Two weeks before the show.
Ayden stood in the center of the studio, surrounded by his own work — sketches, swatches, mockups, mannequin forms.
His jaw clenched.
"It's wrong," he muttered.
Camille glanced up. "Excuse me?"
Ayden ripped a pinned bodice off a mannequin. "This. All of it. It's wrong. It's safe. Controlled. Just like Duval said."
Luca turned slowly. "Ayden—"
"I'm throwing it out."
The room went silent.
"You're what?" Theo asked, startled.
"I'm starting over. From scratch. A new set. New silhouettes. Something that bleeds."
Camille dropped their scissors. "You're insane."
"Iris Langford is better than me. Unless I stop designing for the judges and start designing for me."
Luca stepped forward. "Then let's ruin it together."
Ayden looked up, surprised. "You agree?"
"I didn't fall for a man who plays safe," Luca said, pulling his hoodie sleeves up. "Tell me what we're building."
They worked all night.
Feverishly. Recklessly. Brilliantly.
Lines that curved like emotion. Structure that collapsed and rose again. Heavy, sheer, twisted, asymmetrical — alive.
Their new collection was called Ruinlace.
It told a story: Fall. Break. Rebuild.
Every stitch meant something.
Around 3 a.m., Ayden slumped on the velvet-covered couch, fingers aching, eyes bleary.
Luca knelt in front of him. Took his hands.
"You just did the bravest thing I've ever seen," he said softly.
"I feel like I'm drowning."
"You're not. You're just finally feeling everything."
Ayden looked at him — truly looked. Exhausted. Raw. Open.
"Luca…"
"Yeah?"
"I need—"
He couldn't finish.
But Luca understood.
He leaned forward and kissed him. Slow. Deep.
Ayden kissed back, climbing onto Luca's lap like it was instinct. Like he had to.
There, in the dark studio, between unraveling thread and sleepless ambition, they kissed like they were the only thing keeping each other stitched together.
Later, curled up on the floor in a nest of muslin and wool, Ayden whispered into Luca's chest:
"If this fails… if we fail…"
Luca stroked his back gently. "Then we rise again. Together."
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