I haven't touched this account for a few years already, but I decided to share a Free! fanfic which I have posted on Tumblr a few months ago on (I changed the title BTW). I just copied and pasted it from my blog, so forgive me if the formatting is a bit weird...

Enjoy!

"Haru! I still can't believe you actually asked if I wanted to go ice-skating with you voluntarily! I'm usually the one who would suggest places for us to go!" Makoto exclaimed excitedly as he and Haruka sat on the bus which was bound for the nearest ice skating rink in the city.

"Mmm," Haruka just peered out of the window, clearly embarrassed by Makoto's comment.

A few days before, Makoto received a text message from Haruka, which was a rare occurrence as Haruka never bothered to use his phone.

"Let's go to the skating rink this Saturday. Just the two of us."

Although Makoto had not learnt how to skate and had not skated in his life, he was delighted to have received this message. Haru! Sending him a text message! Voluntarily asking him out on a date! Or outing. Whatever you perceive it to be.

Not long after, the two guys reached their destination. After getting tickets and renting their boots, they headed for the skating rink.

"Haru…think is my first time doing this, so…I might be quite bad at it," Makoto sheepishly quipped as he tottered along in his skating boots.

"It's okay, you'll pick up fast. After all, ice is water in its solid state. Close enough to the pool," Haruka's reasoned. His logic did not make much sense to Makoto, but somehow, those words reassured Makoto a little.

They both stepped onto the ice. Standing on the ice made Makoto more unstable than expected, and he grabbed onto the side walls tightly. Haruka, however, having already been to the skating rink a few times (which is amazing to note for he actually has a life outside the pool), adjusted quickly and was sliding effortlessly across the ice, ahead of his friend.

Makoto took a few apprehensive steps while holding onto the walls. "Haru, wait up!" His tall, broad-shouldered frame proved to be incompatible for ice-skating, for his centre of gravity was higher, causing him to wobble unsteadily as he took each step.

"Try letting go of the walls," Haruka stopped and turned around.

Although worried, Makoto did, and took a few small steps forward with his hands in mid-air. He seemed to get the hang of it, sliding forward for a metre or so, when he started to lose his balance.

"Woah!" Makoto swung his arms around, trying not to fall.

"Keep your centre of gravity low," Haru mumbled.

Makoto smiled and did so, taking a few more larger steps. He tried Haruka from behind, who was gliding around effortlessly. Everything was going fine so far. "I think I should be able to do this," Makoto thought.

Suddenly, a small kid zipped pass Makoto, missing him narrowly. Makoto did not want to bump into the kid, so he tried to dodge him. Unfortunately, this threw his balance off and he fell smack on his bottom.

"Ow…" winced as he tried to push himself up from the cold, icy ground. As he looked up, he saw Haruka slightly bent forward, extending his arm. This little gesture reminded him of what he would always do after a relay with Haruka and friends - he would bend down, smiling and extending his hand to Haruka who was in the pool - just that Haruka wasn't smiling, as usual.

"Be careful," Haruka said as he pulled Makoto up. "You know, maybe it'll be safer for me to hold your hands as we skate."

"H…hold hands?" Makoto was clearly taken aback.

Haruka said nothing and clasped Makoto's hand tighter, pulling him along the ice. Makoto did not resist and followed along, occasionally trying to push himself along instead of relying solely on Haruka to pull him along.

"Our roles seem to be reversed this time," Makoto thought to himself. Usually he would be the one looking out for Haruka, making sure that he would not get himself into trouble and danger (usually by jumping into a body of water). However, right now, Haruka was the one looking out for him, making sure that he would not fall and hurt himself. This warmed Makoto's heart.

As they skated, Makoto gradually got used to moving around on ice. "Let's go faster, Haru!" Makoto exclaimed excitedly, quickening his pace.

"Wha-" Haruka held Makoto's hand even tighter as Makoto pulled him along. "Be careful!"

Just then, the two of them approached a bend, and they had to change their direction in order not to collide into the walls. Makoto was taken by surprise and could not prepare himself in time to turn around, causing him to trip over himself and collide into Haruka.

"Mako-" Haruka tried to dodge the tall, bumbling idiot who came crashing towards him, but he was not able to do so in time. The next thing they knew, Makoto had collapsed on top of Haruka, with their faces not more than 10 centimetres apart.

"Haru…" Makoto, who propped himself up with his hands, was panting heavily as he looked straight into Haruka's eyes. He had not seen them up close before, and he definitely did not notice how blue his eyes were - they were unexpectedly pretty.

As Haruka lay beneath Makoto, catching his breath after that fall, he could feel Makoto's warm breath against his chest. Although Makoto looked a bit flustered and shock, he still had that gentle look on his face. The gentle look he looked forward to every time he had finished his laps, ready to be helped out of the pool by Makoto.

"Um…yeah. We'd better get up," Makoto sat up, ruffling his hair embarrassingly. As he pushed himself off the ground, he pulled Haruka up, and they were both on their feet again.

"I think we shouldn't do this, it'll be too dangerous," Haruka said, straightening his jacket.

"Ah…okay," Makoto dusted the ice off his pants. There was a tinge of disappointment in his voice - he actually enjoyed skating while holding hands with Haruka.

Both of them took off, Haruka in front of Makoto, and zipped around the skating rink again.

At that moment, Makoto caught up with Haruka, and both of them skated side by side.

"Hey, Makoto." Haruka said, gazing forward.

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

"Huuuuh? Wha-? Haru?" Makoto stiffened in surprise. This caused him to lose balance, and the next thing he knew, he fell flat on the ice again.