Chapter Text
Rin sat against his headboard with his knees drawn up to his chest. He was biting his fingernails as he stared holes into his phone, waiting for a text back.
“Uhh Rin, yer gonna break yer phone if ya keep clenchin’ it like that..” Karasu piped up from beside him. They were both sitting on Rin’s bed.
In his room.
In his house.
It was supposed to be a peaceful weekend. A short break from bluelock coinciding with both of their parents being away for work trips meant that Rin could finally spend some quality time with his boyfriend without prying eyes around. Karasu wasn’t one to really care about what other people think, but Rin didn’t really want to go and shove his new relationship in everyone’s face. That would just make people want to talk to him more, and Rin already thinks about mauling someone every other day.
Maybe Rin should just maul himself so he doesn’t have to worry about any of this anymore.
“I know what yer thinkin’ ya little destroyer, and ya promised me ya would stop tryin’ ta maul yerself into an eternal sleep.” Karasu was basically whispering in Rin’s ear, resting his head on his shoulder so he could watch and wait for a text with Rin.
Honestly, Rin’s too hung up on Karasu leaning on his shoulder to remember why he wanted to maul himself.
Slowly but surely, Karasu proceeded to invade every crevice of Rin’s personal space. Back at bluelock he had had some more tact, and was considerably more discreet. Here though? In the privacy of Rin’s room? Karasu’s hands continue to wander until they are snugly bound around Rin’s waist- wait, when did Karasu manage to do that?
“Geez, ya really do get lost in that pretty head of yer’s easily, huh?”
Ah, Karasu always sees through him so easily. Always points it out, too. What a noisy crow.
“Ah, ya got a text!” Karasu leaned in impossibly closer, cheek pressed against the side of Rin’s neck. Rin really hates it when he does that – get close as if Rin’s someone worth getting close to. Rin’s no idiot, he sees how some of the other boys look at Karasu, sees the hope in their eyes when Karasu graces them with his presence. He’s also seen more thirst traps of Karasu online than he could count. Not that he’s counting, obviously, because it’s not like Rin bothers to actually watch any of them. Duh.
“Uhhhh Rin? Ya still with me? I said ya finally got a text and I’m gettin’ like, no reaction at all,” Karasu probed. God, he really doesn’t stop cawing.
Maybe Rin likes it though, the noise, that is. It makes his head quiet down enough for him to actually think which, in retrospect, is probably not a good indicator of his mental health but, well, whatever.
“Mm, yea. Let’s- let’s see what it says..” Rin’s voice trails off. As soon as Karasu shuts his mouth, the voice in Rin’s head just gets louder. As if that’s not bad enough, now he has to actually see what Sae said.
Just as he reaches up with a trembling finger to click on Sae’s message, Karasu presses a kiss to his cheek. It’s soft and quick, so light it takes Rin a second to discern whether or not it was even real. He immediately turns, or turns the best he can considering the iron grip Karasu has on his waist, to look the other boy in the eyes.
“What…was that for?”
“Hm?”
“The- why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
Okay, now Karasu was just messing with him. As if Rin wasn’t already irritated enough, now he looks like an idiot. Did he really imagine the kiss after all?
“MWAH!”
Rin’s eyes nearly shoot out of his sockets the moment Karasu’s lips make contact with his. How- when did?
“Yer gonna gimme a heart attack if ya keep spacin’ out like that, ya hear me? Honestly, ya oughta listen to yer elders more..” Karasu huffed out, a breathy laugh accompanying his comment. As carefree as he acts, Rin’s learned to notice the tell-tale signs of stress on his boyfriend’s face.
Exhibit 1: random displays of affection
Exhibit 2: awkward laughter
“Why are you so stressed? It’s not like we’re texting YOUR sister anyways..” Rin responds with a pout on his face. His lips are pursed like a little kid who got told off, and his arms are folded across his chest. Seriously, if the other boys at bluelock saw how childish Rin really was, they’d have a fucking field day teasing him (specifically Shidou).
“Mmh, ya got a point there. How ‘bout we open up yer brother’s text and then I promise not ta be stressed out,” Karasu replied, clearly too happy with Rin pouting in his arms.
Men are so fucking easy to please.
“Whatever, just shut up you noisy crow. I’ll seriously kick you out if you try anything again.”
“Try what?”
“You fucking know what.”
“Oh, ya mean the kiss? What’s wrong with a lil’ kiss?”
“Shut up.”
Karasu gave a hum in response, meaning that even though Rin had the last word, he definitely did not win the “argument”. Ugh, Karasu can be so annoying sometimes.
Maybe I should kill the Crow first and then throw myself into traffic. I could pluck out his feathers and stuff them in my pockets so when my body goes flying down the street, the feathers get scattered all over.
That would be pretty, wouldn’t it?
While Rin stays lost in his head (as per usual), Karasu decides to take initiative and unwinds one arm from Rin’s waist so he could tap on Sae’s message on his own.
“Ah, Sae doesn’t seem too happy ta hear that ya got a friend over. Bummer.”
That gets Rin out of his head fast enough for him to read Sae’s text and smack Karasu upside the head all at once.
“Why would you read it without me?!”
“Uhh, cuz you were busy doin’ whatever it is ya do in yer pretty little head. Although from what I’ve gathered, there’s nothing real pretty about yer thoughts..”
“I’ll have you know I was thinking about something beautiful, thank you very much.”
“Was it another planned out murder-suicide fer the both of us?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh-huh…soooooo beautiful.”
Rin smacked Karasu for his sarcasm again before refocusing on the issue at hand. Rin had invited Karasu to stay with him over the break since their parents weren’t home, but no one bothered to tell him that Sae just so happened to also be on break from Re Al. Rin knew that Sae wouldn’t be too happy to find out Rin was also at their family home, let alone Rin’s…friend…
“Well, what the hell do I say now?”
“Uhh, do ya think he’ll recognize me from bluelock? If not, tell him ya picked me up off the streets-”
“W-what!? No! I’m not fucking saying that.”
“Why, ‘cause it’s unrealistic? The oh-so-cold Itoshi Rin would NEVER take a poor boy off the streets?”
“No, that’s not what I meant- well no you’re right that I wouldn’t do that but that’s only because I wouldn’t talk to a random kid, homeless or not.”
“Ouch- that’s pretty cold, even fer you..”
“Quiet, Crow. And plus, Sae would definitely recognize you- he might be dumb outside of soccer but he never forgets a face.”
“Ahhh shit. So we’re screwed, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, might as well enjoy myself before I die!”
“Hey, if anyone’s gonna kill you it’s gonna be me.”
“As flattered as that makes me, somethin’ tells me Sae ain’t gonna be as nice about it as you are.”
“Ugh, what would you know about Sae anyway-” just as Rin was about to finish chewing Karasu out, they both hear the front door open from downstairs.
Fuuuuuck I’m screwed.
“Rin, are you home!” Sae shouts, managing to keep his voice monotone despite probably being irritated. Although, Sae’s assuming that Rin’s friend is, at the very least, a quiet kid that won’t disturb his peace this break. Much to Sae’s future dismay though, Karasu Tabito is anything but quiet.
“Yeah! I’ll uhh, I’ll be down in a minute!”
Rin’s already close to falling apart just from Sae walking into their home. God, he’s a fucking mess. Honestly it’s a miracle he manages to operate on a daily basis at all. When did everything get so difficult? Him and Sae used to be so easy, it was such a simple relationship.
Now? Rin questions everything he does, analyzes his own life through Sae’s lens and mulls over what he wants to say to his brother for at least a couple of minutes before he manages to get out half of what he originally intended to say.
“Er, ya reckon I should come down with ya? It might just be best ta get it over with rather than lettin’ Sae get jumpscared later on.”
Ah, what would Rin do without Karasu? For all his jokes and snarky comments, Karasu is undoubtedly level-headed, and he’s an expert at navigating social interactions.
It kind of makes Rin want to tear him apart; find out exactly what makes him tick, and see how he bleeds out once it's gone.
“Rin, ya seriously gotta snap out of it. I think I hear Sae coming up yer stairs-”
Rin had about two seconds to take in everything Karasu told him before he heard two knocks on his door. Rin doesn’t know what’s worse, the fact that Sae managed to get up to Rin’s room so fast or the fact that Rin knows damn well Sae just knocks as a courtesy but always opens the door regardless of what the person on the other side says. It is also for this exact reason that Rin slams Karasu against the headboard of his bed in order to wrench himself out of his grip as fast as possible before his brother sees him entangled in the other boy’s arms.
“Rin? I thought you said you were going to come dow- oh. Hello Karasu. What are you doing here? Rin, I didn’t know the two of you were friends?”
How Sae manages to keep a straight face while dismantling Rin’s very life over and over again, Rin will never understand. Luckily for him, he happens to have a very smart and chatty crow on his side.
“Ah, nice ta meet ya Itoshi- or should I call you Sae?”
“...Sae is fine.”
“Well then, Sae, me and Rin over here were just about ta head down to the living room ta watch a movie. Care ta join us?”
Rin was not aware of any such plan. The color drained from his face as he heard Karasu speak to his brother. Did he not listen to all the warnings Rin gave him? There was no way in hell Sae wanted to be within a 200 foot radius of Rin, let alone sit in the same room as him and watch a movie!
“Okay, so long as it’s not some lukewarm horror movie. Rin made me watch too many of them as a kid and now I can’t stand them at all.”
“Hahaha, sounds good ta me. I can’t exactly stomach too much gore ma’ self.”
“...Your accent…are you from Osaka?”
“Ya got some sharp ears there huh, Mr. Prodigal Son of Japan,” Karasu laughed easily as he responded. His eyes crinkled and the mole on his face shifted as his face made room for his smile.
If Rin wasn’t so preoccupied drooling over the boy next to him, maybe he’d realize that Sae was watching him.
“Hmm. Anyways, Rin you’ve got some-”
“Ahhh jeez Rin, yer droolin’ again!”
Karasu quickly pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket, one of the random things Rin found extremely attractive about him, and proceeded to quickly swipe away the drool spilling out the corner of Rin’s mouth. The motion managed to get Rin out of his stupor, evident by the violent bloom of red across his face.
“S-STOP IT! I WASN’T FUCKING DROOLING!” Rin practically yelled right into Karasu’s face. Unfazed due to the amount of time he spent with Rin on PxG, Karasu barely flinched and moved to grab Rin’s face so he could wipe it down better.
“Oh, shuddup ya big baby, nobody even cares. Just lemme wipe it off of ya so we can go downstairs fer fuck’s sake.”
—------------------------------------
Sae watched the entire interaction with growing interest. At first, he was caught off guard by the awkward look on both boys’ faces when he first walked in. If he didn’t know any better he would’ve thought they were doing…well Sae really doesn't care to elaborate. But one thing Sae knows for sure is the fact that Rin is quite the awkward boy. There’s no way he could be at that stage if he still flushes red at kiss scenes during movies.
Once easing into conversation with Karasu, Rin’s… ”friend,” Sae noticed Rin drooling, but apparently not as fast as the other boy, since Karasu managed to wipe it away before Sae could even finish pointing it out.
When did Rin start to make such close friends? Sae hadn’t a clue, but that realization only sparked a thought that made him realize that there might be a lot of things he doesn’t know about Rin. Maybe he should ask him about this whole thing later.
What was even more intriguing about the whole interaction, though, was the fact that Rin wasn’t really pushing Karasu away. Aside from yelling, probably out of embarrassment, Rin sat still and let Karasu clean up his face. Sae also didn’t miss how Karasu’s other hand ended up resting on Rin’s thigh- something that Rin made no move to comment on. Was this closeness normal for Rin and his “friend”?
“Ahem,” Sae cleared his throat loudly enough to capture the attention of the other two boys. Sue him for being petty, but he didn’t like feeling like an outsider in his own home. If anything, he found it rude that his brother was able to fall into such a comfortable orbit with someone else when Sae was standing right there. Rin hadn’t even said a word to him since he came into the room.
“Ah- sorry, let’s just go down and watch the movie. You can pick if you want, Sae..”
Rin seemed so small when he talked to his older brother. Karasu made sure to file that under the “things to talk to Rin about” folder in his brain. God, if he was going to be facilitating all of the communication this trip then he should at least be compensated. Maybe he’ll be able to sneak another kiss while Sae’s busy paying attention to the movie.
“Hm, alright. Be down in 2 minutes or else I'm starting without you two. Oh, and Rin,” Sae started, now fully facing his brother.
“Yeah?”
“Make some popcorn. I like the way you make it more.”
“That’s just because you always burn it,” Rin muttered petulantly under his breath. Karasu couldn’t help the snort that left his mouth, and when he looked up at the older Itoshi’s face, all he saw was an unimpressed scowl and a raised brow.
“What was that, Rin?”
“Nothing.”
“Mhm. Hurry up and come down.” With that, Sae quickly left the room, though he notedly left the bedroom door open. Karasu chose not to read into that choice too much, and instead decided to hop off the bed and stretch his legs.
“Ugh, I don’t wanna watch the stupid movie nii-chan’s gonna choose. He always picks boring ones,” Rin huffed to himself as he crawled over to the side of the bed to get off it. He failed to notice that he had reverted back to calling Sae “nii-chan,” though this change didn’t make it past Karasu.
“Well then, we should hurry downstairs and politely make suggestions to nii-chan before he settles on something boring,” Karasu quipped back as he reached out to help pull Rin to his feet.
It took a solid few seconds for Rin to realize his earlier mistake before a series of death threats dropped unceremoniously from his mouth. Ever unfazed, Karasu simply chuckled in response before letting go of Rin’s hands and turning to head towards the door. Before he was able to cross into the hallway, he felt something tugging at the back of his shirt before being yanked back into the room.
“W-what the hell-”
Oh. Rin was kissing him. On the mouth. On his own.
Woah.
Rin pulled away after a couple seconds, cheeks flushed and eyes big and shiny from sheer adoration and embarrassment intertwined into one unnamable emotion.
“What was that for?” Karasu said through labored breaths, quickly recovering from the impromptu kiss.
“Just- I don’t, I don’t know! Why do I need a fucking reason to kiss you? I can do whatever the hell I want!” Rin whisper-yelled into Karasu’ neck. Rin had shoved his face there as soon as he pulled away from the kiss, too embarrassed to look his boyfriend in the eyes.
“Mhm, whatever ya say Mr. Number 1,” Karasu chided, hand coming up to settle on the small of Rin’s back. It was in moments like this that Karasu felt the most reassured about their relationship. Outsiders might believe it’s one-sided, that Karasu is the only one who initiates or makes an effort. What they don’t know, however, is that times like this exist, and they are living proof of Rin’s love for Karasu. So long as he can hold onto these fleeting moments, Karasu couldn’t give a rat’s ass as to what other people do or do not say about his and Rin’s relationship.
“Oi, I thought I told you guys to hurry- …..up.”
Ahhh shit. We’re so fucked.