A new chapter for you all! I wrote this in the middle of exams because god dammit I am a great procrastinator! But hey I had fun writing it and I hope you all have fun reading it and that is what's important! So please read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Free! and it's characters do not belong to me and belong the respected owners. I only own/made this story.

Millions of shining stars lit up the dark night sky. The moon's glow shone down on the ground below where food and game stalls were set up, the yellow light of the lanterns creating an almost magical atmosphere as they made a type of pathway.

Hundreds of people were dressed up in normal clothes or yukata to celebrate the festive event, the event of a year ending and a new one beginning.

Four teenagers walked through the festival together, all of them dressed in yukata. Nagisa was clinging onto Rei while Makoto talked with Haruka. Haruka's parents were behind the group and holding hands. It was still cold, but the yukata kept them warm.

Every so often the raven haired teen would glance back at his parents to see their happy faces, making him smile. They both looked so relaxed and content, especially Haru's mother, who had obviously been stressed from work and hadn't had time off in a long time.

The only thing that was missing was Rin. Haruka hadn't actually spent a New Year's festival with the redhead before, so he was looking forward to it. Nagisa had asked him if he wanted to come, but the teen said he was spending the festival with Gou and his mother.

"Haru?" Makoto looked at the teen with a raised eyebrow, seeing he was spacing out.

"Hm?" Haruka blinked, looking up at his taller friend.

Makoto smiled "What are you thinking about? Is it Rin?"

Haruka looked hesitant to answer, but gave a small nod anyway. The brunette's smile went down slightly, but perked right up again when Haru looked at him.

"Well he did say he was going to be here, and that if he ran into us he'd spend time with us" Makoto reassured.

Haruka gave an unsure expression and began looking around "But…there are so many people. Will he find us?"

"Haru!" Makoto almost growled, the smile on his face now looking forced "How about we stop talking about Rin? If we see him we see him, if we don't then we don't. It's as simple as that!"

Haruka tilted his head in confusion "Don't you want to see him too? We've never had a New Year's festival with him before"

"God no" Makoto thought, an agitated expression on his face.

"Well, of course I want to spend time with him" the brunette lied "but being with you is more than enough!"

The raven haired teen barely heard what his friend had said, instead he was looking down at the ground in thought. Makoto turned away with an annoyed look and began scheming ways to get the redhead off Haruka's mind.

Haruka, however, was wondering if he should start looking for Rin. He had an urge to see the teen, an urge that refused to leave his mind. He knew if he didn't see Rin, he'd just spend the whole festival thinking about him. While eating he'd wonder if Rin would like the food, while playing a game he'd wonder if Rin would have fun with it, while watching events he'd wonder if it was something Rin would enjoy. He even wondered if Rin found the lanterns just as beautiful as he did, and thought that maybe Rin was thinking about him as much as he was thinking about Rin.

As he thought about all this, a sudden realisation crossed his mind. Since when did he start thinking about Rin more than swimming? Over the few days after they kissed on Christmas night, he had nothing but Rin on his mind. There wasn't even the smallest thought sitting in the back of his mind about swimming. Everything was just Rin, all his thoughts led to Rin, no matter what he was doing.

This has happened before, but it has never been so strong. Why was Rin taking up so much of his mind? Why was it that everything he did reminded him of Rin? Why was it that he always wanted to see Rin? Always wanted to be near Rin? And why was it that he had the biggest need to be hugged and kissed by Rin? Was it because he was lonely?

Haruka shook his head. No, that couldn't be it, Makoto was almost always with him. But…maybe this was a different kind of lonely? Maybe it was because Makoto didn't give him that same tingly feeling Rin did…a tingly feeling that Haruka was almost addicted to.

"Haru, I'm going to buy some sushi, do you want any?" Makoto asked, snapping the teen out of his thoughts.

"Oh, um, no thanks…"

Makoto looked at Haruka with narrowed eyes, trying to see if there was anything wrong with the raven haired teen. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find anything odd.

Was Haruka getting…hard to read?

The brunette mentally slapped himself. Of course Haru wasn't getting hard to read! He was just more focused on getting rid of Rin then paying attention to Haru! Not only that but he hasn't been spending as much time with Haruka as he usually does, and that was because of Rin.

"Alright then, if you decide you want anything then just come over" Makoto smiled warmly

"Don't forget about what I want!" Nagisa quickly butted in, making the brunette laugh

"Don't worry, don't worry" he reassured, waving his hand back and forth "you've been complaining about how hungry you've been so I don't think I could forget"

The blonde grinned and Makoto turned towards Haru's parents "Would you two like anything?"

"No it's okay Tachibana, we can get something ourselves if needed" the man smiled.

Makoto nodded and walked off, leaving Rei, Haruka, Nagisa and Haruka's parents standing together. Rei and Nagisa started talking with Haru's parents while Haru began looking around once more. They had been at the festival for a few hours and Haruka hadn't even seen a glimpse of red hair, which was strange since Rin tended to stick out like a sore thumb.

Haruka began thinking that Rin was avoiding him. Rin probably saw him but didn't want to go up to him. Maybe Rin didn't want to spend the New Year's festival with him at all and only wanted to spend it with his family instead. Haruka could understand Rin's family being more important than him, but it didn't mean Rin had to avoid him completely.

As these thoughts went through his head there was a tap on his shoulder. Haruka turned around expecting Makoto, but his eyes widened in surprise when seeing a certain redhead in warm clothing giving him a large grin.

"Rin!" Haruka exclaimed, making the others turn.

Haruka's father smiled "Ah, Matioka, good to see you again!"

"It's Matsuoka, dad…" Haru corrected, an embarrassed blush on his face.

Rin chuckled "It's fine, it's fine. Nice to see you again Mr Nanase, Mrs Nanase" he bowed at the two, both of them bowing back.

"Rin chan!" Nagisa jumped over to the redhead, a large smile on his face "Did you just find us?"

The teen smiled back "Yeah I did, I've been looking for you guys for a while"

Rin tried to keep a good poker face as he lied to the blonde. He actually saw them a while ago, but decided to stay back until Makoto was away from the group. He knew it wasn't the right thing to do, but he didn't feel like having another run in with the brunette.

"Where are Gou and your mother?" Rei asked with a raised eyebrow

"Well my mum met up with her friend, who happens to be Chigusa's mum, so I ended up walking around with four girls. Two of them being my mum and her friend and the other two being my sister and her friend. My mum told me I could go and look for you guys since I had no one to talk to."

"Does that mean you're going to watch the fireworks with us?" Haruka quickly interjected; his eyes wide.

Rin nodded "Well yeah, I planned to watch it with you guys anyway"

Blue eyes shined as they stared into crimson, that tingly feeling running through Haruka like it usually did when being near Rin. So the redhead did want to spend the festival with him, and even wanted to see the fireworks with him. Well, it was probably more them but that was a thought Haruka didn't think too much about.

"Ah, that's right" Rin spoke, turning towards the blue eyed teen "Haru can I speak to you? In private?"

Haruka looked towards the others and they gave a quick nod, all of them with large smiles on their faces. Rin raised an eyebrow at their reaction. He knew Rei and Haruka's father knew how he felt, so it was only natural for Haruka's mother to know as well, but did Rei tell Nagisa? So did that mean they all knew how he felt about Haruka?

A small blush creeped up Rin's face, "God that's embarrassing."

"C-come on!" the redhead stuttered, taking Haruka's hand and pulling him through the crowd.

The teen stumbled slightly but regained his footing and let himself get tugged along by Rin. Haruka looked down at their hands and blushed slightly, feeling his hand start to sweat. Rin's grip was so tight, and Haruka tightened his own, wrapping his fingers around the redhead's hand.

"Walking like this through a festival…" Haruka thought, the small blush still on his face "walking through a New Year's festival holding hands, it feels almost like…a date"

They had now slowed down to a walking pace, and Haruka thought Rin was going to let go of his hand, but was surprised when Rin's grip only loosened slightly.

"R-Rin?" Haruka stuttered, seeing the back of the teen's head as they continued to walk with hands intertwined.

"Shut up…" Rin muttered half-heartedly, his ears going red.

A small smile lifted the corners of Haru's mouth, and he was beginning to feel lightheaded to the point where it felt as if he was floating. He couldn't see anyone but Rin, he couldn't hear anyone but Rin, his whole world was Rin.

Before Haruka had even noticed, they were at an isolated area. It was on top of a large hill where the fireworks would clearly be seen, but it also felt cold without people or lanterns around. Haruka began to shiver slightly and Rin noticed this from the corner of his eye.

"Here" Rin said, taking off his black scarf and wrapping it around the smaller teen.

Haruka happily accepted it and he tenderly grabbed the scarf, digging his face into the soft warmth.

"Thank you…" he muttered, already feeling warmer than before.

Rin gave the teen a small smile "No problem."

It went quiet as they stood together, sounds of laughter and cheers being heard from the festival further away. The bright yellow light made their faces glow, making it so they were able to see the other.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" Haruka asked, breaking the silence between them.

Rin sighed and rubbed the back of his head "Ah…the fireworks are going to go off soon, aren't they?"

Haruka nodded and gave Rin a confused look. Did he want to watch the fireworks together? Was that it? Was saying he had something to talk about just an excuse to get away from the others?

"Alright, since they are going to go off soon I'll make this quick" Rin spoke, Haruka's eyes were wide as they stared at the teen.

The redhead took a deep breath, staring directly into blue eyes "Haruka…I…"

Haruka felt his heart beat going wild, his eyes getting wider and wider with anticipation. He clenched the scarf around his neck as Rin opened his mouth once more.

"…I'm going to university in Australia"

A firework went off, but Haruka didn't hear it over the amount of shock and horror that hit him like a cold wave.

"Australia…?" Haruka muttered in disbelief, his eyes wide and lifeless.

Rin gave the teen a sorrowful look, he knew Haruka would react like this, he knew Haruka would give him a look like his world had been crushed and torn apart. That's why Rin wanted to tell him as soon as possible, so the teen could have time to think about it and move on.

"Australia?!" Haruka repeated louder, his hands clenched into fists "You're going to Australia? Again?!"

Rin frowned and sighed "Look I know this sounds strange, considering what happened last time-"

"What happened last time?!" Haruka cut him off, rage burning in his eyes "What happened last time was you left us! You abandoned us! You abandoned me! And when you came back you were some jerk that I couldn't even recognize! Someone that was broken and distorted and wouldn't even look at me normally! You know how much Australia crushed you and yet you're going back there?!"

The redhead stepped back slightly, he had never seen Haru so distressed before "Well, yeah I know, but its' different this time! This time I'm older and know what to expect."

"It doesn't matter!" Haruka shouted, his eyes watering up "You have no idea what will happen over there, for all you know Australia might end up crushing you again!"

"Haruka I know you're confused about my decision" Rin reasoned, taking small steps towards the teen "but it's a year away, you have time to prepare for this. Unlike last time when I was suddenly leaving the next day, you can actually think about it and we can spend more time together."

Fireworks continued going off, the bright and colourful lights showing the pained expression on Haruka's face. Rin wanted to comfort him, and was about to step forward to do so, until Haruka broke the heavy silence.

"Prepare for it?" he scoffed, his blue eyes now on the verge of overflowing with tears "This isn't like an exam I have to study for! This isn't something I can prepare for, Rin! This isn't something where I'll just one day wake up and get over it!"

"I know that Haru!" Rin quickly responded, holding his hands up in a defensive manner "I understand that completely"

"No you don't!" Haruka shouted back "You clearly don't! This is something I know is coming and will be dreading! Every day will just be another day closer to you leaving! A year goes by so fast, and it will go by faster now that you told me you're going to Australia!"

Rin's brow furrowed "So what then, you wanted me to tell you on the day before I left that I'm going to Australia?"

Haruka forced his tears back, not wanting Rin to see him cry "No, that's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?" the redhead spat back, feeling himself getting irritated.

"Why are you even going back to Australia?" Haruka questioned, ignoring the previous question.

"I told you, it's for university!"

"You can go to Tokyo for university!"

"But I want to be an Olympic swimmer, and you and I both know Australia is the best option for that!"

"Not if it's going to wreck you like it did last time!" Haruka cried, tears finally falling from his eyes.

Crimson orbs widened as they stared into watery blue. Rin was expecting Haruka to be mad and confused, but he never expected the teen would cry. It took a lot to make Haru cry, so did going to Australia really stress him out this much?

"Haru, I didn't mean…" Rin started, stepping forward only to make Haruka step back.

"…I don't care" the teen mumbled, making Rin raise his eyebrows.

"Sorry?"

"I said I don't care!" Haruka burst out, tears still streaming from his eyes "Just go to Australia! Do what you want! Get crushed again for all I care! Just don't come back to me and make it my problem again!"

"Your problem?" the redhead repeated, his brow furrowed "None of my problems were ever your problems! Unless you're saying I'm a problem?!"

Haruka grit his teeth "You are a problem, my problem! You've been a problem ever since you told me to swim in that relay with you, why couldn't you have just left me alone?!"

"…huh?" Rin uttered in shock.

"I don't know how to feel anymore because of you…you've just turned my world upside down and made everything look like a big blur. I was fine without you! I was happy without you! And then you come out of nowhere and make me feel things I've never felt before, and I don't mean that in a good way!"

Rin's eyes were wide as he stared at Haruka, who was looking at the ground. What happened to Haruka telling him he was so grateful to have Rin in his life? What happened to the Haruka who said Rin made his life better and he was so happy to swim with the redhead? Right now, that Haruka was nowhere to be seen, and Rin felt like everything Haruka said at that time was a lie.

So he was annoying, so he was a pest, so Haruka really didn't care about him at all. And to think he was going to tell the raven haired teen that he loved him before going to Australia.

Rin chuckled to himself as he thought about this; he was just one big joke to Haruka and himself.

"I may as well live in Australia then" Rin said, a sadistic looking smile on his face "if you don't care, then what's the point of coming back?"

Haruka hung his head low, his hair covering his eyes as he didn't have the courage to look into crimson.

"Why do you need me anyway?" Rin continued "You don't need me, you have Makoto after all. He'll nurture you, he'll look after you, he'll make sure not to hurt you like I have done so many times. He's perfect for you!"

There was more aggression in Rin's voice then before, making Haruka flinch back slightly. He wanted to tell Rin he was wrong, that Makoto didn't hold that special place in his heart like Rin did, but he was too full of rage and confusion to do so.

Instead, he raised his head and said "If that's what you think, then go live in Australia. Stop involving yourself with me! Stop knocking down the walls I've put around myself as if they were made of foam! Just leave me alone!"

Haruka turned and ran off, making Rin reach out his hand in attempt to grab the teen, but the redhead quickly pulled it back and clenched his fist.

He put a hand in his hair and began to tug, feeling his throat go dry and tears begin to well up when thinking back on the conversation they just had.

How could Haruka say that? How he could he tell Rin those things? But, at the same time, how could Rin say those things to Haruka? If he had just kept his cool, then they would have both talked about this normally. But no, he had to stuff it up, just like he did every time with Haruka. He always hurt Haruka, and he wanted to prevent it once, just once. But that wish wasn't granted and, like always, he lost it and went off at the teen. Why did he do that? Why did he always argue and hurt the one he loved?

Maybe…Makoto was better suited for Haruka after all…

"I'm…I'm such an idiot!" Rin shouted, falling to his knees and covering his face to hide the tears as fireworks continued going off behind him.

What a way to start the New Year.

…

"Where's Haruka?" Makoto asked, watching as Nagisa ate his sushi.

"Uh…" Rei started, but was interrupted by Nagisa.

"Rin chan came by and asked if he could speak with him!"

Makoto's eyes narrowed, his grip on the plastic sushi container tightening "Oh? Is that so?"

"I wonder how long they'll take" Haruka's father thought aloud, looking at his watch "the fireworks should be going off soon"

Haruka's mother smiled "Oh, they can take as long as they want! They probably want to watch the fireworks together anyway" she said the last part quietly, but Makoto's eye twitched as he still heard it.

A firework suddenly went off, making the crowd look towards it with awe. Nagisa clung onto Rei's arm, both of their eyes wide as they stared at the beautiful display. Haruka's parents were close together with smiles on their faces, not having seen fireworks without a worry on their mind for so long.

Makoto, however, wasn't even looking at them. He was continuing to look around to see if Haruka was coming back. Rin and Haruka being alone by themselves in this kind of atmosphere was exactly what the brunette wanted to stop from happening, and he began to get restless and irritated as the raven haired teen was nowhere to be seen.

After a few more fireworks went off, Makoto announced he was going to look for Haruka and Rin, to which the others didn't respond as they were too busy looking at the bright colours lighting up the sky.

When Makoto was about to start looking, he spotted Haruka running through the crowd, and Rin didn't seem to be with him. The brunette smiled to himself until he saw the tears in Haruka's eyes, making green orbs widen as the teen rushed past them and continued down the path. They all noticed Haruka running through and the teen's parents looked in the direction he ran with concern. The women tugged on her husband's arm and he nodded before turning to the others.

"My deepest apologies, but I'm afraid we have to leave now. Thank you for spending the festival with us"

He bowed low and the teens bowed back, then watched as the couple turned and hastily walked off to where Haruka ran.

It was now silent as they stood together, the only sound being the fireworks in the background.

"…what do you think happened?" Nagisa asked, still clung to Rei's arm

Rei shook his head "I don't know, but I have a feeling we shouldn't ask"

Makoto didn't say anything, just looked into the distance. Rin had hurt Haruka, again, the sole reason for which he wanted to keep the redhead away from his precious friend. There were feelings of anger and irritation rising within him, but there was only one thought on his mind.

Now was his chance to take action, and he had no intention of backing down this time.

Ngh another cliffhanger I am sorry! And I don't know how long until the next chapter is out but hopefully it won't be too long. I hope you can all hang tight till the next chapter!

Thanks for reading!