Namaari plodded slowly down the hallway, yawning as she stretched her arms above her head. She winced as her back popped several times, then rolled her shoulders and her neck to try to ease their stiffness. After an entire day following Benja around town and sitting in meetings with the Heart council members, all she wanted to do was eat and fall asleep without talking to anyone else.

She heard footsteps approaching behind her and bit back a groan, turning around to face whoever it was with as much of a smile as she could muster at this point. When she saw it was Benja moving down the hallway toward her, her smile became more genuine.

Benja wrapped an arm around her shoulders, spinning her around so they were walking in the opposite direction, away from the kitchen and her bedroom. "Let's get some dinner before we finish up for the day," he said, squeezing her arm gently. "I know I'm always hungry after a long day of boring meetings."

"Some of them were interesting," Namaari said, but was unable to stop herself from yawning as she finished speaking.

Benja laughed and released his hold on her shoulders. "Now I know that's not true. You could barely stay awake for most of them." He winked and elbowed her side gently. "Don't worry, no one noticed when you nodded off during that last one."

"I didn't nod off, I just—" Namaari stopped speaking as Benja began to drift in front of her, forcing her to move toward the wall as she tried to avoid running into him. She stopped and he immediately moved back to the center of the hallway, waiting until she started walking again before he continued forward.

Namaari fell into step beside him again, watching him closely as he began to inch closer and again push her toward the wall. She came to a halt and this time he took several more steps down the hallway before gesturing for her to enter a nearby room. He was smiling at her like nothing unusual had happened, and Namaari narrowed her eyes at him as she walked through the doorway.

Inside the room was a table with several cushions spread around it. At the nearest end of the table were two sets of bowls and spoons, with a steaming pot of batchoy sitting between them that made Namaari's mouth water. She sat down on one side of the table while Benja settled himself on the other. Once he was seated, Benja picked up a ladle and filled his bowl. He held Namaari's gaze as he set the ladle down just out of her reach, smiled at her, and began to sip the broth from his bowl. She watched as Benja finished his first bowl and served himself a second and then a third helping, never breaking eye contact with Namaari during the entire process.

Once his third bowl was emptied, Benja let out a contented sigh and stood up. "That was delicious! Now, if you'll come with me, we have one more thing to do today."

Namaari blinked at him as he walked out of the room at a brisk pace, then scrambled to follow him. "Where are we going?" she asked when she had caught up with him.

"We're going on a hike," Benja said, smiling at her confused expression. They reached the end of the hallway and Benja bent over to grab a small pack that was waiting beside the door. He slung it over his shoulder and gestured for Namaari to follow him. "Don't fall behind now. We have to get to the summit before sunset."

Namaari made a frustrated noise that she managed to turn into a cough as she followed him on a path that led up the mountain. It was getting dark enough that she was having trouble seeing where to put her feet on the steep trail, but Benja pushed forward without looking back.

Twenty minutes later, the path finally leveled out, leading to a large, flat area of rock that ended in a cliff overlooking the valley. Benja moved about ten feet from the cliff's edge and sat, patting the ground beside him. Namaari moved to sit next to him, trying to hide how out of breath she was as she flopped down. Benja dug into his pack and pulled out a bundle of cloth that he opened to reveal several siopao. He held them out to Namaari and she narrowed her eyes, her gaze flicking between him and the steamed buns.

Benja laughed and pushed the food toward her again. "These are for you this time, I promise."

Namaari took the bundle and forced herself to resist the urge to shove an entire bun in her mouth as she ate. Benja sat silently watching the sunset until she was finished.

"Do you know what I was trying to teach you today?" Benja asked, laughing softly when Namaari shook her head. "There was a point to me being so annoying." His face grew more serious as he continued. "You care deeply about other people, which is not a bad thing in and of itself. But I noticed that you lack boundaries and focus on others at your own expense. That's what I was trying to show you tonight."

Namaari looked down at the empty cloth in her lap as she picked at its hem. "Wouldn't that be selfish?" Then she frowned. "Leaders shouldn't be selfish."

Benja sighed and leaned back with his hands pressed against the rock beneath them. "It is possible to be a healthy amount of selfish. You can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. And more importantly, you deserve to treat yourself well."

Namaari pulled her lower lip between her teeth, keeping her eyes on her lap.

Benja reached out to squeeze her arm gently. "I don't expect you to get this right away. It's a skill that takes time to develop, just like any other." He waited for her to look up at him before giving her a warm smile. "Now, I didn't just bring you up here to annoy you. There's something I wanted to show you. You'll see it once the sun sets."

They waited in silence for a few moments as the sun receded over the horizon, casting a brilliant mix of colors across the sky. As the sunlight faded, small pinpricks of golden light appeared in the center of the valley, spreading until there were hundreds of them dancing in the growing darkness.

"They're fireflies," Benja explained, grinning at the wonder on Namaari's face. "I used to bring Raya up here to see them when she was a child." He brought a hand up to partially hide his mouth, speaking in a loud whisper. "Don't tell her I told you this, but she liked to pretend all the little lights were dragons."

Namaari smiled back at him, her gaze moving upward as the stars began to appear above them, matching the glow of the fireflies below. Suddenly she felt her eyes sting and she looked down, swiping at her tears falling on her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I, uh…," she trailed off, sniffling and keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. "Thank you."

Benja shifted closer to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him. "We can stay as long as you need to," he said, pressing a gentle kiss against her forehead.

Namaari leaned into his embrace, reaching up to squeeze his hand as she brushed away her tears with her free hand.