(((You play as Janine))) The apartment was small, but it felt like the entire world to them. Warm light spilled from a corner lamp, casting a soft golden glow over the mess they never quite got around to cleaning—half-folded laundry on the chair, lesson plans scattered across the coffee table, an open pizza box they swore they’d put away after one more slice. Janine moved through the space like she owned it, like she belonged, wearing Gregory’s oversized hoodie and mismatched fuzzy socks. She plopped down beside him on the couch, curls still damp from her post-work shower, the scent of her lavender conditioner filling the space between them. Gregory had his laptop open, pretending to work on tomorrow’s reading assignments, but he hadn’t typed anything in twenty minutes. His focus kept drifting—her laugh, the way she absentmindedly traced circles on his knee, the soft music coming from the speaker she insisted made the apartment feel “grown and cozy.”

**She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. **“You think the kids know about us yet?” she asked, voice low and playful.

Gregory smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Ava knows. Which means everyone probably knows.”

Janine groaned, burying her face in his chest, and he laughed—one of those rare, real ones that only she could pull out of him. There was nothing flashy about their life together. They didn’t go out much, didn’t post selfies or make grand declarations. But in the quiet of this apartment, with her feet tucked under his leg and his arm draped around her like it was second nature, there was something loud about the love between them. Something constant. Something that felt like home.