This post-canon one shot is following a prompt as a part of Makoto's Birthday 2017 Gift Exchange
Fear Not
Droplets of water trickle down Sousuke's skin in cold rivulets, dripping from the edges of his hair onto his already soaked shirt. That trademark blasé gaze of his is back on his unruffled face, but the same can't be said for the wild drumming that still marches strong within his chest folds. By his side and as much drenched, Makoto is resting on his elbows, revelling with closed eyes in the feeble light of dusk. At their dying hour, the last tangerine sunrays are still a welcome warmth.
Sousuke swallows. It's not that he doesn't appreciate this moment of tranquility settling between them, but his earlier thoughts about the hazel-haired youth are twisting and buzzing inside his mind so loudly, that he wonders if Makoto can actually hear them. Under thick, dark eyebrows, he studies the handsome backstroker for a moment, seeking the slightest change, the lightest wrinkle, the faintest trace which will prove what his logic is pestering him about; that the man who chanced upon Sousuke back inside that house, was not the Makoto he always knew. He wonders in vain.
In the end, Sousuke can't hold back the question struggling to fence past his lips.
"How do you do that?"
xxxxxxxxxxx
"Sousuke, bubblegum nightmare is coming. Over."
"It was about goddamn time."
Crouched in the dark like a hopeless predator, trapped in an oversized wolf costume, Sousuke huffed impatiently. Far above him, wedged between two rotting beams, an electric lantern was showering his corner in a sickly, yellow light. He wasn't even sure how he found himself involved with this shameless prank in the first place. Rin's words were still sauntering in and out of his mind like a whirring sound.
"It's only a harmless joke, everyone will be fine. Kisumi deserves it and, besides, it's Halloween!"
A Matsuoka never accepts a no for an answer. Sousuke, of all people, should have known better, he had been friends with not only one, but two of those devious redheads all his life. When Rin had told him about the abandoned horror house at the premises of the old theme park that Asahi had miraculously unearthed, Sousuke feared they were probably stepping way out of their league. The place looked completely ransacked, however the maze in the ground floor and the artificial pothole at the east side were still standing.
So there he was now, prowling by the side of that abysmal pit, ready to scare whoever crossed his path and send them to their wet tomb. At least such funny thoughts loitered in his mind. In reality, the water in the trench was deep enough for someone to fall in without getting hurt, while at the same time shallow enough for a tall man like him to easily stand without getting drowned. Nevertheless, he wouldn't wish to be in Kisumi's shoes, wading in those cold, stagnant waters, not even for a second. He just couldn't wait for this dumb gag to be over. Still several hours away, the autumnal night was closing in full of promises and Sousuke was silently yearning for the doting arms of his new boyfriend.
Makoto.
At the whisper of his name, Makoto's figure manifested behind Sousuke's trembling lids. Soft bangs in the shade of hazelnut flowing in the morning breeze, teeth like sea pearls morphing into the brightest grin, two droplets of emerald shining like endless meadows when the meridian sun bathes them in its halo. And, as the cherry on top of a lush cake, a killer body with hills and plains of robust muscles that fitted so perfectly under Sousuke's exploring hands. But what the brunet simply adored about Makoto was how bashful the young student actually was. A bit of a gutless scaredy cat at points, Makoto and his softness had piqued Sousuke's interest since the first delicate tilt of his head while spelling the brunet's name. There was a frailty about that handsome giant with the blossomed heart that awakened the protector inside Sousuke and caused his chest to swell. Besides, the ex butterfly swimmer could understand better than anyone how hard it was for someone to tame life-long fears.
The wan light flickered, letting glimpses of darkness in. Sousuke cursed under his breath.
"Rin, can you read me? This stupid lantern is about to go off. Over."
"Sousuke, bubblegum nightmare is here. I repeat, bubblegum nightmare is here. Over."
"Stop with this bubblegum nonsense and listen to me for a-"
"Stay put. Over."
"No, Rin, wait!"
Suddenly white noise interjected the frequence, and just like that, the walkie talkie Asahi had proudly handed him, broke down. Within seconds, the dim light died out, sentencing the world to blackness. Someone above the clouds had a bizarre taste in humour.
"Shit."
Emerging from his hide, Sousuke groped for the lantern in the absolute dark. He imagined that his poor orientation skills would be proven anything but an ally in his quest, however he refused to remain idle. Dull noises reverberated throughout the house, thus he guessed Kisumi was probably already in the serpentine maze. With the heavy suit greatly burdening his attempts, he struggled to stand on the tip of his toes, for a better reach over the wooden beams. But when his feet failed to find the coarse ground, after a trip on his furry tail, Sousuke instantly foresaw the fate that awaited him. In a plangent splosh, he was fully submerged. The initial shock wore off fast, and he shuddered as he stood. Cold water surged around him, seeping into his costume and stealing the heat away from his body like a common thief.
"Rin! Kisumi!"
The names bounced off the metallic walls of the pothole, curling upwards like hollow sounds. It was futile, the pit was deeper than he had originally estimated. That was when he heard them. There was no mistake, Kisumi's voice sounded clear now, but beneath his incessant blather and his piercing laughter, another whimpering voice radiated through the halls.
Sousuke's eyes widened. That sly fox had outsmarted them all. He wasn't alone, he had brought Makoto with him.
The brunet stifled an involuntary giggle. The demure swimmer with the faint heart beguiled into the middle of a deserted horror house, where the lights sparked no more, would definitely be quite the sight to behold. Had Sousuke not been stuck inside that freezing jail in the first place. Groaning, he strived to leap and reach the opening of the pit, however the fuzzy costume was completely saturated already and the water was pooling inside his pants, pulling him down. He had to take the damn suit off, but no matter how much he stretched, his fingers could barely graze the zipper on the back. Rin had helped him dress like that after all.
"Fuck!" he punched the walls again and again "Fuck, fuck, fu-"
"Sousuke?"
Lifting his sapphire gaze, Sousuke was momentarily blinded by the unexpected beam of strong luminance.
"Makoto, the flashlight..."
"Oh sorry! I'm sorry. Are you ok?"
"I've been better, how about you?"
"Sousuke, this isn't funny! You are not hurt, are you?"
The worry in Makoto's question was overwhelming. Sousuke sighed and shook his head reassuringly.
"I'm not hurt. My toes have started turning to ice-cubes, but other than that I swear I'm fine."
"How you even ended up down there?"
"You really don't want to know. Hold on a second, why are you alone? Wasn't Kisumi with you?"
"He was, but I lost him in that maze. To be honest, it's very unnerving in here."
Makoto bit his lip anxiously, and as his face edged closer to the flashlight, Sousuke spotted the droplets of sweat streaming down the side of his cheek. It must have taken Makoto all his willpower not to storm out of there screaming.
"Listen, Mako, I can't climb up on my own. Go out and find Rin. He's here. Asahi too. Tell them where-"
"Forget it, I'm not leaving you."
"Yes you are. Look, I know you hate the dark. Just go outside and return with those idiots."
"No, I'll help you out."
"I told you I'm fine!...Hey! Watch with the flashlight!"
Sousuke raised his hand, blocking the ruthless light that blured his vision.
"Are you really though?" Makoto insisted with concern "You can't even see it, but you look pale already. By the time I find my way back into this hell, your lips will have turned blue and you'll be flirting with hypothermia."
Sousuke choked his next words. Something had changed in that musty hall. There was a scent of firmness in Makoto's cracked voice. A frail flame that still simmered in his terrified eyes. It was something alien, but Sousuke had no doubt it was there.
"Here, grab my hands."
Suspended over the pit, Makoto stretched his arms as lower as he could. Sousuke grasped them tightly, but even their combined efforts were proven pointless and the brunet sank back into the bottom.
"You have to take that costume off. It has absorbed too much water."
"You think I didn't try?" Sousuke sounded exasperated "I can't even reach the zipper. Maybe it's stuck, I don't know."
Makoto rubbed the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to focus. At points, his restless, emerald eyes would dart all around him, stealing glimpses of his eerie surroundings. And Sousuke, didn't miss that. The last thing he wanted was for the man he so cherished to have a panic attack over some distasteful prank.
"Mako, are you feeling ok?"
"Yeah..."
"Hear me out. I think I heard noises coming from the maze. You are definitely not alone up there, ok? Someone is probably coming this way. You have to...what the hell are you doing?!"
In swift moves, the backstroke swimmer rid himself off his jacket and kicked away his shoes.
"I'm coming down."
"What?! No, wait!"
Sousuke's protests dissipated in the splashing sound of Makoto's dive. Rising up, the former Iwatobi captain raked both hands through his sand-hued hair , combing back his wet bangs, as the water cascaded over his narrow shirt. Sousuke had to mentally remind himself of their inconvenient situation, in order to beat the urge to seize Makoto's succulent lips right then and there.
"Great...so what are we doing now? Open a portal and summon the others?"
"Let's strip you first."
Makoto smiled awkwardly and somehow, within the misery of that raven hole, it was the most encouraging sight. Quickly, he slid behind his sulky boyfriend and mastering all his strength, he began pulling the two sides of the faulty zipper apart. His biceps tensed and flexed, until a tearing scratch sliced the air and the metallic link yielded, freeing Sousuke from his grotesque restraints.
Intertwining his hands, Sousuke beckoned Makoto to move directly in front of him.
"Here, step on my hands and I'll push you up. Use my back as support."
"Sousuke, please..."
"Come on, no reason to waste more time."
"I can't let you put such strain on your injured shoulder."
"And I can't let you down here alone, not even for a second. Listen..." Sousuke cupped Makoto's face with both hands, allowing his thumbs to groove imperceptible patterns in his flustered cheeks and their foreheads to gently brush against each other. "This whole mess started as a joke we foolishly tried to play. It's not your fault, you weren't even supposed to be here. Feel your knees, you have been shaking. I don't want you soaked in the dark in this damn pit, I don't want you in this fear..."
"Sousuke..." Makoto's hands locked around Sousuke's wrists, smoothly but steadily shoving them down, until their palms connected and their fingers interlaced, "...have some faith in me, will you?"
There it was again. That adamant stare looming over Makoto's trademark kindness, that foreign feeling laminating his weak heart. Who was that stranger who was holding his boyfriend a hostage and was now peering so tenaciously at him through Makoto's pools of malachite?
Admitting his defeat, Sousuke nodded and took a step back. Bending his knees, Makoto breathed in deeply. As the minutes ticked, the water was getting glacial, penetrating his skin like thousands of frozen needles and numbing his body to the core. Clenching the flashlight with his teeth, its beam danced maniacally on the sleek walls, stirring the shadows of the pit from their ancient slumber. The darkness and its unlawful residents were lurking just for him, but this time Makoto could not fall ther prey.
The veins on Makoto's temples twitched and blood rushed all over his face, as Sousuke's weight sank on his shoulders. His legs quivered and his hold seemed unstable. Worried this plan was wrong from the beginning, the brunet prepared to hop off, when two strong arms circled him from either side, helping him to keep his balance. What happened right after, would mark Sousuke for life. Drawing upon his tremendous willpower, Makoto started pushing upwards. As he carried their combined weights and his erratic heart pounded frantically in his ears, his lungs expanded and a prolonged growl climbed up from the innermost recesses of his heart. In the silence of the darkened house, Makoto was immense.
Eventually, Sousuke managed to crawl out and, two breaths later, at the pit's toothless mouth, a single hand popped up like the banner of a saviour. Exhaling his relief, Makoto grabbed it.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the aftermath of their eventful afternoon, they are seen basking under the setting sun. The hills are etching an inky line in the horizon and the long chain of apologies shared with the rest boys is nothing but an echo lulling the past.
Droplets of water trickle down Sousuke's skin in cold rivulets, dripping from the edges of his hair onto his already soaked shirt. That trademark blasé gaze of his is back on his unruffled face, but the same can't be said for the wild drumming that still marches strong within his chest folds. By his side and as much drenched, Makoto is resting on his elbows, revelling with closed eyes in the feeble light of dusk. At their dying hour, the last tangerine sunrays are still a welcome warmth.
Sousuke swallows. It's not that he doesn't appreciate this moment of tranquility settling between them, but his earlier thoughts about the hazel-haired youth are twisting and buzzing inside his mind so loudly, that he wonders if Makoto can actually hear them. Under thick, dark eyebrows, he studies the handsome backstroker for a moment, seeking the slightest change, the lightest wrinkle, the faintest trace which will prove what his logic is pestering him about; that the man who chanced upon Sousuke back inside that house, was not the Makoto he always knew. He wonders in vain.
In the end, Sousuke can't hold back the question struggling to fence past his lips.
"How do you do that?"
He falters. Every piece of the enigmatic puzzle seems to slowly fall in its rightful place. His lover is still the same guy that put him in shame during the watergun games all those years ago. He is the same guy that battled against his own nemesis, the infinite ocean, to rescue a friend from waves enormous and fierce. The same guy that tonight sealed the darkness away, to dash to his aid. That guy Sousuke once teased as a wimp. The guilt is already gnawing on his insides.
"How do you do it? How do you conquer your fears?"
Makoto leisurely opens his eyes, the twilight's salmon gleam playing hide and seek among his long, brown eyelashes. As he casts a soothing glance at Sousuke, his hand slithers on top of his and squeezes it gently, kneading the roughness he feels there.
"Whenever I stand against them, I am not alone."
The End
Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.