Six

By the time it came to leave and head to the gardens, Rin was grateful for the breather.

The gardens ended up being even more of a hit than he expected. Bachira was really into it. His photo taking habit to remember good things wasn't exclusive to food and Rin, apparently, because he was taking pictures of every plant, flower, bird, and patch of sunlight that seemed to catch his eye.

He seemed to be having fun though, so Rin wasn't annoyed.

"Rin-chan!" Bachira called out at one point from the spot he'd run off to.

When Rin looked over at him, he was waving frantically for him to come over to where he was, like he'd found something very important. He headed over to him. When he arrived, Bachira was smiling proudly and motioned to a tall, spindly plant climbing a lattice with pale blue flowers.

"Very nice," Rin said.

"These flowers match your eyes," Bachira said. He said this with incredible nonchalance, but it took Rin completely off guard. It was worse when he turned away from the plant and looked at Rin. "At least, I think so. Let me see."

Bachira walked the two steps that were separating them and put himself on his tip toes to bring his face close to Rin's, peering right into his eyes. Having Bachira this close terrified Rin for a reason he couldn't quite place, but he felt too stunned to back off or anything else, and by the time he'd even caught his breath, Bachira put his heels back to the ground and turned back towards the plant.

"Not quite," he decided before shrugging. "But there aren't that many blue flowers, so it'll have to do."

He then reached a hand towards the plant and plucked one of the blue flowers off. Rin tried to reach out for his wrist to stop him, but he'd been too late.

"What the hell?" Rin hissed in a whisper. "This is a public garden. You can't just go picking flowers just because you want to."

"It's just one," Bachira whispered back, smiling. He leaned towards Rin and slid the blue flower into his pocket. "It'll be our little secret."

Rin didn't have it in him to be too mad about that. Bachira was being playful and seemed happy and he couldn't help but take that as a win.

"I guess I should find yours now," Rin said, meaning the flower just the right shade of yellow.

"You have your work cut out for you," Bachira said, understanding immediately. "There are a lot of yellow flowers here."

"Is that a challenge?" Rin asked.

Bachira shrugged, his smile taunting him.

"Bring it on," Rin said. "Let's see what I'm looking for."

Bachira turned to Rin and opened his eyes comically wide. This time, Rin leaned down to see them. He'd known Bachira's eyes were yellow, but he'd always thought they were that aggressive lemon type of yellow. Up close, it did not seem to be the case. His eyes were a bit of a deeper colour, a warmer kind of yellow, one that held a gold undertone rather than a neon one.

Like sunshine.

After a few seconds, Rin felt satisfied and stood back upright. "Alright. Let's go."

Rin did indeed take this supposedly playful task as a critically important challenge, and Bachira indulged him throughout the entire process. Rin lead the two of them all throughout the garden, taking his time looking at each of the yellow flowers, deciding how close each colour was and what it might be missing. Bachira helped by leaning his face down close to the flowers, widening his eyes, and letting Rin compare them. They circled the garden multiple times and visited some plants more than once.

Rin was so focused on finding the closest match that it didn't occur to him how ridiculous his determination was. Bachira was very aware of how serious Rin was taking this supposedly playful task, but he was having too much fun to comment on it.

Finally, the game came to a close and Rin made his decision.

"This is the closest," Rin said decidedly.

Bachira was a little disappointed that the game had ended, but he was flattered at how much time Rin had spent on it, so he could hardly complain.

"You gonna do it?" Bachira asked him quietly as the two of them looked at the stalks with the yellow flowers on the ends of them.

"Do what?" Rin asked.

"Pick one," Bachira said.

"No," Rin said. "Because I'm not a delinquent who goes around ruining the garden for everyone else."

"You're no fun," Bachira said.

"I don't care," Rin said. "Take a picture if you want to remember it so bad."

"Don't mind if I do," Bachira said, reaching into his pocket for his phone.

He didn't get the chance to take the picture. The second his eyes landed on his phone screen, he saw something that made his face fall. He was trying to play it off, but he'd just been so giddy and upbeat, and Rin couldn't help but notice.

"What?" Rin asked.

"Chigiri just texted me," Bachira said. Rin knew that name. It was the person whose number the Styl guy wanted.

"What'd he say?" Rin asked, even though he already knew.

"Your brother is in Shibuya," Bachira said. "With Isagi."

"I know," Rin admitted, because it felt like the right thing to do.

Bachira didn't say anything else. He just let out a long sigh. The nearby bench caught his eye, and he went over to take a seat on it. Rin took a seat next to him. Not so close they were touching, but close enough.

Well, he took a seat after plucking one of the yellow flowers off its stalk and slipping it into his pocket, that was.

Neither of them said anything for a while. Rin was trying to work out what exactly he should say. Sorry my brother sucks so bad. Sorry your shitty ex boyfriend's taste took such an awful nosedive. Sorry it hurts so bad. But Rin didn't know if anything he was coming up with would actually help or if it would only make things worse like so many of the things he said seemed to. So he didn't say anything, and it was Bachira who eventually broke their uncomfortable silence.

"Can I post that photo of you?" he asked.

"Post it where?" Rin asked, not quite understanding the question.

"Like, you know," Bachira said, his voice ever more quiet and small and sad. "On social media. So it doesn't look like I'm at home wallowing by myself."

"Sae knows we're spending the day together," Rin said for a reason he didn't really understand. "Though I'm sure he's not making a point to spread it around."

Bachira didn't say anything in response.

"Sure," Rin said, trying again. "Go ahead."

Bachira started tapping away on his phone in his act of revenge, eyebrows furrowed in the much more depressing version of his focused face, and Rin sat there and let him. Sae was an idiot. Isagi too. He hoped they were both having a terrible time, and could only assumed they were, because he couldn't imagine that lot would have just accepted them into the group, even if they didn't share his incredibly rational and well deserved dislike of Itoshi Sae.

"Should I tag you in it?" Bachira looked up to ask. "Wait, do you even have an account?"

"Technically yes," Rin said. "But I don't use it."

"What's your username?" Bachira asked, holding his phone out.

Rin didn't take it. "Uh. My name?"

Bachira went back to tapping. It went on a little while before he kind of smiled and said, "Wow, you weren't kidding."

"About what?" Rin asked.

"Three posts, the last one from three years ago," Bachira said, some amusement slipping its way back into his voice. "And a generic profile picture. Oh my God."

"I told you I didn't use it," Rin said again.

Normally, Rin didn't feel any type of way about this or even think about it. But Bachira's pointing it out made him self conscious about it for some reason. Bachira announced done, it's posted, and Rin dug into his pocket for his own phone to open his own social media app and clicked on the notification. He was kind of horrified by what he saw.

"Eleven hundred and eighty seven posts?" Rin asked. "Who the hell can think of eleven hundred and eighty seven things to post about?"

"Me," Bachira said unapologetically. "Life is really cool, you know? And I like sharing that with other people."

Rin didn't get it, but he didn't ask or say more. He just started scrolling through Bachira's profile, who seemed to post everything from his meals to scenes around the city to pictures of himself. Plus a single picture of Rin smiling at him from across the table.

"You're ridiculous," Rin said.

"I'll take it down if you want," Bachira said. There was some apology in his voice this time. "If you don't want people to know we're hanging out."

"No," Rin said suddenly. It surprised him. Bachira seemed pretty surprised by his tone as well. "No, I don't care who knows. Besides, I'm your fake boyfriend, remember?"

"I remember," Bachira said. "Thanks."

They were taking the train back the same way, so they got on together. It was pretty crowded at this time of day, so they stood together just inside the doors. Rin held on to the bar above them. Bachira held onto Rin.

"I'm sorry," he told him. "I can't reach anything else."

"I don't mind," Rin said honestly.

They didn't say much. There wasn't much to say. Bachira was still sad, and it seemed like he was trying his best to ignore it, so Rin stayed quiet, out of fear that he might say something to intentionally draw attention to it or make it worse.

They were quiet until Bachira said, "This is me."

It occurred to Rin that he hadn't any idea where Bachira lived, and he didn't much like the idea of stepping by to let him off the train just like that. The doors slid open and instead of letting him pass, Rin stepped off with him.

"This isn't your stop," Bachira said, almost frantically, like Rin didn't realize.

"I'll catch the next one," Rin said.

"Why'd you get off?" Bachira asked, clearly very confused.

"So I can say goodbye to you," Rin said, not realizing that was the truth until it had come out of his mouth.

They just kind of looked at each other on the platform for a couple seconds, but it was hectic and full people rushing from one place or another, so the two of them stepped off to the side where they'd be out of the way. Bachira looked painfully uncomfortable, but Rin couldn't tell if it was just some brand of sadness.

"Well," Bachira said. "Bye."

"Yeah," Rin said. "Bye."

But then they kept standing there while the train doors closed and the cars started speeding away. Rin felt the moment was incomplete somehow.

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Bachira asked.

"No," Rin said. "That would be stupid."

"I'll wait with you," Bachira said.

The two of them waited on the platform together, still not talking or even looking at each other until the train came into sight. When this happened, Bachira turned towards Rin and Rin did the same.

There was yet another moment that they didn't really know what to do with each other upon wishing the other farewell. Bachira held his hand out to Rin, and then his fist, and then deciding both options were stupid, he pulled his hand back entirely and opted to hug him. Rin let him, and to the surprise of both of them, hugged him back.

Rin also took this opportunity to take the yellow flower out of his pocket and slip it into Bachira's for him to find later.

"Well," Bachira said, pulling back once the train was pulling in. "Bye for real."

"Yeah," Rin said. "Bye for real."

Bachira did turn and leave then. Rin watched him walk off, put his headphones over his head, and start patting his pockets, looking for his phone. Rin watched him do this, entirely oblivious to the fact that it was almost his turn to step into the train. He was almost sure he was in the clear when he saw, from all the way at the end of the platform, Bachira turned, his face full of surprise, his hand holding up the yellow flower. Rin offered him a tight lipped smile before stepping onto the train.

omg!! Bachira texted him almost immediately. you're going to flower jail, delinquent!!!

Rin found himself smiling upon reading that, and because nobody on this train of busy commuters was going to call him out on it or take a picture of it, he let himself. He tried to reply, but kept typing things out and erasing them.

I thought it was our secret. Delete.

You're going first. Delete.

Worth it. Delete.

Finally, he felt properly stupid and closed his messages without replying. What he did instead was opened his social media, which felt awkward from how little he ever did, and changed his profile picture from the generic one to the picture of him he'd swiped from Bachira's profile.

It seemed like the kind of thing a good boyfriend would do.