Disclaimer: I do not own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club.
Defiance
Nagisa covered his face with a hand while shaking his head, eyebrows now furrowed. "'It defies reason!'" Throwing his hands down, he splashed Makoto. "Spot on, right?" Makoto chuckled at Nagisa's impression of Rei while the actual Rei fought a hotness creeping on his cheeks. "I don't—That's not how I act!" Rei turned away and focused his gaze on the pool, cranking calculations in his head and muttering them in hopes of ignoring Nagisa.
Haruka decided to let the water carry him as he rested. An eyebrow twitched and his lips became taut. He closed his eyes. His late grandmother's words drifted into his head. Stardust is within us as we are of stars. We are bound to shine. And water, he wished to have added. Blood flowed. Oxygen flowed. Right here, right now, his body flowed. It made perfect sense to be in the water. Evolution didn't give humans gills or fins, but that was why he had arms and legs. He didn't need hard calculations. He didn't need to be a record setter. He didn't need to prove anything.
He needed the feeling of suspension as the water cushioned him. He needed the rush of energy as his legs and arms propelled him.
He needed free.
Makoto watched Haruka's expression change. It was slight, but Makoto knew that he was irked. He jumped into the pool. Smiling softly he chimed, "You're bothered by what he said, right?" Haruka snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Makoto's voice. Haruka just needed a gentle push. "Why don't you—hey, Haruka!" Perhaps the push wasn't as gentle as he thought it was. Before Makoto could finish, Haruka moved toward the sputtering Rei. Why had he not step into the pool yet?
"Still at it, huh," he remarked. "Get in," he reluctantly said, cocking his head towards the pool. After all, Haruka didn't need anyone who refused the pool. However, if Rei was going to be a part of the swimming club, he would have to become used to it. Whether he wanted to or not.
"Haru-chan, go easy on him. It's okay since I'm the one who's responsible for teaching him, right, Rei-chan?" Nagisa beamed at the taller male. Rei coughed and motioned his hand to move his glasses, only to realize that he had taken them off. "…That's right, so stay out of this, Haru-chan-san." A trace of a smirk.
No, he wasn't right. And again with the "-chan-san"! Haruka's hand shot out of the water and latched onto Rei's leg. His eyes glinted as he yanked the taller male in.
"Haru-chan!"
Rei flailed about in the water until Nagisa swam over to him. Makoto let out an exasperated sigh as he looked disapprovingly at Haruka. "Really, Haru-chan…"
He was going to prove that his reasoning was better.