Rain pressed softly against the apartment windows long before sunrise, turning the city outside into blurred lights and silver reflections. The room smelled faintly of coffee, fabric softener, and the lingering warmth of sleep.
Mia woke slowly.
For a moment, she stayed still beneath the blanket, eyes half closed, listening to the steady rhythm of Alex’s breathing beside her.
Then she felt it.
His arm tightened around her waist slightly.
“Are you awake?” his voice came rough with sleep against the back of her neck.
“Maybe.”
“That means yes.”
She smiled faintly into the pillow.
Alex shifted closer behind her, warm and heavy, his face half buried near her shoulder. One lazy kiss brushed against her skin before he groaned dramatically.
“I don’t want to go to work.”
“You say that every Monday.”
“Because Mondays are emotionally violent.”
Mia laughed quietly.
The sound made him lift his head just enough to look at her properly.
And there it was again.
That look.
Not teasing this time.
Not reckless.
Just… soft.
Completely unguarded.
It still caught her off guard sometimes — how openly he looked at her now.
Like he didn’t care who noticed anymore.
Like loving her had stopped being something he needed to hide.
His fingers traced absent circles against her stomach beneath the blanket. “You’re thinking too hard again.”
“You were staring.”
“I’m allowed to. You live here.”
“That’s not how logic works.”
“It is for me.”
She rolled onto her back finally, facing him fully. His hair was messy, eyes still sleepy, and somehow that version of Alex felt more dangerous than the confident one at the office.
Because this one was real.
No performance.
No sarcasm protecting him.
Just warmth.
“You’re staring now too,” he murmured.
Mia reached up, brushing her fingers through his hair. “Maybe I’m allowed.”
His expression softened instantly.
“Definitely allowed.”
The kiss that followed was slow and lazy, still wrapped in sleep and morning quiet. No urgency. Just lingering warmth and familiar affection that made her chest ache in the best way.
Unfortunately, adulthood ruined everything.
Alex’s phone alarm suddenly exploded across the room.
He groaned into her shoulder.
“Who invented responsibilities?”
“You pay rent.”
“Barely worth it.”
“You’re dramatic before coffee.”
“I’m dramatic after coffee too.”
“True.”
By the time they reached the office, the rain had turned heavier.
Umbrellas crowded the sidewalks outside the building while employees rushed through the lobby carrying coffees and complaints about traffic.
Mia stepped out of the elevator first.
Alex followed beside her casually — too casually.
That should’ve warned her.
“Morning,” one teammate called as they crossed the office floor.
“Morning,” Mia answered normally.
Alex nodded once before adding, “She stole all the blankets again.”
Mia froze.
The teammate blinked.
Another coworker looked up slowly from their desk.
Silence.
Then—
“Oh my God,” someone whispered dramatically from nearby. “He admitted it publicly.”
Mia closed her eyes briefly. “Alex.”
“What?” he asked innocently.
“You cannot casually announce domestic information before nine a.m.”
“I was contributing to workplace transparency.”
“You are the workplace problem.”
Unfortunately, half the team had already started laughing.
One coworker pointed between them. “WAIT. So all the rumors were true?”
Alex sat down at his desk calmly. “Depends which rumors.”
“That is not reassuring.”
Mia dropped into her chair, already regretting arriving conscious.
Another teammate rolled closer dramatically in their chair. “I need details immediately.”
“No,” Mia answered instantly.
“Yes,” Alex said at the same time.
She turned toward him slowly.
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
“A little.”
“A little?” she repeated.
“Okay. A lot.”
The office dissolved into chaos surprisingly fast after that.
Apparently, everyone had theories.
“You two were suspicious since the airport trip.”
“I knew it during the elevator incident.”
“The sexual tension during meetings was genuinely exhausting.”
Mia nearly choked on her coffee.
Alex looked deeply entertained.
One coworker pointed accusingly. “You used to stare at her during presentations.”
“You noticed that?” Alex asked.
“Everyone noticed that.”
Mia covered her face briefly with one hand.
“Oh my God.”
Another teammate gasped dramatically. “WAIT. Was that why Mia almost forgot the quarterly numbers last month?”
Alex leaned back in his chair. “Probably.”
“Alex!”
“What? You were distracted.”
“You caused the distraction!”
“That sounds mutual.”
The laughter got louder.
Somehow, instead of embarrassment, the entire thing became weirdly relieving.
No more hiding glances.
No more pretending touches were accidental.
No more acting like every look between them meant nothing.
The office already knew.
And honestly?
They had known for a while.
By lunchtime, the teasing had somehow become worse.
Mia returned from the printer to find Alex sitting at her desk eating fries directly from her plate.
“You have your own food.”
“Ours tastes better.”
“That sentence was horrifying.”
He grinned lazily without remorse.
A teammate passing by stopped dramatically. “Wow. You guys already sound married.”
Alex answered immediately. “I’m emotionally prepared.”
Mia stared at him. “You cannot say things like that casually.”
“Why not?”
“Because people hear you!”
“I want them to.”
That shut her up for exactly two seconds.
Which Alex noticed instantly.
His expression softened slightly as he looked at her.
And there it was again.
That unbearably sincere way he looked at her now.
Openly.
Without hesitation.
Without pretending.
The room suddenly felt too warm.
One coworker looked between them and groaned loudly. “Okay no, that eye contact was actually disgusting.”
“It really was,” another agreed.
“Like watching a romance movie with an HR violation budget.”
Mia burst out laughing before she could stop herself.
Alex looked unfairly pleased by that.
The afternoon became impossible to take seriously after that.
Every meeting included someone making jokes.
Every shared glance between them got noticed immediately.
At one point during a presentation, Alex absentmindedly adjusted the sleeve of Mia’s cardigan where it had twisted near her wrist.
The room went silent for half a second.
Then:
“Jesus Christ, they’re domesticated.”
Mia wanted to disappear.
Alex looked proud.
After work, the rain still hadn’t stopped.
The city glowed gold beneath wet streets and blurred headlights while they walked home together under one umbrella.
Their shoulders brushed constantly.
Alex kept pulling her slightly closer whenever passing cars splashed water too near the sidewalk.
“You know,” Mia said eventually, “I think the team may never let us live this down.”
“They definitely won’t.”
“You seem weirdly happy about that.”
“I spent months pretending not to be in love with you.”
Her steps slowed slightly.
Alex noticed immediately.
He glanced sideways at her.
“What?”
“You said that very casually.”
“It’s true.”
The rain softened around them.
Streetlights reflected in his eyes as he looked at her.
No hesitation.
No games.
Just honesty.
Mia felt warmth spread slowly through her chest despite the cold weather.
“You’re impossible,” she murmured softly.
“Still here though.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Liar.”
She smiled before leaning briefly against his shoulder while they walked.
Back at the apartment, warmth wrapped around them instantly.
Mia headed toward the kitchen while Alex disappeared into the bedroom to change out of his damp clothes.
A few minutes later, he returned wearing gray sweatpants and looking dangerously comfortable.
His hair was still slightly wet from the rain.
Mia tried not to stare.
Failed immediately.
Alex noticed.
Obviously.
“That look again,” he murmured while leaning against the kitchen counter.
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet incredibly attractive apparently.”
She rolled her eyes while stirring pasta sauce. “Your ego is becoming a medical concern.”
He moved behind her quietly then, arms sliding around her waist.
Not teasing this time.
Just tired.
Warm.
His chin settled against her shoulder while he watched her cook silently.
Mia’s expression softened instantly.
“You okay?”
“Tired,” he admitted quietly. “Long day.”
His voice still sounded slightly rough from the cold he’d been fighting since yesterday.
She reached back automatically, brushing her fingers through his hair.
“You should rest after dinner.”
“Yes, doctor.”
“You’re impossible when sick.”
“You love me anyway.”
Annoyingly true.
Dinner turned quiet in the nicest way.
No office chaos.
No rumors.
No hiding.
Just the two of them sitting cross-legged on the couch eating pasta while rain tapped softly against the windows.
At some point, Mia noticed Alex rubbing his temple again.
She narrowed her eyes immediately.
“You didn’t take the medicine earlier, did you?”
His silence answered everything.
“Alex.”
“I forgot.”
“You absolutely did not forget.”
“Okay. I strategically ignored it.”
“That is not better.”
She disappeared into the kitchen before returning with water and tablets.
Alex accepted them with the suffering expression of a man being persecuted unfairly.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
“Cruel.”
“Take the medicine.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Later, wrapped together beneath heavy blankets while rain continued outside, the world finally quieted again.
Alex lay half sprawled against her, one arm around her waist while Mia rested against his chest.
The apartment glowed softly gold in the dark.
Peaceful.
Safe.
His fingers traced lazy patterns along her arm.
“You know what’s weird?” he murmured sleepily.
“What?”
“We spent so long hiding this.”
Mia tilted her head slightly to look at him.
“And now?”
Alex pressed a slow kiss against her forehead.
“Now I get to love you properly.”
That one sentence nearly undid her.
She smiled quietly against his chest, wrapping herself closer to him beneath the blanket.
Outside, rain washed the city clean.
Inside, tangled together in warmth and soft exhaustion, they finally fell asleep without secrets left between them anymore.
