Convincing Confessions?

[Raffe]

Breakfast was a hint of normality he’d needed greatly, soothing the worry that life had changed irrevocably from what it had been. Not that it hadn’t changed; it had, but not beyond recognition -- and not, he realised now, to something that excluded the simple things that made him happy. There were times in his life Raffe folded in on himself and his feelings, as he had indeed the previous day spent smoking and brooding alone, but he found it all washed clean now. He didn’t worry about the dojo, though there was still some discomfort at the thought of trying to seize out into that dark vortex of power again. Nor did he linger on any of the future’s uncertainties.

Given the time the diner was quiet, that strange grey hour where most of the world was still sleeping and life seemed like a self contained bubble. For Raffe it held everything that mattered right now. They spoke about everything and nothing, and it felt as easy and natural as breathing. He grinned and laughed and teased. Lingered in the captivation of flirtatious glances and all those accidental moments that made his heart beat hard.

By the time they were done the sun was up, and it seemed to have slipped away far too quickly.

Raffe chuckled at the question, but raised his brows. “Surprise me?”