"Hmm..."
Yasumi frowned as she watched Haru swimming. It was about the 17th lap that afternoon and she was really concerned for him.
"What's the matter, Yasu-chan?" asked Makoto, holding her in his wet lap. She didn't mind, considering she had gotten wet as well when they trained. Yasumi looked up, pressing her head into his shoulder.
"I think...Haru is upset." She glanced up and rubbed his face then. The joint practice was only yesterday, but she noticed that Haru was being a bit...distant towards them in that amount of time. "Do you think he misses Rin more than he loves us?"
Makoto's eyes opened up a bit more then; he figured he honestly couldn't answer it. So instead he tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry so much about Haru-chan, okay? I'm sure he's fine."
With that, Yasumi honestly had no choice but to leave it alone.
For now.
Later That Day...
"I'm going to use your bath now, if that's fine with you." Makoto smiled at his two partners as they were laying close together in Haru's bed. The dark-haired male just nodded as he wrapped an arm around Yasumi, who blushed a bit. Despite her tiredness, she was still able to react the way she always did when she was (eventually) left alone with Haru - nervously.
When Makoto left, Haru closed his eyes. He was tired as well, but the silence allowed him to think over something that made him want to go and swim again. And that didn't always mean something good.
"H-Haru?"
This got him to open his eyes and look down at the girl. "Hm?"
"Is Rin...a good friend?" asked the violette, hoping this wouldn't upset him in any way. She just wanted to know about...
Okay, she was just being nosy. But it was a subtle type of nosy. At least, she'd justify it as such. Making love with someone close to an ex makes her "curious".
"Yeah, he is." Haru didn't hesitate, which actually threw the girl off a bit.
"Really? Well, that's-"
It was then that Haru's cell phone made a sound, so Yasumi shifted off to let him acknowledge it.
"Hmm..." said Haru as he read the text message he received. "I'll be back."
Yasumi just allowed him to leave, shifting to get comfortable to laying alone for now. Was Haru hiding something...or someone? She could only think as such since he was late to the joint practice and quiet about these little impromptu meetings he's been having recently. Maybe it was another school or something, studying his swimming and trying to convince him to transfer.
That's so stupid, she thought as she smacked her face into a pillow. She figured she just needed to keep calm and keep out of his business.
. . .
"Sousuke." Rin had just come from the shower, sitting on the bottom bunk next to the taller male. "What were you doing yesterday?"
"Hmm?" He looked over at him then, confused. "All I did was meet Iwatobi's new member and help lead the practice with you as agreed."
"No," Rin corrected with a small glare, growing more serious. "Were you...trying to make Haruka jealous?"
"Hmm..." A small smile crossed Sosuke's lips before he shook his head. "No." Rin glared more, not appreciating how cool and calm he was. It was a bit sickening. This made the other male drop his smirk. "Rin, I'm serious. I wasn't trying to."
If anything, Sousuke was the jealous one.
The captain shook his head. "You need to stay focused on the prefecturals coming up. That should be your one and only goal, whether we interact with Iwatobi or not."
"Hm..." Sosuke inched closer, another smile making it's way into his features. "But...what about us?"
"Jeez. Don't play that."
"Come on, you know I deeply care about you, Rin."
"Tch." Rin looked away and crossed his arms. Not even 30 seconds later, Sousuke pulled him close and captured the boy's lips with his own. The deep, passionate kiss made Rin fall into a slight daze. He melted into his partner, now easily malleable in his hands.
Relax, Rin. Let me take charge of our life outside of the swim club.
The Following Day.
Although it seemed no one kept track, the day of the week was Friday. It was now three weeks from the prefectural tournament, but that wasn't what had everyone's attention.
"Y-You want me to what?!" Yasumi nearly fell into the water, thanks to how thrown off she was by Haruka's words.
"I signed you up for the female 200 meter freestyle."
Yasumi stepped back, clearly in a mental panic. "B-But I...I..."
"W-Whoa, wait a sec!" Makoto got up and grabbed her arm, keeping her from taking an unprepared dive. "Be careful, Yasu-chan."
But she didn't hear him. "Haru! Y-You know I'm only a reserve member for the 100 meter! What makes you think this is a good idea?!"
Rei hesitated, but decided to chime in. "W-Whether you see it or not, you tend to thrive under pressure! You can start off slow, but at the lap back you're ahead due to the timing you have to adjust to the water and your nervousness."
"Besides, in the tournaments, it's illegal for the females to swim with the males," said Haru.
Yasumi frowned then, shaking her head. "I haven't been here for that long, and I'm already being thrown in for something?! Y-You're insane!"
"C'mon, Su-chan!" Nagisa said as he hugged her tightly. They both leaned on Makoto for support. "We all believe in you, so how come you won't believe in yourself?"
"..." She couldn't respond. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, her eyes focused on the time. "I have to head home."
She pulled from the guys, passing them to go and get her belongings.
You guys just don't get it. It's...It's not that simple! I can't-
Yasumi was immediately spooked from her thoughts at the feel of someone's hand on her wrist. She looked back and her eyes widened to who she saw.
"H-Haru?" This was something she'd never expect him to do. It was, again, because there was so much she felt she didn't know about him. The only thing that basically kept them two-thirds of the same throuple was Makoto. As bad as that probably sounded, they were both deeply in love with him. That's who their drive was, no matter what. "What are you-?"
"Come on. Leave your stuff." His blue eyes stared deeply into Yasumi's, stunning her for a moment. It was clear he was serious. With a small nod, she dropped her belongings and allowed him to pull her along to whenever he wanted her to go.
Where was that, exactly?
{I make it mandatory to have at least 1000 words in my chapters (not including my little side notes here). I dunno why, but yeah I just do XP Anyway, I get my inspiration from Free! itself (duh XD). So I gotta remember to keep watching. But...I gets sidetracked by other...everything *~* I love you all! P.S. - If you noticed my different spelling of Sosuke/Sousuke...yeah, you can probably tell I'm confoozled lol}
