[there's a splash of water, Rin lifting his legs out from the pool and turning around. he wants to get up and walk after Haru, but can't seem to; he probably doesn't need to. although unaware of it, Rin's enough of a siren, sometimes, and sitting beside the pool, walls finally down, hands nervously curling around his own knees, might be enough]
[if not, he can still try calling to -- the boy he wants to be his friend, more than anything, more than his rival or his teammate or anything it's already too late for]
Haru.
[soft, uncertain, because it's... all so messy. nothing like the neat love triangles of light novels and afterschool anime. not everything suddenly makes neat sense; namely, the way Haru's pushed him away since they were 12, the way Haru seems to fiercely resent Rin's "taking" of Makoto, the way his jealousy has reared at Rin instead of Makoto. maybe, how they understand these kinds of feelings are too different for Rin to grasp, but they can still try. Sousuke and he clash on basic principles, but they still try -- he wants that freedom to talk and argue and come to conclusions, with Haru, instead of constantly miring himself in endless doubt and anxiety]
Stop -- just, come here, for a minute, stop... running.
[they need to stop running. it just keeps hurting them both, when they do -- Rin's tried it twice before]
[it's the only secret he has (not much of one, considering his emotional transparency), but he does Haru the courtesy of meeting vulnerability for vulnerability]
I had those feelings, too. In... Australia. The first time.
[there was maybe a ghost of those feelings, the last time, but they weren't as important as the dreams and futures they all had to weigh. Rin was in no hurry to complicate his life with any of the Iwatobi boys, has confessed as much to Makoto that he -- avoided thinking about them, in that context, maybe especially Haru]
no subject
[if not, he can still try calling to -- the boy he wants to be his friend, more than anything, more than his rival or his teammate or anything it's already too late for]
Haru.
[soft, uncertain, because it's... all so messy. nothing like the neat love triangles of light novels and afterschool anime. not everything suddenly makes neat sense; namely, the way Haru's pushed him away since they were 12, the way Haru seems to fiercely resent Rin's "taking" of Makoto, the way his jealousy has reared at Rin instead of Makoto. maybe, how they understand these kinds of feelings are too different for Rin to grasp, but they can still try. Sousuke and he clash on basic principles, but they still try -- he wants that freedom to talk and argue and come to conclusions, with Haru, instead of constantly miring himself in endless doubt and anxiety]
Stop -- just, come here, for a minute, stop... running.
[they need to stop running. it just keeps hurting them both, when they do -- Rin's tried it twice before]
[it's the only secret he has (not much of one, considering his emotional transparency), but he does Haru the courtesy of meeting vulnerability for vulnerability]
I had those feelings, too. In... Australia. The first time.
[there was maybe a ghost of those feelings, the last time, but they weren't as important as the dreams and futures they all had to weigh. Rin was in no hurry to complicate his life with any of the Iwatobi boys, has confessed as much to Makoto that he -- avoided thinking about them, in that context, maybe especially Haru]