"It's so beautiful!" you exclaimed happily as you ran ahead of Rin to get a better view. You had only been in Australia for an hour, but it only took a few minutes for you to fall in love with it.

Running to the center of the park, you hopped on the giant fountain and stood on top with your head tilted back, appreciating the warmth the sun covered you in even this far into the fall season. Slight winds caused from being so near the ocean made their way towards you, blowing your (H/L), (H/C) hair and clothes back, making you feel like you were in that beautiful ocean right then.

"I knew you'd like it here," Rin said with a smile as he watched you enjoying yourself up on the fountain. You opened your eyes to look at the man you loved so much and couldn't help but smile back. You hopped off the fountain and wrapped your arms around him.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here," you whispered, so unbelievably happy.

"Come on, (Y/N). We don't want to be late," he said as he intertwined his fingers with yours and led you out of the park and down the streets of Australia.

"This is it," he told you as the two of you looked down at a house. He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him, looking a little worried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm really excited to meet your homestay family because they're a part of so many of your memories from here, but I'm just worried they won't like me...." you admitted, burying your face in Rin's shoulder.

"Trust me, they'll love you. You have nothing to worry about," he reassured you, placing a kiss on your forehead. With a smile, you nodded and allowed Rin to lead you down the walkway towards the door. Rin shot you a reassuring smile before ringing the doorbell.

The door soon opened to reveal a blonde-haired woman wearing an apron. "Ah, Rin! You're finally here!" she exclaimed as she pulled him in for a hug.

Rin let out a slight chuckle. "Hey, Lori. It's good to see you again."

Lori pulled away from Rin and turned towards you, her bright smile never fading. "And you must be (Y/N). Rin's told us so much about you, it's wonderful to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am," you replied, slowly starting to feel more confident about this.

"There's no need for formalities here, just call me Lori. Now you two come on inside so we can all get right to dinner."

You and Rin quickly followed Lori inside the house when a man stepped out of the kitchen with a wide smile on his face.

"Russel, Rin and his girlfriend just got here," Lori told her husband cheerily.

"So you're the famous (Y/N) that Rin's been telling us about! Welcome, like for Rin, our home is your home so don't be afraid to get comfortable here," Russel told you, just as friendly and kind as his wife.

"Thank you so much," you replied, your smile slowly starting to grow bigger and bigger.

"Now come on you two," Lori said. "I'd say it's about time for dinner."

As you and Rin sat at the table, Russel and Laurie brought out plate after plate of food including a whole roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and much more. You've never seen so much food for just four people in your life and it surprised you.

"Why is there so much food if it's just the four of us?" you asked, confused by such an extravagant meal.

"Why, we're celebrating Thanksgiving of course!" Russel exclaimed.

"But I thought that was an American tradition," you replied, looking up at Rin expectantly for answers.

"It is, but it's a holiday Russel and Lori took an interest to," he answered, reaching over to grab some food.

"Tell me, (Y/N). Do you know what the purpose of Thanksgiving is?" Lori asked as she sat down, Russel taking a seat right beside her.

"Isn't it to be thankful for everything you have?"

"Exactly! Now tell me that isn't a wonderful holiday to celebrate. And besides, it's also a great excuse to cook and eat a lot of food."

You along with everyone else chuckled at that statement and started to dig in on the delicious foods sitting on the table. You couldn't help but continue to think about Thanksgiving. Like Lori said, it was a great excuse to include more food in the meal, but you liked the idea of the true meaning of it. You rarely ever stopped to be thankful for all the good things in your life, you thought that maybe that would be the night that would change.

After dinner was done and all the dishes were put away, Russel and Lori headed upstairs leaving you and Rin alone. He led you into the living room, guiding you over to the couch where he sat next to you. A black dog ran out from one of the rooms and hopped onto the couch as well, making itself comfortable next to you where you patted its head while leaning yours against Rin.

"So what do you think of Russel and Lori?" he asked, his fingers subconsciously playing with your hair.

"I already really like them. They're so kind, I can see why you always talk about them," you answered honestly.

"I'm really glad you do," he said with a soft smile before closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

"Hey, Rin?" you hesitantly asked.

"Hmm?"

"What are you thankful for?"

He opened his eyes again and looked down at you with a questionable look. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, it is Thanksgiving and I've been thinking about all the things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for all my friends and family. I'm thankful that I'm here with you right now, being able to see the past that you try to lock away from others. I'm thankful that you trusted me enough to take me here and see a side of you that almost no one else has seen-"

You cut yourself off as you took a deep breath. You were thankful for so many things that you didn't even realize until you started spilling them all out. Looking up at Rin, you blushed slightly thinking you had said too much when you saw the look of shock on his face.

You lowered your head to avoid looking at him, suddenly embarrassed by everything you said. His soft finger pushed underneath your chin, causing you to look back up at him.

"Now that I think about it, I realize all the things I am thankful for. I'm thankful for meeting Haru, Sousuke, and the others. I'm thankful for being able to meet and live with Russel and Lori for all the time I was here. I'm thankful for all the swimming I was able to do with my friends in high school and thankful for all the swimming I'm able to do now. All those things I'm grateful for, but they're far from surpassing the thing I'm most grateful for."

Before you could ask him about it, he pushes your face towards his and kissed you, his teeth tugging on your bottom lip as he pulled away. It was a short but longing kiss, one that portrayed his emotions at that moment perfectly. He pressed his forehead against yours and smiled before whispering the five words that made your heart skip a beat.

"I'm most thankful for you."