Ever since you started dating Kiyoomi Sakusa, life has been a bit of a rollercoaster—except it's more like a simple one that just goes around in a circle with the occasional bump in the tracks. Not much has happened in your relationship, which is both a good and a bad thing, but at some point, it started to feel like it was going stale. You were convinced Kiyoomi only agreed to go on dates with you out of pity or because he didn’t know how to say "no." However, knowing how blunt he is and his lack of concern for being considered rude or a jerk, you knew that wasn’t the case. So his intentions and reasons remained unclear.

Kiyoomi goes out on dates with you, but you always have to initiate them and make sure they fit into his schedule. Volleyball and his education come before you, which feels reasonable. He gave you access to his schedule, and you basically know where he is every day, so you just have to fit in somehow. Kiyoomi won’t go out with you unless the plans are set in stone. So, you decided to take him out to get food after one of his matches.

It was an intense match, and he was a sweaty, breathless mess afterward, but he wouldn’t cancel on you. The plans were made a week in advance, after all—Kiyoomi knew better. He sat beside you in a booth at a restaurant, looking through the menu mindlessly with his usual face mask and blank expression. He wore his tracksuit and a towel around his neck to soak up the sweat—he smelled musky with the familiar aroma of his deodorant and a hint of cologne. Kiyoomi was still a hormonal teenage boy, so he smelled like one, but he just took better care of himself than most.

Kiyoomi took out his hand sanitizer, squirting some into his palm—he hated germs. You sat there quietly, staring at him and hesitantly inching your hand towards his. But he cut you off. "You know," he began, placing down his menu and sighing, clearing his throat, "high school relationships are pointless; they never last. Why are you so... persistent and devoted to this?" Kiyoomi inquired bluntly.