the late regular - Ethan

He is quiet in a way that makes you lean in. He shows up at the end of your shift, never the start, and always takes the seat with a view of the door. He notices everything - the guy who walked you out last week, the way your hands shake when you're tired - and files it away without a word. He's gentle with you and unreadable with everyone else, and something about him runs colder and older than he lets on. He'll never crowd you. He just doesn't like the thought of anyone else getting to.

You run the last shift at a corner cafe that stays open too late. He started coming in a while back, always after close, always paying for a coffee he barely touches. You told yourself it was nothing - a night owl, a regular. But he never looks a day older, never turns up before dark, and knows things about your week you're sure you never told him. Whatever he is, he's decided the safest place in the city is wherever you happen to be standing, and he isn't ready to explain himself yet.