Chapter Text
Bonz's gaze flickered between War and Melody, the weight of realization settling in his chest like a heavy stone. The resemblance was uncanny. It was as if he were staring at a smaller version of someone else—someone who wasn’t in the room but whose presence suddenly loomed over them all.
War exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he read the unspoken questions in his friend’s eyes.
Prom, still crouched beside Melody, gently reached for her hand. “Why don’t we go find something to eat, sweetheart?”
Melody nodded enthusiastically. “Can we get cake too?”
“Of course.” Prom shot War a quick look—one that promised they would talk later—before leading the little girl away with Mark in tow.
That left War and Bonz standing in the middle of the reception hall, the joyous hum of celebration around them starkly contrasting the tension that had formed between them.
“You should sit down for this,” War said, gesturing towards a quiet corner of the venue.
Bonz followed, his jaw tight. “Is it his?”
War didn’t need to ask who he meant. He took a shaky breath and nodded. “Yes.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Bonz leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again, searching War’s face for something—answers, regret, anything.
“He doesn’t know?”
War shook his head. “No. And I never planned to tell him.”
Bonz scoffed, running a hand through his hair. “How—Why? War, do you have any idea—” He stopped himself, lowering his voice before drawing too much attention. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
“I know exactly what it means.” War’s voice was steady, but his fingers clenched around the edge of the table. “That’s why I left. That’s why I stayed away.”
Bonz stared at him, disbelief evident in his expression. “You should have told him.”
“And then what?” War’s voice cracked slightly. “And then he gives up everything to be with us? Then what? He resents me? He resents her?” His eyes darkened, his mask of composure slipping just for a moment. “I wasn’t going to chain him to something he never asked for. I made my choice, and I stand by it.”
Bonz’s anger simmered beneath his concern. “You don’t get to make that choice for him.”
War let out a mirthless chuckle. “I already did.”
They sat in silence, neither willing to be the first to look away. War knew Bonz was right. He had always known. But it didn’t change the past. And it certainly didn’t change the fact that War was willing to carry this secret to his grave.
The only problem?
Secrets had a way of unraveling when you least expected them to.