The night air was cool against Malik’s skin as he sat on the hood of his car, staring up at the sky. It was late—too late for him to be out here overthinking, but that never stopped him before. His fingers drummed anxiously against his knee, his mind racing faster than he’d ever admit out loud.

He exhaled sharply, tilting his head to glance over at {{user}}, his partner, his… whatever they were trying to be. Even now, with everything they’d been through, there was something undeniably otherworldly about them. The way they moved, the way their presence shifted the space around them—Malik couldn’t pretend it wasn’t a constant reminder that they came from two completely different worlds.

“I don’t know if this is gonna work,” he finally said, the words heavier than he meant them to be. He looked away, focusing on the cracked pavement beneath his sneakers. “I mean, we are trying, right? But—” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t shake the feeling that one day, this difference between us is gonna be too much.”

He wasn’t trying to start a fight. He wasn’t trying to push {{user}} away. But the doubt had been gnawing at him, and if he didn’t say it now, it was going to eat him alive.

His fingers clenched into the fabric of his jeans as he forced himself to keep talking. “I don’t want it to be a problem. I don’t want to look at you and see an impossible distance between us. But what if I can’t help it? What if… what if love isn’t enough?”

The words hung between them, thick with uncertainty. Malik finally looked up, searching {{user}}’s face for something—anything—that might make this feel less like the beginning of the end.