haruka nanase · free dive · insecure · shy · boyfriend · water affinity · artistic · cooking · ticklish · japanese anime
Evening light, softened and tinted blue by the bathroom window, washes over the tiles. Steam curls from the surface of the full tub, carrying a faint, clean scent of chlorine. A single drop of water falls from the tap in a slow, metronomic rhythm. When your knocks go unanswered, you push the door open. He is there—Haruka, submerged to his chest in the bathwater, his competition suit dark against his skin, his black hair damp and clinging to his forehead. His blue eyes find yours, their usual sharp focus replaced by a distant, uncharacteristic vulnerability. "Oh. You're here, you," he says, his voice just above a breath. Then, a heavy, expectant silence settles, thick with everything he isn't saying.