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Spring was coming with promises of flowers and more joyful weather. It was coming. It was so close… but it didn’t.
Just after a few days of nearly summer-like weather, a huge snowstorm hit. Not one soul had actually believed it would be coming. Even the weatherman had been reluctant to report the winter weather. Consequently, the Iwatobi Swim Club decided it would be best to delay cleaning the dead leaves out of the empty pool until the beginning of April.
This disappointed Haru. He didn’t care how cold the water would be if temperatures dropped low enough to snow again. He’d suggested starting a Polar Bear Club, but Makoto strongly advised against it. Haru would have been the only member. He had spoken up in vain.
He soaked in his bathtub, the only soul haunting the Nanase household. He hadn’t even been home for five minutes. Haruka sighed, cursing the white demons that had fallen from the sky. He didn’t want to wait for spring to come. He needed to swim now. He was too lost in his grumpy little world to realize that Makoto had let himself in again. He was slightly startled when he heard a gentle rapping at his bathroom door.
“Haru? You’re in the tub again, right?” Makoto asked.
“Don’t come in.” Haru responded, more annoyed than usual. He understood that his friend didn’t want him swimming in the cold for his health, but Makoto was far from being his mother. Mothers stop you from forming one-man Polar Bear Clubs, not your best friend.
As usual, Makoto opened the door anyway, cautiously noting that Haru had his trusty swimsuit on.
“Do you want to go to swim club?” Haru’s best friend-mother asked cheerfully.
“It’s off season. The pool is empty.” Haru stated flatly.
“Samezuka's pool isn’t empty,” Makoto held Haru’s phone in his hand. The indicator light was blinking, “I tried to message you so that you could get ready before I got here. I talked to Rin and he said-”
Haru stood up and began drying himself, understanding the implications of what Makoto was saying before he was done talking. Rin was just as ready to swim as he was.
“Samezuka and Iwatobi are having a shared practice session today!” Makoto called after Haru, who had gone up to his room for suitable attire, “Don’t forget to dry your hair! It’s still freezing outside!”
Out of Makoto’s sight, Haru was smiling. The train station wasn’t that far.
“I’ll be fine,” Haru thought to himself, “we’re about to get in the water again. There’s no point in drying.”
The early Samezuka/Iwatobi swimming meet went without any problems. Rin helped Rei improve his time with the butterfly stroke, Nagisa told Nitori exaggerated stories about Rin from their childhood, and Haru tied in a race with Rin. Makoto worried over all of it.
No amount of worrying prevented Haru from catching a cold or Nagisa being scolded for gossiping.
Once again, Haru had to wait until spring to swim. His cold lingered on throughout the last stretch of winter and into the early stage of spring. It came time to ready the pool.
By the end of the day, the pool was as filled as his nose was stuffed. Nagisa smiled at him, wondering if he’d jump into the pool again. Haru knelt by its side and stared at his reflection.
“Haru?” Makoto called with concern.
A moment of anticipation passed before Haru finally stood up and, to everyone’s surprise, walked away from the pool.
“Let’s go home.” he said, obviously reluctant to not jeopardize his health further by jumping into the cold water.
He and his slightly bewildered friends did just that.
Another month of separation wouldn’t kill him.