𝑴𝒐𝒃𝒊 ⁽(◍˃̵͈̑ᴗ˂̵͈̑)⁽

He denied it for the longest time, because of course he did, have you seen him? He looked as sweet as sugar! And him being a whole head shorter than him, plus that stupid sprout on his head, did nothing to refute that claim. Rin was honestly surprised Isagi had even made it this far with football to begin with, considering he has seen more impressive physicals from a wet napkin. But that was the thing with Isagi, he was always full of surprises.

He was easy to underestimate at first glance, but he always made sure to leave you regretting at the end. If someone was faster than him, he'd use their speed against them; if someone was stronger than him, he'd outwit them; and if someone was bigger than him, then he'd simply make them kneel.

Isagi's eyes could be filled with malice, while his tongue spat insults like fire, all while having a devilish smile on his face in the blink of an eye, and that's exactly what Rin wanted. Someone to keep him on his toes, and someone to keep him sharp.

Rin wanted Isagi.

But it seemed like someone had caught onto Isagi's brilliance before him, as someone had already swooned his rival and swept him off his feet.

That person, being his second roommate, Meguru Bachira.

Although Rin would never admit it, Bachira was brilliant as well. Of course he was, only the talented could recognise another person's talents, let alone before they even flourished.

They had chemistry, they had history, they had an actual relationship.

Bachira was basically perfect for Isagi in every way, shape, and form. It was as if he was made for him.

But Rin was stubborn; he could admit he was at fault for underestimating Isagi, but he'd be damned if he just laid down and died while his man rival got swept up by some lukewarm, dent-headed, ditsy dribbler.

A little competition never killed anyone, but Rin would make sure to change that.

---

Rin was a shit talker; this much is known about him. He was no stranger to talking big game, because he always knew he had the skills to back it up. But when it came to things like romance, a department his brain had no experience in whatsoever, he was radio silent.

"What the hell do I even do? Can't I just pick him up and walk away..." Rin thought to himself while laying in his bed, stirring left to right in annoyance.

He's been laying flat on his back like a beached starfish while looking up at his ceiling fan for at least an hour now, going through a list of ways he could steal Isagi away from Bachira, growing more and more frustrated as he noticed that most of his plans didn't exactly abide by what silly government officials liked to call 'the law'.

Rin rolled over on his stomach and smothered his face in his pillow.

God, he was totally lost. He really had no idea what to do. He's never been in love; he's never dated anyone; hell, he's never even had a crush, now he's trying to be the face of football homewrecking, and that would be no easy feat considering the fact that Isagi was the one he was after (aka the Founding Father of accidental football homewrecking). So with one big sigh, Rin swung his feet off his bed and made his way over to his desk, as he opened up his laptop.

"Well,, if there's something you don't know, you could always use the Internet." Rin thought as he began typing away at the search bar.

Rin physically shuddered while looking at the sentence he had just typed out in embarrassment. "This is humiliating..." He cringed, but desperate times call for desperate measures. There was no way he was going to figure this out by himself, so he might as well use the tools he has.

He hesitantly clicked enter as he watched the web page load before flooding with all different types of answers.

Some of them looked legit, like they were backed up by actual experts; others looked like they were created by a 13-year-old who had just learned how to make a website in school.

Rin kept scrolling and scrolling, hoping to find something that would actually give him an answer, before one particular title caught his eye.

"Four easy ways to make them yours, Nya! ( ＾ω＾ )~☆"

Rin blinked once, twice, as he stared at the website.

It was total horseshit.

He wasn't an idiot; anyone with two working pairs of eyes and half a brain could tell that this website fell into the latter category of the websites he described earlier, but for some unexplainable reason, he felt himself being pulled towards the website as he dragged his cursor to click on the link.

The page loaded up like a flash bang, almost blinding Rin with how bright and pink the whole page was as he hissed like a vampire that was just exposed to the sun.

"Christ!" He groaned as he closed his eyes. He would've preferred to keep them closed to save his eyes from the sight of both the blinding light and, quite frankly, the abhorrent layout of the site, but he was a man on a mission, so with all the strength that he had, he pried open his eyes as he began to read the text on the screen.

"♡~Hey cuties, want that special someone in your life to look at you the way you look at them? Want them to be yours and only yours? Well, look no further! Here are four easy ways to make the love of your life swoon in no time! Nya!~♡ (*｀▽´*)"

Something in the back of his mind told him that he wasn't exactly the target audience for this site, yet for some reason, his finger still scrolled down to look at the steps.

"Number 1. Everyone knows that the road to someone's heart is through their stomach, Nya! Make them a meal they'll never forget!! Extra points if it's breakfast!!!<3 (*≧з≦)"

If someone had told Rin ten minutes ago that his future self would be reading the most obnoxious how-to guide on how to make someone fall in love with him, he would've spat right in their face.

This was dumb. It wouldn't work, there's no way it would. But the more Rin thought about it the more, the more he felt his resolve start to crumble.

What if it isn't dumb as he thought? What if it did work? Rin isn't the type to be easily influenced, but he really was extremely out of the loop when it came to romance. What if this was just the way people did it?

Bachira fed Isagi all the time. Yeah, he complained about it, but if he still allowed it, then Bachira had to be doing something right.

Rin sat in silence for a moment, picturing Bachira joyfully feeding Isagi bites of steak while Isagi just sat there and let it happen, his cheeks rosy red.

That's when Rin finally felt something in him snap.

Rin pushed himself out of his chair as he stomped back over to his bed and flopped on his mattress like a temperamental child. "Whatever. It's just food; anyone can make food!" Rin muttered into his pillow as he sat back up on his bed. "Just you wait, Isagi, I'll make you the best damn breakfast you've ever eaten."

~♡

"So... What is it?" Isagi rightfully asked.

Bachira sniffed the air, taking in the charred scent in all it's glory, "I dunno,,, but it kinda smells like the library of Alexandria!"

Bachira and Isagi were currently standing in the middle of the kitchen where the table was, looking down at the tupperware that held the remains of what was supposed to be 'the best damn breakfast that Isagi had ever eaten'.

"Ooo, Ooo, I know! Maybe its coal left by Santa Claus!"

"Bachira, it's August."

"That's never stopped me, I already brought out decorations~☆" Bachira giggled, before picking up the tupperware, inspecting one of the charred pieces of...whatever it was originally supposed to be, and plopping it right into his mouth.

"Eh—?! Bachira, spit that out!" Isagi yelled, immediately grabbing Bachira's face.

"Mmm! These are actually really good~" Bachira sang, holding out the tupperware to Isagi, "You try it, Isagi!"

Isagi pushed the tupperware back to Bachira with a grimace, "No thanks, I've seen you eat batteries before. I don't trust your taste buds."

Bachira giggled as he spun on his heels while making his way to the living room "More for me then!~☆"

~♡

"It was supposed to be a bento box." Rin muttered in defeat for the umpteenth time.

This morning he had woke up hours earlier than anyone else in the house to make sure he had all the space he needed to create what was supposed to be heaven in a box.

Turns out cooking is actually hard since he's never even looked in the direction of a stovetop. Still—he thought it was decent enough to eat, but he watched from the cracked door of his room as Isagi didn't even attempt tasting it, that bastard! It was that bleached bob freak who ended up devouring the whole thing. Yeah he complimented it or whatever, but it wasn't even for him...

"Whatever,, cooking isn't my thing anyway, that stuff is for lukewarm losers." Rin huffed, mentally consoling himself, as he opened up his laptop.

If he couldn't find the road to Isagi's heart through his stomach, he'll just have to find another way there.

"Number 2. You know what's really romantic? Sharing what's yours, nya! It could be anything like a keychain or a plushie, but it's so much more romantic when it's one of your clothes!! They feel nice and warm and it'll have their scent, Kyaaaa!!! (ؑ⸍⸍ᵕؑ̇⸍⸍)◞✧"

~♡

Ice baths are an essential part of being an athlete. It helps with reducing muscle soreness, lowering inflammation, and speeding up recovery, but with all it's pros it comes with the con of being absolutely hellish.

As important as it is, being stuck in a tub with as much space as a cublicle while you're freezing your ass off for ten minutes straight once a week wasn't exactly what Bachira, Isagi, or Rin would call fun. Still—it was apart of their schedule in Blue Lock to do it once a week, so they had no say in the matter.

The three boys were currently waiting at the bus stop after their weekly medieval torture method; legs numb, shivering, lightheaded, and wanting to go home.

"This bus is... taking...forever..!" Rin snarled through clenched teeth.

"Achoo! Crap,,, I knew I should’ve worn more layers..." Isagi said, holding himself like a sick Victorian child.

Rin suddenly straightened.

This was his chance!

Rin clicked his tongue, putting on the act of annoyance, before he started peeling off his jumper with the remaining energy he had left.

"Tch, you idiot." He shuddered at the feeling of the wind blowing against his still freezing body, but he'd be damned if he let something as small as hypothermia stop him, as he handed his jumper over to Isagi.

"Here, just take it already—" but before he could complete his chivalrous action, he was cut off by the suden feeling of his hand getting lighter, as the jumper was no longer in his hand, but it wasn't on Isagi either.

Isagi and Rin both turned to their left only to find Bachira already wearing the jumper, zipped up to the point of covering half his face. God knows how he even swiped it that fast, he looked like he was two seconds for fainting only a minute ago.

"Bachira..." Isagi groaned.

"You blockhead, I didn't give that to you!" Rin scolded but made no attempt to get it back

"What? I'm cold too~" Bachira whined as he hugged Isagi to keep him warm.

"It's really comfy too, can I keep it?"

"No way in hell, dumbass!!"

~♡

He never got that jumper back.

Rin honestly didn't understand why he was still coming back to this website, let alone why he ever opened it in the first place. Two out of the four methods they presented had been complete and utter rinky-dink garbage, and he didn't doubt that the other two would follow the same path, yet he still found himself begrudgingly cracking open his laptop.

"Number 3. This is for if your s/o is a bit of a messy eater,,, so this a bit dirty, teehee, nya!~♡ ;3 When they get crumbs on their face, try swiping the food off their face and licking it off—" yeah, no fucking way.

He may not have any experience with romance, but he had his dignity and thats far more important to him.

"Talk about unsanitary." Rin quickly dismissed as he scrolled to the last method on the page.

"Number 4. Last, but not least, take care of your soon-to-be lover! People want someone dependable, so try helping out wherever you can, Nya!! Whether that's doing chores, running errands, or even something as small as tying their tie every morning, show your love through your actions!!!(╯✧∇✧)╯"

~♡

At the end of every successful season, Blue Lock sees to it to hold a victory parade around Japan in celebration of the players and their achievements.

Japan's national team had just came back from Indonesia after winning the U-20 Asian Cup, now all the Blue Lockers were waiting for their bus to arrive from inside their home stadium.

Bachira, Isagi, and Rin were currently sitting sitting on a bench, trying to kill time.

Bachira was playing with his yellow ends, Isagi was fiddling with his tie, and Rin was... also fiddling with his tie.

Rin knew Isagi didn't know how to tie a tie, that's exactly why he had spent the last spent thirty minutes rehearsing how he'd offer to help, without even realising that he didn't know how to even tie his own tie, as his older brother always made it look so easy when he used to do it for him.

Isagi and Rin kept trying to fix their ties, with Isagi only getting more confused the more times, while Rin looked like he was one more failed attempt from hurling the thing to the stratosphere, before Bachira noticed and spoke up.

"Whoa, you guys have been stuck on that for a while, need a hand?"

"Yes, please." "No." Isagi and Rin answered simultaneously.

Bachira giggled before reaching out to Isagi as he began tying his tie. His hands moved effortlessly, as if he had done a million times before, finishing just as quickly as he started.

"There! Lookin' cute as ever, Yo-Chan!" Bachira said with a wink in which Isagi blushed.

Rin clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned away. "I should’ve been the one to do that." He thought to himself, treating his tie even harsher as he continued to struggle.

Bachira then made his way over to Rin.

"I told you I didn't need your help."

"Really? Could've fooled me!" Bachira chuckled, eyeing Rin's mangled tie which only made Rin face away from him more.

"C'mon Rin, don't be like that! Just lemme help."

Rin stared back at Bachira for a moment, debating on whether or not he should let him help before letting out a sigh and facing him.

Bachira's face lit up as he did, gently detangeling his tie before he started tying it again.

Although, he was doing it much slower with him for some reason, taking his sweet time as he went through every loop.

"This is the kind of thing my mom used to do for me as a kid." Bachira started, eyes still focused on the tie, "I never actually wore ties to school though, I didn't like the feeling of it around my neck, so I always took it off as soon as I got to school, but I still always let her tie it for me anyway." Bachira looked up at Rin, locking eyes with him. "It's nice when people do things for you, don't 'cha think?"

Rin felt his breath hitch as his eyes lock onto Bachira's. He had seen Bachira in his moments of sincerity but he's never seen it up close—well, not this close at least. The two of them were practically face-to-face.

Rin felt his face grow warmer as he looked down at Bachira who was still holding his tie. Rin felt as though something in his brain had just changed, the feeling was familiar, very familiar, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

He opened his mouth to reply before Bachira's voice interrupted, "Done!" He jumped up, walking back to his seat, "Don't you feel super fly, Rin?~"

Rin paused for a moment looking the both the boys beside him, then at his tie, before clicking his tongue, "Whatever..."

---

Well, that was it. Rin had officially failed all four easy steps of some shitty love website.

He was all out of ideas now.

He could go back on the internet and check for more websites, but he was currently holding a deep grudge towards any website that even had a heart in it, so he'd have to pass on that for now.

So there he sat, in the kitchen, alone, gnawing down on the burnt rice he had made in a last ditch effort of attempting the first method that god forsaken website had shown him, when suddenly Bachira strolled in.

Bachira and Rin locked eyes, Bachira's face immediately lifting into a smile while Rin could do nothing but frown as Bachira plopped himself right next to him.

"Hi Rin!" He greeted but received no response.

"Oh, you're eating that yummy coal thing! Did Santa give it to you?"

Hearing Bachira call his food coal made Rin wanna kill someone, he was just deciding if that person was gonna be Bachira, or himself.

"Shut up, you idiot." Rin replied, not actually expecting him to quiet down. But Bachira didn't say a word after that, he just sat next to him with a content smile, soaking in his presence.

It was different than what he was used to, at least with Bachira. There was something unidentifiable in the air, something that made it thick, something that made it hard for Rin to comfortably sit in silence despite demanding it.

"...Where's Isagi?" Rin asked after a few beats.

Bachira immediately turned his head to Rin upon hearing his voice, "He's out training right now."

"Tch, without me..."

"Hehe, I said the same thing! A lot less grouchy tho."

Bachira eased into his seat, looking down at his palms.

"I love Isagi a lot. He's my first partner, yknow?"

Rin turned his head away from Bachira, as he clenched his chopsticks.

God, did he really have to be here for this? After a back-to-back defeat, hearing Bachira gush about another man was really the last thing he needed, he'd sooner take a swan dive into an ice bath.

.

.

.

Wait— "another man"? He meant Isagi... Why did he phrase it like that? He couldn't be angry that Isagi was talking to Bachira—it's supposed to be the other way around!—

"I like you too, though." Bachira said casually, cutting off Rin's thoughts.

Huh?

"Isagi does too, but that's no secret. We think you're really cool!"

Rin whipped his head over to Bachira, uncharacteristically stumbling over his words,"W-what the hell are saying!?"

"I just thought I'd mention it since we're here. We like being friends with you."

Oh. Right. Friends....eugh.

"Tch. You're not my friend."

Bachira lightly chuckled as he rested his head on his hand, "Maybe not, but you're mine!"

Rin huffed for the umpteenth time, shoving his slightly red face into his bowl, as he devoured every grain of the blackened rice with haste.

He slammed his bowl back onto the table, nearly breaking it, before side eyeing the boy seated next to him. "You bore me with your lukewarm sentiments, I'm heading back to my room."

He shifted his chair out from the table, ready to make his escape back to his room to try and collect his thoughts, before Bachira's voice stopped him.

"Oh— Rin, wait! Ya got a lil something on your face."

Bachira reached his arm out to Rin's face slowly and carefully, as if he was reaching out to pet a cat, as his hand made contact with his face. They were awfully soft for an athlete, warm too. Bachira always did run hot, it made him wonder why he even needed his jumper that day to begin with.

Bachira's thumb moved to the side of Rin's lips, brushing against it, removing the singular grain that was left on Rin's lip to his thumb. His hand stilled for a moment, as if he planned on keeping it there forever, before pulling away.

Rin watched as Bachira then dragged his hand to his mouth and licked the crumb off his thumb.

"Mmm! I told you it was yummy!" He hummed contently.

Rin stared at Bachira, his mouth hung open as if wanting to say something but being physically unable to, as his face turned into a bright red.

Hm. Maybe method three did work,,, just not in the way he expected it to.

~♡

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