The hospital hallway didn't feel quiet in a comforting way. It was the kind of silence that stayed too long, pressing into everything, making even the smallest movements feel too loud, too visible.
People sat scattered along the walls, some staring into nothing, others holding onto their thoughts like they were the only thing keeping them together.
Luka and Viviana sat side by side, close enough that their shoulders touched, though neither of them could say exactly when that had started to feel normal. Viviana's phone rested loosely in her hand, the screen dark, forgotten.
Something about this place didn't sit right with her. It wasn't a clear thought, more like a weight that settled slowly in her chest, heavy but quiet, something she didn't have words for.
Luka felt it anyway. Not as words, not as a sentence, but as a shift in her, a subtle tension that reached him without effort.
You don't have to like it, he said calmly, his gaze still fixed ahead. Viviana exhaled slowly, her shoulders easing just a little.
With him, it was easier. Not because things stopped being difficult, but because she didn't have to carry them alone anymore, and that changed everything in a way she didn't fully understand yet.
The connection between them stayed steady, almost quiet now, like it had learned to exist without needing to prove itself. Luka glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his thoughts shifting before he could stop them.
The question was still there, the same one from last night, the one he hadn't had the courage to ask yet. He wanted to. More than anything.
But timing mattered. What if it was too soon? What if she pulled away? What if this—whatever they had—was still too fragile? He wasn't used to hesitation.
He was used to control, to certainty. This was different. This mattered in a way that made everything feel less predictable. Next to him, Viviana shifted slightly, her leg brushing his, and this time she noticed—but she didn't move away.
Her thoughts drifted without her realizing how clear they were becoming. I don't know what we are… The idea stayed there, uncertain but honest. But I know I don't want this to stop. Luka's attention locked onto that immediately, his breathing slowing.
The connection opened wider without either of them meaning it to. If he asked me… her fingers curled slightly in her lap, tension mixing with something softer, something warmer… I don't think I'd say no. Luka went still. Completely still.
The noise in his head disappeared all at once, like someone had turned everything off. That was enough. More than enough. The doubt that had been holding him back loosened, replaced by something steadier, something that felt real. Slowly, he turned his head toward her.
Viviana looked back at him, confused by the way he was looking at her, like he had just understood something important. "What?" she asked quietly.
Luka held her gaze for a second longer than usual. "You were thinking something," he said, calm but certain.
She blinked, caught off guard. "I always think." He shook his head slightly. "Not like that." She didn't get to ask more.
"Luka. Viviana."
The doctor's voice broke through the moment, pulling them back.
They stood and followed, the connection between them still there but quieter now, like it had pulled back just enough to let the world exist again. Inside, the tests were controlled, clinical, almost cold. Electrodes, screens, instructions spoken in measured tones.
At first, everything behaved as expected—baseline separation, independent patterns—but the moment they focused on each other, the change started again. Not dramatic.
Not chaotic. Precise. Their brainwave patterns moved closer, aligning slowly, stabilizing faster than before. The doctor leaned in, watching carefully.
This wasn't coincidence anymore. It reacted to emotion, to attention, to proximity—just like before—but now it held longer, didn't break as easily. Something had changed since the last tests. Something had deepened.
By the time they stepped back into the hallway, the air felt heavier again, like stepping out of something controlled into something unpredictable.
Viviana sat closer this time without thinking, her knee resting lightly against Luka's. He didn't move away. He didn't need to. For a few seconds, everything felt steady again. Then movement broke it.
A stretcher rushed past them, fast, urgent, people moving around it with sharp, focused energy. A girl lay on it, completely still, her face pale, her body unmoving.
Doctors spoke quickly, voices overlapping, too fast for anyone else to follow. Luka couldn't hear them—but he didn't need to. The image alone was enough. His gaze locked onto her, and everything else disappeared. The hallway faded.
The present blurred. For a second, it wasn't now anymore. It was memory. The same stillness. The same feeling. The same absence of response. His sister.
Not identical, but close enough that his body didn't know the difference. His chest tightened suddenly, breath catching as a sharp pressure built behind his eyes. The world tilted slightly. He wasn't here anymore.
"Luka?" Viviana's voice in his mind—nothing. No answer.
"Hey, look at me." Still nothing. The connection dropped completely, like it had been cut. Panic hit her instantly.
This had never happened like this before. She leaned closer, trying again, louder this time inside his mind. Luka, please. Nothing. Her eyes moved quickly around them, searching, landing on a water bottle on the chair beside her. Without thinking, she grabbed it, opened it fast, and splashed the cold water across his face.
Luka flinched sharply, his body reacting before his mind caught up. He pulled in a deep breath, like he had just come back from somewhere too far away. His vision cleared slowly, focusing on the one thing in front of him.
Viviana. She was close. Too close. Her eyes wide, worried, her hands still slightly shaking. "Luka!" she said—
and this time, he heard it.
through the connection.
As a thought.
As sound.
Real.
Clear.
His expression changed instantly, confusion mixing with something deeper, something that didn't make sense yet. He stared at her, breathing uneven, trying to understand what had just happened. Viviana froze when she saw it.
"You… heard that?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Luka didn't answer right away. He just kept looking at her, like the world had shifted and he wasn't sure how to stand in it anymore.
Because for the first time since everything had changed years ago… the silence wasn't complete.
And that scared him just as much as it meant something.