Rin felt a warm body next to him and woke up to a dim room that he immediately realized wasn't his own. His heart started to beat in panic. What had he done last night? Hadn't he been in the dorms?

"Rin?" A husky and familiar voice mumbled next to him.

Rin relaxed slightly. Sousuke. While they were not usually in bed together, the fact that he was here too made Rin instantly calm.

"Sousuke? Where are we?"

"Huh?"

"Where are we? I don't recognize this place."

"Yes, I cleaned yesterday. Thank you for noticing."

"No, I mean it Sousuke! Where are we?!"

Rin closed his eyes as light flooded the room. He blinked, trying to located Sousuke. His friend's familiar face came into focus in front of him. He looked… well, he looked really good…but… Rin stared at Sousuke, an obviously older Sousuke.

"Rin?"

%%%

"10 years? 10 years!?"

"Easy Rin."

Rin took a few deep breaths and swallowed. "10 years…Sousuke! Your shoulder!?"

"Hmmm?"

"Your shoulder, is it ok!?"

Sousuke started laughing. "That's your first question? Oh Rin…"

Sousuke looked at him so fondly that Rin blushed bright red. "W..what?"

"My shoulder is just fine Rin. In large part thanks to you by the way."

"Me?"

"I was doing rehab at home, but you thought my therapist was an idiot, found another in Australia and dragged me there. I can swim, only not competitively, so I've found another calling."

Rin searched Sousuke's face for any indication of what he felt about that, but Sousuke looked relaxed enough. "Well…in that case I'm glad for you. So what do you do?"

"I coach athletes and consult on injuries, mostly online."

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Really Rin." Sousuke smiled gently. "I am very happy. Coaching is a lot of fun, it suits me."

Rin exhaled in relief. Satisfied Sousuke was ok Rin decided to turn to the rest of his family.

"How is mom? And Gou? Grandma?"

"They are all fine."

"Where are we by the way?" Rin's eyes scanned the room quickly. He couldn't see much outside as it was dark, but the room looked nice and comforting. A big bedroom in semi Japanese-European style with a large bed. Wardrobes. Chairs. A dresser with a few pictures and trinkets. Art that looked nice. Rin immediately liked it, it looked …like home.

"We're in Paris."

"Paris!? We live there?"

"At the moment, yes. We've lived in Sydney, Tokyo and New York as well."

Rin tried to digest this.

"Did I… um… do I still swim?"

"You sure do, although you've said the next Olympics will probably be your last. We've discussed going back home and open a gym after that."

"Olympics… I did go to the Olympics."

"Of course you did. As a matter of fact, you've been in two."

"Oh wow…" Rin looked giddy. Sousuke automatically pushed some of his red hair behind his ear, making Rin jump slightly, blushing.

"Sorry."

"No…no! I was just a little…surprised."

"You know, out of all your questions, I can't help but noticing you haven't said anything about your current sleeping arrangements. If I recall, we hadn't progressed to this point 10 years ago. Or?"

Rin flushed. "No… but…"

Sousuke grinned gleefully. "You know, I've never managed to get you to confess exactly when you fell in love with me… Apparently earlier than I thought."

Rin bit his lip, looking a bit shy. "I haven't said anything… I've been afraid I'd wreck our friendship."

"You won't. Trust me, he'll be overjoyed, I should know. And I can assure you we're still the best of friends. Being together won't destroy that, only make it better."

Rin looked embarrassed but pleased. "R…really?"

"I've basically been in love with you since elementary school Rin."

"Mom and everyone are ok with it?" Rin looked anxious. "Not that it changes anything, but…"

"Your grandmother might be a little sad about the lack of kids, but we've managed to placate her by promising to adopt later. Everyone is fine with it, everyone that matters anyway. Don't worry. Actually Gou is a bit too happy…"

Rin laughed.

"What do I look like in 10 years? Do you have a picture?"

"You look great, as usual", Sousuke supplied, pointing to the dresser. Rin hesitated.

"I see you naked on a daily basis RinRin love", Sousuke sounded amused, but tossed him a shirt.

Clad in the shirt, which at least covered his ass, barely, Rin padded over to the dresser to look at the pictures. His eyes skimmed over pictures of his mom, Gou, Sousuke's parents and several friends (some had aged well, like Sousuke, while others… had not), as well as a large frame with a couple clad in festive clothing.

"We're married?"

"Of course we are. It was obviously super romantic. It's you."

Rin grinned. He then spotted a large heap of olympic medals nearby and looked stunned. "Oh god… Sousuke, I…"

%%%

Rin groggily woke up, tossing and whimpering, Sousuke shaking him awake. Rin immediately latched onto him, hugging him tight.

~~Really Rin. I am very happy~~

"Sousuke! I had a dream and you…"

Sousuke looked at him, both expectant and worried, but suddenly the recollection of the dream was gone and Rin was left trembling, confused, wondering what on earth he was doing. His breathing hitched.

"Sousuke, could…could you stay here?"

"Of course. Did you have a nightmare? You look… a little perturbed?"

"Yeah… yes, I think so."

~~Olympics… I did go to the Olympics!~~

Rin sighed… weird…despite having what had to have been a nightmare, he felt like he could achieve absolutely anything. It felt…like everything was going to be just fine.

~~We're still the best of friends. Being together won't destroy that, only make it better~~

Rin crept closer to Sousuke and smiled softly into his (good) shoulder. It couldn't hurt pretending to be scared, just for one night.

Notes:

Good of Rin and Sou to fluff around a bit (a lot) while I wrestle with a smutty one which is giving me grief by trying to grow by absorbing other drafts in it. An Australia fic is doing the same, but at least there are a few that behaves a bit, for now. Ghaaa.