Silence settled between them. “I wanted to sit next to you,” Mac said.
“Like we were back in that café. Or the ferry. Or even just the hotel room.”
Melvin listened.
“I walked out early,” Mac said.
Melvin turned slightly. “Why’d you leave?”
Mac stared at the dirt. “Because I didn’t even fight the part of me that said this is just how it has to be.”
Melvin let the words settle. “Maybe it is. For now.”
Mac looked over.
“But you still told me,” Melvin said quietly. “That matters.”
They sat there a while. Then Melvin nudged him. “That café made trash sandwiches.”
Mac huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah.”
“But I could look at you.”
“You still can,” Melvin said. “It’s not against any regulation to look at another officer.”
Mac shook his head slightly. “You know it’s not that simple.”
“No,” Melvin said. “It isn’t.”
He studied him. “But you’re the strongest, most confident man I know. I’ve watched you bring order to chaos in combat without blinking.”
Mac looked down at the cigarette.
Melvin’s voice softened. “You don’t have to hide from me, Mac.”
“I’m not hiding from you,” Mac said quietly. “I’m hiding from them.”
Melvin studied him a moment. “Hiding from them doesn’t mean denying every piece of happiness we get. Especially the small ones.”
Mac let out a slow breath. Something eased in his chest. Not gone. Not fixed. But steadier.
0300 came and the base quieted.
Mac sat in his quarters trying to read a report, but his attention kept drifting toward the north gate. He couldn’t hear thoughts. But he knew Melvin was awake. Knew he was steady. Knew he was there.
Later that night a soft knock came at the doorframe.
“Yeah.”
Melvin stepped inside in PT gear. “Just finished gate watch. Had a minute to drop by before I rack out.”
Melvin held out a cloth-wrapped bundle.
“What’s this?” Mac asked.
“Open it.”
Mac unwrapped it carefully. A weathered paperback.
