Title: Favour
Type: Oneshot
Pairings: Haru/Rin
Rating: T
Warnings: time travelling
Length: ~1,100
Summary: As a favour for Rin, Haru time travels back into the past into a mysterious land (Australia) and comforts Rin.
Disclaimer: Free! is not mine.
A/N: For the RHRweek. Day 1: Firsts – red: time travel
Haru woke up and opened his eyes to a ceiling he did not recognise, he was unsurprisingly not on a bed.
It must've worked.
He owed Rin a favour, and Iwatobi-chan was his guide. And it must've worked.
Haru sat up and looked around to see what kind of room he was in. The room was dimly lit through the crack in the curtain, moon light streaming in and giving the room an ethereal feel. It was hard to not spot the mop of vibrant red hair amongst the pillows and blankets. That had to be Rin.
It definitely worked.
Haru makes his way to the bed and sits on the edge, he then stretches his arm out to place a hand on Rin's shoulder without hesitation and gently shakes Rin's shoulder. When Rin does not respond, Haru puts a little more force into the shake and gently calls out Rin's name.
Rin mumbles something Haru can't make out before he turns over to his back and squirms a little. Haru continues to shake Rin's shoulder and calls out his name until Rin stirs and opens his eyes. He lazily blinks a few times before yawning. It took Rin longer than expected to notice the hand on his shoulder. He must still be in a daze because it took Rin even longer to realise that someone was calling his name gently.
Squinting, Rin looked over at the owner of the hand on his shoulder. And Rin swears that he must be dreaming because a Haru look alike was sitting in his bed, in Australia. Confused, Rin stares harder and realises that Haru looks a little different, but he can't quite place what it is – and then he realises that it must be the hair, his hair makes him look different… and he must not be eating well because his face looks less chubby but his eyes are still as clear as water.
"Haru?" Rin hesitantly whispered as though if he said it in a voice any louder, Haru would disappear from his dream.
It wasn't the first time he's dreamt of Haru after all.
"Rin", Haru leans in and tenderly brushes Rin's bangs aside, his fingers are soft and lingers a little longer than friendly over Rin's pale skin.
Rin smiles brightly at Haru and he sits up immediately before scooting over closer to Haru so he can see the other better.
Haru does not seem surprised and actually pulls Rin closer to the edge, his fingers naturally find their way to Rin's hair as he starts dishevelling the strands even more.
"Wow", Rin chuckles, "what's up with you?" He's shocked at Haru's sudden intimacy even though he knows that it's all in his head, it's still not very Haru. He notices that the other smells like pinewood. The thought makes him feel giddy, knowing that he can recognise smell even in a dream.
"You told me I owed you a favour", Haru stated, "so now I'm here to fulfil the favour."
"Huh?" Rin pulls away a little and scrutinizes Haru, "you seem a bit different to how I remember"
Haru raises one eyebrow and that is enough for Rin to continue talking, "like, a bit bigger than I last remember?"
"A bit?" Haru asks, both eyebrows raised, he's 10 years older than the current Rin, he is definitely a lot bigger than his other self who's most likely tossing and turning in his own bed back in Iwatobi.
"Okay, so maybe a bit more than a bit?" Rin scratches the back of his head sheepishly, "so, what kind of favour do you owe me?"
Haru moves himself and Rin so that he's sitting more comfortable on the bed and pulls Rin into his lap, "you didn't say."
"Oh"
"But I'm here to comfort you now", Haru spoke slowly as though the words sounded strange to himself.
"Huh, strange dream I'm having", Rin remarked, he shrugged and leaned back against Haru's chest, he was going to make the most of this dream.
"It's not a dream, Rin." Haru sighed and carded his fingers through Rin's hair again, "you're going to be fine, you're going become a beautiful adult, you're going to love swimming even more and then you're going to fall in love with me."
Rin tilted his head back and stared at Haru with a confused expression, "what?"
"You've got this", Haru nodded assertively, "I believe in you."
"And this is the best method you have to comfort someone?" Rin asks with his head still tilted, "unbelievable."
"And I love you too", Haru smiled as he cups Rin's cheeks and leans down to press his chapped lips on Rin's forehead.
"Haru, even for a dream, you're being weird", Rin is still staring into Haru's eyes and a frown is prominent in his features.
"This isn't a dream", Haru said again, "I'm the Haru you know in 10 years, visiting you as a favour."
"I always knew you were weird", Rin shook his head as he slouched and put his head on Haru's lap instead. Haru doesn't say anything else and Rin falls asleep again to Haru slowly running his fingers through his hair.
Rin wakes up feeling refreshed to the smell of pinewood on his bed. There was no Haru.
.
.
.
Opening his eyes, Rin sits up immediately, he grabs the hands on his waist and tugs incessantly, forcefully tugging the owner of the hands awake.
"Rin, please, it's still early", Haru grumbles as he shakes his head and he opens his eyes, a scowl on his face first thing in the morning.
"Haru", Rin scowled back, "when I said you owe me a favour, I do not mean I want you to travel back in time and have your perverse way with me."
"Huh?" Haru stretched his limbs before wrapping his arms around Rin's waist again, "how was that perverse?"
"It just is", Rin says, his voice monotonous and heavy. He would not tell Haru that the words Haru said to him that night made his heart race and filled him with hope.
Haru hummed.
"Whatever", Rin crossed his arms, "you still owe me a favour, we're having kimchi and meat tonight".
Rolling his eyes, Haru groaned.
They sat in silence for a while before Haru spoke up, "I'll cook meat tonight if you blow me in the bathroom."
"What? No way!" Rin quickly pushed Haru off with disdain and headed into the bathroom, "that's not a favour then!"
Haru smiled and got off the bed too as he padded off into the bathroom too. Rin would blow him anyway.