Rin looked at Haru blankly, tears welling in his eyes.
"W-What?" He whimpered, his voice cracking, "You're joking, right?" He tried to laugh, but it sounded choked, due to the tears holding him as if he had a leash tightly wrapped around his neck.
"N-No, Rin," Haru stuttered, "I can't do this anymore. I want to break up."
Rin tried to say something against Haru's request, but all of the air had been sucked from his lungs, and all he could feel was the tiny fragments of his heart falling as it shattered.
"I love you," he whispered, attempting to take Haru's hand in his, as if in grasping it, he would grasp their relationship as well.
"I know, Rin," Haru said sadly, "But I don't love you. Not anymore."
A loud sob escaped Rin's throat, as he tried with all of his might to keep his legs from collapsing underneath him.
"Please don't go," he begged. He could hardly see Haru through the tears filling his eyes, but he could tell that he had turned his head away.
"I'm sorry, Rin. I can't stay any longer."
And with that, Haru had left. Rin collapsed to the floor, deafening sobs rolling through his body. What had he done wrong? How was he meant to live without Haru?
As Rin continued to think, he thought about how Haru had never shown any sign of being unhappy. He had never shown any sign that he didn't want to be with Rin. He had always seemed perfectly content.
But then, Rin realised: maybe he hadn't given Haru a chance to show that he was unhappy.
Rin had always been the leader in the relationship, and maybe he hadn't given Haru enough room. Maybe he had left Haru running in any direction he could to become free. And Rin hadn't realised because he was too busy thinking about the fact that he was content with the relationship.
He realised that Haru had tried so hard to make it work, he really had. He had bent over backwards for Rin, but Rin had never returned the favour.
As Rin watched his tears wet the carpet beneath him, he saw his face reflected in them. He saw how he had actually treated Haru. He saw how Haru had never really had choice in their relationship. He saw how Haru had made so much more of an effort than Rin.
Yes, Rin loved Haru, but he hadn't shown it clearly enough. He had been sat at the top of the ladder, whilst he let Haru reach out desperately to him from the bottom.
Haru had run through every door he could find, in an attempt to make the relationship work, but in the end, there way only one way left to run: out.
