Summary:

Time for a bit of redemption, Mephisto, get yourself back in the game before Amaimon takes the lead~ An unexpected call comes for Rin.

Notes:

Short chapter this time, sorry~ I'm not used to these chapter lengths XD but it's all outlined out now and the total should end at 17, which, given the average ch length is like 3-5k, means this is gonna in the upper range of what I estimated the total length...again (:

This fic was me attempting to give Rin and Yukio a healthy sibling relationship after everything that's happening in the manga lmao With luck, I'll be successful.

Annnnd things start to go downhill (or uphill depending on ur perspective XD) after this, rip to them :D

Don't be weird. Don't be weird.

Rin kept up the mantra in his head, scrubbing with a little too much energy until the metal in his hands gave a threatening creak and he forced himself calm.

Besides, it wasn't like it was a for sure thing he even had to be worried about! Or like he knew when to prepare for, it could be any day, really.

Any…

An engine rumbled nearby and Rin whipped his head around, hand squeezing until a distorted dent of metal met his ears. He flinched just as white moved in a flare of fabric at the entrance.

The broken mixing cup wound up shoved out of sight just as Mephisto sauntered towards Rin.

"Good morning!" Rin blurted out to the smile beaming down at him, like Mephisto was in a good mood about something.

Was he? Rin tore the thought to shreds as his heartbeat picked up in his chest despite his best efforts. Too late, Mephisto was already at the counter, leaning into Rin's space and filling the small shop with the more-than-likely massively expensive cologne he used.

"Guten morgen, Rin," he said in response to Rin's half-forgotten automatic greeting, eyes already scanning the display case as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. After pointing to one of the pastries with a request to heat it, he said, "What will you craft for me today, then?"

Today? The question had Rin blinking as he scrambled to get his mind back on track. It hit him as Mephisto raised a brow, head coming up the longer it took Rin to say anything.

The bet!

"I have something that'll really blow you away today," Rin said as he went to dig out the ingredients he'd mentally marked as "for Mephisto" and a new cup to replace the one he'd destroyed. It let him shove more of the jitters from his nerves, though prickles kept running down his spine that wouldn't leave even when he faced Mephisto again with a finished drink.

Hands tipped in painted claws drew over Rin's, close, but not touching, though Rin could swear he felt the heat from them before they accepted the drink.

"Oh, you have no idea how I've missed this," Mephisto groaned into his cup of the chocolate mocha Rin had carefully balanced, the drizzles of chocolate sauce disappearing in a long swipe of a tongue as Mephisto's eyes shuttered.

He had? But he'd been over at the no-doubt incredibly high end event, the one with food from who knew where, crafted by the hands of chefs with actual training and not the self-taught skills Rin had.

"I haven't had a decent cup of coffee in days." The muffled words confirmed it hadn't been a mistake, and Rin flushed in pride, able to tighten the lid in his mind on the things he wasn't acknowledging.

Mood restored, Rin tapped a nail to the counter, drawing Mephisto's attention in a slide of his eyes. The pupils slivered from their dilated state Rin was pretty sure his drink had resulted in and he grinned enough to show teeth at the sight.

"Is it just decent, or your favorite?" he pressed when he had Mephisto's unwavering attention.

A return grin cracked onto Mephisto as he shook his head. "Close, but not my favorite."

"Dammit," Rin let the curse out as he crossed that drink off the list, then blinked. "Wait, close? Like more than last time?"

Crawling over the counter to shake the answer out of Mephisto probably wouldn't get it any faster, despite the pretend contemplation he took over Rin's question, humming as his claw tapped to his bottom lip. A fang peeked out, Mephisto nibbling until his lip reddened and had Rin biting his own before he realized what he was doing.

"Yes, closer," Mephisto said, an exaggerated wink accompanying him snapping.

Smoke cleared to reveal something blue Mephisto held between his fingers, moving to bring it towards Rin.

The cool feeling of whatever the object was touched to Rin's parted mouth, his hands moving to cup it just as Mephisto released it to his grasp.

"A little souvenir from my travels. It seemed to suit you, Rin."

Mephisto dropped the usual change for his order on the counter and waved himself out, gone in a flick of the white cape he'd worn that day.

Rin's body numbed at every point except the buzzing where Mephisto had brushed his hands and his mouth where…

Jerking down, he stopped, eyes repeating their scan of the gift while his mind tried to catch up to what he saw.

"Is that a tiger?"

Izumo cocked a brow at him when he bit off a squeak of surprise, taken from his examination by her sudden voice from right at his side. His grip tightened and the edges of the crystalline tiger bit into his skin, reminding him that his eyes hadn't been lying.

Mid-snarl, body a light blue that reflected the lights in his shop, and very clearly, definitely-

"Yeah," Rin said after a minute, turning the figurine in his hands to let the light play off the facets carved into the shape of a tiger. His heart thudded. He'd said-Mephisto had said-

"It does kinda suit you," Izumo continued, peering closer while Rin had to stop himself from pulling it away and closer to his chest. It was stupid because Izumo definitely wasn't going to take it from him, was probably going to make some comment on it like she'd been doing since Mephisto had inserted himself in their lives.

-It suited him, he'd said. Was definitely as close to Rin's eye-color as a rock could get.

Something strangled made it past his lips in acknowledgment of Izumo's statement.

"So," Izumo drawled, smirk on her face when Rin looked up, "I guess he made up for the other day, huh."

"There wasn't anything to make up for," Rin said as he shoved the tiger into his front pocket where it would be safe.

Were those customers in the corner laughing? He couldn't glare at his regulars. That was a big no-no. The reminder kept Rin from growling, working alongside Izumo on the next few orders that arrived.

"Does this mean your other suitor is stopping by to demolish our pastry supply or…"

"Other sui-" Rin started, scrunching his brows as he went over the counter to clean it- "who?"

"Unless Shima's lying about that," Izumo buffed her nails to her shirt, feigning disinterest, "I wouldn't put it past him, he's got stakes in this."

Stakes? Trying to figure out what Izumo meant would probably be too much work for him, so Rin shook it away. "I don't have any suitors, Izumo, and definitely not two of them."

Before she could correct him, he added, "I'll be leaving when Bon and Godaiin get in. Shiemi's gonna go with me to the shop again today!"

Izumo stopped, squinting at him as she said, " Shiemi's going with you?"

"Er, yeah what's weird with that?" Rin said as he tried to understand why Izumo rolled her eyes.

"Not, 'you're going with Shiemi,' huh?" came another dry comment.

"Yes?" Rin trailed off in a question, hoping she'd start making sense soon.

"Uh-huh, so Shima's not lying, I guess," Izumo said as she nodded to herself and sighed. "The pool's going to need rearranging."

He gave up, leaving the mystery of suitors and pools to another day, though he probably wouldn't ever uncover it.

Anticipation that had started the day before and only increased the longer time stretched to the shift-change built until Rin nearly vibrated in place. He paced, realized what he was doing, stopped himself, began fidgeting with the figurine in his pocket that seemed to heat where it pressed to his heart, pulled away before it looked weird, drummed his fingers to the counter as Izumo coughed to remind him it was a pet peeve of hers, and finally bolted to the door the second he saw Shiemi arrive.

"You're here!" he said, holding the door for her, then glaring at the clock on the wall despite knowing Bon and Godaiin were a few minutes before they had to be there.

"Hello Rin, hi Izumo!" Shiemi chirped, coming up to hug them, Izumo continuing her routine of pretending to get huffy every time it happened, but Rin knew it was something she secretly enjoyed.

They idled the rest of the time talking, Rin taking to tapping his hand to his thigh in between getting a few more orders out.

Bon arrived first and Rin snapped his gaze towards him, grinning. Just a bit more.

There he was!

"Ok, see you guys tomorrow!" Rin called as he made his way from the shop, bouncing on his feet when Shiemi didn't move fast enough.

"So, um," he glanced at her, "did you keep that plant he gave you alive?"

Rin didn't doubt for a second that she hadn't, but if she had, did that mean Amaimon wouldn't let them in his shop anymore? He took such good care of his plants, at least, Rin thought he did with how nice they looked. That meant if they messed up and didn't take care of his gifts in return then he wouldn't trust them with new ones. Right?

"Yes! It's come along beautifully," Shiemi said, immediately putting Rin's fears to rest. "I hope he'll let us have another."

Her gaze slid to him and she giggled. "Or another rock for you."

"Hey, it's a cool rock, ok?" Rin said and crossed his arms. They took their places on the train as Rin did his best not to count the minutes. "And I didn't lose it, either."

Shiemi filled the minutes easily, doing much better at distracting Rin than Izumo's unhidden teasing had.

When they arrived, Rin almost leapt from the train, forcing himself to wait for Shiemi before the traditional wooden door to Amaimon's shop stood in their way. He pushed it open, ignoring the fluttering in his chest that definitely wasn't nerves, and peered into the green.

"Amaimon?"

When he didn't hear a response, Rin stepped into the shop, heading down one of the aisles to the back.

"Maybe he's out?" Rin said when his exploration revealed an empty shop. Although, that buzz of power tingled at the back of his throat, so he should be-

Rin looked down.

"Ah!" he yelped, tripping backwards to the sight of Amaimon hauling himself from the literal hole in the dirt floor. A hand on his wrist jerked Rin to a halt and Amaimon tugged him upright.

Stumbling forward, Rin met a solid obstruction in Amaimon. He cursed and pulled free, trying not to look like any more of an idiot and not sure if he'd succeeded.

"Sorry!" Rin said in a gasp, mentally flaying himself because he'd once again fallen into Amaimon like some kind of klutz.

Except, "Why'd you scare me like that, dammit?"

Amaimon's blank expression and the giggles from Shiemi where she stood at his side had Rin dropping the question, grumbling but knowing he wouldn't get anywhere.

The hole at Amaimon's feet closed with a flick of his hand, then he stared, gaze sweeping over them in a lazy slide. He crossed his arms, "Well?"

"Uh," Rin started, rubbing at his wrist where Amaimon had held. It came to him as Amaimon raised an expectant brow. "Oh!"

Digging into his pocket won Rin what he needed, opening to reveal the green stone resting in his palm. "I kept it safe!"

Another scan of Amaimon's eyes and he nodded, turning to Shiemi.

"The Gehenna Cambion bloomed last evening, I'll have seeds to share with you, but until then I pressed the first flower. Here," Shiemi said with a bow, hands coming up to present a small glass square contained in a metal frame and protecting a flower with soft pink petals. "Um, I named it Usagi."

Wasn't that the name of the shoujo protagonist? Rin scratched at his hair as he tried to understand Shiemi's naming parameters.

Claws pinched the corner of the frame and Amaimon plucked it from Shiemi's hands.

"Ok," he said, vanishing it in a careless motion Shiemi didn't seem to mind as she beamed, her pleasure apparent and mirroring Rin's.

"Here," Amaimon reached to the hanging shelf in front of the window behind him and pulled down a delicate looking flower with glossy leaves. "Do you know what this is?"

Shiemi gasped, fingertips at her lips and gaze pinned to the flower. "Yes! A ghost orchid!"

"Good, keep it alive a week, you get another," he said like he was really saying, "You know the drill."

With that order, he dropped the small pot into her hands and snapped, cloud of smoke dissipating and revealing a flowering plant grown into intricate twists, the dark green leaves making the red of the flowers even more vivid to Rin.

"This is yours," Amaimon shoved the pot into Rin's chest and held it until he fumbled for a grip.

"I don't want to kill it!" Rin blurted out, already imagining the wilted red petals and dried remains of the once beautiful plant. Still, he clutched it closer, careful to keep it steady so the soil and decorative rocks jutting near the base between the roots didn't come loose.

Amaimon gave a snort, crossing his arms as he surveyed Rin. "You won't. It's for your shop. I'll come by once a week to keep it alive and you give me pastries and drinks."

Relief swept through Rin and he laughed. "That sounds fair, I can definitely do that."

"Ah, if you don't mind me asking," Shiemi said, fixated on the plant in Rin's hands, "which variety of Camellia is that?"

Camel-what? Was that the name of the plant or had Shiemi given it one of her nicknames?

"Middlemist," Amaimon said and shrugged at the squeak Shiemi let out with his answer.

"I see," she managed to say when she calmed down, the blush on her cheeks rivaling the flower. "It's beautiful, Mr. Amaimon."

"Where should I put it in the shop, Amaimon?" Rin asked, worried that if he put it in the wrong place it would somehow die before Amaimon could save it and Rin would have to kill himself to make up for destroying his gift.

Thoughts of his inevitable ritual honor killing shook from Rin's head when Amaimon spoke.

"On the back windowsill by the round table, don't water it."

"I can do that, yup, no touching, got it," Rin said, smiling at Amaimon and cradling his new most prized possession like it would fall apart if a stray breeze hit it wrong.

Still, the flowers looked so soft, Rin couldn't resist brushing his cheek to the petals, eyes closing and enjoying the caress. He sniffed, though besides the typical scents of earth and life, the only thing he could pick up was faint traces of Amaimon. Though even that faded into the background, like he carried the same scents as the plants around them, indistinct from one another.

Inhaling one last time, Rin opened his eyes again to see Amaimon had gone unmoving, stone-like and watching with a near predatory stillness. Rin didn't feel threatened, laughing off what he was sure was a social blunder because he couldn't seem to stop himself from making those but at least Amaimon hadn't gotten irritated with him yet.

"Thanks, Amaimon," Rin said as he dug around in his bag and brought out a wrapped pastry. Kuro wouldn't mind what he didn't know he'd missed, and Rin had another for his familiar so he could give Amaimon this one. "Here, this one's a cheese danish."

In the time it took him to hand it over, Amaimon's expression dissolved into faint pleasure that might as well have been a standing ovation from him, eyelids falling until only a line of gold broke the bruises ringing them as the danish vanished. Rin was sure he hadn't even chewed, actually, Amaimon might have unhinged his jaw to accomplish the maneuver, fangs flashing in a cage around the doomed pastry before they disappeared behind his lips again.

Purring from Amaimon told Rin all he needed to know, though he kept his cheer contained to the smile splitting his face.

"There's something I wondered if you could answer for me, if it's ok to ask," Shiemi started, bringing Rin to stare.

"Huh?"

"My work with the city beautification-well, I've been noticing something strange recently," she said, and Rin realized she meant Amaimon because he knew next to nothing about that side of things.

Amaimon nodded at her to continue, idly licking the remains of the danish from his claws in a way Rin tried not to watch too closely.

"The city's bee and pollinator populations have shifted, or they might have left entirely, it's hard to say since it's only been happening in the past few months," Shiemi said as she worried her lip, head bowed and hands running over the broad leaves of her gift. "The demons who work with us can't seem to understand it and they can't get them back, either…"

At Amaimon's arched brow, Shiemi hurried on with her point, "Um, well, you wouldn't happen to know where they might have vanished to, would you?"

He snorted, leaning back on the shelf behind him and waving a hand, "No. I don't pay attention to what's happening in Assiah."

"Oh. Then one of the others, maybe?" Shiemi added after absorbing what he'd said.

Again, he shook his head, his disinterest evident. "I don't talk to them more than every other century. It's their own business what they do and what goes on in their territories. I don't care."

Shifting brought a cloud of smoke and a sucker to his hands he began tonguing, fangs clacking to it in a distracting way that had Rin's ears twitching as his gaze drew to the red staining them from the artificial color.

"Thank you for answering, we won't bother you anymore, Mr. Amaimon. Are you ready, Rin?" Shiemi's call of his name took Rin from the hypnotic effect of the pattern of clicks and he fought a flush of embarrassment at zoning out.

"Yup, I'm good to go," he said, tail tightening around him to contain the shiver as he walked behind Shiemi to the door, feeling the unblinking gaze pinned to his spine until it shut.

It wasn't until he said "goodbye" to Shiemi on her stop that a ringing in his pocket snapped him from the weird haze he'd been under and Rin scrambled to answer.

"Yukio!" he gasped out, fingers tightening on the ceramic pot in his lap. "What's up?"

"…You sound out of breath, Rin, should I call back?" Yukio asked while Rin cursed himself for the lack of control.

"Er, no, it's nothing, just heading home for the day."

"Uh huh," Yukio definitely didn't believe Rin, "well, I called because I finally got enough tenure to ask for some free-time so I'm taking a day to visit you. Shiemi confirmed she can meet up, so we'll be by the shop soon."

Soon? Rin immediately flashed to Yukio coming by and what that meant. He shivered.

"The enthusiasm is noted," Yukio's dry comment dragged Rin from visions of the future.

"No! Sorry, I can't wait, it's just been a busy day," Rin sputtered before he could make Yukio think he needed to cancel. "I'll have your favorite lunch ready for you!"

"Hm," Yukio hummed in a way Rin knew was teasing, "I don't know, my feelings are hurt, you might need to throw in a second lunch to make up for it."

"Extortionist," Rin said in a grumble, mouth twitching with the urge to laugh. "I'll see you soon, then. With your damn lunches. Who knows what you've been eating at that place. You're probably skin and bones. Wasting away! A shell of my former brother."

"Ok, mother," Yukio said, the eye-roll nearly audible through the phone, "see you."

They hung up, the rest of Rin's humor withering in the muffled silence of the train as he stared down at the black screen.

Yukio was punctual. When he got a day free, he came early in the morning to get the most from his time off. Without his say, Rin's hand went to his chest with the figurine, the other tracing to the smooth bark of the plant.

Rin swallowed, thinking about two potential meetings in one day that spelled disaster, though for who, he wasn't sure, exactly.

He was so screwed.

Notes:

Well, this particular ch is setting up for the next one wherein someone gets introduced who is NOT Yukio but who will be making an extra special debut as a character I have yet to write into any of the fics ;D

Next chapter should be out within a week to 2~