Always Beside You

Rating: M- for language, eventual smut, and cavity-inducing fluff (and sassy Haru. thats a dangerous weapon in itself)

Pairings: Makoharu, Reigisa, Sourin

Full Summary:

Makoto was a stud on campus, and everyone- including the guys- knew it. So it wasn't odd when he received another confession from a smitten admirer. To Haru, it was as common as rain. What made this girl any different? Makoto said yes.

When Makoto get's a girlfriend, Haru convinces himself that he doesn't care. Why should he? It didn't affect him any! But not even he can explain away the thumping in his chest, the knots in his stomach, and the halt of his heart as he stares into eyes of green.

A story that proves not all soulmates are thousands of miles apart. They might even be right beside you.

Hope you enjoy!

1.

Tokyo was different from Iwatobi in every conceivable way. This Haru had come to understand quite quickly upon his arrival to his new home. It was twice as big, three times more populated, and everything had that unfamiliar feel that made him yearn for the pool way back at school. More than once the new location had filled him with uncertainty, and even left him uncomfortable and wishing to go back home where everything felt just so much more safe. But there was one thing that Tokyo had that home no longer did. Makoto. That was enough to ease any worries he had. As long as Makoto was here with him, it would be okay.

After all, there was nobody as comfortable and constant in his life like Makoto was. From diapers to swimsuits and even graduation cap and gowns they had been by each other's sides with very little change. The closest to separation they ever got was their argument last year at the fireworks and that was a scene that Haru had already long since buried in the deepest cavity of his heart so he would never again have to relive the pain it brought him. No, to him Makoto would forever be that hand offered to him at the end of the pool, and nothing would ever change that. Always waiting, always steady. The great thing about Iwatobi was that everyone knew this. Tokyo, however, did not.

It was like somebody had given baby a new toy, and now everyone was enthralled by Makoto. They grabbed at him like candy as if he was something to be passed around. Really, it was quite ridiculous and it annoyed Haru immensely. They could hardly walk to some café for tea without a group of girls stopping to chat with him, or even some guys wondering if he would sub in for their football team because of a missing player. Even the cats thought he was some amazing toy to snuggle. Haru was rather glad Makoto's apartment banned pets or the giant orca would be drowning in the furry little devils.

Really, though, it wasn't that he was upset others were paying attention to Makoto. As his best friend, he already knew how great Makoto could be and understood why people would be interested in him. No, what got on his nerves was that this happened while it was his time with Makoto. The understanding that had been in Iwatobi where they came as a team had completely dissolved into two separate beings who saw the potential of Makoto and ignored Haru completely, even if they had already had prior plans.

And with the gentle nature that Makoto had, he couldn't even say no to these people. Haru wondered if he even knew the existence of such a word. He could vaguely recall him using the word on Nagisa once, but he might have been just winging it there since Nagisa was rather insane and probably didn't know the word either. So while Makoto was chatting with girls or engaging in sports, Haru was left on the sidelines to watch.

But Haru dealt with it. He knew it would be selfish to keep Makoto to himself, and really he was sure that though he probably could survive off of Makoto's company alone, Makoto could not. He needed the presence of other people and that was something Haru knew he could not provide. In all honesty, Makoto was like a puppy. A large, never-say-no puppy.

Haru knew it was going to be a confession even before Makoto seemed to. He could tell in the way Makoto had been staring right at her, a look of friendly interest on his face. The oblivious giant had no idea that this girl was flirting with him. But Haru knew because he had seen it before. The way she pushed her hair behind her ear no less than ten times a minute, how she titled her body ever so lightly so that she was closer to him, and oh god that laugh. There was no way that could be her natural laugh. Haru could hear it all the way at the entrance, where he was currently waiting for Makoto to arrive at so they could go back to his place for a study session. It sounded like some digital monster.

He had to admit, though. Makoto's current predator was quite pretty. She had the darkest of black hair, straight as a ruler all the way down to her lower back. It flowed ever so slightly in the wind, as if the wind was her wingman or something. Her body shape in general was elegant, not like a dolls but with actual curves that couldn't be natural. She has to be an athlete, haru decided. Outdoor sport. He added to the tan noticeable on her skin. Track?

Before he could analyze her any further, there was a change in their movement and she was grabbing his hand, looking down at the ground before staring up at him. If Haru could see her face, he would be sure she was fluttering her eyelashes in that freaky ability girls just seemed to be born with.

The way Makoto's face cut from a smile to an abrupt 'o' shape told him that she had finally cut the act and confessed. Even from here Haru was able to watch the blush start from the edge of Makoto's ears and dance across his face until he was bright red to the point Haru was sure he could cook mackerel on it. He smirked at the sight, looking up at the sky as a bird flew by.

He wondered how Makoto would decline this time. This wasn't the first confession Makoto had received, after all. Even in high school, Makoto had been quite popular with the ladies. He could still remember quite vividly the first one the brunette had ever received. He had been taken off-guard so much that he ended up blubbering out nonsense sentences and Haru had to speak up in his stead. By now, he was used to it and Haru didn't have to. It was the closest to no Makoto ever seemed to get, though he never truly declined a girl upfront. He was sly in the way he would always come up with an excuse to get out of the situation without dashing the poor girls hopes.

Honestly, to Haru he thought that was crueler then letting them know right away he wasn't interested. In this way they couldn't move on and find some other person to fall for. But Makoto didn't have the ability to be a heartbreaker. He was too kind.

When Haru looked back over to where they stood, the girl was gone and Makoto was making his way over to him.

"Haru!" he smiled, waving at him as Haru pushed off from the wall and grabbed his bag off the ground. "I hope you weren't waiting too long."

"Not really." He replied, stretching his arm a little bit. It was a bit sore from swimming practice. He was going to ask Makoto to help stretch him out later. "Who was that girl?" It wasn't as if his talk with her had been a private one, and yet Makoto jumped as if Haru had figured out this deep dark secret of his.

"Ah- uh… a girl." Duh. Makoto itched his cheek like he always did when he was nervous, and Haru eyed him suspiciously. "Uh, she confessed to me." He admitted. Again duh. Haru wouldn't say that out loud though, and acted as if this was a surprise to him.

"Oh, really?" did that sound too fake? Probably. But Makoto didn't seem to notice. They came to stop as the crosswalk light turned red. "How did you let her down this time?" the electricity in the air suddenly seemed to static, and all Haru could hear was absolute silence. Makoto was not answering. Makoto was not telling him how he let her down easy. Makoto was instead pushing back his bangs and laughing a bit and avoiding his eye contact completely.

"Actually I… Didn't." More laughter like he was admitting something embarrassing. "I agreed to a date. We're… going to the movies this Friday." The light turned green, and automatically they both started to move across the street.

"Oh?" his voice sounded un-interested, but inside his heart was pounding. He pushed off the reasoning on the surprise of Makoto's answer. That had to be it. That had to be why all he kept hearing was static.

"Yeah." And he smiled. Not one of those fake smiles that he sometimes gave, the ones only Haru knew because there was only a distinct difference if you knew where to look, but a true, genuine smile. "I have a couple of classes together with her and she's really nice and funny. I thought why not?" he paused, a look of giddiness, actual giddiness, appearing on his face. Had he even ever seen that expression on Makoto's face before? "It could be fun! My first date!"

"What's her name?" Haru asked, not looking away from Makoto's face for a moment.

"Hiromi." Haru didn't know why, but he thought the name was ugly.

Well, there she is, the first chapter! This story started out as a headcanon between me and a friend and spiraled out of control into the fanfic you see before you today. Be prepared for some angst, some misunderstandings, and lots and lots of fluff. So much, in fact, that ya'll better start billing me for the cavities now.