The applause was still echoing in Riven's bones long after the assembly hall emptied.
He and Eli walked side-by-side down the corridor, hand-in-hand. This time it wasn't a dare. It wasn't defiance.
It was simply… them.
Eli exhaled once they reached the stairwell, shoulders relaxing for the first time in days. "We really did that."
Riven looked at him, cheeks flushed from the rush. "You started it."
"You finished it," Eli said with a half-smile.
Riven wanted to kiss him right there.
Instead, he brushed his thumb along Eli's knuckles — a promise for later.
---
In the Principal's Office (Thirty Minutes Later)
The mood was less triumphant.
The principal sat rigid behind her desk, hands folded atop a stack of discipline reports. "What happened this morning was… unnecessary drama. You two forced our hand in front of the entire student body."
Eli didn't flinch. "With respect, ma'am, we only did publicly what everyone's been doing to us behind our backs."
Riven added, calmer than he felt, "You can't threaten silence and then blame us for speaking."
The principal's mouth thinned. "No one is threatening you, Mr. Castillo."
But something in her eyes said otherwise.
After a long, tense pause, she sighed. "There will be no punishment — for now. However… I advise the two of you to keep things respectful and discreet moving forward."
Riven nodded, though there was nothing inside him that planned on shrinking again.
---
Outside the Office
Eli stepped into the sunlight, blinking. "Do you think that's it?"
Riven shook his head. "No. But I think we bought ourselves something more valuable than safety… time."
Eli smiled. "Time sounds nice."
They were halfway down the hallway when someone jogged up behind them.
It was Mika.
"Hey," he said, slightly out of breath. "That was… insane. Brave." His eyes softened on Eli. "You okay?"
"Actually… yeah," Eli said, surprised at how true it felt.
Mika offered a nod before turning to Riven, extending his hand. "No hard feelings?"
Riven eyed him, then shook his hand firmly. "Depends if you're done flirting with what's mine."
Mika barked out a laugh — raising his hands in surrender — and walked away.
Eli elbowed Riven gently. "What's yours?"
Riven laced their fingers again. "You heard me."
---
Nightfall — Eli's Rooftop
Stars glittered faintly above the cityscape as Eli leaned against Riven's shoulder, wrapped up in his sweater. Below them, Manila pulsed with lights and life.
"Do you think it will always be this hard?" Eli asked quietly.
Riven thought about the rumors, the fights, the fear… and then about Eli's hand on his chest last night, his words — I want you, not easier.
He pressed a kiss into Eli's hair. "Probably. But… I think hard things are worth it, if the ending is soft."
Eli tilted his face up. "And what would a soft ending look like?"
Riven looked back at him — hopeful, a little scared, but certain.
"Us. Still here."
Eli smiled. "Then I'll fight for that. Every single day."
And on a quiet rooftop far above the noise of the world, two boys who should have never converged… held on to one another like destiny could still be rewritten in their favor.
---