Vedric didn't sleep that night.
Not because he couldn't.
But because he didn't trust himself.
He couldn't erase the feel of Danny's lips against his own.
The way Danny clung to his shirt.
The soft exhale Danny made when Verdric pressed closer.
Verdric had kissed people before.
He had touched, taken, given, controlled.
But this—
this had been different.
He had kissed Danny like he was afraid of losing him.
Like Danny was the first warmth he'd felt in years.
Verdric sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor as hours slipped by. Danny slept under the covers, breathing softly, unaware of how many times Verdric's gaze drifted toward him.
Unaware of how many battles Verdric fought in silence.
Because Verdric remembered another pair of lips once.
Another warmth.
Another betrayal.
He swore he wouldn't let himself feel again.
And yet here he was,
breathing in the scent of Danny on the sheets
like a man starved.
When Danny stirred in his sleep, Verdric instinctively reached to touch him, then stopped.
Control, he needed control.
But control slipped easily when Danny whispered his name in his sleep, spft and fragile.
"Verdric..."
Verdric's hand tightened painfully on the sheets.
He whispered back, voice cracked at the edges:
"You're going to ruin me."
__
Morning came too fast.
Danny rubbed sleep from his eyes, stretching as soft sunlight warmed the blankets. Verdric was already gone, no surprise. He always moved like shadows and early mornings.
Danny pushed the covers aside and stood, looking for his shirt. He spotted it on a chair beside Verdric's desk.
He went to grab it—
And froze.
There was a photograph half-tucked beneath some papers.
A picture of Verdric...
with someone else.
Another man.
Tall, handsome, dressed in black.
Standing close—too close—to Verdric.
Their hands almost touching.
Danny's chest tightened.
He didn't mean to stare.
Didn't mean to imagine things.
Didn't mean to let jealousy creep in like unwelcome smoke.
But he couldn't stop himself.
He whispered to no one.
"..Who were you?"
__
Verdric knew the photograph was gone the moment he stepped into the room. He didn't need to see the desk to know Danny had found it.
Danny's guilt clung to the air—soft, shaking, easy to read.
Verdric didn't blame him.
He ignored the photo and knelt beside the drawer he'd opened earlier. Danny watched him carefully from the bed.
"You found it," Verdric said without looking up.
Danny swallowed. "I-I wasn't trying to look through your things.."
"I know."
Silence.
Danny's voice trembled. "Was he... important to you?"
Verdric shut the drawer, stood, and faced him.
"He was."
Danny flinched at the honesty.
Verdric walked toward him. Slow, measured.
"He was also the one who sold my location to my enemies."
Danny's breath caught.
Verdric's tone never wavered.
"The night they tried to kill me, he was the one who unlocked the door."
Danny's eyes filled with something Verdric didn't want to see.
Sympathy.
Pain.
Tenderness.
Verdric stepped closer.
"You are nothing like him."
Danny's throat tightened.
"Verdric..."
Verdric leaned in until his shadow wrapped around Danny's small frame.
"I will protect you," Verdric said, voice low. "But do not mistake that for possession."
Danny felt heat rush through him. "Then what is it?"
Verdric didn't answer with words.
He let his fingertips brush down Danny's arm.
Slow.
Soft.
Barely there.
Danny shivered.
And Verdric whispered.
"Something I do not know how to name."
Danny didn't mean to reach for him.
He just… moved.
His fingers curled around Verdric's wrist, gently at first—then with more certainty, more emotion than he meant to show.
"I'm not him," Danny said quietly. "I won't hurt you."
Verdric shut his eyes for a brief second. A second Danny wasn't supposed to see.
A second that cracked something open.
When Verdric looked at him again, the usual hardness had shifted— just a little. Just enough that Danny felt breathless.
"I know," Verdric said.
Danny didn't know who closed the distance first.
Maybe him.
Maybe Verdric.
Maybe both at once.
But suddenly Verdric's mouth was on his, hungrier than last time. This kiss wasn't gentle, it was heat and restraint fighting each other, Verdric's hands steadying Danny's waist as if he were scared of losing control.
Danny kissed him back without thinking.
Without fear.
Without hesitation.
Verdric pressed Danny against the wall, their breaths tangled, their warmth mixing until Danny didn't know which heartbeat was his.
Verdric broke the kiss first, breath heavy against Danny's cheek.
"You're going to ruin every wall I built," Verdric murmured.
Danny whispered, "Maybe you shouldn't have built them around someone else."
Verdric's eyes darkened.
He leaned his forehead against Danny's, breath shaking.
"Danny… don't fall for me."
Danny's heart clenched. "It's too late."
Verdric inhaled sharply but didn't pull away.
He didn't kiss Danny again either.
He just stayed there,
close enough to feel the truth between them.
Something that terrified Verdric.
Something Danny was no longer afraid of.
Something that would eventually break them both.