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Spain is fine, Rin decides.
Specifically, Barcelona is nice enough. There's interesting architecture and lots of art to look at. And though he’s not much of a shopper, he has liked wandering the streets and looking at things he knows he doesn't need to buy but does anyway. He supposes that Sae has picked a nice enough place for his wedding. The ceremony isn’t for a few days still, and thankfully he hasn’t had to help with much.
He won’t admit it, but it’s been nice to play tourist.
That’s how he’s ended up at the beach, slathered in sunscreen so his pale skin doesn’t burn.
June is a little warm. Slightly warmer than the weather he and Sae grew up with in Kamakura, but walking along the sandy beach feels familiar enough. The air smells like salt and brine, and the sound of waves breaking along the shore is almost comforting. It’s all familiar to Rin, makes him think about being a kid sitting on a dock with a popsicle in hand. The only thing that’s different, really, is that it’s not his brother walking next to him with his reddish hair, squinting into the sunlight. Instead, next to him walks Yoichi and his pinky is hooked around Rin’s to tether them together.
“I want to go walk in the water,” Yoichi says, gently tugging Rin behind him, shoes dangling from his free hand.
“Sure,” he replies and follows after him.
They walk in just far enough for the water to reach their ankles and Yoichi fully takes Rin’s hand in his as they stroll. He has other memories of the beach now, more recent; like bringing Yoichi home to meet his family and a late night walk on the shore to escape said family. The sand was cold between their toes that late fall night but Yoichi’s warmth against his side had been worth it.
Yoichi leans into him now as he squeezes his hand.
The box he's been carrying for months in his pocket suddenly feels incredibly heavy. He slips his free hand into his pocket and clutches the box, debates for a moment…
It’s still not the right time. At least it's not what he planned.
He knows he wants to marry Yoichi, a fact that still shocks even him and, probably, the three other people that he's told his intentions to. Sae had blinked at him over the video call like he'd grown a second head; he knew his micro-expressions well enough to read him. Rin had hung up the call not long after and tried to hide his flushed face by the time Yoichi got home.
Really, he should have stuck to his idea to do it at dinner on their first night in Spain, should have made the opportunity as he'd done countless times on the pitch. He should have taken him to that fancy restaurant they talked about going to. It's a long train of shoulds.
Instead, they entered their hotel room, jet lagged and irritable, and Yoichi had stripped down to nothing but his sweats and flopped into bed. Rin made a fatal error and elected to crawl in next to him. The next thing either of them knew, they'd slept through their reservation. Instead of going out, they'd ordered room service and turned on some dumb movie he hardly remembers. Rin supposes he could have done it then, warm and tangled up in each other in bed, but… that wasn't the plan. Not that he had a great plan to begin with.
He knows it doesn't need to be something over the top. Yoichi wouldn't like that anyway and it's not exactly Rin's style. It shouldn't be this difficult but for some reason it is and Rin hates it.
Rin leans in and presses a kiss to the side Yoichi's head and lingers; he smells like summer, like the ocean, like sunshine. And as Rin pulls away, Yoichi smiles at him before turning to pull him into a real kiss. It'll happen for sure next time.
The next opportunity arises that night at dinner. This time they do end up at the fancy restaurant, though they'd almost been late for their reservation thanks to Yoichi coaxing him into showering together. And then Rin hadn't been able to keep his hands to himself as they tried to get dressed. It's actually almost a miracle they made it out of the hotel room.
Yoichi looks nice sitting across from him though, especially with the bruises peeking out from under his collar marking him as Rin's.
Even though the city sprawls beneath them, lights glowing like stars, he can't take his eyes off the man across the table. Rin likes when he wears darker colors and the deep blue of his button down shirt flatters him. His raven hair is swept back and out of his face; the itch to run his fingers through it is strong. The setting sun halos him in dusty orange light as it lowers behind him, sinking below the horizon. Yoichi's hand is resting at the base of a wine glass and though he isn't looking directly at him, Rin can tell Yoichi's attention is on him. It's a unique sensation; its weighty and oddly warming. Somehow it makes him feel like they are the only two people in this entire restaurant.
It feels like a scene out of a ridiculous romance movie and he has to fight back a wave of nausea thinking about it.
"You've been unusually quiet today," Yoichi broaches, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.
Rin takes a sip of his wine to stall and glances out the window, looking at the ocean below them. "Just thinking," he finally answers.
"About the wedding?"
A wedding at the very least, though it should probably be the one happening in three days and not one that's purely hypothetical at this point. He realizes that Yoichi could say no. He doubts he would but Rin considers every possibility, including the messy ones. He wonders briefly if that is what is holding him back— trepidation.
"Yeah." It's a safe enough answer considering Yoichi hums softly at him, presumably assuming that Rin faces a random bout of sentimentality.
"Hey Rin?" There's something softer about his tone and it makes him really look at Yoichi across the table. Blue eyes are focused on him now instead of looking out the window at the vista views, chin propped on a hand. "Have you ever thought about getting married?"
Well that's an open door if he's ever seen one. The weight of the box in his pocket grows again though he doesn't reach for it, electing instead to grip the stem of his wine glass a little more firmly as he considers how to respond.
"Have you?" He counters and Yoichi smiles at him. It's wolfish, a little sly, and Rin feels like he may have stepped into a trap. Again.
"Yeah, I have."
"To me?" And Rin hates that slightly childish, wishful tone that creeps into his own voice.
But Yoichi's smile changes to something knowing just as their food is brought to the table and he lets Rin's question go unanswered.
There's another chance two nights later at the rehearsal dinner and though Rin's mood is soured by his future brother in law (fucking Shidou— he'll never understand what Sae sees in him), he's soothed by Yoichi's hand on his under the table. His thumb runs along Rin's knuckles and its enough to keep from throwing a glass at the insect's head.
Though he does have to excuse himself for some air in the garden.
The air is pleasantly warm, a slight breeze ruffling his hair as he steps outside. The noise inside follows him out but its softer the more he moves away from the door, becomes more of a dull drone. He hates crowds, hates being in them anyway, and even though he isn't the focus of this one he's still Sae's baby brother and that brings its own unwanted attention.
He feels Yoichi's arms wrap around him from behind a few minutes later and the giant knot between his shoulder blades eases.
"Think of it this way," Yoichi begins, "you'll only have to see him on holidays."
"… That's worse."
He feels Yoichi shift and looks down slightly as he wedges himself between Rin and the concrete railing. There's a fountain somewhere near them; the sound of the water is almost tranquil but its not nearly as placating as Yoichi taking Rin's face in his hands and kissing him softly. It's another scene out of a romance movie, he realizes, and its so cliche he hates it, makes his skin itch as he realizes it. The garden is illuminated by soft fairy lights and the scent of roses is nearly overpowering. But Yoichi is pretty in the soft light, eyes searching Rin's for something. This would be a perfect moment; there's no one around except them. Except it doesn't fit, it's not who they are, not who Rin is.
Sae should have warned him about how difficult it was to propose.
"Rin," Yoichi's hands trail their way down to his shoulders, "is there something else on your mind?"
The next chance. It will for sure be the right time.
He leans in and presses a soft kiss to Yoichi's forehead and it earns him a confused look as he pulls back. He knows he'll get questions about it later, but for now it shuts Yoichi up and buys Rin a little more time with the ring in his pocket.
The way it happens is stupid, laughable even.
It's a day later, if that, and alcohol is still buzzing in his system in a way that's nearly unpleasant because he's tired. Rin isn't a big drinker, but with so much buzzing around in his head, he let himself mistakenly indulge. Somehow they managed to make it back to their hotel from the wedding, stumbling through the streets of Barcelona and hanging off of each other like life lines. The sound of Yoichi's laughter sounded like bells and wind chimes and Rin had to pause every single time he heard it to really appreciate the sound of it.
Once they made it into their room, things get more blurry. He only vaguely remembers Yoichi's hands under his jacket to help him shrug it off, then slowly moving down his chest to unbutton his shirt. It's nearly a blackout after that besides his head hitting the pillow and the weight of an arm wrapping around his middle. Annoyingly, Rin wakes to a dark room and a still warm but empty bed in the early morning hours after the reception. The sun isn't even up yet so there's no reason he should be alone in bed. But his fingers brush the space where Yoichi is supposed to be and he frowns because he's not there, but there's a soft breeze blowing. Without turning his head, he knows he'll find him sitting out on the balcony.
He sighs and makes himself get out of bed, stumbling his way to the partially open door, and tries to ignore the cotton feel of his tongue.
Yoichi really doesn't look much better than he feels; his hair is messy, bits stuck out in weird angles, and he's pretty sure there's still some traces of mascara under his eyes. At some point, he'd put on one of Rin's t-shirts. It looks a little baggy on him, but it does things for Rin even in his half buzzed, half exhausted state. But there's a serene look on Yoichi's face as he looks up at his left hand, none the wiser that Rin lurks right behind him. But then Rin sees what's on his hand and the world snaps into sharp clarity. There's a silver band on his left ring finger, inlaid with small diamonds, and he'd know that ring anywhere since he'd been carrying the stupid thing around for months.
"You found it?" He rasps, positive he had hidden it in his suitcase before crawling into bed— No he hadn't. It had been in his pants pocket. Which Yoichi had made him drop on the floor in their stumbling to get into bed to sleep. At the sound of his voice, Yoichi startles, hand drawing to his chest like he's hiding it, but the damning black box is open on the table next to him. For a beat they just stare at each other before Yoichi offers a sheepish laugh as he takes the ring from his finger and slots it back into the box.
"I've been waiting for you to ask me for weeks," he starts quietly, "I thought you were going to at the restaurant."
Rin says nothing but steps out onto the balcony and reaches for the box in Yoichi's hand. Blue eyes look up at him and they express more in one glance than Rin could even hope to achieve. Then it hits him, the wording. Weeks. He'd said that he'd been waiting for weeks. Maybe (definitely) its the lingering alcohol making that difficult to process.
"You knew."
Yoichi is oddly quiet before humming softly, thoughtfully, "You haven't exactly been subtle."
Rin finds himself kneeling between Yoichi's legs, looking up at him. He stares down at him, blue eyes wide and Rin can actually see the faint smudging of the mascara on his skin. They realize what is happening at the same time and as Rin starts to speak, Yoichi's voice also breaks the silence; its tinged with a thread of disbelief.
"There is no way you are about to ask me—"
"Marry me."
His brows lift slightly in surprise and his lips quirk in a small but amused smile, "Are you asking me or telling me?"
"Both," Rin decides, "you already had the ring on anyway."
There a brief moment where Rin honestly can't read him and it causes his heart to pound in his chest. It proves to once again be a challenge to silence the little nagging voice in his head reminding him that he could say no and the longer he kneels, the louder it gets. Then, finally, Yoichi leans down and kisses him, hands clasped at Rin's jaw.
"Yes," Yoichi's voice comes out softly, "I'll marry you."
It's got to be somewhere around two A.M, they look like shit, and Rin is on his knees in nothing but a tank top and his boxer briefs. It's a little embarrassing. It's not even romantic, really, but it feels like a weight drops from his shoulders. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he removes the ring from the box once again and slides it on to Yoichi's finger. The diamonds glisten in the dim light but Yoichi's smile outshines them. Rin feels possessiveness flare in his chest. He stands and tugs Yoichi up after him, pulls him as close as he can with only a quiet grunt of complaint in return. With Barcelona's nightlife still in full swing, lights glowing below and the faint hollering of people on the street, Yoichi kisses him again; Rin decides that maybe this was an okay scenario after all.
Eventually they make their way back to bed and Rin somehow becomes Yoichi's personal body pillow (he doesn't mind as much as he did when they first got together).
"You're so clingy," he gripes anyway, fingertips tracing along Yoichi's spine.
He receives a derisive laugh in return just as Yoichi's lips press to the pulse in his neck, "Yet you still want me to marry you."
Unfortunately, he does and as he holds Yoichi a little tighter, Rin thinks that, maybe, it isn't so unfortunate at all.