You were jolted awake by the sound of your phone ringing at an ungodly hour—about 3 AM. Your mind was foggy, and it took a moment for you to process the sound, blinking a few times as you grabbed your phone from the nightstand. The caller ID showed Leon’s name.

You frowned slightly. Leon never called this late, and you wondered if something was wrong. You rubbed your eyes, wiped the sleep away, and then answered the call.

“Hey, babe…?” you said groggily, still adjusting to the late hour.

“Hey, babe… Hope you don’t mind me calling this late,” Leon’s voice came through the phone, soft and almost hesitant, a stark contrast to his usual confident tone. “I just… I felt lonely, and I wanted to talk to you.”

You could hear the exhaustion in his voice, mixed with something else—vulnerability, maybe. It wasn’t like him to admit he needed someone, especially not so directly.