HAPPY FRIENDSHIP ANNIVERSARY

 Unspoken Glances

The fire crackled gently, casting warm shadows on the porch where they all sat curled up in blankets.

Soft music played from Kai's phone, low enough to allow the nighttime insects and the rustle of leaves to join in.

It was one of those evenings that didn't need much conversation; just being together was enough.

Nora sat cross-legged on the edge of the wooden bench, eyes shining as she listened to Lena recount a hilarious internship story.

She laughed, leaning slightly forward, one hand covering her mouth.

Eli sat across from her, a cup of tea warming his palms, but his gaze was far warmer, resting softly on her face longer than it should have.

He looked away when she caught him once, offering a crooked smile that she returned, oblivious. But Amelie noticed.

From where she sat beside Lena, Amelie caught the subtle shift in Eli's posture, the way his fingers tapped against his mug when Nora laughed too long with Kai, the way his jaw tightened slightly when she mentioned a guy from work who "wasn't bad-looking at all."

He never interrupted. Never tried to insert himself in her space.

But every once in a while, he'd say something thoughtful, something only someone who had memorized her could say.

Like when she complained of a sore neck from the drive.

"You always tilt your head when you read for too long," he murmured, not looking up.

Nora blinked. "Do I?"

"You do," he said, simply sipping his tea.

No one asked how he knew.

Later that night, as the others drifted off to bed one by one, Eli lingered outside.

The moon was high, the air still.

Nora came out to retrieve her hoodie and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Still out here?" she asked, voice hushed.

He nodded. "Couldn't sleep."

"Thinking?"

He gave her a half-smile. "A little."

She hesitated beside him. "I'm glad we're all back together. It feels... right."

"Yeah," he said, looking at her, really looking. "It does."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, the silence was heavy.

There was something just there, in the air between them. Something neither of them was ready to speak.

Nora looked away first, tightening her hoodie. "Goodnight, Eli."

"Goodnight, Nora."

She turned and walked inside. Eli watched until the door closed behind her, then closed his eyes briefly and exhaled.

So much left unsaid.

 Brothers Without Words

(Eli and Kai, just the two of them, late-night honesty without needing full explanations)

The house had long gone quiet, save for the occasional creak of the floorboards and the soft hum of the fridge downstairs.

Eli sat on the porch steps, hoodie pulled over his head, hands wrapped around a mug of now-cold coffee.

The letter lay folded in his back pocket, but its words hadn't left his chest.

Kai pushed the door open gently and stepped outside, barefoot, arms folded against the breeze.

"Didn't think you'd still be up," he said, settling beside Eli without waiting for an invitation.

"Didn't think anyone would be," Eli murmured.

They sat in silence for a moment, the stars above them scattered like forgotten wishes.

Kai nudged him with a shoulder. "I couldn't sleep. Too much talking earlier. Too many memories."

Eli gave a tired smile.

Then Kai tilted his head, watching him quietly. "You good?"

It wasn't the casual kind of "you good?", not the way people threw it around without really wanting an answer.

It was the kind, Kai asked when he already knew the truth.

Eli stared at the trees in the distance. "Have you ever felt like something's always been just...almost yours? But never really?"

Kai exhaled slowly. "Yeah."

"She doesn't know," Eli said quietly.

Kai didn't ask who.

Eli let out a breath. "And I don't even know what I want her to do if she ever finds out."

"Tell you she feels the same?"

Eli shook his head. "No. That'd almost be worse."

Kai leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You think you've moved on, but it still...haunts you, doesn't it?"

"Every time she smiles like she used to. Every time she talks about someone who isn't me." Eli looked down. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid." Kai's voice was steady. "It's real."

They fell quiet again.

"You know," Kai added after a while, "you've always been the one who made the rest of us feel steady.

Even Nora. Especially Nora."

Eli glanced sideways.

"But maybe now it's time," Kai continued, "you stop holding it all for us and ask what you need."

Eli gave a small, broken laugh. "It's not that easy."

"No," Kai said with a grin, "but you've done harder things."

They sat in silence again, but it wasn't empty.

It was filled with something wordless and deep, like the quiet between chords in a familiar song.