That day, the shop was quieter than usual.
Rain tapped gently on the windows. The clouds blurred the afternoon light into a soft gray.
Only a few people had shown up for the beginner class.
Yuu was early.
Again.
Aira noticed — again.
She brought him a small cup of chamomile tea without a word. He looked up, surprised.
Yuu (softly):
"Thank you…"
Aira sat across from him, pulling out pale blue yarn.
Aira:
"Today's pattern is a little trickier. We'll be doing tiny flower motifs."
Yuu nodded, trying to hide the way his hands trembled slightly when he picked up the hook.
Aira noticed.
(Aira's thoughts)
He always seems like he's holding something in. Like he's trying so hard not to break.
They crocheted in silence for a while.
Yuu was slow, focused.
His hands weren't steady, but he tried — every stitch a quiet fight.
Yuu (suddenly):
"Can I ask you something?"
Aira:
"Hm?"
Yuu:
"Why do you crochet every day… alone? You're always here."
Aira hesitated.
The hook paused in her hand.
Aira (quietly):
"Because it's the only place I can… feel."
She didn't look at him.
She didn't need to.
Aira:
"My family… they don't really like emotions. Or softness. They say people take advantage of it. So I learned to smile, and never cry. But when I crochet… I feel like me again."
She didn't expect a reply.
But Yuu did something unexpected.
He laughed — a dry, soft laugh. Not at her… but at the strange echo of her words in his own life.
Yuu:
"That sounds familiar."
Aira looked at him.
Yuu:
"Everyone thinks I hate them. That I'm cold. I've always been… alone, I guess. I wanted to talk to people. But something in me said—why would they want to talk to you?"
Aira's heart softened.
Aira (gently):
"I wanted to talk to you too. The first day… I saw you staring at the yarn shelf for ten minutes."
Yuu blinked. Then smiled — small, real.
Yuu:
"Guess… I was trying to talk to you with my eyes."
Aira giggled — the first real giggle since they'd met.
The rain outside kept falling, but the distance between them…
was unraveling, quietly.