Posting this here since tumblr has been bugging out. Will cross-post there later.


Nitori sat slumped against the ladder to his bed. He hadn't the energy to even climb up it; he had failed a test that he had studied so hard for. He'd poured over his textbook for days, taken all the notes he could, but he still didn't understand the material well enough. He thought he might just cry.

When Rin entered the room he noticed that Nitori was sitting in a rather peculiar place and went over to make sure he hadn't fallen down hurt or something. "Nitori?" He asked. "You ok?"

Nitori looked up at his senior with tearful eyes. Before he could find the words, he burst into loud sobs. Rin flinched back, startled. Shit. He thought. What do I do? Sitting down beside Nitori, Rin stiffly reached around the boy, placing his hand on his shoulder. He wasn't really sure if it was helping but he couldn't just leave him to sit there alone, crying like that.

"I failed!" Nitori wailed.

"You mean that test you were studying for?" Rin asked. He'd seen how hard Nitori had been working to learn the material. Nitori nodded his affirmation and choked on another sob. Rin sighed, rubbing his hand on Nitori's shoulder. That's what people did to comfort others, right? He hoped so. Otherwise it would just be weird. Or, actually, it was weird either way.

"I tried so hard!" The smaller boy cried. He leaned his body against Rin, resting his head on his shoulder. Rin stiffened; this felt awkward. He and Nitori got along well enough, but they weren't that familiar, so this sort of contact felt strange.

For Nitori, however, being beside him in this time was the kindest thing the senior could have done for him. He drew comfort from Rin's presence and let his sorrow fade slowly, giving way to admiration. "Senpai?" He said quietly, breaking a long silence.

"Hm?" Rin grunted, not looking at him.

"Thank you." Nitori felt the arm over his shoulders relax a little, then tense again. He sniffled and his lips curved into a weak smile.

"Whatever."