They both knew it was coming.
Not written in the notebook.
Not part of the list.
But bigger than anything on it.
They had avoided it long enough.
It started quietly.
Like everything else between them.
They were walking, slower than usual.
No real direction.
Just moving.
Kai glanced at her.
Then looked away.
Then back again.
"You've been thinking about it too, haven't you?" Velithra said.
He gave a small, almost guilty smile.
"Was it that obvious?"
She nodded.
"Yeah."
Silence followed.
Not awkward.
Just… waiting.
Kai exhaled slowly.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay," she echoed.
But neither of them spoke right away.
Because once it was said—
It couldn't be taken back.
Finally, Kai stopped walking.
Velithra stopped too.
They stood facing each other.
"What happens after I leave?" he asked.
There it was.
Velithra didn't pretend she didn't understand.
She had been thinking about it for days.
Weeks.
"I don't know," she said honestly.
Kai nodded.
"I don't either."
Another pause.
He looked down for a second.
Then back up.
"But I don't want this to just… end," he said.
His voice wasn't desperate.
Just real.
Velithra's chest tightened slightly.
"Me neither."
That part was easy.
The harder part was everything after.
Kai ran a hand through his hair.
"So… what do we do?"
Velithra took a small breath.
This was the part they had been avoiding.
Not because they didn't care—
But because they cared too much.
"We try," she said.
Kai blinked slightly.
"Try?"
She nodded.
"We don't pretend it'll be easy. We don't promise it'll stay the same."
Her voice softened.
"But we don't give up on it before it even starts."
Kai held her gaze.
Letting the words settle.
"You really think we can?" he asked.
Velithra didn't answer right away.
Because she wasn't sure.
But then she stepped closer.
Closed the distance between them.
"I think it's worth trying," she said.
That was enough.
Kai nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Not confident.
Not certain.
But willing.
"And if it changes?" he asked quietly.
Velithra's expression didn't break.
"Then we deal with it when it happens."
No false promises.
No guarantees.
Just honesty.
Kai let out a small breath.
Something in him easing slightly.
"Okay," he said.
Velithra smiled faintly.
"Okay."
They stood there for a moment longer.
Not rushing away.
Not needing to say more.
Because the question they had both been avoiding—
Was finally answered.
Not perfectly.
Not completely.
But enough.
And sometimes—
enough was all you could ask for.