Ryven Voss had just stepped out of the shower when the knock came.
It wasn't loud.
Not urgent.
Just—
there.
One clean, deliberate tap against the door.
Ryven stilled.
Water still trailing from his hair, shirt half-pulled over his shoulder, he turned slowly toward the sound like his instincts had already caught up before his thoughts did.
There was only one person who knocked like that.
"…no," he muttered under his breath.
Another beat.
Then he moved.
The door slid open with a soft hiss.
And there—
exactly where his instincts had already placed him—
stood Kael Ardent.
Dry.
Changed.
Looking entirely too comfortable for someone who absolutely should not be there.
Ryven stared at him.
"…you can't be here."
Kael didn't even blink.
"Calm down."
Ryven stepped into the doorway slightly, lowering his voice instinctively even though there was no one in the hall.
"You remember the soap incident, right?"
Kael's mouth curved.
"Oh, I remember."
"That was a problem."
"That was you overreacting."
"That was the entire academy watching."
Kael waved a hand lazily.
"Relax. Lucky for you, your sister-in-law is a genius hacker."
Ryven blinked once.
"…my what."
Kael ignored that entirely.
"She shut everything down. Cameras. AI sentry. Hallway monitoring."
A beat.
"No one sees anything between 2200 and 0600."
Ryven's gaze sharpened slightly.
He processed that.
Calculated it.
Then—
exhaled.
"…of course she did."
Kael stepped past him without waiting for permission.
"Good girl," he added under his breath.
Ryven closed the door slowly.
Turned.
And found Kael already in his room.
Already moving like he belonged there.
Which—
irritatingly—
he did.
Kael didn't hesitate.
Didn't ask.
Didn't even pretend to.
He walked straight to the bed—
and dropped onto it like he had just finished a long day and decided this was where it ended.
"I'm sleeping here," he said.
Ryven stared at him.
"…that was not a request."
"Nope."
Kael shifted slightly against the sheets, exhaling as his body settled—
and then stilled.
Just—
stilled.
The change was immediate.
Subtle.
But unmistakable.
The tension that had been clinging to him—
the restlessness—
the edge—
eased.
Like something had finally clicked back into place.
"…yeah," Kael murmured quietly.
Ryven watched him for a second longer.
Then asked—
"How long."
Kael didn't open his eyes.
"2200 to 0600."
Ryven nodded once.
That was enough.
He moved without another word, crossing the room and settling onto the bed beside him.
The moment he did—
Kael felt it.
Not touch.
Not movement.
Something deeper.
A shift.
The bond responding.
That same quiet pull from earlier—
gone.
Replaced.
Complete.
Ryven felt it too.
He didn't comment immediately.
Didn't need to.
But his hand moved anyway, instinctively finding Kael's side, pulling him just slightly closer.
Not forceful.
Not claiming.
Just—
there.
"What did it feel like?" Ryven asked quietly.
Kael exhaled slowly, eyes still closed.
"…antsy," he said. "Like something was missing."
A pause.
"I was tired. Should've passed out the second I hit the bed."
He shifted slightly closer without thinking.
"But I couldn't."
Ryven nodded faintly.
"You?"
Kael asked.
Ryven huffed quietly.
"The same."
A beat.
"I had already accepted that Big and Little Torres would start calling me an owl again."
Kael cracked a grin without opening his eyes.
"They're not wrong."
Ryven didn't respond.
But his hand tightened slightly.
Just enough to count.
Kael let out a quiet breath, settling further into the space beside him.
"…oh, guess what else I got from Krysta."
Ryven didn't look at him.
"What."
Kael opened one eye this time.
"Override codes."
A pause.
"For all the arenas."
Another pause.
"And Crucible."
Ryven turned his head.
Looked at him properly now.
They didn't need to say anything.
They both understood exactly what that meant.
Access.
Freedom.
Opportunity.
Danger.
Kael grinned faintly.
"Yeah."
Ryven exhaled slowly.
"…of course she did."
Silence settled for a moment after that.
Not awkward.
Not empty.
Just—
quiet.
Then—
Kael stilled.
Completely.
"…wait."
Ryven didn't move.
"What."
Kael opened both eyes now, pushing himself up slightly on one elbow, looking at him with a different kind of focus.
"I just remembered something."
Ryven watched him.
That tone—
was dangerous.
"…what."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"Speaking of soap."
Ryven closed his eyes briefly.
"…no."
Kael ignored that entirely.
"Why were you so mad when I borrowed your shirt?"
Ryven exhaled slowly.
Looked away.
Then back.
For a moment—
he considered lying.
Reflex.
Habit.
Control.
Then—
dismissed it.
That wasn't an option anymore.
Not with him.
Not after—
everything.
"I wasn't mad at you," he said finally.
Kael blinked.
"…you weren't?"
"I was mad at myself."
Kael frowned slightly.
"…why."
Ryven held his gaze.
Because this—
was worse than anything Kael would have assumed.
Because this—
was honest.
"Because the moment you ran in…"
He stopped.
Measured it.
Then continued anyway.
"…the first thought I had was how good your abs looked."
Kael's eyebrows lifted.
Slowly.
"And the second," Ryven added, quieter, "was that I wanted to touch them."
Silence.
Real silence.
Kael stared at him.
Not laughing.
Not teasing.
Not—
anything.
Ryven exhaled through his nose.
"I was embarrassed."
A beat.
"I've never taken a thirty-minute shower in my life."
Kael blinked once.
Then—
slowly—
that expression returned.
That dangerous, familiar smirk.
"…wow."
Ryven already regretted everything.
Kael leaned back slightly, completely unbothered.
"Do you want to touch it now?"
And before Ryven could answer—
he lifted his shirt.
Just enough.
Casual.
Like it was nothing.
Like it didn't matter.
Ryven's gaze dropped automatically—
and immediately caught the bruising.
Dark.
Spread.
Still healing.
His expression changed instantly.
"…idiot," he muttered under his breath.
Kael blinked.
"Hey—"
Ryven reached out before he could stop himself, fingers brushing lightly along the edge of the injury—not pressing, not testing, just… there.
Careful.
Controlled.
"You're still hurt."
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
Kael huffed.
"I've had worse."
"That's not the point."
Kael looked at him.
Really looked.
And whatever he saw—
made him stop arguing.
"…you worry too much," Kael said instead, quieter now.
Ryven didn't answer.
His hand lingered for a second longer—
then pulled back.
But the distance didn't return.
Kael lowered his shirt slowly.
Then shifted again—
closer.
Because now—
there was no reason not to.
"…you didn't answer my question," Kael added after a moment.
Ryven didn't look away.
"I just did."
Kael's grin softened slightly.
"Yeah," he said.
"…you did."
Silence settled again.
This time deeper.
More grounded.
The kind that didn't need to be filled.
Kael shifted once more, settling fully now, his head resting just slightly closer than before.
The restlessness—
gone.
Completely.
"…I'm not moving," he murmured.
Ryven huffed quietly.
"I am aware."
"…I like this."
"I know."
A beat.
Then—
"…this tree is very comfortable."
Ryven almost smiled.
Almost.
"Go to sleep, Kael."
Kael didn't argue.
Didn't tease.
Didn't push.
For once—
he just listened.
His breathing slowed.
Evened out.
Settled.
And within minutes—
he was asleep.
Again.
Ryven stayed still.
Didn't move.
Didn't pull away.
Because now—
he understood it.
That pull.
That absence.
That quiet tension that had followed them both after the cockpit.
It wasn't complicated.
It wasn't confusion.
It was—
this.
He looked down at him.
Shook his head once.
"…impossible," he murmured.
But his hand shifted slightly—
resting just enough to keep him there.
Like he wasn't going anywhere.
Like he didn't need to.
Outside—
the academy continued.
Unaware.
Unseen.
Uninterrupted.
Inside—
for once—
everything was exactly where it was supposed to be.
And neither of them—
felt like moving.