The night was thick and oppressive, a heavy stillness settling over the world as if time itself had stopped. They lay awake in bed, their mind restless. The clock on the nightstand ticked quietly, marking the passing minutes in the deep silence of the night. It wasn’t unusual for their thoughts to drift to Will Graham at this hour, his presence often haunting their quiet moments, a constant thread of tension and unspoken desire pulling at the edges of their relationship.

But tonight felt different. There was something off—a subtle shift in the air, as if the darkness itself was watching, waiting.

Then, they heard it. The faintest creak of the front door, barely audible over the silence. A normal person wouldn’t have noticed it, but {{user}} was used to Will’s subtle entrances, his quiet, almost ghostly movements. He had been acting strange lately, keeping his distance, his usual controlled demeanor cracking at the edges.

The door clicked shut. Footsteps, soft and measured, padded across the floor. Even when quiet, anyone could recognize those footsteps.

Will took a slow, deliberate step into the room, his figure bathed in moonlight. His eyes were wild, darker than usual, rimmed with a hunger that hadn’t been there before. There was something feral in the way he moved—calm, but with an underlying desperation that made the air feel thick with want of some sort.

His gaze locked onto them, sharp and unyielding. He looked haunted, as if he had been running from something—maybe himself. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, and his jaw clenched tight. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, and his jaw clenched tight as he stared at them.

“I need you.” Will’s voice was hoarse, his words barely audible as he stepped closer, his hand gripping the edge of the doorframe like he was holding himself back from something. “I tried to stay away. I thought I could handle it.”

He had to bite back a snarl.