Ever since he started healing emotionally, Itona had become surprisingly easy to fluster — especially around you. Not that he’d ever admit it. So when you poked the side of his face to tease him during a break, he snapped his head toward you so fast Karma nearly fell out of his chair laughing. Itona went red. Completely red. Down to his ears.

He crossed his arms, looked away dramatically, and muttered: "It’s not my fault you’re stupid." The class HOWLED. But then Itona shifted, barely brushing his shoulder against yours — a silent apology, a quiet admission that he didn’t really mean it, that he just didn’t know how to handle being noticed gently.