The sky was a clear, rich blue and it made Haruka Nanase think of the ocean as he walked to school, his best friend chatting idly at his side. Haru glanced to his left and watched the waves gently roll up the shore and then back out, wishing for the feeling of water against his skin. He'd barely been out of the water for half an hour and already he was aching to be back in.
"Haru-!" Suddenly he was pulled to the side, stumbling as he fell into his best friend and they crashed into a building to the right.
Stunned, they both straightened up. Haruka looked from his friend, Makoto, to where he had been walking moments before, only to see what the problem was. A large hole was right in Haru's path, a large hole that he hadn't noticed.
"I'm sorry, Haru," Makoto apologized, straightening his shirt and pulling his tie a little tighter, "But I knew you didn't notice it and I didn't want you to hurt your ankle. You couldn't swim with a hurt ankle."
Makoto smiled sheepishly as they returned to the sidewalk and began walking again. Haruka mildly acknowledged the apology before they lapsed back into a silence. Haru stared out at the water again, but this time he was thinking about something else. How was it that Makoto knew him so well? He could tell with just a single glance that Haru wasn't about to notice the hole. Who else could do that? It didn't even take Haru a second to know the answer to that question: Nobody.
Nobody knew him as well as Makoto did. Nobody even knew him half as well as Makoto did.
He spared a glance to his right. Makoto was taller than him, but he never seemed to know what to do with his height. He was a gentle giant.
Makoto noticed Haru's look and turned a questioning gaze on him. Haru turned back to the ocean without offering any words and Makoto just continued on, not bothering to ask. Why not? Because he knew Haruka would offer an explanation if he wanted to give one, and that there was no reason to push for one.
A strange feeling settled in the pit of Haru's stomach. Makoto was his best friend, his security blanket and the definition of comfort. Makoto was everything Haruka was not, and for that reason they worked flawlessly together.
Makoto was quiet and gentle and did not like hurting people. Haruka didn't like hurting people either, but he wasn't afraid to tell someone no or that they needed to go away. Although, that was the majority of the talking he did. Most of the time, Makoto spoke for him. Makoto always knew what Haru was thinking or what he would say and was fully capable of speaking in his place. Some people seemed to find that strange, but it worked for them and they were both comfortable with it.
Haru continued to ponder this as they finished their walk to school. He liked their relationship. It had always made him comfortable and allowed him to be himself. But, he was beginning to realize, it was a big risk to allow someone to know everything about you.
Makoto would never hurt him.
Haruka knew that with absolute and unwavering certainty. There wasn't a situation he could imagine where Makoto would abandon, hurt, or embarrass him. No, he couldn't imagine any circumstance in which Makoto would leave his side.
He also knew with absolute and unwavering certainty that he would never abandon, hurt or embarrass Makoto. He would never—could never—walk out of Makoto's life.
"Makoto." He didn't say it as a question, but Makoto looked at him with those wondering eyes anyways, so he took a deep breath and continued. "Why do you know me so well?"
"Haru?" Makoto questioned, sitting down on the bench and tossing the towel he was holding onto his head.
The locker room was now empty besides the two of them and Haru found himself somehow anxious to hear Makoto's answer. He wasn't sure why he had suddenly become so acutely aware of their closeness to each other, but he felt like he needed answers.
When Haruka offered no more, Makoto answered as best as he could. "Well, we've been together our whole lives. You're the closest person to me, of course I took the time to get to know you."
Makoto began to towel off his hair while Haruka stared into his locker, thinking over those words. It was true that they spent essentially their entire lives together. But he had known Nagisa for just as long and he didn't come close to understanding Haru as well as Makoto did.
"You know me just as well," Makoto tossed out casually, standing and placing the towel in his spot.
These words jolted Haruka and he realized that Makoto was right. He knew Makoto better than anyone else did. He could read every thought Makoto had in his eyes, he could read every movement Makoto made—hell, he could even predict what Makoto was about to do.
There wasn't anything Makoto could do that would surprise Haruka. There wasn't anything he could do that Haru wouldn't understand. He knew Makoto as well as he knew himself.
Haru turned around to see Makoto leaning against the lockers and staring at him. All it took was one look in each other's eyes for everything to suddenly become clear. Makoto could easily see the train of though Haru had been following all day. In fact, he had been waiting for this conversation. Haru let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and crossed to stand in front of his best friend.
Years of their relationship came crashing down around them all at once. Of course, they both seemed to realize at the same time. Things had always been different between them than normal friendships. They had always been fiercely protective of each other.
Haru knew Makoto had always been afraid of losing him. He had always known, and yet now he realized why. At the same moment, it seemed, Makoto realized why, too.
Makoto had always smiled when Haru adamantly stated that he would never, could never, don't even consider it, leave Makoto's side. Only once had he ever said that he didn't think he could face his future without Makoto there, but neither had forgotten it. And in this moment, the true meaning of those words seemed to hit them both as well.
Haruka was the first one to break the silence. He wasn't much of a talker when it came to anyone other than Makoto, but he had always been the first to dive into their serious conversations.
"You love me," He said. His words were gentle, unsurprised, and almost happy. His ocean eyes sparkled with an emotion Makoto hadn't seen in years. An emotion he hadn't seen directed at anything other than water.
"And you love me." Makoto replied in the same certain way. He smiled gently. Makoto was always smiling, Haru thought, but this was different. This wasn't big or flashy, it was small and intimate, just like the moment they were sharing.
Neither made a move to further the conversation. They could talk to each other about anything and everything, but they also needed time to process things alone. After all, their entire past seemed to have just shattered at their feet. It was a good change, they both thought as the walked home silently but comfortably, but change is still change.
The next morning, Makoto didn't even bother stopping by Haruka's house on the way to school. He left early and walked straight to their school and around to the pool. The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom and the warm air smelled sweet as he swept across his cheeks.
Just as expected, Makoto found Haru floating on his back in the pool, just a few feet from the edge. He had his eyes closed, but he straightened up just as Makoto approached the edge anyways.
"Good morning, Haru-chan." He smiled, reaching a hand out to help Haru out of the pool.
Haru took his hand willingly and allowed himself to be pulled from the pool and onto the concrete. A moment later he found a towel on his head and realized that he had, in fact, forgotten to bring one with him. Of course Makoto would know and plan ahead.
"Well, it looks like we might actually be on time to class for once," Makoto joked as he scooped Haruka's clothes off the ground and handed them over.
Haru rolled his eyes but didn't reply, setting off towards the locker rooms to change. Once he was done, he found Makoto sitting outside, his back against the wall and eyes closed as the spring bathed him in warm sunlight.
A warm breeze blew by, pushing Haru's still damp hair off his forehead. He smiled, a small smile that would be invisible to anyone besides Makoto, and sat down next to his best friend, his world, his security blanket.
"How are you, Haru?" Makoto asked in a quiet voice, his eyes still closed.
It was such an ordinary question, the kind he would ask anyone, but he wasn't simply looking for a fine, or good, thanks. He was looking for something deeper.
In lieu of an answer, Haru reached over and wrapped his hand around one of Makoto's that rested in his lap. Makoto finally opened his eyes then and turned to look at Haru. His eyes were bright and happy and the look he was giving Haru reconfirmed (as it very often did) his need to keep Makoto at his side always.
Haru could see Nagisa, Rei and Gou walking up the sidewalk towards them, Nagisa's arm raised above his head in greeting. He could see them and he still leaned in and placed his lips against Makoto's. Makoto kissed back, both of their eyes falling shut. The feeling was somewhere between perfectly right and completely indescribable and Haru made a mental note that he would have to experience it many, many more times.
Nagisa, Rei and Gou finally reached them just as the two parted. Makoto blushed and greeted the three, running a hand through his hair as he often did when he felt like he didn't know how to handle a situation. Haru stared at the three with a stoic expression on his face.
There was a moment of silence before Nagisa smiled at them both and simply said "It's about time."
The others agreed and they set off together, Nagisa changing the topic and rambling on as he usually did. Makoto fell in step behind the others and linked hands. Just the feeling of Makoto's hand seemed to brighten everything and Haru smiled to himself as he watched their feet move.
Makoto knew everything about him. He could read his thoughts with just one look. He could predict Haru's actions and handle his moods like nobody else. He knew Haru like he knew his favorite book—the one he had read and reread countless times. The one, Haru knew, was always on his nightstand, even if he wasn't reading it. Makoto loved that book so much he couldn't bear to have it very far away from him.
Quietly, Haru whispered to Makoto, bringing a smile to both of their faces. "I'm your favorite book and you're my security blanket."
And that became their "I love you."