Title: Picking Flowers
Pairing: HaruGou (Haru/Gou)
Rating: K+
Warning(s): None
Summary: He had been her first real crush, the celebrity she couldn't touch, and her brother's best friend. HaruGou, drabble fic.
Author's Note: After a few months of avoiding it, I finally began watching Free! and was totally and completely smitten with the anime and with this pairing. They are so many levels of adorable it's not even funny. And since they don't seem to get nearly enough love, I thought I'd thrown in my modest contribution to the fandom with this short little drabble-y thingy! I actually have a few oneshots in the works, so hopefully I can crank those out before too long! :) I hope you all like it, and drop a review if you do! It is appreciated, you precious peoples. ;)
Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form associated with this anime or characters. If I was, trust me, these two would have probably (coughdefinitelycough) been having sexytimes in a storage closet somewhere before regionals.
He had always seemed so untouchable, like a faraway dream one would fantasize about in passing before laughing it off and pushing it aside. The first time she saw him, as an impressionable nine year old, he'd been racing against her brother's team. And despite their status as competitors, the quiet boy with such monstrous skill had enraptured her. But he was a mere flash of curiosity in her life, and just like that he was gone. Despite her certainty that she would never see him again, she found herself wondering about him at the strangest times. In the midst of a lesson, while walking around town, as she was playing with her friends, he would always suddenly slip into her thoughts and leaving her giggling like the schoolgirl she was.
When they moved and she first went to watch her brother swim, she couldn't help the butterflies that grew inside as she was once again watching the blue-eyed boy, only this time, he was swimming alongside Rin. When the impossible happened and Rin finally gave her a name to match the face, Haruka, she was nothing short of giddy, despite his apparent disinterest in her. Her eagerness was greeted with a half-hearted nod, before he turned his attention to something on the ground. It left a sinking feeling where excitement once resided, a blow to her usually substantial self-esteem. She had no way of knowing that he kept stealing glances at her the rest of the night.
He had been her first real crush, the celebrity she couldn't touch, and her brother's best friend.
When they met again, years later, she found that he hadn't changed a bit. Haru was still a hydrophilic that was impossibly hard to read. She could never tell what he was thinking, and for someone as inquisitive as Gou, that was completely and utterly exasperating. His hypnotic blue eyes, so similar to the water that he cherished, never seemed to betray what was going on under that mop of black hair. And deny it though she may, it was one of the things that had her completely and totally captivated by him.
She would be lying if she said he didn't influence her decision to join the team. The prospect of spending hours together, daily, was definitely a convincing factor. Inside, that damn voice of reason reminded her that being around him would instill within her a false sense of hope. He would be much too focused on his freestyle to pay her any mind. And initially, that's how it was. But then, things began to change. It was subtle, so much so that she wouldn't have caught it if it were anyone else.
But it was Haru, so she did. She saw the way he would hover around her as she went over their training regimen for the day. He'd always sit next to her, or across from her, at lunch. He would stay after everyone else had departed, helping her to clean up whatever her boys had left littered around the pool. He would walk her home, muttering some vague excuse about it not being safe for young girls to be alone after dark. He started touching her when it wasn't necessary, randomly reaching out to remove a stray piece of hair from her eyes, patting her head before they parted ways, brushing his hand against hers when they were much too close to be considered platonic.
He first kissed her after their almost-victory. They had decided to take the long way home, and found themselves wandering lazily along the shoreline. She had turned to tease him about his self-control; he hadn't stripped to his signature bathing suit yet, but stopped when she saw him smiling at her. It was small and shy, barely there, but enough to cause her heart to skip a beat. His eyes had softened considerably, looking unusually warm. Never had he looked at her in such a way. Just as she murmured his name questioningly, he was moving, lips meeting hers without hesitation. Her frantic mind was unprepared, unable to process what was happening until after it had happened, and she could only look up at him in wonder. Ruby met sapphire, and before she could fully prepare herself he was on her again. It was soft, but intense, and so very Haru it was overwhelming. They stayed like that a long while, until they were breathlessly content, and walked home hand in hand. She fell asleep that night with a dreamy smile and hopeful heart.
Their first date was to the aquarium- naturally- a week later. Despite having to provide a delicate explanation as to why it was a bad idea to swim in the shark tank, it was fun, and left her grinning like a fool. They decided to keep their relationship on the down low, not only because Rin would go into protective older brother mode, but also because everyone needed to stay focused on the tasks at hand. If they wanted to make nationals this year, they had to keep distractions to a minimum. And, knowing their team, their relationship would be just that- a large distraction. It never bothered her, the secrecy. She still was hopelessly in love with him, and honestly found the whole affair to be terribly exciting.
He hardly said those three words, but then again, he didn't need to. It was in the little things he did. The way he would hold her hand when no one was looking. The way he would watch her intently from across the room. The way he would find reasons to be alone together, only to discreetly steal a kiss or two away from prying eyes. The way he would just stare at her, memorizing the look of adoration in her eyes, before chastely kissing her forehead. It was his way of saying he loved her, and she couldn't ask for anything more.