Middle School

Waiting was one thing Rin was never good at. The anticipation. The patience it required. It was just irritating and he wished he could avoid it. Sticking the end of his pencil into his mouth, he chewed the tip. Class was almost over and he wanted to get out the classroom.

Glancing to his right, Rin noticed Haru staring in his direction. He started. When had the other boy started looking at him? The purple-haired boy looked closer into the other's eyes. He wasn't staring at him, he was looking out the damn window again at the friggin pool. Rin chuckled to himself slouching down into his seat.

"Rin-chan…."

He looked up towards the front of the room. He heard it again.

"Rin-chan…"

Rin looked past Haruka and to the next seat over. Makoto was trying to be inconspicuous. What did he want?

"What?" Rin asked turning his focus back towards the front of the class. If the teacher called him out again today, he would have to stay after class. He stuck the pencil back in his mouth to appear that he was chewing.

"You shouldn't chew on your pencil…"

"Thanks mom", Rin muttered. This guy was always being so protective… "What did you want?".

Makoto shifted in his seat with a smile. That smile always made Rin feel a little better. He knew he could be a bit abrasive at times but it was nice to know he wasn't being mean.

"You forgot your lunch again today right?"

Rin dropped his head to his desk silently. Somehow he 'forgot' every single day to bring his lunchbox. What ever would he do?

"I made extra so…" Makoto continued.

He received a stern glare from the teacher so he shut his mouth. Rin turned his head to face Makoto with a smile but instead met Haru's eyes. He had no idea what that boy was thinking. They held each other's gaze for a while before Haruka stared forward with a complete lack of interest. Rin knew that he and Haru were waiting for the same thing. Soon the bells would chime and it would be lunch time. Haru would probably run off to the pool but Rin actually wanted to eat today. He always managed to eat an extra lunch that Makoto had made. There was always something special in there for him.

As the bells chimed Rin popped out of his seat like an impatient child. Making his way over to Makoto, he slung his arm over the taller boy's shoulder.

"I can have the extra lunch then?" he smiled brightly.

Makoto blushed a bit before tugging on the hem of his own shirt.

With a motherly smile he replied, "Of course, I made it for you".

Rin almost froze, it was made just for him? He chuckled and went over to rub it in Haruka's face.

"Do you have a lunch Haru?" he asked smugly.

The raven-haired boy glanced at him, unamused. He knew that Rin knew damn well he didn't have a lunch. He didn't answer but hurried along with Makoto out the door of the classroom. Most of the children migrated towards the lunch room but the three boys found themselves in the school's new garden. They seated themselves near a tree to eat. Haru was about to sit next to Makoto when Rin squeezed himself between them. He knew the two were close but sometimes it bothered him just how close.

"What did you pack for me today Mako?" Rin leaned close to Makoto looking at the boxed lunches in his hands.

Makoto smiled brightly. "Same as always" he handed Rin a red lunchbox. "My mom had extra mackerel from yesterday"

Rin felt Haru perk up from beside him. The raven-haired boy leaned close to Rin. "Share" he ordered.

Like hell he was going to share! Makoto had made this for him especially. "No, eat your own" Rin stuck his tongue out at Haru. Haruka pouted, which was quickly noticed by Makoto. With a concerned look, the motherly boy spoke, "Haru...do you have a lunch?"

Haruka shook his head quickly. Makoto looked happy as he pulled out his own lunch. "Then let's share" he smiled brightly.

Rin's breath caught in his throat. They were going to share? Oh…

"Rin-chan, do you mind if Haru sits there?" Makoto asked hesitantly.

Without another word Rin moved to sit on the outside of the group. Those two could act like a married couple all they wanted, but that didn't mean he had to watch. Turning to face away, he opened the red box Makoto had given him. His eyes instantly locked on his favorite part of the meal. Peaches.

Mako always managed to stick some pickled peaches into the lunchbox, even if it didn't fit with the other flavors. Chewing the rice, Rin tuned into the conversation behind him. The air was already getting colder but that wasn't the reason Rin felt a shiver crawl up his spine. The words of his friends seemed to be louder now that he was paying attention to them.

"...Wait! Haru…."

"Not so fast….I'm not…"

"Ah! Haru!..."

Rin clenched his teeth.

"...you can't put that all in-"

Rin spun around and glared at Haru. He had his mouth full of mackerel and rice and Makoto was trying to keep him from choking. Rin sighed. These two were hopeless. How to interrupt….

"Normal friends don't touch eachother that much" Rin said smirking.

He didn't know why he was surprised to see Makoto's face turn completely red while Haruka stared at him blankly. What he wasn't expecting, was the fact that it bothered him so much. The two were incredibly close, touching intimately. Rin stood up knocking the bento onto the ground. Keeping a smile on his face he chuckled.

"Haha….I guess...I forgot to...do the homework for english later" he walked off.

He just couldn't deal with it. He was leaving soon and he just didn't want to deal with it. Since when did Haru eat Makoto's lunches? He was probably just doing it to piss him off. It had worked. When Rin had first transferred to swim with them, Makoto was the first one to really talk to him. At first, he'd thought it was common courtesy, but...it felt different. Maybe he'd been wrong, he treated everyone like that. Rin went back into the school building and passed by Nagisa's classroom. The younger boy made an amused face at him through the doorway. Rin wasn't in the mood.

~Weeks Later

The cold autumn breeze reminded Rin of what was to come. He stood under the tree where all of them had come to write their dreams of the future. Or, at least that's what Rin had written. All of the leaves had fallen off of the tree and the tournament was over. After the win, it had finally set in on Rin that he was leaving. He knew he would be leaving long ago but now it felt real. He'd said bye to the team yesterday and now he stood alone.

He wondered if it would always be like this. Always being alone behind everyone else as they were happy. With a determined look in his eyes, he turned to leave the area. He would be the one leaving everyone behind. Even Nagisa, Haru, and...Makoto. He stopped looking up into the sky. He wanted to beat Haru but leaving Makoto somehow made him hurt more. He would miss the peaches. He chuckled to himself. It was sad how something like this bothered him.

Rin didn't even hear the footsteps coming from behind him.

"RIN-CHAN!"

Rin turned slowly just in time for Makoto to double over breathing hard. This boy was always out of breath… Makoto was obviously sweaty, Rin's face relaxed. He wasn't sure what to think.

"I...forgot...to give this to you...yesterday" Makoto tried holding his hand out.

Rin looked at the small shark tooth keychain in the green-eyed boy's palm. it looked like something someone would get in a souvenir shop at an airport.

"Why do you want me to have that…?" he asked. What kind of gift was that?

Makoto stood up smiling like an idiot as always. "Well, Haru thought it would be a good idea to give you something to remember us by" his head tilted as his smile widened.

"Oh….Haru did" Rin nodded gently taking the charm with a smile. Of course it wasn't just from Makoto. "Thanks" he took the charm.

"What's wrong Rin-chan?" Makoto asked with his signature worried face.

What was wrong? He was smiling wasn't he? Rin faced a small laugh. "Whaddaya mean?" he put the charm into his pocket.

Makoto frowned. Somehow the other boy could always tell when he was hiding something. "I told you not to force yourself to smile"

Rin's face dropped. His smile hadn't been that obvious had it? Looking down at the ground avoiding Makoto's eyes, he spoke. "I'll come back…" he knew that's exactly what Makoto wanted to hear. With that Makoto smiled again. "I know Rin-chan" he hugged Rin close. In Mako's arms, Rin felt calmer. He would definitely come back,and when he did, he would be better than Haru. he would prove to Makoto that he didn't need to be babied. Slowly, his hands slid out of his pockets and around the taller boy.

When they both pulled away Makoto giggled. "What?!" Rin asked a bit flustered.

"Rin-chan smells like peaches" Makoto tried to hide his amusement. "They're still your favorite right?"

There he went again caring too much. Rin smiled genuinely, "Yep" he waved. "Bye" was all he could say in the end. Makoto waved happily at him and Rin ran home. Pulling the charm from his pocket, he held it close to his chest. He would come back better.