Chapter Text
Bwam!
Rui grimaced at the sound. The window slid open with more force than he meant to use, but he didn’t have time to check if it was damaged.
“No, no, no…” he muttered frantically, clambering into the room and tearing his mask off. Taking care of that thief took longer than expected, and then he lost track of time entertaining the kids who wanted a picture. What was he supposed to do—say no? They all looked up to him.
The rest of the suit got shoved in the back of his closet, and Rui glanced at the time while tugging on his normal clothes.
Class started in approximately five minutes... Yeah. He should be able to make it.
He’d already been late to this class three times now, and he really didn’t want the professor to start recognizing him as “the tardy one.” It wouldn’t do to earn a bad reputation so early in his university career. After all, it was still only the first month of school.
Alright, shoes on... Now where was his—? Rui snatched up his phone and bag, giving its contents one quick look over to make sure he had everything, and sprinted outside.
Thank god cardio wasn’t one of his weaknesses anymore. Rui skidded into the building in record time, and only slowed down once he was in front of the door to the lecture hall. Barely made it. He pushed it open, hoping to enter unnoticed—
“...Ah.” The professor was standing right there. Perhaps he had closed the door mere seconds before Rui arrived. Rui was definitely going to leave an impression after this... And now everyone was looking at him, too. He ducked his head with a soft “sorry” and awkwardly shuffled past to his seat. Luckily, everyone had settled into a rhythm by now and generally sat in the same place. He was able to find Nene easily in the crowd of students and sank into the chair next to her.
“Cutting it close again, huh?” Nene asked casually, not surprised in the slightest. “Was it oversleeping or the other thing this time?”
Rui sighed as he lifted his bag over his head and placed it on the desk. “...Someone robbed a coffee shop,” he mumbled, pulling out a notebook and pencil.
Nene raised an eyebrow. “A coffee shop.”
“The cash register, not the—ugh.” Rui began to clarify, but then he realized he was being too loud about his extracurricular activities. He changed the subject. “And I don’t oversleep that much. I was up early today, okay?”
“Okay.”
“...I could use some coffee myself, though,” Rui added, slumping onto the desk. Maybe he should have waited to see if they’d offer a free one for catching the guy.
Class ended without Rui learning much of anything new. Most of the math concepts in this course were well within his existing knowledge, but hey—at least it was an easy credit (for him. He might not speak for the rest of the freshmen in the room). His worries about always being late had more to do with getting recognized by the professor for the wrong reasons than missing any valuable class material.
Rui stood up with a stretch and gathered his things at leisure. His next class didn’t start for another few hours, so he didn’t have to do any more rushing this morning. Nene waited nearby and automatically fell in step with him as they left the hall.
Once outside, Rui decided to bring up his morning crime-fighting incident again, despite Nene showing no indication she wanted to hear more. “So... the coffee shop thing. That guy trying to rob a place like that at 9:30 in the morning—in broad daylight? Who even does that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Also a bit ironic, really. Maybe he also could have benefited from some...” Rui trailed off, his ears catching a bright laugh, his eyes locking onto a flash of blond in his peripheral vision some distance away. Was that...?
Oh. Tsukasa... He looks cute today as well.
Rui caught himself too late. Nene nudged his arm, bringing his attention back, and gave him a look. “You almost floated away for a moment there. See something interesting? ...Or someone?”
“What? No,” he answered, perhaps a bit too quickly.
Nene just sighed, ignoring his obvious lie. “You’re so hopeless, Rui. It’s been how many years?”
“Hey, now that’s—”
“I’m just saying... You could at least make more of an effort instead of staring at him from across campus. You’ve literally known him since high school and what do you have to show for it?”
Rui tried to think of a comeback, but instead, he just deflated a bit and pouted. “...That stings, Nene.”
Nene suddenly slowed to a stop. They’d already reached the location of her next class. She turned to Rui and offered a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I just think you should put yourself out there more.”
“I’m ‘out there’ plenty enough,” Rui quipped, but they both knew it was a deflection.
“You know what I mean, Rui,” Nene shook her head fondly. She took another step toward the building and waved. “Okay, I have to get to class now. Bye.”
“...See you, Nene.” Rui waved back.
When he finally returned to his room, Rui immediately dropped his bag on a chair and flopped onto his bed face-first with a muffled groan.
He was already not looking forward to finishing the rest of his day.
Being Spider-Man was tiring enough on its own. Somehow, university had made it worse.
He could save the city or stop a bus with his bare hands, but couldn't even talk to the one (1) blond boy he somehow noticed everywhere on campus. Maybe Nene had a point. It was a bit pitiful, honestly. But getting superpowers unfortunately didn't come with the ability to make a move on his crush.
“Hah... I really am hopeless, aren't I?”