A/N: So in this chapter I have included a favorite quote of mine from The Princess Bride. Those of you who are familiar with the book would definitely understand the reference but I've included a little explanation to those who are not familiar with it. Again, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Enjoy, read, review, follow and/or favourite! xxx

Disclaimer: I don't own Free!

It was pitch black except for a sliver of light coming through the crack in the curtains. Kyou had been tossing and turning for the pass 20 minutes. She laid on Makoto's bed, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. The boys were asleep on the futons on the floor. After a while, she sat up on the bed, a quick glance at the clock showed that it was 4.15 in the morning.

"Can't sleep?"

She peered into the darkness, "Rin?"

"Mm. You okay? Does your shoulder hurts?"

"Yeah. It hurts when I move and I can't get comfy enough to go to bed," she whispered into the darkness.

"Sorry. I should've pulled the both of you back."

"Geez, stop it with the guilt. It's fine," she whispered. She swung her legs to the side of the bed, gingerly making her way pass Haru and Makoto's sleeping form.

"Where are you going?"

"Going to pop another painkiller. And stop saying you're sorry. It's getting old."

She rummaged through her bag on the floor looking for the medications the doctor prescribed her. When she found it, she uncapped a bottle of water to wash the pill down. Instead of going back to bed, she sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. She could see Rin's form on the futon, lying down with both hands behind his head.

"Why are you awake anyway?" she asked him.

"Too much excitement today. Can't sleep," he said wryly. She could almost imagine the sardonic smirk on his face as he said it.

A sudden ding startled her and she looked around for the source of the sound until she saw Rin's hands fumbling under his pillow before he pulled his phone out. She heard him laughed a little after reading his text message. "What's so funny?" she couldn't help asking out of curiousity.

"Just Shiori," he said distractedly without looking at her, hands busy typing on his phone.

"Oh, right. That totally explains what's so funny," she said in a snarky tone. She made to get up, her mood suddenly soured.

"Huh? What?" He looked up from his phone, confused.

"Don't mind me," she carefully made her way back to the bed.

He sat up then, bewildered. "Did I... Did I say something that offended you?"

"No." She pulled the blanket over her head and turned to the wall. It wasn't long before she felt a tug on her blanket. She burrowed herself deeper into the blanket, refusing to relinquish her hold on the blanket.

"Let go of the blanket," Rin whispered.

"Go away," she said, her voice muffled by the blanket.

He gave a hard yank and the blanket slid out under her, exposing her face. His face was directly on top of hers, looking down at her. She huffed and turned her face to the side.

"Aren't we a little too old to be pouting?" He looked at her with amusement on his face.

"Can't hear you." She plugged her ears with her fingers. The movement caused her to wince in pain as it pulled on her injured shoulder.

His eyebrows instantly furrowed in concern but he didn't comment on it. "Come on, princess, what's got you in a huff again this time?" The last time he had called her princess was during her birthday when she met him at the mall. She knew that he used the term in a mocking way and not as a term of endearment but she didn't mind it.

She heard his phone ding again but he made no move to check his phone. She tried to suppressed the absurd satisfaction that she got from that. "I told you it was nothing," she said trying to hide the small smile on her face.

He seemed to sense her mood lightening, "If you say so. Can I bribe my way back into your good grace, Your Highness?" he asked teasingly.

"You owe me lunch and a double scoop of ice-cream. Now, scram. I'm sleepy," she said, trying to hide the full blown smile on her face from him.

He laughed and ruffled her hair. "As you wish."

Her cheeks reddened instantaneously and she felt her heart skipped a beat. She knew he didn't mean anything by it. It was quite a common phrase and she was sure he couldn't have known that it was one of her favorite quote from The Princess Bride. 'As you wish' was what the protagonist, a farm boy, used to say to the girl he likes. 'As you wish' was his secret way of saying 'I love you' to the girl without making his feelings known. It meant that he would do anything she asked because he loves her.

Rin felt mortified. He'd quickly gone back to his futon when he'd realized what he had let slip out of his mouth. He had seen Kyou reading The Princess Bride before and he found out that it was one of her favorite books. He had known about the phrase 'As you wish' because Shiori had made him watch the movie version of it. He saw how Kyou's cheeks had reddened instantly as soon as the words were uttered that he was sure she got the reference.

A part of him was thrilled at the banter they had going on but another part of him knew that the banter he enjoyed so much with her was walking a very, very fine line between it being platonic and flirtatious. Flirting with Haru's girlfriend was definitely a bad idea. Especially when he wasn't sure yet about how he felt for her on the platonic front. But despite all that back and forth in his mind, he had a huge smile on his face the entire time.

Morning came to soon and she had to rush back home so her parents wouldn't make a fuss. The plan was to meet back at Haru's place at noon. They were making the best of their remaining holiday before school starts again. She took a shower and had brunch with her family before making her way to Haru's house.

When she arrived, she saw that Rei and Nagisa were already there. Another quick look showed that Shiori was also there, perched carefully on Rin's lap. Nagisa saw her first and came running towards her, hands outstretched to hug her.

"Kyou-channnn! Are you okay? How's your shoulder doing?" Nagisa asked, both arms around her.

"Too tight! C-can't breathe," she gasped, tapping at Nagisa's arms.

"Nagisa," a solemn voice said, before Nagisa was pulled off her.

"Haru," she beamed at her boyfriend.

He gave her a small nod, pulling her over to where he was sitting.

"Kyou-senpai, I'm glad you're okay," Rei said.

"Thanks."

Kyou felt Shiori looking at her and she turned to look. "I'm glad you're okay as well, Kyou-san," Shiori said politely.

"Ah, thanks for your concern," Kyou said a little awkwardly.

It seemed that Makoto could sense the tension because he quickly took over the conversation, trying to distract Shiori. Kyou looked at Rin and she saw him giving her an unfathomable look. And she mouthed What? to him to which he just shrugged off and mouthed Nothing in return. She felt Haru's hand covering hers and she shot him a small smile. He pulled her to him, caging her in between his legs with her back towards his chest.

"What should we do today? Should we go swimming?" Nagisa suggested.

"Don't you guys already swim everyday? Don't you wanna do something else?" Shiori asked.

"Swimming," Haru said from behind Kyou.

"If Haru's in, then I'm in as well," Makoto said with a what-can-you-do expression.

"I'll go as well," Rei said.

"Well... If everyone is going..." Rin shrugged.

And that was how they all ended up at the Iwatobi Swim Club. As soon as they entered, Haru wasted no time in stripping down to his swimming shorts. As the rest of them including Shiori went to change, Kyou moved to sit at the side on the bench. Haru was already on his third lap in the pool. He really does look graceful when he's swimming. It looked like he's finally in his own element. One by one, the boys dove into the pool. She was surprised when Makoto sat next to her.

"Not swimming?"

She gestured to her shoulder, "I don't think my stitches will agree with swimming."

"You should've said something when they suggested swimming. It won't be fun for you."

She laughed, "It's fine isn't it? Since everyone's agreeable to it, I don't want to be a spoilsport."

"Want me to call Haru over?"

"It's fine. You know how he is when he's in the pool. You should go in the pool too. I'm fine." she said, nudging Makoto towards the pool.

Kyou leaned back and tried to make herself comfortable, her stitches hurt every time she made the tiniest movements. Looking at Rin and Shiori, she had a hard time believing Shiori had rejected Rin. She was clinging to Rin's back as he was talking to Rei. Shiori looked plenty interested in Rin and Rin looked like he still held some feelings for Shiori. Kyou sighed, shifting around the bench as she gingerly touched her shoulder. She winced. She really wished she had thought to take her painkillers before they came out. The pain was starting to get to her and she was getting restless. She finally decided to get up and go sit by the pool and dip her feet in the pool.

"Kyou-senpai! Why aren't you swimming with us?" Rei asked as he swam towards her.

She felt uncomfortable as he looked at her, waiting for her answer. She didn't want to remind people of her injuries and cause a fuss so she just lifted her shoulders and shrugged.

"Hey, Shiori! Heads up!" She heard Rin shouted and as she looked up she saw him raising his hands to splash water at Shiori who was standing quite close to her. Without thinking she threw up her hands to shield herself. The movement sent a jolt of pain through her shoulders. She immediately blenched, cringing.

"Rin!" Shiori laughed, she smacked him on his arms, chastising him playfully.

Kyou gritted her teeth, she felt warmth spreading on shoulder and a quick look showed blood seeping through her cotton top. She must've reopened her wound or tore her stitches. She quickly got up as unobtrusively as possible to head to the bathroom.

"Hey, you alright?" She felt Rin pulling at her elbow, turning her around to face him.

She didn't even hear him get out of the pool. "Yeah... I just need to go to the bathroom," she said in a grimace.

"You don't-," he paused, eyes narrowing as it zeroed in on her shoulder, "You're bleeding."

She jerked her elbow away from him. "Don't make a fuss. I was just going to go get it clean it up."

"You've gotta be more careful," he said sighing.

"Whose fault do you think this is?" she said indignantly, temper rising.

His eyes widened, "What? I-"

"You were busy flirting with your friend and when you tried splashing water at her, I was in the line of fire. So I lifted my hands in reflex. Must've reopened the wound," she said in a single breath, chest rising up and down.

His lips parted in shock at her outburst, "I wasn't flirting."

"Really?" she sneered, stalking off in the direction of the bathroom.

She heard him catching up with her and he hissed under his breath, "You know it wasn't intentional."

"Well maybe if you weren't so busy flirting, you'd watch your surroundings better," she quipped.

"I wasn't flirting. What's wrong with you," he frowned at her, eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"Whatever. Just go back to the pool or are you planning to follow me into the female's bathroom?" she asked him, pushing the door open and letting it slam in his face.

She whirled around when she heard the door opening. "W-what are you doing?"

Rin walked in, jaws clenched as he turned around to lock the door. "Let me look at your shoulder."

"Are you insane? Get out. It's the female's bathroom," she protested as he grabbed her arm.

"It's fine, the door is locked. Now, show me your shoulder."

"You've gone insane," she said as she grudgingly pulled her collar to the side to expose her shoulder.

He hissed when he saw her shoulder. "Luckily the stitches are intact. I'll help you clean it up." He began opening the cabinet and took out a clean hand towel and started wetting it before dabbing it at her shoulder.

She flinched.

"Hold still. It'll be done soon." His eyebrows were knitted together in concentration.

He worked in silence, alternately wetting the towel and then dabbing at her shoulder. She took in his appearance as he worked. Where Haru was lean and lithe in body, Rin was built slightly broader and taller with more prominent muscles. Haru's face is cold and his features are sharp with a slight touch of prettiness whereas Rin's face are all angles and more masculine. His hands were big and wide whereas Haru's fingers are longer and slender looking. A sudden sharp pain jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Ouch."

"Sorry, it's almost done."

She tightened her grip on one of his arms, gritting her teeth in pain.

He continued to work on her shoulder, he bent his head down and some of his bangs fell forward. Without putting much thought into it, she lifted her hands from his arms and pushed the maroon strands back behind his ears. She'd only realized what she'd done when she felt him suddenly tensed up.

She laughed nervously, "Sorry, it was involuntary response."

She could feel the tension leaving his body after listening to what she said. He gave a quick nod as if to acknowledge what she said and quickly gave her shoulder a few final dabs before proclaiming it done.

It felt like hours had passed in the bathroom but in reality it seemed only 15 minutes had gone by. Emerging from the hallway into the indoor pool she could see Haru was still blissfully submerged in water, unaware of his surrounding. Rei and Nagisa were arguing over one thing or another as Makoto tried to play referee. Shiori on the other hand looked like she was sulking in the corner. She brightened up immediately when she saw Rin.

"Rin, come back in," Shiori called out.

Kyou decided to leave the two of them to it and head back to the bench. She heard Rin told Shiori he that was going to take a breather and sit on the bench for a bit. She could hear his footsteps behind her, following her to the bench.

"You don't have to stay with me."

"I'm not doing it for you. By the way, you should have suggested something else if you can't swim."

She waved his remarks away dismissively, "No reason why everyone shouldn't go swimming just because I can't."

She saw Shiori getting out of the pool and heading their way. She groaned inwardly. Even though Shiori had so far been nothing but civil to her, she found herself not too fond of the other girl. It was petty and she herself didn't know why but the other girl's presence grated on her nerves. Kyou closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

From the corner of her eyes she could see Shiori leaned forward to whisper something in Rin's ear which caused him to laugh.

Deep breaths, deep breaths.

She saw Shiori reached out to push Rin's hair back from his face. She waited to see if Rin would react the same way but Rin seemed unperturbed by it. She unconsciously knocked her own head, trying to get rid of these strange unfamiliar thoughts and feelings that seemed to plague her of late.

"Kyou-san. Would you mind if I dragged Rin into the pool? I'll call Haru up if you want," Shiori said politely, smiling but her eyes were sharp.

Kyou shrugged, "Be my guest. It's not necessary to call Haru over though. He enjoys the water." She didn't missed the lack of the proper suffix -kun or -san when Shiori referred to Haru.

"Oi, Shiori. Don't go making decisions for me on your own again. I told you I feel like staying up here for a bit," Rin said but his words had no bite to it and she can see fondness in his eyes for the other girl.

Shiori pouted, "Fine. I'll stay too." She twined her arms around his neck as she boldly sat on Rin's lap.

Kyou stood up quickly, "Eh, I'm going to leave you lovebirds to it. I'm going to get a chair and sit near Haru and Makoto."

"We're not like that," Shiori said beaming, her countenance at complete odds with her words.

"Kyou..." Rin started, he looked like he was going to say something then he glanced at Shiori and thought better of it.

She turned away. It was better this way. Being around Rin recently made her mood yo-yo all over the place, it was better if she'd put some distance between them until this weird phase of hers subside.

School had finally started and Kyou, Haru and Makoto were especially busy seeing as it was their last year in high school. Apart from that they were also trying to recruit new members into the swimming club. So far they had a total of 0 applicants and the members were all frantically throwing out suggestions to attract more applicants. Even though Kyou wasn't part of the swimming club officially, she'd been trying her best to help with the club's recruitment.

After a few embarrassing attempts at trying to recruitment, they'd finally decided- with a not-so-subtle nudge from Goro-san- on winning as many matches as they can and try to draw attention with their wins in competitions. Which led them to where they were now. Participating in a public tournament.

She was still bleary eyed as they walked towards the entrance of the stadium when she heard Nagisa called out to Rin. She winced at Nagisa's enthusiastic tone. How is it that he was so perky so early in the morning.

Rin was clearly in the midst of briefing his teammates when Nagisa called out to him. Judging from the expression on his face, he obviously didn't expect to see them here. He gave them a barely perceptible nod and continued briefing his teammates. Kyou was just wondering if it was possible that Shiori, who had been glued to Rin's side like a shadow since her unexpected arrival, was not here. She tried not to roll her eyes when she spotted said girl hanging at the back, draped in Rin's Samezuka jacket.

She saw Shiori lifted her arms to wave at the Iwatobi group and she returned the wave albeit weakly. Kyou was torn between being annoyed at Shiori and feeling guilty for being annoyed at Shiori for no apparent reason.

Haru came over to give her a chaste kiss on the cheeks before he left with the rest of the guys to the locker room and she found herself a seat with Gou, Amakata-sensei and Goro-san.

"Ne, Haruka-senpai has really warmed up to you, hasn't he?" Gou said, eyeing her from the corner of her eyes.

"Eh, is that so? I guess he's slightly better now but I wouldn't say he's warmed up to me exactly."

Kyou's eyes landed on Shiori the exact time Gou spotted her.

"Shiori-san!" Gou shouted, her hands waving back and forth.

Kyou saw Shiori looked up and waved back to Gou.

"I wonder if Shiori-san is dating onii-chan?" Gou said to herself.

"Of course not. They are qonly friends," Kyou blushed as soon as she realized how fast she had blurted that out.

Gou then looked at her appraisingly, "And how do you know that?"

"Oh. Erm, I think I heard Rin saying so the other day," Kyou said, flustered.

Gou sighed, "Ahhh, that's too bad. It would be nice if he gets a girlfriend. Oh well, it might still happen. What do you think?"

"Oh look, I think it's Haru's and Rin's turn," Kyou pointed out, glad for the opportunity to change topic.

"Were you waiting to ambush me?" Haru said as in Rin stepped out from behind the lockers.

Rin gave a good natured smirk, "I've been waiting for you."

He felt Rin fell in line next to him as they headed out to the pool. Rin was saying something or other about swimming in the adjoining lane and giving him a handicap but he was a little preoccupied with his own thoughts concerning his best friend and his girlfriend until the shouts of a couple of kids snapped him out of his thoughts.

Both him and Rin quieted down as they listened to the kids boasting about winning. The friendly rivalry between the kids struck a chord in him and reminded him of how things were when they were both kids as well. Judging from Rin's expression, he obviously thought the same. His eyes caught Rin and they both laughed at the same time.

Haru hoped this feeling of camaraderie between them would never change regardless of whatever will happen in the future.