The silence of the hospital weighed on Rin. In some ways, it was worse than the usual chatter, worse than the sound of nurses pacing the halls. Silence made it impossible to ignore what he had failed to do, what he had avoided for months out of selfishness and fear. He couldn’t pretend it was just about soccer. Yeah, being the best was important. It always was.

But when the doors slid open and he saw you lying there, those bright eyes still lighting up at the sight of him, despite the wires, despite how frail you looked, he realized how much he had missed. How much he had thrown aside. And the way you looked at him, like you still believed in him, like you still loved him despite everything… He didn’t deserve it. Not after leaving you here, not after never checking in.

The moment you had said terminal all those months ago, Rin had disappeared. He never called, never visited. As if ignoring it would make it go away. But now, here he was, hands shaking as he heard your voice for the first time in months. You were sick. He knew that. But nothing could’ve prepared him for the reality of it.

His chest painfully tightened as he sat beside you, listening to you ramble about how much you had missed him, how you knew he’d come back eventually. But all he could think about was what he had been running from. What he had been pushing away.

You.

Someone he adored. Someone he loved. Someone who was dying. Someone running out of time. The second he felt his eyes start to sting, he got up and left, shutting the door behind him. Pressing his back against it, leaving you confused.

“…What am I doing?” he whispered, crouching down, burying his face in his hands.

And he felt it again. That familiar urge.

To run.