The next few days passed in an easy, unspoken rhythm.

Callen and Nell fell into a pattern—sharing quiet breakfasts while he made eggs or waffles and she brewed the coffee just the way he liked it. They went about their days at work as usual, falling back into sync effortlessly, their interactions no different on the surface, yet undeniably changed beneath it.

Evenings were their own little world.

After dinner, they curled up on the couch with their book, trading off chapters, their voices weaving together in the warm quiet of Callen's home. Sometimes Nell would get comfortable enough to lean into his side, and he found himself allowing it, even welcoming it, though he wasn't sure when that had started.

There was no pressure to talk about what this was. No overanalyzing, no expectations.

Just them.

And neither of them wanted to disrupt that.

Then, one afternoon, Nell's phone rang.

She stepped away to take the call, and when she returned, her expression told Callen everything before she even said the words.

"The fumigation's done," she said softly. "My apartment's ready."

There was a pause.

Callen took a breath, keeping his expression neutral. "That's good."

Nell nodded, but didn't look convinced. "Yeah."

Silence stretched between them for a moment.

Then she forced a small smile. "I guess I should pack up my stuff."

Callen wanted to tell her she didn't have to. That she could stay a little longer, that it wasn't a problem.

But he didn't.

Instead, he simply nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess so."

That evening, Callen leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching as Nell zipped up her duffel bag.

She was quiet as she gathered her things—more thoughtful than she usually was, like she was feeling the weight of leaving more than she expected to.

Callen felt it too.

Finally, she turned to him, a soft, hesitant smile playing on her lips.

"Thanks for letting me stay," she said.

Callen smirked. "Didn't exactly let you. It was more of a forced living arrangement."

Nell laughed, rolling her eyes. "Still."

A beat passed.

Callen shifted, then shrugged. "Wasn't so bad."

Something flickered in her expression.

"No," she murmured. "It wasn't."

Another pause.

Then Nell exhaled, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Callen nodded. "See you tomorrow." Then he noticed something. "Wait, Gerald." He gestured to her plant that had been sitting on his dining table for the past week. Nell looked over at it and a small smile crept over her face.

"You keep him, he looks happy here." Then she gave him one last small smile before stepping past him and out the door.

Callen stood there for a long moment after she left, listening to the silence she'd left behind.

And for the first time in a long time… it felt empty.

xxx

That night, Nell sat curled up on her couch, arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the TV without really watching it.

Her apartment felt too quiet.

Too big.

Too lonely.

She missed the sound of Callen moving around his house, the easy silence of sitting next to him, the low rumble of his voice reading to her when she couldn't sleep.

She missed him.

The realization settled into her like a weight, unexpected and inevitable all at once.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head at herself.

She'd known returning to normal wouldn't be easy, but she hadn't expected it to feel like this.

Like something had shifted inside her, and she couldn't shift it back.

She was still staring at the TV, lost in thought, when a soft knock sounded at her door.

Nell froze.

Her heart skipped, then quickened.

Slowly, she got up, padding to the door and peering through the peephole.

And there he was.

Standing just outside her apartment, hands in his jacket pockets, looking…

Like he needed to be there.

Like he needed to see her.

Nell's breath caught.

For a second, she just stood there, staring.

Then, heart pounding, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Callen met her gaze, his expression unreadable, but his eyes—they told her everything.

Neither of them spoke.

Then, quietly, Callen said the words that changed everything.

"I couldn't sleep."