A/N
Well, then. Revisiting this after a little over two years is certainly interesting, but I still love Rin and Gou. :) Sorry for the wait! And thank you for reading.
Thoughts and memories raced around in Gou's head like the swimmers in a pool. It was night now, and she had spent too much time at the Samezuka dorm. What would her mother say when she showed up at home past curfew? No, much more important, should she confront her mother about forcing Rin to leave Japan because of a perceived illicit relationship? Her older brother walked next to her like a guard, but halfway lost in his own thoughts. He had insisted on escorting her, though Iwatobi wasn't considered a dangerous place.
Several times, she'd wanted to make conversation, say anything, but the awkward silence only grew. She grabbed his hand, finally, and that seemed to be enough to relax the both of them. As they neared the house, Gou could see a single light on inside. That was a worrisome sign. Rin stopped walking, "I'm going back." They both knew his reason, of course. She nodded and reluctantly let go of him. A heavy feeling weighed upon her.
"Mom, I'm home!" Gou walked in the door, switching outside shoes for slippers.
Mrs. Matsuoka appeared around the corner. "Where have you been?" The older woman's hair, though she was a little over 40 years old, remained a deep reddish hue. There was no doubt where the siblings had gotten most of their looks from.
"Oh, just... doing swim club things. Being the manager means I have to work overtime, you know." Her mother nodded and went back to washing up the dishes, but Gou couldn't be sure she really accepted her answer. She started to walk upstairs to get into her bed clothes, but stopped at the entryway to the kitchen feeling like her insides were going to burst. "I know why you sent Rin away, mom, but he never did anything to me. He isn't some pervert."
"It was the only option, Gou. You don't know everything. What would your father have said about his son's disgusting feelings? I could see his affection for you was clearly more than that of a brother and I just couldn't let him pollute you too." Gou had wanted to avoid confrontation, but she also didn't feel like she could act as if everything were still the same after what Rin told her. Her mother's affirmation made her angry, and sad. She ran outside, back into the street, with clenched fists.
She had it in mind to go back to Samezuka, but stopped short at the bridge. "Gou?" Rin looked up at her from where he leaned over a rail, tossing rocks into the water below. She tried to stifle the tears and calmly walk towards him, but started crying anyway. Her emotions seemed so uncontrollable lately. Rin ran over and put his arms around her. He said nothing.
Then, Gou tilted her head up and kissed him on the cheek. She could see his face flush in the light of the moon. "I'm sorry you had to go because of me." She said, stepping back from his embrace.
"It isn't your fault. Go home and get some rest. You've got a party to plan tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, but what are you still doing out here?" Rin shrugged. He was never very honest with his feelings, so she knew that would be all the explanation she'd get. "Alright, fine." They went separate ways. She ignored her mother as she went back inside and up to her room. She was so tired, she didn't bother changing and fell asleep even without getting under the blanket.
-0-0-0-
The weekend of the pool party came on quickly. Gou worked fast to set up the table with food and drinks on it while Amakata sensei sat in her umbrella covered pool chair. She was in a simple, bright yellow sun dress and a straw hat. "Shouldn't you be wearing a swimsuit to a pool party?" Gou asked. Predictably, she was answered with a shrewd look and a weird, half mumbled saying.
Haruka floated in the pool in front of her. He seemed so calm and relaxed. Sunlight glittered on the surface of the water, making Haru glow as well. She couldn't help staring at his amazing muscles. "Gou-chan!" Nagisa's voice startled her, and she looked up to see him stripping off the white t-shirt he was wearing over his swimming bottoms. "Did you want to race with us? Since you are wearing your swimsuit today."
Gou laughed, "I'll leave the friendly competition to you guys." She sat down on the edge of the pool, dangling her legs into the water. Haruka floated closer to her while Makoto and Nagisa raced each other on the other side of the pool. It made her think of Rin, gliding through the water like a shark. The Samezuka swim team members they'd invited hadn't shown up yet.
"You look cute in a swimsuit." Haruka said, his eyes closed to the bright sun. She blushed hard.
"Haruka, you know I can't swim, right?" It wasn't much of a secret anymore, as she was sure the boys had noticed that she never got in the water. Her lessons with Rin had gradually been helping her get over her fear of drowning along with getting closer to her distant older brother. Now, these changing feelings had become confusing.
Haruka nodded, switching position to stand in the water. He held his arms out toward her.
Suddenly, there was a loud splash, and Gou was soaked without even getting into the pool. "What are you trying to do, Nanase?"
"Huh?" Gou looked up to see that Rin was the one who had jumped in the water, and quickly made his way over to them. "I thought you weren't coming, nii-san."
The Samezuka boy growled, "Let's have a race, just the two of us, Nanase. For fun, of course." His competitive streak and temper usually manifested at the same time. Rin pulled himself up from the water next to Gou. She stared at his leg muscles as he stood up, ignoring Haruka completely. She always did think that Rin's were the nicest.
They walked over to get into starting positions. Nagisa clapped. "Ready! One, two..."
Gou tried to get up, to be out of the way of the lane, but there was so much water on the concrete, that her foot twisted and she slipped. She went, butt first, into the pool. Her first thought was to try to swim. Instead, she just seemed to sink agonizingly slower towards the bottom. She could still see the cloudless sky above through the water, although it was a bit distorted, and it relaxed her. Surely the excellent swimmers that were standing around above the water wouldn't let her drown. She felt an arm around her waist and suddenly, her face was breaking the surface. Air was pulled into her lungs as hard as she could manage.
"Gou!" She was pushed up, onto the concrete once again. Rin was at her side.
Ama-chan sensei and the other boys stood over them, "Gou-chan, are you okay?"
She coughed and sputtered, a bit shaken. "Uh, yeah." Sitting on her legs, she could see Haruka was still in the water. He must have been the one that saved her."Thank you, Haruka-kun..."
"Maybe you should go home now, Gou." Ama-chan sensei said, giving her a towel.
She felt extremely embarrassed and petrified. It had been a long time since she was so helpless. Rin held out his hand to her, pulling her to her feet which were somewhat unsteady. "I can carry you." Lost in her own thoughts, she let her brother lift her up on to his back. "Thanks, Haruka." He said as they left.
-0-0-0-
Their mother was still at work when Rin and Gou got to the house. Not a word was spoken between them on the way. Gou walked herself up the stairs to her bedroom to put on dry clothes while Rin awkwardly paced his childhood home. Things were much the same as they used to be. The table, the chairs, the old television were all in the same places. He wondered what Gou's room looked like now. His cheeks heated up thinking about lying in her probably messy bed, surrounded by clothes that smelled like her.
He heard a sound like something hitting the floor and raced upstairs. Her door was open. "Gou, what-" Rin stopped instantly when his eyes laid on her half naked body. She stood facing the wall, so he could see the back of her bra. She wasn't wearing a shirt or pants, or even underwear, for that matter. He squeezed his eyes closed and slammed the door. "Why aren't you dressed yet?" He yelled.
Inside, Gou pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a red shirt. "Sorry, nii-san. I dropped my hair brush. You can come in now." Her long hair was out of it's usual ponytail and still a bit damp from her impromptu swim.
He walked inside the room with his eyes hidden by his hand. "Are you sure you're covered?" He felt her slender arms around him and looked down.
"I've been trying to figure out what my feelings for you really are lately..." She started, her voice coming out shaking and unsure, "after you told me everything. Nii-san, this is definitely more than what I should feel for you! I just wanted to be closer before because we're siblings. Now, I see you differently and I know you feel the same way, so..."
He leaned down and impulsively pressed his lips against hers. They were soft and sweet, just like he'd dreamed.
Gou didn't know that her heart could beat that fast. When he pulled away, she found herself wishing they could stay in that position for a little while longer. "I should leave." He said. She reached out and grabbed his hand.
"I don't care what mom says."
Rin's heart melted over the smallest things she would say lately, much less this declaration. "Yeah, well, you still know how she feels. You can come with me, but I'm going to have to sneak you in. I forgot to tell you last time that they don't usually allow non-students in our dorms." She smiled as he squeezed her hand.