Leonhart arrived at Kevin's café after closing hours, dressed down in a dark coat, collar turned up, hair slightly damp from the drizzle. The lights inside were warm, casting soft gold onto the wooden tables and pastry glass.
Kevin sat near the window, a half-drunk cup of tea in front of him and his phone gripped tight in one hand. When he looked up and saw Leonhart, his smile was faint—but real.
"You came."
"You asked." Leonhart stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "What happened?"
Kevin gestured for him to sit. "He came here. Elian."
Leonhart's eyes darkened instantly. "What did he say?"
Kevin hesitated, then repeated Elian's words as best he could—about being the 'coffee assassin,' about ruining silk, and the thinly veiled jab that Leonhart was using Kevin to forget.
Leonhart didn't speak at first. He sat back in his chair, the tension creeping into his shoulders like a weight. "He's trying to get under your skin."
"He succeeded," Kevin said quietly. "But not for the reason you think."
Leonhart raised an eyebrow.
"I just… I don't want to be that guy. The rebound. The fill-in." Kevin's voice dropped. "I like talking to you. I like having you around. But I don't want to be a distraction from pain you haven't faced yet."
There was a long silence.
Then Leonhart said, "He left after getting paid. That was the deal. No strings. No promises. I thought I could control it." He looked Kevin in the eyes. "I couldn't."
Kevin's brows softened, but he didn't interrupt.
"He made me feel wanted. Not loved. Not respected. Wanted. And I clung to it like an idiot. It made me cold. Cruel. You showing up… you don't fit in that world. You don't fit with that version of me."
Kevin let that sink in. "But you want to be different?"
"I don't know how to be anything else," Leonhart admitted, eyes heavy. "But when I'm with you, I try."
Kevin smiled faintly and reached across the table, resting his hand lightly over Leonhart's. "Then start here. Start small."
Leonhart stared at their hands. "And if he comes back?"
"Then I'll be standing right here," Kevin said firmly. "But not if you're still chasing someone who already showed you what you're worth to them."
Leonhart didn't answer. But his hand didn't move away.
And that silence—unlike the ones before—felt like the beginning of something real.
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