The next morning came wrapped in a warm hush, with light seeping in slowly through the curtains like a whisper. As I blinked my eyes open, the first thing I saw was Leon, curled up beside me, one arm loosely draped over my waist, his face softened by sleep.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then, like an inevitable tide, my thoughts began to crash in, a swirl of doubt, questions, and quiet guilt. What now? What does this mean? Where do we go from here? But as I turned to look at him, peaceful, breathing slow, completely unaware of the storm rising in my chest, something within me shifted.
Maybe… just maybe, I could try to love him back.
Not out of obligation. Not as a way to fill a void. But gently, honestly, in my own time. I owed that to myself. And to him.
I whispered a silent promise to no one in particular: I'll try. I won't force it. But I'll try. For him. For me.
I started to ease myself out of bed, careful not to wake him, but then his arm pulled me closer, his body instinctively leaning into mine. He nuzzled against the crook of my neck, warm breath brushing against my skin. I couldn't help but laugh softly, a sound I hadn't heard from myself in a long time.
The laugh must've stirred him.
"Good morning, Nyx," he murmured, smiling sleepily as he opened his eyes and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"G-Good morning, Leon," I replied, a little too shyly. My hand reached for the blanket, pulling it over me like it could somehow shield me from how exposed I felt, not physically, but emotionally. His gaze stayed on me, unwavering, filled with something soft and teasing. That smirk of his was familiar, the same one he wore whenever he teased me just enough to make me flustered.
And then, of course, he had to lean in again.
His hands traced the curve of my back, slow and gentle, and his lips found mine in a kiss that held no urgency. Just tenderness. Just care. The kind of kiss that reminded me I was still alive, that my heart could still flutter, that warmth could still grow where grief once lived.
He kissed me like I mattered.
We stayed like that for a while, tangled in silence and warmth, before he finally got up, stretching a little before flashing me a grin.
"I'll make us breakfast," he said, planting one more kiss on my lips. "Just stay here and relax. I'll call you when it's ready."
With that, he slipped out of the room.
Once I was alone, I reached for the small cube in my drawer, the one that held so many of my unspoken confessions. I held it close to my chest, hugging it like it might somehow hold his presence.
"Nico…" I whispered, "I'm sorry. I gave myself to Leon. I… I couldn't keep him at arm's length anymore. His feelings deserved to be seen. He's been so patient. So gentle. I… I think I've started to lean on him without realizing it."
I looked at the cube. It flickered softly, a small light, barely there. Or maybe it wasn't my imagination at all. Maybe… it was listening.
"I've decided to give him a chance, Nico," I continued, voice trembling. "I hope… somehow, wherever you are, you'll understand."
I placed the cube back on the shelf, brushing my fingers across its surface one last time before getting dressed.
When I stepped into the kitchen, the smell of something warm and familiar greeted me. And then I saw Leon, wearing an apron, focused and moving with such ease. For a second, a shadow of memory flickered before me. A different face, a different time. Nico.
Without thinking, I walked toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind. He flinched slightly, caught off guard.
"Nyx?" he said, turning his head to glance back at me with a surprised smile. "Didn't I tell you to stay in your room? You don't have to help."
His voice, Leon's voice, grounded me again. The memory faded, and I stepped back, cheeks flushing with quiet embarrassment.
"I just… wanted to help," I said with a sheepish smile, trying to mask the haze I'd just shaken off.
He didn't question it.
"Just sit down," he said gently. "I've got this."
I obeyed. Maybe because I wanted to be taken care of for once. Maybe because I trusted him to.
When breakfast was done, he not only served the food but also set the table himself. And when he sat down, he didn't choose the seat across from me, he sat beside me instead. Always beside me.
He once said he liked it that way. That it made him feel closer to me.
And I think… I'm beginning to understand what he meant.
The morning light filtered in softly through the windows, golden and calm, but the moment was stirred by Leon's voice cutting through the quiet.
"Nyx, I'm heading out today," he said while fixing the collar of his shirt in front of the mirror. "I'm planning to search for a job. Something with good pay... This little space won't hold the two of us for long."
I blinked, his words catching me off guard. "Wait… what do you mean?"
He turned to me, eyes steady but vulnerable. "Nyx… can we live together?"
Just like that. No build-up. No hesitation. He laid it all bare, the way he always does.
"L-Live together?" The words echoed inside my chest, stirring things I wasn't sure I was ready to face. My expression must've shifted, because I saw the flicker in his eyes, that small shadow of doubt.
He stepped closer, cupped my face with a gentleness that nearly broke me, and said, "I won't force you. I just needed you to know how I feel. Waking up next to you today… it made me feel whole. I want that again, every day. But you don't have to answer now, Nyx. I'll wait. No matter how long it takes."
Then he kissed me. Soft. Reassuring. A promise wrapped in silence.
After we finished breakfast, Leon said his temporary goodbye. "I'll drop by after I'm done," he said with a smile, before heading out the door.
I simply nodded, waving half-heartedly as he disappeared down the hallway.
Later, I got ready for work, the same routine I've lived with for years. I walked toward the office where I worked as an errand girl, the usual weight of survival anchoring my steps. But then, something unexpected.
Just outside the building, I spotted Leon stepping out of the same doors I was about to enter. He looked composed, purposeful, dressed neatly, holding a folder, clearly just coming from an interview. For a moment, I wanted to call out to him, but he looked like he was in a hurry. So instead, I watched him go, his figure disappearing into the crowd, just like that.
I went inside and started my day, delivering coffee and documents, running small errands no one noticed but everyone expected.
When my shift ended, I headed straight to my second job, the convenience store where I worked four hours every night. Both jobs kept my world afloat. I never had the luxury to complain. I just endured.
It was nearing the end of my shift when I saw a familiar car pull up outside. Leon stepped out, catching me by surprise.
"Your shift's almost over, right?" he asked, smiling casually.
"Y-Yeah… but why are you here?"
He tilted his head, feigning offense. "What? Is it wrong to pick up my girlfriend?"
The word landed heavier than I expected. Girlfriend. A truth I hadn't let fully settle.
"Am I?" I asked quietly, a question I hadn't meant to voice, but somehow, it slipped out.
Leon's smile faltered. His eyes dimmed. The warmth in his voice vanished.
"We'll talk… when we get to your place."
My heart clenched. His tone was different. Cold. Not cruel, just... wounded.
The car ride was filled with silence, thicker than before. The kind of silence that doesn't beg for words but demands them. Once we reached the apartment, Leon walked ahead, waited for me to unlock the door, and as soon as we stepped inside, he pulled me in, pressing me gently against the wall.
He wasn't angry. But his eyes, they looked like a storm trying hard not to break.
"Nyx," he said, voice low but trembling, "after everything we shared, last night, this morning, was it all nothing to you?"
His gaze held mine, searching, pleading. He didn't want a surface answer. He wanted the truth. My truth.
"L-Leon, that's not what I meant----"
"Then tell me," he cut in, voice rising slightly. "Tell me what I really mean to you. Just say it, Nyx."
I hesitated, my voice faltering. "I… I can't give you my heart----"
"But you can give me your body?" The words stung. The way he said them made my breath hitch.
"No! That's not what it was! Will you just listen for once?!" I snapped, sharper than I meant to. It caught him off guard. He'd never seen me like that. Never heard my voice rise like that.
My chest tightened. I was shaking. All the numbness I had grown used to, the hollow calm I'd worn like armor, cracked.
Leon took a step back, regret flickering in his expression. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Nyx. I just… I needed to know where I stand. Is it really so wrong to ask if I matter to you?"
"No, Leon. You're not wrong. And you deserve to know."
He reached for my hand and gently led me to the sofa. We sat down, facing each other, all words stripped bare.
"Nyx, I love you," he said. "I don't want to force anything. I just need to know if you'll ever let me in. If you'll let me stay."
I looked down, searching for the right words, but they were tangled in the thorns of my grief. Still, I tried.
"I can't love you the way I loved Nico. That love was different. Nico was different. But… that doesn't mean I don't feel anything."
His breath hitched. "Then what do you feel?"
I looked up at him, eyes misting over.
"I don't want to be alone again, Leon. I've grown used to your presence, the sound of your voice, your warmth, your kindness. And maybe it's selfish of me, maybe it's unfair… but the thought of losing that now? It scares me."
Leon reached out, held both my hands between his.
"Nyx," he whispered, "will you let me love you?"
Tears fell. I didn't speak. I couldn't.
He didn't rush me. He simply wrapped his arms around me and held me close. Held me until the trembling stopped. Until my breathing returned.
"I want to wake up beside you too," I whispered against his chest. "I want to share meals with you. I want to see you every day. I… I want that life with you, Leon."
His breath caught.
"Nyx… does that mean----?"
I nodded slowly, eyes still misty.
"I may not love you completely yet. But you already have a place in my heart."
He let out a choked laugh, then pulled me into the tightest hug I've ever felt.
"That's more than enough," he whispered, voice breaking with joy. "You don't know how much that means to me. So… does this mean you're mine?"
"Yes, Leon."
"Does this mean we can live together?"
"Yes," I said again, smiling through the tears.
He scooped me into his arms and spun me around, his laughter echoing in the small apartment. I laughed too, freely this time. No guilt. No fear.
Only the fragile beginning of something new.
That night, we held each other again, not out of uncertainty, but out of something hopeful. It wasn't a perfect moment.
But it was real.
A new chapter.
A beginning we both chose, this time, together.
The next morning came quietly. The kind of morning where the sun rose slow and gentle, casting a golden hue across the floorboards. Leon had already left by the time I woke up. He had told me the night before that he would be out early, said he'd be heading to his apartment to gather his things.
"I'll be back soon," he'd promised, brushing a kiss on my forehead. "I don't really have much anyway."
And true to his word, just a few hours later, I heard the jingle of keys and the familiar sound of the door unlocking. It was my day off, and I had been halfway through cleaning, a rag in one hand and a playlist humming faintly in the background, when Leon stepped inside, slightly out of breath, dragging a single large suitcase and a worn backpack behind him.
That was it.
No boxes. No kitchen supplies. No clutter.
Just him, and the life he was bringing here, into mine.
He looked sheepish as he set his things down by the door, scratching the back of his neck like he'd just been caught doing something embarrassing.
"Let me explain…" he started, glancing at me with a flushed face. "I never really lived in that apartment. I mean, I stayed there, yeah, but I barely ate there. Always had takeout. I only went home to sleep. So… there's not much to bring."
His honesty, that small, vulnerable confession, made me laugh. Not out of mockery, but out of affection. Pure and genuine. It spilled from my lips before I could stop it, and I laughed harder than I had in a long time.
Seeing my reaction, Leon turned red, narrowing his eyes. "Oh? You're laughing now?" he warned.
Before I could say a word in defense, he lunged, playfully pouncing on me and knocking us both onto the sofa. I let out a surprised squeak as he straddled me and started tickling my sides, relentless and grinning with mischief.
"Leon! Stop! I---can't---breathe!" I gasped between giggles, squirming under him, tears of laughter forming at the corners of my eyes.
That happiness, that raw, playful happiness, felt like sunlight cracking through a wall I didn't know I still had.
I tapped out weakly, and Leon finally relented, breathing hard from laughing too. His smile softened as he looked down at me, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips, not urgent, not demanding, just warm. Full of meaning.
He stood and offered his hand, pulling me up from the sofa. Without a word, he picked up his luggage and backpack, and carried them into my, no, our bedroom.
There was only one room in my apartment. One bed. One small space meant for a single person. But now it held two hearts learning how to beat in rhythm again.
That day marked a quiet beginning.
No ceremony. No grand declarations.
Just the rustling of unpacked clothes, the laughter still lingering in the air, and the unspoken understanding that something had shifted between us. Something had begun.
For the first time in years, I felt the fragile hum of hope humming in the background of my life. And though I wasn't ready to give Leon all of me just yet… I knew, deep down, that I would get there.
Someday soon, I would be able to devote my heart to him fully.
But for now…
This was a start.
And for both of us,
It was more than enough.