unedited.
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Haruka doesn't want to be here. This place isn't supposed to be annoying, it is his not theirs.
Yet here he is, submerged inside of his favourite locale, while his class mates make a mockery of the pool area. There is music and dancing, food every where, and…games. It is almost enough to make him leave, but he won't because there is water here. Water that he can float beneath, away from the lights and noise.
Ama-chan is the chaperone for this event, but neither her or Gou can be seen anywhere, along with a few other girls. (Not that Haru notices.)
The day light games have long since finished, and the food is almost completely devoured.
Breathing out underneath the water, the raven h
This is unedited.
Work Text:
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The class room is filled with hustle and bustle just like every other Friday afternoon, and Haru wishes that he could be swimming, or submerged in his bathtub. However, at the same time he finds a want to be here, that has been increasing by the day. Just as his irritation has built slowly, sloshing in the base of his abdomen like a particularly volatile ocean storm, becoming worse with each glance in Makoto's direction.
His best friend has been acting strange lately and it is particularly annoying. Haruka does not like the change of schedule for one, but when his childhood friend avoids him constantly, it is more than a little grating.
Haruka doesn't speak, he isn't one to participate in social expectancies, but Makoto has always made him participate, speaking for him. Now though, the raven haired teen finds himself sitting behind his desk, staring from the window to Makoto's (too vibrant) smile that is being given to someone that is not him. The taller boy's hand reaches out to pat their class mates shoulder and the girl looks downward, a visible blush spreading across the back of her neck.
It doesn't seem like Makoto notices, because he continues to talk and when the particularly loud athletics advisor slings an arm around his shoulder, the brunette does not flinch. Makoto's smile actually grows.
Haru's ebony brows draw together in contemplation and irritation. There is something else within his chest, that is not pleasant at all, but he can't put his finger on it. Usually Makoto is the one to explain these things to him, but he is across the room, with anyone but him.
It's been this way for weeks now, ever since the sleep over.
Turning back to the window, the boy ponders over the last time thing were normal, trying to pick out what he said or did wrong.
Haruka will find out why Makoto is avoiding him, why he won't look him in the eye.
After school, he will get his answers.
Weeks prior…
The weather is mild today and getting colder, when Haru decides to come up for air. He has been submerged in the tranquility of his bath tub for the past couple of hours, and the moisture gel is starting to run out. Not that he cares about prune fingers.
"Ne, Haru-chan?" Makoto asks, pulling the soaking teen from the porcelain container. He hasn't heard the question though, and merely shakes out the water from his hair before saying,
"What did you say?" His tone is blank like always, but he is genuinely curious. When Makoto smiles, the conversation doesn't seem so boring. It helps that his friend knows his taste in terms of likes and dislikes.
Makoto stands back, and Haru notes that he is dressed in casual wear, ready to be lazy. He wants to go swimming, but shogi or video games will suffice, just.
"What do you want to do today, Haru-chan?" The brunette questions with a soft smile, and blue eyes narrow in response.
"Drop the chan." He states, accepting the towel that is handed to him. His shorts hang over the towel railing and aren't usually needed, but the temperature is lowering with every hour that passes and Makoto said yesterday that he wouldn't take Haru swimming at the heated pool if he gets sick.
So, the logical boy drys off his hair and torso methodically before holding the edge of his black suit and pulling with enough force. The garment comes down with relative ease and Haru continues to dry. When he is done, he gazes upward to Makoto, who seems to have gone quiet.
"Pass me my shorts." Haruka says, holding out his swim wear for his friend to hang up.
After a short silence, and an impatient Tch Makoto takes the clothing and passes him the cotton pants. He stands at the towel railing for a little longer than needed, but Haruka supposes that his friend is giving him privacy.
Ridiculous.
"I want to swim at the heated pool." Haru states suddenly, padding from the washroom to the main living area. After a short moment Makoto follows with a laugh.
"Gomen Haru-chan, it's not open today." His friend informs and he sighs shortly in response.
"Then what did you bring?" Haruka asks, gazing at the bag slung over Makoto's shoulder. He can hazard a guess though, they have very few activities. Not that either teen are unhappy with it.
In response his friend pulls out a familiar game controller and Haru nods.
"My room." He says, starting for the hallway, but Makoto stops him.
"Why not out here?" The brunette tries with an odd smile, he rubs the back of his head and makes an excuse about needing the area that Haru ignores.
The taller teen turns to the couch and walks to place down his bag. He pulls out the needed equipment and Haruka approaches him easily.
"Are you sick?" The ravenette asks suddenly. Usually Makoto wants to lie on the bed, he says that it is more comfortable. His hand raises to touch the mammoth boy's forehead and he finally catches the usually open green eyes.
Today though, Haru can't read anything. He can't understand what is inside Makoto's head.
With narrowed eyes of azure, his head cocks slightly as Makoto pulls back jerkily.
"Daijoubu Haru-chan. I promise." He assures and sincerity enters his gaze, and Haru nods.
Stepping back, the water inclined male pads to the kitchen to prepare an afternoon meal for them both.
That night, Makoto doesn't make eye contact and opts to sleep by himself. He doesn't change into his sleep wear and the next morning, he leaves before lunch time.
Haru begins to feel restless and strangely annoyed. Nagisa and Rei visit him, but he feels alone regardless.
The present…
He can see Makoto walking quickly, alone, along the side walk. Picking up his pace, the raven haired teen doesn't bother calling out. Instead, he catches up to his friend and falls into step beside him.
"Makoto." Haruka says, looking up to catch the startled boy's wide gaze.
"Ah. Hello Haru-chan." He laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head in habit. Haruka's eyes narrow in response, but he continues to walk at the same brisk pace.
"I'm staying at your house tonight." Haru informs with a finality in his monotonous tone. It is rare that he takes such initiative and the surprise is evident by the jump in Makoto's step. He doesn't fall over though, and nods in reply.
If Haru didn't know better, he would say that his friend is scared.
"Of course." Makoto smiles like normal, but he does not walk near Haruka at all. Instead, he is about a foot away, stepping quickly.
This definitely isn't all in his mind.
When the two arrive at Makoto's and finally escape the clutches of the excited children, a strange tension fills the air and his tall friend tries to keep the door open. Their bags are placed side by side in their usual spots and Makoto grabs out a change of clothes, one for himself and another for Haru.
Meanwhile, blue eyes glare at the open entry way and Haruka stands up from his place at the edge of the bed, and shuts it firmly.
"Oh, Haru-chan, I was just going to get changed." Makoto says softly, indicating toward the door.
Suspicious…
"Why?" Haruka asks, somewhat accusingly. "Why not change here?" He finishes. The like usual hangs in the air as he undoes his own tie.
The brunette flounders in silence, staring from Haruka to the door, finally sighing in defeat.
"You've been avoiding me." Haru states, it isn't a question because he knows for a fact. "You're talking to other people, touching them." But not me…
He undoes the buttons of his white shirt and follows Makoto's gaze as green eyes travel lower with each button.
"I…Haru." His friend sighs, stepping backward to plop down on the bed. His fingers rake through his hair and Makoto looks genuinely upset.
"What did I do?" Haru asks, and his shirt is tossed beside his friend and he reaches for his belt.
"Wait!" Makoto exclaims, moving forward to grasp Haruka's wrist and it's the first time he has felt that familiar warmth in weeks. The stress that has built within him subsides for a fleeting moment, then the hand lets go and his friend says, "Stopundressing."
Releasing his belt, Haru realises that the strange tension is still in the air, and it isn't because of their confrontation.
"Why?" He questions, demanding an answer with his harsh tone. "It's never bothered you before."
Makoto stands quickly, suddenly, "It's always bothered me Haru!" He exclaims, stepping closer with fiery emerald eyes, before backing away like a injured animal.
"I…I like you." Makoto murmurs so quietly that Haru has to repeat the words in his head. Upon hearing though, the burning of annoyance grows ten fold and he reaches for his belt once more.
"Haru! Didn't you hear me?" His despaired friend asks with eyes glazed with tears.
"I did." Haruka replies, letting his pants drop to the floor. "If you like me, why have you been talking to everyone but me?" He reasons in a level voice. The bite is beneath his tone.
There is a pause and angry blue stare into shocked green. Makoto stands taller now, and he doesn't seem to be shying away.
"I thought you'd be disgusted." He sighs and Haru responds with a -
"Tch. You're being annoying." Makoto's much larger clothes make their way onto his form and he sighs in exhaustion.
"Haru-chan…I – don't think you understand what this means." Makoto says, and his viridian waver again, in the most irritating way. The strange feeling in his chest puffs up and in again and it hurts to breathe.
Haru merely replies with a look, that tells the insecure boy – I understand.
"I love you Haru. I want you…and I'm sorry." A tear escapes now and Haru frowns in irritation. Didn't he already say that it is fine?
"Stop it." He orders. Stepping forward gracefully, Haruka reaches out to wipe away the lone tear. Makoto tries to pull away, but he doesn't let him.
"Feel what you want. Do what you want." Haru says tonelessly. "Don't ignore me ever again." Don't let other people touch you...
Their eyes meet and a silent message is conveyed, that goes both ways -
You're mine.
"Do what I want…" Makoto whispers and Haru nods just once, face a blank slate.
A small smile rises to the taller teens face and his kind eyes hold true for the first time in a long time. "Okay." He says.
Then he leans down, cupping Haru's jaw – and kisses him.
aired teen makes a half hearted noise of disapproval as his wrist is grabbed by someone who is much too rough, and he is pulled to the surface.
"Nanase-kun, you're going to play a game with us." One of his class mates says with an annoying smile. Haruka isn't a fan of people who smile, (with Makoto being an exception, and Nagisa on his good days) and this person has to be on the top of his figurative irritating list.
"Watanabe-kun!" Nagisa exclaims from a large circle of people, and Haru's brows draw together at the sight. "See, I told you Haru-chan would play." The blonde says with a cheeky grin.
Makoto sits with a space beside him, and there is an unknown girl to his left that Haruka doesn't pay any heed to.
"Are you sure you want to play Haru-chan?" Makoto questions with a soft smile. His voice is lowered slightly and the apathetic boy wonders if it is so the others can't hear.
Whatever, he doesn't care what they think any way.
"You're playing." Haruka says nonchalantly, giving his friend a sidewards glance.
Still, he doesn't know what this game is or why Makoto looks so nervous. Maybe they should just leave. This is all so troublesome.
"Makoto -" Haru begins, but it is too late. The annoying ring leader, Watanabe or something, moves to the last empty spot and the boys and girls titter in quiet whispers of anticipation.
"What is this?" Haru finds himself asking. His expression is one of distaste, though his eyes hold a minute glint of curiousity.
"Nanase-kun! So you are interested…You can go first then." Watanabe says with something akin to a leer. He points toward the glass bottle in the middle of the circle and explains, "You spin the bottle and whoever it lands on has to kiss you for two minutes."
"Even if it's another girl?" The annoying girl that sits in front of Haruka asks, and Watanabe nods solemnly.
"Can't break the rules." He says regretfully, shaking his head.
Then, as soon as it came, the expression is gone and he is grinning once more.
"Go on then." Watanabe presses, pointing from Haruka to the glass bottle.
"Tch." Haru intones. Leaning forward on his knees, his hand touches the bottle before it flicks with the momentum of his turn.
Sitting back, he watches in boredom as the object begins to slow. Makoto on the other hand, seems to be very stiff beside him.
Turning to look at his friend, the bottle is momentarily forgotten as green eyes meet his own. There is a strange tension within the gaze, and Haru finds that he doesn't like it at all. Makoto is definitely stressed.
"Go on Haru-chan." He murmurs almost encouragingly, bringing the teen back to the present.
Turning back to the bottle, Haru nods once in reply and follows the invisible line from himself to another person.
"Hello Nanase-kun." A dark haired girl says with a small smile. She stands slowly and takes small steps toward Haruka, and the boy can't help but let out a small almost imperceptible sigh.
Makoto seems to hear, by the way he glances at him, but Haru doesn't move.
Kneeling down, the girl nods in an 'okay' motion. Her brown eyes seem to be excited, and again, this is very troublesome. Haruka has never kissed anyone before, and he isn't exactly sure how it goes.
There isn't much time for him to ponder though, as the girl leans forward and presses her lips to his. The group of teens around them have gone completely silent and Makoto takes in a sharp breath at his side.
Her lips are soft, almost too soft, and it seems like she is waiting for him to take the lead. She parts to flick her tongue along the seam of his mouth and Haruka follows her instruction. Opening his mouth, the boy gives a half hearted go, sliding his tongue against hers in a move that makes a sick feeling form in his stomach. His mouth seems to be producing too much saliva, and the experience is something that he wants to end quickly.
Pulling away with out preamble, not caring that they were only one minute in, Haru wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and glances to the side, not looking at anything in particular.
The girl doesn't look pleased, there is saliva dripping down the side of her mouth and she makes a small huffing noise.
"That was horrible!" She exclaims with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest.
In response, Haru merely turns his head a fraction and says, "I don't care."
The whispers begin from around the circle and Haruka needs a drink, something to wash away the horrible experience. He doesn't want to be here anymore. After that, he is sure that he never wants to kiss again. It is obvious that he is bad at it, and he doesn't particularly care for such activities any way, so it is a logical conclusion.
The ring leader snickers loudly before moving onto his next victim and so the game continues…
It takes an eternity for the circle to reach Makoto, and Haru has been staring at the pool longingly for that period of time, while his friend fidgets to and fro.
"Makoto." He says without much thought. His friend is getting on his nerves. If he doesn't want to do it, he should just say so. Then they can leave. "You don't have to do this." Haru voices, turning his gaze from the pool to Makoto.
The couple beside the brunette are just finishing up and if he is going to pull out, now is the time to do it.
"No. It's okay Haru-chan." He finally replies with a small fake smile. Makoto looks toward the bottle and for some reason, an odd stirring begins to form in the base of Haruka's abdomen. His fingers flex unknowingly upon his black and purple clad thighs, and just like everyone else, Haru finds himself watching closely.
He didn't watch any of the others, he didn't care to. But for some reason he can't look away. Not when Makoto reaches forward to spin the bottle, not when he sits back in anticipation…Not when it slows to a stop in a very vague horizontal position. Each end of the bottle points toward two different people, but that doesn't seem right.
As Makoto looks up at Watanabe, so does Haruka. What they find is some what lecherous.
"Heh. Aren't you lucky Makoto-kun?" The dark haired boy smirks, he seems to be discussing a private joke within his own head, just as a few other people are. What does this mean?
"That means that you have to kiss the person beside you." He finally elaborates with a wide expectant gaze.
Makoto gulps obviously when Haruka turns to look at him. He isn't sure what he is feeling, but the reaction of the people around them is almost giddy, even more so than when two girls kissed.
Haruka didn't want to kiss anyone again, his first attempt went horribly. There was so much saliva and smashing of lips. He cringed the entire way through…but he will kiss Makoto.
For some reason his stomach quells. Haru is well aware that a normal person would be worried about these turn of events, but he isn't normal. He still has two years.
"Okay." Haru murmurs, keeping his friend's green gaze. The group titter at the sound of his voice, with Nagisa even cheering a loud – Whoop!
"Haru-chan…Are you sure?" Makoto questions and his eyes look worried. What an idiot.
"Drop the chan." He responds with a frown, moving to face Makoto. "I said it is fine, didn't I?" Though it isn't really a question, and his friend knows it.
"O-Okay." Makoto nods, giving one last glance towards Watanabe before focussing on Haruka.
Their eyes meet and Haru feels his stomach tighten, but it isn't in disgust. This is Makoto, and he is nothing like that girl from before. They have been together since the start and if Haru was one for sentimentalities, he would have given his first kiss to Makoto easily.
"Do it Makoto." He orders softly, and he sighs when the fear seeps from the familiar green eyes. Makoto nods and leans forward…Then their lips are touching and it is nothing like before.
Still, Haru isn't very good and he can tell that Makoto thinks so.
These lips are firmer in comparison to his first kiss, and there is no pushiness on his friend's part. A tongue touches his lower lip and Haru allows it, though he is unable to help the inexperienced way his lips move or the excess saliva, or even the way his tongue clumsily plunders.
A hand moves, as a finger and thumb take ahold of his chin, and Makoto pulls away just a fraction. Their eyes meet and Haru forgets that there are people watching, probably with horrified gazes. There is a string of saliva joining them, and instead of a sickened feeling, Haru feels his swimmers begin to tighten.
"Haru-chan. Let me kiss you." Makoto orders gently, but there is no time for him to reply as they collide once more.
This time is much firmer and Makoto takes the lead, melding their lips in a way that makes Haru's heart quicken. The foreign tongue touches his own, sliding methodically, exploring almost.
If there is too much saliva, Haruka doesn't know, and by the muted mewl that comes from Makoto's throat, neither does he.
Then, a loud clap is heard from over head, that startles the couple, forcing them to pull away.
When they both turn to look at the sound, lips moist and swollen from the contact, pupils still very dilated, the two are graced with a very low whistle.
"Nanase-kun." Watanabe says with a somewhat strained tone. "I didn't know you could look like that."
Haru isn't sure what that means, but it looks like Makoto does, because he is standing in an instant with a forced smile.
"It's getting late. Sorry everyone." He lies, and Haruka doesn't mind one bit.
So without words, the teen rises also, following Makoto and ignoring all annoying sounds. Though, Nagisa's – Haru-chan, Mako-chan come back! - manages to by pass the barrier, but it isn't enough to make him stop.
Picking up his bag, Haruka exits the pool area and walks at his regular pace. His heart is still a little fluttery from a moment ago, but he isn't upset. His first kiss told him that he is a horrible kisser, his second furthered that idea but then showed him that he can improve.
"Haru." Makoto intones, and the teen doesn't miss the lack of chan.
Perhaps he is angry.
Turning his head to look at his friend, the stoic boy is surprised at the serious expression covering Makoto's face.
There is a long pause, and it looks like he is searching for words. With a sigh, he speaks -
"I want to kiss you again." His friend explains, making it sound like a warning.
Turning his head slightly away, to look into the distance, Haru replies, "Whatever."
Makoto nods and reaches for his wrist, stopping them both.
"I'm a bad kisser." Haruka says finally, when the taller teen doesn't make a move.
A nervous laugh escapes Makoto and he just shakes his head. The strange tension slowly leaves the air and it feels like Haru can breathe again. Then, Makoto swoops down. Their noses touch lightly, before a soft kiss ensues. No lips are parted, no tongues invade, but this isn't horrible.
Makoto pulls back with one last peck, and Haru feels more comfortable now that his best friend is smiling again.
"I'll teach you." His friend offers easily as his eyes drift back to Haru's lips.
A loud thump is heard in Haruka's head, and he realises that it is his heart. He is dangerously close to having an erection, and this is definitely not something that you do with a friend.
But Haru isn't normal, and even when he is, it won't matter.
"Do what you want." He murmurs, turning his head completely to the side.
Makoto chuckles, taking the statement for what it truly means. Reaching out, the taller teen takes a hold of his hand and Haruka doesn't pull away.
He is spending the night at Makoto's tonight.
Haru's stomach flips in an unfamiliar way, and the two walk in silence, together.
Alls well, that ends well…
Except it is just the beginning.