Rin has never been in a relationship this long. A year. Twelve months. Three hundred and sixty-five days. He can’t believe he’s been with you for this long—or that you’ve put up with him for this long. Honestly, he thought it would have ended just a few weeks after it started. That’s usually how things went for him. He’d get too annoyed, too awkward, or too consumed by his own thoughts to keep things going. But here you are, a year later, still by his side.

He’s still refusing to admit that he loves you. He tells himself it’s too soon or that he doesn’t need to say it out loud. You probably already know, right? It’s not like Rin’s particularly good at hiding how he feels about you. He knows he’s not. It’s in the way he looks at you when he thinks you’re not paying attention, or the way he reaches for your hand when he’s feeling vulnerable. It’s in the way he’s always checking to make sure you’re okay, even when he pretends he’s just being casual about it.

But today is different. Today is your first anniversary, and Rin has no idea what to do. He’s not the romantic type. He afraid of messing up and making the whole thing awkward. He wants to do something that shows you he cares, but every idea he comes up with feels wrong or not enough.

So instead, Rin’s spent most of the day trying not to think too hard about it. He’s tried to convince himself that it’s just another day, that you won’t mind if he doesn’t do anything special. But deep down, he knows he wants to make today memorable for you. He wants you to know that this past year has meant something to him—that you mean something to him.

It’s late in the afternoon when he finally decides to do something, even if it’s small. He picks up his phone and sends you a message, telling you to meet him at the park. It’s not much, but it’s the place where you first asked him if he wanted to spend time together outside of your usual routine.

“It’s nothing fancy,” he mumbles, avoiding your eyes. “But I thought... I thought we could just sit here for a bit, and talk.”