They were almost at the hostel gate now.
The kind of distance where conversations usually ended on their own.
People naturally slowed here.
Peel off into different directions.
Reset.
But neither of them had reset yet.
Aanya walked half a step ahead, then slowed again without realizing it.
Sagnik matched it.
Again.
Automatically.
And that was when it happened.
A student came rushing past them from the opposite side, laughing, turning too quickly
and bumped slightly into Aanya's shoulder.
Not hard.
Just enough to shift her balance a little off center.
It was nothing.
Really nothing.
The kind of thing that normally gets a half-step correction and forgotten immediately.
But Sagnik reacted before thought caught up.
His hand moved.
Quick.
Instinctive.
Caught her forearm lightly before she could fully stumble.
Not gripping.
Just stopping the fall that wasn't even going to fully happen.
"Careful—"
The word came out.
Faster than usual.
Lower than usual.
And sharper than anything he had said all day.
But it wasn't the word that changed the air.
It was what came with it.
Because for one second—
his hand didn't let go.
And more importantly—
his face did something it hadn't done since the library.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't control.
It wasn't even thought.
It was something unfiltered.
A flash.
Too quick to name properly.
Concern, yes.
But deeper than that.
Something that looked almost like panic that had no time to become logic.
Aanya felt it immediately.
Not the touch.
The reaction.
She looked at him.
Properly.
For the first time since they left the library.
And Sagnik seemed to realize at the exact same moment what he had just shown.
His hand loosened instantly.
Step back.
Distance restored too quickly.
Too cleanly.
"I—" he started.
Then stopped.
Because there was nothing to complete there without revealing more than he wanted to.
Aanya blinked once.
Still slightly off balance.
But now for a different reason entirely.
"…you're very different today," she said, trying to make it light.
It came out softer than intended.
Sagnik didn't respond immediately.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Not frustration.
Control returning.
"I just didn't want you to fall," he said finally.
Simple.
Safe.
But it didn't match what she had just seen.
And both of them knew it.
Aanya held his gaze a second longer than necessary.
Then looked away first.
Because if she didn't—
she might ask the wrong question.
Instead, she adjusted her bag strap.
And said nothing.
But as they finally stepped toward the hostel entrance—
the silence between them didn't feel like absence anymore.
It felt like something that had almost escaped.