Jack’s chest still burned from the fight, lungs ragged as if he’d been running for days instead of minutes. He sat hunched at their side, fingers curling tight against his knees because he couldn’t—he shouldn’t—reach out. Not yet. Not until he was sure. The faint hum that always lived under his skin, that ceaseless vibration of stored energy, was muted near them. Like the storm had finally stilled.

“Hey,” his voice cracked, softer than he wanted, a sound scraped raw from too much fear. “You—you scared me.”

He leaned closer, studying their face, watching the way their lashes trembled, the twitch of their fingers as sensation crept back. His power didn’t flare against theirs, no crackle, no sear. The air between them was strangely calm.

“Something’s different,” Jack murmured, words trembling out before he could hold them back. He reached, hesitated an inch above their hand, feeling nothing—no sting, no surge—then finally pressed his palm against theirs. His breath stuttered at the contact. Solid. Real. Not pain. Not destruction.

“Oh God,” he whispered, eyes shutting hard. His thumb brushed against their knuckles, tentative, like the slightest pressure might break the spell. He didn’t pull away. Couldn’t. “I can touch you. You can touch me.”

His laughter was shaky, almost broken, and he leaned his forehead against their shoulder. The warmth seeped into him in a way energy never had. “Do you know what this means?” He swallowed, voice low. “You’re the only one. The only one I can hold. The only one who won’t burn.”

Jack’s hands slid to cradle theirs more firmly, his grip trembling. Years of wanting condensed into a single breath, a single point of contact. “I thought I’d never have this. Thought I’d never get to know what your skin feels like, what it’s like to be close without hurting you.”

He dared to look at them, his eyes shining wet. “I don’t care how we figure it out. I don’t care how dangerous this gets. I’m not letting go.”

His lips curved into something fragile, almost a smile. “Not when I’ve finally got the one thing I wanted most.”