"There's something I should've told you earlier," Jay said.
Miku didn't move. "You don't have to say it perfectly."
"I won't," he replied. "I don't know how."
"That's fine," she said. "Start anyway."
Jay looked down. "I loved someone before you."
"I know," Miku answered softly.
He looked up, surprised. "How?"
"You carry it," she said. "In the way you flinch when things feel steady."
He nodded. "She didn't leave all at once."
Miku waited.
"She left by slowly choosing other things," he continued."By making me feel like asking for time was asking for too much."
"That hurts," Miku said.
"Yes," Jay replied. "It taught me that wanting someone was dangerous."
"I promised myself I'd never wait again," he said."Never need someone more than they needed me."
"And then?" Miku asked.
"And then you came along," he said quietly."And you stayed without asking me to beg."
She smiled faintly. "That scared you."
"Yes."
"When you stopped waiting," Jay said,"I realized I wasn't afraid of losing you."
Miku tilted her head. "Then what were you afraid of?"
"That you chose me," he answered."And I didn't know how to be chosen without panicking."
Miku spoke gently. "You don't have to earn being loved."
Jay shook his head. "That's not how it felt before."
"But this isn't before," she said.
"I know," he replied. "That's what makes this hard."
"When I say 'leave me alone,'" Jay admitted,"I'm really asking if you'll stay anyway."
Miku's voice stayed calm. "I won't stay against myself."
He nodded. "I know. And I respect that."
"That's new," she said.
"I'm trying," he replied.
Jay hesitated. "I don't know how to need you without feeling weak."
"Then don't call it need," Miku said."Call it choosing."
He exhaled slowly. "I choose you."
She didn't rush to respond.
"Say it again," she said quietly."Without sounding like an apology."
Jay swallowed. "I choose you."
Silence.
Then Miku said, "That doesn't mean I won't leave someday."
"I know," Jay replied. "But you won't disappear."
"No," she said. "I won't."
He looked at her. "I don't want to repeat what I lost."
"Then don't," she said. "Talk before fear talks for you."
"I will," he said. "Even when it's messy."
"I prefer messy," she smiled. "Silence hurts more."
Jay reached for her hand.
"Is this okay?" he asked.
"Yes," Miku replied.
"I'm still afraid," he admitted.
She squeezed his fingers gently. "So am I."
"And you're still here."
"Yes," she said. "Because now you're here too."
Jay nodded, something settling in his chest.
"I avoided this conversation for years," he said.
"And now?" Miku asked.
"Now," he replied,"I don't want to avoid you."
They didn't say anything after that.
They didn't need to.
Because for the first time, the words he had avoided had finally been spoken—and neither of them had disappeared.