The Book of Firsts

Fifty-One

"Thank you for talking sense into Kyou."

"So, he didn’t sign?"

Rin shook his head, and I sighed with relief.

"Nothing’s resolved yet, and I gather by Friday there’s a strong chance we’ll be—well, not destitute, but likely needing to sell our cars and perhaps half my guitars to fund next year. We’ll lose a lot of deposits, but not the core necessities. One More Step won’t be delayed significantly, and _Echoes_…" He shrugged. "An extra two-year design phase won’t kill us."

"Looking forward to ramen?"

He smiled. "We might have a regular ramen dinner just to celebrate that it isn’t really necessary. We’ve plenty of potential income streams, and Kyou has a true gift for turning money into money—that’s part of the reason his family is so determined to control him. He might even enjoy fooling around with the resources of the family business, if not for it being the family business. Giving people he hates power over him would be the worst path."

"Why does he hate them?"

"Because of his mother’s death, mostly. I won’t go into it. Let’s just say they treated her badly."

I nodded in understanding, and sipped today’s tea, which was a strong mint.

"How’s Bran?"

"Fine. Sleeping on the couch at our rented office, avoiding things that might make him want to talk. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of voice he has after this. While the operation was smooth, the doctors say there’s little chance he’ll sound exactly the same. Not least because he’s no longer thirteen."

"Do his parents still not know he had surgery?"

Rin shook his head. "We went to a hospital down in Sunderry, one not affiliated with our family, and it looks like we’ve managed to avoid gossip getting back. If he keeps his mouth shut around them, there’s every chance they won’t know for years."

"I was a little worried he’d postpone the surgery because of your upcoming plummet from the rich list."

"He decided it’s better to get it done while we can afford it so it won’t interfere with next year and our probable need to work more than expected." Rin swirled the dregs of tea in his cup, looking wry. "I’d say that worrying about finances isn’t ideal for his recovery, but he’s too busy obsessively watching our Tomas-locator to pay much attention to money."

"Have you finally spotted some suspicious activity?"

"It depends on whether you consider sitting outside Meggan’s house late at night suspicious."

"Ah. Is he taking up Bran’s favourite spot?"

"It wouldn’t surprise me. Well, no, if Bran did ever sit gazing up at Meggan’s window, he hasn’t done it lately. He’s made a lot of progress the last few months." Rin’s eyes curved to match his habitual smile, turning it into something lightly mocking. "You are wonderfully distracting, Cheshire."

"I try not to bore," I said, amused. "Have you given up on the idea of other suspects?"

"We don’t discount the possibility. But Tomas' display of forum-sniping is definitely obsessive. He occasionally has a shot at Kyou and I, but he outright hates Bran, far beyond anyone else I’ve encountered. While Bran’s demonstrations of advanced brooding wins him a few enemies, they’re all minor in nature, nothing compared to the vitriol Tomas is dishing. And he’s getting worse."

"Escalation?" I stopped taking this lightly. "Rather than waiting for him to attack you again, have you considered just handing over what you know to the police?"

"Skipping how we found out? We’ve considered it, but the problem is that police attention is the one thing almost guaranteed to prevent another attack. Which, unless he’s helpfully kept evidence of the earlier attempts, means that he never gets paid out for them."

"I thought you were only looking for enough evidence to satisfy yourselves."

"Ideally, we want both. Giving him a beating behind the sports hall isn’t so permanent a solution as an arrest. Or at least some mandated psychiatry." He put his cup down, and considered me. "I’m sure there’s a reason you aren’t naked yet."

"It feels like it’s your turn to strip for me," I replied mildly.

"Probably. But you do it so nicely, Cheshire."

Though the words were lightly provoking, I caught a weary note behind them. Rin might have shrugged at their upcoming financial set-back, but he was the one most constricted in his current life. Facing nearly ten years of planning falling into a heap, he couldn’t be nearly as calm as he acted. Rin was also the least likely to suddenly share the things that troubled him most.

Deciding I had no reason not to do as he asked, I stood, but then walked around behind his chair and leaned against him. Then I began a leisurely strip, occasionally having to move away from him, but always returning so that I was pressed against his shoulders, handing him each item of clothing in turn, and waiting while he folded it neatly and placed it next to the tea tray. Listening as his breathing slowly thickened always gave me a sense of achievement, and I was in a thoroughly good mood by the time I was naked, and he was unable to restrain small, restless shifts on his chair.

Wreathing my arms around his neck, I leaned forward and kissed the side of his face. "So, was that good for you?"

Rin laughed. "Only you could make not watching you strip so ridiculously…" He turned on his chair, pulled me into his lap, and kissed me hard.

A long interlude of kissing interspersed with further clothing removal followed, and then a relocation to the doorway of the summer house. Standing was a challenge very suited to Rin, and the doorway a good choice of location, since I could brace my legs against the opposite side of the door frame, though he barely had any head clearance.

We shifted to the couch after, and played some Tyranny. Rin proved to be the most aggressive of the three at the game, and several rounds of close battles seemed to work him up considerably, which led to an emphatic aftermath. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was the game or rapidly approaching poverty that had turned him silent and forceful.

Watching him dress, I decided to try to head off a third potential crisis, and said: "Do you have any dilemmas that you’re not sharing with Kyou and Bran? Can I encourage you now to talk to them before walking off a beach, or selling yourself into servitude?"

He glanced at me, expression not entirely amused, but then smiled lightly. "I’m the one who isn’t hot-headed."

"How badly is this money thing going to hit you? Really?"

Rin finished buttoning up his shirt, but eventually decided that I deserved the courtesy of an answer.

"It depends on how much we lose. Kyou is…well, spending money in a last-ditch attempt to save it. Bran and I gave our blessing, but failure has larger consequences. We really will have to sell most everything we have, and give up the internship we’d arranged over the break. Not to mention making the audition process for the Conservatorium far more complicated for me, since I was planning to do that in Sunderry to avoid notice. Just selling the cars will probably kick off my parental issues far sooner than I wanted, which in turn will spoil my sisters' birthday parties, and I particularly don’t want that."

"You’re the model big brother, huh?"

"I try to be. Fortunately, I bought all their presents ahead of time. Hopefully, I’ll be able to give it to them in person."

"Your parents would really forbid you from seeing them?"

"They know it’s the best way to control me."

"You keep making me glad my family is so relaxed," I said, shaking my head. "But you’re way too inventive to really be separated from your sisters."

"True enough." Rin shrugged. "I just find drama tiresome." He tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. "Time to climb the wall, Cheshire. I do my best fretting alone."