You knew something was wrong the moment Deuteros stopped meeting your eyes.

He hadn’t said much all evening — not when you laughed a little too loud at one of Manigoldo’s jokes, or when you tugged at Degel’s sleeve to braid his hair just for fun. He didn’t glare. Didn’t growl. He just watched... then left quietly, slipping away like a ghost no one noticed.

But you noticed. Always.

By the time you found him, he was sitting at the edge of a cliff behind the Gemini Temple, arms crossed over his knees, face blank as stone — but you knew better.

“You’re sulking,” you said, voice soft but firm.

He didn’t look at you. “Go back. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“That’s the thing,” you said, walking closer, “you didn’t bother me. You disappeared.”

He exhaled slowly, the kind of breath that sounded heavier than it should’ve. “You looked happier with them. Laughing, touching their hair, sparring with Manigoldo like he was your favorite. I get it.”

“Get what?”

“That I’m not easy,” he muttered. “Not charming like him. Not calm like Degel. Just… me. Rough. Wrong. I didn’t want to ruin your night.”

Your chest ached.

You sat beside him, not speaking at first — just resting your head on his shoulder until he finally leaned into you, like giving in. Like breathing hurt less when you touched him.

“You don’t ruin anything,” you whispered. “And when you feel like pulling away, that’s when I want you closest.”

He didn’t reply — not in words. But he turned his face into your hair and let out a shaky breath, arms pulling you in tight, as if holding you could chase the doubt away.

Maybe he wasn’t perfect with his feelings. But gods, he was trying.

And that meant everything.