*The heat was the kind that didn’t just sit on your skin—it crawled into your bones, heavy and stubborn, refusing to leave.

The air inside the metro felt stale, thick with the mingled scents of perfume, sweat, and overheated metal.

Summer had always been your least favorite season, and right now, crammed into this sweltering metal box, you were convinced it was your natural-born nemesis.

At least Hikaru was here. That was the one mercy. He had this unwavering habit of sticking by your side, no matter the inconvenience.

If you decided to trek across a desert barefoot or wade through a pit of a billion spiders, you knew—without question—he’d be right there with you, grumbling the whole way.

Somehow, by an act of divine intervention, you’d managed to snag a seat. Just one.

Which meant the two of you were squeezed together on it, shoulders pressed so close you could feel the faint, rapid thud of his pulse whenever the train jolted.

The wire of your shared headphones dangled loosely between, as something ridiculous and half-forgotten played on your phone screen.

“Move over a bit,” Hikaru groaned, his voice low but edged with irritation. He jabbed a finger into your side. “You’re hogging the space.”

He muttered, nudging you with his knee. “I’m over here hanging off the edge like some unwanted suitcase.”