The rain came down in sheets that night, drumming against Tiana's windows like an impatient reminder that winter was creeping closer. She was curled on her couch under a thick blanket, a bowl of mac and cheese in her lap and Love Jones-playing softly in the background.
She wasn't expecting anyone.
So when her buzzer buzzed, she nearly spilled her food.
"Who is it?" she asked through the intercom.
"It's me."
Of course it was.
She let Leo up without another word.
A minute later, he stepped in, damp around the collar, his jacket unzipped, and something uncertain in his eyes.
"Didn't think we had a meeting tonight," she said, half-joking.
He shrugged. "Didn't feel like being alone. Hope that's okay."
She nodded. "Always."
He didn't sit right away. Just hovered, glancing around like the space was new, even though he'd been here before. Then finally, he lowered himself onto the couch beside her, just close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
"What are we watching?"
"Classic. Nina and Darius."
Leo smirked. "Didn't strike you as the poetic love story type."
She arched a brow. "And what type do I seem like?"
"The fiercely independent, zero-BS, secretly soft kind."
She blinked. "Okay. That was accurate… and oddly charming."
They sat in silence after that, letting the film wash over them. At some point, her head tipped to the side and landed on his shoulder. He stiffened for a second. Then relaxed.
His arm wrapped around her without a word.
It felt… easy. Not forced. Not planned. Like muscle memory.
Halfway through the movie, the power flickered and went out completely.
"Of course," Tiana muttered.
"Hold on." Leo reached for his phone flashlight. "I'll be your lighthouse."
She laughed, and it echoed in the dark room.
"I forgot how nice this could feel," she whispered.
"What?"
"Not feeling alone."
He didn't answer right away. Then: "Me too."
She turned slightly, eyes adjusting to the glow of his phone. They were close now. Too close.
His eyes flicked to hers. Her lips.
She didn't move.
Neither did he.
But the tension between them shifted tightened like a thread pulled taut.
Tiana's breath caught.
Then Leo leaned in… and stopped.
Inches away.
A silent choice hanging in the air.
And then he pulled back, gently. Respectfully.
"Not yet," he said.
Tiana nodded, swallowing the emotion rising in her throat. "Not yet."
The moment passed, but something had changed.
Not love. Not quite. But something just as dangerous. Hope.