They entered Adrian's dorm room and immediately the awareness hit: they were alone, together, for the first time since everything changed.
Dante set down his backpack by the door, letting it drop with a soft thud. He looked around at the half-empty room—one side lived-in and cluttered, the other still bare and waiting. His old side.
"Weird being back here," Dante said, voice quiet.
"Yeah." Adrian's nervous energy had him tidying things that didn't need tidying. He straightened a stack of already-straight textbooks on his desk. Adjusted his lamp. Pushed his chair in.
Dante noticed. Of course he noticed. He'd always noticed everything about Adrian.
He stepped forward, caught Adrian's hand mid-reach for a water bottle that was already perfectly positioned. "Hey."
Adrian froze.
"We don't have to do anything," Dante said, thumb brushing over Adrian's knuckles. "We can just...exist in the same space. Like we used to, but different."
