"It's good you're together," she manages, without a jot of envy. She'd rather people had friends around them, after all. "It's doable on your own, but it's easier to deal with this crap with people next to you."

The beach isn't too far away; she ducks under a low-hanging tree in the path and lifts the bough for Itsuki, and the lavender-tinted ocean is in sight.