I study him for a second, something shifting in the way he stands, the way he’s not holding himself back the same way he was before.
“You’re just… in?” I ask.
“I was already in,” he replies, his tone quieter now. “I just took the long way around admitting it.”
I shake my head slightly, something like disbelief slipping through despite everything else.
“You’re unbelievable,” I mutter.
“You keep saying that,” he says, glancing at me again.
“Because it’s still true.”
“Fair,” he replies.
The wind shifts again, dragging sand across the lines we’ve been studying, softening them slightly, and I watch as the edges blur just a little more.
“We need to move,” I say, stepping back. “Before this disappears completely.”
He nods once, already turning in the direction the route leads.
“Stay close,” he says.
“Not going anywhere,” I shoot back, falling into step beside him.
The rhythm comes easier this time.
Not because the terrain changes, or the heat eases, or the pain fades, but because we stop working around each other and start moving with each other instead. He adjusts his pace without saying it, matching mine more precisely, and I shift my steps to align with his positioning, covering angles he can’t see while he does the same for me.
“You always this cooperative?” I ask after a while, my voice lighter despite the strain.
“Only when it matters,” he replies.
“That’s new,” I say.
“Yeah,” he mutters. “I’m trying something different.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I shoot back.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
The route becomes clearer as we follow it, the disturbances more consistent where the terrain dips and holds the marks longer, and I feel something tighten in my chest that has nothing to do with the injury.
“They’ve been doing this a long time,” I say.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “Long enough to get comfortable.”
“Too comfortable,” I add.
He glances at me briefly.
“That sound like you getting ready to start something?” he asks.
“That sounds like me finishing something,” I reply.
His mouth twitches slightly, not quite a smile, but close enough to register.
“Good,” he says.
