Ridan floated slowly ahead, his voice low but certain.
"So don't ask about the clock…"
He glanced over his shoulder at Hazuki.
"Or think about making one."
Hazuki stayed silent, walking beside him now, listening.
"Because you don't need to know what time it is."
Ridan turned back toward the path.
"What you need to know…"
He lifted his hand, mist trailing from his fingers.
"Is what you really want."
Another pause. Then, softer—
"What you really care about."
Hazuki looked down at his own footsteps.
"And…"
Ridan floated upward again, rising with the warm afternoon light.
"…What you want to do."
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The street noise faded into the background—just another piece of a world that finally wasn't rushing.
Hazuki closed his eyes briefly.
"…Yeah."
He smiled faintly.
"I think I finally get it."
Ridan suddenly smirked, drifting closer again.
"Like…" he began, grinning, "how many years you need to wait to marry Ellyn…"
