"Shit."
Rin stared blankly at the charred mackerel filet in front of him. Frustrated, he groaned again and slammed his fists down on the granite countertop.
"Onii-chan, don't yell. Mom's sleeping upstairs," Gou gently reminded her older brother, who had been attempting to grill some mackerel for a Samezuka team party (each person was required to bring something).
"You know, you could've chosen something easier to make-"
"Shut up! I chose mackerel because-"
"—because Haruka-senpai and the others were invited, right?"
Rin bit back his retort, because Gou had a point. He could've just chosen something simple like a salad or fruit bowl, or hell, even his favorite spicy meat dish, but he just had to chose mackerel, because that's his favorite –
"So, onii-chan, what are you going to do now? This failed attempt has been the best so far, but it's also been the seventh one today…"
"…dammit."
-At the party-
Rin sighed as he trudged up the stairs to the Mikoshiba's home, fingers tightening around the handle of the plastic bag holding store-bought sushi. Just as he was about to ring the door bell, he heard Gou's voice coming faintly from inside. His eyes widened and he cursed under his breath.
"…his seventh mackerel filet turned out just as burnt as the first one, you know. He chose mackerel for a special reason, I know, but it's too hard for someone like-"
"—me?"
Gou froze and turned around slowly, grinning sheepishly. She was standing in the middle of a circle of Rin's Iwatobi friends and Samezuka teammates, criticizing him on his failed attempts at cooking. He silently glared at Gou, shooting a dirty look at her direction. Gou patted Rin's shoulder apologetically, said a quick bye to the other swimmers, and left the house all in under a minute.
Rin clicked his tongue and rubbed his head, embarrassed, in the awkward wake that remained.
"Rin."
Rin looked up sharply, eyes meeting with Haru's ocean blue eyes.
"I only eat mackerel."
Rin bristled, "Everyone already knows-"
"Next time," Haru interrupted, nodding briefly, then turned around and went off to go find the Mikoshiba's pool.
Rin's eyes widened at Haru's indirect message. He hid a slight grin with his hair and hurriedly followed the gifted swimmer outside.
"Haru!"