Chapter Text
Rin’s head jerked up, the shrill ringing of the class bell yanking him out of his daydream. Blinking, he attempted to center himself in the classroom. Still, after a few moments, he still felt groggy and disoriented, forcing him to acknowledge that he might have been actually dreaming again. Lately, his training left him leaving the pool sometimes hours after official practice had ended, which left him scrambling for time to finish his homework well into the night. By the time he had managed to half-ass his assignments, he was left with only a few hours to sleep, which made staying awake during his dull, piece-of-cake classes all the more difficult. Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder, not having to put anything inside since he hadn’t bothered to take anything out for notes when class had started. It was his senior year, and he was doing well enough in school to meet the standards of colleges he was aiming to swim at. Plus, meeting their high athletic standards was far more important than producing a perfect report card. And with luck, in a few years, he would never have to worry about math or environmental science again—he would be swimming pro full-time, doing what he loves, maybe even with the person he—
Rin slammed the classroom door shut, trying to silence the thought. There were many words that could describe his relationship with Haru—frustrating and antagonizing immediately came to mind. However, Rin had to admit that especially recently, his relationship with Haru had centered him just as much as it had pushed him. While they still argued constantly, concerning the other Iwatobi members that their rivalry would heat up again, their tousles were a comfortingly stable part of his life, something that he looked forward to, even. Working himself to death with swimming and schoolwork, Haru’s annoying silence and quiet retorts calmed Rin like nothing else would. Annoyingly, he found himself using the days he would visit Haru’s team as goals to look forward to during particularly grueling weeks. And even though he knew that the only response he would get from Haru would be a quick glance before he looked away, his heart still skipped when he caught sight of that uninterested, ocean-blue eyed gaze when Rin stepped out of the train.
Yeah, maybe he did have a tiny crush on Haru. He was a romantic enough to recognize it. But being a romantic sap made his feelings all the more difficult. Rin scoffed as he turned down the hallway towards his locker. With all the grand romantic notions he had, his love life was supposed to turn out like one of the fluffy romantic comedies they show in theatres. Instead, he had to fall for someone as unemotional as Haru, who was more interested in water and mackerel than being in a relationship with anyone, let alone his former rival. It was better for everyone that Rin kept his feelings to himself. If anything, he lamented, it would make his love life all the more poetic.
“Rin.”
His thoughts came to a screeching halt at the sound of that voice. Rin jumped out of his skin when he caught sight of the speaker, still dressed in his Iwatobi uniform standing casually in front of his locker, as if he was here for classes himself and not ditching his own miles away. He stared at Rin from under his dark black hair (that looked longer than Rin remembered last time?) looking as unimpressed as ever. Still, making contact with Haru’s bored (beautiful) blue eyes made Rin’s chest tighten all the same.
He staggered towards his locker, too shocked to even bring up a guise of looking cool. “What are you doing here?” He demanded, internally wincing as his tone came off harsher than he intended. Trying to regain some composure, he tried to casually place his hand against the locker to support himself (and be closer to Haru), but he just winced as his movement made a harsh bang. So smooth, Matsuoka, he chided himself. Haru was going to be more done with his antics than usual at this rate.
While Rin was sputtering to have composure, Haru was unflinchingly meeting his gaze. “You have a car, right?” He asked. Ah, so that was what this was about. Rin was embarrassed that he had even considered (briefly!) Haru’s random arrival to be akin to the epic chase scene at the end of romantic movies, where someone finds the other to confess their love and ask for them to be together. Yeah, needing his car would be a lot more realistic.
He nodded. “I can use my mom’s. Why?” He debating asking if he simply needed a ride back to Iwatobi, but decided against baiting him just yet. He was still curious as to why he had come all this way to ask him in person. Although that was likely because Haru was shit at messaging, or even remembering to bring his phone with him when he left. I bet he doesn’t even have it on him now, he thought, smiling to himself.
Haru was suddenly thrusting a piece of paper at him, interrupting his thoughts yet again. Rin shifted off of the lockers to grab it. From a brief scan, Rin could tell it was a flyer for a swimming meet. Immediately intrigued, he started to skim—a huge collegiate meet, this weekend in Kyoto. Rin looked up from the paper at Haru, who was now staring off to the side. Typical, he thought, feeling his cheeks heat to his total annoyance.
“All the trains were sold out,” he said softly, not looking back at Rin. “It would be cool to see all of the teams swimming…see who we could be swimming with next year.”
Rin’s chest instantly filled with warmth. He never wanted to force Haru down any path, but he knew how much he loved to swim, and how he could apply his talent to never have to stop. After they had fought about Haru’s future once, he hadn’t broached the topic again out of respect that it was Haru’s choice. Haru bringing up his future was certainly a first, especially one that involved swimming. Rin was beyond thrilled at this change and wanted to support it as best he could. Besides, the idea of a road trip and weekend with Haru was hard to pass up. Still…
“You want us to go to this?” He asked, trying to mimic Haru’s indifference, although undoubtedly, the raven could see right through him. Haru nodded, looking at Rin again. Dammit, he thought in a panic, his eyes are shining again, look away before you get suckered in!! Rin could never heed his own advice, and the second his eyes met Haru’s deep blues, he knew it was over. He sighed in remorse, as Haru made it impossible for him to act like his answer was not already decided. “Even if I said yes,” he began, “Where would we stay? We would have to find someplace with a pool so we could train, and the hotels are probably already booked…”
“I found one that had room.” Haru said simply. Rin blanched, impressed that Haru had put more thought into this than seeking him out for his car. He opened his mouth to respond, but Haru spoke again. “And don’t worry about the money. You don’t have to pay me back, since you’re driving.”
“Since I’m—” Rin sputtered, raking a hand through his hair. “Haru, I haven’t even said yes yet!”
Haru’s lips tilted slightly upward, a sight so rare Rin almost gasped outright. “Yes, you did. I can tell by your eyes. Thank you, Rin.”
He made a move to turn around, but Rin reached out, grabbing his uniform sleeve to stop him. “Wait! When are you going to want to leave? How are we—”
“Come to my house after school Friday. It’s only 3 hours away, so we will get there in time for dinner. Then we’ll stay the night, watch the races, and drive back Sunday.” Haru said. He narrowed his eyes at where Rin’s hand was clutching his shirt sleeve, so Rin loosened his grip.
He scowled. “If you’re planning on taking us to mackerel restaurants, I’m not doing it.”
“They serve meat at a lot of places, Rin.”
“I’m serious!”
Haru looked away, and Rin grinned, counting that as a win for him. As if a weekend with Haru wasn’t a win enough. Still, while he was admittedly excited to spend time with Haru, his heart ached at the reality of the situation. Although the scene was heart-wrenchingly romantic—an impromptu getaway to an exciting place, all in support of something they both loved—there was no way Haru reciprocated his affections. Nonetheless, Rin was relieved to have a weekend away from his hectic training with the one person who could make the madness of his life less complicated, even if he was the most complicated person Rin knew.
However, there was something else nagging him in the back of his mind, making him feel guilty that this whole trip was a bit of a ruse. He had been looking to swim at many of the colleges swimming this weekend, but he had received a very tempting offer from a university in Australia, one that he might not be able to refuse. The program would put him in a position to get to the professional level. Accepting their offer would not only mean he was one step closer to his dream, but also all the stress he was carrying with college recruitment would finally be over.
Rin was drawn back to the present, with Haru in front of him, looking at him with what Rin had deemed to mean “perplexed indifference.” He had probably been staring, fuck. He dropped his hold on Haru gracelessly, bringing his now burning hand behind his head in embarrassment. “Well, I’ll see you Friday then.” Have fun on the train back to Iwatobi, mackerel-brain, he thought.
Haru hesitated for a moment, meeting Rin’s gaze with such intensity that Rin could barely breathe. “Thank you, Rin. I think this will be fun.” Hearing those words from Haru, Rin’s heart threatened to stop beating completely. He launched himself towards the raven-haired boy, looping his arm around his shoulders and hugging him from the side.
“If you’re this excited, it’s definitely going to be fun,” Rin joked, earning a terse grunt from Haru. Laughing, he released his grip, meeting Haru’s gaze for a final time, nodding his goodbye. “See you, Haru.” He watched him walk away, shaking his head at Haru’s eccentricity. His chest ached at the conflicting thoughts swirling in his head—annoying attraction to Haru, fear of not getting chosen by a good school, moving away again. Still, one idea kept coming back, one he felt with absolute certainty. He needed to be on the same team as Haru again; to swim with him legally and win together, at least one more time.
Rin smiled, clutching the flyer to his chest. Maybe, this weekend could give them that. And maybe more, the sap in him couldn’t help but hope. Outwardly, he scoffed at himself. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Behave for Haru. He stalked down the hall to the class he was 15 minutes late to, trying to bring back his angsty aura by pounding his steps and playing rock in his headphones, but even with these efforts, he was not able to keep the small smile off his face.