The sun beat down on your backs as you sat in the long grass, unpacking the fruit the two of you had just picked. It was August, very warm, and you had been picking outside all day, ever since had had picked you up from your house early that morning. Makoto had already unbuttoned his shirt in an effort to keep cool.
"Wow, we got so much!" Makoto exclaimed, handing you several boxes of blackberries. "I think we'll have a feast this evening!"
You settled down beside him, folding your legs beneath you and flattening out your skirt. It was still hard for you to believe that you were actually out on a date with Makoto Tachibana. After all, you had been classmates and friends for years, and all that time you had been falling for him. Little did you know that he had always felt the same.
The boxes of fruit were all piled up in front of you, blades of grass gently stroking against the sides. Makoto sighed heavily, stretching his arms above his head and relaxing in the heat of the day, leaning back on his elbows. He turned to look at you, one eye squinted closed because of the sun.
"Did you have fun today, _-chan?" he asked lazily. "It's a pity it was so warm and we both got overheated, but we can always head to the pool and swim for a bit before I take you home?"
You smiled, gazing into his eyes.
"Today was amazing," you replied, making him beam. "It's been the best first date of my life! Considering this is my first date ever, that's a pretty big compliment! And a trip to the pool would just be the best. The sun will be going down by then, it'll be so beautiful."
"Then that's what we'll do," Makoto said, smiling and yawning widely. "I'm so tired! Picking fruit all day really takes it out of you. Do you mind if I take a quick nap?"
"Honestly Mako-chan!" you gasp, playfully teasing him. "You'd think a fit swimmer like you wouldn't get worn out so easily!"
"I'm used to working in the water!" Makoto pouted, lying back on the grass and crossing his legs. "Give me a break already, I'm exhausted!"
"Alright, you can sleep," you say with a smile, leaning over him slightly. "But only if you'll let me lie with you."
"Why would I mind that?" he replied, closing his eyes and wrapping an arm around you as you laid yourself on his chest. "Wake me in a few hours, that is, if you don't fall asleep yourself!"
Your eyelids drifted closed as you felt him brushing hair off your face. The heat of the sun, the soft sound of birdsong, and the steady, calming sound of Makoto's heartbeat slowly sent you to sleep, and it was sunset by the time you wake up again.
Makoto's eyes flickered open and he stirred slightly, stroking your cheek with a finger.
"Time to wake up, _-chan," he whispered, removing his arm from around your waist.
You made a quiet sound of protest at this, but sat up anyway, rubbing your eyes and yawning.
"Oh, it's just starting to get dark," you noticed, still not completely awake.
Makoto chuckled, getting to his feet.
"It won't be dark for another couple of hours!" he said, glancing over his shoulder at you as you followed him and stood up. "But there are lights round the pool, we can stay out here for a little while longer."
"Alright!" you agreed, running up to him and grabbing his arm. "What shall we play?"
"Hmm," Makoto thought, winking at you. "How about hide and seek? You go hide first, I'll come find you in 30 seconds!"
You turned and ran, smiling widely as you looked for a place to hide in the big field. The rows and rows of fruit seemed like a good idea, so you hurried towards them, hearing Makoto counting up.
"Cheat," you muttered happily, crouching behind several raspberry plants. "He's counting way too fast!"
Makoto finished counting to 30 in about 10 seconds, and spun around, looking around for you. You kept as quiet as possible, unable to see where he was. Trying not to breathe, you were too focused on hiding to notice that he was coming up behind you.
He crouched down behind you and breathed in your ear; "Found you, _-chan,"
You let out a piercing scream and leapt in the air, Makoto's hysterical laughter echoing in your head at the same time as your racing heart.
"That was mean!" you cried, making as if to slap him.
He laughed and dodged you, vaulting over one of the strawberry rows and sprinting across the meadow, you not far behind. You had started to catch up to him, although you couldn't help but notice that he wasn't really trying to get away. Reaching out a hand; you grabbed his shirt, almost pulling it off as it wasn't buttoned up. He tripped, falling to the ground with a humoured shout, dragging you down on top of him.
"Well, you beat me at tag!" Makoto said, grinning at you above him. "And I beat you at hide and seek. What shall we do to settle the contest?"
"How about..." you said, a cheeky thought entering your head. "A race to the fruit pots! Whoever gets there first, wins!"
And with that, you leapt off him, gaining a sizeable head start towards the boxes, although you were quite a distance away. You ran quickly, almost tripping over in your haste to beat him there. As friends, the two of you had always been playfully competitive, often having competitions but not really caring about the outcome. Now, as a couple, it seemed you were going to be no different.
Makoto had got up from the ground and had started to chase after you, catching up fast. It was clear now, that he was properly trying to beat you there. Although, it seemed that your head start had been too great. You skidded to a triumphant halt, laying your hand on top of the boxes as a clear sign that you had won. Makoto slid to a standstill next to you, wobbling slightly as he regained his balance, panting and smiling.
"Nice job!" he complimented, laying a hand on your shoulder. "Didn't know you were so fast! Anyway, what do you want to eat first? I'm starving?"
He dropped to the ground, sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, one knee higher than the other. You followed him, sitting on your knees opposite.
"I don't mind, anything," you replied, looking inquisitively into the box he was opening.
Evidently, he was struggling to get into it as he grunted and turned away, bending over the box and fiddling with it.
"Um... Mako-chan?" you asked, frowning slightly.
"Huh?" he replied, turning to you.
He looked slightly surprised, with wide eyes and the end of a strawberry held between his teeth. That, put together with the long grass the surrounded him and the fact that he was barely wearing his shirt, made him the picture of perfect cuteness, and you felt your heart skip a beat as he leaned in towards you.
"Here," he said softly, gazing into your eyes, speech slightly impaired by the berry. "Take it."
You reached up a hand, but Makoto shook his head, parting his lips slightly away from the fruit. You then understood what he wanted you to do. Gulping slightly, you leant towards him, closing your eyes and opening your mouth gradually. You felt the cool surface of the fruit make contact and you slid it into your mouth, biting into it and tasting the sweet flesh of strawberry as your lips brushed against Makoto's. Blushing heavily, you pulled back slowly, taking the berry completely and swallowing it.
You found yourself lost for words, even though it hadn't been a proper kiss. Unable to think of anything to say, you looked up into Makoto's face, not realising the expression of slight shock that you wore.
"Was that too soon?" Makoto asked, a little worried. "Sorry, did I rush? I forgot that you'd never had a relationship before."
"No," you said gently, finding your voice at last. "It was... sweet."
"What, the fruit?" he asked, looking relieved.
"Yeah, that too," you replied with a smile.
After that; the two of you sat in the long grass for almost an hour, eating your way through boxes of berries until neither of you could manage another bite. Then, you collected up your empty pots, each of you carrying a few, and started to walk towards the field gate. When you reached it, Makoto put down his boxes to open the gate for you like a proper gentleman, causing you to flush red again. But he merely laughed, and secured the latch behind you.
"May I take your hand?" he asked, slipping his free hand into yours.
"Of course," you breathed, entwining your fingers with his and gripping hard. "I'd like that."
Makoto smiled warmly, returning the tight hold and looking ahead, guiding you along the path, streetlamps flickering into life as dusk approached. Spotting a nearby recycling bin, you disposed of your plastic boxes, now having both hands free. Neither of you spoke a word as you walked towards the pool, happy to just be holding each other's hands.
When you reached the pool, you found it to be deserted, which was slightly odd. Usually, Haru would be swimming at this time on a Sunday evening.
"He must've remembered that I was planning to bring you here tonight, _-chan," Makoto said, leading you to one of the dive blocks and gazing down into the shimmering water. "That was a really nice thing for him to do, leaving us the entire pool!"
"Yeah," you replied, sitting down on the block and finally letting go of his hand. "That was nice."
"Are you going to swim?" Makoto asked, throwing his shirt onto the floor and undoing his trainers.
"Of course! That's what we came here to do!" you laughed, unfastening your sandals and throwing them next to Makoto's clothes.
You were about to start unbuttoning your shirt when you suddenly remembered something, and felt your stomach plummet.
"Oh wait, Mako-chan!" you exclaimed, making him pause in unzipping his jeans. "We don't have swimsuits with us!"
"What's wrong with no swimsuits?" Makoto chuckled, kicking his jeans off so he stood in nothing but a pair of black boxers. "We can swim in our underwear. It's a hot evening."
"Ok," you stuttered, realising that you were about to show Makoto your underwear on the first date!
You unbuttoned your shirt at last, revealing a pure white bra. Gulping, you slid your skirt off to show matching panties, and threw the last of your clothes onto the pile the two of you has created.
"Good," Makoto said, walking towards you and softly stroking your back with a finger. "You look lovely. One more thing though."
He reached up with both hands, and pulled the tie from your hair, causing your locks to tumble down over your shoulders.
"That's better," he breathed, standing behind you and turning you round to face the pool. "Now you'll look completely breathtaking when we're wet."
And with that, he pushed you from behind, sending you crashing into the blue depths. It was the deeper end of the pool and you had to swim to the surface, breaking through just in time to watch Makoto dive over the top of you before gliding into the water. You had always thought he looked beautiful when he swam, and seeing him in action up close was completely awe-inspiring. You could have watched him swim all night long.
Makoto surfaced, shaking the water out of his hair in the characteristic way that Haru did. You smiled to yourself as he swam towards you, the two boys were such good friends, often influencing each other in ways that neither of them realised.
He stood in front of you, sparkling droplets of water glinting on his perfect torso. The sight was magical, and sparked up a feeling inside you that you never knew you could feel. Was it, lust?
"Come on, let's swim together!" Makoto exclaimed, flinging himself under the water and swimming in a front crawl.
You had only ever seen him compete in backstroke, but the rest of his strokes were pretty skilled as well! Grinning, you followed suite, swimming to the side and slightly behind him as the two of you played the night away, swimming until you were out of breath. You danced the night away, leaping in and out of the water, splashing about, occasionally laughing or shouting a playful comment at one another.
After 45 minutes, you gasped for air and leant against the side of the pool, standing in the shallow end and watching Makoto swim smoothly towards you.
"Hey there, mermaid," he said softly as he surfaced, standing beside you and playing with your wet hair. "You look spectacular."
"So do you" you replied, your eyes raking his perfectly toned form, your body heating up due to the fact that he was so close.
Suddenly, you felt a pair of strong arms wrap around you and lift you out of the water, so that you were sitting on the poolside, with just your legs left dangling. The water leapt and splashed for a moment as Makoto climbed out of the pool, almost as if it was trying to pull him back in. You reached out and grabbed his arm, almost like an instinctive way to claim him as yours. You pulled him towards you and he sat beside you, his arm gently resting against yours.
The moon was now visible, stars starting to spark into life in the deep blue sky. It truly was a beautiful evening, the lingering heat already starting to dry your bodies. Makoto laughed to himself, and you turned quizzically to him.
"What?" you asked, staring into his eyes contentedly.
"Nothing," he replied, squeezing your hand suddenly in his. "I was just thinking how happy I am, sitting here with you."
"I am too, Mako-chan," you said, smiling at him. "You're all I need to be happy."
Makoto's hand was tangled in your hair, pulling your face towards his. Suddenly, his other hand was around your shoulders and you found yourself resting one of yours on his chest, and the other around the back of his neck. Makoto tilted his head and closed his eyes, pulling you even closer to him. You shut your own eyes, feeling Makoto's lips glide gently over yours as you gave him your first kiss.
The two of you stayed locked together for several more seconds before Makoto pulled away, a slight colour of happiness spreading across his cheeks as well as yours. You were in a state of ecstasy, the taste and feel of him lingering on your lips.
"Here," Makoto said, pulling you out of your trance. "You look cold, _-chan. Let's share a towel."
And, before you could even reply, a large cream towel had been draped gently around your shoulders, and Makoto had pressed himself up against your body, wrapping it tightly around the both of you and sighing. He rested his chin on your shoulder, closing his eyes and breathing in and out slowly. His warm breath made your entire body heat up as his hands snaked around your waits, grabbing both of yours in his.
You too closed your eyes, tipping your head back to rest on Makoto's shoulder. And there the two of you stayed, until the moon was high in the sky and there was barely a sound from the surrounding street. You were meant to have returned home hours ago, but neither of you had any intention of moving. You were safe, you were warm, and you were content to hold each other. There was no one else you would rather be with, and you never wanted to leave Makoto's tender warmth.