The lab stayed dark longer than it should have.
Not completely dark emergency lighting cast a low, muted glow across the room but it was nothing like before. The bright screens, the constant movement of data, the hum of intelligence that filled every corner
Gone.
For the first time since Dominic had ever known Elias
The system was silent.
And somehow, that silence felt louder than anything else.
Dominic leaned back slightly against the desk, arms crossed, watching Elias.
"You're thinking too hard again."
Elias didn't respond immediately.
He stood near the main console, staring at the now-dark interface like he was waiting for it to come back on its own.
"I am assessing damage potential," he said finally.
Dominic tilted his head.
"No," he replied quietly.
"You're worrying."
Elias frowned slightly.
"That is not an accurate classification."
Dominic pushed himself off the desk and walked toward him slowly.
"You shut down your entire system to stop whoever that was."
"Yes."
"That's not just logic."
Elias looked at him.
"It was necessary."
Dominic stopped in front of him.
"Yeah."
A pause.
"But it still mattered."
Elias didn't answer.
Because Dominic wasn't wrong.
That system wasn't just code.
It was years of work.
Control.
Structure.
Something he built because people were unpredictable.
Something he trusted because it wasn't.
And now
It was off.
Because of a choice.
A choice that involved risk.
A choice he didn't make alone.
Dominic watched him carefully.
"You're not used to that, are you?"
Elias's gaze flickered slightly.
"Used to what?"
"Letting something matter enough that you risk it."
Elias exhaled quietly.
"That is not an accurate simplification."
Dominic smiled faintly.
"Sure it isn't."
Silence stretched between them again.
But this time, it wasn't soft.
It had weight.
Elias finally stepped away from the console.
Slowly.
Like pulling himself out of something deeper than just thought.
"The breach attempt was coordinated," he said.
Dominic nodded.
"I figured."
"They had internal structure access patterns."
Dominic frowned slightly.
"Meaning?"
Elias looked at him.
"Someone who understands the system."
That landed.
Dominic's expression shifted.
"You're saying this isn't random."
"No."
"Then who?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
And that hesitation
That was enough.
Dominic narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You have an idea."
Elias's jaw tightened.
"Yes."
"Say it."
Elias hesitated again.
Then
"Yamal."
The name dropped into the room like something sharp.
Dominic went still.
"…You're serious?"
"Yes."
Dominic let out a short breath, running a hand through his hair.
"That guy again."
"He has motive."
"And access?"
"He had partial exposure to early builds."
Dominic frowned.
"That was years ago."
"Yes."
"People don't just forget things like that."
Elias didn't respond.
Because that was exactly the problem.
Dominic paced slightly now.
"So what he's been waiting this whole time?"
"That is a possibility."
Dominic turned back toward him.
"And now he just decides to break in?"
Elias's voice lowered slightly.
"Not break in."
A pause.
"Take control."
Silence.
The weight of that settled heavily between them.
Dominic looked at the dark screens again.
"And if you hadn't shut it down?"
Elias didn't hesitate this time.
"He would have succeeded."
Dominic let out a slow breath.
"Okay… yeah, that's bad."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
Another pause.
Then Dominic looked at him again.
"But you stopped it."
"For now."
Dominic stepped closer.
"For now is enough."
Elias met his gaze.
"That is not a long-term solution."
"No," Dominic agreed.
"But it's not nothing either."
Elias was quiet again.
Then
"I could have lost everything."
Dominic didn't hesitate.
"But you didn't."
Elias looked at him.
Dominic held his gaze steadily.
"You made the right call."
Elias studied him for a moment.
"You are very certain."
Dominic shrugged slightly.
"You trusted me."
Elias paused.
"Yes."
Dominic smiled faintly.
"Then trust yourself too."
That
That hit differently.
Elias didn't respond immediately.
Because that wasn't something he was used to doing.
Dominic stepped even closer now.
Close enough that the distance between them disappeared again.
"You didn't lose control," Dominic said quietly.
"You took it."
Elias exhaled slowly.
"That is… a valid interpretation."
Dominic smiled.
"I know."
A small silence followed.
Then Dominic added, softer this time
"And you didn't do it alone."
Elias looked at him again.
Something shifted quietly in his chest.
"Yes," he said.
Dominic's hand moved again, resting lightly against Elias's arm.
"You're still here."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
Dominic's voice dropped.
"So am I."
For a moment, everything else faded again.
The system.
The threat.
The tension.
It was still there but it wasn't everything anymore.
Elias reached for him this time.
Not hesitantly.
Not uncertainly.
Just… naturally.
Dominic didn't move away.
Didn't question it.
Didn't stop him.
And when Elias kissed him
It wasn't about escaping the situation.
It wasn't about ignoring the problem.
It was something else.
Something steadier.
Like grounding himself in something real
While everything else threatened to become unstable.
When they pulled apart, Dominic rested his forehead lightly against his again.
"You know this isn't over," he murmured.
Elias answered quietly.
"I know."
Dominic exhaled softly.
"Good."
A pause.
Then
"Because neither are we."
Elias didn't hesitate this time.
"No," he said.
"We're not."