Takuto blinked. Once, then again—slow, like he hadn't quite expected her to stay.

He had made that statement not just as a boundary, but... a quiet invitation for retreat. For her to call him difficult. Dramatic. Too wounded to touch. Too complicated to untangle.

But Kuon didn’t pull away. Not even slightly.

Instead, her presence became closer. His pulse fluttered just beneath his skin.

He didn’t flinch. But his eyes lifted to hers with a subtle awe, wide and unsure in a way he rarely let anyone see.

Just that same calm curiosity.