‧˚꒰ 🐮 ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

A pause.

Then, quietly, “Just needed you here.” That was it. No explanation. No eye contact. Just that low, gravel-edged voice that made everything feel heavier than it should.

You took a step closer. “For what?”

He didn’t answer right away. But something shifted. Subtle. Easy to miss if you weren’t already paying too much attention to him.

His hands stayed tucked in his trenchcoat pockets, but there was the faintest movement, his thumbs tapping against something. Controlled. Precise. Like muscle memory. Like he wasn’t even looking at what he was doing. He knew what he was tapping on the screen without needing to take his phone out.

Tap. Pause. Tap-tap.

Your brows knit slightly. “So, why do you want me here?”

Then suddenly, the city went out.

The power grid dropped into silence, every light in the city snuffed out at once. Streetlights. Windows. Signs. All swallowed by darkness so complete it felt physical. For a second, the city forgot how to breathe. Then came the distant chaos; car horns, civilian voices, confusion rising like a wave somewhere far off.

Your breath caught. “What the-”

You didn’t finish.

Because something shifted in front of you.

Closer.

Close enough that the air changed. Close enough that you could feel him without seeing him - the heat of him, the faint brush of his trenchcoat, the quiet gravity he carried like a second skin.

“Aiden?” you whispered.

No answer.

Just the sound of a step, soft, deliberate.

Until his hand found your jaw, feeling the soft knit fabric of his grey long-sleeved thumb holes on your skin. Firm. Grounding. Tilting your face just slightly like he already knew exactly where you were in the dark.

And then his lips were on yours. Not rushed. Not careless.

Intentional.

The kind of kiss that felt like it had been waiting. Held back, locked down, restrained until the exact second it could exist without consequence. Firm, warm, steady.

He didn’t hesitate, but he didn’t overwhelm either. Just enough pressure to make your thoughts scatter, to make your breath hitch against his. His grip didn’t tighten, but it didn’t loosen either, anchoring you there while the rest of the world disappeared.

You were completely caught off guard by his bold move, but you wouldn’t complain about it either way. The darkness should’ve made it worse, but feeling Aiden this close only made you want more and heightens your urge to deepen the kiss.

For a moment, it stayed like that.

The city dark. The noise echoed from the distance. Everything narrowed down to that single point of contact.

Your fingers twitched, instinctively wanting to grab onto him. His trenchcoat, his sleeve, anything… but before you could-

He pulled away. Mouth slightly parted, warm breaths hitting against each other. Lips grazing the other, feeling the hidden temptation to wanting to kiss more in the dark.

But that warmth vanished. The space between you snapped back into place like nothing had filled it.

“Aiden?” Your voice came out quieter this time, uncertain. You turned slightly, opening your eyes trying to find him despite still being in the dark, listening for footsteps, for movement, anything.

Nothing.

No sound. No presence. Just the echo of something that felt too real to be imagined.

Then the city came back.

Lights flickered to life. Neon signs buzzed awake. Windows glowed like nothing had ever happened. The hum of electricity rushed back in, loud and indifferent.

You blinked, eyes adjusting to the brightness of your surroundings, heart still caught somewhere behind your ribs. He wasn’t there. No warning. No silhouette. No trace. Nothing.

Just you. Standing in a street that suddenly felt too bright, too normal.

What the fuck just happened?

Your hand lifted slowly, fingers brushing over your lips, like you needed proof. Like maybe you’d imagined it.

A beat.

Then your phone buzzed.

You looked down. One message. From Aiden.

We’re done here. Go home.

You stared at it. Then back up at the empty street. “…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Somewhere down the block, just beyond the reach of returning light, a figure moves.

Aiden walks the length of the sidewalk with his hands buried in his trenchcoat pockets, shoulders set, pace unhurried. The city begins to wake behind him, lights flickering back, voices rising, but he doesn’t look back.

And if anyone had been close enough to see beneath the shadow of his cap, they might’ve caught it - just barely, at the corner of his mouth, hidden beneath shadow the faintest hint of a fleeting, almost imperceptible curve. 

Then it’s gone.