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Rin is a reserved person. He's rude, antisocial, demanding and avoidant. He doesn't like people. He snaps at anyone who tries to talk to him or, God forbid, touch him. He doesn't enjoy the company of his family or his teammates or actually just anyone.
Hiori somehow wound up being the exception.
Their odd relationship is new, early in its stages. Neither boy is sure what to call it. They're more than friends but not quite lovers (at least yet). They're simply two people capable of being themselves unapologetically and comfortably around the other.
After noticing, Bachira and Shidou took to making a multitude of various suggestive comments and jokes about the two, constantly hinting at their ‘blossoming romance’. Rin has been wanting to hit them both in the face. Hiori has been holding him back.
Even Sae has realised something's up, noticing the blue haired boy Rin occasionally brings home as if it weren't insanely unusual for him.
But despite the unwanted attention they've been getting, Rin and Hiori still don't bother necessarily hiding what they have. It's just that they don't flaunt and scream about it either.
They're in Rin's room, the only ones in the house, just lying on the bed with a random horror movie analysis video in the background.
“Thanks for lettin’ me come over,” Hiori says for what must be the fifth time that night. Rin doesn't bother scoffing anymore, instead just humming softly in response. “My parents definitely ain't gonna be very happy, but I don't think I mind when it comes to ya.”
Rin splutters and turns to look at the boy lying down next to him with wide eyes. Hiori keeps playing the game on his phone, casual as ever. “W-what?”
“I just mean that I don't mind gettin’ in trouble if it's ‘cause a spendin’ time with ya,” Hiori explains, eyes still locked to his screen as if Rin's brain isn't short circuiting right next to him.
“Oh–” Rin sounds so stupid. He knows he does, and he also knows that there's nothing he can do because Hiori just gets to him like that, bringing out reactions and emotions he didn't even previously know he was capable of.
Hiori makes an annoyed ‘tch’ sound when his phone freezes in a ‘you died’ screen, and he just closes the app and puts his phone down. Unfortunately for Rin, that means Hiori is free to spend all his attention on him, blue eyes staring right into his soul (and heart).
“It's a shame people don’ realise how nice ya really are,” Hiori mutters, almost like it was supposed to be a silent inner thought. Rin can't help the slight red spreading onto his cheeks. “Though I guess that'd mean more competition for me. In that case it's a good thing.”
Rin takes a deep breath, totally calm, and closes his eyes. He wasn't built for this. At all.
Hiori laughs at him because he's mean like that, and when Rin calls him out for it, Hiori gets even meaner: “Sorry, sorry! It's just that yer really cute.”
“... Are you trying to murder me?” Rin asks, entirely serious, because he currently feels like he might have a heart attack any second now. Maybe an aneurysm. Probably a stroke and a seizure, too.
Hiori laughs again, and Rin's heart flutters at the sound. “Hmm, maybe. I mean, I'd love to eat your heart. I'm kind of a freak like that.”
Rin knows. God damnit, he knows. It's difficult not to know when Hiori makes jokes (?) like that practically all of the time, saying he's calling dibs on organs or that he'd like to burrow inside Rin's ribcage and bury himself there.
Rin wishes he could say it freaked him out.
“Maybe after I've managed to steal and spend all of Sae's money on stupid ‘worst brother ever’ merch,” he replies, and Hiori huffs in amusement because he knows why Rin said it. He knows what happened between Rin and his brother. He knows much more than any other uninvolved person does.
“Hm. Would ya let me drink yer blood if I was a vampire?” he suddenly asks, and the tone of their conversation shifts just a tiny bit. It's still lighthearted and humorous, but there's a new darker tint to it.
Rin blinks, trying his best to ignore the warm feeling taking all over him. “Wouldn't that turn me into a vampire as well?”
“Hmm, not necessarily. Turnin’ people into vampires through bites only happens in some interpretations – just like vampires bein’ able to turn into bats. I prefer thinkin’ of vampires as more-so cannibalistic uncanny valley humans.”
“Uh huh. Well, maybe, if you were gentle.”
Hiori's mouth stretches into a grin. “Of course I'd be gentle. Ya prefer being bit in the neck or yer wrist?”
Rin hums in genuine thought. He likes indulging in Hiori's weird hypotheticals. And it's definitely not because he likes seeing him smile. “Maybe neck? My wrists are…” a bit too covered in something else.
“With an aphrodisiac or without?”
Rin chokes, snapping his head in Hiori's direction. “Wh- what?”
The boy just smiles at him innocently. “Some people think vampires have an aphrodisiac in their venom and pump it into the bite to make the receiver more relaxed and compliant. Others prefer the more brutal pain.”
Rin blinks in startlement. “I… I don't know? I don't… mind pain – I'm not a crybaby about it – but I guess pleasure is still nicer?” He does know he could've just not answered. He also knows that would only apply if this was anyone other than Hiori Yo.
Hiori looks genuinely interested. “Gotcha, I'll remember that,” he says as if he just unlocked some extremely important and useful information about Rin. Maybe he did. Rin's not entirely sure how his brain works.
“What… What about you?” he asks hesitantly. Hiori smiles at him like he wanted Rin to ask exactly that.
“I'm a sadist, not a masochist, so I'd like to avoid unnecessary pain for myself. Hmm, I guess wrists for me? Seems like it'd hurt less.”
Rin grimaces. “Honestly, I think the inner forearm would be best. Wrists have the Palmaris longus tendon, so it could be a bit tougher than higher up in the arm.”
It's Hiori's turn to blink at him in a moment of silence. “Huh. I guess that's true.” His expression turns into another smirk, and Rin already knows he's fucked. “Wanna test it out?”
Lord save him. He really needs it. Not because Hiori is a freak who wants to bite Rin and suck his blood out, but because Rin is too weak to decline and he's also too obvious with the way a flush spreads on his face. Hiori notices immediately and leans in.
“C'mon! Pull yer sleeves up – I wanna try!”
Woah, where has Rin heard those four words before, he wonders, and the realisation of what's happening makes him freeze.
He'd honestly love to indulge in yet another one of Hiori's freak tendencies, to let him nibble on Rin's skin, but he knows exactly what's hiding under the fabric covering his arms.
Rin swallows. Hiori is looking at him with bright eyes and a small smile, and Rin is weak, but he's also fully aware that the state of his limbs isn't something they could just ignore. He hesitates, and Hiori's expression has shifted, and he's clearly about to apologise for his half-serious question, but Rin beats him to it.
“Turn the lights off.”
“Hm?”
Rin swallows down his nerves. As long as he doesn't see them… “You can, just– turn the lights off first. Please.”
Hiori looks at him with an expression he can't read, then moves to do exactly what Rin asked. The room turns pitch black, and Rin can tell by the sound that Hiori stumbles ever so slightly on his way back to the bed, then accidentally ends up lying down half on top of Rin.
“Ack– sorry,” he giggles and rolls over to his own side. “C'mon, roll ‘em up,” he teases, but Rin's face stays neutral.
Hiori can probably guess why Rin asked to have the lights off. There's not a whole lot of reasons why someone would actively keep their arms hidden, and it's not like Hiori isn't aware of some of Rin's mental issues just like Rin is aware of some of Hiori's. This is a secret Rin has never told anyone willingly, Sae being the only non-professional that knows, but still he obeys and pulls his sleeves up as far as they go.
He can feel Hiori grab a gentle hold of both of his hands, loose enough that Rin can pull away if he feels the need to. The earlier humorous vibe is gone, replaced by something much more fragile and intimate.
Rin nearly fucking whines when he feels soft lips press against his left wrist, the feeling unlike he's ever felt before. It's not groundbreaking – or at least it shouldn't be – but after hiding this part of his body for years, contact with it feels much more special than it probably should.
They're just scars, a lot of them already faded, but Rin's certain Hiori can feel them as he keeps kissing them and rubbing Rin's pulse points with his thumbs. He's not sure where kissing self-harm scars lies on the platonic-to-romantic scale, but frankly he doesn't care right now either. All he can focus on is how soft and careful Hiori is, spending more time in the areas Rin remembers having more and bigger scars.
“Y'know…” Hiori suddenly speaks up, but his voice is quiet and gentle enough to not cause a disruption in the scene. “I think yer really beautiful, Rin.”
Rin is pretty sure that the heart attack mentioned earlier is getting him now. Hiori knows no mercy; he keeps going.
“Yer eyes are so strikin’.” Kiss. “They just catch anyone's attention.” Kiss. “And yer so nicely built, too.” Kiss. “Yer voice is so nice to listen to, even when yer yellin’.” Kiss. “And I also think…”
Still unable to see in the dark, Rin feels Hiori move until he can feel his breath against his mouth. His heart is pounding, and his closed eyes twitch.
“... that yer lips are gorgeous.”
Rin swallows, then feels a soft pressure against his lips. Hiori pulls away after only a couple of seconds, but Rin's heart craves more, more, more.
“... That okay?” Hiori's voice comes out more hesitant than Rin is used to, soft and uncertain. He refuses to leave the answer to that question unclear.
“Yes,” Rin breathes out, sucks in a breath and immediately feels those same lips on his again. This time Hiori doesn't pull away as fast, keeping his mouth pressed against Rin's with more confidence.
Hiori presses further, sliding a hand down to stroke the disfigured skin on Rin's arm, the other hand staying on the mattress beside Rin's head to hold Hiori up. Rin slowly relaxes, too, allowing himself to lift a hand above him to wrap around the back of Hiori's neck. His other hand travels to stroke Hiori's shoulder, and his leg curls just slightly, lifting his knee.
Hiori keeps kissing him, and Rin kisses back, and it feels so good. It's not heated or hasty. There's no desperate hands travelling under clothes or sounds let out other than them breathing and the occasional whimper or whine mixed into a relaxed sigh. There's nothing intense about it, but it feels so perfect that it might just drive Rin crazy.
Right now, he doesn't want intense. He doesn't want heated, and he doesn't want desperate. He just enjoys lying there, slowly melting into Hiori as Hiori melts into him, conjoining their souls.
Eventually though, after God knows how long, Hiori pulls away one last time and drops onto his side next to Rin. “I really like ya, Rin,” he whispers into the dark, and Rin flutters his eyes open despite knowing he won't be able to make out the other boy's form.
“... I really like you, too.”