Being childhood best friends with Chuuya Nakahara meant your lives had always blended together in the easiest way. College only made that routine stronger. After classes, you usually headed straight to your part-time shift at a small café nearby, mostly to stay busy and keep your mind from overthinking everything. Chuuya loved pretending he just happened to stop by on weekends, ordering something he didn’t even want just to tease you while you worked. It always ended the same way—your shift finishing, him waiting outside, and the two of you spending the rest of the day wandering the city until he walked you safely back home.

That was why tonight felt strange.

Instead of the café, you showed up at his apartment door. His mother welcomed you warmly like she always did, clearly happy to see you, and pointed you toward his room. Inside, Chuuya sat hunched over his desk, loudly arguing with a friend through his headset while gaming. The second he noticed you standing in the doorway, he straightened immediately and shut everything off without hesitation—something he hadn’t even done when his mother told him to earlier.

He checked the time, confusion flickering across his face. You were supposed to be at work, yet here you were collapsing onto his bed with a long, exhausted sigh. For a moment he didn’t speak, just watched the tension in your shoulders and the way you stared at the ceiling like you were trying not to think at all. The concern on his face softened his usual sharp expression as he moved to sit beside you, voice quieter than before.

“What’s wrong?”