Chapter Text
It's a milestone, the turning point in a person's life where they open the door into the long-awaited future, and with spring and graduation looming, it's understandably a tense time. Rin's birthday usually falls during an even worse time, right before everyone parts ways and in the middle of winter, but Sousuke still has a few months before he has to decide anything officially. He can spend his own birthday in relative peace.
Or at least he would have, if he hadn't elected to have surgery for his torn tendon at the time. Rin understands why it couldn't wait, and he's also aware of how crucial it is to fix the issue before it worsens. At the same time, it's hard to see his friend lying on a hospital bed, looking too pale -near death if he wants to exaggerate- with a tube in his arm.
The surgery had been a success according to the doctor, and he's sure with enough therapy and rehabilitative exercise, Sousuke will regain some flexibility in his shoulders. Now, it's not for certain how well he'll be able to swim or how long the healing process will take, but Sousuke had promised him he'd stick through it. He swore he'd pour himself into it this time and not run away and let things devolve into such a critical point where he'd nearly lose mobility like before.
It had scared Rin, haunted him to the point where he couldn't sleep for nights, thinking it had somehow been his fault. Even if he knows that it was fundamentally Sousuke's choice to do this to himself, he knew he'd played a role in it by not noticing sooner and by blinding himself to all of the signs beforehand. Maybe if he'd contacted him in those five years they were apart, things would have played out differently. Maybe he could have helped him a lot sooner, and in turn, Sousuke could have helped him when he'd been feeling lost.
The whole time, he thought a single relay could fix things like it had for him, but he was wrong. He was too wrong, and the memories of the warm tear tracks on his cheeks isn't something he's yet forgotten because he's relived the sensation nearly every night since he found out. However, he doesn't let the tears fall when he's in front of Sousuke's body, instead holding a simple box with a red ribbon tied on it and smiling as he walks further into the room, ignoring the immediate shock that always strikes him when he visits. The sight of Sousuke looking that weak and powerless isn't something he'd ever expected to see, not after witnessing how much strength he once carried and pushed forward from his shoulders when he swam. Even Rin could only dream of reaching the same height while vaulting out of the water, and his knuckles turn white whenever he squeezes his hands by his side, thinking that Sousuke might never soar that far again. It's always too hard to hold it together now, but he wants to be strong for Sousuke and to become someone he can rely on.
Momo and Ai hover around the other side of the hospital bed from him as he approaches the stack of gifts in the corner of Sousuke's room. Momo immediately launches himself into an animated monologue for Sousuke about all the antics he's been missing out on in swim club, boasting about his amazing times and how better he's getting at other styles. He also holds out a bunch of vouchers for free cheeseburgers at the local burger joint near their campus.
"Happy Birthday, Yamazaki-senpai!!" he finally announces happily, "Rin-senpai said he'd make me do extra laps if I didn't bring you something, so here you go."
Well, at least it's something… he doesn't expect someone who doesn't have a job or a lot of money to buy anything fancy, and Sousuke looks surprisingly touched. Ai gives him a box of assorted mochi and apologizes for disturbing him.
"It's fine," Sousuke says in return, though his eyes look hazier than usual, and he's wearing a groggy expression that Rin assumes is the result of the steady stream of pain killers in his system. He must have been sleeping before they arrived.
"Has anyone been by to see you today?" Rin asks curiously.
In response, Sousuke points to the stack of gifts with his chin.
"My parents and your sister," he answers quietly, and Rin assumes the whale-shark plush doll and the giant tub of protein powder are the products of Gou's visit.
She had texted him earlier that week while trying to think of something to get Sousuke, and Rin had mentioned Sousuke's shared preference for sharks. However, he hadn't expected her to get him a stuffed animal, of all things. He can't imagine Sousuke even owning one, but if it's from Gou, he wouldn't throw it out. He's surprisingly chivalrous like that.
The protein powder is probably to help preserve the size and shape of Sousuke's 'god-tier' muscles, which is again, a very Gou thing to give. Rin shakes his head at the sight of it before absently sifting through the other gifts. His parents appear to have gotten him practical things like clothes and towels, though his mother also left him a bouquet of bright blue peonies. The card mentions that it's supposed to mean good health in flower language, and she thought the fragrance would spruce up the hospital room a bit.
Rin chuckles a little as he reads it before telling Sousuke, "You're being majorly spoiled today. You can try wiping off that sour face of yours."
"It's a tired face. Not a sour one. How else am I supposed to react? You guys interrupted my nap."
Nitori immediately starts apologizing while Momo has long since given up on caring when it comes to intruding on anyone's private space. Instead, he's playing with the equipment and liberally pressing buttons, something that he only abandons when Rin grabs him in a headlock and pulls him away.
"Stop that! That's not a toy!"
"But I wanted to find out what was making-ack!" He flails when Rin tightens his hold on him, and he tries desperately to escape the crushing force of his arm.
It quickly becomes apparent that having Momo and Ai here is more stressful than pleasant for Sousuke, and Rin keeps trying to reconnect all the wires back to their original configuration before ordering Ai to take Momo somewhere far away and put some food in him before he has to put up with him whining about being hungry the whole train ride home.
"Out," Rin emphasizes as he practically pushes them out of the room, and he hears Sousuke laugh softly from his bed.
"They weren't bothering me that much, Rin."
"Yeah, that's because you didn't have to deal with this on the way here, but they insisted on coming when I mentioned I was going to visit you."
He hadn't wanted to bring them with him originally if only because he picked out something a little embarrassing for Sousuke, and he felt a little self-conscious giving it to him in front of everyone. It wasn't all that expensive, but it is a little personal. He was hoping he could cheer the guy up a little by reminding him this isn't the end for him. The door is still wide open for him. That's always been what Rin's believed.
His eyes are averted as he nudges the box into Sousuke's hands. "Happy Birthday, Sousuke," he murmurs quietly, and Sousuke actually looks dumbstruck.
Did he really think he wouldn't get him anything? Geez, this guy… Rin shakes his head and nudges him on the arm. "Don't just stare at the box. Open it."
"Rin, you didn't have to…"
Yeah, yeah. But he wanted to.
He watches Sousuke as he fiddles with the ribbon before opening the box and taking out a chain and ribbon bracelet with two pendants hanging from it, one a shark and the other a whale shark. He stares at it like he's holding something radioactive, and Rin points to the tiny inscription on the back of the whale shark while feeling his cheeks heat up faintly.
"Towards our dream…," he reads softly, and his eyes are wide and child-like as though he's finally starting to get that there's something more laid out before them, something infinitely more powerful and special waiting for them than the Olympics. Rin's own hand is carrying an identical bracelet that's shrouded under his sweater, and he flashes it briefly at Sousuke, hoping he doesn't think it's an absurd and overly cheesy gesture. It's not like he'd do this for just anyone.
The fact that Sousuke's smiling as brightly and unrestrained as he used to when they were younger does make everything worth it.
"Thank you, Rin."
Rin shrugs as his own fingers crawl to the back of his neck, his earlier self-consciousness surging again. It was the first thing he could think of to cheer Sousuke up a little after this whole ordeal, but he didn't do it to ease the guilt from his heart. He did it because this person right here means more to him than any bracelet is ever going to spell out for him. One day, he'll find a way to prove it to him properly, but this is a start.
"It was nothing. I know you don't like wearing that much jewelry, so don't feel obligated to wear it. Just keep it around."
"No, I'll wear it," Sousuke says immediately, almost cutting him off. "Besides, I know you'll get mopey if I don't."
Rin scoffs. "I won't get mopey. I said it's not that big of a deal."
Sousuke seems wholly unconvinced of that fact, and he shakes his head before reaching out a little with the arm that's currently not bandaged up to brush his fingers against his. His smile is softer now, something that reaches his eyes completely, and Rin can't stop staring for the life of him because he's finally seeing and understanding the way that Sousuke looks at him.
'Am I looking at you like that, too?'
He wants so badly to return the depth in Sousuke's eyes at that moment, and he lets their fingers very lightly move in between one another, loosely lacing together. The drumming beat of his heart picks up pace in that moment, but he doesn't get caught up in asking why, only letting it go on and on until he hears sneakers squeaking down the hall a few minutes later.
Momo bursts in with a balloon he made out of latex glove to show them, and that's when Rin decides they should let Sousuke rest and get back to campus. He promises they'll return again tomorrow, and he tells Sousuke to get well quickly. They miss him.
Sousuke nods once.
"I will."