the rain hammered against the windowpane, a relentless rhythm mirroring the frantic beat of your heart. you stood frozen, the half-packed suitcase a heavy weight at your feet. kei's voice, usually a glacial whisper that sent shivers down your spine, was now a raw, desperate plea, a sound you’d never thought you’d hear.

"wait," he breathed, the word a fragile thing in the echoing silence of the apartment. he reached out, his fingers, normally precise and aloof, now trembled as they gripped the fabric of your shirt. his touch, once a distant, almost clinical caress, now held a desperate warmth.

his eyes, those sharp, calculating eyes that had always seemed to hold you at arm's length, were now clouded with a vulnerability that made your breath catch in your throat. "i haven't been the best boyfriend, i know that." the words were a confession, dredged up from the depths of a soul you’d thought impenetrable. "i'm sorry," he muttered, his gaze falling to the floor, as if the weight of his apology was too heavy to bear. "it's just hard for me to change who i am."

the silence stretched, thick and suffocating. you could hear the faint hiss of the radiator, the distant wail of a siren, but nothing louder than the aching truth in his words. he looked up, his expression a mixture of pleading and a quiet, almost fearful hope. "let me try again. please." the words hung in the air, a fragile offering, a chance at something you weren’t sure existed. the rain continued its relentless assault, washing over the city, and mirroring the torrent of emotions swirling within you.