RinHaru icecream van AU, where Rin works at an icecream van for the summer and Haru visits with Mak. Rin has young Rei tag along a few times too. Laid out diary style.
June –
"Hey, what can I get you?" Rin asks the blonde teen in front of him, who's rocking back and forth on his heels, chewing his lip, like the meagre offerings of the beach-front ice-cream van really offer such a selection he's having a hard time choosing.
"We'll just take two regular cones," the blonde's friend, a guy with blue hair and red glasses, speaks up for them both, and then casts his friend an affectionate glance. "One with strawberry sprinkles."
"Coming right up!" Rin grins, and gets to work with the soft-serve dispenser.
He hands over the two cones, correctly delivering the strawberry-topped on to the bouncing blonde, and accepts the coins from the other guy with a practiced smile.
"See you again!"
"Thank you, bye," and the guy turns to the pair of customers behind him. "See you next week, Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai."
"Bye, guys!" a tall, rather buff teen, probably Rin's own age, calls back to them as they head in the direction of the station. His companion, smaller and rather slight, with almost blue hair it's so black, just sort of nods, and then slides his eyes towards his friend.
"Hey, nice afternoon, isn't it," Rin beams at the two. "What can I get for you?"
"What do you want, Haru?" the taller one says immediately, and Rin guesses this one's Makoto.
Haru just shrugs and Makoto gives him a soft smile. "Just a double blue-soda pop," he decides easily.
They exchange the popsicle for the cash and the duo meander over to a wall overlooking the ocean. Rin's gaze follows them absently, and watches as Makoto splits the double lolly with refined fairness and hands a stick to Haru, and they sit with Makoto chatting away and Haru just nodding where's it's probably appropriate.
Makoto orders the same again the next day, and the day after that, until on the fifth day the two show up, Rin gets in first.
"Let me guess? Double blue-soda?" he grins, and Haru thinks that cheeky smile is probably the most annoying thing he's seen since the last time he saw Nagisa.
Makoto chuckles, "Yep, we've got a bit of a habit."
"Maybe you should branch out, you know, get a sense of fun and adventure," and he flashes his spiked teeth. Haru recoils.
"Hmm hmm, maybe another time, right, Haru?" Makoto smiles as he pays. Makoto always pays, Rin's noticed, even if he's seen Haru handing the coins to him as they make their way over.
"I'm Rin, by the way," he introduces, even though it says it on his name tag.
"I'm Makoto," and yes, Rin knows. "This is Haruka."
"Haru," and he finally speaks, for the first time in a week.
"Enjoying summer break?" he asks.
Makoto smiles. "We're not exactly up to much. Summer job?"
Rin nods. "Yeah, just something to tide me over, you know how it is. Get some savings going for college."
Makoto nods and hands over the money and breaks the lolly there in front of Rin, handing Haruka his share with a gentle smile. He gives Rin a small wave as they walk towards their wall by the beach and sit down to eat.
"Yo," Rin grunts, feeling moody and hot and just generally not being a particularly pleasant person this afternoon.
Makoto smiles at him kindly and places their usual order. Rin can't even be bothered to push his whole challenge of them trying something new.
"Bad day?" Makoto asks, even as Haru is starting to walk away.
Rin shrugs, "Just stuff."
"Well, feel better," Makoto tries to look encouraging.
As they turn away again, Haru looks back over his shoulder for the smallest of seconds, accidentally catching the red-head's eye. He twitches the corner of his lip upwards, and Rin returns the gesture.
Suddenly, he's not feeling so down.
"I'll take a chocolate cone today, actually," Makoto smiles, even as Rin is automatically reaching into the freezer for the blue-soda pop.
Haruka sends him a bit of a glare, a smarmy side-eye he's obviously perfected over a long friendship, and turns to the menu board.
"There's a pineapple flavoured popsicle," Makoto pipes up again, pointing, and Haru's face softens, and he nods.
Rin blinks at him, and Haru stares back.
"You want a pineapple one?" he asks, for clarification.
Haruka fumbles for a moment. Rin doesn't think he's shy, he doesn't have that kind of air. Finally, he lets out a small "please," and Makoto hands over their coins.
They turn to leave, as always, but with no one else in line, Rin calls out for them to stop.
"You have to tell me if you like it," he says to Haruka.
With narrowed eyebrows, the teen tears open the foil packet and pulls out the stick. He eyes it, like it might be tainted, and then darts out a pointed little tongue to give it a lick.
Rin gulps.
Haru slides his eyes over to him as he makes his way up the length with his tongue, locking his gaze and raising his eyebrow in time with the flush rising in Rin's face.
"It's good."
Yeah, it is…
July –
Rin blinks blankly at the lone teen in front of him for a moment.
"Where's Makoto?" he manages, after Haruka has done absolutely nothing to help cure the silence.
He lets out a long sigh. "Camping," he hisses with utter disdain.
"I'm sure you can cope," Rin mocks, amused and exasperated with his dramatics. Haruka doesn't look so sure. Rin feels a sudden wave of sympathy, and pulls out his old favourite. "Split with me?"
Haru shrugs an agreement, staring wistfully at the ocean behind the van.
"On me," Rin assures and hands half of the blue lolly over to Haru, who takes it with a muttered thanks and takes a place by the side of the van, leaning on it, giving Rin enough space to serve the slow dribble of customers as he sucks on the pop lazily. They don't speak, but the company is equally appreciated.
When he's done, he just leaves. Just like that. Rin watches him go with a faint smile.
Makoto does all the talking the next time they show up, but Haruka seems different, infinitely more at ease, and both Rin and Makoto silently notice. Haru gets his pineapple pop; Makoto goes for something chocolaty.
"How's your summer going?" Rin asks, since they're both hovering around the van (and Rin's pretty sure that's Haru's doing).
"Nothing special, really," Makoto says. "The break is nice… but we still have homework to do."
Rin looks at Haru expectantly for an answer. "I get to swim," he simply shrugs, and looks towards the ocean.
"He's an excellent swimmer," Makoto explains, a proud smile, brotherly. "Maybe you can come down with us some time?"
Rin's pretty sure Makoto's only offering out of kindness, he just seems like the type of guy, but he's also sure his face has lit up like a puppy, ears all pricked and tail a-wagging, and barks out a "Sure!" before he's even clocked Haruka's scowl.
They just show up too early for Rin to reasonably assume business has slowed for the day and lock up for the afternoon, so swimming doesn't happen. He frowns as the pair approach, both apparently fresh out of the water in damp swimsuits, baggy tops covering them up, a pair of goggles still hanging around Haruka's neck.
"How's the water?" he asks, trying to refrain from sounding disappointed.
"Doing well, thank you," Haruka replies.
Rin suddenly snaps to attention. "What?"
Makoto, unable to contain his laughter at his dearest friend's sudden outburst, covers his mouth with his hand to hide his giggles. Haruka glares at him incredulously.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing, Haru-chan," Makoto says pleasantly and nudges his shoulder with his knuckles. "He does this," he tells Rin, smiling away. "You'll get used to it."
"You're nuts, both of you," Rin smiles happily as they return to the van. He hands out each of their favourites and even gets himself a soft scoop with a flake.
With the back door of the van open, Makoto sits down on the bumper, resting his hand back to lean while Rin just takes his little resting stool. Haruka crouches between them, leaning against the freezer, so he can't be seen by the passers-by looking for some early evening brain freeze fix.
It's still blisteringly hot, so all the boys remain shirtless in their swimsuits, towels around their necks.
"Did you have fun?" Makoto asks, tilting his head back.
Rin nods vigorously. "You were right, too," he directs at Makoto. "You're an amazing swimmer, Haru."
"Mm," Haru acknowledges blandly, like he's not even listening, pineapple pop moving lazily in and out of his mouth as he sucks.
Rin is mesmerised.
"H-here," he stammers, and holds out his flake.
Makoto turns his head back to the outside; Haruka eyes the offered chocolate suspiciously.
"I'm not really a fan of sweet things," Rin explains hesitantly, waiting for some kind of twitch from Haru's free hand to come and take it.
He pulls the pineapple pop out of his mouth.
And leans in.
Makoto smiles to himself silently.
August –
The height of summer finds Haruka once again alone at Rin's ice-cream van.
"Yo," he greets, a simple nod from Haru all he gets in return has he comes to sit inside the back door of the van, like it's the most natural thing in the world. "Where's your babysitter?"
Haruka grunts. Rin nudges him in the back with his foot.
"He has a date," he hisses.
Rin chuckles. "Don't tell me you're jealous," he teases, unwrapping a lemon flavour pop for him – he's out of pineapple – and reaching around him to put the tip in his mouth and the stick in his hand.
Haruka gives it an experimental lick, side-eyeing Rin as he observes the new taste of the oddly coloured ice-lolly, but accepts it and takes it fully from him.
"I'm not jealous," he insists, and just by the sudden influx of his voice, Rin can tell there's something. In fact, he's pretty sure this is the most open the stoic boy has been with him since they met. He closes the screen of his van, a sign already taped to it that he's on a five minute break, and comes to sit by him. "I don't like Makoto like that, it's just…"
"You're lonely?" Rin asks, nudging their elbows together.
"Yeah…" Haru breathes out, like the recognition of this feeling is nothing short of a relief.
Rin hooks his arm around his shoulders. "You can hang out with me any time you like."
Haruka takes up his offer when Makoto has his weekly meetings, as Haru has decided to refer to them with this character with the funny coloured hair he can't even bare to think about.
"Come on, I'll show you how to work it," Rin coaxes, holding out a hand in an offer to pull Haru into the van.
He takes it. It's a small step, but he takes it anyway.
It takes Haruka a few tries to master the lever to dispense the soft-serve, but half an hour later he's dispensing the perfect swirl of a cone to a young girl and her mother. Rin perches on his stool, proud.
But his wide smile breaks into a giggle when Haru turns to him.
"How did you get ice-cream there?!" he asks, spluttering. He points to Nanase's chest, a few little dollops sat on the jut of his t-shirt, over his pecs. Haru looks down, and back up with a flush.
"Uh…"
Rin takes his pinky finger and scoops the ice-cream up, and then holds it between them. "You're so clumsy," he teases.
His grin is cut off again when Haru ducks his head down, open mouth engulfing Rin's little finger, drawing back up and releasing him with a wet pop.
"Ice-cream where?" Haru asks.
"Do they always flirt this hard?" Kisumi asks, squeezing Makoto's hand for attention as Rin and Haruka tussle over who gets to dispense the ice-cream for Ren, Ran and Hayato, elbows nudging all up their ribs, a ridiculous grin slapped right across Rin's face, and more intensity than he could ever imagine gracing Haru's.
"Pretty much," Makoto nods, and Haru shoots him a glare. All Makoto can do is smile and put down the money.
Rin flushes uncontrollably and pushes his head into Haru's shoulder. "This is your fault," he hisses, even as he brings his arm around his shoulders.
Haruka ignores him, delicately decorating Ran's cone with crystallised sugar and handing it over, leaning out causing Rin's weight to slump heavily into his back.
"Get off."
"No," Rin sulks.
Well, whatever.
"What are you doing after summer?" Makoto asks, the three of them sitting in the van after another evening swim.
"Going back to school," Rin shrugs. "I board."
Haruka looks up at him, so fast he bonks his head a little on the freezer. The others look at him in concern. Rin refrains from making a joke about getting some ice on that, instead coming to sit by him. It's cramped, they're squashed together, legs and sides all touching, and it's still so hot but Haru shivers at the feeling. Rin leans his head sideways onto his shoulder.
"What about you two?"
"School. Local, though."
"My mum and sister live here," Rin continues, unaware of how his fingers tap out something onto Haruka's thigh. "Maybe I'll see you around on breaks?"
Haruka hopes so.
He leans his head against Rin's. Makoto turns away, letting them have their moment.
June –
"Haru?!" Rin calls, right across the open courtyard to the beach front.
He'd recognise that mop of hair, that blank face, just the way those shoulders hang absolutely anywhere.
He jogs over to the van, stopping at the window and looking up at those big, blue eyes, wide with just as much shock as his own.
God, he's missed him.
"You're running the van?" he asks, even though it's obvious. Haru nods, mouth opening and closing as he tries to find words.
Rin lets himself in at the back of the van and marches right up to Haru, grinning like an idiot, he pulls him into a hug, squeezing tight.
"Should've known we wouldn't see each other till summer… no one wants ice-cream otherwise."
Haru can only nod against his chest, revelling in the embrace.
"Rin…" he says when they part, looking down at his shoes. "You should… give me your number, or something," he turns away dismissively.
"Sure," Rin beams, and without a second of hesitation, plants a kiss on his cheek. "You had ice-cream on your face."