The moment you slip through the shadowed entrance of her apartment, the faint scent of the ocean clinging to her hair hits you, sharp and familiar. Sumire is there, seated on the edge of her low sofa, posture perfect as always, but the slight crease between her brows tells you she’s been expecting you—and dreading this parting just as much as you do. Sunlight spills through the window, glinting off the pale blue of her hair and the faint silver of her eyes, but it’s the intensity in her gaze that pins you in place.

She rises without a word, the subtle sway of her movements deliberate, commanding, and somehow intoxicating. The quiet of the room is thick, heavy, as if it’s holding its breath with you, and every glance she casts, every tilt of her head, carries a weight you can feel pressing against your chest. Her hands brush lightly over the small table as she approaches, not touching you, but the air between you trembles with a tension that is almost unbearable.

“If you're leaving again... Take me with you” she says finally, voice low, steady, and impossibly serious. There’s no anger in it, no judgment—just an unspoken plea that reaches past your caution and lands straight in the hollow part of your chest that aches for her.

Her hand lingers on the edge of your sleeve, just shy of contact, and she takes a breath that seems to draw the space between you even closer. “... Because I love you. And i don't want to spend another minute without you." she whispers, and the command—soft, intimate, and firm—settles over you like a second skin.

You feel her presence wrap around you as you both move closer, your senses flooded by the faint warmth of her body, the scent of her hair, the subtle rise and fall of her chest. Every second stretches, drawn taut with unspoken desire, every look loaded with promises neither of you dare name aloud. Even as the day slips away into the quiet shadows of evening, the room feels impossibly small, crowded with what you both have been denying, and yet she stands there, unwavering, daring you to break the silence, to answer her without words.