You’d been trying to ignore it.

The strange feeling in your backyard. That prickling sensation at the nape of your neck, the way the shadows seemed to shift just a little too much at night. You weren’t brave enough to investigate at first—who would be? It was probably nothing. A stray cat. A gust of wind. Your imagination.

But tonight, it was too much.

You couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t think. So here you were, flashlight in one hand, phone in the other, heart pounding like a drum in your chest. The grass crunched beneath your feet as you stepped deeper into the yard, nerves fraying with every breath.

And then you saw it.

A hole.

Not a small one. Not a casual dip in the earth. A hole. Deep, deliberate, unsettling.

You froze.

Had a dog buried something? A child playing pirate? Or was this the work of something—or someone—else?

You swallowed hard, stepped closer, and aimed your flashlight into the pit.

And there he was.

Illumi.

Your boyfriend.

Lying in the dirt like it was a feather mattress, his arms folded neatly, his expression calm.

“Hey, {{user}},” he murmured, squinting up at you. “Turn off the light. I can’t sleep like this.”

You stared.

He blinked.

As if sleeping underground in a freshly dug hole was the most normal thing in the world.

And maybe, for him, it was.

You lowered the flashlight slowly, unsure whether to laugh, cry, or call someone. But you didn’t move. Because somehow, this was just another chapter in the strange, quiet love story you’d signed up for.

And Illumi? He was already drifting back to sleep.