"You look tired," Miku said.
Jay smiled faintly. "I am."
"From work?"
"From not running."
She considered that. "Is it harder than leaving?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
They walked side by side, steps unhurried.
"Do you know what staying feels like to me?" Jay asked.
"Tell me."
"Like standing in a doorway," he said. "Not inside. Not outside."
"And what are you afraid of?"
"That if I step fully in," he said, "I won't know how to leave."
Miku nodded. "And if you stay halfway?"
"I lose you."
"Yes," she said softly.
Jay stopped walking.
"I don't want to lose you."
"Then don't talk like you already have," Miku replied.
He frowned. "I don't know how not to."
"Try this," she said. "Say what you feel, not what you're bracing for."
He took a breath. "I feel… uncertain."
"That's not a feeling," she said gently. "That's a state."
He tried again. "I feel scared."
She smiled. "That's closer."
They sat on a bench.
"Why didn't you leave when you stopped waiting?" Jay asked.
"Because stopping waiting wasn't about you," Miku said.
He looked surprised.
"It was about me," she continued. "I needed to know I could stand still without disappearing."
"And can you?"
"Yes," she said. "Can you?"
He hesitated. "I'm learning."
Jay stared at his hands.
"I still think you'll wake up one day and realize this is too much."
Miku tilted her head. "Do you want to hear something uncomfortable?"
"Yes."
"If I leave someday," she said calmly,"it won't be because you were afraid."
His chest tightened.
"It will be because you stayed afraid," she added.
He nodded. "That's fair."
He looked at her. "I don't know how to promise consistency."
"Then don't promise," she replied. "Show me effort."
"And if my effort is clumsy?"
"I'll tell you," she said. "Kindly."
He smiled. "You're good at that."
Jay hesitated, then reached for her hand.
"Is this okay?"
"Yes."
"If I pull away?"
"Tell me."
"If I don't?"
"Then I won't follow," she said. "But I won't punish you either."
He squeezed her fingers lightly. "That feels… safe."
She smiled softly. "Good. It should."
Jay exhaled. "I'm still scared."
Miku nodded. "So am I."
"Why stay then?"
"Because fear doesn't get to make all the decisions," she said."And because staying feels honest right now."
Jay smiled—small, real.
"Then let's stay," he said.
Miku met his gaze. "Today."
He nodded. "Today."
They sat there, not defining the future.
Just choosing the present.
And for the first time, staying didn't feel like a promise he would break.
It felt like a practice he was finally willing to learn.