JayJay POV
I woke up tangled in Keifer.
Warm.
Safe.
Wrecked.
His hoodie was somewhere on the floor.
My towel was definitely not where I left it.
His arm was around me like he didn't plan to let go.
I didn't want him to.
His breath was steady.
Mine wasn't.
I kissed his shoulder.
He smiled in his sleep.
And me?
I was emotionally compromised.
Romantically obliterated.
Publicly cornered.
And somehow?
Still in love.
We didn't speak.
We didn't need to.
The silence between us was soft.
Earned.
Sacred.
Eventually, we got dressed.
I pulled on his hoodie again.
He didn't ask for it back.
I didn't offer.
It smelled like him.
Like salt and warmth and something I couldn't name.
Section E was already loud.
Ci-n was yelling about pancakes.
Blaster was singing a dramatic breakfast ballad called "Syrup My Soul."
Felix and Drew were arguing over who got the last egg.
Kit and Mayo were building a waffle tower that defied gravity and logic.
David brought snacks. Again. To breakfast.
It was chaos.
It was home.
But something was off.
Yuri.
Yuri was quiet.
Too quiet.
He looked at me.
Then at Keifer.
Then back at me.
And something in his face changed.
Like he knew.
Like he felt it.
Like he hated it.
I didn't say anything.
Neither did he.
But he didn't sit next to me.
He didn't joke.
He didn't smile.
He just stared.
And me?
I glared.
Hard.
Because I knew what was coming.
The judgment.
The bitterness.
The quiet war.
Keifer didn't notice.
Not yet.
He was busy trying to steal a waffle from Blaster's plate.
Laughing.
Soft.
Unaware.
But I saw it.
The way Yuri's jaw clenched.
The way his fingers curled around his mug like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
The way he looked at Keifer like he wanted to say something and couldn't.
Or wouldn't.
I didn't flinch.
I didn't look away.
I just stared back.
Because I wasn't going to let Yuri rewrite this.
Not again.
Not this time.
I chose Keifer.
Fully.
Loudly.
Messily.
And if Yuri had a problem with that?
He could say it.
Or choke on it.
Either way, I wasn't backing down.
Not from this.
Not from him.
Not from us.
Because last night wasn't a mistake.
It wasn't a slip.
It wasn't something I'd pretend didn't happen just to keep the peace.
It was real.
It was mine.
And Keifer?
He was mine too.
So Yuri could glare.
He could sulk.
He could spiral.
But I wasn't going to apologize for being happy.
Not when I'd spent so long pretending I didn't want this.
Not when I'd finally stopped running.
Not when Keifer looked at me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.
I reached for his hand under the table.
He didn't hesitate.
He just laced his fingers through mine.
And smiled.
Soft.
Real.
Mine.
Yuri saw it.
I made sure he did.
And if he wanted a war?
He'd get one.
But it wouldn't be quiet.
Not this time.