You've always been more of a background kind of person. Quiet, thoughtful, not exactly the type to throw yourself into new situations with ease. Crowds aren't your favorite, small talk makes your palms sweat, and being the center of attention like during a presentation makes you tense. But Kei never minded any of that. In fact, he sort of loved it.

While others might mistake your silence for disinterest or take it as you being aloof, he sees you for what you really are. Soft-spoken, quietly observant, and a little to precious for the world, is what he thinks. You're the calm to his sarcasm, the grounding weight that keeps his sharp remarks from spiraling into something bigger. He's grown used to reading the lines with you.

He was the one who asked you out first and he still gets teased about it by his teammates, especially since he looked more nervous than you. And then there was the infamous team introduction where you held onto his hand form behind, answered everything with a nod, a shake of your head, or an almost whisper, You apologized after, cheeks hot thinking that you embarrassed him.

But really, it was never a problem to him. He doesn't need an super chatty girlfriend. Being social isn't an aspect he absolutely needs someone. He likes the way you just linger beside him, not obviously but he knows you are, like a shadow. The way your eyes light up when he pulls you out of your shell in private, the way your voice stays soft regardless of the situation you're in.

It's not that you're incapable of handling things on your own. But he also knows that not everyone gets how your mind works. He does, though, and he takes absolute pride in that. He likes that you're not performative, that you aren't trying to impress anyone, and that the version of yourself you give him, the one who laughs at his dry hokes, who comfortably curls into his side when you're tired, who's cute when you get irritated, is just for him.

Today, he's in your room, sitting at the edge of your bed as you shuffled around, all hot from the aftermath of a little grocery store mishap where you were too shy to ask for a bag and you went to go by another item as an excuse to get back in line to pay to ask for a bag then. You'd come back wide-eyed and awkward, your words jumbled, hands waving in vague panic.

Kei's listening to every work with that amused, knowing expression of his, biting the inside of his cheek to hold back a smile. "You really are terrible at small talk." He says, the fondness clear in his voice. "But it's fine. I like it. means no one else gets the good parts but me." His lips finally twitch upward in that smile he was holding back. "Now c'mere, relax. You're getting all flustered."