It had been one of those rare quiet nights.
Not a false calm before disaster. Not silence heavy with dread.
Just stillness.
The sky outside the broken storefront had turned navy blue, stars visible for once through the glitch veined clouds. Jaden sat cross legged near the edge of the roof, a cracked thermos balanced between his palms.
Silas hovered nearby literally.
He wasn't walking. Just floating on his back in the air like it was a mattress, wings tucked under him, arms crossed behind his head, hoodie flapping gently in the breeze.
"You're going to fall," Jaden said without looking up.
"I'm dramatic, not stupid," Silas replied, twirling slowly in place. "The air loves me."
Jaden snorted. "That explains a lot."
Silas rotated to hover sideways, chin now level with Jaden's shoulder.
"You're smiling," he observed.
"I'm not."
"You are."
Silas grinned. "Wow. A whole three percent increase in your usual emotional expressiveness. Careful, you'll short circuit."
Jaden rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
The silence between them returned comfortably.
Stars blinked above. Wind brushed past. For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Silas asked, softer than usual, "Why do you always sit alone when things quiet down?"
Jaden didn't answer right away.
He unscrewed the thermos cap and took a sip. Lukewarm tea. Probably from Aya's stash.
"I guess," he said slowly, "it's the only time I can afford to feel anything."
Silas tilted his head. "That's very emotionally repressed of you."
"Thanks."
"No, really," Silas said, floating down to sit beside him. "You do that thing where you carry everyone else's crap but never let anyone carry yours."
"I'm not heavy."
"That's a lie and you know it."
Silas nudged his shoulder.
Jaden didn't move away.
---
A long beat passed.
Then Silas whispered, "Do you remember the first time you let me bandage your hand?"
Jaden raised an eyebrow. "You didn't ask."
"I never ask," Silas said with mock offense. "I saw blood. I had tape. It was destiny."
"It was duct tape," Jaden corrected.
"Stabilizing magic comes in many forms."
They both chuckled.
---
Silas's expression softened.
"...I knew you were different the moment you gave me half your rations without blinking."
"You looked like you'd never eaten a real meal before."
"I hadn't. Not since falling."
Jaden glanced at him. "You don't talk about Heaven much."
"That's because it's overrated. Too bright. Too clean. No tea."
He paused.
"And no one ever looked at me the way you did."
Jaden blinked. "What way?"
Silas's gaze was steady now.
"The way you're doing it right now."
Jaden opened his mouth, then closed it.
Looked away.
Silas leaned forward, nudging their foreheads together gently.
"You never flirt back," he said. "But you never walk away either."
"I don't know how," Jaden said, voice low.
Silas smiled.
"I'll teach you."
---
The moment sat between them.
Not loud. Not desperate.
Just real.
In a world of shifting code, monsters, and memory loops, this this quiet moment was something Jaden hadn't realized he was still holding onto.
And somewhere deep inside the fragmented zone, trapped in loops and static, he remembered:
The way Silas looked at him.
Like he wasn't broken.
Like Jaden was already enough.
---
He closed his eyes.
And whispered into the darkness: "I'm still here."
---
Special Chapter