𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐊𝐄𝐘 - 𝐑. 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐀

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎

THIRTY-TWO
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When Rintarou Suna went back to school the day after Winter Break ended, he had one thing in mind and it was certainly not the homework that he had yet to pass and was already overdue. He bounced his leg as he sat on his assigned seat, waiting for lunch to arrive which went by at an incredibly slow pace. He barely even fell asleep on his desk during the subject periods which was saying a lot because that was something he religiously did.

Once the bell rang that signaled the beginning of lunch, he abruptly stood up from his chair which surprised the person who sat beside him.

Mirai Nakano placed a hand over her chest then breathed out deeply before asking, "Was your cereal soggy this morning or are you not alright?"

Suna groaned quietly, scratching the back of his neck in annoyance before saying, "Not now, Mirai. You can annoy me later; I have to talk to Zumi."

Her eyes widen in surprise before she gives him a large smile and a thumbs up, "Oh, really? Good luck then, lover boy!"

"Thanks."

He sped past the halls of the second-year halls and down towards the place where he used to hang out at lunch, though as in the middle of walking on the first floor, he sees a familiar person with a mop of short dark hair walk past him.

Her hair flew slightly backwards making his lips part when he was about to call out to her. But he then notices her brows furrowed in frustration and her lips pressed down tightly when her face tilts with the rush of wind presenting half of her face. The pinkish hue on her eyes were obvious even with the almond-shape that looked as if they were about to close at any moment, making him pause unsurely.

It was like a flower clinging onto the last drop of water before propping itself lifelessly once it realized that it had nothing else left to cling on as a means for it to live. It stems slouched with dry petals about to detach itself to fall onto the ground, waiting to be stepped on or just be swallowed up by the earthy substance as it looks for a reason to keep going, even on its last moments.

He frowns as he froze and plants his feet firmly against the tiled floors when her figure runs past him – and she didn't even notice that he was right there. He turns his head to look at the direction of where she went, his eyes stopping at the door of the women's washroom.

He sighs, his posture slouching further at the different scenarios that played out inside his head with him almost physically seeing it with his own eyes. He wondered if he was the cause of her being at that state. His feet slowly walked before it halted, stopping a few feet away from beside the door of the washroom.

After ten minutes of him standing there, the door abruptly opens and there was Zumi who had her head down with her bag hugged between her arms tightly. She began to walk towards her classroom but was stopped when Suna places a hand on her shoulder.

She breathes in deeply before mumbling with her voice slightly cracking, "U-Uh, what's up?" She winced at the way her voice sounded from the dehydration.

"Hey, look at me." He mutters, clenching his teeth in frustration – and it was mostly directed at himself when he sees how disheveled she currently appeared. It was almost as if she was close to exploding on herself once again with how forced she tried to make herself look like everything was just fine and dandy.

The longer she stood in silence, the more her mind emptied its contents that swarmed inside the space of where her brain was caged in. The images of different scenarios of what played out before presented in her mind all together, turning everything to a distorted chain of events that blurred her eyes as she watched it replay again and again.

"Uh, hey..." She mutters.

And just like that, the images turn rapid before it stops when she truly realizes that the very person that was swarming her mind was right there, and that this wasn't just some forged image that her silly mind presented to fool herself further.

"Hey." He breathes out, taking a step towards her but hesitantly stops when he sees her shoulders tense. When she breathes in and relaxes, he takes another step and reluctantly incline his hands towards her, gently pulling her body against him – he was almost hesitant as he handled her like she was about imitate the fireworks that shot up across the sky.

It explodes with a burst of colors representing each emotion that was confined inside a small space before it explodes, revealing itself to whoever was watching after being pent up for so long that it jumbles into a mess of disarrayed feelings. And after a few seconds, it disappears and turns into nothingness once again.

And not even once had he ever witness her shed tears among the number of months that they have been with each other almost every day even when he saw her look like she was at her lowest, so this was a first.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He mutters repeatedly like a mantra as he ran his fingers down on her hair to soothe the trembling person that just stood there with her forehead leaning against his chest. She didn't even return the gesture because of the bag that was in her arms, but it was alright.

"I fucking hate you so much, Rin." He feels a pang hit his heart when he hears her muffled words though he understood that it was just her irritation and frustrations that were speaking for her at the moment before she continued, "Did you know how quiet it was without you to bug me? I'm not even used to the silence anymore when I realized that having someone was so much better than being alone."

His heart throbs when he realizes how great the impact of his actions was to her, making him embrace her tighter while continuously running his fingers through her hair comfortingly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

He clenches his teeth when he feels his own tears unwillingly spill out from his lids, making him blink it away immediately, "It was my fault you were crying, I'm sorry..."

"N-No, it's not. Shut up." Her muffled voice answers in response then continues, "I-I know it's selfish of me to ask this from you, but can we go back to how we used to be?"

"It's okay, we will, we will..." He mutters desperately.

It was the salvation of the last piece of each other that they clung onto for as long as they could, but unfortunately, the gods of time will always run at its own pace. It will never stop for two measly humans against the world that continues to spin without a care if anyone is left behind.

And he whispers once again to confirm his desperation that pleaded the gods to stop its hands from turning even just for a moment to prolong their hours together, "It's okay, we will, we will..."

_____

boys can cry too,
fight me if you
don't agree. crying
doesn't make anyone
weak. crying doesn't
make them less of a
man. and also, shit
i cried while writing
this chapter holy fuc-