't fit in boxes," Elias said at one point.
Nyra shrugged. "Boxes are lazy."
Shark watched them quietly, then spoke. "You're good for her," he said to Elias. Not approval. A statement.
Elias met his eyes. "I know my limits."
"That's why you're still standing," Shark replied.
When the night wound down, Elias lingered at the curb. "Thanks," he said to Nyra. "For letting me see this version of you."
She nudged his shoulder. "Don't get sentimental."
He smiled. "Too late."
As Elias walked away, Shark glanced at Nyra. "You needed that."
She nodded. "Yeah."
For one night, chaos stayed quiet.
No lines crossed.
No alarms triggered.
Just a borrowed moment of balance
before the world inevitably asked for payment.