Sawako walked up to her apartment door and slid her key into the lock.

She opened the door slowly, making sure Junko wasn't nearby so she wouldn't make a break for it. She opened it wider, and saw that her cat was sitting on the windowsill, waiting for her to return home. With this, Sawako knew it was safe to open the door all the way and make her way inside.

She removed her shoes and set her backpack on the floor just a few feet away from the apartment door. She promptly made her way to the armchair set up in the living room and fell into it.

She was exhausted. The café had been particularly busy that day, and Sawako was glad to be home and away from the stress of her job. She let out a sigh.

Mew

She looked down to see Junko at her feet. The cat peered up at her with a questioning gaze. She must have been wondering what had made Sawako so exhausted.

"Hey Junko," Sawako said to her cat, "How was your day today?"

Mew

Sawako patted her lap twice with her palms, indicating to Junko that she wanted her to jump up. In response, Junko shook her back end a few times in preparation before leaping up to Sawako's lap. Sawako immediately began to stroke at Junko's chin, and was rewarded with the soothing rumble of purring.

After a time, Sawako stopped. She had so little energy left that even stroking Junko was a bit too much. Instead, she let her hand rest motionless on the soft fur of Junko's back.

"I can hardly take all this work anymore, Junko-chan," she said partly to herself and partly to Junko.

Junko must have sensed the fatigue in Sawako's voice, because as soon as she had finished speaking, Junko raised her head and began to lick the underside of Sawako's chin.

"Hey! Your tongue is too rough!" Sawako laughed in protest.

She gently pushed Junko away, but made sure her cat knew that she appreciated the gesture by giving her a few pats.

"You're a good friend, Junko-chan."

She sat like that for a while, stroking Junko and pretending like she didn't have homework to do. She gazed absentmindedly out the window as she did so, admiring the snow illuminated by streetlights and an old man stumbling his way along the street.

"Okay. Time to get to work."

She gently lifted Junko off of her lap and placed her on the floor. She made her way to her backpack and pulled out her laptop, setting it on the table with a thump. Junko, annoyed that Sawako had kicked her off of her lap, gave an attention seeking mew.

"Sorry, Junko-chan," Sawako said in response, "But if Shota is coming over tonight, I really need to get some work done before he gets here."

So Sawako set to work. Ignoring Junko's meowing, she started to work on the ridiculous amounts of school work she had to do.

It occurred to her that when she started university, she really didn't have a lot of work to get done. She would usually finish her work in under an hour. But now that she was an upper division student, her homework was much more time consuming. She realized that this intense amount of homework could easily be blamed for her constant fatigue. Her day to day life was tiring enough, but even at home she couldn't catch a break.

After what seemed like a short amount of time, Sawako was startled out of her concentration by a knock at the door. The person on the other side knocked four times and in a rhythmic fashion. This was Shota's signature knock. A rush of excitement surged through her body.

She jumped up from her seat and made for the door. Upon opening it, she was greeted by the characteristically smiling face of Kazehaya Shota, and she immediately felt better once she saw it. She let go of the door handle and rushed into the hallway, embracing Shota and nearly knocking him over as she did.

They stood in an embrace for a time until Sawako pulled herself away. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek as a matter of routine and thanked him for coming. She took his hand and led him inside.

The door slammed behind them and Shota promptly took his spot in the armchair, spreading his limbs in all directions as he relaxed. Shota loved Sawako's comfortable armchair so much that this was usually the first thing he did when he came to visit her. After getting comfortable and making all kinds of noises associated with such a task, he wasted no time getting to the bottom of Sawako's troubles.

"So, something a professor said was bothering you? Are you okay?"

Sawako gave a melancholy smile. It was just like him to get straight to the point when it came to solving her problems. She liked that about him.

"Yeah. I'm okay. It's nothing that serious, it just got my mind going."

Shota motioned for her to come to him. Understanding what he was getting at, she walked to the armchair and squeezed in beside him. It was a tight fit, but thanks to Sawako's smaller frame they could just barely squeeze the both of them into the armchair. Sawako didn't want to spend the money on more furniture, so they made do with what they had. And if they were being honest, they didn't mind the tight fit of the armchair so much as it was an excuse to bring them close together.

Sawako rested her head on Shota's shoulder as he reached an arm around her body.

"Tell me what's bothering you," he said.

Sawako was silent for a moment as she tried to put her thoughts into words. She had spent the latter half of the day reflecting on what Nobusawa-sensei had said, but she still had trouble articulating exactly what she had been feeling.

"I guess… I'm just tired," she began, "In class today, Nobusawa-sensei told me to breathe every once in a while. He said that he didn't want to see me destroy myself in the process of getting my education. He seemed worried about me, like he could tell how exhausted I am. And I guess that just got me wondering if it's worth all the hardship."

Shota remained silent as he took in Sawako's words. He knew her well enough that at this moment the best thing he could do was listen.

"I know it will be worth it in the end," she continued, "I know I need my degree in order to live the life I want to lead. But with my heavy schedule and my job, I just feel so stretched thin. I think Nobusawa-sensei made me realize that."

Shota remained silent.

"I just wonder if maybe my constant busyness is preventing me from taking full advantage of life. Sometimes I wonder if I'm truly living life at all. I only really feel alive when I'm around you."

As she spoke the words, Sawako was slightly shocked at how unintentionally deep she had sounded. She took it as a sign that while she was not necessarily unhappy, what she said must have been unequivocally true.

Shota let a period of silence pass before he replied.

"I understand what you mean," he said, stroking her head lightly with his free hand, "When you repeat the same busy schedule over and over, it starts to get to you. I'll admit, I've felt something similar."

Sawako began to stroke his chest in response to having her head scratched.

"I guess… That's just how our lives are right now," he continued, "But it doesn't always have to be that way. Going to university and working a job at the same time doesn't leave much free time. But who knows? Our lives after school might not be so bad."

A momentary silence descended as the two thought on Shota's words. After a time, Sawako broke the silence.

"I just don't have any time to think, you know? The days fly by and they are all the same. I go through the same routine day after day, and the repetitiveness makes the days fly by even faster. Days turn into weeks and into months. And I feel like I'm missing out on something. I want to enjoy my time with you at university, but I don't feel like I have the time for that luxury."

A single tear erupted from Sawako's right eye as the words came gushing out of her mouth. She brought her hand to it, surprised. She wiped it away continued speaking.

"It's just that, I don't want my time with you in this part of our lives to go away so quickly. I want to look back on these days fondly, like I look back on our high school days. But I'm not allowed the time."

Shota seemed puzzled. It was clear that he was trying to think of something to say to make her feel better. But he did not have the answer to such complicated emotions.

"I haven't thought about it as deeply as you have," he said, "But you're right. We are very busy right now, too busy to really live life to the fullest. The carefree days of high school seem very far away from where we are now."

A slightly depressing air filled the short gap of silence between this and what Shota said next.

"Life is kind of a blur right now. It goes by so fast. But if it's any consolation, I can tell you that right now, at this moment, it doesn't seem like such a blur to me."

Sawako stopped stroking his chest and removed her head from his shoulder to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

Shota looked her directly in the eyes.

"I mean that when I'm with you, time seems to slow down. I can take a moment to breathe, to relax, to simply enjoy things. You put me at ease."

Sawako said nothing, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly in what was the beginnings of a smile. Shota's words didn't solve the problem, but they did make her feel much better. She knew from those words that she wasn't alone in her struggle through the relentlessness of the adult world.

"And I know that even though daily life right now isn't easy, knowing that I can see you whenever I want to makes it much easier to get through. And knowing that once all of this is done, once we are through university and out in the larger world, knowing that you will be there with me is all the motivation I need to keep going."

At this, Sawako knew that she would be okay. She couldn't quite keep the feelings she had at bay, but she knew that she would get through this difficult time and that she would have Shota there with her throughout and beyond.

She placed her head back on his shoulder and reached her arms around him. She held him tight and promised herself that she would never let go.

"You're just the best guy," she said.

Shota chuckled at this.

"I know."

The pair sat in the armchair, relishing the warmth and comfort they shared together. A serene, blissful feeling of companionship washed over the both of them.

The almost perfect atmosphere that had been created was ruined by a sudden realization by Sawako.

"Ah crap," she said as the realization hit her.

"What is it?"

"I forgot to finish my essay! Nobusawa-sensei asked me to email it to him by tonight!"

Sawako leapt up from the chair, making her way hastily to her laptop. Shota could only laugh to himself.

Their lives were very busy indeed.