Author Note: My first multi-chaptered Free! fic and it's MakoRin to boot. I don't quite know where this came from, but I'm so going to enjoy writing this. I hope this fic works out the way I'm imagining it in my head. Okay, hope you enjoy this new story.

Warnings: MakoRin. Child!Haru. Side pairings: NagisaxYounger!Rei. GouxSeijuro. Minor apperances of OC's. Possible, but not yet decided, smut. Yes, this is slash/yaoi. Alternate Universe. UnBeta'd. Also, I changed a couple of things to better fit my fic, such as the boys' ages.

Disclaimer: I, in no way own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club.

…

Things never go exactly how you plan them.

"If you want to make God laugh, then tell him your plans."

That's what his father used to say. He could clearly see the man's crinkly-eyed smile, hear his strong yet kind voice.

God must certainly be in hysterics by now.

Rin's eyes snapped open, his body covered in cold sweat. Another nightmare for another day. The redhead wiped away the sweat from his face as he got out of his bed. Barely opening his eyes, Rin made it to his bathroom and washed up for the day. He lived in a modest apartment, nothing glamorous, but nice enough to be deemed comfortable. After all, he needed no luxury to get by. All he wanted was to put Gou through college, so she could make something of herself, so she could make their parents proud. Something he would never be able to do. Every morning he passed by their photograph, which lied on top of his dresser, guilt would rise in his stomach. He would incline his head forward and whisper an apology, before continuing on his way.

The ringing of his phone brought him out of the bathroom, water falling down his jaw.

"Good morning, Nii-chan!" Rin's lips twitched up, forming a barely there smile.

"Why aren't you in class, Gou?"

"Kou, Kou, how many times must I remind you, Nii-chan?" Rin snorted.

"Why aren't you in class, Kou?"

"Sensei cancelled our class, apparently he got sick." Gou giggled.

This is what I'm paying for? Rin couldn't help but wonder.

"Ah, well eat something while you wait for your next class. I'll go shopping today, so you won't have to eat out tomorrow." Rin yawned, riffling through his dresser for clean clothes.

"Are you off today, Nii-chan?" Gou asked, sounding hopeful. Rin cursed mentally, remembering that he had a client that night.

"Only in the morning, I have to work tonight." There was some shuffling on the other end of the line, followed by a soft sigh.

"Oh, okay. Don't work too hard, Nii-chan, you'll turn into an old man faster if you do." Rin stifled a chuckle.

"I'll keep that in mind. Now go eat something." Gou huffed in annoyance at being ordered around, but didn't argue. After a few more words they hung up. His little sister was the only silver lining in his life, she was his only ray of sunshine. She was the reason why he got up every morning. Pushing aside those thoughts, Rin left his small apartment and headed to the market.

…

The teachers lounge was peacefully quiet, the only sound coming from the coffee machine. Nagisa Hazuki was in the middle of preparing himself a cup of overly-sweetened coffee when the door to the lounge was thrown open, the loud bang echoing throughout the room. A panting brunette rushed inside, his green eyes wild.

"Mako-chan?" Nagisa cocked his head to the side in question.

"N-Nagisa, are you free tonight?"

"Ne, are you asking me out, Mako-chan?" The petite blonde pretended to hide his face in embarrasment. Makoto shook his head furiously.

"I need a babysitter."

Nagisa frowned, "I'm sorry, Mako-chan. I have a class this evening." Makoto ran his hand through his hair, his desperation showing. Nagisa pressed his index finger to his chin, pondering their current problem.

"I got it!" The blonde snapped his fingers. Makoto threw him a hopeful gaze. "Give me five minutes, Mako-chan, and I'll have you a babysitter."

…

Rin was weaving his way through the crowd of people when his phone rang. Thinking it was his little sister again, he answered it without looking.

"What is it this time, Gou?"

"Wrong person, Rin-chan." Rin stopped, causing a few people to bump into him.

"Nagisa?"

"That's it! Listen, Rin-chan, I need to ask you a huuuge favor."

Before Rin could answer, Nagisa continued. "Don't forget you owe me." He singed.

Rin sighed, unable to deny that.

"What is it?" Rin asked reluctantly.

"I have a client for you, Rin-chan, for tonight."

"I already have one, Nagisa."

"He'll double the pay, he's extremely desperate." Rin nearly dropped his phone.

"D-double?" There was a moment of silence, Nagisa was sure he had convinced the other. "Okay, give me his number, I'll call him."

"Uh, no, no, he's very shy about this…I'll tell him myself, he'll be very happy." Nagisa gave Rin the necessary information before ending their call.

"Sorry, Rin-chan." Nagisa whispered to himself. He knew that if he told Rin the truth he would never agree to babysitting a kid. However, Nagisa knew how good Rin was with children, Gou-chan adored her older brother. Leaving his mild guilt behind he rushed off to find Makoto and tell him about his new babysitter. The brunette let out a breath of relief, thanking the petite blond profusely. Hoping for the best, and that Rin won't kill him when he finds out the truth, Nagisa left the lounge.

…

The sight of a frantic brunette, holding a stoic faced little boy, was the last thing Rin had expected to see. He discreetly checked the apartment number on the side of the door.

Number 259A. Yes, that was the right number.

No, that just couldn't be. Rin was on the verge of running out of sight when the man spoke.

"Thank you so much for showing up on such short notice, Matsuoka-san." The brunette rambled as he put the little boy down. The child had bright blue eyes and inky black hair. He scowled up at Rin, hiding behind the brunette's legs.

"Uh, I don't think-" The little boy cut Rin off.

"I don't need a babysitter, Makoto." The child tugged at Makoto's pants. Makoto sighed, it seemed like they'd had this discussion before.

"Haru, please behave." Makoto turned toward Rin. "Please come in, Matsuoka-san. I've written down my contact information here." He handed over a note card. "I won't be long ("I don't need a babysitter, Makoto") don't hesitate to call me if something happens. And, ("I don't need a babysitter") thank you again. Haru," Makoto kneeled in front of the boy and pulled him into a hug. "You're too young to stay alone, listen to Matsuoka-san, and don't cause trouble. I'll be back very soon." Rin watched in terror as the brunette reluctantly pulled away and bid his farewell. Once the door shut close the little raven glared up at Rin. Dumbstruck, Rin leaned against the door. He was no babysitter. Why the hell had Nagisa sent him to this guy's house?

"I don't need a babysitter." The child said coldly.

"Look, kid, I'm not-" Rin stopped himself. He wasn't really going to tell a child what he actually did for a living.

"My name is Nanase Haruka, not kid." Rin grimaced.

"Okay, Haruka-kun, don't you have anything to do…homework maybe?" Rin was grabbing at straws. Haruka contemplated the question and after a few beats of silence slumped his shoulders and murmured a faint yes. Rin heaved a sigh of relief when the boy went to retrieve his school books.

With the boy momentarily gone, Rin grabbed his phone and angrily dialed Nagisa.

"Hello, Rin-chan."

"Listen here you little shit. This guy just dumped his kid on me and left, what the hell is going on?" Rin growled furiously.

"Calm down, Rin-chan. I'm sorry I lied to you, but if I had asked you upfront I knew you wouldn't have agreed. Look, it's only for a little bit, and I'll pay you the rest, you'll still be making more than you would with a regular client." Rin bit his lips, he couldn't argue with that.

"Fine, fine, it's not like I can just leave the kid on his own, but damn, next time just tell me."

"Don't swear, Makoto doesn't like it." Rin jumped when he heard the child's voice behind him. Rin watched as the boy, carrying a book, notebook, and pencil case, sat down on the kitchen table. Haruka opened his book and spiral and grabbed a pencil from his navy blue pencil case.

"Thank you very much, Rin-chan, don't worry Mako-chan won't be long." There was a sharp bang on the other end of the line. "S-sorry, Rin-chan, I need to go, one of my students just fainted." With that the other line died. Rin suppressed his annoyance as he put away his phone. His eyes landed on the boy and found him furiously erasing something on his paper. Rin wasn't enough of a bastard to simply ignore the little guy.

"Need help?" Rin asked as he sauntered over. Haruka flinched, as if he had forgotten he had company.

"No." The boy mumbled, gazing down at his messy paper. Rin pursed his lips, but didn't move away. He looked down at the paper and had to stifle his chuckle.

"It's nice to meet you." Rin touched the paper, index finger on the blank line. "It's meet, with two e's, not ea." Haruka blinked up at him.

"You know English?" Haruka asked, with what looked like admiration in his eyes. Rin grinned, sharp teeth showing.

"I studied abroad for a bit."

"In America?" Rin nodded. Apparently, knowledge is what Haruka valued most. For the next two hours, long after Haruka had finished his homework, Rin taught Haru all the English he could. Rin was surprised at how quickly Haruka picked it up.

"You're not bad at all." Rin voiced his thoughts, Haru's cheeks went a little pink.

"The teacher at school isn't as smart as you." Rin stared blankly for a bit before laughing, ruffling the boy's dark hair. Haru swatted the hands away and the scowl returned.

After a few more english words, Rin decided it was time for the kid to eat. Rin scavenged through the sad looking pantry and found nothing but bags of rice. He moved to the fridge and was shocked to find it filled with mackerel.

"What do you two usually eat?"

"Mackerel." No surprise there.

"Don't bother. Makoto will be back soon." Haru said, looking up toward the clock on the opposite wall. Rin closed the fridge and sat back down. The question that lingered in his mind finally coming out.

"Why do you call him by his name, isn't he your dad?" Rin watched as Haru stopped writing, his eyes focused on the paper. When no answer came Rin suspected he'd asked something he shouldn't have.

"He's not my father." That was all he said. Rin left it at that and continued to teach Haru more english words. However, his curiosity didn't die down. Rin shook off those thoughts, this would probably be the only time he saw these two. Not even thirty minutes later, and Makoto was walking through the door. The man had a tired looking expression that quickly dissipated when his green eyes landed on the child. Haru quickly got up and rushed to Makoto's side, hugging the man's legs. Rin watched silently. The boy's face brightened, his smile wide, and the man's face was a perfect mirror. Makoto picked the boy up, both looking completely content in each others arms. Rin couldn't help but smile.

The brunette's eyes shifted towards Rin, "Thank you." He breathed out.

Rin shook his head, "He's a great kid, no problem at all." Haru turned his head.

"He's smart, Makoto." The little raven whispered. Rin nearly blushed at the look Makoto threw his way.

"Have you washed up for dinner?" Makoto asked the child. Haru shook his head and Makoto put him down, telling him to go clean up for their soon-to-be-done dinner. Rin prepared to leave when Makoto stopped him.

"He's never…he's never said anything nice about any of his previous babysitters." Makoto's green eyes shimmered in joy. "Could you babysit for me again, Matsuoka-san?" Rin was at a loss for words. He wasn't a babysitter, and if Makoto knew what he actually worked in he wouldn't want him anywhere near them. He was going to refuse. Say that he wouldn't be available, that this had just been a favor for a friend, but for some reason he couldn't refuse. He had enjoyed his time with the little Haruka, the boy wasn't as energetic as his little sister growing up, but he was still entertaining and very smart. Rin agreed, Makoto's smile was blinding.

"Well, I should get going." Rin wanted to leave before he changed his mind.

"Do you need a ride, Matsuoka-san? Or, would you like to join us for dinner?" Rin could practically see dog ears and a wagging tail on the brunette. Rin declined the kind offer and only stayed long enough for Makoto to pay him. As he was walking out Haru returned to the living room and waved goodbye. Rin left the apartment feeling oddly giddy. Those two were an odd pair. They seemed very close, but still Rin wondered what Makoto was to Haru, how the two came together. There was definitely a story there, and Rin wondered if he would ever get to hear it. The redhead shook his head, guilt rising up. No, he shouldn't get any closer to them. It had been a mistake to accept Makoto's job offer so easily. He would just forget about the whole thing. Yes, that's exactly what he was going to do, not answer any calls from the man, and just put this entire crazy night behind him. Besides, he had many clients to keep happy, and he was no damn babysitter.

...

To be continued.