Late evening.

By now, most folks had already gone home from work.

Except two people.

Aria and Kael.

Aria was still typing on her laptop.

Frustrated.

Aria: This campaign is impossible.

From somewhere at her back, Kael spoke.

Kael: Grumbles tend to stifle new ideas instead of sparking them.

She jumped.

Aria: Do you appear silently on purpose?

Kael: Usually.

Aria sighed.

Aria: The concept isn’t working.

Kael walked around her desk.

Looked at the screen.

Kael: Because you’re forcing emotion.

Aria: The entire campaign is about emotion.

Felt it deep when nobody said a word. Kael watched faces crack under silence instead of shouts.

Folding her arms tight, she held them across her chest.

Aria: Then enlighten me.

He leaned on the desk.

That kitchen air, thick with burnt toast one Saturday morning. Smoke curling near the ceiling while someone hummed off key. The scent stuck, sharp at the back of your throat. A radio playing low behind thin walls. You stood barefoot on cold linoleum, waiting for the toaster to pop again.

Aria blinked.

Aria: What?

Kael: Answer.

She thought for a moment.

Aria: Rain.

Kael raised an eyebrow.

Aria: Wet soil after rain.

Kael: Why?

Aria smiled slightly.

Aria: That happened since her mom would always crack every window during storms.

Her voice softened.

Aria: The whole house smelled like earth and tea.

Kael watched her.

Carefully.

Aria: Why are you staring?

Kael: Because that’s the campaign.

She frowned.

Aria: What?

Kael: That memory.

The screen lit up when he touched it.

Kael: Write that feeling.

Aria stared at him.

Aria spoke up first - this here falls short of what anyone would call luxury.

Kael: Exactly.

Silence.

Keys tapped under Aria's fingers, one after another, like pebbles dropped in a quiet pond.

Words flowing faster now.

Kael watched quietly.

She came to a halt five minutes after that.

Aria: Done.

He read it.

Long pause.

Aria Asks If It Is Terrible?

Kael looked up.

Kael: It’s honest.

Aria: That’s good?

Kael: That’s rare.

Something shifted between them.

Not romantic.

But respect.

Aria leaned back.

Aria: So, you do help people sometimes.

Rumours? Kael says stop passing them around. He’d rather people kept quiet than added fuel to nonsense.

She laughed.

It was the noise that caught him off guard.

He studied her again.

Aria Asks Why You Stayed Late?

Kael: I usually do.

Aria: Why?

He didn’t answer immediately.

Kael: Quiet is easier than people.

Aria looked at him differently now.

A figure of authority who feels more human than distant. Coldness fades when warmth slips through the cracks.

Someone carrying something heavier.

Aria: Maybe give laughter a go now and then.

Kael: You should try working faster.

Aria grinned.

Aria: We both have improvement areas.

For the first time -

Kael actually smiled.

Small.

But real.

And that moment stayed with both of them.

Neither of them noticed Mira watching from the hallway.

Observing.

Calculating.