[Jay's POV]
The chaos of graduation had finally settled into a rhythmic, beautiful hum. For the first time in four years, there were no deadlines, no looming exams, and no heavy textbooks waiting to be memorized. There was just... us.
The "Watson Wing"—the private sanctuary Keifer and I had fully claimed as our own—was bathed in the soft, golden light of a Tuesday morning. This was what "normal" looked like now, and it was my favorite data set to date.
08:30 AM: The Domestic Algorithm
I woke up not to an alarm, but to the feeling of Keifer's nose nuzzling into the crook of my neck. He wasn't in a suit yet. He was in his silk pajama bottoms, his hair a messy, dark nest on the pillow.
"System status?" he mumbled, his voice gravelly and thick with sleep.
"Restored," I whispered, turning in the cocoon of our high-thread-count sheets to face him. I traced the line of his jaw, noting that the "CEO stress" had smoothed out into a relaxed, content peace. "No meetings until 11:00, Keif. You're officially off the clock."
"I'm never off the clock when it comes to you," he teased, pulling me closer until there wasn't a millimeter of space between us.
We stayed like that for an hour—no talking, no technology, just the steady beat of two hearts synchronized. It was the kind of "casual" that felt like a luxury.
10:00 AM: The Kitchen Dynamic
Eventually, hunger overrode the cuddles. We padded down to the private kitchenette in our wing. I was wearing one of his old university hoodies (the one with the faded Engineering logo) and he was busy grinding high-end coffee beans.
The door to our wing creaked open, and two familiar faces poked in. Keigan and Keiran had clearly been waiting for the "Do Not Disturb" sign to vanish.
"Ate! Kuya! Look!" Keiran scurried in, holding a blueprint that looked suspiciously like a modified drone. "I changed the propulsion logic. Can you check the math?"
"Keiran, it's 10:00 AM on a Tuesday," Keifer groaned, but he was already reaching for a pen. He leaned over the counter, the "Genius CEO" and the "Little Brother" immediately diving into a debate about thrust-to-weight ratios.
I sat on the counter, sipping my latte, watching them. Mamma Serina walked in a moment later, carrying a bouquet of fresh peonies from the garden. She caught my eye and winked.
"They never change, do they?" she whispered, placing the flowers in a vase on our bistro table. She reached out and squeezed my hand. "You look happy, Jay. Truly happy."
"I am, Mamma," I said, and for the first time, there was no 'variable' of doubt in my mind.
11:30 AM: The Bridget Encounter
The "normalcy" was briefly interrupted as we headed toward the main library. We crossed paths with Bridget in the hallway.
A year ago, this encounter would have spiked my cortisol. Today? It barely registered as a blip.
Bridget was dressed for a lecture, her face tight and drawn. She looked at us—Keifer with his arm draped casually over my shoulder, me laughing at a joke Keigan had made—and she stopped. The "Lust" was gone, replaced by a hollow, tired sort of resignation. She realized she wasn't just living in a house; she was living in a museum dedicated to a love she couldn't touch.
"Good morning, Bridget," I said, my voice kind but distant.
"Morning," she muttered, side-stepping us and walking quickly toward the West Wing.
Keifer didn't even break his stride. He didn't look at her. He just squeezed my shoulder. "Analysis: The interference is negligible. The signal is 100% clear."
02:00 PM: The Quiet Lab
The afternoon was spent in our private lab. Keifer worked on his global strategies at one desk, while I worked on my postgraduate research at the other. We didn't talk much, but the silence was "comfortable." Every so often, I'd feel a pair of eyes on me, and I'd look up to find Keifer staring at me with a look of such pure, unadulterated pride that it made the "Glow" return instantly.
No drama. No Yuri. No "Office Romance" secrets. Just a man, a woman, and a future they had built brick by brick.
"Jay?" Keifer called out as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
"Yeah?"
"I love our normal."
"Me too, Keif. 100%."