Above him, Kane crouches with his visor knocked askew and his eyes squeezed shut. Rafael inhales, coughing almost instantly.
When his breathing steadies, he shifts to move a rock digging into his back. Kane’s eyes snap open.
For a heartbeat, neither of them moves. Rafael’s pulse thrums in his throat. Then Kane’s gaze drops, just slightly to his mouth.
Is Kane about to—
The thought barely forms before warmth surges through Rafael’s face. No, he can’t be. Not here.
He goes still, breath hitching, eyes falling shut, and then—
“You need to leave,” a rough voice murmurs.
Rafael jerks back, eyes snapping open. “W-what?”
“You need to leave.” Kane’s brows knit together, lips set in a line.
An ache settles in Rafael’s chest.
Whatever this is between them, it doesn’t matter anymore.
16
Chapter 16 - Kane
The explosion leaves no room for debate. Rafael needs to go.
Kane tells himself it’s about safety. But the blast proved what he’s been ignoring for days, how he feels when Rafael looks at him.
At first, he wrote it off as curiosity, physical attraction at worst. But the more time they spent together, the harder that lie became to hold.
Rafael’s quiet strength, his calm under pressure, that ridiculous kindness he offers to people who don’t deserve it. It’s everything Kane thought had died out in the Outer Districts. Yet for all his Midtown innocence, Rafael doesn’t pity their world. Somehow, he respects it, respectshim.
Then there’s the cooking. They share something so simple. It shouldn’t matter, but it does, at least to Kane. And lately, when Rafael’s gaze lingers too long, Kane can’t tell if it means something or if he’s just imagining things.
But this isn’t V-link, or the Veil.
His crew. His neighborhood. His uncle’s legacy. Everything rests on his shoulders. Getting close to anyone is a weaknesswaiting to be exploited.
Dust swirls through the air as Rafael brushes debris from his jacket, unaware Kane’s watching.
He deserves better than this. Better than someone like Kane.
The ache in Kane’s chest doesn’t fade, but he slips his visor back on.
His HUD switches online.
Near the holowall, Natural Order forces breach the stuttering bursts of light while his crew scrambles to hold the line. Security drones weave between buildings, tagging invaders with non-lethal rounds. Near the medtruck, Dr. Hayashi and her assistant load the wounded as fast as they can. Pulaski would be proud.
Focus sharpening, Kane scans the field—enemy positions, enforcer statuses—while panicked voices flood his commlink.
>ENEMY SIGNALS: 14
>ALLY STATUS: 7 / ENGAGED
>HOLOWALL 4: OFFLINE
Once a plan locks in his mind, he cuts through the noise on the shared channel. “Echo, status on the east perimeter. Jax, pull your team back two blocks.”