There were a lot of things Rin prided herself in—her amazing ass, that one time she socked a guy in the mouth and he lost a tooth, and her uncomfortably extensive knowledge of human anatomy.
But. But.
Despite her bootylicious physique and iron fist and Top 10 Tips on How to Make a Woman Wet in Three Seconds Flat, she had never kissed, or dated, or loved anyone.
She was irrevocably, miserably, and woefully single.
(And that was something she didn't have much pride in.)
it complements the spice
"So, that Len guy," Miku said, half a french fry hanging out her mouth. She was kindly recounting a tinder date she had over the weekend in excruciating detail while they sat in the middle of an Aeon Mall food court. "He licked my labia for about five minutes and called it a day. Absolutely the worst sex ever."
Rin was unfazed by this, however. Being friends with Miku for almost 12 years meant knowing that girl had almost no shame. She reached for a chicken nugget, dunking it in a puddle of ketchup. "Yeah, but you let him do that. Did you even bother telling him it absolutely sucked?"
Her friend made no show of any guilt. "No. I, uh… pretended to orgasm and told him it felt really good."
"Miku." She rolled her eyes, jabbing a finger at her chest. "You're part of the problem. If you keep telling these shitty men that their sex is good, it's going to keep being shitty."
"I know. But… can't say that to a man with a face carved by angels. Besides, his pride seems pretty fragile." Miku grabbed another handful of fries, cramming them into her mouth like a ravenous dog. How did this girl attract anyone at all? "Anyway, I unmatched him. I'm sure one day I'll find a guy who knows what a G-spot is."
Rin scoffed. "Yeah, and now he's going to pester me in our history lecture every week, wondering why you did the whole 'screw and shoo' tactic to him. Thanks a lot."
She'd had the misfortune of meeting the guy, having run into him and Miku on campus, which was when she was introduced as Miku's best friend. They'd realised they were both taking the same class that semester—a dreary, almost pointless Japanese History lecture on Friday afternoons. After that, he'd made the effort to sit next to her during some of the lectures, and it would've been okay if he didn't feel obliged to have to drop a sardonic comment every time the professor spoke.
Eventually, she just came late to class on purpose, or sat herself between two randoms so he couldn't take the seat beside her.
"Well, if you're so insistent on straight men being better at sex, maybe you should just tell him why I unmatched," Miku shot back. "Or maybe you can take him on a date and show him how to do it."
Rin licked the tips of her fingers and grabbed for a napkin. "Huh. Maybe I will."
It was a joke, of course. Everyone knew that Rin would immediately burst into flames if she ever saw a guy naked. She was, by archaic standards, virginal on all levels—mentally, physically, socially, spiritually… etc.
Her friend's eyes glinted with mischief. "I live to see that day."
It'd been about four weeks of careful dodging and running and hiding, when one day, Rin let down her guard like the downright fool she was.
While she made herself comfortable and ready to shamelessly nap during her Japanese History lecture one meaningful Friday, a long-legged blonde boy climbed over a table from behind and flopped down into the empty space to her right.
She froze, catching sight of his near-blinding grin in her peripheral vision.
"Hey, Rin," Len said.
Rin wanted to melt into the floor like goop and slurp her way right out of the lecture hall then and there, but alas God hadn't blessed her with superpowers of evasiveness, and she had to face her second-worst fear: confrontation.
She slowly turned to face him, forcing her lips up into a smile. "Hi… Len."
"Long time, no seat partner," he said, leaning back to drape an arm on the back of her chair. She inched forward in her seat, not wanting to make any unnecessary bodily contact.
"Um, yup." She considered excusing herself to the bathroom and not returning for the rest of the lecture, but she had a feeling the guy would stick around like a bad smell until she came back for her materials. Oh , the mistakes she made.
Len kicked back, dumping his laptop bag on the table in front of him. "How's Miku?"
Here we go.
"Fine."
He pushed open his laptop, slapping in a five-letter password that Rin was pretty sure spelt hello . "Do you know that she unmatched me on tinder?"
"Er." Rin avoided his gaze, pretended to be searching for something in her bag.
Len didn't wait for an answer. Or perhaps he already knew it. "Well, she did. I don't really know why, considering our dates seemed to be going well." Then he shrugged his shoulders with a sad grin. "But this isn't the first time this has happened."
She paused, one hand dangling into her bag. Not the first time? Not the first time?
Hmm.
"Why do you say that?" she decided to ask, slowly retracting her hand back to her lap. She looked over at him, curious.
He sighed, staring down at the front of the room. The lecturer—a small, old man that resembled a tortoise—was hobbling his way up to the podium. "I don't know. Girls always seem to flee after the third or fourth date. Maybe I'm an incel, or something."
Rin resisted the urge to snort, coughed into her hand instead. "After the third or fourth date?" she echoed.
"Yeah." Len looked thoughtful, lips drawing into a straight line. "Actually, I think it's after I sleep with them."
Wow. This man was as shameless as Miku. A world's first. Unfortunately the stars were not aligned for them.
"Huh," she said, feigning innocence.
Then, with a straight face, he mused, "Maybe my dick's too small."
"Well, we can't have everything." The lecture was about to start. She hoped he would shut up. This conversation was going down the drain faster than firing synapses.
Len turned to face her, propping an elbow on the table to rest his head in one hand. He smirked, eyes half-lidded. "You don't happen to like small dicks, do you?"
Rin inhaled so fast her saliva hit the back of her throat, and she blacked out momentarily, before spiralling into a coughing fit. It happened just as the lecture theatre was settling into an Educational Silence.
He reached over to pat her on the back as she suffocated and died and went to heaven, hell, and all the way back again.
It was too late to give a witty answer, though.
The lecturer had already launched into a 50-minute-long monotonous drone about why the Tokugawa period was so significant to the development of Japanese culture, and she didn't want to disrespect the ancients by telling off the half-baked himbo next to her that he sucked at oral.
"So, you know, what's your thought?"
"On what?"
"Small penises, Rin."
Even though the conversation had long been forgotten during that life-leeching lecture, Len had the audacity to bring up his dick size yet again.
Rin paused while shoving her notebook into her bag, making the effort not to meet his gaze. There were a million things she wanted to fling back his way, but she settled for, "It's less the size and more the fact that my partner would know what they're doing, Len."
Then, as if the situation could get any worse, he opened his mouth and asked, "What are you implying?"
She resisted the urge to swing her bag into his face, sliding the zipper shut and standing from her seat. "Have you ever taken a sex ed class in your life? "
Len stood with her, slinging his bag over one shoulder. "No," he said, as if it wasn't as much of a big deal as it actually was . "My parents are super conservative. They didn't let me sit through any sex ed."
It was a miracle this guy even knew which hole to put his disco stick in.
Rin turned to him with a very solemn expression, placing one hand on his shoulder. "I think it's time you actually learned about the anatomy of a vagina, Len. It'll do you a world of good."
At first he looked shocked, but then it melted into a smirk. "Well, okay. When's my first lesson?"
Her jaw hit the floor.
"Miku, I've fucked up," Rin cried into the phone later that night, rolling around on her futon while hugging a pillow to her chest. "That stupid fucking Len guy—he runs his mouth like a goddamn motor—and I've fucked up."
Miku sighed over the receiver. "What, did he ask you for sex and you agreed?"
" Uhhhh . Maybe."
There was the sound of something crashing through the phone. "Shit," Miku hissed. "Wait—are you telling me you agreed to sleep with him? Oh no, oh Rin . Oh, honey. Oh. "
Rin was redder than a tomato. "Look—I'm not even entirely sure what happened," she said with a wince. "He was complaining about always being ditched after sleeping with a girl and then it slipped out of my mouth like, maybe you should learn about anatomy , and he said, When's my first lesson? And I panicked and told him tomorrow. He gave me his number and told me to text him. I'm an idiot."
Miku started laughing.
"It's not funny ."
"Sorry—sorry," Miku said in between her wheezing. "But Rin—you, um, wow . Okay. So, how about you meet with him at like, a cafe or something and just dump all of those sex books on him?"
"Sex books?" Rin echoed with a frown.
Miku paused. "You know, the ones your parents forced you to read in junior high that have extremely detailed diagrams of people's junk."
"Oh." Rin had so much as purged that memory from her mind. Her parents were a little… odd, gifting her a box of humiliating sexual education books found from the dark crevices of a thrift store for her fifteenth birthday. Their excuse was, We can't stop you from having sex, but you should at least know how to do it right. (Please don't come home with a baby one day, we don't want it.)
With those books, began her slightly odd obsession with knowing way too much about sex than a girl of her experience should.
(It came in handy when she was schooling her friends about their shitty partners, though. In other words, Miku.)
After mulling over the suggestion, Rin said, "You know… that might be a good idea."
"It'll give the poor guy whiplash, but save you the trouble of actually having to turn him down, because it's not like you didn't teach him, just not in the way he was expecting."
Wow. She'd never even thought of it that way.
"Miku, I can't believe I'm saying this. You're a genius."
Rin could imagine her friend beaming. "Thank you. I know."
They chatted a little more, mainly about Miku's recent dates, before they hung up and Rin pulled up Len's number on her phone.
After taking a moment to calm herself down, she began crafting her message.
Let's meet at The Red Apple tomorrow at noon.
oh wow i wasnt expecting u to actually msg me um- should i bring anything? ;)
Yeah. Bring your brain, and maybe a sturdy bag.
uhhhhh. ok?
Cool. See you tomorrow.
see you sensei ;)
What is with that guy and winky faces, Rin thought with a frown. It's not even flirty. Just distasteful.
Rin had considered dressing nicely for her 'date', tried on a couple of cute dresses first, but eventually decided she didn't want to give Len the wrong idea. It was the last thing on her list to have to physically demonstrate anything she was going to educate him on, and she didn't want him to make the assumption she was going to do so, either.
It would be super awkward.
Instead, she dressed in an outfit that left much to be desired, and didn't even bother covering the very heavy eyebags that had appeared overnight as a result of her barely sleeping a wink.
(She was really nervous. It was her first time going on a date even though it totally wasn't intentional and she had no desire to get with her date partner.)
She showed up at the cafe a whole thirty minutes early with a backpack filled with The Books (she was just going to refer to them collectively as that now), and sat awkward at a table staring at the menu, waiting for him to turn up.
Her phone buzzed.
sorry, im gonna be late lol
Rin decided to order an orange juice so the waitress would stop staring at her like she was a criminal trying to shop-lift.
That's okay. I'm already here.
oh shit, already? ok ill run
She frowned at her messages.
It's fine. Take your time.
He didn't respond.
She eyed the backpack on the seat beside her, as if it were concealing a thousand snakes inside. She wasn't sure how Len would react to her unleashing the wrath of her parents upon him, but—well, she almost didn't care.
About fifteen minutes minutes passed before the cafe doors burst open and in stumbled a familiar, flustered blonde boy. He spotted her and made his way over, slumping down into the chair across from her with a groan, out of breath.
"You didn't have to run here," Rin said, unsure if she should be amused by the state he was in.
Len shook his head, reaching up to fix his fringe into place after being blown back in the wind. "It's fine. I hate to keep a lady waiting."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
He flagged down a waitress and ordered some water and a banana smoothie. "Did you order any food, yet?"
"No. I was waiting for you."
"Oh. Thanks for waiting." He reached for a menu, scanning it. It annoyed her that he was… so calm .
A few minutes of silence passed between them, before he asked conversationally, "What are you thinking of having?"
Rin stole a glance at the menu in front of her. To be honest, she hadn't put much thought into it. She was so nervous about the whole date thing, eating was the last thing on her mind.
"Um… probably a burger?"
Len looked up, surprised. "A burger? You're, like, the first chick I've gone on a date with who's ordered anything but a salad."
She screwed up her face. This guy . "First of all, I'm not a 'chick'. Women are not birds, Len," she said, holding a finger up to waggle at him. "Second of all, I hate salad. It's cold and soggy and disappointing."
He grinned, unfazed that she'd just told him off. "Huh." He set down his menu. "I think I'll get a burger, too."
This time, she did roll her eyes. Then she waved over the waitress for the third time, who took their orders in a monotone voice.
"So," Len said, once they were alone. He laced his fingers together, propping his elbows up on the table. "How was your morning?"
Rin thought for a moment. To be honest, she'd slept until the last minute before coming. She wasn't much of a morning person, and the fact that she didn't fall asleep until five a.m. didn't help either. "Uh, the usual," she decided. "How about you?"
He shrugged. "It was alright. I woke up at seven and went for a jog, then watched TV for a while."
Okay. So. He was one of those fabled people who enjoyed waking up early. Disgusting. "You like jogging?"
"I don't," he admitted. "I just do it to stay in shape."
Rin took a sip of her orange juice. "Better than me."
Len seemed to find that funny, but she wasn't even trying to be funny. "What's on today's agenda, anyway?" He nodded at the bulky bag sitting beside her. A smirk creeped across his face. "Seems like you've come pretty prepared."
"Oh, this?" she said casually, lifting up the ten-tonne weight of books and dumping it down on the table with a loud thud . "These are today's study materials."
His eyebrow raised, curiosity piqued. "Study materials?"
She knew, somehow, the guy had something totally different—and not so innocent—in his mind, so she unzipped the bag and poured the books out onto the table. "Yeah," she said, her turn to smirk. " Study materials."
"Oh." First there was surprise, then somewhat disappointment. "Books?" He picked one up, scanning the cover. Breasts, Boys and Babies , the title read. "Um."
Rin clamped her lips together, trying to stifle a laugh. "Yeah. Books. What did you think they were, Len? Fleshlights?"
Len was sifting through the pile, his face slowly turning the shade of beetroot. "Uh— well . It certainly wasn't what I had in mind, but…" He trailed off, eyes widening at another title: The Art of Masturbation.
"You said you wanted me to teach you about anatomy," she said. "So here I am. Here is all my knowledge."
He blinked. "All your knowledge?"
"Well, besides porn videos, but I can't exactly bring that to the table, can I?"
He reached up to fiddle with his hair. "Huh. Yeah."
Rin reached over and pulled one book from the pile, classically titled: Oh No! My Body is Changing. It was one of those incredibly awkward, discomfort-inducing cartoon illustration books about puberty. She flipped it open, rifling through the pages until she came to a very beautiful drawing of a vagina.
Len seemed to find this very difficult to look at, his hands flying up to his face as he averted his gaze to the table. "Um, Rin, should we be reading these kinds of books so shamelessly in the public?"
"I don't really care much what other people think," she said with apathy, simply revelling in his humiliation. "It's just human anatomy. Why, Len? Do you? "
He cleared his throat, slowly lowering his hands. His cheeks were painted red. "I—um," he stumbled. "I just had other things in mind when you agreed to teaching me about, uh, anatomy."
Rin smirked. "I'm not a book, Len. My legs don't just open for anyone."
Len went a shade of purple, spluttering, " That's not what I meant. "
"Okay," she said, diverting her attention back to the diagram between them. " Sure . Well. I'm not really interested in what you thought we were going to do today, so, anyway. Do you know what a clitoris is, Len?"
He was sinking back into his seat, steam emitting from his brain. " Of course I know what a clitoris is."
"Where is it?" She gestured to the picture. He eyed it like it was a tarantula, before slowly lifting his finger to point at one part of the illustration. She snickered. "Len, that's the labia."
Len's hands flew back to his face again and he groaned. "Can we not— do this?" he asked, exasperated.
Rin tilted her head innocently. "So you'd rather not know how to give the most amazing sex to the person you love ever?"
"I— ugh —no." He dropped his hands, glowering at her over the table. He was sulking. "This sucks."
"So does your ability to give oral," she quipped, and his eyes went wide. "Anyway, this is the clitoris. Well, part of it, anyway." She pointed to another part of the diagram, before flipping the page to a diagram of the clitoris to demonstrate what she meant. "It's, like, the prostate of the vagina. It makes you feel good ."
Len seemed to perk up at this, inching forward in his seat and staring at the illustration. "Huh."
That's a good sign, she mused. "And you know what a G-spot is, right?"
"Right." He shifted in his seat, eyes darting back to her face. He was still red, but barely managing to maintain a serious demeanor.
"That's part of the clitoris," Rin said.
His eyebrows shot up. " Oh. "
She felt like she was teaching algebra to a kid for the first time. How many poor people suffered from this guy not knowing about the location of the clit? How many poor people went orgasm-less because he got bored of fingering their flaps? She wanted to smack him over the head and label him a clown.
She closed the book and tossed it back in the pile, clearing her throat. "So, when you're getting it on with a date, you need to pay attention to the clitoris, and not their labia minora or whatever."
Len slouched. "I totally did that with Miku, didn't I."
"Yeah."
He put his head down on the table with a low groan.
Rin was somewhat triumphant. Good. Realise your mistakes. Feel shame for the suffering you've put your dates through.
In the silence that followed, a waiter came over to deliver their meals. He didn't leave without eyeing The Books with a look of somewhat fear, though.
Len pouted at his hamburger, a toddler in a man suit. He poked at it. "So, you're saying I should stimulate the clit more."
"Honey, if you both want to have a good time, that should be a priority." Rin reached for a stray fry on her plate. "Not every girl is going to get off from you just poking your dick in there and waving it around like a worm in mud."
He picked up his burger, hesitating before taking a bite. "I don't do that."
She watched him chew, stewing over her words. "Look, never said you did," she said, taking her own burger from the plate. "But a lot of guys do that sort of thing and call it a day."
"To you ?"
She almost choked. "Um—no, usually to my friends."
"Like Miku," Len said with a frown.
"Yeah, she's one of them."
"Why don't you just tell the guys then," he mumbled with a mouth full of food. "Instead of bitching about it to your friends instead. We can't know unless you say something."
Rin wiped her face with a napkin. "Look, I tell her that, too," she admitted. "But I can understand why she doesn't. It's not really our responsibility to educate adult men how to pleasure us. They really ought to do that research themselves. Imagine how much it'd kill the mood if you had to stop and tell your sex partner that their tongue is like a washing machine to your genitals." Then she gave him a smug smile. "Besides, I'm telling you now ."
Len was pensive, chewing. He eyed The Books. "Where did you get all of those, anyway?" he asked.
"Oh." She sighed. "My parents gave them to me when I was in junior high."
" All of them?" He didn't try hiding his shock. "As a joke?"
"No. They were serious."
He pulled a face. "Your parents are…"
"Strange? Yeah. I know."
Len's mouth popped open. "I wasn't going to say that, but… um. Well, yeah. My parents wouldn't even let me watch movies with kissing in them until I was 14."
It was Rin's turn to pull a face. "I don't know, Len. I think your parents are even more strange."
He shrugged. "Yeah. Probably. It didn't stop me from getting porn from my friends, though."
"Huh." She finished up her burger, moved back to the neglected chips that were now disappointingly cold. "Well, feel free to take the books back home to study. I don't need them anyway."
He laughed at the idea, but then when he realised she was being serious, actually considered it. "Really?"
"Please."
He rubbed his chin, then reached out to scoop the books into his own backpack. "Thanks. I'll give them back once I'm done."
No, please keep them, she wanted to say, but instead she just gave a thumbs up. "Cool."
Len zipped up his backpack, then leaned against the table with a face that meant business. Rin felt somewhat concerned, but what came out of his mouth next was just as unexpected:
"So, do you like arcades?"
Rin agreed to go to the arcade with him, deciding it wouldn't hurt , and they spent the rest of the afternoon trying to beat each other on rhythm games. Len was better, and she was a total sore loser, so most of the time it was him laughing at her failing expert level and her demanding a rematch.
Eventually, their money ran out and they called it a day, headed back to the train station. Before they went their separate ways, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"That was a date, right?" he asked.
She blinked at his face. "Was it?" To be honest, she didn't even know what qualified as a date. Not that she'd admit that to him, ever.
He swept his bangs to the side, lips curving into a grin. "Well, I thought it was, but you…?"
She thought for a moment, before shrugging. "I mean, if you wanted it to be, I guess it was, then."
Len nodded, adjusting his bag straps. "Cool. Great," he said. "I had fun today, Rin."
Rin smiled, letting herself ease a little. Look, he wasn't a terrible guy. He had charm, somewhat, although at times he made her want to slam her face into a brick wall. "Hmm. Yeah. Me too."
He seemed satisfied. "Let's go out again sometime."
Well, she wasn't sure about that. She fiddled with a loose thread on her sleeve. "Uh, yeah. Sure."
Then, in one swift movement, the bastard leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. He turned and sauntered off, throwing a, "I'll let you know how I go!" over his shoulder, leaving her standing stunned in the middle of the evening rush hour crowds.
Rin reached up to touch where he'd kissed. She didn't know how to feel about it.
So how did your date with Len go?
It went
Fine.
Like a date.
I taught him about the clitoris. He kissed me in the station.
He kissed you in the station?!
He was sneaky. I didn't see it coming.
Did you use tongue?
It was just a peck, Miku.
Disappointed. He's not a terrible kisser, despite everything else.
I'll take note of that.
So are you two like, dating-dating, or…?
No. Probably not. He took my books home, though. I hope he keeps them because I never want to see them again.
Aw, Rinnie. You are so boring.
Boring? I'm sorry I don't jump every man I see.
It was a JOKE. Stay prude, honey. I love that side of you.
i forgot to say but you looked cute today ;)
Thanks, I put zero effort into how I looked.
for some reason thats fucking hot
I think you need to get your eyes checked, Len.
Although Rin wasn't sure she could look Len square in the eye after his kiss, she still made herself go to her Friday lecture and seat herself beside him. She was curious to know whether he'd tried anything new with any of his other dates—and whether he was finding success in the love department, or whatever.
Before she could get to that question—actually, before she'd even said hello to him—he turned to her and asked, "If a girl can't get off from penetration alone, should I like, rub her clit or something?"
She stared at him speechless for a moment, not expecting such a blunt question upfront, before regaining her composure and turning her attention back to getting out her supplies for the lecture. "Yes, Len. You should stimulate her clit 'or something'."
"Oh," he said. "Thought so. Thanks. Do you think she'd like it if I used a vibrator?"
Rin wondered if the people sitting around them could overhear their conversation. She didn't know whether she should feel shame about it. "I mean, yeah. A vibrator feels good. You should probably use one if you've got it handy."
He nodded, expression oddly serious for the topic of conversation. "Right. Yeah. That was a stupid question."
She glanced at him. "I'm not here to judge stupid questions."
Len smiled at her. Her eyes dropped to his lips before she quickly forced her gaze away.
"Anyway, any luck with the ladies?" she asked.
He sighed, falling back into his chair. "Not really. I only went on one date, and the girl was sort of disinterested, so I didn't get to try out much. But I've got a date tonight, so I'm hoping … you know. Maybe."
"So that's why you asked me that question so suddenly," Rin mused aloud.
He chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Yeah. Sorry. It's been bugging me—and I didn't want to text you, since we were going to see each other today, anyway."
She shrugged. "It's fine. How are the books going?"
"Good. Great. I mean, I'm learning things."
The lecturer was standing at the front, shuffling papers, waiting for the auditorium to quieten down.
"That's nice to know," she said, before turning away to listen to the lecture.
(Or at least pretending to. For some reason, her attention kept dragging back to the blonde fool next to her.)
Len caught her sleeve when they filed out of the lecture hall later that afternoon with a solemn expression. "Rin, do you like movies?"
Rin reached up to adjust her bag strap, confused. "Of course I like movies. Who doesn't?"
"Yeah, uh. You're right. I mean-what kind of movies do you like?"
She thought for a moment, before saying, "Anything is good, I guess."
Len nodded. "Right. Um… what about superhero movies?"
"Superhero movies?" That was awfully specific. Wait. She tilted her head at him and squinted. Was he asking her on a date? "I do …"
He grinned. "Do you want to go see that new Marvel movie on Sunday?"
Yep. He was asking her on a date. Wow. Well. She blinked at him, tucking her hair behind one ear. "Uh… sure. What time?"
"I was thinking maybe three or four. We can go out to dinner afterwards?"
Rin didn't know why, but her heart was pounding in her chest. This guy was really serious? What, was he determined to get in her pants to prove himself or something? Well, whatever. She tossed a shoulder, trying her best to act nonchalant. The blush creeping up to her face wasn't helping with that, though.
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Len looked pleased with himself. "I'll text you more later," he told her. Then he gave her shoulder a quick pat and ran off, yet again.
She watched him with a sigh. What was happening to her?
This guy was making her do and feel all sorts of strange things.
"So you're dating him," Miku said.
They were, yet again, sitting in the Aeon Mall food court, helping themselves to a large pack of takoyaki from Gindaco. Rin had called Miku soon after the lecture, begging to meet her for some Girl Advice because she didn't know what to do with herself.
Rin groaned into her hands, before throwing her neck back dramatically and staring up at the ceiling. "Like, is it dating? I don't know whether to take this guy seriously or not. He flirts like it's second nature, and says everything straight-faced, and I can't get my head around it."
Miku popped a ball in her mouth. "That's just Len, though. I'm sure he's serious, especially considering you showed up last Saturday looking like a zombie, and then dumped a bunch of puberty books on him—I don't think he'd keep pestering you if that turned him off."
She winced. "But, like, why? What kind of guy would go for a gremlin like me?"
"Rin, shut up. You're pretty and witty and that probably makes his dick go hard. We don't need to question any further the psychology of that."
"I'm sorry." She frowned. "I just don't really know how to feel—or handle—any of this. No one has ever expressed this much interest in me, ever."
Miku shoved the box of takoyaki at Rin. "Eat or else I'm going to eat them all," she ordered. Then she sat back in her seat, flipping a pigtail over one shoulder. "I get it. It can be hard to believe it's genuine and all. But, you know, this isn't junior high. Adults don't just ask each other on dates for shits and giggles."
"Don't you find it weird that I'm dating a guy you dated, though?"
She waved one hand dismissively. "No different from him dating any other girl."
Rin let her shoulders sag and leaned forward, propping her chin in her hands. "I still don't even know… how I feel about him. Like, if he turned around tomorrow and asked to jump into bed with me, I think I'd run the other way."
"That's okay," Miku said. "You're dating. You don't have to know whether or not you're in love with him yet. This is only, what, your second date? You're allowed to turn him down over anything you're not comfortable with. And he should know that. Besides, we didn't do anything too frisky until our third date."
She exhaled. "I know."
"Seriously, Rin." Miku reached over to pat her on the arm, giving her a reassuring smile. "It'll be fun. Enjoy yourself. Get to know him. You can always call me for a quick escape if things go down the drain."
Rin frowned down at her takoyaki, unconvinced, but knowing the conversation would only go around in circles.
"Thanks, Miku."
Rin spent at least an hour fluffing over what to wear on her date. A dress? A cute skirt? Shorts? Eventually she settled for a baggy sweater and jeans, deeming her outfit good enough.
Unsurprisingly, he texted her saying he was going to be late again. The guy seemed to have a track record for running late to their dates, huh.
She was standing out front of the cinema when a hand touched her shoulder and she leapt half a mile into the air, before spinning around to come face to face with Len. He was panting, hair a mess. After apologising profusely, he steered her inside towards the ticket machine.
She reached for her purse, but his hand stopped her before she could pay for a ticket.
"I'll cover. My treat for making you wait." He winked, and blood rushed to her cheeks.
As he paid for the ticket, she stood aside awkwardly fumbling with the hem of her sweater. She'd been fine—well, relatively fine—up until a few minutes ago, but now she was feeling exceptionally nervous.
Once Len paid for their tickets, and they grabbed a box of caramel-flavoured popcorn to share, they made it to the viewing room a few minutes before the ads finished.
They took their seats, and he slung one arm over the backrest of her chair, fingers barely grazing her shoulder. They kept the popcorn between them, hands occasionally bumping, her heart racing a million miles an hour.
It was hard to focus on the movie. What annoyed her most was that Len appeared to be deeply engrossed in what they were watching—and yet she was there, her mind reeling, nothing but hyper-focused on the man sitting next to her cramming popcorn into his face.
As they exited the theatre after the movie, he asked for her thoughts.
Rin hummed. "Um. It was… good."
Len raised an eyebrow. "Just good?" he asked. She nodded. "Oh. I thought it was pretty funny. Not as good as their previous movies, but still entertaining."
And she would probably agree, had she paid attention to the entire movie. But she didn't, because she couldn't. She just laughed nervously at his statement in agreement, whatever that meant.
"So, um," she said, trying to fill the awkward silence as they left the cinema and walked down the escalators of the department store. Len was taking the lead. "Where are we going for dinner?"
He glanced back at her and shrugged. "You like sushi, right?"
Rin blinked. "Er, yes."
"Well, I was thinking, let's get sushi."
They chatted idly over dinner at a sushi restaurant. While Len was cramming tuna nigiri into his mouth, she turned to him to ask, "So, how'd you go with that girl on Friday?"
He swallowed quickly, coughing a little. While reaching for his water, he croaked, "It was, yeah, it was good."
"Good?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he said, voice returning to normal after a few gulps of his drink. "So, you know, cunnilingus…"
It was her turn to choke.
He didn't seem fazed. Much. "I tried some oral. She seemed to enjoy it. But I think she really liked the vibrator. And she hasn't unmatched me on tinder yet, so maybe I didn't do too bad this time around."
"That's good," Rin said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. The elderly couple sitting next to them were glancing over slightly concerned hearing their conversation, but whatever.
Len scratched at the nape of his neck. "Yeah, well…" He trailed off, looking down at his plate. The tips of his ears were turning red. "Weird question, but if the muscles contract, that means she's having an orgasm, right?"
She stared at him. "Well, usually, yeah."
"Okay. Good." He seemed pleased with that answer.
"Did she orgasm?" she asked.
"I… think so," was his response, although he didn't seem very confident in his answer.
Rin hummed, eyes scanning the menu in front of her. She waved down the chef and ordered some negitoro rolls.
Len turned to face her, this time. "So, you know…" he said, his looks turning sort of sly. Uh oh. "You'd be honest if you came or not, right?"
"Um." Her answer was easy. But was he, like, lowkey asking her to sleep with him tonight, or something? She didn't know. She had no clue.
If only she could emergency call Miku or something for advice, but it would seem pretty rude for her to stop the conversation there, whip out her phone and run off to 'make a call'.
Well, she had to put on her big girl pants and deal with it somehow.
Rin sat straight in her seat and met his eyes. "Yeah, I would. If the sex was bad, I'd be honest. But could you handle it?"
Len cupped his chin, propping his elbow up on the table. He stared back, eyes half-lidded with a dopey smile. "Of course. I care about my partner having a good time, too."
"Really," she said. She believed him, honestly. The guy was… questionable and certainly lacking in education, but he seemed genuine. That was his charm. "Well, you can try communicating that to the other people you date, too."
"That's true." He looked thoughtful. "Well, you know now."
Rin sighed. "I sure do."
They sat in mostly mutual silence as they finished their meals. She hoped that the crisis was averted.
Once they paid their bill and left, they ducked out onto the quiet, dark street. For a few minutes, they stood there on the curb staring at each other awkwardly, until a group of drunken businessmen burst out of the restaurant, startling them from their daze.
Len cleared his throat, stepping closer. His shoulder bumped hers, and slowly, they began to walk down the road, with no aim or destination. "So," he said. "Wanna go to the arcade?"
Rin hesitated, then nodded. She wasn't expecting the second half of that question to be what it was, but it was a lot better than what she had been anticipating. "Why not?"
His face broke into a grin, and he reached out to link his arm with hers. She was surprised by the gesture at first, but soon relaxed, hooking her arm around his, and letting him lead the way.
Before they went their separate ways, they kissed again.
This time, it wasn't so much as a simple peck. Len went straight in for the kill, and Rin—well, she obliged, kissing him back. It was hard and on the lips, and very warm. His hands went to the dip of her back and brought her in close against him, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.
It was clear the guy had experience with kissing. Her, on the other hand—well, she didn't. At all. But she was trying her best not to make that obvious.
When his tongue ended up in her mouth, she sort of froze over for a moment, wondering what the hell she should do. Put her tongue in his mouth? Have a tongue fight? Scream? It was all sort of slimy and tasted like breath, too.
No amount of reading, nor porn, could have prepared her for this experience.
Len soon broke away before she could react, his lips glistening wet and his eyes dark. "Sorry," he said, noticing the stunned look on her face. "Was that a bit much?"
Rin didn't know how to respond. "I… um," she fumbled. "It… yeah. I was a bit surprised, that's all."
His lips curved up into a nervous grin, and his hand went to her cheek. His thumb drew circles in her skin, and blood started rushing to her head like a tsunami. "I'll take it a bit more slowly, next time," he said.
She nodded, the words dying in her throat.
Then he leaned in again to kiss her on the mouth, much softer this time. When he broke the kiss, he patted her head and said, "You're cute, Rin."
She didn't know how to handle the compliment—or whether to take it seriously or not. So, she just ended up responding, "You're cute, too."
Len blinked, then smirked. "Thanks."
After a few more kisses, they called it a night. Rin's head was filled with cotton, watching him disappear off into the crowd of people trying to catch the last trains. Slowly, she picked herself up and floated back home.
It was strange, and she realised, maybe the one who was truly clueless about this whole thing was her .
How did it go between you and Mr Bad At Sex?
We kissed a bit.
Kissed a bit? That's all?
Yes.
Boring.
Excuse me. I have dignity. Also I have no idea what I'm doing. So sue me.
Should you really be schooling Len on how to give a girl an orgasm when you are so, ah, rather untouched, Rinnie?
Please don't attack me like this.
No, no. This is amusing. Please keep going.
Miku. Shut up.
When Rin woke the following morning, she unlocked her phone to see one unread message from Len.
It read: do you want to come over mine next saturday?
Her heart immediately leapt to her throat and her eyes nearly fell out of her head. He'd sent it at three in the morning. Three in the morning. She didn't want to know what he was doing awake at that hour, but she had a feeling she, unfortunately, already knew.
The first thing she did was call Miku in a panic.
"Rin, there better be a good reason to call me—" Miku paused to yawn into the speaker, "—at ten in the morning."
"Help," was all she could say.
"Hmm?"
Rin spluttered the words out, her face a million degrees. "Len, he—he sent me this text—and he, um, he—he, er, wants me to, um—"
"Wants you to what," Miku interrupted. "Send a nude?"
"No," she croaked. "Like, he wants me to go to his place. Next Saturday."
Miku was silent for a minute. Then she asked, "And?"
"He sent it at three in the morning," Rin finished.
There was some rustling on Miku's end. "So?"
"That means he wants to have sex, right?"
"I don't know," Miku answered. "Probably. That's usually what people do when they're dating someone and visit each other's houses. Are you going to do it?"
Rin winced. "I… don't, er, I'm not sure. Like, I don't know if I'm ready or not. How do I know if I'm ready? Do I want this? I don't even know if I like the guy, I—"
"Rin," Miku interrupted, yet again, tone firm. "You're overthinking it too much. If you're not sure, don't do it. Len is a decent guy, apart from his performance in bed. I don't think he'd force you into doing anything you're not comfortable with."
She was right, Rin knew that. But she was still panicked over the matter. She didn't want to turn him down. For some reason, she was bothered about making him feel bad, or something.
Miku continued, "You could just ask him about his intentions. The guy is pretty frank, you know."
Rin sighed. "I know." Trust Miku to talk sense. Nevertheless, she was completely useless with this sort of thing. And Len—he was just swirling around in her head with that sly smirk and bad flirting and all.
"Is that all you wanted to ask about?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Great. Well, can I go back to sleep now?" Miku asked.
"Erm. Sure."
Miku hung up before Rin got a goodbye out.
Foolishly, she didn't respond. She didn't have the guts to respond, even though she knew she would have to face him on Friday, inevitably. He even sent a few question marks throughout the week, but she tried her best to ignore the guilty pang in her chest.
Rin wasn't ghosting him. She wasn't. She felt that maybe talking about this with him face-to-face was better, was all.
Len was already sitting in the lecture hall when she got to class that Friday. He was leaning back in his seat texting on his phone, and didn't notice her walk in the room. She skulked up to the empty chair beside him and took a seat, and that was when he looked up, surprised.
He stared at her as she unloaded her books and stationery, all the while avoiding his gaze.
"You good?" he asked, his lip curling as he tucked his phone away and planted his head in one hand.
Sucking in a breath, Rin dragged her eyes from her hands to meet his. Her heart started to pound in her chest. Uh oh. "Um," she said, her voice tiny.
"If you weren't interested, you could've just said no," he told her.
She cringed. "It's… not that." She opened up her notebook to a fresh page, smoothing out the binding. "I just… kind of wanted to talk to you about it more personally. You know. In person."
Len looked confused. "Oh."
She swallowed, not quite meeting his gaze. "So, um, maybe, if you're not busy after class, we could uh, perhaps go to a cafe or something and—"
"Sure," he said, not waiting for her to finish.
Rin let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, and sat back a little further in her chair. "Okay. Cool. Great."
He smiled something earnest, and there went her heart again.
Surely she was losing her mind. Was she falling for this absolute walking disaster of a man?
(The answer: yes. Probably.)
Regardless, she pushed back those disturbing thoughts and tried to focus on her lecture. (With much difficulty, because Len was beside her, making smart remarks about everything under his breath. And she couldn't stop herself from wanting to look at him.)
Eventually, the hour passed and they were free to leave. Together they walked out, shoulders brushing, an awkward silence.
"Which cafe?" Len asked as they stepped into mid-afternoon light.
Rin spewed the first one that came to mind: Tully's. He didn't seem opposed to the idea, so they set off towards the cafe across the road from the university campus. It was a little busy for a Friday afternoon, but they managed to find a seat in the back corner. Len offered to get their drinks. She went along with it.
When he came back and took the seat across from her, he tucked his hands under his chin and raised his eyebrows at her. "So, what's up?"
"Uhh," she said, rather intelligently. To be honest, she hadn't thought much about how to go about the topic with Len. Or anything. She was just hoping it would come naturally. But it wasn't. "Well…"
Len waited patiently.
She tried again, and just went straight to the point instead. "It's… you want to have sex on Saturday, right?"
The surrounding people fell silent, some glances their way.
Rin was already turning the shade of rhubarb, but Len was straight-faced, taking the blunt question in stride.
He rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm… yeah, well, it was sort of… expected, but not really the whole point of us meeting up. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."
His words were somewhat relieving to hear, even if they sort of confirmed her suspicions. "Oh, okay," was all she could say in response.
"So we don't have to, if you don't want to," he clarified.
Rin still wasn't sure. "Thank you."
Len grinned at her, trying to be reassuring. "Well, let's just take it easy, then. I'm willing to wait."
Her heart fluttered like she was a shoujo-romance protagonist, and she wanted to sink into the floor to never return. She hated to admit it, but he was really sweet. And cute. And oh god, she was definitely falling for him even though he was god-awful at sex.
She stared down at her latte, embarrassed, and tried to change the conversation topic. "So, um, had any other opportunities to try out anything you've learned?"
"No," he said, shrugging. "I'm not really super into the girl I went out with last weekend, so I haven't made any other plans with her or anything. It's just you I'm actively seeing right now." He winked.
Rin's face burned. "Oh. I see."
Len took a sip of his coffee. "But I'll let you know, though, if anything sudden and exciting happens. Although I doubt it. What about you, Rin? Are you seeing any other people?"
"Uh. No. To be honest, I'm not super into dating and all that stuff."
"Huh. So it's just me, then? Guess I'm lucky."
His words made her chest grow warm. She tried her best to play along with his playful tone, though. "Yeah. Well, you certainly weren't expected nor planned."
"Is that a good thing?" He smirked at her.
Rin found herself smirking back. "Maybe. I'm not quite sure yet."
Len stared, his blue eyes challenging. A part of her wanted to grab his face and kiss him on the lips. Another part knew they were in the middle of a cafe and that wasn't really socially acceptable. She just dropped her gaze to the table and tried to act on her best behaviour.
They talked a little more about random things, and eventually decided it was time to head home.
Before Len walked off in the direction of the train station, Rin cupped his head in her hands and pulled him down to her lips. They shared a brief, tender kiss. She moved her arms down to his waist and hugged him, tucking her face into the nape of his neck.
His arms folded around her. He was warm, smelt of clean laundry and deodorant. In his embrace, it felt nice. It felt really nice. And maybe, Rin thought, just maybe she could do a whole lot more of this, despite all the odds.
Len pecked her on the forehead before he left to catch his train. It left a tingling on her skin; a longing for something more.
And that brought Rin back to her usual meeting with Miku at Aeon Mall.
"So, you've fallen for him," Miku deduced with a sneer. "Miss Prude, I-Will-Not-Touch-A-Man-With-A-Ten-Foot-Pole, has fallen for Len Kagamine, an absolute wet sock in bed."
Rin sunk further into her seat, hands hiding her face. "You don't need to rub it in."
Miku snorted. "Yes I do. It's funny. It's cute. I rate it."
"Well, I'm glad you do," she muttered into her hands. She parted her fingers to see her friend's amused expression, then snapped them together again and groaned. "I'm scared, Miku. I've never had a serious relationship before. Plus, what happens if he doesn't feel the same? I didn't sign up for heartbreak."
"You'll get over it. Everyone does."
Rin wheezed. "Will I?"
Miku just rolled her eyes. "Stop thinking about the negatives. You two might get it on really well. Heck, I might even end up going to your wedding within the next year."
"Wedding," Rin spluttered, ears burning. "I don't want to think that far ahead yet."
"Okay, well, think about the near future, then. Are you going to have sex with him?"
It was silent for a while. Eventually, Rin swallowed and said down to the table, "Yes. Probably."
It was hard for her to come to terms with this, really. She had thought about it a lot within the past 48-or-so hours. Sex wasn't a problem—she knew she would do it one day, and she'd never been bothered by that initially.
But all of a sudden, Len came into the picture. And it was her first time. And there she was, telling him how to do it even though she, herself, had never done it once before.
Well, she had plenty of experience with herself, but that wasn't the same.
So shame her for being a little—well, a lot—uncertain about it all. She was also just very nervous about a very cute guy seeing her in the nude. No one (besides her parents, probably) had seen her naked before.
What happened if she looked funny, you know?
But Rin knew she was overthinking it. That it would probably be fine. And yet.
Yet.
Miku just smirked at her over the table. "There it is."
Rin could only groan, "Miku."
"I know you well enough to know you're probably dying inside about this," Miku continued. She reached for her melon soda on the table between them and took a gulp. "But you will be fine, alright? You've got this. Just don't forget to make Len wear a condom, unless you really want to be stuck with him for life."
The added thought of pregnancy made Rin want to pass out in her chair. She just pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. "Please don't make me think about that."
"If you want to be a responsible adult, Rinnie, you have to."
"I know, but it's not exactly comforting to hear right now."
Miku gave her a gentle look. "Hey," she said. Rin lowered her hands to meet her gaze. "You'll be fine. Trust me. As much as he sucks at giving orgasms, Len's a nice guy. You're in good hands."
It didn't do much to ease her nerves, but it was something. Rin forced herself to smile. "Thanks, Miku."
Not much happened in the following weeks.
Rin saw Len in her lectures and most times they'd hang out after class, and occasionally make out a little behind a wall or something. She didn't know how to ask about their relationship. Or anything, really.
But even if she felt an inkling of doubt, the way he would tuck her hair behind her ears and press a kiss to her temple made her think, somewhat, that this was something.
Then the question came one afternoon, while they were hanging out in the arcade after class.
"You want to stay over mine tonight, Rin?"
It was so unexpected her head shot up like a deer under headlights. She blinked at him.
He immediately backtracked, noticing her startled expression. "I mean, just to hang out. Watch a movie and get take out or something. We don't have to do anything else if you don't want to."
Right. Rin swallowed. It wasn't really that—it wasn't that she didn't want to sleep with him. Because of course she did. Several nights this week spent being sexually frustrated with a dildo told her that enough. But she wasn't really mentally prepared for it at all.
A voice in her head asked, Are you ever going to be mentally prepared, Rin?
No. She probably wasn't.
So she said with a smile, "Yeah. Sure. That sounds great, Len."
Len seemed to relax, a dopey grin washing over his features. "Yay!" He slung an arm around her shoulders and brushed his lips up against her forehead.
"But I don't have any change of clothes," Rin pointed out when he pulled away. She was going to suggest she run home to grab her things, but he waved a hand dismissively.
"You can just wear mine."
Rin blinked. Wear Len's clothes? Well… sure. "Okay."
So after a few more rounds at the arcade, they headed straight to his place.
He lived in an apartment block about thirty minutes away via train, on the fourth floor. His apartment wasn't very big, but she couldn't say much because hers was exactly the same. It wasn't squeaky clean, either, but it was in a better state than her own, probably.
As she cast a look at his bed—his bedroom was connected to the living room—she couldn't help but let her mind wander. How many girls had he brought home to romp on that mattress and simply disappoint them? Judging by his track record, countless.
And maybe she'd just be another number.
Oops.
Trying to push that thought to the back of her mind, she noticed her collection of The Books stacked on his coffee table in the middle of the living room. "You've been studying hard?" she guessed, sort of jokingly, while he was unpacking his bag.
Len snorted. "I finished them all a while ago. I've been meaning to give them back to you."
"Please keep them." The words slipped out before she could control herself.
He grinned, shaking his head. "I don't want them."
"Me neither."
They both eyed the pile like it was a box of scorpions.
Eventually, they settled down on the couch and decided on a movie to watch. They went with some classic, lovey-dovey romance movie. After putting the movie on, they ordered Gusto delivery for dinner. It was mostly just that; them cuddling on the couch and sharing a tray of soggy fries between them.
It was nice though.
Once the movie finished, Len went to clean up. "You can go shower first, if you want," he said, nodding at the bathroom. Then he hesitated, a sort of mischievous glint to his eyes. "Or, if you want to join me… you can wait."
Rin stared, getting the connotation but trying to imagine how they would comfortably have sex in his tiny bathroom. She'd looked at the size of his shower-and-tub-combo when using the toilet, and it certainly didn't leave much to be desired.
"How on Earth would we have sex in your shower?" she asked, genuinely curious.
He seemed taken aback by the question at first, before shrugging. "I mean, I've done it before. We just have to be a bit flexible with the positions… besides, haven't you ever had shower sex before, Rin?"
The way he asked the question was like he'd made the assumption that every adult his age had fromped in a bathroom before—and perhaps that was close to accurate—except that Rin was, of course, not every adult.
She swallowed. Maybe it was time to be kind of honest about it. They'd been dating for at least a month, at this stage. They were probably going to have sex tonight, providing she didn't chicken out. It was something that needed to be discussed, otherwise things could get mighty awkward (and strange) in the bedroom.
"Actually, I haven't," she admitted to her knees.
Len's head bobbed up from the kitchen, before he looked down again. "Really? How many partners have you had?" He paused, then added, "If you don't mind answering. I'm just curious."
Rin reached up to scratch at a patch of dry skin on her scalp and took a steady breath. "Not including the five minutes I went out with a boy in junior high school…" she said, "… none."
It was silent for a moment, before he went, "Huh?"
"I haven't actually had any partners, Len," she repeated, blood pooling to her cheeks.
He walked over to stop in front of her, a kitchen towel in his hands. "Wait." His eyes were as wide as saucers. She was too humiliated to meet his gaze. "You're telling me I'm your first?"
Rin put her hands up to her cheeks. "Yeah."
Len just stared. "Oh."
"It's embarrassing," she said.
Much to her surprise, he just tilted his head, confused. "Embarrassing? Why?"
She sighed. "Well, you know," she mumbled, gesturing something incomprehensible. "Here I am, giving you advice on how to get off a girl like I'm so high and mighty and experienced, when I've never slept with anyone in my life."
"Ah." Len twisted the towel around his wrist, sinking down onto the couch beside her. "So you… this is really your first, Rin." He turned his head to look her directly in the eyes, expression solemn. There was a red hue to his cheeks, too.
Rin just nodded, averting her gaze.
"I feel bad," he said. "I could've made this easier for you if I knew."
"No." She closed her eyes, reaching up to brush her fingers back through her hair. "It's fine. You're fine, really. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It's stupid. But… just. You know. If we do anything, I'm probably going to be pretty clueless and shit at it."
He chuckled a little. "Huh. I guess I'm a little shocked. Not in a bad way. I thought you'd be the one telling me what to do, but… maybe I'll be the teacher in bed, and you my naughty student."
Her eyes popped open just in time to catch his wink, and she screwed up her face, any semblance of embarrassment leaving no trace. "Ew," she said. "No thanks."
Len leaned in to steal a kiss, before jumping up off the chair, laughing. "Roleplay isn't your thing?" he asked over his shoulder, hanging the towel back up in the kitchen. "I'm disappointed. You would look cute in a school uniform."
She scowled. "And you would look cute in a jail cell."
"Ouch."
Rin ignored his pout and stood. "Anyway, uh, can I borrow something to wear as pyjamas?"
He blinked, as if it only just occurred to him she had no clothes, despite their earlier conversation. "Oh, right. Second drawer in the wardrobe in my room. Grab what you want. I'll get you a towel."
She went to that exact spot and dug through his messy pyjama drawer. Eventually, she found a loose t-shirt that sufficed as a makeshift nightdress. It was grey, with a faded print of some American sports team she'd never heard of.
When she emerged from his room, he appeared with some towels to offload into her arms. Then he reached out to ruffle the top of her hair. "Don't fall in," he told her with a grin, before disappearing into his bedroom.
She floated off to the bathroom to stare pensively at the cream-coloured walls for ten minutes.
When Rin emerged clean and brand new, with too much of her legs exposed for comfort, Len was lounging on the couch playing a video game on his Switch. His face lit up when he spotted her, before his eyes dropped below the hem of the t-shirt, which she'd overestimated the length of.
"Cute," he said, sitting up. She flushed. He stood from the couch and dropped the Switch into her hands. "You can play something if you want. Let's have a round of Mario Kart or two before we sleep."
He gave a smile, before he brushed past into the bathroom.
Of course, she couldn't really bring herself to play any games while he showered. Instead, she sat on the couch and texted (aka, panicked at) Miku.
How's it going so far?
I told him about the fact that I'm basically a virgin. He's having a shower rn.
Well, how'd he react?
To be honest, better than I was expecting.
Why would he react poorly to it? He probably thinks he's lucky. Idk, something about being able to take a girl's virginity seems to excite some guys.
Yikes.
It's a thing. Anyway, are you going to do it?
Rin hesitated on her response, although she'd already made her decision.
Yes. Providing he wants to have sex with me.
Oh, trust me. He will.
Miku's response was ominous as hell, but before she could get to questioning it, Len emerged from the shower.
Shirtless.
He was shirtless, she meant.
And he had his towel wrapped around his waist.
And his hair was dripping wet.
Rin almost dropped her phone, but managed to force some degree of nonchalance by giving him a nod of acknowledgement and sinking back into the lounge. She couldn't keep her eyes away from his naked torso as he walked to his room to change, though.
Was it hot in here, or was it just her?
He returned, clothed this time, to join her, and smelling fresh of his shampoo and deodorant. His body was warm as he snuggled up beside her, taking the untouched Switch off her lap.
"Not interested?" he asked.
She put her phone on Do Not Disturb (right in front of his face) and slid it onto the coffee table, turning to look at him. "Hmm," was the best she could deliver without throwing up on his chest.
Len cocked an eyebrow. "You were texting Miku?"
"Well, yeah," Rin croaked. "She's my friend."
"I know," he said, smiling. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. "What, is she telling you my dick is small?"
She snorted. "No. She's being pretty nice about you, actually. You should feel lucky."
"I should?" His tone was teasing.
"Yeah. Anyway, Len, like I said, I care about the performance, not the size. Are you really that insecure about yourself?"
He was quiet, like he was thinking. "I guess, I dunno. I know I'm not very big. Girls have said that before."
A part of her sympathised with him a little, and she tilted her head up to stare at his face. He didn't look visibly upset or anything, but she wondered how much it had bothered him. Probably a lot.
"Well, I don't have much going for me neither body-wise, so I guess we're even," she joked.
He glanced down at her, eyebrows furrowing. "What? You're really cute. Pretty. Beautiful. Actually, I think the best word would be gorgeous."
"Oh, shut up." She lightly tapped his thigh.
Len sat upright. "I'm serious. When I first saw you in class, I thought you were really cute. I just didn't have the guts to talk to you. Of course, I met you officially when I was dating Miku, so I didn't do or say anything at the time—but I wouldn't just pursue anyone. I'm not that desperate. I hope."
Rin face was growing warm, and she couldn't help but smile. "You're pathetic," she said. He pulled a face. "But you're the first person to make me feel this nervous."
"You're nervous?" he asked, a worried expression.
She shrugged. "I am," she admitted. "But I would feel a lot less nervous with your lips on mine."
It was sly. She felt pretty foolish after saying it. But the way his face lit up after that made her heart buzz with excitement. "Are you saying I should kiss you, Rin Kagamine?"
"Yes, Len. I'm saying you should kiss me."
So he did.
It was soft and gentle and careful, like he was calculating every move. His lips dipped against hers and his hand slid up her back to sit at the base of her head, like a cradle. She lifted her arms to wrap around his shoulders and pull him down with her as she fell back against the seat cushions.
His other hand ran up her side and down again, pressing in the dip of her waist and holding her there. Gradually, he moved away from her mouth and down her jaw, to her throat, to the nape of her neck. His kisses were hot and ticklish, eliciting a sound from her mouth she'd never made in front of anyone before.
Rin's eyes flung open and she clamped her mouth shut, embarrassed. Len lifted his gaze to meet hers, his lips curving into a grin.
"Did that feel good?"
She swallowed and nodded. "Yeah," she breathed. "It felt really good."
So he went in for the kill again. And it was pure heaven and hell. She writhed under his lips and gasped, a sensation of hot fireworks exploding underneath the surface of her skin.
Eventually he moved back to her mouth; this time, allowing his hands to roam. They fluttered down her sides, over her hips, her stomach. His fingers bunched up the fabric of her shirt—his shirt—gently lifting it up over her lower body, exposing her stomach and below.
He ran his fingers over the tops of her thighs, dusting over her hip bones, over soft skin. They continued travelling north, hitting her ribs, tracing in the dips between each bone. Her heart began to thrum hard in her chest, knowing exactly where he was going.
But she wanted it.
After his hands mapped out every part of her body, after his fingers dipped between her legs and made the pit of her stomach sizzle slick with sparks, they moved on to the bedroom.
It was awkward at first, but Rin knew enough to expect that. Yanking off their clothes and throwing them aside, she settled on his hips and straddled his abdomen, planting her hands on his shoulders.
Len stared up at her, a red glow to his cheeks. "What?" he said, sensing her uncertainty.
She took a breath, trying to steady the nervous pounding of her heart. "This is my first time, you know, so… I need you to tell me if it doesn't feel good."
An understanding look washed over him, and he swallowed, nodding. "Of course, love."
Her heart swam and she leaned forward to press a chaste kiss against his mouth, before scooting down his body and getting to work.
Rin woke the next morning to the sound of the shower running, and for a moment, she was disoriented, lying naked in a bed that wasn't hers. Eventually it sunk in, and she rolled over, seeing that Len's side was empty.
For her first time, it wasn't bad. Of course there were moments that felt a little weird, awkward, or embarrassing, but overall, it seemed to go okay, despite the name Len had built up for himself.
He was gentle and loving, and cared about her comfort enough that she ended up having to tell him to stop asking her every five minutes how she felt, or if it felt good.
She wondered if he enjoyed it, though. She did accidentally use her teeth on his dick at first (earning a yelp of surprise, possibly even pain, from the guy).
She pushed herself out of bed, her body feeling a little odd, and almost tripped over the used condom discarded on the floor. Paranoid, she checked it for tears, before pulling on the shirt that she had borrowed and dropping the condom in the garbage.
Then she checked her phone. There were three messages from Miku.
Did you two bonk yet?
How was it?
Don't tell me he murdered you and sold your organs on the black market.
She snorted at the last message, sent about half an hour ago, and typed a curt reply.
Mission accomplished.
Then she dropped her phone into her bag, just in time for Len to emerge from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.
His face broke into a bright smile when he saw her. "Good morning. How are you feeling?" He stepped up to kiss her temple, hand grazing her hip.
She leaned into him. "Tired. Violated. But not pregnant."
Len pulled away with a look of concern. "I hope those are good things?"
"Definitely good," she said with a smile, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning in to smell clean skin.
He relaxed into her embrace. "Okay."
"Up for round two?" she joked into his ear, and he groaned.
"I just took a shower, Rin."
Rin stepped back to grin at him, and gave him a rough pat on the shoulder. "I was kidding. Unless…"
Len lifted a finger to poke at her nose, his lips curving into a smirk. "If you jump in the shower now, I might change my mind."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" She stepped past in the direction of the bathroom, lifting up her shirt to tease him. "Well, I'm not really sure how it's going to work in your pint-sized shower, but…"
He rolled his eyes, ears turning red, and reached out to grab her by the shoulders from behind. He began steering her towards the bathroom door. "I guess I'll have to show you, then," he murmured into her ear, and that familiar hot buzz returned to the pit of her stomach.
She reached up to pull his hands down to her chest, tilting her head back to meet his lips as they entered the bathroom, the door closing behind them.
[fin]
"You know, Rin, there's something different about you," Miku said, placing a fry into her mouth.
It was the following week, and yet another regular meetup at Aeon Mall.
"Really?" Rin said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "How so?"
Miku smirked. "I don't know…" She sighed dramatically, gesturing something incomprehensible in the air. "It's kind of like, you fucked Len five times or something ridiculous over the weekend."
Rin paused, putting two and two together. That son of a bitch. He messaged Miku, didn't he? She cleared her throat, wiping her fingers on a napkin. "So we did."
"On a scale of profoundly disappointing to surprisingly good, how was it?"
She took a sip of her grape fanta. "Actually not bad," she said.
Miku nodded as she digested Rin's answer, a pleased expression. "So, you managed to train your dog."
"That's a weird euphuism, Miku, but I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Rin responded, reaching for another fry. "But yeah, turned out all those puberty books did him good."
"And you're a thing now?"
"Yeah. We're a 'thing', now."
Miku sat back, a shit-eating grin on her face. "And you survived it all."
Rin eyed her. "I did. Surprisingly."
A moment of silence passed between them, before Miku asked, "So when's the wedding?"
She didn't quite dodge the french fry missile launched across the table at her.
so well okay i tried writing smut but that didn't work out because i'm baby, apparently, and my grannie heart cant take writing about two consenting adults frolicking in the sheets in greater detail. instead i had to be vague about it, but yeah, they fuckin railed each other okay?
also this was originally a twoshot on ao3, because my brain went (monkey sounds) halfway through and i needed the validation xoxoxo i just decided to combine it here because im lazy and i want everyone to suffer thru 12k words of horny garbage.