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The Duck and the Penguin	By : 3phemeral Category: +. to F > Free! Views: 1616 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Free! or Free! Eternal Summer, nor do I own the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Nagisa took his pillow and clutched it to his chest. He rolled over on top of his sleeping bag and tucked his knees up. The stars were out in force tonight, and gazed at them past the edge of canopy of his makeshift encampment in Haru’s little yard.
Makoto sighed. “It’s going to be okay, Nagisa. He won’t be the only one out there for you.” He sat next to the blonde boy and ruffled his hair. Nagisa curled up a little tighter.
“I know, Mako-chan, but…”
“He can’t help it.”
“I knooowww,” Nagisa said, flopping onto his back. “Why can’t it ever be easy for us?”
Makoto laughed. “I don’t think it’s ever easy.”
“It’s never this hard in movies.”
“If it wasn’t this hard in movies, they wouldn’t be very good movies. Movies are just over in an hour and a half.”
“Well, why can’t it take an hour and a half sometimes?”
“I suppose it does, Nagisa.”
“They don’t make movies out of this part, do they?”
“If they did, I don’t think I’d go see it.”
“Me either,” Nagisa pouted.
“If he’s not interested in romance, he’s not interested in romance. Maybe it’s just for right now, maybe it’s just who he is. Either way, it’s not healthy to dwell on it. You’ve got a lot of time left! There’s still a lot of people out there. I’m sure you’ll bump into someone before too long.”
“But all those times…”
“I know.”
“That’s a lot of signs to misread.”
“I know. Coincidences can be complicated.”
Nagisa sat up, crosslegged, still holding the pillow close, like it was the boy he hoped it was. “What about you and Haru?”
Makoto smiled weakly. “Changing the topic now?”
“You’re still going after Haru, aren’t you?”
“I’m not going after him. I’m here, until he goes away from me.”
“Why shouldn’t I do that?”
“We… go way back. I could never abandon him. Ever. He needs me. Rei’s going to make it just fine on his own. You shouldn’t feel responsible for him. After all, he’s told you he doesn’t need you, right?”
Nagisa looked away. “I hate it when you’re right, Mako-chan.”
“Let Rei fly away. Or just try. It’s not as though he’s going anywhere. He promised you he wouldn’t leave, right? And he promised he wouldn’t let you leave. He clearly values you, just not how you’d like him to. Treasure that. He seems like the kind of guy who won’t suddenly turn his back on you because he turned you down. He’s probably more afraid of you doing that to him.”
“So what do I do? Where do I go?”
“Just live,” Makoto said. “It’s all we can ever do, isn’t it?”
“That’s unusually deep for you.”
“Sorry, I seem to be unusually deep lately.” Makoto looked up at the sky. Reach for the stars, they always say. And reach he did. Always. For years.
“Between studying and swimming, there’s not really too much time for much else, is there?”
“I guess not. You can always find time for what’s important to you, though.”
“Yeah.” Nagisa rolled over again.
“You should go home,” Makoto said. He felt the younger boy clamming up. “Or at least come inside. You know Haru won’t be happy to see you’ve set this up again.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Nagisa whined. “I’ll be right down.”
Makoto smiled. “Okay.” He stood and walked back down to the entrance to Haru’s house.
Nagisa took an extra breath to collect himself. “It’s just like last year,” he said to himself. “I can do this!”
————————-
‘It finally happened!’ said the text on Nagisa’s phone.
Nagisa grinned. ‘It’s about time!’ he typed back. All those years of waiting must have paid off…
‘It took some explaining, but he understood.’
‘And he feels the same way?’
‘He’s giving it a try… but it’s a start!’
‘I’m very happy for you, Mako-chan!’
‘Thanks! See you later!’
‘See you later!’ Nagisa closed his phone and sighed. All those years, and one more month. That was all it took. One month since he gave Nagisa his pep talk in Haru’s yard.
Nagisa had started to see Rei more as a friend lately. Actually knowing the truth made things so much easier. There was nothing to misinterpret. There was nothing to get his hopes up. He found himself smiling just as easily as ever.
He finished packing his bag and slung it over his shoulder. With the seniors occupied with entrance exams and everything else, Gou had taken it upon herself to call Samezuka and arrange another joint practice. It was originally scheduled to take place at Samezuka, but Nitori had agreed instead to bring only a couple underclassmen over to Iwatobi for a swim. “Little steps,” he’d said, would help keep the competition between the schools friendly - one of Rin’s little pieces of advice. It suited Nitori, really. He wasn’t the type to force everyone into something all at once.
The sun was out on the Saturday, and Nagisa walked to the train station. He was early. While he and Rei had been getting along, he wanted to avoid the bespectacled butterly whenever possible. He still came over on Sundays - that was non-negotiable - but in these small times, he valued the quiet and the space.
Those were exactly what he got, aside from the train clacks, as he watched the sun rise out his window. Swimming with Samezuka. New swimmers he hadn’t met. Did he feel like meeting them? He had no choice now. Sometimes it was a little exhausting. Did he feel like doing that? He felt his brow furrow. If Rei were here, he couldn’t do that. Yes, he realized, being alone for this is a good thing.
The sunlight had whitened from its early yellow by the time he arrived at the stop for the high school. He basked in it all as he walked, the quiet, the moment, the isolation. It was a little bit sad. Makoto would be more occupied now, too, wouldn’t he? At least they were still on the team together.
He crossed the gates and the empty schoolyard to the pool. The sounds of splashing and milling about grew louder as he approached, and he smiled. More friends. Or soon-to-be-friends.
He entered the poolhouse, saw a couple Samezuka members still getting changed, and he looked around for his favorite target… Ah, yes-
Nitori.
He sidled up to the Samezuka second-year, hipbones poking above that purple towel, gaze focused intently in his locker, and gave him his familiar shove.
“Ai-chan~!” Nagisa said as the boy stumbled and clutched at his towel, hunching over.
“Will you please stop doing that?!” Nitori said.
“I can’t help it!” Nagisa said. “It’s cute to watch you flail!”
“Well, I’m glad you’re entertained,” he said sternly, straightening most of the way.
“You don’t need to be so serious, Ai-chan.”
“We’re not that familiar, Hazuki-kun.” He stepped back to his locker and pulled out his suit.
“Is something wrong with your back?” Nagisa said.
“No.”
“You’re standing really close to the wall, Ai-chan.”
“It’s Nitori to you!”
“Nitori-kun,” Nagisa said with a furrowed brow. It didn’t sound nearly as nice. He was changing into his own suit, shamelessly undressing before taking his long-legged suit in hand. Nitori glanced over at him and down, blushing a feverish red before shaking it off. “I thought we were supposed to be building friendships here.”
“Not shoving me while I’m in my towel would be a great first step,” Nitori said, stepping into his suit.
“I’m sorry…” Nagisa said. He slid his shorts up. So much for that. “Well, I’ll see you out there, I guess. And you should feel free to call me Nagisa if you want.”
“I don’t think we should be too familiar. We still have to compete against each other, Hazuki-kun.” He checked how his shorts fit. They were a little snug and would take some shifting. He looked over at Nagisa to make sure the blonde boy was suitably distracted before adjusting himself and untying the towel in the most hurried, inconspicuous way he could muster.
“That’s not what Rin-chan would say, is it?”
“Rin-senpai is different,” Nitori said.
Nagisa frowned. “He’s still Rin-senpai for you?”
Nitori gave Nagisa a sidelong glare. “That’s none of your business, Hazuki-kun.”
“Hn? I just figured he would be your friend, too. You two have been swimming together for two years now. And you roomed together, didn’t you? If I know Rin-chan, he would have insisted after a while.”
“Rin-senpai is very serious,” Nitori said. “He doesn’t really have much attention to spare to such things…” He trailed off. Or to him.
Nagisa stood a little stunned. Nitori put on a strong front, and Nagisa knew it wasn’t all real, but it was finally confirmed that he and Nitori were actually the same. Nagisa knew he deflected others - it didn’t mean he could help it, frustrating as it was - and this was how Nitori did it. He clapped a hand on Nitori’s bare shoulder. The boy flinched.
“Well, even if it was to shove you, I pay attention to you,” Nagisa said. “I hope we can be friends, and I can call you Ai-chan again someday, and that we can still swim together as rivals and cheer for each other to do our best like Rin-chan and Mako-chan and Haru-chan.”
He’d seen this in a few movies - this is where he’d give Nitori a kiss to further catch the other boy off his guard and confuse him and make him think about what Nagisa had just said. But… Nagisa froze.
Kiss Nitori? He eyed the boy’s face, his stern expression, the something else in his eyes, and he was taken aback. His gaze drifted to his lips, down his body, suddenly taking in how distinct it was. He was softly toned, but clearly as strong as the other swimmers. It suited him. He was a complete picture. Nitori reached up to take Nagisa’s hand off his shoulder, and Nagisa’s heart skipped at the contact.
“Maybe,” Nitori said. “We’ll see.” He walked out the other side of the locker room and out to the pool.
Nagisa grinned.
(End Chapter 1 - to be continued)
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The Duck and the Penguin