Haruka allowed his body to sink beneath the water, he stared up at the rays of refracting light – cool blues melding with the white light of the moon. Holding his breath meant nothing to him and he willingly fell to the bottom of the pool. He didn't have to think here, his mind was completely and wondrously blank, he wasn't aware of time passing or of the presence of anyone else. He was just alone. Finally, finally alone.

When at last he did resurface, Haruka inhaled smoothly. The moonlight fell over his pale skin in a white wash, flickering on the silvery beads of water that clung to his skin. He lay flat on his back, floating easily and gazing thoughtfully up at the flickering stars. He felt his heart beating slowly, heard the blood rushing between his ears, the water supporting his body – Haruka succumbed to the incredible sensation with a small smile.

"There you are."

The silence broken, Haruka's eyes gradually slid sideways to examine the hulking figure that was Makoto. He was already leaning down to offer him his hand like always. Makoto's long, large fingers were like a lighthouse, reminding Haruka to come home. "I figured you'd be here." Makoto's green eyes flashed in the light of the night, the warped reflection of the water on his skin. "We should go before someone catches us."

Haruka sighed and shook his head. "A little longer." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose, his position undisturbed.

Makoto glanced around quickly before undressing, unzipping his jacket and pulling his t-shirt over his head. The gleaming moonlight caught every curve of his muscular body, casting shadow in the grooves of his abdomen and the bulging ropes of his shoulders and biceps. He fumbled with his belt before shimmying out of his pants. Haruka had been sneaking into the pool during off-hours after school and Makoto figured he wouldn't be very willing to leave, so he donned his swimming gear under his clothes.

Haru had been in lifted spirits since he and Rin had made up – everyone had been, swimming with Rin again made everything better. But Makoto knew Haruka better than anyone, and knew when something was weighing on his mind even when Haru pretended otherwise. Makoto had given Haruka the past month to share his thoughts with the water as only Haruka did, and now he wanted to be there for his best friend as only he could.

There was only the slicing of water as Makoto dove in, he made no extraordinary splash and surfaced just an inch or so from his dark haired companion. They lay atop the water almost in a straight line. Head to head.

"I've been thinking." Haruka started, it was uncharacteristic for him to initiate these kinds of conversations but Makoto tried to stifle his surprise so that his friend would continue.

It was always easier for Haruka to explain himself without having to look directly at Makoto. He wasn't one to openly express his feelings and when he did they were brief periods where he speedily blurted out what he had to say, then tried to remove himself as quickly as possible. But Makoto knew this already.

Haruka paused, his heart in his throat, his face feeling warm against the cool of the water. "I…" He breathed out but couldn't bring himself to say the rest. What could he do now? His chest felt tight, he wanted to be honest with Makoto, he wanted to tell him how he really felt – yet here he was too afraid to do it?! Haruka closed his eyes tightly and felt the water moving around him, moving within him, through him.

"I know." Makoto said finally, smiling softly to himself in spite of the great splash of crimson spread across his cheeks. "Rin's back now." Makoto hid the disappointment well from his voice but he could feel a sharp pain just above his adam's-apple, like a big knot in his throat.

Makoto couldn't remember a time when he didn't love Haruka.

Nobody knew Makoto better than Haruka and he was certain he knew Haru better than anyone else as well. Makoto had made his feelings known but had never pushed Haruka on them, it was a gift just being able to be close to the one he loved, he would never jeopardize that.

Rin.

Makoto gazed up at the moon longingly, it was remarkably clear tonight, the crisp air felt amazing on his wet skin. Rin had always been there too. That was their cycle, even when Makoto had actively tried to pursue a girl – his connection to Haruka won out the minute he touched the water. It was always Haruka.

Makoto loving Haruka, Haruka loving Rin, Rin loving Haruka. It could get ugly, Makoto knew that.

The water did different things for each of them. But moments like this Makoto shared with Haru alone. The water passed through him and into Haruka like an electric current, it was tangible and his heart raced with the weight of the sensation.

"We should really go." Makoto said after a length of silence. He begun to tread water, thick arms cutting through the wash and creating a fresh white foam. Haruka laid still, his eyes remaining firmly closed. "Haruka?" Makoto murmured into the night.

Haru turned over, reaching out muscular arms to grasp Makoto's shoulders and press his large body swiftly beneath the water. Perfect round bubbles of panic emerged from Makoto's mouth as he was submerged completely, his anxiety peaking when Haruka folded his lips over his own.

They had kissed only once before, in the hotel room before the tournament. It had been sudden and had come and gone as quickly and as fiercely as the motions of the sea.

This was different.

Beneath the water, Makoto closed his brawny arms securely around Haruka's equally hard body as the pair sunk to the bottom of the pool. Haruka's hands knotted in the waving chestnut locks of his friend, Makoto was so warm even underwater, his skin smooth but firm.

Haruka felt and moved just like the water. Makoto held him anxiously as though his arms could eventually break through Haru's body as they did the water. His temperature was almost inhuman, his flesh cool and his lips were forceful but somehow gentle, moving like he had in the relay, Makoto pushed himself towards the light, encouraged by the water engulfing him.

A ripple of sound pierced through the pool.

Haruka moaned from within his chest and Makoto had to release him and break through to the surface, to reality. Moments later Haru followed. Makoto swam to the side of the pool, grasping the edge and looking back at his best friend through a haze of mortification and widened green eyes. His brown hair appeared darker with the traces of pool water, hanging in his face and clinging to his cheeks and neck.

Haruka emerged only as a set of perfectly blue eyes, his gaze was piercing beneath the coils of his black hair that swished like ink on the water. Makoto turned his face away, he was shivering but not from the cold.

"We should…really go." Makoto repeated his words shook, he was mainly speaking to himself. Haruka disappeared and reappeared at his side, his eyes cast downward and his face flushed crimson. "if…" Makoto amended, "If you want to."

Haruka shook his head yet again. "Not yet." His voice hitched, his eyes glistening like the surface of the pool. Makoto sucked in a deep breath, trying to rouse some courage as he shyly reached over for Haruka this time, pulling him against the expanse of his broad chest an recapturing his mouth. Boldly Haru's tongue pressed against his lower lip like hot velvet; Makoto granted him access as, with his free hand, he grasped the elastic waistband of Haruka's swim trunks.

Wordlessly and without breaking their kiss Haru nodded, his own fingers pressing and dragging down the unyielding curves of Makoto's body until he reached the tight material of his swim pants. Haruka, a little less gently than Makoto yanked the clingy material down and away from his friend's body.

Suddenly acutely aware of his nakedness Makoto drew away hesitantly, his glimmering emerald eyes searching Haruka's face for any traces of reluctance. The raven-haired boy stared back at him confidently and did something Makoto alone had only ever seen Haruka do – smirk. It was rare that Haru grinned and when he did it was fleeting and timid, but he held nothing back now and revealed a flawless, slightly crooked smirk that flashed the pearly white of his teeth.

Haruka was unpredictable.

"Ahh!" Makoto rasped a noisily, his grip on the edge of the pool faltering as Haruka pressed against him. The stretchy fabric of their swim trunks floated absently across the surface of the pool. Makoto responded slowly but surely, grasping Haruka's chin and drawing him in fiercely, he pivoted on the pool wall so that Haru's body would be pressed against the edge.

It was hot – it was so hot. Makoto couldn't breathe! Hands were pulling at his hair, his fingers were raking over his shoulders – it was all Haruka, he was everywhere. Makoto's chest clenched with yearning as he resisted his urge to breathe. Their kiss was becoming heady and unnecessarily rough, teeth clicking together, tongues delving deeper. Sanity flooded back in as Haruka broke away from Makoto, the two gawking wide-eyed at one another as the struggled to inhale.

Haruka twisted so that his back was encouragingly against Makoto's chest. He could feel his heart beating – unnaturally calm in comparison to the rapid fluttering of his friend's, Makoto's heart fluttered like a panicked bird. With his elbows on the rough surface of the cement and his face turned away from Makoto Haruka allowed himself to give a little to his emotion. He bit his lip as Makoto's mouth fell on his neck, his tongue sweeping just under his ear, Haru tilting his head involuntarily to allow him better access.

Not in his life did Haruka ever imagine he'd be here, in the school pool, naked with his childhood friend. With an obvious nervousness, Makoto's hand slipped over his hip and down his thigh to the throbbing pain lying in wait between Haru's legs. Yet he never saw himself with anyone else when Haruka really put his mind to it, even his romantic thoughts were always angled towards swimming, he didn't believe there was possibly a more rewarding sensation. He choked on his breaths as Makoto's enormous hand moved with a fading clumsiness, becoming more and more confident in his actions. Haruka's eyebrows knit together beneath the sopping locks of his black hair and he blushed how frantic his ragged breathing had become. Not trusting himself to stay quiet, he clapped a hand over his lips, without his command his hips rocked hungrily into the rhythm of Makoto's hand.

Rin.

Haruka had always felt himself on a predetermined course, as if he was meant to be with Rin. But this, but Makoto…He swallowed a groan and clenched his teeth as he began to stumble towards a bright chasm. Rin meant the world to him, but Makoto had always been there, he had somehow always managed to catch Haruka before he fell, before he fell into the darkest part of the water. Makoto was his entire world.

Haru had never been more certain of anything than he was now, though he couldn't voice it yet, he loved Makoto. He loved him more than swimming. He needed to show that – he had to show that.

"S-sorry." Makoto whispered sheepishly into his ear, the tip of his nose moving down the column of Haruka's neck in an attempt to distract him. Haruka didn't mind the pain but grit his teeth against the invasive push of Makoto's second finger. Neither really knew what they were doing and when Makoto was finally trying to muster the strength to insert himself he flushed red right down to his chest. "I don't…I don't know if this will work." He mumbled embarrassedly, "I don't think I can fit."

Haruka laughed once dryly, his every nerve ending alive with anticipation and agony but he wouldn't admit it. "Try." He panted breathlessly. He had seen Makoto naked countless times before but that hadn't been something he calculated beforehand. In hindsight he should have known this would be the most taxing part.

The water lapped up at his arms when finally, with eyes squelched shut Makoto drove forward. He placed both hands on the cement outside the pool beside Haruka's arms, feeling for his friend's hands and entangling his wet fingers with his. It frightened him that Haru was so quiet through this process, he was more than certain that it must have caused him great pain and Makoto resented himself for it.

They remained that way, unmoving, for quite some time. Their breathing coming in needy rasps, Haruka's back slamming into Makoto's chest, Makoto's face buried in the crook between Haru's shoulder and neck. Makoto moved back a little, smothering a gasp as he thrust inside once more. "I don't mean to hurt you." He breathed a searing breath into Haruka's skin and watched as the muscle beneath his friend's skin twitched. Makoto tried again, keeping the motion of his hips gradual and soft.

His body acting on its own, Haruka jerked back and into Makoto's chest. "M-more." He plead, his knuckles showing white as he squeezed Makoto's hands in his own. Makoto couldn't believe what he was hearing, or what he was doing for that matter – it had happened so quickly but so naturally. Trying not to cause Haruka any more discomfort he obliged but cautiously, pressing himself deeper, his hands slipping from Haru's to fasten themselves around his torso over his arms.

Haruka moaned despite himself, louder than he had intended and it seemed to echo across the pool and into the night air endlessly. His face burnt but he didn't care – or so he told himself – this was Makoto, he had seen him every which way possible. He wanted this, he wanted to be his. Makoto's arm flexed and pulled Haru downwards as his hips came forward and he cried out yet again. The pace was set, Makoto decided, sinking himself as deep as Haruka's body would allow without hurting him anymore. He wanted to hear more, he wanted to make Haru feel more, feel everything and to remember it whenever he touched the water again.

Haru's voice cracked as Makoto's mouth befell a certain spot on his shoulder. His tongue swirled on his skin, teasing every single goosebump in its path. There was sure to be a lasting mark, some dark bruise-like discoloration that everyone would see. "Mmph!" Makoto coughed from behind him, his thrusts coming a little harder, a little faster. Head thrown back against Makoto's solid shoulder Haru inhaled frantically, his blue eyes wide and his chest heaving.

The pain! But, oh – it was so good! He felt as though he might break and–

"Makoto!" Haruka shouted so vociferously that Makoto panicked and stopped altogether.

Something, he felt something – it was impossible to describe but it rendered Haruka motionless and all his weight fell back on his friend. The pleasure it was insurmountable, mind-blowing. "Don't….stop." Haru whispered at long last. He couldn't suppress it any longer and Haru's face contorted like Makoto had never seen before: his lips parted as he struggled to inhale, his perfect blue eyes open and shimmering, brow furrowed.

Makoto easily supported their weight with one arm. He wanted to hear that again, he thought shamelessly, he wanted to see the look on Haru's face when he called his name. But the void was getting closer with each of his thrusts, and now that he could see Haru's expressions it was coming towards him at an even faster pace. Makoto's body trembled as he wrestled with his own orgasm, Haruka's body was burning him in an exquisite blaze that even the water couldn't quell.

"Haruka I…" Makoto tried to say between the snaps of his hips, "I love…" Haruka groaned and jerked an arm free from Makoto's steely grip to entwine his fingers ruthlessly in his friend's hair. He was so close. "Fuck." Haruka's eyes stretched yet again, he'd never ever heard Makoto swear.

They didn't care at all, voices raising as Haruka matched Makoto's pace, each time the blunt head of Makoto's impressive length hitting that impossible spot within Haru's body that rattled him to his core. He couldn't hold it off anymore and Haruka teetered on the very edge of that chasm before falling entirely into the white light of oblivion. "I love you–!" Haruka nearly screamed but Makoto released the side wall and wrenched them both down under the water.

Their voices curved beneath the wash in harmonious synchronization. They came together in a series of violent convulsions, Makoto's arms crushingly wound around Haruka as the smaller of the two pulled his hair. Haru felt as though he were drowning in Makoto, he was so full, so impeccably undone by him.

When at last they swam to the top, without any semblance of grace, they coughed and wheezed. Makoto's muscles had been flexed so tightly for so long he almost felt like jelly in the water, his very being exhausted to the very definition of the word. He had never in his wildest dreams believed that Haruka would truly choose him over Rin – he never believed he would be making love to him. Even now after it had happened Makoto wondered if any of it had been real, he felt amazing. Makoto wasn't certain if this wondrous feeling would ever fade. He could never let Haruka go.

Haruka held onto him longer than necessary, his body shaking relentlessly in the wake of their lovemaking.

"Say it again." Makoto sighed blissfully, his green eyes ensnaring Haruka. He was flushed pink in the moonlight, chestnut hair hanging down into his eyes as he waited patiently. "Say that you love me." Makoto gave that signature grin, full of hope and compassion and Haruka's heart skipped a beat.

His body ached but he refused to succumb to the deep lingering soreness already claiming his hips. Haruka's face reddened and he shook his head promptly, his usual far-off expression taking over, his blue eyes flashing away from Makoto. "We should go." Was all Haruka had to say.

Makoto laughed faintly, overflowing with such joy he wasn't completely certain that he could even move anymore. His whole body rippled with one last burst of excitement and he grabbed Haruka again, pulling him through the water and into his arms. "It's always just been you." Makoto confessed as he showered kisses across Haruka's brow.

Haru hid his blush by dipping low into the water, with his small smile he bumbled: "I know."