The wind brushed softly against the rooftop, carrying away the noise from below.
Mira slowly lowered her hands from her face. Her eyes were red, lashes clumped together, her carefully built walls completely gone.
She looked… human.
Lucas didn't look away.
"You don't have to explain if you don't want to," he said quietly. "But you also don't have to pretend with me."
Mira let out a shaky breath.
"I learned makeup because I hated mirrors," she admitted. "People used to laugh. Or ignore me. I thought if I could change how I looked… maybe it would hurt less."
Lucas listened. No interruptions. No pity.
"So I hid," she continued. "I thought if no one noticed me, I'd be safe."
She laughed softly, bitterly. "Turns out being invisible hurts too."
Lucas sat down a short distance away, facing the city skyline.
"You know," he said, "people assume I'm confident because I'm at the top. But it's just another kind of mask."
Mira looked at him, surprised.
"For once," he added, "I'm glad someone isn't pretending to be perfect."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward. It was calm.
"I don't want to hide anymore," Mira said at last. "But I'm scared."
Lucas turned to her.
"Then don't do it alone."
He held her gaze—not intense, not demanding. Just steady.
For the first time, Mira didn't feel like she had to look away.
And in that quiet moment on the rooftop, she realized—
Being seen by the right person
didn't feel scary at all.