NO I HAVEN'T GIVEN THIS UP! I don't know if it'll ever end, really... I like it too much. I just had to work on a different fic first and it took up all my time yesterday and the day before that I only tried to write for this one at the end of the day and was waaaay too tired to get proper writing out. But here! Here is the next chapter! Have some cute because the next chapter... Will probably contain an atomic drama-bomb.

Chapter 7- Of Advice and Histories
The weekend was slow to arrive and the second it did, the bell ringing at the end of their class period, Makoto and Haruka were out the door.
It was another practice at Samezuka- it had officially become too cold for them to hold practice in their own pool and they couldn't afford the passes to an indoor pool until the next month- so the older boys were even excited about swim practice if it meant Rin.

The redhead was waiting for them outside, hands shoved in his pockets, brooding.

"Rin!" Makoto called.

The redhead jumped and then bared his teeth in a viciously happy grin. He sauntered up to them, glanced around, and pulled them both into a tight hug.

"God I missed you."

The oldest Iwatobi members wrapped their arms around their boyfriend. Haru's gratified sigh was silent but the fan of his breath over Rin's neck gave him away.

"We missed you too, Rinrin."

The redhead reluctantly shrugged them off. "Can't stay too long; practice'll start soon and that means the team will be arriving."

"Understood."

Makoto nodded. "We'll be home together after this anyway. Akiha will love to see you again, she's missed you."

"Keeps meowing in the middle of the night," Haru agreed as Rin opened the doors to the pool with confidence.

"I miss everything about home." Rin whispered. "Just have to concentrate on swimming and go home, right?"

Haru's response was a noncommittal noise and Makoto's a pleased hum.

Mikoshiba set Rin against Rei on one side and Yukimura on the other. The fiery redhead blew his whistle sharply and they dove. Rin could hear every breath he and Rei gasped out, felt the ripples from the lanes at his sides, and a familiar thrill raced up his spine.
He loved racing.
It wasn't a race, he knew, but his competitive spirit flared up and he had to push himself.
It pleased him that Rei responded in kind. The younger boy was certainly improving. His speed boost set him only slightly behind the redhead and Rin's will to fight kicked in. He made the turn and pushed off powerfully, now ahead of Rei by a good margin. Yukimura was just hitting the turn. Rin looked up, at the end of the lane, and saw Haru, Makoto, even Nitori waiting at the end. Nagisa was hopping gleefully up and down and shouting Rei's name.
They both had a reason to get back to the finish first.
Rin's just happened to be more.
He smacked into the wall, gasping for breath, as Mikoshiba called out his time (about two seconds shorter than his last record). He ripped off his cap and goggles to the sound of Makoto's gorgeous laugh.

"That was wonderful, Rin."

"That was amazing, Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori cheered. Haruka was nowhere to be found as Makoto pulled him out of the pool and Rin remembered Rei and that fantastic race they'd just run.

Haru and Nagisa were pulling the blue-haired boy out of the pool- the black-haired teen with quiet praise and the blonde with effusive congratulations- and Rin grinned.

"Rei, that was an incredible run!" He called as he padded over. "You've definitely improved since our last practice!"

The boy blushed, attempted to fix his missing glasses, and blushed redder. "Y-yes! Your tips helped me improve my time greatly!"

Rin smirked. "That's good then."

"Nitori, Nanase, Kawamura! Get ready!"

Haru sighed as he left and practice continued normally from there; Haru soundly beat anyone who tried. Makoto shut down his competition. Nagisa lost out to one person by only a half-second. Gou, to his disgust, was sitting on the bench next to Mikoshiba and when the Captain wasn't in Captain-mode surveying his team golden eyes would light up at every word from Iwatobi's manager. Rin scowled at the sight and only relaxed at the 'accidental' brush of Makoto's fingers across the small of his back.

My sister is a grown woman, he reminded himself. She can take care of herself and Mikoshiba knows that I will CASTRATE HIM WITH A RUSTY HACKSAW if he makes her upset. I need to calm down.
Mikoshiba's blowing the whistle suddenly and Rin almost thanked any and all deities for the end of practice.

The Iwatobi team courteously lets their host team shower first, every time, so Rin sat with Makoto at the edge of the pool, feet dangling in the water, watching Haruka effortlessly arc and spin and float while Nagisa and Rei chatter about random things above their heads. Rin was in the midst of a belly-laugh over Nagisa's description of 'Detective Rei-chan' at the festival- he didn't care anymore about them trying to play keep away; if he had seen Haru it probably would have ended in a quickie somewhere secluded- when Nitori came out of the locker room behind Sugimura and waved.

"Rin-senpai! The team is done!"

The redhead leaned around Makoto and nodded. "Thanks, Ai! See you Monday!"

Sugimura laughed shyly and prodded Nitori in the shoulder as they headed for the dorms. "He calls you Ai?"

The silver-haired boy shrugged and a faint pink dusted his cheeks. "S-sometimes. It just means I'm his friend-"

Rin got up and stretched, completely disregarding the conversation, but Haru's eyes narrowed at the passing first-years.

"Haru, Mako, let's get washed up and go home." The redhead sighed, beckoning for the pair to follow.

Rin woke up the next morning because, of all things, the ear not pressed to his pillow was uncomfortably hot.

What the hell?

He reached up, hand stiff and clumsy, and felt the obstruction on his- oh. His fingers rubbed against soft fur. Akiha. Akiha was curled up on his head.
The kitten didn't stir and he decided to leave her alone. He didn't mind being the only one awake. Besides, she was content and so was he. This gave him plenty of time to examine and admire his bedmates. Makoto's arm wrapped around Haruka made for a startling contrast between skin tones. The brunette was more tan against the black-haired boy's paler skin and Rin couldn't help but admire their differences when he reached out and held his hand up in front of them to compare. He fit somewhere oddly in the middle. Makoto murmured something and a glimmering emerald eye peered over Haru's shoulder and the arm the oldest was using as his pillow shifted. Rin was happy to take hold of the hand proffered and he closed his eyes.
Not a second too soon, because the weight on his head twitched and stretched out, small paws sticking out over his head. Suddenly Makoto was laughing, laughing hard enough to wake Haru, and Rin scowled.

"Hey, I didn't put her up there!"

Haru grumbled and smacked Rin's chest. "Stop. I'm tired."

"Why did you hit me?! Mako's the one laughing his ass off!"

"You're easier to hit and you'll return the favor later if I forget."

"Geez, Haru, cheap-shit much?"

"Lazy," Haru corrected. Then he got a good look at their kitten and started to chuckle himself.

Confused by all the noise Akiha slid out of the nest she'd made out of red hair and stretched her leisurely way across the space between them on the mattress to headbutt Haru's chin with an overbearing purr. Still chuckling Haru scratched under her chin then down her back until her tiny poofy tail was sticking straight upright. A second later she turned her head into the mattress and rolled over, begging for belly rubs and scratches, pawing at the hands doing it regardless.

Makoto was the first to give up and roll out of bed.

Rin watched greedily as those powerful muscles flexed under his skin. With a quiet chuckle Makoto put on a show for his lover (Rin will never ever ever admit to it but he does have a teeny, tiny thing for muscles; part of the reason he figured out he had to be gay was the way he admired the male swimmers in Australia), stretching like he would before a race and red eyes go wide.

"...Mako if you don't take your shower I'm going to pull you back into this bed and do something I won't regret a bit."

The brunette barked a laugh but headed for the bathroom with a farewell pet to Akiha.

Well it was supposed to be a farewell.

She scrambled off the bed and past the hands that tried to snatch her and followed the taller boy into the bathroom.

Rin snorted and slid out between the sheets. "Ugh, I'd better head out for my run then. Careful of the cat."

Haru was shortly left alone in the bedroom in the too-big bed and he heaved a sigh. They were here, he knew; here in the house with him. But still if he couldn't touch them, see them, smell the chlorine and green curry and spice of them, his chest will ache for his boyfriends.

"Haru?"

He blinked and glanced at the doorway, where Makoto leaned against the wood with a towel draped over his shoulders and wearing a pair of sweatpants he knows are his and that sweetly familiar orange-and-yellow shirt.

"Tub's open."

Haru sighed and just turned his bland gaze to the ceiling.

A soft laugh drifted from Makoto and the brunette purred, "Are you really going to need help getting out of both the tub and our bed?"

"No," Haru grudgingly admitted.

"I'll get breakfast started, Haru-chan."

Later in the day, past their comfortable breakfast and leisurely housework activities, a timid knock sounded at the door.
Rin was still staring in shock two minutes after opening the door.

"Nitori?" The redhead repeated, blinking in surprise at his underclassman.

The silver-haired boy nodded and wrung the shoulder strap of his bookbag- still carried even though it was the weekend- and hesitantly asked "C-can I ask you something, Matsuoka-senpai?"

Rin quirked an eyebrow at the more formal title. "Yeah, sure, and if we aren't in school feel free to call me by my first name."

"Rin, who is- oh! Nitori-kun."

The pair in the entryway glanced over at the brunette, who simply smiled at them. "It's been a while, Nitori-kun. You know you're welcome to come over, right?"

The silver-haired boy nodded enthusiastically but his smile wavered slightly. "Th-thank you very much, Tachibana-senpai! I'll remember that! But, um, I just had a question for Mats- erm, for Rin... kun."

Rin rolled his eyes- still with the honorifics, geez, would he ever get through to the kid?- but snorted. "Sure, shoot."

Haruka appeared behind Makoto, blinked at Nitori, and then looked to his boyfriend for clarification. Makoto just shrugged.
Nitori almost lost his nerve at the sight of his upperclassman's lovers but then clenched his fists on the bag strap. He leaned in and whispered,

"H-how do you know when you're in love?"

Rin reared back, blinking rapidly, and before Nitori could look mortified the redhead broke into a wide smirk.
"Well well. I'm glad, Ai. Here," Rin shoved the door open a little wider, "come in and we'll discuss it."

"Ah! Er! W-what about..?" The silver-haired boy glanced nervously from under his bangs at the other pair. "What about Nanase-senpai and Tachibana-senpai?"

"Ai, who better to learn from than three people who all love each other? I'm sure they've got different opinions too. Best to get as many sides to the story as we can, right?"

"O-oh, I didn't think of it like that..."

"One more thing. A condition, if you're coming in. Their names are Makoto and Haru, Ai, and I'm Rin. Got it?"

The youngest blushed and nodded. "Got it!"

Makoto made tea and Haru started grilling something- Nitori didn't know what it was but it smelled like fish and made Rin's eyes roll- while Rin took a seat across from the silver-haired boy. Just looking around Nitori couldn't help but marvel at how at home he felt just a few minutes after being ushered in. Tachibana-senpai was very kind, and though Nanase-senpai was quiet it was a comfortable kind of quiet.

"So what is this question, Nitori?"

The boy squirmed and considered telling Tachibana-senpai to call him by his first name too but he decided that Nitori was the safer way to go for now.

"Um! Well I... I've been spending a lot of time with a classmate of mine lately. And I really enjoy spending time with Kenji-kun, so- oh!" He blushed and stared hard at his tea cup. "I-I wasn't supposed to say... I'm sorry!"

"Sugimura-kun, right?" Nanase-senpai said matter-of-factly as he came in with four evenly divided portions of fish on plates for them. He set the tray in the center of the table. Rin-senpai sighed at the sight of his lunch but Tachibana-senpai laughed.

Nitori was too busy gaping at the black-haired boy to regard his food. "H-h-how did you know?"

"You were together at the end of practice yesterday and it seemed you were leaving with him. Also, you've been distracted lately at meets and texting someone constantly." Nanase-senpai explained as he took a seat to the side of his boyfriends so that as Nitori looked at them it was Rin-senpai in front of him, Nanase-senpai on his right, and Tachibana-senpai to his left. The younger teen got the feeling they were only that far apart for his sake, but he wasn't sure he should tell them not to do so for his sake or thank them for their courtesy, so he said nothing.

"So..?" Rin drawled eventually. "Sugimura-kun..?"

"Oh! Right! Umm... I just... I was wondering if what I'm feeling is right. So I thought I would ask you about your relationship with Nanase-senpai and Tachibana-senpai. Since it's either you or the Captain... But Mikoshiba-buchou is... Well..."

Rin-senpai snorted. "I get that."

"I- I was going to say he's just gotten into a relationship with- er- and he may not be as knowledgable as you, Rin-senpai."

"Ai." The redhead said quietly.

"Y-yes! Er, yes?"

Rin-senpai leaned forward, lip lifted in a half-snarl and eyebrow lifted. "What did I say about names?"

Nitori felt an embarrassed flush creep up his neck. "Oh! R-right, I'm so sorry, Rin-senp- urk! Rin. Sorry, Rin."

The redhead laughed and rested again. "So what is it exactly you want to hear us say?"

"I just, um, was thinking: what was it like when you and Nan- Haru started dating? How did you... How did you feel?"

Rin lifted an eyebrow again and sat back, looking actually thoughtful for a moment, and breathed a heavy sigh through his nose. The threesome's kitten wandered away from Nanase-senpai and curled up in the redhead's lap so he started idly petting her.

"Haru and I were in a relationship starting after prefecturals." He admitted. "You remember the messages." Nitori nodded; Nanase-senpai had been severely depressed by Rin-senpai beating him at the meet, as far as Nitori knew. "But it wasn't... wasn't healthy. We were essentially parasites. Just there for competition and, well, to be blunt, for the sex. We didn't really get into a more natural relationship until after regionals once I was finally able to move on."

He got a lifted eyebrow from both lovers and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, when I stopped being a dick."

"Thank you." The pair chorused.

"But what about Ta- Makoto?"

Rin sighed and glanced at the brunette, rewarded by a soft smile. "...well, Mako and I... There was an... an incident when we were children. I've always been close to him because of that. And when Haru said he wanted to include him in our relationship, I was... admittedly excited about the prospect. Not that I don't love Haru, and that I didn't love him just as much then as I do now, but something was missing and we both knew it. I was vaguely aware then that I thought Makoto and Haruka were both things I needed. I thought that all the time I was in Australia, really. Even if he wasn't there physically Haru was my motivation, my goal. Makoto I kept in touch with, because, well, he was always so easy to talk to. If I didn't have both of them, I wouldn't be here now."

Nitori stared, wide-eyed, at his roommate. These kinds of feelings and emotions were things he'd never imagined seeing so easily out of the surly redhead. But then again in the last few months- since the relay and starting his relationships with first Nanase-senpai then Tachibana-senpai- his harsh edges had been dulled and then polished. Though Nitori didn't know it, Rin was much more like he was as a child; brighter, happier, relaxed.

"Matsu- oh! Rin..."

"Yeah, they say I'm a helpless romantic." The older boy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "But it's true. I'd give up everything but them. Well..." And he glanced down at the small warmth in his lap. "Okay, maybe the cat would come first..."

Makoto laughed and shoved the redhead's shoulder. "First mackerel and now I lose out to a cat! I can't win."

"Umm, so, Tach- Makoto."

The silver-haired youth got a gentle smile for the use of the first name and he beamed, proud of (mostly) remembering.

"What about you? When did you know you loved Na- Haru and Rin?"

"Call me sentimental," Makoto said with a quiet chuckle, "but I think I've always been in love with them."

Red and azure eyes widened, staring at their boyfriend, and his returned grin was both embarrassed and apologetic. "I can't imagine a life without you two. Haru's always been by my side, and once Rin came into the picture he was included. I honestly don't know how I would function if the two of you were to leave me."

"Mako..." Rin reached across the space between them and took Makoto's hand. The brunette leaned forward and so did his boyfriend, foreheads touching, and Rin huffed a laugh.

"You two are part of me now."

"Rin made me love him." Haru said bluntly.

"Hey!" Rin snapped, whipping a glare at the black-haired boy.

"You did." Haru affirmed. "When you first transferred I was determined to not like you and you were just as determined to get me to agree with your relay."

"Yeah but I didn't seduce you-"

"But you did."

Both his lovers blinked at him. "Huh?" Rin asked.

"A sight I'd never seen before." The black-haired boy stated, and it seemed to carry a meaning the threesome all understood. "Then you came back and I wanted to see it again, was so happy to see you, and you left me feeling like I'd broken your heart. So I turned to Makoto, because Makoto was all I had left."

They were all staring at the oldest now- Nanase Haruka had never spoken so much at one time- as Makoto and Rin listened with shocked expressions because they knew this was about as close to a true confession as they'd ever get.

"I've always... I've always relied on Makoto. It didn't turn into love until I realized that Rin and I being together was tearing him apart... because he was jealous. So I made a plan. I wanted us to all be together. Nothing was right if we were separated. We belong together. I think I always knew that. I got Rin to enact it, and Makoto told him that he did love us both, and after spending a day together at this table-"

"Haru!"

"Haru, no!"

A teasing, mischievous twinkle flickered through sapphire eyes. "-Makoto agreed to try and it ended up, all these months later, like this."

"B-but you've all... been in love so long. What about falling in love with someone n-new?" Nitori stammered uneasily.

"Can't help you there," the redhead admitted quietly.

"Nagisa and Rei may be able to help you with that." Makoto added after a second's thought. "Their relationship is pretty new."

Nitori squawked and waved his hands wildly. "Nonono! I can't ask Nagisa-kun! He'd torment me or try to help! And I don't know which is worse!"

The threesome pondered that a moment and then nodded simultaneously.

"Good job, Ai, you've already learned the dangers of Hazuki Nagisa." Rin drawled.

Nitori flushed. "Y-yes, when I mentioned I l-liked someone he tried to get me to go clothes shopping, but... They don't have good taste..."

Rin guffawed and hurried to smack a hand over his mouth. Makoto regarded his restrained mirth with a look of motherly disappointment before turning back to the fidgeting silver-haired boy.

"So," he said gently. "What do you feel when you're around Kenji-kun? Love's a distinct enough emotion."

"And sexual tension is different from it."

The Samezuka student yelped and buried his face in his hands. Rin, who had almost managed to stop, began to laugh harder again. Makoto gave Haru a measured stare and simply said "Haru..." in a disappointed tone.

"Oh my god, Haru, I love you so much." Rin wheezed.

"You only told me that because you were mad about how often I begged to have s-"

"Haru!" Makoto chided a little more forcefully. "...but, I guess it is a legitimate question... considering that Rin and Haru-chan's relationship started as not much more than that. Do you maybe really just want to have sex with Kenji-kun?"

It was somehow impossible to be mad or upset about those kinds of questions when Makoto said them.

"N-no!" Burning brilliant red Nitori amended, "Well I wouldn't mind... But that's not the main reason I like him or anything!" The silver-haired boy's eyes were distant as he continued. "He always cheers me up and makes me laugh, and we text each other all the time, and I'm always so excited to see him..."

Rin smirked without an edge. "Sure sounds like you have it bad."

Makoto laughed softly. "Does sound like love... or at least a crush. But please, be more specific? What exactly do you feel around him?"

"L-like I get queasy... Butterflies."

"Natural. Happens to me all the time. Mako's good at it." The brunette shoved the redhead's shoulder.

"A-and I feel really warm around him all the time..."

"Inner warm or outer warm?" Haruka interjected.

"I-inner. I guess. In my chest. Does that matter..?"

Rin snorted. "If it was outer- well, or anywhere else- we'd be explaining something entirely different to you, Ai."

Nitori squeaked and his friends all laughed.

A sleepy-eyed kitten poked her head over the edge of the table, blinking slowly, and then she sniffed a few times.

"Hello, Akiha! It's just me again- Aiichirou!"

The kitten gave the silver-haired boy an odd look and locked onto the uneaten mackerel on the table. In a heartbeat the kitten leapt onto the table and made a beeline for Rin's plate.

"Whoa whoa whoa, glutton!" Rin yelled, snatching her mid-run. "You can have the leftovers, geez! Speaking of, we had better eat before it gets too cold and Mako and I get the 'wasting mackerel' speech again. And trust me, Ai-" the redhead pointed at his roommate with his chopsticks- "You do not want to hear that speech. Once a month is more than enough."

Nitori giggled.

By the time they had eaten and spoken more about dating and crushes Nitori was so excited he practically bolted out of Haru's door later, all wild anticipation. He waved as he ran, framed by the late twilight sun.

"Thank you, Rin-senpai! Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai! I'll come back sometime! With Kenji!"

"Oh, Kenji gets to be on a first name basis..." Rin muttered playfully.

Makoto just smiled. "He's a good kid. He'll definitely make someone happy."

"I'm glad he's got someone else to fixate on," Rin sighed, ruffling his own hair agitatedly. "I like him and all, but sometimes he was seriously overbearing. Luckily Sugimura will just suck up all that attention- they're like two peas in a pod."

"You care a lot more than I thought." Haru muttered with a sidelong glance.

"Don't be jealous, Haru-chan," Rin crooned. He threw an arm around his lovers' shoulders and smirked. "I'll only ever love you two."

Rin got a text late that night, as they lazed about and watched old movies on television and let Akiha run roughshod all over them.
He opened it and laughed, holding it up so his pair of body pillows could see it. A hand came up from the jumble of lazy limbs that was Makoto and Haru and pulled the phone down.
It was Makoto who laughed and then Rin's hand was pulled in the other direction so Haru could see.

It was a picture captioned 'He said yes!' and followed by hearts. Then 'Thank you so much Rin, Haru, Makoto!'

Nitori had been grinning ear to ear as he took the picture, and a kid with dark brown hair and bright golden eyes was kissing his cheek.

"I'm glad." Makoto hummed, trailing a hand up the redhead's side.

A mumble of agreement vibrated through Haru.

Rin just smiled and texted their combined congratulations.

You know, to be honest, Nitori started out bugging me. Always at Rin's side and everything was 'Matsuoka-senpai!' and it was annoying! But with this, he came into his own and I started really liking him. So he kinda got his own chapter, since I wanted to get his cute little side story out~