The ride home was quieter than usual.Rain tapped against the car windows, each drop blurring the streetlights into smears of gold and white. Airi sat in the passenger seat, her hands folded neatly in her lap, while Ren kept his eyes fixed on the road. The tension wasn't loud—it didn't need to be. It sat between them, heavy and unspoken.
They had talked earlier, but not about the thing that mattered.
Ren's fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She's quieter than usual… Is she still thinking about what happened?He wanted to ask. The words sat on his tongue, but each time he tried to speak, the moment slipped away.
When they reached her apartment building, Ren cut the engine.Neither of them moved immediately. The only sound was the rain pattering on the roof.
"You should come in," Airi said softly, not looking at him. "It's still pouring."
Ren hesitated, but nodded. They climbed the stairs, the air thick with humidity and unsaid things.
Inside, her apartment felt warmer than the outside, but only just. Ren stood awkwardly near the entrance as Airi walked to the kitchen, putting water on to boil.
She didn't face him when she spoke."Ren… do you ever feel like we're avoiding something?"
The question hit him like a sudden chord in a quiet room.He swallowed. "Avoiding what?"
She turned, meeting his eyes for the first time that night. Her expression wasn't accusing—just searching."The silence," she said. "It feels like we're pretending everything's fine because it's easier than admitting it's not."
Ren opened his mouth, but closed it again. He wasn't sure which was worse—lying to her or telling the truth.
"I just… I don't want to lose what we have," Airi continued, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "But if we keep pretending, I'm afraid one day it'll just… disappear."
The kettle whistled in the background, but neither of them moved to stop it.
Ren stepped closer, his voice low. "Airi… I don't want to lose us either. But I'm scared. Scared that if we talk about it, it'll make it real."
She exhaled shakily, almost a laugh, almost a sob. "Maybe that's the point. Maybe we have to make it real so we can fix it."
For a long moment, they stood there, the space between them charged with both fear and hope.
Finally, Ren reached out, taking her hand."Then let's not avoid it anymore," he said.
Airi squeezed his fingers gently, as if testing whether he really meant it."Okay," she whispered. "But promise me… no more pretending."
"I promise."
The whistle of the kettle finally stopped, and the room fell into a softer kind of silence—one that didn't feel like it was pushing them apart, but holding them together.