AN:Hi! So remember when I said I would write a one shot that has nothing to do with Abnormal Functioning of Neurotransmitter Systems? Well here it is! Also, sorry if it's not well proofread, I really wanted to upload it tonight but I promise, I'll give it a better check over soon.
AN: Update, so I just proofread this and changed the title.
Life before was hazy and insignificant and the years had been long. They'd been hundreds (if not thousands). And Haru had been feeling tired, he'd been feeling so tired. Why he had been condemned to live forever was confusing. It was quite literally a curse. He couldn't remember why he'd been cursed, he just remembered he had been.
He's seen everything. He was sure that there was nothing new, and when there was it wasn't worth caring about. Even his friends, his comrades, had been condemned to similar fates. Though they didn't seem to view it as cynically. Nagisa was a fairy, of sorts, who found joy in the idea of immortality, having time to do everything. Makoto, who was a vampire, also found that it was nice getting to meet so many people and help them with so many years of his own experience. Haru supposed that they could be optimistic, they got to have some sort of gift with their immortality. All Haru had was not aging and being generally impervious. He supposed he should be glad that the sorceress wasn't that good a sorceress that she could have kept him aging.
As he looked in the reflection of the ocean over the side of the cozy fishing town pier, he wondered what a man of over a thousand years would look like. Ugly, probably. He imagined the gnarly, wrinkly, shriveled up, skin that was pale as a cadaver.
The pier wasn't empty. In fact, it was a vibrant bloom of light, even if it was night. Teenagers dangled over the edge, throwing rocks or various types of food into the sea which lapped at the edge of the pillars. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, family members of all types paraded up and down. Either little kids grabbing a parent's hand, or teenagers texting with a mask of indifference across their face. Some parents pointedly avoided their spouses gaze in sordid bitterness from the sharp aftertaste of some argument or the other. Other parents held each other's hands with sweet looks in their eyes as though they had never left their honeymoon phase.
Haru sighed and turned back to looking at the sea over the edge of the fence. Even if he climbed over the edge with rock laden pockets and tape over his nose and mouth, he wouldn't die. He knew because he'd tried. Hit by a bus, run down by a horse, stabbed in the heart, heart removed completely, bullet to the brain, a conflagration, a great height, smallpox and blight. Nothing killed him, he was impervious to everything. Everything.
"...You're seriously going through with that?"
"It's not that weird!"
"It's not weird, I think... but it's not like it's going to work."
Haru sighed as he realised to two teenagers had occupied the space to his right to have a loud, obnoxious conversation about their lives. It was funny, Haru thought, that the general rule of the this world was that the shorter your life is, the more of it there actually is. The more important every little thing was.
"It might work."
"It definitely won't," the first speaker paused, "She's just not that sort of girl."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"She hates video games, she won't get the reference at all."
He turned his head to see the two teenagers. One was a redhead with a black beanie tugged over his long hair, with red eyes, and pale skin which had a slight blush dusted across it from the cold breeze. He was grinning at the other boy who, presumably, was the redhead's friend. The other boy was slightly shorter than the redhead. He had black hair and a pair of glasses.
"I think she's played this one before."
"No, she just shared a reference on Facebook that she didn't get to seem like she's more cultured than she is... Even though Skyrim isn't exactly haute couture."
Once again, Haru found himself lost in the teenagers' conversations, as per usual. He went look back to looking at the rippling waves but his eyes kept creeping back to the redhead. He was so insanely lively and vibrant. Each part of him just screamed "Life." His blood flushed face, the twinkling in his eyes, the way he quirked his lip or an eyebrow (or two) in dizzying motions which reflected every emotion flickering through his heart.
A particularly strong gust of wind came along and blew the redhead's beanie off. Without thought, Haru lunged forward and grabbed the hat. It smelt floral, which was odd for a boy.
Then the redhead turned from his friend and looked at Haru. It was scary to have someone with that many intense emotions simmering under their fingertips devote that much concentration on you. It was like someone was holding hundreds of laser points in your heart and pinned every muscle in your body to the wall.
Haru didn't know what to say, so instead he wordlessly pushed the hat towards the redhead, whose eyes were still wide and blank and his eyebrows were crinkled. His eyes flicked downwards, making his long black eyelashes flutter. The redhead put his hands on the hat and took it back.
"Thanks," he said.
"You're welcome," Haru responded.
There was a tense pause.
"I'm sorry, um, do you live here?" the redhead asked.
"I'm new to the area."
"Will you be going to our school?"
"I don't do school," Haru replied.
"Really? Why?"
"It's personal."
"Oh, okay," the redhead huffed.
"Where do you go to school?" Haru asked.
"It's personal," the redhead hummed.
"Very clever," Haru hummed. "What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"I'll tell you my name, if you tell me yours."
"Fine, my name's Rin. Rin Matsuoka."
"My name is Haru," Haru hadn't actually told anyone his real name in centuries, literally. Yet he felt compelled to uphold his end of the bargain in their bizarre little trade.
"Well, Haru, maybe I'll see you around," Rin smirked before affixing his beanie back on his head and walking away with his friend further down the pier.
Ah... shit, thought Haru. An important rule of staying sane when you're immortal is to never befriend anyone who's, well, mortal. Sure, Haru felt a little stir-crazy, felt like bashing a hammer through his head to deal with the boredom. Yet, he never felt pain like a knife in his heart because he had to watch someone he cared for grow old and die whilst he just sat beside them never changing, never being able to have the relief of thinking "Hey, I'll see you in the afterlife soon."
He'd managed to avoid that so far, avoiding every human life, only interacting with immortals. No one he'd even remotely held dear had died, he still had Makoto, he still had Nagisa. He had their names on a mobile phone he rarely used which currently sat in the bedsit he'd booked for the week.
"Do not come back to this pier tomorrow," he told himself and left.
Here he was, at the pier. He was not waiting for the redhead, Rin, to come. He'd just wanted to get some of the deep fried fish from the stand near the front entrance and just keep looking at the sea.
"Hi, Haru," Rin appeared behind him, a mocking tone underlying his voice as he tapped his back.
"Hello, Rin," he replied, calmly.
"Have you just been here staring at the ocean?" Rin asked with a quirked eyebrow, he had some sort of deep fried fish on a stick poised by his mouth.
"Yes, it's relaxing."
"Sounds boring," Rin huffed before chewing on the food by his mouth with a contemplative look on his face.
"So, Haru, what do you like to do, except for saving hats and looking at water?" Rin asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.
"Nothing, really."
"God, you make yourself sound so boring. Come on, you've got to like something."
"I suppose I like swimming," Haru replied, holding back a glare at the redhead who was practically hanging off the fence with the way his hand was draped over it.
"Really?" He smiled. "I love swimming! Have done since I was little. I'm actually on the school swimming team."
"That's nice."
"Yeah, I went to Australia to train once. I'm really good at swimming. Bet I'm better than you."
"Maybe, I've had a long time to practice," Haru replied. The redhead stiffened and regarded Haru more formally.
"What, really? How old are you?"
"Eighteen," Haru lied. "I mean that, since I don't go to school all that much, I'm quite good at swimming."
"Really? Do you wanna race me then?"
"Not really."
"Ugh, why?"
"Not my thing."
"You're so boring."
"You've said."
"Well, anyway, I've got to get back to my friends," Rin said with a smile and a wave. Haru looked over the redhead's shoulder and saw the black haired boy with glasses was in a group with a girl who was most likely Rin's sister, another girl with brown hair and green eyes, a tall black haired boy with teal eyes, two redheads who were siblings but not related to Rin, and a silver haired boy who was the shortest of the bunch for sure.
The week dragged on and Haru found his feet taking him to the pier to meet up with Rin every night, feeling butterflies in stomach every time. He felt like he needed a slap across the face to snap him out of the phase. He knew he didn't just want to be friends with Rin, he wanted more than friends which was so wrong and would hurt even more than if they were just friends.
He and Rin had a chat on the pier and Rin, once again, pestered him to race him and Haru, suprising himself and Rin, agreed.
"What, seriously?" Rin gasped.
"Yeah, why not."
"Okay, well, come meet me at my school on... I think Tuesday's good... yeah, Tuesday at four,."
"Okay," Haru nodded, admiring the smile on Rin's lips.
"Crap, you don't know what school I got to. It's Samezuka Academy."
"Right, what's the address?"
"It's actually, right across the road from here. Well, I mean like, if you go across the road and keep going left then take the first turn north and keep going you'll see it. You can't miss it."
"I'll take your word for it."
Rin's directions were ingrained in his mind and he found himself walking the directions perfectly at four o'clock on Tuesday with his heart in his tongue. He felt a twinge in his head when he remembered he'd only meant to stay for a week. He'd stayed longed so he could race Rin. He'd probably stay a bit longer after that.
"Haru, you came!"
He would stay a bit longer after the race.
"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to have any spare swimsuits?"
"Oh, yeah, we have loads in lost and found, I'll show you where it is," Rin said before beckoning Haru to follow him which Haru surely did.
The lost and found wasn't filled with nice swimsuits you'd want to keep. Haru wouldn't be suprised if the clothes had been lost on purpose. Rin dug through the box trying to find something he deemed to be about Haru's size.
"How about these?" Rin called over his shoulder and then threw a pair of stone grey jammers at Haru's face. He took a few moments to gather himself before peeling them off his face and give them a quick inspection.
"Yeah, they'll do," Haru replied.
"Great, I'll show you where the changing room is... crap, did you bring a towel?"
"Uh... no," Haru replied.
"Guess we better grab one from here then," Rin replied tugging a threadbare towel from the rack. Haru noted that Rin had pulled his hair into a cute little ponytail.
"We ready?" Rin asked with a smile. Haru nodded.
Like he knew he would, because little suprised him these days, Haru won. However, he really hadn't expected Rin to be so fast. It was bizarre to find out they'd practically tied. Haru supposed that it was because his heart wasn't in it, as it hadn't been in anything for a long time. But it couldn't be true, his heart had never pounded harder, his skin had never tingled so much, his blood had never fizzled in his veins, he'd never been so alive.
"That was amazing," Rin gasped as he pulled off his cap.
"It was," Haru replied.
"We've got to do that again sometime," Rin grinned.
"Yeah," Haru agreed.
Over the weeks, Haru got to know more and more about Rin. He learned about his disdain for sweet foods, and his love for meats and spices. Rin told him all about his dream to get a gold medal for his dearly departed dad. Haru noticed Rin's eccentric flair for his fashion and realised that Rin had very sharp teeth. Rin mentioned one time that he could speak fluent English. Haru, by accident, discovered that Rin was also a closet hopeless romantic. Haru found it endearing but Rin was so completely embarrassed that he just blushed for a long time before changing the subject.
Haru also raced Rin regularly. Though Haru found that they actually seemed to tie more often than they found themselves with a definitive victor.
Haru was in so deep that he actually felt dizzy when he thought about.
During his fourth week he received a phone call from his long time immortal friend, Makoto.
"Hi, Haru, I wanted to ask how you've been?" he asked cheerily.
"I'm great... and terrible."
"That's definitely different to every other answer you've given me in the past..."
"Circumstances are definitely different now, that's why."
"What do you mean?"
"I've fallen in love with someone," Haru began and before Makoto could interject he finished with: "And they're a mortal."
The 'O' Makoto's mouth formed was audible.
"Wow, Haru. Who is it?"
"A boy called Rin, he's beautiful, vibrant, loving, talented," he listed the adjectives as though he were naming comets that he could peruse with his own eyes as he lay out in a great big field. He had a sudden urge to go stargazing with Rin. He thought about lying on a blanket together, next to each other. Rin would snuggle into Haru's side and almost fall asleep but Haru would capture his chin and lead his plump lips into a kiss and then...
"Haru? Are you there?" Makoto practically yelled down the phone.
"Sorry, I was just dazing out, a bit."
"I was asking you what you're going to do."
"I think I'm going to go stargazing," Haru replied.
"What?" Makoto exclaimed in confusion. Haru hung up the phone and fell asleep to lust ridden dreams about the redhead and what they'd do together.
"You want to go camping together?" Rin repeated back to Haru as he reclined on his bed.
"Yes, it'd be nice," Haru said from Rin's desk chair.
"Well, I suppose so. Where are we going to go?"
"Somewhere close by... do you know anywhere that's good for stargazing?"
"Stargazing?"
"Yes, I like stargazing."
"Oh, is that why you want to go camping?"
Haru nodded.
"Well, I guess I could do a quick Google search," Rin hummed, as he pulled his iPhone off of his bedside table and began tapping something into the search bar.
"The beach is pretty good for stargazing. Is there a particular constellation you want to see or a comet?"
"No, I just like stargazing. I just don't like going alone," he lied.
"Really, you've always seemed to be the solitary type."
"I tend to be, just not all the time."
That was how Haru found himself sat on a sand blanket at the top of the beach, sat next to Rin. It wasn't quite the romantic, or sensual, image he'd had in his head but when did fantasy ever match up with reality?
Haru wondered if Rin was oblivious to his feelings or not. He wondered if Rin knew or not. He wondered if Rin felt the same.
"Rin, how do you feel about me?" Haru asked.
"What do you mean?" Rin asked, snapping his head to Haru.
"What's the nature of you're feelings towards me? Platonic? Romantic?"
"Haru- what?"
"Because, I love you, Rin. And it's killing me."
"What do you mean?"
"Rin," Haru grabbed the redhead's hands. They were clammy and they shook as though a million bolts of electricity were running through them. "Can I kiss you?"
Rin's eyes were wide and stared into Haru's own like a little puppy but Rin nodded and Haru's heart skipped a beat. He went forward, almost a little too quickly and kissed Rin with his extremely meager experience. It was a little embarrassing when he thought about the fact he was over a thousand years old and he had very little experience with these kinds of things.
The best part of the kiss wasn't the softness of Rin's skin or lips, the taste of his mouth, or the same floral scent he'd smelt the day they met, but the somewhat erotic manner in which Rin kissed him back.
Haru never wanted to pull away.
AN: Okay so I'm considering turn this into a series for the time being. I dunno whether to make multiple drabbles or if I should post them as chapters. I think chapters would be easier though.
