He couldn't sleep.

He'd tried to. He really had, but after 3 hours of tossing and turning in bed, Rin had just given up on any hopes of having a well-deserved rest that night.

Yet what pissed him off the most about his current predicament was that the 'cause' of his insomnia had already fallen asleep beside him without a care in the world hours before, leaving Rin alone with nothing better to do than to stare at the fan rotating on the ceiling above the bed until dawn would break.

As if on cue, Rin heard Haru mumble some incoherent nonsense in his sleep, just before the dark-haired young man rolled to his side in bed, hogging a lot more than his previously assigned mattress space.

By the time Rin felt Haru's bangs brush his shoulder; the dolphin's shallow breaths tickling his upper arm, he knew he was a goner.

The redhead's palm quickly connected with his forehead in an attempt to somehow force himself to 'wake up' from the nightmare he was finding himself in.

What degree of lunacy had possessed Rin to cause him to decide to bring the guy he was secretly in love with along with him to Australia, was a thought that had been haunting the shark ever since he and Haru had first boarded the plane at Narita airport.

Sure Haru was feeling down in the dumps at the moment, and Rin would like nothing else than to be the one to rescue him, but he already had to check himself countless times during the day in order to hide his excitement around his unrequited love, and what to say of their earlier visit to his Australian homestay parents Russell and Lori?

For once the redhead was really glad Haru's English skills were not that impressive, otherwise Rin was sure the dark-haired teen would have caught on at least one of Lori's many hints regarding Rin's awe and fascination towards him. Why did she even have to wink at Haru during dinner like she did? As if Rin hadn't been mortified enough about what she was saying to the other young man at the time…

He was even pondering on the prospects of giving Lori a call the next morning, so he could better explain his awkward behavior during dinner that night, when he heard Haru mumbling in his sleep again, although this time he understood the dolphin perfectly.

"Cold…" Haru whispered, shivering; at the same time he huddled closer to Rin in search of the latter's body heat.

It wasn't long before the dolphin was practically glued to the redhead's side, his head somehow ending up resting straight on Rin's shoulder.

"You have to be kidding me!" The shark said out loud, even though the only reply he received from the other man was a content sigh.

"You feel warm…" Haru mumbled again, causing Rin's breath to get caught in his lungs for a moment.

Wait! Haru was sleeping, right? He wasn't clinging to Rin being fully conscious of it…was he?

"Ha-Haru?" Rin asked out loud, somewhat frightened by the prospect of the answer he might receive in return.

When he was greeted by no other sound than that of Haru's even breathing, he felt like kicking himself in the head.

What was he expecting anyway? For Haru to look up all of a sudden, stare him straight in the eyes and declare he was in love with him? Since when had Rin turned into a needy character from a cheesy soap opera?

Smiling at his own uncharacteristic thoughts, the redhead turned his face towards Haru's, adjusting his arm under the dark-haired teen so that it better supported the latter's weight against him.

"What am I gonna do with a troublesome guy like you?" Rin whispered quietly, just before he closed his eyes, soon falling asleep lulled by the rhythm of Haru's heartbeats against his chest.


Haru waited until he felt Rin's breathing even out before opening his eyes, confident he wouldn't get caught.

He felt Rin's arm circled around his back protectively and for an amused moment wondered what type of explanation the redhead would come up with in the morning to account for the awkward position his arm was in.

Although limited in his movements, Haru still managed to lift his head slightly without disturbing Rin's sleep, giving him a chance to stare at will at the redhead's peaceful face, a complete contrast to the panicked look he'd bore during dinner with his homestay parents earlier that night.

Haru frowned for a moment, remembering how Rin's Australian mom had winked at him at some point, making her 'adopted' son blush twenty shades of red. Haru still wondered what it was that she had really said to him at the time and that Rin had refused to translate…

As he was musing over Rin's awkward behavior over dinner, the shark unexpectedly shifted in his sleep, dragging Haru along with him so that they both ended up lying on their sides, facing each other, with Rin's chin resting on top of Haru's head.

When Rin's free arm snaked around the other teen's waist trapping the latter in a gentle embrace, Haru felt a strange sensation in his stomach; one he had felt repeatedly throughout that day whenever Rin stood too close to him; a mix of anxiety and butterflies in his stomach which he felt too embarrassed to admit even to himself.

He wished he was brave enough to verbalize his thanks to Rin for being his friend, for rescuing him in a time of need and taking him away from Iwatobi even if just for a few days.

But more importantly, Haru wished he was brave enough to come clean with Rin once and for all and tell him that he was in love with him. And that he had been so, ever since the annoying redhead had come rocking his quiet life years before.

For now though it seemed the dark-haired teen would have to content himself with the tight embrace the redhead had him trapped on that night in that foreign hotel room, but judging by the smile on Haru's face as he snuggled closer to Rin before closing his eyes and finally falling asleep, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all.