You felt a tiny tug at your sleeve as the class walked down the mountain path. At first you thought it got caught on a branch — until you looked down and saw Itona holding the fabric between two fingers, following you silently.

His eyes snapped away when you noticed him, cheeks coloring faintly. "I… don’t want to get lost," he murmured, though you both knew he never got lost anymore. He didn’t dare take your hand — too intimate, too vulnerable — but the way he held your sleeve was gentler than anything he’d ever done. A quiet, shy request: "Stay close."