Rin dropped into another set of pushups—his fifth since Makoto had joined him in the practice arena. "So Glasses thinks we should work on irrigation?"

Makoto grunted in response; he wasn't quite up to Rin's level of fitness, and talking while training used up too much air. He only kept up with the regimen because Rin was more likely to call it quits to get Makoto to rest than to keep himself from passing out.

"Damn." Rin huffed. "And I thought it was a good idea."

"He's a scholar's son," Makoto managed; the hot air pressed against his skin, pushing out sweat. "Worth listening to."

"So I'll have some support with the intellectuals, then." He sighed. "Fat lot of good that does me. They're not gonna be the ones doing the digging." Looking sidelong at Makoto, he pushed himself up to a crouch and grabbed a towel.

Makoto followed his lead, leaning back against a pillar. "Maybe the laborers would be more willing if you promised their kids would get to go to school."

Rin tossed him a towel. "Another idea from Glasses?"

"You've had the same thought in the past."

"Yeah, because it's a good one," Rin grinned. "Even if Glasses had it, too. Sure. What the hell. I'll call a meeting together—think Nagisa's up to dancing to distract 'em, or has Glasses worn him out?"

Makoto snorted. "I'll eat sand if Rei's so much as kissed him yet."

"Poor kid. I thought at least one of us was getting some."

Makoto's face got hot, and he tried to hide it under the guise of mopping up sweat.

"Don't tell me—you and Haru?" Rin's voice sounded oddly constricted. "Hell, you've always been close. I shouldn't be so surprised."

"It's not like that," Makoto began, but he didn't know what words should follow. He'd been staying in Haru's chambers for weeks. "You should talk to him."

"I'm talking to you."

He hesitated, lowering the towel to examine Rin's face—less angry than he'd expected, and maybe a little hurt. "All three of us have been close," Makoto said. "It's not like that. We aren't leaving you." He sighed. "And it's really not what you think. Haru's still recovering." He'd certainly thought about it, even if he tried not to.

"So you're interested, but you're not pouncing just yet?"

Makoto rolled his eyes. "I don't pounce."

"That's why none of us are getting any."

"I could make arrangements for you if you have someone in mind," Makoto offered, smiling warmly. When Rin flushed red and looked away, he laughed. "You shouldn't tease if you don't want to be teased."

"I'm a prince. I can do whatever I want."

"Or whoever, as the case may be." Makoto laughed as Rin chucked the sweaty towel at his head. It landed damply on Makoto's shoulder.

Rin glared, then cracked up, too.

Makoto draped his own towel over the back of his neck, smiling sidelong at Rin. "I missed this. You haven't been the same since... Well."

Rin's expression darkened, and Makoto wished he could suck the word back between his teeth.

"Yeah," Rin grunted. He rested his chin on his knees, a thoughtful expression spreading across his face. "Yeah, I think you're right." He let out a huff of wry laughter, and Makoto could see the years of rule peel off of him. "Damn, I guess it's been years."

"You can be Rin and the prince," Makoto suggested. "Haru misses you. Not Rin, the prince—Rin, his friend." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Remember that time I caught you pinning him against the bathhouse wall?"

"We were wrestling!" Rin snapped, turning red. He reached to tug at the back of his absent crown and pulled the back of his hair instead. "It wasn't like that. Not between Haru and me."

Something about the way he said it caught Makoto's attention. "Did you want it to be like that?"

Rin said nothing, and Makoto let it go.

"So, you want me to go grab Nagisa and get him ready for a distraction session with the intellectuals and the laborers?"

"Yeah." Rin ran a hand through his hair and let out a drawn-out sigh. "The intellectuals are gonna need to pony up some more teachers and fewer researchers, and the laborers are gonna have to meet quota without kids on hand. We're gonna need the most distracting dance he's got."