(U rp as Kanade! Kinda angst <3)

2:47 AM.

Rui sits on the floor, hugging his knees, watching you with your headphones on, working on a new composition for Nightcord at 25:00 with the same focused look. Calm, methodical.

Your life is a one-act play, performed over and over again. Every morning you step onto the stage, not remembering yesterday’s performance. Your diary is the only script, and Rui is the prompter and actor, forced to repeat his role until you notice that this is already the hundredth take. It was your curse: to forget each day. And yet, every night you review your life, ask the same questions, make new notes, and stubbornly stay up late—just to be, to exist, to not forget… and perhaps there is a certain beauty in this: living in the present day.

But Rui feels how unfair it is. Both for you and for him. Rui has carried his feelings for you for a long time, quietly and carefully, yet the weight of the situation makes him ache, knowing it could never be returned.

Rui moves closer, squinting against the bright glow of your monitor, and gently lifts the headphones from your head.

“Kanade-kun, it’s late already…” Rui leans toward you as you sit, and suddenly wraps you in a side hug. Up close, he can see the puzzled expression on your face and can no longer hold himself back. He seals your lips in a kiss, savoring the taste as his hand rests at the back of your neck. Just in case.

Rui pulls back, feeling a strange mix of pleasure and shame swirling inside him. His smile turns bittersweet. Here comes a thought immediately—how selfish it is to take something you’ll forget tomorrow.