Notes & disclaimer: this work was written to RinHaru Week 2017 Day 6 (Prompt change). It's a short, fluff one I really like. Hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks for reading!
And well, Free! doesn't belong to me, but rather, to its authors. That means no canon shota kissing. Whatever.
I bet your heart
The voices echoed in the virtually empty aquatic gymnasium. All the other kids had gone home already; if coach Sasabe didn't have their parents' permission, they would have left a while ago as well. But not only did he have the authority to look after those two, he was amazed by their potential, so he didn't mind when they begged him to stay a little longer.
"If you're going to cry every time you lose, then I won't swim with you again," the dark-haired boy said as he marched towards the door that led to the locker rooms.
"I'm not crying, okay?" The other boy, a redhead, insisted despite the fact that he had the back of his hand wipe the tears from his eyes. He was going after his companion, striding to try and catch up to him.
"Whatever."
The impatient kid didn't look back. He hated when Rin cried, it always made him feel awful. And trying to understand that buoyant boy sometimes made him tired. There was no point in competing; he only swam freestyle, after all. Yet, he could never find it in himself to refuse when the cheerful – and sometimes a crybaby – redhead challenged him to a race.
Particularly not today, when that had come with a bet. That bet could grant him something he didn't know he wanted, that is, hadn't known he wanted before Rin said, "Hey, Nanase, let's race! The one who loses will have to do whatever the winner asks. So, what do you say?"
Rin had grinned at him as he proposed it, his pink eyes shining with something Haruka could never get. Rin Matsuoka was fired up by challenge, by competition, by the idea of swimming with his friends. All of that was foreign to Haruka; he was fine with swimming by himself. And he didn't care whether he won or lost.
Well, he didn't use to care about any of that before he met Rin.
"I've already told you, Rin. I don't care about times or winning," he'd said matter-of-factly.
"You're so weird, Nanase. Come on, don't be like that! I bet you're afraid of losing to me." His grin had grown wider, and he had thrown his arm over Haru's shoulder, as though they were overly familiar with each other.
"I'm not," he'd deadpanned.
"Well, I'm going in. If you don't join me, I'll consider you the loser, okay?"
"Do as you like," had been his unfriendly answer.
Yet, as Rin took his step by the edge of the pool and prompted, "Alright, take your marks!" He had done it.
"This is the worst!" The strident voice echoed on the gym. "You're always getting faster, it's not fair!"
It hadn't taken long for the tears to come running down his cheeks.
And just as they did, Haruka regretted taking the bait. Of course Rin would cry. It wasn't worth being able to get what he wanted, not when the price for that was upsetting his sort of rival.
Ignoring Rin's denial of the fact he was crying, Haruka walked out. He reached the locker rooms and hurriedly got ready to take a quick shower. It was late, so he'd better prepare to go home.
He was about to enter the shower stall when he heard the locker room's door opening and closing with a loud thud. He didn't need to see Rin to know he was still sulking.
Before he could step into the stall, however, the young redhead caught up to him and held him by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around.
"Say it, Nanase."
"What?"
"What is it you want, of course. You won the bet, after all."
Haru stared at Rin for a whole second. What was the point of even asking that? Chances were his rival would refuse, and maybe cry again. Knowing that Haruka wanted him to lose so that he could ask him that? There was no way he would take it as something normal.
"Just forget it."
It would be troublesome to ask Rin that when the pink-eyed boy was upset. Besides, it was the smiling and talkative Rin – who he pretended to find annoying – he wanted to do that with.
"No way! I didn't lose for you to pity me and step back on our deal. Say it."
Sulky Rin seemed to have shifted into riled Rin. Haru kept staring at him, flatly, without saying a word.
"This is not fun, Nanase. Go ahead. And don't tell me you haven't chosen what you wanna ask!" He puffed, "My best friend back in Sano did that and he still hasn't asked me what he wants. It's been months now! That annoys me."
He crossed his arms in front of his naked chest, his lips almost protruding again. The gleam in his eyes expressed defiance, though.
"I don't think you will want to do what I want to ask," Haru finally gave out.
"What!? A deal is a deal," he said, exasperated. "Spit it out!"
As he said so, Rin grinned and lifted an eyebrow, throwing Haru the same kind of glance he would when he challenged the raven-haired boy to a race.
Haru felt a soft thud inside his chest.
"Fine."
Rin's grin widened, pride showing all over his face. He'd won that one.
Haru still remained silent for a second longer before he finally gave it away, "I want a kiss from you."
"Eh?"
Rin blinked twice and, as the words sunk in, his cheekbones were colored with the same shade of crimson as his hair.
"Y-you're kidding, right... Nanase?"
Completely flushed, he looked as though he was also afraid of the answer.
"No." Haru averted his gaze, his bangs somewhat covering his eyes. He looked rather hurt. "But it's okay. I told you you wouldn't want to do it. Just forget it."
The pair of pink eyes were open wide. Rin's childish face glowed red to a point it seemed he was on the verge of blowing up.
"Wait. Are you serious?"
Haru nodded.
"But, Haru..." The boy tried to remain unfazed as he heard Rin call him by his nickname. "We're both boys."
"So what?"
"You don't think that is..." He chuckled nervously. "Weird?"
Haru didn't reply. His deep stare said that no, he didn't find that weird. At all.
Rin took in a deep breath. As he released it, he looked resolute.
"Okay. I'm not one to go back on my bets, so... Here I go, Nanase."
Haru observed as the boy in front of him closed his eyes and gave one step ahead, approaching him. Rin looked adorable, cheeks still covered by a faint trail of pink, eyes shut tight. Haru stared in complete surprise, then just gave the last step to close the gap between them.
When he was close enough for their lips to brush, he also closed his eyes. And even though he was the one who was supposed to receive that gift, he took it himself.
Rin was nearly shaking as the soft lips pressed against his own, not too forceful, only remaining there, firm and motionless. The touch lasted longer than he'd expected it to, but ended earlier than he realized he would have wanted it to.
"Ha-ru..." Rin whispered, bringing the tip of his fingers to the spot where, a second before, his rival's lips had been.
"I'll go take a shower," Haru mumbled, rushing to the shower stall.
Rin stood there for a while longer, as if frozen. Before he also went into a nearby shower stall, he muttered again, "Haru."
The sound of the water running down the pipes became louder as Rin turned on the tap on the stall he was at. Haruka sighed, loud, but not loud enough to be heard.
They were separated by thin walls, so luckily for the two of them, neither could witness the blush and the fluster stamped in both their faces.
More than once, they touched their own lips, trying to grasp the feeling that lingered there.
The butterflies in their stomachs seemed to announce a fresh beginning.
The morning after, as a new day started, cherry trees came into bloom.