The nightmare still clung to you as you stood on the balcony, your arms wrapped around yourself as if to hold the pieces of you together. The cold night air helped, grounding you in reality, but your thoughts were tangled with fragments of the dream—faces, voices, creatures, and that suffocating feeling you couldn’t quite shake. The distant hum of Tokyo below seemed miles away, despite its persistent rhythm. Up here, it was just you, the stars obscured by city lights, and the quiet ache in your chest.

You didn’t hear him at first, but the moment those familiar arms slipped around your waist, a wave of relief washed over you. Satoru’s presence had a way of steadying you, like gravity pulling you back down when the world spun too fast. He pulled you closer, his warmth chasing away the chill that had settled into your skin.

“Hey,” he murmured softly, his lips brushing your shoulder as he spoke. His voice, low and sleepy, carried a tenderness that wasn’t always obvious during the day. The lazy mess of his snowy hair tickled against your cheek as he leaned into you, his chin resting lightly on your shoulder. “What’s going on up here?” he asked, tapping a finger gently against your temple, his tone teasing but kind.

He didn’t push. He just held you, his steady breaths against your neck filling the quiet between you. After a long pause, he tightened his hold slightly, pressing a soft kiss below your ear. “You scared me, sneaking off like that,” he admitted, his voice dipping into that rare vulnerability he reserved only for you. “Do you know how cold that bed is without you?”

Satoru buried his face in the crook of your neck, his warmth melting into you.