Len's grandparents went to the community center for the weekly Sunday activity. Len and Miku also went along to send them, deciding to have breakfast in a nearby cafe. Len couldn't help but wonder. Miku acted like nothing ever happened. She munched on her sandwich without a single sadness in her face. Len stole glances when she wasn't looking, averting his gaze when she did, but this time he was caught red-handed.

"You're giving me a look in which you have a question but you've got no guts to ask. Oh hey, but I found out now. What is it?"

Len might as well just ask her. He spoke lowly. "I heard you crying last night..."

Miku suddenly stopped chewing, her head went down. She set her almost finished sandwich on the plate. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about it." She stood up and left a thousand yen on the table, leaving the cafe.

Len tried to stop her, but he was too shy to do anything. The other customers started to look in his direction, he saw some of them whispering to each other. Len pulled his blond hair over his head in frustration. "Guh, why can't I just―"

Standing up, he followed suit, heading back to the community center. His grandparents were with her, talking.

Damn it

Len couldn't ask her when his grandparents were there. Miku turned and pretended she was surprised when she saw Len.

"Oh, there he is!" She bluffed with a smile that he knew was fake now.

"Oh, Len dear. We've been waiting for you! Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry, I was wandering around for a while." Len played Miku's game.

"Oh, since Miku here is new to this town, why not you show her around, Len? We will be alright going home by ourselves."

Len saw Miku's face as she started to panic. "No!― I―I mean, I can't let you go home by yourselves. I can go touring another time."

"Let's just say that this is a chance for both sides to have their time," Len's ojii-san said.

"But―"

"I'm happy to show her around. Walk safe, jiisan, baa-san."

Len's grandparents waved goodbye as they headed home. Miku turned away from Len and marched alone to where her feet took her. Len tagged along from the back. The snow didn't fall as heavy as last night. It was just a light drizzle, perfect for a Sunday morning. The temperature wasn't, though. They had to wear extra warm jackets. Len listened to the sound of crunching snow under his boots. Len looked at Miku's back, walking aimlessly. She let her hair loose today. Maybe because it was cold. She was just a few centimetres shorter than he was. Miku finally stopped and sat on a bench near a park. The river was frozen, few people can be seen skating on the ice. Len sat next to her, at a safe distance. Sighing, Len thought to himself. Maybe he shouldn't force her. Len also had trouble telling people about his parents and the accident. He thought he understood how she felt.

"I'm not going to ask. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Miku kicked the snow at her feet. "Ice-skating sounds fun. Do you wanna have a go?"

"Wha? But I―"

"It's okay, let's just rent the skates from that guy over there."

"B―"

"Come on!"

Miku dragged Len by his wrist to the person by the edge of the lake. Miku paid 6 thousand yen for two pairs of skates. She handed one to Len and took a seat by the bank as she wore it with ease. Len slowly followed how she tightened the straps, not wanting her to know that he couldn't skate, never, rather. He almost fell when he tried to stand, but Miku caught him just in time.

She blurted a laugh. "Oh my God, don't tell me you've never skated."

"I was trying to tell you," Len grunted.

"Come on." Miku held out her hand. Len looked at it and then at her face. Her face remained unpredictive. Without warning, Miku took Len's hand in hers and dragged him slowly towards the frozen lake.

"Hey, I didn't say I was ready!"

"It's okay, just hold my hand tight. Now, push your right feet backwards. Let it move you forward. Now push your left feet backwards before you fall to push you forward."

Len did as he was taught, but the moment he was about to push his left feet, it was a little too late and he almost fell. Panicking, he hurriedly held on to Miku's shoulder. What he didn't realize was that his face was close to Miku's. He looked straight at the teal eyes that was rapidly flickering. He let go in surprise, his face turning red. Then he realized he couldn't even skate and floundered his arms to balance himself. He found himself clinging on to Miku again.

"It's okay, just skate with me, slowly."

Miku held onto his hand again, her fingers between his. Miku's touch felt warm. Len took a breath and followed the instructions of her soothing voice. They did the same thing for a good fifteen minutes when Len finally got the hang of it.

"This isn't so bad after all."

Miku let go of his hand. "Now you try."

Len did. He circled the entire lake with ease, Miku watching him. He came back to Miku as she gave him an applause.

"What are you doing? Come on!"

"What?" Miku asked.

Len took Miku's hand, both of them skating on the lake. Len never felt so exhilarated. He wanted to ice-skate so many times, but no one he knew could teach him. Fukase couldn't because he never skated too.

"I'm sorry."

The sudden apology made Len turn to a stop and face Miku. She was behind him, looking sideways, her arms behind her back. Len didn't know what she was apologizing for. He wanted to tell her it's okay, but words didn't cut it. He moved forward on impulse and embraced her in his arms. Len could feel Miku tensing, but it loosened after a while as she clutched his back. It became tighter when Len heard the same cry as last night. Len never felt like this. For the first time in his life, his heart fluttered. Butterflies filled his stomach. All he only cared about that moment was making Miku feel better.

Miku kept on evading Len when she made dinner, but he saw her smile in embarrassment. And it made him smile. He felt that nothing mattered more than to see her smile than to cry. She sat next to Len after she prepared the table. It was Miku's second meal that she made. Len was surprised that she could even cook.

"Itadakimasu!"

"Did you watch the news, dear? It seems that the world is coming to an end, with the war and everything." Len's obaa-san started with a sigh.

"I just hope my grandchildren live long enough to have their own grandchildren. The world is changing at such a fast pace now I can't keep up."

But Len wasn't listening. He kept glancing sideways when he saw that Miku's bowl was not even full. He scooped a spoonful of rice and chicken from the plates in the middle and put it in Miku's bowl. Len's obaa-san's spoon stopped in midair when she was about to put it in her mouth when he saw what Len did.

"Eat more. You need the energy." What he was trying to say actually was that he didn't want to see her weak.

"I am..." Miku mouthed and ate slowly.

Len's obaa-san put down her spoon and smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry jii-san. What were you saying?"

"Oh, I was just saying how I wished my grandchildren would live long enough to have their own grandchildren."

Len's grandparents continued to speak with themselves until they finished dinner. "Thank you for the meal." Len's grandparents headed to the living room as usual. Miku stood up to clear the plates. Len was trying to clean up too when Miku stopped him.

"Hey, it's okay. I can do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. This is my job after all. Go to your grandparents."

"If you say so..."

Len sat on the coushin next to his obaa-san. The news aired on the television.

"Len, dear. Did you have a fight wih Miku?" His obaa-san asked.

"What? No, obaa-san."

"Then why is she avoiding you?"

"Oh, she― ah..." The commotion from the kitchen died and Len heard the back door close. "Talk to you later, baa-san." Len stood up and headed for the back door to the backyard. He unhooked two jackets from the coat hanger and wore one.

Cold wind blew it chilled his bone, he was thankful he decided to wear the jacket. Scanning, Len saw Miku on the swing by the dormant cherry tree. Wrapping the other jacket around Miku, he sat next to her.

"Thank you."

They continued to swing for a few moments when Len spoke. "I used to play here when I was a kid ― and when I sulked. This tree too. Carved too many hateful kid stuff here. I wonder if they are still here..."

"You seem to have a nice family."

"Yeah... I wish I was a little nicer to them."

Miku stopped swinging and turned towards Len.

"I was a bad kid... until my parents died in a car accident," Miku listened silently. "Sometimes I wonder if I was lucky or not to have been the only one who survived. Then I thought, God must've given me a second chance to redeem myself. I was never so thankful."

"You know what the most painful thing is? It's when you can't undo what you've done and you can't redeem yourself for it."

"I... don't think I understand what you mean."

"Oh, sorry. It's nothing."

Len knew Miku held back. She was hiding sonething. Miku's problem looked like it was more worse than his. He decided to respect her privacy for the moment until she is ready. "Okay..."

Miku gave a small laugh.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing." Miku leaned over and gave a peck on Len's cheek, leaving Len frozen on the spot. "Good night." She stood and left.

Len watched as she went inside with a smile, holding his cheek where Miku kissed him. His heart fluttered again, this time the wings spread even larger. He placed his hand over his racing heart.Len stargazed the clear skies until his bones couldn't take the chill anymore. He went back inside and locked the back door. Most of the lights were already turned off. Len checked on his grandparents' room, peeking through the gap he made as he slid the door. They were fast asleep with their lights off. He started to wonder how long have he been stargazing. He washed himself before going to his room. He lied down on his bed, staring at the faintly illuminated ceiling to sleep.