A.N: I write sappy shit about my OTP because I can.


The low beat of the bass of some new pop song was ringing in Haruka's ears, and he was almost grateful for all the people crowding Rin's house because it nearly tuned the music out. It was just a random party Rin and Gou had organized for some mingling, and Haruka had gotten dragged there by an eager Nagisa, along with the rest of the team.

Swimmers from Samezuka crowded the halls, chattering drinking and just making noise altogether. Haruka was seated on one of the couches in Rin's living room, across from Sousuke, who was on the smaller sofa and glaring at him over the coffee table.

It may have been the three delicious, clearly alcoholic blue drinks Rin kept giving him, but Haruka was feeling bold enough to glare back.

"H-Haru," Makoto's voice, though quiet, somehow reached him over the crowd. Next thing Haruka knew, the tall brunet was right next to him, holding onto his arm. "I don't want you to jump in Rin's fishtank like last time..."

Haruka tilted his head, noticing Makoto's cheeks were flushed slightly from the drinks. His green eyes were half lidded and filled with concern for him, it almost made Haruka smile. Out of the corner of his eye, Haruka noticed Rin climbing onto Sousuke's knee.

"You two," Sousuke said, ignoring the sudden lapful of Rin he got, "Are so g-"

The redhead slapped a hand over Sousuke's mouth, his eyes narrowing. "Ssh! They ain't ready!" He exclaimed, clearly intoxicated. "Nagisa... He's tryna get with Rei IN MY ROOM." The last part was added a little loudly and with evident irritation.

Sousuke looked at Rin helplessly, gathering him into a more practical position for him to be sitting on his lap. Haruka snorted in amusement as Sousuke struggled to keep Rin from unzipping his jacket, hissing at the other boy to cut it out.

"You two," Rin gasped, leaning backwards so he faced Makoto and Haruka upside-down. "Look at you, holding hands! So cute..."

Makoto laughed, "You're the one hanging all over Yamazaki-kun..." He smiled at Haruka as if proud of his comeback. The other boy leaned into him in response, giving his hand (which had indeed, become linked with his own) a squeeze.

"Yeah," Rin sat up again, arms lacing around poor Sousuke's neck. "So?"

"Senpai! Some boys are playing with your mother's vase..." Nitori, emerging from the crowd, flopped onto Sousuke as well. He seemed to be sober, however, and appeared to be doing it for fun. "I think you should stop them."

"Righto, Ai." Rin made a gun with his fingers and winked while he made shooting noises in Nitori's direction. He then turned to Sousuke and commanded, "Take me, oh noble steed!"

And Sousuke, with the face of a grumpy father who hadn't signed up for this, carried both boys out of the room under each arm.

With that distraction gone, Haruka gave Makoto his full attention. The taller boy was currently leaning his head against his shoulder, humming the song that could be faintly heard over the sound of drunk teenagers. Haruka felt uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people, especially when Makoto was being this affectionate.

"Let's go home," he said, and Makoto smiled at him gratefully. They stood up, keeping their hands linked, and worked their way through the crowd. Haruka noticed Gou and (former) Captain Mikoshiba chatting by the stairs. Well, this was Gou's house. It shouldn't be a surprise to see her here.

Makoto let her know they were leaving, and she promised to pass the message on to Rei, and by extension, Nagisa.

They wandered to the bus stop quietly, Makoto swaying a bit as he walked. Haruka's head was reeling, and now that he was away from the party, he could really feel the buzz of the alcohol.

God, why did Makoto look so good in that ridiculously tight shark t-shirt Rin let him wear? It was like Haruka could see every single one of his muscles trying to poke out through the thin, black fabric. He was irritated for thinking such thoughts, especially when drunk. Makoto derved better, Haruka thought, watching the cherful boy at his side smile up at the stars.

By the time they were on the bus, Makoto was blabbering about something he'd overheard at the party. Hid breath smelt like those weird blue drinks, and Haruka didn't bother to hide his staring. He loved how Makoto's eyes crinkled when he smiled, or how his voice got a little higher when he was about to laugh. Haruka was openly ogling him when they reached their stop, and he hadn't even noticed Makoto was pulling him to his feet. He was always doing that, anyway.

Everything seemed a bit more sped up, and suddenly, Haruka noticed they were walking past Makoto's house. When he looked up in confusion, Makoto chuckled a little.

"I told my mom I'd be with you, tonight. Good thing, too... I'm pretty drunk!" He was laughing when he said it, and Haruka blinked at him.

"You have a cute laugh, Makoto." Haruka said it out loud without realizing his mistake, and his best friend turned crimson.

"So do you," Makoto said, and he looked kind of sad, suddenly. "But I never hear it anymore..."

Haruka blinked in surprise, and he stopped walking up the steps to get to his house. Makoto had heard him laugh more than anyone, but he knew it was only a number of times that could be counted on one hand.

"Haru?" Makoto, now two steps ahead of him, looked over his shoulder. "You okay?"

And Haruka looked up at him. He wanted Makoto to be happy, and when Makoto was happy, so was he, he just had trouble telling him.

This was one of those times where Makoto could read his mind. And his green eyes lit up like the stars that were beginning to peek out above them.

It was vert quiet when they got into Haruka's house, and with all the lights out, Haruka wasn't at all surprised to find Makoto looking uneasy at his went for the living room, where Haruka turned on the lights and television, and they sat together at the end of his table facing the T.V. In an attempt to reach for Makoto's hand again, Haruka's hand awkwardly landed on the other boy's knee.

A beat, and then- "...Haru?"

This was a new part of Makoto, a part of Makoto Haruka was not used to. His legs were only really used for the occasional pillow in the past, but as for putting his hands on them...

Without thinking, Haruka slid his hand to the inside of Makoto's thigh. Shivering, the brunet looked at Haru with a beet red face, gaping.

"Sorry," Haruka said, cursing his drunk head and hormonal urges, and pulling his hand away.

But then, unexpectedly, Makoto caught his arm, slowly pulling Haruka's hand back to where it had been. Shocked, Haruka looked at Makoto with wide eyes, and the taller of the two could only bow his head in embarrassment.

"I... I don't mind."

All the doubts Haruka had collected over the years, all the times he'd held back on touching Makoto, snapped when those three words were spoken.

"Tell me if you want to stop," Haruka said, meeting Makoto's eyes before he moved his hand again. When Makoto nodded, Haruka looked down at his legs.

He started by simply caressing Makoto's calves, using both hands and just running his hands along them experimentally. Haruka liked how muscled they were, and his hands slowly started rubbing circles around Makoto's thighs, reaching all around and making Makoto's blood rush to his face and the obvious swell in his jeans.

For Makoto's sake, Haruka pretended not to see it, working his hands around his hips and lower back. All the swimming muscles felt so tight under his fingers, Haruka enjoyed the feeling.

He was so engrossed in Makoto's body, he didn't notice that his friend had lifted his own hand until it was touching the back of his head.

"Your hair always feels soft," Makoto whispered, "I really like it..." His hand trailed down Haru's neck and spine, pulling him in a little closer.

For whatever reason, feeling Makoto with that stupid tight shirt on wasn't enough. Haruka began to tug on it, glaring daggers at the cartoon shark design.

Chuckling, Makoto moved so that Haruka could easily pull it off of him, but he still looked mighty red.

Haruka wanted to call him adorable, but the word died in his throat when he set his hands on Makoto's bare chest. He had hugged him after a match before, still pumping with adrenaline and excited from a win, but he had never taken the time to notice how incredibly nice Makoto's skin felt.

"Haru," Makoto said, in a breathless kind of way that made the other boy's heart flutter. "Can I?" He began to cup Haruka's face, and it was kind of funny how fast he started nodding.

They leaned in to each other, and for a long time, Makoto just looked at him, nervous.

This was the shy little boy who had clung to him for all these years, the boy who gave him the dolphin, the boy who had grown into such a kind, loving man and his best friend. This was Makoto, who Haruka owed everything to.

Though he was worried, Haruka somehow knew that everything would be okay. Their friendship was too strong to die out because of this, and if it all went wrong, Haruka had faith in Makoto that they could fix it. Makoto usually knew how to fix things.

"I've always-" Haruka began very quietly, but Makoto kissed him so tenderly that the sentence left him, and he could only kiss back.

They kissed long and softly, eventually opening and exploring each other's mouths with their tongues. Even though they bumped teeth a little bit, Haruka loved every second, and he could tell Makoto did, too.

Somewhere along the way, Haruka wound up with his arms around Makoto's shoulders, and his back pressed against the floor. The two of them kissed for what seemed like eons.

"Haru," Makoto murmured when he pulled away for breath, "Haru." He repeated, green eyes swimming with the emotion Haruka had only seen him look at him with, and him only. He sat up a bit and kissed Makoto with all his might, trying to get across his gratitude for all of their years spent with Makoto sacrificing his happiness for his sake.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

He couldn't say it out loud, but he knew that Makoto understood. Because the smile the other boy was wearing was the most genuine thing Haruka had seen all week.

They fell asleep in a heap, still kissing and holding onto each other, but they had somehow managed to gravitate to Haruka's room at one point.

When he woke up, Haruka was overcome with guilt and a headache. Makoto lay next to him, asleep. The memories of the previous night flooded him, and he stared at Makoto nervously. What if Makoto didn't love him back? What if it was only a drunken fling?

"You worry too much, Haru-chan." Makoto whispered, cracking an eye open and grinning at Haruka sheepishly.

Haruka, though relieved, could only manage to look away and mutter, "Drop the chan."

With a quiet giggle, Makoto brought him in for a hug, the bedsheets tangling around his waist as he moved. Shyly, he kissed Haruka's forehead, holding his face in his hands and staring at him again with a familiar, shining warmth in his eyes.

"I love you, too."