~ Age 3, Kindergarten ~

"H-Ha-ru!" The chubby toddler stumbled over to where his best friend sat, a killer whale stuffed toy in his tiny hands.

Big round blue eyes sparkled as olive-green hair came into view.

"Mako-to," the child smiled.

His grasp of the concept of speech was a little better than Makoto's was, but then again, he was a few months older. However, he was a quiet child and only ever opened up around the familiar face of emerald eyes and a constant smile.

"Ha-ru!" Makoto stammered again as he pressed the killer whale to the boy's pale chubby face gently, "For u-uu." (He still wasn't able to articulate the sound of 'y'.)

In return, Haru handed over a dolphin that he had been clutching tightly the entire time. Then, they exchanged well-loved smiles and giggles before lumping their bodies together and falling asleep.

The boys' teacher knew how inseparable they were, and she could always assure Nanase-san and Tachibana-san that their babies were safe and protected with each other.

~ Age 7, Primary/Elementary School ~

"Haru-chan, let's eat lunch together!" offered the cheery elementary-student, the omnipresent shine in his bright green eyes.

"Un," came the nonchalant reply from his best friend who was occupied with thoughts on swimming.

Even though he didn't smile much, Makoto was always able to tell what Haru was thinking, drawing it from the oceanic eyes that never failed to dazzle him. The same went for Haruka; even though Makoto was easily readable, there were still telltale signs in body language, facial expression, or voice intonation that no one else would notice. They knew each other better than they knew themselves. And they were so close that no one could come in between and sever their bond.

~ Age 13, Secondary/Middle School ~

"You swim as gracefully as ever. It's like you're a dolphin, Haru-chan." Makoto smiled brilliantly as he offered his hand to the raven-haired swimmer who had just finished swimming the thousand-meter crawl.

"Drop the –chan." Haru responded coldly as he took the hand and helped himself out.

Makoto chuckled to himself, knowing that Haru didn't mean it in a bad way. And this wasn't the first time that they'd had this conversation. In fact, it was part of their daily routine, ingrained into each of their lives. Makoto knew for a fact too, that things would go his way even if he did press the issue further. And that it would leave Haru looking to the side with a slight pout on his face.

Taking his position on the starting block, Makoto adjusted his goggles before diving in and creating a huge splash. That was Makoto's style, the opposite of Haru's graceful slender art of swimming. The latter left him to swim, heading to the shower room instead to rinse himself of the chlorinated water.

Given Haru's cold nature, it wasn't unnatural to think that the boy didn't care much about his more outgoing friend. That thought couldn't have been more wrong, though. Haru cared just as much about Makoto as Makoto cared about him. They were undividable, indivisible, they were inseparable.

~ Age 17, Junior College/High School ~

Haruka burst out from beneath the surface of the water as he heard the bathroom door opening as well as a faint "I'm coming in" from a familiar voice. That could only mean one thing; he had stayed in the tub for too long and Makoto was here to get him to school.

As he shook his head from side to side to get the water off (his signature hair flip), he did see a fuzzy outline of the tall hunk of muscle wrapped in a school uniform through mostly lidded eyes.

"Ohayo*, Haru-chan!" greeted a voice filled with warm sunshine, rainbows and flowers.

Haru just stared at the large hand extended in front of him for a few seconds before taking it like he always did.

"I told you to lay off the –chan" he repeated but he knew deep down inside how much he loved the nickname Makoto had given him ever since kindergarten.

"You were in the bath with your swimsuit on again?" replied the larger of the two, knowing that Haru's previous comment was a love-laced substitute for the usual 'good morning' that normal people used.

"Buzz off. You're going to be late."

Makoto just chuckled amiably to himself, his warmth radiating into Haru's body and making the teen feel secure.

~ Age 19, University/College ~

Makoto left for Tokyo university, Haruka stayed behind in Iwatobi. The former was granted a scholarship to study medicine, the latter enrolled in an art course and taught swimming lessons as a part-time job. They were both settling down into their new lives, or that was what it might have seemed like to others. Deep down though, both of them were hurt and in mental crisis without each other close by.

Of course they had both agreed to exchange messages and phone calls which they had done frequently in the prior days and weeks that they were separated. That might have worked well, if not for the physical presence of each other that was the one thing missing in their lives.

Whenever Makoto came back to his shared apartment in Tokyo, he would wonder to himself as to why he had chosen to leave Iwatobi in the first place. City life in Tokyo was scary, but he might have managed well had he brought Haru with him. Why hadn't he tried harder to get Haru to come too? Why did he even think of leaving Haru behind? A fresh new start, Makoto had tried to reason with himself, We both have to learn to be independent. He missed his best friend terribly though, life right now was a nightmare without Haru's presence by his side. He often found himself unable to sleep, his mind constantly trailing off to think about Haru. Other times, he had to fight back tears that would sting his eyes at the most random times. Never in his life did he have to suppress so many tears, and his heart had never hurt this badly before. Many times he had considered turning back, escaping from this horrid life without Haru. He wanted, no, he needed Haru; he needed to see Haru, to hug Haru, to hold Haru, to have Haru protect him from scary things. But the Haru that he so needed wasn't there. And without Haru, Makoto was a wreck.

When the one and only person who had stuck with him for his entire life left for another city, Haruka immediately went into a distraught state of panic, worry and seclusion. He isolated himself and avoided contact with any living thing for days on end. He practically hibernated in his bedroom, only getting up for the bathroom, food, and for Makoto's calls and messages. Not even the bathtub was inviting enough to get Haru out of his misery. He had cried, he had cried so hard and so often in the passing days where Makoto wasn't around anymore. Often, he cried himself to sleep or until he passed out but woke up soon later with the feeling of emptiness that threatened to drown him.

Then, time started taking its toll, slowly causing the two to drift apart until they didn't have time for each other anymore. They could no longer be considered inseparable.

Makoto had gotten accustomed to not having Haru with him, and even though sometimes he found himself thinking about glistening blue eyes and creamy pale skin, there was no longer any burning desire or need for Haru.

Haruka had also grown use to a new lifestyle without Makoto constantly by his side, worrying about him and protecting him. The stench of loneliness in his home had been replaced by a new timid sensation of independence, but even then memories of Makoto would flicker across his mind once in awhile.

~ Age 23, recently graduated ~

The sound of the doorbell broke Haruka's concentrated gaze on his artwork. A little upset over the disturbance, he pushed his chair back and strolled to the door. Unlocking the door, the young man opened it slightly, only to come face to face with a stranger.

"H-…N-Nanase-san…" The familiar voice rang loud and clear in Haruka's ears, its soft gentle touch covered by a slight formal and foreign tone.

"Ma-Tachibana" he exclaimed in return, blue eyes widening from the shock.

"It's been a long time, right?"

Those green eyes that Haru once loved so much no longer shone with the same vitality as they had before. And Makoto had changed. He had changed so much in Haruka's eyes, it was as if he was meeting a totally different person. Makoto's hair was shorter than before, his voice just a tone deeper and Haru couldn't tell whether it was from exhaustion or that it had actually gone lower, and even though he was still big and fit, most of the muscle from hardcore swim training had disappeared. Above all, it stung that Makoto had referred to him as 'Nanase-san'. To him, Haru was no longer Haru. And that hurt.

"Y-you came back?"

Makoto stared at his former best friend, a sudden urge to touch him rising in his body. He gulped, as if that action alone could suppress his desire to reach out to the young man opposite him. As expected, the feeling did not subside and Makoto felt himself heating up as his heartbeat increased ferociously. Wasn't I doing fine without him?

"Y-yeah!" he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "I just came back yesterday. I've finished my course. W-what about you?"

"Mm. I've also graduated."

Haru hasn't changed much, huh? The brunet wasn't sure where to take this conversation to. He couldn't read those deep blue eyes anymore like he used to. Things were no longer the same as before. And he was the one who had called Haru 'Nanase', but it was in the spur of the moment and Makoto only felt that it was the right thing to do, given that they had barely contacted each other in the past years.

"Uhm…well, would you like to meet up sometime?" A faint pink blush tinted his face soon after out of embarrassment, and he tried to cover up. "I-I have to rush home soon, my parents are cooking dinner tonight!"

"Alright…take care."

Haruka sank to the floor after closing the door and promising to meet up with his long-lost friend. His heart hammered rhythmically against his chest, his breaths laboured and painful. So much for having coped well without Makoto, Haru thought to himself as he became undone. The feelings of sadness and loneliness that he had buried in his heart erupted, the tears that he had kept bottled inside of him seeped out, and soon he was just a mess on the ground.

Makoto ran back home, and after surviving the questions from the twins and his parents, he locked himself in his former room and threw himself onto the bed. Why had things between him and Haru changed so much? Why was it so hard to talk to the person who was once his best friend? It's all my fault! I should never have left Iwatobi, I shouldn't have left Haru. With his head buried in a pillow, tears started to rain mercilessly from his eyes.

They sat awkwardly side by side at a ramen stall close to the area they lived in. It surprised Makoto that Haru didn't order mackerel, the one food that had been his staple diet when they were younger. Instead, the young man had opted for something more common which made Makoto wonder what he had missed when he was gone. They both ate in silence, broken occasionally by aimless chitchat thanks to the more sociable nature of Makoto.

Later after the meal, they had walked around town together. The tall brunet took in the new sights and the changes that had come to Iwatobi, all while making small talk to Haruka. Haru was responding well, telling him about the festivities and the events that he had missed while he was away. It was nothing deep or personal. Just a normal conversation.

Time once again took control, but this time it drew the two closer together. Mental scars and emotional trauma was still present in both of them, yet they were healing slowly, together. That was all that mattered.

Barriers and walls that had been built up were broken down slowly, a mutual effort by both Haruka and Makoto. They were soon able to talk more freely, they shared their experiences, and they got back on to calling each other by their first names. Time was now their remedy, the one enemy turned friend.

~ Age 25, working ~

"Ittekimasu!*" Makoto did up his laces quickly before hurrying out the door.

"Itterasshai*" Haru mumbled softly to the air.

Both adults had found stable sources of income in the small town of Iwatobi; Makoto was having an internship at the local hospital where they paid him good fees, Haruka used his artistic talent to help promote companies. They were living together in Haru's home. The Tachibana residence was now too small for their whole family – the twins were no longer children and they needed their own privacy. So the kind-hearted Haru was willing to open up his home to the person he had spent the past two years painstakingly mending his relationship with. The two were back on good terms once again, although sometimes the dark empty void in the past would come back and haunt them. Their wounds weren't fully healed yet.

"Tadaima!*" Makoto called as he closed the door behind him after a long stressful day at the hospital.

"Okaeri.*" The soft reply came from the direction of the kitchen, out of which a familiar fragrance that sent the brunet running wafted.

"Makoto." Blue eyes were still focused on the pot in front of him even as the taller man leaned over his shoulder to take a look.

Haruka heard the sound of a rumbling stomach, at which Makoto quickly laughed and apologised.

"It smells good, Haru. I'll go get changed first."

Without waiting for any reply, the man hurried out of the kitchen and went up to the bedroom. He couldn't seem to keep his lips from turning upwards as they formed into a happy smile. Haruka was cooking him green curry; his favourite. A wave of delight washed over him as he took off his work clothes. The little things that Haru had remembered never failed to make him happy.

~ Age 27, married and deeply in love ~

"Anata,*" Makoto linked each syllable in a smooth gentle voice as he pulled the person that mattered most to him closer.

"O-omae…*"

Haruka didn't protest as he let the smiling man fix his tie for him; Haru had never managed to grasp the concept behind tying ties despite being deft and skilled with his fingers. While Makoto was busy, he took the chance to study the face of the person that had gone from being his best friend to a total stranger and then finally to his lover. My soulmate, Haru thought to himself as his cheeks darkened with a blush.

"There we go." The taller of the two took a step back and admired his work before beaming down at the source of his smile, "You're all set and ready for today!"

After adjusting his own clothes, Makoto placed a chaste kiss onto the forehead covered by jet-black hair. This was one of the reasons why he was grateful for his height; so that he could easily lean down to kiss his Haruka on the forehead whenever he liked, and it was a bonus that his dearest loved it so.

"Let's go, shall we?"

Their fingers instinctively laced together as Makoto took Haruka's hand into his larger one. Then, they walked out into the stirring town of Iwatobi, the sunlight slowly tearing away at the darkness, ready to face another day. Together.

X-X-X-X-X

Ohayo – means 'good morning'

Ittekimasu – means 'I'm leaving', but the full translation is more like 'I'm leaving, and I will come back.'

Itterasshai – means 'Have a safe trip', but the literal translation is 'Go and come back.'

Tadaima – means 'I'm home'

Okaeri – means 'Welcome back'

Anata – a wife addresses her husband this way while they are in love, can be translated as 'dear'

Omae – how a husband replies to his wife when she calls him 'anata' while they are in love