The studio door sticks slightly when he pushes it open.
It always has.
The hinge catches.
Then gives.
The sound inside isn't loud.
Piano first.
Measured.
Certain.
Laura.
A guitar string hums faintly underneath.
Axel.
He steps in without announcing himself.
No grand entrance.
No clearing of throat.
Just presence.
Sunny is standing this time.
Not leaning.
Not tucked into anyone's shoulder.
Standing in the center of the room with lyric sheets in her hand.
She looks up.
Their eyes meet.
No dramatic rush.
No running.
Just recognition.
Six months doesn't erase that.
It reshapes it.
Laura's hands pause on the keys.
Axel glances over, unreadable as ever.
He doesn't comment.
Doesn't smirk.
Just watches.
Zane steps fully into the room.
Sets his phone down on the table near the wall.
No sunglasses.
No curated jacket.
No polish.
Just him.
"I'm not interrupting?" he asks lightly.
Sunny's mouth curves slightly.
"You always do."
It's gentle.
Not sharp.
He exhales.
That helps.
Laura resumes playing.
Axel joins in naturally.
The melody builds the way it used to.
Unforced.
Unoptimized.
Sunny begins singing.
Not louder.
Just clear.
He stands there for a moment.
Listening.
Not performing.
Not positioning himself.
Just listening.
And something inside him settles.
When the song fades, no one claps.
There's no audience.
Just air holding the last note.
Sunny lowers the lyric sheet slowly.
"You're staying?" she asks.
Not fragile.
Not demanding.
Just asking.
He nods once.
"Yeah."
A pause.
"But not because I failed."
She studies him.
Waiting.
"I don't want to win alone," he says.
The words land steady.
Not rushed.
Not defensive.
Axel's gaze shifts slightly.
Laura's fingers rest quietly on the keys.
Sunny doesn't look surprised.
He continues.
"I thought bigger meant better. I thought if I kept climbing, I'd finally feel… enough."
He swallows.
"I didn't."
Silence.
Honest.
"I won't choose something that costs me myself," he finishes.
Not a promise about contracts.
Not a reaction.
A decision.
Sunny steps a little closer.
Not into him.
Beside him.
"That's all I needed," she says.
Simple.
Clear.
She doesn't praise him.
Doesn't rescue him.
She just accepts the version of him standing here now.
Unmanaged.
Unprojected.
Present.
Axel reaches for his guitar again.
Laura adjusts the sheet music.
Like this was always going to happen.
Like this room never fully shifted without him.
"Play," Axel says casually.
Not an invitation.
Not a test.
Just space.
Zane picks up the spare guitar leaning against the wall.
It feels lighter than the ones in the city.
Less expensive.
More familiar.
He strums once.
The sound isn't perfect.
It's real.
Sunny starts the verse again.
Laura's piano threads underneath.
Axel steadies the rhythm.
Zane joins in.
Not ahead.
Not louder.
Beside.
The harmony doesn't explode.
It expands.
When the final note fades, no one says anything immediately.
The air feels full.
Not because it's perfect.
Because it's aligned.
He glances sideways at Sunny.
She doesn't lean into him.
She doesn't need to.
She just stands there.
Steady.
He smiles faintly.
For the first time in months—
He doesn't feel elevated.
He feels chosen.
And this time—
He chooses back.