#grangermlbbangst

the door slammed shut, Juliah's breath caught in her throat. They were trapped. The air in the dimly lit room felt heavy, thick with the scent of dust and iron. The faint light from a high, narrow window cast shadows across the rough stone walls, making their small prison feel even colder, more confined. She stood a few feet away from Granger, stealing a glance in his direction. He stood still, eyes narrowed in thought, his entire form radiating his usual calm, intense presence. He examined the door with his brows furrowed, every line of his face focused and severe.

Granger's low voice broke the silence, pulling Juliah back to reality. "It’s locked." He spoke in his usual clipped tone, but there was a hint of frustration, barely noticeable, that she knew well enough to pick up on.

She swallowed, her heart pounding faster than it should have been. Being alone with him, so close, felt like a dream and a nightmare combined. She’d thought of this moment more times than she could count, but not like this—not in a room where the shadows pressed in on them, making every whisper feel louder, every heartbeat echo.

“Do you think… there’s another way out?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. It came out softer than she intended, almost vulnerable.

Granger shook his head, his dark cloak brushing against his legs as he moved. “Unlikely. If we wait long enough, someone might find us.” He glanced back at her, a flicker of reassurance in his gaze, though it quickly faded. “For now, we should conserve our strength.”

Juliah nodded, moving closer to the wall and leaning back against the cold stone. She could feel Granger’s presence just a few steps away, his steady breathing the only sound in the room. She bit her lip, wondering if he could hear her own erratic heartbeat, so loud in her own ears that it drowned out her thoughts.

In the silence, her mind wandered, drifting back to the countless times she had fought by his side. She admired his strength, his stoic resolve, his dedication. But beyond that, she admired him—Granger, the person, the mystery, the one who held her heart without knowing it. And that was the problem. He didn’t know. How could he? To him, she was a friend, a trusted companion in battle. Nothing more.

Or was she?

She stole a glance at him, watching as he leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, his gaze focused on the door as if sheer willpower could force it to open. She thought of Silvanna, the warrior who haunted his thoughts, whose name lingered in his silence, just out of reach. Granger never spoke of her, not openly, but Juliah had noticed the way his gaze would soften whenever Silvanna was near, the way he watched her with a quiet longing that felt like a knife twisting in Juliah’s chest.

The truth was that Juliah felt she could never measure up. Silvanna was beautiful, powerful, confident—a warrior as fierce as Granger himself. Juliah felt like nothing more than a shadow in comparison. A friend, yes, a trusted ally perhaps, but never the one to hold his gaze the way Silvanna did.

The silence between them grew heavier, more stifling. Juliah took a deep breath, her fingers curling tightly against the fabric of her cloak. She knew this might be her only chance, the only moment she would have alone with him, without the chaos of battle or the judgmental eyes of their fellow warriors. She could tell him, here and now, what she’d been holding in her heart for so long. But fear stopped her, the fear of seeing rejection in his eyes, of shattering the fragile friendship they shared.

“Granger…” she began, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He turned to look at her, his gaze sharp and attentive, as though he could sense the weight behind her words. The room seemed to hold its breath as she searched for the right thing to say, but the words failed her. She looked away, her cheeks burning, the silence more painful than any wound she’d ever received.

Granger’s expression softened, almost imperceptibly. “You had something to say?” he asked, his tone as guarded as ever but with an undercurrent of something gentler.

Juliah closed her eyes, steeling herself. She had to say it. She had to let him know, even if it meant facing rejection, even if it meant risking everything they had.

“It’s just… I…” She hesitated, the words caught in her throat. Her heart hammered as she forced herself to meet his gaze. “I… I care about you, Granger.”

His eyes widened slightly, a rare reaction from him. For a moment, he was silent, as though he hadn’t expected her to say such a thing. She watched as his expression shifted, flickers of surprise and something else she couldn’t quite name passing across his face.

“Juliah,” he began, his voice low, almost hesitant. It was strange hearing him speak her name with such tenderness, and it made her heart ache all the more.

“Granger, I know this is… complicated.” She took a deep breath, her voice trembling. “I know you… you care for Silvanna. And I know I can’t compete with that. But… I just had to tell you. I can’t keep pretending that I don’t feel this way.”

The silence that followed was suffocating, heavy with unspoken words. She waited, every second stretching into eternity, her heart pounding in her chest. She searched his face for some hint of his thoughts, for any sign that he understood, that he felt the same. But his expression remained unreadable, his gaze steady and unwavering.

Finally, he spoke, his voice soft but filled with a quiet intensity. “Juliah… I never wanted you to feel that way.” He paused, looking away, as though the words pained him. “I never wanted you to carry that burden.”

Her heart sank, and she forced a smile, trying to hide the hurt that was building inside her. She knew what was coming, knew the words that would follow. This was the part where he would let her down gently, where he would tell her that she was nothing more than a friend, that his heart belonged to someone else.

But then he looked at her, his eyes filled with a kind of sadness that took her breath away. “You mean more to me than I’ve ever been able to say,” he continued, his voice barely more than a whisper. “But Silvanna… she’s part of my past. Someone I thought I loved… someone who can never love me back.”

Juliah felt a flicker of hope, a faint glimmer in the darkness. “What are you saying?”

Granger took a step closer, his gaze fixed on her, his expression more open, more vulnerable than she’d ever seen it. “I’ve spent so much of my life holding on to things I can’t change, chasing shadows and dreams that have slipped through my fingers. But you…” He hesitated, his hand reaching out to her, then stopping just inches away. “You’ve been by my side all along. You’ve been real.”

Her breath caught, her eyes searching his for any sign that this was real, that he truly meant it. She could see the conflict in his gaze, the walls he’d built around himself crumbling piece by piece, his heart finally laid bare.

“Juliah,” he murmured, his voice soft, filled with a warmth she’d never thought he could show. “I’ve been a fool. I thought I was protecting you… protecting myself. But maybe… maybe I’ve been hiding from what was right in front of me.”

Tears filled her eyes as she took a step closer, her heart pounding with a mixture of hope and fear. “So… what does that mean?”

He reached out, his hand gentle as he brushed a strand of hair from her face, his touch lingering, his gaze tender. “It means that maybe… it’s time I stopped chasing shadows.”

Her heart swelled, her voice trembling as she whispered, “Then… don’t stop now.”

In that moment, Granger leaned forward, closing the distance between them, his lips brushing against hers in a kiss that was both gentle and filled with the weight of everything unspoken between them. The shadows of the room seemed to fade, leaving only the two of them, lost in each other, in a world where nothing else mattered.

When they finally pulled away, he looked at her, a soft smile playing on his lips, a look she’d never seen from him before—a look that spoke of a future, of hope, of something she had never dared to dream of.