Lily: What's a soulmate?
Dawson: It's a... Well, it's like a best friend, but more. It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It's someone who makes you a better person. Well, actually they don't make you a better person... You do that yourself- because they inspire you. A soulmate is someone who you carry with you forever. It's the one person who knew you, and accepted you, and believed in you before anyone else did, or when no one else would. And no matter what happens... You'll always love them.

- Dawson's creek

Makoto wasn't sure when it happened. It wasn't a sudden event, "love at first sight" that some can claim to experience. It wasn't a huge epiphany, hitting him like a ton of bricks. He just blinked his green eyes a few times as the thought floated through his head, brushed some olive-toned hair back from his face, and accepted it. It must have been a rather gradual thing, he figured.
A slow burn, keeping warm over time.

They had always been friends, as far as he could remember. Something to do with their families being friends and neighbors, and the other being born just a few months before he, and always seeing him. Thinking back, he did not have many important memories that Haruka was not a part of. They had grown together, had so many firsts together. First day of school, walking hand-in-hand to the classroom. First trip to the zoo, a birthday gift to Makoto they both celebrated. First sports event, joining the swim club team as children at his request. Even as they got older, they shared many events. The birth of the twins, electives in high school, college selections, learning to drive. If his family went camping, Haruka went with them. If his friend went on vacation, there was always an extra ticket for Makoto as well. It was rare for them to be apart for long.

He knew the older male like the back of his hand. Better than he knew himself at times. He knew material things, how spicy Haru took his curry, how long to seep the tea, what was a nice medium between style and comfort. He knew the other's likes and dislikes, what kind of music he would take interest in, what writing and art styles would catch his attention, how he wasn't seeking attention but needed reassurance quite often despite coming across so stoic. He liked how the other boy had such silky black hair that was always soft no matter how much time was spent in the water, how his blue eyes would truly light up when he was happy, how his smiles were a treat to all that saw them.

The elder knew him just as well, he realized one day. When Haruka could tell he was upset, even while he was hiding behind a well-practiced smile no one else could see through, it was a sign. How he knew to just listen when Makoto had something to say, or bring him medicine at the first sign of a cold, or could finish the thought he couldn't and it was the very thing he meant. How the older of them could normally stop a fight between them before it started, or would order their lunch with such practiced ease, or knew just when to give his hand a warm squeeze to let him know things would be alright.

They never dated. Neither of them had a reason for it, it just didn't happen. If someone came up to the taller and asked about going out, he would give a soft smile and gently explain he wasn't interested in dating. If shorter was questioned about dinner or a movie, he would shake his head and with cool eyes say it wasn't his scene. Yet, they would do such things with just the two of them. Movies and dinner and amusement parks and quiet evening walks. Sometimes they would take the train a couple stops over and find something to do, while other times they would just walk in the sand with only the ocean waves filling the silence. It never crossed his mind that these were "couple" things to do, just that he didn't want to do them with anyone else.

He was never the best. Always coming in second or third, but never first. The boy next door made him want to change that. When they took tests, they would compare grades. If his was lower, he studied just that much harder for the next. If his score topped the raven's, he would help to show the other what went wrong. When he was promoted at work, his silly first job in fast food as a crew member being upgraded to manager, he was praised with a grin. That praise carried him for days, and pushed him to prove he was capable of holding such a title. He returned the praise in turn, pride shining through when he heard of how his best friend took first place in the recent swim competition. The tiny little smile he was given could light up the room, and the elder practiced that much harder to get his times even lower. It always worked in such a way, from the time they were first learning to swim to when one day in the city they decided it was time to learn how to drive. They would push each other, always wishing to earn the pride of the other.

He remembered the day they had won. Blue eyes looked at him with tears in them. A smile wobbled on his face as arms reached to hold onto him. He returned the hug with as much strength as his friend put in it. He had beaten it. The cancer cells, found their last year at university, were finally gone.
Both remembered the time they almost lost their best friend to water. Both realized that would have been less scary, less painful, when compared to never knowing how long they had left together. Makoto was scared, of the pain, of the unknown, of leaving Haruka behind.
But, the raven-haired one had kept his spirits up, though it was difficult. The one who found school a bore was the reason he walked at graduation, the reason he started his internship of choice with his goal in mind.

When it nearly took him, forcing him ill and unable to leave the bed in the hospital room, even his parents had little hope, his siblings already mourning for their big brother. But it was Haruka, the one who had once thought he didn't have a dream, that kept talking of the future and what it held for them.
Together.
Blue eyes had stayed hopeful when speaking of how swim times kept improving, how the nutrition classes were going well, how their friends were planning a party for the moment he got out, how classmates sent their best wishes and were happy to help him with coursework once he got better. His smile was something Haru worked hard to protect, and he couldn't have been more grateful the smaller did. It was that encouragement that kept him fighting until the very end. It had always been true for him as well, he thought. The elder would never let him stop believing, and without thought he would push the same onto him.

Makoto blinked, running a hand through dark hair as he returned to the present. There Haruka was, sitting on the coach with book in hand like normal. He blinked again, and tilted his head. Yup, the older male looked the same as always. Huh. Had he ever told him? He didn't think it needed said, that they both knew it. But he felt like saying it.

"I love you."

Those lovely blue eyes glanced up, before looking back to the page to finish the paragraph he was on. Placing a bookmark on the page, he closed the book and looked at him. A gentle smile crossed his face.

"I know."

And they knew it would never change.

A/N: Hello. Thank you for sticking around until the end. Did you enjoy the story? Heh heh. This was an old piece I did a while ago, revamped to (hopefully) fit the swim-darlings a little bit better.

And, hey! No song this time, surprisingly.

So, what are your thoughts? Love it, hate it, thinks something needs work? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Anyway.

Until next time, happy reading~!

-Cross posted on AO3-