Sousuke exhaled to steady his breath. Rin was staring at him like he'd seen a ghost. He stepped slowly towards him somewhat expecting Rin to move too. However, the man held to the spot. When Sousuke reached Rin his face flushed from his obvious intoxication.

"Sousuke..." He whispered. Rin raised his brow as though he couldn't believe it was him.

"Yo..Shark Boy." Sousuke could not drink the man in fast enough. He was only a few inches shorter, but much leaner in comparison. Swimming had made his naked arms in the black tank muscular, and his red hair cut close to his head. The jeans he wore were low on his hips.

"Ha-! Sousuke!" Rin hop-jumped towards Sousuke hugging him tight, the chain on his jeans clanking.

Sousuke inhaled and closed his eyes to the warmth melting through him. He held Rin tighter to steady his shaking hands.

Shit.

Rin smelled like cherry blossoms and vodka.

"What are you doing here!" Rin heaved their arms apart showing his toothy smile.

"I just stopped by on the way home," Sousuke lied. "Nitori told me it was your coming home party, but I'm pretty sure that requires you to actually come home." He tried to keep his voice passive.

"Yea..." Rin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, still beaming up to his ears. "Kisumi called me right off the plane. I tried to tell him that I had plans, but you know how that guy is when you try to tell him no."

"Heh-" Sousuke's body felt like stone. "Yea he's a bit overly ambitious."

"He is right?" Rin was so excited Sousuke could not bring his tone to a scold. "I kept telling him that Gou was gonna kill me for being late! We went to a bar, and then he told everyone who I was." Rin chortled through his narrative. "So then everyone was all "Shark Boy! Shark Boy! Lemme get an autograph." Then we had free drinks for the rest of the nigh..."

Sousuke was not listening. He did not want to hear about Kisumi and Rin's excursion.

'Called him off the plane.'

So, he guessed, Rin and Kisumi kept in contact. Sousuke clenched his jaw and felt the fire rising his chest. It was a problem he'd always had from the beginning.

Possessiveness.

Anger.

Resentment.

Jealousy.

Anyone who had Rin's blazing gaze was an enemy. He did not think about Rin with others because it would only infuriate him. Even if he knew them. Even if it was Kisumi.

"Sousuke?"

Sousuke cut his eye up to the man now tilting his head towards him.

"Are you alright?"

No.

"Yes."Sousuke's mouth ached into a smile. "Sorry, I'm a bit tired. I just came from work."

"Oh yea!" Rin held Sousuke's bad shoulder and hardened his brow. "Officer Yamazaki-san. Reporting for duty." Rin said in a mock stern voice.

"Heh-yea I should drag your ass in for public intoxication."

"Ha-ha." Rin smirked folding his arms. Rin covered his angular hips with a shirt, but if Sousuke looked hard enough, he could see the very bottom of the man's pierced naval."You wouldn't."

"I might."

"Hmph-" Fire burned in the man's red eyes. "Wanna bet?" Sousuke tried not to notice the look Rin was giving him. The one that said, "you would never".

"What are the stakes?"

Were they flirting?

"You tell me..." Rin bit his bottom lip baring his jagged canines.

Sousuke could not tell.

"Your call Shark Boy."

That was the problem. The line of "playing around" and full force fucking was so blurred he could not see through it. Sex was never planned, even when they were together as teenagers.

Except that one time.

But that one time was the exception.

"Heh-" Rin smirked and shook his head slowly. "I see you haven't changed."

"Why would I?" Sousuke chuckled from deep in his chest. "Don't toy with perfection."

"Perfection? Did you take a bullet to the brain?"

"Ahahahahaha-"

Yea...

Sousuke grinned.

It was better this way...

"Are you going home now? Can you hang out a bit?" Rin raised his brow slightly.

Was that an invitation?

Sousuke stared at the man and felt the throb in his chest. He shook his head.

"Sorry but I've got an early morning." He held up the cookies. "And I've got a whole box of cookies to eat by tonight."

"Oh." The man's smile faltered. "Yea I guess it's late." Rin picked up his flowery grin as if it'd never wilted.

Was he disappointed?

Shit.

"But I mean... now that you're back-" Stop. "We could maybe get lunch or just catch a football match or something."

"Yea?" Sousuke could hear the anticipation in Rin's low tenor.

"Yea sure."

"I'd love that," Rin nodded once.

Sousuke tensed. Then there was silence again. He could hear the locust still calling. The neighbors lights extinguished one by one.

"Well... I guess I'll go in..."

Rin stepped towards him.

Sousuke stepped back.

"Good luck with Gou- ne?" Sousuke nodded and reached his hand out to pat Rin's head once.

Rin ducked from under Sousuke's massive hand. "Yea..." The man stepped forward so that they were face to face.

Sousuke's eyes widened as Rin moved closer. He held his breath.

"Good luck with your cookies..." Rin smirked when their mouths were centimeters apart. "Ne Sousuke?"

Sousuke swallowed feeling his heart thudding inside of his broad chest. Rin slid back on his right foot and turned away from him.

"Call me soon," Rin called from the end of the block.

Sousuke stood and watched intently as the man disappeared.

"Hah-" Sousuke laced his fingers through the water. He was moving so fast the current rippled against his cut arms and legs.

Rin was back.

Sousuke knew that it would not be easy for him to maintain his resolution. Physically he was still very much into Rin. Just staring at Rin, he could feel the man's skin on his fingertips, and feel the heated breath from Rin's tongue when they'd kissed years ago. Seeing him drunk and open, it made Sousuke remember the nights they shared before they made their relationship official. And thinking about their relationship, gave him just the sense he needed to turn Rin down.

"Hah- hah-" Sousuke slammed through the water's friction.

Because there was only pain with Rin.

He swam faster, kicking his legs and lifting up gasp the puffs of air in his lungs to keep moving.

He knew that because twenty years had carved a reminder into his heart. That way when his brain stopped working his heart would throb to heed off the danger of the red headed man.

"Hah-hah-" He was almost there. He swam faster, extending his arms out- reach.

And if it came to ignoring Rin, he would. If it came to cutting off Nitori and the others, well, he'd do that too. There was no way...

Sousuke hit the end of the pool with a slap and gasped for air.

"Hah-hah-hah-" He swallowed panting. There was no way he was going to fall into the same trap again. Not that Rin knew what he was he was doing to him.

Sousuke opened his front door and dropped his bag with the wet suit.

Rin had no idea what hell he'd been through these past years.

He wrenched open the fridge and grabbed a beer twisting off the cap.

And Rin wouldn't know.

He drank thirsty, finishing the bottle.

Because he wasn't going to tell him.

He laid down in his bed and closed his eyes.

Sousuke was thirty.

He squeezed his pillow tightly and let his exhaustion take him.

He wasn't going to...

Sousuke thought of cherry blossoms before drifting to sleep.

...Drown again.

"Have you ever kissed a girl? Sousuke?"

Sousuke turned towards the boy laying in the futon next to him and stared curiously. He loved when Rin slept over. It was nice to have someone to play with, and then when it was time for bed they could stay up late like this and talk about stuff.

Like swimming.

Like wrestling.

Like football.

"I kiss my mom...and my grandmother sometimes."

"Heh-" Rin turned his head slowly towards him with his back laying straight. "I mean like a real kiss...like in the movies."

"Oh..." Sousuke felt his face heating. He shook his head.

"Me either..." Rin trailed. Sousuke watched his breath hasten slightly.

"I don't really see the point..." Sousuke mumbled. "Kissing girls seems icky to me."

"Kisumi and me did it."

"Really?" Sousuke's eyes widened.

"Yea. At school once." Rin grinned. "It's cool right?

Sousuke nodded slowly. At the thought of Rin kissing Kisumi he felt a strange fire igniting in his chest.

"Kissing...it's nice..." Rin trailed.

"Nn..." Sousuke held his pillow closer to his tensing body. "But if you kiss someone...does that mean you have to marry them?"

"Ha-! Sousuke!" Rin leaned up on his elbow. "It's not like that." He shook his head. "You kiss someone to show them you like them. It only counts if it's someone you like." He stared down at Sousuke holding his pillow. "But it's different from kissing your family." Rin moved closer, the boy's chest now laying on Sousuke's warm bedding. "Do you want to try it?"

Sousuke blinked looking terrified.

"It would just be to show you...since you've never done it before," Rin whispered.

Sousuke's heart was racing. He was afraid to know what kissing Rin would feel like. Sleeping with Rin so close sometimes made him feel weird.

"O-okay." Sousuke nodded sitting up. He grabbed his pillow and dug his fingers into the stuffing.

"Okay..." Rin stared at Sousuke and his smile faltered. "Are you ready?"

"Yes..." Sousuke squeezed his pillow as tight as his chest felt. Rin leaned into him and he closed his eyes.

Peck.

Their lips touched and broke apart just as quickly.

Sousuke blinked his eyes open and Rin smiled wide.

"That wasn't bad right?"

Sousuke shook his head, and felt slightly disappointed as his face finally cooled. Was that it? The look must have shown on his face because Rin's smile faltered too.

"What's wrong?" He asked worried.

Sousuke shook his head.

"Don't lie..." Rin lowered his head. "It was weird to you wasn't it. You didn't like it-"

"No-!" Sousuke shook his head again. "I just thought..." He clenched his jaw and held his pillow.

"Sousuke..." Rin called his name quietly. He felt his heart racing.

"I thought...maybe it'd be longer..." His face was burning against the white of his pillow. "Or something like that." He mumbled. Before he could think Rin lifted his face from the pillow and their lips met again. Sousuke felt tingling burst through his entire body. He closed his eyes and slowly lifted his arms to Rin's thin shoulders.

"Mm..." Rin made a sound like a whimper, and it made Sousuke's toes curl. Rin's lips titillated him in the gentle steady kiss. When their lips parted Sousuke's throat was aching. He swallowed hard and squeezed his legs together.

"How was that?" Rin tilted his head smirking.

Sousuke nodded once, and turned away from the boy. His chest felt as squeezed as his thighs.

"Is that..." Sousuke mumbled. "Is that how it was with Kisumi?" Sousuke mushed his face into the bedding to stop from melting.

"No..." Rin replied softly. "Kisumi and I were just playing around." Rin told him. "I told you..it doesn't count if it's not someone you like."

Sousuke did not think his heart could race any faster, but to him- and maybe that was because he'd buried his head in the futon- to him it sounded like Rin said their kiss was different from he and Kisumi's. Their kiss counted because...

"Good night...Sousuke."

Because Rin liked him..

"Good night...Rin."

Sousuke closed his eyes, and grinned.

A/N: Sousuke and Rin are ten in this flash back. It's before Rin leaves to go to Iwatobi.

Sousuke is determined not to let himself be swept away, but Rin is just so dang hot. Good luck Sousuke. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!