Rin loves bubble baths and eventually convinced Ryuji to take them with him. It's the only time they can be alone together without Lightning or their friends.

Rin laid his head on his arms, letting the hot water soothe him. He'd trained with Angel and Shura today. Because they both had different fighting styles, it was hard to keep up with both of them at the same time. His muscles ached and he wanted attention, so he'd convinced Ryuji to take a bubble bath with him.

"Bubbles? Seriously? How old are you, six?" Ryuji had scoffed. Rin had glared at him. "Watch it, I'll roast your ass no problem if I have to." Rin growled. It wasn't right to snap at Ryuji, but Rin didn't feel like being made fun of for something that was a luxury to him.

He never had a childhood. He'd had training. Work, work, and more work. If it weren't for his demon healing, he'd have a ton of wicked scars by now. Bubble baths were something that he'd always enjoyed, but didn't get very often. Lightning rarely had the time to give Rin baths as a toddler between raising/training him and work. And even as a kid, Rin had to go to school and then train until almost bedtime.

Bubble baths were the only time Lightning had ever really seemed like a Dad to him. Rin had always seen other kids with their dads at the grocery store or the park. He'd been dragged around by Lightning to find demons to kill. Great father-son time, right?

"Hey, you okay?" Ryuji was next to him, looking at him worriedly. Rin blinked, and gave a smile he hoped was convincing. "Yeah, I'm fine." He answered. Ryuji only frowned more. "You can tell me anything, you know." He said. Rin sighed.

"I didn't have parents. I just had Lewin. I call him Dad, but he's always been less than that to me. Just a trainer. A mentor. I called him Dad because it was our cover story." Rin found himself telling Ryuji the things he'd never told anyone. Even his friends in America.

"His family treated me like one of them, but not once did any of them try to actually take care of me or ask if I was being treated right even though they know exactly what Dad is like. I had to learn to cook, clean, and bathe all on my own. The other kids were weirded out by my dad for the longest time, so I had no friends." Rin scooped up a handful of bubbles and blew them at his boyfriend, a scowl marring his usually chipper expression.

"Did he treat you right?" Ryuji's voice had an almost threatening tone. "He earned money to get supplies to keep us alive and iff the streets. We have a townhouse in Virginia and his family lives in a huge house in Texas. But is training a child how to basically be a living weapon really treating the child right?" Rin sighed, throwing his hands up in the air helplessly.

"Do you at least have friends now?" Ryuji wondered next to switch the subject, moving to wrap his arms around Rin and set his chin on Rin's shoulder. Rin laid his head against the taller teen's. "Yeah, I do. They're all Exorcists. We all have an understanding that work sucks, but it can be fun if we make it fun." Rin answered. "There are teenagers working as full Exorcists in America too?" Ryuji questioned.

"Yeah. Only ages fourteen and over, though. For America, they take in orphans. Fire departments usually hand over babies given up by parents too. It's helping to better the shitty Foster system we have in America. The kids are taught regular subjects and about demons at the same time. At eleven, they start picking their own classes for what Meisters they want to study. At fourteen, they have a year to learn how to actually use their Meisters effectively in the field, with Senior Exorcist supervision. At fifteen, they take the Qualification Exam. If they don't make it, they spend another year training. If you can't be an effective Exorcist by sixteen, you're stuck in the mail room or as an errand runner. You are allowed to train on your own time and take the test again with the newbies every year." Rin explained the entire process.

"Is that how you grew up?" Ryuji asked. Rin shook his head. "I've trained from the time I was four. I didn't get to go outside and play. I got to learn how to not burn people alive with blue flames and be top of the class in all advanced classes. Only the best for me." Rin's voice took a bitter tone.

Ryuji leaned up and peppered kisses over his boyfriend's face. "What are you doing? Haha, stop, that tickles!" Rin laughed as he was smothered in affection. "Well, now you can have fun and do whatever you want. If you're old enough and strong enough to save people, you can make your own descisions. So why don't we have fun now to make up for your lost childhood and my slight childhood trauma?" Ryuji suggested, trailing kisses down the side of Rin neck. Rin hummed, closing his eyes at the warm feeling filling his chest.

"Okay."