Six Lives

In the first life, they were swimmers. Swimmers of habit who enjoyed the feel of having the water caress their bodies.

Their relationship was gradual, but finally it reached its peak. It was something of a miracle to them.

Their relationship started because of swimming and it seemed that everything was perfect at first. But then Rin moved away, and when he came back, he brought his demons with him. Demons of memories and trying to live up to be who he wants to be.

They were in love even then, but they didn't understand. They confused their relationship with a rivalry at first. Maybe they did understand, but they couldn't admit it.

They couldn't admit their love just quite yet…they just weren't ready.

But then it progressed and slowly, after everything, they could be together. The whole thing was almost cliché, but that was the real beauty of it. They could never have been so thankful to their swimming habits until then.

Their relationship started because of swimming, but sadly it also ended because of swimming.

Rin was scouted at the end of their last year of high school, and both of them didn't know how to react. They argued and fought, because Rin was considering staying. He loved Haru so he would stay for Haru. Haru was just so upset. He couldn't have the love of his life throwing away everything he's worked for since he was little because he loved Haru now. The night that Rin left, they broke up with hurtful words.

They claimed that fine, they couldn't be together. It was never going to work anyways. The words would echo in their minds forever.

The first couple of weeks were the hardest. Late night phone calls came from both parties, but it never helped. It didn't matter who was begging and apologizing over the phone line this time, because it always ended the same.

"It just won't work."

The sad thing was the fact that they barely tried. They gave up before the end and it killed both of them. Rin became famous, trying to drown himself in swimming to rid of the thought of Haru.

Haru didn't know what he was doing or going, and in the last year of college, he became miserable. He had lost all of his ties with everyone, and it killed him. It was his fault though…right? He just knew it had to end.

When Rin received the news that Haruka Nanase had taken too many pills, Rin's whole world shifted. He didn't know what to do. He was at the peak in his career and tried to forget, but after a while, he started to fall apart. And in the end, Rin was pressured by the ghost of Haru lingering in his mind.

It just didn't work.

It could have never worked.

Right?

Rin's mind swarmed with the voice of Haru claiming to only swim freestyle when he pulled the trigger.

In the second life, they were step-brothers. It was weird at first because they absolutely hated each other. They hated each parent and they hated the fact they had to live together. They were just so different. Why were they forced to live together?

But then it happened.

The gradual touches that lasted a few seconds too long. The quick smiles they would shoot each other when their parents weren't looking.

It wasn't forbidden, right? They weren't related by blood or anything.

It was agony, and in the end, they ended up hating their parents. They hated their parents for being married because that fact is what made it so forbidden.

Because, one of them would always pull back, claiming it wasn't right.

But it didn't matter anymore because they were just so in love. Why did it have to be like this?

In the end, it was their parent's divorce that broke them up. At first when they were sat down and told of the news, they couldn't have been happier.

It was no longer forbidden.

But then Rin's mother decided to move to Australia, and take Rin along with her.

Haru was alone again, left with his father, and on their day of parting, they kissed, long and chaste, whispering promises to see each other again.

In the end, they never did see each other again.

In the third life, they met right after Haru left college. Rin was a policeman and Haru was simply the one who got pulled over. They fell in love almost instantly. Rin couldn't help but notice all the little things about Haru, and they ended up talking on the side of the road for at least an hour.

It wasn't until someone honked as they drove past, that they realized what was happening. It was Haru who asked for his number, and it was Rin who gave it. The departed with a smile, but a sure promise to see each other again soon.

They met later the next day, and fell in love even more.

They met again the day after that, and soon, there wasn't a day where they weren't in each other's lives.

It was absolutely perfect, and it warmed their hearts to the very core.

In the end, it was a shooting that separated them.

And it dawned on Haru that Rin was gone. Rin was taken from him on the scene, and he hated himself for ever falling in love with a policeman. He hated Rin for being so absolutely wonderful and being the cause of his love.

But in the end, years passed. He met a man named Makoto, and it was almost the same. But sometimes, while he lay with his new lover in bed, Rin's grinning face would flash in his mind. He felt guilty. He loved Makoto, but Makoto wasn't Rin.

It was his fault.

He should never had gotten pulled over.

In the fourth life, they met because Haru was running late for class. An accidental collision, which ended with them both on the floor with their things scattered everywhere. They looked straight in the eye, and honestly, Haru felt scared. He has seen Rin from afar. He was the delinquent. The boy who practically lived in the principal's office… but then Rin smiled wide, and started to help him with his things.

Haru was dazed, unsure of what to do, and if he was to run, where? But then Rin helped him up and gave him his things, wishing him a good day before running off in the direction of his class.

Haru felt confused.

It continued to happen. They ran into each other so often, they had to stop and think if there were greater forces at work here many times.

Their love was a great love. A love that seemed to have them soaring through the air. A love that was perfect.

But then darker secrets were revealed, and they couldn't handle it. They fought so many times, and each time they were destroying each other. They knew that if they didn't part now, they would end up ruining each other forever.

They called it off together, hurt etched across their faces. They still loved each other and they knew it, but that was what scared them so much.

Their love was a dangerous love.

Something they just couldn't handle at such an age.

They never promised to see each other again, because they knew it would only be a lie in the end. They never promised to call or even remain friends, because they knew it would be too much.

In the end, they lived their lives, separately and alone.

But they never forgot.

In the fifth life, they fell in love because of a simple blind date. That was the beginning of it. It was the simple things that followed after that created their love and they were so very happy.

They got married because it was what they needed. They needed to be in each other's lives, and in their mind marriage was the perfect way to do it.

In the end, it was simply growing apart that made them leave. At first, it was when Rin started to come home late. Then it was when Haru started using excuses of sleeping rather than eating with Rin. The excuses became more and more unrealistic and they both knew that they were drifting apart.

But they never mentioned it.

They didn't want to.

Their incredible love had shifted down into nothing more of a tolerance of the other. They argued so much, and at first, they tried to fix it.

Couples therapy didn't work.

Going out more didn't work.

Sex didn't work.

It was as if nothing was working, and it scared them to the very core.

It's been almost six years now since they've been married.

They argued about everything, and they had already given up trying a long time ago to fix it.

But neither one of them ever said the final words. The declaration of breaking up…it was never said.

They still had a small hope that they could return to what they used to be. They still had hope that they would find each other again.

Rin and Haru were also scared of what would happen if they did finally let go of each other. Their presence in their lives had become a normalcy a long time ago, and they were afraid to let that go.

They didn't know what to do.

One day the arguing became too much, and they started to fight. A full on fight started and when Rin practically smashed Haru against the window, the neighbor heard. She called the police and they came quickly, seizing both Haru and Rin for violence and disrupting the peace. Both were a wreck, and as they were being handcuffed, they looked at each other.

They wondered what the hell happened to them. Only seven and a half years ago, they adored each other.

How could they have let it go so far?

But as they were escorted out at different times, Rin looked back, and Haru was crying. It wrecked him, and soon after, he didn't feel so alone. They started to both cry because they knew why.

They loved each other, but they also hated each other.

But after the court, and after the small amount of time in jail, they realized that it was time.

They needed to let go.

But even when their hands skimmed over the divorce papers, they were crying. How had this happened, they wondered again.

Then they left each other. Haru moved far away, and Rin stayed in town, moving into a small apartment. He still had his wedding ring, and as he looked down at it, the memories swarmed him. Every happy and loving moment came to him quickly.

Rin completely broke down.

Haru still wore the ring because he had forgotten to take it off. No, that was another excuse. He didn't forget, but it was needed. The ring was all he had left.

In the end, they both kept their rings, but never saw each other again.

It was such an unhealthy love.

In the sixth and final life, they were swimmers and childhood friends. They grew up and Rin moved away, and when he came back, he brought back destroyed thoughts.

They were confused and lost, but they came together. Loving each other was a way of peace for them, and then they were both scouted.

They couldn't have been happier and promised to make sure they stayed as swimmers, although Haru still claimed to not care about his time. They moved to the States for a while, but then went to Tokyo.

They slowly made their way to the top, becoming the top couple in the sports community. They were so in love.

It was Rin who proposed. He proposed by the pool and afterwards they drowned in each other in the very pool. It was a beautiful love.

They adopted a few years later, falling in love with their children and each other a little more every day.

Everything was perfect.

Of course, they argued. Of course, there were moments where they were lost and confused, but in the end, they always found their way back to each other.

They died six years apart, but when Haru died, he couldn't have been happier to have spent his life with such an amazing person. The last six years were simply a second compared to just one year with Rin.

He died at his son's house in his sleep. They cried for him but in the end he was buried next to his husband. They were happy to have been raised with such love in their lives.

And they loved each other still, even in their deaths.

And they would continue to love each other, in every single life that followed.

*So this idea came to me when writing in my other Free! story. I sincerely hoped that you enjoyed it and please, leave a review, maybe?

Bai guys.

-DiAnna44 :)

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