(( Content Warning: The end has some smut. If you don't like it, don't read past the race bit :3 ))

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The ripples in the surface of the water made shapes. Haru looked up from where he lay; the bottom of the pool. He could see the distorted figures of his fellow swimmers as they moved around at the edges of the indoor pool. They would be starting to warm up for the regional tournament soon, but Haru would have been just fine to sit where he was all day.

He stretched his hand out in front of him; the one he'd gripped Rin's arm with that day at the mall…

Rin…

He felt the ripples as someone jumped into the lane next to him. Haru's eyes couldn't help following that red hair as Rin swam down the lane. He resurfaced and shook out his hair. Left, right, left.

His eyes were on Rin still as he surfaced. Rin caught his glance, frowned, and snapped, "What're ya looking at?"

Haru stared into Rin's eyes for a few seconds before answering: "Nothing," and looking away stubbornly. "Your form… it's better since we last swam…" He mumbled.

He didn't see the blush that rose to Rin's cheeks as he grumbled, "What else would you expect?" and jumped hastily out of the water.

Haru looked back at the spot where Rin had been, and submerged himself in the water again. He sank to the bottom, and sat thinking for some time, before pushing off the wall with his feet and swimming as far as he could without coming up for air.

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"Haru-chaaaaan!" Haru heard the eager voice of Nagisa through the water, and surfaced again.

"Stop calling me Haru-chan."

"Haru-chan, did you see the schedule for the tournament?" Nagisa pointed eagerly at a sheet of paper. "Our team and Rin's team are on opposite sides of the ladder! If we both win all our relays, we'll race in the final elimination round!"

Haru stared at the piece of paper. Three teams… we need to win three times.

He looked past Nagisa to where Rei was stretching. He walked right past Nagisa and stood right in front of Rei. "Rei. Don't try to swim anything other than Butterfly."

He left before Rei could say anything, and got up on the starting block of a free lane.

"I won't swim for you."

He shouldn't have said those words… He knew he would swim for Rin.

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"Rei's butterfly has gotten a lot better," said Makoto excitedly as he stood on the starting block, ready to dive in as soon as Rei's hand touched the wall. "We'll win for sure," and then he was gone. Nagisa was drying off behind Haru as he mounted the block, watching Makoto's form intently as it passed the swimmer in the lead.

"Good luck, Haru-chaaan!" shouted Nagisa as Makoto got closer and closer.

Now!

He pushed off, arched his back, and swam.

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"Alright, boys!" Gou was firing them up before the last match.

"My brother's team has made it to the final round, too! This will be the toughest match of the day, so do your best!"

She deflated a little as she saw Nagisa poking Rei and giggling, and Haru staring at the water to his left. The only one that was paying attention was obviously Makoto.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Makoto smiled and saluted their team manager.

We'll be racing again… Haru remembered all too well the time a year after Rin had left for Australia. The sight of his tears as he passed by without a word… But he promised. This time he won't cry.

Gou was in the middle of saying something else, when Haru spotted Rin jumping into the pool. He stood up in the middle of Gou's sentence, ignoring her protests.

As he walked toward the pool, he took off the team jacket he was wearing. Then came off the pants, and he jumped into the water. He swam to Rin, and said, "Good luck."

Rin looked at him with those red eyes and scowled. "You think luck has anything to do with it?"

Haru frowned but didn't look away. "Remember your promise…"

And then he swam away, not wanting to see the indignant look on Rin's face. That look always made him waver…

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And it was race time. Nagisa was first, and then Rei. Makoto went next, and Haru took up the last stretch.

He glanced at the order of Rin's team, even though he knew it: Rin was the last swimmer on his team, too. They would be swimming side by side in this last round.

Nagisa and the first swimmer of Rin's team were already set to go when the starting whistle blew.

Nagisa got a good start, but the other swimmer gained on him by the time they got to the other wall and pushed off. Nagisa's swimming was good, but the other swimmer gained on him again, and passed him by the time they got to the starting end again. Nagisa touched, and Rei jumped in, swimming the only stroke he could.

Haru watched intently, and then glanced at Rin through the corners of his eyes. Rin was watching the match intently as well, and looked so serious…

He didn't grin because his team was in the lead, he just watched.

Rei managed to close a bit of the gap that had been created by the time it was Makoto's turn to swim, and Makoto closed the gap completely.

Haru and Rin jumped in almost at the exact same time.

Haru could feel the pulses of the water as Rin swam next to him, but he didn't know who was in the lead. All he thought about was his own swimming. He curled into a ball to rotate and push off the other wall, and could feel the slight difference in time from his and Rin's push off. Rin was ahead of him.

He pushed harder. He knew that Rin wouldn't take a win if Haru didn't put in his all. He dreaded a repeat of the match they'd had just before the old swimming pool closed. He swam as fast as he could.

He still didn't know who had won until he surfaced with a gasp and felt the arms of his teammates pulling at him. "We did it, Haru-chan!" That was Nagisa.

"That was some last stretch! You and Rin were neck and neck almost the whole way! But we won in the end!" Rei pushed his glasses up his nose bridge, smiling. "It was a truly beautiful match."

Haru didn't listen, but looked over at Rin, in the lane next to him. Rin had his face turned away, but Haru pulled his shoulder to face him. What he saw made him angry. "You promised!"

Rin was angry and indignant. "I'm not crying, idiot." Haru eyed him intently. He knew Rin's crying face. Now that he looked again, it wasn't the same as it had been back then. "I'm different than I was, idiot!"

He jumped out of the water, and went through the doors to the locker rooms.

Haru's eyes followed the red hair until it disappeared through the door, and then he got out of the pool as well, and followed.

Nagisa went to reach out for Haru's arm, but Makoto held him back. "Let him go… there's something they need to work out. We've got an hour before the award ceremony, anyways. Let's go," he pulled Nagisa and Rei to where the other team stood ready to shake hands.

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When Haru got into the locker rooms, he heard the sound of a shower starting.

He made his way toward the sound, and found only one of the showers in use. He knew it was Rin.

Without taking off his suit, Haru turned on the shower next to Rin's. "Are you not going to congratulate me?" He asked softly through the wall dividing them.

"Who would?" was Rin's reply.

There was a long silence, and then: "Sorry… That's not what I mean." The sound of the other shower stopped, and Haru froze as he heard the footsteps and the rustle of the curtain behind him.

"Rin…"

And then he felt Rin's arms reaching around his waist…

"Haru… This feeling… it's the only reason I hate losing to you." Rin's arms were fully around Haru's waist now. His hands explored Haru's chest, slow and almost timid. When Haru made no move to resist, and even reached up to put his hand over Rin's, with a surge of encouragement, Rin let out a little gasp, and constricted his arms around Haru's muscled body. "Haru, I…"

"Are you sure you weren't crying just now…?"

Rin stiffened, and grew angry again. "I told you, I wasn't!" He slipped his arms away, and pulled on Haru's shoulder to turn him so they were face to face. When Rin saw the blush on Haru's face…

He pulled Haru to him and kissed him forcefully. There was no beating around the bush as he stuck his tongue through Haru's lips, probing until he found Haru's tongue with his. The kiss was long, and when Haru pulled back, panting, Rin went right for the neck. He kissed it so forcefully, and left a hickey. "You're mine." He said, pushing Haru against the wall next to the showerhead.

"Rin…" Haru's voice was pleading, and he reached for Rin's wrist, pulling the trembling hand down to where his suit bulged.

The conflicted thirst in Rin's eyes intensified as he felt Haru's suit. "M-must be painful down there… these suits are so tight…" He felt his own suit beginning to get painfully small, and quickly stripped it off as Haru took his own off.

For a while, they stood, watching each others' eyes and not knowing exactly what to do next, and then Haru looked down, and the blush grew deeper. "B-big…" he mumbled, looking away suddenly.

Rin caught Haru's face in his hands, pulling it to his own. "Don't look away…" he murmured after another long kiss. He pulled Haru's body to his own, and let out a groan as their erect penises touched. He couldn't help but grinning as he moved his hands down, probing Haru's rear entrance with his fingers. "Can I?" He asked in a low whisper in Haru's ear.

Haru simply nodded, unable to let out a sound for fear of it being too loud.

Rin slipped first one finger in, then another… Haru tightened up as Rin's fingers probed around his insides. "A-aaah!" He moaned, and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"No, be as loud as you want... I want to hear your voice." Even if it's a scream, Rin thought sadistically.

"What if someone comes in?" Asked Haru, holding back another moan.

"Let them dare." Rin delighted in Haru's movements, caused by his fingers. Losing all of the little self control he'd had up to now, he spun Haru around, and rubbed his dick against the soft skin of Haru's ass. "I'm going in." It was a statement, not a question.

Haru gasped as Rin got the first bit in. "W-wait a minute…"

But Rin wasn't about to stop now. He thrust again, and Haru let out a gasp and turned his head to try and catch Rin's gaze. The sultry expression on Haru's face (what little of it Rin could see from this angle, that is) made Rin want more, and he thrust again, until he was in to the hilt.

"You're so tight…" he said, reaching around to Haru's front, and grasping the throbbing shaft. He rubbed it in the hot water that was trickling over them both, as he started to move around inside.

"Aa-aahh…! Rin… I'm c-" Haru was stopped in his words as Rin squeezed him at the hilt. "W-what are you doing?!"

"You're not allowed to cum yet. You're not allowed to beat me here." Rin squeezed with one hand, and rubbed with the other, all the while thrusting and climbing the mountains of lust. "We go off together," he said through a moan of delight after a particularly hard thrust. "Almost… almost there…!"

He could feel it, that escalating deep within him. Haru was moaning louder, pleading with Rin to let him cum. "Not yet…!" Rin thrust faster, rubbed faster, and then let go of Haru's hilt.

Their bodies arched in unison as Rin pulled out, and the sounds of their synchronized orgasm rang through the shower room in the form of two moans of pure pleasure. Haru's cum slowly dripped down the shower wall, and Rin's down Haru's back, as the final spasms subsided, and they both stood there, panting slightly in the mist of the hot shower. Rin's throbbing member was pressed up against Haru to the end.

"Haru…" Rin hugged him from behind.

"You didn't have to be so forceful…" mumbled Haru, not turning around.

Rin looked down, and felt guilty when he saw the blood trickling down Haru's thigh. "Sorry… does it hurt too much?" He bent his knees, and kissed Haru's thigh, at the same time licking some of the blood and cum off.

"D-don't do that…! Not there!"

Rin stood again, and gently turned Haru to face him again. "That hickey will be really noticeable…" He grinned.

Haru frowned. He didn't want the others to see it… did that mean he couldn't swim until it faded?

Rin grinned again, and moved down again to give Haru another hickey; this one on the inner thigh, right at the top. Haru let out a little shiver. "As long as you have your suit on, no one will see that one…"

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Later, as Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei accepted their medals and trophy, Haru glanced at Rin, and when he saw that Rin's eyes had been fixed on him, he blushed and looked away. Rin grinned.