Chapter 10 - Sleepovers and Confusion

The next morning Zuko lay awake on her bed even as her phone pinged several times. She just couldn't get it out of her head. The soft warmth and Rin's slightly red face as he walked away. He really did kiss her. She kind of wanted to hit him for stealing her first kiss, but she also wished he hadn't just walked away. She had wanted him to come back. But the more she thought about Rin, the more often her thoughts would drift to Haruka. It was confusing her to no end as both boys seemed to circle her mind and her heart.

Rin had sort of made a move on her, but he didn't say anything before he practically ran for it. But Haruka seemed to show her more attention then he has anyone else, using smaller gestures. He hadn't pulled her around by the wrist or stolen her first kiss. But he did seem to appear when she needed him and made sure she was taken care of.

After a long moment of silence, her phone pinged again and she groaned before rolling onto her stomach and reaching the dog that lay next to her to grab the little device. As she tapped her messages icon, she smiled. All of them were from Makoto. Or at least his phone. Apparently Ran had gotten a hold of it.

Zuzu-chan! Good morning!

Are you up?

Wake up sleepy head! You promised!

Come play!

I'll sick big brother on you if you don't answer.

I lied. Please come soon.

Do you have games and movies and toys to bring?

The last message was actually from Makoto.

I'm sorry for the spam mail, Ran stole my phone. She can wait until you get here.

Zuko laughed at the messages before noticing one from Rin dating back to the individual events of the regionals. It was his answer to her good luck message.

Thanks. I can't wait to swim with my mermaid.

She flushed a bit and slipped from the bed, the dog beside her lifting it's head to yawn and hop down to follow her through the house. He was a massive dog. An Irish Wolfhound. he was big enough to be a small pony and he was adequately named Jack the Giant. Though he didn't seem to care if she called him by name or just yelled out 'Stupid head!" he would come regardless.

Zuko had promised Ran that she would sleepover and play with her when she was free. And Makoto's mom had happily given the go ahead. So now the red head had plopped a bag on her massive dog's back, holding the edge of it while they moved around her rooms. She grabbed her clothes first and dropped them in, fresh underwear, her night wear, then clothes for tomorrow. She then led Jack through the house to the game room where she dug through her cabinets. She found one or two simple old board games and tossed a two or three movies in after. Jack suddenly decided to sit and the bag that had been resting on his back slipped from her grip and the movies fell out.

"Jack. You dropped it." She gave a slight sigh as she picked the items back up and Jack merely gave her a very canine grin and thumped the floor with his tail. He was a pain in the butt sometimes but she loved him regardless. Though most people are terrified of him so she locks him in her room on occasion. She was glad he had actually slept in her brother's room the night before the boys took her to the park for her birthday and he hadn't followed him out when he answered the door.

The big beast happily whined when she touched her nose to it's muzzle before zipping up the bag and heading out to find her brother. He was in the kitchen, dressed in jogging pants and a tank top, sipping on a cup of coffee. When he saw her with her bag he nodded and stood. She had told him about her promise to Ran and he had agreed with a firm warning that he didn't want any 'funny business' going on. Sh had laughed and waved him off as he dropped her off in front of the Tachibana family home. She was about to knock when the door swung open and Makoto stepped back as he almost walked into her.

"There you are. Ren and Ran will be glad to know you're here. I was just heading out to get a few things for mom since we ended up short on some dinner ingredients." Makoto told her as he welcomed her in and it didn't take long for the twins to rush down the steps and grab her arms, pulling her in the direction of their room. She just barely got to tell Makoto's mother she was there as they passed the kitchen. The older woman chuckled as the kids shut the door and Zuko set her bag on the floor.

"I brought Sorry, and Clue for games. And I brought some movies too." The red head pulled the boxes and cases from her duffel bag and the kids immediately grabbed at the movies.

"Ohhh! You brought Howl's Moving Castle! I wanted to see that!" Ran exclaimed as her bother studied the other two movies.

"A movie about a dolphin? Ugh. Boring! But what is this one?" He held up one labeled Legend and the dvd cover was dark, showing only a boy, a girl, and a dark creature in the background holding a crystal with a picture of unicorns in it.

"It's a good movie. Old. But really great for it's time. It's about a fight between good and evil and stuff like that." She stated, not wanting to bore the kids with a detailed description. They decided to play Sorry to decide who got to pick the movie. After a few turns, Zuko already had half her pieces home while Ran and Ren struggled to keep up.

"It's only gonna be who wins out of you two. I already saw these movies." She explained, not wanting the two to think they had to beat her to pick a film. Ren won and Ran cuddled up against Zuko as they played the movie. Ren joined her in clinging to the older girl when the movie took a dark turn and Jack, the main male character, entered the villain's lair to face off against Darkness. That part had given Zuko a bit of a fright when she had first seen the movie at their age but had come to love it after the second time. After that, they put put in the second movie and both kids bounced in their seats during the first half of it. Until their mother called them down for dinner. Though Zuko got a slight surprise when she found Haruka waiting for the kids to come and pick seats. Though Ran gave him up for Zuko, wanting to talk to someone of the same gender. This placed her next to Haruka as Makoto sat by his parents. The meal was entertaining as they talked about their day and Ran decided to talk about nothing but unicorns from the first movie.

Once dinner was over Zuko went back to the kid's room to finish Howl's Moving Castle though they fell asleep by the ending credits. She quietly shifted them so she could pick them up and put them to bed before grasping the final movie and her bag of clothes before heading to the bathroom to change. Her night clothes consisted of black shorts and a lavender camisole, her hair pulled back into a loose braid and colorful socks with little rainbow fish pattern.

Figuring that it was still pretty early, she walked by Makoto's room and smiled when she heard the sounds of a game being played. Probably a fighting game. She knocked and Makoto's voice let her know it was alright to open the door. She closed it behind her when she entered the room and met the gazes of both guys with her own curious one. Haruka was sitting on the edge of the bed with his legs crossed while Makoto chose to sit on the floor. Smiling she dropped her bag behind the door and sat beside Haruka as his gaze raced up her form then back to the tv. She could have sworn that his cheeks turned a faint pink while he still managed to keep his usual stoic look.

"I wanted to know if you guys would wanna watch a movie with me." Zuko offered as she held up the case after their fight was over. Makoto smiled as Haruka took the case from her. The other boy shifted so he could see the back of the case.

"A Dolphin's Tale?" He asked clearly confused.

"It's about a baby dolphin named Winter who lost her tail to fishing boats. She was found by a kid and was taken into a marine animal hospital where they had to remove the tail or she would die. And then the kid comes up with the idea to put a fake tail on the animal. Like a prosthetic leg or foot." Zuko explained as Haruka handed the case to Makoto so the other boy could look. "It's based off a true story. They even have cameras so you can see Winter online. It's a nice story. They even have a sequel coming out in September based off another baby dolphin that was picked up by the same marine hospital."

"Sounds interesting. What do you say Haru?" Makoto asked and the boy nodded in return. After switching the tv over and putting in the dvd, Makoto made to sit on the floor when Zuko tugged at him to sit on her other side. Scooting backwards, they leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the bed as the movie started.

As the movie began getting further in the plot, Zuko found herself watching the boy's reactions to the movie more then the actual movie itself. Makoto liked to ask her questions when something popped up that was unexplained by the movie. But Haru's reaction's were less noticeable. He would clench his hands or his gaze would intensify when something important happened. Though, during the story of the goddess turning kids into dolphins so they could have fun forever, she could have sworn she saw Haru smile.

The last thing Zuko remembered was the part of the movie where Winter knocked off the first false tail. She must have dozed off after that. The first thing she had noticed was that she was comfortably warm. Then second was that something heavy was draped across her stomach. After failing her attempt to go back to sleep, she tried to move the heavy thing off her, only to find out it was soft, warm, and felt alive. Now beyond curious, she glanced down and blinked sleepily at the pair of arms crossing over her belly. One was bare and the other had a sleeve that ended at the elbow. Thinking hard, Zuko remember that Makoto had a shirt with half sleeves. Tilting her head to the right, she found herself inches from the brown haired boy's face. He looked peaceful, like his personality. Turning to her left, she found blue eyes staring back at her.

"Haru!" she squeaked and managed to lift her free hand to her mouth in time to stifle the sound so she wouldn't wake Makoto.

"You were tired." Haruka told her as she flushed brightly.

"But I don't remember falling asleep between you guys." Her voice was so high she could have sworn she had inhaled helium. She was just so embarrassed even as Haruka reached over to push her hair away from Makoto's face, tucking it behind her ear and brushing the soft skin there as he did it.

"You wouldn't let go." Now that she really thought about it, her brother had told her that she tended to cling in her sleep.

"Was I attached to you or Makoto?" She asked, kind of hoping for the latter since the boy would probably be the less awkward of the two. But when Haruka's gaze drifted form hers to the wall that she realized He was the one she had clung to.

"You said my name in your sleep. And Rin's." He muttered, still not looking at her.

"I- ummm. I don't know why-"

"Which one of us do you like?" Haru seemed to be more thinking aloud then listening to her. Did she really seem that distracted lately? Her mind had been wondering about her emotions lately. Even the girls she worked with had said she seemed out of it the last couple days. Lost in thought as she was, she didn't realize how close to the boy she was until something touched her lower lip and she blinked before watching the dark haired swimmer pull away and climb from the bed. Now she was just as confused as before. Haru liked her? Interested in more the friendship like? And Rin was definitely hitting on her lately. After all, she might have been a bit dense when it came to relationships but he did steal her first kiss. And Haru was her second.

"Haru." Zuko grasped his wrist before he could leave the room. "I don't know what I feel. I'm confused." She murmured. His fingers brushed her hair and he gently pulled away.

"I'll wait for you to decide."