The air inside the tunnel shimmered faintly with residual heat. Smoke clung to the stone, curling up the walls and slipping through jagged cracks above. Faint streaks of amber light filtered in, reminders that somewhere beyond the rockfall, the world still turned.

Gabriel sat propped against the far wall, swaddled in a silver emergency blanket. His knees were drawn to his chest, one arm folded loosely around them. His head rested back against the wall, eyes half-open but unfocused.

His body wasn’t trembling anymore. But his skin was too pale. His lips tinged faintly gray.

Leonardo crouched nearby, tearing into the remains of a travel medkit strapped to his thigh. Most of the supplies were dented or dusty, but intact. He muttered something under his breath when a cracked vial leaked onto his fingers, then tossed it aside and grabbed another.

“Don’t move,” he said. His voice was low, steady, but rough at the edges.

Gabriel stayed still when Leonardo knelt in front of him. He turned his face obediently as two fingers tilted his jaw toward the dim light.

The cut on his cheek wasn’t deep, but it bled freely. Leonardo dabbed it clean, slow and careful. His gloves were off now and his touch was warm.

Gabriel’s lashes fluttered as the antiseptic stung.

“Sorry,” Leonardo murmured.

“S’okay,” Gabriel whispered, voice barely there. “Not the worst burn today.”

That earned a huff of breath from Leonardo, half laugh, half sigh. “No. I guess not.”

He finished with the cut and reached for Gabriel’s hands. The knuckles were raw and slightly swollen, evidence of the overload. There were other signs too. The fine tremor in Gabriel’s fingertips. The faint psychic hum that clung to him, still dissipating from the aftermath of the guiding burst.

“You should’ve warned me,” Leonardo said, quieter now. “I could’ve compensated and grounded you.”

Gabriel blinked slowly. “Didn’t know it’d hit that hard.”

“You almost collapsed.” Leonardo said as he applied the burn cream with a gentleness that felt almost at odds with everything around them. When he was done, he wrapped gauze over Gabriel’s palms, tugged it tight, and secured it.

Then he sat back, resting on his heels.

Gabriel tipped his head back toward the wall again, drawing in a slow breath. “You still have your medkit,” he said after a moment.

Leonardo shrugged. “Strapped it down before we entered the ravine. Lucky move.”

Gabriel nodded faintly, eyes sliding shut for a few seconds. “You’re full of lucky moves.”

Leonardo didn’t answer. He looked at Gabriel instead, really looked. At the way his chest rose too quickly with each breath. At the smudge of blood still at the corner of his mouth.

“You’re freezing,” he said quietly.

Gabriel gave a small shrug beneath the blanket. “Still better than earlier.”

Leonardo shifted and he sat down beside Gabriel, their shoulders nearly touching. He didn’t speak.

Gabriel didn’t remember falling asleep.

He must have, because the next thing he knew, the air had cooled slightly and the light behind the cracked stone wall was almost gone. The tremors had stopped. The dust had settled.

He blinked up at the uneven ceiling, every inch of his body sore. The jacket under his head had shifted, and something warm rested near his side.

Leonardo was still beside him, sitting.

Gabriel exhaled slowly, testing his chest. It hurt, but the sharpest edges were gone. Or maybe dulled by exhaustion. His hands still trembled faintly when he pushed himself upright.

Leonardo noticed immediately.

“You good?” he asked, voice low.

Gabriel nodded. “Still here.”

Leonardo didn’t smile, but some of the tension in his shoulders eased.

“Can you walk?”

Gabriel hesitated. “Maybe not far. But I can try.”

Leonardo stood in a fluid motion, offering a hand. Gabriel didn’t take it right away. Not because he didn’t want to, but because something about the gesture was different now.

He took it anyway, and let himself be pulled to his feet.

The moment he stood, the reality of their surroundings returned. The tunnel was narrow and sloped slightly downhill. Water pooled in places where the floor dipped. There were claw marks along one side, carved into the stone. Not fresh, but not old either.

Gabriel tried not to stare too long.

Leonardo gave him a moment to steady himself, then nodded down the tunnel. “We follow the curve. Should open up near the east ridge.”

Gabriel didn’t ask how he knew that. He just followed, slow at first, then steadier.

Neither of them spoke for a while. The path ahead was too narrow for side-by-side walking, so Leonardo kept a pace just ahead of him, scanning the shadows, ears tuned to every creak in the stone.

Gabriel watched the way Leonardo moved, tense, alert, but not on edge. Like the adrenaline was gone, but the readiness wasn’t. Like a flame still smoldering under the surface.

He found himself focusing on that rhythm. The steady steps. The way Leonardo reached back once to help him over a dip in the rock without a word. And the way he didn’t let go immediately after.

It was… grounding.

When the tunnel finally opened into a split chamber with better air and a high crack in the stone ceiling, Gabriel stopped and leaned back against the wall, catching his breath. Leonardo paced a few steps ahead, eyes flicking toward the upper ledge where faint light filtered through.

Gabriel let his head fall back with a soft thump. “How long do you think we were down there?”

Leonardo didn’t answer at first. Then, “Long enough.”

Then Leonardo added, “You didn’t scream once.”

Gabriel blinked. “During the chase?”

“During the link,” Leonardo said, quieter now. “That kind of surge? Most people pass out or scream. You didn’t.”

Gabriel looked away. “Didn’t feel like I had time.”

Leonardo’s jaw tightened. Not with anger. Something closer to guilt. But he didn’t push the subject.

Gabriel watched him a moment longer, then slowly lowered himself to sit again, back against the cool stone. “Can we rest here before we move again?”

Leonardo didn’t even hesitate. He nodded once. “Yeah. I’ll keep watch.”

And he did.

He crouched near the ledge, arms draped loosely over his knees, eyes still scanning. The burn behind them had dulled. His shoulders were looser.

Gabriel let his eyes drift closed again, just for a second.

He didn’t sleep, but for the first time since the mission started, he didn’t feel like he had to stay awake.

Gabriel didn’t realize how much time had passed until he heard Leonardo shift again. A soft scuff of boots against stone. He opened his eyes in time to see Leonardo walk back from the far edge of the chamber and settle beside him.

Gabriel tilted his head, watching him through half-lidded eyes. “Nothing?”

“No movement,” Leonardo said. “If anything’s alive out there, it’s not in a hurry.”

Gabriel nodded. “That’s good.”

He rested the back of his skull against the stone again, the weight of it dragging him downward. His body ached less now, but a deeper kind of exhaustion had pooled in his limbs.

Leonardo reached into one of the side pockets of his uniform and pulled out a small metal canister. He cracked it open and shook two tablets into his palm, holding them out.

“Electrolytes,” he said. “They’ll help with the fatigue.”

Gabriel took them without question and swallowed dry. A beat passed.

Then Leonardo leaned back on his hands and looked at the ceiling. “Next time you’re about to collapse, give me a damn heads-up.”

Gabriel turned toward him, startled by the directness.

“I thought you were about to drop right there,” Leonardo added, still staring upward. “And I couldn’t stop it.”

Gabriel was quiet for a long moment. Then, voice soft, “You didn’t have to stay.”

Leonardo’s head snapped around. “Are you serious?”

Gabriel didn’t flinch, but his gaze dropped to the floor. “I know what I am to most Espers. Dead weight. A liability.”

Leonardo scoffed. “You think I risked my ass back there for dead weight?”

“I think,” Gabriel said slowly, “you only came back for me because my family would’ve killed you if you didn’t.”

Leonardo stared at him. “You mean Natalia, Sasha, and Henry forming an execution squad?”

Gabriel’s lips twitched. “Exactly that.”

Leonardo leaned back slightly, one brow raised. “Honestly? I’m more scared of Sasha than half the monsters we’ve fought.”

Gabriel let out a quiet laugh. “Then I guess you had good instincts.”

Leonardo didn’t smile this time. His gaze lingered on Gabriel. “I didn’t come back because of them.”

Gabriel hesitated. His throat tightened.

“I came back because it was you.”

The silence that followed wasn’t cold. It felt like the moment just before warmth reaches your skin.

After a while, Gabriel shifted, unwrapping the thermal blanket slightly and sliding down until his shoulder touched Leonardo’s arm. It was small, barely pressure at all, but it was the first time he reached out without fear trailing behind it.

He didn’t seem to notice Leonardo watching him.

Not until he moved.

Leonardo shifted closer, not abruptly. He hesitated first, waiting to see if Gabriel would lean away.

Gabriel didn’t.

So Leonardo gently reached out and tugged him forward, pulling him into a quiet, unhurried embrace.

Gabriel stiffened for half a heartbeat… then relaxed.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to.

His head came to rest against Leonardo’s collarbone, just under his jaw. One hand clutched the blanket tighter. His eyes stayed open at first, then closed slowly, like letting go of tension that had been locked into his spine for days.

Leonardo exhaled. His arm stayed curled around Gabriel’s shoulders, warm and solid.

Leonardo didn’t speak. He didn’t shift or press. He simply kept his arm there, around Gabriel’s shoulders, thumb tracing the edge of the thermal blanket without thinking.

Gabriel’s fingers twitched beneath the fabric. Then, slowly, they moved.

He reached up, not far, just enough to rest a hand lightly against Leonardo’s chest. Right over his heart. The contact was faint, tentative. But it was enough.

Leonardo dipped his head slightly, his cheek brushing Gabriel’s hair. “You okay?”

Gabriel didn’t answer right away. His voice, when it came, was thin and worn at the edges. “I should be asking you that. I overloaded your whole system.”

Leonardo huffed a breath that almost passed for a laugh. “Still functioning. No smoke coming out my ears, right?”

Gabriel let out a tired breath. His lips twitched. “Not yet.”

He shifted a little closer. The top of his head nudged Leonardo’s jaw as he settled again, drawn not by necessity this time, but by want. The ache in his chest was still there, but the sharp panic had dulled. His body felt heavy, but not collapsing.

“You didn’t have to hold me like that,” he said quietly.

Leonardo didn’t move. “Didn’t think you’d be up for that"

“You tried anyway?” he said, brows furrowing.

“I can't seem to resist you.” Leonardo’s voice dropped lower, not teasing now.

Gabriel murmured, blushing, “Don’t get used to this.”

Leonardo arched an eyebrow. “To what?”

He gave him a sideways look. “To me cuddling up.”

Leonardo smirked. “You think this counts as cuddling? Bunny, please.”

Gabriel’s whole body tensed. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” Leonardo said, grin widening. “It suits you. You’re soft. You freeze up around sudden movement. You make those little huffy sounds when you’re annoyed."

“I do not.”

“You literally did ten minutes ago when I checked your pulse.”

Gabriel flushed. “That was a pain response.”

“Sure it was.” Leonardo leaned a little closer. “Say it again. Go on. Tell me not to call you Bunny.”

“I mean it,” Gabriel said, squirming half-heartedly under the blanket. “I hate it.”

“No, you hate ‘Gabe.’ This one…” Leonardo’s voice dropped, still playful but sincere beneath it, “…you don’t actually hate.”

Gabriel didn’t reply, but the tips of his ears turned red.

Leonardo leaned back against the wall with a satisfied sound. “Thought so, now it’s mine,” Leonardo said, tapping a gentle finger under Gabriel’s chin. “My Bunny.”

Gabriel turned bright red. “You’re the worst.”

They didn’t speak for a while after that.

But Gabriel didn’t pull away.

Leonardo shifted just enough to settle his back more comfortably against the wall, keeping one arm loose around Gabriel’s shoulders. The warmth of his body radiated through the blanket, steady and grounding.

After a while, Gabriel spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper. “You always run this warm?”

Leonardo smirked. “Perk of being me. Body doesn’t know how to cool off.”

Gabriel let out a soft sound, not quite a laugh, but close. “Better than freezing,” Gabriel murmured. He shifted again, unconsciously pressing in a little closer.

Leonardo chuckled, low in his throat. “Well, if I’m stuck dragging you across a nightmare zone, might as well keep you from going cold.”

He tugged the blanket higher around Gabriel’s shoulders, making sure the edges stayed tucked. His fingers brushed Gabriel’s jaw briefly.

Gabriel leaned more fully into the contact, until his forehead rested against the curve of Leonardo’s neck. “I’m scared,” he whispered. “But I trust you.”

Leonardo’s breath hitched. For once, he didn’t have something smart to say.

Instead, he just reached down, and when Gabriel’s hand emerged again from under the blanket, Leonardo met it halfway. Their pinkies hooked.

Gabriel adjusted his position slightly, cheek brushing the collar of Leonardo’s uniform.

“I’ve been in plenty of zones,” Leonardo said quietly. “Fought monsters nastier than this one. But I’ve never had anyone link with me like that before. Not without a buffer. You could’ve fried yourself.”

“I almost did,” Gabriel admitted, not looking up. “But you caught me.”

“Lucky for you,” Leonardo muttered, “I’m flameproof.”

Gabriel huffed into his collar. “You keep saying that like it’s a good thing.”

“It is when you’re trapped underground with a grumpy Guide who nearly lit you up like a bonfire.”

Gabriel groaned but didn’t pull away. His cheek pressed more firmly against the line of Leonardo’s collarbone. His exhale was slower this time. Like something inside him had finally, carefully, relaxed.

“You know,” Leonardo said after a pause, his voice lower now, “for a walking disaster zone, you’re not half bad at staying alive.”

Gabriel made a noise that was half scoff, half tired laugh. “Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

They drifted into silence again.

Gabriel’s hand still held Leonardo’s sleeve lightly. His fingers weren’t tense anymore, just resting. His breathing evened out. Leonardo glanced down at him, eyes tracing the grime still on Gabriel’s cheek, the faint smudge of dried blood at his temple. His lashes were clumped from sweat and ash, but his face looked calm. Peaceful.

Leonardo’s hand slowed, idly tracing circles over Gabriel’s arm. He pressed his cheek lightly to Gabriel’s hair, inhaling smoke and something faintly clean beneath it.

“We’ll make it through.” he murmured.

Gabriel didn’t reply. His body was still, breath soft. Fast asleep.

Leonardo shifted again, more gently this time. Let himself settle beside him. Eyes still on the dark ahead.

“Sleep tight, Bunny,” he said under his breath.

Gabriel didn’t stir, but something in his expression softened, just a little.