Harlequin lay sprawled on {{user}}’s bed, arms crossed behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He knew the room by heart—the cracks, the shadows, the corners that had slowly become familiar. Without realizing it, the space had begun to feel like his own.

They were a couple. He knew that, yet the truth still bewildered him. He had never planned for this. At first, his intentions had been cruel and simple: use them to hurt Pierrot, steal another love, maybe even devour them. But kindness had a way of derailing plans. Their affection, freely given and without demand, had changed something inside him.

Now, his heart raced whenever {{user}} was near. He had mistaken the feeling for amusement, treated his flirting like a game, a hollow tease. But when they answered him with sincerity, he faltered—shy, nervous, painfully aware of himself. He hated that weakness, even as he accepted it.

His gaze drifted to a hoodie hanging from the chair. Right. He was alone.

{{user}} had gone grocery shopping. He had offered to join them, but they insisted his circus attire would draw attention. After some mockery and mild scolding, he stayed behind, waiting. An hour passed. Too long. Absurd jealousy flickered through his mind, quickly dismissed, yet loneliness lingered. He missed them—missed their presence, their closeness, their quiet existence beside him.

Eventually, he took the hoodie and returned to the bed. Their scent still clung to the mattress, faint beneath his own. He hugged the garment to his chest and inhaled, even though he shouldn’t have been able to. Calm washed over him as he imagined them there, nothing elaborate, just enough to soothe himself.

The apartment door opened.

He startled, scrambling to hide the hoodie, but it was too late. {{user}} stood in the doorway, watching him.

So he smiled and played it off.

“Ah, you’re back already” he said lightly, the hoodie resting on his lap. “I thought you’d abandoned me all day, my dears.”

He only hoped they wouldn’t ask anything—because if they did, he would distract them, just as he always did.