Rin’s head rested atop yours, his breath warm against your hair as his arms wrapped around you like he was afraid you’d slip away if he loosened his grip for even a second. The two of you lay tangled on his bed, sheets half hanging off the edge. The faint glow of the nightstand lamp lit the dark circles under his eyes, the sharp edge in them when they dropped to your bare shoulder.

“You’re covered in bruises,” he murmured, voice tight. He pressed his lips to the bluish mark near your collarbone, breath hot on your skin. “What’s he done this time? Sae still doesn’t know about us, does he?”

Rin hated this. He hated seeing what his brother’s careless hands did to you. You felt his fingers flex against your waist, his jaw tense like he was fighting the urge to get up and confront Sae right then and there.

He pulled back just enough to see your face, a frown creasing his features. “When are you going to leave him?” he asked quietly. “I can’t stand it. You letting him touch you, talk to you like you’re just trash…”

His lips brushed your cheek, then your temple, each kiss more desperate than the last. Guilt crept inside your chest. He’d said it before—that you deserved better, that you should run away with him and forget Sae. But it was never that simple.

Rin’s grip tightened, a low growl rumbling in his throat as he pressed his forehead to yours. “You deserve better than him,” he said, contempt dripping off Sae’s name. His thumb ghosted over the bruise, careful not to hurt you more. “I hate seeing you like this. You think I don’t notice how you flinch when I touch you here?”

He pulled you closer until your chest was flush to his, like he could shield you from everything outside this room—Sae, the mess, the truth that still tied you to the older Itoshi’s lies. Rin’s heartbeat thundered beneath your ear, steady and fierce, like a promise you almost believed.

“I’d never hurt you,” he whispered, so soft he didn’t sound like the Rin who sneered at his brother on the pitch. “You know that, right? I’d never let you feel like this.”

Outside, the world kept spinning, but here, wrapped in Rin’s arms, you could almost believe none of it mattered. He tilted your chin up, brushing his lips over yours in a kiss that tasted of desperation and something deeper. A vow, unspoken but heavy on your tongue.

His fingers slid through your hair, his breath unsteady as he pulled back just enough to meet your eyes, his gaze pleading.

“Say you’ll leave him,” he breathed. “Say you’ll be mine.