Toji sat in his room, lit only by the soft blue glow of his laptop screen. The rest of Nevermore buzzed outside his door with its usual chaos, but he worked through it like a man threading needles underwater. His fingers moved fast, typing code, answering investor messages, reviewing shipment reports. His company was growing faster than he had any right to expect. Orders were lining up in numbers that made even him squint.
Probably because that old hag went behind his back and cash in some favour that an unfortunate soul owned her
It was stupid, honestly. He wasn't supposed to be this successful this early in life. Reincarnated, overprepared, overpowered… and yet he still felt like he was just faking it with better notes.
The notification bar pinged again with another contract offer. He saved the document, leaned back, and exhaled through his nose. His eyes should've been on the screen, but his mind kept floating back to Wednesday. The divorce talk. The cold walls between them. The words she never said out loud but he heard anyway. Some part of him kept replaying her expression, the tiny hesitation she probably thought no one noticed.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, annoyed at himself for caring. Annoyed that she didn't think he cared.
A soft knock tapped at the door. Two polite knocks. Hesitant ones. Someone who wasn't sure if they should even be knocking.
Toji blinked. Only one person knocked like that.
"Come in," he called, closing a few tabs—not because he was hiding anything, but because he suddenly felt weird about her seeing too much of his world.
The door cracked open, and Enid poked her head in, all bright eyes and nervous energy, though she tried to hide it with a grin. Her rainbow sweater looked softer than usual in the dim lighting.
"Hey, Toji. Hope I'm not… y'know… interrupting world domination or whatever you're always doing on that laptop."
Toji's lips twitched. "Nothing that dramatic. Just work." He sat up a little straighter, suddenly too aware of how quiet the room was. "Did you need something?"
Enid stepped inside but closed the door with unusual gentleness, like the air might shatter if she moved too fast. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, twisting it into a knot before letting it go.
"I, um… wanted to check on you." She tried to say it lightly, but it came out softer than cotton.
Toji raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
She looked away fast, the tips of her ears going pink. "You've been… distant. More than usual. And I know something happened with Wednesday. I'm not asking for details. I just—" She bit her lip, searching for words that wouldn't betray her care too obviously. "I just wanted to make sure you're not, like, falling apart in here."
Toji huffed under his breath. "I'm fine, Enid."
"You always say that." She stepped closer, hesitant but stubborn. "But you're sitting in the dark with your laptop glowing like a sad tech goblin. So forgive me for doubting."
Toji actually laughed, quiet and low. "You're dramatic."
"Says the guy brooding in grayscale."
He shook his head, but she wasn't wrong. Her presence softened something in the air. She sat on the edge of his desk, hands resting on her knees, posture open but uncertain. Her gaze kept flicking between him and the floor, like she was trying not to overstep but kept doing it anyway.
"You're sure you're okay?" she asked again. This time it wasn't playful. It was barely above a whisper, like she was afraid of the answer.
Toji looked at her properly. The worry in her eyes. The shy way she tried hiding it. The ridiculous warmth blooming under all that neon bravado.
"I'm managing," he said, voice lower than before. "Just thinking. Working."
Enid nodded slowly, relief slipping into her shoulders. "Good. I mean… good that you're not, you know, spiraling." Then, in a smaller voice she didn't intend to sound small: "We'd miss you if you did."
That one hit deeper than she probably realized.
Toji stared at his keyboard to steady himself, then gave a tiny smile he didn't usually let anyone see. "Thanks. Really."
Enid's cheeks flushed, but she still lifted her chin with that little proud-wolf spark. "Anytime."
She stood as if she should leave, then hesitated halfway to the door, glancing back like she had something else to say but couldn't quite say it.
"Toji… if you ever want company. Or noise. Or someone who won't judge your seriously concerning sleep schedule…" She lifted a shoulder. "I'm around."
He nodded once. Polite but warm. "I know."
Her smile softened in a way it didn't for many people. "Okay."
She slipped out, closing the door quietly behind her, leaving the room somehow fuller than before.
Toji stared at the door for a few seconds before returning to his laptop. His fingers hovered above the keyboard… then stopped.
For the first time that day, the work could wait.
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How are you pokie bears doing. Good l hope