Author's Note: Wow, thanks guys! I was sure I wouldn't get a single review, much less favs and follows! You're awesome!
I should probably mention that several of the events I'm referencing in this story are from the short FrFr! episodes – such as Rin arranging a tickle fight to hear Haru's laughter, and Nagisa and Makoto doing research on how much water is needed for Haru to take his clothes off.
I've also chosen to use as little Japanese as possible, so Nitori calls Rin 'Matsuoka' in this, instead of 'senpai'.
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"I'm fine. Really. You can go."
One of the great things about Haru that Rin had almost forgotten about in the 4 years they'd been apart, was the effect Haru had on others. It wasn't charisma exactly – more like an aura. Something subtle.
Haru just kind of did his own thing and didn't even have to say anything and people would still flock to him and cool stuff happened.
"Of course not! Don't worry, Haru – "
"I don't."
" – we got your back! Eh, no pun intended."
"Are you even listening to me?"
Like now. Of all of Rin's friends, Haru was the only one who could get slightly injured and somehow end up with an entourage hell-bent on entertaining him for 36 whole hours. On a Saturday.
Haru was magical.
"So what should we do?" Happily ignoring Haru's feeble protest as usual, Nagisa made a thoughtful face.
"Well, how about we think of something Haru likes to do – other than swimming," suggested Makoto, "And start there?"
They were walking at a leisurely pace back towards the school. Nagisa had bought a cheap strawberry ice cream, and Makoto had one hand slung over Haru's shoulders and the other in his pocket.
"Yes, that's an excellent plan," Rei agreed, glancing quickly up from his book. He was memorizing English words, because one of his many talents was the ability to walk and read at the same time. "But… does Haru really have any other hobbies?"
"Umh, actually he likes cooking and cleaning," said Makoto, "Don't you Haru?"
"Mmm… It's OK," muttered Haru reluctantly. He did enjoy cooking and cleaning, truth be told. But it was hard to concentrate when he felt so numb. No water, the nurse had said. No water…
"Yeah, his house is huge, but it's always spotless!" Nagisa punched the air with his popsicle. "Good thinking, Makoto!"
"Hey, I know!" This suggestion apparently triggered something in Rin's memory circuits too. Casually he slung one arm across Haru's other shoulder, effectively sandwiching him between his two taller companions and Haru glared at them both in turn. "In that case, why don't we go to Samezuka? My room is always super messy during the weekend."
"Why? You're a neat freak too, Rin."
"Shut it. It's not me, it's my roomie," he sighed and pulled his fingers through his long hair. "I can barely find my own bed in there sometimes. Damn that Nitori."
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While Rin had earned the prestigious title of Honorary Member at Iwatobi, Haru had in turn gained status as something of an idol himself at Samezuka. It wasn't his speed or skills, so much – it was simply that no one in the world moved the way Haru did in the water.
Whenever joint practices were held, some people always showed up just to watch Haru's freestyle. Or his warming up.
Rin was pretty sure at least three guys in his club had a man-crush on him…
With this is mind they tried to sort of sneak Haru in through the back, the four of them. Haru seemed to be co-operating for the time being, even if he was acting a bit like a zombie, but who knew what might happen if one of his Samezuka-fans came along and told him to jump in the pool?
That part went smoothly actually, but the other thing they had tried to avoid happened anyway…
"Oh, hey guys!" Mikoshima, the captain of the Samezuka swimming team, intercepted them just as they were approaching Rin and Nitori's dorm room. He looked at Haru, who was only wearing his swimsuit. "Oh, did you guys go for a swim or something?" Here Haru's face twitched. "Heh, you should've told me!"
"No," said Makoto with an exasperated smile, "But Haru saw your pool on the way in. We thought it would be OK since it was only a glimpse, but…" He lifted his arms, which were full of school uniform and sighed. "Apparently not."
In the background Rin was shoving a bucket and a mop into Haru's hands. "Here you go! Here's my room. Go crazy. And the porn's not mine," he added. Haru gave him one of his quiet, thoughtful stares. Then he looked down on the cleaning equipment.
At that moment Mikoshima suddenly caught sight of Haru's naked backside. "Woah! What happened to his back?"
The normally smooth skin on Haru's back was purple and blue and the stitches made it look a bit like someone had tried to draw the mouth of Frankenstein's monster on it. And done a really bad job of it.
"Rin threw him on the edge of the pool," supplied Nagisa with a big grin.
"Don't you mean off the edge?"
"Nope, on it."
"Shut up!" snapped Rin, "Like hell I did! It was an accident, captain!"
"Umh, Matsuoka?" Suddenly Nitori had appeared behind them. He was wearing pajama pants and carrying a stack of books with a mug of tea balanced precariously on top. "Why does our bedroom smell like the swimming pool?" He peered into the room where Haru was busy polishing the windows.
"Is that Mr. Nanase?! Did he, uh, lose a bet or something? Why is he – oh my, what happened to his back?!"
"Rin threw him on the –"
"Shut up! And you shut up too, Nitori. He's cleaning. Makoto, why does it smell like swimming pool all of a sudden?"
"Umh, our friend here went a little overboard with the chlorine," Makoto was trying to pry a large container out of Haru's hands. He'd been in the process of emptying the entire thing into the bucket. "Haru? Haru, give it back!"
"What? I like the smell. You're the one who brought me here to clean!"
"But, but Matsuoka…? What about my stuff? My system –"
"You don't have a system. And relax, he's not throwing anything away. We're just trying to be nice to him because… because I threw him on the edge of the pool," he added in a quick, embarrassed mumble.
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"Well, that was nice," Nagisa folded his hands behind his head. "And we even got to see Rin's room!"
"Yes, it's inspiring to see someone who takes homework so seriously," said Rei with genuine admiration in his voice.
"Who, Nitori?! Don't be fooled, it's not all homework. He's a sweet kid really, but it's like he needs to see everything he owns in order to be comfortable."
"So what should we do now? Haru, do you have any ideas?"
"… No." Haru was staring at the ground. The cleaning had actually cheered him up a little bit. It was fun to finally see where Rin lived, and the smell of chlorine had been nice too. Now that he was back outside and fully dressed again though, the reality of his predicament was back like a rock in his stomach. No water…
He sighed hopelessly.
"Look…" Suddenly Rin's arm was around his shoulder again, and his voice was sincere. "I'm really sorry about this, OK? I didn't mean to hurt you. Honestly!"
Haru looked up at him and was about to give a sincere reply, but Nagisa beat him to it and completely ruined the moment.
"Yeah we know, Rin! Not like that time you tried to punch him during the finals," he laughed, "Or that time you guys raced, just before we started the swim club – I was so sure you were gonna strangle him in that pool!"
"And didn't you slam him into a fence once, too?" Rei chimed in, "When we went shopping?"
"Not to mention that time you made him quit swimming –" Makoto folded his arms sternly across his chest.
"Shut up! Don't list them all up like that!" Rin's cheeks were bright red now.
He opened his mouth to make another retort, but then he closed it again. Haru had just reached up and squeezed his hand. Just once, and he said nothing, but the gesture spoke volumes and Rin smiled instead and said nothing too.
This was the other great thing about Haru. One of the things that he had almost – almost – forgotten about.
Magical Haru.
It lasted roughly 10 minutes. Then Haru started to show signs of severe abstinence…
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AN: And that was chapter 2! According to the wiki Haru's hobbies actually do include cooking and cleaning, so I'm not making this up.
Hope you still like it, and that you will grace me with a review. They make my day!
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