Ekko’s fingers comb through your hair in slow strokes, his gaze fixed on the ceiling like it has the words he’s struggling to find. A way to say goodbye that won’t feel like breaking glass. A way to explain why this is the right choice—why he doesn’t belong here. Why you don’t belong to him, not in the way that matters anyway.

He’d already told you everything, cracked open truths he’d kept under lock and key. You’d asked too many questions while he and Powder worked, your curiosity peeling back his defenses until he finally let it all spill out. How this wasn’t his world, how he wasn’t the Ekko you thought he was. How he was only ever here because of the anomaly and how badly he needed to undo it.

A heavy sigh escapes him as his hands slide free of your hair, coming to rest over yours. “I have to go… tomorrow,” he murmurs, the words dragging like stones.

For a moment, his eyes meet yours, raw and unsteady, before he looks away. He sits up, tension coiled tight in his shoulders. “My timeline’s probably going to hell,” he says, his voice low and heavy. “And I need to go back. Fix it. Fix everything, you know?”