Mint Chocolate Ice-cream | Itoshi Rin x Reader

VIII. Spawning Sa(e)lmon

You visited Rin every day after that, checking up on him, often spending the entire day in his room. Your dad didn't seem to take much notice; he was always asleep when you left the house in the morning, and absent when you returned home in the evenings, presumably out drinking beer with his old man friends.

Whatever happened on Christmas Eve had left Rin scarred. He was no longer as playful and teasing, now quieter and more reserved. He has never once spoken about what happened, and you didn't have the heart to push it.

When Riku asked about her son, fretting like a true mother hen, you could only answer, "I don't know." Because that was the truth, and you had nothing else to offer to comfort the lady.

Rin spent more time at that football club, and more often than not you arrived at his door only to divert your path to the snow-blanketed grass field.

The first time you saw him practice, you were clutching a thermos that Riku had stuffed into your hands, entrusting you to deliver it to Rin. You wandered aimlessly, reaching the conclusion you might have come to the wrong place. Barely anyone was there, because who was crazy enough to work out in subzero temperatures?

You finally stumble upon a field, the only one being occupied in the entire training center. The figure in the middle was unmistakable, kicking ball after ball into the goal, each kick somehow more forceful than the one before.

Only Itoshi Rin was crazy enough to practice soccer in this freezing weather, and no doubt, he'd stopped short when he glanced briefly at his only persistent audience to find you.

Silence replaced the prior echoes of his kicks, and you tightened your clutch around the warm flask, wondering if you shouldn't have come. You watched nervously as Rin strode to the mesh gate of the field towards you.

"What are you doing here?" He asked curtly, the thin film of sweat on his face starting to frost over.

You ignored his question, thrusting the flask into his hands. "You know that you could get hypothermia if you sweat in this cold weather, right?"

"You're very optimistic." He replied disinterestedly, and you had almost laughed at the irony. He brushed the ice off his face, and you wished you could do that for him instead.

On New Year's Eve, you caught him just in time as he was closing his gate, the thermos in his hand. You didn't know why you went along with him to the fields; you had nothing to do there except watch him kick balls for hours on end, and besides, he was getting more irritable than before.

But that day Rin was disappointed to see the soccer club was closed for the holiday, and you heard him curse under his breath. Your hand wrapped around his elbow, before sliding down his arm and into his hand.

"Perhaps you could take the day off too." You suggested, only for his hand to loosen its grip around yours.

"You don't understand, [F/N]." Rin let go of your hand fully to run it through his hair stressfully, voice trembling unnoticeably from the effort of not snapping. "If I slack off, then I won't be able to beat my brother."

And there it was, he told you the root of his conflict with his brother. You fought the urge to mentally scoff at men and their competitiveness- it clearly has taken a toll on Rin and wasn't something to scorn now. After he removed his hand from his hair and let it drop to his side, you took it back into yours immediately.

"You're not slacking off, Rin. Besides if you overwork yourself you'll only risk getting hurt and then you won't be able to play as well then."

He didn't respond, taking a moment to ponder on your reason while you dragged him away down the street somewhere else.