Lines That Blur
Liam did not sleep.
Neither did Dominic.
They existed on opposite sides of the penthouse like two storms refusing to collide again.
Morning light crept through glass walls, pale and unforgiving.
Liam stood in the kitchen, barefoot, staring at nothing.
Dominic watched him from the hallway.
Not touching was harder than fighting.
"You don't have to stay," Dominic said quietly.
Liam didn't turn.
"You don't get to decide when I leave."
Silence stretched.
Dominic moved closer. Not too close.
"I don't know how to love gently," Dominic admitted.
Liam finally looked at him.
"That scares me more than your enemies."
The words were simple.
They hurt anyway.
Across town, Noah sat on the fire escape outside his apartment, knees pulled to his chest.
Marco leaned beside him, offering a cigarette.
"I don't smoke," Noah said.
"Good. Means you still care about living."
Noah glanced sideways. "Do you?"
Marco smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
They sat there in shared quiet, city humming beneath them.
"You looked sad last night," Marco said.
Noah hesitated. "I don't like watching people hurt each other when they're in love."
Marco studied him. "You think they're in love?"
"I think they're terrified."
Marco chuckled softly. "Same thing sometimes."
A breeze passed.
Noah shivered.
Without thinking, Marco draped his jacket over Noah's shoulders.
Noah froze.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it felt… right.
Their eyes met.
Something shifted.
Not fire.
Not explosion.
A slow, dangerous warmth.
Marco spoke first, softer than anyone ever heard him.
"You don't look away from pain."
Noah swallowed. "You joke so people don't look too close."
Marco's smile faded.
Nobody had ever seen him that clearly.
Silence grew thick.
Intimate.
Unspoken.
Marco didn't lean in.
Noah didn't pull away.
They just existed in the almost.
Back at the penthouse, Dominic received a call.
One word changed everything.
"Found him."
Dominic's face hardened.
Liam watched from across the room.
"Found who?" Liam asked.
Dominic ended the call.
"The man who ordered the hit on my father."
Liam felt cold.
"This is mafia business," Dominic said.
"This is your past," Liam replied. "And it's walking into our present."
Dominic stepped closer.
"I can't keep you safe if you're near me."
Liam lifted his chin. "You don't get to decide that alone."
Something dangerous sparked between them.
Not anger.
Not desire.
Choice.
Dominic realized something terrifying.
Protecting Liam might mean pushing him away.
Liam realized something worse.
He wasn't willing to leave.
Midnight Temptations were no longer just about desire.
They were about what you were willing to risk.