DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Free! Then Rin wouldn't be the sad beautiful bby that he is.

A/N: This is my very first Free! fanfic. There's an OC in the story but doesn't really appear that much. Forgive me for any mistakes and Enjoy!

It's been ten years since Rin had started moving forward to his dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer. Ten years since his time had started moving again. Ten years since his motivation to swim again was rekindled. Ten years since he had beaten his rival in a tournament.

After beating that certain rival of his, Rin's pace to reaching his dream had greatly improved. He won tournaments consecutively, became his country's representative, raced in the Olympics Trials Swim Meet, and even won a gold medal in the Olympics. He was at the heights of his success and had forgotten where his motivation to swim again had started. Ten years had already passed since then.

In those ten years, while basking in his dream come true, Rin met many people. He started dating women in a different country and had thrown them aside one after the other when they got in the way of his dream; much like how he threw away a certain friendship that he thought had ruined him. Among the women who walked into his life, one had managed to stay. He surprised even himself that he found such a woman whom he dated for four long years. And after those years of trials and hardships, they decided that maybe it was time for them to settle down.

After ten years of parting from his hometown which he had wanted to forget and did forget in those years, Rin was on his way to going back where he had started in the insistence of his soon-to-be wife.

"I want to meet your father." She told him after he proposed. In the four years that they were together, he never took her to his hometown for a visit for he, himself, did not want to go back. He did not want to meet him. "I'd also love to see the swim club in which you were in when you were still young."

He strongly opposed to this. "There's no need to go see the swim club. It's history." Truth was he just didn't want to go and risk seeing a rival he'd never talked about to her before. He wanted to forget about him the most so he avoided mentioning or even thinking about him.

"I still want to meet your father."

So Rin was flying back to his hometown first, his soon-to-be wife arriving three days after him. They agreed upon this arrangement because his fiancé still had business to do and had convinced him to go back first. "It's also been awhile since you went back there. Go back first so you can recollect your memories with the place then you will show it to me." They argued about this but the woman had managed to win him over.

A lot of things went back to him when he arrived home; the very first among those things was him, of course. Just at the very thought of coincidentally meeting the person sent Rin's heart racing, his stomach flipping. He even had to squeeze his hands into fists hard to stop himself from trembling -not that he'd admit it-, his jaws clenching, his teeth gritting.

Thinking about the ten years they've been apart though, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the guy. He never heard any news since he'd cut off all ties with everyone close to that guy and he'd never come back at all. The curiosity started creeping up at him and a strange feeling welled up within his chest that he shook his head, demanding himself to stop thinking about him. He told himself that he didn't want to meet that person ever again.

"Brother, you've finally decided to come back home!" His younger sister, Kou, cheerfully greeted him when he arrived. Because he stubbornly refused to come back and threatened to also cut off all ties with her, Kou had always been the one who went to visit him outside the country. He warned her well never to mention about a guy from back home though whenever she visited.

Upon setting his red eyes on his sister's identical ones, he immediately glared at her and growled, "Kou, you didn't tell anyone I came back, did you?!"

"Uh…" Kou raised her hands to her chest defensively as she shook her head. "No. No, I didn't."

"That better be the truth!" He hissed and turned away. He could never forget how his sister had set him up in high school to meet up with his so-called friends. Even before, he had already wanted to sever all ties with them but his sister knew well how to lure him out and had ended up meeting with those people instead. That's when things had started to be complicated.

The place didn't change much at all from how he'd remembered it. There were a few new constructed buildings but still same old street, same old ways. A sense of nostalgia washed over him with memories he didn't want to remember which he tried to push away. Seriously, he just wanted this to be over already.

"Ah!" Kou exclaimed as she suddenly stopped walking. Rin turned to her worriedly with a questioning look as she just smiled up at him sheepishly, scratching an index finger to her cheek. "I forgot that I still have to buy something for dinner later. We just passed by the shop so I have to go back. You go on ahead, brother. I'll be quick and catch up."

Rin grunted and nodded, continuing on his walk as Kou turned back to where they came from and ran away.

While he continued on his way, Rin was spacing out with nothing in particular in mind until he stopped in his tracks in front of the rail. A train was currently passing by him, this scene bringing up a distant memory from the past. It was during the Christmas break on his first year of middle school that he came back and met his rival here. He was standing on the very same side of the rail, the guy on the other side and just like at the moment, he waited for the train to clear his view.

Just as he was thinking this, the train did run to its ends and he slowly brought up his gaze to look in front of him. And then, he was- he froze in place with shock as the guy, the person, his rival stood in front of him, mirroring his shock. They just continued to stand in place even when the tracks had cleared, staring at one another with wide eyes.

"Rin." As a painfully familiar voice called out to him, he snapped out of shock and turned on his heel then moved to run away. He wasn't fast enough to run though for he felt a warm hand clasping around his wrist and stopping him. He didn't struggle out of the hand's hold but he kept his back facing the person for he knew his emotions were leaking to his face. He could totally feel them overflowing out of him, a side of him denying this.

"Rin." His voice called out again.

He took in deep breaths, finding it rather hard to do so as his chest was currently feeling very heavy. He was also starting to tremble and he didn't want the other person to notice so he forced himself to calm down. Once he did, he slowly turned around to face the one person he wanted to forget the most and forced out a cocky smile which failed to show any cockiness. "Yo, Haru."

They went back to staring at each other again, red orbs to blue ones. Rin sucked in a breath as he felt himself getting swallowed in the other's gaze and he pulled away his arm from the other's hold. Then silence.

Rin suddenly remembered Kou and he trembled in fury. This must have been her set up again. He should've been suspicious when she suddenly said she forgot to buy something and refused to go on ahead! He silently cursed at his sister, clicking his tongue in annoyance for getting him into a complicated situation.

"Rin." He flinched at the call of his name and he turned back to look at Haru. This time, he avoided looking him in the eye and looked at his appearance instead. The guy didn't seem to have changed at all. Although he looked older and more mature now -even though he had always looked more mature than anyone-, he still gave off the feeling of … Haru. "Why didn't you say you've come back?" His head snapped up to look at Haru in the face. He couldn't help himself.

His gaze was met with Haru's blank face but his eyes betrayed his expression. They were filled with grief and… longing. He turned his head away from that sight. This is exactly what he didn't want to see. He opened his mouth to answer Haru but found that he didn't know what to say. Haru should already know the answer to his own question and Rin couldn't say it. In the end, he could only press his lips together and stay silent.

"Congratulations." Haru started when Rin didn't say anything. The latter looked up and the former smiled at him, a smile that was both happy and sad. "You've finally reached your dream."

Rin felt a painful twinge in his chest and his fists shook as he struggled to keep himself in control. "Yeah."

Despite Rin's uncooperative replies, Haru continued on talking. This was strange to the both of them especially because it used to be the other way around in the past. "I watched all of your matches. You've truly gone so far and it's amazing." Rin noticed Haru's breathe hitch and he struggled to keep his eyes away. To no avail. "Seeing you reach your dream and swim in the Olympics, I feel very happy for you."

Yet Haru was hastily wiping away his tears that Rin knew wasn't from happiness alone. He crossed his arms to his chest to keep them to himself as he felt the strong urge to embrace the other. He couldn't believe that even after ten years had passed, his feelings for this man in front of him had not changed. It even seemed like they've increased tenfold.

"I'm very happy that I'm able to congratulate you, Rin." Right after his words, Haru turned away and walked back to where he came from.

Rin reached out a hand to Haru but he stopped himself and withdrew it. He was still unwilling to give in to his feelings for this man and he couldn't anymore. He looked at his engagement ring on his left hand, his other hand squeezing his chest. Not anymore.

Even the ringing of his cell phone wasn't able to snap Rin out of his daze. He just reached out for it and he absent-mindedly answered, "Hello?" his voice unenthusiastic and lifeless.

"Rin, were you able to get back home safely?" his fiancé's usually cheerful voice said from the speaker of the phone.

That was when Rin slightly got back some of his energy and shifted on his seat on the couch. He forgot how long he'd been sitting there but he finally noticed that his bottom had started to become sore. And the whole time he just doze off there, he had been thinking of only Haru. He wanted to bang his head against the wall as he ran a hand through his hair, replying, "Yeah."

His fiancé giggled and asked, "How is it there?"

"Nothing's changed." Not the place, not Haru and not their feelings for one another. There he went again thinking about that guy even though he's talking with his soon-to-be wife. He ruffled his red hair in frustration as he bit out. "Hurry up and come here already. I want to leave this place."

"What's the hurry? You just got there. Why don't you go and visit your friends there? Wouldn't they be thrilled to see you again after so many years? And you're getting married already too!" She laughed.

At the mention of their marriage, a jolt of pain struck him. He ignored it and denied to himself that he knew the reason why he's in pain. "I don't have any friends here." He almost only whispered.

She laughed again. "It must be because you're such a jerk! Don't worry; I'll be there in three days. Bear with it, baby. I love you!"

Another jolt of pain and throbbing chest. He swallowed hard for his voice not to waver when he replied, "I love you too."

The day after Rin had arrived back to his home, he decided to go visit his father's grave that he had not gone to for ten years. He felt rather bad for not visiting him until now especially after he's reached his dream. After all, his father shared the same dream as him. So he thought maybe he could clean up the grave as compensation before bringing his fiancé to it then clear his head of the contamination that was Haru.

Standing in front of the tombstone with his father's name to it, he paid his respects first before proceeding to talking to his deceased father. "I've reached my dream, dad. Your dream." He said, tapping a fist against the cold tombstone.

In the past, he imagined himself in this same scene, telling his father proudly of his success. He thought that grasping his dream, their dream, would be the happiest moment of his life. Yet, as he weakly bent to his knees and leaned his forehead against the tombstone, nothing but pain and sadness was in his heart. The image of Haru kept on appearing in his mind; the way he talked, he smiled, he cried. Pain was present in all of them and Rin couldn't help feeling pained as well. It reminded him of the last time he and Haru talked before he started walking towards his dream again. What did Haru look like after he left? Did he cry more? He didn't know. Because that day, Rin stormed away, abandoning Haru and his feelings.

After winning the tournament that day, when they were in their second year of high school, and having an encounter with Makoto and the others, Haru had asked Rin to meet him at their elementary swim club pool. They did meet later on; Haru looking spaced out more than he usually did while Rin just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want?"

Haru looked up and stared at him as he waited for an answer. The silence dragged on though until Rin finally scowled, his patience running out. "I don't understand." He started.

Rin's eyebrow went higher as he looked at Haru questioningly. "Haa?"

"I don't understand." Haru repeated as if Rin had not heard him the first time. He followed up his sentence faster this time though. "I thought that I'd finally become free if I raced you in the tournament."

Rin was aware that Haru had not become "free" because of Makoto. He, himself, had hit a realization he didn't want. "It's me who doesn't understand." He said as he glared at the other. "I thought you didn't care about your time or winning. Why are you suddenly so upset?"

Haru revealed an expression that Rin had never thought he'd ever see in his face, of all people. It made his heart beat faster, his chest squeeze tightly and made it hard to breath. Haru had looked both desperate and hopeless. "I also don't know." Haru said in a slightly trembling voice. "I don't know why I'm upset I didn't win, I don't know why it hurt when you said you're never swimming with me again." He took in a breath which almost sounded like a sob and whispered. "I don't know why I want us to go back to how we were in elementary."

That last sentence that Rin barely heard made him surprised that he stared at the blue-eyed incredulously. "Ha? What are you saying?"

"I want us to go back to how we were when we were in elementary." Haru stated louder this time, feeling bolder. His blue eyes looked straight into red ones with sadness and grief. "Rin, if you have won our race during middle school, would things be different now? Would we have returned to being friends? Would you smile and laugh like how you used to before?"

The eyes staring at Rin made him feel like he's being sucked into it. He's never seen this kind of Haru before and he's the one causing him to be like this. His chest throbbed with pain as his hands balled into tight fists. "Why do you want things to be different? Don't just tell me you don't know!" He growled.

Silence filled up the space in between them as Haru thought about it. Rin waited, not feeling like breaking the silence even though it was pressing him. It felt like hours had passed by them until Haru finally opened his mouth and spoke up. "I… I think I like you." Rin's eyes widened, his heart jumping. Did he hear that right? "I liked your smile. I liked you as you were. I was also upset when you went to Australia. And I felt glad when we met a year later that. But…" he trailed off, this time, Rin freezing with shock when tears started falling off Haru's eyes. They fell silent again, Haru crying and trying to hold back his sobs while Rin just staring with shock.

It took time for Rin to let what Haru said sink in and in each time they did, a knot from his stomach loosened. He started feeling something fluttering in his chest and a slight bit of happiness. But he didn't want this. Not now or ever. He turned away from Haru to run before his feelings went uncontrolled but a hand stopped him. He pulled his arm away from the hand and yelled, "No! Things wouldn't be different even if I won our race that day!" He faced Haru but he couldn't bring himself to look at the other in the eyes. "I'd still not want to swim with you ever again! It's because of you that I couldn't move any closer to my dream! It's you who ruined me! I don't want to swim with you or even see you!"

He ran away at the top of his lungs and as far as his feet took him after that outburst. His chest was squeezing him from inside out and he refused to acknowledge the feelings he knew he was feeling. He hit a fist on a wall when he finally stopped running, his other hand squeezing on the area where his heart was. He'll never admit that he, too, felt like Haru did.

There was a saying that time heals all wounds. But both Rin and Haru didn't seem to have healed up even after ten years. They still felt hurt seeing each other again and that's not all. Rin knew he felt the way Haru felt too. He knew but he didn't want to admit it. He thought he'd moved on from Haru after that tournament and he thought he didn't… he thought he loved his fiancé more. Seemed like he was very wrong.

"Brother, did you settle things with Haruka-senpai?" Kou's voice sounded from behind him, worry evident in her tone. After his encounter with Haru the day before and got back to Kou, he didn't mention to her seeing the guy and didn't have the energy to scold her for setting them up to meet again. Kou looked like she wanted to ask him that question the whole time but didn't. So she's asking him now.

"No." He weakly replied. "There's nothing to settle in between us. And you're still calling him "senpai"? It's been years since you've graduated."

Kou hesitated but drew out all her courage to continue on the conversation. "Brother, how do you feel about Haruka-senpai now? Do you think you can swim together again?" When Rin didn't answer her, she continued on. "Haruka-senpai wants to swim with you again, brother. Would you?"

Rin didn't know what to say. The thought of swimming with Haru again made his heart flutter with excitement. But he was afraid. He was afraid that if he swam with him, he might not be able to hold back his feelings anymore. And now, of all times, wasn't a good time for his feelings to be going wild.

"When you left, brother," Kou started again when Rin stayed silent. "Haruka-senpai was very depressed. He can smile and laugh again now but at that time, he was very lifeless. Even the water which he loved so much wasn't able to heal him." Kou took in a breath and continued on. "But when he saw you competing in the Olympics and finally reaching your dreams, he went normal again. He said that you were probably happy that you've finally reached your dream and that as long as you're happy, he's happy as well." Kou started to tremble, her eyes starting to water. "All this time, Haruka-senpai loved you. He couldn't love anyone else other than you. He couldn't forget about you."

Rin snapped up to his feet and turned to Kou, his eyes filled with anger and grief. "Why are you telling me all these, Kou? What do you exactly want me to do? Have you forgotten that I'm getting married soon?!"

Kou almost cowered but she snapped back at her brother. "I just want you to swim with Haruka-senpai again! Just one last time then maybe he'll be able to move on! You were able to after you beat him at the tournament, right?"

Rin fell silent. He wanted to retort back, "Yes! Yes, I did! " but he couldn't because he knew that wasn't the truth. Even now, his feelings for Haru were threatening to take him over. He sighed loudly, rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, Kou, there's no need for Haru and I to race jus-"

"Tonight." Kou interrupted him. "I told Haruka-senpai to go to the Iwatobi School pool and that you'll meet him there." She continued hurriedly before Rin could let out a sound of complaint, "It's your own choice whether to go there or not. If you do, Haruka-senpai will be expecting you to race with him. If you don't, Haruka-senpai will probably feel hurt." She took in a deep breath. "But you won't have to face him ever again. Especially because she will finally arrive tomorrow then you can go back to Australia and get married."

Neither of the two were good choices for Rin at all. He glared at his younger sister who seemed like the expert to putting him in difficult situations before turning away with a frown. "I'll think about it."

A/N: Please tell me what you think! I seriously suck at describing feelings... Please review!