A/N: So this is based off of this post about Rin and Haru going to the water park for Rin's birthday. Although, it's more of a present for Haru because water park = heaven for Haru. Although, I think that deep down, Rin loves it whenever Haru is just happy.
Pairing: Rin x Haruka
Warning: Fluff, AU
Disclaimer: I don't own Free!/Swimming anime
"Haruka, where are we going?" Rin asked as he gripped onto one of the many hanging handles. His body rocked back and forth with the rhythm of the moving train, causing him to bump against a few people every once and a while. However, his attention wasn't focused on those people. Instead, his attention was completely focused on Haruka, who was sitting down in front of him.
For a moment, Haruka lifted his eyes to look at him. However, he had that insufferable blank expression on his face that didn't reveal anything other than that he was irritated by his questions. Then, just like always did, he ignored him and moved his gaze back down to some brochure that he'd been looking at for the entire train trip. He would try to look at the paper to at least get a hint at where they where going, but Haruka always seemed to know when he was about to try and would move out of the way before he could even think about it.
It was downright irritating.
So, letting out a rough sigh, he decided to turn his attention elsewhere, looking around the train while he got his mind off of the irritation. He would think that out of all the times that Haruka would choose to act like this, he would cut it out on his birthday. He had been planning to just sit at home and fix a large meal for himself before letting his sister subject him to whatever torture party she had planned out. But apparently, whatever Haruka wanted to do with him was more important than that.
And come to think about it, he hadn't even heard his friend acknowledge the fact that it was his birthday today. He knew that Haruka knew when his birthday was and that he celebrated his other friend's birthdays. Because while Haruka came across as cold and slightly intimidating, he did care at the end of the day.
That didn't mean that Rin wasn't still pissed off about whatever secret place Haruka was taking him. In fact, he felt even more irritated now. He just wanted to know where he was being dragged.
Growling underneath his breath, he clenched his hand tighter on the handle and breathed through his nose harshly. He really wanted to get off this train and head back home. The sound of the intercom echoed throughout the small train as it slowed to a stop. Rin vaguely noticed that Haruka was standing up. The two stared at each other for a moment before Haruka just blinked and walked towards one of the doors. Utterly confused and still very irritated, Rin followed after him, gently pushing his way past people.
As the doors opened, Rin found Haruka grabbing a hold of his hand before they were practically pushed out of the train by the rush of people behind them. It took nearly all of Rin's composure just to make sure that he didn't fall over and end up being trampled alive by the business men and school kids pushing past him. That, and the constant presence of Haruka's hand gripping his helped to keep him up as well.
Letting himself be dragged out of the train station by Haruka, Rin blinked for a moment as he gazed around at the surroundings. He didn't recognize where they were at all. At least, not in a personal sense. There did seem to be something familiar about the place, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Where are we, Haru?" Rin asked as he looked around curiously. He was vaguely aware of the fact that they were still holding hands and he coughed a bit awkwardly, looking away. The gazes of a few people burned into him and he found himself bowing his head a bit in embarrassment. His ears burned brightly, but he said nothing to Haruka at all. It wasn't like the other boy would end up answering him anyway. He was much too absorbed in whatever he was thinking about.
And so, Rin let himself be dragged along to where ever Haruka was so determined to go. Although, he would have to admit, he had never seen his friend so focused on one task before. Haruka was only this determined about something when it had to do with swimming. And cooking fish. He was fairly sure that Haruka wasn't taking him some place to eat, since he preferred to cook fish himself.
Which meant that Haruka was taking somewhere where they could swim. That meant that they were actually going to race.
It had been a few days ago when he, Makoto, and Haruka had been talking about his upcoming birthday. As always, he mentioned that he hadn't had anything planned for his birthday other than the fact that he was going to eat and sleep most of the day away. But then, like the sap that Makoto was, he had to go and suggest that they give him something special since it was his 18th birthday. Something about "only turning 18 once" and "everything changing for him from that moment on". He remembered telling the both of them that all he wanted for his birthday more than to just relax and be left alone was to have a race with Haruka.
Of course, Haruka had just rolled his eyes and shot down his suggestion without any thought. He then had walked away without saying anything. It had made Rin a little bit worried, to be honest, although he wouldn't say anything.
He had thought that the entire issue had been dropped, but apparently, it hadn't.
Smirking just a little bit, Rin didn't say anything to Haruka. He'd let the other male think that he was being sneaky and secretive. No use ruining his fun just because Rin knew where they were going.
And so, when Haruka suddenly stopped them in front of some gate, he found himself blinking in mild surprise before looking through the gate. His eyes widened even more as he saw exactly where they were and he snapped his head in Haruka's direction. However, Haruka wasn't looking at him at all. Instead, he was staring through the gate with a recognizable glimmer in his eyes.
They were at a water park. Not just a regular pool like he had been expecting, but a water park.
Still in a bit of shock, Rin didn't say anything as he was dragged inside of the water park. He watched as Haruka paid for both of their tickets before he was dragged even further into the park. There was so much water and so many different pools and rides that Rin couldn't help but feel a particular giddiness. He could only imagine how Haruka must feel at the moment. A faint smile was working its way onto his face and he looked around some more, trying to digest everything. But that was really hard to do when there was just so much going on.
"I guess that I shouldn't be surprised that you brought me somewhere with so much water, huh Haruka?" Rin asked, looking behind him where he assumed his friend stood.
But instead of Haruka, all he was met with was a pair of pants and a shirt, as well as a bag where Haruka had been standing. Furrowing his eyebrows, he looked around for a moment to try and spot that familiar head of dark hair. It took him a moment, since there were just so many people around the water park. However, he had been around Haruka enough to recognize him and so, when he spotted him in one of the many pools, just floating on top of the water with bliss written all over his face, he found himself not surprised at all.
Rolling his eyes, Rin bent down and picked up the bag and Haruka's clothes, riffling through the bag for a moment. He assumed that since Haruka had taken them to a water park that he at least packed him a swimsuit as well. It wasn't like he had known where they were going, after all.
Pulling out the swimsuit that Haruka had packed for him, he shoved the other boy's clothing inside of the bag before walking towards the edge of the pool. Gazing down at Haruka, he took a moment to admire the fact that the other boy was so relaxed. His entire expression was calm, void of any emotion other than peace. It was a nice look on him.
"Hey, I'm going to go change. I'm taking your bag with me, alright?" he said, not really expecting an answer back.
Hearing the grunt in response, Rin took that as an okay and walked off towards the changing room. It took him less than five minutes to change into the swimsuit, which he realized fit him almost perfectly. It was a bit weird that Haruka knew what size he wore, but he figured that he probably got that information from his sister. She always seemed to be doing things that warranted them getting close.
As he walked out of the changing room, he took the moment to rent out a locker to put their belongings into. After all, it wasn't like Haruka would be doing that anyway. He probably would have left his bag out in the center of the park where someone could steal it or where it could get drenched by pool water.
Sometimes, Haruka was too precious about his obsession with water.
Walking over to the pool where Haruka was now swimming in, a glint entered Rin's eyes and he knelt down near the edge of the pool. He watched as Haruka swam towards him, a look of concentration on his face. As his friend's head broke through the surface of the water, he found himself jumping into the water next to him. Hearing Haruka sputter next to him, Rin smirked widely before he splashed water in the other male's direction.
Another sputter left Haruka's mouth, which only caused Rin to smirk even wider. "What's wrong, Haru? It's just a little water," he teased before slipping underwater, swimming to the other side of the pool with no difficulty at all.
When he emerged from under the water, he was surprised to find someone splashing water right into his face. Rin flinched and stepped back, wiping the water from his face before scowling. However, his scowl was soon replaced by a look of surprise when he saw Haruka standing in front of him, a blank look on his face. However, his eyes gave away the fact that it was indeed him who had splashed him, as they were twinkling mischievously.
"What's wrong, Rin? It's just water," he said, faint smile coming to his face before he swam away from him.
Rin didn't move for a moment, his mind sluggishly trying to process what had just happened. But when his mind finally caught up, he heard himself growling almost playfully before he swam after Haruka.
The rest of the day at the water park had been spent like that, with just the two of them goofing off. It had been the first time in a long time that Rin had seen Haruka so happy before. Even though it was his birthday and he was fairly sure that this was his birthday present from Haruka, it felt more like he was giving this to the other male. And he really didn't mind at all. Seeing the pleased expression on Haruka's face as he ran through the water park was amusing. It was like trying to contain a child inside of a candy shop.
They had probably explored every place in the water park at least three times, because Haruka was always so curious about the water rides. It was obvious that the other male didn't really go to water parks that much, what with how he looked at the rides in slight confusion. But he could tell that Haruka had enjoyed the rides. Even if they weren't the same as actually being in the water, the fact that they were near water seemed to be enough for his friend.
Even when they were eating lunch and relaxing, he would always see Haruka eyeing the water every once and a while. However, he had to remind himself that he could let the other male get back into the pool for the next hour or so, even if Haruka's reaction to water was amusing. He really didn't want to be the reason for his friend drowning just because he was too impatient to wait for his food digest.
Plus, Makoto would end up killing him if that happened.
So, he had to distract Haruka from getting back into the pool by walking around the water park and playing in the attractions that were located on ground level. He had remembered Haruka eyeing the waterfall when they had rode on the water slide, he he had taken him over there to play around a bit.
Which of course led to Haruka standing under the water with a dazed expression and more than a few people staring at them.
Eventually, the sun began to set in the distance and Haruka and Rin were changing out of their swimsuits. While he was slipping his pants back on, Rin took the moment to look at Haruka. Even with his back turned, Rin could see just how relaxed his friend was. The usual tension in his shoulders wasn't there anymore. The occasional twitches that went through his body were gone, and when Haruka's face was in his range of vision, he realized that the usual blank expression on his face was gone.
Haruka actually looked peaceful and relaxed.
Humming to himself, Rin put on the rest of his clothes before shoving the swimsuit into Haruka's bag. Since he hadn't brought anything to carry with him, he'd have to leave all his stuff in the bag.
After everything was collect, both males walked out of the locker room and eventually the park. As they walked down the sidewalk, Rin noticed that Haruka wasn't walking quite as fast as him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he gazed over his shoulder to see what was keeping the other male, only to notice that he was standing by the gate. His hand was holding onto the bars as he stared into the water park. Blinking for a moment, Rin walked back and stood next to his friend.
There were still a few people in the park, but most of the people had decided to leave once sunset came. The water looked much calmer than it had when earlier in the day. The edge of his mouth twitched and threatened to give way to a smile. Glancing over at Haruka, he could see a bit of sadness in his eyes.
Without hesitation, Rin placed his hand on Haruka's shoulder and gripped it a bit. "I'll bring you back here sometime, okay?"
Haruka snapped his head up towards him, his eyes a bit wide. His mouth opened a bit, almost as though he was going to protest. However, no sound left his mouth at all. So, he could do nothing other than nod his head. Both of them gave a faint smile before looking back towards the water park.
Yeah, they would come back to the water park sometime in the future.
A/N: And that is the end.