𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

what we build

The Iron Lion was asleep.

The walls that once echoed with battle cries now settled into silence, broken only by the occasional clink of boots and the soft whirr of wind through the stone corridors. Matt stood in the lower courtyard, hands braced on the edge of the old fountain, head bowed.

Nico found him there, not on purpose, just... wandering. Sleep had been elusive again.

"Didn't think you'd be the brooding-by-moonlight type," Nico said lightly.

Matt looked up, a small tired smile crossing his face. "Didn't think you'd be the sneaking-up-on-people-in-the-dark type."

"Pirate instincts. Can't help it."

They stood side by side, quiet for a beat.

"You alright?" Nico finally asked.

Matt exhaled. "I should be. I am. I just..." He hesitated. "Vicky's pregnant. That should be enough reason to sleep like a baby, right?"

"Not if you're scared shitless," Nico said, completely serious.

Matt looked over at him. And to Nico's surprise... he didn't deny it.

"I'm terrified," Matt said. "Not because I don't want it. God, I want this more than anything. I just—what if I mess it up? What if I can't protect her? What if I end up like the men I swore I wouldn't become?"

Nico leaned back on the stone edge. "You mean the ones who ran when it got hard? Or the ones who picked the war over the ones they loved?"

Matt nodded. Nico sighed, staring up at the stars.

"I used to think love made people weak. Made you soft. Easy to hurt."

"And now?"

"Now?" Nico shrugged. "Now I think love's the only thing that's ever made me strong enough to leave behind everything I thought I had to be."

Matt studied him for a moment. "Bea changed you."

Nico gave a soft, lopsided smile. "Yeah. Not by asking me to. Just... by being someone I couldn't let down. Someone who looked at me and didn't see a thief or a traitor or a weapon. Just... me."

Matt's voice was quieter now.

"You ever worry you're not enough for her?"

"Every damn day," Nico said. "But I keep showing up anyway. Because love's not about being fearless. It's about staying, even when you're afraid."

Matt looked down, digesting that. "That's what I want to be," he murmured. "Not perfect. Just... someone who stays."

"You already are," Nico said firmly. "She sees that. We all do."

They stood there, two soldiers with haunted pasts, trying to shape something gentler out of the ashes.

Eventually, Matt looked up. "You know you're not just some rogue outsider anymore, right?"

Nico raised an eyebrow. "You mean I'm officially part of the furniture?"

"I mean," Matt said, chuckling, "you're one of us. Family. Like it or not."

Nico tried to play it off with a grin, but something flickered in his chest. Something that felt dangerously close to belonging.