❀ Rubie ❀

the first thing zayne noticed about the arctic was the silence. not the absence of sound—there was always something. wind scraping against metal siding. boots crunching through snow. the low mechanical hum of generators beneath the station floors. but the silence here felt different from linkon. vast enough to swallow thought whole.

by the time dr. noah's snowcat pulled up beside the research station, zayne had been awake for nearly thirty hours.

"you look terrible," dr. noah said plainly as they stepped out into the storm.

zayne adjusted the strap of his bag, "thank you, professor. i hadn't noticed."

"hm", noah squinted at him through the snowfall. "at least exhaustion hasn't damaged your sarcasm."

the station doors slid open before zayne could respond, releasing a burst of warmth into the cold. the station was more lived in than he expected. the narrow hallways were filled with bulletin boards crowded in field notes and weather warnings. various research awards, and documents along with photos were framed.

and then he saw you. you stood near the entrance bundled in far too many layers. there was snow dusting your boots and a clipboard was tucked against your chest. you blinked at him once, then twice.

"oh", you said softly, "you actually came."

dr. noah sighed heavily beside him, "that is an unfortunate way to greet my resident."

"i just thought he'd be older."

zayne stared at you. you didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. instead, you walked closer, openly studying him with curious eyes that were far too awake for the middle of the night.

"you're dr. zayne?"

"unfortunately," he answered before he could stop himself.

something bright flickered across your face, "you sound exactly like uncle noah."

"i'll take offense to that," noah muttered, already removing his coat.

you ignored him entirely, extending a gloved hand toward zayne instead.

"i'm sorry. i'm his niece." you told him your name.

"i help manage the wildlife rehabilitation wing here."

your handshake was warm despite the cold seeping through the station doors.

zayne nodded once, "nice to meet you."

somewhere deeper inside, zayne could hear muffled barking. he glanced toward the sound automatically. you noticed immediately.

"that's the recovery room," you explained. "we brought in two snow leopards yesterday."

"at three in the morning," dr. noah added dryly.

"they would've died outside."

"and now i'm sleep deprived because apparently every living thing in this region becomes your responsibility."

you grinned without remorse. zayne watched the exchange quietly. there was something strange about this place already. something unguarded. in linkon, everyone moved with urgency. conversations were short and to the point. efficiency was key as every second belonged to something productive.

but here, you paused in the middle of speaking to fix a crooked photograph hanging on the wall. you asked whether they'd eaten before discussing research schedules. you smiled too easily. it should've felt childish, instead zayne found himself staring.

"zayne."

he looked toward dr. noah.

"you'll start observation rounds tomorrow morning," noah said. "assuming you remain conscious long enough."

"i can manage." he muttered out

you tilted your head slightly. "when was the last time you slept?"

"i don't remember."

"that's concerning," you responded, a hint of worry in your voice.

"that's residency."

your expression faltered for just a second. most people heard 'resident' and thought impressive. you heard exhausted with little to no life. before he could say anything else, one of the station staff hurried down the hall toward you.

"they're awake."

your eyes widened instantly, "both of them?"

the researcher nodded. you brightened so quickly it transformed your entire face.

"i'll be right there."

then, as if remembering yourself, you turned back toward zayne.

"it was nice meeting you, doctor zayne."

the title sounded oddly formal coming from you, and for reasons he didn’t understand, he suddenly disliked it.

you disappeared down the hallway in a rush. for a moment, the station felt quieter after you left. dr. noah noticed him watching.

"she's been here her whole life...far too kind for her own good," he said.

zayne looked away, "that usually ends badly."

noah hummed, "yes," he said after a moment. "it usually does."

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

the station ran with brutal efficiency beneath dr. noah's supervision. daily schedules were followed down to the minute. reports were meticulous. equipment checks happened twice daily.

you, however, moved through it all as swift as snow falling. one moment you were assisting noah with thermal scans, quietly reading data over zayne's shoulder with surprising precision. the next, you vanished halfway through lunch because someone had spotted an injured snowy owl near the ridge.

"you indulge her too much," zayne remarked one evening while reviewing reports with dr. noah.

noah didn't even look up from his notes. "you say that as if i've ever successfully stopped her."

as if summoned by the conversation, the station doors burst open. cold air swept inside alongside you.

"there's blood on your sleeve," noah said immediately.

at the mention of blood zayne found himself wanting to run to your side to inspect you for any injuries. he wasn't sure if it was simply doctors instinct or concern for you.

"it's not mine." you said before kneeling beside the heater.

curled tightly against your chest was a small arctic fox pup wrapped in layers of cloth. the fox blinked weakly. zayne's gaze shifted between the animal and the fresh scratches along your hands.

"you carried it back yourself?"

"well, it wasn't going to walk here."

noah pinched the bridge of his nose. "one day you are going to freeze to death because you refuse to think before acting."

"but he's alive." you said it so simply. like that alone justified everything. and maybe to you, it did.

you carefully unwrapped the fox from the blankets before checking its injured leg. the movement was practiced. gentle despite your obvious exhaustion.

the fox made a small sound when you touched the injury. immediately, your expression softened.

"hey," you murmured quietly. "you're okay."

zayne watched from across the room longer than he intended. the animal should have been terrified. instead, it settled the moment your hand brushed through its fur.

"you named this one yet?" noah asked.

"pie."

zayne looked up slowly, "pie?"

you glanced at him defensively. "he likes pie crust."

"you fed an injured wild animal pastry?"

"it was a very small piece."

noah sighed the sigh of a man deeply accustomed to losing arguments in this exact tone. yet you smiled without shame and somehow, before zayne realized what was happening, he found himself standing beside you.

"may i?"

you blinked up at him, then shifted aside immediately to make room. up close, the fox looked smaller than he expected. frail beneath layers of white fur.

"he's dehydrated," zayne observed.

"i know." you frowned slightly. "he won't drink enough."

zayne reached carefully toward the injured leg while you steadied the fox against your chest.

"most people don't volunteer for this part," you said after a while.

"what part?"

"the messy part." you adjusted pie gently. "everyone likes research until something starts bleeding on them."

zayne glanced sideways at you, "good thing i'm a doctor then and not a researcher."

after that, he started showing up in your wing more often. at first under the excuse of helping noah collect data. then because without discussion, helping you became part of his routine too.

he learned quickly. how to calm frightened animals by lowering his voice. how you organized medication alphabetically despite claiming you 'weren't obsessive like uncle noah.'

he learned how pie only tolerated exactly three people: you, noah, and, begrudgingly, zayne.

"you've been accepted," you told him solemnly one night after pie climbed into his lap voluntarily.

"i feel honored." he said lightly brushing his fingers through his coat.

"you should he bites everyone else."

pie looked suspiciously pleased with himself, as the two of you softly laughed.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

the storm outside had been raging for hours, trapping everyone indoors again. you sat cross-legged on the floor beside the heater while sorting supplies. zayne was supposed to be reviewing charts. instead, he found himself watching snow collect against the windows.

"you're staring," you said absently.

"so are you."

"i was trying to figure something out."

"what?" he asked

you rested your chin against your sleeve. "you're different here."

the words hung quietly between you. zayne looked down, "different from what?"

"from when you first arrived."

you smiled a little. "when you came here, you looked like you were waiting for something terrible to happen."

he didn't answer immediately because the truth was in linkon, something terrible was always happening. another emergency. another patient. another impossible expectation. his life had become a constant state of anticipation. waiting for alarms. waiting for failure. waiting for exhaustion to finally outweigh competence.

but here, the station lights glowed softly against snowfall and you sat beside him half-buried in blankets. pie snored quietly between your bodies. and for the first time in months, his mind was silent.

before he could respond, cold shimmered suddenly across his fingertips. his evol reacted before he consciously thought about it. frost curled through the air in pale silver threads.

zayne immediately stiffened. most people reacted one of two ways to his evol - fear or fascination. he disliked both, but you only watched quietly as ice slowly formed against his palm, delicate and precise beneath the station lights.

then your eyes widened slightly, "a fox?"

he looked down. somehow between distraction and exhaustion, he'd shaped the ice unconsciously. a tiny formation of a fox sat curled against his gloved hand. for a moment, neither of you spoke. then carefully like he was handling something fragile, zayne held it out toward you.

your expression changed instantly. not amazement. something gentler.

"you made this?"

"i suppose."

you accepted the tiny fox with both hands. the ice should've melted quickly from your warmth, but his evol held steady beneath your fingertips.

"it looks like pie," you whispered, suddenly a bit emotional.

he huffed out the faintest trace of laughter. you looked at him then and something in zayne's chest tightened unexpectedly at the softness in your eyes—trust. that was what this was. not because he showed you his evol, but because he hadn't meant to hide it from you at all. it happened naturally.

somewhere along the way, zayne stopped counting how long he'd been at the station. the weeks folded into each other with comforting ease. mornings in the research wing beside dr. noah. evenings spent in the rehabilitation center because you inevitably dragged him there under increasingly weaker excuses.

"you have medical training," you told him one night while placing supplies into his arms. "that makes you useful."

"i'm beginning to suspect you are trying to turn me into a veterinarian so i will stay here full-time."

"that too." you muttered under your breath.

and somehow, despite himself, he smiled and followed your lead anyway.

the station settled differently at night. those were the hours he liked best. the hours he found you most often. sometimes in the rehabilitation wing asleep at your desk beneath scattered reports. sometimes sitting leaning against each other on the floor beside recovering animals, reading softly aloud from whatever book you'd dragged along that week.

one night he found you outside instead. snow drifted steadily through the darkness. the aurora shimmered faintly overhead in ribbons of pale green. you sat atop the observation deck railing despite the freezing temperature.

"that seems unsafe," zayne said immediately.

you startled slightly before looking back over your shoulder.

"oh. you're awake."

"you say that like i should not be."

"you've been averaging four hours of sleep."

"five..." he corrected

"like one hour really makes that much of a difference"

he stepped beside you carefully. "dr. noah would be furious if you fell."

"he'd be more furious if he had to explain my death paperwork."

the corner of his mouth twitched. you smiled triumphantly like you'd accomplished something significant. for a while, neither of you spoke. you lifted your hands to warm them against a cup of tea balanced beside you. immediately zayne frowned, as he noticed you weren't wearing your usual pair of gloves.

"you'll freeze."

"i'm fine."

before you could protest, he reached for your hands instinctively. his gloved hands covering your small ones. he didn't really have a use for them, as his evol left him used to the feeling of the cold. but he wore them anyway knowing one day they might provide useful. and tonight was one of those times.

warmth slowly returned to your fingers. when you looked back up at him, your expression had gone serious.

"you're always taking care of everyone," you murmured.

the words caught him off guard. because no one had ever said them like that before.

zayne looked away first, "it's my job."

"not always." you whispered

snow drifted between you in slow white spirals. then, very carefully, you turned your hand slightly in his hold. not enough to pull away. enough to hold on properly.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

after that night, things shifted. not suddenly but just enough for everyone else to notice before either of you did. dr. noah started looking deeply inconvenienced whenever he found the two of you sharing meals at ungodly hours.

zayne started leaving work occasionally on time. which, according to dr. noah, was 'a medically significant improvement.'

your co-workers stopped questioning why zayne appeared in the rehabilitation wing after shifts ended.

he drank the tea you made before it went cold now. he smiled more—not often, not dramatically, but enough that people looked a little startled every time it happened.

and he had apparently started talking about you. you discovered this accidentally.

you blinked at the researcher across from you, "what?"

the woman smiled while organizing sample containers. "he talks about you all the time."

your entire body froze, "no he doesn't." you protested

"she's right," another researcher called from across the room. "yesterday he spent ten minutes explaining how artic hares can camouflage themselves into their surroundings because apparently 'you found it interesting.'"

you stared in horror, "he said that?"

heat rushed straight to your face. zayne talked about you? voluntarily? to people? the realization was somehow more intimate than kissing.

you confronted him later that evening. or at least attempted to.

"you discuss me with your coworkers?"

zayne looked up from his notes calmly. "frequently."

the immediate honesty nearly killed you.

"why are you saying that like it's normal?"

"did you want me to lie to you?"

"no, but you can't blame me for being a little surprised. you barely talk in general!" you exclaimed

he set his pen down slowly before giving you his full attention. you instantly regretted this conversation.

"you're making this sound more dramatic than it is."

"you explained traits of an arctic hare to a bunch of researchers, why should they care about it?"

"well because you care about it."

your expression faltered for half a second. the teasing atmosphere shifted subtly around the edges. you opened your mouth trying to come up with a response then closed it again.

for a moment, zayne simply stared at you. then slowly, deliberately, he reached stood up before you and adjusted your scarf where it had loosened near your throat. the movement was careful enough to make your breathing catch.

"you're terrible at dressing for cold weather," he murmured changing the conversation.

you looked up at him then. close enough that he could see the exact moment realization flickered across your face.

and very quietly, like this was something inevitable rather than sudden, you asked, "are we together?"

zayne should've answered immediately. instead, his gaze lingered on you for one second too long.

then, "aren't we?"

your cheeks warmed instantly - not from the cold.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

once it became official, surprisingly little changed. being with zayne wasn't dramatic. there were no sweeping love declarations. no reckless passion. it was steadier than that.

you started carrying spare gloves because he kept losing his, claiming he really didn't need them. he reached for your hand absentmindedly when you walked beside him. when people looked for one of you, they usually found both. it settled naturally between you.

zayne glanced up from the table as you dropped into the seat across from him still covered in snow, cheeks flushed pink from the cold.

"i saw the migration today," you announced.

immediately, zayne's attention shifted fully toward you. the change still startled you sometimes - how completely he listened.

"the reindeer?" he asked.

you nodded quickly. "near the eastern ridge. there had to be hundreds!"

your hands moved while you spoke, animated despite your exhaustion.

"i thought the storm would push them further north, but they stayed close instead and—"

you stopped suddenly. zayne was staring at you again.

"what?"

"i like how excited you get when you talk about animals"

something warm unfolded painfully in your chest, because he appreciated things no one else did. the small things. the things you cared about.

later that night, you found him asleep at his desk in the station's library again. papers scattered everywhere. lamp still on. glasses slightly crooked where exhaustion had finally won.

you stood in the doorway for a moment just watching him. there were shadows beneath his eyes deeper than usual lately.

carefully, you set a fresh cup of tea beside his arm before draping a blanket over his shoulders. you started to leave when you heard his voice behind you.

"stay."

your footsteps halted. zayne hadn't opened his eyes.

still half-asleep, voice rough with exhaustion, he repeated quietly, "stay."

something about it undid you instantly. not because he sounded needy, but because he almost never asked for anything. slowly, you walked back toward him.

"you should sleep properly," you whispered.

"hm."

you smiled helplessly. then, after a moment's hesitation, you sat beside him instead. almost immediately, he shifted closer unconsciously. forehead resting briefly against your shoulder. that was still what affected you most. not the kisses he'd started pressing absentmindedly against your temple when passing by. not the way his hand always found yours beneath tables.

it was this. the fact that zayne who carried himself like tension personified around everyone else rested around you without thinking.

"you know," you murmured eventually, brushing fingers through his dark hair carefully, "you're very clingy for someone who pretends not to be."

his eyes remained closed, "you're still here."

"as opposed to?"

"leaving."

the answer came so quietly your chest tightened. you looked down at him properly then. at the exhaustion carved into his features. at the man who gave every piece of himself away so easily to everyone except himself.

and gently, before you could stop yourself, you pressed a kiss against his hairline.

"i'm not going anywhere," you whispered.

zayne remained half-asleep against your shoulder, breathing slow and even for once. you brushed your fingers carefully through his hair again.

"you're going to ruin your neck sleeping like this," you murmured.

your gaze drifted toward the reports spread across the desk. most were covered in dr. noah’s sharp annotations alongside zayne’s impossibly neat handwriting.

"you work too hard."

this time he actually opened one eye slightly. you took a deep breath before continuing.

"i just…" you exhaled softly. "sometimes i think you forget there are things outside of work that matter too."

the room fell still. for one awful second, you thought you'd pushed too far. then zayne reached for your hand beneath the blanket.

"i'm here, aren't i?"

the answer settled somewhere deep in your chest—because he was. even after thirty-hour shifts. even after exhaustion hollowed him out. he still came looking for you at the end of every day.

you squeezed his hand gently, "barely conscious," you muttered.

"still counts."

a laugh escaped you quietly. god, you loved him. the realization came suddenly. completely. like knowing snowfall would return every winter.

you looked at him carefully beneath the dim lighting. and quietly, before fear could stop you, "i think i'm in love with you."

the words settled gently into the room between you. zayne went completely still. for a second, you panicked. this was too soon. too honest. then slowly, he sat up properly. not pulling away from you, just looking at you now with full attention.

"what," he asked softly, "do you mean think?"

your face immediately burned. "that's the part you focused on?"

"i'm asking for clarification."

and then to your complete horror, zayne smiled. not the faint almost-smiles he gave everyone else. a real one.

"you're deflecting."

you narrowed your eyes. "you're enjoying this."

"a little." he smirked.

"oh my god."

his thumb brushed slowly across your knuckles. then, quieter now, "say it again."

your heart nearly stopped, "zayne—"

"please."

you stared at him helplessly for a moment before finally whispering, "i love you."

this time there was no joking attached. no nervous laughter. just truth. the station suddenly felt too quiet. zayne looked at you like the words engraved themselves deeply into his being.

then he lifted your joined hands slowly and pressed a kiss against your knuckles. your entire body forgot how to function.

"you should not do things like that without warning," you whispered weakly.

then, after a long moment, he finally said it back. not quickly. not automatically. like he understood the weight of it.

"i love you too."

your eyes stung unexpectedly. immediately, zayne frowned slightly.

"why are you crying?"

"i'm not crying."

"there are visibly tears in your eyes."

"you said it very intensely."

"i said three words."

"exactly. three very important words."

for a second, he just looked at you. then quietly, "come here."

you barely had time to process the words before he was pulling you gently into his lap beneath layers of blankets and oversized coats. warmth surrounded you instantly. you buried your face against his shoulder in immediate embarrassment.

"this is humiliating."

"it's not."

he said, bringing your face up to meet his gaze. brushing a thumb to dry your eyes before cupping your cheek gently. a faint breath escaped him and he looked at you for a long moment before his gaze dropped briefly to your mouth. then back to your eyes. the pause lasted barely a second. long enough for you to understand what he was asking without words. you leaned in first. and zayne kissed you like he had been holding it back for months. not rough. not rushed, just overwhelming in its sincerity.

one hand moved carefully against your waist while the other slid gently into your hair, holding you close beneath the blankets as the storm battered against the station walls around you.

the kiss deepened slowly. you felt him exhale softly against your mouth when your fingers curled into the front of his sweater. and when you finally pulled back, both of you were breathing differently. you laughed quietly out of nervousness more than anything. you touched his face again instinctively.

"i like you like this," you whispered.

"like what?"

"happy." you responded.

something unguarded crossed his expression then. so brief you almost missed it. zayne leaned forward, resting his forehead lightly against yours.

"i don't think i've been happy in a very long time," he admitted softly.

your heart ached hearing it.

"but i am when i'm with you."

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

you climbed off his lap and zayne nearly groaned at the absence of your warmth. you took his hand in yours though, leading him to your room.

your room was warmer than the rest of the station, firelight flickering softly from the stone fireplace near the window.

zayne stopped just inside the doorway. looking around carefully.

"you've never been in here before," you realized.

"no."

"and?"

his gaze moved around the room. at the posters and photos plastered on the walls of artic wildlife. at the pile of blankets and laundry in the corner. the plants hanging and growing from the window sill. the plushies on your bed that must be remnants of your childhood spent with dr. noah. then slowly his eyes returned back to you, "it feels like you."

that alone nearly made your knees weak. you tried to hide it by turning toward the fireplace, kneeling to adjust the logs. behind you, you heard him step closer. then warmth at your back. zayne's hand settled gently at your waist, almost hesitant for the first time that night.

"you're nervous now," he murmured.

"yes." you turned slightly in his arms, surprised, "you?"

"i've never done this before."

your expression softened immediately. not the physical closeness. this - loving someone openly. wanting to be loved back.

you touched his cheek gently, "you're doing okay so far."

a quiet breath escaped him, then he kissed you again. the fire crackled softly nearby as his hands gradually grew more certain against you, careful touches becoming lingering ones. every kiss felt like discovery, like zayne was learning you with the same quiet intensity he gave everything else in his life.

only this time, there was softness in it too. you felt it when he held you close against his chest. when he brushed his thumb against your cheek between kisses. when he whispered your name against your lips like it meant something precious.

"i don't think you understand what you've become to me," he admitted quietly at one point, voice rougher now.

your heartbeat stumbled, "what am i to you?"

zayne looked at you for a long moment beside the firelight, then answered honestly.

"home."

the word settled into you completely. and when you kissed him again after that, pulling him down with you onto the thick blankets near the fireplace. his hand slid under your sweater, fingers splaying across your stomach, warm and possessive. he traced the curve of your ribs, the dip of your waist, watching your face for any flicker of uncertainty. when you arched into his touch, he smiled a rare, genuine smile that made your heart ache.

you reached up, unbuttoning his shirt slowly, letting the fabric fall open. his chest rose and fell with quickened breaths. zayne lowered his head, kissing your neck and collarbone before pulling your sweater over your head.

he watched you for a moment. messy hair, cheeks glowing, and chest rising and falling steadily. you were the epitome of the word beautiful. he leaned in to kiss the swell of your breasts through the fabric and his hand slid lower, but instead of rushing, he paused, his fingers resting at the waistband of your jeans. he looked up at you, his gaze searching.

"is this your first time?" he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper. there was no judgment in it, only a gentle reverence, as if he wanted to handle something precious.

you nodded, your cheeks flushing even deeper under the firelight. "i've…never done this before. with anyone."

something shifted in his expression—an almost unbearable tenderness. he leaned up and kissed your forehead, then your nose, then your lips, slow and sweet.

"thank you," he murmured against your mouth, "for wanting it to be with me. i'll be careful. i promise. tell me if anything hurts, or if you need me to stop."

he resumed his exploration, but now with an even more deliberate gentleness. his fingers worked the button of your jeans open, easing them down your legs along with your underwear. the air was cool against your skin, but the fire and zayne's body shielded you from the rest of the cold.

he shrugged off his own shirt completely, then unfastened his pants, letting them pool beside him. his cock was already hard, thick and flushed at the tip. he stroked himself once, twice, then he lowered himself over you again, his weight pressing you into the soft rug. his mouth found yours, kissing you deeply as his hand slid down between your legs. his slender fingers traced your folds, finding you already slick with arousal. he circled your clit gently, making you whine against his lips.

he whispered, awe in his voice. "is this okay?"

"yes," you breathed, your hips bucking into his touch.

he moved lower, finding your navel kissing gently as you sucked in a harsh breath at the feeling of his mouth so close to where you wanted him. then he moved again, lips pressed against your inner thigh, lightly nibbling the supple skin. you whimpered, the feeling was new and electrifying.

finally his tongue made its way to your entrance where he lapped gently at your folds. nose bumping your clit every time he moved a particular way. he took his time, ravishing every part of you. the way you started to find your voice, moaning softly. the way your hips twitched from pleasure every so often. your senses started to blur together. you weren't entirely sure where you ended and he began.

"more, zayne please i need to feel you." you whispered, throat going dry.

he reluctantly pulled himself away from your heat and positioned himself at your entrance, the head of his cock teasing your slit. he looked into your eyes, holding your gaze.

"i love you," he said again, and then he pushed inch by inch inside.

the stretch was sudden and intense, a sharp pressure that bordered on pain. you gasped, your hands flying to his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin. zayne froze immediately, his forehead pressing to yours, his breath ragged.

"shh, i know," he whispered, his voice strained with the effort of holding still. "just breathe. i'll wait."

he stayed there, buried only halfway, letting your body adjust. his thumb found your clit again, massaging gently, coaxing pleasure to mingle with the ache. slowly, the tension began to ease. you felt your inner muscles relax around him, the initial burn softening into a deep, strange fullness.

"i'm okay," you whispered. "keep going."

he eased deeper until his hips were flush against yours. he paused again, letting you feel the weight of him inside you, the completeness of it. a tear slipped from the corner of your eye, not from pain, but from the overwhelming intimacy of it.

zayne kissed it away. "you're so brave," he murmured. "so beautiful"

he began to move—slow, shallow thrusts at first, each one coaxing a little more pleasure from the initial discomfort. his mouth never left your skin. kissing your jaw, your throat, your breasts, whispering love and praise into your flesh.

the fire crackled beside you, casting flickering light across the tangle of your bodies. his pace increased gradually, finding a rhythm that made you let out high pitched moans, your hips rising to meet his. the pain completed gone and replaced by a building pressure, a coil of heat low in your belly.

you clung to him, your legs wrapping around his waist, pulling him closer. your orgasm built slowly, like the fire's warmth spreading through the room. when it crested, it washed over you in waves, your walls clenching around him, drawing a desperate groan from his lips.

he buried his face in your neck, his hips stuttering as pulled out to release on your inner thighs. you whined at the loss of him inside you as you continued to ride out both your climaxes with trembling control.

the fire popped and settled. the room was filled with the sound of your breathing, the crackle of flames, the beating of your hearts. for the remaining of the night, the rest of the world disappeared into snow, warmth, and the sound of him finally loving you out loud.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

after another month, you and zayne had discussed how you hadn't actually been on what most people would consider a 'proper date' even after all this time.

that's how you ended up staring at him suspiciously while bundled beneath layers of clothing beside a frozen lake miles away from the station.

"you planned this?"

"i'm capable."

"that remains under review."

ignoring you entirely, zayne unpacked a thermos and two containers from his bag.

"is that homemade food?" you asked, mouth beginning to water

"dr. noah said if i took you somewhere involving cafeteria meals again, he would personally intervene."

the aurora shimmered faintly overhead, reflected across endless ice. for a while, the two of you simply sat together in comfortable silence, eating your meal while snow drifted lazily around you.

then quietly, thoughtfully, you said, "i think this might be the happiest i've ever been."

the words slipped out before you could stop them. immediately, you looked down in embarrassment. when you finally glanced back up, zayne reached for your gloved hand slowly. held it carefully between both of his.

and very quietly, he said "me too."

before you could respond, he spoke again — quieter this time.

"i need to go back to linkon."

you shouldn't have been surprised. as a matter of fact, you weren't. and yet the words still landed wrong and your body went still.

"when?"

"a few weeks." he responded carefully

you nodded slowly, processing it. zayne didn't look away from you.

"there's a position i accepted," he continued. "cardiothoracic research. surgery rotation as well."

you let out a small breath, "that sounds like you."

"it's exactly what i have always wanted to do"

then he added, quieter like he didn't want to say it, "i will have to return."

not if. not maybe. just fact. you understood that immediately. zayne didn't drift. he moved with intention.

"okay..." you said softly.

that made his gaze sharpen slightly, "you're not asking anything."

you shrugged faintly, "there's nothing to ask."

then you added, more gently, "you worked for this."

zayne didn't speak immediately. when he did, his voice was lower.

"come with me."

that was it. no buildup. no hesitation. an invitation spoken like it had already been sitting in him for a while.

your breath caught slightly. you looked at him properly now.

"to linkon?"

"yes."

zayne waited. he didn't interrupt your thought process. didn't push. just watched you like he always did when you were deciding something important.

finally, you exhaled. "i can't," you said quietly.

zayne didn't react immediately and a pause stretched between you.

then you continued, "i've lived here my whole life."

"and uncle noah—this place, everything i do is here."

then you reached for his hand again. slowly. deliberately.

"i think," you said carefully, "i have a lot more to learn here still."

"i thought you might say that." he said

"i'm not saying i won't ever leave," you continued. "but not this way. not now."

you looked at him, "are you disappointed?"

the question came out before you could stop it.

zayne tilted his head slightly, "no."

you searched his expression. he didn't look away. then, after a pause, "i would have liked to have you there," he admitted.

"but i will come back here."

you nodded, "i know."

"and you will be here."

it wasn't a question. it was trust. you squeezed his hand once more.

"waiting for you," you said. and for now, that was enough.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

the first three months of being apart were almost good. not perfect, but close enough that you let yourself believe distance might actually be survivable.

at first, it looked like it would be. zayne called when he said he would. sometimes early mornings for you, sometimes late nights for him, but he always showed up on the screen in some version of exhaustion that still softened when he saw you.

you learned to time your days around him. he learned to end his meetings early when he could. it wasn't ideal. but it was something. and for a while, something was enough.

then the work started to take him. slowly, at first, then all at once.

"i'll call you tonight," became "i'll try."

"i'm free at 10," became "i might still be in surgery."

then one day, it was just a message.

'sorry. emergency case. talk later.'

you stared at it for a long time before replying.

'okay. stay safe.'

that was the pattern after that. you told yourself it was fine, because your life didn't stop either. animals still got injured. storms still trapped people in places they shouldn't be. you stayed busy. you had to.

at first, you were still the one trying harder. you sent updates. pictures from the rehabilitation wing. voice messages during late shifts. small things that said i'm still here with you.

zayne always responded. just…later.

'i saw this during surgery. that's good. be careful in storms.'

short replies. functional yet not unkind.

and you started noticing something worse than distance. you were still building your life around him yet he wasn't building anything around you.

the turning point wasn't dramatic. it was a missed call. then another. then three in a row that he never returned.

one night after about two weeks you got through. zayne sat in a dim office somewhere in the hospital, tie loosened, sleeves rolled up, exhaustion carved into his face in a way that looked almost permanent now.

"you look tired," you said softly.

"i am", he admitted.

you watched him carefully, "did you eat today?"

"yes."

you waited. he didn't elaborate. you nodded slowly, "okay."

silence. not comfortable anymore. zayne glanced at something off screen, then back at you.

"i have rounds early tomorrow," he said.

you blinked looking around your room, "it's already late where you are."

"i know."

you waited. nothing else came. no question about your day. no follow-up. no lingering moment or hesitation to hang up like there used to be.

then you finally said, "i think i'm the only one trying to keep this going."

zayne looked at you carefully through the screen.

"that's not true," he said.

but it didn't sound like denial. it sounded like regret finally pushing back.

you shook your head slightly, "it feels like it is."

"i'm trying, but i don't think i'm doing this well. i keep thinking i'll get back to the way it was, but—"

he stopped, because you both already knew. you spoke gently.

"i think we've been trying to hold onto something that doesn't have space to exist like this anymore.”

his eyes didn't leave you. "are you asking me to end it?" he asked quietly.

you shook your head once, "no...i think we already did," you said softly.

there was no anger. just truth settling into the place of silence. zayne closed his eyes briefly. when he opened them again, his voice was steady.

"i don't want to lose you."

that part didn't change. it never had.

you nodded slowly, "i know." you held back the tears in your eyes, before continuing, "but i think a part of you lost me when you left and now the rest followed."

and this time, he just looked at you for a long moment, like memorizing something he didn't know how to keep anymore.

"i'm sorry," he said finally.

you smiled faintly, even though it hurt.

"i don't think either of us did anything wrong."

zayne nodded once. final in a way neither of you had really chosen, but both of you understood.

"okay," he said softly. not agreement but acknowledgment.

you both lingered for a second longer on the call. neither of you wanting to be the one to end it. then you did, and this time it was for good.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

five years later

the convoy arrived without warning. machines cutting through white silence, tires biting into packed snow with controlled precision that felt almost disrespectful to the landscape. linkon always moved like that. like the world was something to be managed.

you stood beside your uncle at the edge of the station platform, coat pulled tight, watching the vehicles settle into formation.

"you knew they were sending hunters," you said quietly.

"no," noah replied. "but i knew they wouldn't send anyone unarmed."

the lead vehicle door opened. zayne stepped out first, and your body registered him before your mind did.

five years layered into a single second.

he looked different. more aged and refined. linkon had hardened the edges of the residency once carved into him. his posture was precise, his coat structured, and his presence controlled. but his eyes—his eyes still found you immediately. no hesitation. just recognition held steady across distance.

a second figure stepped out behind him. a women in a deepspace hunter uniform that is reinforced, functional, designed for field work. she moved like someone used to instability and still choosing control anyway.

she took in the station in one sweep. then her gaze landed on you.

"dr. l/n," she said.

you nodded once, "deepspace hunter mc."

"mission lead actually," she added calmly.

dr. noah exhaled behind you. "of course linkon sends hunters for retrieval."

mc glanced at him, "we were assigned recovery of a lost research unit."

"lost," noah repeated. "meaning they are already gone or worse."

"that is unknown," she replied evenly. "that is why we are here."

zayne still hadn't spoken, but he also hadn't looked away from you. mc turned slightly toward the group.

"we are conducting a classified retrieval operation," she said.

a holo-map activated from her wrist device, projecting terrain into the air between you. "a linkon research team went dark three days ago following confirmed wanderer engagement in the northern ridge sector."

the arctic terrain that you called your home appeared in layered light—fractures. it was danger mapped into geometry.

zayne stepped closer to the map. mc adjusted her position beside him without hesitation. it was familiar, like two people who had done this before. done it often. dr. noah noticed. so did you. you just didn't comment on it. because it was clear—without anyone saying it. that this wasn't just a work dynamic. mc was not an unfamiliar colleague. she was his partner, and it all existed quietly in the space between them.

dr. noah leaned slightly toward you. "that explains why they sent him specifically."

you didn't answer. your throat suddenly closing up and feeling dry.

"we require local terrain navigation support," she said, turning her attention to you. "dr. l/n. you are recommended."

that pulled you fully into the moment. zayne's gaze flicked to you again - just briefly.

mc continued without pause, "you are the most familiar with unstable ridges and animal migration paths in this region."

noah answered before you did, "she knows the terrain better than anyone in linkon or arctic combined."

mc nodded once. "then she is essential to the mission."

this was not a request. it was an assignment.

"understood," you said.

mc shifted slightly, "we deploy at first light."

the briefing dissolved into logistics. everything had order. everything had purpose.

you stepped outside onto the observation deck without really deciding to. the wind hit your face immediately and for a moment, you just stood there.

"you still do that." a voice called

you didn't turn right away. you already knew. zayne stood a few steps behind you with the same controlled posture, but now there was no professional buffer. just empty space.

"you mean stand outside in subzero wind voluntarily?" you asked.

"yes."

you exhaled faintly, "it helps me think."

"i remember," he said.

then you looked at him properly, "you look different. linkon suits you," you added lightly.

his gaze didn't leave you. yet something in his eyes looked wounded at that statement.

"and you never left." he said

"no stayed right here like i promised."

that came out a bit harsher than you intended, but this was your truth.

zayne studied you for a long moment. then, carefully, "i did not expect it to feel like this."

you tilted your head slightly, "like what?"

he hesitated just once before stepping closer towards you.

"like i didn't leave everything behind."

your breath caught slightly, but you didn't step forward to meet him halfway. you couldn't bring yourself too. inside the station, movement returned. mc had followed. she stepped out into the wind, adjusting her gloves as she approached. she looked at zayne first.

"everything finalized?" she asked.

"yes," he replied.

mc's gaze shifted briefly to you, then back to him, "i'm sorry was i interrupting something?"

and just like that—he stepped into motion beside her. returning to the role he occupied in this moment.

"no i was just leaving"

that stung more than you cared to admit. then they disappeared back inside and the arctic wind filled the space they left behind like it had never been interrupted at all.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

the next day you were completely focused on one thing only. retrieving the lost group quickly and safely and returning to your normal life. you moved ahead of the group, boots cutting a line through packed frost, your gaze tracking terrain changes that didn't show up on any linkon feed. behind you, footsteps matched yours. not perfectly but closely enough that you didn't have to check. zayne. mc followed a few paces behind, scanning the ridge line with precision, eyes moving between the earth and the two of you ahead.

she noticed everything. she just didn't interrupt it. not yet anyway. it happened again an hour later. wind picked up along the ridge edge, visibility dropping into shifting white.

you raised your hand slightly without thinking, "stop."

the group halted. zayne was already scanning ahead.

"pressure shift incoming" you said.

he nodded once, "a storm from the west corridor."

you glanced at him briefly, "that wasn't in the forecast."

"it rarely is accurate in this sector," he replied.

you exhaled softly, "then we wait it out in that cave up ahead."

there was no discussion. just agreement that didn't need negotiation. mc stayed back as you and zayne moved forward slightly to assess shelter structure. she watched the two of you step into the rock fold at the same time. not coordinated. just…synchronized.

inside the shelter, wind muted slightly. you removed one glove, flexing your fingers and zayne did the same out of habit. she stood far enough away giving space without needing to be asked. that was when she saw it more clearly. you and him. the way he passed you a heat pack without you asking. the way your eyes lit up ever so slightly before you nodded a thank you his way.

later, as the group moved again, mc finally spoke over comms.

"you two move well together," she said.

you glanced back slightly. "we've worked this terrain before."

"i don't mean the terrain," she replied.

zayne didn't respond immediately. neither did you. then he said quietly, "history helps."

it wasn't until much later, when you paused again at a ridge overlook, that she saw it fully. you were pointing out structural collapse points ahead, voice steady, grounded in familiarity with the land. zayne was watching you. not the landscape—you. and when you spoke, he responded without delay because he already knew what you would say.

mc adjusted her grip on her weapon slowly. not because she felt excluded, but because she realized there was a threat. one that was precise and quiet. she had known zayne in linkon. he was controlled and efficient, always slightly distant in a way she assumed was just him.

but here with you, he was something else. her zayne didn't belong to this place. but a version of him did. and that version— was already walking ahead of her instead of with her. and mc realized, with clinical clarity, that she had never actually seen him like this before. not once in the years she had been beside him.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

the aurora didn't fade that night. it thinned out like something deciding it had already been seen enough. the research team had been retrieved hours ago. alive and shaken but stable. the mission was no longer urgent, it was concluding. and this was the final night.

you and zayne ended up at the overlook again. not by agreement but by inevitability. the arctic made patterns out of people without asking permission. the sky above you moved in slow ribbons of light—fainter now, almost hesitant.

zayne broke the silence first. "you did well," he said quietly.

"i was just doing my job"

"you kept us from losing the southern corridor," he continued. "without your route correction, we would have lost two hours. possibly the team."

you looked away toward the snowfield below. "it was obvious," you said.

"it wasn't," he replied. that made you pause slightly. then you heard him continue, softer. "you still underestimate what you see."

you didn't answer immediately because that used to be something he said years ago. back when things were simpler and you were young and naive.

then you said, quietly, "you're exactly where you were always meant to be. saving people. making decisions no one else can make under pressure. you don't hesitate, you just act. that's who you are."

zayne didn't respond immediately, his gaze stayed fix on you. then he asked almost unsure, "and you?"

you exhaled slightly. "i stayed," you said. "and i became someone who understands what survives out here."

the wind shifted just enough to move the edge of your coat. zayne stepped slightly closer to block you from the breeze—not deliberate at first, just closing distance as naturally as he always did.

you didn't step back and the space between you narrowed until it stopped feeling like distance and started feeling like choice. zayne looked at you longer than before. different than before. something in him had stopped calculating and started remembering. his hand lifted slightly. just enough that it existed between intention and action. neither of you moving.

for a second, everything else fell away. there was no mission. no mc. no years lost. zayne's gaze dropped briefly to your lips, then back to your eyes and he leaned in, slow and controlled. you didn't stop him but you didn't move toward him either. you simply stayed right there where the past and present finally touched the same point. the distance between you nearly disappeared when—"zayne."

mc's voice cut through the ridge wind. not sharp. not panicked. just real. the world returning. zayne stopped immediately. his hand lowered before it ever reached you. the moment didn't break, it simply ended before becoming real. he turned his head slightly toward her voice. mc stood nearby, posture steady, expression controlled—but her eyes were clearer now than they had been all mission.

"i've been calling you," she said. "we need to finalize departure prep."

zayne didn't move away from you immediately. for a fraction of a second, he still stood too close. then slowly—he stepped back.

"i know," he said quietly.

mc waited not intruding. zayne finally turned fully toward her and something settled back into place when he did.

"let's go," he said, voice low.

mc nodded and then she looked at you. not suspicious or territorial. just keenly aware of what might have happened between the two of you had she not shown up.

"i'll see you at departure," she said calmly.

then she turned and walked with him. side by side. as they always moved in linkon, and as they would continue to move.

you stayed on the ridge a little longer. the aurora was almost gone now. just traces of light dissolving into dark sky. and for the first time since he arrived—you understood that nothing about this mission had ever been about retrieval to either of you. it had been about return, and what could no longer fully return to where it once belonged.

the journey back to the station was quieter now that there was no more stakes. snow outside the convoy moved in long, indifferent sheets. mc sat beside zayne. they had done this before—long returns after completed operations. exhaustion softened into routine, but this time, zayne wasn't fully there.

"you've been quiet since we left," she said.

zayne didn't look up from the data pad in his hands.

"i keep thinking," he said quietly, "about how easily i adapted to leaving."

mc didn't respond immediately. it wasn't often zayne talked about his past. those grueling years she thought he had spent here during his residency.

"i told myself it was necessary. that distance was part of the work. an inevitable part of my future."

his voice lowered slightly, "and i believed it."

mc's gaze stayed on him now. letting him continue without interruption.

"but i don't think that was the full truth. i think i just stopped returning to what mattered most because i was good at not looking back."

mc didn't react outwardly, but she understood immediately. the arctic had not just been a mission. it had been a return to something he had never processed leaving behind. zayne's gaze stayed on the fading white outside.

"i thought i had moved forward," he said. "but i think i just built a life that didn't require me to resolve anything i left unresolved.”

"and now" he said slowly looking forward towards where you were sitting. " i don't think i want to leave again.”

mc looked at him for a long moment then said with a hint of sadness in her voice, "then you'll have to decide what you're willing to sacrifice."

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

the station was already in departure preparation when you arrived. too many people moving with practiced efficiently. and mc—she was leaving. you saw her near the vehicles already packed. zayne stood nearby, not with her, yet not without her either. somewhere in between.

you caught fragments of conversation without meaning to.

"you're not returning on schedule?" she asked him.

"i'll follow later," zayne replied.

there was no explanation. simply a decision. mc studied him for a moment.

then said, quieter looking down at her feet, "it's her isn't it?"

she finally reached that conclusion and zayne didn't deny it. mc exhaled once.

"i see" she said. "you didn't used to hesitate like this."

zayne's gaze stayed forward. "i didn't used to have anything i refused to leave behind," he said.

you stepped back before either of them noticed you. you hadn't intented on listening, but you already had and it didn't feel like something you could unhear. you left the station without announcing it. the frozen lake wasn't far. the same lake where you left a piece of your heart behind. you intended now to collect it.

the ice stretched wide and pale beneath you, reflecting a sky that you replayed so many times in your memory. this was where you and zayne had once had a date. where he asked you to move to linkon with him...and you said no. some days part of you had regretted that decision and wondered what your life might have turned into if you had gone with him. but now here you were as you stood at the edge waiting for your thoughts to stop sounding like his voice.

the station felt at peace after mc left. zayne didn't board with her. he watched the trucks depart until the last vehicle disappeared into the white horizon. only then did dr. noah speak.

"you're not going with them."

zayne didn't turn immediately, "no."

noah studied him for a long moment, then exhaled through his nose.

"i was wondering when you'd stop running on habit and start making choices again."

zayne's gaze shifted slightly toward the direction of the frozen lake.

"i came back because i finally understood the severity of what i left behind."

noah watched him carefully following his gaze. he knew where you had gone. "you're talking about her."

zayne didn't deny it. but noah saw the flash of every emotion he was trying to suppress behind his hazel eyes.

noah exhaled slowly, "linkon will keep functioning," he said. "it always does. it replaces people. it adjusts...but it doesn't replace people like her."

zayne looked at him fully now. noah stepped closer slightly. his tone shifted—not softer, just direct.

"so whatever you do next, make sure you understand something important."

zayne didn't speak as he gave him his complete attention.

"don't come back into her life like a man trying to fix what he broke just because he finally noticed the damage."

noah's gaze didn't waver. "if you're going to go to her, don't break her heart again trying to learn how to stay."

that landed differently. not as warning. as permission with consequence.

"i wont. i don't think i can afford to."

noah studied him one last time then nodded once, "good because she's not someone you can leave and assume will still be standing in the same place twice."

zayne's eyes shifted slightly toward the exit. toward the path. toward the frozen lake once more. where you already where. and this time—he moved.

❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

he found you there yet didn't call out immediately. he just walked forward until the distance between you was small enough that warmth settled between you.

"you left without saying anything," he said.

you didn't turn fully, "i needed somewhere to think."

the frozen lake stretched beneath both of you.

"i spoke with mc before she left," he said.

that made you glance slightly in his direction.

"she noticed what i didn't want to name for a long time."

"and what's that?" you asked hesitantly

"i shouldn't have left you," he said.

the words didn't rush into your heart, they settled like a heavy blanket. you didn't respond immediately, so he kept going.

"i told myself that i was choosing a path i had to follow. but i never realized there was always another choice."

you finally turned toward him as the wind moved between you, cold and unforgiving.

zayne met your gaze fully, "and i found something out there," he said quietly.

"not in linkon. not in the mission."

you knew where this was going and tried to stop the tears from welling up in your eyes.

"i found that i never actually stopped belonging to you in the way i thought i had.”

he stepped slightly closer hands reaching for yours and when you didn't pull away he carefully interlinked your fingers.

"i don't want to lose you again to something i convinced myself was more important than this," he said.

"i don't want to keep living a life where i leave the most important thing behind and call it responsibility."

the frozen lake held both of your reflections now—guilt, regret, and yet still hopeless love. for a brief second you saw your younger selves staring back at you.

zayne's voice lowered, "i found myself again in the arctic, but i think i only recognized it because you were still here."

that hit your heart in a way you weren't anticipating. you knew this place like the back of your hand because it was your home. but you were always his.

he exhaled once then said, "i'm not asking for what we were. i'm asking if there's still something here that we never actually finished becoming."

the silence after his words didn't feel empty. it felt full, like the lake beneath your feet—frozen, holding everything that had ever fallen into it.

zayne didn't move. he didn't push forward. he just waited, and just like the night where you bared your souls to each other, he let you be the one to decide what came next.

you exhaled a long breath you didn't realize you had been holding in. you didn't break eye contact, and for the first time since his arrival, you grounded yourself in the fact that he was actually here. not a memory. not a version. him. your zayne.

"you don't get to say things like that and expect it to erase what it cost," you said quietly.

zayne's expression tightened slightly, and you saw the faint line of water threatening to spill from his eyes.

"i stayed here after you left and told myself i understood why you had to go."

your voice stayed steady, "but that didn't mean it didn't hurt."

you looked around you, at the nature you had grown accustomed to, "i built a life that didn't require me to wait for anyone, because i couldn't afford to keep doing that."

"and when you came back," you added, softer now trying to keep your voice from breaking

"you didn't feel like someone returning. you felt like something i had already learned how to live without."

you saw it in him then—real understanding.

"and yet i still love you," you said voice finally cracking.

"even when i had to survive you not choosing me anymore."

zayne's gaze never left you, and when he finally spoke, his voice was lower than before.

"i didn't stop loving you," he said.

the words felt like they were finally escaping something that had held them too long.

"i love you, even when i didn't know how to say it properly. even when we were thousands of miles apart. even when we...broke up."

his hands tightened around yours, "i've always loved you and i don't want to go back to a life where i come and go from you like you're something temporary in my existence."

"i want to come home," he said softly. "not to linkon or the arctic...to you."

you stepped forward this time without hesitation. zayne met you halfway. not pulling too fast. not holding back either. just finally allowing the distance to close properly. and when you kissed him it wasn't fractured by timing or interruption. it was shared. his hand steadied at your waist like he was making a promise with his body as much as his words.

when you pulled back after a few moments, neither of you fully stepped away. your foreheads resting close and breath shared in the cold air. zayne closed his eyes briefly.

"i'm not leaving," he said quietly.

you studied him for a moment, hand resting brushing lightly against his cheek, "you already made that mistake once."

his grip on you tightened slightly, "i know but i will never make it again. i'm staying where i belong."

your reflection stared back at you through his green eyes, and for the first time in the past five years, you saw happiness in your expression.

"good because i am not letting you go." you said pressing your lips to his again. as your lips moved in tandem, the frozen ice stretched endlessly beneath you both, only this time it didn't feel like something separating anything at all. it felt like something that finally held strong.

Sitting next to, you don’t have the chance to answer, “What does she want to do!? Are you seriously asking that!?”

Sylus raises his brows, slowly turning in the direction of an excitable Rafayel, “…Yes. Problem?”

“Duh! Cutie wants us to decide for her, hm?” Rafayel pinches your cheek affectionately, “Wants us to already know, don’t you? Isn’t that right, cutie?”

You can’t help but giggle—albeit a bit nervously—blushing and exchanging a rapid glance between the pair, “Hmm—”

Sensing your inability to lean in either direction, “I always want my kitten to choose and express herself. She doesn’t need us to choose for her.”

“I want that for my cutie, too. But, I know a part of her wants us to already know exactly what she wants,” Rafayel turns in his stool toward you, a soft smirk on his face, “Huh, cutie?”

Sylus saunters over to your side, standing beside your stool but looking to Rafayel sat beside you, “Raf, would you let her speak? You’re excitable today, hm?”

“Sorry, I can’t help it! I want everything to be amazing and give our love whatever she wants.” He breaks his pout toward Sylus to smile back at you, “You know that’s why, right, cutie?”

“Mhm—” Your voice falters feeling Sylus’ looming presence get closer to you, “O-of course. You’re both so swe—”

You’re silenced by the feeling of Sylus’ warm breath against your neck, his lips offering one gentle kiss before hovering by your ear, his voice low, “While I do love to let you decide for yourself—always, I do have a pretty good sense of knowing what you want and when,” he kisses your skin again, “don’t I, kitten?”

“Y-yes, you do…”

“Mmhm…” Sylus wastes no time in parting his mouth, kissing your skin openly and sucking. The moan he acquires from you occurs in record time.

Rafayel twitches in his seat, “H-hey!” You reach out to stroke Rafayel’s arm.

Sylus groans, letting his teeth nip your neck before mumbling into your skin, but not to you, “Quiet—mmm, help me give our love an early birthday treat, hm?”

Without hesitation, Rafayel is leaning in toward you from his stool. Your hand glides from his arm to his shoulder to the back of his neck, threading your fingers into his hair the closer he gets. Before his lips on are the opposite side of your neck, your grip tightens in his hair, “Ngh—mhm, y-yeah…”

In less than a minute, the pair are sloppy, needy on both sides of your neck—kissing, biting, nipping, licking… You let out a breathy laugh, one that’s broken up by a string of hums, sighs, and quiet moans, “Hah—ngh—mm—h-happy early birthday to m-me…”

They both laugh, a quiet grumbly laugh, one that reverberates against your skin and sends a stark shiver down your spine. You let a louder moan slip when their hands collectively move and shift—waist, thighs, hips, chest…anywhere they can reach, even if that means crossing paths.

*** 

The day of your actual birthday, the three of you found yourselves waking up in Rafayel’s house. It was a welcomed treat for Sylus, despite a bizarrely kept schedule, the warm rays of sun streaming in through the tall windows and spanning over and across the bed, splashing over you and Rafayel—each only lazily and partially covered by a crisp, white sheet—warmed him from the inside out.

Gently sitting down next to you, Sylus strokes your hair, pushing it away from your eyes. “Hmph…” He thought about just how cute you looked sleeping. Stroking your cheek a moment, eventually you stir, blinking your eyes open slowly but immediately smiling at the sight of him.

“Sy—”

He offers you a light pinch on your cheek, smiling down at you and interrupting, “Happy birthday, kitten. I love you.”

Like the words were an alarm clock ringing, there’s another stir on the other side of the large bed, accompanied by a groggy voice, “Ngh—hm? N-no, no!” Rafayel immediately turns over, quickly drawing your hips toward him, “I wanted to be the one to say it first!”

Sylus shrugs, still grinning, “You snooze, you lose.”

“Ugh! You—! ...Happy birthday, cutie! I love youuu!” He’s quick to attack your cheek and neck in peppered kisses until you laugh.

Once he relaxes but still holds you close, you hum, welcoming the pressure from Rafayel, “Mmm—no bickering on my birthday, hm?”

They both share a small grumble, but agree anyway, their voices overlapping at your command, “Yes, kitten.” “Only for you, cutie.”

You smile, “Good.”

As Rafayel begins to nuzzle his face into your neck again, Sylus clears his throat, “Kitten, I got you something.”

You spring up immediately, “Ooo, wha—”

Rafayel sits up, interrupting you, “Ngh—hey!”

You practically bounce on the bed, already giddy, “What, what, what!?”

Sylus smirks, “You’re so cute, kitten. It’s something I know you really want.”

You raise a brow, “Oh, yeah?”

“Mhm,” he bends down by the nightstand nearby, retrieving a medium sized box he tucked there, “here my love, happy birthday.”

Somewhere between a whine and light shriek, “Thank you!” Quick to pull the box apart and open, “Oh. My. God. How did you know I wanted this!?”

He cocks his head to the side, playing it off with a dashing smile, “Mm, a little birdie told me.”

When you pull out the Supermarket Calico Critter set, Rafayel instantly shrieks, “You did fucking not!” Scrambling and leaning over the edge of the bed on his side, he pulls out another box and hands it to you. 

Sylus sighs, “Are you—”

“Yes, yes, I am very serious.”

Laughing but still in shock at the irony, “How did either of you know about this!?”

“Him, I don’t know—probably Mephisto. Me, yes, I definitely went through your Ebay likes.”

You tap his shoulder, “Raf!”

“W-what!?”

There were more—they both got more, a lot more.

*** 

After prioritizing a specialized good morning birthday wake-up—of sorts, when you walk out into the kitchen, there’s a decadent spread of food. “W-what—”

Yet again, “Sylus!”

He smirks over to Rafayel, “What?”

“H-how—”

He kisses the side of your head, “The twins.” He gestures for you to sit, “Only the best for my kitten.”

“I’m gonna kill you.”

“Shush, eat up, hm?”

***

Throughout the day, Rafayel has his revenge. But, secretly, Sylus is more than happy to let him have it—he loves the smile on your face, no matter which of them is the one to spoil you. Rafayel holds your hand over every set of steps or crack in the sidewalk, holds open every door, doesn’t abandon—or let you hold—your purse once, not all day.

Spotting the Lego store, “Ooo, can we go in!?”

Despite the man already indulging in a material whim that was somewhat similar, Sylus cocks a brow, “Of course. But you know I could just buy you—”

Rafayel is quick to interrupt, “Shush, you! Yes, cutie. We’re going in. I’ll buy you whatever sets you want, hm?”

You kiss his cheek, and an instant and warm blush spreads on his face, “Yay!” As he holds the door open for you he scowls at Sylus, but he only receives a grin right back.

Sylus reads the set’s name to himself quietly, “The Old Town…15th Anniversary…” he gets a bit louder, turning toward you, “Hm, kitten, I own a building similar to this, I could just—”

“Quiet!” Sylus laughs, tipping back with his hands in the air. Before you can say a thing, Rafayel’s grabbing the set off the shelf and paying.

Sylus leans in and kisses the top of your head, whispering, “It’s fine, I’ll give you the real thing, too.”

When you walk out, Sylus immediately takes the bag from Rafayel. “So cutie, what made you love that one, hm?”

“Oh, well, it’s super cute but—it’s got Cole, I loved him growing up.” Sylus snickers to himself, thinking—oh, here we go.

Rafayel, gasps loudly—loud enough to turn heads, “What!? Cutie!? You love—”

Sylus cocks a brow at him—at his outburst, “Raf…”

He squints his eyes at Sylus, trying to find control in himself considering the given day, “Mm, hm— …Ngh, ugh. Fine.”

***

During the event of shopping, Sylus functioned like the ecstatic and brooding body guard, a comforting presence of security behind the two of you.

Walking around like a joyous pack mule, Sylus carries everything, letting the two of you walk arm in arm. But before dinner, somehow, and without either of you noticing, the bags just…disappear. When either of you question it, he just shakes his head, “Don’t worry, kitten. Everything is already at home, yeah?” The twins, maybe? You could never be too sure, all you knew was if there was one man who “had his ways,” it was Sylus.

Dinner is, of course, completely private—to the extent of being heinously luxurious. There’s not a single soul in the building beyond staff, you, Sylus, and Rafayel. You have your fill of a complete seafood buffet, and, of course and as expected, they bicker over who can feed you what and when. However, Sylus is kind enough to let Rafayel win—most of the time, that is.

***

The twins were smart enough to have already made themselves scarce long before the three of you made it back to the base. Beyond the threshold, everything is hands, kissing, and a clattering of shoes. Three pairs, to be exact.

Before you can even make it anywhere near a single bedroom, the pair is quick to strip you bare. Sylus peels off your coat, Rafayel your dress, Sylus your bra, Rafayel your panties...whether intentional or not, they took turns playing this game.

“Mmm...” Sylus looks to Rafayel, raising a brow, “Should we play chase the birthday girl?”

You stammer, shuffle, and moan, “H-hey—”

Rafayel grins, giving you a mischievous look, hardly looking over to Sylus, “Huh, that does sound fun...doesn’t it?”

Sylus stalks toward you, “Mhm…” Rafayel takes a few steps to the side of him.

Your voice cracks into a giggle, “Y-you two, h-hey—!”

In a low purr, “C’mere, kitten…”

Letting a true laugh escape your mouth, you practically bolt into the nearest den. Their casual footsteps trailing after you makes your entire body throb with anticipation.

***

You’re splayed out on a large, lush couch, Sylus cozy between your thighs with Rafayel stood behind you near the armrest, his fingers brushing through your hair. By this point, everyone was completely bare.

“Look at him, kitten. So frustrated with me all day, why don’t you be a good birthday girl and give him what he wants, hm?”

“Ngh—shut up, you. Do whatever you’d like cutie, mmm, i-it—” You cock your head back and to the side, licking his tip, “oh my god—”

Sylus chuckles, “Good girl, kitten. You do that, and I’ll do this…” As soon as Sylus’ mouth meets your slit, you moan against Rafayel’s cock, his hand tightening its grasp in your hair.

The further you take him, the more it tempts him to push forward, “S-shit—cutie, mmm, this seems—hah, ngh—unfair, Miss Birthday Girl, hm?”

You shake your head just barely, still holding him in your mouth, “Mm-mm—mmph—”

Hardly lifting his mouth off you, Sylus’ voice is hoarse, “Cute. Good job, birthday girl. Keep going.”

Arching his head back, groaning, he suddenly snaps back up, watching Sylus between your legs and listening to—feeling—you whine against his cock, “F-fuck—wait—w-wait—f-feel like m’gonna—” Sylus hums a low chuckle against your skin, the vibrations sending a throb through your clit. Quickly, Rafayel completely pulls back from your mouth, his chest heaving deeply as he pants through broken moans.

After gasping and now more free, you tilt your head back up and lock eyes with Sylus, threading your fingers into his hair, “Ngh! Oh my god, Sy—” feeling ready to let go, Rafayel’s hand wraps under and around your chin, cocking your head back again against the armrest of the couch, his lips crashing down onto yours, “mmph!” You whine and squirm, endless moans pouring from your mouth into his. Ironically, each of them release low, throaty laughs, enjoying nothing more than the shared experience of hearing you cum. It never mattered who was making it happen.

After a moment, sitting up and swiping his thumb over his bottom lip, “Come here, Raf. Give her the birthday girl what she wants, hm? I’ll gladly take your place.”

***

Now with the pair having switched places, Sylus groans, “Oh, kitten…so pretty…”

With one leg up on Rafayel’s shoulder and the other pressed into the side of the back cushions, “Nngh! O-oh my god—mm!”

It almost sounded sarcastic, but it was only because he knew your answer—he could see your answer, “Does he feel good?” You lean your head back against the arm rest, making eye contact with Sylus as he strokes the side of your face, “Ah, ah, kitten.” He gently pushes your head back forward, “Why don’t you watch him, hm? Look at him fill you up.”

Groaning above you, each torque from his hips rips a gasp from your chest, “F-fuck—cutie, you feel s’good—”

“Mmhm—such a pretty birthday girl…” Sylus kneels down behind you and the couch’s armrest, his voice quiet and by your ear, “Let’s watch together, hm?”

“S-Sylus—h-holy shit—mmph!”

You both watch Rafayel drive himself into your twitching cunt, “That’s it…good job, kitten.”

“P-please, mm!”

“Awh, does the birthday girl want me to cum down her throat? You can feel he’s about to cum, I bet.”

Before speaking, Rafayel gasps, “S-shut up, f-fuck—”

Sylus chuckles then stands up again, “I’ll give you what you want, my love.” As he tilts your head back and to the side, he gently slips the head of his cock past your lips, “Happy birthday, kitten...”

it started like any other night—quiet, ordinary, forgettable. the soft glow of your screen. the familiar ache behind your eyes from staying up too late. your chest started to hurt but you wrote it off as too much caffeine throughout your day. you were constantly chasing just one more scene, one more choice, one more glimpse of him. he smiled at you through the screen. it was warm, scripted, and perfect.

you don't remember what happened after that but you wake up choking. air slams into your lungs like you’ve been drowning. your body jerks upright, pulse hammering, fingers clawing at concrete beneath you. its dark and erie, a metallic tang of something filling your nose.

well this isn't your room.

you barely have time to think before you hear it. a low, distorted shriek and approaching fast. your head snaps up and there they are. wanderers. not on a screen. they're real—moving, hunting, their forms glitching at the edges like something that was never meant to exist outside code.

one turns toward you, its movement snapping, unnatural. it sees you. your body moves before your brain catches up. you run. you don't have any other choice. you don't have a weapon, or protocores to help you fight in a battle.

you don't know how long you sprint. long enough for your lungs to burn, for your legs to threaten to give out, for the sounds behind you to blur into a nightmare. every instinct screams at you to survive, even as your mind lags behind, still trying to process the impossible truth clawing its way in...this is the game. you're in the game. and you can die here or so it feels like you could.

you lose them by accident or maybe a stroke of luck. your hands are shaking, and your chest is heaving. your thoughts finally catch up all at once.

you know this world. you know what or better yet who lives in it. and there's only one place your mind can latch onto. one location that means safety, answers, structure in a world that suddenly feels like it's unraveling around you.

AKSO Hospital

if this is real then that's where he will be. your stomach twists, equal parts dread and something more dangerous. hope maybe? or was it excitement to potentially be face to face with your favorite character.

──────────────────────────────

the automatic doors slid open with a sharp mechanical hiss. warm air hit you instantly. after the freezing alleyways outside, the hospital almost felt unreal. bright white lights reflected off polished floors, clean and sterile and painfully normal compared to the nightmare you had just escaped.

your legs nearly gave out the second you stepped inside. a nurse behind the front desk startled at the sight of you. "oh my god, are you hurt?"

you looked down. blood streaked your sleeve from where the wanderer had grazed you. dirt clung to your clothes. your hands were still shaking violently. right — you probably looked insane.

"i—" your throat felt raw, "i need to see dr. zayne."

the nurse blinked, "dr. zayne?"

for a horrifying second, you thought she was going to tell you he didn't exist. that this had all been some elaborate hallucination before death finally took you. but then she frowned slightly and glanced at her tablet.

"do you have an appointment? or are you a patient of his?"

you hesitated. how were you even supposed to answer that? i know him because i spent countless nights replaying his card stories and memorizing every line of dialogue he's ever said.

you swallowed, "please" you whispered "i just…need help."

something in your expression must have convinced her. the nurse softened immediately.

"sit down for me, okay? i'll call him."

you nodded numbly. the waiting room lights felt too bright — everything did. your pulse still hadn't settled from the chase. every small noise made you flinch. somewhere down the hall, a monitor beeped steadily. real. this was all terrifyingly real. you stared down at your trembling hands. you had crossed dimensions. or died. or lost your mind. maybe all three. then footsteps approached — measured and calm.

your breath caught before you even looked up. the door to the examination wing opened softly. and there he was. white coat. silver-rimmed glasses. dark hair slightly disheveled like he'd been working for hours. zayne. not pixels. not voice lines. a real person standing only a few feet away from you.

his eyes landed on you immediately. cool green. sharp. observant. you had seen those eyes a thousand times before yet standing before you they stole the air from your lungs.

"you're injured," he said.

not who are you. not what happened. just immediate concern. something painfully tight twisted in your chest. he sounded exactly the same. that low, composed voice. except now it wasn't filtered through headphones. it existed. you realized too late that you were staring. zayne seemed to notice. one dark eyebrow lifted slightly.

"can you walk?"

"yeah," you answered quickly. your voice cracked embarrassingly on the single syllable.

his gaze lingered on you for another second before he motioned toward the hallway.

"come with me."

you followed him in a daze. the examination room was cold enough to raise goosebumps along your arms. you sat carefully on the edge of the bed while zayne washed his hands at the sink. the normalcy of the action almost made you emotional. because this was him. not the idealized version built by writers and animators. but a person.

zayne pulled on gloves and stepped closer.

"let me see your shoulder."

you hesitated before carefully pulling the torn fabric aside. the scratch wasn't deep, but angry red streaks spread across the skin. his expression tightened almost imperceptibly.

"what attacked you?"

your stomach dropped. you couldn't exactly say 'a wanderer from the game i accidentally got transported into'. so instead you forced out, "something in the alleyways."

"you don't know what it was?"

you looked away, "not really"

a lie. a terrible one. zayne definitely noticed. but he didn't push. instead he reached for antiseptic.

"this will sting."

the warning came too late. pain flared sharply across your shoulder. you hissed and instinctively grabbed his wrist. the second your skin touched, both of you froze. cold. not physically. something deeper. a strange pulse shot through your chest. and suddenly—snow.

blinding white snow. a frozen horizon. a hand reaching toward yours through a storm. then it vanished.

you jerked back immediately, "sorry," you whispered.

zayne stared at you confused. like he'd felt it too. the silence stretched. then he stepped back first. professional composure sliding carefully back into place.

"name?"

your heart sank. right — this part. you gave him your real name. zayne entered it into the system beside the bed. a second passed. then another. his eyes narrowed slightly at the screen.

"no linkon registration," he murmured

your stomach twisted violently and your face went pale.

" i recently moved here," you lied quickly.

he looked at you again. those sharp eyes felt like they could dissect every thought in your head.

"without identification?"

"i lost it" another lie. you were getting worse at this. but surprisingly, zayne only hummed softly.

"that's unusual," he said evenly

not accusing. observing. that somehow made you more nervous.

before you could think of another excuse, the room lights flickered. once. twice. static crackled sharply through the monitor beside you. zayne looked up immediately. then the doors slid open.

your entire body went rigid. she walked in quickly, clearly mid-rush. the hunter. the protagonist. mc.

she looked almost exactly how you remembered. except more intimidating in person. kinda ironic all things considered as she was supposed to essentially be you. but that couldn't be farther from the truth.

her expression was tight with concern as her eyes searched the room.

"zayne" relief flashed across her face

then she saw you and stopped. silence filled the room instantly. you suddenly became hyperaware of everything. the blood on your clothes. your awkward posture on the examination bed. the fact you absolutely did not belong here.

mc's eyes narrowed slightly, "there was a metaflux fluctuation near the west district," she said slowly. "i thought a wanderer attack reached the hospital."

"it didn't," zayne replied calmly

her gaze flicked toward you again, "then who is she?"

the question hit harder than it should have. because you didn't know either. were you supposed to play yourself?

zayne glanced briefly toward the empty database results still displayed on-screen. a subtle pause.

"a patient," he answered

something unreadable crossed mc's face. a sense of wariness. and strangely enough, the room itself seemed to react. for one impossible second, the air distorted like reality itself had glitched. as lights continued to flicker harshly and the sound of static on the monitor grew louder.

everyone froze. mc's hand immediately moved toward the weapon at her side. zayne's expression focused. your pulse thundered painfully in your ears. then everything snapped back. the lights steadied. the monitor resumed its soft beeping.

mc looked directly at you, "who are you really?"

your mouth opened. nothing came out. because there was no answer you could give that wouldn’t sound insane.

zayne stepped slightly in front of you. subtle. protective. you noticed immediately. apparently mc did too.

"she's exhausted," zayne said evenly

"interrogating her can wait until after i finish treating her injuries."

mc held his gaze for a long moment. then finally exhaled, "fine"

but she didn't leave. you tried very hard not to panic under the weight of her stare. zayne continued disinfecting your shoulder in silence. the atmosphere in the room felt suffocating. not because either of them were openly hostile. but because both of them felt something was wrong. and unfortunately, they were right.

after several painfully quiet minutes, zayne finally removed his gloves.

"you should rest tonight," he said

you laughed weakly, " i don't exactly have anywhere to go."

the words slipped out before you could stop them. mc's expression sharpened immediately. zayne, however, simply looked at you. like he was thinking or calculating. and for a second, something softer flickered behind his eyes. recognition. impossible recognition. it vanished so quickly you almost thought you imagined it.

but the next thing he said stunned both you and mc.

"then stay somewhere safe tonight," his gaze held yours, "linkon isn't kind to people who wander alone after dark."

──────────────────────────────

you expected zayne to treat you and then forget about you. realistically, he should have. you were a stranger with no records, no identification, suspicious injuries, and terrible excuses. any normal situation, security probably should have escorted you out hours ago. instead, you found yourself sitting awkwardly in the passenger seat of his car while rain streaked across the windows.

the silence was unbearably dense. heavy with things neither of you knew how to explain. you kept your hands folded tightly in your lap, trying not to stare at him. it was harder than expected. zayne drove with one hand resting loosely against the wheel, posture relaxed despite the late hour. streetlights flashed across his face in brief intervals.

"you're quiet," zayne said suddenly

you nearly jumped "sorry"

"you don't have to apologize you know"

your face warmed instantly, "oh sorry"

the faintest trace of amusement touched his face. it was enough to surprise you. because this version of zayne felt different from the one you knew. he seemed less polished and more human. you liked him more already. that realization was dangerous. you looked out the window quickly.

"you really didn't have to do this," you murmured

"you have nowhere else to go," he replied simply

"which is odd for someone who supposedly just moved here"

"still" you insisted

"would you rather i left you outside alone?" he asked

you thought about the wanderers. the alleyways. the feeling of claws nearly tearing into you. it made your blood run cold.

"mhm that's what i thought, so stop worrying about inconveniencing me."

the response should have sounded cold. instead it felt oddly gentle. the car fell quiet again until, "you knew my name before arriving at the hospital," zayne said.

your stomach dropped. of course he noticed. he noticed everything. you scrambled desperately for an excuse.

"you're kind of famous," you answered carefully. "one of the best cardiac surgeons in linkon."

zayne hummed softly. not fully convinced.

"and yet you specifically asked for me despite being injured and unfamiliar with the city."

crap.

"lucky guess?" that finally earned you a glance. one that clearly communicated exactly how terrible that answer was. you stared firmly out the window.

"you're very suspicious," he said calmly

you sighed out not bothering to argue with him on that, "i'm aware"

to your surprise, he actually laughed. quiet and brief but real. and somehow hearing it in person nearly killed you. you had to physically stop yourself from reacting.

unfortunately, zayne noticed that too, "what?"

"nothing" you said quickly

"that didn't look like nothing" he said teasingly

you covered your now beating red face with one hand, "please keep your eyes on the road."

another soft exhale of amusement. god, this was bad. very bad. because you were already forgetting this wasn't supposed to happen.

when you finally arrived at his apartment building, exhaustion hit you all at once. your limbs felt heavy climbing upstairs behind him. the apartment itself didn't suprise you in the slightest. minimalistic. clean. it looked exactly like a place zayne would live in. warm lighting softened the sharp modern edges of the space. bookshelves lined on a wall. a few medical journals sat abandoned on the coffee table beside neatly stacked files. and strangely enough, it felt lived in. not staged. not fictional. but a home.

you only realized then how you had only seen small glipses of it from the game — when mc was over. oh god mc what if she came breaking the door down at any moment. you were suprised she even let you leave with him.

zayne set his keys down interrupting your train of thought.

"you can take the guest room," he said

"are you sure?"

"you're injured and exhausted. yes."

you hesitated near the doorway. the reality of this situation suddenly crashed into you. you were alone in another universe. inside zayne's apartment. a hysterical laugh almost escaped you.

"you look overwhelmed," he observed

that was one way to put it. you rubbed your face tiredly, "i think my brain stopped functioning several hours ago."

"that's probably for the best." he answered nonchalantly

you blinked, "what?"

"panic tends to worsen decision making."

the deadpan response startled a laugh out of you before you could stop it. the sound lingered briefly in the apartment. zayne went strangely still. it was like what just happened in the car moments ago.

you noticed immediately, "what?"

he looked at you for a moment too long.

"nothing," he said quietly

but the expression in his eyes said otherwise. like hearing you laugh had unearthed something buried deep enough that even he couldn't identify it.

the harsh realization that you weren't in your world, in your own bed had arrived when you couldn't sleep. every time you closed your eyes, you saw wanderers, or snow, or the look on mc's face. eventually you gave up and wandered quietly into the kitchen for water. only to freeze.

zayne stood near the balcony window, still awake. moonlight spilled silver across the room. he glanced over at the sound of your footsteps.

"couldn't sleep?"

"you either?" you respond reaching for a glass

"i had paperwork."

you looked at the untouched mug beside him.

"sure."

a faint huff of amusement. you poured yourself water carefully. the quiet between you felt different now. less tense. more intimate — dangerously so.

"can i ask you something?" you said softly

"you're going to regardless."

"probably" you shrugged before standing next to him.

that earned another tiny almost-smile. you leaned lightly against the counter, "why did you become a doctor?"

you knew why from the story perspective. mc the women he loves has protocore syndrome — a rare and incurable heart condition and he wants to save her. but you wanted to hear his answer not the game developers.

his expression shifted subtly as he seemingly reflected on your question.

"someone once told me that saving even one life matters," he said after a pause.

your chest tightened, "that sounds important."

"it was."

the way he said it made it clear the story carried weight you weren't hearing. you remembered the arctic research. the isolation. the grief woven quietly through his lore. except now it wasn't lore. it was him.

──────────────────────────────

the first few days living with zayne settled into something dangerously close to normal. that was the problem. you woke to the smell of coffee brewing and the sound of soft news reports playing from the living room. you learned where he kept extra blankets and which cabinet held medicine. that he stayed up far too late reading reports he pretended weren't exhausting him. little things. human things. and every single one made it harder to remember this wasn't your life.

worse—it made it harder to remember he wasn't yours. you were beginning to understand why this world felt so unstable around you. because part of you didn’t want to leave it.

"you're staring again."

you nearly dropped the spoon in your hand.

zayne looked up from his tablet across the kitchen island, completely calm.

"you do that often too," he added

heat crawled into your face instantly.

"i was thinking." another excuse. except they never got better.

"about me."

"that is an insane level of confidence." you scoffed

a pause then, "you deny things very quickly when they're true."

you pointed the spoon at him accusingly, "that's manipulative."

"am i wrong?" the corner of his mouth twitched faintly.

you hated how much satisfaction that tiny expression gave you.

the apartment felt warm this morning, sunlight spilling through the windows in pale gold streaks. for a moment—just one moment you forgot about metaflux fluctuations and alternate realities.

then your phone buzzed. not your phone exactly but the spare one zayne had lent you. a message from an unknown number flashed across the screen.

'we need to talk.'

your stomach dropped immediately. another message followed.

'ALONE.'

you looked up sharply. zayne noticed the shift in your expression instantly.

"what happened?" his eyes narrowed. you stood too quickly.

"i'm going for a walk."

"at seven in the morning?"

"yes?"

"that wasn't a question."

you grabbed your jacket well technically it was zayne's before he could ask anything else. unfortunately, he caught your wrist lightly before you reached the door. the contact sent that strange familiar pulse through your chest again. your breath caught. so did his. for one awful second, the apartment lights flickered. static buzzed sharply through the overhead lamp. then everything steadied. neither of you moved.

zayne 'sgaze slowly dropped to where his fingers rested against your skin.

"every time," he murmured quietly.

your pulse stuttered, "what?"

but before he could answer, your phone buzzed again.

'NOW.'

the atmosphere shattered instantly. you pulled away too fast.

"i'll be back later."

zayne looked like he wanted to stop you. instead he released your wrist slowly.

"be careful. you are still in recovery."

something about the way he said it made guilt twist painfully in your chest. you nodded once before hurrying out.

the message coordinates led you to one of the quieter districts near the outer city. you knew who it was before you arrived.

mc stood near the edge of an empty walkway overlooking the lower transit rails, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

she turned the second she heard your footsteps. no greeting. no hesitation.

"who the hell are you?"

straight to the point. you swallowed carefully.

"i already told you—"

"no," she interrupted sharply. "you actually didn't say anything that day."

the air felt colder suddenly.

"you appear out of nowhere during a metaflux fluctuation. there are no records of you. wanderers react strangely around you."

her eyes narrowed, "and every time you're near zayne, something happens."

that familiar pit found its way back into your stomach again because she wasn't wrong.

"i don't know what's happening," you admitted quietly.

"that's not good enough."

the words cracked harder than intended. you looked away, "i didn't ask to be here."

silence. for the first time, something in mc's expression shifted. not softer exactly. but less hostile.

"you're scared," she realized.

you laughed weakly, "wouldn't you be?"

before she could answer, the lights overhead shuttered violently. both of you froze and a familiar distortion warped across the edges of reality.

mc's expression changed instantly. she was going into hunter mode which could only mean one thing.

"again…"

the ground trembled beneath your feet. then—a shriek echoed somewhere nearby. your blood ran cold. wanderers. mc immediately summoned her weapon.

"you need to leave."

another shriek. closer this time.

"i'm not leaving you alone."

"you can't fight them!" she fought back

"no," you snapped, panic bleeding through your voice, "but apparently they keep following me."

that made her pause. a horrible realization crossed both your faces simultaneously. the fluctuation. the glitches. the wanderers. you.

the world distorted again violently. this time you actually saw it—the skyline bending unnaturally for half a second like corrupted data.

mc cursed under her breath. then the first wanderer lunged from the shadows. everything happened too fast. mc fired instantly. light exploded through the alley. the wanderer shrieked violently, and another answered. then another. too many. your pulse slammed painfully against your ribs.

"run!" mc shouted

but the creatures weren't looking at her. they were looking at you. like they recognized something. like they wanted something. terror clawed up your throat. one charged straight toward you. you stumbled backward and ice erupted through the air.

the wanderer froze solid mid-lunge. your breath caught sharply. you knew that evol. you turned instantly. zayne stood at the far end of the walkway, chest rising unevenly like he'd run the entire way there. his gaze locked onto you first. checking — making sure you were alive. then his expression hardened as he looked toward the wanderers.

"you left without telling me where you were going," he said coldly

"that's your concern right now?"

"yes." the answer came immediately. firm and certain.

it hit harder than it should have. mc stared between both of you silently. another wanderer shrieked. zayne stepped forward, ice forming sharply beneath his feet.

"stay behind me." the command came naturally. instinctively. like he'd said it to you a hundred times before.

your chest ached roughly. the battle itself blurred together after that. mc and zayne moved flawlessly together, years of trust evident in every motion. precise. coordinated. familiar. you had seen this before from the safety behind a screen. yet now you watched from behind them, feeling very exposed, because this was where you were never supposed to fit. and yet when another wanderer broke past mc's attack and lunged toward you—zayne reacted before anyone else.

ice speared through the creature instantly. his hand caught your arm hard enough to pull you against him.

"you okay?"

the question came low and urgent near your ear. too close. far too close. you looked up at him breathlessly. and for one impossible second—the world cracked. snowstorm winds screamed through your ears. white endless ice stretched beneath a dark sky. zayne's face—devastated. his hand reaching desperately toward yours, then the vision vanished violently. you gasped. zayne's expression shifted immediately. because he saw something too.

"who are you?" he whispered. not suspicious. not angry. almost frightened. before you could answer, mc's voice cut sharply through the silence.

"zayne."

you both looked toward her and immediately realized she had seen the entire thing.

──────────────────────────────

after the fight, nothing felt stable anymore. not the city. not the world. not zayne. definitely not you. the fluctuations worsened over the next several weeks. lights wavered constantly around you now. screens distorted if you held them too long. once, while standing in the kitchen, you watched the digital clock on the microwave rapidly cycle through impossible times before shutting off completely. each incident left a sick feeling in your stomach. like reality was rejecting your existence piece by piece.

zayne noticed everything. he became quieter afterward. more watchful. you caught him staring sometimes when he thought you weren't paying attention. like he was trying to solve a puzzle that scared him.

you spent numerous nights doing research on your own. you couldn't ask zayne for help, he had already done more than enough for you. besides you still weren't sure how he would react to the truth. or at least the parts you could tell him.

so you searched quietly, carefully, honestly afraid of what secrets you might uncover. one night you finally had a breakthrough. a key piece of information buried in archived reports. an old arctic research facility — abandoned, officially decommissioned after a series of 'unexplained spatial anomalies' during experimental trials.

every recorded attempt to send personnel through the suspicious portal had ended the same way. no return. no bodies. no communication. unfortunately, you were becoming no stranger to that strange feeling of your chest tightening as the realization hit you. you read further, the descriptions weren't just similar to what you'd been experiencing — they were identical.

flunctuations in reality. temporal distortion. glitches in physical spaces. and then a name caught your attention in the archived personnel logs.

dr. zayne — not as he was now. back then, he had been there as a medical intern. your breath caught, of course this connected back to him. everything in your world did.

the next morning you tried to act normal. hiding the discolored bags under your eyes as you mumbled "morning," stepping into the kitchen.

your voice sounded wrong even to you — hoarse and drained. you barely slept, and your hands wouldn't stop trembling. zayne looked up immediately and froze. then he was across the room.

"what happened?" his voice laced with concern as his hand caught your arm.

you flinched only his grip tightened slightly.

"i'm fine" you tried to say. but your body betrayed you. it was a deep and unnatural cold feeling. ice-like ridges had begun forming faintly beneath your skin. like this reality itself was now physically punishing you for your existence, trying to cast you out.

zayne's expression shifted instantly into recognition, "this again," he whispered to himself

before you could ask what he meant, your vision blurred, "zayne-"

the world titled violently. his arms caught you as your legs gave out. and then everything went white. you weren't sure where you were anymore. there was no sound, no ground, just an endless void.

you drifted through it aimlessly then — a door. you hesistated before opening it. you were back in your room. only this time something was wrong. it felt distant, like you didn't belong there anymore. then you saw it.

you collapsed on the floor. pale, unmoving, not breathing. panic surged through you instantly. you opened your mouth to scream but only a choked sob came out of the back of your throat.

──────────────────────────────

you woke up gasping. white celing, hospital lights, beeping monitors. zayne and mc standing beside your bed. both of them turned the moment you stirred. relief flickered across zayne's face, if only for a moment, before he took the stethoscope around his neck and came closer in your view.

he placed the cold metal piece onto your chest, "your heart rate is still unstable" he murmured. he is the most acclaimed cardiac surgeon and even he had never seen anything like this. its almost as if your heart rate wasn't real at all.

"i'm fine" your voice cracked. another lie. how long were you going to continue to lie to him.

he ignored you, not wanting to bother arguing. that wouldn't help your current state. so he did the only thing he knew how to in this moment. treat you.

warm fingers brushed your cheek, then your jaw— careful and precise. like he was scanning for something invisible beneath your skin.

you shivered instantly from the closeness.

"i think the ice-formations stopped"

"ice formation?" so thats what happened to you back at the apartment.

zayne said quietly, almost afraid to relive the memory, "i've seen it once before...in the arctic"

and suddenly the memories you shared began to make a little bit of sense.

"i remember it too." you whispered

zayne didn't pull away, didn't interrupt just waited for you to elaborate. mc looked tense watching the two of you too closely.

"you need to tell us the truth." the words came sharply from her mouth.

rain hammered against the windows outside. another storm. the atmosphere inside felt suffocating. you looked between them slowly.

zayne had this look in his eyes. he was trusting you to answer. that somehow made this worse. you looked down at your hands, clenched at your sides.

"how much do you know already?"

mc's jaw tightened, "enough to know you’re connected to the fluctuations."

"and enough," zayne added quietly, "to know you're terrified."

your throat tightened painfully. god. you hated how gentle he sounded. you laughed weakly instead.

"you shouldn't be kind to me."

neither of them answered. the silence pushed you forward. you inhaled shakily. then finally said the thing that had been rotting inside your chest since the moment you woke up here.

"i'm not from this world."

silence. thunder cracked outside. mc stared at you. zayne didn't move at all. you forced yourself to continue before courage abandoned you entirely.

"i know this sounds insane, but where i come from…" your voice faltered.

"this place isn't real."

mc immediately frowned, "what does that mean?"

"it means your world exists as a game where i'm from."

the words sounded cruel spoken aloud. wrong. you already hated yourself for saying them. but once you started, you couldn’t stop anymore.

"i knew who all of you were before i got here. i knew linkon city. wanderers. hunters. AKSO." your breathing became uneven. "i knew zayne."

mc's expression shifted from confusion to disbelief.

"no."

"i know how this sounds."

"no," she repeated more sharply. "that's impossible."

"you think i don't know that?"

the room lights flickered violently as you raised your voice. static exploded through the monitors. everyone froze. your voice cracked.

"every time i get emotional, the fluctuations get worse — you noticed that too right? that's how you know i'm not lying"

zayne’s gaze became fixed to you. like he'd just connected something. you looked at him and that was your mistake. because the second your eyes met, every carefully restrained emotion inside you finally broke apart.

"i didn't mean for any of this to happen."

your voice shook intensely now, "i didn't ask to come here. i didn't ask to meet you."

zayne's expression changed subtly. hurt. it was small but devastating. you looked away immediately.

"there's more," you whispered.

mc stiffened. somehow she already knew she wasn't going to like what came next. you swallowed hard.

"i died...in that world and i think when i died something went wrong."

the room went completely still. you barely heard yourself continue.

"i think i was supposed to reincarnate here."

mc's face drained slowly of color, "no…"

tears burned behind your eyes. "i think…" your voice cracked again. "i think i was supposed to become you."

the silence afterward felt monstrous. horrifying. mc stared at you like the floor had disappeared beneath her feet. she already knew what you were going to say next though she shouldn't have.

you forced your eyes to meet their gaze, "in the game, you and zayne find each other in every lifetime. yet unfortunately, your happiness can never last."

zayne finally pushed away backing up from the side of your bed, like sudden movement might shatter something fragile.

"what are you saying?" he asked quietly

you laughed once. broken.

"i don't fully understand it either, i am just a player, experiencing the story along with you. all i know is at the end of your story, something always goes wrong and i am unable to change your fate."

you wiped at your face angrily. "but i guess this time it's different. the fact that i am here means something broke the pattern. like fate wanted to change those rules and give me a chance."

"what kind of chance?" zayne said

"to change it." you couldn't fully believe what you were saying. how could you go against the laws the game developers set.

"but something happened during the reincarnation process that no one could have predicted so instead of replacing her…"

your eyes shifted toward mc, "we both exist."

another violent fluctuation ripped through the room. the monitors glitched wildly. fragments of static burst across the screens. for half a second—you saw it. a reflection, a distorted overlap of you and her. faces misaligned, layered over each other. then it vanished.

mc stumbled backward slightly while zayne moved instinctively closer to you. as if he could stabilize what was happening, anchor you somehow.

her voice sounded genuinely shaken now. "you're lying."

"i wish i was."

"you expect me to believe my entire life—"

"i'm not saying your life isn't real!"

the outburst cracked from your chest instantly. painfully. the lights overhead burst. darkness swallowed the room except for emergency backup lighting.

your breathing became ragged. body beginning to destablize once more. growing colder with each breath. the ice-formations could come back at any point.

"i'm saying maybe neither of us were supposed to exist like this."

the room snapped back into place and silence filled the space once more. then finally zayne placed a reassuring hand on yours while he spoke.

"when did you die?"

the question hit harder than anything else had. not because he doubted you. because he believed you enough to ask. you looked at him slowly.

"the same night i arrived here."

his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. you forced yourself to keep speaking.

"my chest started hurting while i was playing." your laugh sounded hollow. "i ignored it."

the guilt crashed over you all over again. you had died alone. still chasing fictional comfort from a world that somehow became real too late.

"i don't remember what happened after that," you admitted quietly. "i woke up here."

nobody spoke for a long time. the quiet was worse than the chaos that came before it. rain continued hammering the windows. mc looked devastated. zayne looked worse. because suddenly every strange feeling he'd had around you finally had an explanation. or at least the closest thing to one. you shouldn't exist here. and yet somehow— part of him already knew you anyway.

his eyes locked into yours, hand tightening around your cold fingers.

"i can fix this" he said. not from a medical standpoint but something else entirely. something dangerously close to desperation.

mc watched both of you from the doorframe. for the first time, she saw you and realized this story wasn't just about her saving the world. it was about both of them trying to live.

──────────────────────────────

that night, you couldn't stay. not after the truth. not after the way zayne looked at you now. not fear. not disgust. but something far more dangerous. you had seen it before in his myth cards. it was something that could hurt him.

you sat alone in the apartment long after midnight staring at the arctic research files pulled up across the tablet screen. the portal. the anomaly. the place where reality weakened enough for dimensional fractures to form. you finally understood why the visions kept involving snow. why your existence destabilized more the longer you stayed. the arctic was where this began. and maybe—were it could end too.

your chest hurt unbearably, worse than it did the night you died. because deep down, you already knew what resetting reality probably meant. you opened the notebook beside you slowly. then began writing.

zayne,

by the time you read this, i'll already be gone. i know you'll be angry. honestly, you should be. you opened your home to me when i gave you nothing except lies and problems in return. even now, i still don't know how to explain everything properly. maybe because i'm scared that saying it out loud will make this all real. or maybe because part of me selfishly wanted to pretend a little longer. pretend i belonged here. pretend i could stay.

you once asked why i knew things about you i shouldn't. the truth is… before i met you, i already cared about you. that sounds insane written down. maybe it is. but somewhere in another world, you existed as someone unreachable to me. someone fictional. safe. a person i could care about without consequences because there was always a screen separating us.

then suddenly there wasn't. and meeting the real you ruined me a little. because you aren't the version i imagined. you're kinder. more human. you make coffee too strong. then add like half a cup of sugar to make it better. you stay awake when you think nobody notices. you hide concern behind sarcasm badly. and somehow knowing those small things became more important to me than everything i thought i knew before.

that's what makes this hurt so much. i think my existence here is damaging your world. the fluctuations are getting worse. wanderers keep appearing around me. reality itself reacts every time emotions spiral out of control. if i stay, eventually something irreversible will happen.

there's a portal connected to the arctic anomaly research. i found the coordinates in your files. i'm going there to reset things. maybe this fixes everything. maybe i disappear completely. honestly, i think that's the most likely outcome. and strangely enough… i'm not as afraid anymore. i already died once.

but getting this extra time with you, even if it was never supposed to happen, became something precious to me. so thank you. for the apartment. for the late night conversations. for treating me like a person instead of a mistake.

and i'm sorry. i never meant to hurt you. but somehow i knew i would. i am mostly sorry for this though...not for loving you. just for what loving you seems to be doing to this world.

— yours, in another life.

you left the note carefully on the kitchen counter. then walked out before you could lose the nerve to do it.

outside, snow had begun falling lightly across linkon city. like the world already knew where you were going.

──────────────────────────────

the storm worsened the further north you traveled. by the time you reached the abandoned arctic research site, visibility had dropped to nearly nothing. snow lashed violently across the frozen landscape, winds screaming hard enough to shake the metal structures around you.

it felt familiar. that terrified you most of all. like somewhere deep inside your memories or maybe someone else's you had already stood here before. the facility itself looked half-devoured by time. frost covered shattered windows. emergency lights flickered weakly beneath layers of ice.

and beneath it all—you could feel it. the fracture. reality itself felt thin here. unstable. waiting. you stepped deeper into the facility slowly, boots crunching against snow that had drifted inside long ago.

the visions became worse immediately. fragments. pieces. zayne standing in white endless snow. a hand reaching for yours—your chest tightened painfully.

you pressed a shaking hand against the wall.

"just a little longer…"

the portal chamber sat at the center of the station. most of the machinery was dead, but the anomaly itself still pulsed faintly in the darkness ahead. a tear in reality. beautiful yet horrifying. the familiar static crackled softly through the air around it. you stared at it silently. if you stepped through— maybe the world corrected itself.

maybe mc lived the life she was meant to have. maybe zayne forgot you entirely. maybe this time they finally get their happy ending.

your throat burned. you told yourself that should've been comforting. instead it felt unbearable.

footsteps echoed suddenly behind you. fast and desperate. you closed your eyes immediately. of course he came.

"are you insane?"

zayne's voice broke sharply through the chamber. you turned slowly. snow clung to his coat and dark hair, breath uneven from running through the storm. he looked furious. and terrified. the sight of him nearly shattered your resolve instantly.

"you weren't supposed to follow me."

"that's your first sentence?"

his composure was hanging by threads now.

"you leave a goodbye note and disappear into an active anomaly zone and somehow expected me not to follow you?"

guilt twisted in your chest, "i didn't want you involved."

"that stopped being possible the moment you entered my life."

the words hit with devastating force. the only sound that filled the chamber was your rapid breathing and the low hum of the anomaly. zayne stared at you for a long moment. then finally asked quietly

"were you planning to say goodbye properly?"

you looked away. because no answer would make this better. his jaw tightened.

"you really were going to disappear without talking to me."

"i thought it would hurt less."

"for who?"

the question cracked hard enough to make you flinch.

"you don't get to decide that for me."

emotion surged violently through the room. the anomaly pulsed brighter instantly. static burst across the walls. zayne ignored it completely.

"you keep making decisions alone like none of this affects anyone else."

his voice dropped lower. rougher.

"you think i wouldn't have wanted the chance to choose?"

your eyes burned painfully. "you shouldn't choose me."

"why?"

the answer came instantly, and suddenly you couldn't breathe properly.

"because i'm not supposed to exist here!"

the anomaly flared violently. ice cracked beneath your feet.

"you can see it for yourself—i damage this world just by being in it!" you snapped

"and you think disappearing fixes that?"

"i think it gives everyone else a chance!"

"everyone else?" zayne repeated sharply. "or her?"

the words stunned you silent. his expression shifted then. he was heartbroken.

"you love her life more than your own."

"no—"

"you already decided she deserves this world more than you do."

your chest hurt so badly it felt impossible to stand.

"she belongs here — she deserves you"

"and you don't?"

the question shattered something inside you. you laughed weakly through tears.

"i died, zayne."

the confession came out smaller this time.

"you wouldn't even have met me if that hadn't happened. can't you just go back to pretending like none of this even happened."

you continued, "i already lost my life once. i don't know how to keep pretending this one can really belong to me too."

slowly—zayne stepped closer. the anomaly screamed louder around you both. neither of you looked away.

"you asked me once why i became a doctor," he said quietly.

"i told you someone taught me saving even one life matters."

snow whipped violently through the broken windows behind him. his eyes never left yours.

"it was you."

your entire world stopped, "what…?"

"i don't fully understand it either," he admitted softly. "but every time i'm near you, i remember things that shouldn't exist."

another pulse surged through the chamber.

memories crashed through your mind instantly. snowstorms. laughter. warm hands against freezing skin. a lifetime you never lived. or maybe one you had.

zayne’s voice shook for the first time since meeting him.

"i think some part of me has known you for a very long time."

tears finally slipped down your face.

"that's impossible."

"probably."

a weak almost-smile touched his expression, then vanished.

"but i know this."

he stepped closer again. close enough now that you could feel warmth despite the freezing air.

"i don't care what world you came from."

your breath trembled, "zayne…"

"i love you."

the words spread through the chamber like wildfire. the anomaly exploded violently in response. reality warped around you both. the entire facility trembled.

for half a second neither of you dared to move. and then zayne crossed the distance between you. no hesitation. no restraint.

his hand caught your jaw, pulling you into him like gravity had finally decided what it wanted. and he kissed you — it wasn't careful, it wasn't gentle. it was desperate.

cold lips, shaking breath, hands tightening like he was afraid you'd disappear if he didn't hold you hard enough. like everything he had ever buried, every version of him that had known loss, finally collapsed all at once into that single point of contact.

your mind went completely blank as reality continued to break completely around you both in unstable waves. but zayne didn't stop and neither did you. it lasted only a minute but it felt like every timeline collapsing into one impossible moment.

you pulled away from his lips breathlessly, foreheads still close, and hands still gripping. his thumb brushed your cheek and he looked at you. really looked at you for the first time since you had arrived. like he was memorizing you through the collapse of the world.

then softer, like the first confession hadn't been enough, "i love you" he said again. this time it wasn't a declaration it was certainty.

and from somewhere deep below—wanderers screamed. dozens of them. your blood ran cold instantly, but that didn't stop him

"i know what this, us is doing to everything. i've spent my entire life trying to stop things from falling apart. and now you tell me that every version of my story ends the same way.

feeling responsible as the player for what happened to him, tears fell from your eyes. but he wiped them away as quickly as they appeared.

"it's not your fault, it was never your fault"

he held you steadily afraid what he was going to say next would break everything entirely. but he didnt care so he continued,

"i think this is the first time it feels like something matters more than the ending."

your breath caught painfully. ice feeling like it was filling your lungs. you should have been terrified, you were but not of him. never him.

you understood exactly what he meant because this time it wasn't about destiny or cycles. it was about you and him.

another violent pulse from the anomaly tore through the ceiling. zayne leaned in, throwing his body into your own. shielding you from the ice and snow fragments that rained down around you. you stared at him. at the man you had only ever known as a fictional entity. at the real version standing here with you at the end of the world. the man that loved you despite everything you had put him.

"stay with me" he murmered close to your ear.

footsteps echoed from the entrance behind you. you turned sharply. mc stood there frozen in the doorway. she had heard everything, every word, every confession. that isn't what broke her though — she was a witness to the kiss that crumbled the world and life as she knew it.

──────────────────────────────

the facility alarms suddenly roared to life.

WARNING: DIMENSIONAL INSTABILITY CRITICAL.

red emergency lights flooded the room. the anomaly spiraled violently now, cracks of distorted energy tearing through the air itself.

and outside—a stampede of wanderers were coming. you could hear them. the sound alone was horrifying. mc snapped into motion first.

"we need to close the fracture now."

zayne immediately moved beside her.

"what's causing the instability?"

mc looked toward you. neither of you wanted to answer that question aloud. the emotional surge. the confession. the kiss. you. the anomaly pulsed harder. the floor cracked sharply beneath your feet.

you stumbled—zayne caught you instantly.

the contact triggered another violent distortion. segments of memory burst through the room itself now. afterimages flickered across the air like shattered film reels being projected over reality. a girl that looked achingly similar to you yet softer somehow was laughing beside a younger zayne bundled in heavy arctic gear. snow collecting in his dark hair while he rolled his eyes with quiet fondness.

the vision glitched. you were suddenly back in your room. curled beneath blankets. phone clutched tightly in shaking hands while tears slipped silently down your face after finishing his myth cards at three in the morning.

"i just wanted them to be happy," your own voice echoed faintly through the chamber.

the memory shattered apart and another replaced it instantly. the tower of secrets. endless white stairs spiraling beneath a dark frozen sky. foreseer zayne shackled in a prison, dark ice impaled through his body as cold divinity clung to him like chains.

and in front of him—mc. her body clinging to his despite knowing she shouldn't. despite knowing what it would cost.

then they were atop of the tower, surrounded by wilting jasmines. taking the creatio protocore from his scepter a white light encapsulates it as it then evaporates in her chest.

"why? i wasn't going to live much longer" she pleads

"your destiny is not written in stone" he responds as ice completely envelopes him.

astra's voice thundered through endless space. then—another life. a forest hidden away from the rest of the world. mc being forced to make umbrellas under the divinity tree. zayne covers her eyes as she gets sleepy

"don't be scared" suddenly his voice faded away and she fell into a deep slumber.

then another distortion. at another facility similar to the one they were standing in now, flames roared around them. zayne's bloodstained figure appears before mc. she desperately tries to heal him but its no use as he falls to the ground.

"we still have time to watch this sunset"

a portal similar to the one standing before you opens up at the touch of his fingers as the tower falls they both plummet to the ground. however this time it isnt zayne who sacrifices his powers to save a life. its her.

more memories flooded in too quickly now. hands reaching across timelines. promises repeated in different voices. different worlds. always the same grief. always the same love.

the memories layered so heavily the room itself could barely withstand them. reality warped around all three of you, unstable under the sheer emotional weight of lifetimes that were never supposed to coexist at once. mc stared at the visions unfolding around her. at the love. at the suffering. at the impossible repetition of it all. her voice came out barely above a whisper.

"three and a half lifetimes."

the words settled heavily into the collapsing chamber. because now she understood. this wasn't coincidence. wasn't jealousy. wasn't some simple rupture in reality. it was fate repeating itself so many times that the boundaries between versions had finally begun to rot away. and somehow—you had fallen directly into the center of it.

the facility shook violently. a wanderer burst through the upper corridor window. then another. mc summoned her weapon instantly.

"we don't have time anymore!"

the battle that followed felt apocalyptic. reality itself broke apart around you as wanderers flooded the station. ice exploded through collapsing walls. gunfire echoed through blizzards. distorted energy ripped through the chamber ceiling.

until finally you understood the truth. it wouldn't stop unless one existence was removed completely. the world couldn't sustain both you and mc.

one of you had to go. and both of you realized it at the exact same moment. you looked at her. she looked back. understanding passed silently between you.

──────────────────────────────

Ending #1

then she smiled sadly and moved first.

"wait-!"

you lunged forwaard, but mc was already stepping towards the center of the anomaly. the fracture reacting immediately to her presence. light spiraled erratically around her. zayne's expression changed instantly.

"no" the single world sounded terrified. mc looked back at him and suddenly she didn't look like a deepspace hunter. she looked exactly like he remembered when they were kids. the girl he swore to protect — to save.

and she was just a girl who loved someone deeply yet didn't get a chance to express it properly this time.

"i think..." her voice shook slightly

"i think this was always supposed to happen."

"no" zayne repeated harsher this time, moving towards her.

"we'll find another way"

"there isn't any more time" mc's eyes softened as she looked at him.

three and a half lifetimes. the impossible bond between them. she loved him acrosss realities and yet she found it in herself to save yours too.

tears slipped down her face, "you deserve to be happy too," she whispered towards you.

your chest shattered completely. this time it was a worse pain you have felt since you died.

"no—please"

she only smiled sadly, then looked back at zayne one final time.

"i loved you in every life i got. it's time someone else got to experience that love for a change."

zayne reached for her too late. light consumed her instantly as she was pulled into the portal.

the world went bright and when you woke again, the storm was gone. the anomaly had sealed. the wanderers had vanished. and zayne sat beside you silently in the snow. empty, absolutely destroyed. he had saved your life at the cost of hers, and neither of you would ever stop carrying that grief.

still, when his trembling hand found yours in the silence — you held on.

──────────────────────────────

Ending #2

you understood immediately — the world had already chosen. mc belonged here. you didn't.

the realization hurt less than expected. maybe because deep down, you'd known from the beginning. you looked towards zayne one last time. he saw it instantly and panic crossed his face.

"no"

your eyes burned. "you said saving even one life matters."

"don't do this."

the desperation in his voice nearly broke you. but the anamoly continued collapsing towards you, dragging you in like a magnet, as the wanderers drew closer backing you into a corner. there wasn't time.

hands trembling you gently touched his face. the contact triggererd one final flood of memories. not the ones from before that you shared. this time just your own. from downloading the game, waiting to get past the loading screen, making your character/your mc look perfect. seeing zayne in destiny cafe, that first meeting where he complained about carrots and he made you a frozen seal. the moment that not just mc fell for him but you.

your love stretching across timelines. maybe you had loved him before this life. maybe that was why finding him felt inevitable.

"i'm happy i met the real you." you whispered

mc who had been watching silently, turned away letting you have as much time as she could give you. holding the wanderers back.

"i can fix this, please let me fix this" tears fell down his face.

"you can't," your own voice cracked now too, "and that's okay."

zayne grabbed your hand tightly, refusing to let this reality take you away.

"i love you," he said again. the words destroyed you. because all you wanted was more time. a normal life. something selfish and human and impossible. but you smiled anyway.

"i know" then you kissed him. pouring all the love neither of you had enough time to hold onto.

when you pulled away, you pressed your forehead against his. trying to remember the feeling of his skin on yours.

"in another life" you whispered, then stepped backward.

zayne shouted your name. the portal consumed everything. when the world stabilized again — you were gone. no records. no traces. like you had never existed at all.

except sometimes, late at night, zayne still caught himself reaching for a memory he couldn't fully explain.

treating a patient with no face, late night conversations, a hospital room, the arctic, the feeling of warm lips pressed against his own, a confession and a feeling of profound loss. and somewhere beyond your worlds you had found peace knowing that even briefly — you had been loved back.

❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆

ending a/n: well i hope this wasn’t too soul crushing. i am very curious to know your thoughts especially on the "choose your own ending" premise. which one did you like more? something i forgot to add was the whole memories from zayne and reader in the arctic are open to interpretation. were these future memories or past ones? had she possibly been there before? i also wanted to add that the end of ending #1 is also very much open to interpretation. does reader completely take over mc's life and destiny now? or is she able to live her life how she wants to with zayne? just things i wanted to leave you all with. again i really hope you enjoyed!

read the epilogue here