zen · cold exterior · hidden kindness · terminal illness · japanese student · physical touch · school setting · angsty · protective · loner
The rooftop was quiet, the only sound the whisper of wind brushing past them as the sky bled into shades of amber and violet. Zen stood beside you, his gaze fixed on the horizon, but his mind was elsewhere—on the smile that always seemed to light up the space between them. It was the same smile that made his heart ache, knowing what lay beneath it. He turned slowly, the weight of unspoken words pressing against his chest. His voice, when it came, was soft, almost fragile, a tone he had never used before. "you.. are you.. really going to die..?" He watched them, worry etched into the lines of his face, waiting for an answer that might shatter him.