A/N: This was my entry for the Sharkbait Secret Santa, gifted to Tumblr user iwillstillbelieve. Standard disclaimers apply, and please beware of cheesiness. This work has been posted on both Tumblr and AO3. Enjoy!
The tiny sneeze makes him pause, and he looks over to the side. It is Haru, his nose red, gloved hands pulling up his blue scarf. He snickers and reaches over to ruffle Haruka's hair, receiving a miffed glare in return.
"Sorry, sorry," he apologizes between laughs. "You're just too cute, you know that?"
A small blush lights up Haru's cheeks, and he looks away. "Idiot," he mutters under his breath.
Rin just laughs again and takes the other's hand, snow falling lazily around them.
Rin watches Haru take one tentative step, and then another. His face is scrunched into a frown, his glare directed to his feet. Rin stands a few feet away from him, what with the other having refused his help. Haruka's legs wobble, and he splays his arms out to steady himself. Rin tenses in anticipation of a fall, but it doesn't come. Haruka bites his lip and continues making his way to Rin.
Rin scratches his head in frustration. "Oi, Haru, you realize you won't learn fast enough doing that, don't you?" he asks.
Haruka's head snaps up. "Shut up," he huffs. Behind him Nagisa laughs, and he can just imagine Makoto with that apologetic smile of his. Rei is off at the sides, clinging onto the rails and slowly making his way around. It makes Haru feel better knowing that he isn't the only one new at this. Makoto had tried to bring him along with the rest of the Tachibana family years ago, but he had refused, and now he is paying for it by having to learn in front of everyone else.
Rin slowly makes his way over with a roll of his eyes, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets. He is about to say something when he spots Nagisa sneaking behind Haruka. A quick glance tells him that Makoto is making his way to Rei, who in turn seems to have fallen over despite his previous grip on the rails. He opens his mouth to warn Haru, legs about to push off from the ground, when Nagisa reaches out with both arms and gives Haru a shove. Haruka's eyes widen as he slides forward, and he quickly waves his arms for balance. This only serves to further unbalance him, however; his feet slip from under him, and he falls to the ground.
Nagisa cackles; Makoto and Rei, as well as the other patrons, look over at the commotion, and Rin fights the urge to slap a hand to his forehead and bemoan his fate. Instead he glides to Haruka's side and offers him a hand. Haru looks disgruntled, but he does not reject it. Rin pulls him up, and Haruka gingerly rights himself. And then his eyes widen once more, and Rin can only think, "Oh shit". For a second it feels like he is floating, and the next he is on top of Haru, their breaths knocked from their lungs.
Makoto and Rei are back from the sidelines, and their laughter makes Rins cheeks go red. Nagisa, however, is pretty much howling, the sound echoing throughout the whole rink. Beneath Rin, Haruka is glaring, though whether it is actually directed to Rin, Nagisa, or the situation, he isn't sure. Rin grumbles as he stands, and he makes sure Haruka won't fall again as he helps him up.
Haruka decides to stick to the sides of the rink after that.
The mugs in Rin's hands clink as he sets them onto the side table. Haruka is sniffling on the bed, blankets pulled up to his chin and a warm towel sitting on his forehead. His face is a furious red, and his eyes are dazed with fever. Rin tsks as he takes the thermometer from his mouth.
"Well your fever has gone down a bit," he remarks. "Are you feeling cold?"
Haruka nods after a small pause. Rin helps him sit up, and Haru sets his eyes on the mugs. "Chocolate...?" he asks pleadingly.
Rin huffs and crosses his arms. "Are you kidding me? You'll just end up getting yourself even sicker," he grumbles.
"But you said my fever has gone down," Haru points out.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you're better," Rin replies with a roll of his eyes. Haruka goes quite at that, and Rin chances a look at him. He quickly figures that he really should not have.
Haru's eyes have gone wide, and they are brighter than usual, though that could have just been the fever. There is a small pout on his lips, tiny enough that it might as well not be there. Rin can see it, however, and he curses himself. He knows he can never really resist Haru, especially when he gets the same look Haru makes when he is refused a swim.
"Fine," he growls, grabbing the mug with the desired chocolate. "You're lucky I made the tea I actually like. And don't complain if the chocolate's not sweet enough for you!"
Haruka simply hums his assent, clearly content with the fact that he's getting his wish in the first place. Rin grumbles under his breath as he hands over the red mug. They spend the rest of the time in relative silence, sipping their beverages, with snow falling gently outside the window.
"Why did you even put this off at the last minute?!"
Haruka gives Rin a small glare before looking back to the item in his hands. "I couldn't decide what to get," he finally replies.
Rin rolls his eyes with a huff before looking around him in frustration. Shoppers are working in a frenzy, flitting from display to display in a hurried search for the perfect gift. He scoffs and looks back at Haruka. He himself had already finished shopping weeks ago precisely to avoid this kind of situation, and he thought Haru would do the same. And yet here they are, two days before Christmas, doing the shopping with the other late shoppers, all because Haru "couldn't decide what to get".
Haru picks up a pink penguin and holds it up to Rin's face. "Nagisa," is all he says in explanation.
"Just get it and let it be over with," Rin groans. Haru purses his lips and looks at him sharply.
"I want it to be perfect," he says with a sniff. He stares at the pink stuffed toy for a moment before giving a nod and placing it into his basket without another word. He starts walking, and Rin follows behind him at a leisurely pace.
This goes on for over an hour. In this time, a certain shop catches Rin's eye. He ignores it for a while, telling himself that he has already bought a gift. Surely that was enough. There was no need to spend more money or prolong their stay at the mall.
(And yet, right before they leave, he tells Haru to go on ahead and goes back to buy what he wants. On Christmas, he surprises Haru with a ring and a kiss.
"I wanted it to be perfect," Rin says as an explanation, echoing the other's words from two days prior. Haru chooses to hum his happiness against the other man's lips.)
Rin brings the bottle to his lips and takes a big chug. He would admit to enjoying his friends' company, but sometimes, like now, they only serve to make his head ache. The alcohol helps him keep his patience and loosen up a bit. Across the table, Nagisa is making a ruckus by forcing Rei to wear a ridiculous paper hat. Makoto is making a half-hearted attempt to calm Nagisa, knowing it won't really work but feeling sorry for Rei at the same time. What the bigger man doesn't seem to notice is that the look Rei gives Nagisa is more than fond, and it seems more like he's refusing on principle rather than because of an actual reluctance to wear the thing.
On the other side of the room, Mikoshiba boldly flirts with Gou while the girl blushes into her cup. Ai is leaning against their former captain, face flushed with drunkenness and drool slipping from his mouth despite being awake. Rin takes note of Mikoshiba's actions at the back of his head; he will only let this pass today, because it's Christmas and his head hurts and he's not in the mood to get into arguments.
He looks to the side, mouth open and ready to speak, but Haru is not there. He frowns and sets his bottle down. It's Christmas and everyone is supposed to be here and celebrate and Haru is gone and isn't this the guy's house anyway? Surely he can stand to sit still and celebrate and not go off to some random room. Rin needs someone relatively sane to keep himself from going nuts.
He stands with a grumble and makes his way to the door, only to bump into Haru right at the doorway. He stares for a moment and blinks, disoriented. Perhaps he's drank more than he thought he has? Haru merely stares back, looking curious.
"Heeey!" It's Nagisa, who seems to have succeeded in making Rei wear the stupid party hat. Now the blond is pointing towards Rin and Haru, looking giddy and excited, much like a kid does. "Hey, hey, hey, you guys went under the mistletoe! Now you guys have to kiss!" He is practically shaking in excitement, and giggles spill from his lips.
Rin looks up to find that they are, indeed, under the cursed berries. He flushes; while everyone in the room knows of his relationship with Haru, they had never really shown affection in front of the others. He suspects that Nagisa (it's always Nagisa) set the mistletoe up himself precisely because of this, or maybe just because he likes seeing people in embarrassing situations.
He looks down at Haru to find that the other is staring at him expectantly. Everyone else is silently watching, and he feels his blush deepen. He grits his teeth and pulls Haru close, figuring that they should get it over with. Quick and relatively painless, like pulling off a bandaid.
"Merry Christmas," he whispers before leaning down to give pink lips a soft kiss. Nagisa starts hollering, and he faintly hears Mikoshiba laughing. Makoto seems to be fussing over Gou, who is probably bleeding through her nose. He ignores all this in favor of the warmth in his arms and the lips against his own.
Haru wraps an arm around him and reaches up with the other to play with his hair. His tongue flicks against Rin's lip, and Rin groans, crushing the other against him. Perhaps public displays of affection aren't so bad, every once in a while.