…
Rin walked into the school's aquatic centre, the familiar smell of chlorine assaulting his nose. He cringed slightly at how busy it was, really he'd been hoping he could have swam without all these first and second years gushing over him.
Not that he wanted to brag but he knew he was a pretty good swimmer, he wasn't on the school team through choice not because he wouldn't make it. But he'd never bothered to try, didn't want to seem too keen.
He did a quick scan of the crowd, still debating whether he would stay or go. So far he had captured much attention, but the one person he wanted had noticed him. Ai had stopped listening to Seijuro and had his gaze fixed on Rin. His blue eyes followed him around the pool, sparkling as he unzipped his jacket to reveal his chest.
Seijuro finally noticed he was talking to vacant lot and glanced over his shoulder to investigate. He offered Rin a small smile and a wave, the arrogant prick. Did he really think he was that much better than him that Rin posed no threat to his and Ai's current relationship? He'd prove him wrong, he'd have Ai back by the end of his first lap.
"Here to try out?" Seijuro's voice boomed across the pool, Ai flinching slightly at the volume.
"No, just here to practise," He shook his head.
"Well, you know where I am if you change your mind." He laughed.
Rin childishly rolled his eyes when Seijuro turned back to Ai, stealing the small boy's attention once again. He decided he let the older boy have his moment, let him win for now because once he got in the water he'd get Ai.
He sauntered to the edge of the pool, purposely making a show of stretching. He pulled his arms back, chest pressed forward like a peacock proudly displaying his feathers. He could see Ai watching him out the corner of his eye, still trying to resist blatantly staring.
Rin had to suppress a grin, Ai could try and fight their attraction but soon he'd be begging for him back.
…
Rin burst through the water with a gasp, his heart beating in double time. He knew he had overdone it but he was trying to prove a point. He was better than these dime a dozen swimmers, he had real talent and didn't need to join some little swim team to better himself.
And he knew he'd successfully shown he was better but Ai was still stubbornly refusing to look his way. As if he hadn't been remotely impressed by his performance. And it had all been for Ai, he couldn't care less what the rest of the gathering thought of him.
Despite his blatant fatigue, Rin ignored his screaming muscles and lapped the pool again. He knew he shouldn't, he should just admit defeat before his body gave up but he just couldn't. Ai's words where still buzzing around in his head, he was doing something with his life, he was more than just a deadbeat.
It was a reputation he always wanted to shake, it's what his Dad had been referred to all his life. By his Mum, by his Grandmother. He never wanted to get that stigma just because of his background.
When he'd finished his final lap he saw that Ai had finally turned to look at him, chewing his lip slightly. He was obviously impressed by Rin's last burst of power, showing off his stamina.
He decided now was time to exit the pool but as he tried to push himself out his arms crumpled under his weight.
"Shit." He muttered to himself, feeling like jelly.
He tried again only to have the same results, he knew he should have stopped at the last lap.
"Rin!" Ai gasped, rushing away from Seijuro and towards the boy ungracefully flopping out the pool.
"I'm fine." Rin tried to smile as Ai dropped to his knees besides him.
"You sure?" He frowned, nervously eyes raking over Rin's body for obvious injury.
"Just over worked myself is all." He reassured with a wink.
"Not sure why I care." Ai sighed. "After the way you treated me."
"I'm sorry about that." He apologised. "I tried to explain…"
"Yeah, it wasn't you. I heard." Ai snapped.
"Ai, please." He pleaded.
"Look, I just wanted to check you weren't dying. Now I'm satisfied you won't keel over I'm going back to Seijuro." He pointed, the captain watching them very closely.
"Join my team." Rin shouted as Ai stood up again.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"Me and the guys we have a team." He explained, scrambling to his feet and thanking his lucky stars his knees didn't buckle. "But we need a fourth, I know breast is your stroke. I saw you lap the pools every morning on holiday."
"What about the rest of your team?" Ai rose an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Will they want me to join?"
"Who cares what they think? I want you there." He said, taking a risk and grabbing Ai's hand. His heart soaring when the touch wasn't brushed off.
"You cared what they thought the other night." He challenged.
"Look, you took me by surprise that's all. That's why I said what I said, not because I meant it. I just wasn't thinking straight." He promised, and the way Ai chewed his lip he knew the other boy was caving.
"What about Seijuro? I can't just ditch him." Ai said, no real conviction in his denial.
"He's got plenty of other boys to work with." He smirked, throwing a small wave in Seijuro's direction who awkwardly returned the gesture.
"Fine." Ai laughed, pushing his hand down and letting Rin lead him out the pool with an arm around his shoulders.
…
Rin froze when he looked into the café, all his and Ai's friends congregating besides the jukebox. Nagisa forcing Rei to dance with him, Momo making a fool of himself while Sousuke watched in embarrassment, Haru stood to the side just waiting and finally Makoto tapping his foot and wishing he had someone to dance with, completely unaware he had a willing participant beside him.
"Hey, shall we go somewhere else?" Rin asked, pulling Ai back slightly by his hand.
"Why?" Ai asked.
"We can't be alone here." He shrugged.
"We've been alone all afternoon." He laughed, ignoring Rin's protests and dragging him inside anyway.
In what he hoped was a subtle action, he pulled Ai through the crowds, keeping his head down to avoid catching his friends eyes. He wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to be seen, he meant it when he said he wasn't embarrassed by Ai but he wasn't ready for his friends to tear their relationship apart just yet.
He knew if he told them to stop they would straight away but he'd still know what was in their minds, how they really felt about his relationship with the strange boy.
"You almost pulled my hand out the socket." Ai scolded with a laugh.
"I didn't want to miss this table." Rin shrugged, creating a make shift fort out of the menus.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He frowned, eyeing up the strange barrier that Rin was ducking behind.
"Yeah." He nodded, reaching out and holding Ai's hand. "Thought we might need a little privacy."
"Really?" Ai grinned, leaning towards the hunched boy. "And whys that?"
"Up to you." He whispered, moving even closer to Ai so that their lips almost touched. "What did you have in mind?"
Ai was never given the chance to respond because they menus were pulled apart by an exuberant red head who announced his arrival with a burp.
"Momo." Rin groaned, leaning back in his chair.
"You're a pig." Sousuke complained, hitting his boyfriend on the back of his head.
"He loves it really." He winked in Ai's direction.
"Keep believing that." Sousuke rolled his eyes, Rin watching in horror as he grabbed two spare chairs and pulled them up to their table.
"Ai!" Nagisa squealed, running towards his friend and grabbing him in a tight hug – as if he hadn't seen him mere hours ago at school.
"Hi." Ai giggled, returning the embrace. "Nice hat."
"Thank you." He smiled, it was a strangely large and floppy hat and on anyone else it would look ridiculous but it complimented his soft features. "Rin." He greeted coldly.
"Hello." Rin awkwardly replying, obviously he hasn't forgiven Rin's early indiscretions with Ai.
"It's fine." Ai reassured, lightly reaching up to touch Nagisa's wrist.
Suddenly the blondes face changed, his scowl quickly replaced by a smile. As if Ai's approval was all he really needed.
"Rei-chan, move that table over." He instructed.
"Oh, that's not necessary." Rin shook his head, his once intimate date was quickly becoming a group one.
"It's fine." Nagisa smiled, gesturing to Sumire the waitress that they had moved tables.
"Hi Makoto, how are you?" Ai asked as the final couple came to complete the group.
"Peachy keen, jelly bean." He smiled, sitting in the last spare chair and not even batting an eyelid when Haru dropped down into his lap. It was strange to Ai, he was sure Nagisa had told him they were just friends but their current position with Makoto's arms around Haru's waist they looked every bit a couple.
Rin nervously tapped his foot but it seemed nobody was even remotely bothered that he was here with Ai. His friends who had judged the boy so harshly before were happily chatting to him as if he'd always been a part of their lives. He knew it should make him happy but he still felt on edge, waiting for the atmosphere to change.
"Enjoy." Sumire said, putting enough food on the table to feed thousands rather than eight teenagers.
"Yum!" Nagisa exclaimed, helping himself to more than his share. "Makoto, you not having any?"
"I've got no money." Makoto shook his head, the only person who hadn't had anything. "I don't know where it always disappears to."
"Nagisa can pay." Rei smirked. "He's a working guy after all."
"Yeah, well they don't pay that much to start with." He stuttered.
"Once you build up a client base it will get better for you." Sousuke encouraged, grabbing the napkin dispenser off the table and using it as a make shift mirror.
"Do you want to be my first client? I've got some great foundation that will hide those hickeys for you." Nagisa winked.
"A new boyfriend would be better." He teased, poking at his neck.
"You weren't complaining last night." Momo blew him a kiss, getting only a rolling of eyes in response.
"I really should get going." Makoto complained, tapping Haru lightly on his hip.
"Why?" Haru asked, popping a chip in his mouth.
"Got a big test tomorrow, need to revise." He explained, glancing out the window and biting his lip at the sight of the dark street.
"Okay, I'll walk you home." Haru offered, easily reading his friends reluctance.
"Thanks." He whispered softly so that nobody else heard him. The pair said their goodbyes and slipped out the café, holding hands and further confusing Ai but nobody else seemed to bat an eyelid.
"I need to head out too." Rei commented, standing tall. "You coming Nagisa?"
The blonde shook his head, knowing exactly what Rei was suggesting and he just wasn't in the mood. Usually he'd jump at the chance to spend time alone with his boyfriend but with everything that was going on at the moment intimacy was the farthest thing from his mind.
"No, I think I'll hang out here for a while." He smiled.
"Suit yourself." Rei shrugged, leaning down to kiss him goodbye. Nagisa eagerly returned the kiss, slipping his hands around his neck until his fingers were gently resting in his hair.
"I love you." Nagisa whispered against his lips.
"I know." Rei smirked, untangling himself from the embrace and swiftly leaving. If anyone else noticed the blatant brush off they chose not to mention it.
"Well, more food for us then." Momo smiled, swiftly changing the subject.
Eagerly, he reached out for a burger and took a large, noisy bite out of it. Sousuke groaned as the contents spilled out the other side in a messy, mayonnaise heap. Luckily missing the red heads shirt completely.
"I literally cannot take you anywhere." Sousuke complained.
"Not my fault they put too much filling in them." He shrugged, eating the food off the table and causing Sousuke to twitch in annoyance.
"Come on Ai, let's head out." Rin said, sensing an argument about to start.
"Oh, okay." Ai nodded as Rin pulled him from his seat, barely having time to offer a wave to his friends as he was dragged out. Nagisa watched them leave with a frown, not wanting to be left alone with the couple who were clearly close to the edge.
"It's not just the eating. It's the burping, it's your loud voice, it's your total disregard for anyone in a fifty-mile radius of your obnoxious behaviour." Sousuke listed.
"Why are you always on my case recently?" Momo frowned. "It's like I can't even sneeze with you breathing down my neck."
"I can't help that you're irritating." He complained.
"If I'm so irritating why are we even bothering with this relationship?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "If I knew you'd be this high maintenance I wouldn't have dated you in the first place."
"Excuse me?" Sousuke hissed. "I did you a favour."
"How? Because I was the only guy in school you hadn't slept with yet?" He sneered.
Sousuke growled, he knew his next action was childish but at this point he was beyond caring. He had a reputation but he never expected his own boyfriend to use it against him. He grabbed a milkshake off the table and threw the contents in Momo's face, accidentally getting some on Nagisa.
"But you are the first idiot I've dumped covered in milkshake." He smirked, feeling far too satisfied as the drink dripped off Momo's chin. "Sorry Nagisa."
"It's fine." He mumbled, grabbing a napkin and cleaning himself as Sousuke stalked out of the café.
"Sousuke!" Momo shouted after his retreating form. "I need to talk to you now!" Nagisa watched as the wet boy ran after Sousuke, barely caring about the sticky trail he was leaving behind.
The blonde looked around the table with a heavy heart, he was left all on his own with the bill and no money. He dropped forward onto his arms and sobbed, Sumire quickly running over to him.
"No use crying over spilled milkshake." She tried to joke.
"It's not that." Nagisa sniffed, lifting his head up and pulling his now tacky hat off his head. Sumire had to resist the gasp that bubbled up her throat, Nagisa's once beautiful hair was covered in different shades of pinks and purples.
"If you don't mind me saying, your hair looks like an Easter egg." She told him.
"I had a little trouble I tinting class." He admitted. "In fact, I'm having a little trouble in my classes. Iwatobi sure isn't what I'd thought it would be."
"Nothing ever is." She sighed, grabbing the mop and cleaning up the mess.
"Sumire? I dropped out." He whispered.
"Oh." She replied, unsure how to respond.
"I just… I don't know what to do anymore. I couldn't do beauty and that's all I had." Nagisa cried, tears filling his eyes once again.
"That's not true." She shook her head.
"Well what else can I do?" He asked whipping his eyes with the back of his hands.
"You're asking the wrong girl." She bit her lip. "I dropped out of high school and now I'm stuck as a waitress, don't make the same mistake I did."
"I wish someone who could tell me what to do. Like a guardian angel!" He snapped his fingers.
"I'm afraid life doesn't work that way." Sumire laughed. "Don't you have a friend who could help you?"
"Not really, they have their own problems." He pouted. Sousuke would still be having it out with Momo, Makoto would probably be trying to politely decline Haru's offer of going back to his place and Ai was off doing god knows what with Rin. He was alone.
"What about that nice boyfriend of yours?" She prompted.
"Rei?" He snorted. "He wouldn't be of much use."
"You never know unless you try." She shrugged.
Nagisa bit his lip slightly, as much as he hated to admit it he knew his relationship with Rei was purely physical. Any sharing of problems or asking for advice could potentially ruin things. Or it could be just the push Rei needed to get more serious.
He pulled his phone out his pocket and furiously texted Rei, requesting his presence immediately at the park. He knew all the winking emojis he added would be enough to get Rei there, shame he's going to be disappointed.
"Listen Sumire, about all this food…" He trailed off, he'd have to offer to pay in instalments.
"It's on the house." She winked. "But only this once."
"Thanks." He grinned, rushing out the café and leaving his stained hat on the floor.
…
"Didn't strike me as the public space kind of guy." Rei joked as he walked up to Nagisa and sat beside him on a bench. Nagisa was glad it was dark out because Rei didn't seem to notice his bizarre dye job.
"That's not why I invited you here." He reluctantly admitted.
"Then why?" He frowned, a little annoyed that he'd got redressed only to be denied a little action.
"I wanted to talk." Nagisa said, trying to sound confident.
"Why didn't you text me then?" He asked.
"It's more of a face to face thing."
"Okay. What's on your mind?" He sighed, sounding as if he was only humouring Nagisa.
Nagisa bit his lip as he tried to find the words, did he even want to talk to Rei about this? It was obvious he didn't really care about his life so why should he care when it was in turmoil? But he would have to care, they were together and whether Rei liked it or not that meant sharing their burdens.
"I dropped out of Iwatobi." He said into the silent park. "I know it was stupid, my future is unclear now and there's nothing left of my career. And worst of all I can't even get a trade in on my smock!"
The joke fell flat as Rei just stared at him, unsure how to process this new information.
"You dropped out?" Rei echoed. "You're a beauty school dropout?"
"Yes." He frowned, this wasn't exactly the helpful advice he was expecting.
"But that means you won't graduate, you've already missed your midterms and flunked shampoo. What are you going to do?" He questioned.
"I don't know." Nagisa whined, dropping his head onto Rei's shoulder and letting the tears fall. "I screwed up and need some help."
"Don't worry baby, we'll get you moving." He reassured, pressing a kiss onto his forehead and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"How? It's hopeless." He sobbed.
"No it's not." He shook his head. "The beauty dream isn't alive anymore but it isn't hopeless. You could go for your diploma, turn in your comb and go back to high school."
"Rei-chan, I can't. I already made a big deal out of leaving, I can't go back with my tail between my legs." Nagisa shuddered at the very idea. "I'm just going to have to try harder with beauty."
"Right, it's time you knew the score. Beauty is not your skill, they couldn't teach you anything because you're already such a looker. But you're very heavy handed and no costumer would go to you unless she was a hooker." He bit his lip, hoping he hadn't tipped Nagisa over the edge with the truth.
"Rei-chan!" He shouted, scandalised but smiling all the same.
"Baby, don't sweat it you're just not cut out to hold a job. It would be better to forget it. Go back to high school." He encouraged, with the right drive Rei knew Nagisa could handle high school, he just lacked confidence.
"I'm not sure." He bit his lip. "What if I mess up again?"
"Baby, I'll make sure you don't blow it." He smiled, giving his boyfriend a squeeze. "Don't put my good advice to shame, you know all your friends would say the same. Go back to high school."
"Go back to high school?" Nagisa echoed.
"Yeah." He nodded. "You can do it."
"Thank you, Rei-chan.," He grinned, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss on his lips. "I really do love you."
"I know you do." Rei replied, kissing him again.
It may have been the same brush off as earlier but Nagisa still felt like they had taken a step in the right direction, Rei had been there for him when he'd needed him the most. He may not be the perfect boyfriend but he was getting there.
Rei pulled back from the kiss and hugged Nagisa close, resting his mouth beside the other boy's ear. He whispered so softly that Nagisa wouldn't have heard him if the park hadn't been so eerily still and quiet.
"I think I might love you too."
Nagisa grinned widely and squeezed his boyfriend tightly. He may not want to admit the truth loudly and in front of others but as long as he told Nagisa then that was all he needed.
"Right." Rei coughed awkwardly. "I should probably walk you home."
"Actually." Nagisa pulled away and bit his lip. "I think I'd much rather go to your place."
"Would you now?" He smirked, letting his hands drop to stroke his soft hips.
"Yeah, think you deserve a treat for helping me today." He licked his lips.
"Well I have been a particularly good boy recently." He teased, kissing those tantalising lips.
Rei may still feel more comfortable with the physical side of their relationship but Nagisa would let it slide for now, the emotional part would come in time. And after tonight and Rei's confession he would always know it wasn't just sex between them anymore, it was making love.
…