Chapter Text
Grey Rin kept hugging Shiemi for a couple more minutes, but this made the other Rins uncomfortable, at least that’s how it seemed in the eyes of the rest of the exwires. It appeared that when Grey Rin got the attention, the others were restless and didn’t know how to handle it. Red Rin looked ready to lash out and punch something, which concerned Suguro, so he decided to speak up.
“Hey, you monkeys said something about dinner, right? You all could help each other out or something.” Suguro hoped this would get them to relax, doing something he knew they all loved.
Thankfully, it does. The Rins all perk up, and simultaneously, all their tails wag. Yellow Rin looked the most excited, wearing a smirk that absolutely couldn’t be trusted.
“I’ll start on it!” He rushes to the kitchen, which makes Pink Rin follow immediately.
“Yeah, no. You’ll probably poison it or something while we aren’t looking.”
“Hey! I wouldn’t poison it, come on, give me more credit than that.”
The other Rins rush after one another to go and help cook. Grey Rin reluctantly separates from Shiemi, looking apologetic. He apologizes to Shiemi before departing. He puts his hands in his pockets before slumping after the other Rins. The exwires go to the built-in window that was attached to the kitchen to keep an eye on them. The Rins were too busy cooking and talking to one another to notice or hear the conversation they were about to have.
“Mr. Okumura was right about this being overwhelming.” Shima supplies them with a slight chuckle. “I gotta be honest, this was not what I was expecting. But I can’t say I’m surprised.”
The others had to agree with him there, and Shiemi couldn’t get rid of the frown on her face. She was gazing at Grey Rin, who was mostly off to the side, barely helping and getting ingredients for the others.
“Seriously. We should have asked more questions before signing up to be their babysitters.” Izumo leans her chin into her hand and sighs, closing her eyes. Her comment snaps Shiemi out of her thoughts, and she looks over and straightens up.
“I-It’ll be okay, Miss Kamiki! We’ll be there for Rin and help him through this curse! It can’t be easy, being split up like that and having no control…” Shiemi frowns slightly and gazes back at Grey Rin, who is still wallowing. He was more in the corner and out of the way.
Konekomaru follows her gaze and sports a concerned frown of his own. “Moriyama’s got a point. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be separated like that.” Shima winces in sympathy and lets his gaze return to the group of Rins.
“Sounds exhausting.” Suguro had to agree; watching all the Rins run around made his head spin. Imagine that happening to himself; he shudders at the thought. They continue to chat while watching the Rins finish up dinner.
It didn’t take them that long since there were five Rins to help out, and once they were finished, they set up the table and made the exwires sit down, insisting on serving them. This was so like Rin; the others couldn’t hide their amusement. Dinner was a classic beef stew, and they started handing out the bowls. It smelt delicious; no surprise there. Suguro had a slight smile on his face; it was always a good time when Rin cooked.
Pink Rin personally delivered Suguro’s bowl, having a slight blush and smile on his face. Suguro didn’t even notice, thanking Pink Rin for the meal before grabbing a spoon. What he did notice was that the vegetables and meat were shaped a bit differently. He raises a brow and uses his spoon to move the meat around, investigating. He grunts and blushes upon the realization that the shapes of the food in his bowl are different sizes of hearts. Both meat and vegetables were shaped like hearts. He looks into Konekomaru’s bowl but notices his meat and vegetables are regularly shaped, so why-?
Suguro chances a look to Pink Rin who was wagging his tail with a wide grin. He was sitting on Suguro’s other side, looking at him expectantly.
“D-Did you… do this?” Suguro couldn’t help but ask, whispering this so the others wouldn’t notice. If they found out, he would literally implode. Pink Rin perks at his words, and his tail wags much faster.
“You like it? I made that bowl especially for you, Suguro~” Pink Rink winks at him with a soft smile full of adoration. Suguro jolts at this look, not having seen such a look on Rin’s face before. It made Chuchi flutter around in his stomach, and his heart skipped a beat. His expression shifts from a shocked/shy one to something else, something kind of fond and heartwarming. It makes Pink Rin give him a similar expression, grinning with all teeth/fang.
They were so lost in each others’ eyes that they failed to notice Red Rin overhearing the conversation. He makes his way over, looking into Suguro’s bowl and then at Suguro’s face.
The look makes even Red Rin hesitate. Suguro looked at Pink Rin with an almost… fond look?! It makes Red Rin blush, but he quickly snaps out of it. His face scrunches in distaste, and he grabs Pink Rin by the hair and makes him stand, breaking the spell they had on each other.
“Hey, Pink idiot, what do you think you’re doing? We made a deal, remember?” Red Rin hisses the sentence, making Pink Rin wince and stand to relieve the pressure on his head.
Pink Rin huffs, and his hands reach up to yank Red Rin’s off him. “You saw his face! He likes it… I want him to know how much we-” Before Pink Rin could say anything more, in a flash, Grey Rin was there. He had his hand over Pink Rin’s mouth, eyes wide and terrified.
“S-Stop it… don’t ruin this for us.”
“Haha… guys, come on-” Yellow Rin tries to get them to calm down, smiling tensely and glancing at the others. Shima, Konekomaru, Izumo, and Shiemi were listening now, which is the opposite of what they want. Blue Rin sat in his spot across from them; head tilted as he examined them all. He looked so blank; seeing such an expression on Rin’s face was very unnerving. It never changed the whole time. He decides to respond, failing to read the room.
“Confessing would make us feel better. Saying that we like-” Blue Rin tried to be helpful; with all the knowledge in his brain, he tried to find a way to settle the situation so that they were all happy. That was his job. But all that gave him was a punch in the face. A punch from Red Rin, one to silence him.
This brings a couple of seconds of shocked silence. Blue Rin’s head tilted to the side from the punch, eyes wide in surprise. Suguro had just sat by with a shocked blush, listening to Rin talk to himself, but seeing himself get punched, he stood up and gave Red Rin a narrowed-eyed look, suddenly protective.
“The hell, man, you didn’t have to punch him for that!” Red Rin jolts, being scolded. But it’s not like he wasn’t used to it, so he snaps back, growling at Suguro a bit.
“He’s me; I can do whatever the hell I want! Letting him out was a mistake!” Red Rin’s flames dance over his hair, but Suguro isn’t scared. Not anymore.
“Doesn’t give you the excuse to hit him, ya dumbass!” Pink Rin looked at Suguro worriedly, slowly putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright, Suguro-” Red Rin snaps his attention to Pink Rin, grabs his wrist, and pulls it away from Suguro.
“Stop touching him like that-!” Pink Rin narrows his eyes at Red Rin, and Suguro is about to give him a piece of his mind, but Izumo suddenly slams her hand on the table.
“All of you, shut up! Yelling at each other won’t get us anywhere. Let's just eat, and we’ll deal with this drama afterward! Morons…” Izumo sits back down after everyone goes quiet.
There wasn’t movement for a good couple of seconds, but then Blue Rin returned to his meal, his bruise from the punch already healed. He refused to look at anyone, a slight frown on his face. Grey Rin was trembling in fear, but he shakily went to sit by Shiemi, who invited him over to sit by her. She rests a reassuring hand on his shoulder, making him twitch, but he lets her, looking down and away from everyone.
Once Grey Rin sat down, it created a domino effect. Pink Rin hesitates but slowly sits down in his spot, picking up his spoon. Red Rin tsks and clenches his fists, but he reluctantly listens and returns to his spot. Yellow Rin lets out a nervous laugh and sits down, his tail flicking uncomfortably.
Suguro was no different, inhaling to control his emotions before plopping back down in his chair. His cheeks were lightly pink as he stared at the food, reviewing their whole conversation in his head. A conversation that took place in front of everyone. He winces in realization and shakes his head before grabbing his spoon and making an effort not to look at any of his friends in the eye. They all tensely thank the Rins for the meal before digging in. It was delicious, but now there was a thick, uncomfortable feeling in the air. Suguro hoped it would evaporate soon.