Work Text:
“Ah, Merumeru, my phone's ringin’.”
HiMERU glances over to where the vibrations are buzzing from, settling right on the mould of two cup holders where no drinks are present. He brushes aside the dangling charm (a small cutout of a rabbit head, sky blue and faceless) to the side of the case, having to lower Rinne's phone in hand and squinting to read at an angle from above. Nazusagi-chan is what the display name flashes. Niki leans in from behind almost as if he were peering past his shoulder, except it's the headrest he's looking in from.
“Oh! It's Nito-kun!” Niki cheers first, fingers screwing a bottle of sweetened oolong tea closed (a.k.a. HiMERU's drink).
“It is Nito-san,” HiMERU says flatly, a millisecond after without missing a beat.
“It's Nazuna-han,” Kohaku decides to chime in chorus too, turning away from mountains of piling trees outside the window. “Rinne-han, aren'tcha’ gonna pick up?”
The three of them are used to Rinne calling Nazuna for whatever reason as he takes his business far from them during practice. Sometimes, it’ll be quick and hushed. On most days, it’s an excuse Rinne comes up with to listen to him talk and scheme get-together plans for later. Texting is faster though, and is what he resorts to during rushed hours and tight schedules. It’s a little endearing.
So, when Nazuna calls first, it’s like winning big and hitting the jackpot for him.
“'Course I will!” Rinne giggles—a sound he rarely makes, which means something—and it would've been missed if any of them chose to focus in on the way the tires grumble against a shared road of concrete. The wheel is spun right, car following along as the sun caves in on Niki's side. “Put him on speaker, ‘kay?”
HiMERU, the one who has Rinne's phone in palm, complies as Niki leans back. The charm gently clanks against the hard plastic case as HiMERU holds the phone up, positioned by the curve of Rinne's earring. A buffering of silence is rendered as the call is answered, the other end amplified loud and clear.
“Yo, Na~zu~sa~gi-chan~”
“Rinne-chin~ ♪” The sound of Nazuna's voice causes Rinne's smile to grow even wider (as if it wasn't stretched from cheek to cheek already). “Hey! I called to thank you for what you got me the other day. How'd you know?”
“Hmm…” There's a brief pause as he pretends to think, shrugging now. “I dunno—lucky guess~?”
HiMERU glances over to Rinne, catching his soft expression as his own eyes stay on the road. There's no way Nazuna will buy that failure of a delivered lie when the truth can be found within his full smile. Or, Rinne’s smile is the reason why he’ll give things a pass. Maybe that's why he assumingly dropped this gift off and left it in Nazuna's hands alone. His motives can't be determined precisely but one thing HiMERU knows is that Rinne was definitely aiming to hear his boyfriend's bright tone.
Nazuna laughs—one airy, voice never fully coming through and sighing (dimples highlighted by whatever lighting he's standing under, Rinne imagines), evoking butterflies in one man's stomach. HiMERU doesn’t think he’s ever seen Rinne’s eyes light up the way they do now (twinkling like stars winking in the break of dawn; sparkling like a rotating disco ball, quick to beam bright). But, wow, he sure is smitten. Third-wheeling the two of them mustn’t be fun.
“Ahh, you were right on the nose!” Some rustling is overheard as if Nazuna is searching through treasure, trinkets and crinkling coming to a damaging halt as he holds something close. “I'll send pics later, I promise, but- It's like- Mwah…! Rinne-chin, you're the best ☆”
“Kyahaha~ You know just what to say to make a guy's heart swoon~”
In the backseat, Kohaku steals a chip or three, nibbling on the ruffled slice as he backtracks to reread the paragraphs Aira sent him. With an unsalted thumb, he answers back with sympathy and complaints of his own. Niki can’t help but groan in between the crunch of his munching, sinking in his cushioned seat.
“Great,” he sulks as the bag of chips deflate with a deafening crinkle. “Rinne-kun’s gonna be on cloud nine for the next day or three.”
Amagi? Being in a good mood? HiMERU just knows the rest of Crazy:B’s afternoon will become hellish (but never not satisfying). The rest of their conversation leans toward their day, what they did and plans for another date or two. An urge to interject grows.
“...ly~ Oh!” Silence lingers in the air as Nazuna stops to take a breath, drawing HiMERU back into listening. “You’re stopping by later, right?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah, I'll be,” Rinne’s head tilts in his phone’s direction, eyes shifting over as if Nazuna is in the car with them. Brushing past the set display name he set, he glances back to the lengthy road. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, nothing, it’s good timing!” The smile in Nazuna’s tone is obvious, and it makes Rinne smile too. His lips part to speak; to sneak in another flirty comment before being half a second too late. “The strap-on we chose together came in today too ♪”
“Aw, did it~?”
The mood takes a drastic shift in the air. Their ride comes to a slow stop because of an upcoming red light. Nazuna’s sentence rings to linger as the rest of Crazy:B lets his sentence sink in. Even the sun shies away behind a herd of cotton clouds.
Niki stops eating, his cheeks stored with broken-down crumbs. Kohaku looks up from his screen, wondering if this is something worth texting about to vent. HiMERU is the first to react facially, giving Rinne an analytical yet judgemental side-eye. It doesn’t help their situation in the slightest to keep their eyes on him.
And, oh. Nazuna’s strap-on came in—that’s exactly what he said.
Rinne’s smile seems to falter, pursing his lips thin while avoiding their stares.
“Mhm!” Nazuna takes the opportunity to continue, much to everyone’s shocking dismay. Not that they dislike Nazuna (this is Rinne’s boyfriend and who can ever hate someone like him?), they simply hate the direction the conversation steered into and the crash of this sudden switch. “I opened it up just to check and, holy shit, this thing is not only huge but thicker in person?! And weirdly blue, like those Jolly Ranchers you like sucking on.”
Okay. HiMERU didn’t need to hear any of that. Or imagine the strap-on so clearly. Who the hell talks about a topic like that over the phone? What other bizarre conversations do Rinne and Nazuna have on their own? HiMERU doesn’t want to know the answer to those questions. When he looks behind him, he sees Niki covering Kohaku’s ears and Kohaku’s hands over Niki’s own. Good call.
What the fuck, Kohaku mouths without breaking eye contact. I'm literally a minor.
Watch your language, Kohaku-chan, Niki mouths back. The empty bag is hooked between his elbow and chest, doing his best to make as little noise as possible. It’s as if he wants in on this too (he does). HiMERU-kun, his exaggerated fluency in lip screams desperation. Get Rinne-kun to let Nito-kun know he’s on speaker.
Giving a nod, You don’t have to tell HiMERU twice.
But, he’s sure their unit leader is working on that.
“Wow- Haah…” Rinne’s hand moves to his mouth, the other remaining on the wheel, eyes flickering to fix on car mirror. Sweat starts to prick at his cheek, trickling down his jawline. HiMERU turns back to him and notices how Rinne’s cheeks are as flushed as his hair. Impossible. Is this truly the right time to be getting flustered? “Shit, that’s crazy…”
HiMERU manages to catch his eye and blinks. Their awkward staring contest doesn’t last long. His head nudges to Rinne’s phone, demanding to spare Nazuna from this unknowing torture. The traffic lights really don’t want them to move.
“Haha, right~?” The other members of Crazy:B only continue to suffocate. ”I bet it’s gonna look even better when it’s insi-”
“GYAH! No, shit- I mean-” Rinne snatches his phone out of HiMERU’s hands (finally), recollecting himself. A relieved breath, and he confesses. “...Nazusagi-chan. You’re on speaker.”
“Huh?” Nazuna’s tone falls flat. The world stands still, realization washing over him. If he were there, his face would match the shade of Rinne’s own. “WHAT. OHMIGOWSH…! I’MSOSORRY!”
“Nahaha…” Niki can’t help but catch a pity case of secondhand embarrassment. It might be enough to cure his famish. The lights flip to green after what felt like years of stalling. ”It’s okay, Nito-kun. Things happen.”
A gasp, and Nazuna chokes. “NIKI-CHIN?”
“HiMERU forgives you too, Nito-san.”
“HiMERU-CHIN???”
“I get bein’ romantic an’ all but I didn’t need ta’ hear all that,” Kohaku mumbles, his attention focusing on what’s strolling outside. “Or the implications of what ya’ guys are inta’ doin’. But, it really isn’t yer fault, Nazuna-han. ‘s not like ya’ knew, or anythin’.”
“Kohaku-chin too…” Nazuna sinks into his knees with a defeated groan, hunched over and cradled into a standing ball. Kohaku is the one he was desperate to not hear from so his shoulders slump. A rain cloud chases after his shrunken shadow. “Uwah… I’m so sorry…!”
The engine sputters.
After another spur of scrambled apologies, Rinne ends the call with gentle reassurance, mumbling his own small sorry. He can envision Nazuna sulking and decides he’ll drop by his apartment with some strawberry ice cream to lighten his mood. Their car presses onwards as the sun greets them once more, welcoming them back to town with warmth (but the only warmth Rinne feels is of sheepish embarrassment, and it’s hard to beat this heat down).
The ride back to Ensemble Square is eerily quiet. Niki finishes the rest of HiMERU’s tea, saving him a sip before passing the bottle up front. HiMERU doesn’t comment on Niki’s kindness, downing the tiny drops in silence before dumping the plastic in the cup holder. Kohaku lays back, uninterested as he jabs his finger in and out of an embroidered pillow. The radio is cranked up to fill the void of musicless activity.
No one dares to say a word for Rinne’s sake.
(...but, he seems to be over the incident once they arrive back at ES. Rinne remains seated in his car, letting the window roll as HiMERU sticks to peek at him from outside.
Are you going to visit Nito-san?
Rinne nods, clicks his tongue, lets the motor run.
I’m gonna buy somethin’ for him first—don’t wanna be jumped and thrown over again.
HiMERU is sure he’ll appreciate it. A smirk. Don’t get too caught up in the moment.
A laugh is what he earns in response—a reaction where he can’t promise anything; a waste of words—before driving off to a nearby 7-Eleven. Crazy:B never speaks about strap-ons ever again.)