Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2090331.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Free!
  Relationship:
      Matsuoka_Rin/Yamazaki_Sousuke
  Character:
      Matsuoka_Rin, Yamazaki_Sousuke
  Additional Tags:
      Smut, sourin, Non-Penetrative_Sex, Consensual, Plot_What_Plot/Porn
      Without_Plot
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-08-06 Words: 3699
****** hot menthol burn ******
by drfeels
Summary
     Sousuke obeys, unzips his hoodie the rest of the way and throws it
     down to the floor, followed by his t-shirt. Rin pushes at his ribcage
     and he takes the hint and rolls over onto his stomach, shifts his
     pillow and lays it under his shoulders. The familiar scent of menthol
     burns the inside of his nostril and he can hear the soft, wet sound
     of Rin slicking up his fingers.
     Neither of these things prepare him for Rin's touch.
Notes
     pretentious title again i'm sorry
There are a handful of scents so familiar to Yamazaki Sousuke that they might
as well be part of his bloodstream, his nerve endings, fused into his skin. The
first, without mystery or explanation, is chlorine. Chemical, bitter, stinging
his nose since before he can even remember anymore. The sixty percent of water
that makes up his body might as well be purified with chlorine.

The second, the laundry detergent his mother's used since he was age five, the
one he defaults to even when he washes his shirts at school. Warm, comforting,
clean. Laundry smells right with it, it smells like they're his clothes. He
cannot give up that small thing, no matter how easy it is.

Third is menthol. Menthol and muscle salve, the kind that cools and then burns.
His back always ends up sore with a new training menu, shoulders aching, to the
point where he keeps a jar in his bag constantly, and it's always half empty.

He's reaching to grab it out of his bag after his post-practice shower when Rin
slyly crashes against his locker, having already taken care of his captain
duties with the freshmen.

"Sousuke," he grins, like he always does. "See you back at the dorm?"

"Yeah. 'Course." He can't be mad at Rin, even if it's a stupid question to ask.
Where else would he be?

He digs his fingers into the jar and rubs some onto his bicep when Rin takes
notice, grabs the jar from his hand. "You sore?"

"A little."

"You should let me do it. I've got good hands."

Sousuke snorts. "Sure you do."

"No," he says. "I'm serious. Wait for me in the room, ok? I'll do it."

He grabs the jar back from Rin's hand, caps it, shoves it back in his bag and
zips everything up. "I'll be there," he says as he places his headphones into
his ear and scrolls through his iPod for a song. "Take your time."

***

Rin actually takes about forty-five minutes, but it really doesn't matter.

It's two hours until dinner and Sousuke is too tired to really bother with his
homework just yet. He lays on his bunk and traces patterns in the ceiling tiles
with his eyes. The same song has been looping on repeat for the past half an
hour. It's soothing, this sort of quiet atmosphere, and the music fades and
numbs his head. He could almost fall asleep.

Instead, he thinks about Rin.

His absentee roommate, his best friend, the type of best friend who, despite
being gone for 5 years, still seems to love him with everything he used to and
then some. With just a few words they go back to being like they used to be, no
matter the distance between them or the years. Part of Sousuke wonders if this
sort of thing is normal, if everyone has a person like that, or if somehow he
and Rin have been handed a special set of cards dealt by fate.

He's not even sure if best friend is what to call it anymore, and his heart
aches. Thinking about Rin lends his whole body a terrible, electrifying warmth
that cannot be dealt with properly no matter how many times he tries.

He likes Rin. No, he loves Rin. It is no more complex or simple than that.

It's not a secret. It is not something he's hidden. Sousuke is honest to the
core with his feelings, and brave. After seeing Rin again after so long, after
spending so many hours thinking of how he'd say it, he'd told Rin simply how it
was.

I like you.

There was no fear in his words, there could not be. Even after five years there
was Rin, there was always Rin.

I never forgot you.

Rin had replied back by kissing him goodnight. And good morning. And a lot of
other things. After-practice shower kiss on the shoulder. Holding Sousuke's
hand while watching horror movies last Friday until 2am.

I waited to swim with you again.

It has been two weeks. School, homework, practice. They sleep in separate beds.
No matter how much Sousuke wants to touch Rin, to kiss him more, he can't find
a place to properly ask.

Not seeing Rin for five years has made him realize how many things he doesn't
know anymore.

The sound of keys scraping the lock penetrates his headphones and the door
swings open. Rin saunters in and is quick to disrobe from his practice warm-up
suit to his default uniform of tank top and sweats. He unzips his bag and
carefully stacks all his schoolbooks on the desk and Sousuke thinks maybe he's
forgotten earlier until Rin pivots on his foot and points at him.

"You," he says. "Where's the rub."

"Swim bag."

Rin helps himself, digs through Sousuke's things until he finds the jar, tucks
it in his hand. "I'm coming up," he says, and before Sousuke can answer he
scales the short ladder to the top bunk.

"We're doing it up here?"

"No reason not to." Rin pushes at the edge of his t-shirt. "C'mon. Take it
off."

Sousuke obeys, unzips his hoodie the rest of the way and throws it down to the
floor, followed by his t-shirt. Rin pushes at his ribcage and he takes the hint
and rolls over onto his stomach, shifts his pillow and lays it under his
shoulders. The familiar scent of menthol burns the inside of his nostril and he
can hear the soft, wet sound of Rin slicking up his fingers.

Neither of these things prepare him for Rin's touch.

Rin starts with the middle of his spine and works outward with deep strokes
around his shoulder blades, the sockets of his shoulders, down his spine, to
the base of his back. It's been a long time since he's had someone rub him down
at all, let alone someone like Rin, which lends an element to this that
shouldn't necessarily exist. He groans when Rin reaches a stiff spot and begins
to kneed his fingers deep into it. It feels so good, it hurts but at the same
time something there relaxes and lets loose and the pressure he hadn't realized
he had leaves him.

"You're tense," Rin mutters. "Did you stretch properly?"

"Of course I did." That's not a lie, either. Lack of stretching would lead to
injury, which in something he can't afford, especially not now that he has a
college he's promised to. "It's just been a while."

"A while?"

"Since I had a rub."

"You...don't go to the school nurse? Or one of the team managers?" Rin's voice
sounds confused. "Who does this then? Who did this at your old school?"

"I guess I do. I did."

"That's not good." Rin takes his arm and steadies his palm on Sousuke's back
while he rotates the shoulder. "You can't reach all the way back here. You need
someone to do this."

"Good thing you're here then." His laugh is eaten up by the pillow and comes
out rather muffled.

"I'm the captain," Rin says. "I have to look after my boyfriend."

Sousuke has never heard him use that word before, in any context, let alone
context involving himself.

The bottom of his stomach drops out and gets swallowed up by some kind of
infinite abyss. His whole body prickles as the menthol balm cools and the
sensation travels up his spine to the base of his scalp. The room smells
medicinal and Rin's words hang in the air. Rin does not seem to think anything
of them, his hands keep moving, kneeding Sousuke's shoulder blades, the base of
his neck, the tense parts of his trapezius at the base of his skull.

All of his nerves feel like they're on fire. Deep between his legs something
jumps and heats and pools in his belly. When Rin raises his hands to move them,
the next time they come down he jumps at the touch a little, bites down on his
lip and he's glad Rin can't see his expression, what he's thinking.

"Are you thinking--" Rin asks, pressing down particularly hard on a stubborn
knot in his lower back, "--of something?"

"You're good at this."

"I know." He can't see Rin's grin but he can hear it in his voice. "They made
us take a class in Australia, all the muscles and stuff like that. It was kinda
fun. They made us memorize all the names though, that was shit. This--" he says
as he kneeds deeply, making Sousuke jump even more, "is the latissimus dorsi.
Your 'lat'." Rin moves his hands in an upward stroke with his lower palms,
along the curve of Sousuke's shoulder blade. "Your rhomboids." Rin's hands lift
off him and come down, very suddenly, on his-- "Gluteus maximus."

He jumps. He doesn't mean to, but his spine curves into the bed and he shivers
and jumps when Rin grabs him there, digs in his nails through Sousuke's
sweatpants, so much it feels like no fabric is between them at all. Part of him
thinks Rin is just joking around until he hears--and feels--Rin lean forward
along his back. The tips of Rin's long bangs tickle the back of his neck as Rin
whispers deep and harshly, "It's a nice one."

Those sharp teeth nip lightly at the shell of his ear and a shiver goes down
his spine. It goes straight between his legs. He feels it, all his nerves
opening on fire, the balm burns on his muscles but that's a steady warmth, this
is like something else entirely. His heart shakes and races.

Rin notices, no--Rin knows.

"Roll over," he says, giving Sousuke's side a push. "I've got to do your
front."

It sounds like a lie.

"No you don't."

"Don't be ridiculous, I do." He tries to worm his fingers under Sousuke's side
to get him to yield. "If you don't do it I'm gonna make you play me for it. And
you'll lose."

He sighs and turns over, but not before wiggling a bit, trying to calm down, to
get his pants to loosen up around his hips. He turns over anyways and tries to
pretend Rin won't see, but their eyes meet. He knows. Rin sees it and he knows,
he knows everything. He smirks and maybe Sousuke wonders if he'd been trying to
do this all along.

"It's big."

That's all Rin says with a small smirk and a glimmer of those sharp teeth, so
little and so much at the same time that Sousuke wishes he hadn't really said
anything at all. At least, not until Rin leans forward and straddles his thigh
to get better access at rubbing his shoulder and he understands. There's a
hardness there, he can feel it. Rin seems to be pretending it's not there at
all, though the tips of his ears might be redder than usual if Sousuke squints
enough.

In a careful decision he shifts his leg up just slightly higher, tests the
pressure of his thigh between Rin's legs. Rin's whole body shivers, and there's
no way to hide it.

Passion is decided as rashly as almost everything else Rin seems to take to.
His nails dig into Sousuke's shoulders and he leans forward, meets their lips,
kisses deeply, deeper, to the point where the bones of their jaws grind and
their teeth clack and Rin's tongue swipes Sousuke's lips, top then bottom, his
gums, the inside of his cheek. Against his thigh Rin shakes and grows harder.
Sousuke reaches his hands up under Rin's tank top, runs them along his spine,
all the muscles Rin knows how to name, then down and he grips them tightly
against Rin's bottom. In a swift movement he grinds his thigh up between Rin's
legs and pulls him closer with his hands and Rin, to avoid the ceiling, has no
choice but to bend forward. His lips land near Sousuke's ear and that becomes
his whole world, all of his senses are drowned out by the sound of Rin's
feverish breaths and the heat as he exhales heavily on Sousuke's neck.

He pulls at the waistband of Rin's sweatpants and underwear and Rin kicks them
off eagerly, throws them over the railing to the floor on top of Sousuke's
shirt and hoodie, and follows it with his tank top. Rin reaches to do the same,
runs his hands up Sousuke's chest and moves them down to his waistband when
Sousuke gets a whiff of menthol and catches his wrist.

"You still have salve on your hands," he says. "It'll burn."

Rin blinks, and in the haze he'd probably forgotten completely. "Right," he
grins. "Hands-free, then? Unless you want me to make a quick run to the
bathroom."

No. Not the bathroom. There's no time for that, and he doesn't want to wait.
Part of him is so impatient, like if something happens this moment might not
exist again.

He takes Rin by the wrists and helps him tip over on his side, shifts himself
against the wall so the curves of their bodies align, Rin's spine grazing
Sousuke's stomach. Rin moves his hips backwards a little too forcefully and
grinds against Sousuke's erection and the tops of his thighs in a way that
cannot be a complete accident.

Sousuke doesn't let go of his wrists. He traps him in his arms, holds Rin's
wrists against Rin's bare chest, feels his way along his shoulders with just
his lips. He brushes away the deep red strands of Rin's hair off his neck with
his nose. His lips meet the side of Rin's neck, the hinge of his jaw, lobe of
his ear. He licks his way along the nape with a firm tongue and gives a gentle
suck. Rin shivers and tries to curl away from it but he has no where to go.

He's not sure where to go from here, just that it has to go somewhere, he's
aching and he knows Rin is too, every shift of his hips against the back of
Rin's thighs makes both of them tremble all over. Without much hesitance or
thought he lets go of one of Rin's wrists, hooks a thumb in the waistband of
his sweatpants and underwear and pulls them down to his knees. He parts Rin's
smooth, shaven thighs with his own, places his erection between them and
breathes out against the back of Rin's neck as he feels Rin understand. Rin
closes on them, grinds his hips back with force and he releases Rin's other
wrist, curls his fingers around Rin's hips, pulls them against his as tight as
they'll go. Sweat beads and trickles down the back of Rin's neck. It's hot, so,
so hot.

He can barely feel the burn of the menthol in his muscles compared to the fire
that's lit his body now.

Rin's still laying against the railing of the bunk, hands gripping it tight
with white and hard knuckles. Sousuke shifts his hips and thrusts himself
between Rin's thighs and Rin catches on. His breath hitches as he tenses all
those strong, carefully curated muscles he has, they hum and tighten like steel
cords. Sousuke palms along them, strokes upwards, each stroke getting closer
and Rin's breath faster. He curls his fingers around Rin's erection. The
reaction is instantaneous, Rin's hips grind backwards, tighter to him still, he
lets out a moan like he can't quite remember how to breathe.

Sousuke's lips sooth the back of his neck, his spine, nip and the back of his
ear lobe and he begins to time his thrusts with the strokes of his hand. He
closes his eyes and focuses on nothing, just the sound of their skin, their
breath. His ears become like his nerves, hightened to the core, everything
becomes louder, the wet sound of himself between Rin's thighs and Rin's teeth
scraping his lip as he tries to keep himself from crying out in a way that
would send the underclassmen racing down the hall to their door.

Underneath them the bunk rattles and shakes like it's in the middle of a storm.
They're caught in the eye of it, the quiet and serene part. The center, where
everything stops and starts. They are the storm.

"C-coming," Rin breathes. "Soon."

Sousuke understands he's close himself but he listens to the sounds of Rin's
body like the tick of a clock. Rin's breath as it gets faster, closer, his
thighs stiffening and spine curving and even with his mouth closed he can't
stop himself. He lets out a long, deep moan, one that echoes over everything,
as he comes in Sousuke's hand. Sousuke isn't far behind from that, he feels his
body going numb, white, as Rin echoes in his ears. He buries his mouth in Rin's
neck, holds himself steady and breathes deep against it as his body stiffens
and shakes and he comes with Rin's thighs still tight around him.

They lay there like that for a moment until Rin parts his thighs, white and
sticky, and sits up. "I just took a shower."

"So?"

"Now I need another." His voice sounds like he's trying to be mildly annoyed
but can't get the energy to feel it properly. He falls back down on the bed,
leaving his legs as far away apart from each other as they can possibly go. "I
should get this off before it dries."

"You should."

Rin shoots him a look. "You're not gonna offer to go get me tissues?"

Sousuke finds himself biting back a laugh. "I didn't know I was supposed to."

Rin huffs but forces himself off the mattress and down the ladder. He mutters
something Sousuke can't quite make out but a minute later there's a hand with a
tissue peeking over the top of the bunk railing.

"Take it," Rin says, as though he's trying to sound like he's not doing this
out of genuine good will. "I...came on your hand, didn't I?"

"Oh. Yeah."

Sousuke wipes off the residual stickiness that's made its way between his
fingers and cleans off some of himself from between his thighs before he balls
up the tissue and throws it at the wastebasket in the corner. Shoots. It goes
in effortlessly. Scores.

The silence that hangs between them now feels stiff, as though they should be
talking about what's happened, doing something. He doesn't know what to say. No
matter how hard he tries he can't gauge Rin right now, what he's thinking, what
he wants. He's about to consider giving up and going back to his iPod when the
bunk ladder shakes and Rin's disheveled head pops up. The rest of his still-
naked body follows and he nudges Sousuke over and snakes his way back into the
same spot as before, though this time he faces Sousuke, lays on his chest and
fits his head neatly in the spot between Sousuke's neck and shoulder.

"That stuff smells gross," he says. "It's so strong."

"You mean the menthol?"

"Yeah." Rin sighs and places a quick kiss against the inside of his neck. "It's
all you smell like right now."

Sousuke laughs. "Your fault."

"I guess."

The minutes tick by and they lay there, too tired to think of other things to
say. Sousuke pushes back his hair, the roots are thick with sweat. Rin's body
heat just makes everything worse, like they're melting together, but at the
same time he doesn't want him to go either. He shifts his shoulders. They're
warm with the barest tingle left, but they feel good. Loose. Rin might actually
not be kidding when he says he knows what he's doing.

"I have to look after my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend..." he finds himself muttering softly.

"Hm?"

"You called me your boyfriend."

Rin shifts his head from Sousuke's neck and props himself up on an elbow. The
sweat there cools. It's refreshing but also strangely uncomfortable, just that
side of his neck. "I thought you were. Aren't you?"

"I guess we never talked about it."

"I didn't know we had to." Rin leans over him, moves his bare thigh and swings
his leg so he's straddling Sousuke's naked torso. He sits himself on the bottom
of Sousuke's stomach, right over his hip bones, leans forward and steadies
himself with his palms on Sousuke's chest over so the top of his head doesn't
scrape the ceiling. "I've been kissing you every morning."

"I know."

"Every night."

"I know."

"So what," Rin spits.

It's clear the short answers irritate him, even if that's all Sousuke can
really find it in him to offer. What else is he supposed to say? He's always
been dry to the bone. He doesn't have that kind of romantic nerve in his body.
There's nothing but flat, honest words. That's all he has. He can only hope
that's all Rin wants.

"So I just...wasn't sure. What you thought it was. What I was."

"Have you never dated anyone before? I kissed you, moron. More than once. I
like you, of course I think that! I lo--" He cuts himself off hastily with a
cough.

That was fast.

"You love me?"

He can't find it in him to breathe.

Rin presses a hand to his chest. His eyes flicker to Sousuke's, then away, then
back again. "I don't know what else the word for it would be."

"We can go with boyfriend."

He leans up for a kiss and Rin meets him halfway. It's gentler this time, more
chaste, but now that Sousuke understands the meaning on Rin's end somehow it's
much more provocative than anything he's felt before. A kiss with real, true
meaning to it. Romantic. Maybe he does have that sort of bone somewhere deep in
his body too. He'll search for it someday later, after more kisses and touches,
and his mind wanders to how much further they can go, how far they've gone. A
long future stretches ahead of them, their shadows elongating on the path as
the past sets behind them like the sun.

This is enough for now.
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