It came as a shock to everyone he told that Haruka had decided to get the surgery. Makoto was the first to know, and then he announced it to the swim team, and upon Gou and Makoto's suggestion, he told Rin as well. Mostly, they were all surprised that Haruka Nanase would willingly do something to his body that would prevent him from swimming for more than a few days and perhaps change his swimming performance forever. The unspoken mutual concern, though, was why he chose to do it in the first place. Did he plan on getting pregnant sometime soon? ...and did he intend for Makoto to be the father? It was a thought that made everyone, ESPECIALLY Makoto, blush uncomfortably. It was so difficult to understand that boy…
Nagisa, too, decided that he wanted the surgery. The Monday after he had heard his results, he went down to the nurse's office and requested to make an appointment. His excuse was that the doctor said once he was fully recovered from the surgery, he wouldn't even notice it was there, and he just wanted to get it done so he wouldn't have to worry about it later on. Their friends seemed much less surprised at Nagisa's decision. That is, except for Rei, who was paranoid that something would go wrong and Nagisa's health would be compromised.
Rei's fears proved meaningless, though, as the surgeries were a success for both Haruka and Nagisa.
During the three weeks that they were required to stay home from school, the side effects of the surgery gradually began to show themselves. Their hips seemed to widen ever-so-slightly, and their bodies slowly became curvier by the day. Like a pregnant woman, they had occasional nausea and mood swings, accompanied by strange cravings: Nagisa's sweet tooth was replaced by a strong desire for salty foods, and Haruka wanted things other than mackerel. Knowing this, Gou made sure to text them every day reminding them to eat healthily, so as not to ruin their bodies before they returned to swimming.
Throughout the recovery, Makoto and Rei were right there by their sides. Every day, they would bring their boyfriends notes so they didn't get behind on their schoolwork, and visit them in their homes for at least an hour after school each day. Sometimes, they would even spend the night. It was during these sleepovers that they discovered another embarrassing side effect: a sudden increase in sex drive. Nagisa was typically flirtatious as it was, and it wasn't as if he and Rei practiced total abstinence; but Rei would simply be cooking dinner for him and Nagisa would press up against him, rubbing his body erotically against his and begging him for sex. Advances like these flustered Rei, of course, but he always managed to keep up his composure and calmly turn him down, as the doctor had sternly instructed that Nagisa was to engage in absolutely no sexual activity until his three weeks were up and he had consulted with the doctor.
Haruka, too, got a little more intimate than usual with Makoto. He and Makoto were no virgins; but they usually saved sex for special occasions. One night when Makoto was sleeping over Haruka's house, Makoto noticed that Haruka's face was feverishly red as they prepared for bed. Immediately worried, Makoto hurried to him and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. "Oh, my, you're burning up…! You need to lay down… I'll get you a cold cloth for your head, and some medicine…"
"...no," Haruka murmured as Makoto fretted about. "...I don't have a fever."
Makoto blinked in confusion. "What-? But Haru, you're-" Makoto's words got trapped in his mouth. He just so happened to glance downwards, and when he realized what was making Haruka's face so red, he blushed himself. "...oh… U-um… How about you take a cold shower-?" Makoto suggested. Blushing even deeper, he added, "I-I would help you out, but… Doctor's orders…"
"I know," Haruka grumbled. He had never looked more humiliated in his entire life.
As the third week approached, the symptoms gradually stopped showing, until Nagisa and Haruka were essentially back to their old selves.
That had been Nagisa and Rei's first year, and Makoto and Haruka's second year; now, they were second and third years.
Some of the side effects stuck with them even after nearly a year had passed. For one, the changes to their body were permanent. It took them longer than they expected to get accustomed to these changes, and it cost them wins at two competitions. But once they got used to their wider hips and slight extra weight, their times were as fast as ever.
The other side effect was more so exclusive to Haruka than Nagisa. Nagisa had always been a bit more of a "girl," often giggling or pouting and showing affection to his friends and especially Rei with no filter. So, the addition of estrogen to his body did little for his personality.
Haruka's attitude, on the other hand, changed considerably. Previously, it would be next to impossible to earn a smile from him. But now, if he felt happy, he allowed himself to smile, even if only slightly. His calm and cool composure remained, but his eyes revealed more emotion than ever. He still found PDA and open declarations of "I love you" to be embarrassing and unnecessary; but when they were alone, he was noticeably more affectionate with Makoto. Their kisses lasted longer than before, they were always touching discreetly if they were close enough to each other (be it bumping knees against each other or hooking ankles under tables), and pinky-linking became an in-school-only thing, as they held hands everywhere else they went. These changes felt strange to Makoto; but as a whole, they were subtle differences, and he was still the same Haru that Makoto had been in love with ever since they were children. He had grown more sentimental, was all.
This new school year seemed ideal for love. Over at Samezuka Academy, Rin Matsuoka had asked Aiichirou Nitori to go out with him towards the end of their second and first year. Aiichirou, who had been hopelessly in love with Rin since the very moment he laid eyes on him, naturally accepted without a doubt. Now that they were a third and second year, they had moved out of their mushy-gushy honeymoon phase, and their love was truly beginning to blossom. As the new captain of the swim team, Rin didn't have much time to give Aiichirou preferential treatment during practice; but everywhere else, he treated Aiichirou like royalty.
The relationship between Rei and Nagisa, too, had grown progressively ever since they began seeing each other at the beginning of the prior year. They teased each other like children and argued like a married couple, but at the end of the day, their love was pure. They had become completely open with one another, to the point that they knew things about each other that even their families had no idea about. They shared tears, laughter, and kisses galore, and perfectly balanced out each others' flaws. Although it had only been a year since they got together, it was clear to both of them that they had found the love of their lives.
Yet, Makoto and Haruka were arguably the closest of them all. The fact that they had known each other their entire lives already made their bond as strong as steel, but Haruka's newfound sentiment brought them even closer as a couple. Neither of them ever said it aloud, but they both thought the same thing: they wanted to spend forever with each other. There was no ring to prove it, but they each knew in their hearts that they would spend the rest of their lives together.
And it was those feelings that would lead Haruka Nanase to make an impossible request, Nagisa Hazuki to pull a horrible lie, and Aiichirou Nitori to make a choice that he knew would change him forever.
Something was on Haruka's mind. That was something that hadn't changed about him: if he was thinking about something, either it was impossible to figure out what he was thinking about, or it was impossible to notice that something was on his mind at all. In this case, the situation was the latter. Nobody, not even Makoto, could tell that Haruka was struggling with something inside of him: a bizarre, unreasonable desire that he wanted more than anything.
But one night, while spending the night at Makoto's, he decided he would take a risk and make his request anyway.
Makoto and Haruka were playing a video game with Ren and Ran in Makoto's room, the boys on the bed and the twins on the floor, until Makoto realized it was well past ten PM.
"Whoa, when did it get so late… You two need to go to bed!" Makoto's exclamation resulted in loud whines of protest from his younger twin siblings.
"Just one more round?" begged Ren. "Please?" they demanded in unison. Smiling, Makoto shook his head, standing up to turn off the game console. The twins whined even louder and dropped their controllers huffily.
"Oh, don't be like that, you guys! Tell you what. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I hear it's supposed to rain all day. If Haru wants to stay a while, we can play a few more rounds with him tomorrow," Makoto suggested. The twins' dreary expressions lit up, and they turned to Haruka with eager, pleading eyes. He stared down at them and shrugged, smiling just slightly.
"I have nothing else to do."
The twins squealed in perfect unison, scurrying to put away their controllers. "Thank you, Haru! Good night!" They tossed themselves at him in a quick hug, scrambled to give Makoto his own hugs and kisses, told him a hurried "good night, Big Brother!" and hurried off to prepare for bed.
"...you're so good with them," Haruka commented quietly as Makoto collected his controller from him and got up to put both of theirs away.
"Hm?" Makoto glanced over his shoulder with a curious smile, and then returned to Haruka's side on his bed. "What brought that on…?" It was a random remark indeed: Haruka had seen Makoto interact with his little siblings since they were born, but had only commented on Makoto's behavior with them maybe one time.
Haruka didn't respond immediately, and that gave Makoto a reason to take a better look at his face. His smile faded when he noticed the troubled look in Haruka's eyes. "Haru…? What's wrong-?"
"Can I ask you something?" Haruka's voice overlapped with Makoto's, making it apparent that Haruka had not heard Makoto, but was instead preparing to speak. Makoto's eyes widened.
"Yes-! Of course you can… Anything," he insisted in a quick yet gentle tone.
Haruka closed his eyes lightly, drawing in a slow, deep breath. It made Makoto nervous; what did he have to ask that was so big-? After a few seconds, Haruka reopened his eyes, and turned to look at his boyfriend, wearing a vivid expression of sincere determination. "I want to have a baby with you."
A blush rose in Makoto's cheeks, and his jaw fell slack. He stared at Haruka, eyes bulging, opening and closing his mouth as he struggled to find the right words. "...I… Oh, Haru…! I… To be honest, I want to have a family with you too, one day…"
To Makoto's horror, Haruka was shaking and even sweating a bit, as if it took all of his strength to have this conversation. "I'm not talking about in the future. I mean… I want a baby with you now."
Makoto felt his heartbeat increase as he realized the topic at hand. "...now? While we're... still in high school? Haru, this is our last year…" he said as calmly as he could manage.
Haruka had removed his gaze from Makoto's face and was instead staring down at his lap, gripping the bed tightly. He spoke very slowly, so as to keep his voice steady. "I won't ask you to drop out with me. I'm no good at school, anyway. It would be better to leave halfway through than to waste my time until the end. I never planned on going to college, and… We're moving in together while you go to university, aren't we? Then there's no problem."
"Well… Yes, I was planning on that… But, while I'm in class, you'd be left home alone with the baby…!" Makoto pointed out. He felt his face burn redder as he began to imagine a life where he studied all day at university then returned home each evening to his beloved Haruka, and a baby. ...his heart beat faster as it occurred to him that it wasn't a bad thought.
"I don't mind." Haruka's heart was beating just as fast as Makoto's. He had to win this… He had to...
Makoto gulped hard. They were still young, they really shouldn't have a baby just yet… Another argument occurred to him. "You'll have to quit the swim team…"
"I know that. I never cared about competitive swimming, anyway…"
"...no, but, without all four of us, we'll have to break up the team… There wouldn't be an Iwatobi Swim Club anymore," Makoto reasoned reluctantly.
Haruka stopped. ...Makoto was right… This wasn't just about him. Such a big decision would impact more than just him- more than just him and Makoto, even. He realized, then, just how selfish he was being, and just how absurd of a thing he was asking for. "...right… Sorry." He hung his head and turned his face away, so that Makoto couldn't see that tears were welling up in his eyes. But Makoto could feel his distress. ….and he couldn't take it anymore.
"...Haru…" Haruka flinched. He didn't want to hear Makoto's soft, piteous voice; not when he knew he was upset with him. He suddenly wanted to get up and go home. "Haru, listen to me. I… I want to do this."
Haruka's entire body froze. His eyes widened enough that one tear escaped and slipped down his cheek. "...what?" he whispered.
"I… I want to have a baby with you, too." Makoto blushed, smiling almost apologetically. "And… I'm sure it's selfish of us, to break up the swim team, but, I'm sure if we just talk to them, Gou and Rei and Nagisa will understand… I know we're probably too young to be parents, but... If you don't want to wait, I won't make you wait. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this… If you're sure you're ready, then, I'm right there with you. I love you, Haru. I'll do anything for you."
The thin wall Haruka had put up to contain his emotions shattered, and all of his feelings came pouring out at once. His body stopped shaking and he gazed up at Makoto, looking shocked and relieved and grateful all at once, while tears began to trickle down his face.
"...Makoto… Thank you." He choked out. Shaking his head slightly, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around Makoto's thick neck, crying gently against his chest. "...I love you..." he murmured softly.
Makoto smiled softly, nearly in tears himself. "I love you, too… Haru…"
"...tonight," Haruka murmured, leaning back and wiping his eyes on his arm. "Let's try tonight."
Makoto's face flushed pink once again. "Wow, you really meant it when you said you want a baby now…" He laughed nervously.
"...we don't have to, if you aren't ready." Haruka realized just how much he was asking of Makoto; he didn't want to put any more pressure on him than he needed.
"No-!" Makoto shook his head, and smiled reassuringly. "I'm ready whenever you are." To prove his point, he took Haruka's face in his hands and gave him a big, soft kiss. Haruka was smiling when he pulled away.
At exactly the same time, Haruka and Makoto took a deep, composing breath. They laughed lightly at each other. "So… How do we do this-?" Haruka had explained, once, how conception worked with the artificial womb, but the way he stated it had been so embarrassing that Makoto had forgotten.
"Unprotected anal, preceded by long, stimulating foreplay." ...that's right. That's why Makoto had been embarrassed to hear Haruka's explanation.
"R-right," Makoto coughed, blushing heavily and scratching his cheek. "So, um…. Do we, start now?"
"Mhm… ...wait, no."
Makoto's eyes widened in concern. "What's the matter-?"
"...we should lock the door, first."
The artificial womb had certain benefits. It followed a certain cycle just like women's reproductive organs, except without menstruation. The closest a man with an artificial womb came to a "period" was during the days he was most fertile. For a few days each month, he would feel certain symptoms of pregnancy: horniness, cravings, and mood swings.
Nagisa planned to use the knowledge of his own cycle to his advantage.
Nagisa felt as if he fell more and more in love with Rei every day. At this point, he felt so much love for him he felt like he would burst. He couldn't imagine ever loving anyone else in his life. Consequently, it made him fantasize about a future with him. He was uncertain whether or not Rei's love for him was as strong as his was for Rei, but he still liked to think that they would stay together even after high school, seeing each other around their busy work and college schedules, then attending each others' graduations (assuming they went to separate universities) and then buying a cozy little house together, and getting married and one day starting a family. Those thoughts made Nagisa very happy.
On the contrary, one of the secrets Nagisa had digressed in Rei and Rei alone was how stressed school made him feel. The boarding school he had attended during middle school, and the pressure his parents put on him to get good grades, made academics a nightmare for Nagisa. He liked coming to school to see his friends, and for the swim club… But the scholarly part of it was dreadful for him.
The combination of the two contradicting thoughts- how much he loved Rei, and how much he detested school- made him want something very, very risky. Something that, unbeknownst to Nagisa, Haruka wanted for himself and Makoto, too.
Rei had invited him over to his apartment for a study date, and to spend the night if they ended up studying until dark. The plan that Nagisa had formulated revolved around him spending the night, and so he made sure to take his time on each assignment, and ask Rei as many questions as possible.
"Well would you look at that… We've covered everything!" Rei declared triumphantly as he closed the fourth textbook they had opened that night. He beamed at the little blonde next to him. "You really worked hard today, Nagisa. I'm proud."
Nagisa's cheeks turned pink at Rei's sincere praise, and he giggled. "Nah, I couldn't have done half of this without you here to motivate me!"
Rei's expression softened, and he ruffled Nagisa's hair lightly. "You truly don't give yourself enough credit, Nagisa." He happened to glance at the window as he said this, and his eyes widened behind his glasses. "When did it get so dark-?!" The smile returned to his face. "It seems you'll be spending the night, then, hm? I'll start dinner…"
"Ooh, good idea! Rei-chan's cooking is super yummy~" Nagisa stood and stretched while Rei went off to the kitchen. Once Rei was out of the room, the innocent grin on Nagisa's face slowly contorted into a suggestive smirk. He tip-toed after his boyfriend, and draped his arms around his waist from behind. "You know, Rei-chan," he murmured into Rei's ear, his chin propped on his shoulder, "wouldn't ya say I deserve a reward for studying so hard tonight~?"
Rei sighed as he turned on the stove, but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, alright… You earned a kiss."
Nagisa could never turn down one of Rei's kisses; however, that wasn't what he had in mind, so he pouted as Rei leaned towards his lips. "I do love your kisses, Rei-chan… Buuut, I was thinking we could try something special."
The smile faded from Rei's face, and he pulled his mouth away from Nagisa's. "...special?"
"You know…" Nagisa raised his eyebrows mischievously and lowered his voice. "That thing."
It took him a moment to realize, but Rei knew exactly what "thing" Nagisa was talking about. He coughed heavily, his face immediately flushing a deep red and his eyebrows furrowing together. "...w-well, we… Did discuss that, yes… And as much as I would love to do that with you, I don't own the proper materials….!"
Nagisa's eyes widened incredulously. "Didn't you buy lube when we first said we might do this? Did you already use it all?"
Rei flinched at how casually Nagisa said something so embarrassing. He adjusted his glasses with his pointer finger and cleared his throat. "No, I haven't touched it since I purchased it… But it's the… protection, that I don't have."
Nagisa tilted his head. "Oh, you mean condoms?" Rei flinched again, closing his eyes tightly in embarrassment, but then nodded. Nagisa shook his head dismissively. "Oh, that's okay! You don't have any STDs, right?"
"Well no, of course not! But, Nagisa… Are you forgetting that you possess a womb? And you can get pregnant through the method of sex we're talking about here…"
Nagisa gave another shake to his head. "Only if we do it when I'm fertile! And my fertile days for this month ended last week."
From the way that Nagisa stated that so casually, one would think that he made a habit of telling lies. Because that was exactly what he had just said: a lie. The first half of it was the truth; however, he was on the second day of his "period," and he knew that. But there was no way that Rei would.
"...are you… positive…?" Rei asked nervously, the blush gradually draining from his face.
"Positive! I could never lie to you, Rei-chan." Nagisa rubbed his head affectionately against Rei's shoulder, as if to prove his loyalty with the loving gesture.
"...well, in that case…" Rei cleared his throat, and adjusted his glasses again. "We'll finish our meal, and then we can try… that."
Nagisa let out a contented squeal. "YAY! Thank you, Rei-chan! I love you so much!" With that, he pecked Rei on the lips and skipped to the other side of the kitchen so that he could cook in peace.
It was a good thing Rei was better at reading books than people, because behind Nagisa's flirty grin, he was suppressing a strong sense of guilt, and deep down, feeling very, very nervous.
"Nitori-senpai! Nitori-senpai!" Aiichirou tensed as his noisy roommate bounded into their dormitory. "Did your teacher tell you about the artificial room test, too?"
"...you mean 'womb'... But, yes, we all were told. It's a yearly thing; I heard about it last year, too," Aiichirou told him matter-of-factly. It felt good to be able to act like a privileged upperclassman, he had to admit, especially when he had to deal with an underclassman like Momotarou every day.
"Well, are ya gonna take the test?" Momotarou eagerly inquired, scampering up into his bunk and leaning over the side so that he was looking at Aiichirou upside-down.
Aiichirou paused, slowly putting down the magazine he was reading and staring down at his lap. "...I… might, actually, yes. I think so," he answered hesitantly, a light pink tinting his cheeks.
Momotarou let out an excited gasp, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's take it together!"
"...you mean you want to take it?" Aiichirou asked, a bit perplexed.
"Yup! I wanna know how compatible I am!"
Aiichirou raised an eyebrow, looking up at the red-headed first year with a bit of aggravation in his expression and tone. "So, you're basically just taking it for fun."
"Preeeeetty much!" Momotarou confirmed. The color was beginning to drain from his face, so he swung himself back upright, giggling at his light-headedness.
Aiichirou sighed, shaking his head and returning to his magazine. Was I that obnoxious as a first year, too? he wondered. ...that was something he knew the answer to. Memories of his own voice squealing "Rin-senpai! Rin-senpai!" played in his head, and his cheeks turned even pinker than before. ...but now here he was, in a happy relationship with the upperclassman he spent the entire year bothering, so obviously he did something right. Continuing to blush, he smiled contentedly to himself.
With it being a private school, Samezuka followed a slightly different procedure for the artificial womb test than Iwatobi. Since many of the students lived too far away to possibly get a form signed by their parents within two weeks, anyone was allowed to take the test so long as they signed up. If they wanted to go through with the actual surgery, however, then they needed written consent. That being said, the following morning after breakfast, Aiichirou and Momotarou headed to the nurse's office and signed up to take the test.
They were called down that evening, just before swim practice. Since they finished around the same time, Momotarou brought it upon himself to walk with Aiichirou to the pool. "How did your test go, Nitori-senpai?"
"Um, fine…" Aiichirou wondered if Momotarou had any sense of when people did not want to talk to him.
"It was kinda gross, huh? How did you give them, you know, the white stuff?" Momotarou gasped, and a mischievous smirk stretched across his face. He poked Aiichirou's arm teasingly. "Did you think of Rin-senpai~?"
Aiichirou's entire face flushed bright red and he let out a horrified squeak. He ran the rest of the way to swim practice, Momotarou cackling behind him.
Since there were more boys at Samezuka than Iwatobi, it took much longer for their results to come in. In Aiichirou's case, however, this was a good thing; it provided him with enough time to think over what he would do if the results came back positive. By the time they called him to the nurse's office the following week, he had made up his mind.
"Mr. Nitori, let's see…" The doctor's eyes widened as she flipped through her clipboard. Aiichirou was nervous enough as it was, but that reaction did not make him feel any better. However, when the doctor looked up at him, she smiled. "You are extremely compatible, young man. 99%!"
Aiichirou's shoulders fell in relief, and a tiny smile formed at the corner of his mouth. "Oh…! So, if I wanted to get the surgery, it would be safe…?"
"Perfectly safe. I take it that means you're interested, then?"
Aiichirou hesitated. He had put a lot of thought into this, but as he realized what a big decision he was making, he felt a little uncertain. Still, he gulped, closed his eyes tightly, and gave a decisive nod.
The doctor told Aiichirou everything he needed to know about the surgery itself, and how to proceed with getting it done. After signing up for an appointment, he was dismissed, just in time for swim practice.
"Sorry I'm late, Rin… I was at the nurse," Aiichirou apologized as he hurried out of the locker room. Rin, who was doing his leg stretches, shook his head casually.
"I know, I heard them call you down. They gave you your test results, right?" Aiichirou blushed as if it had been a secret, even though he had told Rin that he took the test the day he took it. He nodded. "And?"
"...um… I'm compatible. Extremely compatible, actually…"
Rin paused his stretching and stood on his feet. He smiled down at Aiichirou, ruffling his hair affectionately. "I can believe that… So, how about the surgery? Do you think you're going to get it?"
Aiichirou's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, and he gazed nervously at the floor. "...well… I already made an appointment. So…. Mhm."
Rin's eyes widened. There was a bit of surprise in his expression, but it faded quickly. The smile returned to his face, softer this time. "Oh yeah? I'll have to be more gentle with you, then," he teased. Disregarding whether or not anyone was watching, he leaned over and gave Aiichirou a little peck on the lips. The poor boy blushed even deeper.
"I'll have to miss three weeks of school, minimum…" he told him, facing the ground but looking up at Rin with his eyes. He was smiling slightly; he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Rin's very presence made him happy.
"Yeah, I remember when Haru and Nagisa had to… That's why we kicked their butts at those two tournaments." He grinned at his own comment, and it made Aiichirou unconsciously smile wider.
"...um… I thought about it a lot, and, I don't know if I'll be able to recover after the surgery, like Haru-senpai and Nagisa did…" Aiichirou gulped, his smile fading as he tried to find the right words. "I… don't think I'll be able to swim in tournaments. I know you had me on the roster, but… I think, you'll have to take me off… I'm sorry…"
He closed his eyes, expecting Rin to be gazing at him in disappointment. However, when he peeked at his boyfriend with one eye, he saw that he was only smiling softly at him. "Well, if that's really how you feel… I'm not going to force you to work past your limits. We'll have to wait and see; maybe we can whip you back into shape. I'm not going to give up on you, but I'll take you off the roster for now, Ai."
Aiichirou's chest suddenly felt very warm inside, and it seemed as if butterflies were fluttering around his stomach. Rin really, truly was such a good person… "Oh…! Thank you, Rin-! I lo-"
"NITORI-SENPAI!"
And, there went the sentimental moment between them. "What, Momo," Aiichirou practically growled, slowly turning from Rin to glare at the boy that had interrupted them.
"I got my results! I'm 70% compatible with the womb!" Momotarou announced proudly. He was oblivious to how strongly uninterested Aiichirou was.
"So are you thinking about getting the surgery, then, Momo?" Rin casually asked the first year. Why are you making conversation with him?! Aiichirou thought angrily.
Momotarou snorted. "No way! I was just kinda curious! Chicks don't dig guys with lady parts." He then suddenly seemed to realize that he was at swim practice but not yet in a swimsuit, and scurried off to the locker room without another word.
Aiichirou let out an irritated sigh. "Was I that annoying last year, Rin?"
"...hmmmm…"
Aiichirou's jaw dropped. "Why are you taking so long to think about it-?!" he shrieked. Rin laughed, placing his hand atop Aiichirou's head.
"Kidding, kidding. I wouldn't say you were annoying, more like… dedicated." Aiichirou's offensive stance deflated, and the tiniest of smiles grew on his face. Blushing, he stood on his toes and gave Rin a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you, Rin…." he murmured.
"And I love you, too, Ai."