Rin left shortly after that and Makoto and Haru enjoyed a quiet afternoon playing with their newly acquired family member. Two hours passed with the pair trying to set things up for the kitten- a makeshift bed made from a spare box filled with old clothes ("Not that one, that smells like Rin." and "How do you know that..?")- and they were halfway through showing her the backyard when Makoto's phone buzzed.
He blinked and let Haru continue to show Akiha around as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

'New text message from Matsuoka Kou.'

Quirking an eyebrow he opened it.

'HIDE EVERYTHING BREAKABLE.'

The text, sent with clear emphasis, sent a shiver of cold dread down his spine.

"Haru!" He called, glancing up to see Haru waist deep in one of the hedges, Akiha held aloft as he struggled free from the shrubbery. Shrugging off the odd sight he glanced back at the distressing message. "Wasn't Rin with Kou-chan?"

"Yeah." Haru replied as he extracted himself from the hedge. "Why, something wrong?"

"Just got a text from Kou-chan, said to hide everything breakable. Any ideas?"

Haru tilted his head. "Nothing good."

Makoto sighed. "I'll put Akiha-chan out of the way and prepare the bed. You stop him before he does start breaking things."
Another buzz.

'And I can't wait to meet your kitten, big brother wouldn't stop talking about how cute she is!'

Makoto snorted a laugh. "Oh, and our kitten is cute."

"Of course she is, Rin has good taste."

Makoto laughed as he headed back in the house- Haru sounded so proud of Rin's taste and clearly the black-haired teen meant their odd relationship- but he could hardly argue the fact.

The door slammed into the wall but Haru's gaze remained impassive, even staring down an infuriated Rin.
Haru didn't even let the redhead start ranting. He stepped down into the entryway, yanked Rin to his chest, and pulled him into a kiss.
It was messy and sloppy because Rin kept trying to break away to yell and complain; Haru felt the occasional sharp prick of those teeth over tongue and lips but he wasn't dissuaded.

"Bedroom," the black-haired boy growled out.

"Dammit Haru, I don't want to-! Fuuuck, fine."

An hour later and Rin was leaning against the headboard, boxed in by his lovers, petting their kitten in their bed.

"And then Mikoshiba just fucking waltzes up like it's no big deal and fucking kisses her, right in front of me, who fucking does that kind of shit? And I almost fucking punched him and I probably would've but instead I just-!" The redhead sighed. "I came home."

Makoto scratched behind tiny blotched ears and smiled reassuringly at his unhappy boyfriend.

"I'm sure he won't hurt her. Mikoshiba-kun seems like a nice person."

"Yeah but- but-" he spluttered. "But it's Gou! For fuck's sake she's my little- my baby sister!" He whirled on Makoto, red eyes pleading. "What would you do if it was Ran?"

Green eyes widened. "Er- that's- um. I-I don't... I don't know."

Haru plucked their kitten from Rin's lap and held her up to his face, smiling as she batted at his nose. "You know, Kou-chan isn't just your baby sister."

Rin knit his brows. "Pardon?"

"That's not who she is; it doesn't define her. She's her own person- you were going to have to accept her dating sooner or later."

The black-haired boy's lovers stared at him in stark surprise.

"W-well yeah, but still..." The redhead mumbled, red eyes bashfully on the sheets.

"I do think this was a bad way to break the news to you, though." Haru said, placing the kitten exactly where Rin's downcast eyes were focused.

Rin snorted and wiggled a finger for the kitten to attack. "No kidding."

Makoto rested his chin on the redhead's shoulder and distracted their kitten with a hand under the sheets. As Akiha scrambled over the jumble of limbs for her new target Rin frowned.

"Though you know... This isn't... that big a surprise. I mean, I knew the Captain was making eyes at my sister for forever, I just..."

"Didn't expect it so suddenly," Makoto filled in effortlessly. "I feel the same. The way they looked at each other was quite obvious, but to have suddenly made this step is surprising. I wonder what happened?"

Rin made a face. "Hopefully he just got the balls to ask her. I don't think I can handle the idea of them having a drunken tryst or a one-night stand or-"

Haru nudged Rin's hip with one hand. "Stop."

Makoto agreed, shoving the redhead's shoulder with his own. "We just agreed Mikoshiba-kun isn't a bad man! And you go saying things like that!"

Rin flushed. "I didn't say he was a great guy-"

Makoto rolled his eyes, nuzzled the redhead's neck, and bit at the heady throb of Rin's pulse. Rin sucked in a shocked breath but before he could question Makoto's brash action Haruka cupped his face and drew him into a kiss.
It was the same as when he'd come home- Haru gave him no room to complain- except this time a large hand slid up his hip and he groaned.
Makoto.

"Mako, put the kitten out and get the door," Haru mumbled quickly.

Rin awoke later suffused with warmth and almost boneless. He was stretched out on his stomach, right knee drawn halfway up and other leg out straight. His left arm curved over his pillow, index and middle fingers hooked over an edge of the headboard, and he had been resting his head on the crook of his elbow. The other arm was hidden under his pillow.
He blinked, many times, bleary and heavy with a mixture of sleep and satisfaction.
Slowly he lifted his head and glanced to his right- the bed lay empty- and then left and with a fond grin propped his chin on his arm to watch Haruka sleep.
Except... Haru wasn't asleep. Half-lidded blue eyes attested to that. He stirred and shifted to lay on his side to stare back at the redhead.

"Where's Mako?" Rin slurred.

A tiny smile quirked at the visible corner of Haru's mouth. "Home."

Rin rolled his shoulders. "Why?"

"Don't know. Because he should? He can? Don't know." It was a random string of mumbled words but Rin understood.

"Because he'll be a good father," the redhead said calmly and nodded self-assuredly.

Haru snorted. "He would, you know."

"I know."

It was a tiny wrenching of guilt the original pair of boyfriends felt every now and then. Makoto was a wonderful enough person that he should (and to some degree they felt he deserved to) have a family and pass on his genes but instead...
Instead he stayed with them. He completed them. He was their glue, their lover, their Makoto.
And that was worth a hundred times the guilt they felt.
Rin tried to want to get up but the sun was already long down, there was no reason to, and he'd already had an emotionally sating two rounds in bed with his lovers. He managed to flop more onto his stomach so that he wasn't partially turned away from Haruka.

"When did he go?" He asked haltingly as he struggled to drag himself out of the dregs of sleep.

"Hmmnnn, an hour maybe. I just know he fed Akiha and cleaned up the mess she made with the toilet paper."

Rin snorted a laugh. "Oh man, I'd forgotten about her."

"I did too," Haru muttered. The black-haired boy reached out and trailed his fingers over a firm bicep. "Should we get up?"

The redhead smiled at the gentle touch. "I'd say why bother, but I'm sticky anyway. Share the shower with me?"

Haru shook his head. "You first."

Haru had progressed to sitting up and pulling on some boxers (Makoto's, they didn't fit quite right) when the shout came.
"NANASE HARUKA GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"
Startled by the use of his full name- said like a scolding mother, no less!- the black-haired teen scrambled out of bed and rushed down the hall.

"Wh-what? Rin, what is it?" There was no response and with an ugly fear churning in his gut Haru slammed the screen into the wall and-
And stared with wide eyes.

Akiha was swimming delightedly in the half-filled bathtub, tiny paws churning the water, oceanic eyes brimming with what could be called feline joy.
Rin was a helpless mess of giggles in the corner and upon seeing Haru in the doorway he pointed at the tub (as if the sight wasn't already arresting) and tried to say something.
It was an unintelligible mess of words and laughter and Haru paid it no mind. He could not stop staring at the kitten in the tub.

"Haru!" Rin finally managed to get out. "Haru, our cat- our cat likes water!" He broke down into gleeful snickering. "Akiha likes to swim!"