the sky was gray, the kind of cloudy that made everything feel slower. rinako was bundled in a hoodie two sizes too big, socks mismatched, and hair slightly messy from just waking up. tsubaki sat cross-legged on the floor, their laptops open but untouched, textbooks spread out more for show than actual studying.

“you think if we stare at the books long enough, the knowledge will just... absorb?” rinako mumbled, flopping sideways onto a pile of pillows.

tsubaki didn’t even look up. “if that worked, we’d be geniuses by now.”

instead of studying, they ended up watching random documentaries about deep-sea creatures and laughing over the weird facts they’d never need. they made a blanket fort halfway through, added fairy lights, and took turns reading silly quiz results out loud.

by the end of the day, the homework was untouched, the cocoa had gone cold, and the room looked like a cozy disaster—but their hearts were warm, and so were their smiles.

“this was productive,” rinako declared, eyes half-lidded as she drifted off under the blanket fort.

tsubaki grinned, nudging her gently with a pillow. “absolutely. we learned that jellyfish are technically immortal. totally relevant"