Free!- Into the Ocean [Sourin]

Into the Ocean

        Isn't it hard to love your best friend? You've known each other for so long and you can't live without each other, but you're afraid to move it further. You don't want to let them know, you fear them knowing. And you fear, if they did find out and you two end up together... you never want to even imagine a dispute between you two. You can't stand the heartbreak. This is the problem with the two swimmers. Even so, Rin and Sousuke still love to be around each other.

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        "It's too hot out here," Rin complained, jerking at the collar of his shirt and trying to fan himself off. Sousuke agrees and kicks at the sand. "It's noon during the summer," Sousuke pointed out. Even under the beach umbrella, the sun still reflected off the ocean and heated the two boys.

        Rin groaned and moved out from under the umbrella. "I can't take this," he said, walking off toward the ocean as he took off his shirt, leaving him in only swimming trunks. He tossed his shirt aimlessly into the sand and sprinted into the water, diving in when it was deep enough.

        Sousuke bit the inside of his lip in thought. He wanted to swim. He wanted to swim in the ocean. He wanted to swim in the ocean with Rin. Sousuke moved out from under the umbrella too and gently pulled off his shirt, being careful not to tug at his shoulder.

        Rin surfaced with a gasp for air and ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his face, his expression falling as he saw Sousuke entering the water. "What're you doing?" Rin asked in alert, his eyes going to the other's shoulder.

        Sousuke half shrugged and moved in until the waer was level with his chest. "It's hot," he stated simply before smiling at the redhead.

        Rin only nodded, uneasily, but went on with his swimming. Sousuke knew his limits, right? He must know he absolutley cannot swim. Rin convinced himself that his best friend did in fact know what he was doing and slid his goggles over his eyes before sinking into the salty water.

        Sousuke held himself up as he tried to float, finally sighing steadily as he figured out how he could manage to float on his back. The waves weren't too bad, making the boy's floating possible.

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 Rin surfaced a couple times with various handfuls of seashells and wet sand, admiring the ones that interested him and dropping them back into the water. That's when his eyes caught a glimpse of the figure drifting further and further away from the beach. "Sousuke!" he shouted in a panic, the name escaping his lips before he even registered that the figure was actually Sousuke.

        Sousuke heard Rin's voice, despite the water covering his ears muffling all the sound in the world, Rin's shout was clear as day. He lifted his head and opened his eyes. First, the sun blinding him caused him to sit up right and use an arm to block its deadly rays. Then he realized the ground was no where near his feet and his eyes widened. He was sinking. Sousuke tried desperatly to swin back to the beach, but the pain in his shoulder was all too much. The last thing he saw before going under was the swimmer with red hair hurrying to swim over to him.

        Rin's body seemed to be acting faster than his brain was. He was trying to focus on getting Sousuke back to the surface, but his mind was fuzzy and he was swimming fast over to the other even before he registered hisown actions. He dived in and looked foreward, trying to spot this beloved best friend. After a few swift movements of his head, he spotted the figure slowly sinking to the bottom in a struggle.

        He swam down quickly and felt his throat swell up when he gripped the other's arm. He'd stopped struggling...

Rin pulled them both up andhe gasped for breath, taking in deep breaths and looking to Sousuke as he tried to steady them both. Rin swam in a hurry to the shore with Sousuke in his arms, collapsing in the sand as he let Sousuke lie down. He gathered his breath and quickly moved over to his friend's side, tearing off his goggles and tossing them aside, his knees aching in the heat of the dry sand.

        "Sousuke," Rin said, shaking him before pounding a fist on his chest, trying to get any amount of water out of his lungs. He pounded another fist against his chest. "Sousuke!" pound, "Wake-" pound, "-up!" He finally held his cheek and pinched his nose, holding his lips on Sousuke's and trying to get air to his lungs. He pulled away after a moment to take in more air before trying to get more air into Sousuke's lungs and trying to push the water out.

        Rin felt tears stinging his eyes as he pulled away this time, looking down to Sousuke's unmoving body. Rin gritted his teeth and placed his hands on Sousuke's chest, hand over hand, and pressed down before liftling slightly, continuing this until his arms ached and his tears were all over the other's chest. Rin pulled back and fell into the sand, his breath heavy and his eyes overflowing with tears.

        "This should be enough..." he spoke low, slowly sayinf the words before he stood in a rage. Rin gripped his hair in his hands and lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut before shouting, "This should be enough!" He growled and paced a bit before kicking the sand hard, grunting angrily. He turned to face Sousuke's lifeless body. "You stupid idiot!" he screamed, breaking down into sobs and walking to the other's side. He sat in the sand and scooted as close as he could before wiping his eyes. "I'm not crying," he sniffed, rubbing his eyes and looking back to Sousuke. He moved to scoop Sousuke up in his arms and rested his back against his legs, sniffing and wiping his eyes again.

        Rin leaned down close and rested his head against Sousuke's, his arms wrapping around him.

        "Please come back to me," he whispered brokenly, his voice slow.