The faint hum of the bathroom’s exhaust fan filled the hallway, interlaced with the muffled cadence of running water. I stood outside Devon's door, my heart pounding in time with the drip-drip echoing from within, and my fist hovered mid-air as I tried to summon the nerve to knock. I needed to tell him—needed to unburden myself of the secret that tangled my thoughts like barbed wire. I had to tell him about Ethan: the truth of his role, his clandestine deal with the devs, and how the code was meant to land in his hands, not mine. Every replay of that encounter with Ethan sent heat rising along my neck and churned guilt deep in my belly.
I shook my head. No distractions now. Just tell him and get it over with.
Knock. Knock.
No answer.
A surge of adrenaline propelled me to push the door open slightly. Steam burst out as a thick curtain, warm and enveloping, clouding the air between us. Devon’s room was atypically tidy—his bed lay half-made, stray clothes were strewn carelessly on a chair, and his VR headset sat silently atop his desk with its faint lights still pulsing from recent use. The water in the shower escalated into a louder, more insistent cascade, inviting me further in.
“Devon?” I called softly, the sound of my voice almost lost in the steady cascade of water.
Still no response.
My eyes were drawn to the slightly ajar bathroom door. Almost without thinking, I stepped closer. Peeking through the narrow gap, I discerned faint outlines—a blurred silhouette behind the fogged glass of the shower door. There he was, his form shifting in slow, deliberate movements as the water streamed over him, droplets catching the dim light from above. And, of course, I looked down.
Oh. Oh my god.
Heat exploded across my cheeks and I felt my thoughts scatter into fragments. I spun around so fast that I almost tripped over a stray shoe left by his door.
“Whoa there, Ki. Didn’t expect company.”
Devon’s amused voice cut through the steam like a sharpened blade, and I froze mid-step. I turned halfway, peeking over my shoulder. There, with the glass door ajar, was Devon—his damp hair clinging to his forehead, water droplets tracing paths down his chiseled jawline and revealing the contours of his bare chest. A faint smirk played on his lips as his eyes locked onto mine with unmistakable mischief and something far deeper.
“See something you like?” he teased in a low, smooth baritone.
“I—uh—” My mouth opened and closed uselessly. How were words supposed to form at a moment like this?
Devon’s smile deepened, and with a playful raise of his brow, he urged, “You just gonna stand there turning into a tomato, or are you gonna come in? The water’s warm.”
Before I could fully grapple with my shock, my brain short-circuited for the second time in as many seconds. “W-What?! No! I mean—I was just—I need to tell you something important!” I stammered, feeling the urgency of my confession mix with this undeniable pull toward him.
His smirk softened as he stepped toward the door, his eyes now flickering with a warmth that belied his teasing tone. “Kiera… come here.”
For a heartbeat, hesitation almost held me back; but some part of me that had long craved closeness overrode every doubt. My feet began to move almost on autopilot, carrying me over the threshold. The cool bathroom tiles met my bare feet, the steam swirling about like an embrace of its own. Devon pulled the shower door open wider, and before I could overthink the entirety of the situation, my clothes removed, and I stepped into the steaming sanctuary with him. The sudden rush of water drenched me, every inch of skin exposed to its relentless, soothing spray.
Devon was impossibly close; the gap between us evaporated as we shared the steamy shower. His hands came up almost instinctively to rest on my waist, gentle yet decisive, and his fingers curled slightly, tracing the curve of my body as if memorizing every detail. “Kiera…” His voice was barely audible over the rumble of falling water, yet it carried a tender power that made my heart thud wildly in my chest. “Are you okay? I figured since our… arrangement, you’d be used to seeing me… well, like this.”
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My throat tightened, and every word I had planned to utter seemed to vanish into the steam. The way his eyes searched mine held an honesty that dismantled every carefully constructed wall I’d built around myself. I attempted to speak, “I… I just… it’s not that,” only for Devon to lean in closer, his forehead resting lightly against mine. His hands drifted upward along my sides, each touch igniting sensations that seemed both familiar and wholly new. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he pressed me closer, the heat of his body merging with the warmth of the water.
His hand stilled for a moment on my waist as he whispered, “Stop overthinking,” and in that simple command I realized the intensity of our longing. “Just… be here with me right now.” Then, as if all the pent-up emotion and desire could no longer wait, he kissed me.
The kiss was anything but tentative—it was deep and demanding, filled with every secret, every unspoken promise between us. His lips pressed firmly against mine as his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in as if to erase every boundary between our souls. My hands found their way up his chest, where the cool slickness of water mixed with the heat of his skin, and I clung to him like I was desperate not to let him go. The kiss deepened and intensified, becoming an electric exchange that left us both breathless.
Devon’s hand slid around my waist, cupping the curve of my ass with a possessive tenderness that belied the rough edges of our reality. Each gentle caress from his thumb sent sparks through me, igniting desires I had long kept hidden. When we finally broke apart, our foreheads remained pressed together, water cascading down our faces as we gasped for breath, both of us caught in the aftermath of that overwhelming moment.
“Kiera, you mean the world to me…” His voice cracked with emotion, rough yet sincere as the lingering drops of water glistened against his skin. “I don’t care how complicated this all gets—I just… I need you to know that.”
I felt my chest tighten as the words sank in, and tears welled at the corners of my eyes. Instinctively, I reached up, brushing my damp hair away from his face, and whispered, “I love you too, Devon. I mean it. I… I really do.”
A genuine smile softened his features, and he leaned in to press another warm kiss against my forehead. There was only us, the impassioned rush of desire and the profound comfort found in each other’s embrace.
Later, wrapped in one of Devon’s oversized towels, I sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed, my hair still clinging in damp clumps. Devon sat beside me, his shirtless form illuminated by the soft glow of a bedside lamp, his hair disheveled and his eyes reflecting quiet vulnerability. He fiddled with a controller in his hands, but his focus drifted between the electronic hum and the intense conversation simmering in the room.
“So,” he said after a long pause, glancing over at me with an expression that was both curious and concerned. “What was it you wanted to tell me earlier?”
The weight of Ethan’s revelations stirred anew within me, making my stomach twist uncomfortably. I took a deep breath, my fingers tightening around the edge of the towel, and began slowly, “It’s about Ethan.”
At the sound of his name, the playful light in Devon’s eyes dimmed, replaced by a seriousness that silenced the room. I continued, my voice trembling slightly with the burden of the truth, “He told me the truth. About everything. The devs... they hired him, Devon. They sent him to infiltrate UNKNOWN. And… the code—it was supposed to go to him, not me.”
Devon’s eyes darkened further, his jaw tightening imperceptibly as he processed the confession. “And now he’s with us,” he said slowly, as if each word weighed heavily with implication, “traveling with us. Watching us.”
My voice cracked as I rushed to clarify, “He’s not our enemy,” I insisted quickly. “At least… he could have turned me in a dozen times by now. But he didn’t.”
Devon leaned back against the headboard, a gesture that spoke of suppressed frustration and thoughtful contemplation. “This just got a whole lot messier,” he murmured, his tone low and laced with complexity.
“Yeah,” I whispered, a single syllable that carried a universe of worry and regret.
We sat in the close silence that only shared burdens can create. After a while, Devon reached over, gently taking my hand in his. His fingers were warm and reassuring. “And he just decided to tell you all of this?” he asked softly.
I nodded, feeling my heart swell with both relief and apprehension. There was so much more I wished I could explain—the confused rush of events, the desperate choices that had led me to trust Ethan in that unguarded moment. But for now, the simple truth was all I had. “Yeah, he just told me.”
Devon’s eyes met mine with a look that flickered with a mix of determination and sorrow. “Alright,” he said firmly, “we’ll tell the others in-game tomorrow. Don’t worry—we’ll figure it out together.” His voice was calm and measured, even as the room pulsed with the intensity of our recent confessions.
For a long stretch of time, we simply sat there, the silence between us both comforting and charged.
I could feel my pulse quicken again, the memory of our heated kiss under the shower returning in a rush. That kiss, with all its urgency and intimate electricity, had been a declaration beyond mere words—a promise of unwavering connection, despite the turmoil swirling around us.
Devon squeezed my hand, and for a moment, his fierce gaze softened as if to say that, no matter how treacherous the road ahead, we would face it together.