The forest was quiet that night, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the soft crackling of their small campfire. The air was cool but not cold, filled with the faint scent of moss and woodsmoke. Subaru sat on a fallen log, hunched slightly forward with his elbows on his knees and his thoughts tangled in silence.

  He hadn’t spoken for a while. Not since they finished their modest dinner—some dried meat and foraged fruit. He’d gone quiet, and Rem, sensing his mood, hadn’t pushed. She knew. She always knew.

  Now she stood a few steps away, her back turned, gazing up at the moon as it hovered just above the tree line. Her blue hair drifted in the breeze. Even here, far from the mansion, far from battle, from politics, from everything they had left behind—she looked like she belonged in a painting. Serene. Still. Radiant in a way that felt unreal.

  And yet she was real.

  He had her.

  And that terrified him more than anything.

  “…Rem,” he finally said, his voice cracking just slightly.

  She turned at once. “Yes, Subaru-kun?”

  “Give me your hands.”

  She blinked, caught off guard by the sudden request. But she didn’t hesitate. She stepped closer with her usual grace, the hem of her skirt brushing the grass as she extended her hands toward him—palms up, offering.

  Subaru reached out and took them in his own.

  They were warm.

  Not soft, not exactly. Calloused from years of work. But gentle. Steady.

  “Your hands…” he murmured, running his thumbs lightly over the backs of them. “They’re small. I guess I never really noticed before.”

  Rem smiled faintly. “Rem has always had small hands. But they’re yours now.”

  The words struck him like a wave, pulling something tight in his chest. He swallowed hard, eyes lowering to their joined fingers. He didn’t deserve her. He knew it, deep down—knew it in the way he couldn’t look her in the eyes when the nights got too quiet. Knew it in the way his guilt coiled in his stomach every time he remembered who he’d left behind.

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  But she was still here. Her hands in his. Her voice speaking only truth.

  He gripped her fingers tighter.

  “How can you say that so easily?” he asked. “After everything… after what I’ve done?”

  Rem tilted her head slightly. “Because I love you.”

  It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t a declaration made with flare or flourish. It was quiet. Steady. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  And maybe for her, it was.

  Subaru drew in a shaky breath, his fingers trembling against hers. “I’m scared, Rem.”

  “I know.”

  “Every night I think about the others… Emilia, Beatrice, even Roswaal. I think about the paths we didn’t take. The people we didn’t save. The ones I left behind. I keep wondering if I’m just… running away.”

  Rem took a step closer, until their bodies were nearly touching. “You’re not running away. You’re choosing something. That’s different.”

  “I don’t feel brave.”

  “Then be selfish. Be scared. Be weak. Rem will still stay.”

  Subaru looked up at her, finally meeting her eyes. The firelight caught the blue in them, turned them almost violet. He thought about how many times she had died for him. How many times he had failed her in other loops. How many versions of her had vanished into nothing, all because of the weight he carried on his shoulders.

  And yet here she was.

  Alive.

  Here.

  With him.

  He didn’t deserve her. But she chose him anyway.

  “I feel like if I let go,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, “everything will vanish. You’ll vanish. Like this is just another dream I’ll wake up from.”

  Rem’s fingers slid out of his, only to reach up and cup his cheeks.

  “Then don’t let go,” she said. “Hold me. Hold me so tight I can’t disappear, even if the world wants to take me.”

  Subaru exhaled sharply, a broken sort of laugh escaping him as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.

  “Rem…”

  She didn’t say anything. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.

  And then he kissed her.

  It was slow, not hurried, not desperate. Just… full. Of everything he didn’t know how to say. The kiss tasted of ash and firelight and something unbearably sweet.

  Her arms came up around his neck, his hands found her waist, and for a long moment, they simply stayed like that—two broken people trying to find peace in each other.

  When they parted, their breaths mingled in the small space between them.

  “Can I stay like this?” Subaru asked softly. “Just tonight. Forget everything else.”

  “Not just tonight,” Rem said, brushing her fingers through his hair. “Every night. Every morning. As long as Subaru-kun needs Rem.”

  His eyes burned. He couldn’t speak, not right away. He pulled her into a full embrace, burying his face in her shoulder, holding her like the world was trying to take her away.

  “I’ll need you forever.”

  Rem’s arms tightened around him.

  “Then Rem will stay forever.”

  To be continued...