I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't post another multi-chapters, but I can't help it. This has been going in my mind for a while. I can't get enough of oblivious Makoto and I've read in a magazine that I can't recall that Haruka is more or less like the 'jealous' type in romantic relationship, one who wants his partner all for his own. His relationship with Makoto in this fic will not be the romantic one, but I need to inform that the idea of 'protective' Haruka comes from that tiny article, and thus born this mess.

This fic will deal with light angst and emotional issues. This is a Future Fish AU, but Makoto is a singer instead of a fireman.

Rated M for language and sexual content. Consider yourself warned.

Disclaimer: Free! and Free! Eternal Summer belongs to KyoAni

CHAPTER 1

Under the April Shower

:-:

"If the raindrops can talk to each other, what will they say? Have you ever wondered about that?"

—Makoto to Sousuke

:-:

Yamazaki Sousuke pushes his earphone buds deeper as he closes his eyes, humming along with the singing voice flowing beautifully in his head. Tachibana Makoto's voice is crystal clear and as soft as silk, perfectly syncing with the relaxing music that dances in pianissimo.

Chin rests on his arms, Sousuke flips the glossy pages of his magazine, lying dog-eared on the bed. Sousuke's fingertips pinches the dog-eared page and flips it open. It is an article of Makoto's profile. Sousuke has read it at least ten times since he bought the magazine yesterday evening in a bookstore, after he's done with his shift at the police station. Good thing Rin couldn't join him because he had to do the night patrol.

Favorite color? Orange. He thought it is green, but orange does very well with green, and suits Makoto perfectly. Favorite food? Chocolate and green curry, but in general, Makoto likes sweet foods. As if he isn't sweet enough. Perhaps if Sousuke constantly looks at him while eating sweets, he will soon be diagnosed with diabetes. Height? A hundred and eighty-three centimeters. Sousuke is taller and also broader than him. Makoto can be his... bottom.

That will be nice.

Before Makoto's voice fades with the music, one of his earbud is forcefully plugged out. "Oh for the love of—can't you even hear me in the slightest?" Replacing Makoto's relaxing voice, Rin's voice booms in his ear as his best friend practically shouts at it.

"Shit. What the fuck Rin?" Sousuke quickly flips his magazine shut.

"You're humming that baby song with your ridiculously gruff voice. It doesn't suit you." Rin pulls himself away from Sousuke, huffing.

"Mind your own business." Sousuke sits up and plugs out the remaining earphone bud still hanging on his ear. They are connected to his phone. Sousuke turns off the music on his phone and pushes his magazine under the pillow.

"This is my business. You're lying on my bed. Get off."

Sousuke curses under his breath, but he grabs his magazine under Rin's pillow and moves away. Rin immediately throws his body on his bed, head resting on his hands. Sousuke always prefers Rin's bed than his own. Rin has purchased a comfy mattress with his personal savings.

Sousuke sits on his own bed beside Rin, a typical cheap brass bed. The mattress is thin enough to cause some back pain for several mornings after Sousuke moved to this apartment with Rin. Unlike Rin, Sousuke doesn't care about bed when his own salary is kind of shitty. He puts his magazine on top of it. His droopy teal eyes find a cd case lying near Rin's stack of books on his end table. He takes it and looks at the cover. Makoto is smiling on it, wearing ridiculously white clothes and looking like an angel.

"What the hell? You're blushing."

Sousuke slams the cd case back to its place a little too hardly after Rin's comment.

"Oi. Don't slam it like that! You'll crack the album!" Rin bares his sharp teeth in annoyance.

"I never knew you like him." Sousuke's lips crack to a smile.

"Like who?"

"Him. Tachibana Makoto, I mean." Sousuke subconsciously rubs the back of his neck.

"Huh? What the—oh, I get it." Rin is grinning from ear to ear. Sousuke imagines a cheshire cat the moment he looks at Rin.

"Get what?" Sousuke raises his brow.

"Makoto is my friend. Quite a good friend of mine, actually."

Sousuke's eyes widen in disbelief. "Really?"

"Why should I lie?" Rin closes his eyes and turns his head away.

Sousuke's mouth hangs open. "O-Oi. You—I mean, oh." Sousuke tries to remain cool, "I see. Well, good for you."

Sousuke thinks Rin's grin can't get more wide. Finally, a small laugh escapes Rin's lips. He reopens his eyes and sits up, facing Sousuke. "I knew exactly what song you were humming before. Makoto's singing it, am I right?"

Sousuke's mouth freezes in the same position, gaped open, jaw dropping to the bottom. His teal eyes blink several times before Sousuke clears his throat. "People seem to go crazy over it on the internet, so I'm curious."

"I understand you too well, Sousuke. Admit it." Rin nudges Sousuke's leg with his foot.

"Admit what?"

"You're a fan."

"What the hell? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm no fan of anything." Sousuke stands up, jaw clenching.

"Iwatobi High." Rin's red eyes are firm on Sousuke's teal ones.

"Huh?"

"He was the captain of Iwatobi High swim club. We have done several joint trainings with them. Me and him also had a relay together back in our elementary years. He's a precious friend of mine. I've known him long before he moved to Tokyo and started his career as a singer." Rin's grin vanishes, looking more serious. "So if you're going to hit on him, remember this: it won't be easy. I will watch over you. Haru will watch over you. He is not a defenseless puppy, he has back-ups. Lots of them." Rin's face relaxes, "If you wanna meet him, I can arrange the time right away. What about this weekend?"

"Oi..." Sousuke only manages to say that. Rin's every word keeps ringing in his mind. He doesn't even bother to ask who Haru is. Not yet. He will just follow Rin's plan for him.

:-:

Rin invites Sousuke to meet up at the coffee shop on Saturday at four in the afternoon. Sousuke has a shorter shift on Saturday. He is allowed to go home after two o'clock, when the sun is still shining too brightly. Sousuke has roughly one hour to change, but he doesn't want to use much of his time to care for appearance. He wants to look nonchalant, like Rin is the one who insisted for them to meet up, and Sousuke just follows for Rin's sake. Like he doesn't care one bit about meeting Tachibana Makoto.

He can't.

Sousuke ends up walking back and forth from his wardrobe to the one and only mirror in his and Rin's apartment room. He definitely doesn't want to look flashy. Just casual will do. Makoto isn't someone special, just an ordinary friend of Rin. Sousuke repeatedly tells himself that he is not interested in the slightest for Makoto.

Thirty minutes passes quickly. Sousuke is facing the mirror. He looks good enough. Clean face, neat hair—wait. He runs his fingers on his dark hair and messes it up a little. He is wearing a dark blue t-shirt, covered up with a casual lighter blue jacket. Dark jeans wrapped around his legs, tightened with black belt. There. Nonchalant enough.

His phone alarm goes on, reminding him that it's already three-thirty. Time to go.

:-:

Halfway to the coffee shop, the rain starts to pour down, dampening his shoulders. Droplets of water fall from the tips of his dark hair. Sousuke can't believe it. It was sunny when he made his way out of his apartment.

Come to think of it... he's actually not sure about that. He completely ignored the weather, his head was so full of Makoto. What should he say to Makoto, how to keep cool, wondering if Makoto is nice enough as a person, what his actual character will be. It has been chilly all the way up to this point.

Sousuke takes a brief glance at his silver watch. 3.48 P.M. He has twelve minutes to find his way to the coffee shop. Sousuke hates to admit it, but he gets no sense of direction. An application on his phone keeps instructing him about the directions he has to take. He can't find a shelter now. This rain is nothing. He hates being late. Life as a police officer has trained him not to be late at every single thing.

At four o'clock, Sousuke finally made it to the coffee shop, soaking wet. The rain has grown heavier throughout the time. The moment he sees the coffee shop door, he fights the urge to barge it open, preferably with the dirty sole of his shoe.

"Hello."

A familiar voice stops him. He never heard it directly before, but he surely often hears it singing, sometimes blasting from his earphones. Sousuke turns his head to the direction of the source of that voice he has always loved.

Tachibana Makoto is sitting on a white chair facing an umbrella-based white round table, both furniture were sculpted like a lace. A wide, opened white umbrella of that table is protecting him from the rain.

His clothes, thankfully, are casual, even similar to Sousuke's. A white t-shirt and a blue button up jacket (unbuttoned), dark olive trousers and brown belt. A pair of glasses is suspended on the top of his t-shirt, hanging in front of his chest. His hands are wrapped around a teacup filled with steamy black tea, trying to get its warmth.

"Come over here. You're soaking wet." Makoto calls out, concern on his face. Sousuke gulps before he steps forward, stopping beside the chair facing Makoto. "Sit down. You are Yamazaki Sousuke, right? Rin's friend?" Makoto gestures for Sousuke to sit down. A warm, amiable smile adorned on his soft lips. Sousuke can't take his eyes off those lips as he sits down. He wonders how soft they actually feel.

"Is there something on my mouth?" Makoto nervously wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, cheeks tinged with pink. Is he blushing?

Sousuke closes his eyes for a brief second and clenches his jaw.

Keep cool.

"No. Nothing." He grunted, "Yeah. I'm Sousuke. How do you know?"

Makoto looks relieved. "Rin gave me your picture. Well, I asked for it." He flashes an angelic smile, head tilting to the side, the blushes on his cheeks haven't faded away.

Ridiculously adorable and friendly. Fuck this shit.

"I will request for a towel to dry yourself up, okay? And what do you want to order? Don't mind me drinking tea. I shouldn't drink coffee at this point, so I can sleep better." Makoto offers him the menu. When Sousuke reaches for it, he notices several wristbands covering Makoto's wrist, brown and white in color.

"Sorry I haven't introduced myself. My name's Tachibana Makoto, Rin's childhood friend. I heard you're a very close friend to Rin since childhood, so I'm surprised we haven't met until today." He keeps on. Good thing he talks a lot, or this meeting will be awkward.

"Yeah." Sousuke keeps his eyes on the menu, reading them thoroughly. He raises his hand and requests a waiter to come. In this weather, the waiter comes out from inside the coffee shop with an umbrella and walks toward them.

After asking for a dry towel and ordering a cup of black coffee, Sousuke turns to face Makoto. The brunet is busy typing something on his cell phone. When the waiter enters the coffee shop, Makoto leaves his phone on the table.

"In case you are wondering, I was sending an email to Rin. He should be here soon, but..." Makoto's green eyes avert to his side, watching the rain. The green of his eyes are like the brighter version of emeralds, but not as bright as a pair of peridots. Whatever they are, Sousuke thinks that they are beautiful.

Makoto's words seeped late into his brain. When they finally reach Sousuke's mind, the dark-haired man furrows his brows. That's right. Rin should be with them in the first place. He's the one who invites Sousuke and Makoto here, but now he hasn't shown up.

Makoto's cell phone buzzes on the table. "I'm sorry. I will take this one." His hand reaches for his cell phone and pushes the button, then presses the screen to his ear. "Hello? Rin? Where are you?"

Sousuke clenches his jaw in annoyance, teal eyes staring sharp at Makoto. He already has an uncomfortable feeling that Rin is going to leave just the two of them alone.

"Eeeh? What do you mean you can't come here?" Makoto looks troubled and disappointed.

Sousuke is going to kill Rin soon after they meet again.

"Are you okay? Um... fine. Yamazaki-kun? Yes, he's here with me, thankfully." Makoto's eyes meet his, lips crack to a smile. Makoto is silent for a while as he listens to what Rin is saying on the other line. "Okay, okay. I will be careful." He chuckles, "You can say the strangest of things, Rin. Un. Bye. Take care. I hope the baby will come out safe and sound."

Lie. That is a lie. There's no baby going to come out from whoever's womb. And this guy believes him. I can't believe this shit.

Makoto ends the conversation and nervously bites his lip, looking at Sousuke. "There's an emergency. Rin's neighbor is in the labor. She's going to give birth soon, and her husband is currently out at work, so Rin is required to help her."

"Bullshit." It comes out soft from Sousuke's mouth, just above whisper. Makoto tilts his head as he fails to hear the word, which has faded by the sounds of raindrops.

"Excuse me?"

"No. It's nothing." Sousuke smiles at him. That is utter bullshit. Our only neighbor is a very old man who's withering in his eighties.

"Rin said something about you, though." Makoto's fingers lift his teacup.

"Yeah? What is it?" Sousuke is more relaxed now. His lower arms are resting on the table.

"He said you can be dangerous, so I have to be careful and stay away from you when necessary." Makoto giggles, "If you're dangerous, he won't let me meet up with you like this, right?"

"Right." Sousuke rubs his knuckle. A good punch on Rin's face will satisfy it.

"Do you mind me drink first?" Makoto lifts his teacup higher to his mouth.

"No. Go ahead."

Makoto takes a sip of his tea, eyes droop down as he does so. His pretty green eyes are protected by eyelashes that are darker and a bit longer than Sousuke thought—a perfect canopy for his already perfect eyes. Sousuke's heart pounds harder.

Sooner or later, if this goes on, he will fall for him. Makoto will be his crush. A big one. Massive. If that happens, Sousuke isn't sure if he can stop himself. He needs Rin for a situation like this, to hold him down.

The waiter comes out from inside the coffee shop, carrying a tray with dry towel and a cup of black coffee on it. Sousuke wants to yell at him for being so slow, but swallows all his words when he sees Makoto thanking the waiter with a friendly smile.

Once the waiter has left, Makoto quickly hands him the towel. "Here, Yamazaki-kun. Hurry up before you catch a cold."

When Sousuke is drinking his coffee, Makoto's eyes have averted away again, watching the rainfall. This is getting awkward.

"So, you're also a police officer like Rin?" Makoto focuses his attention on Sousuke again, smiling brightly, eyes bore into him in curiosity.

"That's right. And you...?" Sousuke will just pretend that he doesn't know Makoto at all. Safer that way.

"Oh. I work as a singer. Not a big stuff, but it sells, anyway." Makoto fidgets on his chair, "I'm not a very good singer. You see, there are lots of people with much more talent than me, but I do like singing. It's kind of a hobby. I like to sing in rock genre, too."

Sousuke imagines Makoto dressing like a delinquent, ears and lips pierced, emanating a dangerous aura, but still with all of his beauty. He likes his imagination. Makoto will definitely look wonderful that way, and not to forget sexy.

"Suits you." He comments. Makoto's eyes lighten up.

"Really? Haru says it doesn't suit me at all."

"Who is this Haru?" Sousuke finally asks.

"Oh, Haru is..." Makoto's eyes shine differently. His smile radiates brighter than ever, and he looks completely happy just by mentioning Haru's name, "Haru's my best friend. The best one in the world. I love him so much."

Sousuke's heart feels like it gets stabbed with a thousand needles. "Oh..." Sousuke mutters, "'kay."

"Haru's working here, too, as a part-timer. He's mainly a restaurant chef. Someday I will take you and Rin there. Haru's foods are very delicious, especially his mackerel dishes."

"Sure. Thanks." Sousuke nods. Someday. That means he and Makoto will meet again.

"Um... ne, Yamazaki-kun?"

"Hm?" Sousuke gulps his black coffee, enjoying the hot liquid damaging his tongue and corrupting his throat.

"If the raindrops can talk to each other, what will they say? Have you ever wondered about that?" Makoto takes another sip from his tea, eyes never leaving Sousuke.

He doesn't expect that question at all. It comes so out of the blue, completely off the trail of any possible subject he may have with Makoto. Sousuke clears his throat after gulping the last of his beverage. Putting the cup aside, his brows furrow as he stares at Makoto.

"Never. That's quite an odd question, actually. Why?"

"Is it that odd? Because... there's a poem about it, right?" Makoto lifts his index finger, as if trying to share his knowledge or teach Sousuke about basic things.

"Never heard of it." Sousuke is not a guy who read a lot. At least not more than necessary. Plus, his score for Literature studies back in high school sucks.

"I can't recall that poem myself. I've heard it a long, long time ago." Makoto sips on his tea again. When his teacup settles on the small plate, it's finally empty. "The raindrops are racing each other. They are competing. One who reach the ground first wins."

"Ah." Sousuke doesn't know how to reply. He's preoccupied with observing Makoto. He enjoys the brunet's gestures. Each one of it.

"Why, Yamazaki-kun? When they reach the ground, they will shatter into pieces of tiny droplets, right? Why are they competing to break themselves? Isn't that weird?" Makoto's eyes stare blankly at the falling rain behind Sousuke, "What's the point of victory, if it leads you to destruction?"

"Dunno." Sousuke is thinking what's the most delicious way to suck those soft lips.

Suddenly, he feels goosebumps on his spine. Someone is watching over them, with gaze as sharp and keen as an eagle. Sousuke quickly scans his eyes around and finds nothing suspicious. It was probably just his imagination.

The rain has turned to a drizzle. The setting sun is going to show up soon.

"Yamazaki-kun?"

Sousuke jerks his head back and finds a confused Makoto. "I'm sorry." Sousuke looks down, guilt burns up in his chest. He's ashamed of himself. Makoto is trying to engage different conversations, but all Sousuke has been thinking was how he can exploit the brunet's body to his own benefits. Even though Makoto is oblivious to it, that was inappropriate. He feels like a complete asshole.

"Sorry for what?" Makoto smiles innocently, "You're weird. No need to apologize for something that is not your fault."

If only you know what's going on in my mind...

"It's almost five. I'm sorry, Yamazaki-kun. I have to leave soon." Makoto takes his bag and stands up, leaving some cash on the table to pay for their beverages. "Don't argue. It's on me. I hope I will see you again. Nice meeting you."

"Yeah." Sousuke slowly stands up, looking Makoto in the eyes.

"I like April showers. That's why I said something weird to you. Forget I said anything. Thank you for accompanying me." Makoto turns his body away as he waves, leaving Sousuke there.

Love or lust.

Sousuke rubs his temple and is disgusted by himself. He didn't even say his name. Not a single 'Tachibana-kun' escaped out of his lips. His attraction to Makoto is definitely lust.

:-:

Nanase Haruka has been watching them from behind the glass window of the coffee shop. Makoto is once again stuck with a guy who's driven by lust. Once Haruka catches the guy's name, he will definitely make it to his blacklist.

That guy doesn't deserve Makoto. If he dares touch his best friend, Haruka will...

Who knows what Haruka is capable to do?

Haruka will protect Makoto. It's always been that way.

Notes:

I will really appreciate reviews. I hope I will see you again on the next chapter!