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As Kurea let the door creak shut behind her, its wooden sign that read ‘ferme’ rapped against the window pane inside. She took only a step forward onto the cobblestone path before her eyelids fluttered shut, and a subtle smile took form at her lips.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Luluka-san.”
When she was met with a lone, mysterious howl of the twilight midsummer breeze in reply, she craned her neck back and peeled her eyes open to find, as expected, Luluka staring back at her in surprise from where she’d perched herself on the roof.
After a few seconds of silence, Luluka sighed in defeat, her initial shock giving way for an amused grin of her own.
“… You really are a sharp one…”
… You always were.
Kurea giggled innocently, a playful glint shimmering in her golden irises beneath the dim lantern’s light. “Just instinct, really…” she started, her expression growing fonder as she brought a hand up to place gently over her heart. “It’s hard to explain, but… I think there’s a part of me that can sense when you’re near, somehow. Like, sometimes I’ll get this vague feeling that I’ll be seeing you, and then an hour later you’re stepping right through the patisserie doors.”
Luluka’s eyes widened slightly, and the ‘stuffed toy’ in her lap seemed to stiffen somehow. She quickly turned away, conveniently concealing the top half of her face in shadow. “I… I see.”
Kurea’s arm fell back to her side, her lips pressing into a pensive frown. Another gentle breeze brushed passed her, combing through her hair and fluttering the fabric wings of her butterfly hairclip. After a long moment, she finally turned her back to Luluka, clasping her hands behind her as her lips curled up knowingly.
“… And, I could be wrong, but I think a similar feeling is telling me that you don’t want to be alone right now.”
After a moment, Kurea’s clever deduction was answered by a swift ‘whoosh,’ followed by the echoing collision of boots meeting ground.
“… I just wanted to make sure you got home safe. After… yesterday.”
Kurea recognized the turmoil thick in Luluka’s voice as she spoke, but knew better than to press further. The response she’d just received was as much an answer her fogged heart could long for right now, and the most that Luluka's could manage to muster.
Kurea craned her neck back one last time, offering Luluka a sweet smile; one that creased the corners of her eyes and seemed to make her pearly teeth glimmer like jewels. At the sight, Luluka’s brows raised and a hand reached out on instinct, but she quickly stopped herself as though she were caught in an internal deadlock to maintain composure.
“Thank you, Luluka-san. You can follow me as far and as long as you please. You could even watch me sleep through the window, if you wanted.”
Kurea’s invitation soared through the air like an arrow, piercing effortlessly through the most wounded, sensitive depths of Luluka’s aching heart. She silently brought her gaze downwards, while Kurea started towards the sidewalk without waiting for a proper reply. She didn’t need one; for her heart already knew what Luluka’s answer would be.
By the time she reached the street corner, an exhilarating rush coursed through her veins as she felt a watchful, familiar set of eyes lock onto her in the distance. From exactly where or how far she couldn’t tell, but that didn’t matter. As long as she could feel Luluka’s presence, it was more than enough. If this was as close as they could get right now, then she would gladly be a player in this special little game of theirs; for as long as she had to.