A/N: If you would like to share this on Tumblr, please reblog it directly from my page! Just add "stories" to the end of my URL and you can find a masterlist of my works. Thanks!


011. Absolute Zero

The world was never quiet.

So long as he was awake, streams of words and worthless information always flooded his conscience.

There was no way to shut it off.

From his house to the train station were hydrangea bushes. They bloomed beautifully, clusters of the tiny blossoms bursting forward in delicate reams.

The color of hydrangea blossoms is dependent on the acidity of the soil they are planted in. More acidic soil turns the petals blue, while a basic soil composition makes the plants develop redder petals.

Rei tore his gaze away in hopes of stemming the flood.

Azaleas. Genus Rhododendron, subgenus Tsutsuji. Their blooming season is from—

He breathed in deeply and shut his eyes.

xxx

Sand melts at 1,700 degrees Celsius and can be molded into different shapes while in liquid form. To create glass, the molten mixture must—

Rei's hands trembled as he tried to push the words away. He didn't need to remember how glass windows were made. He needed to focus on his class—what was being taught right now. But he couldn't stop recalling the worthless trivia, and the teacher's voice was simply background noise.

His breathing began to quicken.

Signs of an anxiety attack include

No, this was not what he needed either. He knew what the signs of an anxiety attack were. What he needed now was a way to stop it.

He concentrated hard on the teacher's undulating voice—the way it rose and fell through his lecture and paused too long after each sentence. Rei didn't know what he was saying, but it was slow and distinct enough for him to latch onto possessively and try to forget everything else.

The words still pounded behind his eyes, making his head hurt, but he was able to force his breathing back to normal.

Rei swallowed.

He only wanted it to be quiet.

xxx

Buoyancy is calculated by multiplying the density of the liquid with the amount of displaced volume and gravity. Take into the account that salt may be present in the water. The ratio of water to salt affects this percentage by...

But the pool is chlorinated, not filled with salt. He shook his head and put his goggles back on.

"Okay, Rei! Are you ready for your next dive?"

"Yes, Makoto-senpai!"

His voice was steady and clear, unlike his muddled thoughts.

Rei leaned over the starting block.

Keep your leading foot in front of you and grip onto the block with your toes. Your other foot should be balanced behind you. Do not lean too far back, as that would break your momentum. Your fingertips should hold into the edge of the

Line after line of the swimming reference book he read floated before him. He struggled to follow everything precisely but only found himself becoming increasingly confused.

He started to panic slightly.

Makoto blew the whistle.

In that split second, Rei's mind went blank, and he leapt off the block.

Somehow, without calculating for velocity and gravity, he managed not to belly-flop into the water. He drew his arms in front of him and kept them straight.

The cold hit him almost immediately, and he started a butterfly kick out of pure muscle memory.

Keep your legs straight but not stiff. Your knees should be slightly bent. Move from your core and hips to...

It wasn't until he reached the midway point of the pool that he surfaced again.

Nagisa, who was hanging by the edge of the deck, grinned at him.

"That was really good, Rei-chan!"

He pulled his goggles up and snapped them to his forehead. Water dripped down his face as he caught his breath.

Rei averted his gaze. "... Thanks."

While the shorter boy trotted off to the end of the pool for another dive, Rei pulled himself out of the water and tried to ignore the formula and instructions which chased after him.

xxx

"And so I kept telling him, right? There was no way that happened, 'cause it wasn't like anyone could've done something like that..."

Nagisa was rambling again, but it was hard for Rei to focus, even though he wanted to.

The common hearing range for a human being is 31 Hz to 18 kHz, as compared to a cat's, which is approximately 55 Hz to 79 kHz.

Rei heard Nagisa giggle through his thick fog of thoughts. A warm hand slipped into his, startling him out of his reverie. He looked to his side, where the shorter boy was. Nagisa smiled at him widely.

The average temperature of a human is...

Rei balked. Nagisa's clear eyes were looking back into his, and he couldn't remember what the average temperature of a human was anymore. The words trickled off softly.

Rei smiled back and squeezed his hand.

xxx

The shorter boy was running his fingers through his hair, as if he were petting him and Rei, for the life of him, couldn't remember anything. The only thing he could think of was how good it felt to have Nagisa in his lap as they kissed. He shifted to get rid of some pressure on his shoulder from the wall.

The golden-haired boy giggled and nudged their noses together.

Rei opened his eyes and stared into Nagisa's eyes.

Tourmaline, rose pink, amaranth.

The words were back, and a spike of something cold rose to his throat.

Nagisa was watching him with silent, unquestioning eyes. They were close enough for Rei to see the slight shifts in Nagisa's gaze, which would have been endearing if his pulse wasn't accelerating to an unhealthy speed. He opened his mouth to say something—maybe the beginning of "I'm sorry"—but couldn't find his voice.

The blond tilted his head and pressed their lips together warmly. He swept his tongue into Rei's mouth and sighed. All of Rei's words fell away as broken shards.

The shorter boy pulled away and embraced him tightly.

"Shhh," he murmured into Rei's ear. "It's okay, Rei-chan. I'm right here."

Rei buried his nose into Nagisa's shoulder and breathed in deeply. The faint smell of stubborn chlorine burned his nose. He exhaled.

His palms were not sweaty, his fingers were still, and his mind was silent.

Beating against Nagisa's chest was Rei's own steady heart.

"I'm here," Nagisa said again while tightening his fingers.

Rei returned the protective gesture and nodded fiercely.

The world was still and quiet at last.


012. Gradient

"Rei-chan! Look, look!"

Rei barely had the time to look up and throw his laptop off his lap before Nagisa leapt into it without warning. At the same time he wrapped his arms around the shorter man, he watched and made sure his computer hit the sofa cushions safely. Nagisa's hair was already tickling his nose by the time the laptop settled down.

Being with Nagisa was like living life on the edge constantly, and Rei had somehow managed to train himself to react out of pure muscle memory for most things.

A phone screen was shoved in his face.

"Rin-chan and Ai-chan adopted a cat!"

Rei quirked an eyebrow up. "Another one?"

"Yeah, isn't it cute?" the golden-haired man exclaimed while still showing Rei the picture.

He had to agree. With bright yellow eyes and grey patterning that made it look like it was wearing a mask, the newest addition to Rin and Aiichirou's cat family was rather charming.

"Indeed," Rei answered. He paused and absentmindedly linked his fingers so that he was fully embracing Nagisa. "What number does this one make?"

Nagisa took the phone back and slouched low in Rei's lap. He started typing out a text message. "I'unno," he replied, "Maybe their fifth? Or fourth, I think…." He stuck out his tongue as he tapped on the phone.

"Oh my." The taller man smiled. "You know, I wonder…" he started thoughtfully and planted his chin on top of Nagisa's head, "if Rin-san and Aiichirou-kun are trying to compete with Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai…."

Nagisa stared up at Rei. "At what? How many cats they have?"

Rei's lips twitched. "Well…."

Immediately, Nagisa laughed. "You know, they could be…." He snuggled against Rei. "Maybe we should start adopting cats too."

"What?"

"I'm just saying! I mean, Mako-chan and the others seem to have so much fun taking care of them all…. And cats are cute!"

"I think I have enough on my hands just taking care of you, Nagisa-kun," Rei said. He squeezed.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded mock-angrily while laughing.

"Come to think of it, you're always nuzzling me anyway, aren't you?"

To prove his point, Nagisa shoved his head against Rei's chest and started nuzzling him hard.

"Ow, not that viciously!" Rei exclaimed and tried to move away.

Nagisa nipped him on the neck gently. "That's for making fun of me," he smiled against Rei's skin. "And in the first place, wouldn't you make a better cat?"

"Me? Why so?"

"'Cause you're always making that face."

Rei furrowed his eyebrows. "What face?"

The golden-haired man leaned back far enough to look at Rei. "That one. The one you're making right now!" He scrunched up his features and tried to look very serious. After a second, he relaxed his expression. "You know, the one that cats always have on, like they're really upset about something."

"I do not always look upset!" he exclaimed while frowning.

Nagisa giggled and pecked him on the chin. "Alright, not always, but that's beside the point." He tried to settle down but suddenly sat up straight, nearly knocking Rei in the chin. "Hey—what if I were a cat though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, you know those gross manga that has characters with cat ears and tails and stuff? What if I was like that!"

"That's preposterous," Rei scoffed, shaking his head.

"No, no, no, but imagine, Rei-chan! Okay, so I have these fluffy cat ears, right? And a tail?"

The taller man rolled his eyes and gave Nagisa a wry smile. "Mm-hmm."

"And then—" Nagisa wriggled in Rei's arms until he was straddling him and was able to put his hands on his shoulders. He brought their faces close together. His eyes flickered into a darker hue. "—I went into heat?"

Rei laughed and bumped his forehead against Nagisa's, completely unaffected by his attempt at seduction. "That'd be distasteful."

"Aw, Rei-chan! Don't pretend as if you're lower than the best form of kinky sex! A me in cat form could totally exist in an alternate universe!"

"That's the best form of kinky sex?" he asked half-laughingly.

"Yeah, of course! Animal features, uncontrollable sexual arousal, total submission…. Stuff like that, right?"

Rei hummed dubiously and smiled.

"Don't 'hmm,' me, Rei-chan! I know what all your kinks are!" Nagisa poked him on the nose with a finger.

"And I yours, Nagisa-kun."

"Okay, fair enough," he conceded. "But no, seriously, just think about it! 'Rei-chan, please! I need you so badly…!'" Nagisa moaned and writhed in Rei's lap.

The taller man laughed. "You're hopeless, you little rascal!" He hugged Nagisa closely to stop his thrashing.

Nagisa giggled. "Or maybe it'd be you in heat then, huh?" His voice turned breathy and petulant again. "'Nagisa-kun, put it in me—I want to feel you in my tight heat!'"

"Oh my god, Nagisa-kun," Rei sighed exasperatedly. "You really are helpless."

"You'd be too, if you were a cat and in heat…."

The golden-haired man suddenly drew away and stared deep into Rei's eyes.

"Mewling and squirming because you can't control how aroused you are?" he went on in a low, sensual voice.

Rei didn't resist when Nagisa took his glasses off his face, though he maintained a snarky half-smile.

"And all here for me to ravish! Rei-chan!" he called out. Nagisa broke out of character completely and pounced on him.

"Wait, wait, wait! Nagisa-kun, my laptop!"

But Rei's cries fell upon deaf ears as Nagisa laughed and clambered on top of him.