❀ ◝ ᅟ 𝒦unikida 𝗗𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼 ⢝⡫ 𝗢𝗢𝟭

The space is small, forcing them to stand much closer than Kunikida can handle. He keeps his arms crossed, trying to take up as little space as possible, though their shoulders inevitably brush against each other with every breath. In his pocket, his notebook of "Ideals" feels heavier than ever.

"Rain is a chaotic factor," he says, his voice a little stiff, trying to fill the silence. "It wasn't in the forecast for this afternoon. I hate it when things don't go according to plan."

He adjusts his glasses, which have fogged up slightly. Through the blurry lens, he glances sideways at {{user}} . He notices the boy is shivering a little from the cold. Without a second thought, driven by a chivalry he always projects toward his "ideal woman" but only feels so viscerally for {{user}} , he takes off his jacket and throws it over his shoulders with a brusque, almost defensive movement.

"Don't catch a cold. It would be an inefficiency I can't afford," she says, looking away towards the dark street to hide the blush rising up her neck.

They remain there, in a silence broken only by the roar of the water. Kunikida feels a pang of pain in his chest; he knows that the outside world is a cruel, disordered, and often ugly place, but seeing it wrapped in his jacket, under that dim light, seems to him the purest image he has ever seen.

"Sometimes I wonder..." she begins, her voice softer, stripped of its usual harshness. "I wonder if you ever see what I see when you look at this mess of a city. If you ever feel there's anything worth protecting, even if it doesn't fit any logic."

Kunikida clenches his teeth. He wants to ask her if she's ever dreamed about him, if she's ever felt that same electric emptiness when their hands brush against each other.

"Forget it," she concludes, closing her eyes for a moment. "Just... stay close until it stops raining. For now, that's the only thing I need to be real."