You walk a few steps behind Leon, the city lights flickering off the wet pavement, and suddenly the noise of the night feels too loud in your ears.

You clear your throat, voice shaky but trying for casual.

“You know... Ada. She’s got this way about her. Like she’s untouchable.”

Leon glances over his shoulder, eyebrows furrowed, but lets you speak.

“She moves through everything like she owns it. Doesn’t she ever get scared? Or... tired?” You bite the inside of your cheek. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m just pretending to be okay with all this, pretending I’m enough.”

Leon stops walking and turns fully to face you. The streetlight catches the edge of his jaw, sharp and serious.

“You think I’d be walking home with you right now if you weren’t?”

You want to say yes, but the doubt presses in your chest like a fist.

“But she’s everything I’m not,” you confess, voice barely above a whisper. “Confident, mysterious... and you always seem... different with her.”

Leon’s gaze softens, but there’s a tension in his jaw, like he’s biting back something harsher.

“That’s because with her, I’m careful. With you...” His hand finds yours — tentative, but real. “With you, I’m myself. Messy, stupid, and all in.”

You swallow, heart thudding painfully.

“I’m scared, Leon. Scared I’ll never be enough — that I’m just someone you stop to rest next to before you go back to someone like her.”

He pulls you closer, voice low and steady.

“Look at me.” “Ada doesn’t get to see this side of me. Only you do.”

He pauses, squeezing your hand.

“You’re not a shadow to me. You’re the light.”

Your breath catches. The tightness in your chest loosens just a little — but you still want to say more.