A/N: Hey, guys! It's been a while, eh? I'm here to contribute to my newest fandom~. This is based on a prompt I got on tumblr; it's a little short, but I hope you guys enjoy. ^^
…
"I can't believe they left you here by yourself," Rin said as he stepped inside behind me, slipping his shoes off at the door.
"They tried to get me to go with them. I didn't want to move schools," I explained with a shrug. "Besides, I'm fine here by myself. It's quieter this way." He laughed at me.
"If you wanted peace and quiet, you shouldn't have invited me over." He was already strolling through the house as if he hadn't seen it just a few years ago, taking the liberty of looking it over without asking. He paused for a minute to pay his respects to my grandmother, but he was soon continuing his self-guided tour, calling over his shoulder, "Aren't you going to offer me something to eat?" That was probably the polite thing to do. I didn't have guests often, so maybe my manners were lacking. I went to the kitchen while he walked down the hall, checking my stock of food. I should buy groceries soon…
"I'm not sure there's enough here for a decent meal," I said, not bothering to raise my voice, so he probably couldn't hear me. "I only have this one mackerel, and I haven't even butchered it yet…"
"Are you talking to me in here?" Rin's head appeared from the hallway, and he looked past me into the nearly-empty refrigerator. "Oh. Jeez, what were you thinking, inviting company over when you can't even feed me properly?" He was probably right; I should've waited until my kitchen was better stocked… Seeing the slight fall in my expression, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"It's no big deal," he said, closing the fridge and pulling me closer by my arm. "We'll go pick something up. Later." His lips met my neck, and I shivered by accident.
"You don't mind going out again?" I asked as he pushed my back against the wall. Even when I wasn't fighting or protesting at all, he still felt like he had to be in control all the time.
"No," he said. "It's fine. We could have tea or something. Assuming you haven't used all the water to swim in already." He grinned sharply as I was shaking my head.
"I can make tea."
"Good." After a hard kiss, he took a step back. "I'll be waiting in your room." For a guest, he was awfully bossy… While I waited for the water to boil, I glanced outside to see dark clouds coming in our direction. It had been a couple of months now, since Rin had realized that our "rivalry" was pretty much one-sided and gone after me in a different way. This was, he didn't seem so angry and confrontational all the time. I liked it better this way. At first, I had gone along with his advances because I wanted his friendship back, because I've never been one to fight the current, and Rin was like a riptide. But after being with him for a couple of weeks and seeing him—how he had changed, and how he was still very much the same—I started to like him in a way I didn't expect. Even though he was pushy. Even though he was demanding and his mood changed as fast as the weather on the ocean. I liked it. I liked him. I just hoped I could keep up with his rapidly-changing moods.
"Geez, how long does it take to boil water, dolphin boy?" I sighed and rolled my eyes at him, going about my business at my own pace. He could use a lesson in patience, anyway. When I brought our tea to my bedroom, I found him looking through my dresser. He looked up at me and smiled, holding something in his hand. "Hey, look what I found. You kept your goggles from when you were a kid?" Seeing what he was holding, I tightened my grip on the tea tray.
"Put those away; weren't you asking for tea?" I said as I seated myself on the floor with the tray in front of me.
"What's the matter? You're mad because I found your childhood memorabilia?" he teased, looking at the goggles in his hand. After a minute, his smile faded. "Hm. This isn't the brand you wear. Are these…?"
"You left them at the swim club," I muttered, trying to keep myself busy with the tea so we could change subjects soon. "When you were visiting home last time."
"Oh, yeah. After we raced." He laughed, but it sounded hollow. This was what I was afraid of… "You smoked me, huh?" I shrugged, feeling the topic wasn't something I should touch. For a few more minutes, he stood there with a frown on his face, his eyebrows furrowed. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I could never tell what he was thinking. Was he still thinking of that day? About me and his freshly-abandoned fury to beat me? Or maybe he was just wondering how he was ever small enough to wear those goggles. I couldn't tell. For a while, neither of us said anything. The air only got thicker, tenser as we sat there in silence. I tried drinking my tea, but I was having trouble swallowing. Finally…
"Rin?" He looked up, but not at me. Trying to sound as calm and non-threatening as possible, I asked, "Do you…want to sit down?" His gaze went right past me.
"Actually…" My stomach felt cold. "I just remembered I have this test I need to study for. I should get going." The tone in his voice was different. He seemed distracted. Was he being honest, or did he just want to get away from me?
"Okay," I said. What else could I do? I didn't want to make him angry. He strode past me without another word, still clutching the goggles in his hand. I hesitated for just a second before following him. "You're still coming to the beach with me tomorrow, right?" The weather was finally getting warm enough to swim, and he'd told me he wanted to go when I went.
"We'll see," he said, slipping his shoes back on. "The weather might turn nasty."
"…right."
"I'll send you a text or something," he said. "Don't worry about it." He left without kissing me. When he was gone, I slowly gathered up the tea dishes from my room and brought them back to the kitchen. I should've burned those goggles when I'd found them. There was a newspaper lying on the counter. The forecast called for a cold front. Maybe I wouldn't get to swim anytime soon after all.
