This is a cute, easy-going, silly little story. MakoHaru is the main pairing, though they are only friends and romance is only hinted (at least in the first chapters). Still, you'll be able to enjoy cute SouRin/ RinHaru/ ReiGisa/ etc. moments in this story with the aid of your imagination!

Please, don't hate on any ships. I LOVE MakoHaru, but since this story isn't too focused on the romance (you'll see some, though) I can have fun and give some "fanservice" to those who, like me, are open minded and also enjoy other ships.

Disclaimer: Neither the setting, nor the characters seen in this story are mine.

Unexpected present?

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It was getting late, but even he'd forgotten to pay attention to the time. Haru's house, usually completely empty and silent, was full with people who talked and laughed. It was noisy and kind of annoying, and yet he couldn't feel happier.

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"Bring out the cake, the cake! Let's sing happy birthday to Haru-chan!" Nagisa was as bubbly as ever, but his words made him get both happy and annoyed at the same time. He just turned to the side and said nothing, though he didn't stop Makoto from doing what Nagisa'd asked.

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"Here it is. Ah, I forgot the candles! Haru, do you have any?" Makoto asked.

"I don't" was his reply.

"Seriously, you too guys are something. Here, I bought some on my way here… Eh? Where are they?" Rin said. He searched in his pockets and in the grocery bags he'd brought, looking more and more desperate until Sousuke took out the package from his own pocket and gave it to him. "Sousuke you… Tsk, anyway, here it is."

"Thanks Rin, Yamasa-eh-Sousuke!" Makoto caught the package after rin tossed it and then he lit up the cake.

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It was a nice day, his birthday. He didn't have the chance to sit in the bathtub for four hours straight, as he'd originally planned, but having his friends throw him a surprise party hadn't been as horribly inconvenient as he'd thought at first, when they'd appeared at his door with bags full of food and smiles on their faces.

"Well, it's getting really late. Rin and I have to get to the dorms and if we take more than an hour to get there we won't be able to get in" Sousuke said, standing up.

His words made everyone realize just how late it was. Nagisa jumped to his feet, followed by Rei and Gou.

"It was fun. Happy birthday, Haru!" said Rin as he left.

"Happy birthday, Haruka-senpai"

"See you on school, Haruka-senpai."

"Bye bye, Haru-chan!"

Rei, Gou and Nagisa were gone briefly after that. They had to take the train home, so it wasn't surprising that they'd had to rush after noticing the hour.

"Ah, they went fast. They have to take the train home, so it isn't surprising they had to leave like that, after noticing how late it is." Once again, Makoto was saying the words he thought, right as if he were reading them out of his head.

It made him feel uncomfortable every time. That Makoto really knew what he was thinking… what if he could tell when he thought about 'that' stuff!?

"Hahaha" Makoto started laughing out of nowhere, making Haru turn and look at him suspiciously. Could he really read his mind?

"And when are you going home?" He asked, hiding his embarrassment with anger. He wasn't angry, though. He just didn't want Makoto to know… ah, he couldn't think about it or he'll know! Think about… Mackerel, delicious mackerel. Fried mackerel, mackerel soup, mackerel with pineapple.

"Your face looks so happy, Haru! Haha. I'll stay and help you clean up. We were pretty messy. It wouldn't be alright to make you clean after us in your birthday" he said.

And so, they did just that. With Makoto's help, his house went back to his original state. There was no hint of a party… ah, but the presents his friends had given him were nicely placed on the table. Surely Makoto'd done it. He hadn't opened them yet…

"You haven't opened them yet" said his friend, appearing from the kitchen and standing beside him. And there it was again, that weird ability of his to speak out Haru's thoughts.

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Thinking about mackerel, Haru walked over to the presents and began opening them. One by one, he saw what his friends had given him. They were all nice little things. He couldn't help but smile.

"They… they're all about swimming" said Makoto. They were. A "how to look beautiful in a swimsuit" book from Rei, a very colourful swimming hat from Nagisa, a "Swimmers muscles" magazine subscription from Gou, a "use Samezuka's pool" coupon block from Rin and Sousuke, and a 50% discount in all swimsuits of *** shop from Amakata sensei.

"Now, you're only missing my present, Haru. Want to see it?" Makoto asked. The mood was different, somehow. Haru turned to look at Makoto and found him looking back, with that smile so characteristically his.

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"BOOOM! CRASH!"

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A loud sound startled them both, making them jump to their feet. It came from the backyard.

"Wha-what was that!?" Makoto asked, hiding behind Haruka and grabbing onto his shirt.

Without answering, Haru walked to the back of his house and out into the backyard. There was a round looking thing not too far from the door, lying in the small crater it'd made as it landed. But, where had it come from?

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"There, that thing" Haru pointed at it and Makoto peeked from behind his shoulder. It was comical, seeing the larger teenager hide (or try to do so) behind his older-but-considerably-smaller-in-frame friend.

They walked towards the thing. It seemed almost like… a capsule. It was smoking, as if it were hot, and a dim glow emanated from its surface.

As they neared it, they heard a buzzing sound. The sound only grew until, when they were just half a meter away from the capsule, it stopped suddenly. Only one second after that, the thing opened.

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"Ahhh!" Makoto's scream was all he could hear. His friend's hands on his shoulders were all he could feel. A white blinding light was all he could see.

"What is it, Haru? Haru! Haru!" Makoto was panicking, but Haru was curious. His eyes struggled to see something, anything, through the light. They were adjusting… no, the light was dimming.

It faded and grew weaker and weaker until, at least, he could finally see.

"No way…" said Makoto, as he too saw what laid inside the opened capsule.

A baby. A tiny baby that couldn't be more than a few months old. It appeared to be asleep.

"Haru?" Makoto asked, though his friend was non-responsive.

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Haruka moved towards the baby, ignoring Makoto's attempts to stop him.

The child… it seemed kind of familiar, but he couldn't spot the reason. As he looked at it, the baby opened his eyes. Big, blue eyes that stared back at him. Then, the baby smiled.

A tiny, sleepy smile on its tiny little mouth. Haru bent down and picked it up.

"Haru?" Makoto still couldn't believe what was going on. His eyes went from Haru's face to the baby he held and back again.

"Makoto, is this your present?" Haru asked. He seemed serious about it, too.

"Eh? No, it is not!"

"Then, someone else decided to give this to me, eh. A baby as a present. Isn't that going overboard…" he said. He'd started to make his way back to the house, followed by Makoto, who was in a shock-induced-muteness.

"So, a present, ah…" Makoto finally said, as they entered the house.

None of them got to see the capsule close again and, without breaking the silence of the night, leave the place.

Thank you for reading. If you liked it, or if you didn't, and you have something to say, please leave me a review. I also take advice and/or requests (as long as they fit this story) so feel free to leave them there.