Chapter Summary:

"After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world." -Maya Angelou, (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)

Or

Rin learns a new word, Sousuke gets jealous, Hal is exasperated, Chelsea is moved, and Andy's true(r) motives are revealed. (This is just a short little chapter checking back in on our friends in the future. Obviously there are many events in the main story that Rin was not witness to...um...just bear with it, idk :/ )

"Get turnt!"

Andy, with little grasp on the concept that there were times when it was appropriate to tell a joke and times when it was not, shouted this across the lab room. Rin's description of the party had greatly amused him, and he felt the need to add this commentary, which, incidentally, broke the poignant atmosphere the story itself had created.

Sousuke and Rin, both aged and familiar with the slang of a very different time period, looked at each other in confusion, while Chelsea and Hal stared at Andy with varying degrees of annoyance. His smile began to falter as he realized his joke had fallen on deaf ears.

"Or...uh, not."

A blush crept into his cheeks as he saw that Rin was now consulting Chelsea about what exactly he had meant and she, equally embarrassed and blushing, was trying her best to explain.

To his relief, Rin suddenly broke into a grin, "Well I wasn't actually present that night in the third class general room - I guess they thought of me as a bit of a stick in the mud." He said this with a smile, and it clearly didn't bother him too much, "I spent majority of my evenings on the ship relaxing with Ai. Most of the things I'm telling you I learned years later."

They fell into an uneasy silence as Rin looked wistfully at the floor while Sousuke looked anxiously at him, and Chelsea, Andy, and Hal all shuffled their feet uncomfortably. They had all been listening to Rin with rapt attention; however, Andy's outburst had shattered the illusion, and none of them knew quite what to do. They had left the exquisite ship and were suddenly back in the outdated lab room of an underfunded land base, surrounded by the possessions of people who had long been unable to use them.

This heavy atmosphere did not sit well with Andy's upbeat personality, and he looked around for a way to break the tension. His eyes fell upon Hal and his lips curled into a mischievous smile. Seeing a way he could work this story to benefit himself, or at least his amusement, he cast several more glances at Hal before beginning.

"So this Marie..." he leaned dramatically towards Rin, wearing an exaggerated skeevy expression that looked entirely out of place on his face, "was she pretty?"

Hal scoffed loudly in the background and Rin chuckled, "Oh definitely, she was gorgeous."

"...Blonde?"

"What do you think?"

Andy let out a dramatic whistle while Rin rolled his eyes, but Andy's childish plan seemed to be working because Hal had pointedly looked away and was tapping his foot in annoyance.

With crossed arms and a sour expression, Hal muttered, "She sounded uptight to me, so have fun with her."

Rin let out a laugh that broke their petty spat, "I would recommend you reserve judgment until later, that girl was a pistol dressed like a hand mirror...I might have been more interested in her if I had known it at the time." He paused for a moment and then a small, involuntary smile crossed his lips, as if he had just remembered something, "Actually no, I wouldn't have." For the second time, the shadow of some sort of unknown burden crossed Sousuke's face and he looked to the floor.

Andy still shamelessly persistent, suddenly dropped the idea of Marie altogether, "So what about this Sophia?"

Everyone in the room glared at him except Rin, who shook his head at Andy's naivety. "She probably would have killed you for asking, but she was also very beautiful."

His skeeviness reaching its full capacity, Andy nudged Rin with his elbow, "So this Haru was one lucky guy then?"

"Were you even listening?!" Hal finally snapped.

Andy looked comically offended but no less cheerful, "Of course I was! Unless...wait." He rushed over to the drawing of the young man, still lifeless and unmoving, staring kindly up at them through the liquid solution it rested in. Andy excitedly pointed a finger, "Is Mr. Chiseled-Chunk-of-Handsome the famed Makoto?" His eyes widened, "Do he and Haru…?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Hal had to pull his hand away from the drawing as his finger came far too close to touching it.

"Well just hang on a minute!" Rin chuckled at them, "We'll get there, all this preamble is important too."

This assertion that he might continue for quite a while was not met entirely favorably by all members of his audience; even Sousuke's expression was grim. Seeing this, Rin mistook the cause of his husband's distress and turned to Andy, "Is there anywhere else we could go to finish the story? My old joints can't stand for as long as they used to."

Chelsea, who had remained quiet and thoughtful through most of this conversation, immediately broke into vigilant nurse-mode. Following Rin's gaze, she immediately flew to Sousuke's side and began questioning him extensively, asking if his legs ached or if he felt out of breath, when the last time he had eaten was and if he needed to lie down.

Andy immediately obliged, "Of course! I apologize for Hal's terrible hosting skills, we can move to the kitchen."

Hal ground his teeth in indignation as Andy led them out of the lab and through several hallways, until they arrived in the land base's one small kitchen. One wall was lined with a stained counter stocked with all the usual things; a coffee pot, microwave, toaster and sink were all stuffed onto the limited space. An ancient fridge hummed beside the counter, mostly serving to simply waste space as it kept things just a few degrees colder at best. A sole window occupied the adjacent wall and one small table was placed in front of it.

While the state of their kitchen was a common complaint amongst most of the staff, its many issues bothered Andy little in the physical sense - it was the implication of those issues that bothered him greatly. While their expedition was receiving extensive news coverage, the condition of the base they had been given showed exactly how highly their work was regarded by their sponsors.

However, if all went well today and Rin's memories proved as useful as Andy believed they would be, he would never again have to suffer these dismal working conditions. He didn't necessarily care directly about having posh bases and expensive equipment, he simply believed they reflected what people thought of his abilities - his abilities which were currently underappreciated. He wanted to be a treasure hunter and he wanted the glory that came with the title, forgetting that after a few centuries, most treasure hunters are, understandably, rewritten as monsters.

Hal broke his daydream by elbowing him hard in the ribs. At Hal's indication, Andy realized for the first time that the room held a total of only three chairs.

He gestured to Rin, Sousuke and Chelsea, "You three go ahead and make yourselves comfortable, we'll run and grab a couple more chairs." He cast them all one more brilliant smile before he and Hal hastily departed.

Rin, Sousuke, and Chelsea settled casually into the kitchen, each of them quite and harboring

three different trains of deep thought. Rin was heavy with nostalgia, and Sousuke was plagued with a sudden onset of insecurity.

Chelsea was thankful for the kitchen's plainness. The lab room had disturbed her much more than the others - there was something about the cold, clean room complete with its mementos of the dead that unsettled her heart. However none of them upset her more than the drawing of the man who appeared so handsome and young and - judging by the look in his face - passionately in love.

It was this last factor that troubled her the most, and though she surely had never met him, she felt certain that he of all people had earned the right to live. She supposed she didn't yet know if Rin's story was a sad one, but logic combined with both a persistent nagging in her heart and the sea of nausea rising in her stomach - seemed to dictate nothing else. She didn't want the young man to die and yet she felt a sick, familiar certainty that he did.

Chelsea turned to the kitchen's one small window and looked out at the calm shores of the Atlantic. Just as she was about to shed thick tears for the old story and its ill-fated cast, the aged narrator of that very story reached across the table and took her hand.

"Is everything alright?" Rin smiled kindly at her.

Chelsea wiped her eyes and stammered in response, "Y-yes, I apologize. I usually don't cry so often. But being here, and hearing you talk about the times before…" She didn't want to say it, "It's just so sad."

Rin nodded slowly, "It can be, but you're the reason Sousuke and I were able to come here. You blessed me with your time and gave me the opportunity to finally tell this story, so for you I promise it will only make you sad in the right ways."

Chelsea had never before felt so taken aback, certain that of all the people in this situation they had found themselves in, she was perhaps the least deserving of this sincere promise. Tears swelled in her eyes once more and she tried to smile for him, stammering a thank you. His gratitude made her feel guilty for her own unspoken reasons for accompanying them, and she once more questioned that undefined yet persistent internal tug she had let pull her all the way here.

Unable to look in Rin's direction for even a moment longer, she turned to Sousuke, searching desperately for a conversation topic, "So...ehm, have you heard this story before?"

Alarmed to suddenly be put on the spot, he nervously rubbed his neck, "Not...not with so many details." He cast a quick glance at Rin and then resumed staring dejectedly at the floor. He looked up in surprise however, when Rin leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his wrinkled cheek.

"You're cute when you're jealous." Rin gave his husband a reassuring smile, "And please don't worry, it was a very long time ago."

.

Several corridors away, Andy and Hal were on their way back to the kitchen, each carrying a chair. Andy had grown more quiet and considerably less charismatic as they had left their guests and while Hal appreciated his silence, it was also unnerving.

As they neared the kitchen, Hal suddenly stopped walking and met his gaze sternly, "I hope you realize what time it is, and I really can't stay here all night. My-"

Andy interrupted him with an exasperated sigh, "Well look it's not really my fault! How am I supposed to hurry the old man up?"

"...I only meant that I hired the sitter until eight, so I have to leave before then." Hal gave him a look somewhere between disgust and disappointment, "And here I was thinking you actually cared about the story. You put on quite the show."

"Oh don't look at me like that! It's not that I don't care," Andy grumbled, "but we didn't exactly fly three people across the country just for a history lesson. This is taking far longer than it was supposed to."

"You can't sift through people's lives and deaths and expect it to move at whatever speed you want." Hal said sharply.

Andy ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "Next time why don't we do something more straightforward..." Hal's outraged shout of WE?! was drowned by Andy's sudden exclamation, "Mermaids! Hal, let's find mermaids after this!"

Hal stared at him dumbfounded, thinking that this project had made him want to move to the Great Plains and never look on the ocean for many decades, and that Andy himself had given him a large and irrational hatred for the entire continent of Australia.

"Oh, uh huh. Mermaids. Sure."

Hal started walking once more and Andy resignedly began to follow him, still speaking, "But anyway, we'll make sure to let you go by eight." He paused and then frowned, "Wait, I didn't know you got custody?"

"Of course you don't," Hal said irritably, "I've only mentioned it three of the required five times it takes before you actually remember something." He began to walk faster, leaving Andy far behind him.

"You've mentioned it before?" Andy called after him, sounding generally surprised, and he realized with a smile that this this gave a solid explanation to the day Hal had unknowingly come to work with a pink heart-shaped barrette clipped to the hem of his shirt.

Hal reentered the kitchen first and set his chair down irritably between Sousuke and the wall, ensuring that Andy was unable to sit next to him. The three who had remained in the kitchen glanced at each other awkwardly as Hal crossed his arms and Andy entered a few moments later, cheerful as ever.

"Hello again! Sorry about that. How's everyone feeling? Would any of you care for coffee?"

The responses were overwhelmingly positive and he turned on the pot, whistling a tune as it brewed. He dug through the cabinets and found five mugs, each bearing some sort of corny phrase, complete with one "World's Best Grandpa", one novelty mug from Disney World, and another that read, "My boyfriend went to Niagara Falls and all he got me was this stupid mug".

Andy handed them out with little regard for who received what, only making sure to hand Hal a stained mug that read "#1 Dad", which was almost hurled back at his head.

They made light small talk as they waited, and Andy made sure everyone had the proper amounts of milk and sugar before seating himself next to Rin and beginning to mix his own cup. He placed four heaping spoonfuls of sugar into the mug and brought it to his lips, before his face twisted into a disgusted expression and he quickly pulled it away. He shook his head and whined, "Gahhhh! So bitter."

He began shoveling more sugar into his mug and received shocked stares from everyone except Hal, who was painfully familiar with the sight, and Rin, who suddenly felt something stir in the deep recesses of his memory.

Frowning, Rin leaned towards him, "Where did you say you were from?"

Andy turned to Rin, jabbing a thumb at his chest with a grin, "I'm Andrew Atkinson from Australia." He paused, "Queensland to be more specific, I guess the alliteration had to stop somewhere."

Hal frowned, "Isn't your middle name Grady? Doesn't alliteration end immediately?"

They began to bicker and Rin decided to let the matter drop, concluding that if they had met previously, at least one of them would have remembered.

The early afternoon proceeded pleasantly, but eventually Andy checked the clock and subconsciously began to drum his fingers on the table. He cleared his throat and, putting on his most gentle smile, addressed Rin, "If you're feeling up to it, do you think you could keep telling your story? I hate to rush you but Hal needs to be home by eight."

Hal sat aghast at this misplaced blame and opened his mouth to tell Rin something along the lines of, I hate to rush you, but Andy really doesn't care about any of this and just wants you to go ahead and tell him where the pocket watch is. However before he could destroy his boss's image, he was interrupted by Chelsea's firm, protective tone.

"We also will need to return to our hotel soon. It's been a long day and you two," she looked sternly over Rin and Sousuke, "need to rest." They both began to protest but she shook her head, looking fiercer than she had all day. "You know this trip was only authorized as long as your health was kept the top priority. We can return tomorrow if need be."

Andy's genial expression faltered for just a moment, "Of course! Time is...of little concern."

"Absolutely," Hal interjected, "take all the time you need." Andy shot him an annoyed glance across the table and Hal sunk carelessly into schadenfreude.

Rin held up his hands in defeat, "Don't worry I get it," he smiled at them all, "I'm a slowpoke. I'll try and pick up the pace a bit. So where were we? Ah, the morning after everyone got ridiculously turnt? Well that was an odd day indeed…"

A/N:

Hal and Andy are going to find mermaids when this is all over because over the summer a fake animal planet documentary totally fooled me into thinking they were real.

Next chapter: we're back on the boat literally everyone wakes up late.
Also next chapter: Seijuuro? and Kisumi? all in one chapter? it must be Christmas.