If there was one thing Rin hated about Haruka, it was how carefree he was.

He was thinking about this as he walked. Even though Haru was admittedly one of the best swimmers Rin had ever seen, he never cared about winning or loosing. When asked why, there was only one response he ever gave: "Furīsutairu o oyogu. I only swim Freestyle." It was a double meaning; the black haired boy only did swim that one stroke. But Rin knew what it really meant: he swam for no other reason but his own enjoyment and love for water.

He didn't know why, but this fact drove Rin crazy. How could such an amazing athlete have no competitive drive? How could he not want to win?

Of course, this reason was also known to Rin. He sighed and looked down, his mulberry colored hair falling in his face.

It was because he swam with a team.

And though upon hearing that the Iwatobi Swim Team had been rekindled, he had scoffed, saying he didn't know why Haru was still hanging out with Makoto and Nagisa, and now that boy with glasses, Rei, he was secretly jealous. While he was enrolled at Samezuka academy, the swimming powerhouse, he hadn't wanted to swim on a team, as it wouldn't be the same as swimming with them. When he changed his mind, he had been kicked out of the relay. Rei had given up his spot for Rin to swim.

The team had won.

The team was disqualified.

There was no trading team members allowed, and so Iwatobi was disqualified. Though he knew no one regretted it, he felt slightly bad.

But he longed to swim with them again. Swimming on teams ruin swimmers. There is no better feeling than working with others, and once you swim on a team, you can never feel the same when you swim alone ever again.

But swimming with Haru...

His thoughts stopped as his feet ran into a step. "Ee?" Rin said aloud. He now found himself in front of said Swimmer's house. He had to laugh at his own foolishness; he knew the way far too well for his own good, to the point of walking to Haru's house when his mind drifted. Sitting on the stoop, he combed back his hair with his hands, looking to the sky. It was dusk now, and the sunset had turned the sky magnificent shades of purple and orange, like the palate of a water color artist. His raspberry colored eyes wandered as he thought.

Where was he? Ah, that's right, swimming with Haru. Though some things he disliked about him, he couldn't help but admire others. The way his hair fell in his face and the color of his eyes, his gracefulness in the water, his sense of self righteousness, and hidden kindness...

"Damn it..." He facepalmed. Most of those traits were physical. "Why won't you get out of my head...?"

The door opened behind him. "Rin-san... What are you doing here...?" He turned around to see Haruka, a questioning look on is face. As usual, he was wearing a tee shirt... And his swimsuit. Typical Haru. Rin stood up.

"Hey there, Haru-chan," he said, adjusting his black Samezuka warm up jacket. "Just decided to come and say hey."

"Hm," Haru replied, not bothering to criticize Haru's use of -chan. "Well... Do you want to come in?"

"Sure."

Haru left the door open, turning around and walking back inside.

"Aishiteru..." Rin muttered.

Haru turned around. "What?"

Surprised, Rin forced his usual grin. "Wow, Haru, now you're hearing things? You're even more spacey then we thought!" He said, walking in after him.

Haru muttered under his breath: "watashi wa anata no aishiteru..."

Neither one took notice to what the other said.

Because admitting love is harder than breathing under water.