Title: Missing You
Series: Free!
Rating: T
Characters: Nagisa Hazuki, Rei Ryugazaki, Makoto Tachibana, Haruka Nanase
Pairing: Reigisa

Summary: "Just give him time, Nagisa. Maybe he needed to gather his thoughts. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Makoto reassured him, a week after Rei had quit the team and left the town. "I hope so, Mako-chan," Nagisa gave him a heartbreaking look, "I miss him so much..."


It was a dark and gloomy night, stormy clouds rolling in and blocking the moon from sight. Nagisa Hazuki cursed as he felt a raindrop on his cheek. He looked up to see it had begun to rain. The blonde whined as he hurried to the nearest store, but groaned as he saw the sign that read 'Closed.' He pulled out his pink phone to see it was getting closer and closer to midnight. Nagisa chuckled softly, picturing how Rei would react if the certain brunette had found out about him being out so late at night. Well, if only he was still in town for him to find out about the blonde's midnight adventures.

Six months. It's been officially six months since Rei Ryugazaki had announced he was quitting the swim team. He didn't give any of them a chance to get him back, for he took a train and left to only god knows where the day after he quit. He didn't tell anybody where he was going, nor did he give any hints as to where he could be going prior to his decision to quit. Nagisa was heartbroken. The blonde had tried calling Rei many, many times, only for his calls to be ignored. Eventually, the brunette had gotten his number changed, or he had possibly gotten a whole new phone. He had cut off all contact with the blonde.

Nagisa had a hard time adjusting to this change. It was hard enough his best friend, who also just happened to be his boyfriend, had quit the team, but he immediately fled and cut all ties between the two. Haruka and Makoto saw how broken Nagisa was, so they stuck by his side to comfort him through all of the pain. The two third-years had also missed the brunette. They were supposed to a team, with one member missing it just didn't feel right. Nagisa tried his hardest to be happy around his closest friends, but it grew difficult with each passing day without his blue-haired friend. His grades in school began to slip, and he missed out on a few swimming practices. Some nights he found himself lying in bed, tears rolling down his cheeks just thinking about seeing his boyfriend again. "What did I do wrong...?" He would ask himself.

The smaller blonde cursed as he heard the rain picking up. It didn't appear to be letting up any time soon. He sighed, scrolling through the few contacts in his phone before pressing call.

[Hello?]

"Mako-chan! Oh, thank god you're still awake!"

[Nagisa? What are you doing up this late at night?]

"Eheheh, I could really sleep so I thought I'd go for a walk, but then it started raining and I don't think it'll let up any time soon."

[What?! Are you insane?! It's dangerous to be out this late at night, especially by yourself!]

"I know, I know. Haha, you sound just like Rei-chan!"

The blonde instantly clapped his free hand over his mouth.

[Nagisa...]

"Hahaha, just kidding!"

[. . . Nagisa, are you crying?]

"N-No, I'm n-not crying! S-Silly Mako-chan!"

[Nagisa, where are you? I'm with Haru, we'll come get you!]

"I-It's okay, Mako-chan, r-really. D-Don't worry about m-me, I'll b-be fine."

[No, it's not okay, where are you?]

". . . I'm in front of the store across the street from the aquarium.."

[Stay right there, Nagisa! I'll be there as soon as I can! C'mon, Haru we have to go]

"Thank you, Mako-chan. . ."

Without waiting for a response, the blonde pulled the phone away from his ear and clicked end, placing his phone back into his pocket. He tried wiping away the tears that rolled down his cheeks, but they wouldn't stop. Instead, he attempted to cover his mouth to muffle out his loud cries so he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Nagisa tried his hardest to stay strong without the brunette around, but it was beginning to feel unbearable. The blonde had missed his blue-haired boyfriend to death. He didn't even know why he left in the first place, but he believed it was his fault. He tried thinking back to what he could've done to upset his beloved, but he couldn't think of anything. Six months, and he still hasn't heard a word from him.

"Just give him time, Nagisa. Maybe he needed to gather his thoughts. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Makoto reassured him, a week after Rei had quit the team and left the town.

"I hope so, Mako-chan," Nagisa gave him a heartbreaking look, "I miss him so much..."

Nagisa just wanted to know why Rei had suddenly up and left him like this. Did he really need this much time to gather his thoughts? He didn't know if he should believe that or not at this point. He had still wanted to, he still had hope that the boy would come back and never leave his side again, but he just didn't know. It's been so long since he had last seen him. It was bad enough the brunette had up and left on his own, but he even changed his number, or got a new phone who knows, the small blonde sure didn't know. Nagisa just wanted Rei to come back to him, to wrap his arms around him and never let him go.

"R-Rei-chan..." Nagisa whimpered, sloppily wiping away his tears with the back of his hands, "I-I miss you s-so much..."

The blonde wasn't even aware that the rain was beginning to lighten. He wasn't aware of the footsteps that were getting closer and closer to him. He didn't look up until he felt a hand tugging on his arm, trying to pull him up.

"Why's a cutie like you out here alone and crying? Come with me, I'll be sure to cheer you up," The sick teenager grinned, pulling Nagisa up to his feet.

"N-No, I-I don't want to! L-Let go of me!" Nagisa felt another round of tears rolling down his cheeks, trying his hardest to free himself from the older guy.

"Don't fight it, sweetheart. Just come with me and I'll show you a good time."

"S-STOP IT, LET GO OF ME!"

/SLAP/

Nagisa placed a hand on his swollen cheek, trying his hardest not to cry out. He felt the older teen dragging him away, and he continued to struggle. He watched with wide eyes as the teen turned around angrily and brought his hand up, ready to strike again.

"Nagisa-kun!"

The blonde blinked. The tears had stopped. There was only one person he knew that called him that.

"NAGISA-KUN!"

In a flash, Rei Ryugazaki was by Nagisa's side, punching the older teen in the face. Nagisa's arm was freed, and the blonde watched the older teen skid down the street. The sick teenager got to his feet, but instead of trying to get Nagisa back, he cursed and walked away. The blonde was trying to process what had happened, until he felt a warm pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Nagisa-kun, why in the word are you out here by yourself?! Don't you realize how late it is?! Please don't ever scare me like that again!" Rei yelled, warm tears rolling down his cheeks.

"R-REI-CHAAANNNNN!" Nagisa cried, wrapping his arms around the brunette.

The blonde had wanted to ask him so many questions about his disappearance. Where did he go? Why did he leave so suddenly? Why didn't he keep in contact with him all this time? Why didn't he say where he was going? Why did he leave for so long? What was his purpose for leaving in the first place? He knew he would ask him about it soon enough, but for now he just wanted to enjoy the embrace. He was scared to death of being taken away by the sick teenager. The blonde had seen him in the halls a couple of times, and he took note of the looks he would give him, but he never thought anything of it, nor did he expect to run into him at a place and time like this. He was just so grateful someone had come to his rescue, and that someone being Rei Ryugazaki.

"Nagisa! Rei!" Makoto called out to the embracing couple, Haruka running behind him.

"Mako-chan... Haru-chan..." Nagisa murmured.

"Nagisa, what happened?!" Makoto asked worriedly, noticing Nagisa's burning red cheek.

"And Rei, when did you get back?" Haruka added, not wanting to leave out the brunette.

"It's a long story," Rei answered for both questions, "We should get out of the rain though before we get sick."

Makoto nodded, and looked over at the blonde for any extra comments, only to hear his slight snoring. He tried his hardest to hold back a laugh. Rei sighed with a smile as he bent down and scooped up Nagisa in his arms. Together, the four of them headed for Makoto's house. Nagisa was sound asleep the whole time, exhausted from trying to save himself, but relieved Rei had been there to save him. If it wasn't for the brunette, who knows what could've happened to the blonde. Even though many of his questions were still unanswered, Nagisa was just glad to have his boyfriend back.


Author's Note: Ahhh just a fanfic I thought of with the possibility of Rei leaving the swim club in the next episode of Free! Eternal Summer.

I know I ended it at a bad spot, but I just wanted to show the reunion between Nagisa and Rei after being separated for so long, and that once Rei got back it didn't matter where he was, Nagisa was just grateful to have him back.

If anyone would like, I could write a second part where the four of them are at Makoto's house and Rei explains the story, along with him answering any questions the others may have as to why he left the group and went out of town.

I promise the next Free! fanfic will be happier no matter what pairing I use because I know my last Free! fanfic was a heartbreaking Rintori fanfic hng /shot

I hope you guys like it! ; u ;

~ Kyoko