Chapter Text
Rin has a pretty simple life.
In fact, he didn’t feel happy or unhappy. He had experienced sad moments, like everyone else, but nothing traumatic to mark him for life. Well, maybe some events, but nothing awfull for peoples eyes. Anyway, compared to the others, he didn’t seem to have such a horrible life. He has an easy situation, he was in a famous college and could practice his favorite sport in a big team in Japan. So in any case, nothing horrible had happened to him.
This is what he tried to persuade himself of as he heard his parent's cries again in the living room.
A sigh passed the barrier of his lips as his headphones still returned his music loud, but obviously not loud enough to hide his mother’s screams. What he wouldn’t have given to have his own apartment at that very moment.
Sighing again, Rin increased the sound of his headphone to the maximum and tried to concentrate on the homework he was desperately trying to finish. A few minutes later, he seemed to hear a rather loud slamming of the door, then a silence. Rin waited a little more before removing his headphone. He froze for a few seconds, listening to the heavy silence. After a few moments he dropped his back on his chair, leaning his head back and let out a long sigh. Then he heard the sound of his doorknob spinning before engaging, his door opening slowly.
"They finished?" asked Rin, knowing very well who was in the frame of his door. "Hm," replied a voice as flat as his.
"Mom has finished getting her things and Dad is going to go back to his apartment. We’re gonna be alone together again." Rin slowly opened his eyes before raising his face, anchoring his turquoise eyes in those so empty of emotion of his brother.
"Great. I imagine you’ll take the opportunity to bring your dog back."
Sae slightly frowned, very subtly, leaning against the frame of his little brother’s bedroom door.
"You mean Shidou?"
"Who else?" Sighed Rin as he got up, stretching himself slightly before cracking his neck backwards. "I’ll make myself something to eat."
Sae sighed slightly, shifting to the side to watch his brother sink into the hallway to prepare his meal and go to eat in his room alone. Again.
"Will you talk to me normally again someday?"
Only silence answered him.
"You’re lucky I’m talking to you again, shitty brother."
***
Rin’s (and Sae's) patents were separating. Thanks to their easy situation, his parents could afford an apartment each in Tokyo city centre, while Sae and Rin were forced to live in the family home.
It was really a cohabitation more than a roommate. The two met only a few times, at the corner of a hallway where they personally prepared to eat for dinner alone in their room. Sae spent most of his time with this guy that Rin hated, Shidou. Their relationship was still fuzzy for Rin, boyfriends? Sex friends? Booty call? Sae wouldn’t dare say exact words about their relationship.
Rin looked lonely to the outside eyes. He often hung out alone in college and never invited anyone home. He was not even close to his teammates on his football team, his character considered too withdrawn and aggressive. What he was, it’s true. The only person he could consider his friend was Hiori.
They knew each other since primary school and Rin considered him bearable, intelligent, calm and interesting. He also loved football, even if he didn’t do it to be pro like Rin. They sometimes went out and played in the park not far from Rin’s. And the black haired male always won.
But that never bothered him. Hiori was the only one who understood when he didn’t want to talk to others or when he didn’t want to socialize. That was probably one of the big differences between them.
Although Hiori was sometimes as inexpressive as he was, he was much more sociable and could easily make friends. Friends he had always wanted to introduce to Rin, but Rin had always refused.
So he wasn’t completely alone. He only was when Hiori wasn’t there. Because even if he lived with his brother now, he would never have felt so alone.
Rin sighed as he swallowed his last bite of his warmed noodles, trying to drive these kinds of pessimistic thoughts out of his mind. He didn’t need to clutter his mind with that kind of thoughts. Scarcely had Rin finished his bowl, which heard it clatter again. He sighed, laying his bowl on his desk.
"No one knows how to close a door without tap dancing here?" Growled the black haired boy before returning to the file he had to finish (for next month, but Rin liked to be early). But once again he could not concentrate as his room's door opened in a huge crash.
"Hello there!"
The black-haired man grumbled when he saw this madman with blond hair, adorned with pink and with a dull complexion, entering his room without even asking permission and dropping himself on the bed of the youngest without regard for the latter, who glared at him.
"I don’t think I let you in, motherfucker."
"You could still be nicer, Rinrin..."
"Call me like that again and you go out the window."
"It’s still love between you two I see," a voice says.
Rin looked up to the door and saw his brother placing himself, as he did a few moments earlier, in the frame of the door, looking at the exchange between the two young men with a face devoid of emotion. While the face of Shidou, he, cracked an immense smile.
"Saeee!" cried the blond man, jumping on the older one. "I missed you!"
"Yes, yes..." Sae sigh and push Shidou away, who took the door in the face, under Rin’s satisfied smile.
Many people said that Rin and Sae would gather physically, which was the case with their turquoise pupils and similar long black eyelashes. Their only difference was hair color, ebony black for Rin and matt pink for Sae, allowed to differentiate it. But their character was also very similar, taciturn, reserved and cultivating an absolute hatred for physical contact. Again, one of the only differences would be that Rin tended to get angry much faster than his older brother. And it was these blatant similarities that made Rin even more angry, praying that one day Itoshi Sae would leave his life permanently.
"Get out of here, you can see that Rin doesn’t want to see you." Sae’s flat voice suddenly intervened.
"No, I’m sure he really loves me." Rin once again roll his eyes, turning away his gaze and pretending to refocus on his work.
"I should have a medal to be able to stand both of you." Shidou murmurs while getting out if the room.
"I will grant you that." Sae replied gently, closing the door of Rin’s room.
The latter gave a long sigh when he heard the door of his brother’s room close. He knew very well what was to follow, and after the hysterical crises of his parents it was out of the question for him to suffer the obscene noises of these two. He quickly gave up his work and took out his phone.
___
Rin: you free?
Hiori: Hello to you too rin
Rin: you're so funny.
Hiori: It’s not often you send me the first message
Hiori: Shidou’s at your house, right?
Rin: ...
Hiori: I don’t have any plans this afternoon, want us to go to this cafe my friends are holding? I already told you about it but you never wanted to go
Rin: anything you want is fine, they’re starting right now.
Hiori: Okay, I’ll meet you at the park near your place, be there in 20
Seen
____
Rin did not wait any longer before taking the first jacket that passed under his hand, putting on his shoes and getting out of this house quickly.
If only he could find a place, a single place, where he would be at peace...
***
"Well, you look like shit."
Hiori stood in front of him, releasing this phrase with a face as impassive as his own, but his purple pupils seemed to convey a certain amusement while some turquoise strands flew softly in front of his beautiful face.
"I can’t take it anymore." Rin sighed, storing his phone in the pocket of his black leather jacket (all his outfit was black; from his turtleneck to his pants, and even his shoes). "My parents decide to pick up their belongings at the same time, so it’s bound to start a fight, then Sae brings his poodle back to decompress, so I’m forced to leave the house..."
"Wow, that’s probably the longest thing you’ve said to me in months..." Hiori laugh gently, starting to walk on the sidewalk followed by his friend. "But how about you, how are you doing?"
Rin shrugged his shoulders, always looking so empty as he followed his friend where he would drag him. "It’s not like it affects me. They were already not getting along for a while."
"Maybe, but then it’s a bit like being kicked out of your home without having a say in it."
"This house has never made me feel like home. Especially since Sae came back."
Hiori looked saddened, observing the profile of his friend who kept his gaze fixed before him. Then he did not add, conscious that Rin would not confide in him anyway. They thus crossed several streets, in a comfortable silence of which only they had the secret and which did not disturb them absolutely, both not being eloquent.
"By the way." Rin intervened anyway. "Where are you taking me?"
Hiori breathed a little, gently rubbing his hands in this rather cool autumn month. "I told you before, but you never listen to me. We go to the cafe my friends are holding."
"Your friends?" asked Rin with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know the ones I’ve been trying to get you to meet for, like, two years."
Rin roll his eyes, leaving a light mist from his mouth when he sigh strongly. "I’m not interested in meeting your friends."
"I’m interested in you meeting them."
"I’m sure they’re loud."
"That’s right," replied the greenish one with a slight smile. "But we’ll be at their place of work, so they’ll be forced to keep to themselves. And they’re not all here, only three of them, one of which you already know."
The black haired raised an eyebrow meaning which? in Rin language.
"Bachira Meguru."
Rin seemed to die in his memory before his pupils flickered slightly, confirming the fact that he remembered this ball of energy with bicoloured hair. "We played football together. He wasn't that bad."
"He still does it with his best friend." Hiori continued with a smile. "All my friends actually, that’s how we met, we’re not even in the same universities."
Rin nodded, remembering that his friend had already told him this story. He could very well have been part of this group if he had wanted to, if everything was about football. But he didn’t want to be.
"By the way, last thing." Continued his friend. "Are you allergic to cats?"
Rin frowned, turning towards the greenish.
"No, why?"
***
"A cat bar."
Hiori smiled widely at the impassive expression of his friend. The two students had just arrived in front of the café belonging to the oldest friends, Coffee cat. Rin thought the name was very simple for a trade. But the storefront in wood and burgundy red was not bad. It seemed like a quiet and warm place.
"You’ll see, it’s nice." Said the turquoise haired boy as he walked towards the entrance. Rin breathed a dry sigh, following his friend’s step.
The latter opened the small glass door, tinting the bells indicating the arrival of new customers. The cafe is not very big and everything is made of wood. The floor as the walls was a light wood, a small bar facing the entrance while the walls were decorated with small rather original paintings. The cafe was cut in half, one side with many sofas and carpets to sit on the ground with the cats, while the other half contained many tables and chairs to consume the drinks or food offered by the establishment. And of course, there were a lot of cat trees everywhere, baskets and structured to allow the animals to move around the café.
Rin then saw, next to the entrance, lying in a tree, a cat. A white cat. He stared at him with his yellow eyes, his long white coat making it look like a small snow fox.
"Welcome to coffee cat!" A cheerful voice suddenly cried out. "How can I help you- oh! Hiori."
Rin looked away at the white cat he had been staring at for ten seconds and watched Hiori smile at the person who had just greeted him. It soon became that long-haired, reddish boy was a friend of his.
"Hey, Chigiri, it’s been a long time." replied the turquoise haired boy. "We’d like a table for two, please."
"No worries. Coffee or good time? "
What 'good time' even means? Rin thought.
"We can have a good time, it’s the side with the worries and the sofas. Don’t you mind, Rin?"
The black haired man nodded his head from right to left, heading towards the place in question without waiting for his friend or glancing at the man who had welcomed them.
"Eh Hiori..." Whispered the ruddy to his friend by pointing to Rin. "Is he the guy you told us about?"
"Which one? I told you about two people recently..."
"Your friend who never wants to meet us," replied Chigiri, smiling. "The other one you told me he was pretty joyful, right?"
Hiori quickly looked away, his cheeks taking on an adorable pink hue.
"Shut up..." murmurs the oldest under Chigiri’s amused smile. "No, he’s my childhood friend."
"Did you finally get him out?"
"I think he agreed to walk through those doors just because he knew there were cats."
"Does he like cats?"
Hiori kept a smile on his face before winking at his red-haired friend.
"I see I see..." Chigiri smiles gently. "I let you choose then I'll send Isagi to take your orders."
"Thank you."
The young man with turquoise highlights was redirected to his friend who had already decided to sit on the ground on a large fluffy carpet in front of a small coffee table. Hiori smiled, seeing him sitting in a suit on a pale pink carpet, while several cats had already come so close that one of them had fallen on his lap.
"I see that you acclimatize quite easily to the place." Laugh Hiori, sitting next to his friend.
"He was the one coming to me in the first place..." replied Rin, looking a little lost, staring at the black cat rolled up in a ball on his lap.
"He looks cute..." Hiori smiled before reaching out to the little black cat who seemed to be sleeping quietly, having taken up residence on Rin’s body. But as soon as he approached his hand the black cat rose up and hoisted violently towards Hiori. The latter quickly brought his hand back towards him, looking at the animal with an astonished, slightly fearful look, while Rin raised an eyebrow, also surprised.
When he saw that the greenish was no longer going towards him, the cat went back to bed between Rin’s legs and seemed to go back to sleep.
"Well, it seems you’ve tamed a wild animal, Rin."
The latter lowered his gaze towards the animal on his knees, a cautious air displayed on his face. Then he extended his hand and placed it on the kitten. The animal had no reaction, and he even began to purr under the two friends surprised look.
"And with you it goes away. I knew you liked cats."
"I never told you that..." murmurs Rin away looking at his friend, taking his hand out of the kitten’s silky hair.
"Yes, the only time you’ve been drunk in your life." Rin groaned remembering that evening which he would have liked to erase from his life. "You told me a lot of stuff that night. It's thanks to that party that I know you were gay, and even your guy type-
"Hiori!" cried the black haired male, scaring a few cats around them. "I told you never to speak of this day again. I wasn’t myself and-"
"Excuse me...?"
Rin was about to yell at the person who had just cut him, far too embarrassed about this evening Hiori was having fun whenever he could...
—but the ocean pupils he plunged into made him lose all the words he could have uttered.