||ON BRAKE|| A Warm Cup of Spilt Ink||Rinsagi||

Surprises Served on a Fancy Platter

Isagi stood up from where he was sitting to step closer to Rin, who was still by the entrance.

"If you don't mind it, could you please elaborate?" He stopped in front of the tattoo artist and looked up, demanding an answer.

"Just be ready at 7. I'll pick you up from wherever you want."

"I won't come until you explain."

Rin paused for a few seconds, as if he was in contemplation about whether he should or should not explain further.

"I'm meeting my brother..." His eyes glanced away frustratedly before he added. "More like I'm being forced to." That explained his reactions to the texts he was getting non-stop.

"I really don't mind free expensive food at a luxurious restaurant with you and your brother, not somewhere I'm used to going, but I don't see the reason why I'm included."

Rin walked closer to the desk and looked around for something, relocated some papers to the side and moved towards one of the doors near the desk, which turned out to be a small built-in storage space.

He kept talking while he did so, "I don't want to meet him alone and I don't want to ask my closer friends. Involving them in my family business would make things complicated." Isagi followed after him like a puppy, stopped by the desk then continued towards the door Rin opened, all while he tried to face him.

"This still doesn't answer the question. Why me?" Isagi questioned in order to comprehend, but it was more like he uttered it to Rin's back, because he still wasn't looking at him.

He was heading towards the cat's bowls near the wall, in opposite of the entrance, with a small sized cat food packaging clutched in his hand. So Isagi continued trailing after him.

"I need someone I know, but at the same time someone I'm not so close with because only then, it won't make me feel weird afterwards." Rin crouched down and tilted the packaging to the side to let some of its contents spill into one of the bowls.

Make you feel weird? Isagi thought. What did Rin mean by that and just how bad was his relationship with his brother that he needed an accompanying person to meet with him?

"And that's me?" Isagi already knew he was exactly who Rin was looking for when he asked. Having spent a significant period living together, their relationship fell in the middle ground, not overly close, yet far from being strangers.

It seemed as though Isagi had appeared in Rin's life -better to say Rin had appeared in Isagi's- for this purpose.

Rin retraced his steps to the built-in storage, intending to stow the packaging. Afterwards, he picked up a bottle of water and proceeded back to the bowls. Isagi paced back and forth right behind with him, all while they engaged in conversation.

"Yeah, you're suitable. You keep chasing after me, trying to find me... so I'll take advantage of that and at least you'll have a use now." He finished by pouring the water into the adjacent bowl.