Hospitals never truly slept.
They hummed.
Machines breathed. Shoes whispered against polished floors. Lights stayed too bright, too clean designed to pretend nothing terrible ever happened inside their walls.
Kairo lay propped against white pillows, ribs wrapped, shoulder bandaged, a faint bruise shadowing his jaw. Despite the chaos that had dragged him here sirens, stretchers, frantic voices .he looked infuriatingly composed.
Handsome, even now.
Especially now.
There was something about damage that sharpened him. The cut along his brow only deepened the intensity of his eyes. His presence filled the room effortlessly, as if even pain bent around him instead of breaking him.
Naya noticed.
She tried not to.
She stood beside his bed in borrowed hospital scrubs, hair loosely tied back, face bare of armor and makeup. A faint bruise bloomed on her shoulder beneath the fabric, and a small bandage marked her temple.
She was flawless in a way that had nothing to do with symmetry.
Still,Deadly.
Soft in places she rarely allowed anyone to see.
Kairo watched her as if she were the only thing anchoring him to the world.
"You keep staring," she murmured without looking at him.
"Because you're real," he replied. "And I keep thinking if I blink, you'll disappear."
She finally turned, eyes dark and unguarded.
"I'm not going anywhere."
She said it like a promise.
They didn't know they were already being watched.
.......
Two floors down, in a quiet visitor's lounge, men sat patiently dressed like relatives, carrying coffee cups, scrolling phones.
The same men.Different plan.
"They shouldn't have survived," one muttered under his breath.
"They always do," another replied calmly. "That's why he's valuable."
Screens showed hospital security rotations. Shift changes. Blind spots. Names.
"The rescue was messy," the leader said. "But hospitals are predictable."
"Tonight?" someone asked.
The leader shook his head. "Not yet. Let him heal. Let her relax."
He smiled thinly.
"Hope makes people careless."
Back in the room, the distance between Kairo and Naya felt charged but calm.
She adjusted his blanket. He caught her wrist gently.
"Naya," he said quietly.
She met his gaze.
"I almost lost you," he said. "Twice."
Her throat tightened. "I know."
"And I'm terrified," he added. "Not of them. Of what this means."
She didn't pull away.
"It means we protect each other now," she said. "No hierarchy. No walls."
He smiled soft, real. "You're terrible at not building walls."
"And you're terrible at pretending you don't need anyone."
They shared a quiet laugh.
She sat on the edge of the bed, careful of his injuries. His hand rested at her waist, warm and steady.
For a moment, the world narrowed again.
Two stubborn people.
Choosing closeness anyway.
Down the hall, a nurse paused.
Too long.
.....
Her fake badge was real.
Her eyes were not.
The enemies who had failed once were adapting.
Watching the boxer breathe.
Watching the bodyguard soften.
Waiting for the exact moment when love made them vulnerable.
Because this time.They wouldn't miss.