Chapter Text

Prologue

Original post date: September 5, 2021

“ Rin !”

“ RIIIIIIIINNNNN !!!!!”

The storm wasn’t supposed to be this bad. It was just supposed to be a little bit of rain...

“RIIN! CAN YOU HEAR ME!”

It was sunny and bright. First, the clouds came in. Then the rain started slowly, but it grew more and more intense. And then it wasn’t just a little rain anymore.

“Come on, where the HELL are you!”

“Dammit, just how far away did he get washed?! With the waves this big, there’s no way he can…”

“Shut the fuck up, Ralph! … we’re going to find Rin!” They had to. There wasn't another option.

"Sousuke, let's head there! I think I see something!" Ralph shouted pointing back towards where they'd just come from. Did they miss something?

The wind raged hard against the boat, pushing against their attempts to sweep an area not far off shore. Sousuke and Ralph had been searching for what felt like hours. Their lights were just not bright enough, and their small boat just not tall enough to see over the waves. If they’d just had more time to get one of the official rescue vessels...

Sousuke’s face was determined. He kept his eyes peeled for anything that wasn’t supposed to be there. He controlled the boat carefully in the rising and falling of the stormy waves. Ralph was scouring the water with his less-than-adequate flashlight keeping a close watch near the boat, knowing Sousuke had to watch the distance while he drove the boat. Sousuke kept glancing towards the approaching rocks as they made their round back to the outlet of rocks that jutted from shore. If Rin had been pushed into that area, he surely would have hit his head. 

He grimaced. He couldn’t think of that now. They just needed to find him and soon.

“RIN, damn it, come on… Ralph, do you see anything? You’ve been looking forever! What did you see?"

The other companion in the boat let out a growl. “No, I don't know... this fucking rain makes it hard to see anything.” Sousuke slammed his fist on the wheel and crept on, continuing the search. 

“Why’d he have to go and do something so STUPID! He found that little girl, after all. So like hell we’re giving up on him!”

-

“Why’d he have to go and do something so STUPID! He found that little girl, after all. So like hell we’re giving up on him!”

From behind the rock, he stayed still, only his chest pounding and his breath fast. Huh? Little girl? Was there another? He didn’t remember seeing a girl when he saw - never mind. It didn’t matter. He needed to get back to him before it was too late, but they just wouldn't leave. He barely blinked while he waited for the boat to drift past.

…

…

...

Finally! They were far enough away that a glance back would grant him some cover by the rocks he hid behind.

He made his way to where the motionless figure rested with rain soaking an already cold, drenched body. For a moment, he hesitated, staring intently at this person in front of him. How long had he been unconscious? Even worse, he hadn't taken a breath the entire time… could he still do anything?

The body was sprawled on his back, drenched red hair splayed across his face. One arm still brushed the surface of the water as the waves kept rising and falling. The other draped beside him, fingers unmoving. The rain harassed his face and didn’t so much as flinch.

With a forceful push, he heaved himself up next to the sprawled body and seated himself, aquamarine tail partially in the water and watched. He twisted his torso down to lower his head to the chest to try and hear a heartbeat… futile. Too much noise around him.

You… saved a girl? And in doing so, you’ve drowned… What a fool…  

He re-positioned himself so he could lean over the body and held the unconscious man’s head between his hands, his face hovering just inches away. He breathed in… lowered his head even further until their lips made gentle contact… 

… and breathed a single deep breath of life back into the near-dead soul.

He pulled away and waited.

…

...

…

…

Was he too late? His eyes grew big as he feared the worst.

…

…

Suddenly the man's chest started convulsing. Then the coughing came and water spilled out of his mouth!

“GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH”

-

It was loud.

No, quiet.

Which was it?

It was both at the same time.

Huh?

Where’s the girl?

Waves?

Nothing?

Why was nothing making sense...

It was cold.

It was LOUD.

Numb. 

Why couldn’t… he feel anything? 

Silence. 

Did the little girl make it?

Uhn… tired...

But also…

...so much pain...

Pain and numb?

What? How?

So cold… and so loud…

It was dark, too.

Wet.

Rumbling and groaning in the distance.

This didn’t make sense?

The boat.

Sousuke…

Ralph… 

She was in my arms...

Was he still on the boat?

How’d he get here?

W here is here?

Why couldn’t he move? Or feel? Or breathe? BREATHE. HE COULDN’T BREATHE! 

The numbness disappeared and was violently replaced with a burning heat deep inside his being. His heart pounded … no not his heart. Those were his lungs tearing his chest apart from the inside out. Had he forgotten how to breathe?

How the fuck, why… where… help… SOUSUKE! HELP! Someone!

Nothing happened. Same pain. Same numb.

Fuck.

Huh? What’s this------

He began to feel a certain calmness. A warm, gentle pressure above him felt so comforting in this hellish nightmare. His face could feel the warmth getting closer. Then the strangest feeling came upon him. It was like the fire that burned from the inside, eating away at his insides, was being pulled back out. But how?

Suddenly his body reacted, commanding the invading substance to leave. He started coughing, violently.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

His whole body arched accepting the air back inside. Needing more, he coughed out the poison that had been burning in his chest making him radiate with pain. Gasp after gasp came out. 

INHALE!

EXHALE! 

Cough, cough, cough

-cough- INHALE.

Exhale.

After several more coughs and deep breaths, finally, he calmed down just a bit. 

His eyes fluttered open and struggled to focus. He could see darkness and flashing lights in the distance. In his mind he heard rain and waves crashing. His face recognized rain falling on him from above. There was something, no, someone?... Who is this? , over him, partially blocking the sky. He could make out dark, wet hair matted and dripping down a face with no discernible features, except - 

Blue eyes…

Inhale.

Exhale.

Those were the nearly last thoughts before the world shut down once more. He accepted the darkness this time, pain-less. Not dead, but just needing to rest… He knew he’d be fine now. He'd been saved.

So… beautiful…

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Original post date: Sept 19, 2021

“Check out this seaglass, Sousuke!” A small, smooth piece of blue sea glass rested between the fingers of the young officer. He cracked a nice, toothy, albeit, sarcastic smile towards Sousuke. Vibrant red hair blew across his face in the hot air. “Isn’t it a nice color? I think I’ll add it to my collection.”  His partner looked unamused. 

Sousuke sighed. “Rin.” 

Rin leaned back against the guardrail and swiped the free-blowing strands of red hair behind his ear. He lowered the sea glass into his hand and rolled it a few times in his palm. It truly was a pretty sapphire blue color. Unusual for this beach, but not entirely uncommon. Rin would add it to his collection back at the station later.

“Rin, you’ve been back to work for mere hours and we're back to this shit already? To my knowledge, our job does not involve picking up trash on the beach…” He felt like he’d said this before. Was it a couple weeks ago maybe…? His thoughts trailed as he tried to recall how many times they’d gone over this. It felt like telling a child he couldn't stick a knife in the outlets… “How many times do I have to-”

Rin’s face quickly morphed into nervous laughter. “Yeah, yeah, I know that! But it’s so damn HOT! And I’m bored as hell!” He let out a small, annoyed grunt. Rin’s stature changed quickly. “It makes you wanna go and take a swim in the ocean!” He turned from the toothy grin he’d given his partner, to somewhat solemn and neutral; determined. Rin stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets. “Ugh… I really wanna swim… Wanna sneak a quick dip? It'll feel great! I won’t tell Mikoshiba if you won’t!"

He had a point, Sousuke couldn’t deny. It was certainly a scorcher today. The sun was out in full blast. Not a cloud in the sky for even a small, teeny-tiny bit of shade. The only saving grace was the breeze! And it carried a nice misty splash occasionally. They weren’t too far from the shore, anyway. Sousuke was silently thankful they were having a “boring” first shift back out together. He’d secretly asked Seijuro to take this route today, knowing it would be a good ease back into the old routine. 

Sousuke hesitated. “... uh. Rin?” Was he really about to remind his friend that just days ago he’d narrowly had his life miraculously given back to him?! He took a deep breath and proceeded. “First of all, we're on duty. Second of all, you were on the brink of death just the other day. You really think you're ready to go back out there this soon after...?” Sousuke intentionally left his voice trailing.

The air between them tensed. Rin’s focus on the water ahead didn’t waver. “It’s not like I’ve got only bad memories of the place. When I see the ocean, it kind of makes me want to go back, like it calls to me…” 

“Oi! Don’t tell me you’re thinking about…!”

Another small smirk appeared on Rin’s face. He picked up a hand, pointed a finger, and promptly jabbed it against Sousuke’s chest. “Back to when I swam competitively! Come on, what were you thinking! I wasn’t going to off myself, if that’s what you thought! Me? Drown? ” Rin laughed a bit. When he realized Sousuke wasn’t laughing, he pulled his hand back, tucking his hair back behind his ears again. He crossed his arms against his chest and leaned back against the guardrail behind him.

For a while it was quiet. The small crowds on the beach in front of them were the only background noise that kept the silence from growing too much. Sousuke lowered his head a bit and grabbed the brim of his hat. “Rin... don’t scare me like that… and don’t fucking joke about something like that.” he said quietly. 

Rin attempted to console his upset partner. “But... YOU were the one to save me that night, though! I know you wouldn’t let anything bad happen. So… Thanks, Sousuke. I really owe you. But you don’t have to worry. I won’t swim in the ocean ever again.” 

Sousuke didn’t say anything. He definitely didn’t believe Rin. He HAD saved him, that part was true. He and Ralph were almost ready to give up when they’d finally spotted him sprawled out on a rock ledge, barely alive but breathing. But saving him from the water? That part had him mystified. Ralph’s gibberish talk about that night still pissed him off, thinking he’d spotted a siren of all things. From where they found him, to where he’d gone down? It was just too impossible. Sirens or mermaids, or whatever the hell they were called now, even if they did exist, didn’t save humans . How Rin survived was a mystery and one he didn’t want answered. He was just grateful Rin was alive. He spied a glance towards his partner. He could tell his friend wasn’t telling the truth. There was no separating the ocean from Rin. He was made for it. He was just glad to have his friend back.

“Hey, come on. Let’s head back up. Lunch time.” Rin put his hands in his pockets, putting the piece of seaglass he’d been holding in there too. They started back towards the patrol car they’d left in the “Official’s Only” parking. Neither individual said anything. For starters, Sousuke couldn’t figure out how to start a conversation back up after having THAT conversation. Sousuke knew he needed to make Rin understand the gravity of the situation. There was only one person that could be brought up and have an impact. Grams. 

“Idiot. I was thinking more about your grandmother. You, of all people, should know how gutted she would be if something happened to you, too.” Rin, who had been slightly ahead of Sousuke, slowed his ascent on the short stairs.

Rin chortled, “Huh. Harsh!” His voice trailed off for the next part. “Here I thought you were serious…” He jabbed Sousuke with his elbow as he passed Rin going up the stone steps. Sousuke gave a small chuckle but kept walking.

Rin’s hands hadn’t stopped rubbing the seaglass between his fingers in his pocket since they left the beach. There was something… familiar… blue sea glass. He pulled the object out and eyed it closely.  I feel like I’ve seen this color before… He was mesmerized by the small item he held in his open palm. Rin let his mind twist and turn through his thoughts. He didn’t know if it was a memory or a vision or even from a picture he’d seen online somewhere? Was it even real? Maybe it was a hallucination from oxygen deprivation for so long.

After his near-drowning, he found some of his “memories” weren’t memories. Like when he asked Sousuke how he knew where to find him in the stormy waves that night of the incident , Sousuke had no idea what he was talking about. Rin had sworn someone pulled him from the water and dragged him to the rocky shore. But if Sousuke hadn’t been the one…? Maybe his friend was just downplaying his rescue efforts to appease his friend’s situation. Sousuke wasn’t much for public recognition so it made sense he didn’t want the fame and glory.

“... Rin!” Rin’s focus came back to his surroundings. He looked in the direction the voice called. “Did you hear me or do I need to taze your ass?”

“Ah sorry!”  Rin hadn’t realized he stopped walking. He let the object slide into his closed palm, face up.  Carefully he juggled the sea glass in his closed fist, feeling its weight shuffle in his hand. He started moving towards the passenger door as Sousuke opened the driver’s side.

Sousuke interrupted again. “What’s wrong? Too much sun? Let’s grab a bite .”  

“Oh shut up, asshole.” He was about to reach for the door when he realized he held the sea glass in his hand still. He opened his palm back up and looked, just for a moment more. Just now I… He shook his head. I felt something… He closed his palm and shoved the item in his pocket. “Don’t go getting your panties all in a wad.”

The two rode in mostly silence to the small cafe on their lunch break. As they pulled up, they immediately saw Rin’s red-haired look-alike sister Gou on the patio working. She was bouncing between tables, clearing plates and filling drinks with ease. They snagged a parking spot just a little over a block away and began the short walk over. “Looks like Gou’s working today,” Rin commented.

As they approached, Gou looked up from one of her tables and waved. Rin and Sousuke returned the gesture and walked through the front cafe gate. They made themselves comfortable at one of the last tables on the patio. “Sousuke! Rin! Hey guys, I’m really sorry. We’re super busy today! I won’t be able to chat much!” Gou exclaimed on her way over to them.

“It’s no big deal, we get it,” Rin replied. “We’ll both just take our usual then and keep things simple.” Gou gave a rushed smile and thanked them as she swept back into the cafe doors. “Poor girl. She’s said that a lot lately. I wonder if they are short on help.”

“You haven’t asked her about it?” Sousuke inquired. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. 

“Nah, I honestly don’t see her much either. We just text most of the time. Since she’s been helping Gram’s at the inn off-and-on lately too, there’s just not been much time for small chat.” Rin sat back, a little defeated about his own realization. Though, he was partially to blame. His incident in the sea a while back put a damper on what little relationship they maintained. “She got really upset with me after I saved that girl. We haven’t really talked since I got out of the hospital.”

Sousuke snorted. “Mad?”

“Yea. Something about trying to be the hero, and forgetting about her and mom and Grams…” Rin trailed his conversation off. He knew exactly why she was mad and couldn’t bring himself to apologize. It still seemed like only a few days had passed since they were at home as kids when they got the news about their dad. Rin imagined Gou felt the same way again this time. Not knowing if he’d been found or survived.

“Give her time. You know Gou.” It was the best thing he could think to say right now.

“And here we are!” Gou called out bringing a round of drinks. She had a spare pitcher with her also. “Can you knuckleheads refill yourselves today? With as hot as it is, I’d imagine you worked up a thirst on shift today! I don’t have time for your bottomless guts,” she winked.

“See, I think everything’s just fine, Rin,” Sousuke awkwardly commented. “Thanks, Gou. We’ll be good.”

Rin had an annoyed look on his face as his sister left once again. “Why do you do that? Open your big ugly mouth like that?”

“Gotta look out for my partner,” Sousuke grinned. 

Rin and Sousuke made small conversation until their food arrived. Poor Gou had beads of sweat from both the heat and running around so much. Luckily, as their food came, she’d had fewer tables to manage.

“Finally! Phew!” She set their plates down and wiped her brow. “What a lunch rush today! I can’t believe how busy we are lately. It’s great for business, but we just don’t have the people.”

Rin had taken a couple bites, but paused to reply. “Why don’t you hire more?”

She shifted and looked uneasy. “We just can’t keep staff. Since Grams let me start running things, I just can’t keep a cook.” Her face saddened and she sighed heavily. “Eventually the right person will come along!” Gou forced herself to smile. “But anyway, you two eat. I need to clean up and get this place put back together again.” She gave her brother a quick pat on the head and leaned in close to his ear. “Say, before you go, can I talk to you? Something, uh, weird is going on with Grams.”

Rin nearly had a bite of food in his mouth. But Gou’s comment intrigued him enough to stop. “Oh? I haven’t talked to Grams recently since… you know…” Gou didn’t comment, but just agreed with a brief “ mmhmm ” and returned to her work. 

“What was that about?” Sousuke asked in between bites. He’d eaten nearly half his salmon salad already.

Rin readjusted in his chair, facing back to the table. “Gou said Grams is acting weird. I hope it’s not because of me.” He furrowed his brow and folded his arms. “She wants to talk to me before we go. You cool if I stay back for a bit and you get back out?”

Sousuke nodded. “Mmhmm.”

Rin finished his meal faster, trying to get to his sister sooner. Sousuke gave Rin some money for the meal and left to get back on shift. He’d come back to get him in a bit, as long as there wasn’t an emergency. Considering their day so far, they had pretty good odds nothing would happen in the 10 minutes he drove around a few blocks.

Rin had to wait a little bit for her to free up. He sat in one of the indoor booths with one of his arms draped over the back, his legs extended out beside him on the seat. When Gou freed up, she slid in across the seat. “Thanks for waiting, Rin!” she exclaimed and plopped her elbows on the table. 

“Uh, Gou? Is everything ok?”

Gou looked like she had something really important to say but didn’t know how to say it. Her face bunched up funny and she pursed her lips as she struggled to find the words. “Well, I don’t know how to really say this but…” She leaned in and motioned for her brother to come closer. Rin obliged. “Grams has someone staying at her house!” she blurted out suddenly.

Rin’s face immediately responded with confused disgust. “Huh-what? What do you mean by staying exactly here, Gou?!”

Gou shook her head. “I mean, I don’t know much. But when I stopped over to check on her, one of the guest room doors was closed. And I heard someone in it! Moving around!”

Rin’s expression didn’t change. “Gou. Grams has every right to have company over.”

“No! This wasn’t just a normal visitor! I SAW HIM!”

Him?! Rin was officially confused beyond all belief. “Ok Gou this is getting weird. Him? Does Grams have a new boyfriend!”

Gou sighed and banged her head on the tabletop again. Without moving, she continued to speak from the face-down position. “Rin. This “HE” I saw was about OUR age.” Her head flew up. “I think Grams has a secret lover!” Instantly redness crept across her face. “He was really good looking and very quiet. He didn’t say anything when I was there, but when he came out of the room, I don’t think he realized I was there. He looked at me awkwardly and just went to the kitchen.”

Rin sat back and put his head in his hands. “Grams is really robbing the grave with that one, if that’s true.” He took a moment to let this settle in. “Why the hell does Grams have a young guy staying at her place? You didn’t think to ask questions?”

Gou’s redness lessened a little. “She acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. She waved to him and everything! Rin, what do we do! I jetted out of there so fast. I told her I got an emergency work call. I panicked!”

Rin cleared his throat. “I think there’s only one thing to do. We ask.”

“You’re really going to go ask Grams about her baby boyfriend?” Gou asked sarcastically.

Rin started sliding out of the booth, his time running out. “Well we need to know what exactly is going on! And,” he started, letting the lingering pause create dramatic effect, “I’m morbidly curious what the hell Grams is up to! It’s so unlike her!”

Gou breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank you, big brother!” She stood from her booth seat and gave him a small hug. She let him go, but didn’t leave to get back to work. “Also, I’m sorry about how things were before, after your accident. I should have called you or visited you sooner.”

Rin patted her head again. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I should be the one apologizing. I wasn’t thinking. I’m just grateful Sousuke was around to save my ass. You should thank him next time you see him.”

Gou smiled and headed back to the rest of her afternoon duties. Rin left the little cafe, both relieved and mortified at the conversation he’d just had. He was relieved he’d patched things up between Gou, but mortified at whatever the hell his Grams was scheming. Part of him couldn’t wait to see just who and what this boy-toy was doing at her place.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Original post date: October 6, 2021

Rin’s first day back on duty couldn’t have gone any slower after lunch. All Rin talked about was the “mystery man with Grams.”

“Come on, man, talk about something else.” Sousuke, one who was normally of sound mind and judgement, collapsed over the steering wheel. “I want to drag you across a bed of broken glass and pour salt on your wounds. The shit you’ve made me picture today is disgusting.”

Rin stopped his exasperated rant of possibilities. “I - uh. Oh, sorry.” It was quiet for a moment. Rin pulled his phone out, fiddled with some notifications and checked the time. “OH, hey. We’re almost off. Wanna head back?”

Sousuke sighed heavily, “I have never wanted to clock out more…”

Within the hour, Rin and Sousuke parted ways. Rin desperately wanted to head over to his Grams tonight anyway. When he got home, his cat Steve greeted him angrily. Rin quickly attended to the late meal for his feline roommate. “Sorry, Steve,” he said, “no cuddles tonight” running up the stairs to his bedroom to make himself more presentable to Grams. This would be his first visit since his incident a couple weeks prior. He had to look like he was back to normal.

Since returning home from the hospital after he almost drowned, Rin had let his house fall behind in its upkeep. It wasn’t unlivable, but it wasn’t his normal pristine standard. A few plates and bowls piled up, a couple pieces of clothing scattered here and there, just enough to look unkempt to him. He couldn’t bring himself to care just yet. 

Rin discarded his uniform on his bed. From his closet, he grabbed a casual, comfortable outfit and headed to the washroom to freshen up. He set his clothes on a ledge near the sink and started some cold water to splash his face. He grabbed a hair band off the counter and pulled his loose hair back as much as he could. 

For a moment, Rin looked himself over in the mirror. “I look like shit,” he said out loud. He stood up straight and began twisting and turning his body to take in his recent scars. He had a few cuts and bruises on all sides of his body and limbs from being tossed around underwater against rocks and sand. His back had once been a roadmap of scrapes from sliding across the rocks and sandy bottom. The redness remained in some areas. There was a rather deep gash across his chest that still throbbed occasionally, and another one near his left hip. He reached a hand up to touch the scar forming across his once flawless skin. Slowly he let it drift towards his ribs. Several brownish-green bruises splattered his torso. Damn it , he thought to himself. He exhaled annoyedly and filled his hands up with water, bringing it to his face. The cold felt good against his hot skin. 

Rin looked back up at himself as the water dripped from his face. His body wasn’t the only part of him that was scarred that day. His thoughts, dreams, and subconscious all bore the marks of trauma. How could they not? His nights were mostly sleepless since he was pulled from the waters. He hadn’t shared with anyone just yet how consumed he was by that sheer terror. He’d almost died! But, Rin had been saved, his dad wasn’t so lucky. Why were the Matsuoka men cursed to such fates? 

Rin swept his thoughts aside and grabbed a clean towel from nearby to pat his face dry. He’d have to open up about it soon. Part of allowing him to come back on duty so quickly was by seeing an assigned therapist. Or whatever the station called it, he couldn’t care less. He’d done a preliminary mental and physical health check in with his regular doctor before going back today. He was allowed back so long as he was with someone at all times. Luckily that was an easy solution as he was always partnered with Sousuke. He would be allowed one week supervised shifts, then begin his sessions once a week with a Dr. Mikhail Makarovich Nitori. Supposedly he was a world-class dude in his field. 

Rin quickly put his outfit on. It would have to do. His black v-neck shirt was slightly wrinkled. He was pretty sure he spied a small tea stain on the thigh of his jeans, but it could have been a shadow. He grabbed a random necklace from the counter and threw that on, trying to dress himself up even the slightest. He brushed his teeth, tracked Steve down (managing at least two quick pets before he meowed his way up the stairs in protest of his late meal), grabbed a red and black checkered flannel and set off to see Grams. 

It only took about 5 minutes to reach Grams’ house by bike. Rin pulled up to the porch and walked his bike up, parking it off to the side of the patio. He did a quick pat down of clothes to smooth out the wrinkles and walked to the front door. Normally he would just walk in but, after what Gou told him today? He couldn’t risk it. He rang the bell.

“Just a minute!” he heard from somewhere in the house, probably the kitchen where Grams spent a lot of her time. Rin only had to wait a minute until the front door swung open and was face to face with his Grams. Her face went from shocked to excited in just moments. “Uh. Hey there, Grams,” he blurted out. 

A warm, endearing smile spread across her face. “Rin! I’m so happy you stopped by!” she motioned for him to come in. He hadn’t even taken off his shoes and she had already embraced him in one big hug. She gave him a few firm pats on the back. “I’m so, so happy you’re here.”

“Me too, Grams. Me too.” They stayed embraced for a bit longer. 

Finally, they separated from the hug and Grams motioned for Rin to sit in the living room. He wanted to take in the surroundings. He couldn’t let her know he WAS glad to see her, but that he had another motive too. He spied everything, looking for anything new or out of place. There hadn’t been any sign of another person so far. Not wanting to seem too obvious, Rin started making conversation. “So how are you Grams? I apologize I haven’t come sooner. I needed to make sure it was the right time.” He settled into the couch opposite her rocking chair. 

“Oh I’ve been well. I was starting to wonder when you’d find your way over here.” She rocked back and forth slightly. “I wanted you to have your own time getting back to yourself. I knew you were doing just fine.”

“Yea, it’s taken me a little bit to find my groove. I still feel a little off some days. Like something’s just not quite right, you know?”

Grams turned to face Rin. “What do you mean?”

Rin sat forward on the couch resting his elbows on his knees, hands clasped. He furrowed his brows and began, “I don’t know. It’s like… I’m someone else. Or I’m a different me. When I was out there , I fully expected to-” he cut himself off. ... die was what he intended to say. “I mean, I’d never felt such hopelessness. It wasn’t me. Like someone took hold of my thoughts.”

“People experience near-death situations differently. It’s possible you were simply trying to disassociate from the situation.”

Rin turned his gaze from his Grams to the floor. Disassociation? It might explain his recollections a little bit. It was like his thoughts had taken him away from the storm and the water and put him in a warm embrace that day. 

“Hmm, you just need to get back out there and face it head on.” 

“Face what head on?” he asked. 

“It. The ocean. You need to face it. Look it straight in the face. My boy, you won’t be able to rest until you overcome your uncertainty about yourself.” 

My uncertainty? He wondered if she was able to read his mind. He hadn’t really thought about being uncertain. At least that’s not what Rin called it. He definitely felt different towards the water, though.

“I see your face. You’ve left part of yourself out there. Or rather, it kept a part of you.” Rin didn’t move for a moment. The ocean kept a part of me? What does she mean by that? Rin had been fully engrossed with his thoughts while he watched the sunset. His conversation with Grams was more enlightening than he’d expected. As such, he failed to notice footsteps approaching from behind. Suddenly interrupting his field of vision was a figure - a male with grey-black hair, blue eyes, and with his youthful appearance put their ages roughly the same. Was this the individual Gou mentioned?

“Uh. Hello? Grams? Who is this?” Rin began eyeing the figure over. The grey-black bangs covered most of his face so Rin couldn’t get a good look at him. His figure was petite, but muscular. The young man made no movements other than to shift his gaze from Rin to Grams. 

“Rin, please listen to what I’m about to tell you.” The strange figure awkwardly placed himself near Grams, but did not sit. “This young boy will be staying with us.”

Rin took a moment to process what he was hearing. “Did you say, staying? With us?” Grams continued to rock her chair, her gaze unchanged from looking out to sea. “Grams… I’m not following.”

“My precious Rin, I found this boy, you see.”

“You FOUND him?” Rin looked between the young man and his Grams. The young man’s gaze stayed firmly planted on the ground, his weight shifting uncomfortably.

“That’s right. I found him. And I brought him home.”

"Wait, wait, wait… you're telling me you just… FOUND him? And brought him here? You bring him home out of the blue and now he’s going to STAY with us? Just how long has he been here? Do you know how ridiculous this sounds?” He looked directly at the boy beside his Grams. 

"Rin. Please listen to me. He needs us." Rin recognized the clothing on this newcomer as his own. Though, there was something… off… The stranger’s hand strayed up to his collar under his chin and began fidgeting.  Grams continued her story. “I picked him up by the beach.” 

Rin scoffed, “You just… picked him up? You kidnapped someone, Grams. ” He turned and eyed the strange young man again whose gaze had shifted towards Rin, though it was very timid. He stood politely with his hands at his sides once again. 

Rin looked the guy up and down, several times. His officer instincts weren’t going off, so that was at least a slight bit of relief. But this was just too wild! A stranger?! Living with his Grams? What the HELL was she thinking? Rin looked back to his Grams, who in turn had been looking at him. She said nothing, but her face was plain in stating that she was firm in her decision. He was going to be staying with the Matsuokas. There was no changing her mind, that much Rin knew. So he now had to figure out how to make the best of the situation.

“Fine. You win, Grams.” Rin sighed and walked back to come face to face with the stranger. He glanced once towards Grams again, she gave a nod of approval. He turned to address the young man. “Uh… nice to meet you? You got a name or something? ” He extended his hand lazily so as to shake hands with the newcomer and introduce himself. When the stranger made no movement, he sighed and turned to sit back on the couch. 

Rin was a few steps away when a hand grabbed his wrist and spun him back in the direction where he’d just come from. He was face to face with the newcomer when suddenly two arms lunged under his own and felt them connect on his back. In mere seconds they were chest to chest in a hug! “Yo what the hell are you doing?!” Rin struggled to break free from the embrace. “N- No not that! Not a hug, a handshake!”  From behind them, Rin’s grandmother chuckled softly and made an endearing comment about him seeming quite fond of Rin.

Finally Rin pulled himself mostly free of the embrace, blushing quite fiercely. He readjusted his clothes as his grandmother finally spoke up again. “Rin, you must know now. This young man cannot speak. I don’t even know his name.”

Rin’s expression was dead. His mouth gaped open, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Grams, really?! Are you serious?! You’ve had a stranger in your house for what, a week now, and you don’t even know his name?!” 

She began rocking slowly. “If I needed to know, then I would know.” 

Rin’s expression softened. He took a big breath in and out. Perhaps he was overreacting. “Well have you tried contacting anyone? Family? Friends? Did he have a wallet or a phone on him? I don't remember any memos this morning about missing persons...” 

Rin spied a look to see what this stranger’s reaction was. His face was furrowed into a slightly pained emotion. Hurt? Sadness? Some of both? Had his comments offended him? Neither his poignant gaze or his weight shifted. He just stood with his hands at his sides again, fists balled. Instead of his gaze on Rin, as it had been just a moment ago, his gaze was intent on his grandmother. 

His grandmother continued. “He had no possessions and was with no one. No family. Surely with features as soft and gentle as this one, I would remember a face or a name...” Rin looked back and forth from his grandmother to the weirdo who had just hugged him. He started to feel guilty reacting so awkwardly. His grandmother resumed retelling her initial encounter. “I had been on my normal morning walk when I happened upon a soaked young man, chilled by the morning air. He was strewn amongst the shore and rocks. I saw no injuries, so I tried to ask him several questions but to no avail. He simply pointed to the sea. No matter what I asked, he just shook his head at me.” Her face shifted from outside to her lap, where her hands lay calmly folded overtop each other. For a moment, she turned to the two young men. She gave a small, pitied smile. “He was trying to tell me he doesn’t remember.”

Rin gasped. The young man’s gaze drifted from Rin’s grandmother to the floor. 

“That’s why we’re going to look after him a while. You’re an officer of the law, after all. You should see if you can find out who he is. Help him. What harm will come from helping a poor soul? ” 

Rin’s expression quickly soured. Mixed thoughts ran through his mouth, raw and unfiltered, “What about the proper channels of identification? If I let him stay here without letting the station know I could get in trouble. Grams, what if he is dangerous-” he stopped, remembering the same person he was talking about was just an arms-reach away listening. 

"Rin…" his grandmother spoke softly. 

Rin mumbled to himself. He can’t speak … and on top of that, he’s got no memories? This guy is crazy fishy! He turned to look at the stranger once more. He watched awkwardly as this stranger fiddled with his shirt collar again. He kept tugging it, not sure if it were going to detach or latch on to his skin. Rin’s expression grew amused, but felt embarrassed for the guy. 

Wait. 

“You! Hey! That shirt’s on backwards!” The young man grabbed the shirt and kept tugging. “Do you not know how a shirt works?!” 

Rin’s grandmother chuckled lightly. “ He’s a strange boy, isn’t he? ” She let a warm smile spread across her face. Rin could not believe what was just happening. Strange doesn't even begin to cover it… did he forget how to dress himself? 

After the shirt was correctly replaced, Rin shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the bathroom to just get some privacy, but before he could get far, the awkward stranger walked quickly and stepped into Rin’s path. Annoyed, he let out a breathy, “What do you want now? You got a name or am I just to call you ‘weirdo’?” That's a stupid question. How was he going to tell him?

He briefly locked eyes with the stranger. He could see determination in those eyes. The stranger reached for his hand again. “Oh no you don’t! I am not falling for that hug-shit again!” And he quickly snapped his hand out of reach. The young man sighed a breathy sigh and shook his head softly. He extended his own left hand and pointed with the other.

Rin arched an eyebrow in response. Seeing the look on his face made him realize he was trying to communicate. Cautiously, he brought his right palm up to mimic where he’d just had his, where the stranger could grab it. With a soft grasp, the stranger pulled Rin's palm closer and used his left hand to hold the palm up and pointed his right index finger. He began tapping with his finger on Rin’s palm.

Rin gave a small gasp. “Oh! I see!” Rin gave a small nod, the stranger began moving his finger slowly in the palm of Rin’s right hand. A bunch of squiggles. That’s all he could feel. The young man stopped and lowered his hands away from Rin’s. “I-I’m sorry. It’s hard to make out. Do it again.” He nodded eagerly. He re-position his grasp and pointed his index finger to Rin’s palm. Rin closed his eyes to focus. He began again. Slower.

A few lines. “H?” Rin opened one eye and saw the stranger’s eyes widen in agreement. He’d gotten it right. Rin closed his eyes again…
“A… R… U… K… A…” No more movement. Rin opened both eyes again. “Haruka?” The face across from his own shook firmly in agreement. “Haruka! I got it!” The newly named Haruka pointed back into Rin’s palm. Rin closed his eyes again. This time he recognized the letters more easily. “H… A… R… U…” stop. “Haru? Is that what you go by?”

Again, a firm agreement nod. Rin and Haru dropped hands. Rin smiled with the accomplishment. “Well, Haru, I’m Rin!” he said, jabbing a thumb at his chest. Even though Grams had been saying his name all night, it didn’t feel like a proper introduction otherwise. He gave a quick toothy smirk. Rin’s expression quickly went from confident to curious as the young man, now known as Haruka, opened his mouth!

“Huh? I thought you couldn't...” Rin watched curiously as Haru attempted to make a sound. From watching the movements of his lips and tongue, he saw him try to say R… I… N. But no sound came out. He tried again. Rin could see the strain of his throat, trying to force a sound out. To Rin, it almost looked like he knew how to make the sounds needed. Perhaps he’d been injured and his voice didn’t work. Haru dropped his head, defeated.

His name is Haruka. That’s all I know. Someone as determined as that, as patient? He can’t be a bad guy… Right?

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Original post date: November 7, 2021

Rin threw himself on his bed after he got home from Grams’. He buried his face deep in a pillow and groaned, loudly. With a quick flop of his head, he turned his head sideways to read his phone screen. He clicked the screen on to search for Gou in his contact list. [ Call me]. He wasn’t sure if she would still be working at this time. It was later than normal, but with the cafe staffing problems, he wasn’t sure how long closing up took. 

Rin rolled onto his back and set the phone next to him. He stared up at the ceiling to process the day’s events. So Grams picked up a random lost-and-found person, took him home, and decided to let him stay. It sounded too crazy to even think. You find lost puppies and kittens and bring THOSE home, but not PEOPLE.

The phone dinged next to his head. He picked up the device: [ I’ll be off soon. Can I come over?].

With a quick reply, he sent off [ Sure]. He placed the phone back on his nightstand to charge and heaved himself to a sitting position. He began looking around his room, taking in the strewn clothes, cups, plates, take out containers, and all the things he’d so far neglected since he got back home. Rin exhaled deeply. His room was disgusting. No. His whole place was gross. This wasn’t like him at all. What would Sousuke say? Worse, what would Gou say?! He didn’t want her to see he wasn’t taking care of himself. He quickly rose from the bed darting between both the upstairs and main floor tidying up, picking up the dishes, clothes, and odds-and-ends he left lay around. The superficial tidying would need to suffice. When he finally heard the knocking at his door several minutes later, he headed to greet his visitor.

“Rin hurry up, let me in! It’s dark!” he heard through the door. Rin unlocked the door and upon just the slightest crack of the door, Gou bounded inside demanding to know who “secret gold digger man” was. “Was he weird? Nice? Are they getting MARRIED?!”

Rin chuckled and moved towards the seating area. “Sit down, let me fill you in.” Gou quickly set her things down and jumped on the opposite end of the couch, her bright ruby eyes glittered with suspense. Rin sat opposite Gou on the sofa. With a quick inhale and exhale, Rin began, “Grams kidnapped someone.”

Gou shrieked. “Onii-san, you’re joking! Be serious!” She landed a small smack on his arm.

Rin smiled and let out a small chuckle. “Seriously, we’re talking an old fashioned heist and grab here.” Gou sat back and crossed her arms, and Rin began more seriously explaining the situation. “Ok, fine, you got me. Grams said she found this guy at the beach with no memories. He can’t talk either so she’s been helping him out and taking care of him.” Rin stopped. Gou’s expression remained unconvinced. Her raised eyebrow currently meant she didn’t believe him. 

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

Rin sat back and relaxed a little. “I didn’t either. Seriously, if anyone but Grams had this happen, I wouldn’t believe them. Gou, I know it’s hard to believe but I’m telling the truth. I really feel bad for the guy. He had such a broken expression at one point. He looked crushed.”

Gou relaxed and sat back, her excitement and curiosity faded into concern. “No kidding, he can’t talk and he doesn’t remember anything? Does he have family or-”

“She’s been trying to help him for almost a week already. The guy’s in rough shape.” Rin grimaced, remembering how delicate Haru had been in the beginning. He continued to fill in the blanks of the story, retelling everything he could remember. He left out some of the awkward parts of their introduction, but told Gou know everything else. “You can’t say anything to ANY one, got that?”

Gou nodded. “But why? Shouldn’t we try and get him some help?”

“Grams isn’t turning him in as a ‘missing persons’. I could get in a lot of trouble for not going through the proper channels right away. We might eventually, but for now he needs to have a low profile.” Rin turned and gave his sister a firm look. She nodded understandingly. “He did seem kind of lonely, though. Poor guy just has Grams to keep company-”

“Can I meet him? Haruka? Officially I mean! Last time I was there, we just awkwardly made eye contact and I ran!” 

Rin shrugged. “Sure, I don’t suppose it could hurt. He could probably use the company. He’ll probably get sick of your blabbering though.”

“Don’t be so rude!” Gou pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. Gou suddenly gasped. “Sousuke! What are you going to tell him! Oh man, I should have kept my big mouth shut!”

Rin’s demeanor dropped pretty quickly when he remembered the conversation from lunch. “Shit. I didn’t think about him. We joked it up pretty big too.” For a moment they both stared at each other. “Well, it has to be convincing. You know how perceptive Sousuke is. What about an insanely distant family member we didn’t know about?”

Gou didn’t reply. She took a moment to think. “Why don’t we tell the truth? It’ll be easier. Sousuke will understand, surely? Grams found him, he can’t remember, and we’re trying to contact family somehow. It’s not entirely a lie that way?”

Rin knew Sousuke. They’d been childhood friends long before they were partners at the station. There would be no way around this one. A mostly-truth would have to be the way to go. “You’re right. He’d see right through me otherwise. We have to keep things truthful, but not say everything. If he pushes, I’ll figure something out.”

Gou nodded and gave a reassuring smile. “Same!” Gou’s phone buzzed. “I should probably get going! Some of my friends are going out tonight. I just wanted to get the scoop.” She got up and picked up her things beside the couch, swinging her bag over her shoulder. She paused and turned to her brother, arms extended. He walked over and returned the embrace. “I’m so glad to see you’re getting back to normal, big brother.” She knelt down to give Steve a few quick pets before standing to leave.

“Thanks, Gou.” 

“Oh, and onii-san?”

“Yea?”
“Your house looks like shit.”

Rin’s eyes grew wide. “Get out!” he teased, pushing her out the door. They each quickly said their ‘good-byes’ and Rin headed back to his room to get ready for bed. He’d left his phone up by his nightstand charging when Gou came over and noticed he had a missed text. “Of course.”

Sousuke: [ So who was the mystery guy?]

Rin wasn’t really ready to handle this tonight. [ I’ll fill you in tomorrow.] He flung the phone back on his bed and turned to go to the bathroom to clean up. The phone clunked on his bed. That wasn’t supposed to happen? Rin bent over to pick up his phone and felt where it had made an impact: his uniform pocket? Rin pressed softly onto the clothes and felt a hard object in his pant pocket. He reached in and pulled out the sea glass he’d found this morning. Turning it over in his hand a couple times, he set it on his nightstand and continued to the bathroom to wash up for the night.

-

Next day

“I’m telling you, everything is fine. The guy’s completely harmless.” Sousuke had hardly waited until Rin was at his seat before sauntering over wanting to know the details. Rin stuck to the agreement he and Gou had made the night prior: mostly-truths. Sousuke appeared to believe it. 

“You want to put a watch guy on him? Make sure she’s ok or -”

“Sousuke. Drop it. She’s fine. I’ll keep an eye on them. We’ll try to see if we can’t find some family nearby. If he washed up, he would have to be from around here.”

 “If you say so.” Sousuke said nothing but eyed his partner and walked back to his desk not far away. Rin exhaled, not realizing he’d been holding a small breath. He could tell Sousuke still seemed leery about the “story” Rin told him. Rin had stuck to the broad facts.

For the first few hours of the shift, they stayed inside stuck to paperwork. After lunch, though, he and Sousuke were out in the sun again on beach patrol. Their job was the same as yesterday: look important. Except today Rin wasn’t goofing around looking at sea glass. He’d turned inward and was processing the prior day’s events. He and Sousuke hadn’t said much in their first hour on the beach, just idle chit chat.

Rin stared unfocused at the crowds on the beach. Some swimming, some sunbathing, some were running on the water’s edge. This is how that day started… his thoughts went unfinished. And now, there’s a stranger staying at my Grams’ place… He needed to de-stress and knew only one way. “Hey Sousuke,” Rin blurted out.

His partner suddenly jolted from his thoughts also. “Oh you’re still here? Thought you were out in space.”

Rin playfully kicked his foot against Sousuke’s calf. “Smart ass.” He readjusted his position leaning against the guardrail. “You want to have a race later?” Sousuke shrugged. “I know it’s been a while but I could really use the distraction.”

For a moment, Sousuke was quiet. Finally, he lowered his head and smirked, “Fine. I won’t hold back, though, just because you’re recovering, just so you know.”

Rin smirked, “Deal.” And just like that, a friendly swim competition was in order. After Rin’s sudden race request, the afternoon went faster and things felt more normal again. By late afternoon, they were off duty. Neither one needed to say where to meet. Fitness center. Poolside. One hundred meters. Butterfly.

Sousuke had made it to the center before Rin and changed. He walked out of the locker room as Rin walked in. “I’m going to start warming up,” he said in passing, Rin nodding his acknowledgement. 

Rin breathed a tiny sign of relief. He hadn’t fully thought this through. His bruised, scraped, and battered torso would be on full display. Was he ready to deal with the stares? Specifically, Sousuke’s? Would Sousuke make him back out of their friendly race? He could be a bit protective at times and after the “incident,” he was sure to make Rin take it easy a while longer. 

Rin nervously held his locker handle. Should he lie and say Gou called? Or that Momo needed some emergency help with something? No, that wouldn’t work. Momo couldn’t cover for him. Ai would be the better choice. Though Sei did owe him, maybe he would be the better cover?

Rin dropped his hand. “What am I doing? I can’t do this.” He leaned the top of his head on the locker door and closed his eyes. “I’m not ready.” That day weighed heavily on his mind, like it did when he wasn’t distracted by his duties. He thought back to his last memories before his mind goes blank.

He saw the girl bobbing up and down in the water, gasping for air. Her tiny arms flailed while also trying to stay above water. He looked back at Sousuke driving the boat screaming at him to wait for help. The rain and saltwater made his eyes sting. He looked back to the girl. She was gone. Then he was in the water looking for her. The sounds of the storm were muffled underwater. Lightning flashed revealing she was about 10 feet down quickly losing breath. He propels, grabs, and resurfaces.

Then time vanishes. 

His memories are so choppy and lack detail to vividly remember anything. He has a vague memory of Sousuke pulling him from the water and putting him on the rocks but that was it. 

~My boy, you won’t be able to rest until you overcome your uncertainty about yourself.~

Grams’ words suddenly popped into his head from the previous day. And she was right. She was always right. There was no changing what happened. There was acknowledging it and calling it what it was: a traumatic event. A near-death experience. To try and hide it meant that he was trying to hide part of his past. Putting it off would delay his recovery. He would be meeting with a therapist soon and was sure this would be part of the recovery process.

Rin took a firm, deep breath and opened his eyes. He was going to do this. This would be his first step to acknowledging his experience. Though, Rin took his time, carefully removing his clothing so as not to accidentally snag his clothing at any of his scrapes. He still occasionally had one of the deeper gashes crack open and bleed a tiny bit. Even covered in bandages, some of them bled through. Fortunately their uniforms were dark and the stains easy to miss.

Before heading out to the main area, he mimicked his actions from the night before and did a mental inventory of each scrape now fading in one of the mirrors. A few other fitness center members glanced at his banged up body and Rin grew increasingly self-conscious. Did they know what happened? His accident was all over the news. Rin grimaced and shamefully walked out of the locker room. He had just a short walk between the locker room and the main pool area before he had to pull it together.

When he finally made his way to meet Sousuke laying claim near one set of starting blocks, he tried to change his demeanor quickly. “You got here fast,” he commented, tossing a towel near the pool’s edge. 

Sousuke looked up from his stretching position on the ground. “Thought maybe you chickened out.”

“Not a chance,” Rin smirked. He acted as normally as he could muster. He could tell Sousuke noticed his body but was trying not to be too obvious looking at the scrapes and bruises. He neglected to mention his lingering soreness, too. He did not want to let anyone think he wasn’t in top shape, especially Sousuke. 

Sousuke paused his stretches. “Are you sure about this? I just didn’t realize how banged up you still look.” Sousuke began rotating his shoulders gently.

Rin shrugged. “I need to do this. Really.” He glanced at his friend and gave a genuine smile. “How about you? How are you doing after uh… well you know…” Rin dropped his gaze to the water. “I haven’t really asked you how you’re dealing with the whole thing.”

Sousuke continued rotating his shoulders. “I’m fine.” The short answer felt unfinished. Like there was more to be said. Rin waited. He made eye contact with his partner. “The first couple days I was a little shaken but, really. You don’t need to worry about me. You’ve got enough to deal with.”

Rin nodded. “Ok. If you say so.” For a moment, he let his mind just wander. It felt good to have an empty thought.

“So, what’s at stake this time?”

Rin paused briefly, bending one leg up to stretch, slightly confused. “Huh?”

Sousuke continued moving his arms from stretch to stretch. “What does the loser have to do?” He asked with a smirk. 

Rin returned the smirk. He crouched beginning to warm up his lower body. “I’ll think of something after I win.”

Sousuke chuckled. “All the more reason for me to win.” 

Rin appreciated his friend’s acceptance and smirked. He turned towards the water and pulled his goggles over his head, resting for a moment on his forehead. He pulled his hair back as best as he could. “Come on. I hope you’re ready to lose.”

Sousuke approached the starting blocks, pulling his goggles on. “Hardly. I’m not in shit condition like you. This’ll be easy.” Rin chuckled, glad Sousuke wasn’t treating him differently.

Both took their places on the blocks and watched the clock on the wall. “We go at the top,” Rin said, crouching into position. Sousuke took the same position. They had just a few seconds while the clock ticked to the 12. Three… two… one… go!

…

“I still got it!” Rin shouted as he smacked the water. By the smallest distance, and apparently a miracle, he’d beaten Sousuke. 

“Damn. I wasn’t expecting that. Nice job,” Sousuke said, conceding, taking a few hard breaths. Sousuke pulled himself up to sit on the pool edge. He didn’t get out though. 

“Sorry about it. You didn’t take it easy on me, did you?” Rin teased. 

“I might have lightened up at the end a little. Didn’t want to embarrass you too much on your first swim back.” 

Rin moved from the floating divider to the pool edge, ready to pull himself out but hesitated. Sousuke stood and waited for Rin. “Actually, I think I’m going to stay here a while. I need to sort some things out.” Rin looked up to Sousuke with a small smile. “See you tomorrow?”

Sousuke nodded. “Sure. See you later.” He turned to begin walking back to the locker rooms. “Don’t beat yourself up,” he called over his shoulder.

Rin held on to the ledge as he submerged himself underwater to let the cool water take him over. He quickly reemerged and situated his goggles once again. He casually pushed off the ledge and began to swim free down the lane with no urgency. Just him, the water, and his thoughts. Grams’ words from the other night continued to come back to him.

“...you just need to get back out there and face it head on.” 

“Face what head on?”

“It. The ocean. You need to face it. Look it straight in the face. My boy, you won’t be able to rest until you overcome your uncertainty about yourself. I see your face. You’ve left part of yourself out there. Or rather, it kept a part of you.” 

What Grams said resonated deep within a part of him. She was right, just like always. Since that day, he hadn’t touched the water like this. Through most of his life, Rin wasn’t away from the pool or ocean for more than a day. Deep down, it killed him to think of not going back in the ocean again. He’d just promised Sousuke he wouldn’t go back out there but… could he hold himself to that promise?

Rin finally stopped after several laps, tired from slight overexertion. He would probably be sore again tomorrow. But, despite the minor setback, he needed this release for himself more than anything. He pulled off his goggles and pushed himself out of the pool. Rin grabbed his towel from near the blocks where he and Sousuke had been stretching earlier and walked to the locker room to rinse off and head home for the night.

He felt good about today. Sousuke was a good friend, he was thankful for that. He owed him his life, after all, saving him out in the storm. He could have waited for the rescue team but he didn’t. He was out there risking his life for him. Rin could never repay that.

--

Haru sat near the water’s edge with his legs pulled to his chest with his arms tightly wrapped around them. He curled himself in the smallest shape he could, resting his chin on his knees. He buried his toes in the sand as the water ebbed and flowed just beyond his reach. He watched curiously as some small fish appeared in the close distance and played amongst themselves. 

Tonight’s sunset was orange, pink, and a little red. The wind rustled his hair and clothes gently, reminding him he was on land now. Feeling the air around him reminded him of some of the currents back home, though the sensation on his skin was different. Seeing sunsets on land was a much different experience. Though he’d come to the surface many times to watch, this was different somehow. Haru shrunk into himself, looking downwards to hide his face in his lap. Before, sunsets just meant another day was coming. Now, they meant one more day crossed off his allowed time here. Borrowed time, rather.

Since he’d been brought to this house, Haru had come to the ocean everyday in hopes that his friends would find him so he could tell them… what exactly? HOW exactly, is the more pertinent question. Even if he caught sight of one of them, how could he possibly get them to come to him. From here, he would look like any other human. They know to avoid this part of the ocean because of how heavily used it is by human-folk. He no longer had any of his abilities, either.

Haru sighed. This new world he lived in was similar, yet entirely different from what he knew. Haru had come to appreciate Grams’ watchful eye. There were so many nuances he didn’t know about living here and… about being human. He probably looked like a fool to her, but she never judged or made him feel uncomfortable. She let him be, involving herself with his affairs only when he needed it. Often, Haru wondered how much she actually knew.

Haru lifted his head up and saw the sun started to touch the horizon. He pushed himself to a standing position, removed his shirt and tossed it aside. Slowly, he walked out into the water and dove in. Soon he was under the surface and pretended things were back to normal. This is as close to home as I can be right now . 

Though, his body reacted differently to the water now. His lungs limited the amount of time he could spend underwater. Occasionally the salt water stung his eyes if he opened them underwater. His hands and feet shriveled if he stayed in the water too long. And the taste was not very pleasant if he accidentally swallowed some. The more he thought about it, the less like normal things felt. Haru slowly propelled himself through the water, letting his thoughts go through nothingness.

Haru surfaced not far from the shore. He couldn’t stand, but he didn’t need to. He flipped to his back and began to just float watching faint stars start to speckle the sky. The setting sun was just high enough to kiss his skin with the final bits of warmth it had. He took several deep breaths and continued to let his body just drift. 

Haru floated contently, his mind free of thoughts for just this short time. He dismissed his sadness and his fears, forcing himself to stay grounded in this moment. When the final tip of the sun fell under the horizon, Haru made his way back to shore. He trudged out of the water and grabbed his few belongings he’d brought with him and headed back to the house.

When he got to the back steps leading up to the house, he grabbed the towel he’d left near the backdoor and dried himself off. Grams, who had popped her head out the back door, began, “It looks like the water was in good spirits today?”

Haruka nodded. He gave his hair a quick side-to-side flick to get as much water off as possible, then continued to dry off his skin and hair.

“I’m sure you’re hungry. Shall I make you some food?” As he walked inside and closed the door, he shook his head and pointed to himself. “As you wish.” Haru threw the towel over his shoulder. His shorts retained a little water and dripped a little as he came inside. Haruka paused and pointed to the bedroom. Grams nodded. This meant he needed to wash up and change clothes first. He didn’t want water all over her floors.

Haru headed to the bedroom he’d been provided when he first came to stay with Grams Matsuoka. He headed to the private bathing room his guest room had within his quarters and began filling the tub with hot water. Grams would probably give him grief like she usually did, but he didn’t care. Once the water level was acceptable for submerging, he climbed in and let the fresh, hot water overtake him briefly. He came back above water and shook his hair out gently (so as not to make a mess). He quickly situated himself against the back of the tub and relaxed. Though he’d just been out in the ocean, he’d fallen in love with the warm water here in this small tub since he first arrived.

Another day gone. How many has it been now? Ten, maybe eleven? I’ve been gone for so long. Haru closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. I’m sorry everyone.

Haru brought his hands up to lay gently on the surface. He began moving them softly to create very gentle disruptions on the water’s surface. He’d never been away from his friends or family this long before. Without hesitation, he’d thrust himself into a new world, left his friends and family behind, given up his voice, his only way to communicate in this new world as a payment for… Legs.

Haru shifted and extended his legs out under the water. They still felt strange at times. By now he was mostly used to them. How they bent; how they moved; how they worked. The sensations they felt were surreal. His tail was nothing like this. Sure it felt things, but not in the same way his legs and feet were used now. 

Haru closed his eyes, took a deep breath and sank down so his whole body was under the warm water. Thinking of home made him lonely. But here he was. Taken in by an old lady. How humiliating, even for him. Initially he was very skeptical of her assistance, as he’d been told his whole life not to trust a human. But … There was something that changed in Haru a long time ago, long before coming to live on land. He’d changed his mind about humans at a young age. Her caring presence quickly allowed Haru to open up and trust her.

Haru reemerged from under the water and reached to drain the water.  His stomach grew hungrier. He quickly dried off and dressed himself. He’d grown a fondness for cooking because of Grams. She said he’d been a natural, as if he had been cooking his whole life. He dried off and dressed, then headed to the kitchen, starving. He would worry about Rin tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

Original Post Date: December 11, 2021 

<<Blue eyes…

Inhale.

So beautiful … 

Exhale.

It was loud.

No, quiet.

Which was it?

It was both at the same time.

Huh?

Where’s the girl?

Waves?

Nothing?

It was cold.

It was LOUD.

Numb. 

Why couldn’t… he feel anything? 

Silence. 

Did the little girl make it?

Uhn… tired...

But also…

...so much pain...

Pain and numb?

What? How?

So cold… and so loud…

It was dark, too.

Wet.

Rumbling and groaning in the distance.

This didn’t make sense?

The boat.

Sousuke…

Ralph… 

She was in my arms…

Was he still on the boat?

How’d he get here?

Where is here?

Why couldn’t he move? Or feel? 

Blue eyes…

Inhale.

So beautiful … 

Exhale.

>>

Rin’s eyes flew open and he inhaled loudly. He took a moment to get his bearings as his eyes darted around in the darkness. His face and body were completely drenched wet with sweat, sticking to his clothing and sheets. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. Rin pressed his eyes tightly shut while he took a few shallow breaths to try and calm himself. After a few seconds passed, he opened them and flung the sheets off to bring a forearm up to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

It was just a dream. Slowly he sat up and leaned against the wall behind him. He took a few more deep breaths and brought a hand to his chest. He felt his heart still pounding right below his touch. “Fuck,” he said aloud to no one. “What the HELL was that!” he hissed into the darkness of his room.

He swallowed hard. He angrily balled his fist into his pajama tank against his chest and hastily pulled it up and over his head. He slapped it hard against the mattress in frustration. With a heavy sigh, he ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. He brought one knee up to rest his elbow against, his palm pressing into his eye gently. Rin’s face scrunched in sudden agonizing despair. “Damn it,” he whispered softly. 

Tears welled in his eyes, then slowly fell to his lap. Rin’s breathing became irregular again, leading to sharp intakes and exhales of breath. His face continued to twist in agony. His lips began to twitch into a frown. He felt the sting of heavy tears burning behind closed lids. He brought the other knee up to rest the other elbow and pressed his palms into his eyes, ashamed of himself. But there was nothing he could do. Tears started to spill down his cheeks; down his throat. The next sound out of Rin’s mouth was guttural and unnerving, even to himself. 

The fact it had taken a couple weeks to start having dreams about that night quite surprised him. Whatever his brain had done to prevent that from happening until now must be letting up or wearing off. Rin’s sobs echoed loudly throughout his room. Even Steve, normally aloof and ignorant, came to lay by Rin.

Several heavy, emotional minutes passed as Rin sat alone in his bed, snot and tears covering his face. He had let his arms fall to his sides long ago as he continued to lean against the wall in this vulnerable state. He let his body convulse with emotion as he let his tears fall fast and heavy down his face. His deep sobs began to lessen, but occasionally a heavy gasp escaped his mouth.

He readjusted, bringing his knees in close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Be buried his face in his folded lap, squeezing tightly as he let out another pained yell. He remained in this position, yelling several more times as he cried out. Rin wasn’t sure how long it had been, but he finally pulled himself out of the crunched position and relaxed a bit. 

Rin sniffled long and hard, not caring what he looked like at this point. No one was around and no one was going to see him any time soon. He grabbed his sweat-dampened shirt and smeared his face into it, getting as much off as he could. He knew it was disgusting. Frankly, he didn’t care. He took a few more sniffles and tossed his shirt somewhere into the darkness of his room.

After the bulk of his crying passed, he reached towards his phone and scrolled through to find Sousuke’s name in the call list. He stared at the screen, finger hovering over the “Call” button. It was 3:12 in the morning. Sousuke was working right now. He wouldn’t be able to answer anyway. Maybe he would answer if it was me? Rin asked himself. He quickly decided against it, deciding that Sousuke didn’t need to be troubled with this right now and that he would see what he felt like tomorrow. He set his phone back down on the edge of the bed and managed to curl up next to Steve and closed his eyes. 

“Not now...” Rin couldn’t help but re-visualize his dream now that he was awake and processing the dream. His heart rate had steadied, though it was still quite fast. The flashes between physical sensations had felt so real. Back when it happened, adrenaline had killed most of the actual pain, he was told. Near death experiences tend to be mostly pleasant experiences, he’d read. He’d also read that some people experience absolute tortuous final moments. Was his pleasant? It wasn’t exactly nightmare-ish either so… he also had to ask himself if he was near death? Did his experience count? This would be something to ask the Doctor whatever-his-name is.

But what of those eyes he saw? Those were new. He took a deep breath and relaxed a little. That’s right. In that darkness, when he was under the water, he was being guided by… something? Someone? It? They? Whatever IT was, it was a brilliant sapphire blue. He couldn’t forget that. When he was brought into consciousness again, it was looking at him. Concerned and hopeful. Could an “it” have a face? Was it a person? It sure looked like a set of beautiful blue eyes. Or… Perhaps a figurative “guiding light?” Or was it something more other-wordly entirely? Rin couldn’t tell what was real or hallucination at this point.

<< Goodbye, Rin… >>

“Goodbye, Rin” he said aloud to himself mimicking the voice in his dream. He gasped. Rin’s eyes flew open for the second time tonight.

Wait.

That wasn’t a part of his dream. Was that… an actual memory? From waking up on the rocks? After that all he recalled was waking up in the hospital. “Ungh…” he groaned, scrunching into a ball and attempting to sleep again. “Fuck it.” He lay for a while, his thoughts racing, but eventually fell asleep.

-

Rin went back to Grams’ the next day after a plain and boring day of desk work. Since Sousuke had been on the overnight shift, Rin was not allowed to respond to calls on his own yet. It didn’t bother him, particularly after the overnight experience he’d had. He let himself in, took off his shoes and headed to meet his grandmother in the kitchen. “Grams?” he shouted.

“Rin, come in! Dinner’s almost ready!” 

When he rounded the corner, he was surprised to see Haru in the kitchen instead! “Oh! Haru. Hi, uh, I was expecting Grams…”

Haru never turned from where he stood preparing tonight’s meal. He gestured with a spatula towards the patio facing the ocean and turned around to continue. Rin curiously raised an eyebrow at Haru’s lackluster response, but walked past and met his grandmother sitting, rocking peacefully. “Well hello! Welcome!” She stood and greeted her grandson with a warm hug.

“Hey, Grams. I wanted to come back again and see you, is that ok?”

She laughed, “Like you have to ask. You’re always welcome!” She sat back in her chair. “I’m happy you’re here. Haru’s pushed me out of the kitchen, I’m afraid. I always enjoy the company.”

Rin chuckled. He turned to take a seat in the chair next to Grams. This gave him a direct view back into the door he’d just walked through. He glanced into the kitchen. He could see only the back of Haru standing at the stove and oven. He wore another borrowed outfit of Rin’s (where was he getting these?! Gou?) that fit loosely over his frame. Apparently he was slightly smaller built than Rin, and a touch shorter. 

For a second, Haru glanced over his shoulder and made brief eye contact with Rin. Rin blushed and nervously looked away. Rin pretended to adjust the seat cushion. Slyly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Haru turn back to the food. He watched for just a moment more as Haru shifted his weight from side to side. Rin’s gaze was glued, watching his hips gently sway as he shifted his weight. The small apron strings pulled snuggly around his frame, accentuating his waist and hips ever so slightly.

Apparently Haru was a good fit in those shorts - he filled them out nicely. Rin’s already red face grew more flush as he realized where his gaze had rested. He turned back to finally take his seat and continue the conversation with his grandmother. “So…” he began, attempting to get his thoughts refocused. “I can’t believe you’re letting someone else be in charge of dinner?”

“Young Haru has been watching and helping me since shortly after he arrived. I think he wanted to keep busy and this was how I knew best. He’s gotten quite good, if I may say,” she explained. “Tonight he wouldn’t let me pick up a darn thing. He shooed me out. I came out here to enjoy the evening instead.” The scent of tonight’s meal had begun drifting out to where they sat. She was right… it did smell quite good. “You should try and get to know him more. Take him around the city. He’s been cooped up with me. I can imagine how boring that must be.” Rin turned to look back at Grams. She smiled at him. “It would be good for both of you.”

“Mmhmm,” Rin agreed. He hadn’t anticipated this suggestion. He put himself in Haru’s position. He would probably go nuts only being entertained by an old lady. He would hope he could spend some time with someone his age. Rin at least had Sousuke to keep his spirits up at work. Maybe a distraction would be a benefit to both of them, but for entirely different reasons…

A hand gently touched his shoulder bringing him out of his thoughts. He spun in the chair to see Haru next to him. “Oh. Hey. Dinner ready?” he guessed. Haru nodded and went back inside as quickly as he appeared.

Rin stood and helped Grams to the dinner table inside. In addition to the lovely smell, a wonderful array of food lay out before them on the table. “Wow. Haru, you did all this?” He had only just gotten here, when had all this food appeared? Rin turned and saw Haru pull out his grandmother’s chair to help her sit. He made quick eye contact with Rin and nodded. When she was situated comfortably, he sat himself down next to Rin. Rin seated himself at the end of the table. His grandmother was on his left, Haru on his right. “This looks fantastic.”

For a while, neither Rin nor his grandmother spoke as they ate. Small comments of “This is so good!” and “Delicious!” were all that was spoken. It wasn’t until they were nearly done that his grandmother broke the idle chatter. “I’ve been doing some thinking,” she said as she set down her utensils. “Or rather, I’ve done the talking and Haru has listened. He’s already agreed. Our Haru here will start helping at the cafe next week.”

Rin coughed. He looked from left to right as he absorbed what his grandmother just said. “Haru’s going to work for us?!” He turned to Haru, “You’re going to work for us?!”

Haru nodded. He brought a bite of steak to his mouth and began chewing. 

“Gou has been looking for someone. I have found ‘that someone’.” 

“Gou is in on this?!” Rin exclaimed.

“Heavens no. I was hoping you could take Haru out to show him the cafe tomorrow and talk to Gou for me. Introduce these two, formally that is!”

Rin looked over to Haru once more. They made brief eye contact, similar to the moment earlier as Rin spied on Haru from outside while he cooked inside. Just as quickly as they met glances, both looked away with a slight redness tingeing both cheeks. “Uh yea, sure. I can do that. I’m off tomorrow. What do you say I come get you around 9?” Rin shyly looked in Haru’s direction. 

Haru nodded.

Grams clapped her hands. “Wonderful! Gou will certainly be relieved!” Slowly, she rose from the table and excused herself to the washroom.

Rin and Haru sat alone at the table in silence. Rin didn’t know quite what to say, and since he was the only one that could really carry a conversation, he felt bad for the awkwardness. “So, uh, have you been out to the city yet?” That was a stupid question, of course he hadn’t! Haru shook his head. “You’ve got to be so bored.” Haru shrugged. “I guess it sounds like you’ve been working with Grams to learn how to cook! She started the cafe on a whim. She said back in her day people loved her cooking and she wanted to share that with more than just her friends and family.” Haru nodded. “I think it’s great she’s brought you into that. She hasn’t shown anyone how to do that since… my mother and father passed.” Rin sat back in his chair. He didn’t feel like elaborating. “Anyway, let’s get this picked up and get to bed so you’re rested for tomorrow.” Haru nodded. Both rose and cleared the dishes and table quickly.

Grams had come back while they were tidying up. She took her seat back at the table. “You boys are so kind to take care of an old lady like me.” Rin appeared at her side and gave her a small hug and a peck on the cheek.

“Only for you, Grams. I should get going so you all can get to bed. Thanks for the wonderful meal, Haru,” he said, turning towards his new companion. Haru nodded in appreciation and bowed slightly. “I’ll be here around 9! See ya!” 

--

The next morning was not going smoothly. Rin woke far earlier than his alarm. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he’d slept much at all. His nerves had him on edge. He’d gone for a run like he normally did most mornings and returned to make breakfast. Even after his shower, as he dried himself and dressed, he could not settle on the right outfit. He stood in front of his closet and stared at the selection. Did he go casual and comfy? They would be doing some walking. But then again, he was introducing Gou to Haru so maybe he should look more put together? What if he ran into someone who knew him and thought he was on a date? Did he care what he looked like? What would Haru be wearing? Wait, what clothes DID Haru have? There’s no way Grams has been buying clothes, was Gou stealing his clothes?

Rin shook his thoughts. He couldn’t worry about that just now. He opted for simple and mostly casual. Charcoal black v-neck with blue jeans. He threw on his favorite necklace. Perfect for a day like today. He gave himself a good lookover in the mirror (did he pull his hair back or leave it down? Down, for now, he decided. He snagged a hair tie in case he’d need it.). He was as satisfied as he was going to be. He grabbed one of the bottles of cologne and spritzed himself a couple times.

Rin fed Steve, grabbed his phone, wallet, headphones and keys and headed out the door. Today he would walk. He was thankful today wasn’t as warm or hot as the prior days had been while he was working. He didn’t want to show up sweaty or smelly. He locked up his house, situated the headphones and picked his tunes. 

..

It didn’t take long to arrive. As Rin approached his grandmother’s home, he saw Haru sitting out on the front steps. Grams was out front watering her flowers and shrubs. “Hey guys!” Rin called, waving as he walked up to greet them.

Grams cut the water off on the hose. “Well, hello my dear,” she said, giving Rin a quick hug. “I hope you boys have a wonderful time around the city today!”

Haru rose and Grams stopped him to give him a small hug also. “You take care of Rin, yea?” A small smile crept on Haru’s face and he nodded. They separated and Haru moved closer to Rin. 

As he approached, Rin looked over Haru. He wore a white shirt with thin light blue horizontal stripes and jeans. A black tank peeked out from the collar. No inside out shirts like their first meeting. He looked... good?! Rin reddened in the face a little, turned and began walking back towards the sidewalk trying to make sure neither one of them saw his red face. “Come on, let’s grab something to eat first.” Haru trailed not far behind. He caught up as they turned out of Grams’ yard and headed towards town. Rin tucked his hands in his jean pockets and let Haru catch up to walk side by side. 

“There’s a neat place Sousuke and I sometimes stop at if we have an overnight shift. Ending the day with breakfast is surprisingly perfect. Sousuke is my work partner. We’ve been friends and work partners for years now. He’s been with me through all my good and bad times. Lately it’s been the bad times.” Rin turned his head slightly to gauge Haru’s reaction. He could sense curiosity as their eyes connected. “I, uh, don’t know how much Grams has told you, but I was in a pretty bad accident not long ago.” Haru turned to look at the ground instead of ahead where they walked toward. “I’m sorry that’s a lot to spring on you. You barely know me! I’m sorry. Let’s try again.” 

Rin took his hands out of his pockets and clasped them behind his head. “Sousuke’s been to hell and back with me. We work together now at the police station. We both just sort of gravitated there after school. It was about the only job this town has that pays anything decent.” Rin sighed. He hadn’t exactly dreamed of getting into law enforcement. It was a joke as a kid between him and Sousuke that they’d just become officers. He was sure Sousuke had similar feelings. Their jobs were a necessity. Both felt obligated to stay where they were because of familial commitments. Rin’s to the inn and cafe, and Sousuke to his family’s restaurant. 

He quietly reflected on his true dream of being a professional swimmer. Living abroad permanently. National and international competitions. One that he’d promised his parents when he was young… when they were still around. He wasn’t ready to share that sort of personal information with anyone yet, let alone a stranger like Haru. Instead he refocused on the day’s plan to get his thoughts off the past: Introduce Haru and Gou. And maybe get Haru some clothes that weren’t his. 

As they walked, they began to exit the residential part of their city and enter a more light shopping area. There were no big malls or box stores, just small family owned trade shops. As they approached the first storefronts, Haru’s eyes grew wider with curiosity. Rin spied his expressions change from a stolen side glance. He chuckled. “You look curious,” he pointed out. Haru nodded, shifting his gaze from window to window on both sides of the street. “Did you not have shops like this where you’re from?” Haru shook his head. He approached one of the first stores - a small animal pet store. Lizards, snakes, small hamsters and other creatures lie sleeping, some stirring in their morning feedings. 

Like a kid in a candy store, his eyes were wide with amazement. Rin put a gentle touch on his shoulder and waved to keep moving. “Come on, let’s get to the restaurant before it gets busy with brunch. We can come back if there’s time.” The distractions continued as they passed more stores - clothing, books, antiques, cakeries, and a wider assortment further down the street. Haru’s expression remained extremely wide eyed and amazed as they approached the restaurant. The smell of coffee greeted them before they entered the door. Unlike the cafe where Gou worked, there were no patio seats outside. Rin grabbed Haru by the elbow and dragged him inside.

For a midmorning brunch, the place was relatively empty. “Perfect. Not too crowded.” At this place, it was “seat yourself” so Rin led Haru to a seat near the back where it would be quiet. “I haven’t been here in a while,” he said, grabbing a menu that was tucked to the back end of the tabletop. Rin began looking over the selections in deep thought. “Should I get something new today?” He looked over to Haru and raised an eyebrow “Hmm?” Haru had a menu and held it, though he looked completely lost. His eyes bore holes as they scanned the menu. Admittedly, this place was a little overwhelming with the selections. Rin opened his mouth to ask Haru what he wanted to drink but their moment was interrupted.

A young girl approached the table, order-pad and pen at the ready. “Good morning you two!” she said cheerfully. “What’ll you be drinking this morning?”

“I’ll have a coffee, black,” Rin said. He looked over to Haru who stared at him back, a lost look on his face. “Make it two, please,” Rin finished giving the girl a smile. She nodded and left the tableside. “I hope that’s ok. I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask if you even liked it. Is that ok?”

Haru shrugged and nodded. “If you want something else, I can get it for you.” Haru shook his head. He picked up the menu and began looking it over again. This time, his face was less shocked and more determined.

Rin resumed his search. He settled on one of his normal selections. The girl returned a bit later with coffees in hand. She prepared to take the order and Rin began, “I’ll have the two eggs platter, overeasy, ham, and wheat toast.” 

The girl wrote quickly. “Ok… and for you?” she asked, turning to Haru. Rin went to open his mouth and interject, but Haru calmly put his menu down on the table and pointed to one of the options. The girl wrote down his choice. “Perfect! We’ll have these ready soon.” She turned and continued her morning rounds of tables.

“You must have found something good,” Rin pointed out. Haru nodded and began curiously looking around the restaurant. He watched and listened to the bustle of the few customers and staff in the small building. “You know, the cafe is somewhat similar to this,” Rin explained. “It sounds like you’ll be in the kitchen mostly, but with Gou around, she’ll probably have you doing all sorts of things.” 

Rin sat against the wall, his legs extended on the booth seat so he faced the inner workings of the restaurant, though his eyes glanced sideways to rest on someone else. He was so fascinated by Haru’s innocent curiosity of the morning. He was getting to see someone experience the place he called home for the first time, and that was endearing. 

He took a drink of coffee. It was hot, but not impossible to drink. Haru blinked and refocused himself. His mind came back to the table where he sat instead of out watching the customers. He also picked up the cup of coffee and sipped it. His eyes grew wide as he took another bigger sip. Rin let a smile creep on his face. “I take it that’s a “yes” to the coffee,” he pointed out. Haru nodded, continuing to sip it eagerly. “I’ll need to show you the good place, then, someday.”

Rin realized he hadn’t actually informed Gou they would be stopping into the shop today. He dug his phone from his pants pocket and began sending her a message letting her know the day’s plan. She hadn’t taken long to reply enthusiastically about their arrival in a little while. “Gou is excited to meet you,” Rin said, replying to his sister. He looked up to find Haru once again watching the staff and customer interactions. “Did you want to go back and visit any of the shops we passed on the way here?” Haru’s curiosity had been piqued. He gave Rin a small glance from the corner of his eyes. “Is that a… yes?” Rin asked inquisitively. Haru shrugged, then nodded his head. “We’ll stop and get you some clothes then. I’m finding it quite peculiar how you keep showing up in my clothes,” Rin trailed.

The two did not have to wait much longer for their food. They quickly ate and were on their way to buy Haru some clothing. When they arrived back at one of the shops they passed earlier, Haru made no efforts to leave Rin’s side. He hovered around Rin and just nodded when the (giggling) sales girls asked him to try things on. While Haru was put in outfit after outfit by the staff, Rin stayed close but aimlessly wandered to find something new of his own. Maybe he would buy something nice for himself as a “hey you didn’t die” gift. 

As he shopped, he never strayed too far away from where Haru had been enslaved as an outfit model for the squealing sales girl. Each time he came out and she made cooing noises, Rin groaned. But each time, Rin subconsciously also caught himself making comments about how that shirt really makes his shoulders look good or those shorts really show off his calves . After the fourth or fifth outfit, Rin realized his unintentional actions and blushed fiercely. 

“Oh your friend here is just the perfect candidate for most of our showcase outfits!” the sales girl exclaimed, tracking Rin down with some of the unwanted outfits in hand. “You’re really lucky.” She winked.

“Huh?! Lucky?” Rin buried his face in the racks on the walls, trying not to let the redness on his cheeks show too much. Finally, he spied Haru coming out in his original outfit, several tops and bottoms in hand. “Hey, it looks like you found some,” he commented. “What about some shoes? I suppose you’ll need a pair or two.”

“Come with me!” exclaimed another sales girl, pulling Haru by the elbow as he tossed his outfits into Rin’s arms. Haru looked confused as he disappeared into the confines of the shoe aisles. “We’ve got lots of good ones for those outfits you got…” 

Rin blinked a few times. “What is going on today?” he mumbled to himself as he watched the second sales girl pull several pairs of shoes on and off. Rin walked to the checkout register and set Haru’s outfits on the counter. “Can you hold on to these, I think my friend is about done.”

The first girl who helped Haru nodded. “Oh definitely. I think he looks really good in these,” she said, holding up one of the shirts. Rin groaned internally. The girl had started folding the articles of clothing while Rin dawdled nearby. After a while, he noticed a handful of shoeboxes being carried his way. 

“We got some really great shoes for your friend here, too!” said the second sales gal. She tagged along with her coworker behind the counter and helped ring them up. 

Rin grimaced as the price went up on the register. “Haru. Did you look at the prices before you said yes?” Rin turned his head to notice a shrug. Shrugs were apparently common for Haru. “When you have the money you will pay me back,” Rin mumbled under his breath to Haru. 

They didn’t linger in the store after the purchase. Both girls tried to get Haru some accessories, but Rin quickly shot them down. Rin began marching off, perturbed, towards Gou’s cafe not far away. Though he was slightly glad that Haru had some things of his own now, it came at Rin’s expense. Haru trailed behind in slight bewilderment, taking in the surroundings.

In a few minutes, they arrived at the cafe and saw Gou near the kitchen at a drink station. She glanced toward the doorway where Rin and Haru entered and waved. “Rin!” she exclaimed as she bounded towards them. She wrapped her arms in a big hug around Rin. “I’m so glad to see you again!” She pulled away and extended a hand in Haru’s direction. “You must be Haruka - I mean, Haru!”

Haru looked at her hands for a moment. He put the bags in her hands and walked towards a booth. Gou looked at Rin with a puzzled look on her face, while Rin snickered as he walked towards where Haru was seated. “Gou, meet Haru. One of the strangest people I’ve ever met.”

Chapter Text

Original Post Date: March 5, 2022

Chapter 5

Rin and Gou giggled and followed Haru to the booth seat he’d taken near the entrance. After he’d handed off the shopping bags to Gou, he promptly took a seat and turned his gaze outside. Gou slid the bags into a nearby seat out of the way so they would be able to sit and talk. The cafe wouldn’t open for a couple hours and she had a few other workers opening. She’d texted Rin back earlier saying that she’d be free for a little while to visit and introduce herself to Haru.

Rin paused near the seat and stole a moment’s glance at Haru. He tried to see if Haru was looking at something or someone in particular, but he just appeared to be gazing. Rin wondered what he was thinking of this very moment. He couldn’t help but let a small smile slip up - Haru’s peculiarity was charming. When he’d first met Haru at his grandmother’s house, he was shocked at his behavior and actions. But in the short time he’d gotten to know more about Haru, he’d been captivated by Haru’s innocent curiosity to the everyday things he saw or did, like Haru was a little child experiencing things for the first time. Rin wanted so badly to know more about this mysterious person he was beginning to call a friend.

It had begun to anger Rin, this amnesia. He knew how disoriented he had been in those hours after the incident just a few short weeks ago. Not knowing how he ended up in some place different, why his body ached all over, and why everyone was looking at him with pitied looks. Rin remembered vividly the anger he had from not being able to recall anything. His lost time was only hours. Eventually he regained bits and pieces, but even now, there are still fragments of time that he couldn't recall. 

By comparison, how much time had Haru lost? Days? Weeks? Years, even? What type of anger must he feel? How long was he alone before Grams found him? His friends and family must be worried sick that they can’t find him. On top of that, Haru was in a presumably unknown location with strangers experiencing things he couldn’t remember previously doing. Rin shook his head, frustrated for Haru’s lack of memories.

Rin felt a hand on his back as Gou nudged her brother into the booth seat across from Haru and Gou slid in beside him. Haru adjusted his gaze towards the siblings with a continued look of curiosity. Without missing a beat, Gou began the conversation. “Haruka! It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Gou, Rin’s younger sister! Rin told me you go by Haru, is that right?” Haru politely answered with a slight nod. “I’m sorry about my awkward visit a few days ago. But I am very glad to meet you today! I understand you’re staying with Grams. If there’s anything I can do to help you, I’m just a call away!”

Haru tilted his head slightly and glanced in Rin’s direction. He quickly realized that would be a problem and interjected, “Uh, that’s a good point. Haru doesn’t have a phone.” He looked between Gou and Haru while they looked at him. “I… suppose I could get something today for you.” Rin mumbled softly under his breath, “ Though your tab is running quite high after this morning…”

Gou smirked, “Isn’t he the best onii-chan?” Rin playfully shoved Gou in the seat with his elbow. She giggled and recomposed herself. “Rin also told me that you’ve been working with Grams and that you’d be a good cook for us. Have you ever cooked anywhere before?” Haru shook his head and furrowed his brow a bit. He lowered his focus to the table. He folded his hands nervously in his lap.

Gou gave a small side-glance to her brother and bit her lip gently. Rin nodded and nudged her silently. He mouthed, Keep going. She shifted a little in her seat. “Normally we’d have a pretty in depth conversation about your work history, ask you some other questions, and proceed with an actual interview but I think in this case we’ll change things up.” Haru sat back up and straightened his posture. He inhaled and held his breath. “Since Grams recommended you, I trust her judgment. I’d like to have you do a test run to see if you like it.” 

Haru’s face lit up and he let go of the breath he held, again with the innocent curiosity. Gou smiled back. “Would you like to come back tomorrow and watch Ryu? He’s my current cook during busy times. When it’s slower, Chigusa and I take care of the kitchen together. It’s not been ideal but we haven’t had the greatest luck lately.” Gou’s demeanor dropped slightly. “It would be so great if you liked it!” she exclaimed excitedly. She grabbed her brother’s arm and shook him gently. “Oh wonderful! I actually have another question to ask you, and you can totally say no, but…” Gou paused and bit her lower lip and turned to face Rin and Haru as best she could at the same time. Her face changed into a plea and she folded her hands in front of her. “Can Haru stay here for just a little bit and have him watch to see if he likes it here first? I know you are off today, Rin…” she trailed off.

Haru and Rin immediately exchanged a look. Rin didn’t have anything planned for the day. They’d only really made plans to visit Gou and get acquainted with her. Rin shrugged and deferred to Haru. “Ask him, I’m not his keeper.”

Gou flipped to face Haru, hands still folded. Haru, undeterred, gave Gou a firm nod. She squealed with excitement. “Ee! I promise I won’t take long! I just want to show him the back so tomorrow he and Ryu can just jump right in!” Gou leapt up from her seat and grabbed Haru by the forearm, pulling him from the seat. “Let’s go! I won’t keep you from my onii-chan long!”

Rin smiled seeing his sister happy. He stole a glance at Haru who had turned back as Gou dragged him off. Rin smirked and gave him a thumbs up. Deep down, he hoped this would allow Haru to free himself a little and get to experience more than Grams’ house walls for a change. When he was in the hospital, all he wanted to do was get out, it didn’t matter where he was. But being confined and restricted was not good for his emotional state. 

Rin called after his sister, “Gou, I’m going to run down the street and get Haru a phone. Don’t let him run away.” He didn’t receive a reply but hoped she heard him. She’d probably be busy talking to Haru anyway and wouldn’t notice. Rin calmly put his hands in his pocket and walked out the door.

Gou had dragged Haru to the kitchen in the meantime. She’d started pointing and explaining different utensils, machinery, locations of ingredients and Haru just nodded as a few workers buzzed around them continuing the morning prep. They stopped at the “walk-in” cooler where Haru recognized many of the food items he’d been practicing with at Grams’ stacked neatly on shelves. She took him further into the cooler to another large door labeled “freezer.” Haru had not been prepared for the frigid temperature change and he shivered while she showed him the array of options.

When they re-emerged in the kitchen area, Gou rubbed her arms. “Brr! I hate going in there. Let’s stay out here where it’s warmer!” She began touring the rest of the equipment - most of which Haru had never seen before. This world used so many things to prepare a single dish! Gou described a large flat hot surface as their “grill” and next to that was a large roaring box with a moving metal belt that blew hot air, she said this was the “convection oven.” Haru begged and pleaded silently to whatever deity would listen that he would be able to pick up on their proper use tomorrow. 

Gou calmly walked from station to station. Haru was lost. He recognized only some of the things she pointed out from Grams’s house. This place was much bigger and more intimidating than the house. Some of the ingredients were new to him, but that didn’t matter. He would just be watching anyway. He wasn’t expected to actually cook by tomorrow, right?

Gou paused her frantic descriptions and explanations and pondered for a moment. “Are you doing ok? Doyou have any questions?” She paused briefly waiting for Haru’s response. He simply shook his head and let his wandering gaze move about the kitchen, taking in more details. She scrunched her face, a hint of embarrassment present, and spoke softly, “I suppose I didn’t ask if tomorrow is ok. Were you free tomorrow? I just kind of assumed since you’ve just been staying at my grandmother’s,” she asked Haru. Haru nodded his head briefly. “Ok, can you be here around this time? Wear something that you don’t mind getting dirty.” Haru nodded. “Great! Ryu will be thrilled.” 

Gou unconsciously grabbed Haru’s upper arm to get his attention, and froze. Her eyes went wide and she refused to make eye contact with Haru. She stared straight ahead and put her hand to her mouth. Haru gave her a side glance, but swore he heard her mumble something about “ fabulous biceps and triceps.” He nudged her shoulder gently with his elbow and she snapped out of her trance. Her face reddened as she turned away from Haru, stammering, to point to the different people in the kitchen. Haru wasn’t sure what they all did in the restaurant, but they certainly appeared to be doing something. She made a point to have Ryu wave so Haru would know who to look for.

Gou had finally relaxed enough to turn and face him finally. “Haru, thank you so much for coming to see me. I think it will be great having you here. I’m very excited to see what tomorrow is like.” She gave a small, polite bow and began walking away. “I’m really sorry but I need to finish up my opening duties! Please have a seat and wait for my brother to come back!” 

Haru was left standing alone near the entrance to the kitchen watching several strangers give him odd looks. He decided to leave the kitchen area and wander outside the cafe. He’d heard Rin call out that he was going somewhere, so he didn’t want to go far. But he wanted to take in some of the outside scenery. He found a seat on one of the outside tables and looked down both sides of the street. Shops seemed to sit at each segment of the road in either direction. Crowds of people walked up and down the way, not paying very close attention to where they were going. Haru heard dull chatter as they walked by him, but he never caught any conversations.

This reminded him of home. The bustle of daily life. Random souls weaving in and around one another with goals and dreams and aspirations. Some headed to jobs, some headed to fun events, and some headed to places they never imagined. Again, his other life and this human life were nearly identical, and Haru again found himself completely bewildered by the hatred his people had for humans. These humans, no, these people , didn’t care one bit about his people. In fact, it almost seemed like they didn’t even know they existed. If they didn’t know his people existed, where and when had their world views on interaction so drastically diverged? Haru was beginning to kick himself for continuing to bring this up and compare his home to this place. 

Haru shifted, resting his chin on a palm. Today, he realized he’d also started asking himself if he preferred living here. He’d been here a fair amount of time, though most of it was spent with a dear, sweet old lady. Even his limited time with Rin, and now Gou, he absolutely loved. These people he’d met were absolutely wonderful people. Haru just wished he could tell them how thankful he was for making his time here much more enjoyable. He had no idea what he thought this place would be like, but it wasn’t like this. Sure he missed his friends and belongings from back home, but at what cost? Did he miss home? Or just the people and objects from it? Those could all be replaced, though replacing friends would be much more emotionally difficult.

Haru sighed and crossed his arms on the table, burying his face in the crook of an elbow. He wasn’t happy there. He felt so restricted and confined. There was no other path for him there. The rules and laws his people had about life and growing up and contributing to the clan were suffocating. When he decided to come here, he felt like he was finally taking control of something in his life. Something to give him access to choices. Something to feel free . He didn’t have the ability to choose anything about his life. Haru hardly wondered if the human world was the same. He knew there had to be more for him here. Though he loved the water and its constant presence in his former life, he felt like he was still missing something back then. He clenched his fist at how frustrated he’d been not able to make a change in his life. Not until he committed to visiting the sea witch.

Though he was happy now, Haru started to regret his decision to use the sea witch's power to come to the land. Surely, he would have been able to find another way. There were always rumors, which had to be founded on some sort of truth, right? What if there was a less invasive way to get what he wanted? Why had he chosen to submit to him ? Was giving up his voice and feigning amnesia worth it? What if he’d given up something else instead? Would things be the same as they are now? 

What if he’d given up the ability to see, instead? Watching the ocean from afar was breathtaking. The first night spent on land was absolutely mesmerizing - looking out from Grams’ back porch towards the ocean. He couldn’t believe that these people were able to look out and see such a sight on a daily basis. Seeing the way the sun and moon danced on the water each night, and how the stars twinkled their magic were some of Haru’s favorite images. He’d never seen the ocean from this vantage point. A place he once called home was truly quite spectacular. Haru wished there was a way for him to show his friends, but he knew that to be impossible. No, there was no way he’d give up his sight knowing what he’s seen. 

What about his ability to hear? No, there were so many wonderful sounds here, as well. Once again, the ocean waves crashing on the shore sounded much different from land at a distance than just on a rock in the middle of the water. It was much more soothing and hypnotic from a distance. Plus the music in this world was just as pleasant, if not more, than what they were able to produce back home. Grams had played some soothing music for him when he had trouble sleeping the first few nights; she called it “instrumental” music. The sounds the instruments on land could make were so much more spectacular than he’d known possible. Haru was lulled to sleep almost instantly. No, he couldn’t give up his hearing either.

His other senses didn’t feel like they would have sufficed for the desire to walk on land. Taste? Food would simply be bland. Touch? Possibly, the lack of connection and touch might have been enough, but Haru would still have been able to make it. Smell? Though so many things here smelled wonderful, he doubted that would have been enough. The sea witch wanted something with purpose, something with meaning. Haru was thankful he did not request something more drastic, like memories or worse: limbs. Why had he taken something seemingly unimportant at the time? Something Haru nearly instantly gave up without much of a second thought? 

He supposed it was because he hardly talked back home. He didn’t care much to tell other people what was on his mind. His friends did most of the talking. He enjoyed their company, but unless there was something important, he kept to himself. He’d never been one to share much about himself. Was Haru boring enough that his friends did all the talking? Was he even a good friend to them? 

What did Rin or Gou think of him now that he definitely couldn’t say ANYTHING?! They certainly didn’t seem put off by constantly having to interpret his emotions or responses. In fact, they’d done quite a good job, Grams as well. He had been quite impressed with their perceptiveness. He wondered how he would react if their positions were reversed. Now that he had the desire to communicate, he wished so deeply that he could tell Rin everything. Tell him why he was here, ask him questions he’s been dying to get out, tell him how much he missed - 

“Haru! Hey, look what I got you!”

Haru was shaken from his deep thoughts by Rin’s reappearance at the cafe patio. Haru’s head snapped up and he turned to see Rin approaching, waving something in the air. He pulled out a chair to sit next to Haru and held out something nonchalantly. He put his hand out and Rin plopped something hard and small into his palm. He pulled the small rectangular object close to his body and began rotating it. He curiously looked back to Rin. Here was Haru, leaving his blank expression up for Rin to interpret again. How he was growing to hate leaving so much for Rin to figure out.

Rin smiled. He didn’t seem annoyed reading Haru’s reaction. “It’s a phone.” Haru blinked a few times, his facial expression unchanged. “You’ve used one before right?” Haru stared at Rin for a moment, then shook his head. Should he have lied and said yes? “Ah. Well. I didn’t expect that, but that’s ok! Did you not have one before?” Haru shook his head. Was this object something that held importance to humans? Grams didn’t have one. He’d seen Rin use it briefly a few times but it seemed of relative unimportance at the time.

Rin rose from his seat, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a similar sized object. He held out something in his hand. “This is mine. We can send messages back and forth on here! I figured that way, if you’re bored, you don’t have to just loaf around Grams’ place all day.” Rin placed the two objects - phones - side by side on the table. He tapped and swiped at the hard screen and it lit up! It responded to Rin’s touch. Haru copied the gesture. Rin pointed to a small icon on the “phone’s” screen. “This one is for texting,” he began.

Rin leaned over the table and hovered over Haru’s shoulder. Haru registered how close their bodies were and his eyes widened. Rin rested one hand on the table, and pointed at the device with the other. He didn’t seem to notice as Haru’s face began to turn a slight shade of pink. Rin was explaining something, he was touching the screen and describing how this thing worked, but Haru was so intently focused on their close proximity he failed to comprehend much. He mindlessly copied what Rin did, making symbols - letters - appear on the screen to form words. Haru couldn’t hardly pay attention to what Rin was doing as his heart raced. “There you go! Just like that,” Rin patted a hand on Haru’s shoulder, turned and smiled at Haru. 

Haru’s body reacted in a way that he’d never felt before. His heart did a flip in his chest and his blood raced through his veins. This wasn’t the first smile Rin had made around Haru, nor was it even the first smile AT Haru. There was something about this one that reminded him of back then. Back when he’d first met Rin. He fought desperately to prolong the moment, but in a fleeting instance, Rin was back to messing with the phone, entirely unaware of the spell he’d placed on Haru just now. Part of Haru knew at that moment, the Rin he knew, that Rin , was still in there. Buried. 

Rin kept talking, touching the phone’s screen, explaining things, but Haru’s mind was in the past. Far in the past. Back when they were just boys playing. He was called back to their last day of summer together. Haru never forgave himself for how they were torn apart by his mistake.

How Rin’s memories were…

Haru angrily stood up rather abruptly, his chair falling over behind him. Rin quickly pulled back from Haru, unsure what was going on. His facial expression morphed into confusion. He retreated emotionally in a way that pained Haru to watch. “Whoa, Haru. I-Is everything ok? I didn’t mean to offend you, if that’s what this is,” he spoke softly. Haru balled his fists at his sides and scowled. He inhaled deeply, opened his mouth to scream…

… and still nothing came out. Rin watched confused, startled, and slightly scared as Haru took off running down the street. Haru could hear Rin calling after him, but he didn’t stop.

He couldn’t stop.

Not until he fixed this. 

He didn’t want things to be like this anymore.

He needed to find that fucking stone.

Chapter Text

Little Mermaid In Love

Original Post Date: March 13, 2022

Chapter 6

Rin took off after Haru in a dead sprint. Whatever came over Haru in the last few minutes had him absolutely shaken. Haru seemed so… off? Was that the word he wanted to use? He seemed fine watching him explain how the texting and phone functions worked, and then suddenly he wasn’t fine. “Damn it, Haru, what’s going on in that head of yours?!” he growled at himself. Rin searched for Haru down each street as he sprinted past them. “Haru!” he called. Rin was a fast runner and he was not making any ground on finding Haru.

It wasn’t long before Rin approached the beach he and Sousuke normally patrolled. With a rather elegant jump, he hurdled the guardrail and made his way to the water side. He scanned the crowd, searching for any sign of Haru hiding amongst them. “Haru! Haru!” he called. Still, no sign of Haru. Rin jogged closer to the guardrail again, making his way in the general direction of his grandmother’s house. Haru couldn’t possibly know anywhere else to go. Panic began to grow fast and furiously in his chest.

How did he lose Haru this fast? 

Rin took the stairs back up to the sidewalk from the beach in two. He continued searching both sides of the road, watching for any glimpse of Haru. Rin was getting winded. He was not in the same shape as he used to be. He bumped into several civilians, apologizing as he went. 

As he ran, he couldn’t wrap his head around what caused Haru to freak out and run. Was it something he said or did? Was he to blame? Rin thought back through the last several days trying to imagine what he could have done. Sure, their first meeting was a little… interesting. But Rin thought things were fine. When they’d gotten brunch, Haru seemed to enjoy their conversation. Maybe the shopping adventure was it, maybe when he’d asked Haru to pay him back he got offended. He was mostly joking, but maybe Haru didn’t take it that way.

These things seemed so trivial! There is no way one of these things is what caused his abrupt outburst. Haru had to have a bigger reason for the reaction he did. He needed to find him and somehow get it out of him. Rin found a sudden spurt of energy driving his legs to work faster.

In just a few minutes, he approached his grandmother’s house. He leapt up the patio and knocked frantically on the door. “Grams! Hey, open up! It’s Rin!” he frantically searched in the window, looking for signs of movement. “Grams!” he shouted, banging on the window. Without wasting more time, he ran around the back of the house, jumping over the short fence. He was growing more winded. He needed to find Haru and figure out what exactly was going on.

Grams was nowhere to be seen. Rin felt terrible if he’d banged on the door and woke her up only to run away without explaining himself. But he had to find Haru. 

He frantically panned across the beach, thinking maybe he’d come back to a familiar setting. “Haru!” He surveyed the water for movement, seeing nothing but normal waves break the shoreline. For a fleeting moment, Rin had a thought of disastrous proportions. He slowly shook his head, mumbling “ No.. no, no…. No…” 

Rin wondered if he’d waded out in the water in an attempt to-

No. Haru wouldn’t end his life over something like that?

Would he?

Rin imagined waking up in an unknown place, surrounded by strangers, unable to remember even basic things about his life.

And unable to ask questions. 

Unable to tell someone how he was feeling.

Unable to scream.

Fuck. If Haru had gone out in the water, did he even know how to swim? He’d washed up on shore, maybe he was caught in some accident. He wouldn’t be able to shout for help.

Rin’s heart raced. His thoughts floundered. His lungs ached for air.

Just like when he was sinking underwater…

“NOT NOW!” Rin screamed. He didn’t care if he was heard. “Think. THINK!” Rin commanded himself. He spun in Grams’ yard between the house and the shoreline. Grams had not come out to see what was going on. Maybe she wasn’t home.

Rin breathed heavily, bent over and put his hands on his knees and scoured his thoughts for any place Haru might go. Rin absolutely could not think of anywhere else Haru could have gone. He’d been staying with his grandmother this whole time. They’d only gone shopping, seen Gou at the cafe, and that morning breakfast place. Rin strained thinking about anywhere else Haru might return to-

Return to… ?

That’s it!

Return to! Haru would go back to the place where he was found. He had to be there. Rin wasn’t sure quite where that was, but he knew Grams had the same walking route. He had taken her on it several times and was sure he would know where she normally went. He quickly took off in the direction down the beach leading to a more populated area, opposite the direction he’d come. Grams lived between two populated areas of the beach, and she often chose the more northerly direction to walk.

Rin ignored the side-splitting pain his body chose to inflict. He really needed to work on rebuilding his stamina soon.

“Haru!” Rin began calling out as he approached the rocks ahead. He started to see more people again and took that as a good sign. He knew nowhere else Haru might go. He just had to be here.

“Haru!”

Rin frantically scanned more amidst the crowds on the beach. “Damn it, where did you go…” he mumbled to himself as he looked. While he knew not to expect a shout back, he did expect to see movement; a wave; a middle finger; something. He slowly scanned closer to the beach area, out into the rocky area that jutted into the sea. “Didn’t Grams say she found him out in the rocky…”

Rin squinted.

There was… someone there.

Someone that looked familiar.

Familiar enough to be Haru?

“Haru?”

Rin began jogging towards the direction of that unknown person. He squinted again attempting to decipher if he recognized the shape. It certainly did seem familiar. “Haru?!”

The person’s body stood straight up. Was that a sign of recognition? Or coincidence?

Rin sped up. He was absolutely out of breath. This had to be Haru. The person was taking off their shirt and throwing it back onto shore. He drew closer, the person was crawling down into the water area from the short ledge. “Haru! Wait!”

Rin somehow leapt from the rocky area and didn’t slip. He was certainly playing a dangerous game of chicken with the slippery rocks. “Haru! Wait, I need to talk to you!”

There he was. Haru half stood in the water, the water up to his hips at most. He had a look of pure agony on his face. Rin felt absolutely gutted as he crouched down and reached a hand down to his friend. “Please, don’t do this. Let me help you…”

Rin waited, hand outstretched. The wind blew the waves against the rocks creating a salty mist in the area, dampening his clothes. He kept firm in his position. He never broke eye contact with Haru, taking in every drop of pain he could see in his eyes. “Haru. I want to help. I want to know.”

Rin knew, in this moment, that Haru felt absolutely alone. He could see it in his eyes. He could feel it in his gaze. He sensed it somehow so deep inside him he felt like he could just throw up. This loneliness Haru felt… he didn’t need to feel it alone. Rin wanted to help him. Someone he’d met just days ago.

Haru’s breathing was the only movement Rin could see. Haru’s hair tousled in the wind. His exposed chest moved up and down as his breathing intensified. Rin saw his fists curl into balls at his sides as Haru thought. 

“Haru…”

He closed his eyes. Rin retracted a tiny bit, feeling shut out. His outstretched arm dropped limply. Haru turned his body away from Rin. The waves gently rolled around his figure, causing his body to get tugged back and forth. 

This wasn’t working. Haru was going to wade out into the water. If he couldn’t swim, could Rin save him?

It would mean going into the ocean.

It would take him back to that place. That time.

Suddenly, Rin was outside his body. He lost all focus. Everything around him seemed to freeze in time. 

He looked around him. He recognized this place. These rocks. This shoreline. Add in a storm and a search boat and…

He realized where he was. He was near the place where HE was also found. Rin pulled himself from the ledge, forgetting Haru and rocked back on his knees. He turned his head to the right and looked down at the jutting rocky area that led out into the ocean. 

Rin was transported back in time.

Back to that day.

His breathing slowed, almost stopping.

His thoughts were frozen.

To thunder.

To lightning.

To numbness and simultaneous physical agony.

To… blue eyes.

Goodbye, Rin.

Strong arms wrapped around Rin.

Just like that day. Pulling him up.

Who was that?

What was going on?

Why was he at this place?

Who was holding him-

In a flash, Rin was back in the present. He was back in his body, experiencing the crushing weight of someone… hugging him?

He attempted to turn his neck and saw dark hair.

Rin realized it was Haru latched on tightly around his torso.

“Haru, are you fucking stupid!” Rin subconsciously wrapped his arms around Haru’s wet figure. He didn’t care that his clothes were getting soaked. He didn’t care that some salt water ran down his face. He didn’t care if anyone saw.

Rin felt Haru squeeze tighter. So much tighter. Haru had started shaking under his grip. Rin assumed it was the water making him cold, but as he pulled away, he quickly realized that Haru was sobbing.

It was fucking depressing. Rin felt like he was watching a silent movie. He let the tears he was holding go. Haru was sobbing… The only sounds he heard were of his breaths in and out.

And not being able to vocalize that agony was absolutely misery. Haru was screaming in silence. And there was not a damn thing Rin could do.

For several long minutes, both Rin and Haru held that emotional embrace, the wind blowing salty mist all around them. Neither one dared break free. 

Finally, Rin had calmed down enough to speak in broken sobs. “What the fuck , Haru?” he pulled away, leaning back on his heels. He had his hands on Haru’s bare shoulders. Both their faces were red, puffy, and tear-stained. “You can’t just run off like that. I can’t protect you if you do,” Rin spoke, not realizing the words that spilled from his mouth.

Haru couldn’t make eye contact. He kept his gaze down at their laps. He could see Haru’s lips moving, but no sound came out.

Rin squinted, focusing on the movements. They seemed to repeat. Over and over. Rin repeated the motion with his own mouth in an attempt to emulate the motion and figure out what he was saying. Soon, Rin knew exactly what Haru was trying to say.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

“I’m sorry, too.”

Haru’s face snapped to meet Rin’s. 

Rin moved his right index finger and gently placed it across Haru’s lips in a ‘shh’ motion. Haru brought his hand up and wrapped it around Rin’s. Slowly he lowered Rin’s hand away, but not letting go. Rin couldn’t tell if he was blushing or if it was the crying, but he felt his face hot and red. His heart was beating so wildly fast he wasn’t sure if that was the adrenaline or something else. Maybe it was better he could mask it behind his tears, if he WAS actually blushing. 

Rin rearranged his fingers so they fell naturally between Haru’s.

He squeezed.

“I’m so sorry, Haru. I need to tell you.”

Haru squeezed back.

Chapter Text

Little Mermaid In Love

Original Post Date: April 11, 2022

Chapter 7

As they carefully made their way back across the bumpy rocks, several nearby beach-goers had run over, shouting their concerns, asking if they were both ok. In somewhat of a stupor, Rin and Haru were both whisked away to be taken care of. Reluctantly, Rin had let go of Haru’s hand as they stepped back into the beach area and the people who had come over thrust some towels around them. Though it was a nice day, Rin’s whole being shivered. He wasn’t convinced it wasn’t because of his out-of-body experience though. He watched semi-detached from the scene as several people sat Haru down and tried asking him questions.

Right now, Rin’s police training failed him at this moment. He should have checked Haru’s vitals, made sure Haru was ok, made sure he wasn’t injured, and kept people away from the scene. Instead, he mindlessly stood shaking, staring endlessly down at the ground by Haru. He heard shouts of ‘lifeguard’ and ‘police’ and ‘hurt’ but nothing jogged him from his thoughts. He watched Haru try and wave them away and try to stand up. Soon he wasn’t hearing anything. He was just focused, one hundred percent and entirely focused on Haru.

How was Rin going to worry about Haru when he couldn’t even feel his own body right now?

When their eyes finally connected, Haru stopped resisting the people trying to help him. His entire disposition changed, relinquishing all control over his autonomy. He was laid down, a blanket pulled over him, and checked over by a lifeguard that had arrived in the meantime. 

He wanted to shout out to Haru.

Wanted to scream that he can’t tell them what’s wrong, if he was hurt.

Rin needed to protect him.

Rin should have-

“Nice work!”

A hearty slap on the back shook Rin from his trance.

“Seijuro!” he exclaimed.

“We got a call someone was wading out in the rocky waters, said there was some idiot jumping out in them trying to save him. Didn't think it’d be you,” Sei said half-jokingly at his friend. “You ok?”

Rin nodded. Seijuro’s quirky smile dropped when he realized Rin wasn’t cracking a wise-remark like usual. He watched the lifeguard and a couple other of Rin’s coworkers help Haru up. He was a helpless onlooker frozen to his spot while Haru was taken to one of the nearby guard towers to be looked over. Rin inhaled and exhaled heavily, a shake in his breath.

“I thought he was going to do it,” Rin blurted out.

Seijuro snapped his head in Rin’s direction. He didn’t say anything, just put an arm around Rin’s shoulders and pulled him aside, away from the small crowd that had gathered. He found a different guard tower away from Haru and coaxed Rin into sitting on the stairs of the tower. “You don’t seem ok,” Sei commented. He released Rin standing square in front of him. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but you need to hear it from someone, and if you hate me for it, that’s fine. Rin, you’re not ok. You need to see Dr. Makaro-whatever. You’ve got some serious shit to work out.”

Rin couldn’t look Seijuro in the eyes. He nodded as warm tears tugged at his vision. His breathing caught in his throat as he could tell he was forcing himself not to cry. His heart rate was increasing quite rapidly. Hearing someone say those words out loud crushed the illusion of progress he thought he’d made since his accident.

Sei sighed deeply and rubbed the back of his head. “Look, I hate to do this, but you need some more time off. You should take a few more weeks. Sousuke will be fine.”

Once again, Rin didn’t say anything, but nodded silently in agreement. He was right. Seijuro was so fucking right. He couldn’t come back yet. The fact he tried showed how immaturely he had processed his own well-being. Rin swallowed down a hard swallow as a single tear ran down his face. He hung his head even lower, slinking down to slump into a ball on the beach. He pulled the towel up and over his head as he let more hidden tears fall from his face. 

Seijuro sat down next to him and wordlessly maintained a friendly presence. Rin made no discernable movements other than breathing. He let the tears run dry and simply closed his eyes. For a few minutes, Seijuro simply sat next to his friend. After a short while, he nudged Rin’s side. From under the towel, Rin quickly wiped his face and looked up. Haru was walking towards them, towel draped haphazardly around his shoulders. He was being escorted by one of Rin’s coworkers.

Rin threw the towel off and stood up, lunging at Haru and giving him a hearty hug. “You fucking idiot,” he whispered.

-

There was no way in hell Rin was going to take Haru back to his grandmother’s house. If she knew what had happened today, she would absolutely have Gou come and babysit him at his house. So instead, Rin had Seijuro drop them back at his house once everything was settled at the beach. Rin had pulled himself together a little more and answered questions about the events. Seijuro took it easy, just asking a few bare necessary questions and said he’d follow up later.

Through some heavy arguing, Rin adamantly insisted that he and Haru were fine and they didn’t need to go to the hospital. Even with Haru’s actions, Rin defended taking him back to his house and monitoring him himself. Seijuro reluctantly agreed if Rin turned in his badge and other items temporarily, only getting them back when he saw Dr. Makarovich. 

Rin walked up to the front of the house, feet dragging, and patted his pockets for his keys. He panicked for a moment, wondering if he’d lost them in the bustle of the morning’s events. He was relieved when he felt all of his things still nestled snugly in his pockets. He jumbled some keys and slid one of them in his door. The lock unlatched and Rin motioned Haru inside with a slight nod of the head.

Rin flipped on his entry light and stopped Haru from walking in further. He was slightly embarrassed of the contents of his home. He’d not anticipated having company over and left it in a slight disarray. “Sorry, I uh, haven’t picked up.” Haru nodded and followed Rin further into his home. He took his phone, keys and wallet out and tossed them on the kitchen table. He pulled the phone he’d bought Haru from his other pocket and set that on the table next to his.

Rin knew Haru was looking around his place. He hoped he wouldn’t judge him harshly. It actually bothered him that he'd let his place get to this level of unkemptness. He was normally quite rigid with his tidiness. Haru still had the towel draped loosely around his shoulders as he took small steps, circling the rooms in observation.

Still distracted from recent events, Rin mustered as much focus as he could and waved Haru over in the direction of the stairs. “Shit you probably want to warm up and get changed. I bet your clothes are still wet. Come with me,” Rin commented while walking up the stairs. He stopped on the first step and turned back to Haru, “Is it ok if you borrow some of mine? Otherwise I’d have to call Gou since we kind of abandoned your things at the cafe this morning. I uh, don’t really want to call Grams right now either.”

Haru nodded in agreement. He followed Rin upstairs and waited outside his room when Rin ducked in. He swiftly dug through his clean clothes for something for himself to change into and threw it on his bed for later. Though he’d not gotten entirely in the water, he was still a bit damp. First he needed to get Haru some clothes so he could warm up in a shower.

He guided Haru to the bathroom down the hall. He searched for a few clean towels in his cabinet and placed them near the tub. “Can you think of anything else you need?” Haru shook his head and returned a small smile. Rin relaxed a little, replying “Take your time. I’m going to be in my room for a little bit if you need me” Rin backed out of the room, closing the door as he did so.

Rin paused, gently resting his head on the door listening to the shuffles of Haru walking, fussing with the shower knobs, and hearing the hiss of the water hit the sides of the stall. Once he was able to tell Haru was occupied, he headed to his room and closed the door to a crack. Rin was still a bit damp from holding Haru’s body earlier, but he didn’t get entirely soaked. He still wanted to change and get into something more comfortable. He quickly stripped down and replaced all clothing items with more comfortable loungewear. He curled up on his bed and pulled the blankets up and over his head.

Rin inhaled and held his breath. He felt his chest lurch. Uh oh. He didn’t want to cry again. Not now. He exhaled rapidly and sucked more air into his lungs in an attempt to ward off the impending flood of emotion. His chest beat quicker as his lungs began craving oxygen. One more time, he let the air out and let it stay out this time. He was fairly certain he’d prevented himself from crying. Again. Maybe.

I am a fucking trainwreck, he thought to himself. He stared idly at his bedside table, not really “looking” for anything, but just seeing. Seijuro wants me to take more time off. Haru tried to off himself today. I about did myself in again . Fuck! I don’t even want to be around myself right now.

Rin shrunk into a ball, curled up inside the blankets deeper and deeper. His eyes wandered around the small fragment of his room he could see. What they were looking for, he couldn’t decide. First, they started at the ceiling, noticing how boring and drab his wall was. No pictures. No decorations. He didn’t even have a family picture up. He noticed a few small cracks in the paint. Meh. Then he began moving downward, noticing his dresser and seeing his sloppy belongings strewn across the top. A few cologne bottles, some random pieces of jewelry, a few hair ties, a new style record player… all just stuff. They were dusty. He hadn’t cleaned in many weeks, at this point. He groaned at his lack of attention to himself and his possessions. Anymore, it all seemed so irrelevant. 

As his eyes surveyed the room, they came to settle on his nightstand. They wandered from his lamp, to his charging pad, to the sea glass, to the couple of books, to the-

Rin reached out and grabbed the seaglass.

He began rolling it around in his outstretched hand.

He didn’t know what drew him to suddenly reach out and grab the insignificant item and bring it close to him. But the sight of it made him want to hold it close. He kept the seaglass tight in his palm and tucked his hand under his pillow.

Rin closed his eyes for just a second. That’s all he needed. Just to think… definitely not to sleep… he would just wait a minute and see if Haru was out of the shower…

-

Haru had started out with the shower running. He quickly shed his damp clothing and tossed it aside. He stepped into the hot water and, for a few minutes, just let the water run over him to warm up. 

His outburst had probably cost him some trust with Rin. The last few days they had spent together would probably be reset, maybe even slightly damaged. Haru closed his eyes and wiped a hand across his face. 

He needed a bath.

He needed to be underwater, more precisely.

He needed to process.

He quickly played with the shower knobs and switched the water to fill the tub instead. He hoped Rin wouldn’t mind the extra time but, fuck he needed to think. This was his best solution, given the circumstances. 

Haru sat down in the tub as the hot water continued to fill around him. He sat back against the backrest and stretched out his legs as far as the tub would allow. Not quite straight, but close enough. 

Stupid. Did you really think you could find that stone? It’s less than the size of your hand and the beach is huge. The ocean is huge. It’s lost… Haru thought. And Rin… what happened to him out there… Did I cause…

He sighed and rested his head against the back. His one small victory upon meeting the sea witch and he fucked it up. Then managed to drag Rin into his problem. Again.

Haru remembered back to that day, when he’d finally gone to the devilish witch and given up the thing that caused him so much pain for so long. He had thought it inconsequential and unnecessary. His cursed voice? Before he met Rin, he’d used his vocals to do what? Drown humans because “they were bad and evil?” or “Because that’s what needs to be done?” 

How he’d thought he’d pulled a fast one over on that asshole and snatched up the item he’d gone to retrieve. A small stone that held precious memories deep within their hard shell? He was SO CLOSE… and he fucked it up.

Even now, Haru didn’t regret his decision. He was here. With Rin. They were together again. He’d waited so long for this chance, and now he was here. Even if he lost his contract with that asshole back home and had to submit to him, he’d gotten a chance to see Rin again. He could live out the rest of his immortal-slaved life happy to have lived a moment with Rin.

Haru sat forward to turn off the water. It had filled as full as it could go without spilling over. The warm water relaxed him and made him briefly forget about his past troubles. He instead began to think of here and now. With Rin in the other room. Though under less-than-ideal circumstances, he was at Rin’s house. Maybe with the use of that thing he was trying to show him this afternoon, he could try and tell Rin something. Anything. Anything more than yes or fucking no. 

He would be admitting that his entire time spent so far was not a lost memory of his past. But, that he was hiding his past. Or just unable to tell him anything that wouldn’t confuse him. In fact, Haru wondered how much exactly he COULD tell him? He didn’t recall any stipulations to the contract about telling someone about his past or where he was from. Haru’s only worry now was that Rin wouldn’t accept him; wouldn’t believe him. Apparently, sirens and merfolk were legends or things of long distant pasts here. Maybe Rin would laugh him away and claim he hit his head too hard or swallowed too much sea water.

He would need to contemplate exactly what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. 

Haru shifted in the water, noticing the lack of sounds beyond the door. He had figured Rin would be more active, perhaps doing something downstairs. Instead, he heard nothing. Rin hadn’t left while he was filling the tub? Haru’s heart dropped a little. Maybe he’d just left him while he ran to one of his real friends to talk to. 

Haru dipped under the water and took his time washing his hair and body. He might as well just wash up since he’d stepped out in the ocean. Timidly he dried off and fit Rin’s shared clothing over his body. Once again, he was borrowing something from him. Taking more than he should.

Haru opened the door quietly. Other than some normal sounds Haru had grown used to at Grams’, he heard nothing. He tiptoed down the hall (also a concept he’d yet to grow used to: the sound of his footsteps to varying volumes! He had no idea humans could change the sound of their walks!), and noticed Rin’s door was cracked. He gently put his hand on the door and pushed it open.

Rin lay curled in a ball on the bed, tightly gripping his sheets. Haru edged his way in, so as not to disturb Rin. He approached and noticed the pained expression on his face as his breath came and went. Haru noticed the pillow had some slight wetness to them - had he been crying?

Haru’s face contorted into an even more painful expression. He’d caused this. He just knew he had. He knelt down by Rin’s bedside and ever-so-softly laid his head in his arm on the bed next to Rin’s face, just inches away from his nose. If Rin had been awake, they would have been face to face. With his free hand, he could not resist sliding a few of Rin’s bangs away from his face. He was so beautiful . Rin’s breath was slow, but steady.

Rin moved slightly. Haru winced. Was he waking up?! Instead, Rin simply resettled into a much more relaxed look, one that Haru was thankful for.

With a quick sigh, he gently rolled back on to his feet and quietly walked out of the room, leaving the door cracked as he’d found it.

Haru decided to let Rin rest. He would make himself useful, however miniscule of a task it was. He began looking around Rin’s place, taking in all the nuances of his home. Rin had said when they arrived that he hadn’t had much time to take care of things. He understandably had probably let things fall behind on their upkeep. He wondered if he was partially to blame.

He assessed the living room and kitchen and opted to tackle some basics for him while he slept. He’d become quite handy living with Grams at doing small household things that finding and taking care of things at Rin’s place was much easier since the place was smaller. 

For a while Haru tended to the picking up of waste items, finding homes for dishes and tupperware, and piling clothes into a dirty pile by the stairs. Haru had noticed a peculiar animal staring at him from a perch in the corner of the room, but as long as he left him alone, Haru wouldn’t mind the voiceless company.

A vibration shook on the table.

Haru picked up Rin’s device he’d shown him before. He read a message that flashed up on the screen: [CALL ME RIGHT AWAY ARE YOU OK?]... The name next to it said ‘Gou.’ Haru’s heart dropped. He was guessing she’d caught wind of what happened today. He didn’t want to intervene so he placed it back on the table. He picked up the other one next to it, the one that he was given earlier today. Even though Rin had said it was his, he still felt strange taking it without Rin seeing or giving back to him. He set it back down.

Rin’s phone started vibrating again. This time the screen said Incoming Call from Gou . Haru froze as he wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t answer it, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it. He walked away and left it, hoping she wouldn’t worry too much if he didn’t answer. Rin would wake soon enough and call her back, he was sure of it.

Haru proceeded with his earlier mission of tidying up the rest of the house. When he’d finished that and was satisfied with the results, he’d taken to Rin’s bookshelf and selected something that piqued his interest. While reading, he’d entirely lost track of time. When he finally heard footsteps at the stairs, he glanced at the time. Several hours had passed by. It was now early evening.

Rin yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Whoa.” He paused midway down the stairs as he noticed the sudden tidiness of his home. “Did you do all this?” Haru nodded. He gently placed the book on the coffee table and rose to greet Rin. “Thank you, Haru. That’s… so kind.” 

Unplanned and unprompted, Rin walked over to Haru and pulled him into a hug. A genuine, loving hug. Haru knew how he wanted to react, but would Rin receive it? He wanted to pull his face against his own, their lips meeting in a hurried crash. He wanted to take in everything about him. He absolutely cherished this moment, feeling Rin’s heart beat against his chest. He felt Rin dig his hands tighter into his shoulder blades. Slowly he also wrapped his arms around Rin’s torso, returning the embrace. They remain in this position for a brief moment. Rin slowly pulled away, smiling. Rin’s voice was soft, “Let’s order some food. I… need to tell you something. A lot of things, actually.”

Chapter Text

Little Mermaid In Love

Original Post Date: May 21, 2022

Chapter 8

Rin lazily decided on pizza. At this point, he decided to hell with getting back on track with his routine. His diet was already shot to shit. His body needed some massive overhaul to get it back to the pristine condition he kept it in for work. One pizza would not do much damage. He would start worrying about that tomorrow. The thought of dragging out pots and pans and standing there making something just sounded so exhausting. He was just not emotionally prepared to make a meal from beginning to end, and also assumed Haru probably didn’t want to make something for them (did he even have usable ingredients? He let that thought dwindle…). Not after today. 

He left Haru to find himself comfortable on the couch while he headed to his phone-

“Heh?! Shit!” he exclaimed. “Gou has been freaking out. Sousuke found out and texted her about what happened. Just a second, I need to text her back first.” 

Haru watched as Rin pressed on the screen repeatedly, pausing and restarting frequently. His face was very determined, with a sigh he finally pulled the device away from his face. “Hopefully that tides her over til I can see her tomorrow. Now, pizza…”

-

Rin watched Haru devour several pieces of pizza in unusually fast succession. It was as if he’d never had some before, or that he hadn’t eaten in a while. Maybe the stress of the morning had gotten to him. In any event, Rin had to laugh at how cute it was seeing Haru act so out of character. Haru, normally unphased by most anything, was devouring pizza like a child.

And it was adorable.

When they’d both finished and sat full on the couch, Rin took a moment to reposition himself to sit half cross-legged facing Haru. 

Rin’s heart started pounding faster.

His gaze rested on his hands in front of him.

“So. I… Haru… um, I… need to tell you about… what happened to me. A while back.” Rin took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “You’ve come into my life at a very crazy time and you deserve to know things. Things about me. Especially after today.” 

Rin brought his gaze up to meet Haru’s. A curious, but concerned face stared back at him. Rin relaxed just a little bit. “A few weeks ago, I nearly drowned. Sousuke and I had been called out to a little girl who had fallen off a boat that got caught in the storm. I stupidly took off in one of the patrol boats and jumped in to try and save her.” Rin looked away for the next part. He grabbed his free ankle on the couch and squeezed it nervously. “I acted impulsively. Stupidly. I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t wait for help. I wasn’t thinking, pulled her up and… from there my memory gets a little fuzzy. I remember handing her to Sousuke… I think a wave came up and I must have hit my head against the boat because I only remember waking up underwater. Sinking.”

Haru perked up. 

Rin didn’t notice the subtle movement.

“I… think… Someone saved me. But…” Rin trailed off, unsure if he wanted to continue. “It sounds crazy when I say it out loud.” 

Haru moved forward a little and reached his hand to rest it on Rin’s knee. Their gazes met, and Haru nodded, nudging Rin to continue. Rin’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“I can’t.”

Haru squeezed his knee.

Rin paused. He’d never said the rest of his recollection aloud. In his head, he sounded like a damn fool. He’d never told anyone else, not his sister, not the doctors, not even Sousuke. Unconsciously, Rin started bobbing his left leg up and down on the floor. His nerves frazzled wildly as he ran through his thoughts. Did he say it? If he said it, that meant he could be judged; made fun of. What if Haru thought he was a dud that thought up imaginary things? 

No. Haru wasn’t like that. He could just… tell. Rin realized that Haru had worn his shirt backwards and inside out when they first met. He didn’t know how to work a phone. He gawked at the animals in the window when they’d gone shopping like he’d never seen them before. Haru had some quirks, but Rin knew he could trust him. Some innate fiber of his being rang out in unfiltered trust. Raw, guiltless certitude. 

He inhaled and slowly, quietly, spoke the part of his memories he typically tried not to recall; spoke something he’d not yet told anyone. Not because they were traumatic, but because they were so unbelievable . “While I was underwater, someone… not human saved me. I am almost certain. And I know how insane that sounds but. I can’t explain it.” 

Without missing a beat, Haru scooted closer to Rin and yanked one of his hands from their grip around his leg. He gently pried open Rin’s hand, placed it over his heart, covering Rin’s hand with his own. Rin felt his heart rate begin to increase now, too. He’d come to notice how many times he’d instinctually reached for and grabbed Haru’s hands in the last few hours. He noticed Haru applied a gentle pressure to their layered hands, his mouth moving in such rapid movements, his throat straining to get a sound out, but Rin couldn’t follow any of it. Haru slowed, bringing his free hand to his throat. He squeezed, leaving nail indents around his own throat as he pulled his hand away, his head dropping along with his hand. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth together as he realigned his sight with Rin’s.

Rin's breathing intensified. He saw unadulterated fierceness and passion in Haru’s eyes. There was also something raw. Anger? “Haru…” he said, barely audible. Warm tears welled in his eyes. Rin began to subconsciously raise a hand to reach out to him, but held back. 

Haru rose from the couch, disturbing Rin’s thoughts. He watched as Haru walked over to the table, grabbed the phone he’d purchased earlier in the day, and brought it back with him. He fumbled, clicking around on it, Rin observed. Finally, he opened up the texting app, just like he’d shown him. Rin watched Haru painfully click his way through the letters. He was absolutely determined to work through that little device and get something out. He couldn’t tell quite what Haru was doing, but it was taking forever! Rin did not want to be rude and insult him by asking if he needed help. He simply waited, hoping that Haru could figure it out on his own. 

For several minutes, Rin waited patiently. He tried not staring at Haru, but it was hard not to watch him focus so intently on the small screen. It was so… endearing. He continually caught glances out of the side of his vision more often that he would admit. He saw Haru get frustrated and start and stop a few times. But he knew Haru was bound and determined to get something typed. 

Rin was just about to get up to use the restroom when suddenly, Haru leaned forward, thrusting the phone towards Rin! “What’s this…” Rin looked down at the screen, to the message Haru had written.

[ i believe you rin]

Rin stared in disbelief at the words on the screen.

Haru had just talked to him - he completely disregarded the fact it took him damn near five minutes to type out four tiny ass words - because Haru had just spoken TO Rin. Not only that, but believe him? He knew Haru could be lying but… after these last few days of entirely one-sided conversation, Haru had talked TO Rin.

“Haru!” Rin lurched forward, crashing into Haru and flinging him backwards. Rin pinned Haru down in an impassioned hug, mumbling thank you softly in his ear. Haru gently rested his arms around Rin’s back, still holding the phone with one hand.

Rin slowly picked himself up to sit back down on the couch, but a loud baning erupted at the front door. “RIN. YOU LET ME IN! OPEN THE DOOR YOU JACKASS!” 

“Gou?!”

Haru and Rin exchanged a bashful glance with each other, then Rin pulled himself from the couch and darted to the door before Gou kicked it in. “RIN! RI-” The door flung open and there stood Gou with her hands on her hips. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!” she screamed.

Rin shushed her and put a finger to his lips, trying to indicate to her to keep quiet. He lived alone, but he still had neighbors on either side! “Gou, calm down! Come sit.”

She stormed by him and made her way towards the couch where she noticed Haru. “Haru! Oh my goodness are you okay?!” she exclaimed, making her way over to him and throwing her arms around him, just as Rin had done. He awkwardly embraced her, and she soon pulled away and stood back up, her concerned demeanor morphing back into anger towards Rin. “Rin. You are insane. What the hell is wrong with you? You had me worried sick! Sousuke told me you tried going back out in the ocean!”

She silently and swiftly threw her arms in a tight hold around her brother’s torso, Rin putting his arms on her back in defeat. “I’m sorry, Gou. It’s not like that though.”

She sniffled, a tear having fallen down her face. She wiped it with a sleeve and pulled away. “What do you mean?”

Rin moved her back into the seating area and had her take his place on the couch. He moved to a nearby chair that faced them both better. “Gou look, I wasn’t… trying to… do that. I… Haru…”

Haru caught Gou’s attention and put a hand on his heart. He pointed to Rin and shook his head. Gou cautiously opened her mouth, “Are you saying… it was you?” Haru nodded. Gou turned her gaze back to Rin. “Then you were there to help Haru?” Rin nodded, this time. Gou stayed silent for a small while, taking in the little bit of information she’d learned. “Haru, are you okay?” she finally spoke quietly.

Haru shifted uncomfortably. He shyly nodded, not making eye contact.

Gou glanced at her brother. “It was a misunderstanding. Everything is fine, promise,” Rin said softly.

Gou’s breathing grew heavier as she let out a few small tears. “I was so worried! About both of you.” She drew her legs up against her and retreated in her own embrace. 

Rin got up fro m his seat and came to kneel in front of her. “G ou, I am SO sorry for causing you worry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen like this.” He put a gentle hand on her arm and she returned the gesture. Rin took a deep breath. “Sei asked me to take leave a while longer and see someone. A doctor. I promise.”

Haru got up from the couch silently and excused himself with a small bow. He went upstairs and the siblings heard a door shut. “Rin, I was so worried. After you two took off I really thought something bad had happened.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Things just happened so fast, I didn’t have time to tell you anything. And then when Sei dropped us off here, I just crashed. I was exhausted.” Rin moved to sit by her on the couch. “I replied to you as soon as I could. I swear.” Gou sniffled and nodded. Rin tossed a box of tissues towards her and she let out a little laugh. “You look terrible when you cry.”

She tossed a pillow at Rin, “You jerk. You’re not helping.” Rin playfully tossed it back. For a little bit, Gou just dabbed tissues at her eyes and eventually rose to her feet when she was ready. “I am sorry for barging in here, but I am glad you’re ok.” She made a quick move to hug her brother one last time. “I’m going to go. I have to work tomorrow. Tell Haru he can start when he’s ready. I wouldn’t expect him there after something like today. It’s no trouble. I just had to come make sure you were ok.” Rin nodded and Gou made her way out of the house.

Rin sighed and ran his hands through his hair. One crisis averted. He hoped she’d tell Sousuke and spare him the trouble of going through something like that with his friend. “Haru?” he called out, not too loudly in case Haru fell asleep - 

Sleeping! Rin hadn’t thought about that just yet. It was too late for him to go back to Grams tonight. He’d have to make up the spare bed for Haru. He was a terrible host today. When he didn’t hear movement upstairs, he headed up the stairs and saw the second spare room door had been closed and the light was on. He hadn’t hardly touched that room since he moved in. It was boxes of junk, a bed, and maybe a light. It was probably a disaster! 

He gently knocked on the door, “Hey, Haru are you awake?” He heard the bed shift  slightly and the door knob turn. Haru opened the door and came face to face with Rin. “Oh, sorry. Were you trying to go to bed?”

Haru nodded and stepped aside to let Rin come in. Haru had cleared the bed off for himself and had just been sitting there, his phone screen flickering out of light. He made his way back to the bed and motioned for Rin to sit. He hadn’t been away long, but it looked like Haru had started a message. He handed him the phone for Rin to read. [ sorry i moved things i didnt know where else to go and didnt want to bother you and your sister]  

Rin let out a small smile. As he handed back the phone he said, “Please don’t feel bad, I need to clear this out tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind a little mess overnight.”

Haru smiled just a little and shook his head. He pointed to the phone and held up an index finger. Was he saying he wanted to type something and would take just a minute? Rin decided that’s what he meant. While he waited, he let his eyes wander around the room at the dusty boxes and piles of junk he had in here. He was lucky he had the spare bed when his mom downsized their home a few years ago.

Many of the boxes just contained nostalgic things, old clothes and shoes, among other irrelevant possessions he held on to for strange reasons. Why he hadn’t turned this room into a normal guest room yet was beyond him. It would have come in handy in a time like this. Rin got up and moved towards the window, currently shielded by a stack of totes and a tall mirror. He glanced back at Haru still typing a message. He seemed to be getting faster as his thumbs tapped more rapidly on the screen and Haru seemed less frustrated.

He pushed the small stack of totes aside and pried the window open. It had a thin layer of dust he would need to wipe down, but the fresh air would help cleanse things, especially the night air breeze. “I really am sorry it’s so stuffy in here. I never use this room except for storage crap, as you can see.”

He turned back to the bed as Haru set the phone in his lap. He appeared to be done. Rin sat back on the edge of the bed. He waited, Haru played with the device a little and brought it up to his chest protectively. He was clearly having second thoughts about sharing with him, Rin noticed. “It’s ok if you don’t want to-” but Haru thrust the device out to him. Rin hesitantly reached out and took it from him. 

He had gotten a little faster. There was minimal punctuation, but frankly Rin didn’t care. He was still so excited he was finally able to talk with Haru, even this little bit.

[i wasn’t trying to drown myself before i have some things to tell you but i am afraid of what you might think of me i dont know if im ready yet though please be patient]

“Haru! Please don’t feel that way. If you aren’t ready, it’s ok.” A little realization hit Rin, “Wait… are you saying you remember something?” Haru nodded a little bit. His face looked so sad, but so eager at the same time. For the second time tonight, Rin crashed into a tight hug against Haru’s shocked figure. “That’s great! I’m so glad! I have so many questions but…” he pulled away, his grip resting on Haru’s arms, “I want you to be ready. To be comfortable.”

Haru brought a hand to Rin’s cheek and made a small swirl with his thumb. Rin sharply inhaled at the sudden show of affection. He immediately reddened and reluctantly let go of Haru’s arms. Haru’s hand didn’t leave his face, his gaze at Rin softening with each second.

He slowly reached up for the hand on his cheek, taking just a moment to softly form his own hand around Haru’s. He then brought Haru’s hand down into his own lap lightly holding at his fingertips. For a moment, he just gently rubbed Haru’s fingers before he spoke again, “I don’t know why, but I feel so… at ease when I’m near you.” Haru turned his hand over and squeezed Rin’s hands.

It was Haru’s turn to blush. A slight tinge of red seemed to warm his face. Rin met Haru’s gaze and held it for just a brief moment. 

His heart started racing. 

Almost instinctively, his body leaned forward, seemingly on its own. Rin inched his way closer to Haru’s body, his hands now placed on either side of Haru’s hips. Rin turned on the bed and crawled over Haru’s figure, who’d begun to lean back as Rin came closer. Haru was on his elbows now and maintained a nervous gaze as Rin was now entirely over his person separated only by an arm’s length. Rin’s hands had walked their way up to either side of Haru’s head while his knees straddled his hips, their eyes locked. 

Rin paused, just briefly enough to flick his gaze to Haru’s lips and back up at his eyes. Rin swore he saw the tiniest nod from Haru, taking that as his chance. Before he realized he had even done it, he dipped down, brought their lips together in a whispered kiss, and quickly pulled back. It was so light, he wasn’t sure if he’d made it far enough. 

But Haru…

Haru craned his neck to reach Rin’s lips. He closed the small distance and held the kiss just a little longer than the first. They pulled away just slightly once again, this time Rin taking liberty to press himself more firmly against Haru’s lips. Both of their breaths grew more heated together. He brought one hand on to Haru’s cheek and held the side of his face. 

He felt a hand slide up the back of his neck into his hair sending a jolt of electricity through his whole body. He leaned in a little harder, Haru continuing his wandering hand through Rin’s hair as the other suddenly appeared at his hip, sliding up and under his shirt. Rin melted under that touch and let himself come chest-to-chest with Haru. He dropped to the bed and let his hips roll one time, two times… three times… just enough to let out a pant wanting more. He felt Haru up against himself. Their foreheads came together as he felt his whole body tense in desire. “ Fuck…” he whispered quietly. The electricity of their touches drew out excited, short breaths. Rin found his hand wandering down the front of Haru’s body and began sliding under his waistband…

But Rin pulled away, face flushed, heart pounding, and realized what he had just started. Panicking, he stood up and made his way towards the door. “Sorry, I uh, need to get ready for bed,” he said while bringing the door to a cracked position. “Goodnight,” he said before shutting the door entirely. He stole one last glance at Haru before letting the door close in front of him. He sat dumbfounded on the bed watching Rin run away.

What am I doing? What was that?! He shouted at himself. He shuffled himself to the bathroom and shut himself inside. He closed his eyes, breaths heavy with emotion, and slid down the back of the door to a seating position. 

Faster than his thoughts could keep up, Rin began flying through the last few minutes, not entirely sure where to begin breaking down the events. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! You barely know this guy! And what the hell is that hand shit? DID HE GRAB YOUR CHEEK? THEN YOU FUCKING KISS HIM?! And what did you think you were doing at the end??

Rin stood up and quickly turned on the cold water to splash on his face. He grabbed a towel and patted it dry, his arms resting on the edge of the counter. Like he’d done so many times in the past weeks, he began looking himself over looking at his scars. Except the ones he was looking for weren’t physical - they were emotional. 

Rin had kissed a few people before. In the beginning, girls, sure. But as he got older and realized he liked more than just girls, he mingled with a few guys as well. They hadn’t been like this. No one had made him go instantly crazy. No one had gotten him this worked up before. No one made him feel this good . Too often, he failed to make a connection with whomever he was with. There was never a spark. Not like with Haru. Not until now.

As his experiences with relationships grew increasingly more frustrating, he just let them go entirely. No one filled the void in his chest he seemed to be looking for. He just couldn’t remember a time when he felt like he did just now. Alive. But how could a near-stranger make him feel this way? How can someone just come into his life and make him dance a fools dance? How did Haru feel so familiar and yet entirely unknown? It maddened Rin to feel a mix of deja vu and jamais vu simultaneously. To know and seemingly not know someone at the same time… this feeling was indescribable! 

Rin poured some more cold water over his face and wiped it off. Now that he was calmed down, even just a little, he would try and sleep off this embarrassment. What if Haru was driven away by his actions just now? What if that was a huge misunderstanding? Surely not, not with the way Haru pulled him in. Not with the way Haru felt below him. No. If Haru left, it would be because Rin left him . Rin sighed deeply and quietly made his way to his bedroom. Why did he have to fuck things up all the time?

As he walked in the hall, he noticed the lights under Haru’s door had gone dark. It had remained closed. Rin took this to mean he’d simply gone to bed and not left. At least he was still here.

Rin shuffled into his room and closed the door behind him quietly. He shoved the discarded clothes off of his bed onto the floor, a loud thunk rang out when his belt hit the floor. Rin slid under his covers and pulled them up over his head. He let out a slight groan.

Like he did most nights, Rin’s thoughts raced as he lay in bed. Things had been especially chaotic today. The day started out so promising, then a sharp nosedive into critical. Then another jerk into…

What did Rin call what just happened between him and Haru? Amazing? Terrifying? Embarrassing? 

His thoughts wouldn’t stop reeling back and forth over those few minutes, raking the memories for the emotions he felt. From the instinctual response to lean into him, to the kiss, to the rest… Rin strained to feel those feelings in his mind. 

It brought a tear to his face thinking about the happiness he’d felt just then. When had he last felt this way? If ever…

Rin’s breathing hitched. 

What if he dared go back…

What would Haru think? What would Haru do? 

Rin’s chest twisted at the thought of going back. He wanted to so badly but… he couldn’t. 

Rin slid his hand under the pillow… and felt something hard. His hand slid around the familiar shape and it instantly put his mind at ease. He pulled the small, smooth sea glass out and held its surface to his lips. The cold, but soft touch against Rin’s lips made him relax. He squeezed his face gently, pushing out tears that had been welling up.

Rin reached out in the dark and felt for his nightstand. He placed the sea glass on the edge and rolled over. He took a deep breath and waited for sleep to take over.

-

Haru’s heart hadn’t stopped racing since Rin left so suddenly. He still sat frozen in place listening to the water faucet turn on and off a couple times. He clenched at his heart while he waited for his pulse to steady.

But it didn’t. 

He didn’t want it to.

He only moved to turn off the lights so try and force himself to think ‘ sleep’ , but he continued replaying recent events over and over in his mind as he sat on the bed with his back against the wall.

He heard Rin walk to his room and quietly close the door.

Haru leaned his head on the wall and stared out the open window. He sighed peacefully, I might make it… just in time…

Haru slid under the covers and curled up, his heart still racing thinking about what just took place. He could still feel Rin’s lips on his. He could feel his hands on his face; feel his body against his…

Haru let a small smile escape on his face. He knew things would be just fine. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would tell Rin everything. He would HAVE to believe him!

Right?

Chapter Text

Little Mermaid In Love

Original Post Date: June 22, 2022

Chapter 9

Sleep seemed to avoid Rin tonight. For several hours he laid in bed, rolling around and around trying to get comfortable. Too hot, too cold, too stiff, too crooked, too everything! Every few minutes he’d close his eyes, peek at the time, and groan softly. Sleep never came to him AND time crept along slowly. Not a good combination.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t get his mind off of Haru just across the hall. He had tried so hard to push the day’s events from his mind, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop replaying those last few minutes over and over again. What had come over him? What caused him to make an advance like that? Haru was someone he’d only just met days ago. 

Around 3 AM, Rin finally threw the covers off his body and stood up, searching for a nearby light on his nightstand. He flicked on the lamp and scoured his bedroom floor for a running outfit. If he was going to suffer in his head, he was going to suffer and do something good for himself. 

It had been a while since he considered a middle-of-the-night run. Maybe since his training days before he was officially a cop, worried about the exams. It would be good to get out and clear his head.

Rin pieced together an outfit and grabbed his phone and ear buds. He quietly opened the door, and padded his way into the bathroom to use the mirror to get his hair pulled back. Whether it was intentional or not, he glanced at Haru’s door on the way by. Did he expect the lights to be on? For him to be waiting up? He tried not dwelling on those thoughts as he focused on getting finished to head outside. With practiced hands, he got his hair up, finished situating his ear buds, and tiptoed down the stairs in just a couple of minutes.

He quietly unlocked the front door, bent down to pick up his shoes, and made his way into the cool summer air. It was dark. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalks, and only the occasional car drove by. But it was 3 AM, hardly anyone else was up and active. Some nights, Rin liked when he and Sousuke were on the last shift. It was peaceful.

Rin took a few seconds to select some tunes, put his shoes on (not wanting to make noise in the house with the bottoms of his shoes) and stretch. After a few minutes stretching and loosening up, he took off into the night in a light jog to reacclimate to the movements within his body. He had been out of practice for so long, between recovery and depressive episodes, he’d not let himself move out of a slump.

The cool night air felt amazing in his lungs. He started with a much slower pace than normal since his last run had been weeks prior, before being hospitalized. He felt the slight humidity in the air dampen his face with moisture and cool him at the same time. His structured breath ran in rhythm to his footsteps. 

He had no destination in mind, just forward. 

He tried thinking of work and how he’s promised to see someone about his issues. 

He tried thinking of Grams and seeing to her health.

He tried thinking of Gou and making sure she had things handled at the cafe.

But everything came back to Haru.

“Fuck, why can’t I stop thinking about him!” he cussed out loud as he turned onto the beach. As the pavement turned to sand, Rin’s body started feeling heavier and more rigid. His muscles weren’t accustomed anymore to the shift in the ground below him. The sand made his legs burn as they worked to keep him upright. He was glad Seijuro and Sousuke weren’t here to see him floundering so badly on land.

He slowed his pace as he came up to the water’s edge. He’d only been running for maybe fifteen minutes! This was absolutely pathetic.

Rin slowed to a walk near the shoreline and rested his hands on his head to open his lungs up. The misty air by the shore comforted him. As the waves rolled out beside him, he stopped and rested, taking in the breathtaking night view.

The water looked like black liquid with speckled reflections of the moon and stars lighting it up. Out here, there was not much light pollution and Rin was grateful for the view. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

<” Hello ?”>

Rin was jarred from his thoughts. He pulled his headphones out of his ears to make sure he’d heard something. “Hm?” He began looking left and right. It was the middle of the night! Who would be here?

<” I am lost. Can you help me?” > Rin turned around to see a figure approaching him from behind. He was tall and wore a dark running suit with the hood pulled up.

Wait. Rin realized… this person was speaking English? <” Yes. Where are you trying to go?”>

The tall figure came to stop just in front of Rin. His presence was dominating. Rin immediately went on the defensive. He glanced quickly side to side, magically expecting there to be more people around at 3 in the morning. He pulled his hood down and, even in the darkness of the night, his light colored hair looked lit up by the moon. < ”I have just come here to work and went for a run but got lost. I am staying near the shopping district.” >

Rin backed off just a little, not sensing any malicious intent in the man’s voice. He pointed in the opposite way that he ran from. < ”You want to go that way. It’s about a 15 minute jog. You aren’t far.” > Not having used English for a while, he felt rusty, but good to practice. 

The stranger nodded. < ”Thank you. I am sorry if I caused you to panic since it is so late. I enjoy night runs and thought I knew where I was going. My name is Albert.” >

Albert extended his hand to shake, Rin reciprocated. <” Nice to meet you, Albert. My name is Matsuoka Rin.” >

Albert’s face cracked a small smile, “ <I am very glad I ran into someone that can understand me, I have not talked with many people here. Where did you learn?”>

< ”I studied abroad when I was younger. In Australia. I moved back a few years ago. Where are you from? You said you were here for work?” >

Albert nodded. < ”Quite unexpectedly. I did not think I would ever to come to Japan,” > he chuckled softly. <” I must get going, I am sorry to have interrupted your run. Please forgive the intrusion,” > said while pulling his hood up and replacing earbuds. He was turning to go towards the direction Rin pointed.

Rin hollered at him as he took off, < ”Nice to meet you, Albert!”> Rin watched for just a few moments as the young man ran off. He replaced his earbuds and slowly began heading back in the direction of his house. 

The rest of the run home was much less eventful, and Rin’s mind was distracted by the strange encounter. He’d gotten home and inside before he’d realized it. Upon walking inside, he was greeted with silence, which meant Haru had to still be asleep. Rin quietly took off his shoes and padded his way up the stairs to the bathroom. He wanted to shower off the sweat and grime from the outdoors. Still, Haru’s door remained, unsurprisingly, dark underneath. Perhaps that was still a good thing. Rin still needed time to process what … that was. What they were. He grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the bathroom to freshen up for the day. 

Rin stood under the stream for several minutes before he even attempted to wash his hair or soap his body. The hot water was quite therapeutic in relaxing his sore muscles. He could only think about how he was going to talk to Haru soon. He would wake up eventually. What was he going to say? How would he act? How would RIN act, not just Haru? Though not his first kiss, it was the first one that he truly initiated, from beginning… to his regrettable end, pulling away and running out the door. Fuck, he’d been such an idiot.

Rin grumbled as he reached for the first bottle. Why did he run away again? What was he afraid of? He couldn’t even remember what was running through his brain that made him pull away. He definitely was enjoying himself… and he was sure Haru was too. He was so sure that Haru had wanted more, too. FUCK! Why did he pull away! He angrily scrubbed suds into his hair and stood under the stream while the soap rinsed out.

How did Haru come into his life and affect him so much? What spell had he cast over Rin to make him so weak that he would kiss a near-stranger just days after meeting, without knowing hardly anything about him? Or was Haru just someone special that he actually might have had feelings for? It had been many years since Rin had kissed someone so intentionally. Drunken bar nights and sloppy encounters didn’t feel like this. Nothing ever felt like this. Rin continued rinsing suds while he processed.

Still, Haru felt so familiar with him. He couldn’t figure out what it was or why. Like he’d met Haru before… somewhere. Somehow. It drove him mad! His mind was stuck on a loop trying to remember why things felt like this. There was a never ending fog he ran through. He signed and rested his head on the shower stall wall briefly just letting the water continue to run over him.

Rin stood back up and grabbed another bottle and began sudsing his body off. Ever since his accident, his life had upended. In a good way or a bad way, was yet to be decided, Rin thought. He felt like meeting Haru was a good thing, but at what cost? What was he doing to him? Unraveling his emotions and tempting him so good.

Rin’s dick reacted thinking about just that - how good Haru made him feel. How naturally his hands felt on his back, running down his side, on his hip. How electrified he felt with Haru running his hands through his hair. How soft his lips had been against his. How hard Haru felt below himself, that told Rin that Haru HAD to be into him just as badly as he had been last night. There was no lie in that. 

FUCK!!!! WHY DID HE RUN OFF! All the signs were there. He was almost certain Haru was into Rin. He was just clueless, scared, and panicked. He would figure out how to make this right… somehow.

Rin wanted to stay in the shower longer but the hot water was depleting fast. He took as much of the hot water as he could, then shut it off when it was gone. He stood, dripping, for just a minute as he let his body calm itself down. He finally grabbed a towel and began drying off. He changed and left his hair to air dry today. He didn’t want to wake Haru up with a blow dryer sound.

As he walked by, Haru’s door, once again, remained unlit underneath. He paused right outside and put a hand to the door. At least one of them could sleep after last night. Rin would probably regret it today. He quietly made his way downstairs and set about making some breakfast for both of them.

Surprisingly, Rin had usable food to make a decent breakfast for two. Since he wouldn’t be going to work today, he was a little more carefree with his time. He’d set some coffee on to brew, brought out a couple frying pans for later and got some bread out for toast. He plopped in his ear buds and set about making just a few pieces of toast. He’d wait just a little while to make breakfast so it was hot for Haru and just have some toast to tide him over while he drank some coffee.

Rin sat curled up on the couch, steaming cup of coffee in hand, and took a few minutes to scroll through a few social feeds to unwind (or was it wake up? Rin couldn’t decide). He’d seen Gou post a couple dishes from the cafe yesterday and ‘liked’ a few. He exited the app and started at his home screen where his messaging app had several unread texts. He sipped his coffee, knowing most of the unread messages were probably about yesterday and people asking him how he was. Maybe a few from Gou, some from others… Before he decided to open anything, he took a few bites of toast. What awaited him inside those messages? Finally, he inhaled and exhaled loudly as he pressed the app open.

Sure enough, a couple unread from most of the guys at the precinct. Ai, Momo, and… Sousuke. Plus FIVE missed calls? Fuck, he should be lucky that’s the only number of missed calls Sousuke left… He’d gone radio silent with Sousuke since yesterday. Rin sipped another drink and dove into the Sousuke text history.

[What the fuck man?] 3:48

[Are you ok?] 5:50

[Hey asshole.] 9:27

Rin frowned. He’d completely ignored his best friend after that incident yesterday. Sousuke NEVER texted or called, so this was truly a monstrous effort on his part. God, he was such a fucking idiot. Idiot, idiot, IDIOT!! Rin set the warm cup down, and went for a reply to Sousuke: [Sousuke I am SO sorry. I got home and just crashed. I should have texted you. I’m fine.] Rin hit the ‘send’ button and tossed the device gently on to the couch. He nervously ran his hands over his face wondering what Sousuke’s reply would be. He wasn’t sure what his schedule was this week. He’d been so distracted being in the precinct he didn’t even pay attention. Maybe he was just getting up, too.

Rin brought his legs up against his chest and hugged himself for just a little bit. He’s been so preoccupied with trying to help Haru that he’s been neglecting his own friend that saved his life . He dropped his head to his knees and closed his eyes. He would apologize in person as soon as he got the energy to see Sousuke again. He was pissed, Rin could tell.

Rin swung his legs off the couch and lazily slumped back on to the headrest. His arms flopped down by his sides. He stared at the ceiling for several minutes, letting the silence permeate his thoughts. It was peaceful, sitting here. Even Steve’s distant purring made him relax some. In one graceful motion, Rin pulled himself from the couch seat, grabbed his near-empty coffee cup and quietly walked back to the kitchen. He poured another cup, took a look at the time, and noticed it would probably be a good time to start cooking. It was nearly 8 by now. 

But not all was as peaceful as he had just been on the couch. As he cracked eggs and sliced bacon, he was constantly on edge, waiting for Haru to come downstairs. Would he even come downstairs? What if he chose to stay in bed all day? Shit, what if he actually left overnight while he was tossing and turning, or out for his run? Wouldn’t he feel like an idiot after that? 

Rin began working on the scrambled eggs when he noticed a slight movement out of his peripheral vision. He turned his head sideways and noticed Haru poking a small part of his body into the kitchen doorway. He put on a nervous smile and called out, “Hey! Good morning. I’m just finishing up, you hungry?”

Haru tentatively brought his whole body into the room and slowly walked towards Rin yawning. Rin noticed his slightly disheveled hair. A few pieces jutted out in directions they normally didn’t go. Rin tried to hide his tiny, embarrassed smile.

Should he start talking about things now? Should he wait? No, definitely not now. Do something, Rin! He yelled inwardly. “You want some coffee?” Haru nodded slightly. “Cream?” He returned with a shrug and a nod. Rin poured a cup for Haru and handed it to him. Their fingers briefly touched as Rin handed the hot cup over to Haru. Rin tried not showing his blush by turning back to the food. Hopefully, Haru didn’t notice. But Haru’s presence didn’t leave though, so Rin glanced sideways to see what he was doing. He was eyeing the food in front of him curiously. “Something wrong?” he asked.

Haru shifted his gaze from the stove top to Rin’s and shook his head. He quietly walked around the doorway to sit on the table stool that faced into the kitchen. Rin was VERY aware that Haru was going to be staring at his entire backside. But, deep down, he admitted part of him wanted Haru to look. He may not have been in top form, but, boastfully he still had a great ass. Rin was thankful, in that moment, to be facing away from Haru, because the red that filled his face was overwhelming. Rin wondered if he was going to be blushing all morning at this rate. It was just one thing after the other. 

Rin plated their food and turned around after he’d settled down a bit and placed the plates on the counter top. He gracefully grabbed some juice and a couple glasses and plunked them down before walking around to sit next to Haru at the countertop.

In the beginning, Rin didn’t say anything. Obviously Haru wasn’t going to be starting any conversations, so it would be on him to bring up last night. But was he ready? He took a few bites of some fruit and nervously chewed them down. He poured some juice and drank that down, as well. The only sounds, besides their utensils clinking on the plates, were Steve licking himself somewhere behind them and the clock ticking. Rin took a few more bites and swallowed. He set his fork down and rested his forearms on the table, folding his hands in front of his face. Finally, he just blurted it out: “I’m sorry.. About last night.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Haru set down his fork and turned a little to look at him. He swallowed, not sure how to proceed. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable at all,” he finally managed to say quietly. He saw Haru turn in his chair slightly to face him more. Rin still couldn’t look over at him. 

Despite the momentary confidence he’d had just moments about with Haru sitting behind him, looking him over, he was now back to uncertainty. Was his flirting pointless? Was he missing something? Maybe he should apologize. Maybe Rin was way off -

Haru brought his arm up and gently rubbed Rin’s shoulder, giving a slight squeeze before setting his hand back in his lap. Maybe Rin was right after all. He sheepishly looked at Haru, not sure what he’d see on his face. But when Rin looked him in the eyes, he saw compassion and excitement! “Haru…” he trailed off. Before he could react, Haru was around his chest, pulling him into a tight embrace with his nose nuzzled gently along his collar bone. His short breaths tickled his neck as he returned the hug, giving Haru a tight hug back.

He was right. He was absolutely right. There was something there. He didn’t imagine that. He smiled as he held Haru for just a moment. Slowly, he felt Haru releasing and sitting back on his chair. The perpetual blush Rin seemed to be cycling through was back on his face. He noticed a bit of redness on Haru’s as well. “I’m sorry, I just…” He paused. He just… what? Wanted to kiss him? Wanted to hold him again? 

Haru stood suddenly, making Rin break his thought process. “Hm? You ok?”

Haru nodded and held up a finger. He quickly darted upstairs and came back down shortly after with the phone he’d gotten yesterday in his hand. Was he going to try and say something more again?!

Haru clicked open the device and got straight into typing something. Rin smiled a little at how much faster he’d gotten since that first time. He went back to his breakfast and juice while Haru worked out a message.

Within just a couple minutes, the screen was filled fairly decently with text. Haru was becoming quite fast and skilled despite his start. There was even some minor punctuation this time! [ dont apologize about last night. You have nothing  to be sorry for. I need to go to see gou today and you have a doctor to see. Let’s meet again tonight. At grams ]

At Grams? Rin furrowed his brow. “At Grams? Are you sure you’re ready to go see Gou today? After yesterday?”

Haru nodded. He had a fervent look on his face, one that told Rin to trust him.

But the other part of the text that caught him was: doctor. 

He’d somewhat forgotten he was supposed to see someone today. Rin felt like he was probably overdue and if he didn’t go, he’d have several people on his ass, his sister, Seijuro and Sousuke at minimum. He frowned, but nodded. Haru set the device on the counter space between them and continued eating.

After a while, they were both finished eating, juice and coffees empty. Rin quietly cleared their plates from the counter top and tidied up the kitchen a little bit while Haru just sat, watching. Yet Rin was content with the short silence between them now. He had much more confidence about their friendship (or… more than…? Rin was unprepared to process that just yet) after their short talk this morning. Maybe that’s what Haru wanted to talk about tonight. Well, “talk” about tonight.

Haru stood and began putting his shoes on. Rin noticed and asked, “Where are you going? You aren’t going to the cafe like that?” Haru shook his head and pointed at Rin. “You mean Grams?” Haru nodded. “Do you even know how to get there from here?” Rin chuckled. Haru looked around curiously, as if he was trying to remember the directions they’d taken to get here. He finally shook his head. Rin wiped his hands on a dish towel and meandered upstairs to get better dressed. “Just a sec, I’ll walk you there. It’s not far.”

Rin started up the stairs when he noticed Haru walking up behind him. Haru pointed to his clothes, then up to his room. “Ah. Your clothes.” While he darted up the stairs to change from sweats and a tank to something more like activewear for the walk, Haru ducked into the spare room to gather the few small belongings he had here. In the bathroom he changed, pulled his hair back quickly, rinsed his mouth with mouthwash, and hurried back down just a few minutes later. Haru waited by the door with his clothes in tow. “Ready?” Rin called grabbing his keys and slipping into his shoes. Haru nodded.

-

Rin didn’t say much on the way over. He nervously kept his hands in his pockets as they moved and he led the way. They’d walked for a while, practically there, before Rin finally broke the silence. “Do you think you’re going to like working today?” he finally blurted out. Despite their short conversation this morning, he still felt on edge and anxious about their connection. 

He spied a sideways glance to see what Haru would do. Haru just started off into the sky in the distance and nodded softly. He brought his attention to Rin briefly, before looking at the ground. He wanted to ask more, but knew that it was impossible to get a decent response without Haru digging out his phone, waiting for a reply, and taking up the whole walk. “I hope it goes well,” he finally said, hoping to leave Haru with some encouraging spirits. They rounded the familiar corner towards Grams’ house and were greeted with warm waves from her off in the distance. 

“Good morning!” she hollered, walking to the gate and meeting them at the sidewalk. “I hope you boys didn’t do anything to get into trouble,” she started. Rin and Haru looked at each other and exchanged smirks. “I was a little worried when you didn’t come home Haru, but I knew Rin would take care of you.”

Rin chose not to worry his grandmother right now. “Everything is ok now, Grams. We stayed up late and he crashed at my place. I should have told you,” he said. It wasn’t a lie. Rin got the feeling she hadn’t been around yesterday when he came banging on the door. Good. “So, Haru needs to head to the cafe but I wanted to make sure he found the place ok. I have some things I need to do today, too, so you take care!” Rin started walking backwards.

“Rin, wait!” she called. She motioned him back over with a small wave of her hand. Haru waved to Rin and excused himself and walked inside, leaving Rin and his grandmother alone at the sidewalk gate. “Listen, I am going to be leaving town for a couple days late this week and I would like to ask if you could have Haru stay at your house while I’m out. Would that be alright with you? He seems to have quite a fondness for you.”

Rin blushed as he nodded his head. “Sure, yea. If that’s what you want.” Cue the rushing panic! He tried not to let his nerves show. He would have Haru staying at his place?! For a few days?! He tried covering his reaction with a smile.

Grams gave him a small pat on the head and turned around to head back to her gardening she had been tending to. 

Rin turned to walk… home? To the precinct? Should he show up more formally? How exactly did one dress to go to talk to a therapist? Or a doctor, or whatever this Mikahil guy was… He figured he should probably be a bit more dressed than workout clothes.

-

After a quick stop home to change, fix his unkempt hair, and pack a small bag for the gym afterwards, he called Seijuro. “Hey, Seijuro.”

“Matsuoka! What’s up, everything ok?”

“Yea, I was just wondering if… you could swing by and pick me up? I think I was supposed to see Doctor Mikhail this morning.”

“Sure. I’m out already. I’ll be there soon. Hang tight.”

“Thanks.”

Rin clicked his phone off and waited just a couple short minutes. Soon enough, Seijuro pulled up and Rin hopped in. “How are you feeling today?” he asked.

Rin shrugged, “Fine. I think so anyway.” Quiet music filled the gap.

“Sousuke’s pissed,” Seijuro added.

Rin groaned. “I figured.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t at least text him yesterday. Never seen the guy so worked up. You’d think you guys were bickering over a couple’s fight…” Sei trailed off.

Rin immediately went on the defensive, with hands up and a bright cherry-red face, “NOnonononoo we’re not like that!” 

Sei smirked, turning the final corner to the office location. “Yeah, yeah. Here we go. I gotta get back out. I hope it goes well.” Sei gave Rin a hearty pat on the back as he got out of the vehicle.

-

Rin walked into the waiting room agitated and flustered. He’d not been to some place like this before. It seemed like he was walking into any other sort of dentist or doctor office, except there were no devices whirring or beeps of machines. The front room was peaceful, had a gentle scent of eucalyptus and mint, and had a small fish tank built into the wall. He looked around, and only one other person was here waiting. He approached the counter and the friendly receptionist smiled warmly, “Welcome. Do you have an appointment today?”

Rin nodded and began scrolling through his phone for the email details he’d gotten. He pulled up the information Sei had sent him a while back. “Yea I’m supposed to meet with… Mikhail… Makarovich Nitori…?”

“Yes! Are you Matsuoka Rin?” he nodded. “Perfect. We’ll need your ID, insurance…”

-

Rin didn’t have to wait long after doing the necessary paperwork. The other person was taken back while he was filling things out. A tall, blonde man with a slight tuft of facial hair on his chin appeared from a hallway. “Welcome! You must be Matsuoka Rin!” 

Rin rose from his seat and walked up to this interesting character. “Yes, that’s right.”

“You may call me Doctor Makarovich. Let’s head back this way.”

The room in front of him was nothing spectacular. One wall was entirely books from floor to ceiling, all sorts of materials. A tidy desk sat opposite the seating area where Rin was guided to sit. After arranging some papers on the chair opposite Rin, Dr. Makarovich cleared his throat, “Welcome, Matsuoka Rin. I understand you are here because of an appointed decision made by your superior officer, is that correct?”

Rin nodded. “Yes, sir, that’s correct.”

“Wonderful! Why don’t you start somewhere that you’re comfortable with? Tell me about yourself…”

Chapter Text

Little Mermaid In Love

Original Post Date: August 21, 2022

Chapter 10

Rin walked out of the session with more questions than answers. Never before had he talked so much about himself before. It wasn’t like Rin. He usually tried to get other people to talk or to just give advice. Divert the conversation away from himself.

But that last hour was all about Rin . Giving Dr. Makarovich - Mikhail, as he said to call him - details about his accident. He told almost everything except for that one part about the person, or thing, that pulled him out of the water. He told it like he told everyone else. That’s about all they had time for today. Introductions and the accident. He was asked to write it down and reflect on it until next week.

Rin stood outside the office for a moment checking over his notifications. He still hadn’t replied to a few of them from the day before. He decided he would eat a quick lunch while he decided what to do in the afternoon while Haru was working. Maybe he would head over to Grams and see if she needed help with anything. Or perhaps a workout.

Except there was one problem. Rin was too far away from anywhere back home to walk in a decent time to eat. Maybe he would try Sousuke and see if they could meet up and talk. He dug the phone out of his pocket and tapped into Sousuke’s name. 

But hesitated.

Why couldn’t he call his best friend?

Rin hovered over the call button.

He stared at the call history that displayed under his thumb.

He saw the number of missed calls from yesterday.

He flipped to the texts and reread the missed texts.

Rin sighed as he dropped the phone to his leg with a soft thump. He let his bag in tow fall to the ground.

What had come over him lately? It seemed like all Rin was able to do was go from one disaster to the next. From his accident, to Haru, to pissing off Sousuke. Rin just wished things could go back to the way they used to be. He sighed again, and raised his phone back up. He hesitated for another minute over the call button by Sousuke’s name, and pressed it. He held the device up to his ear and waited while it rang…

And rang…

And rang…

Shit maybe he was working…

And rang…

And - “Hello?”

Rin stood up straight and sputtered out, “S-Sousuke! Hey. What’re you up to?”

“On lunch.”

An awkward silence followed. “Oh. I… was calling to see… if you wanted to get lunch today but it sounds like I’m too late.” Rin thought he didn’t sound terribly upset. But normally it wasn’t in Sousuke’s tone, it was his demeanor; his presence. His eyes told you he was disappointed. He was grateful at this moment that he could close his eyes and hide behind his free hand while he talked.

He heard Sousuke exhale loud enough that he could now hear the irritation. “Did you just get out of your appointment?”

“Yeah, are you close?”

“Not really but, do you need a ride?”

“Yeah, if you can.”

“Hold on, I’ll be there in a few.”

“Okay, thanks Sousuke.”

Rin pulled the phone away from his ear and saw the screen no longer had call information up. Sousuke had hung up without saying goodbye. Just that he’d be here. Rin picked up his bag and walked to the end of the office sidewalk and plopped himself on a bench while he waited. 

He was increasingly good at getting himself into awkward conversations. He’d just had one with Haru this morning about their night last night and now he’d be apologizing to Sousuke for essentially abandoning and ignoring him after a major incident. What exactly was there to say?

Rin felt like their friendship was fine, he never doubted that Sousuke would drop him. He felt like some of their trust was probably betrayed. He would definitely need to apologize for the lack of communication. He probably heard things through the grapevine instead of coming straight from him. This wasn’t their first sort of disagreement or fight, but it’s the one that’s hurt the most so far. 

He waited maybe 10 minutes for Sousuke’s patrol car to turn around the corner. Rin jumped up and hopped in the passenger’s seat quickly. “Hey,” he said, getting situated and buckled in.

“Hey,” Sousuke said, not taking his eyes off of the road. 

Rin folded his hands nervously in his lap. “Uh, thanks for getting me,” he started. 

Sousuke didn’t say anything as he tightened his grip on the wheel, navigating traffic.

Rin thought it best to remain silent for the rest of the ride. Wherever Sousuke was going, he would finish his thoughts there. He seemed to be heading for a small place they occasionally went when they needed a quiet extended lunch instead of a short, quick one. Rin figured he was preparing to have a lengthy chat. 

After parking, seating, and ordering all without critical, minimal conversation, Rin sat opposite Sousuke trying not to let his defeated attitude show too much. He debated starting the conversation, but opted to wait for Sousuke to start. He could tell there were lots of things going on in his head. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, “What’s up with you lately?”

Rin shrunk a little. “Honestly? I have no idea. I keep asking myself that a lot.”

“You run off after that… stranger your Grams took in and had a breakdown. And you didn’t think to tell me any of that? I had to hear it from some of the guys who were there that afternoon.” Rin’s heart rate increased. He wanted to get defensive but he didn’t say anything, yet. “You don’t answer your phone or texts, and now you just call me when you need something?”

“Sousuke, I’m sorry! I haven’t felt myself in a while and all this extra shit is just making it worse,” he tried defending.

“Rin, you’re my best friend. You didn’t think I would want to help? I nearly saw you die. I am worried shitless for you. You aren’t you right now.”

Rin retreated even further into his seat. He was mentally the size of a pea. He wished he could be smaller. “I know, I’m really sorry.”

Sousuke sighed heavily. Rin looked up into his eyes. It was exactly like he’d thought it would be. Sousuke’s voice may not carry the impact of his emotion, but his eyes were distraught with absolute pain. He was worried sick about his friend. Watching him nearly die, then watching him go through his physical recovery of the accident alone, to now being cast aside when he tried to help Haru. 

Rin had really fallen apart. 

He bit the inside of his cheek to try and stop as many of the tears as he could from coming out. His lip quivered without permission and he definitely still let a few warm tears slide down his cheek. “I’m really sorry, Sousuke,” he whispered, his voice shaking, barely audible above the restaurant background noise. He was thankful the restaurant was fairly empty and no one was around their table.

Sousuke didn’t say anything except pull some napkins out of the dispenser on the table and throw them towards Rin. “Look, I know you’ve got a lot going on right now but I’m here and I want to help. You’ve gotta trust me. Trust IN me,” he whispered back to Rin.

Rin continued wiping his nose and eyes with napkins, nodding slowly. “I will. I promise. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Rin turned his gaze out the window on his right and tried not to let himself cry more. Suddenly there was a soft kick on his shins from under the table. “Ow!”

Sousuke cracked a grin. “If you’re going to cry, at least have something to cry over.”

Rin wadded up and tossed one of the napkins he’d used to dry his eyes across the table. “You ass!” he hollered.

Sousuke swatted away the napkin, “That’s disgusting.”

“Be lucky it was that one and not one of these,” he joked, pointing to the rest of the pile on the table.

In Rin’s mind, this was as back to normal as they could be right now. He did mean it when he said he would try harder. Maybe he would tell Sousuke more about Haru. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if Haru claimed to have remembered some things. Sousuke was pretty perceptive, maybe he would be able to connect some dots or help find where he’s from better, if Haru didn’t already remember. He had always been a little better than Rin at things like that.

After a short while, their food arrived and both Rin and Sousuke chatted about silly things like work drama and Gou at the cafe and other oddities. When they were paid and finished, Sousuke offered Rin a ride back home in his car. “Nah I’m headed to the gym for a workout. Maybe a swim.” It was only a short walk there.

Sousuke held up his fist and Rin returned the small bump. “Take care of yourself,” Sousuke called over his shoulder.

Rin turned and headed toward the gym they usually worked out at. After his arrival, he warmed up a bit and slowly worked himself up into a good sweat. The entire time he cranked out some of his louder tunes and worked through a few exercises from one of his normal routines. After about 45 minutes, he switched to his suit to swim. This gym’s pool was much smaller than the one he’d met Sousuke at recently.

Though, his self confidence with his scars still held firm. He still knew people gawked. Hell, he wouldn’t recognize his own skin sometimes if his head weren’t attached to his shoulders. But there, in the reflection of the water, was Rin. He stood as confidently as he could, but there were quite a bit of deflated feelings buried in his posture.

He moved to the starting block and casually leapt into the water, his arms cutting through the water much harsher than he normally swam. His form was shit right now. Some of his range of motion deteriorated slightly in his constant state of rest. He mentally shook his head at himself as he tried to correct his form.

Without pushing himself for speed, he finished 100 meters and took a break back at the starting block. He pulled off his cap and goggles and set them on the pool's edge.

< ”You have excellent turns,”> came a sudden familiar voice from above him.

Rin looked up to a somewhat familiar face. In the daytime, and without the hoodie, Albert looked much different.< ”Oh, hello again, Albert. I didn’t expect to see you here.”>

Albert bent down and swung his legs into the water, sitting at the edge of the pool. < ”I enjoy swimming very much and wanted to find a pool. It seems we have that in common, too.”>

Rin chuckled. < ”What do you swim?”>

<”Mostly free.”>

Rin smiled. < ”It’s one of my favorites.”>

Albert slid into the water and dunked his whole body underwater. As he surfaced, Rin noticed how peculiar his eyes were. Such a foreign color to what he’s used to; a majestic violet shade. His pale complexion and hair were quite unusual, that’s for sure, but they also stood out in his mind. Rin turned away, trying not to look like he’d been staring.

Albert grabbed the cap and goggles he’d brought with him and tucked them on to his head. <” Please don’t stop because of me. I do not want to hold you back.”> And with a small push off the wall, Albert gracefully swam away.

Rin smirked and replaced his cap and goggles as well. He watched for a bit as Albert glided through the water smoother than anything he’d seen before. This guy was crazy good. He wasn’t swimming fast right now, but Rin got the feeling he definitely had some training. Those motions don’t come without extensive practice; there was top-notch skill there. 

Before he knew it, Albert was already on the turn back. Rin was blown away with how carefree he’d swam just now. It’s like he wasn’t even trying. His form was exquisite and his speed was fast (despite the casual laps). Whoever he was, Albert was certainly a curious individual.

Albert did not surface at the turn by Rin. He executed a perfect underwater turn and took off back down the lane. Not wanting to be left behind, Rin quickly took off down the lane, not nearly as elegantly as Albert given his still-aching body. 

He struggled keeping up.

Albert was like a fish in the water! Rin tried to push himself a little more. His arms and legs started getting tired. His lungs began requiring more and more air, and his stamina was rapidly deteriorating. Rin managed to only make it up and back two full times before needing to stop.

While Rin held himself up over the edge of the pool, Albert went down and back still again, seemingly faster than he started. Rin barely managed to pull himself up to flop himself on the cold ground of the pool’s edge. “Fuck I am out of shape!” he said aloud to no one in particular.

Albert must have stopped in the meantime and pulled off his cap and goggles, barely winded from the many meters swam.< ”Are you okay?”> he asked, pulling himself up to sit on the edge of the water.

Rin’s arms splayed openly at his side. He took a few deep breaths and responded, < ”Yeah, I’m just really out of practice. You’re very good. Have you been training?”>

<” Yes, back home I swim a lot.”>

Rin sat up having caught most of his breath. He noticed Albert didn’t elaborate much. Perhaps he was just a private person, or his English was limited, Rin pondered. He flipped his wet hair back and sighed. He wasn’t surprised when he noticed Albert trying not to look at his battered torso. Just like Sousuke, he didn’t try to hide it. < ”I was in an accident recently. I tried to save a little girl and ended up getting tossed under water. As you can see, I got a little banged up on the coral and rocks. But I’m okay,”> he said softly, crossing his arms in front of him, wrapping them around his own waist. <”I was lucky someone saved me or I might not be here today.”>

Albert bowed his head, averting his eyes. <”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”> He stood, grabbing a nearby towel off an available rack behind them. < ”You are very lucky to have someone watching out for you. They must care for you quite deeply.”> Albert walked off to the locker rooms, leaving Rin by the pool’s edge.

Rin closed his eyes, grateful for his rescuer.

Chapter Text

Little Mermaid in Love

Original Post Date: January 30, 2023

Chapter 11

“...aru… Haru? Haru? Wake up!”

“Huh? Whossere?” Slowly, Haru rubbed the palm of his hands against his eyes in an attempt to shed some of the drowsiness. “What time is it?”

“It’s nearly sunset.”

Haru blinked a few times to bring his surroundings into focus. He remembered coming up to the shore early in the day to listen to some of the music in the distance. Lovely smells of things he’d never seen before drifted down to the shoreline occasionally. He always wondered what could possibly make something smell so tasty. Then, he remembered curling up near one of the hidden alcoves in the sun, the summer sand and warm water lulling him into a peaceful slumber. He must have slept for much longer than just a quick nap because he was quite sleepy.

He looked around, noticing he was left undisturbed. He was lucky. This was not a completely hidden location. A bright light was shining in his face. He blinked a few times and the light was moved away. He saw a smiling toothy face beaming over him. “Are you trying to get caught up here?”

Haru yawned and sat up, shaking the sand out of his hair and brushing it off his body. With the sun setting, he shivered a bit. He noticed his mouth was a bit parched, and then realized the rest of him was not shivering just from the chilly night air, but lack of water. Haru looked around the alcove a bit, noticing the tide has receded quite a ways away from where he currently sat. His towel he’d soaked before snoozing had completely dried up. He slowly scooted himself down into the shoreline and winced when the water washed over him. 

While he allowed his skin and scales a bit of rehydration, a towel appeared on his shoulders. A figure plopped down beside him, knees pulled up tight. “Does it hurt?”

Haru must have made a noise when he winced. “A little. I was probably out of the water too long, is all. It’ll be fine in a minute.” The lantern that shown in his face a minute ago was tucked neatly between them, illuminating the alcove just a little brighter as the sun went down. 

The pair sat in silence for a bit longer. Haru continued bringing handfuls of water onto his lap to soothe the dull throb on his tail. He was sure Rei would have some wrap or salve for him if he needed it later.

“Haru?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it time?”

Haru looked at the sun and noticed the sun was just touching the distant horizon. “Oh. Yea. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“To see something I’ve never seen before? You bet!”

Haru turned to his right and watched clothes get flung behind them up higher on the shore. A few seconds later, a pair of feet appeared next to him in the water, sloshing their way into the deeper water. The material humans wore to swim in the water always fascinated him, how it hugged their shape and seemed to repel the water.

Haru took this as his cue to shed the towel around his shoulders. Like the clothes, he flung the blanket and towel up on the beach near the stray shirt and shoes. He gracefully slid into the deeper water and let the water wash over his entire body. It was an instant relief all over compared to the small handfuls of water he was pouring on himself just a few minutes ago. He surfaced and came face to face with a huge smirk, an eager face, and a set of goggles and snorkel.

“Are you ready, Rin?”

With a quick placement, Rin put the goggles over his eyes and snapped the straps against the back of his head. “Ready!” he replied confidently.

“Hold your breath for as long as you can. Squeeze when you need to come up,” Haru explained. “It shouldn’t take long to get there.”

Rin nodded, testing his waterproof flashlight quickly before grabbing Haru’s outstretched hand. “Let’s go,” he said before taking in a big breath of air and ducking under the water. Haru followed shortly behind.

Once underwater, Rin tried kicking his legs to help swim, but Haru ended up pulling him most of the way. There were a few underwater rock formations that skimmed close to the surface that were faster to swim under than around. Rin squeezed his hand after almost a minute and they surfaced for a few quick gasps of air. Wordlessly, they dove back under and continued on once more. Haru tried to go as fast as he could while not letting go of Rin. He was much slower than he’d planned, but that was ok. They still had time before the daily migration started. 

Rin needed two more rests before they finally made it to the spot. Haru calmly treaded water, helping Rin catch his breath for a minute. There weren’t any rocks or ledges to hold on to, so he clung to Haru tightly.

“Ok, let’s do this,” Rin finally called out once he felt rested. He cleared out the snorkel, placed it in his mouth and dipped his face under the water.

Haru also ducked under the water, gently letting Rin’s hand go after an affirmative nod that he was ok, and swam down not far from where Rin was floating on his stomach. Haru spied one more glance up at Rin, then shifted his gaze to the setting sun. He closed his eyes and used a tiny bit of magic to part some of the seaweed for a better view. He opened his eyes a little, squinting, looking for the tiny bits of illumination that would start to show soon… There were just a few minutes of sunlight left, and Haru waited… and waited… and finally they appeared! “Look!”

The jellyfish had begun their nightly migration. On this night, they were softly illuminating the water around them, giving the water an other-worldly appearance. Their slow, drawn out drifting made a beautiful bluish white pattern in the water. Haru deftly swam around them, careful to avoid getting stung, and gently pushed them along with his magic. Each time his magic grazed one on its top, it lit up just a bit brighter for a moment. 

Haru continued his magical dance with the jellyfish, sneaking glances up at Rin whose small body waved excitedly in return. After a few minutes, Haru left the sleepy creatures and swam up to Rin. “Haru, that was absolutely amazing! They do this every night?”

Beginning a lazy swim back to the alcove, Haru flipped to his back and spread his arms out wide on the water’s surface. “Yes. It’s pretty special to you, huh?”

Rin pulled the goggles and snorkel down to his neck and swam through the water keeping up with Haru’s slow pace. “I’ve never seen them up close before. I’ve seen pictures but… this was magical.” Neither boy said anything for a while. Eventually, Rin would have to hold his breath for a while going under some of the formations, his waterproof flashlight proving extremely helpful now.

Once back in the alcove, Haru laid next to Rin, both sprawled out on the dark shore. Rin took big breaths, tired, but not exhausted. “I wish I could see that everyday like you get to. There's nothing like that where I live,” Rin explained. “We have fireworks that explode in the sky, and lights that flicker on houses during certain holidays, but that…'' he paused for effect. “Haru, you’re so lucky.”

Haru rolled onto his side, facing Rin. He propped his hand on his cheek, his fin curling absentmindedly in and out of the water. “I wish you could see it everyday with me too, Rin.”

Rin turned to look at Haru and smiled. But that smile quickly faded to a frown as Rin sat up suddenly and curled his arms around his knees. His brows furrowed as tears welled in his eyes. “Rin?” Haru called softly, moving into a more seated position, scooting closer to Rin. He reached out a small hand to touch Rin’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Rin sniffled and wiped his nose. He yanked off his goggles and snorkel, setting them beside him. “I’m leaving, Haru.”