Chapter Text
For Matsuoka Rin, most mornings began the same: wake up, go for a warm-up run, take a shower, cook a hearty breakfast, and read the newspaper. Sometimes he’d vary it up in what he ate (traditional rice and fish versus a carbo load) and drank (orange juice or coffee), or in the order in which he read the paper (sports first or last). But otherwise, in his age, he was becoming a creature of habit. Routine was his comfort during the rigorous training season, just as it was his rock during the off-season. Preparation was key, as were habits and patterns, making sure he was always in top shape, on form, and ready for competition.
Unfortunately, there were a few things that had little regard for routine: accidents, the weather, and his seven-year-old son.
Which is why he found himself jumping in surprise, nearly spilling his hot tea all over himself, when that very same son slammed a piece of paper down onto the table. Setting his mug down, Rin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned is attention from the article he was reading to his son, Taki, who was beaming up at him as if he didn’t just shave a year off his father’s life.
“Can I join? Please please please?” he begged, and Rin sighed as he slowly dragged his eyes to the flyer. It was light blue, and in a large, garish font, it read: Interested in learning how to swim? Want to compete? Come join the newly renovated Iwatobi Swim Club!! Group and private lessons available to all age groups. Year-round pool access with membership. Call Today! Underneath the flyer had been tear-offs with a (horrifying) Iwatobi-chan icon and phone number, but apparently, Taki had thought it better to tear off the entire flyer and bring it with him instead. Honestly, Rin wasn’t even surprised.
Arching an eyebrow at Taki, he folded the newspaper and set it down on the table as his son hoisted himself up onto his own seat, eyes bright, gleaming, and silently pleading.
“You wanna take lessons?” he asked. “What? Practicing with your dad not good enough?”
Taki paused mid-eager nod and pouted up at him. “That’s not true! I just need to get a trainer too, if I wanna be as fast as you someday.”
The thought made Rin’s chest swell with pride. Being an Olympic swimmer himself, he’d taught Taki a thing or two when he wasn’t busy with practice, but he’d never been able to give him proper lessons. Not when his practice schedule was rigorous, and when Taki spent his free time either with his friends or with Gou. He knew his son could hold his own in a pool, but it never occurred to him that he’d be interested in actual swimming lessons; in learning how to do more than just swim from one end of the pool to the other, or “race” his dad after practice was over.
But, being a twenty-five year old single parent, sometimes a lot of things don’t occur to him.
He couldn’t fault Taki for wanting to be as cool as his dad though.
Drumming his fingers on the newspaper, Rin feigned a thoughtful look, humming for added emphasis. “I dunno,” he said, glancing at Taki out of the corner of his eye.
“Please, dad? Please please pleaaaaase?” Looking down, Rin saw his pleading look evolve tenfold, and he let out a long-suffering sigh and let his head roll back.
“Fine! Fine. We’ll go check it out tomorrow.”
Taki jumped up and cheered, his grin stretching across his face. “Thanks dad, you’re the best!” he said. “I can’t wait! I can get lessons and get my own trainer and then I can swim all the time too—“
“—Yeah, yeah, I know,” Rin mumbled, though he couldn’t help a smile from appearing on his own lips. “Now go finish getting dressed so we can go.”
“Okay!” Taki shouted as he bounded through the kitchen and toward his bedroom. After he had left, Rin looked over at the flyer again, noticing the terrifyingly hideous Iwatobi-chans drawn all over it, as well as a few black and white photos of the new facilities. They looked nice, he had to admit. He remembered seeing the Iwatobi Swim Club back when he was a kid; he had gone once or twice when visiting his grandma, but that was all. It looked like it had been remodeled, and since they were going to be living there for a while, he might as well go check it out, maybe for more than just his son. After all, if he wanted to swim on his off days, it would be easier than taking the train into the city.
What little Rin remembered of the former Iwatobi Swim Club paled in comparison to the newly renovated facilities. The exterior was polished and modern, glass ceiling allowing the light to stream in. Fancy lettering and signage made the place look seductive, a far cry from its former self. For a town as old and traditional as Iwatobi, the swim club looked out of place, which is exactly why it attracted former city-dweller Matsuoka Rin.
He gripped Taki’s hand as they walked through the automatic doors, looking around once they were inside. The lobby was nice, clean tiles and a round receptionist’s desk greeting them at the entrance, with a small sports shop off to the side, swimming gear hanging in the window. Taki made a move to run toward it, but Rin’s grip kept him from straying too far.
As they approached the desk, two eerily similar-looking receptionists, a boy and a girl, both smiled at him cheerfully. “Good morning! Welcome to the Iwatobi Swim Club,” said the girl - her name tag read Tachibana Ran (as did the boy’s though the name read Ren). The innocent way in which she tilted his head said that she didn’t recognize Rin, which helped him relax. “Is this your first time here?”
“Yeah,” Rin said as he finally let go of Taki’s hand, who took off like a bullet toward equipment store. “I’m looking into a membership and lessons. For him.” He jerked his head in his kid’s direction.
Tachibana Ran’s smile widened as she clapped her hands together. The boy next to her shifted a bit and propped his chin up on the palm of his hand, watching Rin eagerly. “That’s great!” she said and then cleared her throat, managing to calm down. “I mean, I would be happy to get you in touch with one of our instructors and get you a tour of the facilities.”
“Sure, sounds good,” he said, turning his head toward the shop, where Taki was tugging at different pairs of swimsuits while the clerk watched him nervously. “Taki.” His son’s head shot up to look over at Rin and he hustled over, stopping when he got to the receptionist’s desk. He placed both hands on the counter and pushed himself up on his toes so he could watch the Tachibanas with an excited smile.
“Hi,” he said finally, just as Tachibana Ran was picking up the phone.
She beamed down at him. “Hello there! Aren’t you just adorable,” she said as she dialed a number and cradled the phone between her head and her shoulder. Taki grinned sheepishly and looked up at Rin, who rolled his eyes playfully and ruffled his son’s hair.
Tachibana twirled around in her seat, waiting for someone to pick up on the other line. When no one did, she hung up and tried again. It took two more tries and three rotations on her chair before she finally stopped spinning, perking up and speaking into the receiver. “Haru-chan! Are you free at the moment?” she asked, and then went silent. “…Hmm, okay, what about Mako?” Another pause. “Great! Can you send him down to the lobby? Thanks.” She hung up the phone and beamed. “One of the instructors will be down in a second.”
“Great,” Rin said, turning his attention back toward the lobby. It seemed relatively empty for the weekend, but, then again, it was Sunday morning. He could hear the evidence of activity further in, quiet splashing indicating that the pool was in use. The sound alone was enough to ignite the desire to swim, but he smothered it in favor of conceding to this tour. Maybe he should’ve packed his gear with him…
Meanwhile, his son was still staring at the two receptionists almost invasively. “Are you two twins?” Taki asked. Ren seemed to flush in embarrassment while Ran giggled to himself.
“You’re so observant. I’m Tachibana Ran, and this is my brother Ren,” she said, gesturing toward them. She looked up at Rin. “We’re only working here part-time. Our brother’s one of the coaches.” He nodded, pretending as if he cared.
“Ren and Ran,” Taki repeated, pointing to each one respectively. Ran clapped her hands together and congratulated him on his excellent memory. Rin suppressed the urge to roll his eyes; she didn’t need to talk down at him like he was a child. He was seven, not three. (Taki seemed to soak up the praise like a sponge though.)
Finally, footsteps filled the hall as a particularly tall man jogged into the lobby and smiled. “Hi,” he said, and while it looked like he was going to say more, he was almost instantly interrupted by Taki.
“Makoto-sensei!” he exclaimed, running up to him.
The man - Makoto, apparently - widened his eyes in shock before his features softened. Crouching down until he was eye-level with Taki, he laughed. “Taki-kun, I didn’t know you were interested in swimming.”
Taki placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest in a way that made Rin snort back a laugh as he approached the two of them. “Of course! My dad’s an olympic swimmer, you know.” Makoto’s head shot up and his eyes widened when they locked with Rin’s.
“Matsuoka Rin?!” he exclaimed, and Rin’s hand immediately went to the back of his neck to rub at it sheepishly. “I had no idea Taki-kun was your son! Wow, it’s such an honor to meet you.” He smiled and straightened up before bowing in front of him. “Tachibana Makoto. I’m such a big fan.”
Rin felt his face flush, though any embarrassment was immediately cut by the pride that swelled in his chest. As a two-time Olympian with eight medals for Japan, he still found it hard to believe that he was someone worth recognizing or idolizing. But still, people sent him letters from across the country to cheer him on and support him. Coming from Kyoto, where the crowds meant he had little place to hide, it had been nice moving to Iwatobi and having a small paece of mind. But he certainly couldn’t hate meeting a fan; not when their support had carried him this far.
Recovering quickly, he threw Tachibana a half-smile-half-smirk as he straightened himself up. “It’s a pleasure,” he said, before ruffling Taki’s hair. “I’d be happy to talk professional swimming another time though. I’m here to look into lessons for him.”
Tachibana’s eyes widened as he seemed to remember himself. “Oh, yeah— of course! I’d be happy to give you both a tour around the club and then discuss lessons and rates.”
“That would be great.”
Tachibana smiled and turned on his heel, walking back into the club in the direction that he came from. “So, the newly renovated swim club was finished a few years ago. The old one was shut down in 2012, torn down in 2016, and then rebuilt in 2020. We’re coming up on the third year anniversary.” He smiled back at Rin and Taki before continuing on. Walking through the lobby, they first entered a lounge filled with couches, large TVs playing local sports channels on low volume, and day lockers. There were a glass cases on the wall showcasing a large variety of trophies, banners, and photos.
“This is our lounge. It’s a nice place to hang out after practice and watch sporting events. Sometimes we have socials here during national swimming tournaments and the Olympics.” He smiled as Rin almost knowingly as he approached the glass case and looked inside. “Those’re our trophy cases. We’re slowly filling them up. A lot of the ones in there are from the old swimming club and the local middle and high school.”
Rin nodded as he glanced through. There was a small section of the trophy case dedicated to dusty old photos and trophies surrounding the picture of a rather bored-looking child. Next to those were trophies and certificates awarded from local and national swimming events dating as far back to his own elementary and middle school days. “We host a lot of swimming competitions here, and a lot of our kids are involved in the middle school and high school teams.”
Makoto’s voice snapped Rin back to reality and he glanced over at him. He nodded and meandered back over to Taki, whose attention was fixated on a cat food commercial. He rolled his eyes and smiled down at him before nudging him.
Makoto pressed forward and Rin fell into step behind him. “So, are you Taki’s teacher?” he asked sheepishly, slightly ashamed that he didn’t actually know. Makoto glanced back at him and smiled.
“Not yet. I teach fourth grade, but I do see Taki-kun around school often. He’s very active during the lunch hour.”
Taki grinned up at his dad. “I saw Makoto-sensei posting the swim club fliers and now we’re best friends.”
Makoto let out a deep, roaring laugh. “That we are,” he said kindly and Rin shifted next to them.
After the lounge was the pool, which was larger than Rin would’ve expected. The glass ceiling allowed the light to come down and sparkle off the surface of the water, which was broken up by splashing as people pushed through the lanes. “This is our half-Olympic sized pool, the biggest one here. This one is available to the general public during most hours. This is also where we host our lessons, child and adult. Group lessons get dedicated pool hours and private lessons usually don’t have any problems grabbing a lane or two.” He smiled at the two of them. “We have another five lane pool that the local swim teams use during off-season to train in. We’ll host group and private lessons there as well, depending on whether or not it’s in use.”
He led them into the locker rooms, which were spacious and nice - used by both the local swim teams, the members, and those taking lessons. He showed them the smaller pool as well, which was just as nice as the larger one, as well as a small gym with just enough equipment for basic land-based training.
“It’s for some of our more serious members. Not a lot of people use it,” Makoto explained.
After that, he showed them the rest of the facilities that the swim club had to offer (an outdoor patio for summer events, a second-floor viewing area for parents, and more) before returning them to the lobby where Ren and Ran were quietly arguing over something near the phones. They straightened up when Tachibana cleared his throat and smiled at them.
“So, what’d you think?” he asked, looking at Rin expectantly.
Rin opened his mouth to answer but was beaten to it by Taki. “It was so awesome! I mean, it was almost as cool as where dad trains in the city, but it’s so much closer,” he said, grinning up at Rin. “I could walk here after school if I took lessons and then I could swim and then we could come here together on the weekends and swim together and it would be so awesome! Please, dad, please, please, please can I take lessons?”
Rin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand to hide the smile and laugh that threatened to break out. Sometimes he had to put his foot down and be the stern father, but in all honesty, the swim club seemed up to par. It would be a good place for Taki to come after school for lessons, considering its proximity to the elementary school, as well as their house (and Gou could drop him off or pick him up, given her schedule). Depending on the monthly rate, he could also purchase a membership for himself — it’d be a good place to train on his days off.
“Let’s talk rates,” he said after a moment of silence, and Taki threw his hands up with an excited shout.
It was after a long, private discussion in Tachibana’s office that Rin finally conceded to signing up for group lessons for Taki and a membership for himself. The rates were a little on the steep side, but nothing compared to the fees he payed for his own personal trainer and for his membership at the pool in the city. He was making enough through sponsorships and advertisements to pay for their apartment and afford this as well.
Taki was more than excited as he looked up at the photographs of the swim coaches who taught at the club, hanging neatly behind the receptionist’s desk. They had relocated themselves after Rin had signed the contracts, as Tachibana had to pass them off to his siblings to file away in the computer. “Am I taking lessons with you?” he asked, looking up at Tachibana as he loomed over his sister’s shoulder, watching as she input the data.
“Sorry, Taki-kun,” he said, and his apologetic tone was genuine, as far as Rin could tell. “You’ll be taking lessons with Haru, who teaches the beginning classes in all age groups.”
Both Rin and his son looked up at the rows of photos to find ‘Haru,’ both stopping on the picture of a rather dour-looking black haired adult. He was expecting a woman, but was surprised when “Nanase Haruka” turned out to be a man.
“What’re his qualifications?” Rin asked half-heartedly. Tachibana had, after all, gone on at a small length about his own background in swimming, which started at the original Iwatobi Swim Club and continued on into high school and, eventually, university.
“Haru? He and I swam through to high school together,” Tachibana said with a rather fond smile. “He’s an amazing swimmer, placed first in almost every event he competed in. Now he’s teaching here.”
Rin was impressed and while he did have questions lingering on his tongue - what’s an “amazing swimmer” doing teaching beginning classes only - but he decided to swallow them. It didn’t really matter, and he was sure Taki was going to surpass his age group soon anyway.
Taki, on the other hand, crossed his arms over his chest and grinned challengingly. “We’ll see how he holds up,” he said with a nod and both Rin and Tachibana laughed.
After being presented with his membership key fob and a print out of the paperwork, Tachibana and his siblings sent Rin and his son off with hearty and happy welcomes and ‘can’t wait to see you again soon’s. As they left through the doors they entered in, Taki tugged at Rin’s hand impatiently.
“But why can’t we swim today? I wanna dive into that pool, it was so big,” he said, gesturing wildly with both hands.
“You’re starting group lessons tomorrow, you know,” Rin said. “We can go to the beach today, if you want.”
His son’s excited cries answered for him, and the entire walk back to their apartment he blabbered on and on about how badly he wanted to swim with sharks.