Felix’s presence hit differently than I expected. He walked into the office, briefcase in hand, looking exactly the same sharp, confident, completely unaware of how much I’d changed in his absence.

I felt a tight twist in my chest. Not fear. Not exactly. But something else. Vulnerability. Possessiveness. And I knew Rylan felt it too.

He didn’t say anything at first, just stood beside me as we reviewed the reports from the site visit. But I could sense the subtle tension the way his jaw tightened slightly, the way his eyes flicked toward Felix more often than necessary.

Felix leaned over my desk, smiling. “Missed you, Kai. Hope you weren't too stressful.”

I forced a smile, trying to keep my composure. “It was fine. Thanks.”

Rylan shifted beside me, a small sound that made me flinch. He didn’t touch Felix, didn’t speak, but the energy between them was… heavy. Protective. Quietly possessive.

Felix didn’t notice, or he chose not to. But I could see the tension, subtle as it was, and my chest tightened again.

Later, in the cafeteria, the three of us sat together a triangle of quiet unease. Felix chatted casually about the trip, unaware of the glances Rylan kept shooting me. I could feel the silent messages in them: He’s mine. I’m here. You’ll see.

I didn’t know what to say. My words stumbled inside me, awkward, trapped. I laughed at Felix’s jokes, glanced at Rylan, felt my heart twist.

Rylan nudged me lightly with his shoulder. “You okay?” he asked quietly, voice low enough that only I could hear.

“Yes,” I muttered, though I wasn’t sure if I meant it.

The rest of the lunch passed with subtle tension threading every glance, every laugh, every pause. Felix was back, but the balance had shifted. Something unspoken lingered between Rylan and me, and I could feel it stretching, reaching, claiming.

Walking back to our desks, I realized just how much I leaned on Rylan now and how little I wanted to let go. Felix’s presence only reminded me of it.

I wasn’t ready to confess anything. Not yet. But I knew this: no matter what, Rylan wasn’t going anywhere. And maybe, in some quiet corner of my heart, I didn’t want him to.

                The office felt different today. Felix was back, chatting lightly with colleagues, his energy easy and warm. I tried to focus on my work, but the space between him and Rylan was… noticeable.

Rylan sat across from me, reviewing notes from the site visit. He didn’t speak, but his presence pressed in, deliberate and quiet. I could feel it the subtle possessiveness, the silent reminder that he had been here, had seen me when I was at my weakest.

Felix leaned over my desk, cheerful as ever. “So, Kai, you survived the site visit with Rylan? Didn’t get lost in all that concrete?”

I laughed lightly, brushing it off. “Yeah, barely. Rylan kept me on track.”

Rylan’s eyebrow quirked, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “Someone had to.”

Felix didn’t notice the weight behind that smirk, the quiet tension coiling in the space between us. I did. And I felt it in my chest a tug, a pull, a strange mixture of relief and anxiety.

Rylan’s eyes kept flicking to me, narrow just enough to make me blush.

“You okay?” he asked softly, leaning just a fraction closer, voice low enough only I could hear.

“Yes,” I muttered, though my throat felt tight. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t push, didn’t insist. But the heat in his gaze lingered, claiming the space around me. I could feel the tension tightening around my chest, the quiet, unspoken lines drawing me closer to him, even as Felix’s cheerful presence reminded me of my own divided heart.

After lunch, back at our desks, I caught Rylan watching me once more. The subtle possessiveness, the unspoken message   I’m here. I’m not leaving,  pressed into me Felix was there. Bright, warm, unassuming. But Rylan had always been… steady. Anchored. Present. Even now, in this office filled with people, he was the quiet force I found myself relying on him.

And somewhere deep inside, I felt it: the first flicker of something I wasn’t ready to admit. That Rylan wasn’t just here to help, to tease, or to claim. He was slowly becoming the center I hadn’t known I needed.

I didn’t speak. I didn’t act. But I felt the unspoken lines drawing tighter, closer, ready to shift the delicate balance between us all