Rei was in the process of texting Nagisa in a state of half-asleep stupor when his phone rings in his hand, startling him awake. It took him several seconds to realize who was calling, and another couple of seconds to gather the semblance of mind to answer.

"Ah- Hello, Rin-san?"

"Hey," Rin sounds restless, pacing, and there's some mild disturbance from his end that sounds a lot like city streets. "Did I wake you? It's pretty early still, right?"

Rei doesn't agree that 10:32pm is early, but it's certainly better than 4am. It seems Rin did him a favor, anyway, since he was dozing off in his around-the-house clothes, and he still has papers scattered and books open on his coffee table. He hates waking up to uncleanliness.

"I wasn't asleep," Rei says, which is technically the truth. He realizes he hadn't sent his text to Nagisa, but that can wait. "What's going on? Why does it sound like you're outside?"

"Yeah, uhh," Rin's voice is far-away. He sounds worked up, out of breath, and Rei is starting to get worried. "Would you mind…" Rin trails off and groans impatiently. "Fuck, can I come over?" he finishes. "I… Need to talk about shit."

"Come over? Now?" Rei looks over the state of his room, which is probably perfectly acceptable to anyone else, but he distinctly feels like it looks like a storm has blown through. "Are you sure you want to come all the way over here this late?"

There is an almost uncomfortable silence from the other end, and if it weren't for the continuous stream of noisy cars whirring past, Rei might have thought that Rin had hung up.

"I'm already here, actually." Rin says, and Rei sits, stunned, before nearly dropping the phone in his haste to go throw open his front door.

He tumbles onto the apartment's balcony, looking both directions. He's pressing the phone so tight against his ear it almost hurts, and as soon as he realizes this he relaxes his grip. "Rin-san, where…?"

"Here," Rin's voice is coming from the right, and he's climbing up the third floor stairs, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He's panting, his eyes are downcast, and he's not dressed properly for the cold weather. This would have been first on Rei's list of Things to Address, but right now he's more worried about Rin's mental state than the physical. It is really cold outside, though, and he's starting to feel the chill as he had just burst out of his apartment in a summer v-neck and shorts.

"Quick, get inside," Rei says seriously, and Rin allows himself to be ushered into the apartment, his eyes not once raising from the ground in front of his feet.

Once inside, Rin mechanically removes his running shoes and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Sorry for the trouble."

"No, it's no trouble… Really," Rei asserts. He's looking Rin over as subtly as he can, trying to assess how long Rin had been out in the cold by the flush on his cheeks and the pale tint to his lips. "Rin-san, what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

If he looks hard enough, Rin is trembling, and although it's very likely nothing more than a natural reaction to the cold, Rei isn't so sure.

Rin walks past Rei, hovering by the kitchen door in an attempt to avoid eye-contact. Rei feels nervous, unsure of what he can really do other than try and lend an ear, which is seeming to be a difficult prospect if Rin refuses to say anything.

"Hot tea!" Rei suddenly exclaims, but Rin barely budges in reply. "How about I make us some tea?"

"You don't have to go to any trouble-"

"I want some too, so it's no trouble," Rei says, and strides past Rin into the kitchen, aware that Rin is following him sluggishly. As he goes about getting the pot and water ready, he glances at Rin who is pacing the floor idly, reminding Rei of those big cats you see in cages at the zoo.

"Uh. So, Rin-san. What-"

"I kissed Ai." Rin blurts out, staring wide-eyed at the floor as if his own words surprised him. Rei isn't certain how to respond, so he opens his mouth and then promptly shuts it.

"I fucking kissed him!" Rin continues, raking his hands through his mussed hair and pulling it back. "I don't know what happened, I wasn't even thinking of anything like that, but I still… I…"

Rin looks dangerously close to breaking down, which alarms Rei enough to walk over to Rin and grab his shoulder, guiding him gently to a chair at the small kitchen table.

"Relax, Rin-san, deep breaths-"

"I can't relax!" Rin exclaims, a laugh-sob catching in his throat. He flushes in embarrassment. "I can't fucking relax. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped, but Ai was looking at me like… Like…"

"Hold on, hold on…" Rei walks around to the other end of the table, pressing a finger thoughtfully to his temple. "I'm sorry, but, weren't you and Ai… Already…?"

Rin stares at Rei with such a clueless expression that Rei might have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Wha- No! You thought we were together?"

"Well," Rei starts embarrassingly, "I had always sort of assumed-"

"Jesus fucking Christ, you thought we were a thing?" Rin plants his forehead on the table. "I can't fucking believe this."

"I'm sorry," Rei offers.

Rin shakes his head, takes a deep breath and then stands up, resuming his pacing although now his gait is a little less manic. "I liked him, I guess. I don't know, I didn't really think about it until tonight. Not like that, anyway."

Rei made a mental note to lecture Nagisa at length about the dangers of Stating Things as Factual Before Confirming Them in the near future. Even without Nagisa's word, however, Rei has seen Rin and Aiichirou together plenty of times and had always assumed by their behavior that they were an item. He had just thought that Rin didn't like talking about it in detail.

"If you like him, then what's the problem?" Rei asks carefully.

Rin's face dusts a shade similar to his hair. He mumbles something, turning toward the wall to say it, and Rei strains to hear it to no avail.

"What?" Rei prompts.

Rin sucks in breath, turning to face Rei with an expression that's hard to read. "I'm not gay!" he practically yells, hands balled into fists.

Rei stares at him, mouth open and slack. "O-oh."

"Yeah."

"My."

"Yeah." Rin turns back to the wall, smacking his head against it with a dull thump and then staying there. "You see why I'm sort of freaking out?"

"Rin-san, I didn't… I mean, are you sure-"

"I like women." Rin says with a long, shaky sigh. "I like women, I always have. I've never thought of a guy that way before." He turns his head to glance at Rei apologetically. "And it's not like I don't approve of being gay, obviously. So… I didn't mean to say it like that."

"I understand," Rei says hastily.

The water has been boiling for close to a minute, and when Rei realizes, he quickly lowers the heat and begins preparing the tea. Behind him, Rin moves away from the wall and resumes sitting at the kitchen table, silent as the dead.

Rei utilizes the silence to mull over what he's learned and try and figure out the best way to approach. He grabs a couple of mugs and carefully pours the tea, returning to the table and stealing the seat across from Rin, pushing a steaming mug his way.

"Thanks," Rin says, his voice deflated.

Rei places his tea mug off to the side, ignoring it for the moment. "Where are you on the scale?"

Rin takes in a massive breath, his chest swelling tight against his running jacket. He lets it out with painful slowness. "Something higher than ten, I'm pretty sure. Completely off the scale. Fuck the scale."

"Rin-san…"

"Why did I have to go and do that?" Rin says, resting his forehead against the palm of his hand. He looks very near tears, and Rei is willing to bet that he's doing everything he can to hold them in. Rei wishes he could convince Rin to let them out. If Makoto were here, he was certain that he would know how to get Rin to open up more. "Why did I have to fuck everything up like that? He's been such a good friend to me, so why…?"

"Why are you so sure that this has ruined your friendship?" Rei asks seriously. "Have you thought that maybe Ai-kun likes you in the same way?"

"You didn't see the way he looked at me," Rin moans. "He was fucking terrified."

"Okay," Rei says with some authority, "Tell me everything that happened. Start at the beginning."

Rin sighs and leans back in his chair, rolling his head back.

"We were practicing late. Everyone else had gotten out of the pool and had already headed to the lockers, but me and Ai stayed behind because Ai was working on his 50mm breaststroke and he was trying to break 28 seconds. We gave it one more go, and he nailed it. 26 seconds, personal best for him." Rin leans forward and rests his head in his arms. "I don't fucking know what happened after that. I went to pull him out of the pool, and when I pulled him up…" he shakes his head, groaning. "He was out of breath and smiling, he just looked so damned adorable, and it just kind of happened. I pulled away, I think I apologized, I don't really remember, because he was seriously staring at me like I'd just punched his grandmother. I didn't know what to do so I high-tailed it to the lockers, got my shit together and left. I couldn't go back to my room for obvious reasons, so I just started running."

Rei blanches. "You ran all the way here? In this cold?"

"Don't even think about reprimanding me. I feel shitty enough as it is." Rin says miserably.

"Is it possible that Ai-kun was just surprised?" Rei asks.

Rin laughs humorlessly. "He wasn't the only one." Rin fists his hands in his hair and plants his elbows on the table. "How could I have kissed a dude if I'm not even gay? I seriously can't…" He heaves another massive sigh, his arms betraying him by displaying the slightest of tremors.

Rei fingers the handle of his mug, brow furrowed in concentration. Finally, he clears his throat. "Sexuality isn't exactly a straight-and-narrow path, Rin-san," he points out. "I can't exactly say that I'm homosexual either."

Rin peeks up, eyes finding Rei's through a mess of wild crimson hair. "How do you mean?"

"Well, before meeting Nagisa-kun, I considered myself asexual. Perhaps I still do, to an extent, because Nagisa-kun is the only person I've ever known that elicited any sort of a…" he flushes, swallowing an embarrassed lump in his throat, "reaction in me. I researched it extensively, and my conclusion is that there is a ninety-four percent chance that I am demisexual."

"What the hell is that?" Rin asks moodily, but he seems to have snapped out of his previous state of hopelessness.

"It's much like asexuality, except demisexuals are usually only interested in a partner with whom they develop a strong emotional connection. But mostly, I am drawn to beauty. Both male and female beauty appeals to me, but Nagisa-kun is the one that seemed to shine the brightest. He changed that part of me."

Rin raises a brow, a smile pulling at his lips for the first time since he entered the apartment. "Talking about it awfully openly now, aren't we."

"The situation called for it. If it can be of help to you, I don't mind talking about it."

His smile melts away and Rin lowers his gaze to the steam rising from the previously ignored mug of tea. "Okay, so I don't have to be strictly into dudes to like Ai, is that what you're saying?"

"You're the only one that can answer that, Rin-san." Rei points out.

Rin stares hard at the tea mug, almost like he's hoping the answers will appear in the steam. "That isn't my biggest problem, anyway," he says. "How do I go back there and face him? We share a damn room together, it isn't like I can just avoid him for a few days and wait for things to cool down."

"You don't even know how he feels yet," Rei says. "You assumed he rejected you before you even got a chance to hear it from him. It sounds to me like he was surprised, nothing more."

"Okay then," Rin reasons, "how was Nagisa the first time you kissed him? Was he surprised?"

"Technically, he kissed me first," Rei says, fumbling with his tea mug distractedly. "And I was more than surprised, I was horrified. I didn't know how to react, because I hadn't looked into the theory of kissing yet, and I had never had the opportunity to practice, either."

"Oh my fucking god," Rin states in wonder, "I can't believe you're for real sometimes."

"My point is," Rei huffs, "Nagisa-kun knew me well enough to know that I might react in such a way, and things were able to move smoothly. You know Ai-kun, how do you think he would react to someone kissing him without any warning?"

Rin thinks about it, actually thinks, and his expression softens. "Okay. So what the fuck do I do? Talk to him about it? Hey Ai, remember how I kissed you and then left you for dead by the side of the pool? Wanna go out sometime? I'm not so sure I set myself up for success, there."

"It's a starting point," Rei muses. "I think Ai-kun will be willing to hear you out no matter what you say."

Rin leans back in his chair, tapping his knuckles methodically against the table top. "Right. Well, I don't really have a choice. What's the worst that can happen? He'll reject me, right?"

"Even if he does," Rei says pointedly, "I don't think that Ai-kun is the type of person to push someone away because of something like that."

"I'm more worried about me doing the pushing," Rin admits. "I think I like him a lot more than I thought I did. If he rejects me, I'm not sure I can just make those feelings go away."

Rei isn't sure how to respond. Trying to illustrate all of the positives in the event that Aiichirou doesn't reciprocate Rin's feelings seems hypocritical. If Nagisa had rejected Rei's confession, Rei was certain that it would have killed a large part of him. Although he would have done anything to hang onto their friendship, he knows that being so close to Nagisa without being able to have his affections returned would have poisoned him.

Instead, Rei has a wild idea that is so spontaneous it nearly makes him choke on his words. "Let's watch a movie!" he chimes. He wonders if in thinking about Nagisa he had accidentally channeled him. It seemed like a very Nagisa-brand of suggestion.

"A movie?" Rin says skeptically.

"Before you leave, we could watch something. It might take your mind off of everything?" Rei isn't sure who is talking anymore, but the words keep coming.

Rin thinks it over, and then shrugs. "Sure, why the hell not. If you're up for it. Captain is gonna be pissed as hell when I get back anyway, so I may as well put off the scolding."

"Oh, wait," Rei realizes his error with a sinking abruptness, "I don't have a TV."

Rin stands up, taking his mug with him. He clicks his tongue. "You have a laptop, don't you? We'll just find a movie to watch on this site I go to all the time."

Rei gasps and levels Rin an accusatory look, but follows him out of the kitchen anyway. "Watch a movie illegally?"

"Yep. Let's find something really fucking scary. Nothing takes my mind off of everything like shitting my pants in terror," Rin laughs. He rolls his eyes when he notices that Rei is still glaring. "Oh, come on. Make an exception for my shitty day."

Rei relaxes and sighs relentingly. He opens the door to his room and pulls his laptop from under some of his notebooks, handing it to Rin. "Don't get any viruses on there, or I'll never forgive you."

"Yeah, yeah," Rin says as he sits down on the bed, balancing the laptop on his lap as he busily types out a URL. Rei stands with his arms crossed, a question burning on his tongue.

"Rin-san," Rei starts, and Rin distractedly hums a reply. "Why did you come here?"

Rin stops typing, eyes still fixed on the screen. Rei immediately feels like he's said something wrong, and works to rectify his words. "I don't mean that I'm sorry that you did, I'm happy to help you whenever I can… I just can't help but think how much closer you are to Haruka-sempai, Makoto-sempai and Nagisa-kun. Any one of them would drop everything to help you, and I know that Haruka-sempai and Makoto-sempai live farther away but still…" he trails off awkwardly, hoping he hasn't said too much.

Rin half-closes the laptop. His eyes are fixed on his hands, and Rei can't tell exactly what he's feeling by looking at his face.

"I just ran, I don't know. I ended up here, I wasn't really thinking about it." Rin admits. "It's like the last time I called you, when I was… You know. I just picked up the phone and dialed, and it was you. Maybe I feel like you accept me in a different way, or something. I don't know." He looks up finally to meet Rei's eyes, and Rei isn't sure what to say. "Weird, right?"

Rei shakes his head. "I don't really think it's that strange." he says. He clears his throat and straightens his back. "I'm glad I can be of help, Rin-san. I'll continue to support you."

Rin laughs. "You're getting all sappy on me, again."

"But, you-!" Rei blurts indignantly, but Rin is already waving his argument elsewhere and turning the laptop screen around to face him.

"Ooooh shit yes, how about we watch this one?" he says in excitement. The movie appears to be American, and the thumbnail shows a massive tornado brimming with- are those sharks?- tearing through a city, a ferris wheel crashing to the ground as the rest of the city is left in shambles. "Sharknado!"

"Rin-san, no." Rei pleads.

.

.

Author's Notes:

Okay, this chapter is a little head-canon heavy. ^/^

I like the idea of Rei being asexual, because it just really seems to fit his personality. I myself am demisexual, so I feel I can relate to Rei a little, and it just sort of makes sense for him?

I'm also assuming, based on what most people have deduced, that Rei lives alone, so thankfully there's no one to disturb while all of this is going on.

I think the next chapter is going to have a lot of bro-support for Rin taking these first steps with Nitori. I hope you guys are continuing to enjoy this pointless fluffy fic, your comments and kind words are a real motivator!