Being at Seirei when their final school bell rang was always a calming experience for Yuki. He could expect the same friendly smiles and cheery voices from the students who would pass him by. It felt normal, routine. And that was something he was dying to have again. 

It was a bright and warm Tuesday, perfect weather for the first of June. Yuki had slept much better than he had in many weeks. He attributed it to resolving all the drama from the week before. Though, using Ren’s borrowed shirt and shorts as pajamas had helped calm his nerves.

The warm serene morning didn't last long, though. Once they got to Kōritsu Kōkyō, it became apparent that leaving school early wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

Yuki could have left immediately and had a more than justified reason to. But the teachers and Principal suddenly seemed adamant about helping him, even if it wasn't to get a normal high school degree. 

Several had even offered letters of recommendation for University applications. Yuki’d reminded his Dad he didn’t need them since he wasn’t planning on going to any post secondary schools. But the adults went ahead and made plans for the recommendations anyway. In the end, Yuki was relieved he hadn’t needed to deal with it all on his own. 

The final plan had whittled down to Yuki coming in the following day to pick up some study material. He would complete a few assignments online and return on the final day of the semester to receive hand-signed copies of the letters he was offered.  

Checking the time on his phone, Yuki smiled as his chat messages with Ren appeared. 

There was the odd angled picture of Yuki’s leftover breakfast with the Good Morning text he had sent Ren, who had replied with another picture of Jones, looking adorably heartbroken, saying leaving the house was hard every day. 

Yuki had wished he could see them right then and there. But he knew that wasn’t a good idea. Ren had classes, even if Yuki didn’t. 

Even after his schooling was all figured out, Yuki had to resist the urge to call Ren. He didn’t want to give the impression that Ren should come over again. Not that it was a bad idea. It was just that Ren had already skipped school Monday and had piano lessons this afternoon. And Yuki didn’t want to be a bother.

Instead, Yuki waited outside Seirei at the end of the school day. Just like he had planned originally with Kai. It was simply convenient that Yuki was likely to see Ren as well. 

Yuki let his mind wander to yesterday’s events. A haze fell over him and the world seemed to quiet. He thought back to being cornered by Ren’s intense gaze in his family’s small kitchen. His heart pounded in his chest, as though he was still there. Each detail burned into Yuki's memory. 

Ren’s cheeky smile as he’d sauntered over to Yuki. The grittiness in his voice as he stupidly asked if Yuki thought he was handsome. The way Ren’s face had lit up when Yuki had answered, “Honestly?” 

All day, Yuki had been pushing those thoughts aside so he could focus on what needed to be done. At lunch, Yuki had sent Ren a message with a picture of his homemade meal. He had been trying to tease Ren for not being able to eat his amazing cooking again. But Ren had recognized Yuki’s kitchen in the picture he’d sent. This led to a lot of back and forth messaging about why Yuki was at home and whether something else had happened. 

It was charming at first, having Ren so delicately try to bring up the topic and ask for more info without being rude. Yuki’d had half the mind to just call the fool and tell him everything. But when Yuki joked that he was home, safe and sound, with no bullies in sight, Ren got really upset.

Ren, who really didn’t seem like much of a typer, sent a long winded message about how what he had gone through was not something Yuki should ever joke about. He even added a frowning emoji.

The fact that Ren cared enough to be mad about the whole thing made Yuki truly happy. But being chastised for making light of his trauma when that was how he dealt with these things had put a sour taste in his mouth. 

“Yuchan!” Eiko's voice broke through his thoughts. 

Yuki glanced about the schoolyard only to see a mass of students rushing home. Somehow she must have seen him through the horde of towering teenagers. Deciding it was better not to try and find her, he moved to the side of the pathway, where there was space to breathe. 

Yuki figured she'd want to talk. That they all would. Itsuki, Taiko and anyone else who considered Yuki a friend.

He wondered if they knew why Ren had missed school yesterday. If they knew it was because of him. It was entirely possible Ren had told no one his reasons. And while the idea of it being a secret was exciting, it also hurt. If they were really friends, Ren wouldn't hide something like that from everyone else.

Any doubts Yuki had about Eiko wanting to talk about last Friday were thrown out the window when her warm thin arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a hug. Her long copper hair tingled against Yuki’s skin. 

“I was so worried!” She held on only for a second, backing away hesitantly. “I heard about it all yesterday morning. Well, I mean, kind of. Kai and Niko wouldn't talk about it, and Ren ran off so quickly—”

“Ren ran off?” Yuki cut her off, his attention completely off himself again. “Ren was here yesterday?”

“He was.” Taiko smirked as he stepped out of the crowd with Itsuki. “For all of two seconds. As soon as he heard from Niko you were planning on going to school, he was out the door.”

Itsuki smiled warmly, his hand migrating to Eiko's. It was only then that Yuki noticed she was a little shaky. In fact, they both seemed a bit off. 

“An overreaction,” Yuki claimed, hoping to calm their nerves. “I'm fine, really.”

They didn't look any less concerned. In fact, his nervous laugh seemed to put them more on edge. He bit his cheek, mad at himself for making them worry.

“When I heard you were coming by after school today, I wanted to at least say hi and make sure you were okay,” Eiko said quietly. “I can't believe you were targeted like that. And we left early!”

“We've been through this,” Itsuki said, as if he had repeated it a million times. “I wish we had been there, too, but it probably would have changed nothing.”

“No!” Yuki yelled, loud enough to catch the attention of the other students walking around them. “Are you kidding me? Thank God you weren't there! It was bad enough that Niko got pulled into...” He trailed off, unsure of what to call it. There were so many words he could use. Bullying, stalking... and some others he didn't want to name. “Anyway, I'm fine. I—”

Stopping short, Yuki finally saw who he wanted to see. 

Ren wore a half-smile as he walked out of the building behind Kai and Niko. Yuki barely registered them. Ren was looking to his side, where a chatty James walked alongside him. 

Him again? Yuki narrowed his eyes as the two talked happily. Maybe I should ask more questions about that one. I can't tell what he wants from Ren.

James said something to Kai and Niko, who turned their heads and waved at him, continuing their way across the courtyard while talking. Ren and James came to a stop, turned to each other, and hugged. It was brief, with James patting Ren’s back. Yuki could feel his mood darken as Ren said something into James’ ear with a grin. 

He fought the urge to stomp over there and interrupt what must have been their goodbye.

Two seconds later, however, they let go. James gave Ren one last wave before walking away. Ren turned to the gates, gaze ducked to the pavement, hands in his pockets. 

It doesn't look like something is going on. At least I don't think there is. I hate how he acts differently with each one of his exes.

Watching the scene unfold between them had distracted Yuki so much, he was nearly knocked off his feet by Niko's sudden hug. 

“You fucking asshole!” Niko cried in his ear. 

Everyone around them seemed as surprised as Yuki felt. Right before looking away from Ren, he saw the grey eyes slightly widen in his direction. Niko gripped Yuki's neck painfully tight, and wouldn't let go when Yuki tried to pull away. From the corner of his eye, Yuki watched Ren frown as he walked towards them.

“Awe, did you miss me that much?” Yuki joked. He rubbed the spiky blond hair in an attempt to get Niko to let him go. 

“How could you not tell me!” Niko whined, this time with a light shove to Yuki’s shoulders. 

Yuki nearly toppled, but Niko grabbed his wrists and began inspecting the palms of his hands. It felt odd to have him so physically close. And from the looks on Kai’s and Ren's faces, he wasn't the only one who thought so. 

“I’m fine,” he tried to reassure Niko, who had bent down and put force on Yuki's knees. When the left one was pressed, Yuki winced. Niko’s caramel eyes shot daggers at him. 

“No, you’re not!” Niko protested, roughly grabbing his face and turning it side to side. “What the hell? Why is your neck bruised?!” Niko raged.

“Fuck, stop it!” Yuki said, finally shoving him off. “That hurts!”

Niko moved to grab him again, but Kai gently took his boyfriend's wrist. “There are better ways of checking for injuries.”

Ren finally reached them. He stopped beside Taiko, eyes fixed on a spot on the concrete walkway. The gloomy face worried Yuki. So did the fact Ren didn't even attempt to greet him.

“Yeah, right,” Niko steamed sarcastically. “‘Cause you will tell me if there is anything else.”

Like screaming at me on the phone the other day wasn't enough, Yuki grumbled in his head. He bit his cheek, trying not to glare at Niko.

“You have a funny way of showing you care,” Yuki commented, his signature smile masking what he really felt about Niko’s display of concern. “But if you want to get rough with me, you should at least ask first.”

He immediately felt the side of his face burn from the outraged daggers he knew Ren’s gaze was shooting at him. Avoiding the grey eyes he had hoped to find comfort in, Yuki found Kai staring at him with almost the same dark look.

The dude was just hanging off me and I’m the one getting glared at?

“How did you get that bruise?” Niko demanded, ignoring everyone around them. 

“Oh, from Enma grabbing the back of my neck. Didn’t you see that?” Yuki asked. He had no idea at which point of the fight Niko had shown up. 

“No.” Niko gritted his teeth. “All I saw was that one fucking creep caressing your face.”