Title: More than Words
Fandom: Free!
Pairing: Rintori
Rating: G
Summary: Because Rin's actions say more than words ever could.

Notes: The companion to Expressions of Gratitude; Rintori (if you squint) with extra Nitori appreciation; set after episode 12, pre-Eternal Summer.

XXX

"Nitori."

Rin rarely called him by his nickname, even after regionals. "Ai" was reserved for special occasions, like a pat on the head after acing a test or as quiet thanks for bringing him a drink after practice.

Aiichirou looked up from the laundry he was folding on the bottom bunk. "Huh?"

"You washed my swimsuit, right?"

"It's right here." He pointed to rumpled black and red jammers, fresh out of the dryer, atop the pile designated for Rin's clothes.

Said swimmer settled on the floor to prepare for his sit-up exercises. "Did you remember everything?"

"Uniforms, swimsuits, exercise clothes…" he trailed off as he counted off on his fingers. Everything was there, except…

"The detergent!" he said loudly, making Rin glance at him briefly. "I used the last for this load and since tomorrow's team practice, we need more now." Tossing the pajama shirt he was holding back onto the pile of unsorted clothes, Aiichirou jumped up and rummaged through his desk for spare change, tossed it into his pants pocket, and pulled on his jacket. "Do you need anything while I'm at the store?"

Bent knees visibly tensed before relaxing. "Um, can you pick up some more protein bars? I'll…pay you back as soon as I can."

"Got it! I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

When he returned what had previously been haphazard piles of clothes were now two neatly organized stacks.

And Rin was lying on the floor, keeping a careful count of his sit-ups.

Aiichirou glanced at the laundry, then to Rin, then back to the laundry again. "Senpai…"

"132—what—133, 134…"

"The laundry…"

"Hah?" he looked askance at the clothes with disinterest. "You already folded it right?"

"No…I left to get detergent and your bars…"

"Oh; guess I was too focused to notice."

A raised eyebrow effectively communicated that Aiichirou thought that was bullshit.

Grunting slightly as he stood up and stretched, Rin sauntered to his bed, took up his kouhai's clothes and placed it on his bunk. He acknowledged Aiichirou's thank-you with a smile that never failed to light up the younger swimmer's heart.

"Why don't we watch something once we put away our things?" he glanced at the darkened campus outside the window. "I have a few shows saved on Netflix. You can pick."

All thoughts of laundry were driven from Aiichirou's mind as he carelessly tossed the bag of groceries onto his desk and vaulted onto his bunk in his eagerness to put away his things as fast as possible.

xxx

The following week in the Samezuka locker room before a joint practice with Iwatobi, Aiichirou searched his duffle bag for his goggles, sighing in resignation. At his side was the cleaner, which he would use to defog them for the thousandth time this semester.

He found himself being watched by Rin, who was placing two cans of Pocari Sweat in his bag. "Have you found them yet?"

"No, not yet," he pouted, noting the barely-there amusement in his senpai's voice. "It's quite irritating to have to clean them constantly. Why don't they ever just stay—huh?" His hands brushed something that felt like…cloth.

Aiichirou stared bemusedly as he lifted out a new drawstring pouch. Emblazoned on it was the Samezuka swim team logo with a small embroidered duck on the bottom right corner. The only thought that stuck in his mind was that it had to have been custom-made.

He opened the bag with bated breath and squeaked in shock when he discovered his goggles inside, and could only gape at the fact that they were clean. It was the cleanest he had ever seen them, and he shoved them in Rin's face.

"Senpai, look! They're clean! This is amazing, how could this have—"

Rin chuckled and gently moved his hand away. "You'll have to see if they stay clean the entire practice." He stood up and slipped his goggled over his head, pulling back the top strap and letting it snap into place. "But you were using the wrong cleaner, so who knows? Maybe they will this time."

Those words brought Aiichirou, who had been admiring his goggle-snapping technique, back to the present. "W-wait; Rin-senpai, what do you mean by—?"

"Nitori! Matsuoka!" Seijurou shouted from the pool entrance. "We're about to start. Extra laps if you're not in the water by the time I count to one!"

The practice passed in a blur, starting from the mad dash to the pool to the final click of the stop watch, and Aiichirou's goggles stayed clean the entire time.

He smothered an ecstatic giggle while wrapping a towel around his neck, catching the attention of Rin, who was placing a Pocari next to a carefully folded towel.

"So…" he said as they fell into step together on the way to the locker room, "…did they pass the test?"

"With flying colors!" he beamed at the older boy, remembering what they talked about before practice. "What was wrong with my cleaner?"

Was it his imagination or did Rin's posture stiffen? "What?"

"You said I was using the wrong cleaner for my goggles." His head tilted quizzically. "How would you know?"

"I noticed the bottle you had out before practice." Rin coughed and looked away. "It's for recreation, not competition."

His eyes narrowed. "How long have you known—?"

"Oi, Rei! You coming?"

Aiichirou sighed resignedly and followed Rin's gaze to the butterfly swimmer, kneeling in front of a towel, staring at the Pocari Sweat next to it.

The same one that Rin had put down. The younger boy quickly looked from one to the other but got no reaction from his senpai.

Rei called out the affirmative and grabbed both drink and towel, meeting them at the entrance to the lockers.

"Go on ahead," Rin muttered, watching Rei's fingers curl around the bottle's seal, "we'll catch up."

Confused but obliging, Aiichirou did so, pausing to look back as Rei took a swig of his drink as Rin looked on with the same smile he had given him after he placed Aiichirou's laundry—of which he denied any involvement—on his bed.

It was obvious something had happened while he was gone, he reflected while entering a vacant shower, narrowly avoiding a mischievous Nagisa, yet the thought hadn't occurred to him until now.

Memories of watching several hours of Netflix came back to him while turning on the faucet, and he fought the urge to slam his head against the wall. His senpai knew precisely how to distract him.

If Rin had gone out of his way to redirect his attention from the laundry, he must have done something while he was at the store—like fold it.

Of course, Aiichirou thought, hands freezing amidst soapy locks. Asking for protein bars meant that he would be out longer than initially planned, leaving more than enough time for Rin to sort and fold the laundry. Several years alone abroad had given him speed and efficiency.

And if he did the laundry, than it was highly probable he was the one who cleaned his goggles and bought the customized pouch.

He smiled sheepishly and shook his head, sending stray droplets flying. Look at him; he was turning into Rei.

Speaking of the glasses-wearing swimmer, he and Rin entered and filled the stalls next to him, striking up a conversation with the Iwatobi team.

Usually Aiichirou happily contributed, but today he chose to observe his senpai as he talked, focusing on each of his teammates with his eyes, drinking them in as if he couldn't believe they were there.

As if he was amazed that he had a chance to rebuild their relationship.

A plan started to form in his mind, and as a distressed cry from Makoto, courtesy of Nagisa's antics, made Rin snort with barely contained laughter, he became determined to try it.

xxx

Rain pattered the windows as Aiichirou dashed to his room, clenching a piece of paper in his fist. He burst inside, chest heaving.

Rin took in his flushed cheeks and gleaming eyes from his desk from his desk. Pressing pause on his iPod he smoothly removed his headphones and placed them around his neck. "You look excited," he said calmly, the picture of level-headedness.

"Rin-senpai, I just found out about the most exciting thing!" Reaching the desk in several quick strides he slapped the paper he was holding on top of an open textbook. "A band I really like is having their new CD signing in Okayama!"

Rin quirked an eyebrow and looked down at the black and white poster, featuring two men dressed in street fashion standing side by side, crossing one arm each to form an X in the center.

"…I didn't know you liked that kind of music."

Aiichirou drew his arms in front of him and rubbed his elbow, staring at anything but Rin. "Well it's really whatever I feel like at the moment but I've loved this band ever since I was in junior high because I was really nervous about starting and one of their songs inspired me to do my best and a good band is like of those things that never change you know unless they break up and I'm rambling again aren't I." His face soured and he anxiously checked to make sure he hadn't been heard.

To his relief Rin wasn't listening but gazing at the ad with a nostalgic expression. "I get it, Nitori."

"Y-you do?"

"Yeah," a fond smile now adorned his face. "In Australia…" his eyes grew distant as he drifted back to that lonely time and Aiichirou waited patiently. Moments when his senpai confided in him were not to be rushed.

"I listened to a lot of Japanese music there," Rin lifted his head and looked solely at him. "Made me feel like a little bit of home was with me. I also got into foreign bands."

"No wonder your English is so good!"

"Heh, I guess that's one reason. But when my classmates heard I'd be going home after my first year of high school they took me to a concert as a going-away present."

"Wow!" Aiichirou's eyes lit up with renewed respect and awe. "What was it like?"

"Crowded." He smirked at his kouhai's comically disappointed expression, "But it was a lot of fun. You should try it sometime." He flicked his eyes back to the poster and whistled. "That's quite a bit of money."

Aiichirou swallowed and laughed awkwardly, "Money I unfortunately don't have."

"According to this the CD's been out for a month," Rin said with a shrewd look in his eyes, "I wouldn't be surprised if you can buy it online for cheap. Are you going to the signing?"

A depressed sigh answered his question. "3 hours by train isn't bad, but I have an exam the following day."

"That's a shame." He turned back to his book and held out the poster with one hand while replacing his headphones with the other, a silent indication that the conversation was over.

Aiichirou, by now used to the sometimes curt dismissals, took back the paper and scaled the ladder to his bunk, mentally berating himself for such an absurd plan.

"Ai."

His hands clenched the bars, fighting every nerve not to turn his head. "Rin-senpai?"

"…Hope it works out."

"Thank you." When he heard the swivel of the desk chair he scrambled the rest of the way and flopped onto the bed, valiantly trying to calm his hammering heart.

I hope my plan works out too.

xxx

Steam slithered out of the bathroom as Aiichirou walked into the dorm room two weeks later, rubbing his head with a towel. His swimsuit, damp after an extra training session, lay in a hamper to be dumped in the laundry.

On his desk was a note from Rin saying that he had gone for a late night run and to go to bed—he'd make sure not too curse too loudly if he came back and bumped into the swivel chair again.

Aiichirou grinned and went to put the note in the recycling bin when he noticed that something had been hidden underneath it.

Intrigued, he turned back for a better look and stopped moving.

It was the new CD he hadn't had enough money to buy.

He let out a shout of triumph and snatched it up, holding it to the light. Rin was the only one he told about the CD—he was right!

Everything that had happened since regionals hit him like a ton of bricks; happiness, shock, and confusion welled up inside and made him fight back a few tears.

The only thing he couldn't figure out was why. What prompted Rin to become a (grumpy) saint?

Intuition made him remember the Rin from last semester, who sat engulfed in his own emotions until Aiichirou pulled him back to the shore. Once he realized that his senpai needed someone to talk to that was what he became: an ever-present shadow that listened and was there for him when he needed it most, even if Rin claimed he was fine by himself. It was something Aiichirou felt that everyone should do for their friends.

But Rin didn't have those at the time, did he?

Memories from regionals flooded back and he gently set the CD back down.

His senpai deliberately isolated himself from those who cared about him, nearly succumbing to the feelings of inadequacy that periodically gripped Aiichirou. It used to baffle him that someone so talented could be ensnared by such poisonous emotions, but when Rin confided in him he began to understand.

He was no longer the exuberant young swimmer that caught his attention all those years ago but Aiichirou thought that boy was still there. While he was less energetic he burned with passion. While he appeared detached from those he loved he cared about them fiercely—sometimes too much. That was the Rin he knew and respected: sharpened by hardship yet resilient as the sun.

A dam had burst at regionals, washing away his agony, but even after the emotional tumult died down and his senpai started to regain what he had lost, it was clear that there were remnants left behind. One night soon afterward Aiichirou could hear muffled tears after Rin called his sister, and the hand he reached out to mend his frayed friendships was hesitant. But as the grip of pain and loss and guilt loosened he firmly outstretched his hand, determined to make amends.

Rin would never truly return to his former self—too much had happened to him. But from the moment he first called him "Ai" it was the start of something new, something that Aiichirou couldn't wait to be a part of.

He picked up the CD and turned it over in his hands as if to make sure it was still there. In terms of making amends, Rin's apology for yelling at him seemed to be enough, but this was more than he ever imagined.

Granted, words were never Rin's strong suit (at least before regionals, when a glare or a grunt would say everything that needed to be said). He was first and foremost a man of action, and showing his gratitude through little favors was just like him.

The door opened and Rin entered the room, panting slightly from exertion, eyes widening when he saw Aiichirou holding the CD with tears in his eyes. "Nitori?"

"Rin-senpai! I—"tangled words of gratitude, of how he didn't deserve this, almost spilled from his lips before he caught himself.

Perhaps it was better if he didn't reveal what he figured out. If Rin put so much effort into thanking him and keeping it secret, it would be a shame to ruin it.

And besides, he definitely deserved some thanks for getting through to Rin, even a little. He shuddered to think about what would've happened if someone else had been his roommate.

"Look! It's the new CD I wanted! This wasn't here before I left to shower. Did anyone come by?"

He pretended not to notice Rin's visible relief. "Ah, yeah. One of your friends. I don't remember his name, but he bought it for you and asked if I would give it to you for him."

Now that he had figured everything out, it struck Aiichirou how obvious Rin was. His face was an open book, no matter how much he tried to close it. It was adorable; a word that he never thought would be applicable until now.

"I think I know who you're talking about." He turned away to hide his grin. "We talked about our favorite bands in class a while ago."

That night after a movie marathon Aiichirou lay in the dark with a joyous smile on his face, replaying Rin's little favors over and over again, wondering if more was to come. Bubbly warmth settled in the pit of his stomach and made sleep elusive.

His thoughts drifted to Iwatobi and their butterfly swimmer—Rei, who had given up his place so that Rin could swim with his friends once more.

Aiichirou bolted upright in his bed, feeling like he had been doused in cold water.

It wouldn't be unusual for Rin to coordinate his secret acts of kindness with his old team. And Rei had done so much for them. If he was being thanked for being by Rin's side, than someone who threw away all the effort he had put into his swimming for the sake of someone he didn't even know deserved at least twice of what Aiichirou got.

The warmth inside him cooled and he drifted off to sleep, selflessness and kindness occupying his last conscious thoughts.

XXX

It is done! Writer's block was a bitch, but thank God it left.

Notes: Okayama is an actual city in Japan. About 3 hours by train if Google Maps is accurate. It has a symphony hall and is also the setting of the fable "Momotarō". I had to put it in. ;) I also modeled the band Aiichirou likes after OLDCODEX.