-Later-
After Maru's ten o'clock appointment, he found Rin in her office, working on the computer with a few stacks of papers around the laptop. He wasn't even sure why he had come over since he had his own things to work on, and it wasn't quite lunchtime yet. Rin looked up, seemingly just as carefree as she had been before the incident with Onigumo. He didn't know why she hadn't asked about what Onigumo and he had discussed...and he didn't exactly want to tell her why Onigumo had come to see him—the reasons were rather unsettling, and he wanted to take care of the situation without getting her further involved, but she had to know. Locking the door behind him to keep out anyone barging in on the conversation, he said,
"I wanted to tell you why Nara Ku came to see me." Rin's smile wavered, and her hands stopped moving over the keyboard. She seemed to think about it for a couple of seconds, and then finally closed her laptop.
"Okay..." Getting up, she walked around to sit in one of the two chairs facing her desk, sitting down just as Maru took the other seat. Tiredly setting his forearms on the armrests, Maru took a deep breath and let it out. Rin looked at him anxiously, hoping to herself that Onigumo's reappearance in her life was simply coincidence.
"Well, the first thing I asked him was why his name was Nara Ku when you had said his first name had been Onigumo. He was almost nonchalant when he said it was because Nara Ku was an alias. He didn't outright say it, but Onigumo is in the mob," Maru rumbled, though the only sign of anger on his face were his tense jaw muscles. Rin gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. He's in the mob?! When did this happen?! I—I can't deal with this! Maru continued, "He has affiliations with Arnold Blunderson, and had been in the lobby of D&S last Monday afternoon. He didn't say why he was here, but he said he was 'surprised and pleased' to see someone from college walking in."
Rin's eyes closed, and her hands moved up to cover her entire face. This can't be happening—it can't be happening. Speaking from behind her hands, Rin asked,
"Wh—why did he come see you then?" Maru wanted to pull Rin's hands away from her face, but stopped himself so that he could give her the whole story first.
"He's supposedly been watching you this whole time, and knows about us. I frankly wouldn't care if he told the higher-up's about us—Miroku pretty much knows, anyway. However, he's got it in his head that you're his...his property...and threatened to make me disappear if I didn't stop seeing you." This last statement got Rin crying, understandably. After only ten seconds, though, Rin couldn't control the anger that welled up, and tore her hands away.
"He can't do that! I'm going to see the man of my dreams if I want to!" Rin ground out, angrier than she had ever been in her life. She didn't notice Maru's raised eyebrow upon her mention of him being the 'man of her dreams,' but rather, kept on going. "I'll go to the police before I ever stop seeing you!" Rin was fairly shaking with anger, but her eyes softened when they fell on Maru's concerned face. Why did that monster ever enter my life? I could have simply passed him by and been fresh for Maru. Why didn't I see what he was? Now only feeling regret and frustration, Rin's hands balled into fists and she watched her knuckles turn white.
"My father was the police commissioner for about eight years when I was a child. So I know quite a few people on the police force now. I'll make a few calls after lunch today. Cops are always more genial when they've been fed," Maru joked, hoping to get a smile out of Rin. She took a deep breath and let it out as her hands relaxed in her lap. Her mind started to clear a bit, and she looked up at Maru. He couldn't help but admire her determination.
"It's strange that your father is a cop," Rin pointed out, wanting to change the subject. "My father was a firefighter. I don't think Yasha mentioned what he does for a living. Or why his family name is different from yours. Neither of you talked about yourselves very much." Rin had dabbed at the wetness around her eyes, which were starting to look normal again. Her eyelashes were still spiky from being wet, and her cheeks were still a bit flushed, but her enormous brown eyes were clear and bright. He swallowed.
"Well, my mother met my father when he was pulling her over for speeding. She used to say that the way father looked in his uniform was what first drew her," Maru laughed, which brought a small smile to Rin's face. "They had me first, but then mother died in a car accident. Someone ran a red light while she was crossing the street." Rin's face quickly lost its smile.
"I'm sorry. That must have been rough," she said. He shook his head, continuing,
"That wasn't the worst part. Father was pretty upset, and kind of...went a little crazy for a while. He slept around, and got Yasha's mother pregnant when I was about eight. She didn't tell him until the hospital called to say she was in labor. She had broken it off with father only a couple weeks after they had started dating. I remember overhearing that she left my father because he wasn't around enough. She died of complications, and father adopted Yasha, but didn't give him his family name. Yasha resented that when he was older, but the two of them worked it out between the two of them. Yasha never really told me how it went. Kagome was the best thing that ever happened to him. He was sort of a punk in high school, but...she made him want to be something more than just another thug. He went to NYU with her and got a degree in engineering. He works for a computer company now, and Kagome teaches." Having answered all of Rin's questions, Maru fell silent, staring at a spot on the floor.
Rin looked away from him to the clock on the wall, which read 11:07. We should get back to work until lunch at noon...but...I can't seem to concentrate today. Unsure of what to say next, Rin looked back at Maru, who had been watching her profile. She felt an urgent need to thank Maru for being there for her, a need that galvanized her to rise from her seat and gingerly slid into his lap. He didn't look surprised, and instead held her close. She laced her fingers behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
"Thank you, Maru," Rin sighed against his mouth before parting his mouth with her tongue and sliding it along the flesh of his lips. Rin's heartbeat increased, and she could definitely tell that Maru was enjoying the kiss—the hardness forming underneath her left thigh attested to that fact. Pulling back a bit, Rin smiled at Maru, feeling mischievous. "You can actually do this again? I thought men couldn't take it too many times in one day." Maru had wrapped his right arm around her body, his right hand holding one of her breasts possessively, and his other hand was squeezing her rear.
"We can handle it...we just need a break once in a while," Maru said coolly, leaning down to kiss her again. His kiss was once again soft and gentle, which pulled at Rin's heartstrings. Holding him closer still, Rin deepened the kiss a little, but kept it slow. She did want to go faster—the way his right hand was massaging her chest certainly was a factor. For another two minutes or so, Maru suckled at Rin's lips, turning them red. Rin was squirming a little in his lap, feeling warm and heavy in his arms. Pulling back, Rin's passion-glazed eyes met Maru's steady gaze. Rin pressed her chest against Maru's constantly moving hand, whispering,
"Is the door locked?" Maru simply nodded, having lost his voice. Rin then slid from Maru's lap, despite his attempts to pull her back. Pulling out the third condom, Rin tossed it at him, warning, "That's the last one I stole. We'll have to actually work for the rest of the day." Rin stood between Maru's legs, tugging her tan skirt up. Maru quickly worked his slacks open, rolling the condom on and sitting more comfortably in the chair. Walking herself over the chair, Rin was poised above Maru's lap and reached back to find the arms of the chair. Maru's hands guided her hips as she sank down—knees hooked over the armrests and feet leaving the floor. Breathing deeply, Maru leaned his head back as Rin settled over him. She brought her hands forward, unbuttoning her blouse once again. She opened her bra for his hungry gaze, and set her lips against his temple when he pulled her closer.
With one arm around her waist while the other hand held her breast, Maru leaned forward and laved his tongue over the tip. Rin braced her hands on the armrests again, bringing herself up and then lowering herself down. Relishing the feel of Maru inside her body, she clenched her inner muscles as she pulled up again, and heard Maru barely hold back an agonized cry as his arm tightened around her waist. Shifting somewhat, Maru held her hind end in his hands, helping her move up and down. Rin gripped the back of the chair just above Maru's shoulders, pressing her chest against his and taking his lips in an open-mouthed kiss. She concentrated on the kiss, and on clenching her muscles at the right time in each stroke. Letting up a bit to let Maru breathe, Rin pressed her cheek to his, closing her eyes and focusing on the feel of his arousal moving in and out of her body.
"Maru..." Rin softly sighed into his ear, feeling a slow, strong climax coming...just a little more. Maru was so close to orgasm that it only bumped up the pleasure a notch higher each time climax eluded him. She let her head roll back, letting out high-pitched, breathy groans as Maru's hands moved her body faster. Her arm muscles tightened with every stroke as she pulled herself up, squeezing his arousal with her body. "Maru..." Climaxing with the final hard thrust he gave as his own orgasm arrived, Rin sank against his chest. Taking in large gulps of air, he wrapped his arms around her waist as he throbbed inside her body, which pulsated around him.
"Rin...that's the best thank you I've ever received," he mumbled into her shoulder.
-End of the Work Day-
After eating at Hatsuhana and doing a real four hours worth of work to make up for their lack of it earlier that day, Maru and Rin were almost ready to leave the office. Rin was writing a few notes to herself for the next day when Maru walked into her office in his black trench coat and leather briefcase. The phone rang, and Rin reached to pick it up as Maru set his briefcase down in the chair across from her desk...where they had made love hours earlier.
"Tsubaki Rin..." Rin listened to the person on the other line for about a minute, then answered, "You can come in to fill out that paperwork or I can send it to you by mail...yes, I'll help you fill it out if you come in...uhm, I have Thursday at nine o'clock open if that's good for you...yes...sure...uh-huh...okay, thanks!" Hanging up the phone, Rin jotted down another note on her memo pad and left it lying next to the phone. Maru then said,
"I talked to Detective Seikai for awhile when we got back from lunch. He's been tracking New York's mob for at least ten years now, and let me in on a couple of things about Onigumo. He supposedly runs a restaurant in Brooklyn called Hell's Kitchen. It makes a ton of money, but isn't a very popular place. Seikai thinks Onigumo's restaurant is a front, of course, but he's not sure for whom. He's going to have someone watch the lobby of D&S and our apartment building." Maru waited for what Rin would say because her reaction indicated relief.
"That's good to know. I feel better now that you're safe," Rin sighed, closing her laptop. Maru struck an offended pose.
"You don't think a native New Yorker can handle a weasel like Onigumo? I have my own talents, Rin." Maru's ego had been pummeled, so Rin shrugged into her jacket and walked around the desk with her briefcase.
"I don't doubt your ability to whoop ass, Maru," Rin joked, but Maru simply raised an eyebrow at her. "I doubt your willingness to protect yourself if forced to keep Onigumo away from me." Rin's eyes had turned serious, and Maru's eyes softened. "I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt because of me." Maru pulled Rin into a hug, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. A knock on the door got the two apart quickly enough, and Jaken's head peeked around the corner of the door.
"I'm leaving now, Mr. Sesshou, unless there's anything else you need," he said. Maru picked up his briefcase, and Rin followed suit, draping her purse over her other shoulder.
"That should be all for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning," Maru calmly replied. Rin wondered if Maru was angry with Jaken—he always seemed to be angry with him. Jaken just nodded, and his head disappeared behind the door. Maru listened to his footsteps for about fifteen seconds before turning to Rin. Bringing up his free arm, Maru held Rin's chin in his hand, opening her lips with his thumb. Leaning down, he slid his tongue between her lips, slowly slanting his mouth over hers. Rin laid a hand on his bicep, leaning into the kiss. Maru pulled back and licked his lips as he stared down at Rin.
"So what are your plans for dinner tonight?" he asked, which took awhile to register in Rin's mind. She looked off to the side in thought, and then brought her gaze back to Maru. Smiling, Rin answered,
"I need to stop by a grocery store anyway, so I'll make you dinner tonight. It should be ready by seven, but...you can always come over earlier and hang out with me." Maru's eyebrow went up again, making Rin want to smooth it back down.
"Do you need a ride to the store?" Rin shook her head, and secured her purse over her shoulder. They made their way to the elevator and crammed into one headed downstairs.
"I'll get a taxi and be back to the apartment by six-thirty." Waiting in silence for another minute, the elevator stopped once more before reaching the ground floor, and everyone piled out to go home. Maru squeezed Rin's hand once before heading across the street to the parking garage as Rin hailed a taxi.
-Six o'clock-
Somehow balancing three grocery bags, her purse, and her briefcase, Rin managed to clamber out of the taxicab, and the doorman ran up to help her.
"Wow...that's a lot of stuff to be carrying!" he exclaimed, taking two of the bags out of her arms. Rin smiled and thanked him, walking into the building to the set of elevators on the left side of the lobby. Inside the elevator, she pushed the button for floor twenty-two, and the doorman handed her the bags again, stepping back as the elevator doors closed. After twenty-one dings, the doors opened on floor twenty-two, and Rin managed to set down her grocery bags on the hallway floor before fishing her key out of her purse. Unlocking the door, she threw her key back into her purse, and opened the door. Setting her briefcase and purse against the wall inside, she pulled the three grocery bags inside, and finally got all three on the counter. Flipping on a few lights as she went, Rin put her briefcase and purse in the living room, and kicked off her high heels.
After changing into a pair of jeans and a red and yellow blouse, Rin put away the groceries except for the ingredients she needed, and pulled a couple pans from the overhead rack, setting them on the stove. Rin turned the little fifteen-inch TV in the kitchen towards the stove, and turned it on, finding the last three or four minutes of the local news. Hearing a knock on the door, Rin ran to it, peeping through the little hole and finding a sexy boss on the other side. Quickly opening the door, Rin smiled hugely at Maru, inviting him inside.
Maru was surprised at how different Rin looked in casual clothing—hair down, feet bare, and...just looking young. He had changed into a pair of black slacks and a dark blue, button down shirt that hugged the muscles of his chest, back, and upper arms. Rin shut the door behind him, cheerfully saying,
"It's always nice to have a home-cooked meal. I'm making tacos, so I hope you like Mexican food." Rin then walked into the kitchen, and Maru followed her around the partition. She was cooking some hamburger, sprinkling onion chips into the pan. Off to the side was a head of lettuce sitting on top of a cutting board with a thin, sharp knife sitting next to it. "So what did you do between five o'clock and now?" Rin asked, prodding the hamburger inside the pan.
"I made a phone call, changed, then sat and pined after you," Maru said in a deadpan voice. Rin laughed, and strafed to the cutting board.
"Who did you call?" Slicing through the lettuce carefully, Rin threw the scraps into the sink and the rest into a bowl. Maru leaned his hip against the counter, watching her hands slice up the lettuce.
"I called Detective Seikai for any updates," he replied, noticing that her hands stopped for a couple of seconds.
"Really? What did he say?" Rin asked, obviously trying to sound offhand. She finished with the lettuce and began to gather up the remains to dump into the sink's garbage disposal.
"Neither of the surveillance officers saw anything," he said simply. He saw Rin nod as she turned on the water and flipped the switch for the garbage disposal. A few seconds later, she shut it off and washed her hands, not saying anything. That's when the news came back from commercial for their final stories, and Rin caught someone's name.
"An apartment building on the lower west end was infiltrated by several intruders, who had no trouble getting inside since the building's security measures were malfunctioning. The intruders vandalized and robbed some apartments, and broke in the door of another. Thankfully, the occupant had moved out a few days earlier. Perhaps the worst crime was the brutalizing one of the tenants, who happened to be in the stairway during the raid. Originally a Queens resident, Tanuki Mushin, died of his injuries in the hospital. Also, an act of ..." As the anchor went on to another story, Rin stood there in a state of shock, tears pooling in her eyes.
Maru was about to go to her when the cell phone attached to his belt rang. He ground his teeth together, but checked to see the number of the person calling. Seeing it was the office number of Seikai, he answered the call.
"Yes?" Listening for a while, he brought her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and was breathing heavily in an attempt to stop crying. "I see," he said after a couple of minutes. Rin seemed to have quieted down, and he looked at her to see that she was waiting for him to relay information from the detective. "I appreciate this, Seikai. I'll talk to you in the morning...Yes, good night." Ending the call, Maru set the cell phone on the counter and placed the now free hand on Rin's shoulder.
"What did he say? Was it about Mushin?" Rin was clutching the back of Maru's shirt. Squeezing her shoulders under his hands, Maru replied,
"Yes. He hadn't received the information that the incident had occurred in your old apartment building until very recently. The apartment with the broken door was yours." Rin's mouth fell open at this news. Maru continued, "They've posted an officer in civilian clothing downstairs for the night. Detective Seikai wants to speak with you tomorrow. Is that alright?" Rin's mouth slowly closed, and she nodded once. Taking a deep breath, Rin forged ahead,
"Well, I better get back to the meat before it burns." Pulling out of his arms, Rin made her way back in front of the stove and turned down the heat beneath the hamburger. Maru watched as she drained the grease away from the pan, and then added the seasoning mix to the meat. She then set a glass lid over the top and turned to pick up the bowl of lettuce.
"Rin..." Maru's voice sounded concerned since she wasn't talking, but Rin didn't want him to see her face right then.
"Tell me more about you. Your favorite color, best childhood memory...that sort of stuff." Rin washed the lettuce as she spoke, shaking out the water from the bottom of the bowl as best she could. Picking up the tomato sitting near the cutting board, Rin washed the knife, and went to work on the tomato. Maru resignedly complied with her wish, seeing that she didn't want to talk about Onigumo at all.
"I don't really have a favorite color...I like white, I suppose." Maru then leaned back on the counter, crossing one ankle over the other. "When I was a kid, Yasha and I didn't really play together or anything. He was too little by the time I was a teenager for me to really want to spend time with him. I think Yasha takes exception to that..." Maru's voice died away a bit, but then Rin said,
"That's understandable. Most teenagers hate the little brother disease. Did you and your brother talk much when you got older?" Rin ventured, trying to make him open up.
"I had just entered graduate school when he got to high school, so we didn't talk much, no. He's probably only a year older than you. When he moved into the city for his job, we decided to eat lunch once a week in order to make up for lost time. I usually tease him about this gun my father gave him when he retired from the force. It was this .44 magnum father used to carry around. He even named it Tessaiga. Yasha wasn't thrilled to get it at first, but it grew on him. I tease him because I had always wanted it for myself. Since it was father's favorite, almost like part of his body, but he gave it to the younger son." Maru's voice had drifted away from the deadpan, monotone voice Rin sometimes heard. It sounds...younger now.
"Did your father give you anything?" Rin had turned from the cutting board, where the tomato had been sliced and diced, and sat in a pile in the middle.
"The gun given to every cop. He had named it Tenseiga because he used it to save people. Tessaiga—that's the only other weapon besides Tenseiga that he had with him when he met Yasha's mother. There was this robbery down in Queens at a convenience store, and father had been in line to buy some milk. Yasha's mother was the clerk, and this young guy pulled out a gun. Father tried to arrest him once he had Tenseiga out, but the guy just starting shooting. When the clip in Tenseiga ran out after father had gotten behind the counter with Yasha's mother, he pulled out Tessaiga, and managed to floor the guy with a bullet in the kneecap. The guy was one centimeter from losing the bottom half of that leg." Rin winced, which got Maru smiling.
"That's how he met Yasha's mother...I remember seeing her once. She was a very kind-looking person. Anyway, he gave Tenseiga to me, and Tessaiga to Yasha." Maru crossed his arms, looking away from Rin.
"It sounds to me like he cherished both the same amount. I'm sure he loved you and Yasha. Perhaps he gave Tessaiga to Yasha because...well, the woman he defended was his mother. It only seems fair. A .44 magnum may be more powerful, but the standard issue gun saved many more lives. I think you got the better gift, Maru," Rin reasoned, drying her hands on a towel. Maru didn't say anything, but looked over at Rin with a guarded expression. "Is your father still alive, Maru?" He shook his head, and Rin's face turned sympathetic.
"Some punk shot him because he didn't want a parking ticket. I thought my father was invincible, but a single gunshot in his kidney did it." Maru looked like he wanted to change the subject, so Rin looked around the kitchen, thinking of what she might say.
"Do you like hard shells or soft? I can make both, if you want." It was an odd way to end the conversation, but Rin wanted to get Maru smiling again. He didn't respond, though, and Rin just turned away to start placing some shells onto a cookie sheet as she turned on the oven.
"How about you? Are your parents still alive?" Rin set the sheet to the side and opened a second box of soft shells. She didn't look at him as she said,
"No. My mom and dad died of cancer. My dad had lung cancer, and my mom had breast cancer." Rin began to set three or four soft shells on the side of the cookie sheet, and laughed. "You know, this dinner date isn't turning out to be very enjoyable, is it? Maybe we should have gone out to eat." Hearing Maru move, Rin stiffened slightly as he wrapped her arms around her, but relaxed almost immediately. She could feel Maru's breath on her cheek, and closed her eyes.
"I'm enjoying myself because I'm coming to know you better. I would enjoy that any day." Her eyes began to sting, but she kept any tears from leaking out. Oh, Maru...you always know what to say, don't you?Rin brought up her forearms and hooked her hands over his arms as she leaned her head back against his shoulder.
"I like getting to know you, too," Rin sighed. She felt Maru brush his lips against her temple before he released her. Rin saw that the meat had simmered long enough and spooned it out into a bowl. Seeing the oven was ready, Rin set the timer and put the shells inside the oven. Carrying the bowl of taco meat to the little breakfast nook's table, she set it down between two of her best plates. Maru watched her as she went about the kitchen, noticing the way her body moved and the different looks that crossed her face.
"What would you like to drink?" Rin asked, looking inside her fridge. Walking over to her, Maru leaned down over her to peer inside. Rin bit her lip, feeling his pelvis brushing against her backside.
"Hmm...some of that Lasani water sounds good," Maru said as he leaned back up. Rin grabbed two bottles and then turned to a cupboard and brought out two glasses. Filling them with the water, Rin brought them over to the table.
"Dinner's served!" Rin piped happily. Maru smirked at her cheerfulness despite the long day, and sat down opposite her. The two chatted amiably about their childhoods as they ate, and Rin was happy enough to hear that Maru liked her cooking. He must be hungry, Rin thought, looking at the number of tacos he was consuming. Rin actually got a laugh of out him at one point, which just made her heart swell inside her chest.
After drying her hands once the dishes had been set to the side to dry, Rin turned to see Maru looking at a picture of Rin's parents hanging on the wall. She tossed the dishtowel onto the counter and walked up to his side.
"Dad got lung cancer because of all the smoke he inhaled from being a firefighter...and mom's side of the family is prone to breast cancer. I sometimes wonder if I'll get it someday." Rin ran her hand down Maru's arm as she glanced at her mother's smiling face. Maru turned to her.
"You will not get breast cancer." Maru seemed to be almost commanding it, which got a smile out of Rin.
"Oh yeah? And why is that?" Rin allowed Maru to pull her close and laced her fingers behind his neck, noticing how his ponytail brushed her knuckles.
"Because I like your breasts too much," he grumbled, pressing his hands against the small of her back. Rin smiled softly, somehow touched by the sideswipe compliment. She pulled gently on his neck and closed her eyes, loving how his arms slid around her waist. She felt her feet leave the floor as the tip of his nose brushed hers. She could feel his breath against her mouth, and licked her lips as they parted.
"Maru..." Rin whispered, tilting her chin towards his mouth. She secured her arms around his shoulders, but opened her eyes when she felt his mouth back away from hers. Maru was looking at her differently somehow, and Rin tilted her head to the side a bit, returning his glance with a questioning one. "What's wrong?" Rin softly asked. Maru lips came together in a smirk, and he set her down on her feet again.
"Nothing is wrong. I just...want to wait a little while until we...get into that again," Maru said, smoothing his hand down her arm to grab her hand and squeeze it. Rin looked confused, but only nodded. Squeezing his hand back, she pulled him into the living room and asked him to sit on the couch. Walking over to her only other TV, she leaned over the cabinet it was sitting on, checking the connections to the VCR. Finding a movie to watch out of her collection, she popped a tape into the VCR and grabbed the pile of remotes on the cabinet, bringing them back to the couch. Sitting down, Rin smiled as Maru pulled her back against him. She managed to get the movie started before leaning out of his arms to set the remotes on the glass coffee table in front of the couch. Leaning back again, Rin set her forearms on top of the ones wrapped around her ribs.
"I hope you like this movie...I tried to pick a manly one," Rin said, smiling. Maru set his cheek against her temple.
"Hmm...this movie is based on Tom Clancy novel, isn't it?" Rin made an agreeing noise. Throughout the movie, Rin and Maru talked once in a while about back-plot, current events, and how Rin thought that Alec Baldwin looked good in this movie, which got Maru grumbling about how it was only because he was wearing a uniform. Rin chuckled at his jealousy, but assured him that he looked just as good in everything he wore. The day had exhausted Rin, though, and by the end of the movie, it was close to ten, and Rin had leaned her head back on Maru's shoulder with her lips set against his neck. Maru could tell she was asleep as the credits scrolled up the screen—her eyes were closed and her breathing had slowed down.
Rolling his shoulder a bit, Maru brought Rin's lips up to his, and gently suckled her lower lip. Rin came back to reality after a few seconds, and her eyes fluttered open to see Maru looking down at her with that odd look on his face again.
"You keep looking at me like that," Rin quietly commented, squeezing the bicep under her hand. Maru smirked again, running his hand down her back, over her hip, and under her knees, pulling her legs over his thighs. Laying them down on the couch, its overstuffed cotton cushioning them, Maru said,
"It's just that I realized something important." Rin's eyes gazed into his wonderingly, but Maru shook his head. "I don't know if you've realized it yet. I'm thinking I might ask, though." Rin's lips drifted apart, catching onto his mood. Bringing his face close, Maru brushed his lips against Rin's, and looked directly into her eyes. "Do you think you might have come to care for me, Rin?" Rin's heart was fluttering inside her chest, and she swallowed heavily.
"I... I feel distracted lately. I can only think of you sometimes." Maru' thumb was caressing her cheekbone, and Rin felt a blush rise to her face. Is...is he asking me if I love him? I have thought about it...but I don't know. This is the first time that I've actually had a normal, close relationship with a man... Rin didn't know what to say. She knew what she wanted to say, but not what she should say.
"Do...do you love me, Rin?" Rin's eyes widened a bit as Maru confirmed what she was thinking. Maru was close to wincing at how hard his heart was palpitating inside his chest. He was genuinely afraid that she would reject him. I asked her too soon. How could someone fall in love that fast? Maru watched Rin's expression anxiously. Rin, having not found what she should say, said what she wanted to say instead,
"Yes. I do love you, Maru." Feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her chest despite the fact that Maru was still laying on top of it, Rin smiled. Maru returned the smile, and Rin noticed that it was the first genuinely happy smile she had ever seen on him. Goodness...seeing him smile like that makes him even more handsome.
"I love you, too, Rin. I love you so much, it hurts." Maru leaned down the last two inches and finally kissed her. He made love to her mouth, holding the side of her face in one hand and sliding his other hand under her shirt to massage and mold her breast underneath his palm. Rin moaned into the kiss, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his upper arm. Then sliding her hands down between their bodies, she found the button in her jeans and released it, sliding the zipper down before searching for the button of Maru's slacks. Feeling his arousal pressed against her right hip, she easily located what she was looking for.
Maru released Rin's mouth and leaned back on his knees. Rin pulled her shirt up and off as Maru unbuttoned his shirt. Wiggling out of her jeans, Rin finally kicked them off and watched as Maru's shirt fell on top of her jeans. He stood up, dropping his slacks and boxers to the floor. Rin quickly slid her underwear off, kicking them to the side as Maru stepped out of his slacks. Instead of lying down again on the sofa, Maru hooked his arms underneath Rin, picking her up. Rin couldn't help but notice how warm his skin was as he walked them to her bedroom. Setting her down next to the bed, Maru leaned down to where she stood to steal another kiss, which made Rin's knees feel wobbly and weak.
Maru and Rin were both breathing deeply by the time the kiss broke, and Maru gruffly asked her if she had protection. Rin shook her head, but whispered as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck again, "We don't need any, Maru." Maru slid his hands up Rin's sides, which got her giggling against his mouth. Sitting on the side of the bed, Maru reached to his left to grab a pillow at the top of the bed and set it behind him. Gently taking Rin's hands again, he lied back and pulled her over him so that she straddled his straining arousal. Rin was about to take him inside herself, but Maru simply said wait, and reached between her legs to find the sensitive spot in the warm folds of her body. Rin stiffened, but her mouth fell open in a silent cry. He rubbed very gently in small circles, not directly touching the responsive area. Watching Rin in the semi-darkness of the room, Maru's other hand trembled slightly with the effort it took not to grab her hips and pull her down. Rin's eyes were closed, her eyebrows bunched together a bit, and her lips were slightly ajar.
"Rin," Maru almost gasped, his need taking his breath away. When she opened her eyes to look down at him, the shiny orbs glazed over, Maru said, "Are you ready?" He was still rubbing in small circles, trying to keep Rin's hips from moving with his other hand.
"I'll always be ready for you," Rin sighed, closing her eyes again. Maru groaned at her response, taking his hand away despite her little moans of protest. Holding her hips, Maru guided her body down over his arousal. Rin sank down to the hilt of his body, and took his hands away from her hips. She pressed her palms against his palms, lacing her fingers through his fingers, and then opened her eyes. Finding Maru's eyes searching hers, Rin rose on her knees, and then sank back down, squeezing his body inside hers all the while.
"Unhh...Rin..." Maru choked out, clenching his teeth. Quickening the pace, Rin pressed the backs of his hands to the bedspread as she leaned forward. Feeling the rise of pleasure as warmth in her lower abdomen, she softly groaned. For a while, she bucked down against him, eliciting guttural sounds from his throat. Maru then brought his feet up onto the bed, tilting Maru's pelvis more towards Rin. The next thrust against Maru pushed him further into Rin's body, and she cried out at the friction his length was creating against the pearl underneath her skin. Going as fast as she could, Rin's soft, shallow breaths clashed with Maru's harsh, loud breaths. Shakily gasping in a high pitch, Rin plunged down against Maru one last time, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and trying to hold onto reality as the blood rushing through her veins threatened to make her faint. Maru harshly groaned as he pushed his hips up a bit, spilling himself inside her welcoming body.
Rin's arms began to shake, so she released Maru's hands and wilted down onto his chest. Feeling Maru's arms wrap around her back, Rin's heart finally slowed down, and she managed to swallow, having caught her breath. Nuzzling a spot behind Maru's ear, Rin brushed her fingertips along Maru's temple, smoothing the tiny strands of hair that escaped his ponytail away from his forehead. Maru sounded as if he was purring, which made Rin smile against his throat. Sitting up, she withdrew him from her body and sat to the side, lying back on the other pillow as Maru twisted up to lie next to her. Both managed to get underneath the covers, and Maru pulled Rin into his arms, both sharing a single pillow since Rin used Maru's arm as a cushion. Their legs tangled together underneath the covers, and Rin draped her free arm over Maru's side.
"Maru?" Rin mumbled against his chest. Maru made a questioning noise, brushing Rin's bangs away from her face. "Will you wake me up when it's time?" Replying with a simple yes, Rin seemed to settle down for the night, and Maru couldn't help but hold her tighter for a few seconds. If he tries anything...I'll kill him.