Rain fell softly against the windows, the kind that made the world feel smaller and more intimate.
They were alone in Darius' apartment, the city blurred beyond the glass. He watched Amara move around the room, barefoot, comfortable in a way that scared him.
"You're quiet tonight," she said.
He didn't answer immediately. Some truths demanded courage.
"I keep thinking about the future," Darius said finally. "About what I want it to look like."
Amara turned to face him, her heart already racing.
"There's no version of my future where you're not in it," he continued. "And that terrifies me."
The silence stretched.
"I love you," he said.
The words felt irreversible, like stepping off a cliff without knowing if the ground would catch you.
Amara's breath hitched. Love was supposed to be clean. Safe. This was neither.
She crossed the space between them and rested her forehead against his. "I love you too."
It wasn't entirely a lie. That was the cruelest part.
Later, as he slept, Amara stared at the ceiling, tears sliding quietly into her hair.
Love had arrived too early.
And it would demand a price.