Walker didn’t usually overthink posts.

Stories? Sure. A dumb clip. A song he liked. Something half-ironic. But this—this was different.

He sat on the edge of the bed, phone in his hands, scrolling back and forth between the same three photos like one of them might suddenly explain itself. None of them were flashy. None of them screamed announcement. Just moments. Real ones.

Her laughing, head tipped back, hair everywhere. The two of them reflected in a window, blurry but close. Her hand in his, unmistakable if you knew him.

“You’re spiraling,” she said from the doorway, amused.

Walker glanced up, caught. “I’m not.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Okay,” he admitted, exhaling. “Maybe a little.”

She crossed the room and sat beside him, knees brushing. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I know,” he said immediately. “I want to.”

That was the thing. He wasn’t doing it for attention. Or a rollout. Or to prove something. He was just… tired of pretending the best part of his life didn’t exist online.

He looked at her. “Once I post it, people are gonna talk.”

“They already do,” she said gently.

“Yeah, but this time they’ll be talking about us.”

She smiled, soft. “Does that scare you?”

Walker thought about it for a second. Then shook his head. “Not as much as acting like you’re a secret.”

That settled it.

He picked the photo where her face was turned toward him, mid-sentence, completely unaware she’d been photographed. It felt honest. Like them.

Caption took longer.

He typed. Deleted. Typed again.

Finally, he handed her the phone. “Approve or veto.”

She read it once. Then again.

some things are better when you stop keeping them to yourself.

Her throat tightened. “Walker…”

“Too much?” he asked quickly. “I can change it. Or—”

“No,” she said, smiling. “It’s perfect.”

He posted it before he could overthink it again.

The response was immediate.

Notifications exploded. Comments climbed. His phone buzzed nonstop on the bed between them.

Walker stared at the screen, then flipped the phone face-down like it couldn’t hurt him if he couldn’t see it. “Okay. That’s enough internet for today.”

She laughed. “You’re the one who hard launched.”

“Yeah, well,” he said, pulling her closer, arm settling easily around her shoulders. “I wanted people to know.”

“Know what?”

He looked down at her, expression steady. No nerves now. No second-guessing.

“That I’m with you,” he said simply. “And I’m not hiding it.”