Disclaimer: I do NOT own Free

Time frame: The free boys are university students now. Sousuke and Rin are an established couple.

Chapter 1

It was one of those days - Rin thought after leaving the apartment to head over to Haruka's place – that Sousuke should have been home early.

Over the last year it had become something like a tradition of sorts that every Friday around lunchtime Rin would come back from Political Science 101 (which by the way was the most demanding thing he's ever ignorantly taken up) to his and Sousuke's tiny and lightly furnished apartment and Sousuke would already be there to sweetly greet him, or actually not so sweetly greet him initially but in reality only offer up a curt 'hey' while sprawled out tiredly on the couch with a set of headphones tucked away in his ears, and if Rin wasn't as observant as he was, if Rin hadn't known Sousuke for as long as he had, the small smile that tugged up at the corner of the taller male's mouth whenever Rin walked in would have certainly gone unnoticed.

Rin let himself smile little as he got off the bus and began what was always a pretty short trek to the swimmer's house. He would have totally missed the always surprising glimmer in those tiffany coloured irises and the fact that his new current read would be sitting in the corner of the coffee table every Friday instead of being where he left it, just waiting for him to dive right back in to an adventure and beside Sousuke who would frown before outstretching an arm. A silent cue for the redhead to join him. They would spend the rest of the day like that together, tired from the week with swim practice and their own classes and part time jobs and content to stay that way forever until their stomachs started to call for them and they were forced to get up.

Rin frowned, closing his phone when Sousuke's generic voicemail came on - because of course after all this time of having a phone, he's never even bothered to personalize the freakin' thing. It was weird and maybe a little concerning because … Rin checked the time on his phone; Sousuke's last class was supposed to have been over with two hours ago but then again, Rin sighed, pushing his phone back into his pants pocket as Haruka's house came into view. He probably just got caught up with some things at the University.

Rin bounded the stairs, taking two at a time, up to Haruka's front door and quickly knocked before stepping in. "I'm coming in!" He called while toeing off his sneakers.

"Rin!" He heard the voices of his friends sound off in near unison from the quaint living room and he grinned, poking his head through the entrance way where he immediately saw his group of buddies sitting around Haruka's table.

"We bought pizza Rin-Rin!" Nagisa exclaimed with bright pink eyes once Rin plopped down next to Makoto who was finishing off the rest of his slice. "And you're just in time too because Rei-chan was about to eat his third slice even though everybody else only had two!"

Rin raised a slender eyebrow at Rei, his grin now teasing as he watched Rei flush and stammer. "Ah" He leaned forward, elbows pressing on the table. "Hungry Rei?" It was all in good fun. He knew how much of a stickler Rei was when it came to his diet and appearance so it was hard not to humour Nagisa.

"What?! N-No! Nagisaaaaaa! You shouldn't say things that aren't true!"

Rin laughed at the sight of them getting into their usual banter. Their antics brought back all the good memories of his time spent at Samezuka.

"So," Makoto started, smiling lightly as he brought his attention to over Rin. "How has school and swimming been going for you?"

Rin blinked for a moment before rolling his eyes and resting his chin in his hand and heaving a long sigh. His classes weren't the problem, he could handle essays every week and extra study hours and group projects but practice was a completely different story. His team's coach was a drill sergeant in the pool, always hollering for them to go faster and repeat 'this' and 'that' again and again and blowing that damn whistle until he was blue in the face and although Rin absolutely loved the challenge it brought each day because both his and Sousuke's times had shot up drastically since joining the team, he didn't appreciate the intense soreness that would plague his muscular system at the end of each day, that would leave him exhausted to the point where he wanted nothing more than to get a nice massage with some salve and sleep only to realize he had fucking coursework to do.

"It's killing me! We have nationals coming up so Coach is being more ruthless than usual. Even Sousuke's worn out." Rin groaned and mustered up a halfhearted glare when Makoto laughed.

"Well, it's for the best then, right Rin? Haru-chan and I are gonna be there to cheer you on during nationals so you have to train hard!"

"Oh! We're coming too!" Nagisa beamed, jabbing his thumb in his chest and slapping Rei on the back causing the male to choke on his drink. "Isn't that right, Rei-chan?!"

"Can't have you embarrassing us." Haru piped in.

"Tch" Rin clicked his tongue. "As if I'd-" He cut himself off as his phone started to vibrate and sound off in his pocket." Ah, hold up a sec." He said before hitting the talk button and pressing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, may I please speak to Matsuoka Rin if he's available?"

"This is him."

"Hello, Matsuoka-san. I'm actually one of the head nurses calling from Jutendo Hospital in Tokyo regarding an admitted patient named Yamazaki Sousuke. You were listed as an emergency contact and family member."

Rin paled, "What…" He breathed out and gripped the phone until his knuckles turned white. "W-What happened?" This had to be joke. "What happened?"

"There was an automobile accident involving-"

"No … No, how could he have gotten – he doesn't even fucking drive!" He tried to regulate his breathing. He really did but he couldn't. "Is he … Is he okay?"

"For the moment, he is in critical condition. If you-"

Rin hung up the phone and shot up from the table. He probably shouldn't have interrupted her so much and he definitely shouldn't have hung up without at least catching her instructions but he couldn't hear anymore and besides, she said the name of the hospital and that's all that mattered to Rin at the moment. He was a mess, scrambling for his sneakers at the door and almost forgetting his wallet and his keys in the process. His eyes were stinging and his heart, oh God his heart felt like it was a being squeezed into a box. This couldn't be real.

"Rin?!"

"Rin, what's the matter?!"

Suddenly, all his friends were at his side, their faces concerned as they watched him but Rin could barely think, let alone explain anything. He had trouble tying his shoes and his hands were shaking so bad all he could hear was the jingling of his house keys. And then Haru was there, knelt on the floor, grabbing his shoulders.

"What's going on? Rin!"

His blue eyes were wide and frightened and Rin felt everything inside of him crumble. His heart hurt so badly. "I-I have to get to the hospital!" Rin couldn't help it. The tears that had been clinging to his eyes, fell as he practically shouted at the inky haired male in front of him who gasped which was followed by the others. "Sousuke… Sousuke he's … The nurse said he's in critical condition! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Rin cried and beside him saw Nagisa slipping into his sneakers and pressing a series of buttons on his phone – probably sending a text message. His eyes widened however, when Nagisa clasped his hand and yanked him up.

"I got a car so I'm taking Rin-Rin to the hospital! It'll be fastest! Oh, but I …" He slowly trailed off, some of the fire leaving his eyes as he did so and slid his gaze over the group. There was no way everyone would be able to fit in his car.

Haruka looked at Rin, then nodded to Nagisa. "That's alright. Go."

"Its fine, me and Haru will meet you guys up there!"

And that was it. A few seconds later they were outside in the crisp air and practically vaulting down the concrete steps. He must have dropped his wallet and keys sometime before he left because Rei was running beside them with Rin's belongings secured in-between his fingers. It took him a minute to realize that he was being both pulled and led by Nagisa who still held his hand as they rounded the corner and Nagisa's light blue Hyundai came into view.

The blonde had unlocked the doors before they even got there. "Get in, Rin-chan."

Rin quickly got in, securing his seat belt as Rei slid in the back and Nagisa was already in the driver's seat, turning on the engine and they locked eyes for a moment and honestly it was strange seeing Nagisa being so … reliable but he was so thankful and the bright warmth Nagisa always seemed to radiate waves of, reached him and for a few seconds at least, he felt like things were probably better with Sousuke's condition than what was running through his mind.

"Where's Sou-chan at?"

Rin rubbed his temples, his stomach started to knot up again as a wave of anxiety rolled over him and he dropped his head against the window. "Jutendo"

Well, so much for feeling a little better.

Author's Note: So that is the end of chapter 1.

I'm not really sure about this because I've never written Free but you can't get better without practice I guess!

So if you can, pretty please leave a little review and tell me what you think!