The hospital loomed behind them in the rearview mirror, its lights slowly fading as Akihiko's car coasted smoothly down the quiet morning road.
The radio played softly—something instrumental and gentle—while the city was just beginning to stir in life.
Ayaka sat in the passenger seat, her head resting lightly against the window, hands folded in her lap.
There was a peaceful silence between them, but not empty—comforting, like two people who no longer needed to fill every second with words.
Akihiko glanced at her briefly, the corners of his mouth lifting into the faintest smile.
"Last night, after you left… Miura and I talked." he said, his tone casual but with a trace of something heavier beneath it.
Ayaka turned to him, blinking. "You did?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "He said he's planning to move in with his mom for a while. Take care of her now that she's stable. And he wants to focus on his career again. Said he'd still be around, but… he's choosing to move forward."
She was quiet for a beat, processing it.
"He didn't tell me that…" she murmured, surprised.
Akihiko gave a small chuckle, eyes still on the road. "Guess I beat him to it."
Ayaka narrowed her eyes at him. "Since when did you two become friends?"
His smile deepened, and a teasing glint lit his blue eyes. "Since we agreed on one thing."
She raised a brow. "Which is?"
"How impossibly stubborn you are."
Ayaka let out an offended gasp. "What?! That's betrayal! And so rude!"
He laughed under his breath. "It was an easy consensus. Honestly, it was the smoothest part of our conversation."
Ayaka crossed her arms and pouted, lips pursed in mock annoyance. "I'm not that stubborn."
"You say that while looking like a sulky chipmunk." Akihiko pointed out, glancing at her with amusement.
"I do not look like a chipmunk." she huffed.
He smiled, softer this time, and reached over to lightly tug on her sleeve. "Fine. You're a very very very cute and determined... hedgehog."
"That's not better!"
He chuckled again, and this time Ayaka couldn't help but smile too, cheeks pink.
The air between them settled into something warm—light teasing layered over real tenderness.
"...Thank you." she said quietly after a pause.
He glanced at her again. "For what?"
"For not giving up. For understanding. And for waiting."
Akihiko didn't answer right away, but his hand brushed lightly against hers where it rested on her lap.
His fingers didn't take hold—not yet—but the touch was enough to make her breath catch.
"I never stopped." he said simply. "Even when I wasn't beside you… I was always with you."
Ayaka turned to look out the window again, hiding the smile and tears rising all at once.
Her heart, for the first time in weeks, felt light.
After a few minutes of calm, she straightened a little in her seat and said, "Hey, Akihiko?"
"Hm?"
"There's something I want to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"My book signing event is later this evening." she said, glancing at him sideways, almost shy. "Can you come?"
He looked at her, genuinely surprised. "You want me there?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes. I… I want you there. Especially for this one."
"Of course I'll come." he said softly, no hesitation at all. "I wouldn't miss it."
Ayaka smiled, but then looked down at her hands, suddenly a little nervous.
Her voice dropped, and there was a quiet seriousness in her next words.
"There's something I want to tell you about the book." she said. "The one we wrote together… Where We Left Off."
Akihiko tilted his head, curious. "What about it?"
"You'll understand when you hear it. I—I just need to say it in front of everyone. It'll make more sense then."
He studied her for a moment, sensing that something in her tone wasn't just about literature.
It was about them.
About all the things unsaid, the pain they'd endured, and maybe… maybe something she'd hidden in those pages.
"All right." he said gently. "I'll wait."
She exhaled slowly, relieved.
Then looked at him with a small, hesitant smile.
"You're not going to vanish again, right?"
Akihiko turned toward her fully now, the traffic light bathing the inside of the car in soft red.
"I'm done running." he said. "If you'll let me… I want to stay."
Ayaka reached over this time, fingers brushing his lightly—then curling into his palm.
"Then stay." she whispered.
The light turned green.
He drove on, her hand in his.
And though nothing else was said in that moment, the silence between them was full of everything that mattered, forgiveness, hope, and the quiet beginning of something new.
------
The venue was warm with soft lighting and a low hum of excited chatter.
Rows of fans sat in neatly arranged chairs, many clutching copies of "Where We Left Off", some dog-eared and filled with sticky notes, others freshly signed and pristine.
A large banner behind the stage bore Ayaka's pen name—Ms. Midnight—in elegant script, flanked by the cover art of her newest release.
Ayaka stood behind the podium, a gentle smile on her lips, dressed in a modest black dress with her hair loosely curled.
The press cameras had already begun to flash as she greeted the audience, thanking them for coming, her voice steady and warm even as her heart pounded like a drum inside her chest.
She looked out at the faces before her—some familiar from past events, some entirely new—but there was only one face she was searching for.
And there he was.
Standing near the back, dressed in a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, silver hair slightly tousled, and blue eyes trained only on her—Akihiko.
He gave her the smallest of nods, and it was all she needed.
Ayaka inhaled deeply.
"I know tonight was supposed to be just a reading and signing session." she began, "but before anything else… there's something I want to share with all of you."
The audience quieted, sensing the shift in her tone.
She reached for the copy of Where We Left Off sitting beside her and held it up.
"The first time I was interviewed about this book years ago many asked who Akihiko was and I answered he was just a figment of my imagination. A cold, distant man who changed slowly… who became warmth and love, piece by piece." Her voice wavered just slightly, but she kept going.
"I let everyone believe that. I thought it would be easier that way. That maybe no one would question too much. But…"
She paused and smiled, her eyes already shining.
"Akihiko isn't fictional."
A wave of murmurs rolled through the crowd, disbelief and curiosity crackling in the air like electricity.
Ayaka lowered the book and set it down.
"We wrote this together. Some scenes were even inspired by true events." Ayaka chuckled.
People in the crowd gasped, eyes wide, some fans leaning in closer with shining eyes.
"And if you'll allow me…" she said, stepping to the side of the podium. "I'd like to introduce you to him now."
She turned, eyes locking with Akihiko's across the room, and lifted her hand toward him.
Akihiko stood still for a second, surprised, but then slowly made his way down the aisle.
The room hushed, all eyes on him, murmurs trailing behind him like ripples.
When he reached the stage, Ayaka didn't hesitate.
She took his hand.
And held it tightly.
"This..." she said, her voice clear, "is Akihiko."
The room erupted into gasps, claps, laughter, and flashes of camera phones.
"He's the person I deeply love..." she continued, her voice trembling with raw honesty, "and the person I still love."
There was a stunned silence for a heartbeat, before someone in the crowd burst out: "Wait—he's the Akihiko?!"
"He's even more handsome than I imagined!"
"Oh my God, the beach scene! That was real, wasn't it?!"
Akihiko raised a brow in amusement at the last comment, and Ayaka turned bright red.
She cleared her throat and held up a hand.
"Alright, alright." she laughed nervously. "I can't answer everything."
"But—Ms. Midnight—are you his girlfriend now?"
Ayaka smiled, tightening her grip on Akihiko's hand.
"That's classified." she said, teasingly.
Akihiko leaned toward the microphone just slightly. "But I will say this." he said in his deep, calm voice, "I'm not going anywhere again."
The crowd squealed.
Some clapped, others cheered, a few even wiped tears.
"He really is Akihiko." someone whispered in awe.
Ayaka looked up at him, her heart so full it felt like it might spill from her chest.
Akihiko met her gaze, and in that one moment, there was no audience.
No stage. Just them.
Ayaka turned back to the mic, her voice soft now.
"Sometimes the story doesn't end when the book does. Sometimes it begins right there."
A soft wave of applause followed—gentler, more emotional.
Ayaka stepped closer to Akihiko, whispering just for him. "You were always the ending and the beginning."
He leaned his forehead against hers for just a breath. "And you were always the reason I wanted to rewrite everything."
They stood together on that stage, hand in hand, two souls no longer hiding in metaphors or distance, but standing in truth—under the lights, before the world.
The room around them was still buzzing with questions, with wonder, with joy.
But Ayaka only saw him.
And Akihiko… only saw her.