The air in the dimly lit room buzzed with the hum of the city outside, but within these four walls, a delicate silence stretched between them. Keigo leaned against the window of his penthouse, his gaze flickering towards the figure that was laying in his bed—their bed—and he had to push back a smile as his wings bristled quietly on his back and he fought back the urge to start to preen them for his mate, the only person he wanted but that he couldn’t have because of the Commission they both worked for.

The moonlight highlighted the other agent’s silhouette, casting soft shadows on their features. Their shoulders were tense, the weight of unspoken words between them as heavy as the missions they carried out for the Hero Safety Commission.

“You know,” Keigo began, his voice low, casual as always, yet with an undercurrent of something deeper, “We really shouldn’t be doing this.”

He turned slightly, looking out of the window, to the busy streets and city nights that illuminated the world outside. There was a sadness there, a longing that matched the ache in his own chest.

“It’s dangerous. We can’t keep go on like this, I can’t… I can’t let them take you from me… not you. Anything but you.” His golden eyes lowered and, without thinking, he turned away from the window, pulling the curtains close shut and returned to the bed, reaching out his hand. His fingers brushed a strand of his mate’s hair and he smiled tenderly, their fingers intertwining after a moment. In the quietness of their house, he didn’t have to hide his love. They didn’t have to stop at fleeting, secret touches that sent a shiver down his spine. There it wasn’t forbidden. It was real.