The rain had stopped hours ago, leaving the town washed clean and quiet. The streets glistened under the glow of streetlamps, puddles catching bits of gold light as the wind carried the soft scent of wet leaves.
Hannah's apartment was warm and calm, the faint hum of music coming from an old record player in the corner — something slow and tender, the kind of melody that filled the silence without asking for attention.
Emma sat curled on the couch, a blanket over her legs and a mug of tea cooling in her hands. She looked up as Hannah came in from the kitchen, two slices of pie balanced carefully on a plate.
"You're spoiling me," Emma teased.
Hannah smiled, setting the plate down between them. "I had leftover crust from the café. Waste not."
They both laughed quietly, the sound light in the small room. Outside, a car passed, the sound fading into the distance. The rest of the world felt very far away — as if the night belonged to them alone.
"I like it here," Emma said softly after a while. "It feels… steady. Like the world slows down when I'm around you."
Hannah met her gaze, her voice low. "I feel that too."
They sat there in that stillness — two people who had found something unexpected and tender in the middle of their ordinary days.
Hannah leaned back, the music wrapping around them like a whisper. "I used to be afraid of quiet nights," she said after a moment. "They made me feel… alone. But lately, they just feel peaceful."
Emma smiled faintly. "Maybe that's what happens when you stop being alone."
The clock ticked softly in the background, the pie long forgotten between them. Neither wanted the night to end, not because it was extraordinary, but because it was theirs — the kind of quiet connection that didn't need words to feel full.
When Emma finally stood to leave, Hannah walked her to the door. "See you tomorrow?"
Emma nodded, her voice warm. "Wouldn't miss it."
As the door closed behind her, Hannah lingered by the window, watching Emma disappear down the lamplit street. She felt something gentle settle in her chest — a calm, certain ache that came with realizing she'd started to fall for her completely.