~ Third Person Pov ~
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Ayano finally opened the door...
Creak~
He had stepped in quietly, the latch clicking softly behind him...
The air inside was still warm from earlier, holding the faint scent of simmered broth and lightly scorched vegetables — remnants of the lunch rush, long cooled. The contrast from the outside noise and dust was relatively immediate. The house felt... still. Like it had been holding its breath.
He didn't call out to her. He didn't really need to.
Yukari was there, sitting at the kitchen table. Same place she'd been that morning, though now the room's lighting cast longer shadows, the daylight crawling further down the walls as afternoon leaned into early evening. Her phone sat screen-down beside her, her hands resting motionless in her lap...
She didn't look up at first. But, she knew it was him...
"Hey," she said, barely above a whisper. Her voice had sounded quite tired — not really physically, but more so emotionally speaking. Like, it had just finished holding back too much problems all at once.
Ayano glanced at her from the doorway. His expression unreadable, but his posture had shifted — a little more guarded than it had been when he left. He stepped out of his shoes quietly and made his way in, footsteps soft on the wooden floor.
He didn't speak yet.
Instead, he walked past the table, toward the kitchen counter. He opened the fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, twisted the cap off with one slow hand — then took a long sip.
Yukari watched him now, her eyes tracking his movements with a mix of caution and quiet thought. Like she was bracing herself for something she didn't want to hear. Finally, Ayano turned around, leaning slightly against the counter. His arms crossed loosely, water bottle in hand.
He looked at her. "You okay?" he asked, voice level.
Yukari's gaze dipped for a moment, then back up.
"No... Not, really." she admitted, calmly.
Ayano gave a slow nod. He didn't press any further, nor did he ask who the call was with, or what it was about. Maybe he didn't have to.
Maybe she was hoping he would.
"I'm guessing you heard some of it?" Yukari asked quietly, fingers lacing together in her lap. "I wasn't exactly subtle when I was speaking to her."
He sighed; "I didn't really mean to pry or listen in..." Ayano replied. "I was just walking back from my little trip. Then I... stopped, when I heard you."
She didn't seem angry at the revelation. Just... exposed. And more than anything, embarrassed by that exposure.
"You think I'm being reckless, aren't you..." she said.
Ayano tilted his head slightly. "No."
Yukari raised a brow, skeptical. "You, don't?"
"No." he calmy repeated. "I think you're still figuring things out. And you're not pretending to have the answers anymore... That alone, I think it's a fairly rare kind of honesty to have with yourself."
He walked over slowly, and gently pulled out the chair across from her. Sitting down without a sound.
Yukari must have stared at the surface of the table between them for a few seconds, then let out a soft breath — like the first few bricks of a wall were being set down again, but slower this time. More carefully.
"...She's, worried about me." she said after a beat. "Thinks I'm hiding from something... She thinks I left her."
"Did you?"
She didn't answer right away. "No... of course not." she said exasperatedly. "Not, her. Just... the version of me that had existed around her."
That answer sat between them for a long moment.
Ayano didn't judge her. He didn't try to console either... He thought it best to just sit with it, letting the silence carry what didn't need to be spoken verbally.
Then, after a long pause, he quickly said, "You hungry?"
Yukari blinked. "What?"
"Well, you look like you haven't eaten since this morning, so I thought I might as well ask, are you...?"
Her lips twitched faintly — not quite a smile, not quite disbelief. "You're seriously asking me that right now?"
"Yeah..." he said, plainly. "Because, if you're gonna stay here and unravel yourself slowly in my kitchen, you might as well do it with something hot in your stomach..."
She let out a small laugh — The kind that comes after tears that don't get permission to fall...
"Alright," she whispered. "Sure. Why not."
Ayano stood, pushed the chair back with a quiet scrape, and started opening cabinets. No questions...
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Yukari stayed seated, her fingers were now idly tracing a faint scratch in the tabletop. She didn't look up immediately, but her posture shifted — no longer wound so tight. Not relaxed, but... looser. Like a rope with the first few knots untied.
Ayano moved around the kitchen with silent efficiency, grabbing a pot, setting it on the stove. The click of the burner, the whoosh of flame. He filled it with water, reached for some noodles, a few leftover vegetables, a strip of meat from the back of the fridge. Nothing fancy — just something warm, like he had said...
Yukari finally spoke again, voice low, almost reluctant.
"You know I used to cook all the time?" she asked, eyes still on the scratch. "Years ago. Before everything started getting more... complicated for me."
Ayano glanced over his shoulder. "Hmm? What stopped you?"
She shrugged. "I think... I started seeing food as nothing more than a tool... Something, functional at most. Just, fuel to keep my body moving to complete my tasks. Then, somewhere along the way, the joy of it just... disappeared."
He didn't say anything at first. Just nodded slightly, turned back to chopping vegetables with calm, clean precision...
"I think... I think I'm beginning to see what kind of person you are, Yukari-san." Ayano finally added.
Yukari turned her gazed towards him. "Really? What have you surmised then?" She said surprised, but in a manner that was more so curious.
"Well..." He started, chopping the onions. "I think you are a responsible person. Kind as well, and not afraid to protect or help the people you deem important. I even think you're quite intelligent, and very aware of both you and your own surroundings." He finished, peeling the carrots.
"But..." he added, voice dropping just slightly, "I think you've been dealt some pretty bad cards in your life. Things that shaped you into who you are today — still everything I said before, just... more vigilant. More, tired. Maybe I'd go as far to say that you're even burnt out. Because of everything you've had to carry, and everything you feel like you have to accomplish because of it."
He didn't say it with pity. Or with judgment either. Just quiet, yet careful observation. Yukari didn't reply right away...
Her eyes were still on him — but considerably softer now. The usual tension in her shoulders had slackened without her even realizing. She had leaned forward slightly, her fingers gently curling around the edge of the table, anchoring her there like the words had unsettled something deeper than even she expected...
"...That's, a pretty great read." She said, eventually, her voice slightly quieter now. "Have you always been this perceptive?"
Ayano shrugged. "I'm used to paying attention. When people don't say what they mean, you start learning how to hear the things they don't say." However, it was a skill he had picked up when he had gambled in his last life. In that kind of world, hos own perceptiveness was all he could really rely on...
Yukari exhaled slowly, a somewhat dry chuckle escaping her lips. "I should've known you'd be dangerous the moment you opened your mouth this morning."
He looked up at that, mildly amused. "Dangerous...? Me? Really?"
"Yes." she said calmly, eyes narrowing slightly in thought... "You don't even talk much. But, when you do, you go for the part of someone they didn't think anyone would notice."
She leaned back slightly, watching him from across the room now.
"I've worked with many soldiers, agents, engineers... people trained to hide everything. And still — Ironically, I don't think any of them made me feel as... read as you just did."
Ayano gave a faint smirk. "Sorry... I wasn't trying to do that."
"Well~" Her eyes were now roaming his form completely. "That's what makes it worse." She then replied sharply. He then heard her chair creak, then her footsteps slowly after...
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"Hey, I'm almost don-" Ayano said before stopping. He felt a nice fragrance hit his nostrils before slender arms wrapped around his torso... 'What the!?' He thought surprised. Before he could even turn, he felt a head — her head nestle at the back of his hoodie.
"Yu-Yukari!?" He said, surprised at what she was doing.
In a calm voice, she responded... "Remember when you asked if I was sure if this - My feelings for you were real?" She trailed off behind him.
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"I've found my answer..." She paused. Hugging even more tightly... "And... That answer... is a yes."
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END