They don't talk about it at first.
They talk about schedules, about a lecture Elian half-followed, about a piece Juni isn't satisfied with but can't explain why. They eat quietly, knees brushing under the table, familiarity cushioning the edges of the day.
Later, in the bedroom, closeness unfolds naturally.
Nothing hurried. Nothing demanding.
They lie together afterward, the room dim, Elian's arm secure around Juni's shoulders. Juni's head rests against Elian's chest, listening to the steady rhythm beneath.
Elian strokes his hair absentmindedly. "You're quiet again."
Juni exhales. "Yeah."
Elian waits.
"I got another rejection," Juni says finally. His voice is even—but the admission lands heavily. "They said it was about alignment."
Elian stills slightly. Not pulling away—just paying attention.
"I'm sorry," Elian says. "That's… frustrating."
Juni nods. "I don't think it's wrong. I just don't think it's about the work."
Elian tightens his arm around him gently. "You don't have to measure yourself against that."
"I know," Juni says. "I just don't want to become a variable you have to account for."
Elian looks down at him. "What do you mean?"
Juni hesitates. "Your offers. Your trajectory. The way things open for you." He swallows. "I don't want to be something you manage. Or protect against."
Elian's chest tightens—not in defense, but recognition.
"You're not a risk," Elian says quietly.
"I know you don't see me that way," Juni replies. "But the world might."
Elian shifts so they're face to face, foreheads touching. "Then we don't let the world decide that for us."
Juni searches his face. "You promise?"
"I promise we don't manage each other like liabilities," Elian says. "We talk. We choose. We stay honest—even when it's uncomfortable."
Juni closes his eyes briefly, the reassurance settling slowly rather than all at once.
"That's enough," he says.
They lie together in silence, breathing syncing again.
Fear lingers—not of loss, not of rejection.
But of imbalance.
And for the first time, they name it—not as a threat, but as something they can carry together without letting it shape them.