Author's Note: I know I said I'd get a chapter out once a month. That didn't work out. This chapter is extra long to make up for it! I've been waiting years to finally write this part, and now that I got to it, I had a lot of trouble with it and I'm not sure if it turned out the way I wanted it to...
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it! I know for certain that there probably won't be another chapter this summer because I have a graduate thesis to write and light novels to translate.
(Also, itt would be really nice to get some comments if there's even anyone still interested this story... As long as at least one person wants to read this to the end, and we're only a third of the way there, because I swear the main pairing is MikuxKaito, then I will finish it, even if it takes me another few years.)
The next morning, the twins bade farewell to Miku at the dormitory entrance, a refreshing breeze nipping at their skin as the sun climbed over the horizon.
"We'll miss you," they said while wrapping their friend in a tight hug. She put her hands on their shoulders and lightly squeezed them.
"Me too. Text me sometimes about how things are going, okay? The campsite's not that deep in the mountain woods, you should still have reception," she assured them. "Take care of yourselves. And each other. Especially each other."
After a few seconds, they let her out of their embrace and grabbed their bags. More precisely, Len picked up his own and picked up one of Rin's as well.
"I can carry my own stuff, you know," she chided him gently, tilting her head to the side.
"Yeah, but I'll carry it for you," Len replied nonchalantly, avoiding her gaze. He clearly had no intention of giving it back to her. She shrugged, accepting the situation.
They waved to Miku and set off towards the school, where the buses were waiting to take them to their month-long training camp.
It was a rare occurrence, for just the two of them to take that walk. Usually, they'd be able to fill the silence with mindless chatter, but today, neither of them had the right words to say.
Two huge buses were already lining up on the street by the time they had reached the school. The students were gathered on the main pathway, babbling amongst themselves while they waited for the teachers' instructions. The twins split up to join their classmates.
Fifteen minutes before their planned time of departure at 8, Gumi-sensei blew her whistle to gain their attention. "Gooooood morning everyone! Hope y'all are excited for the training camp! The camping spot is just a liiittle bit too far away to walk, so we'll be taking those buses. And since we have three classes but only two buses, considering that not everyone's coming, we're splitting y'all up in alphabetical order, alright? From A in the first bus, from Ha in the second."
That earned more groans than cheers from the students, but it was a stroke of luck for the Kagamines. The groups began to disperse as they made their way to the designated buses. After getting their names checked off at the door, they were free to choose whichever seat they wanted, so Len ended up sitting with Rin and some of her friends, including Piko, much to his distaste.
The bus trip was an hour filled with annoying camping songs and raucous laughter. While Rin seemed to be enjoying herself in that company, it was only for her sake that Len made a minimal effort to keep up with the conversation.
Once the bus had reached its destination, the students made their way towards the main hall for the orientation.
The campsite was specifically built for the sake of school trips. After passing through the huge wooden arch with a welcome sign on it, they followed the stone pathway leading up to the main hall at the center of the camp's grounds. Behind it was a rectangular 2-floor building with several classrooms in it. The cafeteria was in a separate building to the right, and several rows of cabins lined up on the left, with the bath building behind it. Farther behind the main hall was a gymnasium, a paved basketball court situated to the right. The camp's fences stretched into a part of the woods that had a large clearing nearby and a creek flowed a short walking distance away.
Once everyone had filed into the main hall, the teachers started the orientation about the upcoming four weeks of camp. It was meant to be a training camp in an atmosphere that's different than usual, so it was necessary to balance work with fun. To achieve that, the teachers split them into ten opposing teams, with eight members on each. In the mornings, they'd have various classes to improve their various skills. In the afternoons, the groups would gather to work on creating a new song that they'd perform at the concert at the end of the training camp. They also had some free time to relax around the campsite or go down to the creek and they had no classes on the weekends, just group preparation if they wished. For every other evening, the teachers organized all sorts of games and events for them to compete in and earn points. To get a little competitive spirit going, the team with the most points would win a 5-occasion free pass to Colorful x Melody for each member. Ever since the opening day, it had become a popular spot for the students.
Luck was yet again cruel to the twins, for they were placed in different teams. More than being separated from his twin, Len was bothered by the fact that Piko was on the same team as Rin.
After the orientation, the students left the main hall and went to occupy their cabins. They were of the low-comfort variety: two bunk beds, four shelves, a small table and a sink were the only pieces of furniture, with a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. They had already decided on cabin arrangements at school: Rin was with Iroha and Miki (due to the unequal number of kids attending), Len was with some boys from his class whom he had rarely spoken to.
It didn't take long for them to fall into the rhythm of camp life. The weather graced them with more sunshine than rain, letting them enjoy their afternoons at the creek or play games outside. The cafeteria food proved to be of edible quality, and the vending machines beside the main hall were a blessing for all their carbonated beverage needs. The team events were a blast, and even Len found himself befriending his teammates.
However, since the team assignments had separated the Kagamines, it was almost like at school: they only had mealtimes and their free time to spend in each other's company, which was the exact opposite of their expectations for camp. Sometimes, the teachers organized events without teams, like the Test of Courage, and it was usually in those cases that luck favoured them and they were paired up.
But all in all, things were proceeding smoothly.
On Tuesday morning two weeks into the camp, forceful knocks on their cabin's door roused Rin and her cabinmates, in discord with the camp's wake-up song that resounded across the grounds. Slow to awaken from their slumber, none of them answered. After a while, the person on the other side reached the end of their patience and flung the door open.
"Rise and shine!" Len's way-too-cheery-for-7-am tone reverberated in the cabin. Rin rolled over and glared at him over the edge of her blanket.
"What the heck, Len-nii, what are you here for so early?" she demanded, her voice groggy. Her face contorted into a scowl upon seeing his wide grin. I don't get morning people.
"Being a responsible brother and waking you up on time, obviously," he replied, leaning against the door frame and smirking. Being around so many people all the time worked miracles on his attitude, making him more expressive and cheekier around others, not just his close friends.
"No one asked you to do that!" Iroha interjected, with no intention of hiding the discontent in her voice.
"Yeah, we're capable of getting ready for the morning assembly on our own, thank you very much," Miki added.
"Hey now, is that the appreciation I get for trying to help you girls out?" he feigned to be hurt by their words, putting a hand over chest. "No, seriously, pull yourselves out of bed."
"Get lost first," Rin grumbled back at him, her irritation growing stronger by the second. "How do you expect us to get ready with you loitering around?"
"Right, so get out of bed and make me!" he teased his sister, his grin growing ever wider.
"Ohhhh you asked for it!" Rin snapped at him.
She slid her arm out from underneath the blanket and grabbed one of her flip-flop sandals that she had left at the edge of her bed the previous night. Still sleepy, she flung it towards the general direction of the door. It's just to scare him away.
Against all her expectations and despite her total lack of precise aiming, the sandal collided with Len's face. He brought a hand up to his left eye, murmuring a soft 'ouch'. Rin gasped, the guilt welling up within her in an instant.
"Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I didn't think– it wasn't supposed to–" she abruptly began to apologize as she sat up in her bed and her hands flew to her face. My aim sucks! Why is this the one time it doesn't?!
Without another word, Len stepped back and closed the cabin door.
Dammit, I screwed up real bad. I should probably... go after him...
Her body wouldn't abide by her wishes, though; she found it incredibly hard to even budge from her spot on the bed.
Iroha and Miki exchanged worried glances as they clambered out of their own beds. The occasional squabble between the Kagamine twins was nothing unusual, and most of them were more affectionate than anything, but it was highly unlikely for this to blow over so easily.
After dashing away from the girls' cabin, Len leaned against the railing at the edge of the assembly area. Not knowing what to do, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started typing a text.
Date: 08/06 AM 7:05
To: Miku
Subject: (=.=)
Message:
Rin threw a sandal at me. And it hit my face.
After sending it, he repocketed his phone. He gingerly pressed his fingers against the spot on his face, right under his left eye, the pressure making him hiss in pain. What the heck, Rin's aim sucks, so why didn't she miss? The question curved his lips into a deep frown. How am I going to explain the bruise to the teachers? Telling the truth is obviously out of the question. I can't let Rin get in trouble. And we're only halfway through camp…
After a while, his phone vibrated in his pocket, signaling the arrival of a new message.
Date: 08/06 AM 7:15
From: Miku
Subject: RE: (=.=)
Message:
How? Her aim is terrible... Well, put something cold over it for now so it doesn't swell up too much.
Right, good idea. With that thought, Len straightened up and headed towards the vending machines at the back of the main hall. He pulled out a handful of change from his pockets to buy himself a banana soda. After inserting the right amount of coins, the cold beverage fell out of the machine accompanied by a few clunks.
Len pressed the can on the sore spot beneath his eye. After a flash of pain, he let out a sigh as it began to soothe his skin. Reluctant to return to the assembly area in such a sorry state and since he still had some time before the assembly started, he sat down on the ground beside the machine.
What am I supposed to do now? I don't think she intended to hit me, but the fact remains that she threw a sandal at me. A sandal. Not even a pillow that wouldn't have really hurt either way, but a sandal. I thought we've been getting along pretty well lately, too. Real well, actually. We even held hands and clung onto each other during the Test of Courage the other night! Okay, I probably shouldn't have gone to wake them up, but... I just don't understand, at all. I thought that maybe, at the end of camp I could…
Len turned the can of soda to a cooler part as his skin warmed it up. Staring blankly in front of himself in an attempt to shut down his thoughts, feet clad in a familiar pair of flip-flops skidded into view. He looked up and saw Rin, her breath coming out ragged and wearing a worried expression. She dropped to her knees in front of him.
"Len-nii, are you okay? I'm so, so, so sorry... I really didn't mean to, honest. I have no idea what came over me, I just- I'm sorry," the distressed words fell from Rin's mouth in rapid succession, looking at him as if she had just kicked a puppy by accident and bore the entire world's remorse on her shoulders. Which was quite fitting, considering that in his current state, Len looked like the spitting image of a puppy whose owner had kicked them by accident.
After a few moments of strained silence, Rin spoke up again. "Does it hurt? I mean, duh, of course it hurts... So, uh, can I take a look, maybe?"
After a tiny nod, Len lowered the soda from beneath his eye. His sister let out a gasp, eyes widening in shock. "I am so sorry," she whispered again as she leaned in to take a closer look.
Very slowly and cautiously, she brushed her finger over the darkening bruise, making her brother wince away in pain. "I'm sorry..." she murmured again, casting her eyes down. "I know you must hate me now, and I can't possibly ask you to forgive me, but please, say something."
"It's okay," Len mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm fine."
Rin sighed as she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his, closing her eyes. She couldn't bear to meet his gaze. "I'm really sorry. How can I make it up to you?"
Her minty breath ghosted over his lips, making his heart race. She's so close... If I moved my head a little bit, I could- Nooooo no no no nope. He brushed the thought away as soon as it floated into his mind. A month ago, during his conversation with Miku as he was getting dolled up for the date, he couldn't imagine kissing as anything other than gross. Yet the idea had planted itself among his thoughts and pestered him at the most inopportune of times: what would it be like to kiss Rin, to feel her lips against his own?
"Don't worry about it," he said after a few seconds of silence, putting all his effort into keeping his voice even.
Rin pulled back from her brother and stood up. "Let's get to the assembly."
Len got to his feet as well and dusted off his jeans with one hand, still holding the soda in the other. Standing in front of him, Rin put her hands on his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes. She slowly brought her face close to his and in a feather light motion, kissed the bruise beneath his eyes. His cheeks burst into flames right away.
This can't be real, it's too good to be true. I must be hallucinating. Or the sandal knocked me unconscious and I'm merely dreaming.
"I'm sorry," she whispered once more with a solemn gaze, lowering herself. She let go of his shoulders and took a step back.
"That wasn't fair," he mumbled as he turned his head away, covering his face with his empty hand to hide the blush.
"Hm? Did you say something?" she asked innocently, tilting her head to the right and blinking a few times.
"Nothing, let's get going," Len hastily replied, striding past his sister. He could only hope that she didn't hear the sound of his heart performing a very convincing impression of a jackhammer in his chest.
After the assembly, Gumi-sensei approached Len and asked him about the bruise underneath his eye. Yukari-sensei pulled him aside before the morning class started. During the lunch break, Lily-sensei stopped him on his way to the cafeteria. By the end of the day, every faculty member had had a word with him.
Each time, no matter how persistently they asked, assuring him that they'll deal with the matter discreetly, he insisted that he wasn't looking where he was going and ran into one of the lamp posts.
From that day onwards, a noticeable distance appeared between him and his sister. He would no longer sit with her in the cafeteria and he hung out more with his teammates or cabinmates than with Rin and her friends. On the rare occasions that she did find her brother, she always whispered another apology with a guilt-ridden expression that he shrugged off.
They had held the camp concert the night before and announced the winning team (which neither of the Kagamines was on), so the students could spend the entirety of the last full day at camp relaxing and enjoying the company of their newfound friendships.
"Hey Rin-chan, would you like to come down to the creek with me?" Piko asked her as she was getting a drink from the vending machine, flashing a bright and charming smile.
"Uhm, just the of us?" she wondered, a hint of hesitation in her voice. After our 'date', and even through most of the camp, he didn't seem to be particularly interested in me anymore. Well, that sentiment was mutual, so what's this all of a sudden?
"If you don't mind," he answered. "Come on, you have nothing to be afraid of. It'll be fun."
"Well, I guess I don't really have anywhere else to be..." she said. I guess we did end up hanging out a lot, though... No harm done in going with him, I suppose. Len-nii's been ignoring me anyways.
"Perfect." Without a moment's notice, he grabbed her by the wrist and started dragging her towards the woods. He wasn't outright forceful, but she stumbled a few steps before matching his pace.
Piko tried engaging Rin in lighthearted chatter, but she found herself unable to reply with anything but noncommittal noises, his words barely registering in her mind. His grip on her wrist didn't loosen. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this...
In a matter of minutes, they reached the creek. Piko led her to a spot on the bank that was slightly secluded by a few bushes and pulled her down to sit beside him.
"Rin-chan." He uttered her name in a sultry tone, directing her attention to him. She turned towards with him with a startled look in her eyes.
"Hey, no need to panic. I'm your friend, you've got absolutely nothing to be afraid of, right?" He gazed straight into her eyes with a sweet smile. She gave a small nod.
He put his arm around her shoulders. Rin froze up at the contact. "I had a lot of fun on our date a while back, you know. You... haven't had a boyfriend before, right?"
She shook her head. I really, really don't like where this is headed... But what do I do? No one even knows I left with him!
"So..." Slowly, he leaned in closer, putting a hand on her knee. "What would you say to having a little learning experience with me?"
"Get away from her, you bastard!"
In a blur, Len tackled Piko to the ground from behind, the boy letting out a surprised yelp. Rin jumped to her feet and scrambled back a bit.
Len had been playing basketball with a few new friends when he saw Piko and his sister walking towards the forest. Even while avoiding her, he had found himself unconsciously keeping an eye out for her. Over the years, it had become second nature for him, and a minor incident between them wouldn't get rid of it so easily. Not to mention, he still had every reason to be wary of Piko. His brotherly instincts had blared the alarm in his mind. He had managed to build up a tolerance for when they happened to be among the same group of friends. But alone together? Not even over his dead body. He had excused himself from the game, though not without grumblings from the others. He had followed them from a fair distance: as much seeing Piko near his sister made his blood boil, he couldn't simply tear her away from him. That is, until he started to touch her.
He got off of Piko and pulled him to his feet by the collar of his shirt before he had a chance to realize what's going on. "Like hell I'd let you lay a finger on her! Game's over."
He pulled back his arm, then slammed his fist straight into Piko's face and dropped him to the ground.
Blood started to drip from Piko's nose and he raised his hand to feel where his lip had split. "You've got some nerve, Kagamine. Did you forget about that?" he mocked Len with a chuckle.
With a growl, Len tackled him to the ground, attempting to rummage through his pockets for his cell phone. Piko struggled against him, but to no avail; the punch had dazed him too much to overcome him, but he managed to elbow him in the stomach. That was far from enough to make Len give up, and it turned into quite the tussle between the two boys, both of them earning their fair share of bruises.
"Rin, catch!" Len shouted, throwing it to her the moment he finally found it.
Until then, she had regarded the scene entirely dumbstruck. She couldn't believe that her brother had shown up to save her, much less gotten into a fight. Her reactions running faster than her thoughts, she caught the phone and promptly proceeded to throw it into the creek, as far away as she could. Explanations could wait until later.
She grabbed Len's hand to pull him up and they both dashed towards the woods, her brother stumbling along the way. They only slowed down to catch their breath once they were a safe distance away from the creek, hiding at the base of a large tree surrounded by bushes, just in case.
"What was… the deal… with the phone?" Rin asked between pants.
Len hesitated before answering. "Promise you won't get mad at me for telling?"
"Promise. I couldn't be mad at you even if I tried. You basically just saved me. Thanks for that, by the way," she said, smiling gently at him.
"Alright then." He took a deep breath before continuing, making sure to direct his gaze away from her. "The date… didn't go exactly as I told you. He… he knew all along that it was me. You can guess what he had on his phone. I didn't want him to spread rumours about you, so I kinda, struck a deal with him. He'd 'leave you for last' if I stayed quiet."
"Oh, Len-nii!" she exclaimed, her tone full of affection. She launched herself at him to wrap him in a tight hug. "You're an idiot!" My idiot. My sweet dear idiot of a brother.
"Uh, I'm getting mixed signals here," he said, tensing up. "Yes, I know, that was a horrible deal. But I saved you in the end, so everything's fine, right? Right?"
"You should've just told me. We could've figured something out together," she grumbled. "That's why we're twins."
"Well, you didn't really seem to be aware of that fact at the time, you know. Always hanging out with your new friends," he remarked with a pout, looking off to the side.
Like you weren't happy enough with Miku-chan. She bit back the words and cleared her throat instead, finally letting go of him. "Anyways, aren't you two gonna get trouble for this?"
"Since he has nothing on us anymore, we'll tell the truth if he speaks to the teachers, and I don't think he'll risk it," he explained. "And he'll think twice about coming near you again, so, it'll be fine."
"Hmm, I guess so…." she said, biting her lip.
"C'mon, let's get back to camp." With that, Len stood up and held out his hand to help her up, which she accepted. He let go right away and walked a few steps ahead of her on the way back.
They parted ways once they returned.
He avoided her at lunch again.
Date: 08/17 PM 6:12
From: Miku
Subject: ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ
Message:
Talk with Rin-chan tonight, you butthead.
A huge bonfire crackled in the middle of the clearing, emanating a scorching heat towards the groups of students gathered around it. Against the deep blue of the night sky, countless stars twinkled from light-years away. The scent of burning firewood floating in the air, it was the perfect kind of summer evening to end the camp with.
Len surveyed the scene from a bit further away, sitting near the base of a giant cedar tree, sipping his banana soda and occasionally casting a glance at the sky. As much as he had gotten along with his teammates and cabinmates, he wasn't in the mood to be very social. The text Miku had sent a few hours ago was nagging at the back of his mind.
All of a sudden, Rin plopped down right beside him. "What are you doing here all on your own?"
"Nothing, really," he replied with a shrug.
"It's nice out tonight, huh," she observed in a strained tone, looking at the view above. He hummed in agreement.
"Hey, remember a few years ago? We spent a whole summer stargazing in the backyard," she said, lying back on the grass and folding her arms beneath her head.
"Yeah, we borrowed a huge book from the library to help us identify constellations," he joined in on her reminiscing, his lips forming a grin. Thinking of their childhood always cheered him up. "And when we got bored of that, we made up our own. With epic legends for them and everything. Do you still remember any of those?"
After downing the last gulps of his soda, Len laid down beside her.
"A little, I guess. I think I still have our overwritten star charts in some box at home... Do you?"
"Your Orange Pie is always the first one I look for," he admitted in a low mumble.
She turned her head to look at him just as he did the same. Their gazes met, and it seemed like they were both on the verge of saying something.
Rin turned away abruptly, bringing up a random topic instead. He paid it no mind. They talked for hours about whatever they could think of, lying there side by side. Without them noticing, the students had dispersed from around the remaining embers of the bonfire.
"Ah, it's a bit chilly, lying on the grass like this. Kinda uncomfortable, too," Rin said as she shivered.
"Wait right here," Len told her, bolting up from his spot. He dashed off towards the camp's main area.
After a few minutes, Len returned with three picnic blankets slung over his shoulder. He handed one to his sister and laid down another folded in half, though it was still wide enough for the both of them to fit onto it. He draped the third over himself and sat down. Much to his surprise, Rin settled down between his legs, wrapped in the blanket, and leaned back against him, the back of her head resting against his shoulder.
"Rin, what..." He couldn't figure out how to phrase what he wanted to ask. She was too close for his brain to function properly.
"Is it uncomfortable for you?" she asked.
"Well, no, but…" he said in an unsure tone.
"Then it's fine. Don't fret over it," she reassured him.
"But, are you sure you want to spend the rest of the night with me, here, like this? Shouldn't you be with your friends or something?" He made a vague attempt at dissuading her.
"Am I not with a friend right now?" she wondered, her tone dancing on the fine line between teasing and innocent.
"I don't know, do you throw sandals at all your friends?" he retorted jokingly with a chuckle at the end, but there was the slightest trace of hurt to it that Rin didn't fail to pick up on.
"I'm sorry," she apologized for the millionth time. She straightened up and turned around to face him. "I really, really am."
She reached up to brush her fingers against the bruise. "Does it still hurt?"
"Not really, it just looks nasty," he said flatly. Then, his mouth curled into a smirk. "But you can kiss it better again, if you want."
"Oh, shut up," she scolded him, lightly punching his upper arm, her lips twisting into a scowl.
"Again with the violence... I'm gonna have to start pressing charges soon," he mused with a sly grin. She leaned forward to press her head against his shoulder. The darkness would've masked the light blush dusting her cheeks anyway.
Rin took a deep breath before speaking. "You know I don't mean to-... It's not like I'm serious about hurting you. I-I'll stop. I don't want you getting injured anymore. Not because of me, and not for me, either."
"Rin..." he breathed out her name. Her head became a heavy weight on his shoulder, as heavy as the weight that started pressing down on his chest.
"I'm sorry. For everything. I've been horrible to you lately. And I never even noticed...! You've done nothing but care for me all along, and I repay it to you by hurting you even more..." The words tumbled from her mouth in rapid succession. By the end of it, she raised her head again. Her eyes were glistening with tears waiting to spill. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't even deserve you as a brother..."
Len circled his arms around his sister: comfortingly rubbing her back with one hand and threading his fingers through her hair with the other. Rin usually stayed upbeat and cheerful even in the toughest of times. For her to be crying, it meant that she held the matter very close to her heart. "Shhh, it's okay, it's fine, you don't have to beat yourself up over it so much. It's not your fault."
She wrapped her arms around him as well, clutching the back of his shirt in her fists. They stayed like that for a few minutes, her teardrops falling one by one. Then, she straightened up and looked right into his eyes, gaze unwavering as she gently smiled at him. "Thank you. For everything you've done for me. I'm really grateful."
Those heartfelt words set Len's cheeks ablaze in a second. "I'd do anything to make you happy." Both his voice and expression were brimming with tender affection.
"And it's-... it's not just because that's my responsibility as your brother. You have no idea how much you mean to me." He kept his eyes locked on hers, hoping to convey more than his words could. "No matter what happens, I always want to be there for you, to protect you, to support you... if you need me."
The atmosphere between them was getting palpable. Something was going to happen, they could both feel it.
Len closed his eyes and tilted his head forward to press his forehead against Rin's. The tips of their noses brushed against each other. Their breathing fell into a rhythm as he breathed in every breath she breathed out. She searched for his hands and laced their fingers together. Marked by their accelerating heartbeats, each second that passed was an eternity of its own, getting heavier each time as it carried that unfulfilled something.
They couldn't breach the distance between their lips, yet they couldn't let go of each other, either.
"…Can I…?" Len whispered carefully, so his lips wouldn't touch hers by accident.
Rin was about to speak, but the words she wanted to say stubbornly refused to be voiced.
"We don't have to, if you don't want to."
"I… I… do! But I'm…"
"Scared? Me too. It's okay."
A pause.
"I love you, Rin."
That was the magic phrase she was waiting for. Rin surged forward to seal her lips against his, to catch the words he spoke and preserve them before they faded away. For all the eternities they had waited, the kiss lasted no longer than a spark. A gentle touch, a brief connection, two pieces of a puzzle finally finding each other, naturally as breathing.
"I love you, too."
In all the ways this scenario had played out in his head, he imagined heartfelt confessions with grandiose monologues that were more personal, that had more flourish to them. But all those countless words carried this one sentiment in them. He trusted her to know that these few words carried many more behind them.
And she did. The emotion was undeniably there, keeping her heart warm as well. Just as he had given the words to her, she returned them to him, with the same feelings behind them.
Their kiss, and the special moments in their shared life, spoke of their love for each other louder than any words they could possibly put them into.
"I need a tissue," Rin said, breaking the brief silence between them. "I have some in our cabin, so..."
"You want me to come with," he finished her sentence for her as she trailed off.
"And it is getting late, and cold, so you could, uhm, stay, too," she added, her voice increasing in pitch by word as she averted her gaze. "It'll be just us, the others are sleeping elsewhere." Since it was the last night, the teachers had let them spend the night wherever they wished; most people were holding a huge slumber party in the gym, vacating some of the cabins.
"Okay," he said, then abruptly leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose.
"Hey, what was that for?" she retorted, pouting.
"You were being cute," he replied with a grin.
"You missed the mark, stupid." She took the chance to give him a fleeting kiss again.
"No fair, you're taking all the kisses!"
"Then get even with me." Another peck on the lips. "Three to zero now, better hurry up."
That heavy mood from just seconds ago lifted in an instant. They were playing around with each other as if the kisses hadn't changed a single thing about their bond.
"Just you wait, I'm gonna kiss you silly. Once we get to the cabin," he declared, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I'll hold you to that!"
After clambering to their feet, the twins headed towards her cabin. They laced their fingers together without giving it a second thought. It came naturally to them. The balance of their world meant being together. And on this night, they merely widened what 'together' signified for them.
"I don't think the beds were made for two people to fit onto them," Rin stated as they stepped inside.
"Yeah, probably... We could try piling blankets and stuff on the floor instead? I could bring over mine, too," Len quickly offered a solution.
After some arranging, and an impromptu pillow fight, they managed to make a satisfactory resting place for the night.
Rin plopped down on the makeshift bed first. Her brother soon joined her, sitting down across from her.
"So, uhh, we just start kissing again?" he wondered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
"Mm, I guess so."
"Well alright, here goes."
He lifted his hand to cup her cheek and drew her close. Just as his breath ghosted over her mouth, she suddenly turned her face to the side, breaking out in giggles.
"What's so funny?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Sorry, I just- I mean, isn't it kinda weird? Our first kiss was the single most drawn-out event in history because we were both terrified, and now you're already being real suave about it, cupping my cheek and everything. Like going ahead and kissing your sister is a totally ordinary thing to do," she said as her giggles subsided.
"Yeah let's not discuss that right now..." His expression became grave.
Rin nodded in agreement. She wasn't too keen on having that conversation, either; and who knows when they'd get another chance to be with each other in private like this.
Len repeated his motion from earlier and she didn't shy away this time. Rather than briefly pressing his mouth against hers, he slightly tilted his head to the side and began to move his lips a little. She reciprocated after a few moments and they gradually worked out how to move against each other. The simplicity of their first kiss was replaced with a burning intensity coursing through their bodies as they experienced the sensation of connecting in a new way. It was so much: touching, tasting, feeling each other.
They separated when they ran out of breath, both of them wearing identical blushes and their breathing heavy.
"Wow..." Rin whispered, touching her lips.
"Again?"
"Yeah."
Cradling her face, he leaned in to kiss her once more. She tangled her fingers in his hair and slowly pulled him down with her to lay on the bed. One of his hands travelled down to her waist as he opened his mouth a little wider to let his tongue peek out, the need arising to touch more, taste more, feel more of each other. She followed his lead, sliding her tongue out to meet his. As their tongues made contact, he suddenly jerked back.
"What's wrong?" Rin asked, worried.
"S-sorry. A-aren't we going t-too fast?" he asked anxiously, pressing his eyes shut. "Especially after... what happened today…"
She untangled her fingers from his hair and put her arms around him to pull him close for a hug. He rested his head against her chest, right over her heart. He could clearly feel her heartbeat racing.
"We're gonna have to talk after all, huh..." she murmured softly. He hummed in agreement.
For minutes, they stayed in silence. There was so much to say, but they both had trouble with finding the right words to express their thoughts with.
"It's still scary," he finally whispered. "I'm so, so happy to be with you, to hold you, to kiss you, to know that you feel the same way and it's not just me, but, it's scary."
"What's scary about it?" Rin asked, hoping to give a direction to the conversation.
"There are… so many what-ifs…" he started out slow, stumbling over his words before they started flooding out. "What if people find out? What if you don't want to be with me anymore? What if we're not supposed to be like this and this is all just a huge, huge mistake?"
She gently rubbed his back as she spoke. "Whoaahhh, slow down. First, we'll try our best so people won't find out, right? Let's be real here: the only thing that's changed between us is that we, uhh… kiss… now. As long as we don't do that in public, it'll be fine. And even if they do, we'll escape the country and start our lives anew somewhere else with false identities. No big deal."
Her remark earned a chuckle from the boy, which in turn brought a smile to her face. "I… I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that this isn't a mistake. Yeah, we're brother and sister. But we're much more than just that... we're twins. A lot of people have brothers, sisters, or both. But few people are lucky enough to be born with a twin. And a lot of people spend decades searching for a person to share their life with. But we were together since the start. It's like Fate put in the extra effort to make sure we'd be by each other's side."
She loosened her hold around him so she could scoot down and be face to face with Len. "You're not… doing anything bad to me, okay?" For a second, the memory of her brother sitting all curled up on the floor of the dorm room flashed into her mind. "I'm happy to be with you, too. I want to be with you."
Rin pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly. "You really ought to step up your game if you still intend to, how did you say it? 'Kiss me silly'?"
He burst out in laughter, once and for all dispelling the serious mood between them. "Right, right, I'll get on that right away."
As he hauled himself up to lean above her, her cheeks instantly turned crimson and he proceeded to do exactly what he had promised.
As the first rays of sunlight started to peek in through the window, Len slowly woke up. He held Rin cocooned in his arms, her head resting against his chest, their legs entangled. He recalled that accident from a while ago, when he woke up in her arms in the dorm room. That time, he felt nothing but panic and guilt welling up inside him. And now... This is the happiest I've ever been. I can't believe this is real.
He carefully extracted one of his arms to grab his phone from the edge of their makeshift bed on the ground. Making sure the flash was turned off, he took a picture of the two of them, then sent it to Miku. Though they intended to keep it a secret, he wanted her to know and he was sure his sister would've agreed. They both owed a lot to her; plus, she'd be able to tell right away anyways. It was still a matter of further discussion if they'd ever let Kaito and Luka know.
He put his phone back and wrapped his arm around her again. He nuzzled his nose into her hair, breathing in her scent. He peered down at her, admiring her sleeping face from an angle he hadn't had the fortune of seeing it from for years. This is how I want to wake up every day for the rest of my life: with her as the first thing I see.
Not much later, Rin slowly woke up from her slumber, her eyes fluttering open.
"Good morning," she whispered, her lips curling into a smile as her gaze met his.
"Good morning," he echoed back her words.
She leaned up to greet him with a kiss. She could feel him smiling into it.
"Sleep well?" Len asked.
"Yeah," she replied, her smile growing wider.
"We gotta get up soon, though," he said, scrunching up his nose at the unpleasant idea. "We're leaving camp sometime before noon, right? There's only a couple of hours left so your friends will be coming back to pack…"
"I guess so. But stay for a little longer?" she suggested, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.
"Sure," he replied, tightening his hold around her.
They basked in the morning tranquility, wrapped in each other's comforting presence. For a few more minutes, the world consisted of just the two of them.
And if anyone saw that the Kagamine twins had their pinkies linked together on the way home on the bus, well, no one thought much of it.