HaruXReader

Warning: Lots of fluff topped with an overdose of angst! No graphic violence or sexual content; rated K+ for depressing content.

Spoiler warning!: This Oneshot involves 2 main character deaths.

"Haru-chan, please stay."

Snuggled closely within his strong arms, you rest your chin on his firm shoulder as he cradles you in a gentle embrace. Heat from the sun-soaked grains of sandy shore still lingers warmly under your bare legs, balanced in harmonious perfection by the cool ocean water that washes rhythmically up and down with each swelling wave crest. Unable to go against the tide, the rippling salt always returns, following nature's guiding hand now and ever since the beginning of time itself. You bite your lip pensively, wondering if he'll come back as it does.

"Believe me, _, I wish I could."

His whispering voice is strikingly calm, trickling like a soothing waterfall of solace into your ears; as smooth as white-washed glass tossed to perfection by the never ending seafoam.

You gently grasp his soft hand in your own, wayward grains shared unwanted between your palms like growing rifts in spider-cracked ice. In an attempt to be rid of them you rub his hand affectionately, but the water acts as glue-like residue, the ambition of the greedy leeches refusing to unlatch from him.

You sigh forlornly, strands of your (h/c) hair tossing into your misty eyes.

"How long will you be...gone?"

You ask tentatively, as if treading in murky water skewed by a multitude of roused debris. This pool that used to be crystal clear, thriving with life's simple pleasures, is now shrouded in a dark nest of insecurity, harboring foul, deformed creatures that nibble mockingly at your exposed feet. You can only imagine how he must feel. While you may wade out of the pool if you choose, he can't.

As you suspect, no response comes.

Instead he stares blankly at the familiar scene before him, letting your words slip unanswered into the current as he wishes only to revel in the peaceful moment at hand. To draw it out, stretch the rubber band as far as he can before it finally snaps aggressively back into place.

For him, the future is a terrifyingly dark abyss- a pitch-blackened trench woven deeply into the fragile fabrics of his serene world. It's a gap of uncertainty that he isn't quite ready to bridge- especially not alone like this- without you.

But like so many others- Makoto included-he doesn't have a choice.

"They can't just do this to you. It isn't fair."

You try to keep your voice from cracking, but it cannot obey such a harsh demand. It slips awkwardly away on the last soft-spoken word.

His hand tenderly strokes your hair, gliding easily through the messy waves like a swimmer carving through water. As you sit beside each other, you can feel his heart drumming steadily against your back, wanting to stay here with you instead of leaving to some far off, unfamiliar place.

"There's nothing I can do, _..."

The two of you sigh in unison, a chorus of breathy, windswept sorrows that make you wince. You've never felt so utterly hopeless; nothing can stop him now-not even himself.

But despite your wishes, time has its own motives, paying no regard to the meaningless pieces of driftwood that float in the vast ocean of life. The seconds flit quickly by, broken butterflies on their final flight as they pass seamlessly into minutes. Neither of you breathe a word, simply relishing in each other's company for as long as you can. And it won't be much longer now before he has to depart from you.

You watch as the sun fades, it's faceted, child-like rays bouncing like sleek dancing partners off of the expanse of effervescent sea. They twirl together for a million lifetimes, dancing to inaudible music and leaving pinks and oranges in their gaiety wakes. You can't help but whimper. It's possible that you and Haru will never get the chance to dance together again. Not to mention Makoto, and the other boys who suffer the same fate. The young boys who soon will be ripped from their homes for who knows how long. What about those of them who've never kissed a girl? Or gone off to college, or have never had the chance to accomplish much of anything? What about the dreamers, or the ones who wish on stars? The ones who've been working for as long as they can remember to achieve them?

Those like Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin.

No. They could never do anything to deserve this.

Contradictorily, the approaching dusk is breathtaking, spinning threads of magic and sweeping you into a surreal world where you and Haru both are untouched by life's many trials. If only it could last, even if it would be nothing more than an eternal dream. At least then you would know how it would end- with a guaranteed smile. But there are no such luxuries in the real world. Happy endings were coined in fairytales- not in reality.

You find your eyes sleepily wavering shut, the tranquility of the beach slowly melting your ability to keep consciousness. The gulls croon as they hop on the sand around you, settling closer to shore to endure the approaching night.

Far off somewhere beyond where you can see clearly, a lighthouse flickers; the unmistakable sound of a foghorn burrows through the clouds to shake you to alertness.

The time the two of you have spent together has finally breached the hour mark.

The very last hour...

He freezes for a moment. But he knows he has to go. Forcing himself to move, he hesitantly shifts next to you, slowly unentangling his arm from your slim waist. Without a word, he steadily eases himself to his feet. The reluctance in his movements is subtle, but having known him for so long, you notice it immediately. The moment has come- the impending dread hitting you like several bullets in the heart. A gaping swell of empty nausea filters ruthlessly into your stomach as he tucks his hands into his navy blue sweatshirt pockets. His eyes are closed, facing the water.

"So long," he whispers to the sparkles. His best friend aside from you and Makoto, the one thing that always remained constant when everything else was crashing and churning into bits. Water- the ocean, the pool- the feeling of weightlessness as his head sank under the milky surface. The comforting darkness it brought- not a darkness filled with uncertainty, but of familiarity. One he had grown to love.

It is the one place where he always can find peace and solace-among the darkness.

At least... it was.

After several moments, he finally turns, careful that he doesn't look at you again. He knows he won't be able to suppress his emotion if he does.

"Wait!," your hand mourns and fingertips grope the air ahead.

He immediately stops in his trek back to the beachside road, but can't bring himself to look at you.

"_, please don't make this harder than it already is."

You sigh heavily, driving your hand into the deep pocket of your camouflage shorts. Your fingertips run against something smooth and small, twist in circles and wrap around a metal chain. You gnaw at your lip.

"I- I just have to give you something. Please let me."

You smile weakly when he turns, his feet padding softly on the sand. His eyes stray aimlessly, but never wander high enough to breach the gap spanning between the two pairs of eyes.

"It's...I...," the words are difficult to form and catch in your throat. You sigh and clear it, resting your eyes for a moment before letting them flick calmly open again. Composure- you have to keep it. You know that failure to do so may force him to lose his- and that's something you could never bear to see.

His lips offer no words.

The sky is a dim blue, clouded with spots of storming gray tempest.

The silence hangs in the air like shards of broken stained glass strung on thin wires.

It pierces. It provokes. It slinks through the peaceful water like an eyesore- a piece of battered driftwood.

You have to end it.

"I bought this for you," you say. "Actually, that's a lie...I sort of already had it. But I say I bought it because well, it wasn't an easy choice to give it up. It's...very important to me. But I think you should have it."

You lift your closed fist from your pocket and let it settle in front of you, close to Haru. Slowly, you let the fingers unfurl and reveal the priceless treasure inside.

His eyes widen, and a gasp flees as his lips part slightly. He lifts his eyes to you- a beautiful, crystalline blue that the light wastes no time in playing with.

"_, your locket? I can't-"

You slip a finger onto his mouth and smile.

"No, you have to take it. I need to give this to you. So you know...I'm always with you."

Before he can refuse, you steal his hand and press the chain into his palm. His fingers close around it, and the warmth from your hand filters into his cool skin. A small pang of loss pricks your stomach, but a feeling of contentedness replaces it immediately. You've had it for years, but now it's with someone you trust. Someone that you love.

"...Thank you. I promise, I'll take good care of it."

"I know you will."

The two of you stand in silence for a moment, frozen in any combination of memory or time or reluctance. Somewhere beyond the slab of street behind you, an engine purrs louder as it draws nearer.

You both know what it is, and who it's coming to take away.

Yet neither of you can move. All you can do is search for and treasure what you find in the eyes of the other.

Before you know it, the engine becomes a full roar and abruptly halts behind Haru, where the shore of sand dunes embraces the sheet of concrete. You swallow hard and painfully, as if trying to force a rock down your throat but failing as it cuts the tissue. You can see it- the truck filled with the eleven other young men assigned to travel with him. Their shadows are illuminated by dying sunlight and you can make out the shapes of their faces through the heavy canvas stretched across the top. One is particularly disheartening, a young man with elbows burrowing into his knees and cradling his head while a foreign arm stretches and gives him a fretful tap on the back. You can't peel your eyes away as the larger shadow unsticks itself from the picture and makes its way to the front of the group, slow like marching by a funereal procession, and no heads turn. You look away when his arms embrace the doorway and launch him soundlessly to the dusted sand.

For a moment, he doesn't speak. It's not easy to watch a parting- it's even harder to be in one.

"...Haru, it's time to go."

Haru recognizes the voice and his bottom lip shakes. "Don't lose it, Haru," you can imagine the words drifting in his mouth, but they don't release. He's trying to coach himself to strength- trying not to shatter and become a billion more particles of ashen sand.

He inhales deeply and turns to meet the voice.

"I know. I'm ready, Makoto."

A lie. A plain, dead, cold lie. He couldn't be farther from it.

But Makoto doesn't correct him. He only smiles and stretches out a hand.

Haru stares at it for a moment- like he doesn't want to grasp it, or like doing so is a matter of life and death.

In a way, it is.

You open your mouth to offer a final, solemn goodbye, but the words don't make it past the barriers of your lips.

Instead of an outflow of words, and influx of surprise rushes through you as you are swept into a kiss.

Haru's arms don't wrap around you, even though you can sense they would like nothing more. Your eyes are wide and your breath is pilfered from your lungs.

The kiss is brief, but feels as if it's lost in forever. You take in every detail of him; his strong jawline and prominent cheekbones, the black wave of hair crashing onto his forehead, the chlorinated eyes that speak a thousand words without uttering one.

Haru slides quickly away and doesn't make an effort to hide his face. A grim smile is plastered in messy paint there, indecisive, vindictive, resentful, and hopeful all at once. You cast a smile of your own back.

Makoto watches, care in his eyes, as Haru effortlessly climbs into the large truck, his arms rippling with youthful energy and strength. You hope beyond what should be possible that they stay that way.

"Well, we'll be seeing you, _." Makoto's feathery brown hair dances with the wind, and his new uniform is a stark smudge against the backdrop of beauty. With slight reluctance and muttering of breath, he continues, "...You know, if...we..."

A drafty pause hangs like a thick residue in the air around him, waiting for the unspoken words to be pulled from his mouth. You don't blame Makoto for having trouble speaking them. "...make it out alive." You finish the morbid thought, choosing to keep it to yourself.

His feet quickly gain his eyes' attention. Stepping forward, you wrap your arms around him and whisper in his ear. He needs a word of encouragement more than anything right now, and if you're the only one who can offer it, then you're glad to.

"It'll be okay. I have faith in all of you. Just promise me you'll do your best to look out for each other."

You feel a subtle nod riddled with uncertainty before the embrace is divided by gusts of change. Waving, Makoto's feet drum onto the steps leading up to the truck and silence when he takes his seat. You imagine who the boy next to him must be, the one slumped from before. Nagisa.

As the truck slowly growls and pops back to life, Haru peeks out from the side of the thick canvas. His eyes are sad and warrant one last smile of desperate affection.

You wave to him, pressing your hand to your lips and blowing him a gentle kiss. He pretends to capture it in his palm, then opens it slightly to reveal the locket.

"Goodbye, Haru," you whisper as you wave them away. You try to expel the trepidation bubbling in your stomach as the truck pulls away in a puff of black exhaust.

And then, all is quiet again.

Dead silent.

You picture all of them sitting on that truck together, sharing grim faces and passing around their heavy hearts like plausible piles of play dough.

All but Rei had made it in. He was lucky enough to have broken his leg while, as he put it, "beautifully launching" off of a crooked dock into the ocean.

Four of the Iwatobi Swim Club's members had been drafted for the army-to go to war. Only one remains. And that means...

"No more swim club," you whisper.

After one last fleeting glance at the sky, you walk back up the path to your shoreside home, raindrop tears gnashing at your ankles as they relentlessly chase behind. Despair shuts the door behind you.