Chapter 97

Chapter 97

The safehouse was supposed to be temporary.

Three days.

Maybe four.

Just long enough to regroup, patch Cassian together, and figure out how to stop Vale before she activated whatever nightmare she had stolen from the remaining divisions.

Instead

It felt dangerously domestic.

Luca hated it.

Mostly because he liked it.

The safehouse sat deep within the foothills outside Milan, hidden between dense forest and abandoned vineyards.

Far from the ruins of Division Seven.

Far from the Program.

Far from everything.

For the first time in years

Nobody was shooting at them.

Which somehow made Luca more nervous.

He sat alone on the porch, cleaning one of Seraphine's spare pistols.

The evening air was cool.

Quiet.

Too quiet.

His instincts kept waiting for disaster.

A vehicle approaching.

A sniper.

An explosion.

Something.

Nothing came.

The sound of the door opening behind him made his hand immediately tighten around the weapon.

Then he smelled coffee.

Damon.

Luca relaxed before he could stop himself.

The realization annoyed him instantly.

Damon stepped outside carrying two mugs.

"You look offended."

"I am."

"By what?"

Luca glanced toward him.

"You."

Damon handed him one of the coffees.

"Good evening to you too."

Luca accepted the cup anyway.

Which made Damon smile.

And that smile

That stupid smile

Was becoming a problem.

The kind of problem Luca wasn't trained to handle.

Damon sat beside him on the wooden porch steps.

Close.

Not touching.

Close enough.

For a while neither spoke.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable anymore.

That was another problem.

Because Luca used to prefer being alone.

Now he found himself listening for Damon’s footsteps without realizing it.

Looking for him in crowded rooms.

Feeling calmer when he was nearby.

All deeply unacceptable developments.

Damon sipped his coffee.

Then casually asked:

"You sleep at all last night?"

Luca looked away.

"No."

"Figured."

Of course he figured.

Damon noticed everything.

It was infuriating.

"Nightmares?"

Luca didn't answer immediately.

Because the nightmares had changed.

They weren't about the Program anymore.

Not entirely.

Now they were about losing people.

Mira.

Cassian.

Damon.

Especially Damon.

The thought made his chest tighten.

Damon studied him quietly.

Then held out his hand.

Luca frowned.

"What?"

"The bandage."

Only then did Luca realize his knuckles were bleeding again.

The pistol had scraped across healing skin while he cleaned it.

He hadn't even noticed.

Damon sighed.

"Give me your hand."

"No."

"Luca."

"No."

"You are impossible."

"And yet you're still here."

The words slipped out before Luca could stop them.

Silence followed.

Not awkward.

Just unexpected.

Damon looked at him carefully.

And something softer appeared in his eyes.

"Yeah."

A pause.

"I'm still here."

The answer landed somewhere dangerous.

Somewhere Luca couldn't afford.

He looked away first.

Coward.

The screen door opened behind them.

"Disgusting."

Cassian.

Of course.

The recovering menace stepped onto the porch wrapped in approximately six blankets despite the mild weather.

He looked terrible.

And unbearably pleased with himself.

Damon sighed.

"Weren't you supposed to be resting?"

"I sensed emotional vulnerability."

Cassian sat between them.

Uninvited.

Immediately ruining everything.

"Like a shark smelling blood."

"Exactly."

Luca considered pushing him off the porch.

Cassian noticed.

"You know, attempted murder is a terrible coping mechanism."

"Yet effective."

Damon laughed.

And Luca hated how much he liked that sound.

Cassian pointed immediately.

"There."

Everyone froze.

"There what?"

Damon asked.

Cassian looked delighted.

"That."

Nobody understood.

Which only made him happier.

For the next hour they sat together on the porch.

Talking.

Arguing.

Existing.

Normal things.

Human things.

Things Luca never thought he'd have.

Then darkness settled fully across the vineyards.

Cassian finally left.

Claiming old people needed sleep.

Despite being younger than Hale.

Which left Damon and Luca alone again.

The silence returned.

Gentler this time.

The stars above them bright and endless.

Damon leaned back slightly.

"You ever think about what happens after?"

Luca frowned.

"After what?"

"All this."

The question caught him off guard.

Because he never thought that far ahead.

The Program taught him not to.

Survive today.

Worry about tomorrow later.

Future planning wasn't encouraged among disposable assets.

"I don't know."

Damon nodded slowly.

"Me neither."

The confession felt strangely intimate.

More intimate than touching.

Because Damon was showing uncertainty.

And Damon hated uncertainty.

Luca glanced toward him.

"What would you do?"

Damon thought for a moment.

Then smiled faintly.

"Sleep for a week."

"Reasonable."

"Eat actual food."

"Less reasonable."

"I like food."

"I've noticed."

Damon laughed softly.

Then his expression changed.

Growing quieter.

More serious.

"And maybe stop running."

The words settled between them.

Because neither of them was talking about physical running anymore.

Luca looked down at his coffee.

Cold now.

Unfinished.

Just like the conversation.

Damon shifted slightly closer.

Not enough to touch.

Enough to notice.

Luca's pulse immediately betrayed him.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

Damon looked at him.

Really looked at him.

Not the weapon.

Not the survivor.

Not the Program subject.

Him.

And suddenly Luca couldn't breathe properly.

"You're staring."

Damon smiled.

"So are you."

Damn it.

Neither looked away.

The night stretched around them.

Silent.

Waiting.

For one impossible second

Luca thought Damon might kiss him.

The realization hit like a gunshot.

Too fast.

Too intense.

Too terrifying.

And judging by the look in Damon's eyes

He'd thought about it too.

Then the safehouse door opened.

"Good news."

Seraphine stepped onto the porch holding a tablet.

Both men jumped apart so quickly it was almost embarrassing.

Seraphine stopped.

Looked at Damon.

Looked at Luca.

Then slowly smiled.

"Oh."

Luca immediately stood.

"No."

Damon covered his face.

"Please don't."

Seraphine's smile widened.

"I didn't even say anything."

"You're thinking it."

"I absolutely am."

From inside the house, Cassian's voice echoed:

"ARE THEY FINALLY KISSING?"

Luca contemplated violence.

Immediately.

Extensively.

As Damon laughed beside him, Luca realized something.

He didn't want the moment to end.