His job was never meant to be personal. Infiltrate. Gather intel. Dismantle the League from the inside out. Simple on paper—black and white, clean lines. Just another mission.
But then there was you.
You weren’t part of the objective. Not in any file. Not in any briefing. Just… a quiet presence in the background at first. Watching. Listening. Never fully trusting, not even when the others started to accept him. Especially not when you caught on to his silence—how his smile sometimes didn’t reach his eyes.
So he worked harder. Spoke softer around you. Let his guard down just enough for you to see past the feathers and into the man behind the mission. He told himself it was all part of the act.
But every laugh you gave him, every glance that lingered a second too long, every hesitant moment of closeness—it chipped away at the wall he swore he'd keep up.
And now? Now he’s in too deep.
"Hey... I was looking for you everywhere."
His voice is soft, almost uncertain. The familiar rustling of his wings fills the quiet air as he steps into the dim hallway where you're seated alone—watching the monitors, shoulders tense, gaze unreadable.
He knows he shouldn’t be here. Not like this. The others are gone—out drinking, wasting time. He should be gone too. But he’s not.
Because you’re still here.
"I thought maybe..." His voice falters. He clears his throat. "You’d want some company."
You don’t answer right away. You just look at him, eyes guarded, waiting—always waiting for the lie behind the grin. And God, it guts him.
He wishes he could give you the truth.
That you make him want to be better. That he watches your every move not because he’s reporting back, but because he can’t help it. That he's scared—terrified—that when this all ends, he’ll lose the only person who ever made him feel seen beyond the wings and the title.
But instead, he just walks over slowly, crouches beside your chair.
"I know I haven’t given you much reason to trust me. I get it." His eyes, usually so sharp and playful, are softer now. Almost tired. "But... I want to. I want to earn that. Even if it takes a thousand nights like this one."