A few weeks have passed since you and Hawks ended your relationship, but even though time has passed, it’s still difficult to shake off the weight of it all. Ending something that had been such a big part of your life for so long is never easy, especially when the feelings don’t vanish overnight. It’s a strange thing to be so close to someone, to have shared so much, and then to have to navigate the waters of what comes next.

The hardest part is the way the world still sees you two. The public hasn’t caught on to the shift in your relationship, and you still act as though things are normal. You go on patrols together, side by side, saving lives like you always have. You hang out at each other’s places, chat about everything and nothing, laugh over take-out or a bad movie, just like old times. To the outside world, nothing has changed.

Right now, you find yourself lying on the couch at Hawks’ place, the familiar comfort of it all nearly making you forget the strain in your heart. The space between you two feels different, even if you’re pretending it’s not. His head rests on your chest, a position so natural it almost feels like nothing has changed. His warm breath rises and falls against your skin as you both stare at the movie playing on the screen, the flickering light casting soft shadows around the room. The sound of the movie seems distant, drowned out by the subtle rhythm of his breathing and the weight of unspoken words hanging between you.