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Later that evening, after the laughter and teasing had finally died down, the group parted ways outside the restaurant.

The evening air was cool, the sky a soft navy shade dusted with stars, and the streetlamps cast a golden glow over the sidewalk.

Shinobu lingered behind, her steps slower than the others as she stared quietly at the pavement.

Giyuu noticed.

He didn't say anything at first-just stayed beside her, walking with the same pace until it was just the two of them, a few steps behind the rest.

“I think”

Shinobu said softly

“They're never going to let us live that moment down.”

“They won't”

Giyuu replied simply, voice calm.

She chuckled under her breath, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“You wiped my mouth like we've been married ten years.”

"Did I?"

He asked, the faintest edge of playfulness in his voice-barely noticeable, but it was there.

Shinobu glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Don't act like you didn't know what you were doing."

They stopped near the front of her dorm building.

A soft wind blew past, rustling the trees nearby and making her butterfly hairpin shift slightly.

She turned to face him fully, arms crossed-like she was bracing herself for something.

But then, without a word, Giyuu reached for her hand.

His fingers were warm as they curled gently around hers, rough palms brushing her knuckles.

She blinked, surprised, but didn't pull away. Instead, she watched as he lifted her hand slightly, then slowly ran his thumb across the back of it in small, tender circles.

"I meant what I said"

Giyuu murmured, finally looking up at her.

"I want to be better."

His eyes were softer now-deeper, like the ocean after a storm.

And his lips, so often a neutral line, curved upward ever so slightly into the faintest smile.

Shinobu felt her chest tighten.

The wind might've been cold, but his touch was warm. Steady. Honest.

"Then keep doing what you're doing,"

She whispered.

"Because it's working."

Giyuu chuckled softly, the sound low and warm in the cool night air.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, exhaling deeply through his nose like the weight he'd been carrying for days had lessened, even just a little.

The faint curve of a smile still lingered on his lips as he looked down at Shinobu.

She tilted her head at him, raising an eyebrow with an amused expression before a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

Her eyes still held a spark of something unspoken-something slowly unraveling between them.

"Let's call it a night, for now"