Hak had only stepped out for a moment.
The room had been quiet when he left, her breathing steady, her face finally free from tension. He moved down the hallway to get her a glass of water, keeping his steps light out of habit more than necessity.
Back inside the room, the stillness broke.
Ulyana jolted upright, her breath catching sharply as the remnants of a nightmare clung to her. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, panic settling in before she could fully wake. A thin sheen of sweat formed along her forehead, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to orient herself.
For a moment, she didn't recognise where she was. The shadows in the room felt unfamiliar. The silence too heavy. Her heart raced.
Without thinking, she reached out beside her, searching blindly through the sheets.
"Hak…"
Her voice came out softer than she intended, strained and unsteady. Her fingers brushed against empty space.
The absence only made the panic worse.
Her breathing quickened, shoulders tightening as her mind tried to catch up with reality. The nightmare lingered at the edges of her thoughts, too vivid to shake off, too fragmented to fully grasp.
She pulled her hand back slightly, gripping the fabric of the sheets as if it could ground her.
"Hak…" she called again, a little louder this time, though her voice still wavered.
Just as the panic threatened to crest again, the door opened. Hak stepped in, a glass of water in hand.
He took in the scene instantly. The way she was sitting, the tension in her posture, the fear still present in her eyes. The glass was set aside without a second thought as he crossed the room in a few quick steps.
"I'm here," he said, his voice low but firm.
Ulyana's head snapped toward him. The moment she saw him, something in her expression broke.
Without hesitation, she reached for him again, this time finding him.
Hak caught her hands easily, grounding them in his own before moving closer. He sat at the edge of the bed, steady and deliberate, his presence anchoring the space around her.
"You're okay," he continued, softer now. "It was just a dream."
Her breathing was still uneven, her grip on him tightening as if to confirm he was real. Hak didn't pull away. Instead, he stayed exactly where he was, letting her hold on for as long as she needed.
The room slowly settled again, her panic easing in small, fragile increments.
And this time, he didn't move.
-
The door opened quietly, but neither of them reacted at first.
Nikolai stepped into the room with measured calm, his presence filling the space without effort. His sharp gaze immediately took in the scene before him. Ulyana, still shaken, clinging to Hak. Hak seated close beside her, steady and unmoving.
He noticed the closeness. And chose not to acknowledge it.
His expression remained composed as he approached, the faint sound of his footsteps the only interruption to the quiet.
"Ulyana," he said, his voice low but firm.
At the sound of him, she shifted slightly. Her grip on Hak loosened just enough for her to look toward her grandfather, though she didn't fully let go.
"I'm okay, Deda," she said, her voice softer now, though still carrying the remnants of her earlier panic.
Nikolai studied her carefully.
He noticed the dampness along her hairline, the tension still lingering in her shoulders, the way her hand remained wrapped around Hak's sleeve as if letting go would undo whatever calm she had managed to regain.
He did not comment on it. Instead, he stepped closer to the bed, his expression softening just slightly beneath its usual restraint.
"You had a nightmare," he said, more as a statement than a question.
Ulyana gave a small nod. A brief silence followed.
Nikolai's gaze shifted to Hak for a moment, something unreadable passing through his eyes. It was not disapproval, nor was it approval. Simply recognition.
Then his attention returned to Ulyana. "You're safe here," he said.
Ulyana's shoulders eased a fraction more at his words.
It was simple but coming from him, it carried weight.
Nikolai reached out and adjusted a loose strand of her hair away from her face, the gesture brief but deliberate. It was the kind of quiet care he rarely showed in front of others.
"Rest," he added.
Ulyana nodded again, this time more steadily.
Nikolai lingered for only a moment longer before straightening. His presence shifted back to its usual composed distance, the softness retreating behind his controlled exterior.
As he turned toward the door, he paused.
"Stay with her," he said to Hak without looking back.
Hak inclined his head slightly. "Of course."
With that, Nikolai stepped out, the door closing just as quietly behind him. The room settled once more into silence.
Hak remained where he was, unmoving, his presence steady at her side. And this time, neither of them spoke.
Silence lingered after the door closed.
Ulyana's breathing had steadied, though her grip on Hak had only just begun to loosen. For a moment, she simply looked at him, as if grounding herself in the fact that he was still there.
"Thank you, Hak," she said quietly.
Her voice was softer now, stripped of the panic from before. It carried something more sincere, more vulnerable than she usually allowed.
Hak held her gaze for a second before nodding slightly. "You don't need to thank me."
There was a pause.
Something in his expression shifted, almost imperceptibly. The steadiness remained, but there was a weight behind it now, like a thought he had already decided on.
"I'll be leaving soon," he said.
Ulyana frowned faintly. "What do you mean?"
"I have an assignment," he replied, his tone even. "Four days from now."
The words settled between them,she said nothing.
The calm she had just regained wavered, not breaking entirely, but enough to show. Her eyes searched his face as if hoping he would say something more, something that softened it.
He didn't. "Oh," she said finally.
Her hand slipped fully from his sleeve, retreating back to her side. She didn't reach for him again. "I see."
Hak watched her carefully. He could read the shift just as easily as he had read her panic earlier. The disappointment was there, clear despite how composed she tried to remain.
But she didn't argue. Didn't ask him to stay.
That, more than anything, made the moment heavier.
"It won't be long," he added, though the reassurance sounded more like an obligation than comfort.
Ulyana gave a small nod, her gaze dropping briefly before returning to him. "Of course," she said. "You have work to do."
There was no bitterness in her tone, just quiet acceptance. She leaned back slightly against the headboard, creating a small but noticeable distance between them. Not rejection. Just restraint.
Hak remained where he was for a moment longer, as if deciding whether to say more.
In the end, he didn't.
The space between them stayed intact this time. And neither of them tried to close it.