Chapter Text
#1. Grey:
Rintarou’s taking shelter from the torrential downpour under the awning of a konbini when he sees two twins throwing insults at each other in rapid Kansai-ben, a bag of groceries in both their hands, their hair somehow damp. Of course he can’t tell them apart, but his gut instinct tells him that the one with the bleached blonde hair is more mischievous than the one with the bleached grey hair.
#2. Toast:
Atsumu’s heart drops when he enters the classroom. Not only are there no seats available near the window, most of the students have already claimed one. He’s the odd one out, and unless he manages to find a place, he’s going to have to negotiate with his brother (who definitely won’t give in without a fight). Maybe, he thinks, instead of being late, he should’ve just skipped the first day of high school.
#3. Pocari Sweat:
The Pocari Sweat can is lukewarm instead of cold when the guy with the bored expression on his face hands it to him, but Atsumu takes it without a second thought. He’s exhausted from all the running, and needs a bit of energy anyway. Plus, the guy – whose name, he finds out, is Rintarou – is an interesting person to talk to.
#4. Chew:
Rintarou thinks it’s cute, the way Atsumu chews the tip of his pen when he can’t solve a problem, even though his brother hits him on the head for doing that. It makes the study session a little more bearable.
#5. Sticky note:
Osamu is tired of sticking blue and yellow notes on the fridge because these days Atsumu forgets to buy the food they need in order to not starve. (Why’s he so digustingly happy, anyway?)
#6. Sharp edges:
It’s dangerous, how Atsumu’s loud presence and sharp edges have given way to quiet chuckles and soft smiles and fuzzy socks and blurry boundaries. The catch? Rintarou doesn’t want to stop getting intoxicated with him.
#7. Wind:
When the sun dips below the horizon and the sky turns into a brilliant shade of blue, that’s when Rintarou discreetly watches Atsumu. He observes how the dying rays of the sun lights up Atsumu's face, the way the wind ruffles his hair, the way a small smile spreads across his lips. He seems so at peace, so at ease, Rintarou almost gets jealous of him. Almost.
#8. Listen:
“He likes ya, y’know,” Osamu tells Rintarou while filling up water bottles on their water run, making the latter freeze like a statue. “Won’t stop mentionin’ ya every chance he gets.”
“I mean,” he continues, turning off the tap, “I don’t wanna hear about how there’s a poster of Ito-san in yer bedroom or that ya don’ like ink pens. So please,” he sighs, looking at the petrified person standing next to him, “put us out of our misery and just ask him out.”
#9. Pool:
Rintarou doesn’t like loud music, or flashing lights, or dense crowds, or confetti, and yet he’s here, attending his classmate’s party. Perhaps the only saving grace is that there’s a swimming pool and that Atsumu looks stupidly handsome with his slicked back hair and his arms wrapped in leather. (Also, Osamu there seems very, very comfortable with Motoya’s cousin.)
#10. There:
Rintarou’s finishing the last of his drink when he sees a slightly unstable Atsumu swaying towards the pool. Chucking the can in the bin, he makes his way towards the man, not to help him, but to do something else, something he has watched people in dramas do.
“Oh hi Rin,” Atsumu greets, his words sweet and his speech slurred. “Didn’ see yaー”
“Take your jacket off,” he almost growls, adrenaline pumping through his veins.
"What?"
“Jacket. Off. Now.”
“’kay, ‘kay,” Atsumu nods, following through with the instruction. “Sheesh, why so aggressive?”
“Because this.”
“Huh?”
The water is cold, colder than he assumed it would be, but he finds Atsumu, like he always has, because Atsumu has always been there.
#11. Kirin:
Soaked to the bone, Atsumu grabs Rintarou’s hand, steals a bottle of Kirin and a white towel, and escapes from the party through the back gate. He so hates Rintarou for dunking him in the cold-ass water and loves him for making his first kiss so damn dramatic.
#12. Trip:
“We should take a trip,” Rintarou announces out of the blue, stunning Atsumu into silence. As unreasonable as that sounds, he knows Rintarou will find a way to make it work somehow. “To Okinawa or someplace like that. What d’ya think?”
Atsumu shakes his head. “That ain’t a good plan. The island’ll be freezin’ right now.”
Rintarou’s expression changes to one of confusion. “Who said anything about right now?”
“But ya saidー”
“Sometime in the future, Tsumu."
“How can ya be sure 'bout that?”
He shrugs and kisses Atsumu’s forehead with the softest of kisses, then wraps an arm around his shoulder. “I just can.”
#13. Gold:
So how can Rintarou be sure?
Because every second, every hour, every moment he spends with Atsumu turns into gold.
And gold, like Atsumu, is precious.