Note from the author: I do not own in any way, shape or form, the anime, manga or any of the characters from Free!
"Were you and Rin able to work things out?" Makoto asked Haru softly as they wandered towards the pool.
He'd wondered about it all day, but he hadn't been able to corner the other teen to talk without Rei or Nagisa hanging around.
Haru shrugged. He had no idea. Rin hadn't exactly been real clear on the subject. They were ok on the Makoto issue, but what that meant, who could tell?
And he hadn't even had a chance to ask the red headed teen as the boy had disappeared out his front door shortly after he'd woken up. Not that he blamed him. Much. He did have his own classes to attend after all.
But still…
He could have at least said something. Like what exactly were they doing again? Or maybe if they were friends now or if Rin still hated him or… He blanked.
Boyfriend.
Oh, yeah. That's right. Were they…that word? Or was he over-thinking this?
Who knew? Certainly not him.
Ok. Apparently, things must not have gone as well as he'd hoped. And while he wanted to sit Haru down and have a heart to heart with his azure eyed friend, if his two friends were to have any hope of getting their relationship to last, then they needed to work things out on their own.
He'd always been there for Haru, but…this one time, he needed to let Rin take care of him.
Somehow, he just knew this was going to be hard. Really hard. Much harder than he'd first anticipated when he'd gotten that first inkling that there might be something going on between his emotionally stunted friends.
Why did he always get caught in the middle of these things again?
This was strangely familiar in a different sort of way.
Nagi and that other guy he hung around with were gone, leaving just Haru and Makoto at the pool. Mako looked like he was just keeping watch on the other boy as he slid through the water, the clear liquid parting for his passage.
"Yo," Rin nodded to the taller teen.
"Rin!"
Geez, excitable much?
"Well, I'll just leave this to you then, huh?"
Leave what?
His confusion must have shown because Mako just sighed loudly before patting him on the shoulder and walking away.
Oh.
Haru.
It was actually rather entertaining to watch the water soaked boy as he gracefully swam back and forth across the pool. He was beautiful. Stunning. All rippling muscles and tanned skin. And enthusiasm. That love for water that was always shining through his eyes.
He wanted.
Haru.
He didn't realize anything had changed until his fingers went to meet the wall and he found them sliding against warm skin instead. Unfortunately, his momentum was already set, so he really had no choice but to crash into the teen that had stupidly decided to get in his way.
When Rin finally got his breath back, Haru was scowling. Not the brightest plan he'd ever had, but considering the teen was now within reach and focused on him, it worked.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
Easy question. Stupid kid really shouldn't have asked.
"I came to see you," Rin chided the raven haired teen for his anger.
"You…" Haru trailed off. "You idiot!"
"Now, now, Haruka, that's not a nice thing to say to your boyfriend."
"B..b..boy..boyfriend?" Haru squeaked.
Rin slipped one hand through the water to catch the other boy around the waist and pull him closer, until skin touched skin, before glaring at him.
"Yes. Boyfriend. What did you think we were?" Rin growled, annoyed.
"Uh…"
It wasn't as easy in the water as it was on land, but Rin managed to get enough traction to turn them both so that Haru was pinned between him and the wall.
Haru gulped. This didn't look good.
The hand at his waist released its hold to travel across his back.
Really not good.
Rin's body pressed against his, making it impossible for him to escape the other teen's hold.
He was screwed.
The warmth of Rin's mouth appeared at his neck before it began licking its way down, pausing over his pulse, before continuing further to rest over his nipple.
Really screwed.
When his red eyed rival began swirling his tongue over the tip, he jolted.
This was not good.
Then somehow, one of Rin's hands found their way into his swimsuit, tracing along his hip just beneath the edge.
He was pretty sure he was repeating himself now.
And now that hand wasn't at his hip anymore. It was moving. Down. Down.
Too far down!
Rin stopped when Haru started struggling.
Shit.
Apparently, they were going to have to take things slow. Very slow. Slower than this if Haru's wide, bright blue eyes were any indication.
He could do slow. For Haru. It might kill him, but he could do slow. It would kill him, but he could do it.
Haru tensed when Rin's hand slid against his skin again but relaxed when he realized that it was sliding up instead of down.
"I'm sorry."
He blinked, surprised.
Now what for? The question must have shown in his eyes because Rin answered it for him.
"For going too fast. This is new to you, and you're not comfortable with it. I shouldn't be rushing you this way."
"It's ok," Haru looked away from his…boyfriend, blushing uncomfortably. Did they have to talk about this? It was embarrassing.
Rin sighed, drawing the impossible boy into his arms.
"It's not ok if you don't like it, Haru. All you ever have to do is tell me, and I'll stop," he whispered against the water logged raven locks beneath his lips.
"Do you believe me?" Rin asked pulling back to stare into the azure eyes watching him warily.
"Um…"
What was he supposed to say again? No, not really, didn't seem like a very good answer. It would hurt Rin, and while he didn't want that, he didn't want to lie to the boy either.
So say nothing. What could he say, but that it was one of those things that had seemed like a good idea at the time?
"Let's go," Rin whispered, drawing Haru through the water in his wake.
He had to keep reminding himself that trust took time to create, and he'd already destroyed Haru's several times. Until Haru was ready, there couldn't be any more touching. Not like that.
Which led him to wonder if kissing counted...
Because not kissing Haru…
He was going to die.
But he could do it. For Haru.
Application for sainthood.
Candidate name.
Matsuoka, Rin.
Admission Status.
Pending.
Again.
Author's note: Sooo, hope you guys like it! I'm prolly going to have a few chapters of fluff and relationship building before I throw more plot at you guys. I'm in a rather fluffy mood atm, so I hope you guys don't mind!
Fox: Lol, I love you. You made me giggle so much.
Nana: I like squeals. :P
Kazumiko: Smile more?
KaZe: Thank you, Sweetie. You gotta hand it to poor, sort of dense, emotionally stunted, Haru. He's a cutey pie, though.
FallenAngel: *wraps more snuggly bliss around you* More snuggles, yay! I'm glad you liked Rin. I'm trying to balance these idiots on a really thin line, and sometimes I worry how well I'm able to do that. I want Rin to be more aggressive, but he also needs to be sweet and confused too. So let me know if I ever veer him too far off!
Stella: Nagi and Rei don't get to know yet, but I'm sure they will find out in a very interesting way. Eventually… *evil cackles*
Theabridgedkuriboh: You may not be here yet, but I have to say, your little reviews are short snippets of hilarity. I just randomly start cracking up every time I read them.
Cookie! : *Noms golden cookie* Yummy. Yaoi: I do that sometimes, get so engrossed in a story I'm late for something. Even though I think I should feel bad about doing that to you, it makes me really happy!
Noycha: You are freaking AWESOME. *huggles*
To everyone else: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I get so happy every time I get to read a new one, and I hope everyone is enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Love you guys! Until next time! (Tomorrow) Bye now!