Nitori stood at about 6'2. The summer, teamed with his family taking a short break overseas due to his father's job, had been kind to him. There wasn't much he could remember especially that could contribute to such a massive height change, but then he couldn't really remember doing much at all. All he knew then was that he was walking through the halls of Samezuka Academy as a late Second Year, a head taller than the people he'd known from his classes about a year ago.

September came with cool breezes and woolly jumpers. The lilac-haired boy loved autumn, almost entirely because he could wander around in atrocious sweaters that were once far too big for him. Then, he wore an old favourite navy knit, complete with a picture of a shark on. Cutesy, he loved it. Somehow, it still fit him even after the height change, and with some spare sleeve at his wrists to hide his face in if he felt like it! Bizarre, but he didn't question it.

The teen didn't stop to talk to anyone; they all seemed disinterested and vague anyway. Until, down the school-hallway, he recognised a red head. A tall (though shorter than him), male, gloomy head. He wasn't wearing the uniform. Instead, Rin wore a fuzzy sweater with brightly coloured zoo animals on. It was adorable.

"Rin-chan!" Nitori called, waving his hand above other students' heads. "Rin-chan, behind you!"

The recipient turned with his signature glare, then lightened up once he saw his friend. A smile donned his face and it made Nitori feel butterflies in his tummy. He felt even happier when he saw Rin run towards him, dodging other people and almost tripping up a few times.

Then, not three metres from where the lighter haired of the two stood, Rin did fall over. What had tripped him up was unseen and flittered out of attention, as Nitori let out a yelp and closed the space between them to offer his hand.

A blush almost matching his hair colour came to the fallen's cheeks. "A-Ai—"

"Hi Rin-chan! I missed you!" Nitori grinned, helping his old friend to his feet.

"You…missed me?" Rin's blush deepened as he stood as he noticed the height change. "You're taller."

"Yes I am! Did you miss me, senpai?" Nitori beamed a smile, eyes alive with a gentle kind of eager. He noticed their hands were still in contact, but realised that it was Rin who was holding his, rather than the other way around?!

"Y-yes. A lot. I—where have you been?" the elder's voice cracked on the final sentence, eyes starting to fill with tears. The grip on his hand now tightened and Nitori stood staring at his long-time crush with a gaping expression. Was this… was this happening? No, of course it was! Nitori felt heat in his cheeks and the rush of people as they passed and the firmness of Rin's grip. Of course it was real.

"Nitori?" Rin repeated with a slightly raised eyebrow. Characteristically, he tilted his head slightly as he did when he said 'huh'. Nitori found himself blinking back into reality quickly.

"Sorry! Yes, I… did…" suddenly the lighting around his old room-mate highlighted everything completely beautiful in his face: almost-tears hung in his eyes and glistened in the morning sun. His skin looked so soft and touchable, and his hair was messy and untameable.

Just like Rin.

But what if… what if Nitori could tame him? What if Rin was just missing someone to guide him back to happiness? To love him and hold him and be a shoulder to cry on. Sure, last year Nitori had been that but now a thought came to mind that maybe… maybe the reason he was stuttering and being crazily cute was because… Did Rin have newfound feelings? Was it Nitori's new height? Probably was. It had to be.

A solitary tear fell onto Rin's cheek from his perfectly eyelashed eyes, to which both boys were quick to raise their hands to. Rin, naturally, got there first and roughly wiped it away, but Nitori was there in a flash to cup the pale cheek in his hand.

"Gently, gently." The taller hushed, eyelids dropping to cover half of his blue eyes. He spoke so softly, and the words made Rin blush. He moved to rest his back against the wall, with the Second Year student looming over him.

"Ai…" Rin let out a small sigh as he leant into the touch, his eyes trained solely on his old friend. Nitori felt no warmth in his cheeks, despite them being bright red. That was… very strange.

"Shh," Nitori's paler thumb rubbed his lips, the tip scraping against the sides of sharp teeth. Rin looked up to the other with extreme tenderness in his eyes. A look which, teamed with his wandering hands underneath the navy sweater Nitori wore, spoke volumes. Now was the time. Rin really did want little (now big) Aiichiro to help him be happy again! Nanase-senpai did that fine… sure. If you consider how he was actually a big part of Matsuoka-senpai not being happy. But never mind, it was all over and they seemed to be friends.

Well, Nitori was about to beat Nanase. He was about to be more than friends. Now that was a nice thing to think.

He had to lean down slightly, but in seconds their lips were touching. It felt magical. With his thumb out of the way, and Rin's hands scouring his waist, Nitori felt energy he hadn't felt before. He felt heat in his chest and a desire to get ever closer to the other.

The hand once on his face, moved to Rin's neck while the other rested on his hips. His beautiful, muscular, perfectly formed hips. While the fiery-headed male was inching his hands up Nitori's own finely sculpted abdominal muscles, under both sweater and tshirt. It almost made him want to flinch if the owner of the shark jumper wasn't so intent on deepening the already perfect kiss.

It was so easy. Instantly, Rin's lips parted and his tongue slid into Nitori's mouth. The taller opened his then closed eyes to see shut lids and the beginnings of a smirk. It filled him with absolute glee that Rin was enjoying this as much as he was, that this was even happening was…amazing.

A skilled tongue flicked against Nitori's once or twice with as much of a grin as Rin could muster under the circumstances. Soon they found themselves pushing against the other's tongue in some kind of playful dominance battle. Nitori let Rin win, because his was the bigger personality and it only made sense, right?

"Nitori-senpai…" Rin's exhale was hot and both of their breathing came as more of a pant. A gorgeous show to what they'd just experienced. "Ai," he continued, shifting to slam his friend into the wall instead, holding him in place with his body. "Ai, hey Ai. Ai?"

"Rin I'm here." The lilac-haired replied quietly, hands finding their way back to tangle in red locks.

"Are… coming?" Rin started to sound aggravated and Nitori's blush deepened, looking down to where their hips were touching.

"What?!" blue eyes widened as he searched for some indication of an unpleasant accident given that they were in the school hallway, but could see nothing.

"Ai?" Rin repeated again, and started to bump his body into the other's.

"R-Rin-chan!" Nitori moaned, though he stopped in confusion when Rin started shaking his navy-clad shoulder.

"Nitori? Nitori for fuck's sake get up."

Bright light. Ugh, such bright light. A ceiling, and duvet covers. A shark plushie-come-keychain. A standardly soft pillow.

Angry Rin.

"Your fucking alarm. Turn it off." A cocked, red eyebrow and half-closed lids suggested his roommate was unimpressed at best.

Nitori frowned to himself, turning onto his other shoulder to where his phone lay. A highly obnoxious ringtone sounded, that was so cute even he didn't really like it. The point was that it would wake him up and immediately have him squirming to turn the damn thing off.

Though it obviously didn't work with his last night's sleep.

He'd been dreaming.

Of course he had.

Damn it.

Of course Rin didn't need him. Who would, right? Of course Nitori wouldn't have come onto him like that, he wasn't nearly brave enough! And it was natural that Rin would be shuddering away from any advances like that, perhaps scolding him roughly before leaving the scene completely.

What an embarrassment.

Ugh.

Nitori turned the phone's stupid alarm off with a swipe of nimble fingers before groaning unobtrusively and running his palms into his eyes. Dreams like those were meant to make one happy right? You know, kissing someone you really liked… really liked a lot. But no, it just made him feel awful about himself.

"You said my name." Rin broke the welcomed silence with an utterly awkward sentence. "When you were dreaming, you know."

"O-oh? Really? Um—" Nitori found his confident way of speaking in-dream had been completely shattered and returned to his usual, completely stupid way of stuttering his way through almost any sentence directed to the other.

"Don't explain," Rin smirked, his back turned to the younger boy, headed for the bathroom. "Just wanted to let you know."

As if the little fantasy just experienced had left a prominent blush on Nitori's face, the further comment made him wish to just spontaneously and temporarily die on the spot. No, oh god no please no.

"Figured it was a nightmare." He continued, a shrug of one shoulder offering slight comfort that perhaps Rin really wasn't on the right tracks.

"N-no, senpai, I was just dreaming of you winning a race!" Oh thank god. Nitori had his slow moments, too many if he counted himself, but sometimes he just impressed himself.

The taller boy – worth noting that Nitori did give a quick once over of himself and he was still little which, he had to admit, he should've expected – let out an almost inaudible chuckle, only made visible by the tremor in his shoulders, and he shook his head. Distinctly, he tutted and said not a word as he entered the bathroom and shut the door.

As soon as he was alone, Nitori slumped back into his bed, kicked off his blankets and snatched his pillow from beneath his head. Promptly, he buried his face in the soft material and groaned as loudly and as satisfyingly as he could.

Which was pretty damn loudly. Extra bonus points in his book for the scratching against his throat and nasal elements. Overall, a pretty decent, disgusted noise.