The strange thing was…
Nothing exploded.
The next morning, the sky looked the same. The halls sounded the same. Lockers slammed. People laughed. Someone was arguing about homework near the stairwell.
Velithra spotted Kai by the lockers like always.
For half a second, she felt shy.
Not because she regretted it.
Because it was real now.
He saw her at the same moment.
And smiled.
Not bigger than usual.Not showier.
Just warmer.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning."
They stood there a second longer than usual, like both of them were aware of the invisible shift between them.
"I still mean it," Kai said quietly.
Velithra blinked. "You said it less than twenty-four hours ago."
"I know," he replied. "Just making sure it doesn't feel like a one-time announcement."
Her chest softened.
"I still mean it too," she said.
That was it.
No dramatics.
They walked to class shoulder to shoulder, fingers brushing naturally until Kai intertwined their hands without looking down.
It felt different.
Not heavier.
Just… grounded.
At lunch, a few people noticed. Not the hand-holding—they'd done that before. It was something subtler. The way they looked at each other. The ease.
"You two are glowing," someone joked from across the table.
Velithra felt heat creep up her neck, but this time she didn't shrink.
Kai squeezed her hand once under the table.
Later, when they were alone by the field again, Velithra leaned back on her hands and looked at the sky.
"I thought saying it would change everything," she admitted.
"Did it?" Kai asked.
She thought carefully.
"It changed the silence," she said. "There's less guessing now."
Kai nodded slowly. "Yeah. I don't feel like I'm holding something back anymore."
Velithra looked at him then.
There was no rush to escalate. No sudden expectations. No pressure to prove anything.
Just comfort.
"Love isn't loud," she said quietly.
Kai tilted his head. "Sometimes it is."
"Not ours," she replied.
He smiled faintly. "Ours is steady."
She liked that.
Steady.
Not dramatic. Not fragile.
When the wind picked up, Kai draped his jacket around her shoulders without thinking. She slipped her arms through it, breathing in the familiar scent.
"You know," he said softly, "I don't feel different around you."
"Good," she replied.
"I just feel… closer."
Velithra stepped toward him then, wrapping her arms around his waist. Not tight. Just sure.
"Closer's good," she murmured.
And as the sun dipped lower, they stood there—not chasing fireworks, not chasing intensity.
Just standing in something solid.
Something they both chose.