chapter 1 - A little bit poetic

Beep,beep,beep

As morning light crept through the curtains of the room like an apology nobody asked for

yui was pulled from the depths of sleep by the ruthless shriek of his own alarm-a trap he had ,in some moment of misguided

responsibility ,set for himself .He sat up slowly ,blinking against the pale morning light "Monday again" he said to no one ,his voice

rough with sleep "uninvited,as always".

Getting ready for school was ,for yui ,a largely mechanical process-one he could on muscle memory alone while his mind lingered somewhere quieter. But downstairs ,the house carried a different kind of energy .His mother sera moved around kitchen with practiced ease, assembling his breakfast between glances at clock,already half dressed for work. His father jeol stood at the sink ,sleeves rolled up,working through the dishes in comfortable silence.Two people with job,responsibility,with their own exhaustion -and still somehow ,his morning came first ,Yui appeared in the doorway ,school bag over one soulder ,he didnt say anything .He rarely did .But he pulled out his chair and sat down,and the small,deliberate way he picked up his fork felt -at least to him-like the closest thing to gratitude he knew how to show.

As yui was eating,the sound came before the knock ever did -his name called out from somewhere below with a familiarity that could only belong to one person.

YUI!

he paused mid bite .Through the front window,he can already guess the figure standing at the doorstep -haru-school bag hanging off one shoulder probably already restless from having stood there for all of ten seconds.Yui slowly chewed his food ,unbothered.

He's here again", Sera said,more to herself than anyone,a small smile catching at the corner of her mouth as,,haru was only one who stood with yui even though he was overcast

joel didn't look up from the sink "tell him to stop shouting in front of the house"

Yui said nothing. which was his own kind of thing .he grabbed his bag from the bottom of the stairs,pulled the front door open and was met immediately with the other boy's impatient expression -eyebrows frowned,arms crossed as if yui kept him waiting for hours rather then seconds .

they had known each other long enough that words weren't always necessary.Yui stepped outside ,pulled the door shut behind him,and fell into step beside him without a word.The morning air hit his face, and neither of them felt too speak.That was simply how had always been between them- comfortable silence,that only year's of knowing someone could make a silence felt like company.

As they were walking,haru who broke the silence first,as it always was.

'so',he said quietly,eyes still on the road ahead,"things are.... going to.. change now, aren't they"

not a question.Never really a question.

yui glanced at him briefly'.....' then looked away. He had caught the thing sitting underneath those words -small,unguarded,not quite like haru.

"I stopped expecting them to" he said simply, his voice carrying nothing but everything at once.

neither of them said anything after that .The school gates were already visible ahead,and somehow silence that followed felt less like peace and

more like an ending neither of them named.

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