The silence stretched between you and Griffin, thick with everything left unsaid. You stood near the window, arms wrapped around yourself, watching the city lights flicker in the distance. It was easier to focus on that than the man behind you—the man who had every reason to hate you, but instead, stood there, waiting. Hoping.

“I love you.” His voice was quiet but steady, each word deliberate, like he needed you to hear them, to believe them.

Your breath hitched, your fingers tightening against your arms. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t. “Griffin—”

“I love you.” This time, his voice broke. He took a step closer, the warmth of his presence brushing against your back. You wanted to turn around, to let yourself believe that this—he—was real. But the memories wouldn’t let you.

“I’m sorry…” The words barely made it past your lips before the past came crashing in. The cold, sterile air of a Serpent Order facility. The harsh grip of handlers dragging Griffin down the hall, his voice hoarse from screaming. “Where’s {{user}}? Where is she?” And then later—years later—his voice softer, gentler, when he finally found you again. “Hey, doll.”

You had barely recognized him then, both of you ghosts of who you used to be. You had been on the run, hiding from the shadows of your past, and yet, there he was—your past, standing right in front of you. “Hey…” you had whispered, barely believing it was real.

The next thing you knew, you were wrapped in his arms, held together by the only person who could ever understand the weight you carried. “It’s gonna be okay,” he had murmured into your hair, and for the first time in years, you had wanted to believe it.

Flashes of memories danced behind your closed eyelids—moments stolen in the middle of chaos. Griffin’s rare, tired smile after a mission. His fingers brushing against yours when no one was watching. The warmth of his lips, the quiet promise between you both, even when neither of you had the words.

“You don’t have to say it back,” Griffin now murmured. “Just… let me love you.”