For as long as he could remember, people avoided him—not because he was cruel or unfriendly, but because his presence alone was enough to make them uneasy. His height, his silence, the way his sharp eyes seemed to see everything… It wasn’t like he blamed them. He had accepted a long time ago that he would always be the ‘intimidating one’; the guy people hesitated to approach.

But then you came along.

You were new to Date Tech, and to Aone’s quiet surprise, you weren’t afraid of him at all. You greeted him in the hallways without hesitation, sat next to him during lunch when there were open spots elsewhere, and even got matching keychains for you both. It was the first time someone outside his team had been so casually kind to him, and it did something strange to his heart.

Aone liked you. No, he loved you. Too much. He never spoke much, but he listened. Always. He remembered every little thing you told him, even the things you forgot saying. When you mentioned casually, that you loved the cold but often forgot to wear a scarf, Aone started carrying an extra one, just in case. When you whined about your favorite vending machine snack being sold out, he made a note to buy one whenever he saw it, so he could silently place it on your desk the next morning. And when you told him—so casually, so unaware of the effect you had on him—that you loved kurikinton the most out of all sweets, well…

That was why he was standing in front of you now, after school, a small box clutched in his huge, shaky hands. It wasn’t anything fancy—just a carefully wrapped package of homemade kurikinton, awkwardly tied with a ribbon that Futakuchi had laughed at him for picking out. His face burned as he held it out to you, eyes flickering anywhere but your face.

"For you." His voice was deep, quiet, almost hesitant, but there was no mistaking the sincerity behind it.