A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry if anything is off about Sousuke because I barely know anything about him other than the fact that he is very protective of Rin and out to get Haru! So I'm very unsure about who I'm writing about, so please go easy on me!

Haruka was tense the entire time during the meal. Maybe it was because of the staring- or rather, glaring- that a certain male was directing towards him. It was definitely directed towards him, and only him, for whenever the taller man remarked or commented on someone else's question, a soft smile would erupt on his face. It was most certainly making Haru feel uneasy, despite the ruckus going on around him.

Earlier in the day, Gou had announced that the Iwatobi Swim Club and Samezuka Swim Club were going to be doing a joint practice. Nagisa was thrilled, Rei was pleased, Makoto obviously content, and Gou ecstatic at the thought of muscles everywhere. Haruka, on the other, was definitely not pleased. The prospect of seeing a certain man riled his nerves up.

During practice, Sousuke would contaminate the water with his malicious aura and Haruka would merely pout and head off to be alone. That was the only interaction they'd had- apart from the day Sousuke had threatened him about getting in Rin's way. That scene was burned into his mind, and no matter what, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Not even water could ease his nerves.

After practice, the teams had decided to grab some dinner before heading home. Haruka was disappointed considering he just wanted to go back home, but felt inclined to go when everyone began to suggesting restaurants. Eventually, everyone settled on a restaurant that was a few blocks away.

Gou tagged along remarking on how starved she was and Momotarou blushing lightly as he began chatting with her. Nagisa bothered Rei the entire time they were walking from Samezuka to the restaurant and it seemed that Rei had given up trying to calm Nagisa down a third of the way there. Sousuke seemed to be enjoying the chat with Rin and Ai, considering he smiled and laughed with them the entire time, which made Haruka very confused and bewildered. Of course, Makoto noticed and continuously asked if he was alright. Haruka would then repeatedly respond with, "I'm fine," until Makoto finally gave up and changed the subject.

But that was all in the past and here they were now- sitting in a decent looking restaurant eating way too much food.

Ai was nervously eating beside Rin who was currently shoving piles of food down his throat. Rei was shouting at a certain blonde who kept sneaking food off his plate, and Momotarou was too busy smiling at Gou to be paying attention to anything else at the moment.

There was too much noise, but that didn't stop the daggers being thrown his way.

"Hey, Haru," a soft voice came from his left, and Haruka looked up, a little startled. "Would you like some rice?"

It seemed that a certain somebody noticed him zoning off.

Haruka looked back at the table, staring at his uneaten mackerel and muttered a small, "No, thank you."

Haruka knew Makoto was worried. It was hard not to know considering how many times Makoto had glanced at him during the meal. Neither was Haru oblivious to Sousuke's less-than-obvious ways of attempting to intimidate him. He still didn't understand what had brought up the sudden hatred from the man, but it seemed as if that hatred had always been there; almost as if it was naturally there. The moment they'd made eye contact, Haruka felt the hostility.

Haruka shut his eyes as another outburst came from Nagisa and his head began to hurt. All of this was so overwhelming, so he decided to excuse himself to the restroom, muttering a soft, "Excuse me."

Makoto nodded and watched as Haru stood up and fled to the restroom. He furrowed his eyebrows in concern, before continuing to eat his rice, though at a much slower pace.

Rin put down his food and looked to Sousuke who merely shrugged his shoulders. Rin looked worried for a while, but quickly redirected his attention to the food before him.

Walking to the restroom seemed to lift the weight off Haruka's shoulders, but he could still feel those teal eyes follow his every movement. At that moment, Haruka was glad the restaurant was somewhat crowded- despite his introverted personality.

When Haruka entered the restroom, it was complete silence. He sighed softly before wandering to a stall. He locked it and sat down on the toilet seat. This was so far the only time he'd been alone in a long time and he needed the solitude.

Conversing with his old friends was enjoyable, even though he never said a word. Watching them and hearing them put his mind at ease. They made him feel free. But it was all short-lived when Sousuke joined the party. His glaring, his threatening, his intimidating height that he only showed when they were alone; it all put Haruka against a corner and he didn't know how to get out.

He wasn't free. He was caged, and if he got outside, he'd be mauled.

He sighed heavily this time, rubbing his shoulders. They'd been aching the entire meal, and although he didn't eat anything, he wasn't hungry.

The bathroom door opened, and Haru stiffened. He didn't know who entered, but he prayed it was either a complete stranger or simply someone who wasn't Sousuke. He wasn't sure what would happen if they were left alone together.

"Haru?"

Haruka perked up at the voice. It was soft and concerned, and it only belonged to one person.

"Makoto?" He didn't know how long he'd been in the restroom, but it was obviously long enough for Makoto to go hunt him down.

Haruka didn't step out of the stall. He didn't want to. But it seemed that Makoto had already figured it out, since Haruka could hear footsteps leading to his location.

Makoto knocked on the door softly, hoping Haru would open it. He heard some shuffling behind the door and the door unlocked, opening slowly.

There Haruka was, standing in the stall, looking down.

"Are you okay?"

Haruka nodded.

There was only silence on Makoto's part.

"Are you sure?"

Haru looked up at Makoto, only to find Makoto looking extremely concerned. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes said thousands of words. Haruka couldn't keep up.

"I'm sure," came the quiet reply.

Silence lingered for another while, but it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. It was just silence. Haruka stood there, waiting for Makoto to move or say something else. Haruka wasn't sure if he could continue saying he was fine. If anything, Makoto would simply force whatever was wrong out of him, but of course, in the nicest way possible.

Makoto sighed and Haruka felt a twinge of guilt gnaw down on his stomach. Those eyes spoke everything and all Makoto ever wanted to say to him and having those eyes look hopeless sparked something in Haruka's stomach that didn't feel nice.

"Let's go then," Makoto turned away and left the restroom, leaving Haru to follow him.

The moment Haruka sat back down at the table, the glaring picked right up.

The group walked outside. It was dark, and the stars were beginning to shine. It was nice and quiet, save for Nagisa chatting up a storm with basically everybody, all the meanwhile jumping on Rei.

"Well, that was fun!" Makoto said as he smiled warmly at everyone. Rin nodded and grinned.

"The food was so good!" Nagisa shouted in happiness as Rei was yelling loudly at him to get off.

Haruka glanced up and saw Sousuke still staring at him. Haruka wrapped his hands around his shoulder strap.

Rin let out sigh and rubbed his shoulders, "I think we deserved that, especially after joint practice today. Man, was that tough."

Sousuke chuckled and nudged at Rin's arm.

"It was tough 'cause you were racing me."

Rin pouted and glared at the taller man, "Don't go getting all cocky now-"

Haruka witnessed the playful exchange and lowered his eyes. It was obvious by now that Sousuke resented him and only him. The way Sousuke always does that 180 personality swap whenever speaking with someone that didn't have the name Nanase Haruka bewildered him.

"Ah! We have to go, Onii-chan!" Gou yelped as she looked at her phone, Momotarou looking disappointed.

Rin looked down at his watch and sighed.

"Yeah, let's get going. It's getting pretty late." Rin said as he began walking away from the group, giving a wave before leaving. Gou walked beside him, nervously laughing as a certain boy waved enthusiastically at her.

"Bye, Rin-chan!" Nagisa shouted as he finally got off Rei.

"We should be going home, too, Nagisa-kun." Rei stated, pushing his glasses up further on the bridge of his nose.

Nagisa whined as Rei began to pull him away. Ai and Momotarou soon headed off as well, leaving Haruka and Makoto alone with Sousuke. Haruka didn't say anything, and neither did Sousuke. Makoto scratched his cheeck before facing Haruka.

"Hey, Haru."

Haruka looked up to Makoto.

"What?"

"I can't walk home with you tonight. I'm sorry."

Haru raised his eyebrows.

"Why is that?"

"Well, I have to go work at the station down the road." Makoto began scratching the back of his head, "Remember?"

Haruka looked down, "Oh yeah. I remember."

"I'm so sorry, Haru. I'll walk with you next time, okay?" Makoto said as he checked his phone, and yelped. "Oh! I have to get going. See you tomorrow, Haru!"

Haruka watched as Makoto ran off and clutched at his shoulder strap tighter.

"So," Sousuke spoke up and Haruka turned to look at him. The moment they made eye contact the tension was there and silence overtook the both of them. "Need a ride home?" The smugness in his voice repelled Haruka.

"I can walk myself home." Haruka stated, already turning to leave.

After taking a few steps, he heard another pair of footsteps catch up to his. There was a presence beside him, but Haruka already knew who it was.

"I'm not exactly sure you can. That Makoto sure seemed like you couldn't."

Haruka sighed and felt his nerves jumble up. He kept his mouth sealed, and thankfully so did Sousuke.

The silence was uncomfortable. It wasn't the same silence Haruka shared all the time with Makoto. This was different. Haruka couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it made him feel apprehensive.

Sousuke was quiet, his droopy eyes staring at whatever he could; the road, the houses, shrubbery, Haruka. The staring obviously went unnoticed and Sousuke chuckled at the uneasy expression on the smaller man's face.

Haruka was still doing his best to ignore Sousuke and his arrogant, hostile behavior towards him. All he had to do was stay quiet until he reaches his home, and then Sousuke would leave.

Or so he prayed.

The next several minutes were unpleasant as Haruka evaded every question and remark spoken to him. It was difficult, and Haruka was wondering why Sousuke hadn't just stayed quiet the entire time as he'd done earlier. All of the questions seemed to regard him and Rin's relationship and it was making Haruka uncomfortable. It seemed that whatever had to do with Rin, Sousuke would be right there, pestering it.

Sousuke let his tongue click against the roof of his mouth. Haruka glanced up at him and Sousuke grinned.

"There we go."

"What?" Haruka muttered as he looked away.

Sousuke shoved his hands in his pockets as they continued walking, following Haruka around the small town.

"Nothing." Sousuke shrugged and Haruka sighed in exasperation.

After a few more footsteps, Haruka halted abruptly and Sousuke bumped into him. Haruka stayed still.

"This is my house." Haruka stated.

"Live by yourself?" Sousuke asked, seeing how none of the lights were on.

Haruka turned and began to walk towards his house, blatantly ignoring the other who scoffed and stood outside for a while looking around before following. He was curious in the smaller male and walking him home seemed like the perfect way to get to know the little pretty face that Rin had clearly taken to.

Sousuke leaned against the front door, keeping his hands in his pockets and eyes on Haruka, who was too busy unpacking his school bag and putting away his things.

"I'll be taking that as a yes." Sousuke quietly said, but loud enough for Haruka to hear. The latter exhaled through his nose, yet didn't reply.

Sousuke watched as Haruka filtered in and out of the main room. Haruka never seemed to mind his presence, and that irked him. The brunette clicked his tongue in irritation and finally spoke up after Haruka entered the room for the fifth time.

"You're the quiet one, aren't you?"

"I just don't bother with some people," Haruka responded as he began to approach the doorway, holding a bag filled with trash. Sousuke stared down at Haruka who merely looked straight ahead. "Excuse me."

Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows, but moved so the smaller could get through, keeping his eyes on the male. The silence was filled with chirping crickets and the heat of the air. It was a moment until Haruka came back, this time empty-handed.

"Excuse me," Haruka said once more, his voice expressing his annoyance at the prospect of seeing Sousuke once again blocking the entrance.

Haruka looked up and made eye-contact with the large man blocking the doorway. He was tired of having this guy following him around everywhere and trying to intimidate him. Whatever Sousuke had a problem with, he could just fess it up here. All Haruka wanted to do was go back home and take a bath, but it seemed it was Sousuke's duty to keep that from happening.

"Excuse me," and this time it was said with much more emotion.

Sousuke raised his eyebrows for a moment before he leaned in, very much pushing the boundaries of personal space. Haruka, however, didn't budge.

"Getting feisty now, are we?"

Haruka stayed silent on his part, but the urge to shove him back was growing.

"If you would please just mo-" Haruka began but was cut off by the other.

"I'm just wondering," he paused, "why everyone seems to be so taken with you."

Haruka, at this point was very confused and the intensity of the eyes staring straight into his was making him uneasy. The air was thick and he wasn't sure if he could breathe at this point.

"What?" That was all Haruka could say before bringing his hands up and placing them on the other man's shoulders, as to push him out of the way, but the goal to move Sousuke out of the way was briefly cut off when a hand tightly grasped his wrist.

Haruka furrowed his eyebrows in irritation, anger, and distress. Never once had all these emotions been so fierce and just there, but this man seemed to naturally bring out the worst of him in such a short amount of time.

"What do you want?" He asked and this time with force.

"When you're riled up," Sousuke began, "you remind me of Rin."

Haruka looked up and the look on the taller man's face was absolute predatory. It was menacing and it was most definitely frightening, and it sent chills down Haruka's spine. Whatever Sousuke had just said made absolute no sense to Haruka, but he couldn't help but feel some kind of underlying message underneath it and Haruka didn't like it.

"Let go," Haruka glared.

The grip tightened and Haruka winced, but not before yanking himself out of the other's clutch.

"Excuse me." Haruka demanded and watched as Sousuke slowly moved out of the way. Haruka quickly moved past him and automatically turned to close the door, but Sousuke kept it open by keeping his hand on it.

"You've got a pretty face." A little smirk was plastered on his face and the man turned to walk away, waving as he walked out of sight. Haruka felt as though there was another thing the man wanted to say, probably having to do with Rin, but he couldn't care less at this point.

He stared after the retreating figure, and quickly shut the door. He rubbed his temples before heading off to run himself a very much needed bath.

A/N: I really don't know anything that I'm doing, because it is 5 in the morning and I'm exhausted but I really want to finish this. Anyway, I'm not too positive or sure on how I wrote Sousuke since I still barely know anything about him other than that he's very protective of Rin and out to get Haru. That is basically all I know, but I will update this in case something changes or for grammatical errors and I will advise you if I did so in any new chapters.

Anywho, please comment or review! I love support! I hope it was okay? I might come back to this to change a few things, but hopefully it was alright?