(POV: Kai)
The base always felt quieter at night than it should have been.
Not silent—never truly silent. Engines still rumbled in the distance, low and constant. Footsteps occasionally echoed through the corridor, steady and familiar.
But quiet enough.
Quiet enough for thoughts to surface too clearly. Too sharply.
Harder to ignore.
Kai stood by the window of the officers' lounge, a cup of coffee in his hand that had gone cold long ago. He hadn't really been drinking it.
Maybe he just needed something to hold.
Something to justify standing there without looking like he was waiting for something.
His gaze stayed fixed outside—on the runway slowly emptying after a long day. Lights stretched in thin lines across the darkness, precise and controlled, as if they could impose order on something that was never truly meant to be controlled.
Calm.
Too calm.
And Kai had never liked skies that were too calm. Experience had taught him that calm was often just the pause before something broke.
Footsteps approached behind him. Light. Measured. Unhurried.
Kai didn't turn.
He already knew.
"If you stare at the runway any longer, the aircraft won't suddenly start moving on its own."
Scarlett's voice—flat as always. No clear edge of teasing or concern.
Kai exhaled quietly, eyes still forward. "I'm just making sure everything stays where it should."
Scarlett stepped beside him, leaning lightly against the table near the window. "Everything is exactly where it should be," she said.
A brief pause.
"That's not the problem."
Kai glanced at her. She wasn't looking at him—her gaze remained outside, and for a moment, he wondered what she was actually seeing.
"Since when do you pay attention to things outside the mission?" she asked.
A faint smile almost formed. "I always pay attention."
Scarlett shook her head slightly. "Not like this."
Silence.
Kai didn't respond. He turned his attention back to the runway, letting her words hang between them.
The door opened.
The sound cut too sharply through the quiet.
Kai turned immediately—pure reflex. No time to stop it.
Amelia stepped inside, pulling off her gloves, a small file still in her hand. She looked tired—but controlled, as always. Her eyes swept across the room in a quick scan. Habit. Assess first. Always.
Kai held a small breath. Unnecessary.
Another set of footsteps followed behind her.
He didn't need long to recognize who it was.
Rhys.
Kai didn't move.
Nothing should have changed.
But near the door, Rhys stopped in front of Amelia. The distance between them—not inappropriate, not unprofessional—
but not entirely neutral either.
And something about it sat wrong in Kai's chest in a way he couldn't explain.
From where he stood, he couldn't hear what they were saying. Their voices disappeared into the hum of engines and the weight of the quiet night.
Still, he watched.
The way Rhys faced her—too focused, too personal. The way Amelia held herself—not stepping back, but not relaxed either.
Small details.
Unimportant.
He shouldn't have noticed.
Kai turned his gaze back outside.
"Don't make it obvious," Scarlett said quietly beside him.
Kai glanced slightly. "Obvious what?"
"You stopped looking at the runway."
Her tone didn't change.
Kai let out a quiet breath. "I'm just observing the situation."
"You're not on a mission right now."
Silence again.
Near the door, Amelia hesitated—just for a fraction of a second. Barely visible. Then she gave a small nod to Rhys.
Rhys stepped out first.
Amelia followed.
This time, Kai didn't watch them leave.
He kept his eyes on the runway.
It was easier that way.
The door closed.
"Since when?" Scarlett asked again.
Kai lifted a brow slightly. "Since when what?"
"Since when did you start noticing things that aren't part of your job?"
Kai exhaled shortly. "I don't."
Scarlett didn't argue.
And that silence—without trying to prove anything—felt heavier than words.
His mind drifted back.
Cranwell.
A small briefing room that always felt too tight for four people.
Amelia stood at the front, pointer in hand, her voice steady as she explained the data.
Kai sat back in his chair, relaxed—at least on the surface.
Rhys stood too close to her.
Closer than necessary.
"You stayed in that position too long," Kai said, cutting in without a clear reason.
Amelia glanced at him. "I was still within limits."
"For now."
Silence.
Rhys stepped closer to Amelia, his voice quieter when he spoke. "That's not the issue. The problem is—you trust that you'll always be able to correct it before it's too late."
Amelia didn't move. Didn't argue.
And Kai noticed the distance between them—slightly too close for just an instructor and a cadet—without knowing why it bothered him.
From the corner of the room, Scarlett said quietly, "Interesting."
Kai looked at her. "What?"
"The three of you."
Kai frowned. "What about it?"
Scarlett didn't answer.
Rhys stepped back half a pace, and the moment passed. Everything returned to normal.
Kai didn't think about it again.
It wasn't important.
It had nothing to do with him.
Until now.
Kai returned to the present.
To the lounge. To the cold coffee in his hand. To Scarlett—still standing beside him with that quiet, unhurried patience.
"This isn't a problem," Kai said at last.
Scarlett raised a brow slightly. "If it isn't, you wouldn't be standing here like that."
Kai shook his head faintly. "She can talk to whoever she wants."
"True."
"And it has nothing to do with me."
"Also true."
Silence.
Kai let out a slow breath.
For the first time, he actually heard how heavy it sounded.
"And still…"
The words lingered. Unfinished. They didn't need to be.
Scarlett didn't answer.
She just looked outside.
"Yeah," she said quietly. "It's always like that."
Kai glanced at her.
And in that moment, he realized—
she saw it too.
Not just tonight. Not just now.
She had always seen it.
Just better at staying silent about it.
Kai looked back at the runway.
The lights still burned in steady lines. Controlled. Predictable.
Nothing like what was moving inside him.
He took a sip of the cold coffee. Bitter.
He didn't comment. There was nothing to comment on.
Nothing had changed.
And he had no intention of thinking about it.
But for the first time—
the thought didn't leave.
Kai remained where he was, facing the runway, as if that alone could pull his focus away from something he couldn't control.
It didn't.
Somewhere along the dark corridors of the base,
Rhys Cavanaugh was walking beside Amelia Thorne.
Kai didn't see it.
He didn't need to.
He knew.
And this time—
he couldn't fully ignore it.