Ring.
Ring ring.
Ring ring ring.
"GODAMNIT!" It was about four in the morning on a Sunday, and Gou was rudely awoken by an obnoxious buzzing coming from her cell phone. She picks up and snaps at whoever was on the other end of the line. "I SWEAR TO GOD IF THIS IS A TELEMARKETER I WILL-"
"Gou-chan."
The only one that still calls me Gou… "NAGISA-KUN YOU LITTLE SHIT I SWEAR-"
"Come to the pool. It's an emergency." Nagisa says coolly; very unlike him. He immediately hangs up. What the hell is the little devil up to now? Gou thought to herself. She didn't even have time to tell Nagisa to call her Kou. He's acting weird, if I know Nagisa-kun well enough I know that he likes to sleep in on weekends… Gou thought groggily as she got up and threw on a bra and underwear, clean pajama shorts and a loose top. It's too early to look nice. On a piece of notebook paper she wrote 'went out for a run, be back soon', then placed the note on her bed. She tied her red hair up and went downstairs, careful not to wake her mother. Sliding the front door open, she slipped on sandals, grabbed some spare change and headed to the train station.
Gou got on the first early-morning train, gave the conductor the money and sat down in a deserted corner. It wasn't long before she dosed off.
v
"Congratulations Mako-chan! Congratulations Haru-chan! Congratulations Rei-chan!" Just yesterday did Nagisa say these words. It was the Iwatobi High School Graduation. Nagisa and Gou grabbed front row seats to watch their friends walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. Rei graduated as valedictorian. Haru didn't smile for photos. Makoto shook the headmaster's hand. All went as expected. Besides the fact that Gou left with tears streaming down her face. She sat down at the Iwatobi train station and cried. She waited for the train that was at least ten minutes late. The station filled with people, which meant that Gou could cry in privacy.
"Gou-chan!" her head shot up to see Nagisa with a look of concern on his face. "Gou-chan, what's wrong?" No reply. "Kou-chan, you've been crying a lot lately. Are you okay?" Gou was just about to snap at him to leave her alone, when she realized what Nagisa had said.
"Did you just… call me… Kou?" The word sounded unfamiliar in Nagisa's voice. He was right, she had been crying a lot lately. And she'd been keeping it to herself. She stared wide-eyed at the floor as Nagisa sat down on the bench next to her.
"Kou-chan?" This brought a fresh wave of tears to Gou's eyes as she turned and buried her face into Nagisa's shoulder. He let her cry instead of badgering her with questions and walked with her onto the train that finally arrived. Nagisa sat with his arm around Gou while she cried the entire way.
v
Gou awoke with a jolt as the train pulled into the school's station. She got up groggily and took in her surroundings. It was the height of spring and the cherry blossoms surrounding the pool were blooming a bright pink. Why did I even get out of bed for this? Gou thought to herself as she made her way to the pool. She dreamed about it, the day before, Nagisa and his… concern. And KOU. He finally called her Kou. She was just really confused as to what she felt towards the blonde boy. Three years in a row in the same class and she still doesn't know if he's a friend or a crush or a second brother. The sky was turning a light shade of blue as dawn overcame Iwatobi.
Gou slid through the opening in the gate to the pool and looked around. Nagisa was sitting by the pool, feet in the water, and back turned to her. He looked… sad. Gou walked over to him, slid off her sandals and sat down next to him. The water was crystal clear, and sparkling with the first rays of sunlight. Both of them had their eyes fixed on the water.
"I almost thought you weren't coming." Nagisa said calmly, not changing the direction of his gaze.
"Yeah, well, I got out of bed at four in the morning for this so it better be important. You said it was an 'emergency?'" Gou said sarcastically. There was a silence. "Its not like I came here because I like you." Gou muttered accidentally. She realized what she said and covered her mouth. Nagisa didn't seem to notice, so she calmed down a bit. Instead he slid into the water and dove under. He resurfaced right in front of Gou's face and they made eye contact for a moment. Oh no, now is not the time to think he's cute! Gou thought. Before she knew it, a warm hand touched her wrist and swiftly pulled her in.
Gou opened her eyes in the water (an ability she inherited from her father) and found herself face to face with Nagisa. She looked into his eyes, which were mere inches from her own. They stayed like that, floating in the clear water with gazes locked for what felt like forever. They floated up to the surface, not breaking their gaze. When they broke the surface, their faces were dangerously close and Nagisa's fingers were slowly intertwining themselves with Gou's. Before she had time to protest, Gou felt a firm pressure on her lips. Nagisa was kissing her.
And she let him.
After realizing what was going on, closed her eyes and lost herself in the kiss. It felt like ages before they broke, and Gou didn't want to admit it but she liked it. She didn't want it to end. She finally came to terms with the fact that she liked Nagisa and that's all there was to it.
Suddenly Nagisa whispered something in Gou's ear.
"Follow me."
Nagisa swam over to the side of the pool and got out. Gou had no choice but to follow him. He walked over to a hole in the ground, picked something up and walked back to where Gou was standing. He was holding a photo. It was Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin when they won that relay. Rin was happy. It was the first time Gou's seen Rin happy in years, even if it wasn't in real life. Nagisa turned the photo over while he slid his hand over Gou's. The back of the photo had three words written in Rin's sloppy scrawl.
"For the team?" Gou whispered aloud. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks. Before she knew it she was crying into Nagisa's shoulder again. In response, he placed his hands on Gou's shoulders. She was still crying when he sat her down on the edge of the pool.
"Kou-chan. It's Rin-chan, isn't it? The reason you've been crying so much?" Nagisa laced his fingers in between hers.
"It is. It just that, he said he was going to come to Haruka-senpai, Mako-chan and Rei-chan's graduation, and he said he would make amends and he even almost smiled! I was so happy and I didn't cry for a week. And then he didn't come to the graduation! He didn't keep his promise to me. I just want everyone to be happy. Most of all I want to see Rin's smile again. I want him to fulfill his dream too, but that doesn't mean he has to break all ties with you guys!" Gou stuttered out in between waves of tears. The two sat in silence for a while, Nagisa with his arms around Gou as she cried. Suddenly he broke the silence.
"Kou-chan. Listen to me." She looked up at him with puffy, red eyes as he looked down with his deep pink ones. "We are happy. I understand you want to see Rin-chan smile again, but if he needs Olympic medals to be happy, you'll see him smile. Give it time. If he thinks we stand in his way, let him think that. We all miss him too, but we can be happy without him. I, for one, need only one thing to be happy." Nagisa smiled.
"And what is that?"
"You."
Gou gasped, and Nagisa smiled. He took the opportunity to pull her into the water again. They swam down to the bottom of the pool and both smiled wide. Nagisa placed his hands on either side of Gou's head, fingers weaving through strands of blood-red hair, and kissed her passionately. The water seemed to create a current surrounding them as their lips remained locked. When they resurfaced they broke apart, smiling and holding hands.
Nagisa giggled devilishly. "So I can call you Super Girlfriend Manager Kou now?"
"You little devil." Gou couldn't keep from smiling. They got out of the pool, grabbed their shoes and walked back to the train station, holding hands and leaving a trail of drips on the concrete.
Gou was too distracted to scold her new, unbelievably cute boyfriend for getting her clothes wet.