Sketches

As much Haruka loved getting out of class and jumping into the school pool, strange words occupied in his mind. After hearing the school bell echo through the halls of the school, Haruka would rush down the halls just to feel the water against his skin. The peace it would bring to him, the smooth water against his bare sin - he loved it. He would stay there for hours without a single care in the world but today something was holding him back, it was Gou.

His eyes gazed through the window and the sky showed no signs of rain. The wind was hardly felt and the warm rays of the sun only convinced him even more to leave the classroom just to feel the water against his skin. But that face, that name and her words forced him to stop.

The pencil in his hand shook as the led broke. It took Haruka a few minutes to notice that the led had indeed broke. Giving out a sigh the teen quickly sharpened it once more and from gazing from the warm weather outside he drifted his attention to his sketchpad.

He drawing was incomplete.

The young man didn't feel like finishing it though which was rare. As much he loved swimming he did enjoy a drawing or two. In fact he was the one that did most of the creative requirements that the swim club needed like carving their mascot out of wood or sketching it down on paper. There were times where his teacher would just give a judging glare at him seeing he had wasted an hour drawing his teammates in very strange circumstances. There were sketches with Nagisa surrounded in penguins which he did end up giving to the blond, Makoto with whales which he remember him asking why but as usual he would give the light shrug and keep on drawing.

There were even some of their newest member and friend, Rei in a field of butterflies. Of course begin a man who loved beauty the man's ivory eyes glimmered with admiration. And the only sketch of Rin was when they were young children. To this day they still had trouble becoming good friends like they were before.

Flicking through pages of more sketches of his teammates and the swim club mascot he reached into his current drawing. It was also incomplete. It wasn't his usual drawings of his friends but their manager - Gou Matosuoka.

They had been friends as long as they could remember. He could still remember the smile she had when he pronounced her name the way she wanted. He had to admit, it was adorable. And the time where she asked why he swims for he didn't feel any reason to tell her what he really felt and that he had no reason to swim. But somehow he felt like she knew he had a reason he just didn't want to say anything about it.

"Haruka-sepai!" A young cheerful voice echoed in the classroom. It was no other but Nagisa. Haruka gave a deep sigh. "Class is over, what are you still doing here?"

Haruka gave a look at the young blond before returning back to his sketch. The image only had rough light lines of somebody sitting on rocks with the ocean behind them. Pressing the pencil onto the image he started to define the face and the cheeks before feeling Nagisa jumped on him. With luck he lifted his pencil before Nagisa jumping on him and ruin his drawing.

"Hey, who are you drawing this time?" The young boy peeked over Haruka's shoulders. "Ooo, are you going to draw more penguins for me Haruka-senpai?"

"No." He spoke coldly as usual and returned on his drawing.

Placing the pencil the young swimmer started to define the neck and the shoulders before working down the arms and made sure the fingers were looking right. Haruka stopped once he could hear a light snickers from another friend, Makoto.

"Nagisa, I think Haruka would like if you didn't hug him like that."

"But I want to see what Haruka-senpai is drawing!" Nagisa cried.

"It's nothing special." The man started to work on the hips before working on the chest. "And plus I don't feel like swimming."

Nagisa fell off Haruka's back and Makoto nearly lost his balance with what both of them heard. "Not swimming!?"

Haruka titled his head to the side in confusion, "I swam a little too much last night so I feel a little sore. You have no idea how much I want to swim." He gazed back through the window.

Liar. He felt perfectly fine. It was just a certain person that kept him away from the pool.

"Well it that is what you feel me and Nagisa will head up to the roof and start practicing for the finals."

Makoto could see Haruka had turned away from him. "And about yesterday-"

"It's fine. Just go."

The young man sighed and rubbed his temples, "Well, I guess I'll explain everything you on the way home."

The young artist gave off a nod and watched his good friends leave him alone in the classroom. With the silence around him once more he returned back to the sketch he could never found any motivation and reason to finish until now. He raised his pencil and brought it up to the head and started to draw the fringe and soon worked on a ponytail, just like the one a certain manager he knew had.

He worked on her breasts and felt like a pervert for working on them for such a long time. But it was a drawing so he knew feeling embarrassed about getting female anatomy was stupid. He slid down to her waist and worked on drawing a tail that fishes had. At first it ended up like a certain fish he loved eating but erased it quickly.

"That is looking wonderful Haruka-senpai." Another voice was overheard.

"Rei." He looked up to his new friend. "Why aren't you swimming?" He asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He replied back with a question of his own.

Looking back at his drawing. "I spent too much time in the pool yesterday so my body feels a little sore. I told Nagisa and Makoto that I can't come today."

"Right, of course. That makes sense." Rei pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. Both went into silence as Rei observed the detail Haruka was adding to the tail. "Is that Miss Gou Matosuka, Haruka?"

The artist dropped his pencil at the name as it slid down from his desk and onto the ground. He clenched his hand at the name and looked away from his sketch and to the blue sky outside. Rei watched the expression on his friend's face as he bent down to pick up the pencil for Haruka.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Looking back, "No, the pencil just slipped." He lied.

"If it did why are you reacting the way you are now? You seem upset or confused when hearing Miss Gou's name."

He sighed as he placed his elbow on the desk and leaned on the palm of his hand. "I'm fine."

"Did something happen between the two of you?"

Haruka snatched the pencil from Rei and returned to his drawing. "You better go to the others and start practice. Your just wasting time talking to me."

Rei sighed as he placed his hands on his waist. "You know, bottling your problems to yourself isn't know to do you any good."

His sapphire eyes met his ivory ones, "If I have a problem I'll face it and I'll do it, on my own. It's something I have to do on my own." Looking away Haruka started to make the waves on the drawing look more like the ocean.

"Very well. I'll be on my way. Take care." Rei gave a small bow to the young teen as he left him in the same manner his friends did.

Giving off a sigh of relief Haruka worked on the detail of the rocks before redefining the tail once again. He returned back to the chest and drew a shell-designed bra over the woman and added a pearl necklace around her neck. He returned back to the ponytail and added more strands of hair.

Haruka turned back to the water and drew small and feint islands in the background. Soon light clouds were seen above as he pressed the pencil on the side and started to faintly and lightly shade the clouds.

The sky and clouds were quickly shaded and done as he lifted his pencil from the paper for a faint moment. He noticed the face of the woman was not drawn or even sketched at all. It was blank - empty.

Just how he remembered seeing her last.

Her voice was weak, stuttering and shy. Not like he knew her at all. He knew her as strong, wild and fun loving. Her shouts at the group gave them motivation to move and her ideas for the club only reminded them all how passionate she was to make them the best they could be. He sighed as he shook the face Gou had with him and started to shade the detailed tail and skin.

But every time he would take a quick glance at the empty face the woman in his drawing it had only reminded him of Gou and that day he thought was just going to be another normal day. She yelled out different strokes for the group to do and sometimes he could her squeals at their muscles, which he honestly didn't care about anymore. Then they would gather as she explained whom they would be up against in the finals before letting them jump back into the water. But of course, he would never let her finish before he jumped back into the water.

But as practice finished he was expecting Makoto to be waiting for him as they walked home like always. But by his side was a certain red head looking rather happy by his side. With just his head poking up from the water he glared at them both as they shared what seem a happy conversation.

Haruka didn't understand what he feeling inside. He didn't like what he was seeing. Maybe it was just awkward seeing Makoto having a great conversation since he would always stay so quiet whenever they talked. But with Gou he was talking in such a different manner and Gou was doing the same. Having enough he went for another few laps but after finishing one he suddenly felt the drive was no longer there to keep him swimming.

Poking his head out of the water once more he saw a different scene between them both. He could see their hands touching more than often and their faces closing in. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and he quickly stood up from the pool and removed his cap, which caused both of them to stop. He saw Makoto gave off a warm smile at his friend as Gou covered her flustered face with her hands.

As his old friend walked over to him and offered him out of the pool as always he just glared at his old friend. Something he never thought he would do to his old friend.

"What the hell was that?" He asked rather bitterly.

Makoto jumped back a few steps with the language he heard his friend saying to him. "Well I-"

"You know, never mind. I shouldn't be even asking." He pulled himself up the ladder himself. "I'm walking home."

"Haruka!" Makoto cried as he reached over for his friend's shoulder but the young man shrugged it away. He looked away and sighed. "Alright, if that is what you want."

His eyes gazed at Gou's and saw they were staring blankly at his. From a distance he could see she was about to break into tears as he stood in his spot and watched the woman take nervous steps towards him. He could see she gave off a signal to the man behind him and he did what she asked. Leaving them both alone.

"Haruka-senpai." He could feel how tightly she was holding on his arm. "S-Sorry."

Haruka could never understand why he felt so close to the red head and so confused to see her that close to his best friend. "I should be the one saying sorry. I interrupted you and Makoto and-"

"It's nothing like that!" Gou spoke as she finally found the courage to look up at him. "We were having a staring contest to pass the time and-"

"I'm pretty sure I know what two people look like when they are about to kiss." Haruka looked away from her gaze. "I never though Makoto would have the courage to do that and-"

"It's not him I like!" She yelled. She finally released her grip on his arm. "I mean-" The young girl sighed and took a few steps back. "Never mind. I don't think you seem that interested anyway even after telling you the truth." Gou patted her cheeks and gave off a determined grin. "Well I better stop holding you back from going home. I'll see you tomorrow."

The young man watched the young woman walk away from him as he reached down for his towel and placed it over his shoulders. He admired the way her body moved and how her long red hair swayed from left to right. It took him a few seconds that he never looked at her that way before. Clenching his fists, "Wait."

His voice was low and uncertain but it was somehow loud enough for the young woman to hear. "Tell me, who do you like?"

Gou tiled her head to the side in a confused manner. "And why are you suddenly interested?"

Haruka held his towel tightly as he looked left and right in uncertainty. "Because I care." He finally found the courage to look back into her ruby eyes and could see the shock all over her face.

The young first year student held her hands tightly as he could see her hands shaking and her face getting more red by the moment. With her nerves still evident she looked back up at him. "Would you believe me if it was you?" She gave off a cheeky smile but her fake smile was soon wiped away. She tried to chuckle but Haruka knew it was fake. "Haruka-senpai, it's you."

Haruka felt the pencil in his hand suddenly drop once more, snapping him out of his thoughts. It took him a minute or two to see he was back in the classroom all alone with a unfinished sketch in front of him with a character with a blank face. Everything else was shaded and highlighted except the empty face he somehow couldn't find the motivation to finish.

"Why can't I finish this?" He muttered before giving off a sigh. "Your words, why am I acting like this? It was just a simple confession."

Tired of thinking, Haruka left his chair and bent down to reach the pencil he had now dropped twice. But as he reached for it he felt soft fragile hands over his that was planning to pick up the object as well. The soft white skin and the feminine fingers didn't make Haruka see it was no other but Gou. Both teenagers withdrew as soon they noticed who was holding their hands and avoided the gaze for a minute or two.

"Hey." He started.

"Hi."

Both stared at each other in a blank manner and spoke nothing to each other. Haruka sighed as he stood up and returned back to his chair and tried to find the motivation to finish his sketch. Without looking around he could hear a chair parked ahead of him. Her white shirt and long red hair couldn't help but get into his view.

"I was looking for you." Her voice echoed in his ears. "I couldn't believe it when the others said you couldn't swim today."

"I'm sure they told you why." Haruka reached for a black fine liner liner and started to make some lines thicker and bolder than others. "So I don't understand why you still had to chase me."

"It because I don't believe your reason."

The young man took a quick glance up and Gou and looked away after seeing the sad expression on her face. He decided to work back on his drawing.

"I didn't know you were a artist." Gou began a new conversation.

"I like drawing." He spoke blandly as he blew the eraser shaving off his desk. "It's something I do when I'm not swimming."'

Gou leaned forward and saw the woman he was drawing didn't have a face. Not an expert in art she looked up at Haruka and noticed he was too busy fixing the lines of the sketch. "Is she meant to have no face?"

"Maybe."

Gou leaned back and sighed and looked outside at the window. There was a cloud of two starting to appear but it didn't show any signs it was going to rain. It was summer. Rain was rare at their place. "Why doesn't she have a face?"

Haruka sighed before looking at Gou briefly. "Because I forgot what she looks like when she smiles. You see the last time we saw each other she looked empty, blank and depressed. That isn't how I remembered her to be."

The young red head scratched her cheek as a light pink blush creped across her face. "That's a odd way to put it." An idea came into her mind, which made her smile. "Do you want to see her smile?"

Her words were suddenly filled with excitement with a hint of happiness. This caused him to look at her for a little longer before looking away before she could see a smile come across his face as well. "It's alright. I already saw it."

Gou broke into a chuckle before standing up onto her two feet. She gave off a cheeky smile before patting Haruka's short navy blue hair. "Anyway I'm going back to the others since you're too sore to swim today. Maybe tomorrow?" She asked.

He looked up and gave off a nod as Gou made her way out. He gave off a smile as she leaved as he placed his pencil back onto the paper and soon eyes were seen on the woman's face, a nose followed and soon a warm smile danced across her face. He shaded her eyes and drew lines to identify her pupils before leaving a white space to show her irises. He softly shaded around her nose and left her warm smile untouched.

Reaching for his fine liner black pen he placed his name on the bottom not too big to take up the whole image. Ripping the drawing out of his book he turned it over and placed the pen on the back and he moved his hands as he wrote a few simple words. Packing up he rolled the image and wrapped it with a simple rubber band. Finding it room in his bag he closed it up and made his way out.

There was one more place he had to go before heading home.

"Gou, hurry up!"

"Yeah, just wait!" the first year sighed as she took a sigh of relief after finally reaching her locker. "People these days." Gou sighed while wondering how her friend has so much energy to spare after school.

The young teen placed her fingers on the handle of her locker and pulled the door towards her but to her surprise it didn't open up. Giving a confused look she tried again and with enough power the door opened and a white piece of paper rolled up together was seen falling out.

"Huh?" Gou questioned as she bent down to retrieve the object. She slipped the rubbed band off the rolled piece of paper and held it out. A blush came across her face.

It was the drawing she remember seeing Haruka drawing in front of her a few hours ago. She blushed after seeing that the woman he was drawing was no other but her.

He drew her as a mermaid on a rock with the huge wide ocean behind her with islands in the far background. She was seen with a penguin by her side with a whale in the background, a butterfly placed on her left shoulder and a shark in the far background. He drawn her leaning on the rocks with her left had leaning over to touch a dolphin that had came up from the water to see her. He had draw the animal smiling.

Gou smiled at how cute the drawing was as she reached into her bag and pulled out a pencil case. Inside was some tape and pulled a few apart and placed it behind the drawing until a few words caught her attention.

"Keep smiling." - Haruka

She wanted to wipe away the blush all over her face but decided not to in the end as she placed the drawing on the wall of her locker door and smiled.

"How nice of him." She cheered as she returned her books into her locker. She took a step back to admire the drawing Haruka had drawn for her and gave off one more smile and reached over for her bag and tossed it over her shoulders. Gou closed the door before jumping in shock to see Haruka was standing by her side all this time and didn't notice.

"Why do you have to always do that!?" She yelled and pointed at the man. Haruka didn't know and shrugged his shoulders as his response. Gou rolled her eyes and turned her back on the man.

"Hey Kou." Gou froze after hearing Haruka speaking her name. This caused her to turn around and face him. She raised an eyebrow. "Can I walk you home?"

The young woman produced off a giggle and nodded. Opening her eyes she could see the young man was smiling at her in a warm and comforting manner. It was the first time she saw him smile at her like that and reached over for his arm, pulling him to hurry up and take her home before it was dark. Haruka stuttered a few steps but soon got into the right pace and both were seen leaving the school grounds side by side.

Gou took a quick glance at the young man and saw he had returned into the quiet man she remembered him to be with his eyes stuck on the ocean. She tilted her head wondering if she was the only one that could see his cheeks were slightly pink. Gou just shrugged away the idea and decided just to enjoy the extra company.

"Keep smiling Haruka-senpai and I will too."

A/N: I promised myself I was going to upload this after episodes 7 but I can't help it. I'm writing too much HaruGou drabbles and this one just got out of hand. Help. I can't stop. Well, that isn't a bad thing is it? xD

Anyway I got a few ideas from the HaruGou tag on tumblr. It makes me happy seeing that I'm not the only one that ships these two. Their wayy tooo cute together to ignore and the fanart is so perfect. :D

And yes, I'm one of those fan girls that don't think free! is a yaio show. omg what sorcery is this? It's called common sense. haha.

~midnight