"Mako-chan!"
Makoto Tachibana smiled to himself, finished brushing some excess dust off of a vase, and stood up. Nagisa was running toward his little shop, bangles jingling and earrings bouncing. It had to be a bit painful, those heavy baubles hanging from his ears, but it wasn't Makoto's place to judge. "What's going on?" he asked. Nagisa stopped in front of the shop, flopping his top half down onto the counter and panting overdramatically.
"Hold on," he said, holding up one hand. Makoto waited, patient. This wasn't the first time Nagisa had come rushing to him with news of something that didn't really matter. Makoto listened, though, because he didn't have many customers anyway, and Nagisa's presence always gave his monotonous day a little color. "There's someone new coming through. With a camel."
"Oh?" Makoto asked. "Is it someone important?"
"Well, I saw him," Nagisa said. "And it looks a lot like Haru-chan!"
"Haru?" Makoto asked, dropping the vase. He managed to soften its fall with his foot so that it didn't break. "Are you sure?"
Nagisa nodded, grinning brightly. Makoto grinned too, and then Nagisa reached over the counter and hugged him. "Isn't it great? Haru-chan's back! I haven't seen him forever, not for years since he left with that group of people! And he has a camel now! Oh, but that's not the main reason I needed to talk to you!"
"What is?" Makoto asked, giving Nagisa a pat on the back and managing to worm his way out of the blond's grip. "I already told you, the guard at the palace will be more receptive to your advances if you tone it down a little."
"No, no, not that," Nagisa said, waving his hand dismissively. "I saw him set up blankets and stuff, and he doesn't have a place to stay! I told him I had him a place to stay, and it's with you, Mako-chan! You have a big enough bedroom, right?"
"Aren't you always talking about how yours is so nice?" Makoto wondered, but he was excited at the prospect. Haru was back! That hadn't been something Makoto had been expecting to happen, and it was… it was good. He hadn't seen Haruka Nanase in years.
"Yeah, but there are always people over," Nagisa said. "Plus, my sisters. I know your little brother and sister are still with your parents, but you've got a whole place to yourself-"
"Because I work," Makoto said, leaning on the counter. "I own this place."
"Well, I work too," Nagisa said. Makoto wondered what Nagisa's job entailed, and then decided that he really didn't want to know. "But please. I already told him you would. He's coming soon, he just needed to pack up his things. Oh, wait, what are you going to do with his camel?"
Makoto sighed. "I can tie the camel out back," he said. Nagisa smiled and nodded, then glanced back.
"He's coming," he said, his normal high, excited voice somehow muted. Makoto watched, transfixed, as Haruka Nanase came walking up the narrow side street, leading a camel behind him. He had cloth covering the lower half of his face, but Makoto could tell from those eyes that it was Haru.
"Haru?" he asked, a little hesitant at first. Haru looked at him.
"Makoto," he said, and Makoto smiled, leaving the counter behind and going through the door, wrapping Haru in a tight hug. "I can't breathe."
"Oh, oh- I'm sorry, but Haru, it's been such a long time!" Makoto said. He couldn't stop grinning.
Haru nodded, shifting from foot to foot. "Nagisa said you had a room."
Makoto nodded. He took the rope leading the camel from Haru and beckoned for him to enter the shop. "Just go in there and up the stairs. I have a room above the shop," he said, then spent the next few minutes trying to get the animal to follow him. It stayed rooted in place, glaring at Makoto. "I don't think he likes me…"
"That's weird," Nagisa said, taking the rope from Makoto and skipping away. "Usually animals like you!"
"Usually I'm around animals smaller than me," Makoto said, then looked at Haru, who was disappearing into the back of the shop. He felt his face break into a smile again. It felt so good to have Haru back, silent and unexpressive as ever. They had been very close as children – Nagisa, of course, tagging along, even back then he'd worn lots of jewelry and pretty clothes, Makoto had used to think that it was because of his sisters, but he couldn't help but wonder if Nagisa had started to like the prettier look somewhere along the line – but one day, when they were around eleven or twelve, Haru had just… packed up and left. They'd barely had a chance to say goodbye.
It had been the single worst day of Makoto Tachibana's life.
But now Haru was back, and, even though it was hot and Makoto barely had enough water for himself, he could appeal to the court – or, rather the Matsuoka family – for extra, seeing as he was now caring for another person, it was good again. He had never quite gotten over Haru leaving, and now he wouldn't have to.
"His things," he remembered, and as Nagisa came back around, skipping, jewelry jingling and smiling brightly. "Can you watch the shop for thirty seconds?"
"Okay!" Nagisa said, slipping back behind the counter. Makoto hurried around to the back to the camel, which huffed angrily when it saw him. Makoto swallowed and edged around, wondering if he would be able to get Haru's possessions off of the camel without dying. It was… it was totally possible, right? He could just… sneak around in the back and…
And the camel kicked and he jumped, clapping his hands over his mouth to try and hold back a scream. He swallowed and set out to try again. He didn't know why the camel didn't like him. Animals usually loved him, he wouldn't think that a larger animal would be the exception.
"Makoto."
Makoto turned and there was Haru. Nagisa must have sent him back. "I had them," Makoto said, and Haru just gave him a look. He took the things off of the camel's back, leaving a blanket. It was a lot of stuff – Makoto didn't think that Haru could even see, over that mountain of things.
"I'll help," Makoto said, giving the camel a wide berth and taking some off the top. Haru turned and headed back to the front of the shop silently, and Makoto followed. He could barely contain his excitement. He was going to have Haru with him again, hopefully for a long time, maybe… it was a bit naïve to think so, but maybe forever.
"I sold a bowl!" Nagisa said to Makoto as he re-entered. "And I think I got my sisters some more business!"
Makoto blinked. "Good," he said. He refrained from asking what Nagisa's sisters did, as always. He was curious about it, of course, but he had an idea that the answer would be a little weird. "Do you know where my room is, Haru?"
Haru nodded, going up the stairs. Makoto followed him, and they ended up in a sparse, open-looking bedroom. There was a bed on one side – wide but not particularly long, something which sometimes annoyed Makoto, who was six feet tall – and a wooden floor. There was a rug in the middle of the room, brown, as well as a desk. His extra money was in the floorboards, but he kept a bit in a box on top of the desk, just in case.
"You can put your things… anywhere, really," Makoto said, laughing awkwardly. Haru nodded again, setting down his things in the middle of the room and crouching down to organize them.
Makoto set down the things he was carrying next to Haru and watched him work for a few moments before remembering the fact that he worked.
"W-well, I need to go take over before Nagisa breaks something! If you need anything, just ask, okay?" Makoto said.
"Okay," Haru said. Makoto smiled at him and made to go downstairs, pausing to just look at him, bent over his things studiously, organizing and tossing some things into a pile that had to be for garbage.
He thought that he would like having Haru here with him.
…
When night came, Makoto ran into something a little awkward.
Haru had made himself a bed with his things, curling up on a corner, using his arm as a pillow. Though Makoto was letting Haru stay, he still felt bad about Haru having to be on the floor.
So, he walked over and poked him. Haru, not quite awake, rolled over to look at him. "Haru?" he said. "Do you want to have the bed?"
"It's your bed," Haru said.
"But, Haru…" Makoto trailed off. Haru turned back on his side and closed his eyes, and Makoto sighed. He went back to his bed, staring at the dark, unmoving form of Haru until he finally drifted off to sleep.
Okay, so a long time ago on Tumblr an anon asked me to do a Free! AU based off of the ending animation. And, um, here it is! Except it's going to be a multichapter. With three different POVs, switching off every chapter. So, this will probably be updated every Thursday, so keep a look out!
Also, question here – does anyone know what, exactly, Nagisa's doing in the ending animation? The other four are pretty easy to figure out, or at least think up something for, but… Nagisa?
If you have an answer, either leave it in a review or message me, either on here or on my Tumblr, which is goddessofthedawn.
