The street was quiet — too quiet. Shinsou leaned against the lamppost across from {{user}}’s apartment, a cigarette burning low between his fingers. The smoke curled upward, pale against the orange glow.

He’d been standing there for twenty minutes before {{user}} opened the window.

“…You really gonna lurk there all night?”

He looked up, eyes half-lidded, voice rough. “Was hoping you’d say something first.”

{{user}} sighed. “You left, remember? You said it was better this way.”

He flicked the cigarette aside. “Yeah. And it was the dumbest thing I ever said.”

When he spoke again, his tone softened — quiet, raw. “You know what it’s like, right? To think you’re poison to everyone around you. That maybe walking away’s the only way to protect them.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “But then… you realize you’re just lonely. And the only person who made it stop hurting is gone.”

The streetlight flickered. His gaze met theirs — violet, haunted, and so damn sincere it hurt to look at him.

“I’m not here to beg. I just wanted you to know I’ve been trying — training, improving, doing everything to be someone you could actually rely on. Someone worth coming back to.”

He exhaled, stepping into the dim light. “If you tell me to leave, I will. But if you tell me there’s even a chance… I’ll stay.”

His voice cracked just enough for the truth to slip through.

“Because I never stopped loving you. Not once.”

And for a long, quiet moment — the world stopped spinning.