Lyra's Apartment – Morning
Cassian was still there when she woke.
The quiet hum of movement came from the kitchen. The confident, calm sounds of someone who knew what they were doing. A pan shifted. A knife tapped against a wooden board. Something sizzled.
She rose, the scent of garlic and butter already coaxing her awake.
Cassian didn't look startled when she stepped into the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder with a quiet, crooked smile.
"Good morning," he said, flipping a golden slice of bread in the pan.
On the counter sat two plates. One already arranged. Sautéed vegetables, folded eggs, warm toast cut precisely in half. He was finishing the second, quick and smooth.
She watched him. There was something grounding in it. In the way his hands moved with muscle memory, in the steadiness of it. No hesitation. No show. Just care.
He set the second plate down. "Sit."
She did.
They ate without pressure. She didn't know how long it had been since food felt like comfort and not fuel.
"I thought you were gone," she said finally, voice quiet.
"I thought I might be," he admitted. "I didn't think I deserved to come back."
"But you did."
"I didn't want to stay away. I just… I laid everything out. And you didn't say anything."
"I was scared," she said. "And overwhelmed. And in love with someone I wasn't sure I was allowed to love."
Cassian didn't speak. Just looked at her, breath still.
She reached to the side drawer. Pulled out the folded document.
The protection clause. Still unsigned.
She slid it across the table.
"I want to add something."
He handed her a pen.
She wrote slowly beneath the legal text:
Not because I'm afraid.
But because I choose you.
Then she signed her name.
Cassian didn't reach for the paper right away. He sat back slightly, as if anchoring the moment.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"I wouldn't sign it otherwise."
He folded the paper with reverence, slid it into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Then leaned across the table. His fingers brushed hers. "Then I will protect everything this stands for."
She nodded once.
Then stood, and crossed to him. His arms opened without hesitation.
And for a long moment, her head rested against his chest, his hand steady against her back.
It didn't feel like a rescue anymore.
It felt like choosing a home