Smile: Everyone's Watching
A Free! drabble
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The Free! characters belong to Oji Koji-sensei, not to me. We need more for these two. :O Read, review, and enjoy!
- ^-^3
Kou was cheerier than usual. She was still in a bit of a shock that Chigusa had wanted to come today. "You didn't have to, you know," she repeated when the Iwatobi Swimming Club arrived at Samezuka Academy for a joint practice.
Amakata-sensei pulled into the school and told everyone to get out. "I'll be back for you all later. I have an errand to run," the teacher said.
The boys didn't mind, but Chigusa saw Kou wink conspiratorially with the teacher. "Getting pizza this early in the evening, sensei?"
Amakata-sensei blushed. "Matsuoka-kun!" she scolded. But she didn't deny it as she pulled away.
"What was that about?" Chigusa asked her friend as they headed in after the swimmers.
"Remember Coach Sasabe, whom I told you about?"
"Oh, right. The punk-ish old guy."
"Chigusa-chan!" Kou couldn't fight a small laugh. "He delivers pizzas when he's not coaching the club in his free time."
Chigusa nodded and smiled. "I see. Cute."
The girls caught up in no time, though Chigusa had wished the walk to be a little longer. She liked it when she and Kou could talk like normal girls, about romance instead of rippling muscles.
The club members had already headed into the locker-room, so Kou and Chigusa made their way to the pool. Samezuka's members were already in the midst of practice, though not everyone was in the water, Chigusa noted. She saw Kou's brother, Rin, holding on to the pool edge while a gray-haired boy knelt to talk with him.
"That's Nitori-chan, my brother's roommate," Kou stated. "He's the only one who can stand rooming with him."
Chigusa watched them laugh like childhood friends. "I don't think 'stand' is the right word for it…"
But Kou either didn't hear her or ignored her comment, because she turned to introduce Chigusa to someone else. "Ah, Chigusa-chan. This is Mikoshiba-san, the Samezuka captain."
And there he was. This was the guy who Kou grumbled about way too much for Chigusa's liking. …crap, he was huge. He towered over the two of them—what, was he taller than even Tachibana?! He had golden eyes that reminded Chigusa of a cat, and his flame-red hair was so borderline it was almost Yankee. Chigusa inwardly groaned. Did Kou even realize that she had a crush on a guy like this?
"Nice to meet you, Gou-kun's friend," Mikoshiba said, and he held his hand out for her to shake.
Oh, god. Now what? Was she really expected to be polite, to be civil to this guy? She'd never met him, but she'd disliked him from the first moment Kou had blushed when "complaining" about how he called her "Gou-kun." Chigusa didn't want to make friends with yet another guy who took up space in Kou's mind and—Chigusa feared—in Kou's heart. She didn't want to, she didn't want to, she didn't want to!
What she wanted was to grab Kou's wrist and drag her out of here. Either on a date or home, Chigusa didn't care. She just couldn't stand being here for one second longer.
But then she thought, and her eyes flickered to Kou's face.
Oh, right. She would have to do this. She would have to be friendly and play nice. She would have to do this, for Kou's sake. (For her own sake, if there was even the tiniest hope that she stood a chance with Kou.)
"Hanamura Chigusa," the blonde finally said, and she shook his hand. Wow, he had a strong grip.
"Well, I'll catch up with you girls in a bit. Gotta go heckle the slackers," he said, and he left them as Kou got out her whistle and clipboard with notes about Iwatobi's swimmers.
"He's…different from other guys. A bit floaty, I think," Chigusa mumbled to her friend.
Kou snickered and rolled her eyes. But, dammit, her cheeks were pink. Adorable, but pink. "What do you think?" Her voice was soft, and it was almost as though she was waiting for Chigusa's approval.
But what to do? If Mikoshiba got her approval, then Chigusa could be set back even further. If Mikoshiba got her rejection, then Chigusa might not be as favored herself by Kou. What to do, what to do… For Kou's sake. (And her own sake, of course.)
The words were heavy on her tongue, but they weren't untrue:
"I like redheads."
Kou laughed and swatted at Chigusa's arm. "Chi-chan…!"
Well, it wasn't a lie. And that's what got Chigusa through this practice and the next and every one she attended after. It was so far from a lie that it was painful…but, if Kou stayed happy, maybe she could deal with some pain.
- ^-^3
ANGST. Oof. X0 Sorry, Chi-chan! Urgh. I love Goushiba, but I really wanna write a happy, mutual ChiKou fic… I just need to have an idea… These two are so good for one-sided angst, it's not even funny… ;_; Also, this is prolly set sometime after ep12…? I guess… And I think that might've been a hint of Rintori besides Amasabe, *lol*. I wanna see more ChiKou…! Dx
Anyway, thanks for reading and please review! And check out my other Free! fics if you liked this!
-mew-tsubaki :')