A Touch of Warmth

Everything was the same as how he remembered it.

The stairs, dinner table, and furniture were all in the exact same places he saw them years ago.

But what caught Rin's eyes the most were the television and couch sitting in the middle of the living room. The TV was on, but what it showed wasn't important to him. All the memories of him watching TV with Lena came flooding back into his mind. 

A slight chuckle escaped his lips as the door closed behind him.

"Did you have dinner yet?"

Lena walked past her two guests and into the kitchen. Apparently, Miles was too distracted by what was playing on the TV, because he sat on the couch instead of following the other two into the next room.

"How about some fried rice?", Lena asked.

"...Sure..."

Silence followed as Rin watched her gather the ingredients. With nothing to occupy his attention, he looked around for anything to comment on. His eyes settled on one object in particular. It was the one thing that was actually different from what he remembered. 

There, sitting atop the counter was a small orange bottle. Without thinking, Rin grabbed and then turned it over in his hand to read the label.

"...Sleeping pills? Why do you have these?"

"What other reason is there? I've been having trouble sleeping recently."

Rin took another look at the label. The chatter from the TV was starting to get louder now.

"...Aren't these a bit strong though?"

Lena took the bottle away from him and as she did, what was playing on the TV finally caught Rin's attention. It was a news channel. Images of a partially destroyed mall overlayed a reporter's voice.

"Miraculously, there were no casualties. However, authorities say the terrorist's leader is still at large."

A picture of Eva flashed on screen.

"...I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping recently.", Lena said.

She opened a drawer near her and tossed the pills inside. 

Rin's finger twitched. Bringing it up was harder now, but it was something he had to do. 

"Lena, I need to ask you a favor."

Lena grabbed a pan.

"Listen Rin, I think we should stop this.", she said.

"What do you mean?"

She turned on the stove.

"Things have been getting too dangerous. I've been too much of a pushover with you, but that stops now."

She chopped an onion. 

"We're not getting involved in this any further."

"Just hear me out. I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous-"

"Food's ready.", Lena said.

Lena picked up the dish she was working on and made her way to the dinner table. After scratching his head, Rin followed her.

The room was mostly silent aside from the television, though neither of the two were paying attention to it. Rin didn't even touch his plate as he was focused on one thing only.

"...Is there anything that could make you reconsider?"

Silence.

"...I promise it's nothing dangerous."

Silence.

"...Please, Lena?"

She kept ignoring him. Rin shifted his eyes downwards. 

"...If you won't help, then there's no point in me being here."

"And what do you want me to help you with?"

Silence again.

"You're going to get yourself killed.", Lena said.

"I told you; there's no reason to worry about me. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Things have been working out so far but keep pushing your luck and it'll be a different story."

Rin looked back at her in disbelief. 

"Luck? You think I've been getting lucky? I know what I'm doing."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

The TV changed channels suddenly. Both of them looked over to see Miles still sitting on the couch, watching the screen silently. Remembering there was someone else in the house, Rin lowered his voice as he spoke again.

"Look, I know you think you're protecting me, but I'm telling you, it's fine. If anything, it's been the other way around recently."

"Either way, I'm not changing my mind."

Rin stood up.

"There really was no point in coming here. I don't know why I even bothered..."

For some reason, the memory of that night came back to him, and particularly the image of Lena waving him goodbye.

"...You always find a way to let me down."

He didn't even have to see her face to know how she reacted. Her silence was loud enough.

***

*SLAM*
Lena's front door shut violently. In the blink of an eye, Rin and Miles were standing outside in the cold air again.

"Real smooth kid.", Miles said.

Rin ignored him. He just stood there, drinking in the cold evening air.

A minute. Or was it five? Maybe it wasn't minutes. Maybe it had been an hour. Rin didn't know. All he could think about was the argument he was just in, why it started, and why he got so angry all of a sudden. 

But one question stood out in his mind from all the rest.

"Why can't she trust me? I keep telling her I'm fine."

"Oh, come on."

This time, Rin couldn't help but acknowledge the man stuck outside with him.

"It's called being a rational person. She cares about you. That's why she can't stop worrying. Hell, anybody would be with the situation you've found yourself in."

"...Anyone would?"

Rin looked down and thought about that for a good while. 

He raised his hand to the top of his head and rested it there.

He remembered two instances of others doing the same thing. 

One who's hand was open, another balled into a fist. And although they reached the same spot, one was definitely warmer than the other. 

"You get it now, right? So, go and apologize already."

Rin turned back to look at him again.

"Why are you acting like this is any of your business."

Miles looked to the side smugly as he stroked his chin.

"Heh. Well, once Lena recognizes my charm, we'll be family. Cousin in laws, I think?"

"You're still on about that? You realize I'm going to have to call off our deal, right?"

Rin walked over to the door. Miles spoke up one last time before he could reach it. 

"And that's how it should be. You're still just a kid, after all."

Briefly pausing to consider those words, Rin knocked on the door. It didn't open immediately, but he could clearly hear some shuffling on the other side of it. And after a couple of seconds, he heard the slightest creak.

Lena poked her head out without making direct eye contact or saying anything, so Rin took the initiative.

"...I'm sorry.", he said.

"For what?"

"For what I said."

"...And?"

"...And constantly making you worry."

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Lena opened the door fully. She tilted her head to motion Rin inside.

Lena sat on her couch with her arms crossed and legs folded. Rin sat with his knees against the floor in front of her as a punishment.

"Not good enough. Tomorrow we're giving Klein the stasis bomb or whatever it's called along with that weird thing we found at the mall and that's final."

Rin clenched his fist slightly but eventually put his feelings aside in order to answer.

"...I understand."

"Good."

She finally turned to look at him and let out an exhausted smile as she did.

***

The next morning, Rin sat at the dinner table alone. In front of him was a stereotypical breakfast. He didn't look at the food, however. Rin was fixated on his spoon despite how ordinary it was. 

No, he was fixated on it because it was so ordinary.

"He's really gone.", he said.

He thought back to a conversation he had yesterday morning. 

"I'll give you five months to find the second key. It's going to get pretty boring for a while, so I'll come back once things get interesting again.", his reflection said.

Another plate was set on the table next to Rin's, which brought him back to the present.

"Do you not like it?", Lena asked.

"...Hmm?"

He followed her gaze and realized he hadn't touched his food yet. 

"I was just... thinking about something."

The memory still bothered him, but the food looked too good to ignore. So just this once, he decided it wasn't worth worrying over as he dug in.