Title: 36 Hours
Rating: K+ (for now. But it is romance, so... yes, it'll most likely go up)

Author's note: this story is inspired by real events, from the time I got stitches after an accident and couldn't get water on it for at least 36 hours. And I thought wow, what if Haru had to suffer through that? Haha, and then this story happened ;D

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The great thing about having Rin back was the surge of enthusiasm and energy he always brought with him into everything he did, which effectively meant that the fun was back. He had been made Iwatobi swimclub's very first and very only honorary member – very special, very exclusive.

The other great thing about having Rin back was the effect he had on Haru. It could be hard to tell if you didn't know him, but he smiled his little almost-smiles a lot more often, and according to Rei his form never looked more beautiful than when he got to swim with Rin.

Another thing that was back though, was Rin's constant attempts of teasing any and every reaction he could out of Haru. One memorable afternoon he had caught Haru and made them all tickle him until he finally, actually laughed!

Another time when Haru had simply refused to get out of the water after practice, he had really went and stolen the girls' volleyball net and hauled his water-loving friend out of the pool like a tuna fish. Or perhaps more accurately, a dolphin.
The others had laughed so hard that Nagisa's nose had started to bleed, and the scene had been immortalized by the very same in magic marker and hung up in the locker rooms.

As happy as he was about the current state of things, Makoto felt compelled to act the part of mother hen from time to time and as Rin was hauling Haru out of the pool in the volleyball net, he'd admonished them to be careful lest someone get hurt.

Rin and Haru had always been like this, but they weren't exactly kids anymore and Rin was taller, heavier and stronger now.

And, of course, before the first week was up, something really did happen.

It had been an accident, honestly. Really, Rin hadn't meant for it to happen.

On their way to practice one Saturday morning he had lifted Haru up in his arms like a baby with the intension of throwing him into the pool, fully clothed. But then he had slipped and dropped him. Haru had landed hard on his back right on the sharp edge of the pool, and when they pulled up his shirt a few hectic moments later there was a deep gash there, right where his spine curved slightly inwards.

And that was how it started.

Haru's 36 hours of pure Hell…

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"Shit, shit, shit…" Rin had buried his face between his knees and was cursing occasionally under his breath in a tortured voice.
"Relax Rin," Nagisa patted him happily on the back, "He'll be fine. You'll see!"

They were sitting in the doctor's office, all of them, waiting for Haru to come out. Makoto had bought them all drinks from the vending machine and was handing them out. "Hate to say I told you so. But I'm sure he's fine," he added, "It always bleeds a lot from the back."

"No it doesn't," corrected Rei, who had brought along his English homework. "But the fact that he was able to walk is a fairly good sign. At least nothing's broken."

But Rin was inconsolable. "He's gonna hate me forever for this… I'm the worst person… Fuck."

Makoto opened his mouth to say something nice, but was interrupted by a door opening. The door. Haru!

While Haru was indeed walking and definitely alive… he didn't really look alive. His face was very pale and he was practically shuffling like a zombie after the nurse, who kept shooting him worried glances.

"Ah, you must be his friends," the nurse said with relief. "Look, this isn't really protocol, but… I'm not sure if we got through to him in there. We had to stitch him back together – nothing big, 12 stitches to the back." Here Rin cringed visibly. "Now, your friend will be just fine, we told him that. Nothing to worry about. But," and here she shot Haru another nervous look, "He absolutely can't get wet."

Behind her the muscles of Haru's shell-shocked face gave a small twitch.

"Oh…" Makoto scratched his neck slowly. "So, no water then? At all?"

"Umh, yes. This was the difficult part in there. I'm not sure he understood the doctor." The nurse sighed. "We weren't able to get a reaction from him after that, which is why I'm telling you. His wound is not dangerous, but if it gets infected it could potentially get very bad. Please be good friends and help him, will you?"

Nagisa's jaw dropped. "Keep Haru out of the water?!"
"Well, I suppose it is possible," mumbled Rei uncertainly, "In theory…"
Rin was biting his own fist, looking almost as crushed as Haru. Almost. "Oh shit, shit, shit. I'm so sorry Haru!"

"Well then, thank you boys," said the nurse with a smile. "He can come back in a week's time and well remove the stitches. Do remind him, will you?"

In the background Nagisa was waving his hands in front of Haru's unresponsive face. "Haru? Ha-ru-chan? Time to go now!"
"Haru! Haru, I'm sorry!" Beside him Rin was hanging his head.

"Yes, of course, thank you for everything," said Makoto and bowed politely.

.

"Ahem! I hereby declare the Let's-see-if-we-can-find-ways-to-keep-Haru-alive-and-dry-meeting for opened!"

Nobody knew when, but by the time they were out of the hospital Nagisa suddenly had a colorful, handmade poster in his hands. As usual the title of the meeting took up the entire page. Nagisa felt it was pointless to call meetings unless everyone involved knew exactly what the topic of discussion was.

He also felt it was pointless to have group discussions unless they were called meetings.

They had sat down in the grass in one of the parks on their way back to Iwatobi high school. Haru had not said a word.

"So! Anyone?" urged Nagisa, "What if we filled up an inflatable kiddy-pool and he could just stand in it?"

At this Rin finally laughed, for the first time since his horrible slip that morning. "As if! You know his clothes come off the second he sees a water container larger than a bucket."

"Hehe yeah, we researched that, didn't we Makoto?" laughed Nagisa. "But that's fine though, he can still stand in the pool in his swimsuit right?"

"I'm pretty sure that constitutes as torture in the case of Haru," interjected Makoto, who was trying hopelessly to make Haru take the soft drink he'd bought for him. "I think we should just take his mind off swimming for the day," he managed to wedge the can in between Haru's stiff fingers. "It's a Saturday, so we have the day off anyway."

"What if we covered his back with duct tape?" suggested Nagisa, earning him a groan from Rei. "That makes no sense. How would we get it off again? You do know how stitches work, right?"
"Oh yeah…"

"Know what?" Rin sat up and without a second glance swiped the can from Haru's hands – he'd opened it and was in the process of emptying it over his own head. "I'm with Makoto on this one. I say we're on Haru-watch today!"

"Yes. Especially you," said Rei, pointing a stern finger for emphasis. "It's because of you that this happened. You need to take responsibility for your actions."

"Shut up, I'm doing it now aren't I?"

The longest one-and-a-half day of Nanase Haruka's life had only just begun…

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A/N: So that was the first chapter of my first ever Free! fanfic. Umh, hope you like it! Reviews would be greatly appreciated :)