DANCING WITH THE DEVIL | CHISHIYA X OC |

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
If this is the happiest I'll ever be, then let my heart stay right here

♤♡♢♧

On the next day Seina and Chishiya set out in search of food, but Seina's eyes lingered on more than just supplies.
She moved quietly, scanning the ruins for anything useful. Antibiotics, disinfectants, painkillers. The shelves were hollowed out, stripped bare by those who had come before. In the end, she found only a small box of antibiotics and a pack of fever reducers. Not much, but not nothing. Without hesitation, she slid them into her pocket, her movements fluid, practiced.

Chishiya approached, a pack of biscuits in hand. His expression, as always, was unreadable. "I remember these were your favorite." His tone was flat, devoid of sentiment. "Let's hope they're not expired."

Seina blinked. Something about the casual acknowledgment, so effortless, so insignificant in delivery, made her chest tighten.
Without thinking, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Chishiya stiffened, glancing at the ceiling as if searching for an escape. After a long pause, he awkwardly placed a hand on her back. "...Are you okay?"

Seina huffed a quiet laugh against his shoulder. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She hesitated before pulling back, made her expression into something neutral. "I'm just... not used to people being nice to me." Then, with a smirk, she added, "Though, really, I should be asking you that."

Chishiya's gaze flickered over her, unimpressed. "I'm fine."

Seina tilted her head. "Right. Because emotionally repressed people always are."

"Better than being emotionally reckless."

She grinned. "At least my emotions exist."

He exhaled sharply, turning toward the exit. "Let's go before you do something sentimental again."

Seina followed, rolling her eyes. "You wish. Next time, I'll invoice you for emotional growth."

Chishiya barely glanced at her. "I don't have money."

A slow smirk crept across her face. "Good thing I accept sarcasm as payment."

***

On their way they walked through a park, which was quiet, untouched by the destruction that reigned over the rest of the city. A lake stretched out before them, undisturbed, reflecting the deepening blue of the sky. The air smelled of sun-warmed grass and distant water, a stark contrast to the metallic scent of blood and smoke that had become so familiar.

Chishiya noticed the absence of Seina's footsteps before he realized she had fallen behind. He turned, expecting her to be a few steps back, but instead, he found her sprawled in the grass near the water's edge, arms loose at her sides, dark hair spilling over the green. She hadn't said anything, hadn't looked at him, just stopped and let herself fall back into the warmth of the sun as if the weight of the world had finally grown too heavy.

He stood there for a moment, watching her. Then, with a slow breath, he walked back.

By the time he reached her, she had already closed her eyes, the corners of her lips curling faintly upward.

"It looks so peaceful right now," she murmured, her voice softer than usual. "Like everything is good. Just stay here for a little while. Just pretend a bit.

Then she went still again, eyes shut, letting the sunlight soak into her skin as if she could hold onto the warmth forever.

Chishiya exhaled, half-exasperated, but instead of arguing, instead of reminding her that they had a place to be, he sat down beside her.
Too close.
Their arms brushed, her skin warm against his.

And for some reason, he didn't move away.
Instead, he let himself look at her.

The way the light kissed her features, softening the sharp lines of her face. The slow, steady rise and fall of her breath. The way her lashes cast delicate shadows against her cheeks, her lips parted just slightly. Strands of dark hair slipped over her collarbone, catching the golden light like ink against paper.

She was...

Chishiya swallowed, forcing his gaze away. But the thought was already there, lodged in the back of his mind.

Seina was beautiful in a way that wasn't fair. In a way that made him forget, for just a moment, that the world around them was nothing but death and destruction.

The silence stretched between them, thick and warm, and then Seina's voice broke it.

"Sometimes," she said quietly, "I feel like I've already passed the happiest point of my life."

Chishiya's fingers twitched against the grass. He didn't look at her. "And when was that?"

She let out a slow breath. "I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe a long time ago. Maybe back when things still made sense." There was a pause, and then she turned her head slightly, just enough that her eyes met his. "Or maybe it's right now."

Chishiya held her gaze, unreadable, but something in him twisted at her words.

"You think this," he said after a beat, tilting his chin slightly, "is the happiest you've ever been?"

She let out a soft, breathy laugh. "That's the thing about happiness, isn't it? You never really know when you're at the highest point. Not until it's already behind you."

Chishiya didn't answer. He thought about that. About her. About the way she had become something constant in a world where nothing was meant to last.

And maybe that was why, without thinking, without planning, he reached for her.

He leaned in slowly, giving her time to move away, to stop him. But she didn't. She tilted her face slightly, as if she had been waiting, as if she had already known this moment was inevitable.

And then their lips met.

The first touch was soft, hesitant in a way that neither of them usually were. Seina inhaled sharply, and for a second, it felt like neither of them were breathing at all.

Chishiya expected the moment to pass quickly, to pull away and brush it off with some offhanded remark. But then she moved, just slightly, just enough to deepen the kiss, to press herself closer, and he felt something tighten in his chest.

She was warm beneath his fingertips, her skin flushed from the sun, her lips parting just enough for him to taste her breath, to lose himself in the slow, intoxicating press of her mouth against his.

And for the first time in as long as he could remember, he wasn't thinking.
Not planning, not calculating, not staying two steps ahead. Just... feeling.

Her hand ghosted up his arm, fingertips barely touching his skin, but it was enough to make something in him unravel. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that.
Seconds, minutes, a lifetime compressed into a single breath.

When they finally broke apart, neither of them moved right away. Their foreheads nearly touched, their breaths still mingling in the space between them.

Seina was the first to speak.

"If this," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, "is the happiest I've ever been... I think I'd be okay with that."