The sun had started to dip lower, throwing long shadows across the park. The air had cooled, soft and damp, the way it always did before evening settled in.
Velithra and Kai walked in silence toward the station. It wasn't awkward — more like both of them were afraid to break something fragile that had formed between them.
Every few steps, Kai would glance at her. Just quick, side glances, as if to make sure she was really there.
She caught him once.He didn't look away this time.
"What?" he asked, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.
Velithra shook her head. "Nothing. You keep looking at me."
"Maybe I'm making sure you don't disappear," he said simply.
Her heart stuttered. He said it so casually that it almost didn't sound like anything — but something in the way his voice softened made her chest tighten.
"I won't," she said quietly. "Not that easily."
Kai's expression changed, just slightly — like her words hit somewhere deeper than he expected. He nodded once, then looked ahead again.
They reached the corner where they'd usually part.The silence stretched.
"So…" Velithra said, gripping the strap of her bag, "this was… nice."
"'Nice'?" Kai repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's all?"
Velithra smiled a little. "Do you want me to say 'amazing' instead?"
He chuckled under his breath, eyes softening. "I'll take 'nice.'"
For a moment, neither moved. The streetlights blinked on, bathing them in pale gold. The world around them felt slow — like it was waiting for something.
Kai shifted, his voice quieter now. "Velithra."
She looked up.
He hesitated — then said, "I don't usually… spend time like this. With people."
"I figured," she said softly.
He smirked faintly. "That obvious, huh?"
"Only a little."
There was a pause — a kind of stillness that hummed with something unspoken.
Then Kai said, almost too quietly, "Still… I'm glad it was you."
Velithra's breath caught.For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
The words hung between them, warm and heavy and real.
"Goodnight, Kai," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He didn't move. "Goodnight, Velithra."
As she turned and walked away, Kai stood there for a while longer, watching her until she disappeared down the street.
When she was gone, he exhaled, running a hand through his hair and muttering to himself, "What the hell are you doing…"
But his lips curved into a small, helpless smile.