Rin liked to consider Haru his friend; someone he could easily put his trust in. And he does (present tense).

In fact, if he wanted to be painfully honest, he might admit that lately he wanted to catch up with Haru some more. Alone. Together.

(Of course, he would have no idea how like maybe asking him to catch a movie or go to the aquarium or the petty logistics of yeah not gonna happen in a million years but hey, imagination was worth a shot. Maybe not worth him tearing at his hair in the dead of night a bit more regularly than he'd care to admit, but still.)

Though that didn't stop him arching a brow when Haru came knocking at his dorm with his impassive face (not 'an' impassive face but 'his' because he basically has that dead-and-bored look patent pending) and a cloth in his hands.

"Morning, Rin."

Rin looked around blankly; Nitori wasn't in, and there wasn't anyone behind Haru. He turned back to find Haru's gaze on him, still with that cloth.

He's here for me...?

(Dumb question.

Though Rin was a pretty dumb guy when it came to Haru.

He told his guffawing insides to shut up.)

"Uh, morning?" Rin only continued frowning when Haru squinted at his greeting in effort. "...Soo..." he tapped his foot absently as his gaze wandered. "What's with that?" He nudged his hand at the limp, taunting fabric. And true to Haru fashion (yeah, of course he's an adjective, he's fucking Haru), he just maintained that deadpan face.

"Blindfold."

"...huh?" That explained a lot and very little at the same time.

"Let's go, Rin."

Rin only blinked at Haru before knitting his brows and pinching the bridge of his nose. He did want to see the guy on his birthday, but this definitely shattered a lot of expectations.

(All of which were prolific yet nonexistent at the same time; crystalline in his head to the point that he was reduced to a stuttering blush in his own company. Yet when Haru was there, when he could grasp the opportunity so easily, the imaginary resolve he adopted so seamlessly shattered every time. The shelter of the rough exterior he spent years carefully building in his absence was specially built to hide his pounding heart anyhow.)

"...Where?" he let out with a sigh.

"With me."

"So you want me to follow you," his arm flopped to his side, "Blindfolded," he dedicated especial emphasis on that part. "...somewhere? That I have no idea about?"

He watched Haru look down briefly, processing his words before looking up again.

"Yes."

"…Fuck this."

"Fine," Rin turned; Haru had jammed the door. "…No blindfold. It's only to the pool downstairs anyway."

"Then who the hell said you sho-"

"Nagisa."

"...Figures."

"...Will you come?"

Rin made the mistake of looking at those twin, endless blues at that question.

"...tch"

He slumped his hands in his pockets, resigning himself to follow Haru walking down the dim corridor.

(This felt strangely...out of place. Out of order. Yet it fit so perfectly all the same, how he was trailing behind Haru; Rin eyed his back almost warily, but with complete faith, only wondering what lay ahead even though he had trailed on the path countless times before. But it was different because he was here with intention, and whether Rin liked it or not, that...excited him. Only a little.)

"…Would you mind closing your eyes when I tell you to, though?" Haru asked…tentatively. Rin studied his profile in earnest. Damn…is he nervous?

"…Sure." Rin shrugged as he cocooned his head with his arms. No big deal.

"…Thanks." Haru smiled a little in…anticipation. Rin gaped for a split-second before swiftly tearing away from that little…grin, just…!

(Then again, this shouldn't have even compared to the angelic laughter imprinted in his mind from a stupid act born out of his own whim in the damp locker room. But somehow that didn't make that hidden smile any less mesmerising in a way that made Rin want to hide away in his jacket.)

No big deal… Rin groaned inwardly.

"So I'm guessing the others are down there too?" Rin asked some throwaway questions just to pass the time trodding down the stairs, "Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, those guys..."

"No."

Rin couldn't stop his neck craning around to watch the back of Haru's head. He didn't expect such a swift, sure response. Hell, he was even certain that Haru would...stop or something. Say not to ruin the surprise. After accidentally receiving a mass text from Gou a few days ago, he knew that they were aware.

[ — why'd you just text everyone about that?!

A completely irrational, wholly typical fluster consumed Rin as he crushed the 'Send' button with vigour. Count on Gou to stick her nose where it just didn't belong.

(Though he knew one day he'd have to thank her for pulling everyone together again for a redemption he used to think impossible, but not today.)

His eyes searched over the reply in a flurry.

— don't be like that, onii-chan! they were already thinking what to get you anyway XP

His sigh came out breathy and exasperated as he tried to banish the thought of people actually wasting time on him. For him. He looked back down at the sound of another text.

— btw, haruka-senpai replied~ :))

His knees crumpled as he muttered curses through clenched teeth. Nitori walked in just on cue with the highest concern for his squatting, swearing senpai.

"M-Matsuoka-senpai, are you okay?! You're really red! Do you have a fev-"

"I'M FINE!"

She was a sharp one. Couldn't have been genetic though.]

And it was Nagisa that suggested the blindfold (now thankfully tucked away). So...

"...Really?"

"Yeah."

"...Okay..." their footsteps echoed along the stairwell, "So no one else is here?"

"Yeah."

"Came here alone on the weekend to show me something?"

"...Yeah."

"Oh..." Rin blinked, "Thanks."

"...You talk a lot."

"Oi," Rin started but stopped at catching the flush of pink on Haru's turning face. "...whatever..."

"..."

It wasn't a long, winding way to their destination; they reached the outskirts of the swimming pool quite quickly. However, there wasn't the familiar, echoing splashes of the pool with the resounding whistle and bellows to comfort Rin for his impending surprise but instead a gnawing quiet. It betrayed his gulp of anticipation and overrode his senses; he couldn't hear anything that could give him a clue of what to expect.

"Close your eyes."

He jerked his head in the direction the calm tone flowed from, frowning a moment before he reluctantly shut his eyes.

(It didn't help that a chokehold gripped his chest when he felt those lithe fingers wrap around his wrist with a casual, gentle strength; pulling him along like a passing tide. Really, that small gesture mirrored Haru so well; a simple yet profound magnetism, that would pull Rin's glittering, jumpy gaze to him in a pouting wonder through the classroom of chatter all those days ago.

Why am I remembering that now...?)

His shoes clacked against the stone tiled floor lining the pool and fresh, wafting chlorine comfortably invaded his senses. Though his footing was a bit tentative, Haru was there to guide him through, and it was all he needed to map out where he was going.

(The whole thing was admittedly poignant; a weird mix of parity, role reversal and a whispering hope reserved for that promising someday.

Not that either of them would stop to realise it.)

"Okay..." they stopped at Haru's murmur. Rin's empty vision went pink from the pouring sunlight at the high windowed ceiling. He knew the water was still, because the only thing audible was Haru's breath and his own mingling with a buzzing silence. "You can open them now."

He lazily pulled his eyelids up, first squinting at the white light crashing into his eyes. Then it faded out just as quickly, drawing the curtains to reveal Haru's surprise.

Wha...?

His lungs drew a sharp breath, his brain was reeling and his eyes blinking because...because he didn't know if he was truly awake. Or thrown back to a time he thought he'd forgotten, through the wires of that chain-link fence, back in grade school. But that time...it was just his imagination. And now...now...

Holy shit...

Rin would have stumbled if he wasn't rooted to the spot. The glimmering surface of the clear, blue pool was strewn with delicate, sweetly pink sakura petals. It was something out of a dream; this was the place he trained and worked himself to the bone everyday. Now, the churning, wild water had ceased into tranquility and the azure sky was reflected in its unmoving surface, as if waiting for him.

It shouldn't have made his jaw slack. It shouldn't have made his fingers tremble with a thrumming energy. It was just a stray thought, a sentiment, he voiced to no one in particular years ago.

(Oh, but he was there when he said that, wasn't he?

And he wasn't 'no one' by any stretch of Rin's irrepressible imagination.)

Rin gazed at one petal gliding over the water as he weakly shook his head.

"Mikoshiba will fucking kill you..." he managed through a small wheeze.

"...It's fine. I told him I'd clean up everything."

Rin turned. Haru was staring at the pool, pursing his lips with his hands at his sides as the tips of his ears coloured. His eyes didn't have that blinding glisten that overtook him whenever he was near a body of water, but gently mirrored the light bouncing off its unbroken surface.

(He really was nervous)

"...do you like it...?"

(Nervous for him

The scales were all broken)

Rin bit his lower lip, his head still shaking as he turned back to face the pool. The sakura blossom pool. Made for him. By Haruka Nanase.

"Shit..." Rin's hands went up to clutch his hair as he took in the whole sight again. "Shit...Haru, you idiot..."

"...how did I know you would cry?" Rin nearly choked at his amused, tender voice seeping through the hall.

"Shut up." his voice cracked as he squeezed his eyes at catching the corners of Haru's lips pulling up. "Shut up." His nose soured and sniffled as the picturesque scene blurred in his vision. His head was still shaking in disbelief as he snapped it over to face Haru, as he stormed over and wrapped his arms around him tight.

"Damn it...damn it..." Rin kept swearing as he wept, clutching onto Haru. Why the hell am I crying...?! "Haru, you fucking loser, you...! Why...?!" Why can't I thank him properly...?

"Rin," he cursed as he felt Haru's arms around his back, pulling his head into the crook of his shoulder. "Happy birthday."

Rin felt like an idiot. An undeserving idiot that could only sob lamely into Haru's shoulder as Haru held onto him without question; without hesitation. And like the idiot he was, that only made him hug Haruka harder and closer.

(The hall seemed to expand and grow as they were the only two there, standing in a mutual embrace while something dream-like was within their reach.

Now this was familiar...)

Thankfully, Rin's snuffles died down. They were simply in each other's hold now, breathing in each other's scent masked by chlorine.

That's when Rin blushed.

He moved his hands onto Haru's shoulders, pushing away so a respectable distance was put between them. His jaw hardened in effort when Haru's hands lingered on his elbows just before he pulled away.

"You're swimming with me, right?" Rin's hand found purchase at his nape as Haru's eyes darted away from him.

"...if you want me to."

"Don't give me that; I know you got your swimsuit on." he nudged his head at Haru's trousers. Sure enough, Haru's eyes flashed in response. But Rin's brow shot up when he spotted him...fidgeting. Haru, fidgeting.

"...it's your gift..."

"The hell are you fidgeting for?" Rin breathed out.

"...?"

"I thought I told you to cut the crap," Rin announced plainly, watching Haru meet his gaze. "Didn't I make it clear before? I wanna swim with you again." he turned to eye the pool again. It's like you forgot or something...

(But this whole escapade proved otherwise)

He didn't see Haru blinking at him, nor his expression melting into something of relief.

"Ah. Sorry."

"Nothin' t'be sorry for." Rin shrugged, before a wide grin started to sneak its way onto his features. His eyes were shining with anticipation that made Haru's breath catch in his throat. "'Right, Haru! Let's swim!"

Haru watched Rin strip off his clothes easily (his jammers were underneath as well), enthralled as he flawlessly plunged into the pool. He sent cascades of cherry blossoms onto the sidelines, wading and resting on the edge as Haru could only watch for a moment.

[ . . .

*click*

"...hello?"

"Ah, Haru-chan!" Haru squinted at some chatter in the background. Makoto and Rei are with him.

"Nagisa?"

"Where are you right now?" "Um, Makoto-senpai, are you certain it's wise to tell...?"

"The train station."

"I see, I see~!" Haru knitted his brows together at Nagisa's cheery tone. Did he call with a purpose? "Don't worry, Rei," a chuckle. "He does too, after all."

"Did you need me for something?"

"No, well~" he giggled; a dangerous sign. "Just wanted to tell you to leave an extra gift for Rin-chan." "Wha—?! Haruka-senpai has told you?!"

"...? An extra gift?"

"Well, your one is already really big! But~let's just say you can make Rin-chan even happier!" "No, but...well, I guess I get the feeling he does."

"...even...happier?"

"Yeah, that's right!" "...well, you're rarely wrong, so...I trust this will make Rin-san happy."

"...how?"

"chu~!"

Haru froze at doors of the train. Did he just...?

"Hehe! Good luck, Haru-chan!"

"! Oi, Nagis—!"

*click*

Haru stared at his cell phone like some ancient, holy text he just deciphered. Throughout the flurry of thoughts that rushed past his mind, only one was planted firmly in place.

...

even...

happier

...?

"The hell are you fidgeting for...?"

. . . ]

"Yo, Haru—!

Haru was grounded back to the splashes lapping at the pool's edge. He blinked at Rin beckoning him over from the other end, how the light danced off his skin and he sent every petal rippling around him.

(A quake of energy

Setting creaking gears in motion

Shaking up the careful decoration

Sharing the water alongside him

Bringing him along in his unstoppable wake every time

And Haru had the gall to think he'd changed for good at some point)

"Thought I told you come over already!"

Haru swallowed down the ball of heat lodged in his throat so it rested at the pit of his stomach. He stripped. Then dived. The water welcomed his return and he glided through with ease. He weaved through it without reservation.

(Because here, he was free.

And here...

Rin was here,

so, naturally, he'd have to be here too.)

It dimly occurred to Rin that there must have been some sort of intervention that no one came in for a weekend dip, or even traversed by the pool area. He knew he'd have to pay Mikoshiba back big time.

(Come a few days time, he'd have to curtly draw the line at giving Gou's phone number.

Though he would feel a sort of lightness at the jovial slap on his back that he'd later identify as nothing short of gratitude)

But now he was here, wading in the dream he'd forgotten he'd lost. The 12-year-old inside him was elated, begging for more as he swam aimlessly through the cherry blossom pool. The pink hues seeped as paths of lights into the glassy blue clarity surrounding him, encapsulating him, teasing out the ends of his hair as he let a breath flutter to the surface.

So this is what he sees, huh...?

...it's beautiful...

He felt a slender grip tugging at his wrist, calling him. His body moved of its own accord, tilting and turning till he reached the surface. He wiped over his face, sighing through the gaps of his fingers.

"Yeah, Haru?"

He started when his wrist was pulled away from his face; when Haru waded into his space with purpose steeped in a startling, steeling blue.

"Wha—?"

(For another moment, Haru paused.

The water felt cool around him, soothing his racing heartbeat.

He searched for a clue within the frantic, unmoving crimson widening at his approach.

When he found nothing, an apology hung on his lips, waiting.

But he stopped again at another revelation.

...If the answer wasn't with Rin...

...was it his turn?)

"...what would you do...if I liked you?"

(He didn't know it wasn't only a favour for Rin,

but an answer he desperately needed.

He only found out when it was all irrevocable with words he carelessly, selfishly uttered in the face of Rin's special day

If anyone asked, it was the cherry blossom pool that made him say it)

...

Shit,

That can't be fair...

...

Y'know what?

Fuck it.

(If anyone asked, it was the cherry blossom pool that made him say it

He couldn't be that impulsive on his own anyway)

"...you know what?"

(Maybe the euphoria overrode his security system that calculated the endless routes and possibilities that tired him everyday.

Maybe he felt Haru already gave him a clue.)

"If you did..."

(A clue scattered with each blossom in a pool they shared.

That would've been pretty hard to miss.)

"I'd be fucking ecstatic."

"...good

Because I like you."

"I like you too."

(In an instant, they both eased out of their reveries of courage, reverting to self-doubt and questioning all over again.

When nothing processed correctly, and nothing added up to something they had already prepared a defence mechanism for, they could only laugh a little.

Because what was all this beside an inconceivable fantasy turned into a fumbling, yet beautiful reality?)

"...d'you want to keep swimming?"

"'S not like you to ask dumb questions, Haru."

"...just making sure."

"...Idiot."