“No.”

The word lands soft but solid—gentle as silk, firm as stone.

You barely register Kento’s hand wrapping around your wrist until he’s pulling you back, not harshly, just enough to stop your momentum before you can rise from the bed again. You glance at him, already forming a protest on your lips—but it never makes it out.

“No more work. You’re staying here, and that’s final.”

That voice was low, calm, utterly certain. It dissipates the fog that was your exhaustion.

He wants you to make sure you knew he isn’t angry. Just…done watching you drain yourself like this.

You blink, and he’s already shifting closer. One arm snakes around your waist, the other slides beneath your head, guiding you gently back down into the sheets like you're something precious.

“You can finish it tomorrow,” he murmurs, almost like a lullaby. “Tonight, I want you to rest. Stay. Just this once… stay with me.”

He presses a kiss to the crook of your neck, slow and lingering. Your heart stutters. The stress that had knotted itself deep in your spine loosens, not all at once, but enough to let you sink into the comfort he offers without question.

You let out a soft sigh, the tension slipping out of you with every slow beat of his heart against your back.

“I’ve seen how late you’ve been staying up,” he continues quietly, his voice full of that rare tenderness he only shows when the world finally stops demanding so much of him. “How hard you’ve been pushing yourself. And I won’t let you break yourself over something that can wait until morning.”

His expression is unreadable at first, but his eyes—those tired, kind eyes—tell you everything. He’s worried. He notices. Even when you think you’re hiding it well, Kento Nanami always sees you.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises. “So tonight, let me be the one to keep you still.”