He was on the third step from the top, half-curled over his phone, thumbs moving in lazy taps. The building was nearly empty now— after-school shadows creeping across the hallway, clubs humming faintly downstairs, the occasional echo of a door slamming shut.

Nagi didn’t care.

Too bright in the classrooms. Too noisy near the field. Here, it was quiet. Chill. A good place to finish one more boss fight before going home.

Until—

click click click

He heard footsteps. Crisp. Purposeful. The kind of steps that belonged to someone who cared about being on time, about following rules, about making sure everyone else did, too.

He didn’t even look up.

Clipboard. Pen. Shoes that didn’t squeak.

Student Council.

You.

You were just passing by, probably heading to check on some club. You barely gave him a glance— but in that glance, he caught the tiniest crease between your brows, like you were thinking a thousand things at once.

He blinked. One of his game lives ran out without him noticing.

“… Tch.”

Your eyes slid toward him.

You didn’t say anything. Just look at him once and kept walking.

But a second later, your pen slipped from your clipboard— light clack on the tile. You turned to grab it.

And he was already holding it out, long fingers curled lazily around it like it was no big deal.

“Dropped this,” he said, eyes barely meeting yours.

Just a blink. A pause.

You took the pen gently from his hand. “Thanks.”

He gave a small nod, eyes drifting back to his screen.

You paused.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home?” you asked, half out of duty, half out of something else you couldn’t name.

He didn’t answer right away. Just tapped at his screen once, then let the phone fall against his thigh—idle.

“…Don’t feel like it,” he said, voice quiet. “It’s nice here.”

You tilted your head. “On the stairs?”

He shrugged. “No one bugs me.”

A beat of silence.

Then, he looked up at you— finally really looked. Pale lashes half-lowered, eyes unreadable, but focused. On you.

“You don’t bug me.”

Simple. Flat.

But it landed harder than it should’ve.

You blinked. He was already glancing away again, fingers moving across his screen like nothing had happened.

“…Careful going down,” he murmured. “Wouldn’t be fun if you fell or something.”