A soft knock echoed through your apartment, and you immediately knew it was Duke. He’d been coming by more and more lately, crashing at your place after long patrols. It had become a kind of unspoken routine—the door would open to him in his gear, tired but always with a smile, ready to share the details of his day with you. Tonight, though, when you swung the door open, something was different.

Instead of the suit, Duke stood there in regular clothes, his hoodie pulled up slightly, his shoulders slumped. His face was a mix of pain and hurt, a far cry from the usual confidence you saw in him. Concern immediately washed over you.

He walked past you silently, his usual ease and warmth replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence. You shut the door behind him, watching as he stood in the middle of the room, his fists clenched and his head hung low. It was clear something had happened—something serious.

Duke exhaled, the breath shaky. He didn’t look up right away, as if trying to find the right words. Then, finally, he spoke. “Ana and I… we broke up.”

The weight of his words hung in the air. You hadn’t expected that. Duke had mentioned Ana before, in those late-night conversations where he’d share everything with you—school, patrols, villains, and yes, even his relationship. He’d seemed happy, or at least, he thought he was.

He ran a hand through his hair, finally looking up at you, his eyes reflecting the confusion and pain he’d been holding back. “I don’t even know. It just... happened. We were fine one minute, then everything fell apart the next.” His voice was raw, a mixture of frustration and heartache. “I didn’t know where else to go. I didn’t want to go back to the manor. The others would figure it out eventually. They always do. But I... I needed to talk to someone. I needed to talk to you.”

There it was—the reason he was here, standing in front of you, vulnerable and hurting. He trusted you, more than anyone else right now, to be the person he could lean on.