Part I - Summer (Late) - "I had to do something."

Something was bothering him.

That was what Miyu Nocturne, massaging her boyfriend's legs and arms, which she did several times every day to get his circulation going, thought as she watched his face, staring up at the ceiling.

He barely talked, since waking. He was always off inside his own mind, like he was trapped within it. He seemed … sad, somehow.

Every one of her attempts at a smile, or a joke, or an affectionate look, a loving gesture ("Wow, Cameron … You're recovering so fast! … Soon, probably won't need me any more … You'll probably leave me for another elf, right …? Sob, sob …" And him, the briefest nod of acknowledgment: "Hmm.")—met only with a blank stare, or at most a hollow smile of acknowledgment.

She couldn't tell what he was thinking. And he was thinking. She would see him stare off into space, or at the ceiling, trying to work out some kind of difficult problem in his head, only he knew about.

He'd always been prone to overthinking—but not like this.

Cameron could walk short distances by himself now. Miyu would still try to help him stand, try to help him to the bathroom, but he would brush her off each time ("I can do it myself."). And she would have to turn away, not wanting him to see the pained look on her face.

As she massaged his leg now, she could see him, forehead wrinkled in concentration. Like trying to unravel some tangled mess that existed only in his mind.

"I guess that means your recovery is going well," she tried teasing, "if your brain feels healthy enough to start worrying again."

He didn't laugh. He didn't tease back. He didn't even crack a smile.

He didn't do any of the things he would have done before he drank the crystalbrew.

He just looked at her for a bit, and then went back to his thinking.

She finished up her massage shortly after, and left his room.

As she returned to her own room, Miyu blinked away the tears starting to well up.

What could she do to help him?

She could tell there was a lot he was holding back. Like he wanted to say something, but didn't know how.

She had to do something.

She had to help him.

And she would, in the only way she knew how.

*

It was a little past noon, when Cameron made his way back from the bathroom, by himself.

Trembling with effort from the journey, he slid open the door to his guest room, to find Miyu inside, waiting for him.

She was kneeling on the tatami floor, her back straight. Hands folded neatly in her lap.

Behind her, the afternoon sun streamed in through the window. Specks of dust dancing lazily in the golden beam of light. All quiet in the Nocturne estate.

On her face, her eyes, a look of pure warmth and compassion, and one of endless patience—a look that would have brought a pre-Observance Cameron to tears, instantly, without question. And even now, even with the walls he had built around himself over the past few days, Cameron felt himself softening under that tender, loving gaze.

She patted her thighs gently, beckoning him over. "Come here." The gentlest of voices. "Please?"

He stood there for a long time.

"Please?" she whispered again. "… For me?"

He kept standing there.

And just as her smile began to waver, her eyes glistening, she asked him one more time, her voice cracking: "… For your Miyu?"

Finally, he came to her.

She took his hand, softly, helping to ease him down.

He curled up on his side, resting his head atop her lap, his face turned into her body. He closed his eyes.

She ran her fingers through his hair, humming softly.

And they stayed like that, for a while. And for a brief, sweet moment, he forgot, completely, why he'd been acting the way he'd been acting lately.

But then she started speaking.

"… You know, Cameron. I was thinking, how I can't wait to go back to Crystal City with you. Just thinking about all the things we did there. You've shown me so many different things. A world I didn't know even existed."

There's so much I want to see in Crystal City, Nee-chan!

"… Like that time we saw the cherry blossoms. It was so packed, but I had so much fun anyway. As long as I'm with you, I don't mind the crowd."

I'm going to fall in love with a human, and we're going to visit the cherry blossoms.

"… And, remember that winter, when you took me to that nice restaurant? It was the first time I'd ever been to such a place. Oh, we must have looked so out of place. You found that blazer in a secondhand store, it didn't even fit you! And let's not even talk about what I was wearing …"

… and I'm gonna take my human to a nice restaurant, we're going to have a romantic, candlelit meal …

"… And of course, seeing the Mother Crystal afterward. You really knew just where to go, Cameron. And when you kissed me—it was one of the happiest moments of my life."

… and then it'll snow, and then we'll kiss in front of the Mother Crystal! Yeah! That would be so neat.

"… I don't know why I'm bringing all this up. I guess, I was just thinking about how good you are to me. How kind you are. And I know you've been going through something lately, Cameron. Something's been weighing on you. … And I just want you to know that, whatever it is, I'll always be here for you. I'll be waiting, until you are yourself again. You don't have to suffer alone. You can tell me all about what's bothering you, you don't have to hold back. You can say anything to me, you know? I'm your Miyu, after all."

He didn't say anything for a very, very long time.

The sound of their breathing. Cicadas buzzing in the dying summer outside. The sound of the wooden house settling.

When he finally did speak, it was in a low, hoarse whisper.

"… Miyu?"

"Hmm?"

"What made you decide to come to Crystal City, in the first place?"