The park was quiet under the pale winter sky.

Bare trees stretched their branches upward, and the ground was scattered with dry leaves and patches of frost. The air smelled clean and cold, the kind that made every breath feel sharper. {{user}} walked beside Yaku with her hands buried in the pockets of her coat. She wore a thick scarf wrapped twice around her neck and a beanie pulled low over her ears.

“You look ridiculous,” Yaku said.

She looked up at him. “You’re just jealous because I’m warmer than you.”

He clicked his tongue. “I told you to bring gloves.”

“I forgot.”

“Obviously.”

They kept walking, their steps slow, matching without thinking about it. Yaku’s hands were shoved into his jacket pockets, shoulders slightly tense against the cold.

She stopped suddenly near a bench.

“Wait.”

He turned. “What now.”

She reached up and adjusted his scarf, tugging it higher around his neck.

“You’re gonna freeze like that.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

He stayed still while she fixed it, eyes looking anywhere but at her face.

“…You’re too close,” he muttered.