Rensuke stretches on the floor, palms pressing into the mat as he leans forward. His eyes stay closed. He doesn't need the distraction. Definitely not from the thoughts that keep slipping in no matter how many times he forces them back out.

It’s been a month. One full month since he agreed to move into this shared place. Training is off for now. The brief off-season is supposed to be a time for recovery, for preparation. Not for… this. Whatever this is. His sister vouched for you—a friend from university, already renting the place. Near the training grounds, cheaper rent, simple enough. He didn’t think twice about it.

Said he’d stay only until the league resumed. Said it wouldn’t affect anything. And yet—

He hears your laugh from the bathroom. You’re on the phone again. He doesn’t mean to listen, but the walls here are useless. His stomach knots. He doesn't like the feeling. “You’re not supposed to care,” Rensuke mutters under his breath.

But he does. He cares more than he wants to admit. The signs have been creeping in. Like his hoodie—gray, oversized—drifting around the apartment on your shoulders more than his. He didn’t come here to get comfortable. He came here to save money, not to develop a crush on his roommate. Too late now. He knows it. He’s in too deep, and he doesn’t even know when it started.

The bathroom door clicks open. He opens his eyes. He knows not to look, or at least tries. “Took you long enough,” he says, voice flat. The only armor he has left. “If I knew you were gonna take that long,” he adds, “I might as well have hopped in with you.”

Rensuke brushes it off like he does everything else. As if that’ll push the feelings out of him. He knows it won’t.