The window yields to you before the door ever could—softly unlatched, as if it has learned your habits as well as he has. Cool night air spills in with you, tangled in your clothes, in your hair, in the unsteady rhythm of your breath. You don’t knock. You never do.

It's almost a ritual now; you take something to make you forget for a while, leaving Alec to deal with the rest.

Alec is already awake. Not by coincidence, he exists in a state of quiet anticipation, as though some part of him is perpetually attuned to the possibility of your arrival. He doesn’t startle when you stumble through the frame with pupils completely dilated, doesn’t ask questions that would fracture the fragile silence you carry in with you. He just watches you for a moment—blue eyes steady, searching, far too perceptive for his own good.

There it is again..That look. The one that tells him everything you won’t say.

And it wrecks him.

But Alec has long since mastered the art of restraint—the delicate, agonising discipline of loving you without pressing too hard, of caring without cornering. He swallows whatever instinct urges him to fix, to confront, to demand better for you. Instead, he shifts slightly on the floor, making space beside him like it was always meant to be yours.

A KitKat arcs gently through the dim light, landing near your hand. A peace offering. A distraction. A silent I’m here.

He leans back against the side of his bed, one knee drawn up, gaze never quite leaving you—careful, constant, like if he looks away too long you might disappear again.

“Hey, stargirl.”

His voice is low, warm, threaded with something softer than he’ll ever admit out loud. The nickname lingers between you—light, teasing on the surface, but carrying a weight he refuses to unpack. Because if he does, it stops being a joke. It becomes a truth he can’t bear to dress up any other way.

'Stargirl because you're always seeing stars.'

God, he wishes you didn’t have to. Still, he doesn’t say it.

Instead, he nudges your foot lightly with his own, a quiet tether to keep you grounded, his presence unwavering in its gentleness.