Rin and Sousuke were quality roommates to each other. They left each other alone when either of them didn't want to be disturbed; they respected each others' space; they studied together and lent each other things whenever asked; and because they were such close friends, sharing a dorm was just like hanging out with a brother every evening. They were very much content with their dormitory situation.

Aiichirou was not so fortunate.

Sousuke was doing math homework at his desk while Rin listened to music on his bunk, when there was a knock at the door. "Rin-? Can I come in…?"

It was Aiichirou's voice. Taking out his earbuds, Rin sat up and looked at Sousuke, silently requesting permission. Sousuke glanced over his shoulder and shrugged nonchalantly. Smiling almost excitedly, Rin stood and answered the door. "Hey, babe."

Judging by Aiichirou's scowling expression, Rin could see that something was bothering him. His demeanor lightened up at the sight of Rin's welcoming face, though it was still clear that he was irritated. He shuffled inside and plopped himself on Rin's bunk without saying hello to Sousuke. "What's wrong, Ai-?" Rin asked carefully, sitting beside him after closing the door. Aiichirou huffed.

"Momo. Momo is what's wrong." Rin raised his eyebrows, inviting him to elaborate. He didn't have to wait long for Aiichirou to continue. "I am sick and tired of that kid! He's so noisy, and obnoxious, and he's always getting into my things! I've tried to act like a mature senpai, but I can't take it anymore. I can't STAND him!" he complained, digging his fingers through his bangs in frustration.

Rin pursed his lips. "I have to admit, having him on the team is kind of like babysitting a little kid," he agreed. Aiichirou fervently nodded his head.

"Right? I swear, he's got the maturity of an eight-year-old… In fact, I think he has the entire mentality of an eight-year-old. I've tried helping him with his homework, but he always insists he knows what he's doing, even though he's COMPLETELY off on everything. It makes me so mad… Just about EVERYTHING he does makes me mad. I don't hate people very often, but Momo is-"

Aiichirou's agitated rambling was cut short by a sudden crack from across the room. Jumping slightly, Aiichirou and Rin quickly turned their gazes in Sousuke's direction; and saw that he had snapped his pencil in half in his fist. Aiichirou's anger deflated and was quickly replaced with guilt. "Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry, Sousuke-senpai… I didn't mean to disrupt you while you were working-!" he apologized, eyes wide and one hand covering his mouth.

Sousuke gave a stiff shake to his head, setting the broken pencil down on his desk. "I was done, anyway." The atmosphere was uncomfortable as Rin and Aiichirou continued to stare at him while he closed his notebook and unzipped his bag. He paused before putting the book away. "...I just don't like hearing you talk about Momo that way," he admitted quietly.

Aiichirou dropped his shoulders. "...oh, um… I'm sorry…" This apology was considerably less sincere than his first had been. Sousuke shrugged, and silently slipped his homework into his bag. Rin raised an eyebrow suspiciously. It wasn't unusual for Sousuke to be quiet and awkward about things, but something felt… off. He got the feeling that his friend was hiding something.

It wasn't a feeling he could shake, so Rin decided he needed to bring it up. "...is something up, Sousuke?" he asked cautiously.

For a moment, it seemed as though Sousuke didn't intend to answer him at all. But after much hesitation, and without looking at him, he mumbled, "I… like Momotarou. You know. That way."

Neither Rin nor Aiichirou made an attempt to hide their shock: Rin's jaw dropped, and Aiichirou choked until he started coughing. Rin rubbed his back while still staring at Sousuke in disbelief. "...I… What? Really?"

Sousuke nodded reluctantly.

"...well, that's… Uh…" Rin struggled with his words. He was confused and surprised, and didn't understand what on earth Sousuke was thinking; but he still wanted to be a supportive friend. "...have you thought about confessing to him?"

"It's nothing important," Sousuke insisted quickly. He pushed away from his desk and climbed onto his bunk, looking straight ahead and not at Rin and Aiichirou.

It was clear that Sousuke didn't mean it; but it was also clear that he didn't want to talk about it, so Rin decided to leave the topic alone.

Aiichirou returned to his dorm with his head in a fog. Sousuke Yamazaki, his strong and cool senpai, had feelings for Momo Mikoshiba, his childish and obnoxious roommate? I guess love works in weird ways, he reasoned with himself.

Although, as much as the topic befuddled him, he was also quite curious about it. Aiichirou was just as drawn to gossip as any other high schooler would be, and even though Sousuke didn't seem to make a big deal out of the situation, Aiichirou wanted to see if it would escalate at all. He drew in a quietly determined breath as he closed the door behind him. "Hey, Momo?"

"Yessss, Nitori-senpai?" Momo immediately answered without looking up from the portable video game he was playing in his bunk.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Aiichirou leaned against the bedpost as casually as he could muster without seeming suspicious. "So, I was just wondering… What do you think about Sousuke?" Momo glanced up from his game, but only for a moment.

"You mean Yamazaki-senpai? Hmm… Well, he's cool!"

Aiichirou was mildly disappointed with Momo's uninterested response. He half hoped, half expected, that he would ask why he wanted to know; but when he didn't say anything else, Aiichirou decided to further provoke the conversation himself. "Because, you see…" He glanced around the room as if Sousuke might be lurking nearby. "I happened to overhear, that he has a crush on you."

Once again, Aiichirou was let down by Momo's lack of reaction. "Huh? Who has a crush on me?" he asked absently, raising his eyebrows down at his game. Aiichirou was suddenly reminded of why exactly he felt so disdainfully toward his roommate.

"Sousuke does. Yamazaki-senpai," Aiichirou repeated sternly. He was quickly beginning to wonder if it was even worth telling Momo this. Still, his curiosity was winning over his doubt.

Finally looking up from his game, Momo blinked a couple times, grinned, and then let out a short, amused laugh. "Oh he does, huh? Good one, Nitori-senpai! You little weasel."

Aiichirou felt a surge of immaturity overcome him. He spun around to face Momo directly, fists clenched and eyebrows furrowed. "I'm serious! He- ...I mean, um, one of the other third years, told me so!"

Momo rolled nonchalantly onto his stomach and returned his attention to his game. "Uh huh, sure! 'Cause Yamazaki-senpai is totally gay for me… Are you forgetting that I don't swing that way, Nitori-senpai?" He pursed his lips as the character in his game lost a life.

Quite honestly, Aiichirou had forgotten. Although it was true that Momo frequently talked about all the "chicks" he was into, it was hard to imagine that any of the Samezuka swim team boys were heterosexual.

A thought crossed Aiichirou's mind, then, that caused him to sober quickly and feel a wave of guilt wash over him. "...wait, did you know that Sousuke was gay-?" he asked hesitantly. Momo snorted.

"Wellll, I kinda figured. I mean, EVERYONE on this team is gay!" His leisurely expression abruptly turned startled. His fingers stopped moving on the knobs and triggers, and Aiichirou heard a robotic voice announce "GAME OVER." Instead of getting upset, though, Momo swiftly turned off the game and stuffed the system into a bag at the foot of his bed. "Th-that is, everyone except for me. In fact, I'm probably the straightest guy on the team! I love girls," he insisted suspiciously defensively. Aiichirou raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I gotta go pee!" Momo exclaimed before Aiichirou could comment, scrambling down the bunk ladder and hurrying out of the room. It was plainly obvious that Momo was hiding something, but Aiichirou decided to just let it go. He should have known better than to try to understand anything about that boy.

Neither Rin nor Aiichirou spoke to their roommates about Sousuke's potential crush for the rest of the night, or throughout the next day. However, that didn't mean the topic wasn't lingering in the back of their minds. So, when swim practice came around the evening after Sousuke's confession, Rin and Aiichirou couldn't help but pay more acute attention to how Sousuke acted around Momo. Although they had never noticed any behavior that may have suggested his affections, it was true that they didn't know about his crush on Momo until now, so maybe his actions were so subtle that one would only notice them if they were really paying attention. Perhaps Sousuke did drop little hints, but nobody had scrutinized him enough to figure out what they meant...

They soon determined that this was not the case.

About thirty minutes into practice, Sousuke didn't so much as spare a glance at Momo. Yet, it didn't seem as though he was purposely avoiding him; he was simply not interacting with him, which was quite normal. Sousuke never had a reason to talk to Momo: they weren't necessarily friends, they didn't swim the same stroke, they weren't in the same year… Still, Rin couldn't help but feel that whether or not Sousuke wanted to act on his feelings for Momo, he should still at least try to talk to him.

"Oy, Sousuke," Rin called as Sousuke was pulling himself out of the pool. Shaking out his hair and sliding his goggles off, Sousuke raised an eyebrow and joined his friend off to the side. "So… I know you said your feelings for Momo aren't important, but I was thinking…" Rin briefly stopped himself when he noticed the immediate fall in Sousuke's expression. "Listen, I really think you should try talking to the kid. I'm not saying you should flirt with him or anything… Although, if you think you might want to, go for it!" It was evident that this statement annoyed Sousuke greatly, so Rin quickly tried to recover himself. "Maybe you don't want to like him, I don't really know. But if you at least care about him, I think it'd be a good idea to try to be his friend."

Sousuke was silent for a few seconds. "...is that all?"

"...well, yeah, that's all I wanted to say…" Rin blinked awkwardly as he felt an air of cold disinterest coming from Sousuke.

"Hm. Okay." At that, Sousuke slipped his goggles back over his eyes and returned to the pool. A bit baffled, Rin reluctantly resumed his own swimming.

From that point, practice continued just like any other day. Content with the steady progress of Samezuka's third years, Rin announced that for the last twenty minutes, the underclassmen could have the pool to themselves while their senpai wrapped up early. Just when it began to seem like things wouldn't get any more mixed up than that, a new development finally started to take place.

While the other third years got changed, Rin stayed by the poolside to monitor the underclassmen; he would wrap things up with them. It didn't take long for him to realize that he wasn't the only upperclassman still in his bathing suit. Watching the pool through his peripheral vision, he turned and asked, "Hey, Sousuke, aren't you going to get changed?" But Sousuke didn't hear him; he was too focused on a certain red-headed first year.

"Watch your form, Mikoshiba," he was calling calmly, arms crossed. Momo perked up at the sound of his name and paused in the middle of the pool, nearly causing a collision with the second year swimming behind him.

"Huh? What's wrong with my form, Yamazaki-senpai?" Momo demanded, raising his eyebrows and pursing his lips slightly.

Sousuke sighed silently. Glancing away, he rubbed the back of his neck. "You're swimming too spastically. Your arms are too far from your sides, and your back is arching too much; it barely looks like the backstroke. You're fast, yeah, but it looks wrong."

Momo blinked dumbfoundedly. "Whataya mean, Senpai?"

Knowing words would just be lost on him, Sousuke slipped into the pool and decided to show him. Momo jolted as Sousuke suddenly but gently placed one hand under his back and grabbed Momo's wrist with the other. "Hold yourself up like this, and keep your back straight. Feel the difference? When your arms hit the water, move them this way, not this way…"

For the next couple minutes, Sousuke guided and critiqued Momo, touching his body whenever necessary. At first, Momo protested, but as he grew accustomed to what Sousuke was saying, he found himself falling silent and simply nodding in response to his examples, his cheeks growing redder by the second (which went seemingly unnoticed by Sousuke). "There, just like that. Perfect. Think you can do that?" At this point, Momo was too flustered to speak, so he just nodded. "Good. Now show me."

"...thanks, Senpai," Momo managed to murmur as Sousuke released him and stepped away. His body was stiff, as if Sousuke's touches had locked every part of him in place with each touch. Melting under Sousuke's observant gaze, Momo swam to the other side of the pool as quickly as he could, preserving the form perfectly.

Aiichirou, who had witnessed this exchange from another lane, met eyes with Rin as he pulled himself out of the pool. They couldn't be certain, but it definitely seemed like Sousuke had just made a personalized attempt at flirting. And it seemed like Momo liked it.

Several days passed without any significant developments as far as Sousuke and Momo were concerned. Sousuke checked up on Momo's form at the beginning and end of each practice, and they nodded in greeting whenever they saw each other, but otherwise everything was exactly how it had been before Sousuke admitted he had feelings for the boy. Rin had asked Sousuke about his little training session with Momo as they headed back from practice that day, but Sousuke nonchalantly insisted that Momo's poor form was bothering him and he had to fix it. The blush on his cheeks said otherwise, but Rin decided it would be wise to leave it at that.

Momo, on the other hand, seemed quite shaken by the encounter. He gave his best effort at acting normal, but he was a terrible actor: whenever Aiichirou asked him anything remotely similar to "Is something wrong?" he would become ridiculously defensive, as if Aiichirou had flat out asked him, "Are you having sexual thoughts about Sousuke Yamazaki?"

But clearly, something was wrong. And after about five days, Momo simply couldn't take it anymore.

When Aiichirou walked into his dorm after a date with Rin, Momo was sitting up waiting for him. "Nitori-senpai, I have to talk to you," he exclaimed before Aiichirou could even close the door behind him.

"...um… Sure thing, Momo." Clicking the door shut, Aiichirou shuffled into the room and sat on his bunk. Momo scurried down the ladder to sit beside him.

"Okay, so… I have something to tell you, and you have to promise to keep it a secret." Momo bit his lip and twiddled his thumbs anxiously, staring down at his lap. Aiichirou's shoulders fell. He had never seen Momo this upset before… He managed a soft, reassuring smile.

"Mhm, I promise."

Momo took a deep, nervous breath. "...so, um… You know how like, everyone on the swim team is gay?" He barely gave Aiichirou time to nod. "Well, I'm, um… Sort of, well… I thought about it, and, uh-! ...I, kinda like boys. I mean, I still like chicks, but-! I-!" Letting out a frustrated whine, he buried his face in his hands.

For a moment, Aiichirou just stared at him calmly. "So, you're bi?" Momo nodded hesitantly, seeming defeated. A smile slowly appeared on Aiichirou's face: he constantly wanted to be a mature senpai, and this was the perfect opportunity. He could have responded along the lines of "Yeah, it was pretty obvious" or a sarcastic "No way!", but instead he said, "That's great, Momo! I'm glad you trusted me enough to come out to me."

"Well, it's not like you'd be grossed out anything, since you're gay and all… And I had to tell someone," he mumbled.

"So, how did you come to this conclusion?" Aiichirou asked.

Still staring at his lap, Momo started poking his index fingers together, his cheeks turning red. "I've always kinda felt like I was… Like, somewhere in the back of my mind, I always had this feeling. But I didn't wanna believe it, so I always just denied it. ...but, ever since you told me Yamazaki-senpai apparently likes me… And he helped me out at practice the other day…" He gulped, squeezing his eyes shut as his cheeks burned. "I realized that I totally have a crush on him, and I can't deny that."

Aiichirou laughed lightly: he had to admit, Momo was being rather cute at the moment. "Well, just so you know… I wasn't joking when I said I heard he likes you. I think you should ask him out!"

Momo's head snapped up, and he gazed at Aiichirou in wide-eyed terror. "No way!" he shrieked immediately. Aiichirou blinked, taken aback; after a few seconds, Momo relaxed slightly. "...I mean… I dunno, I just don't wanna rush into anything, y'know? I think I'll give it some time, wait until the moment's right."

Although he said this, things ended up working out quite differently.

After practice the following evening, Sousuke got changed quicker than the rest of the team. Rin had noticed something was different about him today: he seemed even more focused and quiet than usual. However, Rin was too busy to ask him what was up, and when he approached him in the locker room, Sousuke spoke up first before Rin could even open his mouth. "I'm going to do it," he told him. Rin tilted his head in confusion.

"...do, what-?"

Sousuke bit the inside of his cheek, slightly perplexed, but didn't answer. Instead, he turned and strode across the room towards Momo, while Rin watched in bewilderment. He leaned casually against the locker beside the redhead's, slipping his other hand into the pocket of his jeans. "Oy, Mikoshiba. ...Momo."

Momo jumped the moment Sousuke approached. "Uhh, yes, Yamazaki-senpai-?"

Sousuke coughed quietly, clearing his throat. "...so. Wanna go out with me?"

Aiichirou (who had the locker to the other side of Momo) and Rin both gaped in shock; still, they didn't look half as baffled as Momo. His eyes bulged, his entire face grew as red as his hair, and his mouth was open so widely his jaw was practically unhinged. "I-I… Uh… Um, I…! Sure!" he spluttered. Sousuke nodded nonchalantly, even though he was blushing a fair bit himself and his heart was thudding a mile a minute.

"Cool. Talk to you tomorrow, then."

"...uh... Yup! See ya tomorrow, Yamazaki-senpai-?!"

"You can call me Sousuke."

Poor Momo was about to faint. "Sousuke-senpai…!"

When Sousuke returned to Rin's side, he gave his roommate a toothy grin. "So you do like him," Rin teased.

"Shut up," Sousuke snapped. But his eyes were bright and there was a faint smile on his lips.

Makoto and Rei were becoming increasingly concerned for their boyfriends. As the weeks passed by, their upcoming tournament grew nearer and nearer, and Haruka and Nagisa's pregnancies grew more and more noticeable. They ate healthy diets (following recipes provided by Gou) and swam vigorously to stay as slim as possible, yet this did nothing to stop their tummies from swelling ever-so-slightly. They both acted like it was nothing, and practiced as if nothing was different, but Makoto and Rei could tell otherwise. And it made them horribly nervous.

A couple weeks before the tournament, Makoto arrived at practice earlier than the rest of the team. The only person at the pool was Ms. Amakata, but she was exactly who he was looking for, anyway. "Ms. Ama… I don't think Haru should swim in the tournament," he admitted hesitantly. "I know he's doing well and all, but… I'm worried. He's already pushing himself so hard in practice, and he's only going to try even harder when it gets closer to the actual thing. I don't want him to hurt himself, or the baby…"

Ms. Amakata gave him a sad smile, looking up from the book she was reading. "Funny you should say that… Earlier today, Kou told me that Rei expressed the same exact concerns about Nagisa."

Makoto's eyes widen slightly. "What did she say about that-?"

"Well, she wasn't very happy… But she agreed with him. And to be honest, I do too, wholeheartedly. I know this tournament is important to you boys… But Haruka and Nagisa's health should take full priority."

Biting his lip, Makoto nodded slowly. "Yes, definitely… I'm just scared that they're not going to agree. That they'll blame themselves for keeping us out of the tournament…"

Before their conversation could progress any further, Gou appeared with the rest of the boys in tow. None of them were in their swimsuits, and all of them looked somber. "Oh, Makoto, you're already here! I'm calling a team meeting," Gou announced. She sounded like her normal peppy self, but her eyes were clouded. She stepped away from the boys, standing before them with her arms crossed. "I guess I'll jump right to the chase. ...We should disband the team."

Makoto and Rei flinched slightly, while Haruka and Nagisa froze in total horror. "...what? Why?" Nagisa squeaked. Gou glanced at Rei, inviting him to explain.

"Nagisa… I just don't think it would be safe for you and Haruka-senpai," Rei told him gently.

"What…? Of course it will be! We'll be super careful, and we're training really well-!" Nagisa argued, tears jumping into his eyes. Haruka only stared darkly at the ground.

"That's exactly the problem. If you play it safely, and don't train too hard, you won't be in shape for the tournament. But if you continue training at your current pace, you're going to hurt yourselves. It simply isn't worth the risk," Rei reasoned calmly, despite the evident sadness in his expression.

"But… But…!" Nagisa hung his head, defeated. Pouting, he gave his tummy a frustrated poke, but his expression quickly softened and he hugged himself around the waist, as if apologizing to the baby for having even a moment of disdain towards them.

"...I'm sorry," Haruka whispered after a heavy pause. Makoto's eyes widened, and he reached out to give Haruka's hand a comforting squeeze.

"No, no, don't be sorry…! This isn't your fault at all. The team means a lot to us, yes, but… You mean a lot more. And besides, we decided to have this baby together. We're equally to blame," he insisted. Haruka glanced briefly into Makoto's eyes, then buried his face in his shoulder. Makoto immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

"...well… I guess that's that, then. The Iwatobi Swim Club is officially disbanding," Gou murmured, her voice wavering slightly. "It's… It's been fun, guys."

Seeing Gou clearly restraining herself from crying caused Nagisa to allow a few of his own tears to fall. "Don't say it like that, Gou-chan…! We're still gonna see each other and stuff-! We just… can't swim together, is all…" His light crying suddenly burst into full sobbing, and he threw himself into Rei's arms.

"Shh, Nagisa… It's alright… Just because we can't have our swim team anymore doesn't mean we can't all be friends… This is a sacrifice that needed to be made, for your and Haruka-senpai's health. It's alright." Despite his words, Rei seemed just as downcast as everyone else. They stood in silence for several moments, trying to balance the weight of the decision that was just made.

"...well, I suppose I'll have to fill out the club withdrawal form…" Ms. Amakata said quietly, doing her best to hide her own tears. But nobody heard her. Makoto and Rei gazed down at their boyfriends quivering in their arms, and knew that as painful as it was to say good-bye to the team, it was for the best. The future that laid ahead of them was much larger than the status of their swim team.