The first time that Zeno's hand slips into hers, when they aren't walking or outside at all, it surprises Kaya. And yet it's so warm and reassuring, a gentle weight that lifts weight off of her somehow. Zeno is like a cloud, absorbing all the rain, so that it can't spill over the world, keeping everything from being drenched under all that weight.

And though Kaya moves her hand to take it out of Zeno's, she pauses, unsure of why she should remove it. It's not the first time they've held hands or that they've touched one another. It's just the first time that it isn't for obvious reasons, like to help the other keep up while they run or to guide the other through some place new. This time, it is just affection.

"Is this okay?" Zeno asks her, though he's staring at the door of the hut for some reason instead of looking at her. And Kaya suddenly misses his gaze, feels alone without it.

"It's fine." She answers, reassures, and she squeezes Zeno's fingers with her own, a little bit of pressure to remind him that she's here with him.

And Zeno finally looks back at her, and though Kaya's pretty sure that she sees tears in his pretty sky colored eyes, she's not really sure what to say or why he'd have wet eyes at the moment. Today was a good day, not particularly sad, and she's not coughing or anything at the moment, and she didn't do anything extraordinary either.

"It's okay." And Kaya realizes that Zeno's not repeating her, not telling her that he's found that holding her hand is okay, but it's another thread, a different conversation, one that was silent before now. She hadn't realized just how worn out and tired she can get, how much the world can feel quite heavy around her shoulders, until Zeno steps in and shares the weight with her.

"Thank you." She whispers the words, as if they are some secret that only the two of them need to know about, and Zeno smiles back at her, bright as the sun. And Kaya marvels about how she somehow found the person that feels as wonderfully warm and as beautifully bright as the sun.

There was a day when Zeno was a storm cloud ready to burst, but that feels so long ago after every moment between then and now. Zeno's warmed up, and that warmth helps to ease some of her weight for a moment. And Kaya hopes it lasts for a lifetime, however short or long that may be for her.

Zeno looks away, but this time it doesn't feel like running away, but like he's so full of sunlight that it's overwhelming for him, and he needs to relax and let the rays settle. So, Kaya relaxes with him, resting their hands between the two of them, as if today were a moment that didn't need to ever end.