Part the seas, we've been searching through our sleep.
"Across the Ocean", Our Last Night
Sometimes, he stared out at the sea and wondered how something so beautiful could be so deadly. He was fascinated and enthralled and it was sick, how much he liked it and how much he feared it at the same time. The ocean called to him in a way that it did not call to Haru, who blended and melted within it until they were equals. No, Makoto was always a foreigner, unwelcome and uninvited despite how much it beckoned him closer.
He had not expected to find her there, sitting in the sand hugging her legs to her chest. Her long burgundy hair was tied up in a messy fishtail braid and he blushed for realising this, because he often had to do Ran's hair and she insisted he learn new hairdos for her all the time. Makoto hesitated to approach her but at the end, was convinced by the slump in her shoulders. He made sure his footsteps crunched in the sand so as to not startle her and it worked.
Gou looked behind her, surprise registering for a second before her face smiled back at Makoto.
"Makoto-senpai," she greeted him. "You shouldn't be up so late, there's practice in the morning."
Makoto, kind as he was, raised his eyebrows. But instead of calling her out on the hypocrisy of her statement, he rubbed the back of his neck and offered her an apologetic smile. "I tried to sleep," he admitted. "But something kept me up."
"Ah, well," Gou shrugged. "You might as well join me, then."
He sat down, resting his arms on his knees as he turned to look at her. Her eyes were fixed on the ocean and he suddenly itched to ask what was it she longed to see.
"I've always wanted to go for a night swim." The admission was pulled from her lips without prompt and was met with silence from him. Gou was quiet, wistful even. "It's silly, I know. It's so scary but I always thought I'd like it."
Makoto pondered her words for a moment, eyes cast downwards. "Let's try it sometime," he said, turning his face just slightly towards her. "Not tonight but, some other time. It'd be nice."
Gou's look softened, and she smiled at him as she nodded. "I'd like that."
"It's warm tonight," Makoto murmured, looking up at the stars. They were quiet again, both inching just a little closer though both pretended not to notice. When Gou's head touched his shoulder, he swallowed a smile and kept staring ahead, as if that could will his light blush away.