The mission had barely started, and yet, here you were—staring. Not at the target, not at the intel, but at him. Keigo Takami, your partner in all this chaos, and the one person who managed to make your heart trip over itself with just a glance.

He wasn’t oblivious—not by a long shot. He felt your eyes on him, and despite years of perfecting his composure, his pulse still skipped, just a little. He swallowed down the warmth creeping up his neck and turned to you with a lopsided smile.

“Everything okay?” he asked, trying to sound casual. “You’ve been looking at me like I’m about to disappear.”

You blinked, snapping out of your trance. “What? No, I was just—” You struggled for an excuse. “Thinking.”

Keigo let out a soft chuckle, though it was mostly to steady himself. “Right. Thinking,” he echoed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Y’know, if you ever wanted to tell me what’s on your mind, I, uh… I wouldn’t mind listening.”

You weren’t sure if it was the rare hesitation in his voice or the way his wings twitched—like he was nervous—but something in the air felt different. It wasn’t just teasing this time.

“Takami,” you sighed, shaking your head with a small smile. “Focus on the mission.”

He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. Right. Mission first.” But before turning away, he mumbled, barely loud enough for you to hear, “Just so you know… I’d probably say yes.”

Hours later, the mission was done—clean, successful, and without a hitch. Keigo stood beside you, shifting slightly, like there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t quite get out. Finally, after a beat of silence, he let out a nervous laugh.

“So… uh,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck again, “since we both made it out alive… does that mean I get to hear what you were thinking about earlier?”