Ethan led Niko downthe quiet corridor that branched away from the operation’s wing, past layers of reinforced doors, and into a part of the complex that very few people ever saw.
His private suite.
He hadn’t brought anyone but Poppy here before.
Not Lucy.Not the staff.Not the handful of people who knew the full shape of what he did.
This space wasn’t operational.
It was personal.
The door slid open with a soft hum when he pressed his palm against the biometric reader, and Ethan stepped inside first—just long enough to make sure the lights were on, the space warm, the illusion of normality intact.
Niko followed.
And stopped.
Ethan watched it happen in real time: the way Niko’s gaze lifted, then froze, then slowly began to move across the walls.
Photographs.
Not framed like trophies.Not curated for display.Just ...there.Lined along the shelves, the sideboard tucked between books and small pieces of collected history.
Niko.The two of them.Laughing.Leaning into each other.Sitting on the wing of a training aircraft with helmets under their arms, sun in their eyes, the world still uncomplicated.
One of them, mid-flight school chaos, hair windblown and stupidly young.
Another taken on a beach, Niko barefoot and grinning, Ethan’s arm slung around his shoulders like he belonged there.
He had belonged there.
Ethan closed the door quietly behind them and followed Niko into the living area.
The suite was all glass and dark wood, floor-to-ceiling windows opening out onto the lake and forest beyond.Firelight flickered in a recessed hearth.A massive sofa faced both the view and an equally massive screen.Bookshelves stretched along one wall, filled with a mix of technical manuals and well-worn novels.
Comfort without excess.
Beauty without pretense.
Niko reached out and picked up a small, battered flight tag from the sideboard.
“Is this...?”
“Yeah, from our first solo,” Ethan said quietly.“You nearly overshot the landing.”
Niko huffed a laugh.“Nearly.”
Another object.A compass.Old, scratched.
“You carried this for three years,” Niko said.
Ethan nodded.“You gave it to me the night before your first deployment.I will cherish it always.”
Silence settled between them, thick and heavy with memory.
Then Niko stopped at one photo.
Ethan felt it before Niko said anything.
