Free! does not belong to me. Neither does High Speed!

Rin's victory

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The journey to the hospital was quiet.

Haruka didn't pay any attention to the sound of the cars, the conversations that flourished around him. He looked through the window without really seeing anything, too lost in thought to contemplate the odd beauty of the sun setting between the tall buildings.

He had arrived from abroad less than two hours ago and he was exhausted, but there was something he needed to do before sleeping or resting. Actually, he planned to spend the night in the uncomfortable chair that already knew the shape of his body.

When he got to the room he was looking for, he stopped before opening the door. He knew what he would find inside, yet he was afraid. Thinking about what he would do if it was worse than the last time he had been there, two weeks ago, terrified him.

And the disgustingly funniest thing it that Haruka was sure that something inside him would break after seeing what waited for him. He had been told what had happened three days ago, and he had figured he would have the time to repair his mask of indifference before going back.

He had been wrong. He couldn't have done it even it he had spent two centuries trying.

But he knew too well he had to enter. He had to see it, and break again, and then he had to pretend to be strong because nobody else could do it.

Gritting his teeth, Haruka opened the door and got inside.

He wasn't surprised when he spotted Gou sitting on her chair (because the other one belonged to Haruka). He spent a moment that didn't last as much as he would have wanted admiring how her belly had grew in the days he had been away; and for a moment he felt jealous of the baby who still didn't know anything about loss, the little girl who was too young to understand how cruel the world was.

"Hello, Haruka-sempai," Gou greeted him. A little smile appeared in her face. "Congratulations," she added. Haruka knew she meant it even if her smile vanished when she looked at the person laying in the bed.

Rin was paler than what had become usual, paler than the last time Haruka had seen him. His red hair was like blood scattered on the pillow, contrasting violently with the whiteness of the whole room. He seemed to be having a peaceful dream, however, as his chest rose and fell slowly, regularly. Asleep, Rin gave the impression to be younger than he actually was.

"It isn't as bad as they thought at first," Gou said then. "He stressed himself too much, and kind of... collapsed." Haruka looked at her. "He is more angry that he couldn't watch you because he was unconcious," she chuckled, amused. "Nagisa described everything to him later, though, but still, he is annoyed."

Haruka sat in his chair and looked at the room. There was a bouquet of sunflowers on the bedside table, and he recognised Makoto's handwriting on a card beside it. Haruka supposed the book under the flowers had been a gift from Rei, although he couldn't read the title.

Rin didn't wake until the sky was dark. Haruka was thinking about telling Gou to go home -if the damn chair was uncomfortable for him, her back must be aching with the baby and everything- when he heard his boyfriend mumbling something in his sleep. Rin opened his eyes and looked around, yawned, and sat up surprisingly quickly when his gaze met Haruka's.

"You're back!" While looking at him made Haruka nearly phisically sick, hearing his voice was like swimming in cold water. It made Haruka relieved, optimistic even. Knowing how much Rin liked physical contact, he got up and leaned on the bed, letting his boyfriend hug him and hugging Rin back.

"You're an idiot," he said when Rin let him go.

"What... Oh," Rin looked at his sister. "You told him," he accused.

"Of course I told him," Gou replied defiantly. "He has the right to know."

Rin said nothing, just looked at the white blankets. He seemed embarrased.

Gou stood up.

"I have to go," she announced. "Or else Nagisa's going to scold me for not resting or some stuff like that. It's embarrasing when Nagisa, out of all people, has to be the responsible one." She laughted a bit. "Good night, Onii-chan, Haruka-sempai."

Haruka watched her go out and close the door. Rin was still silent, not looking at anything.

After some minutes of silence, Haruka reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and grabbed something. Without a word, he put the gold medal around Rin's neck.

He watched, smiling a bit, how Rin's eyes opened with surprise. He took the medal and looked at it with his mouth opened, and then he looked at Haruka.

"I- Haru... That's..."

"For you," Haruka cut him before Rin could actually say anything. "You'd have won it if you would have been able to swim, anyway."

Rin looked the medal again, bewildered. He shook his head and bit his lower lip, and tried to hide behind his hair, but Haruka noticed his the tears shining in his eyes. Somehow his hand moved on its own accord to touch Rin's cheek.

"I... I..." Rin seemed to have lost his ability to put complete sentences together. Haruka felt his fingers getting wet from Rin's tears and kissed his forehead, trying to breath when his boyfriend hugged him so tightly that his ribs nearly broke. "Thank you," Rin whispered.

Haruka ran his fingers across Rin's hair, hearing his stifled sobbing. He couldn't help but remember how Rin had broken down months ago, when he had been forced to stop swimming with the Olympic Swim Team because of that damn illness. Haruka had been scared then, afraid that he would lose Rin. He was still terrified, and the only thing that prevented him from panicking was that he knew how hard his boyfriend was fighting for his life. He didn't like to wonder if Rin's stubborness would be enough, though.

"Don't thank me," he replied after what seemed like ages. Just don't leave me. But he didn't say it aloud.

"Haru," Rin said then. His voice trembled just a bit. "I promise I'll win the next one by myself."

And although there wasn't any fact that made Rin's statement believable, Haruka allowed himself to smile and convince himself that it would happen. Because he trusted Rin, and that was enough.

"Sure you will."

Author's note: I... I... I couldn't sleep. Is that a good excuse? I don't know, but I just love angst and when that idea popped into my head I knew I had to write it. If Rin keeps his promise or not, it's up to what you want to believe.

Oh, and just saying, yes. You don't know how much I ship Nagisa and Gou.

Again, English isn't my first language, so if you see something wrong please tell me. Anyway, have you liked it? How has it been?