Anyway, that does bring with it a flood of relief. Not that he thought it'd be a bad thing if Haru missed anything about the airport, or that Haru would have a crashout like last time.
It's irrational, but he feels it anyway, heading over from wherever he was leaning to put an arm around Haru's shoulders, resting obnoxiously against him. ]
Me too. [ A sigh. ] I miss practice and obsessing over times.
[ he is doing much better than last time, the reapers' game was rock bottom. it helps that he doesn't have to worry insanely whether rin hates him—having his support makes so much difference.
perhaps he enjoys the obnoxious draping, leaning into it minutely. ]
Yeah.
[ he misses when swimming times were their biggest concern? ]
I'll be glad to never think about achievements and trials ever again.
[ RIN IS CLINGY... he's so cute. haru accepts this as placidly as ever. his emotions give away more—it's nice, this proximity. the warmth kindled between them further turns his thoughts towards home. ]
You said we're training for Worlds, right?
[ that's weird to think about but they've dealt with timeline discrepancies before. ]
At that level, I'm not sure there's time to take a break. [ he has to ? go into a coma to beat white men at swimming ? ]
Haru, we'll always be a team. I don't want you to face things alone, but even when you do, you should believe in yourself more. And I'll still be supporting you anyway.
[ oh... he's being sweet. haru thinks about what brought this on, and while it does sting to not compete alongside rin and ikuya (though he has not even resolved the beef with ikuya yet?)—it's not really about that.
he just doesn't want to drift apart from his important people. compared to the tumult of complicated moral and emotions the past many weeks, this is so simple: he loves rin and he's clingy and he doesn't want to be left behind. he reaches for rin's hand before he's pinched again. ]
...I know. [ no he didn't, that's why he had a breakdown and lashed out so bad. but it's easier to believe now. a pause. ] You could stand to treat me as your rival more.
[ The way Rin has no clue that Haru has such fears about losing his friends and love ones. For as annoying and invasive as he can be of Haru's personal space, he's always been so headstrong and independent.
Maybe it's a consequence of having Sousuke as a childhood friend, who also never verbally communicated his feelings, but he's never viewed distance as a threat to his relationships. Haru's reaction that day really blindsided him. ]
You're saying that to me? [ HUH ] I never even let you use our pool.
What... I guess that's pretty normal outside of Japan. [ He is desensitized after Australia, even though he doesn't like it. ] But even Yoru and Asuka?
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Anyway, that does bring with it a flood of relief. Not that he thought it'd be a bad thing if Haru missed anything about the airport, or that Haru would have a crashout like last time.
It's irrational, but he feels it anyway, heading over from wherever he was leaning to put an arm around Haru's shoulders, resting obnoxiously against him. ]
Me too. [ A sigh. ] I miss practice and obsessing over times.
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perhaps he enjoys the obnoxious draping, leaning into it minutely. ]
Yeah.
[ he misses when swimming times were their biggest concern? ]
I'll be glad to never think about achievements and trials ever again.
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Me too. [ ... ] Do you want to get straight back to it when we get back?
[ Last time they took like a week to recover. ]
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You said we're training for Worlds, right?
[ that's weird to think about but they've dealt with timeline discrepancies before. ]
At that level, I'm not sure there's time to take a break. [ he has to ? go into a coma to beat white men at swimming ? ]
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Pinches his side. ]
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—Ow.
[ twists around to look at him like ????? why ]
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Haru, we'll always be a team. I don't want you to face things alone, but even when you do, you should believe in yourself more. And I'll still be supporting you anyway.
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he just doesn't want to drift apart from his important people. compared to the tumult of complicated moral and emotions the past many weeks, this is so simple: he loves rin and he's clingy and he doesn't want to be left behind. he reaches for rin's hand before he's pinched again. ]
...I know. [ no he didn't, that's why he had a breakdown and lashed out so bad. but it's easier to believe now. a pause. ] You could stand to treat me as your rival more.
[ throws his own words back at him. ]
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Maybe it's a consequence of having Sousuke as a childhood friend, who also never verbally communicated his feelings, but he's never viewed distance as a threat to his relationships. Haru's reaction that day really blindsided him. ]
You're saying that to me? [ HUH ] I never even let you use our pool.
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they really can catch each other so off-guard with how different they are. ]
—That's right. You didn't. [ said like he just remembered. squirms away. ] What happened to supporting me?
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What happened to treating you like a rival?
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Not like that.
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[ when someone bars you from having something and then you want it more ]
Your team is so agreeable.
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[ Honestly, the Stars would've given him a pool much earlier if he asked. ]
But most of them can swim, so it's not just one person getting use out of it.
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I still don't think most of mine would get one.
[ because they are all assholes. he's over it now because ace can't swim but the point remains. ]
Most of them wear shoes indoors too.
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What... I guess that's pretty normal outside of Japan. [ He is desensitized after Australia, even though he doesn't like it. ] But even Yoru and Asuka?
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[ also he spent most of the game thinking ryo was a weird american and not satan ]
I think I'm only going to invite Ace, Strohl, and Rupert to visit us.
[ he likes most of his team but they can stay home. ]
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You can just invite Ace if you want.
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Just Ace...
[ what happened here ]
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Uh, actually. You can hang out with whoever you want.
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...We can just hang out with your team.
Do you want to invite them to Worlds?
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Oh, I bet they'd be excited to see it. [ Would they, though. ] But it means I really have to do well if they're watching.
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he does think the stars would have a good time in the cheering section, actually. even... maybe dante? hard to tell. he pauses. ]
Are we competing in the relay together?
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We're both focused on our solo events. [ Smiles at him. ] Why? You wanna?
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