Kairos walked beside Ares, the night air cool on their faces as they made their way toward her dorm. The campus was quiet, the streets mostly empty, the occasional streetlight flickering softly.
They were talking about random things—class, professors, minor frustrations—but the conversation felt easy, like it could keep going forever.
At some point, Ares reached into her bag and pulled out a small keychain. It was the same one Kairos had almost lost weeks ago, the one he thought was his.
"Wait… is that a Miku keychain?" he asked, surprised.
Ares looked up, a small grin on her face. "Yeah. You like her?"
Kairos raised an eyebrow. "I mean… I know her songs. Not a lot of people know Miku these days. You really listen to her?"
She didn't answer right away. Instead, she started singing softly:
"Miku, Miku, you can call me Miku
Blue hair, blue tie, hiding in your Wi-Fi
Open secrets, anyone can find me
Hear your music running through my mind…"
Kairos couldn't help himself. He joined in:
"I'm thinking Miku, Miku (ooh-ee-ooh)
I'm thinking Miku, Miku (ooh-ee-ooh)"
She continued:
"I'm thinking Miku, Miku (ooh-ee-ooh)
I'm thinking Miku, Miku (ooh-ee-ooh)…"
"I'm on top of the world because of you"
"All I wanted to do is follow you"
"I keep singing along because of you I keep singing along.."
"I'm thinking Miku, Miku (ooh-ee-ooh)
I'm thinking Miku, Miku (ooh-ee-ooh)"
----
They went back and forth, line by line, finishing the song together. When the last note ended, they both laughed, breathless and smiling.
"You're… actually really good at this," Kairos said.
Ares shrugged, still smiling. "Takes one to know one, I guess."
They walked in silence for a few moments, letting the cool night air settle around them. The soft hum of campus life continued in the distance, but it felt like their own little world.
"You know," Kairos said, glancing at her, "you're not as princessy as I thought you'd be."
Ares chuckled, looking down for a moment before meeting his eyes. "And you're not as weird as everyone proclaims."
Kairos shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I don't really care what they call me, honestly. People tend to judge others a lot. When you do something they don't like or aren't familiar with, you're either a bad person or a weird person. Quite arrogant, isn't it? That's why I stopped caring. I just do the little things that make me happy."
He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, a shadow of sadness in his smile. "Hehe… sorry, I was saying bullshit again."
Ares shook her head gently, looking forward with a calm, almost solemn expression. "I understand what you mean. I get that kind of judgment too. Just because of where you came from, people judge you for what you stand for, not who you are. Everyone expects a lot from you, and when you fail, they're ready to curse you instead of helping—but when you succeed, the same hands they withheld are suddenly clapping. Trying so hard to not break or fail their expectations… it's exhausting."
She turned to him briefly, her eyes soft but sad. "Lucky you… you get to not care about what people say about you. Must be nice, huh?"
Kairos felt a pang in his chest seeing her like that—like an animal lover seeing a tiny kitten scared and alone. All he wanted to do was hug her tightly and tell her everything would be okay. But he held back, forcing himself to take a deep breath..he was not ready to go to prison yet.
Kairos hesitated for a moment, then nudged her shoulder lightly. "Hey, you don't have to care either. Their opinions are worthless if they don't even try to know you for you truly are."
Ares sighed, but the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Says the guy who literally doesn't care about anything."
"Not true," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I care about Miku,Skirk,waguri and… well, I guess I care that you don't look like you wanna drop-kick the next person who judges you."
That startled a laugh out of her. "Wow. Poetic."
"I have my moments."
They reached the dorm steps, the yellow light from the entrance washing over them. Ares turned to him, her usual sharpness softened just a fraction. "Thanks. For tonight. And… the Miku duet. That was fun."
Kairos grinned. "Damn right we killed it. We should start a cover band."
"Absolutely not."
"Tsk tsk you lack the vision....sigh. But if you change your mind, I call dibs on the triangle."
She rolled her eyes, but there was no real bite to it. "Goodnight, Kairos."
"Night, Ares."
As she walked inside, Kairos lingered for a second, watching the door close behind her. The night air felt quieter now, but not in a bad way, more like the calm after a storm...or before the storm cuz there's a fweakin test tomorrow.
....sigh....
For the first time in a long while, he didn't feel so alone.
And judging by the way Ares had smiled just before leaving, maybe she didn't either.