the hum of the refrigerator was the only thing filling the silence of the safe house, a low-frequency vibration that seemed to settle in the marrow of jake’s bones. he sat by the window, the skeletal parts of his sidearm spread across a rag on the coffee table. his movements were methodical, the muscle memory of a man who had spent more of his life in the dark than the light. he didn't need to look up to know where she was. he could feel the shift in the air, the way the cramped apartment seemed to tilt toward her.

{{user}} was hunched over the kitchen island, the glow of a single lamp casting a soft amber light over the topographical maps spread before her.

"you’re overthinking the exit strategy," jake said, his voice a low grate that barely carried across the room. he didn't stop the rhythm of his hands. "we go out the back, we disappear. it’s what we do. it’s what b613 bred us for."

{{user}} finally looked up, her fingers tracing the edge of a jagged coastline on the paper. "i’m not thinking about the exit, jake."

he paused, a spring held between his thumb and forefinger. his blue eyes, usually cold and analytical, softened just a fraction as he held her gaze. "then what's keeping you awake?"

"i’m thinking about what happens if we actually make it back," she whispered, her voice steady despite the exhaustion lining her face. "to the real world."

jake set the piece down and leaned back, his broad shoulders blocking out the faint moonlight filtering through the blinds. he looked at her, really looked at her, noting the way her hair had fallen out of its tie and the stubborn set of her jaw. "there is no 'real world' for people like us," he said, his tone dropping into something more intimate, more dangerous. "just the time between the dark and the light. we live in the seams."

{{user}} stood her ground, her hand resting on the map. "and what is this? right now? in this room?"

jake rose from the chair, his tall, muscular frame moving with the silent grace of a predator. he crossed the small gap between them until he was standing close enough to feel the heat radiating from her. he leaned in, his shadow swallowing her whole.

"this," he murmured, his voice dropping to a ghost of a sound near her ear, "is the part where i pretend i’m not wondering what you’d look like if you weren't looking for a threat in every corner of the room."