Free! doesn't belong to me. Neither does High Speed!
Prompt: The way you said "I love you" (loud, so everyone can hear).
To stop arguing
.
Rin found Haruka sitting on top of the stairs that lead to his house, playing with a grey cat. Even though the temperature had dropped several degrees when the sun had sunk into the horizon, he was only wearing the thin sweater he had on before Rin stormed out the house under an orange sky. He tore his gaze off the cat and stared at Rin, who had stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
"Uh... Hi," Rin muttered, overwhelmed by the intensity in Haruka's eyes. The cat jumped into his lap and meowed, rubbing its head against Haruka's thigh. "Do you mind if I go up there?"
Haruka shrugged, but didn't take his eyes off Rin as he climbed up the stairs. Rin supposed he had some right to be angry, too; as much as Rin knew he was right, he was aware that running away to stop the argument without even saying anything hadn't been the best idea ever. He sat up next to Haruka, close enough to listen to the cat's purr as Haruka scratched behind its ears, far enough to not brush his boyfriend's arm.
Rin wanted to speak even though he didn't know what he would say, but he was caught off ward when he looked at the scenery before him; understanding why Haruka liked that place wasn't hard. From there, one could see Iwatobi, as well as the harbour with boats tied up at the docks. It was certainly calming, and Rin tried to focus on that feeling instead of the reason why his boyfriend had been forced to seek that peace.
"Don't do that again."
Rin winced, even though Haruka's voice hadn't sounded aggressive. It was more of a request, but the words carried more weight than something that was less than an order should.
"Do what?" He looked at Haruka out of the corner of his eye and caught him doing the same. Both of them stared down at the cat instead.
"Running away."
Rin let out a sigh. "Sorry. I just didn't want to keep arguing," he admitted.
Haruka tentatively leant into him.
"So you ran away from admitting you weren't right?"
"What– You are the one who wasn't right!" Rin replied, but snuck his arm around Haruka's shoulders, noticing the slight tremor running across his skin. Looking back, it didn't really matter who had been in the wrong. "Aren't you cold?"
Haruka looked up at him, an undecipherable glint in his eyes.
"No." But he scooted closer anyway. "We fight a lot."
Rin bit his lip, caressed the cat's back. "We make up a lot, too."
There was a silence where Haruka straightened up and kissed Rin's cheek shyly, almost as if asking for permission. "Then it's fine."
His hand found Rin's.
It's worth it, Rin thought. Being with Haruka was sometimes difficult, but it was worth the inevitable arguments between them.
"I love you," he found himself saying, not bothering to lower his voice. It sounded too loud even to his own ears.
Oddly enough, though, Haruka didn't look away, even when his cheeks reddened. He only elbowed Rin in the ribs.
"What if my neighbours hear you?"
Rin smiled. Haruka had little to none social awareness, but he cared about Rin enough to stop himself from making him uncomfortable.
"I don't mind," he answered, relieved when he realised it was a bit truer than before.