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Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzz-
Rin's phone, which had been sitting on the edge of his nightstand, fell onto the floor at his bedside. The buzzing itself didn't wake him up, but the bang of the device hitting the tiled floor certainly did.
Groaning, he flips onto his side and glares down at the still-buzzing phone, which is laying on the floor face-up. Squinting his sleepy eyes down at the bright sight of his phone screen, he lets out another groan when he sees the name of the person who's calling him: his roommate.
Rin doesn't think much about other people. He's never had the energy to spare on anyone. This new roommate of his doesn't seem to be a bad guy, but Rin is far too busy to really be bothered with his roommate's pestering. Lately, though, Isagi's been going through a bit of a partying phase, a fact that annoys him greatly.
Rin despises parties. He'd always hated them in high school, he hated them when he'd been a freshman in college, and he hates them now more than ever as sophmore. They're really just a deluge of obnoxious students who can't be bothered to properly manage their stress or socialize in a normal or chill way, so they take it to the extreme, get blackout drunk, and do a bunch of loud and stupid shit to get themselves in trouble.
After the call bounces, Rin, who's now laying on his back, thinks maybe he can just go back to sleep and forget about Isagi's drunken phone call, until, to his tremendous annoyance, it starts to buzz again. This time he bends over, picks it up, and answers the call with a disgruntled "What?"
"You picked up!" he hears Isagi say to him, clearly intoxicated, from the other line.
"D'ya mind picking me up from Bachira's place?"
Rin sits up with his phone, puts it on speaker, and lays it beside him on the mattress.
"What, you aren't gonna sleep there? You usually do that," Rin replies, hoping the exasperation is heard clearly in his tone of voice.
"Well, yeah, but... This person I can't stand showed up..."
"Again? Well maybe next time you should plan your own ride home, then. I'm not your damn taxi—"
"I know, Rin. I'm sorry. It won't happen again... I promise."
Rin finds his calm heart skipping a beat at Isagi's suddenly very sober, and slightly pouty, reply. There's an earnest tone to the statement that makes Rin feel what his roommate had just said more genuine.
"Fuck. Fine. Whatever. If you aren't at my car within three minutes of me showing up at bowl cut's place, I will ditch you there. Got it?"
"Yeah...!" Isagi's excited reply sounds from the speakerphone. Before he can continue the conversation with any more of his usual tepid smalltalk, Rin ends the call.
Rin throws his legs over the edge of the bed and stretches his neck. He then pulls a pair of sweatpants from his dresser out around his waist and grabs his car keys and wallet, before he leaves the dorm.
*
When he shows up at Bachira Meguru's place, it's after one o' clock in the morning. The aggravating sounds of the party are carrying out from the house. Pounding music, boisterously loud laughter, and conversation, all make Rin wrinkle his nose distastefully. Without wasting any more time (time that he could be aptly spend sleeping), Rin whips his phone out and begins typing a text to let Isagi know he's arrived.
He then tracks the time. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. No reply.
Isagi had agreed to be out in three minutes, though Rin knows he's probably already forgotten about that promise. Two more minutes go by before, after five whole minutes, Rin finally sees Isagi stumbling out the front door to meet with him.
He leans against the car door as he watches Isagi make for him, though he notices his roommate doesn't make it very far before he tumbles sideways into the grass. Rin sighs exasperatedly before he collects his things and opens the car door.
Isagi seems to be struggling to stand, and when Rin reaches his side, he taps the drunkard's shoulder. When Isagi looks up at him, Rin sees a glimmer of excited light flick into Isagi's sapphire irises.
"Rin!" Isagi says with a smile. In his excitement, he stands and immediately topples back over sideways, though this time Rin catches him without a beat of wasted time or movement.
He pulls Isagi upright, feeling Isagi's drunken fingers closing around his bare arms as he struggles to steady himself.
"Come on, idiot. Stop wasting my damn time," Rin urges him, and the mildly insulting probing seems to help clear Isagi's mind. One of Isagi's arms slides up Rin's own arm and across his shoulders, holding him upright. They walk towards Rin's car, Rin's steps steady, Isagi's wobbly.
When they reach the car, Isagi falls back against it. Rin opens the door and helps him sit himself, even being patient enough to do his seatbelt for him. Any more wasted time will set Rin's temper off so he does everything in his power to speed things up.
The drive back isn't particularly long, and Isagi is quiet. As they sit at a four-way stop not far from the dorms, with Rin's turn signal clicking in the background, Isagi suddenly turns his face over to look at the driver.
"Thanks, Rin..." he says sleepily with a yawn.
"Don't thank me. Just don't do this again," Rin snaps at him as he makes the turn.
"Sorry..." Isagi mumbles. "Sometimes I wish you'd come with me."
"Huh?" Rin looks over at Isagi confusedly, placing his car into park.
"N-Nothing... Forget I said that."
"Don't try and backpedal now. What did you just say?"
"I didn't mean that... I'm jus' a little drunk, y'know?"
By now, Rin is more than just a little annoyed at this whole situation. Isagi was late to meet him outside when he'd shown up at Bachira's place, Isagi was too drunk to walk out to meet with him so he'd had to waste even more time helping him, and now Isagi was blurting out whatever things came into his intoxicated mind without even thinking first?
His patience with drunk people is already thin. Rin's basically decided that he's lost it altogether at this point.
He gets out of his car quickly and makes for the passenger door, being nice enough to even open the door for Isagi to help him out. The intoxicated Isagi tries to get himself up and out, but as expected his footing is completely unsteady and he falls back against the car. Rin places one hand around Isagi's waist to hold him steady and upright, pulling him to standing, and they proceed towards the dorm together like this.
When they're back in their dorm, Rin dumps Isagi into the couch unceremoniously and goes back to lock the door behind them. When he returns to the couch to check on Isagi (for what was supposed to be the last time that night), he instead finds himself looking down into Isagi's eyes, which are actually open and looking directly up at him.
"Do you mind grabbing me a glass of water?" Isagi asks him groggily.
"I do mind," Rin replies, crossing his arms. "I'm not your taxi or your mother. Get it yourself."
"Mmmm... But my head is spinning. Why is Rin always so grouchy?"
"Because of people like you." Rin flutters his bangs with his fingers. "Actually, just people in general. Everyone's annoying and tepid just like you. I'm sick of NPCs and I'm sick of this damn conversation."
Rin flips about and is ready to head to bed, but he's stopped again.
"Riiiiiiinnnn..."
"What?!" he whips around, clenching his fists at the sing-song of his name.
"Do you hate me?"
Hate is a strong word, but Rin has no intention of having this conversation with his roommate right now under present circumstances.
"It just seems like everything I say annoys you. I was excited to room with you, hearing about how you're an infamous top-dog student and all that with a full riding, but, like... I'm sad 'cause it seems like you don't like me."
"You're a drunk and you suck at chemistry. What the hell else do you want me to say?"
"That... You don't mind me, or something that isn't just condescending and mean. I jus'... Ugh... My head..."
Rin stomps into the kitchen, pours Isagi a glass of water, and grabs him a painkiller from the bathroom. When he's back beside the couch, he passes both things off to Isagi briskly. Isagi, from his place on the couch, shines him a small smile of gratitude.
"Thanks," Isagi says softly, taking the water and painkiller and swallowing both.
"You don't suck at everything," Rin blurts out.
"Hmm... Really?" Isagi sits up and places his now empty glass of water onto the floor beside him.
"You don't suck at calligraphy," Rin says, "Not, like... That badly."
"Oh boy, keep buttering me up!" Isagi laughs at this, the sound of his laughter a lighthearted tinkle, like bells singing in the wind.
"Whatever," Rin replies, "I'm going back to bed. Don't bother me again."
"Wait!" Isagi, who's sitting up, leans forward, one hand outstretched semi-dramatically.
"What, damnit?!"
"I... Was just enjoying talking to you. Will you sit with me a little longer?"
Rin twists halfway back and glares down at Isagi. He sweeps a hand through his bangs and purses his lips, searching for something to say that will both shut Isagi down and make him give up in even wanting to talk to him any more.
He's tired. He's fed up. Downright exhausted, if he's being honest with himself. He instead gives up and slumps into the couch besides Isagi's feet, thinking maybe drunk-sagi will pass out within the next ten minutes and he can then head to bed without more annoying griping.
"D'you have a girlfriend?" Isagi suddenly asks.
"What?"
"Or a boyfriend?"
"No... What?"
"No you don't? So you're single? I never see you with anyone..."
"No, I mean... No, like why the hell would I even answer that? Do I look like I have a girlfriend?"
"You're right, that was a stupid question." Isagi groans in between thoughts and rubs the bridge of his nose. "You don't look like you like girls. A boyfriend, then?"
"WHAT?!"
"No boyfriend either?"
"What's with this line of questioning? I'm gonna kill you."
"Pah...?! Okay then, give it y'er best shot!" Isagi continues to laugh, and Rin leans back into the couch. Disgruntled, he snatches the remote off the arm rest beside him and flicks the television on.
"What's Rin doing now?"
"Turning something on."
"You wanna watch a movie with me?"
"I wanna do something other than keep up this conversation."
"Ah... So you've had enough of me talking..."
He opens a streaming service and gets to scrolling through the horror genre, pretty much the only genre he enjoys other than thrillers. Anything to drown out this pointless conversation.
Isagi taps his shoulder. He throws an icy glare sideways without moving his head.
"Your eyes are pretty," Isagi says to him.
"Great."
"Teal eyes are really rare."
"I don't care."
"So you really don't wanna talk, huh?"
"I'm tired."
"Me too..."
"So then go to sleep. Why won't you just go to sleep?"
"Well, it's Saturday..."
"And? Should I care?"
"Saturdays are for fun." Rin hears Isagi shifting in the couch, though his gaze is now back on the TV screen so he doesn't see what Isagi's doing.
"It doesn't seem like you really like fun all that much, though. Captain-No-Fun."
Rin snaps his head over and shoots Isagi a glare. His eyes narrow into two small teal lines, akin to twin tropical oceans refracting sunlight.
"Pretty..." Isagi mumbles.
"What?"
"Does Rin like ice cream?"
Rin blinks slowly at Isagi's next pointless line of questioning. He's never spoken to anyone about his childhood before, and knows for a fact Isagi wouldn't know about it.
His expression has relaxed, though, and Isagi, despite being drunk, is still quite observant.
"That expression you're wearing right now is cute. So you do like ice cream, then?"
"No, I... What?" Rin fumbles over words, "I guess I do sometimes."
"I knew it!" Isagi remarks with a proud little smile. Rin sees Isagi's wide blue eyes staring at him and it makes him feel a little anxious for some reason.
He looks away and continues to ignore Isagi's probing, instead opting to throw a slasher film onto the TV to drown out Isagi's chattering.
"Hey, Rin. What's this you're putting on?"
"You seem to be sobering up," Rin grumbles. Isagi snickers at him from the corner of his eye.
"A little bit. I think talking to you is clearing my mind. I like talking to you, Rin."
"No, you don't," Rin says immediately, "Nobody likes talking to me."
"Why do you say that?"
"I mean, everyone avoids me in class. They avoid me in the hallways and on the university grounds. Nobody talks to me..." he squints at himself for admitting this strangely candid thing to drunk-sagi, "Not that I care."
"You are a bit intimidating, though. But they're missing out in my opinion." Isagi inches closer to Rin the tiniest bit.
"I wasn't lying, though. I really do like talking to you when you actually relax into the conversation like this. So will you keep talking to me?"
Rin exhales a drawn-out breath. He's irritated and a bit uncomfortable, but more than all that, he's still tired. He's so damn tired. This movie probably won't be enough to keep him up, either, so he sighs again.
He hears Isagi inching closer to him and turns. Isagi is sitting up now, he's still wearing the hoodie he'd been wearing earlier, his face appears a little flushed in the dim lighting, and his hair is a bit of a mess.
Rin curses himself for actually thinking of the word cute.
"We don't have to talk," Isagi says.
"No, we don't. We can go to sleep, though."
"Or..." Isagi looks over at him, mischief twinkling in his inebriated eyes, "Something else?"
"I'll leave the movie on, but I'm going to–"
"I don't wanna watch the movie."
At first Rin doesn't quite make the connection with Isagi's point, until Isagi inches in even closer to his side. He'd already been inching for the past few minutes, but now they're sitting so close together on the sofa that they're nearly touching. Rin looks down, then up to make eye-contact with Isagi.
It's then that he realizes. Isagi is making a pass at him.
"You're drunk, moron," Rin repremands him, realizing Isagi's intentions.
Isagi reaches out and touches Rin's neck softly, running his hand up to cradle Rin's cheek. He smiles and begins to lean in. Rin is completely frozen, suddenly feeling very nervous. He can smell the liquor on Isagi's breath, and though that isn't exactly an attractive smell, his displeasure about this is canceled out by another, more pleasant thing he can smell. Maybe it's Isagi's deodorant, or maybe it's it's some kind of cologne, or maybe it's just how Isagi smells to him, but he finds he doesnt really care. The more he focuses on it, the more it starts to make him feel like he's going a bit crazy. It's like the comfort of a chilly autumn morning and a crisp apple pie, all wrapped up in some kind of alluring scent.
He knows he should stop Isagi, kissing a drunk person is inadvisable to anyone in their right mind. But the delicate touch on his cheek and the pleasant smell sends his heart into a frantic pace in his chest, completely paralyzing his better judgement.
Isagi finishes his approach, and when their lips drift together and touch, he feels Isagi moving his hand up into his hair. This kiss is so gentle, Rin feels himself sigh through his nose, not really knowing what to do with himself.
One of his hands drifts up and touches Isagi's arm. He wants to shove back but he feels uncharacteristically weak.
The thing that really kills him, though, is when he feels Isagi's tongue, lithe and soft, in his own mouth. It's tormenting to him. He finally breaks himself out of his Isagi-induced paralysis, and with one hand on Isagi's chest he shoves the drunkard away.
Isagi's lips curl as he smirks at him coyly. Rin feels embarrassed beyond belief that this really has affected him so much; as the curvature of Isagi's lips calls to him from across the couch, Rin can't help but stare at them.
"That was nice," Isagi blurts out stupidly. Rin frowns at him from across the sofa.
He just wanted to go to bed, damnit. Now he's been caught up in this awkward situation with his roommate. Maybe he really is a killjoy, but it doesn't matter to him right now.
He's just kissed a drunk person.
Now he feels like an absolute ass.
"G-Go to bed, damnit..." Rin stammers, feeling disgustingly ashamed with himself at how much he actually had kind of liked that kiss. Sort of.
He doesn't check Isagi's reaction and turns his head down to avert their gazes. He pulls Isagi's hand out of his hair and moves, turning off the television, plunging the room into darkness. Isagi is totally quiet.
Rin hopes he stays quiet, however, as he moves to leave once again, Isagi calls after him.
"Rin, wait!"
This time he goes back into his room for the night.
*
When the next day begins, Rin makes a pot of coffee. He's donned his gym clothes and is ready to head out for his Sunday workout.
Drunk-sagi is passed out on the couch, snoring softly, totally sprawled. Rin makes a point in ignoring him and hopes he doesn't wake up.
He unfortunately does.
At first the only sign of the hungover Isagi waking up is the sound of a groan, Rin continues to try and ignore it as he makes himself a coffee. It's probably the smell of the coffee that's disturbed Isagi's slumber, he thinks. It doesnt take very long before Isagi pipes up.
"Morning..." Isagi calls over to him. He slowly sits up, scratching the back of his neck and blinking drearily.
"Thanks for picking me up last night," Isagi continues to speak, and Rin sips his coffee.
"It's not like I had a choice. That's the last time I'm doing it though," Rin says sternly, "Next time call a damn cab."
"Yeah, yeah... There won't be a next time I don't think."
Rin grunts his reply. His eyes narrow as he attempts to subdue his growing irritation. He may be what most people would call a jerk, but he isn't without his own set of morals, so he decides he'll remind Isagi of his stupid drunken decision to kiss him.
"Do you remember last night?" Rin asks.
"Well, yeah..." Isagi mumbles pinching the bridge of his nose, his voice trailing off.
"Wait... I...?"
"Yeah. You remember?"
Isagi groans again, louder than his earlier one.
"I... I remember I kissed you!" he remarks incredulously.
"Yeah. Not feeling so smart now, are you?"
"I mean..." Isagi says. Rin's turned away, but he can hear Isagi shifting on the couch. Can practically feel Isagi's eyes turning onto the back of his head.
"You didn't really push me away right away."
"Don't get the wrong idea," Rin interjects.
"Okay, that was stupid of me. But if I'm being honest here, I probably still would've done that even if I was sober."
Rin can't help how Isagi's honesty startles him, and he whips around, spilling a bit of his coffee in the process.
"S-Sorry...!" Isagi waves his hands as if to emphasize his apology. Rin notes the faintest dusting of pink beginning to surface on his cheeks.
"It's just that... I'm not good at this sort of thing! I know kissing you drunk was stupid and all, but it wasn't an impulsive decision I regret. I do sort of like you... It's just hard to tell if you even like me at all. So I guess in that way, I'm sorry. I hope I didnt make you uncomfortable."
Rin places his coffee cup onto the counter in front of him. He doesn't know how to approach this subject with his roommate of all people, and especially not with how much he lacks in experience with this sort of thing. He stares down into his cup of coffee for another minute, watching as steam coils off the surface of the dark liquid as he thinks, before he walks over to the livingroom.
He sits himself down beside Isagi on the couch. Isagi looks over at him, clearly a little guarded and apprehensive. Maybe even a little nervous.
Rin looks over at him calmly, though inside his head his thoughts are beginning to race again and his heart is beginning to pound at a faster pace.
"You're lukewarm at kissing. I should show you how it's really done," Rin finds himself saying.
Isagi just blinks at him, dumbfounded, the color in his cheeks deepening.
"Uh... Okay?" Isagi replies, seemingly either confused, surprised, or both.
Their eye-contact lingers, and it begins to sizzle from a small spark into a low-burning fire in the both of them. Isagi's blush has deepened to a darker pink, and of course Rin sees it. It's on full display. He's sporting his own bit of blush to be sure, maybe not as noticeable, but confidence is everything when it comes to this sort of thing so he doesn't let his nerves show.
He grabs Isagi by the wrist and yanks them into eachother. He's never been one to do things half-assed, not like Isagi. This time when their lips meet, there's an immediate power in the kiss that sends a shiver down both their spines. They shudder into eachother's arms, not divided by any sort of apprehension or drunkenness this time.
Rin can smell that smell on Isagi again, the one that reminds him of comfort and autumn. He thinks maybe later he'd like to ask Isagi what it is, but he doesnt right now.
Truthfully, even if Isagi's lukewarm at kissing, Rin is too. He's actually mostly a pathetic loser when it comes to this sort of thing, but there's something about Isagi that makes him want to feel like he's better at it than he really is. As he kisses he tries to recall what Isagi had done that he'd liked the night before. He uses that, emulates it, and makes it even better. He teases with his lips, feels Isagi pushing back against him to meet with him. There's a push and pull, and fight between them that's a swell of balance and superiority.
Isagi moans softly, and he hates that because it's like a knife being held at his throat, forcing him into submission.
Suddenly, Isagi shoves them apart. There's a small distance between their faces, and a huge smile cracked on Isagi's lips.
"Was that better?" Isagi asks, a bit saucily.
"A little. You need to brush your teeth, though," Rin replies, grinding his molars to mask his nerves.
"Right. Sorry. My breath is probably pretty bad... But it was better, though?"
"It wasn't lukewarm." Rin gets back up off the couch and makes for the kitchen to finish his coffee.
"Ah...! Well... Maybe we should practice again later!" Isagi calls back to him.
"Maybe..." Rin mutters, placing his empty cup into the dishwasher.
"You go to the gym a lot," Isagi continues with his pestering.
"You never go to the gym at all," Rin claps back "Exercise is an important part of any healthy routine."
"Right..."
"Someone as tepid as you wouldn't get it."
Isagi falls silent as Rin slides his shoes on and bends down to tie them.
"Well... Wait!"
Rin's sort of dreading this next bit, but... Not really as much as he normally would have in the past.
"Can I come with you?"
He grabs his waterbottle and protein bar off the counter before shooting Isagi a look.
He'd had other roommates before, all equally as annoying. All tepid small fry. Most weren't worth his time, and none were ever as insistent as Isagi is.
"Hurry up or I'm leaving without you," Rin says, and Isagi's face lights up right away. The light in Isagi's eyes and the smile plastered all over his idiotic face makes Rin feel a bit out of sorts.
Or maybe it was just the kissing that was still affecting him the smallest bit.
As Isagi hurriedly gets himself ready for the gym and brushes his teeth, Rin stands at the doorway with his hand on his mouth trying to forget about how Isagi had made him feel.
Different. A little more excited. A little warmer than usual.
Maybe this was something he could get used to.