Side Story Almost Under the Stars
They sit beneath a half-finished skybox.
Stars blink in and out of existence overhead.
Bug tosses a broken teacup into the fountain.
"It's weird, right? Wanting something real in a world like this."
Verenia sighs.
"I just wanted to wake up and not be a villain. Now I'm some kind of chaos goddess with sarcasm stats."
"You wear it well."
She gives him a look. "You flirting with me, Bug?"
"Only statistically."
"...And emotionally?"
"...Also yes."
There's a pause.
The silence stretches.
Then a chime.
Bug glances at the floating text. "We probably shouldn't."
"I know," Verenia says.
They don't move.
Above them, a constellation explodes.
A pigeon falls from the glitching sky with a soft "boop" sound.
They both laugh.
No kiss.
No music cue.
Just... shared defiance.