Leon pushed open the doors to his office without breaking stride.
The room was vast, dimly lit with a cold, controlled elegance—dark wood, towering shelves, and a wide window overlooking the estate. It was a space of authority, of decisions that shaped nations. A space where no one entered without purpose.
Today, that purpose was Kai.
Without hesitation, Leon crossed the room and sat down on the leather couch, settling back with the same quiet control he carried in every movement. Kai remained in his arms as he did, effortlessly repositioned so that he rested across Leon's lap.
The shift was smooth. Practiced. Inevitable.
Kai stiffened immediately.
His body tensed at the new position, awareness flooding back into his limbs, but the resistance didn't come like before. There was no frantic struggle, no desperate twisting. Just a small, restrained squirm—more instinct than intent.
Leon's arm adjusted around him, firm and grounding, preventing any real movement without applying force.
"Stay still," Leon said calmly.
Kai's jaw tightened. He didn't answer.
The word—Dad—still lingered in his mind, heavy and suffocating. He couldn't shake it. Couldn't pretend it hadn't slipped out. And worse… he couldn't understand why it had.
His fingers twitched slightly against Leon's shoulder, his body still half-curled from how he'd been carried. He shifted again, just a little, but it lacked the sharp defiance from before. It was quieter now. Controlled.
Stiff.
Leon noticed.
Of course he did.
His gaze lowered, studying Kai with that same calm, calculating intensity—but there was something else beneath it now. Something more observant than commanding.
"You've stopped fighting," Leon said.
Kai let out a slow breath, staring off to the side rather than meeting his father's eyes. "There's no point," he muttered.
Honest. Bitter.
Leon considered that for a moment, his fingers resting steadily against Kai's side, not restraining, but ensuring he stayed exactly where he was.
"There is always a point," Leon replied. "You simply chose the wrong battles."
Kai huffed quietly, a flicker of irritation returning. "And you think this is the right one?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Kai shifted again, a bit more this time, but it was still contained. His movements lacked the sharp edge from before, dulled by exhaustion and something deeper he didn't want to name.
The silence stretched.
The office felt smaller than it should have. Not because of the space—but because of Leon's presence. Because of the weight of everything unsaid pressing down between them.
Kai swallowed, his throat tight again. He hated this. Hated how still he'd become. Hated how his body wasn't reacting the way he wanted it to.
Hated that word.
Leon leaned back slightly against the couch, his hold never loosening, his posture composed as ever. "You called me something earlier," he said, voice low, deliberate.
Kai froze.
"There's no need to repeat it," Leon continued before Kai could respond. "But it's not something you forget. Not truly."
Kai's hands clenched slightly, his body going rigid again. "It didn't mean anything," he said quickly. Too quickly.
Leon didn't challenge him.
But he didn't agree either.
"Of course," Leon said calmly.
The quiet acceptance was worse than argument.
Kai shifted again, a small, restless movement, but he didn't try to get off Leon's lap. Didn't try to break away. The fight was still there—it burned under his skin—but it wasn't exploding outward anymore.
It was contained.
For now.
Leon's gaze moved toward the window, the estate stretching out beyond it, his expression unreadable once more. But his hold remained steady, grounding, absolute.
"You ran to find freedom," Leon said after a moment. "And yet here you are. Back where you started."
Kai's eyes narrowed slightly. "I didn't come back. You dragged me."
A faint pause.
Then—
"And yet," Leon said quietly, "you're still here."
Kai didn't respond to that.
Because he didn't have an answer.
The silence settled again, heavier than before, wrapping around them like something tangible.
And for the first time since being brought back—
Kai didn't struggle.