They had spent three nights together.

No one clearly said, "What are we?" But everything was flowing like a new habit, gentle, a little unfamiliar, and fragile.

On the third night, Joss came home late.

Gawin sat alone in the apartment. The kitchen light glowed dim yellow. Dinner had gone cold. The message he sent at 7 PM remained unanswered. Not until 9:13 did a brief reply appear:

"I'm done with the meeting. On my way back."

No apology. No explanation. Just a line, cold and distant.

When Joss walked in, took off his shoes, and hung up his coat, Gawin remained still.

"Have you eaten?", he asked, tiredly.

Gawin stood up. Not out of anger at the lateness, but because… of the way Joss no longer saw him as someone who deserved to be kept informed.

"Would you have said anything if I hadn't texted you?"

Joss paused, exhaling heavily.

"You know how my work is."

A quiet tension spread through the air like a thin sheet being pulled too tight.

Gawin clenched his fists, voice calm but tight.

"But I'm still the one waiting. Not just the damn couch."

The gentle atmosphere of the past few days cracked, like a glass being tapped by a fingernail.

Joss set his bag down and turned around.

"What exactly are you asking for… that you yourself aren't ready to give?"

That sentence, it pierced right through Gawin's deepest fear.

He fell silent. Then said, barely audible:

"I came back. I've been here every night. I made you dinner. Washed dishes with you. Do you think I'd do all of that if I wasn't sincere?"

Joss looked at him. Sighed. Smirked faintly.

"Then why do you keep pulling away every time I get close?"

Gawin froze.

Not because Joss was wrong, but because he was painfully right.

"I'm scared," he blurted out. "I'm scared of becoming just another part of your life that you only remember when you're free."

Joss stepped forward and held Gawin, not to soothe, but to keep him close.

"I messed up. I thought giving you space would make you feel safer. But the truth is… you needed to feel seen. And I haven’t learned how to show you that the right way."

They stood in the dim kitchen. No apologies. No take-backs.

Because this time, they didn’t need to tread lightly. They needed to hear it all, the love and the hurt.

Gawin looked up, locking eyes with Joss.

"Next time you're coming home late… just say: 'I miss you, but I can't come back yet.' I don't need you to be perfect. I just need to know I’m not invisible."

Joss leaned down, kissing his forehead softly.

"Okay. I promise. But don't pull back when I come closer either. Because this time… I won't let go."

The apartment fell quiet.

A moment passed before Gawin smiled, his voice light as a breeze:

"This time… I'll hold on tight too, if you're willing to hold on to me."

@Nopbyy Việt Nam