#rinmaki

Hoshizora Rin x Nishikino Maki

"Found mew, Maki-chan~!"

The sharp exclamation sent a jolt down Maki's spine, and the redhead whipped her head around towards the source: a hyperactive blob of ginger hair bolting towards her from across the beach, somehow managing to barrel forward through the sand without slowing down.

"R-Rin, be careful!" Maki cried, a warning that came all too late as Rin tried to skid to a halt in the sand only to trip over herself and nearly tumble down.

Nearly, because she latched onto Maki's shoulders like a lifeline and only through sheer willpower did the two of them manage to stay upright.

"Sorry, Maki-chan," Rin hummed, sticking her tongue out sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. "But Rin couldn't find you anywhere and got suuuuper worried, so Rin went on a mission to find you!"

A soft blush rose to the redhead's cheeks, and she could only hope that her embarrassment would be obscured by the darkness of the night. "I can take care of myself," Maki grumbled, turning away from Rin with a flustered huff. "This is my family's beach house, after all, so I know this area like the back of my hand."

She didn't need to look at Rin's face to know she was pouting; she could hear it in her voice as she whined, "But you shouldn't be out alone so late anyway!"

A hop and skip was all that it took for Rin to be standing in front of Maki again. Her golden eyes glimmered with concern, and Maki found herself unable to look away from such raw, genuine emotion. "Maki-chan, why are you out here all alone?" Rin murmured. "Can't sleep?"

"... something like that," Maki conceded. With a sigh, she tilted her head back to gaze towards the night sky. "The stars calm me down when I'm nervous, I suppose."

"Maki-chan gets nervous?!"

Maki's eyes quickly fluttered back to Rin, narrowing into a glare. "Of course!" she snapped. "I'm human too, you know!"

Rin waved her hands in front of her face and began to explain. "No, no! Rin just thinks Maki-chan is so smart and talented and beautiful, that she should never need to be nervous ever! Kayo-chin thinks so, too!"

Was that... supposed to help Maki calm down? The pianist turned away again, her face probably a brighter shade of red than her hair at this point. "I'm... I'm not good enough yet. Not where I want to be. So of course, before a major live show, I'm going to get butterflies...."

She wasn't certain if she should be impressed or terrified at the way Rin could maneuver so easily on the beach. Another skip and twirl, and the athletic first-year was in front of Maki again. "Then... can I be the stars that calm you down, nya?"

"P-pardon...?"

Beaming, Rin slid her hands into Maki's. "It's in my name! Starry sky! Next time Maki-chan needs to talk to the stars to relax, can you stay inside and talk to me? Please?"

Rin gave a gentle squeeze, but to Maki, that simple gesture meant the world.

No, Rin was out of this world. The brightest, warmest star she had ever seen.