A/N: Thanks to FanofBellaandEdward for being my beta!

XV

Haru was gone.

The emptiness his presence left was unmistakable in day-to-day life.

He was thankful that school had ended weeks ago and there was no training left, because getting out of bed in the mornings was proving just too difficult. Even Makoto couldn't rouse him, not even when he had the whole gang outside the front door and calling his name through the letterbox.

He simply curled up under the covers, despite the heat, and slept on.

Ten days later he was woken by the soft sounds of movement downstairs. He grumbled to himself before burrowing under his pillow. The air was cooler. It must have been sometime in the evening, maybe even late at night. The house seemed a little louder, as though he wasn't the only one in there. The soft hush of socks on the floorboards made the hairs on his arms prickle. His mind was still foggy as he rubbed the heel of his hand into his eyes, trying to refocus. He let out a long, heavy sigh, as though the weight of the world pressed down on his chest and crushing his lungs.

Waking up was too upsetting. There was no reason to get out of bed anymore. He hadn't eaten in days and still didn't feel hungry. He barely had the energy to blink his eyes let alone roll to the edge of the bed.

A stair creaked down the hallway.

Rin was lying on his back in the gloom when his door handle turned. The door opened like a vaccuum; flooding the room with cleaner, fresher air. He didn't need to turn his head to know who it was; the faint scent that caught his attention as well as the twang of familiarity rushed through him and made his breath hitch.

"Rin?" His mother's voice had never sounded so calming before. After weeks of listening to it as a tinny echo through a phone, he was so grateful for the real thing. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt days of pent-up tears brimming to the surface. "Oh Rin!" There were no words needed. His mother knew when something was wrong. He felt the mattress dip under her weight and the warmth of her hands as she touched his arms and tried to lift him up into a hug.

He sniffed loudly as he buried his nose against her shoulder. He had missed this! He'd missed the comfort she offered, even when she didn't say a single thing. It was simply like she knew how to help just by being there.

"Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart," she crooned into his hair, her body slowly rocking back and forth.

"Can't ..." he choked out. He clutched her tighter.

There was only so much she could do for him. She held him close and stroked her fingers through his dark red hair. It was greasy to the touch; he clearly hadn't washed in days. Drawing in a deep breath, she leaned back on the bed and fixed her baby boy with a firm, loving gaze. She cupped his face and the expression he wore broke her heart. Pressing her lips together she took in Rin's drooping trembling lips, downcast eyes and the damp red nose. "Rin, love, tell me what's happened? You sounded so happy on the phone," she faltered a little as a tear smeared under his lashes. "What happened to your little friend?" she asked softly when it was clear that Rin wasn't going to answer.

"He ..." Rin swallowed past the lump in his throat, trying and failing to keep the tremor out of his voice. "H-Had to go ..."

"It's not the end of the world," she said. "He can always come back and visit. I don't mind. Your bed is more than big enough for two."

A sob cracked through the room. Rin leaned away and wiped at his dry cheeks. God, almost two weeks later and he still wasn't able to cry. He felt the tears, felt their wetness, but they never dropped lower than a smear under his eyes. Blowing out a sigh, his shoulders sagged and he dropped his chin to his chest. "He can't come back, mum. Ever."

There was no room for argument on the matter. She looked at him with a careful expression. He clearly didn't want to talk and there was no way for her to get any information out of him. Least of all so late at night. Stroking his stringy hair out of his face she tilted his chin up. "Don't let it bother you tonight, sweetheart. Try and get some proper rest and tomorrow I'll cook you a nice breakfast."

Rin didn't know what it was about that promise that made him feel better, but it did. He hugged her closer, absorbing her warmth and her adoration in one, deep breath. Loosening his hold on her, Rin settled back down on the pillows and watched as his mother was illuminated by the faint light peeking through his blinds; her long greying hair was pulled back in a low pony-tail at the nape of her neck -clearly she'd been too tired to style it for the flight back -and the slight bags under her eyes.

She still looked better than him, though.

She tucked him into bed like he was nine-years-old; she kissed his forehead and let her fingertips linger on his hand before she stood up off the bed and made for the door. Just as she stepped through, she turned back to look at her son, snuggled up in bed with a weary expression on his face. "Sleep now, darling. I'll wake you in the morning." With that said, she closed the door with a soft 'click'.

The last thing Rin heard was the soft padding of her slippers as she made her way down the landing towards her own bedroom.

The following morning Rin was still fast asleep when his bedroom door creaked open. He barely registered the last half of her words before she dropped down on his bed. He grunted and rolled his eyes as she shuffled under the duvet and nudged her nose against his. He nuzzled lower under his pillow and sighed heavily, his body still too exhausted to deal with the world beyond his comforter.

"Mum wants to know if you're coming down for breakfast?" Gou murmured, her voice so sweet and familiar to his ears.

Rin sighed and shook his head. "No ... I'm far too tired."

Through cracked eyelids, he saw that her face scrunched up into a frown. She was clearly debating on her next move. "Well ... can you come down anyway?" She nudged his foot with her toe. She was cool from walking around outside. "Mum made your favourite breakfast."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Please?" She slid her hand out over the covers and touched his hand. "Just ... for a little bit? I'll make you some tea."

The urge to hide away forever was almost too appealing, but then he had missed it when his little sister made him tea. Just the way she made it with a blob of honey always soothed him. Maybe it was worth crawling out for? He hadn't eaten in days ... the very thought of food made him feel sick. He didn't know if he was even going to be able to cope with tea, but he didn't want to see the look of Gou's disappointed face all day.

"Okay," he finally grumbled. "Let me get dressed and I'll be down."

"If you're not down in ten minutes I'm dragging you down whether you like it or not," she stated with renewed energy. She wriggled out from under his duvet before giving him an encouraging pat on the thigh. He felt the mattress shift as Gou moved off his bed and left.

The room felt empty once she'd gone.

Tossing the covers off his head, Rin stared up blankly at the ceiling. The sun poured in through his half-closed blinds and warmed him through his covers. Raking a hand through his hair, he grimaced at how greasy it was. He definitely needed to shower after he ate. For now, a hoodie would have to do.

Crawling out of his bed he dragged himself over to the chest-of-drawers, digging around with heavy fingers for something to wear. He didn't want to wear the hoodie Haru had last worn. It was still tucked underneath his pillow, barely smelling of him or even sea-water anymore. Now it just smelt musty and in desperate need of a wash. Finally, he tugged a light grey one out from the bottom and pulled it on over his head. The hood got caught but he didn't care; his hair was a mess and he probably had bags under his eyes. The hood could hide some of that at least.

Trudging down the stairs he felt like he no time had gone by; everything was still the same in their morning routine and yet he felt so out of place to be joining them. He'd experienced too much. Then again, his mum and sister could probably argue the same, seeing as they travelled around Europe and all he'd done was train and fall in love.

No biggie.

Giving his muscles a quick stretch he sighed before making his way out of his room and down the stairs. His mum looked up as he edged through the large walkway. She gave him a smile. Gou whipped around, her sleek red hair fanning around her. She smiled even brighter than their mum. "I'm glad you came down," his mum said as he settled down in the vacant chair. "Would you like some tea?"

Before Rin could answer, Gou piped up, "It's okay mum, I said I'd make it for him."

"I'm not an invalid!" he snapped, more to himself than to them.

"Oh stop being grumpy!" Gou said as she stood up and went over to the counter. Rin shrank inside his hood as he listened to the too-loud noises of Gou taking a mug out of the cupboard and putting the kettle on. Everything was too loud; it was like being at a concert right underneath the speakers. He was almost certain she was trying to make him deaf. Grinding his teeth together, he was just about to snap when she set the mug down in front of him. Softly. "There you go, drink up. You'll feel better in no time."

He didn't drink it right away; instead he wrapped his hands around the mug and let his palms burn. It felt good to feel something again. The first sip was bittersweet but warmed his insides instantly. The second sip was like liquid heaven as it rushed through his system. With each sip, Rin became more alert, even managing to force down a few pieces of toast and jam whilst Gou showed him printed photos of their holiday and his mum chattered away about how much attention they both got. His mouth smiled but his heart wasn't completely in it.

Part of his heart was at the bottom of the ocean, lost at sea, never to return.

Later that afternoon, whilst Gou was in her room on a Skype chat with one of her new friends, Rin and his mum were sitting outside in the late sunlight, sipping at iced tea and relaxing on the loungers. The pool would need to be drained down soon, but for now it was calming to have the coolness blow against him from the breeze.

"So, tell me, how was your summer?" his mum asked as she turned her face towards him. Half her face was swallowed up by her large sunglasses.

"It was fine; I studied, trained, came first in the Nationals and ... well you know about Haru." He shrugged it off dismissively.

"I know a bit about this Haru." She quirked an eyebrow. "I want you to actually talk about him, Rin. Keeping it bottled up won't do you any favours."

"I don't want to."

"I didn't ask what you wanted," she said, turning her face back toward the sun.

Rin pursed his lips and cast his gaze back to the sky. On the one hand he wanted to chew her out for being so damned nosy. On the other hand, he really was aching to let it all out. The only problem was that ... it was just too hard. "He was ..." he stopped. Why was it so hard just to say how he felt? How they were together? Maybe he felt a little awkward discussing it with his mum. Closing his eyes behind his own sunglasses, he sighed softly before tuning out the rest of the world. "He was quiet, barely spoke half the time. Didn't really like to go out much but when we did we always had fun. He got on with my friends well enough. Even raced on Makoto's team in the Nationals. He helped them come second to us, by a few seconds."

His mum stayed quiet, taking it all in.

Rin fiddled with the ties of his shorts. "He ... He was sweet. Didn't have any family to go back to. Just a school, really. We didn't really talk about the future, he only really loved to swim. I ... don't think he knew what he wanted to do after." He trailed off, absently aware that his eyes were damp again. "We used to go jogging up along the beach first thing in the morning. I'd take him on the pier and teach him to skip stones. He got quite ill just before you and Gou came back. I had to ... arrange for him to get home. Makoto helped me. I had to carry him on my back most places in the last week or so. He was barely able to get out of bed the day he went home."

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with everything on your own," his mum finally said as she reached over and took his hand in her own. Her palm was cold from where she'd held her drink, but it was soothing all the same. He squeezed back, feeling unusually emotional as his sobs bubbled in his chest. He wasn't about to cry. Sensing that he didn't want to talk anymore, his mum leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "It's okay," she said. "Let's just enjoy the sun and then we can think about dinner."

"Okay," Rin sniffed, cuffing his nose on his wrist. "Sounds good."

~0~

The last few days of summer started to melt away, giving way to cooler winds, earlier evenings and lamplights that flickered on before school had ended for the day. With each passing day Rin couldn't deny that he had moved on with life as much as he could. There was still no one around him that interested him romantically. He'd gone along to the two times Makoto and Sousuke had tried to set him up with someone, one a girl and the other a guy, but he'd ended the evening early, driving them home and left without an exchange of numbers or a goodnight kiss.

He wasn't a dater, he never had been.

As September was drawing to a close, Rin woke up one morning feeling restless. He tossed and turned in his bed as the sun slowly rose on the other side of his blinds, trying to figure out why he couldn't sleep. He hadn't eaten right before bed, he hadn't stayed up late and he hadn't been playing games on his phone until the unholy hours of the morning. So what was the problem?

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he clawed his phone out from under his pillow and flicked through his alarms to see if one was due to go off. None were set. That was odd; he usually had one set every day even when he wasn't studying. So how come none were set? That's when it clicked.

He hadn't been jogging in over a month.

Not since Haru had left.

Chewing on his lip, he drummed a random tune on his chest. Did he want to go back there? Maybe he didn't need to go right up to the pier? Maybe just up along the road; he didn't actually need to set foot on the beach itself. The more he thought about it, the more his fingers itched to reach for his jogging bottoms, the more his feet wanted to pound along the tarmac, music in his ears and the vague suggestion of seagulls cawing in the distance.

"Fine," he sighed to himself and pushed himself upright. Swinging his legs over the end of the bed he combed his hair into submission before gathering his essentials, draping them over his arm and heading to the bathroom down the hall. He changed in the dawn light and folded his pyjamas up on the toilet seat. His eyes still felt a little raw, but he didn't care. He'd spent too much time sleeping the rest of the summer away. Eventually even his friends had stopped trying to contact him, figuring that if he wanted to, he'd call them.

As he brushed his teeth Rin couldn't help but think that he'd over-reacted to a lot of what had happened. Logically, on paper, it had been a summer crush, a fling, nothing to cry over. He also had that added security that he'd never had to bump into Haru down the shops or at college. Then again, he'd never see Haru again; not in the supermarket, not by the pool, not even at any of the local restaurants.

Bracing himself over the cold sink, Rin glanced up at his reflection. He had lost a fair bit of weight in the last couple of weeks. It still felt tricky to eat, almost all food having the consistency of cardboard. Except Mackerel. Ironically, he was actually liking the damned fish. Other than that, though, he had definitely lost some weight, especially on his cheeks. Rubbing a hand over his jaw, he spat the last of the minty foam down the drain, rinsed the sink and then ducked out of the bathroom.

Tip-toeing, Rin took the stairs two at a time before stuffing his feet into his trainers. Once the laces were tied, he grabbed his keys off the side and slipped out of the door.

The cool morning air hit him like a an ice cube running down his spine. His muscles tensed up instantly. Plugging his earphones in and turning the volume up on his iPod, Rin stretched his muscles out, slowly warming himself up, before leisurely jogging down the driveway and out onto the main road.

The skies were still a soft grey colour, with strobes of misty blue light shining through. It was going to be a lovely day, when the clouds finally drifted off Southwards. That would be good. He could take Gou out for a drive and then maybe to the cinema. They hadn't had a night like that for months. Maybe they could even grab a take-away for them and mum on the way back home? It would be a nice change of pace and stop her from cooking so late at night.

Before he realised it, he came to a stop beside the railing that led down the concrete steps toward the pebbled beach.

His stomach dropped into his shoes.

'Where did the time go?' he wondered as he wrapped his hands around the metal piping. It was frozen. The touch burned through his skin. Swallowing thickly, he could feel the sweat soaking into his clothes as he stared down at the pebble dunes stretched out before him, reaching all the way down to the waves as they crashed against the shoreline. Biting down on his lip, he gripped the railing tighter. The sea was beckoning him closer, almost like it was calling out to him.

Drawing in a deep breath that soothed his lungs, Rin took his first step down onto the concrete staircase.

He let his feet carry him down and didn't fully realise what was happening until he heard the crunch of pebbles shifting under his trainers. His eyes wondered over to the pier and he suddenly felt nauseated. No, the pier was definitely a bad idea. Having spent many an afternoon skipping rocks with Haru, the mere smell of weather-worn wood would bring back difficult memories.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he clenched his fists tightly and making him way left, towards the rocky caves etched into the sides of the low cliffs. He had only one memory of Haru in that cave, and it hadn't exactly been the friendliest of encounters. His heart still lurched at the memory of pinning Haru down, all eighty odd pounds of raw, writhing merman, thrashing and lashing out in his frenzy to return to the sea. Now as he stepped through into the cave, the pale light barely illuminating the worn edges, he couldn't help but wish for the violence. At least it'd be better than the harrowing emptiness in his chest.

The soft hush of the waves frothing against the pebbled floor by his feet made him shiver.

The cave's usual path wound around a narrow ledge and opened out to a perfect view of an endless, unspoiled ocean. So perfectly blue and grey, churning and frothing in the early morning light, it was refreshing to his mind. He inhaled the salty air deeply, feeling as though the cobwebs were being blown out of his mind. His fingers twitched in his pockets as he turned his iPod off. The sudden near-silence was jarring. Frowning, he toed his trainers off as well as his socks before settling down on a smooth patch of sand. Stretching his legs out, he braced himself for the shock.

The water was freezing cold!

He let out a quiet grunt as he rolled up his jogging bottoms and dropped his legs down into the water, leaning back on his hands and dropped his head back; it felt so good to be back here, soaking the in the sea and the sea air. It was all so calming and natural. He had missed it so much.

"I miss you, Haru."

It was the first time he'd said it out loud in over six weeks. He knew the merman would never hear those words. Hell, he'd probably disintegrated into nothing more than sea-foam and dregs of salt, just like in the fairy tale. Maybe the entire summer had been nothing but a strange, elongated fantasy he'd concocted for himself. Why, exactly, he couldn't figure out but that was beside the point.

A buzzing at the back of his head was starting up. He was still so tired. The jog had clearly been a mistake. Clawing his hands through his hair he wriggled his toes, imagining little sucker fish swarming around them. His shins quivered a little in the water as it gently lapped up over his knees. His feet barely skimmed the pebbles at the bottom of the little lagoon that stretched out into the ocean.

Another breeze rippled over his skin.

He looked at the curved dome of the cave, covered in short, brown stalactites that hovered nearer the back. They twinkled in the rays of light filtering in through the cave's mouth. It was tranquil and helped Rin to keep his mind blank. He was so sick of worrying, of wondering and figuring out what he needed to do next. He only had a week or doing nothing left, before he'd start studying for his degree. He had opted to study Physical Education and an introductory course in marine biology. He'd probably drop it after the first year, but he was curious to know something more about the world under the waves.

Suspended in his daydreams with his head tipped back, he was only vaguely aware of something cold and slippery wrapping around his ankle until it was too late. Suddenly it tightened and yanked him. The sharp stones dug into his thighs as he was tugged off the ledge. He yelped and kicked out, trying to loosen whatever had grabbed him. Digging his elbows into the ledge he tried to haul himself back out of the water completely to no avail.

"Get the fuck off!" he cursed out as he continued to kick out, his nails digging into the damp sand, trying to drag himself free. With one final tug, he was able to propel himself out of the water, and roll through the grit. It clung to him like an itchy second skin, as he collapsed onto his back and panted heavily. He could feel the sand and grit itching all over his skin. The urge to douse himself in water to rinse some of it off was over-whelming but there was no way he was going back in the pool.

Drawing in deep breaths he tried to calm himself down.

Nothing sounded around him except the hissing of the waves against the rocky ledge.

The water was still aggravated by whatever was in there. His stomach lurched at the thought. What if that creature -whatever it was -decided to launch itself out of the thought at him? Seeing as how it tried to drag him under it clearly wasn't a docile animal.

"Rin?"

The world froze.

No, it couldn't be ... Could it?

Turning his head in the gritty sand, Rin looked out over toward the cave's mouth. The sunlight glimmered on the water around a rock. No, it wasn't a rock; it was a head of sleek, inky blue hair. His stomach knotted multiple times and his heart swelled inside his throat. He choked on air, not daring to believe his eyes. Haru's head was bobbing just above the waves, his stoic expression ruined by the slight crease between his eyebrows.

"H-Haru?" he let out a wet breath. He blinked and rubbed his eyes a couple of times but when he looked back out over the green and gold water the merman was still there. "Haru!"

Without a second thought, Rin stood up and clumsily jumped into the water, moving as fast as he could before he grabbed Haru in his arms and pressed their mouths together. God, it had been so long since he could do something so natural! He felt hot tears running down his cheeks, but for once they were happy tears. They mixed with the sea water splashing up against his skin as Haru clung to his neck, kissing him just as fiercely and wrapped his legs around him.

Legs?

Rin broke the kiss and blinked in surprise. Running his hands down from Haru's waist he felt two muscular thighs, two knees and two firm shins. Where was the tail? His frown must have been obvious as Haru bent down and took Rin's hands in his own. "Come on," he murmured as he drifted closer to the ledge and climbed out of the water. Rin tried not to blush as he saw that Haru was naked. The sun gleamed on his pert arse like they were two pearls. Rin followed and climbed out of the cold water, wincing a little as some of the sharper rocks pinched at his skin.

His nose was running thanks to the sea water. He cuffed it on the sleeve of his hoodie before unzipping it and taking it off. His iPod dropped out of his pocket and he grimaced. He'd need to buy a new one. He cursed himself for being an idiot but looking up at Haru, hunched over and shivering a little, he couldn't be mad. Taking the hoodie he slipped it over the smaller man's arms before turning him around and doing the zip up to his chin. "There you go, you'll warm up in no time," he joked as he pulled the soaked hood up over Haru's helmet of blue hair. It felt so weird joking with Haru so easily after all this time. Glancing down, he flushed as he saw Haru still bare from the waist down.

He made short work of peeling off his jogging bottoms and then giving his underwear to Haru. Luckily they were plain blue boxer shorts. Rin awkwardly pulled his bottoms back on and just stood there for a moment drinking everything in; from the salt water running over Haru's neck and collarbones to the way he hopped on one foot trying to regain the use of his legs.

Finally he found his voice.

"How ... How are you literally standing here right now?" he asked.

Haru glanced up at him, his dark blue eyes making Rin twitch with want. "Let's walk," Haru managed without the strain or stutter Rin was used to. Maybe it had been a defect the last time? Who knew?

They walked around the edge of the cave and worked their way until they were outside on the pebbled shore. The stones clicked and clacked underfoot as they made their back toward the direction of the pier. Rin had to keep pinching himself through his pocket. He was still convinced he was currently drowning in the pool inside the cave but had banged his head on a rock at some point and was now experiencing a beautiful dream.

The sun was climbing higher in the sky and was warming the earth below. The early morning mist had dissipated and the bleached pier planks creaked softly underfoot as they walked down to the very end before sitting down and dangling their legs down. The pier was high enough that they could skim their feet against the glossy green surface without getting wet -not that that was a concern for either of them in that moment.

Rin was glad the sun would dry his hair at least and maybe dry their clothes enough as that they were extremely damp, creaking things that itched.

Drawing in a deep breath, he turned to Haru. "So," he said. "How ... is this even possible?"

Haru's mouth twitched at the corner as he swung his legs back and forth. He looked like a child admiring everything for the first time. "I made a deal with the King ... when I returned."

"The King?" Rin frowned. He really didn't know anything about Haru's home-life.

"Yes ..." he hedged. "He ... wasn't pleased ... that I'd made contact with ... humans."

Ah, there was the vague stutter. As silly as it was, Rin had missed it. "So, what was the deal?"

"I had a choice ... of punishment," Haru said as he brushed his wet hair out of his eyes. "Banishment and never return ... Have my fins stripped ... So I'd not be able to swim ..."

"Or ...?" Rin urged.

"Turn me to ... sea-foam."

"Sea-foam?" Rin frowned and then chuckled, "Oh God, I thought that was only a myth?"

"Myths come from ... real stuff," Haru managed with a wry smile. "Details aren't ... always right though."

Rin snorted to himself and shook his head as he leaned back on his arms. "Wow," he murmured, looking out at the horizon. "So this is what you chose?"

Haru nodded. "I chose banishment ..." he said. "Though ... They did strip my fins beforehand." He lifted a leg up and flashed the pearly skin at Rin. A long, puckered pink scar run from his knee to his ankle.

"Shit!" Rin hissed, taking Haru's leg in his hands and smoothing his thumb of the scar. "Did it hurt?"

"A bit."

"It looks painful," he worried.

"Don't need them ... anymore," Haru said placing his hand over Rin's and sliding it off before dropping his leg down.

"Can you ... still swim?" Rin asked.

"I got here ... didn't I?" he said, quirking an eyebrow.

Rin couldn't help but look down at the scar. It was razor thin and the scar tissue probably made it look worse than it actually was. At least now it would be more believable that Haru was in an accident. "I'm sorry," he murmured as he rubbed a hand down his face, wincing as the grit and sand ground into his pores. "It just really does look painful."

"I made my choice." Haru shrugged before leaning over and resting his head on Rin's shoulder. "The scars will heal. Broken hearts ... rarely do."

"Getting over you was one of the hardest things I ever had to do," Rin confessed after a few moment of just listening to the waves and the soft hush of Haru's breathing against his neck. "To be honest I barely managed. I don't think I could stomach doing it again."

Haru leaned even closer, scooting over the planks and looping an arm through Rin's own. "You won't ... have to," he murmured. "You're ... stuck with me now."

Rin let out a yawn and sighed softly, wrapping an arm around Haru's shoulders. It was all so familiar and yet he couldn't wrap his head around any of it. It was all too surreal. "We should probably be getting back," he said after a while of feeling Haru's drying hair tickle his chin. Oh God, to wake up to that feeling every morning? That would be nothing but bliss.

"Is your ... family back?" Haru asked anxiously, his hands fisting around the hem of the hoodie.

"Yes," Rin said. He stood up and offered his hands to Haru. He grabbed on and was helped to his feet before dusting any splinters off his butt. "Why?" he asked at Haru's shift in expression. "Does that bother you?"

Haru shrugged stiffly, his head bowed to his chest. "I ... What if ... they don't like me?"

Rin stared at him for a moment before laughing out loud. It felt good to laugh again. He laughed until his sides hurt before he scooped Haru up in his arms and pressed a firm kiss to his frowning lips. "You're such an idiot!" he grinned between kisses. "A wonderful ... silly ... supernatural ... idiot." He planted one final kiss to Haru's forehead, "And dear God do I love you."

Haru peaked up at him from under the shade of the hood and smiled -an actual, full mouthed smile. His eyes lit up like two dark blue stones and Rin felt his heart skip. "Love you too ... My Rin ..."

Rin set Haru down again and laced their fingers together. "Come on, I can't wait to introduce you. I've told my family about you."

Haru hung back a little, the weight of his insecurity tugging Rin back. "Are you ... sure they'll like me?"

Rin stopped at the base of the staircase that led up to the main road. Looking down at Haru he squeezed his hand. "Do you trust me?"

" ... Yes."

"Then it'll be all right," he assured.

Haru pulled a face, not entirely convinced. Regardless of the doubts in his mind, he squeezed Rin's hand back and let the redhead lead him up the concrete steps towards an entirely new way of life. It would be absolutely terrifying, and now that it was to be permanent, he had a lot to figure out. With Rin there to help him, however, he was sure he'd be alright.

Now there was just one thing left: meeting Rin's family.

Shit.

A/N: Well I hope you guys like this chapter. Fear not there is still the Epilogue to go! Please R&R! x