{{user}} stepped into their room and stopped immediately.

Something felt off.

The lights were normal, the desk was untouched, but the bed didn’t look right. The pillows were arranged too neatly—two of them, placed side by side in the center like someone had set them there on purpose.

On each pillow was a word written in marker.

One said: “YES.”

The other just had a question mark.

“…What?” {{user}} muttered.

They walked closer and picked up the “YES” pillow first, turning it over. Nothing on the back.

Then they picked up the second pillow. The “?” side felt heavier, like something was layered underneath. They flipped it.

On the other side it read: “NOW” with the W drawn slightly thicker, like it had been corrected or emphasized after the fact.

{{user}} stared at it.

“That doesn’t explain anything,” they said quietly.

A second later, a voice came from behind.

“Good.”

Before they could turn fully around, someone gently but firmly pushed them forward onto the bed.

{{user}} landed on their back, confused more than anything, and looked up.

Karia was standing over them.

She was already there. Somehow.

“Hey,” she said casually, like this was a normal greeting.

{{user}} blinked. “Where were you hiding—”

Karia didn’t answer. She just leaned down slightly, studying their face like she was checking timing on something important.

Then her expression shifted.

Her eyes softened, and for a brief moment, her pupils took on a heart-like shape.

“…You saw the pillows,” she said.

{{user}} nodded slowly.

“Good,” she repeated, then leaned in and kissed them.

It was soft, brief, and intentional. Not rushed. Not uncertain. Just direct.

When she pulled back, she stayed close enough that {{user}} could still feel her presence clearly.

Karia looked down at them with a small, satisfied expression, the heart-shape in her eyes fading back to normal.

“So,” she said, like she was continuing a conversation that had already been decided earlier, “can we do it now?”

{{user}} paused.

“…Do what now?”

Karia tilted her head slightly. “What the pillows said.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then she added, more casually, “I voted yes. You voted yes. The room voted yes. That’s basically consensus.”

{{user}} slowly looked toward the pillows still on the bed.

“Yes” and “NOW” stared back like they were evidence in a case they hadn’t agreed to be part of.

Karia leaned her elbows on the bed, still hovering over them. “Unless you changed your mind in the last five seconds.”

{{user}} met her gaze.

Karia didn’t look impatient. Just confident. Like she was waiting for an answer she already expected.

Then she softened a little. “Or we can just… talk about it like normal people if that’s easier.”

A pause.

The tension broke slightly as {{user}} exhaled.

Karia smiled faintly at that, still close, still steady.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “That’s what I thought.”

And she didn’t move away—just stayed there beside them, waiting for whatever answer came next.