I heard that you fell in love or near enough

Anju

The knife twists at the thought
that I should fall short of the mark

It's a blatant lie, and Anju does not like to be lied to. More so in uniform, so she allows him some small measure of grace in the privacy of his home, but she does arch a brow in silent disbelief. She'd promised not to pry, but he's kidding himself if he believes he can fool her.

"No," she puts an end to that thought immediately, folding her hands in her lap with the tea still steeping and disallowing her anything else to do with them. "I've preemptively arranged coverage for your shifts and donated some of my vacation time to cover you for two weeks." It's a blunt and unexpected reveal, but Anju knows no other way to do things. She has far too much vacation time accrued given nobody has been able to force her to take it over the years, and as Captain nobody can tell her to anymore. It's nothing she'll miss. "Go. Get out of Stormbreak. Take a vacation, Koa. You deserve it as much as you need it."

And then, softening, her eyes find his. "I'll take care of your family. You have my word." All things taken care of that might otherwise haunt him the moment he leaves.

You're frightened by my bite
though it's no harsher than my bark