Something Will Change

He shifts a bit after a moment to gently shrug off his messenger bag, placing it with care on the ground before kneeling to fiddle with the outside pocket.

“She’s gray and white, but she seems really small. I think she’s two weeks old, maybe?” His lips tug into a small frown as he considers, trying to remember the average size cats are supposed to be at various stages of their lives.

He finally finds the pouch he was looking for, opening it to the sound of a small mewl before reaching in and scooping up his little passenger. Standing up fully again, he carefully holds the tiny, gray kitten out to Rin, its brown eyes blinking sleepily at the redhead.

“See? A baby. I found her on my way home from class. She was abandoned in an alley,” he explains as he brings the kitten back towards him, cradling her to his chest and making sure she doesn’t fall out of his hands which almost seem to completely surround her.

It hadn’t been a long time since he moved to Tokyo to start college. About 4 months now, he thinks. Other than the shock he received from moving to a big city from a small town like Iwatobi, he adjusted pretty well and quickly to living in Tokyo.

Having Rin and Makoto around was helpful too, though. Makoto made sure he never got lost and Rin would show him neat places around their district and neighboring ones.

If there was one thing he hadn’t figured out about college yet, it was homework. Especially the homework he got as part of his swimming program at his school. When he came here with his newfound dream, part of him still expected things to be easy. But unlike high school, college homework wasn’t something you could just spend five minutes doing, oh no, college homework required more effort than that. Two hours of effort.

He breathes an annoyed puff of breath as he narrows his eyes at his text book. He was holding it up against his chest and using his hands to stabilize it so his arms didn’t have to be lifted from where he was laying on Rin’s living room floor. Normally this would be an awkward angle, but his friend’s leg made a nice support for his head.

Usually he does his homework with Makoto, but the other boy had been busy as of late, so he’s started coming to Rin’s apartment to crash and do homework there.

“Why do we need to study so much about muscles and ailments? Isn’t that what our coaches are for? Don’t they have special medics at the Olympics in case someone gets hurt?”

Sometimes Rin thinks it’s because they’re so far away from home, now. Miles and miles away from Iwatobi, from Rei and Nagisa and Sousuke and Ai and Momo, so far away from Gou, his family, his friends — Except that the very best of the best of friends he has are right here, with him. It’s a good life, Rin has to admit. He’s chasing his dream and his best friends are around to keep him grounded. They’re in contact with treasured people in their lives. Nothing could make it go wrong.

Aside from studies, of course. Compulsory academics that are always grating on his nerves. At least he doesn’t have to study Japanese Literature anymore — God, that had been hell. But this is another kind of hell in itself, one that’s a tad bit more tolerable but doesn’t quite appeal to his over-driven mind. He just wants to swim, aim for the top of the world, but instead he’s stuck doing things like these, with Haru’s head on his leg and his eyes threatening to burst from the sheer intensity he’s staring at the book he holds in his fingers. The mentioned leg has long since gone numb, being stuck in the same position for so long, but it’s a kind of comfort having Haru close like this, and Rin doesn’t really mind at all. It’s comfortable, anyway.

The silence is only broken by Haru’s soft voice, almost inaudible, though Rin hears him as clear as day — still, he lets a pause come in between them, before a sigh is released with his next exhale, and he shifts the book away from his face, instead moving to gaze down at locks of raven hair.

“Don’t have an aneurysm,” he states, entirely joking. He doesn’t normally joke a lot, although that never stopped Nagisa from laughing at things he’d said in seriousness before. But being like this with someone he trusts helps him feel less of a need to be on guard.

He blinks curiously as he watches the book lift away, still waiting for a response.

“Hm...I guess that makes sense.”

Even so, he felt like it was just...so much...what even were the chances that he’d be affected by half the stuff in this book? Probably a very low percentage.

After a moment more of squinting at the book he breathes his own frustrated sigh and closes it with a soft thumping sound, setting it on the floor to his side. He can’t remember how long he’d been using Rin’s leg as a pillow, but he figures it must’ve been a few hours. Slowly, he eases himself up into a sitting position.

He stretches for a moment before shifting, turning to kneel next to the other boy and leaning slightly to rest his forehead against Rin’s shoulder with a soft groan. He’s tired of studying.

His friend’s comment makes his own lips twitch into a soft smile, “Mm. She would, wouldn’t she? Maybe you should take your textbook home to show her during break.”

But, then again, knowing Kou the book would probably mysteriously go missing.

Thinking of home makes his heart clench weirdly, an emotion he remembers vaguely from when his grandmother died. Home makes him think of the cats he left behind with Tamura-san. Makes him think of Kuro...

Haru: I’m home.

Makoto: Haru, welcome home!

Haru thinking: …so tired.

Makoto: Haru.

Makoto: Are you okay?