Makoto smiled as he made his way through the train station. He liked being only a short ride from Haru's. It had been one of the things he'd been worried about when deciding on a college without Haru. If he wasn't near who would make sure Haru ate more than mackerel and got out of the bath in time to make it to school. Makoto had been more than happy when Haru told him that he had contacted a scout from a college in Tokyo and they'd be going to school near each other.
Before Makoto knew it, he'd arrived at Haru's door. They'd only been in their new apartments for a little over a week, yet Makoto knew he'd never get lost on the way to Haru's. He didn't hesitate to ring the familiar doorbell. He stood there waiting for Haru to answer the door. A few minutes passed and door remained unopened. Mako gave a sign before knocking on the door. "Haru," he called.
There was still no reply. 'he must be in the bath still.' Makoto thought. Then a thought hit him. "Please tell me he didn't," Makoto mumbled to himself as he tried the doorknob. To his dismay, the door opened. 'Haru.' Makoto whined in his head.
Makoto made his way inside, locking the door behind him. "Haru, I'm coming in," he called as he made his way to the bathroom, having not seen Haru upon his entrance into the apartment. And just as he expected, he found the young man submerged in the bath, his blue eyes looking up at Makoto.
"Morning, Haru-chan," Makoto greeted him, reaching his hand out.
Haru took his hand, "drop the -chan, Makoto," he replied as he got out of the tub, water clinging to his swim trunks. Makoto smiled at him before making his way to the kitchen to let Haru change. Makoto took a seat at the small table then hung his head in hie hands.
Makoto very much loved his and Haru's morning routine. They'd been doing it for years. The day Haru stopped asking him to 'drop the -chan' is the day Makoto would be running Haru to the hospital to check for a concussion. But if there was one thing he could change, it would be Haru never locking his front door. Makoto knew the crime rate in Tokyo was very low, but there was still always the chance something could happen to Haru while he wasn't around.
Makoto was brought out of his thoughts as Haru entered the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. Makoto sat in silence as Haru prepared the morning Mackerel. The silence was normal for the two, but Makoto's thoughts kept edging him to make a comment.
"Hey Haru," Makoto finally said looking over at the chef, "you really should lock your front door."
Haru look over his should for a moment, confused eyes locking with Makoto's, before he turned back to the stove top. "Then how would you come in in the morning?"
"You could always come answer the door and let me in."
"But what if it's not you? I don't want to waste my time getting out of the tub to answer the door for just anybody."
Makoto had to think for a moment before answering. "Well, I always get here about the same time everyday, so if we put a clock near the tub, you can check the time and see if its when I show up or not."
Silence ran again between the two until Haru gave a shrug and started to serve up breakfast for the two.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
They following day Makoto smiled as he made his way from the train station to Haru's apartment. The day before they'd stopped by the store and got Haru a clock to put near his tub. Makoto was happy to know that Haru would be safe as he made his way up the stairs. Makoto checked his watch as her approached the door and was happy to see that he was arriving about the same time as the day before. Ringing the door bell, he waited for Haru.
Minutes passed by but Makoto could hear any sound from the apartment. Makoto knocked on the door. "Haru" he called. There still came no answer. Makoto looked down at the doorknob. 'please no, please no, please-'
The door opened without a problem. Makoto leaned his head against the open door. 'HARU!'
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"I don't know why, but no matter how many hint I give him I still find the door unlocked every morning." Makoto dropped his head to the table as he talked into his phone. "Does he not understand how worried I get knowing that anyone could walk into his apartment? What should I do Rin?"
Makoto had messaged Rin, hoping that he could help him with Haru's lack of locking his door problem. Thankfully Rin had time to talk before training today and called Makoto as soon as the future teacher was out of class.
"Haru usually is pretty slow at these things." Rin replied with a sigh, "you have actually told him to lock his door, right? We both know if you're just dropping subtle hints he's not gonna pick up on it."
"No, no, I've told him. But every morning its the same thing." Makoto was starting to lose hope. If Rin was unable to help him, he wasn't sure what he'd do.
"Have you tried waiting outside? As in not going inside until Haru answers the door. If you keep ringing the doorbell he's bound to answer it eventually," Rin inquired.
Makoto though about it for a second. 'That's not too bad of idea,' Makoto thought, 'but then again...' "I'm not so sure Rin. Haru can be pretty stubborn. I could be standing out there for a good while. And I can't let Haru or me be late to class. He'll lose track of time in there if I don't come and get him out."
Makoto heard Rin let out a sign. "Unfortunately you're probably right. Hey, I gotta go, training's about to start. I'll let you know if I come up with anything."
Makoto smiled, "Thanks Rin, and good luck at training."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Haru made his way out of the train station. After having dinner at a nearby ramen shop, Haru had gone to see Makoto off at the train station. He had just reached the front door when his heard his phone going off. Pulling it out he saw an incoming call from Rin.
"Hello."
"Hey Haru, glad you actually picked up." Rin's comment was met silence from Haru. "Alright jokes aside, I was talking with Makoto earlier-"
Haru let out a sigh, knowing where this was going. He knew exactly what had been Makoto's favorite topic lately.
"Hey, before you tune me out and hang up listen to this idea of mine."
Haru waited. A frown grew on his face as Rin didn't continue. "Well?"
"Just making sure you plan to listen," Haru could hear the smirk in his voice. "Now I thought it'd be best to approach you with idea first. I've got an idea that will make both you and Makoto happy..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Makoto looked down at the envelope in his hands. He'd found it in his backpack last night. On the front read:
Makoto, don't open till you come to pick me up tomorrow. -Haru
So here he was on the train to Haru's, wondering what secretes were waiting inside the paper. All he could feel inside it was a stiff paper, a card being Makoto's best guess. He was so focused on the mysterious envelop that he almost missed hearing the train announce his stop.
He quickly made his way from the station to his friend's house. Soon he stood in front of Haru's door. He quickly opened the envelop.
Inside he found what he'd expected, an ordinary, plain white card. He turned it over and found nothing written on either side of it. It wasn't till he opened it that he felt his heart skip a beat. Taped to the card was a key.
There was nothing special about the key. It just looked like any ordinary house key.
Makoto looked up at Haru's door then back to the key. 'It couldn't be,' Makoto thought. He quickly removed the key from the card. Holding he breath he gently put the key into the lock and with a turn he heard the familiar sound of a door lock. A warm smile grew on his face.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Haru was nervous. This morning he was putting Rin's plan into action. He tried to relax as he took his morning bath but found himself constantly checking the clock to see how long till Makoto was supposed to arrive.
The minutes kept ticking by and Haru's heart leaped when he finally saw the magic numbers. He pulled his head fully out of the water hoping to hear the front door unlock.
With his eyes fixed on the clock, ears open, he waited. He saw the numbers slowly change. He was about to dunk himself back in the tub in defeat when the distinct sound of a door lock reached his ears. A smile graced his face as he slide down into the warm tub.
"Haru, I'm coming in."
This was mostly just a plot bunny of mine that wouldn't go away till I wrote it. And since I had writer block on another story I thought 'why not?' I might have a few more running around so we'll have to see if any more of these arise.
Hope you enjoyed my little story of what I think could happen post series between these two. Let me hear any feedback you got for me.
-Dawnstar