For once—
Nothing was heavy.
No big conversations.No difficult truths waiting to be said.No quiet tension sitting between them.
Just… an easy day.
"Where are we going?" Kai asked as Velithra pulled him along the street.
"You'll see," she said.
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not supposed to be."
He laughed under his breath but let her lead.
They stopped in front of a small arcade tucked between two shops.
Kai blinked.
"You're serious?"
Velithra crossed her arms. "Problem?"
"No," he said quickly. "I just didn't expect this."
She smirked slightly.
"That's the point."
Inside, the place was filled with soft lights, quiet music, and the sounds of games beeping in the background.
Kai looked around like a kid who hadn't been there in years.
"I haven't done this in forever," he admitted.
"Then you're overdue," Velithra said, already heading toward a machine.
She handed him a handful of tokens.
"Try not to lose immediately."
"Wow," he said. "No faith in me."
"None."
They played everything.
Racing games.
Air hockey.
Claw machines that absolutely refused to cooperate.
Kai lost more than he won.
Velithra reminded him of it constantly.
"You're actually terrible at this," she said as he missed another shot.
"I'm being sabotaged."
"By what?"
"Bad game design."
She laughed.
It was light.
Carefree.
The kind of laughter that didn't carry anything underneath it.
At one point, Kai finally won something.
A small, slightly crooked stuffed toy from one of the machines.
He held it up proudly.
"Skill."
Velithra gave him a look. "That took you six tries."
"Doesn't matter. I succeeded."
He looked at the toy, then at her.
Without overthinking it, he handed it to her.
Velithra blinked.
"For me?"
Kai shrugged, suddenly a little awkward.
"Yeah. You can't say I never win anything."
She took it, a small smile forming.
"I'll treasure it," she said lightly.
"You better."
Later, they stepped back outside.
The sky was turning soft orange as evening settled in.
Kai stretched.
"Okay," he admitted. "That was actually fun."
Velithra raised an eyebrow. "You doubted me?"
"Always."
She nudged his shoulder.
They started walking without a set direction.
No plan.
No destination.
Just moving.
After a while, Kai spoke.
"This felt… normal."
Velithra glanced at him.
"It is normal."
He shook his head slightly.
"No, I mean… not thinking about everything else."
She understood.
And for once, she felt the same.
"Yeah," she said. "It did."
They slowed as they reached her street.
Kai looked over at her.
"We should do more days like this."
Velithra smiled.
"We will."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Just certainty in that moment.
Before she went inside, she looked down at the small toy still in her hand.
"Does this count as part of the list?" she asked.
Kai thought for a second.
Then shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?"
He smiled slightly.
"Because this one wasn't planned."
Velithra looked at him.
"And?"
"And I think those are the best ones."
She didn't argue with that.
Because he was right.
Not every moment had to be written down.
Some just happened.
And sometimes—
those were the ones that mattered most.