Headcanon: Since Rin's apparently really smart (major turn on) and good at English, he ends up having to tutor Haru since it's the latter's worst subject.

Pairing: Rin/Haru

After many weeks of trying and giving up, I finally got to writing these two! *happy dance* This was supposed to be nothing but fluff, but as always, I ended up digressing a bit. Also I had no one to beta this for me so sorry for any mistakes!

EDIT#2: This was a simple oneshot at first, but I've decided to turn into a multi-chapter story of drabbles!

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"…but if your possessive noun is plural and still ends in an 's' you have to put the apostrophe after it because…"

Blue eyes lazily gazed at the speaking person in front them. They trailed the other's messy ponytail and sleeveless tank, before glancing at the unusual look on his face. It was an odd mix of focus and relaxation, and was so different from irritated looks Rin usually sported, that Haru couldn't help but stare.

"Understand?" Rin asked.

Haru's mind was completely elsewhere. His eyes slowly trailed the other's collarbones before sliding over to well-trained biceps.

"Oi! Do you get it yet? Haru?" Rin asked again.

Haru sighed soundlessly, still unaware that he was being spoken to, and moved his stare across Rin's angled jaw before finally again resting on his face. It was when he saw the annoyed look on said face that he snapped out of his trance.

"Huh? What'd you say?" he asked slowly.

"Why the hell won't you listen!?" Rin snapped.

Haru looked away, "Sorry."

Rin's eyes twitched at the typical curt reply, "I've explained it three damn times! Quit zoning out!"

"…I was distracted."

"Distracted? By what?!"

You.

Haru chose to remain silent on that, and sat up straight, "Explain it again. I'm listening this time."

"That's what you said the last two times!" Rin growled.

"Just get to it, Rin. We don't have all day," Haru countered.

"We wouldn't be rushing if you would just fucking pay attention," the red head bit out.

Haru just shrugged his shoulders and Rin damn near wanted to kick him. His plans for a weekend of training were canceled when Gou texted him about needing some tutoring. Rin had assumed she was the one who needed the help, and was surprised that Saturday morning when she practically shoved him out the door saying, "Haruka-senpai's the one who needs your help!"

At first he has just considered heading back to Samezuka, but decided not to since he and Haru were still in a slightly awkward just-became-friends-again sort of relationship, and Rin was trying his best not to ruin things again. He had headed over and was surprised yet again when Haru opened the door, simply saying, "You're late."

And there they were two hours later, in the living room. Haru had said he needed help in with his English, and that since Gou told the team that that was Rin's best subject, he thought Rin would be the most convenient.

Rin frowned at merely being considered 'convenient' but brushed it off as his typical lack of concern. Soon they were situated across the table and after Rin took a look at Haru's homework, he began to explain it.

Well he tried to.

But a few words in, and he could see the other's eyes shifting and growing hazy. After about ten seconds, Haru wasn't even listening and was instead staring at his hair for some reason. Rin began kept shifting under the other's gaze but continued on talking, in desperate attempt to relieve the weird tension in the room.

He begrudgingly ended up having to repeat himself again, but Haru still ended up tuning him out. It happened a third time and by the fourth, Rin was ready to call it quits.

"If you're not going to pay attention then I'm done teaching you!" he snapped.

Haru blinked at him, "Okay."

Rin's urge to kick came back again, but he fought it off and groaned, "I promised Gou I would help you though…"

"Yeah I know…but it's hard to focus when you teach me," Haru said.

"It's not my fault you won't pay attention!"

"…actually it is"

Rin looked up, "What the fuck does that even mean?"

Haru shrugged his shoulders and looked away again. Rin was expecting him to say something, but when the other didn't, he sighed and stood up.

"If that's the case then I'm gonna go ba-"

"Wait! You're leaving? It's only three," Haru interrupted.

Rin paused, a bit taken aback by the sudden urgency in the other's voice, "Well…yeah. If I can't tutor you then what's the point of me being here?"

Haru frowned at, "We could…hang out or something."

Rin's eyebrows rose at the declaration and he couldn't help his cheeks from warming in an odd sense of embarrassment.

"You want to hang out?" With me of all people?

After everything that's happened?

Haru wouldn't look at him but Rin heard him mumble, "I wouldn't mind," under his breath.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat down again, "Um…sure. But you need to finish your homework first, okay?"

Haru rolled his eyes, but nodded and told Rin to explain it again. Rin eyed him warily and warned him that if he didn't pay attention this last time, he really was leaving. That seemed to be all the motivation Haru needed because he finally focused in on what Rin was saying and managed to finish all his homework in half an hour.

Rin eyed through his paper, "Yeah…yeah…and yeah. Good job, you got them all right." He flashed Haru small but rare smile and to his surprise, the other looked rather pleased with himself.

At the sight, Rin felt some of the old semblances of his childhood self coming back to him and decided to have some fun teasing Haru.

"You know, for a serious looking guy, you sure do nod off quickly."

He saw the other's eyebrow flinch and tried not to laugh. Haru gave him an almost glare and said, "It's because I don't have a very good teacher."

Rin stiffened before growling, "Oi! I taught you damn well! You're the one with the attention span of a five year old!"

Haru gave him a look that was one part offended and two parts 'screw you', and after a few seconds merely said, "You suck."

Rin grit his teeth and tried not to yell, "Even something like tutoring is hard with you! Nitori never gave me this much trouble!"

That seemed to surprise Haru because he blinked in shock for one second, before giving Rin a look with so much intensity that it made the red head freeze.

"You tutor your roommate, too?"

For some reason Rin couldn't quite look him in the eye, "Sometimes…when he needs it, I guess,"

"Sometimes?"

"Um…yeah," Rin had no idea why but he felt like he had done something wrong.

Haru's gaze was extremely scrutinizing, "So you're close with him?"

Rin looked at the floor, "Not really. I mean he's a good kid, but he wastes too much of his time stressing over me instead of himself," he turned his gaze up to the roof, "Sometimes I worry about him…"

"What?" Haru's voice was unexpectedly loud and Rin jumped at the sound of it.

"You worry about him?" Haru asked, voice morose. He almost sounded angry.

Rin didn't know why he felt the need to defend himself, "Only sometimes!"

Haru clicked his tongue and glowered at him, "You never seem to worry about anyone…" About me.

Rin muttered, "Huh?" in confusion, but a second later it hit him. Once again the buildup of guilt that had harrowed him for last few years returned. He thought about all the people he hurt and let down; his sister, mother, friends, father, even his former self. Everything he let go in a misguided attempt to achieve a dream that wasn't even his.

His mind was so lost in revisiting its dark musings that it took him a few seconds to feel the hand gripping his shoulder. He looked up and found a pair of very blue and very earnest eyes looking into him.

"I'm sorry," Haru said quietly, "I didn't mean it."

Rin felt a lump form in his throat and he swallowed it down with a bit of difficulty, "It's not your fault. I'm the one who messed things up."

Haru shook his head, "That doesn't matter anymore. So don't feel sad."

Rin shot him a crooked smile, "Shut up. I'm not sad."

Haru gave him a knowing look, "Your face just now. It looked like you …" he tried to find the right words,"…like you were having a lot of feelings."

Rin tensed and felt something prick at the back of his eyes.

"…I'm fine," he said.

"Are you sure?" Haru asked.

"…Yeah…"

Haru nodded his head at that before adding, "But it's okay to not be."

Rin snapped his head at the other, his eyes wide and face full of surprise.

"When did you become a psychologist?" he asked, in a last ditch effort to steer the conversation away from the painful direction it was heading.

Haru shook he head, "I'm not. But you should try and talk to people about your problems."

Rin bit his lip, "My problems aren't worth wasting anyone's time with."

Haru shook his head again and gave Rin a penetrating look, "They are worth it. And I'd listen. To everything you had to say."

Rin felt the sting in the back of his eye worsen and soon his vision started growing a bit blurry. He ducked he head to the floor, "Tch…what if I don't want to talk about them right now?"

"That's fine. You can tell me about them later. Anytime you want."

"That's gonna be hard considering you don't carry your phone around."

Haru went silent for a few seconds, "If that's the case then I'll start carrying it with me- "

Rin looked up at him.

"-Just for you."

And just like, Haruka again effortlessly managed to cut through the resolve and walls that Rin built around himself. Rin felt familiar tears form and he buried his face in his palms. He was humiliated to be crying in front of Haru like this again, but when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, and a hand softly stroke his hair, he figured that the situation wasn't that bad.

A minute later, he pulled back from the other, wiping his eyes. Haru gave him a apprehensive look and Rin rolled his eyes, "Don't look so worried. I'm fine…I promise."

At that, Haru gave him a small smile and turned to look outside the window.

"The weather's gotten warm again recently," he said, "Want to go to the beach?"

At that, Rin smirked triumphantly and sprang up on his feet, "Hell yeah! I'll race you there!"

Haru smiled up at him, "It's a challenge then-"

He stood up.

"-Rin."