Hydrophilic

Author's Note:

Okay so… before anyone tells me all the things I've done wrong/how OOC the characters are (In which case I hope you'll tell me so I can fix it xD) I have a disclaimer to make: I have never watched or read Free before and I only know the characters from little snippets I've seen here and there from OVAs, clips showing the funny moments, their character songs etc. So please; if I've screwed up majorly in some way or another, let me know please!

Other than that; I do not own Free and I hope you enjoy reading this fic; it was an unofficial request by a youtuber called Taki Reizen who commented on Haruka and Makoto's character song duet on youtube asking someone to write a fanfic about how they managed to get Haru to sing so here goes nothing? xD Just my personal interpretation of one possible situation so don't take it seriously xDDD

~Start of actual story~

Giving his stoic friend a nervous glance, Makoto chewed his lip as he and Haru sat outside of the recording studio waiting to be called in. While it could be said that he was a practiced singer, not having the heart to say no to his younger siblings when they asked him to take them out for weekly karaoke, it was also true that the brunet himself didn't think very highly of his singing, or, indeed, much about singing at all.

…Still…

…It wasn't like he could just abandon his childhood and life-long best friend in the situation he currently found himself in…

How and where had everything gone so wrong…?

Heaving another heavy sigh and reaching out to fist the back of Haru's jacket as the raven-haired teen eyed the fish tank in the corner with an almost hungry gleam in his cerulean blue orbs, the 6ft male wearily shook his head, a warning look coming over his sea green eyes as he restrained his companion.

"Not for you!" he scolded, exhaling resignedly as his shoulders slumped forward to reflect his dejection "Did you already forget how we got into this mess?"

~Flashback to yesterday at the park~

"Uwaaah~! Look! They're filming over there!"

"Yeah! Yeah! It's true! Ran wants to be in a film too when she's older!"

"Eeeh?! No fair! Me too! Me too!"

Giving an indulgent smile as his two younger siblings gasped and pointed before eagerly running off to get closer to where a camera crew was currently filming, Makoto gave a soft chuckle before lifting both of his large, calloused hands and cupping them around his mouth to amplify his voice "Ren~! Ran~! Filming videos is very hard so don't get too close and disturb them alright~?"

"Hai~!"

"We won't Onii-chan! We just want a teeny-tiny peek!"

Lowering his arms and giving a soft smile as he followed them, taking the time to admire the floral scenery around him, Makoto slowed his jog to a casual stroll as he drank in the view.

Open green, grassy meadows dotted with yellow daisies and bushes, trees and shrubs of varying types and sizes laden with colorful blossoms in full bloom…

…Absolutely beautiful.

Giving a blissful smile as he redirected his gaze to the lake on his right, the tall male suppressed a quiet chuckle, the shimmering aquamarine surface of the water reminding him of a certain water-loving friend of his with eyes of the same color.

Suppressing another few chuckles, the olive-haired male tilted his head back, emerald green eyes fluttering shut as he wondered what his fellow swimmer was up to right at that moment-

"Eh…? Onii-chan… Isn't that Haru-chan?"

Say what?

Indeed… Speak of the devil so that he may appear it seemed…

Closed green eyes immediately snapping wide open at his younger sister's voice, Makoto's head whipped around to follow Ran's outstretched arm so fast he swore he heard his neck creak. Squinting and shading his eyes as his gaze slid in and out of focus to zero in on the shadowy silhouette right next to the camera crew about 50ft away, the backstroke specialist gave a soft smile as he made out the slender yet well-toned figure of his friend-

-only for his usually droopy eyes to widen in horror as he recognized what he dubbed 'the signs'.

A twinkle in the eye…? Check – his current expression would make any kid think that Christmas had come a month early.

Getting ready to strip down to the swimsuit he always wore under his clothes…? Check – his top half was already bare for Christ's sake!

About to jump in to the pool/fish tank/toilet/source of water…? Check – more like he had already stepped back in preparation for the run up.

Was he- WAIT, HOLD ON ONE DAMN SECOND! Why was he even bothering to go through his mental list especially right at this moment?!

Immediately springing into action, Makoto sprinted towards the raven-haired male, lips already on the verge of forming a warning as the other male dived-

SPLASH!

-only to lose his balance and miss-step as he made a futile attempt to grab the airborne Haru; bad mistake as Force equals Mass times Acceleration, but guess who royally flunked Physics class?

Question: The product of diving Haru plus grabby Makoto plus a lake?

Answer: Two drenched boys plus a splash that would put any tidal wave in the history of tsunamis to shame.

"Wha-?! ONII-CHAN! HARU-CHAN!"

Immediately sprinting towards the edge of the lake like her older brother had done mere moments earlier, Tachibana Ran peered over the edge gingerly, large green eyes scanning the water for any sign of her beloved brother and his water-loving friend.

Panting as he caught up, Ren stood beside his twin sister, his own round sienna orbs raking the surface of the lake for the two teens "…That was the fastest I've ever seen him move outside of water…" he muttered, crouching for a better view "…If he'd been on a road they'd have arrested him for breaking the speed limit!"

"Ren-!" But that was all Ran got out before Makoto resurfaced with a spluttering cough, struggling to squeeze the water out of his clothes and hair while a happy Haru floated serenely beside him, a content look coming over his perpetually stoic features "Haru! Exactly how much do you love water?!" the brunet wailed, wincing as he picked a stray twig out of his matted olive locks.

"Hmm…" Closing his eyes as he swam a few graceful laps around the lake, Haru finally made to get out of his impromptu pool, a blissful glow coming over his otherwise emotionless face "…Must… Become… One with the water…"

"Honestly…" Giving another sigh before shaking his head and smiling as he climbed out after his equally drenched companion, the taller teen eased himself out of his soaking jacket and twisted it in an attempt to squeeze the water out of it "Let's just go home before any more water catches your eye, huh Haru?"

But before the freestyle swimmer could reply, they were interrupted by one very peeved cough "Ahem… Yes… That's all very fine and dandy… But how exactly do you two boys plan to compensate all this damage…?"

Uh-oh.

Giving an audible gulp as he and Haru both turned to face the camera crew, Makoto gave a noticeable wince when his eyes landed on the drenched (and ominously crackling) film equipment.

"W… W-We're sorry…?" he managed to squeak out, voice rising and cracking in his panic.

~Flashback End~

Well… One thing led to another, and while they hadn't been sued, the filming studio (who also did recording it appeared) had insisted they work to pay off the cost of the damaged equipment.

All things considered, it could have been worse…

But then again, it could have just not happened at all…

Giving another dejected sigh as he struggled to hold his friend back from diving headfirst into the fish tank, Makoto couldn't resist letting a small smile spread over his face as he spotted the familiar twinkle in Haru's eyes "…You don't change a bit huh…?"

"Boys? You're up!"

"Just a minute!" the brunet called back at the owner of the voice before he turned back to offer his friend a hand, sea green eyes snapping shut as he gave the raven-haired male a wide, close-eyed smile "Let's go Haru. After we're done, we can go to the pool or a water park; my treat!"

"…Un…" Giving a nod as he tore his cobalt blue eyes away from the tantalizing fish tank with great difficulty, Haru took Makoto's offered hand and entered the studio, pushing his water-related thoughts aside for now in favor of slipping on a headset and studying the music score in front of him.

"Whenever you're ready son."

Giving a smile and a thumbs up at the music director, Makoto winked at Haru as the music started up and they sang the first lines of the duet together.

"itsumo koko de

motto jiyuu na oretachi ni narou ima todoita hikari ga mata

unagasu kibou te ni shite~"

~The End~

You can stop reading this story here if you'd like, but if you want a small, bonus ending then read on xDDD

~Timeskip to after the recording session~

...

...

...

"Haru~ I said I'd take you to the pool or the waterpark so which one do you want to go to? Haru~"

Wandering the maze-like studio as he looked for his water-loving friend, Makoto glanced around nervously, wondering if it was an intrinsic trait of all stoic raven-haired, blue-eyed people to get lost easily; as Rin had told him when they had ended up together for a short while during their water gun survival fight, Yamazaki Sousuke had a dreadful sense direction after all…

Wait.

Hold the phone.

"Water-loving"…?

Of course… that should have been the first place he looked!

…

…

…

Giving a soft smile as he opened the door to the staff room and entered, Makoto couldn't hold back his chuckles as he made his way towards Haru who had plugged the sink, filled it with water and stuck his head in "Found you Haru…"

"…I guess you really are Hydrophilic!"