A/N: Written for the MakoHaru festival on tumblr!~

Disclaimer: I don't own Free!...if I did, there'd be so much more fluffy slice-of-life it'd be ridiculous. xDD;;

A Familiar Comfort

A Free! Iwatobi Swim Club fanfic by Amethyst Arbiter's Scribe

"Haru, you don't have to stay up."

"It's fine."

"….Seriously, though, you could like.. go take a bath.. or something… this is going to take all night –"

"Makoto."

"..Hnh?"

Makoto looked up distractedly from his English textbook, adjusting his glasses. They weren't usually uncomfortable, but tonight they felt oddly cumbersome, heavy on his face… It probably had something to do with how stressed he was over this exam he was trying to study for, but he didn't really have time to think about it.

"I want to do this." Haru met his gaze, ultramarine eyes dead serious as he lifted them from his own book.

Makoto's eyebrows shot up, his work temporarily forgotten. "You'd rather do homework with me than take a bath? Haru, are you feeling okay?" He reached over to put his hand to his best friend's forehead, but Haru promptly slapped it away.

"I'm fine," he huffed, turning his head. "Just be quiet and study."

Makoto blinked, then heaved a sigh, leaning his head back against the wall and staring at the ceiling. "….Haru…"

They were both sitting on Makoto's bed, their backs to the wall it was pushed against. Their dorm room was small, but in a snug kind of way – enough space for both their beds, two chests of drawers, and a desk and chair. The two boys tended to use their beds for seats a lot of the time, given the size of the area, and they were reasonably comfortable, too. Haru could just have easily been sitting on his own bed; but for some reason, he'd chosen to sit with Makoto tonight.

Not that Makoto minded – in fact, quite the opposite. It was finals week, his nerves were frazzled, and he hadn't had a good night's sleep in over a month. Haru's presence next to him was actually pretty soothing…. Or would have been, if he weren't so worried over his upcoming English final. It was his only remaining one, but it was also his worst subject; so now, the night before the test, he was trying to go over everything he was supposed to know as many times as possible before bed. And maybe freaking out a little, though he was trying his best not to show it.

Of course, it didn't matter – Haru knew, whether Makoto consciously showed it or not. Actually, that was probably why he was making a point of keeping him company. Because he knew.

Haru's finals were all over with, so he was just doing some weekly reading for one of his classes. Most of his finals had been projects, anyway, since he was an art major – a fact Makoto couldn't help but be a smidge envious of as he muddled through his succession of comprehensive exams. Still, in the end he knew there wasn't anything for it but to study as hard as he could; so, that's what he was doing.

But he was finding it difficult to concentrate. The wall was hard and cold, its chill seeping through the thin fabric of his t-shirt.. the textbook was bulky and awkward to rest in his lap… and a million thoughts were racing through his head.

Makoto sighed. This was going to be a long night.

Beside him, Haru shifted position, half-hugging one knee to his chest and resting his book against his thigh. Makoto spared him a glance as he moved close enough that his right arm was touching Makoto's left. He seemed perfectly comfortable – as if this whole arrangement was the most natural thing in the world. And, thinking back to high school (and grade school and… their entire lives, really), Makoto supposed it was.

He squared his shoulders. Maybe Haru's nonchalance was rubbing off on him, but suddenly he was feeling a little less pressured. If Haru could be so calm about school, then so could he. And so, straightening slightly and setting his jaw, Makoto re-immersed himself into his cramming.

Thanks to his newfound resolve, the work was perhaps a bit more bearable after that. The foreign words and sentences still made his head swim… but some of them aligned themselves in his mind more properly than they had before, and as the evening went on, he was gradually able to focus more on his reading and writing.

They passed the time in silence, the only sound the gentle swish of pages being turned. Inside Makoto's head, however, it was much noisier. Even with improved concentration, nervousness hounded his every thought as he pushed himself to commit everything to memory. He scribbled paragraphs until his hand cramped, reading over his own notes, erasing, and writing them again. He tried forcing himself to think in English, though it gave him a raging headache the longer he did it and his thoughts ended up a scrambled mess of English and Japanese. If Haru sensed his unrest, though, he never said anything; and after a while, Makoto almost – almost – forgot he was there.

The next time he looked at the clock, it was 2am.

Stiffening, he immediately took his glasses off and rubbed at his eyes, thinking he had to be seeing it wrong. But when he put them back on, the glowing digits of the radio were the same. He sucked in a breath, then let it out again in a weary sigh, slumping back against the wall. It was way too late… but he wasn't sure he could stop studying yet, this exam was worth too much of his grade to mess up on.

A soft snore caught his attention, and he realized for the first time that Haru had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Surprised, he turned his head, the other boy's dark hair brushing against his cheek. He expected Haru to pull away, roused by the small movement; but Haru did not wake, his head fitting snugly in the little crook formed by Makoto's shoulder and neck, his chest gently rising and falling as he breathed.

Makoto felt a smile tugging at his lips, and he leaned closer to his friend, burying his face into his thick hair without thinking. It smelled good – a subtle blending of shampoo and chlorine, plus something else that was simply.. Haru. It was familiar, and Makoto found his tension easing a little.

He could have stayed like that the rest of the night, never mind homework or sleep; but Haru's hair tickled his nose, causing him to unexpectedly have to turn away and sneeze sharply into his elbow. To his chagrin, it wasn't very quiet at all.. not that the sudden motion alone wouldn't have been enough to wake Haru up anyway. He froze guiltily, glancing back at his friend.

Sure enough, Haru stirred, reaching up to rub one eye and lifting his head to stare sleepily at him. "…Makoto..?" His expression was a mix of confusion and slight disapproval, and Makoto instinctively winced.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, rubbing his nose. "I didn't mean to wake you…"

"Nn." Haru grunted dismissively, wrapping his arms almost idly around Makoto and resting his mouth on his shoulder. "…Are you finished yet?"

Makoto's breath caught, another smile breaking through his pre-exam gloom in spite of himself. Haru was always more affectionate when he was sleepy, and Makoto treasured every one of these more forward gestures of his. He nestled against the raven-haired boy in return, leaning his head against the top of Haru's.

"…I don't know… I should p..probably keep studying," he said rather unhappily, smothering a yawn in the middle of his sentence and closing his eyes for a moment. His grade in English wasn't where he wanted it to be, so he couldn't get in enough studying for this final… but his head was aching badly and he was, if he were honest with himself, completely exhausted. Even resting against Haru like this was tempting him to fall asleep; the room was cold and dim, and Haru was warm…

A loud thud startled him out of his tired daze, and his eyes snapped open. Haru had taken the textbook from his lap and dumped it unceremoniously to the floor.

"H-Haru!" he sputtered, voice cracking slightly. Pressing his hands into the mattress, he craned forward to peer over the side of the bed. "What–"

Instead of answering him, Haru slid off the bed himself, glaring pointedly at the brunet.

Makoto opened his mouth, then closed it again, running his fingers through his hair. He huffed a sigh through his nose, shaking his head. "Haru… this test is important…." he attempted, meekly, but Haru's scowl only intensified.

"Not more important than sleep." Haru looked barely awake himself, but his concern for Makoto was no less obvious.

Makoto hesitated, then stood slowly, working the kinks out of his shoulders and back. "I-I s'pose not," he admitted, setting his glasses on the dresser between their beds and rubbing his eyes again. The temperature in the room had dropped, and without Haru's body heat beside him, he found he was shivering.

Haru narrowed his eyes, stepping past him and tugging the layered covers back from Makoto's pillow. Makoto blinked in surprise, then laughed quietly. "…Fine.." Giving in with much less resistance than he normally would, he crawled beneath the blankets and sighed, massaging his forehead with the heels of his hands. "G'night, Haru…"

"Goodnight." Haru's response came, nearly inaudible, as he crossed the room to turn out the light. Makoto lay still, on his back, staring blearily into the blackness above him. Tired as he was, his mind was still racing anxiously, and he knew it would be a while before he fell asleep.

His fretful train of thought was derailed by Haru climbing into the bed and arranging his pillow beside Makoto's head.

"H-Haru!" Makoto bolted upright, banging his elbow on the wall in his haste. "What are you doing?!" He spoke in a strained whisper, though the chances of anyone hearing them were unlikely.

The wan sliver of moonlight coming in from the window let Makoto see Haru's silhouetted form next to him, but it was too dim to reveal his expression. Haru burrowed under the blankets and closer to Makoto before answering.

"You don't sleep well when you're scared." Haru's words were quiet, matter-of-fact. He was lying facing Makoto, his cheek pillowed on the back of his hand and his eyes closed.

"I-I –" Makoto started to stammer a retort, then stopped himself, swallowing. It was true… and he wasn't surprised that Haru knew it, but… still. "But we…We're in college now, Haru," he started feebly, still half-whispering. "I-I'm okay, it's.. it's not like when we were kids, you –"

"We haven't changed." Haru gathered a handful of Makoto's shirt and tugged gently downward. Makoto caught his breath uncertainly, then slowly lay back down, finding himself pretty much nose to nose with Haru.

"I-I guess not, but.. you don't have to –"

"Be quiet." Haru opened his eyes and leaned forward, pressing his lips to Makoto's forehead, right where the throbbing was.

Makoto choked, but it wasn't in protest, and Haru knew that, too. "O-Okay," he managed, sliding a little further beneath the covers as he felt his face and ears heating up.

His vision had adjusted to the lack of light by now, and Makoto could see Haru's faint smile. He felt the corners of his own mouth quirking upward, even though he was too tired and stressed to really feel much like smiling. Haru sighed, then, tucking his arm around Makoto's broad back and bringing him even closer.

For a moment, Makoto didn't know what to do. His face was now up against Haru's shoulder, and he was warmer and more comfortable than he had been all day. Suddenly, memories of countless nights spent in this fashion were flooding back – nights after monster movies and haunted houses, before swim meets and scary field trips. Though Haru had always been particular about his personal space, he knew when Makoto needed comforting. And would, always, quietly offer it.

Makoto began to relax a little, exhaling into Haru's shirt. They hadn't curled up together in the same bed like this in a long time, but maybe it didn't matter how old they were… maybe… Haru was right. They hadn't changed. Haru was still Haru, Makoto was still Makoto; Makoto still got nightmares when he was scared, and Haru still knew when he needed comforting.. and Makoto… still loved him for it.

He shifted, burying his face into Haru's warm shoulder and slipping his arms around him. Haru tightened his hold just slightly, resting his chin in Makoto's hair. Makoto suddenly felt overwhelmingly grateful for his presence, and without thinking, he placed a tiny kiss to the skin exposed by Haru's collar.

Haru let go of him and pulled away, propping himself up by his elbow, and Makoto was instantly mortified.

"A-ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean – I-I don't – !" He babbled a string of syllables, fumbling backward toward the wall as Haru stared down at him.

"Maakoto." Haru drew his name out a bit, hints of reproval and impatience in his tone.

Makoto quailed. "Y-Yeah, sorry, ymmf!"

He was in the middle of the word 'you' when Haru's lips abruptly came into contact with his own, and he completely forgot what he was going to say.

Haru kissed him gently, almost tenderly, but there was something stronger behind it – an honest…possessiveness, that sent shivers down Makoto's spine even though he wasn't cold.

Makoto kissed him back, then, taking Haru's hand in his own and letting his eyelids fall. He gave a sheepish little laugh when Haru finally pulled back, dropping his gaze to the mattress.

Haru slipped his hand out of Makoto's and wrapped his fingers lightly around his wrist instead, frowning. "Your pulse is racing," he mumbled, still staring at the blankets between them.

"A-And whose fault do you think that is?" Makoto was a bit breathless, but the teasing note in his voice showed how far his mood had improved. He was still nervous about the exam, but it wasn't dominating his thoughts anymore.

Haru lay down again, absently placing his palm over Makoto's heart. "You'll do fine," he murmured, shutting his eyes. "So go to sleep."

Makoto glanced down, then twined his fingers with Haru's again, snuggling up to him. "Th..Thank you," he said, in English. Haru snorted softly at that.

All of a sudden, Makoto could hardly keep his eyes open, and Haru was already more than half-asleep, but it didn't keep him from giving the dark-haired boy another smile – a genuine one this time, one full of emotion. "Thank you… Haru," he whispered into the dark as they both drifted off.

I love you.

~End~