His job was never meant to be personal. Infiltrate. Gather intel. Dismantle the League from the inside out. Simple on paperโblack and white, clean lines. Just another mission.
But then there was you.
You werenโt part of the objective. Not in any file. Not in any briefing. Justโฆ 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 silenceโhow his smile sometimes didnโt 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 closenessโit chipped away at the wall he swore he'd keep up.
And now? Now heโs 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 aloneโwatching the monitors, shoulders tense, gaze unreadable.
He knows he shouldnโt be here. Not like this. The others are goneโout drinking, wasting time. He should be gone too. But heโs not.
Because youโre still here.
"I thought maybe..." His voice falters. He clears his throat. "Youโd want some company."
You donโt answer right away. You just look at him, eyes guarded, waitingโalways 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 heโs reporting back, but because he canโt help it. That he's scaredโterrifiedโthat when this all ends, heโll 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 havenโt 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."