I fell out of Rin and Haru for a while, but now I'm completely raring to go. They're back in my mindset and completely hot again. It's so canon and all these excerpts I'm finding on their past/novel/drama CDs are just making it perfect all over again. –Flares up-
Then, I kind of wanted to write Sousuke and Momotarou into Free!. Treat it like I've introduced Sousuke and Momotarou, and then as if the story spins off. Like, Sousuke and Haru's meeting at the vending machines occurred but after that it breaks off because I don't exactly wanna mirror the anime, k. And what am I doing like usual.
Originally also, I kind of planned for a RinHaruMako pairing, buut to update with the times (and since I personally like it, guilty pleasure), it's going to still have the three, buuut I'm going to add in Sousuke into the mix. Don'tkillme. I'm still not sure whether I like SouHaru or SouRin better tbh. (Plus after the sleepovers, going to enter a nightclub scene where two people will go down on each other.) Not who you think they are, but. There it is.
Note: I spent a few hours studying Sousuke and Haru's relationship and history (with some Rin obviously), so you'll probably be confused with how I write them. If you'd like, message me and I'll send you links/discuss with you the "High Speed" LNs (which I'd love to do). RinHaruSou have history. After rewatching the vending machine scene 20x and reading about Sousuke and Haru's past, it all makes sense to me. It turns out that Sousuke and Haruka ARE familiar with each other (which changed how I wrote this), and they've met and talked before. Used LN prompts to write this, I'm not sure where they're from. If you know, please tell me so I can credit them!
After the first thousand or so words of this chapter, I promise there will hardly be any more reiterating or past glimpses, this will be it.
Enjoy!
Song Credit: Aoi Shiori by Gallilieo, opening theme of Anohara.
Make My World Just Explode
By Ko-Sensei
part twenty-six entails of taking time off and slowly melding the shark and the dolphin
【私の手、それは次のページになり、ミサンガ私は私の唇で固定... ねえ、今日は今日であり、それは変更されません。雨が降った場合、我々はまだ電話で話すことができます。】
【My hand that turns to the next page, and the misanga I fastened with my lips... Hey, today is today, and that won't change; if it rains, we can still talk on the phone. 】
How many years had it been since he'd seen Sousuke... four? Five?
Along those years, Sousuke had grown a lot, hadn't he.
Now he was well-built, very tall, had short dark hair and intense teal-colored eyes.
It was a different kind of intense from Rin's (which was still piercing and cut straight through him, which would slowly but surely rile him up), or Makoto's gaze (warm, un-intruding, soft, kind). From Nitori's and Rei's, which were similar (unsure, wavering, but determined), and especially from Nagisa (positive, happy, brimming with energy).
Sousuke's kind of aura was .. strong, to say the least. Sharply focused, dead-serious, and somewhat predator-like. Yet relaxed at the same time.
Huh. He looked different from what Haruka remembered seeing back in middle school, but he'd recognized him right as soon as he'd registered that Sousuke had been following him.
They weren't exactly close friends, but they hadn't parted on bad terms or anything with each other back then. If anything, Sousuke's affiliation with him was only brief coincidence and a connection through Rin back then, but...
The last thing he'd expected for though was to be confronted like that—
-Pressed back up against the glass of the vending machine, uneasily swallowing, eyes widening slightly when the taller male had leaned forward (only a few inches in-between their faces), warning him to back off of Rin with a dead-serious expression,
Once the moment had passed, Haruka had been left with two things.
1) Puzzlement as to why Yamazaki had acted like that.
2) A feeling of being displeased at being told to stay away from Rin. Like, really?
This was why he didn't like bothering with people normally; conflicts and issues would occur which he wasn't interested enough to work on to fix, but this time, he'd been approached first and told to stay away from Rin. Which, one; Haru would do what he wanted, and two; Rin was his.
Nothing else to say for it.
Besides, he'd been around Rin longer. Where had Sousuke been all this time, anyways?
Away from Matsuoka Rin, wherever it was. Snap.
I know more about him than you, Haru thinks. So how would you decide what's good or not good for him.
【そのようにして、私は今（私はそれを知っていた前に、ミサンガが外れた）プッシュ】
【In that way, I now push (Before I knew it, the misanga came off,)】
As soon as he gets home that day, he goes searching through his drawers and cabinets for that letter he'd received from Sousuke long ago and stashed away lazily.
After their elementary relay, some period of time after Rin had left for Australia, Sousuke had come to him and given him an airmail envelope, telling him to read it.
It had been written by Rin. Contained things written about Rin's life inside—about the swimming club he was in there, about how he lost, the different food, the language barrier, difficulties and hardships. Things like that.
Finding the letter under some files of paper stored away, Haruka pulls it out and dusts it off, blowing on top of the paper. Haru unfolds it, eyes scanning down the paper, and re-reads it; what Rin had written so many years ago.
'Every day is just more disappointing than the last… I'm scared—scared that I'm going to start getting used to how frustrating it is. But I'm not gonna give up! I'm not gonna let it get to me! I cry sometimes, sure, but I'm gonna get faster.. faster than anyone!'
Ohh, and also. Although Haru owned the letter, it wasn't actually for him. It was something Rin had written, and sent to Sousuke… which was the weird part.
Going over to the kitchen, Haruka leaves the unfolded letter (along with the envelope) on the table, planning on looking at it again later. For now, he goes to the stove and turns it on, mindlessly pulling out a frying pan and dropping oil over it.
(He's done this too many times.)
Straightening out his apron, Haru takes out two frozen mackerel pieces from the freezer and cuts open the wrappings, throwing them away before thawing them on the pan idly.
After that, there had been one other incident where he'd met Sousuke. Haruka had once dropped his house key and lost it once years ago, and it turns out that the person that had found it was Sousuke. Who kindly (..Haru still wasn't sure about that, to this day) returned it to him as his address had been labeled on the key.
As thanks, Haru had invited him inside to eat a meal.
… So they had some time to talk. Which they did, a few years ago.
There, Sousuke, sounding amused, had told him his thoughts over the letter while he was eating.
Picking up the letter again, Haruka scans through it again.
'I'm going to swim as fast as him—as fast as Haru!'
'It was weird,' Sousuke had said. 'It sounded too one-sided for a letter to me, like he wasn't expecting me to reply to him. Besides, he knows I'd never do that with how conscientious I am.' Haru had been staring at him then, unable to look away. 'He writes it in third person, yeah, but in some places, the word 'him' is replaced with "you." Heh.'
Then, Sousuke had looked amused, and took another bite of his food. 'I bet he was going to send it to you, but he chickened out. Since he wrote it though, he sent it to me… you know, he probably even assumed I'd show it to you. Rin is that kind of guy.'
-So, what the letter should have said was, 'I'm going to swim as fast as you—as fast as Haru!'
Rin had written to him.
The letter had been for him.
【あなたの方向での私の優しさ。 （しかし、いくつかの理由で、私はそれを言うことはできません。）】
【My kindness in your direction. (But for some reason, I can't say it.) 】
Ring. Ring. Ri-ri-ri-ring. Riiiiing.
Haru barely has time to flip over the cooked fish one more time with the spatula before approximately six seconds later, his front door is knocked on repeatedly. Impatiently. (Though the doorbell stops, thankfully.) "Oi, Haru, open up already."
Not being too bothered by the person knocking on his door, Haruka calmly turns off the fire on the stove and takes his time putting his things away. Places the spatula upside-down on the side of the sink, moves the pan over to a cooled surface, and puts the bottle of vegetable oil back in the cabinet slowly, leisurely.
"Haruuu, you bastard, I know you're inside." The persistent, obnoxious knocking stops, and is now replaced by a much quieter tapping sound. Probably the person tapping their foot. "Seriously?"
Hiding a slight smile in the sleeve of his shirt, Haruka continues ignoring the person and going about doing his business.
Still wearing his apron, Haru then starts pulling out silverware and dishes from the drawers, setting out a meal for two. Goes to the rice cooker and scoops out a small portion of rice on two plates, then fills up two glass cups already set on the counter with refrigerated, cold barley tea.
The elusive dolphin boy then glances at the clock briefly, and finishes setting the table.
All he has to do now is serve the cooked mackerel.
"If you don't open it up within the next minute, I swear, I'm going to turn right back around and leave, Haru. I'm counting, starting…now." The person pauses for a moment, seeing whether Haruka will come and answer the door.
When there's no reply, the person at the door starts counting in an are-you-serious kind of exasperated tone."… Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight…"
Still not bothered at all, Haruka takes it all in good stride and only continues tidying things up, ignoring the counting that's going on.
"Forty-five, forty-four, forty-three…"
Picks up the plastic pitcher-container that holds the barley tea and places it back into the fridge.
"…Thirty-seven, thirty-six, thirty-five.."
Neatly arranges a few misplaced papers that had been thrown on the counter last time the Iwatobi group had been over (Nagisa had brought a lot of paper advertisements of new cake shops and such), completely clearing the counter.
"Twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty.. you jerk. I'm being serious here, you know."
Haruka grabs the envelope and unfolded letter (that was still lying out on the table), and quickly moves to hide it on top of the fridge, hopping up on the tips of his toes, as Rin would probably demand on throwing it away if he saw such a thing like that. Whew, hidden.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven…" The blue-haired boy then finally makes his way over to the door, stepping quietly as to not alert the person waiting there of his presence. Sneaking up on them, basically.
"Six, five, four, three, two…" Heh. The person counting now definitely sounds annoyed. Now standing in front of the door, Haruka arches an eyebrow, wondering what'll happen next.
"…one and a half…one and a fourth.. Haruu."
Finally, Haruka puts on an impassive face and opens the door.
"…I knew you were inside, you bastard."
【あなたがいずれかを選択した場合、それは音と解除されます - それは愛が何であるかですが、私は冗談を言って、あなたが笑った。】
【If you choose any one, it will break with a sound - That is what love is, I joked, and you laughed.】
"You left me waiting out there for six entire minutes," Rin complains, and drops (more like, throws down) his bag inside by the entrance lazily.
It lands with a soft thud.
Haru has to move his foot to the side to avoid getting hit by it.
Dramatic, Rin. Pfft. Though it's not to the point where he would consider the redhead a delinquent, Rin does have some 'bad-boy' quirks that he should work on fixing, since he's a captain and everything now (of a swimming powerhouse).
Either that, or Rin has a thing for dramatic entrances/exits.. which he probably does, Haru muses, because that's his flair.
Oh, and the best part about it? Matsuoka Rin isn't even conscious about it.
Rin then steps into the house without being invited, grumbling all the while. Aims a small glower at Haru, obviously ticked off, though the glower doesn't last. "You jerk."
Haruka simply shrugs as nonchalantly as he can at the accusation -though the redhead scoffs at him for doing so. Inwardly, he's smiling. Seems like his childhood friend is more than a little miffed (very, apparently) at having been denied entry for that short period of time.
Sulking, though, Rin is. His bottom lip juts out, sulking, then red, clear eyes narrow at him, and the expression the redhead has on right now might scare other people that don't know Matsuoka Rin well (since it does look intimidating somewhat).
It doesn't scare Haru one bit though.
Not at all.
Has Rin always been this pretty, though? Taken in, Haruka leans forward a little, eyes widened, hand reaching out for… for.. (..for what?)..
-Before he realizes what he's doing.
Quickly, the blue-haired boy coughs, pauses, and backs away a few steps.
…What is he even thinking.
It's … probably because he'd spent too time being in close-contact with the redhead as Iruka.
Too much contact with Matsuoka Rin. He has to have caught a cold, or something, which makes him act sick. Or something like that. …This is not good.
That must be why this is happening to him. Nothing else. Too-much-Rin-exposure. Haru's breath hitches, and he turns his face to the side for a moment, rubbing at his cheek, as if the motion will erase the slightly-embarrassed expression he has on right now.
However, thankfully, it seems like Rin hasn't noticed a thing, because the redhead simply ignores him and continues complaining while kicking off his shoes and taking off his jacket. Crosses his arms across his chest, and goes into the hallway before turning around and giving Haru another level stare.
(trying to be stern, maybe?).
"You're not Iruka anymore, you could have at least said something if you were there."
Hehh. Inwardly, Haru's amused, but he still keeps his blank, impassive-face on. By now, his face is back to normal (and he's ready to mess with Rin again). "I told you to be here exactly at five-thirty, no more, no less, since I needed to leave and go get more shipments of fish, you know."
"What? ..That makes no sense. Okay, maybe you went to go get your food, but. You were here, weren't you." Okay, maybe Haru had kind of ignored him and left him hanging, but Rin seems even more flustered/fired-up than usual (wonder why?), and Haru has to stifle a laugh.
"Unless your feelings got hurt. I'll try to be more sensitive," Haru deadpans, acting like he hadn't done anything wrong. Which he hasn't.. not reaaally.
"You're still a bastard," The redhead groans, and goes over towards the kitchen. "It wouldn't kill you to open your front door, you know, since you probably weren't doing anything but jacking off in the corner. One of your neighbors even peeked their head out the window to look. Ugh."
"Mmm." Though he arches an eyebrow at the corner statement, he takes it all in good stride. Haru goes and closes the door, locks it, and follows Rin to where the food is. Still wearing his apron, Haruka starts to untie the knot at the back, sliding it off. Tosses it over the chair idly.
Then he sits down at a seat, gesturing for his friend to do the same. "Or maybe I was cooking, you know."
"That doesn't excuse you still. …Oi. Do you ever make anything that's not mackerel?"
"No complaining, you knew what was coming up anyways, Rin."
"I got it, I got it." The Samezuka-student tugs back the chair before sitting right across Haruka. "You could at least be less of a jerk though, considering how it was your idea to have me come over a night before everyone else does."
Picking up his chopsticks, Haruka only flashes Rin a wry glance. Really, now. "If you dislike it so much, you didn't have to come."
"Had nothing better to do." The redhead's response is too normal, though. Too casual. Heh heh.
Which was what Rin always said whenever he came to one of their meet-ups/hangouts.
But Haru lets him be, and gives a quiet 'Itadakimasu' before picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat.
【良いことは、私は時間にそれを作った。知らないふりをすることを決定すると、この都市は眠りについた。のは、我々は我々が忘れてしまったレンガを積み上げた場所に行ってみよう。】
【Good thing, I made it on time. Deciding to pretend not to know, the city went to sleep. Let's go to the place where we piled the bricks we've forgotten.】
"Oh, by the way," Haru starts casually, turning the sink water off. He smartly shakes his hands a few times to get rid of most of the access water, though his hands are still wet.
A few drops of water drip down and hit the tile with a splish-splash.
They've finished eating dinner, and despite Rin's disapproval of Haru washing all the dishes and cleaning up by himself ("What are you, a housewife?" "No, I'm just more competent than you."), the blue-haired boy had told Rin to go wait in the corner ("Like hell.") while he cleared things away.
Though instead of waiting in the corner, Rin had been sitting at the table boredly, tapping his fingers on the surface of it.
"Yeah?" The redhead responds, and starts to get up. "What now?"
"…You weren't really trapped outside," Haruka announces bluntly (though he starts to inch towards the hallway so he'll have access to a quick escape route if needed), "The front door was unlocked the entire time. And I thought you'd be capable of opening a door by yourself, so—"
At that moment, though, Haruka isn't able to finish speaking because right then, Matsuoka Rin scowls and lunges for him across the room ("Haru, you—"), but Nanase Haruka only dodges the hand and backs away into the hallway, running away, but laughing at the same time.
【驚くほど青い空の下、海を見渡す丘を駆け上がる。私の右手は、ソーダを保持しており、私の左手はいつもあなたを探している。】
【Running up the hill that looks out over the sea, under the frighteningly blue sky. My right hand holds a soda, and my left hand is always searching for you.】
"Yeaah, we switched roommates. So even if you come over now, Nitori's rooming with this new freshmen… who I would definitely recommend not meeting, no matter what, as he's kinda weird. And I'm staying with Sousuke now, so I don't think you should come over anymore."
Aww. That's kind of sad, but Haru hadn't expected it to last forever anyways. Rooming together probably wasn't a permanent thing for Rin and Nitori, then besides, as this was their last year of high school, he'd be busy.
They all would. It's kind of sad, but there isn't that much time left.
Haru doesn't bring up anything about Sousuke, though. Rin tells him a bit about what it's like rooming with him, etc, but they don't dwell on that subject for more than a few minutes.
After Haru had announced that the front door had been unlocked the entire time, Rin had chased him around the house a few times before finally catching him, to which Haru had held up his hands (to surrender), and his attacker had bopped him on the head twice before laughing it off as well.
Now, the two of them are laying down on Haru's bed.
It's a little crowded (not too bad though), so they make do with the space there. Both of them are on their stomachs, facing each other and are currently propped up on their elbows.
They had started playing rock-scissors-slap while lazing around on the bed -which they'd ended within three minutes, since it was painful and the backs of their hands would've probably bruised if they'd gone any longer.
(Rin hit really hard, and Haru had no choice but to pay him back. Really.).
"Look at this," Rin grumbles, and shows the back of his left hand. It's completely red. "It's going to be numb for hours, God."
Haruka only shrugs and shows his left hand as well—which is just as equally bruised, if not more. "We match. I'm the same. Oh, and you might want to prepare yourself, because Nagisa will insist on playing this game tomorrow."
The redhead winces. Understandable, of course. "Fuck. Maybe I'll leave.. I'll say I have to tutor someone. Or something."
"Rin's chickening out," Haru deadpans (with a complete straight face), "And you don't want to doubt Nagisa's senses. He'll go out and actually find you, then drag you all the way back. It's scary."
"M'not chickening out." His childhood friend huffs at him indignantly. "Aaand I don't believe you about Nagisa. That sounds scary."
Not answering, Haru instead gets up on his arms and reaches forward with his hand. Sticks his hand into the redhead's back pocket (which makes Rin yelp) before pulling out his cellphone.
"Oi, Haru.. what the hell are you doing."
But Rin doesn't sound too annoyed, so Haru simply flops back and flips his childhood friend's cellphone open. Goes into his list of contacts and starts typing something on it.
"Rei can be a witness to the fact that Nagisa has scary ESP-powers that awaken whenever he wants to do something fun or have a party." Haruka says in a monotone voice. Hands back the phone to Rin, who only flips it back open and starts searching for whatever Haru had done.
Haru makes a pleased humming sound. He'd texted Rei and asked him to confirm the fact that Nagisa could be persistent when the blond wanted to do things, and in three, two, one-!
There's a ring, and when Matsuoka Rin opens his new text message (from Ryuugazaki Rei, none the less) –
"…Fuck, I think I should start running now."
The redhead then proceeds to flip out, scratching the back of his head agitatedly, sending another text to Rei asking for confirmation again (To Rei: Is it really true?), and panicking over whether Nagisa might be coming over to Haru's house right now with his weird ESP powers.
What a dork. Such a dork, Nanase Haruka thinks.
(And it's a good thing that Matsuoka Rin doesn't look up at him right at that moment, because Haru thinks that he's wearing what can be called a –smile- on his face).
【そのようにして、私の2占有腕で、私は春の風を受け入れる。】
【In that way, with my two occupied arms, I embrace the spring wind.】
After that sentence from Rin, Haru (after composing his face into an impassive expression again) only gives a snort and gives his childhood friend a pointed look that says really.
"See. You are chickening out."
"Am not!" The redhead immediately responds, but instead of glaring at him, Rin drops his phone and presses his face into a pillow. The words he says now sound kind of muffled (and Haru can't help but think that it's cute, again).
After about half a minute though, Rin lifts his head up.
"..Though I'm thinking it might actually be a good idea to leave before the others get here. Nagisa hyped up on sugar will not be a good idea."
Haru yawns widely, stretching his arms out. Sleepily shakes his head, mumbling something about it being too late for Rin to run away from Nagisa.
(What Haru doesn't know, however, is that Matsuoka Rin is currently staring at him instead with a surprised expression).
Peeking an eye open, Haru starts to announce that he's going to bed early, before—
"Is...there something on my face?" Frowning, the blue-haired boy rubs at his cheek, wondering if he should go to the bathroom and check before going to bed.
"Nothing," Rin says all too-quickly (Haruka arches an eyebrow at this), and he smoothly rolls off of Haru's bed (landing on the extra futon that's been pulled out). "I'm kind of tired right now, so I'm going to sleep now. Night."
Quick as a flash, Rin disappears under the extra blankets that had been set out on the futon, and becomes completely still.
.
.
.
… What was that?
But the redhead gives him no response, and Haruka isn't the kind of person to nag at him for something like mere curiosity.
【我々はいつの日か、この日忘れること - 時間が過ごすことで登録して、言わないならば、私はそれをみたい、まだ我々のものである。】
【Time is still ours to spend, so I'd love it if you wouldn't say - that we'll forget this day someday.】
That was kind of weird.
Deciding not to question it though, Haru climbs under the blankets, feeling a bit out-of-place for some reason (what is this uneasy feeling he gets?). He responds with a quiet "Goodnight" before reaching over and turning off the lamp.
It's kind of sad. He'll probably never go and visit Rin (since it's now Yamazaki's room as well) or Nitori, since they've split, have their own roommates, and though they're all friends, it's kind of breaking rule to sneak into Samezuka.
Which might sit well with either of their roommates.
Idly, Haru wonders what it would be like if he'd never changed back, and was still living as 'Iruka.'
(Not very good thinking).
He supposes that it's a good thing that he'd been able to come back, since either way, Rin and Nitori did split up after all, and his friends would have freaked out if he'd been gone for even longer. It would've messed with his schooling, and..
This isn't that bad either.
The room is completely dark and quiet now, and Haru can hear Rin breathing (though it's a very quiet sound, he has to stay completely still to hear it) slowly.
It's kind of soothing. Though he sort of misses being able to curl up on top of (or next to, wherever it was) Rin and sleep with him, it's also nice for them to interact not as Rin and Iruka but Rin and Haru.
They can't go back to that time, but for a single moment, Haru thinks that he would like to.
【そのようにして、本は私にどんな質問をすることなく、私に向かって来る。】
【In that way, the present comes toward me without asking me any questions. 】
When Haru had stretched his arms out on the bed like that, yawning widely, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and tilting his head to the side, Rin had been instantly reminded of Iruka... who had made the same gestures and motions. A lot.
He thought he'd come to an impasse with himself, but apparently not, as he'd had the weirdest urge to reach out and pet Haru on the head.
Since that's what he'd done every night before the two of them had gone to bed back then.
But of course, it was fucking weird, so he'd flipped out for a few seconds, rolled off the bed, and curtly announced that he was going to sleep.
If Haru knew though, he'd probably make fun of him and he would not take that.
He had his pride, okay.
【私はあなたの2がすぐそこに残っているとします。「ああ、そう、言葉が空白を埋めるためにある - "いいえ、私はまだそれを言うことはありません。】
【I suppose the two of you are still right there. "Oh, right, the words to fill in the blank are-" No, I won't say it just yet.】
After about half an hour passes, Haru shifts over on his bed, feeling restless.
Normally, he's able to relax and fall asleep after an especially tiring day by this time…
…Though it seems like that will not be happening today.
Rin hasn't peeped a word since he's retreated to the futon, and neither has he moved, so Haru assumes that he's fallen asleep. Wanting to make sure though, he gets up from the bed and peers over to take a look.
Seems like Rin is sleeping but… wait a minute.
"Rin."
Silence.
"…Rin."
There's no response.
"I know you're awake."
The redhead finally pulls down the blankets, cutting the act of pretending to be asleep. "Really. And how did you know."
Wordlessly, Haru takes his pillow (he only has one, since he doesn't see the need of having more and it's a needless hassle) and hits it down lightly on Rin's face. "You can't sleep without one, can you."
"Mmf. Don't treat me like a fucking kid," His childhood friend grumbles, but he takes the pillow anyway. "…Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine since I'm not a kid, Rinrin," The blue-haired boy deadpans, and hiding a smile in the sleeve of his shirt, Haru then flops back down on his bed. At least one of them will be able to sleep now. "Now go to bed."
Grabbing a book that's near them on the floor, Rin flings it over in Haru's direction. It misses him by a wide berth though, and only hits the side of the wall before falling down harmlessly on the bed.
"Don't tell me what to do. ….And the name. God. Please don't call me that."
Haruka arches an eyebrow. He said 'please,' which is rare, but, it's still hard to resist. "Sure sure… . . Rinrin."
"Fuck you."
"Sorry, I'm straight."
"….. Haru, get out."
【私の手、それは次のページになり、ミサンガ私は私の唇でほどい...】
【My hand that turns to the next page, and the misanga I untied with my lips... 】
Matsuoka Rin isn't sure how much time has passed.
It could have been anything from five minutes to an hour, for all he knows.
There's a clock on one side of Haru's room, but it's too dark to see it, and his phone is somewhere over by the corner, charging.
It's buzzed a few times overnight. He's not too curious about the messages though, he can already guess who they're from; probably 70% of them from Nitori, the rest from Sousuke. Maybe one or two from Rei thrown in there.
He's pretty sure that Haru's sleeping by now.
When Haru's awake, he doesn't make a sound. It's not like he snores or anything when he sleeps, but Rin can tell that he's definitely passed out because he's breathing in and out slowly, evenly.
Rin has never had a pet before.
Living with a single parent and Gou wasn't hard or anything, they were financially well-off and doing perfectly fine, but getting a pet was just something that had never occurred to the Matsuoka's.
In elementary, Rin had been busy swimming—he'd focused only on that. Plus he'd switched schools, so it wasn't like he felt lonely (for the most part) or anything. He wasn't sure about Gou, but it probably didn't matter. They'd never had one.
Then of course, for middle school, he'd gone over to Australia, which was a total no-brainer.
Coming back to high school, he'd enrolled at Samezuka, where he lived in the dorms, and that also meant no pets, obviously.
-Until Iruka came along.
They hadn't even lived for a month together, but Rin already misses (he'd never admit it though) the sleek, affectionate black cat that would follow him around, whining "Rii, rii, riiii..", sleep on his lap, take over his pillow, and nuzzle into his hand whenever petted.
Sure, he likes animals. He finds them cute enough. But this situation is just so weird he can't.
Before he knows it, he's standing by the side of Haru's bed, fingers reaching out to brush a few stray hairs out of the sleeping person's face.
"…" He's barely touching Haruka's cheek, but his fingers linger for a few seconds longer than necessary.
Coming back to his senses, Rin curses and immediately backs away.
…What am I doing.
【日の最初の列車、そして幸福のまばらなビットが...ねえ、今日は今日であり、それは変更されません。】
【The first train of the day, and a sparse bit of happiness... Hey, today is today, and that won't change.】
Anon Review Wall:
Break of Dawn; Yes, that was Sousuke. My new bby. Darkdoll25; I'm guessing you weren't logged in? And he's going to play a major part for a while. Ack, thank you for the compliment, it was so forced and rushed. Maiden Warrior; Aww, thank you! Rin is cute, and I feel like (if you've seen the Reigisa episodes) he's persistent when he wants to do something. Sousuke /is/ hot, wow. –Fans self- I'm not decided on SouRin or SouHaru yet. Maybe you'll help me decide? Guest 1; Wahh, thank you. I don't think I'll be able to add Momotaro easily but Sousuke will be in the mix for sure. YEP RIN DIDN'T WANT THEM TO LEAVE. Ohmy, I can't wait for KnB to start airing again, I caught up on the manga a while ago. Akashi's the best, /yes/. Oshawott-kun; YEP SOUSUKE.
I rushed the last half of this chapter. I'm trying hard to write, but it took me three days to write even two thousand words (which isn't a lot), and aahh.
I'm so sorry I might not be able to respond to everyone's reviews, I'm so busy studying and getting ready for college and it took me so many hours to try and make this decent so aahh. I really read every single one though and take a moment to appreciate your words. Thank you!
Until next time!