For the Team

Depending on the situation, he’d flip between one and the other—it would be bad if he had stuck with only one fashion, after all. People might think he was serious.

Normally, he was the type to walk away, too; if one couldn’t keep up, he wouldn’t bother to wait. But it became obvious just whom he doted on if Miyuki ever turned back… and he certainly wasn’t going to let Rin straggle behind.

Really, this hand in his own was just concrete security. Neither of them were going anywhere. Except—

"You're crazy if you think a sea urchin would make me feel nervous," This was Rin, after all. It took more than just a sea creature to unnerve the redhead. Still, it caught him a little off guard that Kazuya wanted to go to the tide pools first. Not a bad thing - tide pools were fun. Just odd.

Of course, going to the tide pools meant at some point, he'd have to let go of Kazuya's hand, and he was far too comfortable holding his hand at the moment and far too unwilling to let it go. 

Until Rin came along.

Even now, a month into dating (both a small accomplishment and a large milestone), he still teased the other relentlessly. But there was a certain softness behind it all that was off-limits to the normal crowd. After all—using that kind of consideration with everyone wouldn’t make it a special luxury for those who mattered most to him.

So when they stepped into the busier entrance hall, past the ticketing lobby, the crossroads that led to other exhibits swarmed by people of every age, he looked back.

Really, though, Rin hoped it was conscious. But, this was also Kazuya, so he didn't expect all that much from him - an effort like this meant enough to him already.

The crowd of the aquarium reminded Rin why he disliked crowds - he always got separated far too easily, and that was a pain on it's own. At least, here, he knew Kazuya wouldn't get too far without realizing Rin wasn't with him, and he would just wait here until Kazuya returned, that was all. Or, at least, that was the assumed plan before the catcher called out to him, hand outstretched.

"Aquarium it is. Let’s get going." Nyoom away, Miyurin. And a little timeskip later, they arrived at their destination by questionable means of transportation.

Not long after they had walked through the entrance, Miyuki disappeared, then reappeared just as swiftly—he held two passes in hand, and waved one in front of Rin’s face. “C’mon, focus. We don’t have all day,” he laughed, though really, pretty much did. Despite his teasing, Kazuya’s eyes were deceptively gentle.

So today was Miyuki's treat, huh? Well, that's fine. He could deal with that - less money he spent, and more coming out of his boyfriend's pocket. Not a problem, not at all. With a small roll of his eyes, Rin plucked the pass from Kazuya's hand, though he didn't miss the change in Kazuya's eyes. That was the odd part.

He decided not to comment on the comment about not having all day, knowing the catcher would just rebuttle it. Instead, he reached out and nudged the other forward. "If we don't have all day, then get moving, Kazuya." He gave his own smirk in return, giving a tilt of his head.

He could almost tell what Rin was thinking from the look on his face alone, though the words were already out and he couldn’t take them back even if he wanted to. It was true that, in his time abroad, Rin had missed quite a few memories, though dwelling on the fact or pretending they didn’t happen just for the other’s peace of mind weren’t in Haruka’s interests. All that could be done was to accept the past for what it was, and create new memories to slot in next to the old ones— just as they were doing now at the end of the pier.

"Keep," he decided after regarding Rin’s catch for a moment, deeming it an acceptable size. "Nothing smaller than that."

No more bad thoughts. Or, at least, that was the conclusion Rin came to upon dropping his net back into the water. Dwelling on the past was probably really unhealthy in the first place, but to dwell on mistakes that he had made was likely unhealthier. So, it was his own decision in trying to forget about the past for the moment and just enjoy himself as much as he could. No thoughts about Sano, no thoughts about Iwatobi, no thoughts about Australia. Only about the current activity of crabbing and how he would teach Haru how to properly make this recipe when they got back to Rin's apartment.

Pulling up his next crab, Rin looked at Haru for a moment before tossing it back into the water, deeming it too small. "Of course I know how to cook fresh crab," he snorted softly, dropping the net back into the water.

"Well, we could always make a change of plans. What kind of man would I be if I wouldn’t even brave the cold? It’d be beneficial, too—you have a 50% chance of strengthening your immune system and temperature tolerance, or you could just get sick." Ah, yes. Smart decisions for smart risk-taking.

(Please use your common sense, Rin.)

"Those odds are so horrible that I would never risk going to the beach when it's that cold out. If we ever go to the beach," Which Rin didn't really plan on doing any time soon if he could help it. "It's going to be when its, you know, warm."

(Please, he isn't that stupid.)

But you were tricked, Rin! She didn’t need to come so close to see your face, she only wanted to do this!—

Give her a second, she'll catch up to what just happened. It'll register that Miyuki kissed her in 3... 2... 1...

"It’s not difficult," he returned as he watched Rin eyeing the bag. They weren’t much to look at, granted, though they were effective. The whole thing really wasn’t difficult at all, not was there a lot to know about it. Drop the line into the water, wait for a bite, and pull it back up. "We took Ran and Ren crabbing a few times," he added, as though to somewhat explain why he was familiar with the process. As he spoke, Haru had finished off his own net and dropped it down between his legs, letting the gentle current in the water pull the bag closer to the wooden pillar.

He didn’t have to wait too long before feeling the first gentle tug on his line; responding to it by smoothly reeling the line up by winding it around one of his hands. The trick was not to be too jerky when bringing the line back to avoid the risk of dropping the crabs off the net.

Ah, Ren and Ran. That explained a lot, and made a lot of sense. Of course Haru would have done this with Makoto, especially during the time Rin had been gone. It made him wonder what else he had missed, but he let that thought pass in favour of following Haru's lead and let his net sink into the water.

He wouldn't think about the time he had missed with his friends if he could help it - he should be thinking about what he was currently doing, how he had his friends back, both his friends from Iwatobi as well as Sousuke, and of course there was Miyuki, so really, there was no reason to dwell on the past.

The bus ride was oddly quiet. He’d half expected Rin to supply at least some pointless chatter to fill the silences, much like Makoto did, though his redheaded friend had become strangely withdrawn after they boarded the coach. It wasn’t the quiet that bothered him, more so what had caused the change in his company’s disposition. He had a fair idea, though decided against bringing it up.

Thankfully, the journey wasn’t a long one, seeing them reach the seaside in little under twenty minutes. The tide was in and the water looked calm, he noted once they stepped off the bus; perfect for catching crabs.

After scoping out his intended destination, Haru turned to Rin and pointed the small pier out to him before beginning to lead the way. He’d slipped his shoes off before stepping onto the shore, hooking his fingers into the heels as they walked across the warm sand towards the wooden wharf; collecting a few stones along the way and filling up a sand bucket with water to deposit their catches in.

And on the way to the pier, he walked feet away from the water - which made him wonder when the last time he felt the ocean water under his feet was. Probably days before he lost his father, which had been years ago. But the sand under his feet was a welcome feeling; the sand was warm from the sun, and there was a distinct lack of shells both complete and broken that kept his feet from being shredded.

Once on the pier, Rin took his spot, rear firmly planted on the wooden surface separating him from the ocean water. Knees tucked under his chin, he took the line from Haru, looking at it almost curiously. 

What a snarker. ”Maybe your roommate had some.”

On Rin’s cue to leave, Haruka folded up the apron he had been holding and draped it over the back of the nearest chair for later, before heading back towards the door slipping his shoes back on. Once Rin had locked up the apartment, the pair made the short journey towards the Roble block, where Haru retrieved the fishing line and nets he had previously mentioned, as well as his wallet for the bait and travel expenses.

He didn’t need to dither with himself over which kind of bacon to get in the store, having already decided on smoked and cured, since it had the strongest smell and was most likely to attract the hungry crabs.

Of course, it didn't occur to Rin that collecting fresh crabs meant going to the beach - and the beach meant the ocean. Outwardly, he didn't display his discomfort with the situation - trying to think about ways to avoid getting overly close to the water was a start.

And that… That almost sounded like a challenge.