The hospital was quieter than usual. Even the machines seemed to pause for a second, counting each heartbeat with a deliberate, slow rhythm.
Evan lay on the bed, legs tucked under the blanket, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't tired. Not really. He just wanted a moment of normal, a pause from the pressure that had followed him since the last prediction.
Noah was in the corner, going over case files, muttering names and dates. He looked focused, but Evan noticed the way his eyes kept flicking toward the bed, checking him out of the corner of his vision. Evan smiled faintly, shaking his head. He didn't say anything.
After a while, he broke the silence. "You never sleep, do you?"
Noah didn't look up. "Sleep is for people who aren't chasing monsters."
Evan tilted his head. "Or protecting people."
Noah froze just for a fraction of a second. He exhaled, focusing again on the papers. "Exactly."
Evan laughed softly. "You're ridiculous."
Noah finally glanced at him, half-smile tugging at his lips. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Evan rolled onto his side, propping his head on one hand. "You really care about me, don't you?"
Noah blinked. He didn't answer immediately. The words hovered between them like a fragile glass ornament, and he wasn't ready to break it.
"I mean… you came back today," Evan said gently, "even when I'm probably annoying, even when..." He hesitated. "Even when I'm dangerous to be around."
Noah's fingers tightened around a paper. "Dangerous doesn't mean disposable."
Evan's heart stuttered. That simple sentence...weightless, yet heavy...settled somewhere inside him he hadn't realized was open. He lowered his guard a little, letting himself lean into the comfort of Noah's quiet, watchful presence.
For a while, they sat in silence.
Then Evan, teasing, said: "So, do you check if I'm breathing just to make sure I'm alive… or just because you like me staring at me?"
Noah didn't answer for a second, then muttered: "Both."
Evan chuckled. Soft. Warm. And in that sound, something clicked for Noah. Something he had been denying to himself, even as he protected Evan like a shadow in every hallway, every street, every hospital corner.
He had already fallen.
Not screamingly, not dramatically. But quietly, completely, like water filling a cup.
And now the problem was: he couldn't take it back.
"You… you know, this is stupid," Evan said after a while, voice playful. "I'm lying in a bed, half-sick, telling my secrets to someone who should be judging evidence, not listening to them."
Noah's lips twitched. "I judge plenty."
Evan laughed again, this time fully, and shook his head. "Not this."
Noah leaned back slightly in the chair, pretending to be absorbed in the files, but his eyes kept drifting to Evan. Watching him laugh, watching him breathe easy for once, was almost unbearable. He wanted to say something, anything—but the words stuck.
Instead, he settled on something small. Something protective.
"Don't let them make you stay in bed all day tomorrow. Get up. Walk. Move. Breathe."
Evan raised an eyebrow. "That's your advice?"
"Yes. And don't burn the coffee."
Evan chuckled softly, closing his eyes for a moment. "I think I like having you around."
Noah's jaw tightened. "I'll be around."
The machines ticked on. Outside, the city moved on, unaware of the danger creeping closer.
Inside, two fragile hearts were learning how to trust each other...without realizing how quickly that trust could turn into something far heavier, far more dangerous, and far more consuming than either of them expected.