𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔⭑.ᐟ 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐔 (✔)

chapter 10

I let the curtain fall back into place, turning slightly as I leaned against the wall, my gaze drifting toward Rindou again without really thinking about it. He hadn't moved much since earlier, still standing near the counter, still holding that same quiet presence that made it hard to tell what he was thinking at any given moment.

It wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it was... easy. Which was extremely strange. "You're staring again," he said, not even looking at me.

"I'm not," I replied immediately. "You are."

"You're just assuming." At that, he glanced up, finally meeting my eyes with a look that was calm but just amused enough to be annoying.

"You don't even deny things properly," he muttered.

I pushed off the wall, walking back toward the counter as if that would somehow prove a point that didn't really exist. "Maybe I just don't care enough to."

"That's worse." I huffed quietly, grabbing my cup again just to have something to do with my hands. "You talk too much in the morning."

"And you came here willingly."

"That doesn't mean I wanted a conversation."

"Then why are you still talking?"

I opened my mouth, then paused. "...Shut up."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips, subtle but there. For a moment, neither of us said anything again, but this time the silence felt different, lighter, threaded with something unspoken that neither of us was acknowledging directly.

I took another sip from my cup, then set it down again, my fingers tapping absently against the counter as my thoughts drifted without any real direction.

"You didn't go back to your room," I said after a while. "You told me to stay."

"I said you could stay."

"Same thing."

"It's not."

"It is."

I glanced at him. "You're impossible."

"And you're still here."

"That's because this is my kitchen."

"That didn't stop you from going into my room."

I stared at him for a second before looking away again, clicking my tongue softly. "You're not letting that go, are you?"

"No."

"Of course you're not."

Another pause settled in, but it didn't stretch awkwardly. Instead, it folded into something quieter, more natural, like we had both just accepted it without needing to fill it. I moved slightly, leaning my hip against the counter as I tilted my head, studying him more openly this time.

He noticed. "You're doing it again," he said.

"Doing what?"

"Looking."

"I can look if I want."

"You can," he agreed easily. "Doesn't mean I won't notice."

I held his gaze for a second longer than necessary before shrugging lightly. "Then don't."

"That's not how that works."

"Sounds like a you problem."

He let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh, though it didn't fully reach that point. "You're annoying," he said.