Nagisa huffed as he flopped into a seat in the lunch hall next to Rei Ryugazaki, Gou Matsuoka and Chigusa Hanamura.
"I'm pooped," he complained, "why does classic literature have to be so boring? And I'm starving, too! Rei, did you bring mochi today?"
Rei checked the contents of his lunch pack and nodded. "I do, but it's kinda sticky and melted. Although, knowing you, that won't hold you back."
"Nope! I can chow down anything!" He proudly exclaimed, then took Rei's mochi and ate it in one bite. "Thank you, Rei-chan! I'll pay you back later, mm'kay?" Nagisa winked.
Rei blushed. "Not in front of the girls, Nagisa!"
"Oh, please," Gou waved it off, "when onee-san comes home, all he does is lock himself and Sousuke in his room and make very loud, obvious noises. I'm used to it. You could go ahead and get naked here on this very table and I would think nothing of it."
"Gou!" Chigusa squealed. "You're being inappropriate!"
"No I'm not!"
"I don't want to hear about your brother's playboy! I'm going to go find Kamiko and Reiko, I'll see you at registration." Hanamura disappeared off to find the other second year girls and Gou giggled to herself.
"Hey, there's Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai!" Rei pointed out as the two third year boys entered the lunch hall.
"Mako-chan, Haru-chan! Over here!" Nagisa called, flailing his arms. Makoto turned and smiled, waving back gently as he tugged on Haru's sleeve and pointed towards the group. Haru just shook his head and the two sat on a distant table.
"Hey, that's not fair. Haru's keeping Makoto all to himself again! I don't get it, Rei, why don't they just kiss and get it over with like we did?" Nagisa puffed his cheeks.
"Nagisa, we've been over this. They aren't as confident in their emotions. Makoto-senpai gets embarrassed over everything and Haruka-senpai... Well, he isn't the type to show his feelings easily. We should just leave them to it and they'll sort things out in their own time."
"Time goes so slowly, Rei! I'm going to trick them into confessing even if it kills me!"
"You can't do that! Gou, tell him he can't do that!"
"Actually, I agree with Nagisa for once. I'm bored of watching Haru lose himself in Makoto's eyes now. They need to kick it up a notch!"
"Then it's settled. Operation Makoharu is go, go, go!"
Later that day, at swim practice, Nagisa was all set to tease the two teens into confessing. He planned all sorts of things but his favourite had to be the first one to happen.
"Come on, Mako-chan, you can beat your record no problem!" Nagisa cheered as Makoto bent to start. He lightly slapped his ass, sending Makoto sprawling into the water, squealing. Everyone giggled excluding Haru, who picked Nagisa up and hurled him into the water with a fierce glare, mumbling, 'that is not your butt to touch'.
Nagisa quickly climbed out of the pool and recovered, catching his breath and laughing. "Ne, ne, Haru-chan! Why get so flustered over a friendly encouragement, hm? Is there something you're hiding?"
"Nagisa-kun, you really should leave him be," Rei scolded as his blonde friend was once again thrown into the pool. This time, he held on tighter to Haru's arm and managed to drag him in with him.
Makoto yelped as an unbalanced Haru landed on top of him, knocking him back into the water. He resurfaced, rubbing his cheek in pain.
"Are you alright?" Haru asked, making Makoto suddenly aware of how close he was. Haru lifted his hand to rub the taller teen's cheek and the two locked gazes. As their hands fell to their sides, their eyes held on tight and they drowned themselves in seas of blue and green alike.
"Too cute!" Nagisa squealed as he leapt forwards, grabbed their heads and awkwardly angled them towards each others in a kiss that bumped their noses.
It lingered. It was a shock, like a burst of rain in a drought or a flower blooming in December, but it lingered so long they could barely pull apart. Nagisa had long since taken his hands away, but now Haru's were moving up Mako's spine and his stood steady at Haru's hips.
Pulling back without a signal, Makoto almost lost his footing completely as he recoiled in disbelief.
"H-Haruka. You just, we just-"
"Made out in the school's pool?" Haru finished, a touch of irritation in his voice. "Yes, Makoto, we did."
"We didn't have to, but... You kissed me. Did Nagisa set this up? Is this a joke?" Makoto swallowed, a catch clear in his throat. "Because if it is, it isn't funny. I'm not one to kill the fun, but if this isn't serious then I think I don't think I can trust any of you any more. If I've just been fooled into confessing, fine, I'm halfway there already. Yes, Haru, I'm in love with you, and it kills me that I can't do anything. I'm forbidden to say a word because if I do, we can't be best friends. We'll either be lovers or awkward acquaintances from now on, and the odds seem to be against me. But, seeing as I'm so sure this is a cruel trick, you may as well know."
Nagisa's heart flipped as he realised how much he was trying to do with what little information he had. Love was something that fuelled the whole world. He wasn't a god, so why was he trying to play with it like one?
"I-I'm sorry, Mako-chan," he whispered, and the hurt in Mako's eyes was enough to send him into tears.
"Don't '-chan' me anymore, Nagisa, until you can figure out the extent of what you've done to me." He turned away and climbed out of the pool, his face dripping what could be either tears, water or both.
"Makoto, wait." Haru called out, and Nagisa turned to see his own, usually expressionless eyes filled with a mixture of hurt and hope, flowing out in small drops down his cheeks. "I didn't know this was a set-up, I promise. I would never hurt you, Makoto. Because..." He stumbled over his words and clasped his hands to his eyes, choking back sobs, "because I love you too!"
Tachibana went dizzy. "What?"
"I'm telling the truth, I swear it. I have to restrain myself so much because if I even show the slightest weakness, you'll smell it like blood and try to clean my wounds and I know I won't be able to stop myself pouring it all out. I feel so much for you and I have to hide it as so little. It's like trying to disguise a whale as an ant. It's impossible! I can't do it! To know that you feel that way is surreal. It makes me feel like I'm going to wake up any second and have to cry myself back to sleep. Please, Makoto, don't run," he peered out from his hands, dragging his fingers down his jaw, "I love you."
By this point, Nagisa's tears had run dry but his breathing was still shaky, hysterical. Rei and Gou were sitting at the poolside with damp eyes and Miss Amakata was holding a camera.
Makoto refused to move, he hardly could breathe until Haru climbed onto land and held his face gently.
"I love you more than water."
Miss Amakata almost dropped her camera as she continued to film the scene, catching the first real kiss on film as everyone else cried into their hands.
"Eh? Haru, is that..."
Haru flushed as he clapped his hands to his bleeding nose. "S-sorry. It must have been the rush when Nagisa hit our heads."
Yeah, Nagisa thought as he smiled to himself, that's where the blood went.