Sarai did not plan to still be awake.
She told herself she was just going to unpack a little, maybe scroll her phone for a few minutes, and then go to sleep like a normal person who had not just been assigned to live with a stranger.
That had been hours ago.
Now she sat cross-legged on the bed, one of her bags half open beside her, her laptop glowing faintly in front of her while a show played that she had not actually been paying attention to for at least twenty minutes.
Her mind kept circling back.
To the building.
To the file.
To him.
"High-risk," she muttered quietly, leaning back against the headboard. "What does that even mean in a real-life, practical sense?"
Her phone buzzed once on the bed beside her.
A message from Nyla.
Nyla: You alive?
Sarai snorted softly and typed back.
Sarai: Unfortunately yes
Sarai: I'm in the house
Sarai: It's nice which makes it worse somehow
The reply came almost immediately.
Nyla: You met him yet?
Sarai paused.
Then typed.
Sarai: Yes
Sarai: He's…
She stopped.
Looked at the word.
Deleted it.
Typed again.
Sarai: He's not what I expected
Three dots appeared.
Then—
Nyla: That's not reassuring
Sarai smiled faintly.
Sarai: It's not supposed to be
She set her phone down beside her, letting her head fall back against the wall.
The house had gone quiet hours ago.
Not the kind of quiet that felt peaceful.
The kind that made you aware of every small sound.
The air system.
The faint shift of something settling in the walls.
Her own breathing.
She glanced toward the door.
Still closed.
Still no movement outside.
"…okay," she said softly. "So he just… doesn't come back? That's a possibility too, right? We're just doing mysterious, disappearing roommate energy?"
Right as the words left her mouth—
The front door opened.
Sarai froze.
The sound carried through the house, quiet but clear.
A shift of air.
A soft thud as the door closed again.
Then footsteps.
Measured. Even. Unhurried.
Her heart did something annoying.
Not panic.
Just… awareness.
"…great," she whispered. "Perfect timing."
She glanced down at herself.
Loose tank top. Sleep shorts.
Comfortable.
Not presentation-ready.
Sarai paused.
Then sat up straighter.
"…why do I care?" she muttered.
The footsteps moved through the main space.
Closer now.
Sarai swung her legs off the bed and stood, adjusting her shirt without thinking too hard about it.
"Relax," she told herself quietly. "You live here. He lives here. This is normal."
She stepped into the hallway.
The lighting was low, softer than before, casting long shadows along the walls.
Virek stood near the entrance to the living area, one hand resting briefly against the wall as he stepped fully inside.
Sarai stopped.
There was something different.
Not dramatic.
But noticeable.
His shirt was darker now.
Not because of the lighting.
Because of what had soaked into it.
Her eyes caught it before she could stop them.
A faint, uneven stain near the side.
Dark.
Still fresh.
Sarai blinked once.
Then looked back up at his face.
"…okay," she said slowly. "So we're not going to pretend that's normal, right?"
Virek's gaze shifted to her.
He didn't seem surprised to see her.
"You're still awake," he said.
"That's what you took from what I just said?" Sarai asked.
He stepped further into the room, the movement steady, unaffected.
"It's late."
"Yes," she said. "It is. And you walked in here looking like—"
She gestured vaguely toward him.
"—that."
He glanced down briefly.
Then back at her.
"It's not mine."
Sarai stared at him.
"…that was not the reassurance you thought it was."
For a second—
nothing.
Then—
that small shift again.
Sarai caught it.
"Okay," she said, pointing at him. "There. That. You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"That almost-smile thing," she said. "Like you think something's funny but you're not committing to it."
"I didn't say it was funny."
"You didn't have to," she said. "Your face did."
Silence settled between them.
But it wasn't stiff.
It wasn't awkward.
It just… existed.
Sarai shifted her weight slightly, folding her arms.
"…so," she said, "are we going to talk about what you do, or is that like a 'classified, don't ask questions' situation?"
Virek studied her for a moment.
"Does it change anything if you know?"
"Yes," she said immediately.
"How?"
Sarai opened her mouth.
Paused.
Then said, "Because I would like to know what level of danger I've been casually assigned to."
That landed.
Virek held her gaze.
Then said, evenly—
"I handle problems."
Sarai blinked.
"…that is the vaguest answer you could've given me."
"It's accurate."
She let out a quiet breath, dragging a hand down her face.
"Okay," she said. "Cool. Love that for me."
He stepped past her then, moving toward the kitchen.
Sarai turned slightly, watching him go.
Her eyes caught the stain again.
Then—
"…you're bleeding," she said.
He didn't stop.
"It's minor."
"That didn't look minor," she replied, following him.
Virek reached the sink, turning the water on without rushing, like this was routine.
Maybe it was.
Sarai stopped a few steps away, watching him.
"…you just came back from handling a problem," she said slowly.
"Yes."
"And now you're in the kitchen like it's a regular Tuesday."
"Yes."
She stared at him.
"…that's insane."
He glanced at her briefly.
"You're still here."
That made her pause.
"…okay," she said quietly. "That's fair."
Silence settled again.
Different this time.
Closer.
Sarai leaned lightly against the counter, watching him clean his hands.
Watching how easy it seemed.
How normal he made it look.
"…you're not what I expected either," she said.
Virek dried his hands, then looked at her.
"What did you expect?"
She hesitated.
Then said honestly—
"Someone worse."
A faint shift at the corner of his mouth.
There it was again.
Sarai noticed.
And this time—
she didn't look away.
"…yeah," she said softly. "You do that a lot."
He didn't ask what she meant.
The space between them held for a second longer.
Then Sarai pushed off the counter.
"Okay," she said, clearing her throat slightly. "I'm going to bed."
Virek nodded once.
She turned toward the hallway.
Took a few steps.
Then paused.
"…try not to bring any more mysterious stains into the house," she added without turning around.
A beat.
"I'll keep that in mind," he said.
Sarai smiled to herself as she walked away.
And for the first time since all of this started—
something about it didn't feel completely wrong.