ETERNAL SIN

•15• (NETJAMES)

“It’s peaceful like this,” he murmured. “Feels like the world’s finally taking a breath.”

Net watched him — the way the streetlight reflected off his eyes, the calm rise and fall of his shoulders.

There was a stillness about James that felt achingly familiar, as if Net had seen him framed exactly like this before — centuries ago, under a different sky.

His fingers tingled — the pull of his suppressed magic responding to emotion.

A soft glimmer, faint as candlelight, sparked between his fingertips on the steering wheel.

James noticed immediately. “Wait — did something flash?”

Net blinked, glancing down. The glow faded in an instant.

“Probably the streetlights reflecting.”

James frowned, leaning closer. “No, it was like… gold light.”

Net laughed quietly. “Maybe you’re too sleepy.”

“I’m serious!”

“So am I.”

Net turned as the light changed to green, shifting the car forward.

“Relax. I’m not turning into a glow stick.”

James rolled his eyes but grinned, defeated. “Fine, fine. Maybe I am sleepy.”

But in his mind, the image of that faint golden shimmer lingered — something about it too real, too alive to be just reflection.

....

When they finally reached James’s building, the street was quiet, washed in the dim orange of distant lamps.

Net parked near the gate and switched off the engine.

The hum faded, leaving only the soft patter of the rain on the roof.

“Here we are,”

Net said gently. James nodded, looking at him with a small smile.

“Thanks for the ride. And for insisting. I might’ve actually fallen asleep in a taxi.”

Net smirked. “Then I saved your life.”

“Maybe you did.”

For a moment, neither of them moved.

The air between them felt suspended — not awkward, but charged, like something unsaid was hanging in the space they shared.

James broke the silence first. “You know, you’re… different tonight.”

Net raised an eyebrow. “Different how?”

James hesitated. “Just… softer, I guess. Like you dropped the professor act.”

Net’s lips twitched. “So, you prefer me without it?”

James’s cheeks warmed instantly. “I didn’t say that!”

Net leaned slightly closer, his voice low.

“Didn’t deny it either.”

James’s breath hitched — just for a second — before he looked away, opening the door quickly.

“Goodnight, Ajarn Net.”

“Goodnight, James.”

He stepped out into the drizzle, pulling his jacket closer.

As he reached his building entrance, something made him glance back.

Net was still there, one arm resting casually over the steering wheel. His eyes — calm, golden under the light — were on James.

For a second, James felt the world blur around that gaze — everything else fading, as if time itself hesitated to move forward.

He blinked, and the feeling passed.

James smiled awkwardly and waved once before disappearing into the building.

....

Inside the car, Net exhaled softly, pressing a hand against the faint glow that returned to his fingertips.

It pulsed — alive, restless — reflecting the pull he’d been trying to suppress for centuries.

He whispered into the quiet night, voice almost trembling.

“Still the same eyes… still the same soul.”

The rain fell harder, drowning the world in silver mist.

He started the engine again, driving off slowly — the faint shimmer of magic trailing briefly behind before dissolving into the night.

....