SEMI-IMPORTANT EDIT FOR FIRST CHAPTER: I was thinking about the way the first chapter established Rin living on his own and realized it would make much more sense for Haru and Rin to go to the same college for swimming, and that Makoto might have gone to a different college (perhaps to become a teacher, or a swimming coach?) so I flipped around Haru and Makoto's names.
Thank you so much for all the favorites and follows and reviews and encouragement! I've never gotten such a positive response for any of my stories! It's really fantastic! Anyway, onto the story! It's gonna start picking up with this chapter!
This is definitely a test.
Rin had just gotten to his apartment door when he'd realized that his pocket felt significantly lighter than usual. He'd been so focused on running from anymore embarrassment at the hands of the adorable cashier that he hadn't even noticed his wallet falling out.
Guess I'll have to retrace my steps.
He was only two steps down the stairs when his phone started to ring. The number flashing on the screen was unfamiliar, but Rin thought he might as well answer, someone might have found his wallet.
"Hello?"
"Ah! Hello, is this, uh, R-Rin Matsuoka?"
Oh my god…
"Yeah…"
"Yes, good! This is Aiichirou Nitori, from the Family Mart. You, um, you dropped your wallet when you ran out of the store. I saw this number when I opened your wallet, so I thought I would call!"
Rin went blank.
Even on the phone…he's cute…
"Hello? Are you still there?"
Rin didn't realize how long he'd been quiet until, until Aiichirou, had snapped him out of it.
"Uh, yeah, I'm still here. I'll just go back to the store and come get it then."
"Oh, wait!"
Rin's foot hovered above the next step.
"If you don't mind waiting about two hours, I can drop it off on my way home…If that's okay with you, of course!"
"Uh…I mean, I wouldn't want you going out of your way…"
"It's not a big deal! It's actually on my way home!"
A sigh nearly escaped Rin's mouth, but he didn't want to seem like unappreciative of the favor Aiichirou, what a name, was offering.
"Uh, yeah, okay then. Just ring the bell when you get here."
There was no response, a few seconds of silence, then Rin could hear the teller's voice, muffled, " So sorry, miss, I'll be there in a second!"
"The bell, you said?" His voice sounded rushed.
"Yeah."
"Okay great, see in a couple hours!"
"See y-"
The sudden silence cut Rin off and alerted him to Aiichirou, AIICHIROU, AIICHIROU, hanging up the phone. It was at that point he realized that he'd been standing at the top of the steps the whole time. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Rin turned around to go back to his door.
Jeez.
Rin opened his door and leaned his back against it closed, slowly descending to the floor.
One second I'm actively avoiding the cutest person I've ever met, the next second, I'm wallet-less and waiting for him to come to my apartment.
He finally came to a full stop on the floor, legs stretching out over the half-step.
Let's be real. You've only just met him. This is just infatuation, plus there's only half a chance he'll be interested in you anyway. No reason to stress…
He needed some guidance, someone with experience, someone who'd also seemed to fall in love at first sight. Rin pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts, and found the name of the person he was seeking advice from.
"Rin Rin!"
"Hi, Nagisa."
Aiichirou had once again found himself leaning over the counter, just having served a young woman who was in quite a hurry.
"What's wrong, Ai?" came a female voice. His manager.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Maybe…but I've never really been in love."
"What about fate?"
"I don't really know that, either. Why?"
Ai used his arms to lift himself from the counter, and looked at his manager.
"There was a guy in here earlier. He was, admittedly, really handsome. He seemed really shy at the register, and when I was giving him his change, our hands touched and there was like…this…spark! You know?"
"Okay? What about the fate?"
"Oh, yeah, he dropped his wallet! Luckily he'd had his number written down inside for the person who found it to call him, and I found it. I'm gonna drop it off tonight! He lives so close by! Doesn't that seem like fate?"
"It seems like you've fallen for a stranger who can't keep very good track of his wallet. Besides, don't they call that kind of thing 'infatuation'? You just saw an attractive person and your hormones went all uppity."
"You're such a downer." Ai's body returned to the countertop. "This countertop is my only friend."
The manager sighed. "Ai, you don't have to listen to me. That's one way to think of it out of a million. This guy could be a creep, or he could be the love of your life, but you have to get to know him before you go rattling on about "love at first sight". You get me?"
"Yeah. If he lives close by, he'll surely come here again, right? I can just get to know him like I would anyone else…"
The chime of the entrance bell stopped the manager before she could speak again, alerting the two to the arrival of a new customer.
"Welcome!" Her voice carried the tone of an experienced store worker.
There was no response, however, not even a nod from the man. His head was hanging low, face unseen beneath the hood of his sweater. He didn't linger for too long, only grabbing a bottle of water to bring to the counter.
"Will that be all, sir?"
Ai failed to receive an answer as well, deciding not to try anything else, he rang up the bottle of water.
"120 yen…sir."
The customer quickly shoved the exact amount into Ai's hand, grabbed his water, and made a hasty exit, leaving Ai and his manager confused and a bit nervous.
"What a freaking creep…"
"Yeah…" Ai wiped his hand on his pants, something about the way the man's hand felt when he handed him the money just hadn't felt right, and the coins had felt damp with sweat.
"Well, we're not closing for another hour, but how about we start cleaning now and you can take off an hour early tonight. That way you can get that guy his wallet before midnight."
"Got it, I'll go get the supplies!" Ai half-jogged to the back of the store to get the cleaning supplies as the manager watched. Once he was out of sight, she picked up the lost wallet Ai had placed on the side of the register and opened it to the ID.
"Hm, not bad."
"Rin, I know you're not one for all the romancing and junk, but you gotta get to know this guy. You can't just avoid him and give up! What if he likes you back?"
"How am I supposed to get to know him? The first time I've ever saw him was the convenience store where he works!"
"How are you not supposed to get to know him?! He works there Rin, literally all you have to do is go."
"You and Rei made it look so easy. One second you were strangers, the next you're all over each other."
"That's because you didn't see everything that happened behind the scenes. It took a lot of time for me to get Rei to open up!"
"Yeah, I guess…"
"Just look for an opportunity to have a conversation with him. If he doesn't return your feelings, big deal, and if he does, you can keep going! What's the worst that could happen?"
"I guess you're right."
"Obviously. I gotta go now, Rei and I have some business to attend to…"
"Business?"
"Yeah, we're gonna get busy!"
Rin could hear what sounded like an eternally embarrassed Rei shout "NAGISA!" and Nagisa's laughter before Nagisa yelled out a "Bye Rin Rin!" and hung up.
"I thought I told him to stop calling me that."
Rin got up from his place on the floor, rubbing his lower back, which was sore from sitting so long on the hard surface.
I wonder if I have enough time for a shower…
He checked his phone, seeing that he'd only been on the phone with Nagisa for an hour and decided that the hour before Aiichirou got to his apartment would be more than enough time. As he walked to the bathroom he started to strip, beginning with his shirt and then going for his pants, unzipping the fly. He was nearly to the door of the bathroom when he heard the ring of his doorbell.
Shit!
All thoughts of modesty left Rin's head and were soon replaced with anxiety about seeing Aiichirou again. He ran to the door, swinging it open with some force and his best, most calm sounding, "Hey."
Aiichirou was struck speechless for a moment. Rin's wallet his held out in his hands, but there was Rin, shirtless, unbuttoned…
"Am I interrupting something?" It was the first thing out of Aiichirou's mouth, why did I say that?
Rin was confused by the question, but in a moment his anxiousness changed from seeing Aiichirou to Aiichirou was right there and he was shirtless and oh my fucking god. Damage control…
"Oh, this? No, I was just about to take a shower…uh, you, you're early! Kinda threw me off!"
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I thought to call you…but it's such a short walk and I didn't expect to get off of work so early tonight and I was just so excited to see y- to…uh…I was so excited to give you your wallet back!"
Aiichirou pushed the wallet further towards Rin, the situation almost becoming painful for the two to even bear. Rin's hand extended with shaking anxiety to finally take his wallet back.
"Thanks."
"No problem, just…just doing my job!"
"See ya…"
"Yep! Bye!"
Rin closed his door, and Aiicihirou, feeling down that he hadn't found a reason for them to talk more, resolved that he'd maybe just die alone, nothing more than a teller at the Family Mart. He trudged down the steps and shuffled along the street that led to his neighborhood, weary from a long day and mentally exhausted from the metaphorically emotional rollercoaster he'd just been on.
At least I got to see him shirtless…
Aiichirou's thoughts, though, went no further than that, as the sound of another person walking behind him had raised his guard.
I'm sure their just walking the same way I am. But Aiichirou hadn't even hit the corner of Rin's street yet. Giving into his paranoia, Aiichirou pretended to receive a text that needed immediate answering and the comfort of a wall to lean on, waiting for the stranger to pass by.
But he didn't. Instead, he saw the stranger duck by a streetlamp, and something about their clothing made Aiichirou feel instantly uncomfortable.
That's the creep from earlier! He was there an hour before I even left! Oh my god, this is it. Something is going to happen to me…
He weighed his options. The store was closed for the night, his home was still a ten minute walk, and he'd always been warned not to lead a potential stalker to his own home. There was only one other option he could think of…it's stupid, it's so stupid, but I have to try. Feigning surprise at a new imaginary text on his phone, Aiichirou began to walk back towards Rin Matsuoka's apartment.
Five steps past the stranger and his paranoia was justified as he listened to his stalker once again trail behind him. He knew now that he had to go all the way to the apartment, to be safe. He picked up his pace, but not too much, scared that going too slow would invite the stalker to attack and going too fast would make it obvious that he'd noticed. Once he was at the apartment complex steps, he abandoned his cautious pace and raced up the steps, praying that Rin would let him in. He rang the bell impatiently, his body unable to stay still underneath the weight of his situation.
"Yeah, yeah, I'LL BE THERE IN A SECOND." Aiichirou let go of the bell, a bit nervous now that he'd obviously pissed Rin off.
The door swung open, and Rin looked pissed, and he sounded pissed as he spat out a "What?"
"I-I'm so sorry for disturbing you again, but I need help!"
Rin immediately softened, embarrassed that he'd gotten so angry, but he tucked the embarrassment away, opting to just apologize.
"Sorry, what do you need help with? Are you hurt?"
"No, it's just…I think I'm being stalked."
"A stalker?" Rin wanted to ask how he knew, but Aiichirou seemed nervous to be outside and he already felt bad enough about yelling. Aiichirou just nodded.
"Come inside."
Rin closed the door behind them, taking a second to peek out and check the surroundings. Aiichirou wasn't lying, as he turned his head he saw someone hide near a lamppost. Suspicious of the stalker's intentions, Rin locked the deadbolt as well as his normal lock on the door.
Aiichirou was awkwardly standing in the front hallway, head turned down to the floor.
"Sorry, again, for yelling…"
"It's…it's okay. Sorry if I interrupted something this time."
"No, nothing, uh…" Rin didn't know what to do. His whole night had been turned around in only two hours. He'd seen the cute store clerk, lost his wallet, talked to the cute store clerk on the phone (found out his name, Aii-chi-rou), accidentally opened his door to the clerk shirtless, regained his wallet, and now, he'd invited him into his apartment. The silence was deathly, this was not a situation he was used to.
Aiichirou felt the same, but he felt like he had to do something. In the heat of the moment, he extended his hand.
"Uhm, we haven't really…introduced ourselves properly…and since I'm in your apartment and all that…"
Aiichirou was cut off when Rin took two huge steps forward to get closer to him and grabbed his hand, something he hadn't quite expected.
"I'm Rin Matsuoka. Just Rin is fine."
"Oh! I'm Aiichirou Nitori. Most people call me Ai…"
"Ai…" Rin hadn't meant to say the name, but it slipped off his tongue so easily, Ai.
Happy in the cleared, now more comfortable air, Rin lead Ai to sit in his living room, curious to find out what he could about Ai's supposed stalker. Once he'd set some water for them both, they got to talking.
"He came into the store about an hour before I left. He didn't really say anything and was looking down the whole time. My manager and I thought he was a creep but there really wasn't any sign that he was gonna do anything to me."
"How'd you realize he was stalking you?"
Ai stopped to sip some water before talking again, "Mm, I was walking home and felt like someone was following me, so I stopped and waited for them to pass, but instead he ducked behind something and waited. That's why I started heading the other way, to see if he'd still follow me."
"And he did…"
"So I decided to come here, you were the closest person I could think of."
"How do you know that I'm not a creep?"
"You may be a little…yell-y…but you've been nice enough besides that."
Rin made a gruff noise, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and stood up.
"Well, you can stay as long as you need to, I don't have any classes in the morning," he said, stretching his back out.
"Thanks," Ai said, standing as well, "but if it's okay, I was wondering if you could just walk me home. That guy probably won't approach me if you're there."
Rin didn't know how to answer, but every single voice in Rin's head was screaming at him, and they were all Nagisa.
Take the opportunity! TAKE THE OPPURTUNITY!
"Actually, I've heard that if someone is stalking you, you shouldn't lead them to your home…"
"Oh yeah, that's actually smart…so what should I do?"
Take it, for the love of god, Rin.
"Why don't you just…stay the night? Who knows how long that guy is gonna be around, and you're probably really tired…" Rin trailed off, unsure of how else to convince Ai that he'd be safer at the apartment.
He didn't really need to. Ai had immediately agreed to the proposition, excusing himself for a moment to make a call to his home. Rin dropped back to the floor, relief washing over him, I can't believe I just did that.
"Sorry," Ai said, walking back into the room and sitting down again, "My mom was asking me a million questions."
"You still live with your parents?" Rin hoped that it hadn't come out in a mean way, his way of talking often lead him to being accidentally rude. However, Ai didn't seem bothered by it.
"Yeah, I graduated from high school last year, and I did plan to go to college…but my family ran into some…complications that put us in tight spot. I decided to start working so I could help with family expenses, but that also meant giving up on college…"
Family complications? He wanted to pry a bit, but something about Ai's expression made him reluctant to do so. Instead, he moved on, trying to find something to say that would keep the conversation light.
"We're a year apart then! I'm in my second-year of college right now. I go to the university nearby."
"Isn't that university known for its sports programs?"
"Yeah, I'm actually on the swim team."
"For real? I was on my high school's swim team! I had such a good time…"
Rin felt elated by their shared interest, and by the fact that he was able to seemingly cheer up Ai. At Ai's request, Rin relayed his reasons for being so dedicated to the sport, his style of swimming, and his many stories from past tournaments. They continued to talk late into the night, only stopping once the many yawns shared between the two had made it apparent that it was time to sleep.
"You can…you can sleep in my bed, Ai," Rin gestured to the hall with his room in it, some of his words being swallowed up by more yawns.
"Are you sure? I mean I-"
Rin cut Ai off with a push towards the hallway and a shush, not one for formalities so late into the night. He guided AI into his room, retrieving the futon he'd stowed in the closet. It hadn't been his idea to buy one, so in his mind he thanked Makoto and his sister for convincing him to get one just in case.
Just in case a cute guy I just met ends up sleeping in my bed because of a stalker…
The futon laid to the floor, Rin watched as Ai collapsed onto his bed, and, turning of the lights, followed suit to the futon. It was quiet, and nothing more than a dim orange glow from the streetlamps illuminated the room. Some rustling sheets broke the silence before Ai did, too.
"Rin…"
Rin made another gruff noise.
"…Thanks."
Rin was glad that it was dark, because his eyes had shot open at the word. Playing off his surprise, Rin replied,
"…It's not a big deal."
Ai smiled, sure the night had been a little rough, but at this moment he was pretty happy. In the stillness of the dark, with confirmation that Rin had fallen asleep as evidenced by his even breaths, Ai made a vow to be confident. He vowed to continue his newfound friendship, even if it didn't go as far as he might want.
Ai fell asleep smiling.
It was two in the morning, at least, that's what Rin could make out on his digital clock, bleary eyed and still dead-tired, he could vaguely recall absolutely nothing of his night, his mind only focused on the fact that he needed to piss.
The streetlamps were out, and the room pitch black, he groped his way to the bathroom, not even turning that light on in fear of burning his corneas, and too lazy to stand and pee, sat down on the toilet. He wondered why he'd been sleeping on the floor when he woke up, but chalked it up to falling off the bed.
A few minutes later he was back to feeling his way around in his own room, finally making it to the bed, where he found that his blanket was gone. Feeling his falling theory proven, he grabbed the pillow and blanket from the floor, covering himself up and easily getting back to sleep.
Spring mornings were typically cold, but Ai found himself much warmer than usual, he remembered the night's events, wondering if Rin kept his apartment warmer, or if he should just ask about what type of blanket it was, but then he realized that neither of those thoughts were even remotely close to what he'd found in his reality.
Rin, the very same who'd let him stay the night, was facing Ai head on, one arm resting loosely on Ai's waist and their legs pushed close to each other. Ai felt instantly sensitive to touch, wanting to move away as quickly as possible, but the wall was right on his back. He was trapped.
In a cruel twist of fate, Ai's decision to not do anything that would wake Rin up was voided as Rin's eyes blinked him awake.
Rin's reaction was a bit more…colorful than Ai's. First, he only saw Ai, then his brain processed their proximity, and his eyes shot wide awake. His body flailed a bit, causing him to fall to the floor in a mess of confusion and embarrassment.
"Are you okay?" Ai sat up on the bad, getting off to help.
"Yeah, yeah, I-I am so sorry. I got up to go to the bathroom at night and…I must have forgotten you were there…"
Ai laughed, but his whole inside self was screaming, and there was no way he could hide his blush this time. He was desperately hoping that perhaps Rin wouldn't notice his unusual redness.
"It's okay! It happens to everyone?"
But does it? Doubt aside, Rin just accepted the statement, wanting to just move on from the event.
"Are you hungry?"
Ai nodded furiously, and Rin quickly went to his kitchen to fix something small for the two. While Rin was gone, Ai hastily got dressed.
Something about this situation makes it feel like I did more than just sleep over…
But Ai dashed the thought, making his way to the living room and sitting down at the small coffee table by the television. The weather was on, so Ai decided to focus on that, even when Rin placed a plate of toast and a glass of juice next to him. The two at in silence, neither wanting to bring up what had just occurred or even just break the silence.
So the news did it for them.
A dozen dull satellite images and forecasts were interrupted by breaking news reports. Rin and Ai listened intently to the story play out.
"What would have been a peaceful day was interrupted earlier this morning when the home of local resident Miho Amakata was broken into. Miss Amakata had reportedly been walking home from a late night when she noticed someone seemed to be following her, but, too close to home, she decided to move on and saw no sign of the stalker once inside. However, the stalker was still there and broke into the home around seven am this morning. Lucky for Miss Amakata, a watchful jogger called the authorities when they caught sight of the man picking the lock to her door. Police were on the scene in minutes and the man was subdued before he could harm her. Local residents are requested to give any information they might have about this man, currently in police custody."
Rin and Ai made audible gaps as an image of the man appeared on the screen.
"That's the guy who stalked me last night! Thank god you convinced me to stay here, who knows what would have happened!"
Ai stood up, "I should probably head home now, then go to the station and tell them about my experience last night."
"Yeah," Rin stood as well, but didn't really know why or what to do.
"Thank you again, Rin, it was awfully kind of you to let me stay the night."
Rin just nodded.
"Ugh, I want to thank you in a better way," Ai continued.
"You don't have to, just the word is enough," Rin said, that sounded ridiculous.
"No really…why don't you come by the store tonight while I'm working, and you can get whatever you like, all discounted by my employee discount."
"Uh, yeah, okay…that sounds…that sounds great."
"Great!" Ai was already putting his shoes on by the door, "Thank you again," the door was opened, and with a "See you later!" it was shut.
Rin shuffled back to his living room, switching the TV from the news to a random talk show on a different channel. Pushing his breakfast out of the way, he let his head come to a rest on the table.
If this was a test…
…did I pass?
Aight so, first thing, I'M SORRY! It took way longer than I intended to publish this chapter, but I tried to make it longer this time around and finish off this first day, cause I didn't want to have 3 chapters for one night.
The bed thing was the idea that kinda shaped this whole debacle. I don't think I really write stories, I just come up with a lot of situations and do my best to shove them all into the same context. The whole "don't lead a stalker to your home" thing is something I was taught a lot, it seems to be common sense, but Ai is a bit of a dummy sometimes.
Also, I'm happy I established their names to each other, I've always felt it was really unnatural feeling when a character's nickname or first name is used while narrating the POV of a different character that doesn't know that name/hasn't been formally introduced. It was also really tiring to write "Aiichirou" over and over again.
review and shit. and look up the Family Mart uniform if you haven't already. Draw Ai in the uniform. I did, it's fucking adorable.
