Morning sunlight poured through the windows of the rented room.
Jay stirred first, blinking sleepily, the sheet tangled around his waist. Jack was still fast asleep beside him, lips parted, one arm slung over Jay's stomach, legs hooked around his like vines.
Jay smiled softly.
For a second, there was no mafia. No war. No fathers waiting with sharpened questions and sharpened knives.
Just him.
Just this.
Jack stirred. "You're staring."
Jay chuckled. "I'm memorizing."
Jack smirked sleepily. "Good. I want to be your favorite disaster."
Jay leaned down and kissed him, slow and deep, his hand brushing through Jack's messy hair. "You already are."
Across the city, back at the hotel, Jeff and Rin were sitting on the roof.
It was early, too early for tourists. The view of the bay stretched for miles, water shimmering like a secret the ocean refused to keep.
They hadn't spoken much since the night Jay and Jack disappeared.
Not because there was tension, but because there was awareness now. Something unspoken that hovered in the space between them.
Rin lit a cigarette and passed the lighter to Jeff without asking. Jeff took it.
"You ever think about leaving it all?" Rin asked suddenly.
Jeff looked at him. "The business?"
Rin nodded. "The weight. The constant threats. The pretending."
Jeff exhaled slowly. "All the time."
Rin looked out at the sea. "And?"
Jeff chuckled bitterly. "I don't know who I am without it."
Rin nodded. "Same."
A pause.
Then Jeff added, "But sometimes, when it's quiet like this… I wonder if there's a version of me out there who just wakes up late, makes breakfast, and walks around without a gun."
Rin smiled faintly. "I'd like to meet that version of you."
Jeff turned to him, caught off guard.
Their eyes met.
Something shifted.
Neither of them looked away.
The moment held.
Then Rin said softly, "What happens if Jay and Jack don't survive this?"
Jeff blinked. "You mean if their fathers find out?"
"No. I mean us," Rin replied. "You and me. What happens if we start to want something too?"
Jeff didn't answer right away.
But his silence was heavy.
Then:
"We wait. And we don't run. That's what we do."
Rin looked at him.
And smiled.
Back in town, the four regrouped at a small noodle stall for a late lunch.
Jay sat beside Jack. Jeff sat across from Rin. They laughed a little too easily. Their shoulders brushed more than once. The tension from earlier days had softened into a quiet rhythm of trust.
Even in silence, their glances carried entire conversations.
Jack slipped a piece of fried dumpling onto Jay's plate without asking.
Jay stole his drink in retaliation.
Jeff noticed the way Rin wiped his fingers on a napkin, then handed it over like a ritual.
They looked… different.
Less like soldiers on a mission.
More like people becoming.
That evening, they went back to the harbor to follow up on a lead from the Korean informant. Still nothing. A storage unit was abandoned. A second address was empty. Every trail kept going cold.
But no one was in a rush to call the mission complete.
Back in their hotel room, Jay leaned against the window with his phone in hand.
Jay ➤ Jack:
You think they'll make us go back soon?
Jack ➤ Jay:
Probably.
Jay ➤ Jack:
Do you want to?
Jack ➤ Jay:
Not even a little.
At the same time, Rin sat on his bed, staring out at the city lights.
Jeff came out of the bathroom, towel slung over his shoulder.
"You think we're close?" Rin asked.
Jeff sat beside him. "To what?"
"The end of this mission."
Jeff nodded slowly. "Yeah. Unfortunately."
Another pause.
Rin looked over. "Do you want it to end?"
Jeff hesitated.
Then: "Not yet."
Their eyes locked.
Rin leaned slightly closer. "Me neither."
And they stayed that way, close but not touching, as if they were afraid that even breathing too hard would shatter the fragile thing between them.
Meanwhile, Jack and Jay had slipped out again, this time without a plan. Just a need.
They met at the same quiet hotel they'd rented before.
Jay had brought food. Jack brought wine. Neither of them touched either.
They kissed the moment the door closed behind them.
It wasn't rushed this time.
It was reverent.
They undressed slowly, learning each other's skin like scripture.
Jay laid Jack down, his hands brushing every inch with aching tenderness.
Jack pulled him close, whispered his name like a secret only the night could hold.
They moved together in sync, soft moans muffled into kisses, hearts beating like a rhythm they had never known but always remembered.
After, they lay tangled in sheets and each other.
Jack ran his fingers down Jay's chest.
"Are we fools for wanting more time?"
Jay closed his eyes. "If we are, then let me stay foolish."
Jack smiled, leaning in to kiss the corner of his mouth. "Deal."
They didn't sleep much.
But they didn't need to.
They had now