Chapter 14

They had ended up spending the night on the island – much to Kou's frustration. Rin refused to come back and the others were too tired and hungry to persuade him otherwise. So the group had camped with the other families. They had eaten the fish that Rin and the others had caught – Haruka the only one who seemed happy about this – then they had borrowed a spare tent from the tourists and along with Rin's tent, managed to fit themselves in and fall asleep. Kou had refused to share a tent with Nitori and Nagisa. She said she'd rather sleep with the women from the tourist families than with a bunch of boys. Which she had done, giving the boys more room to themselves in the cramped tents.

Morning had come, followed by seven teenagers in varying degrees of foul moods – the foulest of them belonging to Kou and Rin – and the ones who seems least bothered were Nagisa and Mikoshiba who were full of energy. And that pissed the siblings off even more. They just scowled the entire time and refused to talk. Rin decided to come back, if only to get Kou to shut up, the girl not caring one bit what his reason was as long as they could leave that godforsaken island. And so they headed back in the two boats, Rin speeding ahead while Haruka and the rest followed behind. The second they had docked, Rin had gone to ask the beach authorities to spare him a truck so he could take the two boats back home. It had taken awhile to make all the arrangements, but finally everyone was sitting in the Matsuoka's living room - the two boats safely tucked away in the garage along with everything Rin had 'borrowed' – and a heavy silence hung over the room. Kou sent a mental thanks to their mother for postponing her return home. Rin wasn't half as happy about it.

"Alright then, how about I make you guys something to eat. Oh and Nagisa kun there's a bunch of handsets in the cupboard where the PS3 is, so feel free to use them." That visibly lightened the mood, as Nagisa, Nitori, Mikoshiba and Rei played on the PS3. Rin never uttered a word but just silently sat sulking at the dining table, opposite Haruka. Kou whipped up some snacks and gave them to the playing boys in the living room who were shouting and swearing and having the time of their lives.

"Why the fuck are those dopes in our house, playing with our PS3, eating our food and acting like they own the place?"

"Shut up Onii chan."

And that was the end of any chance for conversation between the trio. After eating whatever Kou put in front of him, if only to placate his sister and not from hunger, Rin stood up and wandered off to his room. Kou turned and looked at Haruka. A silent communication passed between them and Haruka stood and followed Rin. Kou sighed and sat down at the table. She watched the boys in her living room for a time and then picked up her phone. She typed a simple text and sent it to Makoto- 'Hello Makoto san, how are you doing? I'm sorry we didn't come visit yesterday. We had gone.. treasure hunting. It was quite an experience. I hope you're doing fine. I'll make sure to come and visit today. Love, Kou.' Kou stared at the text and wondered if maybe she shouldn't have typed 'love'. Shrugging, she flipped the phone shut. How much damage could it do anyway? The redhead jumped when she got an immediate reply. Fumbling with the device, she flipped it open and scrolled through the message- 'Hi Kou chan! Yeah, I was quite disappointed that no one visited yesterday but I'm perfectly fine now! My family had been in and out the whole day so I wasn't lonely. Waiting for your visit~ :D Lots of love, Makoto.'

Kou stared at the smileys and then at the 'love' and found her face turning hot. She shook her head and flipped the phone shut. She couldn't think of an appropriate reply and she was going to visit anyway, so it should be alright. Right?

Meanwhile the four boys in the living room played to their hearts content without a care in the world.

Kou took a deep breath and finally looked at Makoto. She had left the boys at home - praying they don't burn the house down - and had come to visit Makoto. Out of obligation and guilt she had told him everything had happened, without looking at him once. Finally after her tale, she waited for his reaction. Makoto just sat quietly, pondering over everything Kou had told him. Then he turned and looked at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Are you sure you're okay Kou chan? This whole thing must have upset you the most I'm sure. Plus you did everything yourself and-" Makoto went on for another few minutes about how concerned he was about Kou and the girl felt her love for the older teen grow. She smiled and waved off his concern as best as she could.

"I can't say I'm perfectly fine, but I handled the situation better than I expected. Thanks for your concern though Makoto san." The meadow-haired teen didn't seem convinced but didn't push the topic further.

"Anyway you look a lot better!" Kou said cheerily and patted his shoulder. Makoto smiled and found himself ruffling Kou's hair. "So do you." He said kindly. Again, Kou found her face flush and her chest tighten. She let herself revel in the feel of Makoto's big hands pat her, if only for just then. She wasn't sure what her feelings for the older teen were, but she sure as hell wasn't ever going to let them be known. The two sat and talked for some more time. They talked about nothing of importance. Just this and that. Makoto told her about the time he and Nagisa had to literally put Haruka in a strait jacket to stop him from stripping every two seconds when they had gone to a wedding at the beach and Kou told him about the time Rin had come home with a swollen cheek because he had gotten into a fight and had gotten his tooth punched out. The two had laughed about it and finally Kou had taken her leave, promising to bring the others the next day.

As she walked home, Kou let the events of the past few days sift through her mind. She realized that a whole lot of people had gotten hurt because of her brother, him probably the most. Kou wondered what she would have done if they hadn't found Rin and managed to bring him home. How would she have faced her mother. Kou swallowed the lump in her throat and calmed herself down. Rin had come back. Things would be rocky between all of them for awhile, but she was sure with Haruka's and Makoto's help, she could cure her brother. It was just a matter of time. When Kou returned home, the lights were off and she immediately panicked. She rushed inside and called for her brother.

"Onii chan? Are you the-" She was cut off by a sudden roar and she blinked as the living room lights came on. All the boys were there, including her brother and – she gaped- Makoto?! The other smiled sheepishly and shrugged. She knew that meant she'd get an explanation for this later.

"What's going on?" She asked slowly, eyeing the decorations and sparkles that were strewn hurriedly around the living room. In answer, Haruka emerged holding a big chocolate cake that read 'Happy Birthday Kou' on it. Kou gaped at it. Her… Birthday? Her eyes widened as Nagisa and Mikoshiba ushered her in. then they lit the candles on the cake and cheered for her to blow them out.

"Make a wish!" Someone cried and Kou did. The boys cheered and clapped and the redhead felt her eyes turning moist. She smiled at the lot of them and opened her mouth to thank them, but before she could, she was enveloped in a bear hug and gasped out. They all screamed and shouted for another ten minutes while taking turns hugging Kou and shaking her hands. The whole time Kou was trying hard to keep her tears at bay. After a time, the boys said good night and trooped out of the front door. Kou caught Makoto's wrist just as he exited.

"Makoto san! How-" Makoto turned and smiled down at her. Then he winked – Kou desperately tried to stop her face from turning red – and raised a finger to his lips.

"Some secrets are better off remaining as secrets." Kou pouted. He laughed and ruffled her hair again. Then waving goodnight, he walked to Nagisa and Rei who were taking him back to the hospital. Kou smiled after him and closed the door behind her. She sighed happily.

'Maybe things aren't going to be so bad after all.'

Rin groaned. This was too much. He thought he could get away for once and his plans were completely ruined. He cursed his sister and her meddlesome nature. He leaned back against his bed and sighed. He was sitting on the floor of his room, lights off, wondering what to do with his life. He leaned his head back onto the mattress and shut his eyes. His mind wandered to a couple of hours before…

-o-o-o-o-o-

Rin threw his backpack on the floor and stormed into the room. He kicked his dustbin and watched it crash against the wall, it's contents flying all over the already messy room. He growled and flomped onto the bed, burying his head in his pillow. He was too busy grumbling curses to hear the door open slowly. Rin jumped when someone sat down next to him. He whipped around, wide eyed, only to see Haruka who was dutifully staring at the dustbin across the floor. Rin flopped back down, this time on his back and glared at the ceiling. The silence stretched out for several minutes. Finally frustrated, Rin opened his mouth, meaning to break the ice and was cut off by Haruka's soft voice.

"What are you planning to do now?"

He was expecting it. He really was. He had spent the entire boat ride home coming up with an answer and had failed miserably. There was no way in hell he could get away from this though.

"It's none of your business." Rin grumbled. To his shock, Haruka whipped around and glared at him. He then proceeded to lean over Rin and place a hand on the other side of the redhead's head, effectively trapping him. Rin looked up at Haruka. Haruka's bangs were hanging over Rin's face, an inch away from him and he found himself staring into ocean blue eyes. Haruka opened his mouth and started to say something, but Rin was too lost in the blue to listen to the words coming out of the other's mouth. Had Haru's eyes always been so… blue? He continued to stare, his face reflected in the blue orbs.

"-are you listening to me Rin?" Rin snapped out of his stupor and blinked. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah.." Haruka bent even lower, his face so close, Rin could smell the ocean from Haruka's hair. His face flushed and his eyes unconsciously drifted to Haruka's mouth. Were his lips always so… pink and soft? Rin flushed some more as he realized what he was thinking. His eyes snapped up as Haruka spoke. The blue-haired teen's voice was silent and slightly.. embarrassed?

"I was really worried you know, when Kou suddenly called and said you had disappeared." Rin found himself once again staring at Haruka's moving lips. He was so entranced by the way they moved so slightly, like he was barely speaking, yet they formed words and-

"Rin why are you staring at my mouth?" Rin snapped his eyes up to meet curious blue ones.

"I-I am not!" Haruka's eyes widened and then lit up with that same excitement that Rin had seen at the beach when they had hugged. Despite the feeling of impending doom settle in his stomach, Rin's face heated up at the memory. The feeling of Haru's skin against his.. his soft, smooth, milky skin..

Rin slapped himself. He was shocked at how much it hurt. He winced as his cheek stung from the impact. He slowly turned his face to look at the teen above him. Haruka just stared down at him, wide-eyed and completely alarmed. His mouth was half open and their faces were so close.. Rin didn't know what came over him but he suddenly grabbed the other and hugged him close. Haruka landed against him with an 'oomf' but made no move to pull away. Rin relaxed.

"Sorry… Just for awhile.." Haruka shifted so his weight wasn't completely on top of Rin. The other shivered when the blue-eyed teen whispered against his ear,

"I'm not going anywhere Rin." The flush that coloured his cheeks and ears quickly disappeared as the implication of what Haruka was saying registered in Rin's mind.

"I'm not going anywhere Rin. So you stay here too." Rin found his eyes getting warm and moist again. He sniffed loudly and very un-manlike. (A/n: Sorry if that's not a word) Haruka stiffened with alarm. After several seconds he slowly asked,

"Rin.. Are you.. Crying?" Rin sniffed again and involuntarily turned his head, in order to tell Haruka off, except the other did the exact same thing and-

Rin's eyes widened as something soft pressed against his mouth. He froze and so did Haruka. Wide burgundy eyes met equally wide cerulean ones. The two teens just lay there, in an accidental lip-lock, Haruka still half on top of Rin with the latter's arms still around him. Only when Rin felt Haruka's hot breath against his face, did he pull away suddenly. He couldn't jump up because the other was still on him, so he simply shifted so they were lying in an awkward diagonal position, with their torso's twisted side ways and their lower bodies entangled with each other. Rin's face was probably the colour of his hair, he was sure. But Haruka didn't look any better. And to Rin's utter horror, he found himself thinking that red really looked good on Haru. He once again found himself openly staring at Haruka's lips. They were still half open and Rin could feel his hot breath on his neck. His spine tingled at the feeling. Rin's mind was a mess. Everything that had happened had already left his mind in a confuddled state and what just happened… Rin wasn't sure about what just happened. That it was an accident, he didn't question, but it was what he felt that made him such a confused wreck. He actually… liked it. Rin found himself admitting that he was slightly reluctant to pull away from the feel of those soft, rosy lips against his. He found himself yearning for that feeling again. He wanted to-

"You're staring at my mouth again."

Once again, Haruka's voice pulled him out of his embarrassing thoughts. And this time Rin didn't even bother denying it. Instead, he found his ego talking for him.

"So? What don't tell me you're embarrassed?" Rin said with as much spite as he could. What he didn't expect though was the answering flush that appeared on Haruka's face and the frown that accentuated the hurt in his eyes. Rin realized Haruka was hurt by the way he said what he said and not the words themselves.

"Well aren't you-"

Rin found himself leaning in, his face right in front of Haruka's, their noses touching.

"I am. What are we going to do about it?" Rin's breath was hot against Haruka's lips. Rin had expected the other to stutter an 'I-I don't know!' or the like, but what he didn't expect was that Haruka would cover what distance remained between them and press his lips against the redhead's. The other male pulled away almost immediately and Rin felt a jolt of disappointment.

"What do you want to do Rin?" Haruka's warm breath against his tingling lips, his wide earnest eyes and the feeling of their bodies entangled with each other caused what little bit of sanity was left in Rin to snap. He growled and thrust his hands into Haruka's hair. Grabbing the silky strands tightly, he used his free hand to grab the other's waist and flip them over so Rin was now on top of Haruka. Rin's long hair framed their faces so that it seemed like they were cut off from the rest of the world.

"I asked you first." He growled, a deep rumbling sound at the back of his throat that made Haruka shiver. After several moments of silence – that started to enunciate the feeling of doom that clutched Rin – Haruka said in a shaky whisper,

"I want this. I want us. I want you. Stay with me Rin."

And that did it. Rin swooped down and devoured Haruka's lips. A contented growl escaping him. The other gasped in shock but to Rin's utmost surprise – and delight – reciprocated. The two teens lay there, their tongues vying for dominance, but in the end Rin was the one to gain control. He pulled away, with much regret, and stared down at his life long rival as they gasped and panted for breath. Haruka's cheeks were tinted a shade of red that had Rin reeling out of control. His lips were moist from their kiss and his eyes were lidded and had a look of – Rin's ears burned and his breath hitched – longing. Haruka opened his mouth and once again Rin found himself entranced by them.

"Rin…" It was almost a breathy moan and any sense of preservation or humanity left Rin as his shark-like instincts kicked in. He wanted to devour this person lying under him. And he wanted to make him moan his name. Scream it out loud as he thrashed under him. Any thoughts of the past few days or cutting all ties vanished from his mind as he looked into those blue eyes that had turned dark. He wanted to spend every minute of his life with this man and he couldn't believe for one moment that he had wanted to run away from him. From them. From all that was and all that could be.

'Oh shit, fuck my ego and pride and whatever else..'

And Matsuoka Rin leaned in to devour his prey.

A/n: I'm back! Sorry for not putting an author's note at the top, I didn't know what to say ahahaha~ Anyway, I quite liked this chapter. And I've decided that I'll change the rating after the next chapter ;D

Also, I'm not sure when Kou's birthday is. I tried looking it up but couldn't find it. So... yeah :P

Anyway, the next update will be early to make up for lost time and thank you all for reading!

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Love~