Work Text:
The train was full of people. The house was empty.
Ryunosuke went from the heat of public transport to the cold of the winter night. He took the building's elevator and entered his apartment. It was cold there, too.
He took off his shoes messily at the entrance. He left his coat and scarf hanging by the door. He put his backpack down on the desk, not bothering to take out his books or laptop.
He turned on the stove. He put on comfortable clothes to be at home. He checked on the hamster. It was a routine he was already used to. He had spent months living it.
The little animal welcomed him, resting its paws on the bars of the cage.
"Hello," Ryunosuke said to the hamster. “How was your day?”
The animal tilted his head as he heard his voice. Then he pushed himself away from the bars and began to run in circles around his cage, until he reached the water dispenser.
"I'm on my way" Ryunosuke said, as he gave him food and water. The hamster focused on eating, ignoring his human. Ryunosuke, however, continued to stare at him, his tired head resting on one hand.
"I suppose you've been spinning your wheel all day," he said. “My day wasn’t that good at all. This case... it's taking too long, and I don't know what to do with it...” he sighed.
He had left his cell phone on the table, and turned on the screen to see if he had any new messages. But there was nothing. Everyone he knew was probably still busy with work.
They weren't free yet, and wouldn't be for a while. So Ryunosuke decided that he should have dinner first. He opened the cabinet, and checked what he had. A packet of instant noodles tempted him. In the end, he succumbed. It had been a long day and she deserved some easy to prepare comfort food.
If Kazuma was there, he would probably tell him to cook something more nutritious. Or at least that he added some vegetables, mushrooms, or an egg. He had had that argument with Barok and him many times, being the only one of the three who really cared about cooking.
"Sorry, Kazuma" Ryunosuke muttered as he poured the solitary noodles into the bowl. He sat at the kotatsu, covering himself with the futon to get fully warm. He did it on the side facing the window.
He lived on a high floor. From his window, he could see the view of the city, its buildings and its lights. Sometimes the view thrilled him. Sometimes it made him feel melancholic.
Perhaps it was due to the exhaustion from the trial, but this was one of those nights. With the bowl of noodles still half full, he looked at his cell phone again. Still no messages.
"I wonder how they are doing" he said, not knowing who he was talking to. Maybe to the hamster. “I hope they managed to solve that case that bothered them so much...”
The hamster rested his paws on the bars again, and Ryunosuke felt his black eyes looking at him. Sometimes he was sure that the animal was listening to him.
“I want them to tell me everything. It seemed like a very exciting mystery, actually.”
He finished his dinner, put the bowl in the sink, and returned to the window. As he looked at the cityscape, the melancholy persisted.
Wasn’t it curious? There were so many people in that city. In his city. And yet, everyone he cared about was on the other side of the world.
Furthering his studies back in Japan was a unique opportunity for his career. Kazuma and Barok had encouraged him since the beginning. He felt that he had made the right choice.
But even so, sometimes he could only think of how far away he was from them. How much he missed them.
Although he was now living in the country where he grew up, it didn't feel like home. Home is where the heart is, or something like that. Was London his home? Or maybe it would just be where they were. They had once talked about the three of them going to Japan for a while, after all their years in London. Barok was already taking Japanese classes. Maybe…
The cell phone screen lit up. Every thought left Ryunosuke's mind as he took it. When he saw the message, his eyes shone brightly.
He jumped off the kotatsu and walked quickly to his desk. He sat in the chair as he turned on the laptop. In an instant, he was already opening the video call.
The smile was still on his face. When he saw them, it only grew.
At the start of the call, the image was frozen, connecting. Still, he could see enough. Kazuma and Barok were there, side by side. It seemed that they had met in the same house to make the video call. The window was open, and the afternoon sun was bathing them.
10 p.m. in Tokyo, 2 p.m. in London.
“Hey! Can you hear us?”
“Good night, Ryunosuke.”
He looked at them, lovingly, just a little more.
"Hi" he said softly.
“How was today’s trial?”
Ryunosuke threw his head back with a sigh.
“You are not going to believe it…”
And they listened to him. They listened to every word he had to say, not interrupting him, letting him get off his chest. He really needed that.
When he was done, he asked them about the last case they had been working on. It was much more exciting, and they spoke passionately.
Ryunosuke wanted to listen to them, and keep the conversation going, he really did. But his head was feeling heavier and heavier. Before he knew it, he had let out a yawn.
“Maybe we should hang up now,” Barok said tenderly.
“Wait, no! You have to tell me about the witness.”
“We can continue tomorrow. You should rest" said Kazuma.
Ryunosuke sighed softly.
“Five more minutes? I like being with you.”
***
When the alarm clock rang, the first thing Ryunosuke did was to turn on his cell phone, check the time.
7 a.m. in Tokyo. 11 p.m. in London.
Kazuma and Barok should be sleeping by now. Many hours remained until they woke up to see the message. Still, the first thing he did that day was text them.
"Goodnight! Sleep well!”
He was in the middle of getting dressed when the cell phone rang on his bedside table. He unlocked it, to find two separate messages.
"Good morning!"
"Have a nice day"
Neither the cold of the street before sunrise, nor the crowded train, nor the work to do when he arrived at the courthouse, nothing was able to remove the little smile from his face.