Jake's fingers laced with Hriva's as they stepped back inside, the city lights still glowing behind them through the rain-slicked glass. The quiet hum of rain followed them in like a lullaby neither of them wanted to end.
Hriva was barefoot, her legs bare beneath the hem of his oversized hoodie, her hair messy from the couch pillows and kisses.
"Stay," Jake said softly, almost unsure if he should even ask. "Don't go back tonight."
She turned to him, her fingers tightening in his. "Are you sure?"
He gave her a look that said everything. "I haven't been more sure of anything in a long time."
She nodded-once-and just like that, it was decided.
Jake handed her a pair of sweatpants and a fresh T-shirt from his drawer. She took them, brushing his hand with hers, slow and deliberate. Her gaze lingered before she disappeared into the bathroom.
He could still feel the weight of her fingers on his skin long after she'd gone.
When she came back out, something twisted in Jake's chest.
The shirt hung just a little too big on her. His scent wrapped around her in folds of soft cotton. Her hair was down, dampened slightly where she'd splashed water on her face. She looked sleepy and warm and his.
And it did something to him.
"You okay?" she asked, catching the way he was staring.
He crossed the room slowly. "Yeah. Just trying not to ruin the moment by saying something dumb like how unfairly beautiful you are."
She laughed, low and quiet. "That wasn't dumb."
He brushed a strand of hair from her face, fingers dragging down her jaw. "I'm serious, Hriva. You're dangerous like this."
"Like what?"
"Like this," he whispered. "In my space. In my clothes. In my arms. You feel like home I haven't even earned yet."
Her eyes didn't leave his. "Then earn it."
It wasn't a dare. It was a promise.
They lay down together in his bed, beneath soft sheets that smelled like cedar and him. No rush. No heat right away. Just two people drawn into each other like gravity.
Jake lay on his side, propped up on one elbow, watching her as she curled toward him.
"You're not going to vanish in the morning, right?" he asked.
She reached out and touched the side of his face, her thumb tracing the curve of his cheekbone. "Only if you do."
Jake leaned in slowly, brushing a kiss across her forehead. Then her nose. Then her lips. Each one deliberate. Unhurried.
Hriva sighed into his mouth.
And that was it.
They didn't tear at each other.
They undressed in slow pieces-her legs tangling with his, his hand resting over her hip, warm and protective. Skin met skin, but not in the frantic way lovers usually crave.
It was intimate, yes. But not sexual yet.
She curled into his chest, half atop him, their bodies fitting in a way that made the bed feel too small in all the right ways.
"You're warm," she murmured sleepily.
Jake laughed quietly. "You're the blanket now."
A silence settled over them again-heavier than before, but not uncomfortable.
Her fingers tapped gently against his ribs. "If I asked you something stupid, would you lie to me?"
"Try me."
"If… if I ever got scared and ran, would you chase me?"
Jake turned his head to look at her fully. "Depends."
"On?"
"Whether you were running from me-or toward something that would hurt you."
She blinked, and a small tremble passed through her.
He pulled her tighter.
"I don't want to run," she whispered.
"Then don't," he murmured into her hair. "Stay."
"I'm trying."
"You're doing it."
And just like that, she tucked her head under his chin and let go.
They fell asleep like that-bodies tangled, breath even, hearts no longer running.
And outside, the rain kept falling, like it, too, had nowhere else to be.