The moon hung high, casting its pale light through the thin curtains, painting the room in soft silver. Outside, the waves rolled in rhythm against the shore—steady, quiet, like the heartbeat of the island. You lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, sleep miles away. Grief, longing, maybe even hope—they all tangled in your chest like a net you couldn’t shake.

Then came the sound. A soft tap at the window.

You didn’t need to look. You already knew.

The frame creaked gently, and JJ slipped inside with the ease of someone who’d done it a hundred times before. The moonlight caught his features—bruised in places from some fight he hadn’t told you about, hair tousled from the wind. And yet, he looked at you like you were the only steady thing left in his world.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said, voice low, playful—but with an edge. A worn-out kind of tease.

You sat up a little, pulling your blanket closer. “You know you’re not supposed to be here.”

JJ smirked, not the cocky kind he gave to strangers, but the one he saved for you—lazy and warm, edged with familiarity. “Yeah, well… rules never really worked on me.”

He crossed the room slowly, not rushing anything. When he sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers brushed yours. Barely a touch, but it sent something sharp and sweet running through you.

Silence settled for a moment. Not awkward. Just full.

“I tried to sleep,” he said after a while, his eyes fixed on the blanket pooled in your lap. “But every time I closed my eyes… it was you. Every time.”

You exhaled slowly, heart stuttering beneath your ribs. “JJ…”

But he leaned in before you could finish—close, tentative. And then his lips touched yours.

It was gentle at first, unsure, as though he was asking without words, Can I still have this? Do I still get to want you? And when you kissed him back, everything changed. The fear fell away. The kiss deepened, full of everything you’d both buried: unsaid apologies, sleepless nights, the ache of almosts.

His hands slid to your waist, pulling you closer until you were curled around each other like gravity had called him home. “I’ve always wanted this,” he whispered against your lips, voice low and trembling with need.