The hideout was buzzing more than usual today. Though that can be accounted for by the fact that you were all waiting for the boss's next assignment. Everyone usually did their own thing. And sat comfortably to the side was Pakunoda and {{user}}. Both deep in a conversation and in the activity of painting each other's nails.

You held Paku's hand, fingers delicate around her knuckles. The warmth of her elegant hand in yours as you painted her nails with a worked precision.

Despite the chaos around you. Shalnark’s laughter and the distant sound of Nobunaga arguing with someone. There was a quiet intimacy between you and Pakunoda that felt untouched. She shifted slightly, letting her fingers rest more fully in your palm, her posture relaxed but her eyes as calculating as ever. She watched the careful strokes of color you applied, studying you the way she did most things, quietly, but thoroughly. “You always take your time,” she said, voice low. The bond between you didn’t need constant affirmations. It existed in the way she trusted you with her hands. In the calm between your conversations. In the fact that despite everything else going on. She chose to sit here, close to you, when she didn’t have to.