When Rin said he wanted Nanase to break in a little earlier, he didn't exactly mean early afternoon.
"I think there's someone in the garden," the guitarist, Sousuke, says as he abruptly ceases his strumming and looks out of the large window. "There is someone in the garden!"
With a sigh, Rin turns from his band and looks. Sure enough, it's those unmistakeable eyes glistening in the sunlight as Nanase floats on his back in the pool.
"I'll call the police," Nitori Aiichirou, the bassist, assures.
"No, no, there's no need," Rin says quickly. "Just leave him…"
He ignores the concerned questioning glances from his bandmates as he taps his foot, signalling a rerun of the last song. During a break a while later, Momotaro, who had decided he should be the drummer just because he likes waving his arms about, checked out of the window again, to see the pool had not yet been vacated.
"That guy's still there," he said to Rin.
"Is he a friend of yours, Senpai?"
"Ai, you're twenty-one years old, stop calling me Senpai. He's… uh… he uses my pool," Rin explained with a shrug. "I'd better go make sure he's alive… Is someone going to start dinner?"
Rin stood over the edge of the pool with his arms folded across his chest, glaring down at the male.
"Are you seriously fucking sleeping right now?" he demanded.
Nanase cracked his eye open in response. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
Rin extended a hand but Nanase swam away, beginning more laps of front crawl.
"I'm calling Tachibana."
"He's at work."
"Oh so I suppose you'll just let yourself out when you're done?" Rin said sarcastically.
He lined himself up to grab a hold of the idiot, who paused to look up at him.
"That was the plan. You don't mind," he stated blandly, before recommencing his laps.
Of course he minds, it was his fucking pool! But he supposed the kid wasn't all that much trouble… at least he knew where the bathroom was. Aiichirou still got lost. He walked off without having to admit that maybe the idiot was right.
"Does your friend want dinner?" Aiichirou asked chirpily as Rin entered the kitchen.
"Uh… leave some leftovers?" Rin responded, uncertain. "Did you clean this place up?"
Ai shook his head and Rin looked around his spotless kitchen in wonder and confusion. It hadn't been this immaculate since he moved in. He also noticed that both the washer and the dryer were running in the utility room, and the last load left in the dryer had been folded into a basket.
Could that kid...? No, it was probably just Ai being too embarrassed to admit it. He'd be making up for all those times he left their dorm room a mess in high school.
"Alright, you've been in there for hours," Rin said in a soft tone as he reached out a hand.
He was always in a good mood after a productive practice. Apparently Nanase was in a good mood after a long swim, as he exited the pool without argument. Rin threw him his towel, before bothering himself with the notion that Nanase now had claim to one of his towels.
"There's curry leftover from dinner… mackerel," he said as Nanase dried off in the kitchen.
He licked his lips a little; Rin smirked and zapped the plate in the microwave.
Nanase took himself for a shower after eating the remaining mackerel faster than Rin had ever seen anyway accomplish in his life. Rin was sprawled on the couch in the lounge when Nanase entered, having presumably dressed himself with more of Rin's clean underwear.
"I put your shorts in the wash," he declared, sitting down.
"I'm not sure I want them back," Rin scoffed.
"Makoto would have happily kept them."
"That's probably worse… but I bet he'd make a fortune on ebay."
The easy silence was filled when Rin turned on the television and relaxed. He didn't bat an eye when Nanase fetched himself a bottle of water from the fridge and made himself more comfortable on the chair, curling his knees up.
And that's how Matsuoka Rin came to be hanging out with his burglar.
The show finished and he sat up with a chuckle, getting Nanase's attention by stretching out his leg and prodding his thigh with his toe.
"Come on, I'll drive you home," he said, getting out of his seat and going to find both their shoes.
Nanase followed the motions without complaint, settling into the passenger seat of Rin's red Ferrari like he did this every day. Rin was a little disappointed he didn't seem more impressed – surely if he could compliment the pool, he could compliment his car? Nanase blandly gave the address, and the rest of the drive was silent.
"Isn't that Tachibana's car?" Rin asked as he pulled up. Nanase nodded. "But you said he was at work…"
"It's Sunday."
"And?"
"No one works on a Sunday."
"You lying little shit," Rin said gruffly, but Nanase was smirking away as he headed for the door.
"See you tomorrow," he called over his shoulder as he entered the little house.
It was only after Rin had waved and driven off that he realised what he'd said.
And sure enough, Rin was now crouched at the side of his pool and reaching out not to drag Nanase out, but to hand him a water bottle. He took a few sips and tossed it back, following by pulling his lithe frame out of the water and sitting on the side, kicking his feet.
"You're weird," Rin teased.
"You're the one giving water bottles to burglars," Nanase countered in his usual deadpan tone.
"And what kind of crap burglar breaks in to use the pool and do the laundry? And I bet it was you who cleaned the kitchen yesterday, too."
Nanase leaned back, lying on the cold damp floor without a care. "What do you do, then?"
"What do you mean?" Rin asked, taken aback by the sudden conversation.
"To afford… all this," Nanase explained, gesturing his hands.
"Did Tachibana not educate you? I thought he was a bit of a fanboy."
"I wasn't paying attention."
"But you're interested now?" Nanase shrugged. "I sing in a group called Samezuka. We're doing pretty well."
"Obviously."
"What about you?"
The kid hauled himself back up and looked at the water. "I used to work at the pool…"
"Ah… so you lost your pool and your job. Let me guess which one you're most bothered about, huh?"
"It's not funny."
"It's a little bit funny. You should make a living as a burglar."
"You can't steal a pool, Rin."
Rin chuckled and smiled in Nanase's direction. The kid's smirk was like a slap in the face when he realised what he'd said.
"Who said you can call me by my first name?"
"The same guy who said I can use your pool," Nanase backfired, slipping back into the water.
Rin's viewing time was interrupted when Nanase's phone started to ring nearby.
"It's Matsuoka," he said, answering Tachibana's call.
"He's there again?! I am so sorry, I'll come and get him right away, I just have to… uh… actually…"
"It's alright if you're busy. He's not so bad when he's not disturbing my sleep."
He heard Tachibana give a giggle. "Well… call me later then, I suppose?"
"Sure… we'll see what time it is. I might just drive him back again."
"Uh, 'again', Mr. Matsuoka?"
"Mm… brought him home yesterday too. Little shit pretended you were working so he could have more time in the pool."
"I'm really, really sorry. I've tried telling him he can't just – "
Rin cut him off with a laugh. "It's fine. He's harmless, right?"
"Completely."
Rin cast his eyes back to Nanase, who was swimming with a hidden smile on his face. Had he been listening? Probably… Without trying to engage any further, he headed to the kitchen to throw something in for dinner. His clean kitchen was much nicer to navigate than it had been in months, and cooking didn't seem like such a chore. Nanase was still swimming when he'd plated up, but pork didn't deserve to be reheated.
"Oi, kid, dinner's ready," he called out, and left Nanase to decide for himself if he was invited for food.
Turns out Nanase wasn't the type to turn down a meal.
"What?" Nanase demanded when he noticed Rin looking at him across the table.
"Nothing, you're just…" Delicious? Adorable? Dripping water down your naked chest like a porn star? He decided it was best not to finish his sentence and made a mental note not to ever introduce the kid to his sister. This guy was toned. "Do you want a drink?"
"Aren't you driving me home?"
"I can handle a beer, geez. Wait, you're old enough to drink, right?"
"I'm twenty-two."
"Seriously?" Rin said, genuinely taken aback. "You look… younger. I'm twenty-two too."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"That depends if you want to take compliments from me," Rin said as he took a sip, passing Nanase a can.
Nanase looked from the can to Rin, and back towards the pool he could see through the dining room window. Rin set his own down and looked the opposite way, squirming in his seat, uncomfortable. He was flirting, shamelessly. Entirely accidentally, of course. It was just easy banter, right?
"You're not meant to invite burglars for a beer," Nanase quipped.
"Well once they're invited, they're hardly a burglar anymore, are they?"
"Are you saying I'm invited?"
Rin gave an exasperated sigh. This was so screwed up.
"I'd… like to know how you're getting in," Rin said, deflecting the question.
"A good burglar never reveals his tactics. You'd just remove my entrance."
"Well some burglars might be breaking in for more than my pool."
"But then how would I get in?"
"Oh, I don't know, knock on the front door?"
"But I wouldn't be a burglar if I was invited. If I'm invited, I'd tell you."
And they were back at square one, and it was only now Rin realised they'd been leaning closer and closer across the table. He set himself back with a jolt.
"Fine. You're invited."
Nanase's eyes twinkled, shining like the ocean in bright sunlight. Rin gasped a little, captivated. Nanase cleared his throat in the silence. Apparently he'd said something while Rin was lost in his eyes.
"I said come on, I'll show you," he stood and offered his hand.
Though tempted, Rin didn't know how he'd react to Nanase's touch. He might just lose it there and then and sweep the kid up to his bedroom – a thought that hadn't crossed his mind until now. Honest. Don't even look at the amount of tissues in his bedroom bin. He ignored the hand and followed Nanase into the yard, casting his eyes around for anything obvious he'd missed.
"Up here," he heard, Nanase's usually smooth voice with a rough tone to it, like he'd just exerted himself.
And oh, would you look at that. He was in a tree, straddling a precariously thin branch.
"I swear to god Nanase if you break my tree!"
He watched him scoot himself up the trunk, long legs swinging easily to invisible foot holds. He manoeuvred around the tree and shuffled daintily along a branch, leaping to that of another tree that was beyond his perimeter fence, on a rarely used public footpath. Nanase reversed the journey, and slid down the tree in Rin's garden like a monkey descending from the canopy.
"That's a bit extreme just for a pool. You're like a fucking lemur," Rin said, jogging over. "But… yeah… use the door. I'd rather you didn't fall and die on my property, thanks."
"Worried?" Haru asked in a teasing tone, though his face had its usual straight lipped scowl. "What if you're not in?"
"Then you'll just have to call ahead, won't you?"
"Are you giving me your number, Rin?"
The kid was definitely flirting back now, Rin felt like a giddy school girl. There was no reason for these stupid butterflies in his stomach. He'd made a new acquaintance, that was all. And so what if he was a little worried? That only proved he wasn't a bad guy, right?
"I suppose I don't have a choice if I want to keep my tree intact. Now I'm taking you home, you're a danger."
"You're a rockstar. You like danger."
