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They both agreed to enter a relationship which turned into a long distance relationship.
It shouldn't be too difficult, Rin was once away from me.
But Haru had no experience with relationships. He was no expert at things like this as it is his first, his first love and most likely his first with everything.
Haru wanted to do things differently. As being in a relationship is a whole different thing than having friends.
I f I'm in a relationship, I should probably talk more...
I should take the initiative as well...
Haru has been spending his almost non-existent free time by studying what-to-do's in relationships like, what to do in certain scenarios and how to communicate and such, after all it is his first rodeo. And when he has some time left, he dedicates it to studying English in order to better connect with his boyfriend.
It felt odd to have his phone between his two hands since he wasn't the phone type of person.
There was no use in dilly dallying so Haru decided to call his boyfriend—Rin.
"Yo, Haru." The voice from the other end sounded cool and laid-back.
Ah, he picked up.
To Haru's surprise, Rin picked up the call right away. He has little to no expectations since he was not aware of Rin's schedule as well as the time in Australia.
"Rin..." It was the only thing he could say before his thoughts take over the whole conversation.
But Haru had underestimated how difficult it was to hold a conversation especially when silence in reality does not translate well in phone calls. It could mean: Are you talking? Cause I can't hear you.
When there was no response, Haru was the first one to break the silence.
"I-Is it a bad time for me to call? What time is it there?"
I hope I don't come off as impatient...
"N-no, and it's just an hour advance. No worries." There was a slight panic in his voice and Haru couldn't fathom why.
"Ah."
I wonder what I should say next...
Haru wasn't the chatty type and Rin knew this. Still, Haru wanted to try working on his communication despite the struggles.
"D-Did you need anything?"
Oh
I should probably just tell him the truth.
"Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice."
"I see."
Haru couldn't picture how Rin was feeling. It felt like Rin was either eager to talk or was in a rush.
"How did your practice go?"
The raven-haired boy snapped out of his thoughts.
Maybe he's interested after all.
"It was okay. How about yours?"
All those sleepless nights have been catching up to him; his body was beginning to betray him, his eyelids feeling heavy with each passing second.
"You sound sleepy, have you been overtraining again?" The shift from his voice cleared away the confusion in Haru's thoughts.
"Tch, I swear—"
Is he worried about me?
Haru couldn't stop himself from pondering on that matter, evoking a soft chuckle which seemed a bit out of character for him. But Haru felt safe to let his guard down, after all it's Rin.
There was no response from the other end aside from background noises like the couch shifting and something muffled that Haru couldn't decipher.
"Rin, you okay there?"
He couldn't help but to ask since there was no response coming from the other end.
"Y-yeah!" the voice came out a bit out of tune.
Thank goodness he's alright. I wonder what happened.
He wanted to ask but couldn't muster the courage to.
"You didn't answer my question."
He's right. What should I tell him?
"Ah, that... I just had a long day. That's all."
It was vague but it wasn't a lie. Haru did have a long day—he practices swimming, researching about effective communication and studying English.
"Don't overdo it, you got me real worried there."
A blush crept up on Haru's face, melting all of his what-ifs away.
"You're worried about me?"
This did not come off the way he had envision it to be. Haru was simply giddy over the fact that Rin's worried about him.
"Of course, I'm worried about you, you asshole! Why do you think I'm not? You're literally my boyfriend!"
Alas, silence filled the call once more.
It was all too much for Haru to take, hence zoning out of the call once more.
That was the first time Rin acknowledged me as his boyfriend.
He was so caught up in his small world before realizing Rin hung up.
Oh, he probably got shy...
松岡凛: 悪い、さっきが知らねぇーけど俺はじゃねーよ.
(Warui, sakki ga shiranee— kedo ore wa janee—yo!)
sorry, I don't know what that was. But that wasn't me!
松岡凛: ったく、ねるんだよ! おやすみ.
(ttaku, nerundayo! oyasumi)
and for fuck's sake get some sleep! Goodnight.
松岡凛: 😘
松岡凛: あああっーそれは忘れてくれ.
(Aaa—sore wa wasurete kure)
Uhhh delete that from your memory.
七瀬遙: 何言ってんだ? おやすみ
(Nani ittenda? Oyasumi)
What are you saying? Goodnight.
Haru wasn't in the mood to tease but he'll definitely remember everything that happened from this encounter. The corners of his lips pulled into a small smile .
Haru tried balancing things between swimming and studying English. He seemed to have a grasp on understanding how effective communication work so he decided to stop with his research and dedicated his free time studying English.
If I go to Australia again, I can't rely on Rin to do everything for me...
There were hurdles and adversaries when it comes to studying a language. Not to mention the sentence construction and grammar of English is completely different from Japanese.
Why are taught and thought, accept and except spelled differently but pronounced the same?
Haru grew frustrated at his discovery—the sounds that were almost non existent in Japanese.
How did Rin manage to study this at a young age while maintaining his Japanese studies and swimming practices?
It just occured to Haru how difficult what Rin went through as a kid in Australia. He finally understood bits of his experiences but it was nowhere near what his boyfriend went through. Even so, it felt like he was reliving some of it but as an adult.
It was a bit too difficult to balance things out and so he was a bit behind with his replies.
He's probably busy with his swimming practices.
I'll just give him a call next week.
It was a tough challenge for Haru but he kept thinking about Rin, thinking about the what-ifs.
What if he introduces me to his Australian friends and I can't understand what they're saying?
I can't have Rin do all the effort of translating back and forth.
These were some of the thoughts that motivated Haru to keep on moving forward.
It went as far as Haru's thoughts switching from Japanese to English.
"Haru, how was your practice?" Makoto asked him once when they met up after his practice.
Haru seemed like he was in a deep thought which prompted Makoto repeating the question only for Haru to answer in English.
"Tiring. But It was okay."
"Eh?" The brunette didn't understand what his bestfriend just said.
"Sorry Makoto, forget what I said." This time Haru answered in Japanese.
He asked me in Japanese but why did I respond in English?
I hope I won't slip the next time I call Rin.
For some reason, Haru was having trouble sleeping despite not having enough hours of sleep. It was something he couldn't understand. He should've been sleepy after his English studies and yet here he was: wide awake.
Haru looked at his phone, it was already 20:00. It was still a little early to go to bed but Haru was trying to sleep early and fix his sleeping schedule.
It's probably 21:00 in Australia...
Haru decided to call Rin to check if he was still awake at this hour.
It picked up after a few rings and when he was about to utter a sound, there was a loud exasperated voice on the other end of the call.
"Chris, for fuck's sake I am not going, mate. Can't a guy get some rest?" The man groaned, his annoyance was evident and clear as day.
Haru was rendered speechless, not because he was offended. If anything, he did not expect their call to start like this.
So this is what Rin sounds like when he's annoyed in English.
Wait, that's kinda hot...
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Even the sound of his breath echoed through the call, making it harder for Haru to respond.
He tilted his head to the side, not knowing what this meant.
Cat? got your tongue? Wait, I haven't studied this part yet.
But it didn't matter because he fancied Rin's English speaking voice.
"More." He blurted out, surprising even himself.
"Haru?!" He could've sworn the shift of Rin's voice even his whole demeanor changed.
"You sound like a completely different person when you speak in English."
It's like there's two sides of Rin: Japanese Rin and Australian Rin.
And I like them both...
"Is it a bad thing?" Rin asked.
Haru was not expecting that reaction from Rin.
What does it say about effective communication...
Use clear and direct language... Got it.
"No... I like it, because it's you."
I think I did that right.
Wait, I need to add more.
"Although you seemed like a different person, I can tell that it's you."
Wait, he's not responding... Did I do something wrong?
"Are you still there?"
Rin, please don't hang up on me.
"Y-Yeah."
Thank goodness, he's still alive.
"You called all of a sudden. Did something happen?"
Oh, he's just embarrassed...
Wait, I have to be direct. I'll tell him the truth.
"Nothing. I just missed you."
"Fuck-"
Rin blurted out in English.
Doesn't that mean se— wait, in this case it meant くそ (kuso)
Haru shook his head, focusing on the situation at hand.
"Rin, what happened?!" He couldn't help but to grow worried of his boyfriend.
"ARGHHHH—"
Is he mad, what should I do?
Do I say anything?
What if I anger him more?
His thoughts only prolonged the silence and before he even knew it, Rin started yapping in English.
"I miss you so much, I wanna go home to hug you, kiss you and just spend time with you. I hate being away from you."
Haru was taken aback.
Rin has never been this honest with his feelings before...
He struggled to catch some of the words but Haru knew this was Rin's feelings.
He misses me.
"会いたかったか?" (Aitakatta ka?)
Did you miss me?
んーそんな感じ、てかーハアアー?!? (Nn, sonna kanji, teka—HAA—?!?)
Uh, yeah something like that. Wait- HUH?
Haru nearly laughed out loud but luckily, he was able to control his laughter and minimized it to a smile.
"Don't tell me you understood all of that..."
How did he know—
"Stop pouting."
"HUH? how did you— I swear to God, are you spying on me?"
That's because that's how your voice sounds like when you pout.
"Why would I do that if I can just video call you."
I wanna see your face.
"Should we?"
"If you want to."
Haru was almost surprised to see Rin agreeing to have a video call with him. And when the redhead initiated the video call, Haru was quick to answer it.
"Yo—" Rin was laying on the bed on his side, moving the camera a bit farther.
He looks tired, but he looks good.
"You look like you need some sleep."
"Yeah, you too."
"No wonder you turned down Chris."
"Yeah— WHAT? YOU UNDERSTOOD THAT?"
Why did I say that?
Rin's complexion turned deathlike pallor, draining all the color out of his face as if he saw a ghost.
"Rin, you look sick. Did you see a ghost?"
Let's divert the topic elsewhere.
"Tell me Haru, how long have you been studying English?" Rin immediately regained his confidence.
Nevermind.
"Hmm" his eyes gaze up at the ceiling momentarily before giving his answer.
"A few months now, I think."
"Wow, well aren't you a fast learner? But how come you never told me?"
I hope he doesn't think I'm hiding secrets from him.
"I intended to surprise you but I guess the cat's out of the bag now."
This is your fault, now I find myself slipping in English...
"Look at you."
Is he teasing me?
I know, I have a lot to work on.
"I know, the pronunciation is nowhere near as good as yours."
It's not good enough.
"That's not what I mean."
???
"Seriously, you're working hard and for someone to understand English in a few months, I think you're doing great. Give yourself some credit."
Didn't know you can be adorable at times.
Haru let out a soft chuckle.
The sounds of the screenshots can be heard on the phone.
Rin, you idiot what are you doing?!
Haru almost had a mortified look on his face.
"O-oi! Are you taking screenshots?" Now it was Haru's turn to pout.
There goes the white flash coming from the screen reflecting on Rin's face, exposing him once more.
"S-stop taking screenshots—" Haru moved his hand to the screen, covering the camera.
"Oh come on, I need this!!"
What does he need those for?
"What for, when you have me—"
Wait, that's not what I mean.
"ARGHHHHH—"
Oh, he's angry again?
Rin's phone slid to the ground with a loud thud while Haru heard a muffled sound from a distance.
Where's that sound coming from?
"What was that?" Haru still couldn't decipher what it was.
"Oh shit—" Rin slipped in English once more.
The discarded phone was finally back as well as Rin's face on the screen.
His English voice sounds really... nice.
"You should speak more... in English."
"Only if you let me take screenshots of your face."
Enough with the screenshots already.
"Only if you speak in English."
"Fine, what do you want me to say?"
What should I suggest... I should probably—nope.
"Anything."
"Huh? That's too vague."
Uhh I've seen some ASMR videos on YouTube, I wonder what Rin's voice would sound like?
"Fine, do one of those ASMR voices."
"Oh—didn't know you were into that." It was Rin's time to tease Haru.
Oh no. He got the wrong idea—
Nevermind.
"Shut up—"
"Are you doing it or not?"
I'm not desperate.
"Fine, I'll grant you this wish before you go to sleep."
"Av ya eaten dinnah yet? Did ya make sah ta get enough sleep?" Rin breathed a little too loudly yet it managed to come off soft on the call.
So soothing, even his breathing seems a bit soft.
"Pleayse make sah ta eat on time. Because yah boyfriend is wawrried about ya." His voice was a lot softer than usual, echoed with concern.
Rin's so sweet, so gentle.
And I can actually understand what he says. Australian Rin is so kind and sweet. His voice is so comforting.
"Goodnight, babe."
And like magic, Haru fell asleep from listening to Rin's voice. Too bad he didn't get to hear the last word.
見たことのない景色 (Mita koto no nai keshiki.)
A sight I've never seen before.
Rin said to himself upon seeing his sleeping boyfriend's peaceful face.