Luke quietly opened the front door to the apartment he shared with Yani, a pensive look on his face. Yani was on the sofa, mashing buttons on a controller, dismantling a pixelated boss battle.

"Let me guess," Yani said, not looking up. "You left before the awkward breakfast conversation about feelings."

Luke sighed, leaning his head back. "We had coffee. It was... fine."

"'Fine' is the sexual equivalent of getting socks for Christmas." Yani said.

"You did not just compare my sex life to crappy gifts!?" Luke said, letting out a surprised laugh.

"If the metaphor fits." Yani shrugged.

Luke’s amusement faded, replaced by a conflicted expression. "The thing is... I actually like him. Nico. He's nice. He's hot. But when we were together, at times it felt like... like he was somewhere else entirely."

Yani paused the game. He turned to look at his roommate. "I'm pretty sure he's still hung up on the shelter guy. Ben."

"Yeah," Luke sighed. "I figured." He ran a hand through his blue hair, black roots peeking through. "I don't know how to compete with a memory. Or whatever they have."

"Revolutionary concept: maybe try not competing at all." Yani said with a blank expression.

Luke let out a short laugh. "You're wise for a guy who spends his life yelling at video games."

"Don't get used to it. My wisdom reserves are limited," Yani said, unpausing the game.

***

A few days later, the NJRY crew had congregated at Yani and Luke's. It was a low-key hang, where intimacy was measured by how comfortably you could ignore each other while scrolling through your phone in the same room.

When Luke walked in, Nico stiffened slightly. Luke nodded to everyone, then turned to him.

"You look tired." His tone was gentle. "Long day?"

Nico blinked, surprised by the lack of innuendo. "Yeah. Just... thinking too much."

"I see," Luke said. He grabbed a soda and sat on the other side of the room.

Nico let out a slow exhale, sinking deeper into the sofa. The silence was comfortable, easy. He glanced at Luke, grateful for the space. Then he pulled out his phone, opening the messaging app and staring at a name that wasn't Luke's.

Romy caught Jamie’s eye and raised an eyebrow. Jamie shrugged and signalled Romy to go to the kitchen.

"Some days Diego's amazing," Jamie said, propped against the counter and looking at his phone as if it might bite him. "And then... he disappears. I never know what to expect."

Romy put a reassuring hand on Jamie's arm. "Rough. Do you think he's okay?"

"I don't know. He won't talk about it. I want to help, but I feel like I'm just... in the way."

Romy gave him a side hug. "You're not in the way. You care. That matters. But you can't fix everything for him."

"I wish I could," Jamie whispered.

***

The sun was setting by the time Nico worked up the courage to walk to the shelter. He checked through the windows first. Only Chloe was there. He let out a breath that was half relief, half disappointment, and walked in.

"Hey, Nico," Chloe said looking at the wall clock behind her. "Here for a late meeting with the kitties?"

"Not really," Nico said. "I… I wanted to drop something off."

He walked into the catio. It was peaceful in the twilight. Prunya was asleep on the highest perch of her favourite cat tree, a fluffy dark loaf. Nico stood there for a moment. He thought about texting Ben, but the silence on his phone was already loud enough. He had never been good with words. Maybe this would work.

He opened his sketchbook to the page with the portrait of Prunya. With his pencil, he wrote For Ben in the corner, then carefully tore the page out. He walked over to the cat tree and propped the drawing against the base, where it would be impossible to miss.

"Bye, Prunya," he whispered.

***

Ben stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was late, but sleep was nowhere near. The silence in his apartment was oppressive tonight. Even his plants seemed to be judging him.

He turned over, checking his phone for the tenth time. No new messages. Only Nico's last text from the night of the party: I'm sorry.

He should reply. He knew he should. But the image of Nico at the party, That guy’s hand resting on his back, kept replaying in his mind like a corrupted video file. Jealousy? Sure, plenty of that. Burning low and ugly. But mostly? Fear.

After his last relationship ended, a spectacular implosion of lies, Ben had carefully curated a life that was safe. Plants. Cats. Quiet evenings. He had let Nico in because Nico felt safe. Nico felt different.

But if Nico was just another person who said one thing and did another... Ben didn't think he had the energy to survive it again.

"Hypocrite," he whispered to the empty room.

The next morning, he arrived at the shelter feeling heavy. The encounter with Sam had been pleasant, but it hadn't fixed the ache in his chest. He missed Nico. He missed the banter. He missed the way Nico looked at the cats. At Prunya. At him.

"Morning, Ben," Chloe said as he walked in. She gave him a look. "You okay? You've got... a look on your face."

"I'm fine," Ben lied.

He headed into the catio, his sanctuary. He scanned the room instinctively, hoping to see a familiar curly head, but the room was empty of humans.

He walked toward the cat tree to say hello to Prunya.

Then he saw it. A white sheet of paper, resting at the base of the scratching post. Ben frowned. He knelt down and picked it up. As he unfolded it, his breath hitched.

It was Prunya. The strokes captured her perfectly: the tilt of her head, the smug contentment, the softness of her fur. Ben looked at the corner of the page. In small, neat handwriting: For Ben.

He sat down on the floor, the drawing resting on his knees. He traced the letters with his thumb.

Chloe appeared in the doorway a few minutes later. She saw Ben sitting on the floor, staring at the paper, and got next to him.

"Nico was here yesterday evening," she said softly. "He didn't stay long."

Ben didn't look up. "He drew this. For me."

"It's a beautiful drawing. He's really talented," Chloe said.

"Yeah," Ben murmured.

"It's none of my business, but... you two seemed to be getting along well," Chloe said gently. "And for a while you've both seemed... off. The other day Nico was here for only a few minutes and then he left. Are you avoiding each other?"

Ben sighed, tilting his head back against the wall. "Oof. There was... an incident. At a party. I thought we were growing close. And then I saw him with another guy, and it felt... it was bad. So I left. He texted, I ignored it. And now this. It's a lot to process."

"So it's a messy situation," Chloe nodded.

"To say the least," Ben said, looking back at the drawing.

"You know, people who are scared do stupid things, Ben," Chloe said. "And people who are sorry do... well, things like this. That drawing looks like an apology to me. Do what you feel is right."

Ben looked at her. He thought about Nico’s nervous smile.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the thread. Nico’s last message stared back at him: Can we talk? Ben took a deep breath and typed.

Thank you for the drawing. It's beautiful.

He watched the "read" status appear. Then he typed again.

Can we talk?