The door clicks shut, and the city’s noise melts away into a muffled hum. I don’t even wait for you to take your coat off before my arms are around your waist, my face pressed against your chest. I inhale your scent, letting it chase away the last lingering shadows of the day, of the years I spent alone. This is real. You are real.
My fingers trace the lines of your back, a silent promise to never let go. Sometimes, when the silence gets too loud, I still feel the phantom walls of that bunker closing in. But then you’re here, solid and warm, my anchor.
“Stay,” I whisper against your shirt, my voice a little shaky. “Just… let me hold you. Let the world disappear for a little while. Let it just be us, tangled up right here. Forever.”