Mistletoe mishap

Part 9 ( i dont know what to call this part)

Morning After – Gene's POV

Garroth's hand was still in mine when I finally pulled away.

Not out of regret.
Not exactly.

More like survival instinct.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat there with my back to him, head in my hands, trying to catch my breath like I'd just sprinted through my own damn feelings.

He didn't say anything right away. I could feel his eyes on me, though. Soft. Patient. That was the thing about Garroth—he didn't push. Not unless he had to.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

I nodded, even though the word caught in my throat like a lie I'd swallowed whole. "Yeah," I croaked. "Just... processing."

He sat up behind me. The bed shifted under his weight. "We don't have to figure everything out right now."

I wished that helped. It should've. But instead, it made the panic worse—because he thought we had time. He thought this was the beginning.

What if it wasn't?

What if this was the only time he'd ever want me like that? What if this was just heat and adrenaline and a broken clock finally landing on the right time, just once?

"What are we, Garroth?" I asked before I could stop myself.

The silence that followed wasn't long, but it was loud.

"I don't know," he said, slow and careful, like the wrong answer might set something on fire. "I thought we'd figure that out together."

I let out a shaky laugh and stood up, tugging on a shirt that didn't belong to either of us. "You thought," I repeated. "See, that's the thing. You think everything's gonna work out, like this is some fairy tale where we kiss and the world magically stops being complicated."

Garroth frowned. "That's not what I meant."

"No?" I snapped, voice sharper than I intended. "Because from where I'm standing, it kinda feels like you got what you wanted and now you're just hoping I won't ask questions."

His face twisted with something between confusion and hurt. "You really think that's all I wanted?"

I didn't answer.

Because I didn't know.

Because I did.

Because I didn't want to—but the thought was there anyway, sinking in my stomach like a weight I couldn't shake.

"Gene..." he started, but I held up a hand.

"I'm not doing this right now," I muttered. "I can't."

I left the room.

Not dramatically. Not slamming doors or running barefoot into the rain like some rom-com cliché.

I just walked down the hall, into the bathroom, locked the door, and sat on the edge of the tub like the floor might give out if I stood any longer.

I buried my face in my hands.

What the hell did I just do?

Later That Day – Garroth's POV

Gene didn't come back.

Not to his room. Not to talk. Not even to make some dumb sarcastic jab and pretend nothing had happened.

Garroth waited. All day.

He scrolled his phone. Stared at the ceiling. Replayed every second of the night in his mind like maybe he could reverse it if he just found the right frame.