The lights dimmed, and the room was wrapped in hush.
The crickets had started their usual chorus outside, and a breeze slipped through the window, cool against the faint warmth of the day.
Billy lay beneath the sheets, eyes tracing the ceiling in the soft glow of the bedside lamp.
Artur sat at the edge for a while longer, elbows on his knees, lost in thought—but not distant.
He glanced back, met Billy's eyes, and gave him a small, tired smile.
Billy shifted, patting the space beside him. "Come lie down. The day's over."
Artur nodded, got up, and joined him.
The mattress dipped slightly under his weight.
They lay side by side, the silence gentle now, no longer filled with things unsaid.
Outside, the wind stirred the trees like whispers.
Billy turned to face him, voice soft. "We don't have to figure everything out tonight."
"I know," Artur replied, eyes already drifting shut. "But… it helps knowing you're in it with me."
Billy reached for his hand beneath the blanket.
