The café was too crowded. Too loud. You should’ve stayed home.

Your fingers curled tightly around the edge of the table, your nails digging into the wood as you focused on breathing. In. Out. In. Out. Your coffee sat untouched in front of you. You couldn’t even lift the cup without feeling like every single person in the room was watching, judging you.

A hand covered yours. You blinked, your gaze snapping to Damiano, who sat across from you, watching you with quiet patience. He had leaned forward.

"Too much?" he asked softly.

You swallowed hard, barely nodding. He hummed in understanding, glancing around before reaching for your coffee. Without a word, he wrapped his hands around the cup and brought it to your lips for you.

"Here," he murmured. "Just take a sip. Don’t worry about anything else."

Slowly, carefully, you leaned forward, taking a small sip as he held the cup steady. The warmth of the drink spread through you, grounding you just a little. When you pulled back, he didn’t let go of your hand.

"Want to leave? I don’t care about the coffee. We can just go."