VELVET CHAINS REVIVE

The air was different in New York.

Sharper, louder. Like ambition had a sound, and it was honking cabs, camera clicks, and the buzz of neon against glass towers.

Ayden and Luca stood backstage at the Creators' Biennale, staring at the sleek black curtain that separated them from the world.

Models waited in line, draped in their new collection—Still Here.

Ayden adjusted the lapel of the Pin Heart Jacket. It had been resewn twice after an emotional breakdown over a broken zipper and a momentary relapse into self-doubt.

Now it was perfect.

Not flawless—but intentionally imperfect.

Like them.

"You ready?" Luca asked, tugging on the hem of his loose shirt nervously. "Or should we fake a power outage and run?"

Ayden gave a rare smirk. "Too late. Our names are already in the program."

Luca stepped closer. "Ayden…"

"Yeah?"

"If we crash and burn—"

"We won't."

"But if we do—"

"Then we burn in velvet."

Luca laughed, a sound that settled Ayden's chest.

The lights dimmed.

A stagehand whispered, "Two minutes."

Ayden's fingers brushed Luca's.

They didn't hold hands.

They anchored.

---

The first model stepped out, and the crowd hushed.

The letters coat—stitched from unsent confessions—moved like parchment in motion. Cameras clicked. A hush spread through the front row.

The second piece—a suit with stress-fractured beadwork—glimmered under the light like fragile ice. Luca watched it like it carried his heartbeat.

Then came the corset-vest Luca had modeled—now worn by a nonbinary model who wore it with all the fierce softness the piece demanded.

And the final piece—a trench coat embroidered with the phrase "I stayed" in dozens of languages—floated down the runway like a quiet anthem.

By the end, no one clapped immediately.

There was only silence.

Then thunder.

A standing ovation.

Ayden exhaled. Luca's eyes were wet.

---

Later that night, under city lights and champagne toasts, a reporter cornered them.

"Your work is deeply vulnerable," she said. "Some say too emotional for fashion. What's your response?"

Ayden blinked.

Luca smiled. "Fashion is emotional. If you're not feeling something—why are you even wearing it?"

The reporter blinked, clearly stunned.

Ayden added, softly, "We don't design for applause. We design for people trying to survive themselves."

That quote would go viral in the morning.

But for now, Luca leaned against Ayden, content.

"You realize this changes everything, right?" Luca murmured.

Ayden nodded.

"Good," he said, "because I'm done hiding."