CARE – Whale edition

Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club Fanfiction.

[M]rated.

[Makoto x Sousuke]

Chapter I - Planting a seed

With a final burst of strength, Sousuke Yamazaki tore through the blockade of water and slammed his palm against the side of the pool. He found the bottom of the pool with his feet and stood with both hands pressed against the pool side gasping for air and dripping wet as his eyes reflected the glistening blue below.

"Nice run! You got back faster than Haruka," a familiar voice informed. Sousuke looked up slowly and his eyes were met with an open palm as well as a grin and glossy red orbs. Teal eyes quickly glimpsed to the side in the pool, noticing Makoto with a similar gesture and expression to Rin before he pulled Haruka from the pool. Sousuke huffed contently to himself before grabbing Rin's hand and lifting himself out of the pool. Immediately he was greeted with a towel on his head, and so he grabbed it quickly and hung it around his neck.
"This is your personal best, since finishing your new term of physio," Rin advised as he noted down the time. He was the only one not in his swimsuit, instead was wearing a black tank top and sweatpants. Sousuke took notice of the time yet his expression remained rather indifferent about it, not that he was displeased.
However, seemingly in the instant Rin noticed Haruka out of the pool he ran over to brag about Sousuke's feat, which was slightly displeasing for the larger male whom rolled his eyes in response. Also somewhat tossed aside, Makoto wandered over to Sousuke, still in his trunks but much drier than the other two who had been swimming. He smiled sweetly before taking to Sousuke's side and watching Rin and Haruka.
"Nice swimming out there today, Sousuke," Makoto muttered, still smiling at the antics of the other two,
"Hm, thanks," the taller male replied also watching the others closely. After that they both silently observed. The group's arrangement of practicing together had been going on for about a month now, but Makoto and Sousuke still had little to say to each other, and any dialogue was initiated by Makoto unless it was a group conversation. However the awkward silence left Makoto feeling incredibly uncomfortable, especially seeing the other two chatting so naturally, well bickering would be a better term.
"I'm glad to see you're back on top form, after everything." The green-eyed teen said, sounding incredibly sincere, but that was just typical; though not to Sousuke's knowledge.
Sousuke immediately looked at the other, as if to analyse him. He continued to look at him without uttering a word until Makoto caught glimpse of the other watching him and so he looked back at him with a pleasant expression.
"You seem to care a lot." Sousuke pointed out rather bluntly, though Makoto half expected a response like that or none at all.
"I suppose…" Makoto responded to the statement and gave thought to something. "It would hurt all of us if something bad happened to you."
Afraid of sounding weird or somewhat depressing, the brunette chuckled awkwardly, shutting his eyes to hide how uncomfortable he suddenly felt.
The other was slightly taken back by the remark but he soon thought about it. Before long he folded his arms and also shut his eyes to give brief thought.

"I suppose you're right."

Before Makoto could act surprised at the other, the other two wondered back over to the group, Rin placing an arm around Sousuke and Haruka mutely taking stand at Makoto's side. With a smile, Makoto greeted the more familiar presence and then the four wandered back into the changing room, Rin idly chatting to Sousuke.
The two pairs were somewhat split up in the changing room, separated by four lockers or so and taking stand at opposite ends of the small bench. Rin and Sousuke continued to chat, as Haruka silently got on with getting dressed despite not wanting to, again leaving Makoto somewhat tossed aside. That left him a moment to think.
As he reached into his designated locker to find his clothes, he glanced over at Sousuke before turning with the corner of his eye before turning his head completely.
"That whole conversation was slightly weird…I wonder how he took it…" the male thought. Sousuke looked over briefly and Makoto quickly hid his face in the locker in hope of not getting caught, causing the teal-eyed other to furrow his brow in question before neglecting to think about it. With a sigh, Makoto retrieved his clothes and continued getting dressed. His thoughts were kind of strange and he had no idea why he was thinking about it so much, but he decided not to worry about it until he got Haruka home safe.

"You guys ready?" Rin called over as him and his companion stood near the exit of his school's locker rooms. Makoto replied with a hearty nod and slight exclamation and Haruka slowly packed the last of his things away. He picked up his bag and they both met the others at the doorway. As they left the building they were greeted by a bright orange sky that spilled over the rooftops. The sun was setting so Haruka and Makoto had to hurry home before it got too dark. With a farewell, the two pairs split off in opposite directions.

Sometime down the line, on a path near the shoreline, Haruka muttered his first words in a long while,
"What were you two talking about?" he asked, the question taking Makoto back slightly as he didn't think Haruka took interest.
"Oh uhm, nothing important!" he said rather confidently as he peered over at the other. "Just congratulations."
Haruka went quiet again signalling he was satisfied with the response although Makoto was still kind of shocked, but again he neglected the thoughts soon afterwards and waited until they got home.

Back in the Samezuka dormitories, Sousuke laid face up, staring at the ceiling with one earphone in ear and his hands tucked beneath his head. Rin walked in and glimpsed over at the other.
"What are you thinking about so hard?" he asked, not really expecting a reply as he walked over to fill the vacant bed. Removing his earphone, the dark-haired teen waited until he heard Rin settling down below before he sighed and sought insight to his own thoughts.
"That Tachibana guy…" he muttered softly. Rin was surprised and took sudden interest in the topic.
"Yeah… what about him?" Rin responded and awaited another reply.
"He is awfully pleasant. I didn't come across many people like that…" Sousuke continued before shutting his eyes and sighing contently.
"Oh, he has always been like that. What did he say?" Rin prodded the thought, assuming Makoto must have said something to induce such a statement.

"Nothing much…"

Makoto waved Haruka goodbye cheerfully at the path to his home before making his own way home. It was pretty dark and he was hoping dinner was ready, his belly rumbling in response to that thought. He reached the front door of his home and let out a deep breath before opening it.
"I'm home!" he announced cheerfully. A build-up of small footsteps occurred as two younger siblings ran up to greet him and he greeted them back with a gentle ruffle of their hair. His Mother announced that she left dinner out for him so he replied in gratitude.
Before long the two siblings began to scuffle and let Makoto be. He chuckled softly at the two before going to find his food in the kitchen. He heated the meal and sat down muttering,
"Thanks for the food," before enjoying his dinner in the peace of his own company. Once he had packed everything away, Makoto went straight up to his room to lay on his bed in thought, similarly to the teal-eyed counterpart.
"I suppose I didn't say anything too out of the ordinary… Let me just forget this, there isn't really any reason to think over it in the first place," Makoto reasoned with himself and smiled as he cleared his head. Tiredness came down on the teen like a tonne of bricks and his eyelids started to waver, falling ever so slightly with every moment.

All of a sudden a buzzing arouse in his pocket, causing the weak-hearted teen to shudder awake in surprise. He dug into his pocket with a yawn before pulling the phone up to his face. Illuminated by the phone's backlight, Makoto's eyes studied the number on the screen. He was reluctant yet curious so he accepted the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Tachibana...?" A deep voice muttered. Green eyes suddenly widened.

Methbunny: Thank you for reading the first chapter and I hope you give this story a chance despite its idle beginnings.

This is my first update in a few years so I would appreciate reviews!

Stay tuned for Chapter two: "Nurture."