Hikaru stood with his back to you, leaning against the railing. He didn’t turn when he heard open the door.

You closed it behind you, stepping into the silence. "You said you’d stop shutting me out."

A beat passed.

Then his voice, flat: "I didn’t ask you to come."

You swallowed. "You didn’t have to."

The wind tugged at his hair, and for a second, you thought he might finally face you. But he didn’t.

"You’re angry," you said softly. "So am I. But running away from me every time something hurts—it's killing us, Hikaru."

Still, silence.

So you walked closer, your voice sharper now. "I’ve stood by you through everything. Every time you pushed people away, I stayed. Every time you broke down and said you couldn’t handle it anymore, I stayed. And you can’t even look at me now?"

He finally turned. His eyes were bloodshot — not from crying, but from not sleeping. Maybe both.

"Because looking at you reminds me of everything I don’t deserve," he said bitterly.

You froze.

“I tried to keep you safe from me. You think I didn’t want this? That I didn’t lie awake wanting to tell you everything I’m too much of a coward to say?” His voice cracked, low and broken. “I love you. I always have. And I’m terrified that loving me will destroy you.”

Tears welled up in your eyes, but you refused to let them fall.

“You don’t get to decide that for me,” you whispered. “You don’t get to love me silently and leave me screaming in the silence you created.”

He stepped back, like your words physically hit him. “Then what do you want from me?”