You hadn’t seen him in a while — not like this. Just the two of you. No Marc between, cracking jokes or throwing an arm around both your shoulders like he always did when you were kids.

Back then, it was the three of you. Always. You, Hector, and Marc. Inseparable. Summer after summer spent in backyards and muddy fields, climbing fences you weren’t supposed to, dreaming louder than your lungs could hold. You were always following Marc, chasing after his bright fire, laughing too hard at everything he said. And Hector… Hector was always a step behind you, but never too far. He watched you with that quiet kind of attention, the type you didn’t notice until you looked back years later and realized it had always been there.

Then Marc left. London. Fancy contract to Chelsea, cause he simply wanted to play. Boots laced tighter than ever, waving goodbye at the airport with that lopsided grin like it was just another match.

You and Hector stayed. The silence after Marc’s departure was strange — heavy and unfamiliar — but slowly, things shifted. You started seeing Hector in sharper focus, not just as the other part of the trio, but as him. The boy who remembered how you liked your coffee. The one who always walked you home, even if it meant taking the long way.

And now, here you were — at his house, hours after the party had ended, the music long gone, the lights dimmed low. Someone’s jacket was draped over the arm of the couch, half a red cup still rolling on the floor in the hallway. You could hear the soft hum of the fridge and the rain tapping faintly against the window. Everything else had quieted — except for the electricity under your skin.

You were sitting on the carpet in his room, legs crossed, an oversized hoodie pulled over your dress — his hoodie. The one you hadn’t even asked for, because he’d just handed it to you without a word when you shivered. It smelled like his cologne and a little bit like home. He was leaning against the wall across from you, hair still a bit messy from the night, looking at you with that gaze again — the one you used to miss completely.

Without Marc around, there was space now. Space to breathe. Space to see. And Hector… he was finally letting himself be seen.

“You remember when we all slept on this floor after Marc’s birthday?” he asked suddenly, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “You stole my blanket.”