Summary: Makoto was really just an ordinary boy. He had a wonderful family and had great friends. He would admit he was pretty bland by all definitions. So what's up with the mermaid that seems so insistent on following him? HaruxMako (I think)...

Just as a head's up, I haven't actually watched all of Free!...Yeah, shame on me, just haven't had the time. So if there are some errors in what should be said or how a character should be addressed, a little tip would be appreciated. Beware of OCC-ness! Again, haven't watched the whole anime so I'm probably a little shaky on characterization.

Disclaimer: I don't own Free!

[4/8/2014] This is a revised version of Chapter 1. Thankfully with less mistakes and better things in general. And I have finished Free! sorta. It's so...so...just so many innuendos that it feels like every pairing is canon.

This has been revised by fabulously fabulous beta-reader: Know-Your-Place.

Tachibana Makoto was an ordinary boy. He went to school, had a good family and loyal friends. All in all, he lived a fairly mundane lifestyle, although this was fine by him. He enjoyed the peace and quiet. It was summertime and he wouldn't have to return to school for another three weeks. Another three weeks before the swimming club could continue. He wasn't particularly close to his members except for a few.

Hazuki Nagisa and Ryugazaki Rei. The bubbly blonde and the studious boy were actually a year younger than him, but they had grown up together and became very, very close. It was a shame, however, that they had become a trio instead of the group of four they once had during their middle school years. The missing teen, Matsuoka Rin, had left for Australia to study abroad. They didn't leave on very good terms either, and the gap he left was keenly felt.

Ah, but today is not a day for brooding about the past! Let's continue with the story, yes?

Our story begins on the Hazuki family's boat….

Makoto was leaning on the ship's railings, staring out into the sea. It was just the three of them out here, and Nagisa, being filthy rich, had taken out his family's personal yacht out today. Nagisa went inside doing god knows what while Rei was keeping an eye on the wheel. Even though it was automatic, Rei watched the controls and wrote down notes obsessively. Makoto always believed the boy might have been a little OCD,] but said nothing of it. After all, Nagisa wasn't very good with directions and his earlier reassurances weren't exactly reassuring at all…

Earlier:

It was a beautiful day. Rei and Makoto were studying… or more like Rei was lecturing while Makoto daydreamed about ice-cream and swim club. Rei was forcing him to study with him, despite just getting out of school for break. They were at the park, which was fairly small. A colorful playground set was in the middle of it. Kids screamed and laughed while the occasional jogger or dog owner passed by. They were sitting a little away from the play area, at round tables underneath a copse of trees. It was fairly warm and a nice breeze blew in. It would be altogether very enjoyable if he wasn't here with chemistry lessons being crammed down his throat. There was an ice-cream shop not too far from here… ice-cream sounded really, really good right now.

"Hey guys!"

"Hi, Nagisa-san!" Makoto was grateful for any distraction the bubbly teen could offer. Please, please save me, Nagisa-san! Makoto thought to himself, hoping that Nagisa could read the dire plea in his head.

"Afternoon, Nagisa-san, are you going to join us in studies? We can't let you slack off and make all that tutoring go to waste, now can we?" The austere teen pushed up his trademark red glasses, a determined spark in his eyes.

"Naaah, wanna go swimming? We can take my parents' boat out to the ocean! And I've found this really cool place last time we went fishing, I'll show you guys! It'll be really, really fun!" the blonde spoke rapidly, and then he paused, "You know what? Let's go now!" The bubbly boy grabbed Rei's book bag and began running off towards the park swings.

"H-hey! Nagisa-san, give it back!" Rei yelled and bolted after him. Despite being a complete clutz and a slowpoke in swim club, Makoto had to admire the black-haired male's speed and grace. On land, he carried himself with elegance, but in water, not so much.

Makoto sighed and stared up into the clear, blue sky. This was going to be a long day, but it wouldn't be without its excitements.

"Nagisa-san, are you sure you know where we're going… ?" the green-eyed teen stared worriedly at the aforementioned blonde, who seemed unfazed by the fact that they seemed completely lost.

"Of course I know where it is! It's just another few minutes, give or take a few, we're almost there~," Nagisa said in a carefree, sing-song voice. He toyed with the metal wheel, making the boat lurch every so often that the brunet thought he would fall over or puke. Whichever came first. Thankfully they were in the captain's cabin, or else Makoto really would have fallen out of the boat by now.

"Nagisa-san," Rei groaned, "don't you even have a map to this 'special place'? For all we know, we could be on our way to Hawaii right now! Judging by our coordinates and the velocity of the winds combined with the speed of the boat, we'll be heading towards-"

"Oh, don't be such a worry-wart Rei-chan, think of it as an adventure!"

The bespectacled boy threw his hands up in the air, "This is what I get for letting down my guard and taking a nap! An adventure my a-"

Makoto sighed as the two bantered back and forth. They were just so immature… they were only a year apart so they shouldn't be this childish. He looked out the window, the shimmering ocean seemed to go on forever, and he shivered. He remembered when he was kid, he would hang around this kind old fisherman. The man gave him a pair of goldfish one summer, and then disappeared a few days later, apparently lost in a storm at sea. Ever since, Makoto had been a little nervous around the open water. He was older now, and his childhood phobia was reduced to a slight uneasiness. But it was this nervousness that kept him from coming to the sea as often as his friends would like.

He was broken from his reverie as he noticed a dark shape appear on the horizon. He squinted, shading olive green eyes from the light to make sure that he wasn't seeing mirages.

"Hey…" the older male said, trying to get their attention, but Rei was in full-lecture mode at the moment.

"Going someplace without even-"

"Rei…"

"I know where I'm going!"

"Nagisa…"

"As if!"

"Why can't you have a little bit more faith in me, Rei-chaaan?"

"You're too careless! Please, for the love of-"

"HEY!" The two whirled around to look at the older teen, who redirected their attention to the black crags that grew larger as they approached. Nagisa slowed down the boat as they got closer and dropped anchor.

"This is it! This is the place I was talking about!" the bubbly boy said excitedly. The rock was definitely impressive, if not imposing due to its size. It seemed to jut out of the ocean unnaturally, like a dagger stuck in the heart of the sea. I should become a writer if I can think of something so cheesy, Makoto thought to himself and snorted quietly.

"Since we're here, everyone has to strip!" Makoto and Rei turned slightly red at the declaration, though the brunet thought the black haired boy blushed more at Nagisa's shameless stripping. After changing into their swimming trunks, they went to the docking station, and out the bridge into the water. With a loud whoop, Nagisa ran down the ramp and dived into the water.

Rei followed suit, without the whoop of course (that would be un-beautiful), jumping in as gracefully as he could; which was pretty much a belly flop into the water. So much for a beautiful landing, Makoto supposed.

The brunet dove in last, entering the water almost noiselessly with practiced ease. He opened his eyes to see the endless blue that was the ocean. The absolute calm in what felt like a silent abyss made him feel more alone than before, and he quickly rose to the surface.

"Hey, you know, there's a secret passage through the rock," Nagisa said, talking as if it were some big secret and there were people around to hear. "It's underwater, but once you get inside, it looks amazing."

"Are you really sure there is such a thing as an underwater passage here?" Rei asked skeptically.

Ever the peacemaker, Makoto broke in, "How about we just look around? It couldn't hurt to try. Right, Rei-kun?"

Rei only grunted in response. Nagisa perked up immediately and began dragging Rei away with more enthusiasm than before. The brunet sighed and followed them at a more sedate pace, wondering when the golden trio had become more like the golden duo. He supposed it would have happened sooner or later, considering the age gap. They were all childhood friends and he would stick with them more than classmates in his own year. Perhaps he should start venturing out to talk to others. If he could be just a little less clumsy and awkward, then maybe…

"Okay, we're going to go under here. You listenin' Mako-chan?" Nagisa called out, waving for Makoto to come over.

"Ah, yeah, I'm coming!"

They were all led underwater, and quickly found a dark tunnel, showing that the blonde really did know where they were going after all. After passing through, the opening they entered took their breaths away. Underwater was a great coral reef, a mere 10 feet below them. A rainbow of colorful fish and coral glowed below, not unlike those picturesque photos people liked to scam tourists with. Except this was the real deal. Oddly enough, the cave's walls jutted out in such a way to make a small resting place for them. They admired the cave's beauty, noting that the cave had to at least be the size of their school swimming pool. Upon climbing up, the brunet also noticed that the cave was brightened by natural light from the opening in the ceiling. A perfect circle.

"This is amazing, Nagisa-san!" Makoto said in awe, how the careless blonde managed to find this was a miracle. Rei nodded in agreement.

"I know, I know," Nagisa's smile grew wider, "and I don't think anyone knows about it! It can be our special place." And with that, Nagisa dropped back into the water, splashing specifically to get the two other males wet. Shortly after, an all-out water fight began. It wasn't until late afternoon that they decided to go back, considering how long it took to get there.

As they swam out and pulled up onto the boat ramp, Rei groaned and slapped his forehead in frustration. "I can't believe it, my goggles are gone! Of all the things I could lose!"

"Now, now, it's okay," Nagisa said, patting him on the back, "let's just go back in-"

"You saw that reef! It'll take forever to find it, if it dropped in there!" Rei pulled at his hair and groaned. "Whatever, let's just go back. It's way too much trou-"

"I'll get it." Makoto interrupted suddenly, making the other two stare at him. He gave the younger teens a winning smile, "Don't worry, Rei-kun, I'll be back in a flash!" And he jumped in before they could say otherwise.

It was only natural to help a friend protect his important things. Besides, those goggles were a present from Nagisa when Rei first joined the swimming club at school. And Makoto had a feeling that there was just something more intimate between the two. Sometimes he was scared that his two best friends would get together and leave him all alone.

He didn't want to be left out and be all by himself. He pretended that he didn't see the sparks that passed between them whenever they talked; he secretly wished that the chemistry between them would disappear and a real relationship would never come to fruition.

He hated these selfish feelings. Nagisa and Rei deserved to be happy too. Who was he to stand in their way? Eventually, he returned to the cave and resurfaced. He was about to dive back down to look for the goggles when he realized he wasn't alone in the cave.

Another boy was there, a little away from him and with his back turned from the brunet. He looked rather slim and upon closer inspection, Makoto found he was rather well-muscled and very pale. He wondered where the boy had come from, as they hadn't seen another ship around and he obviously couldn't have swum here.

And then Makoto saw the tail. It looked somewhat similar to a dolphin's tail, except it wasn't grey. It was a beautiful iridescent blue. The brunet gaped. No way. No mermaids er-… mermen did not exist. Maybe he was wearing a suit? But there wasn't a single boat in sight, so…

The boy turned, making Makoto flinch. He thought he had been caught staring at the other, but realized that the raven-haired boy was completely engrossed in something.

The other boy was examining a pair of red goggles, Rei's goggles. Makoto called out to him, "E-excuse me!"

The boy looked up at him, and Makoto's breath hitched. He was beautiful, with delicate features and deep blue eyes, like the ocean. All of that framed with ebony locks, and the brunet couldn't help but compare him to one of those porcelain dolls one would see on display. When he opened his mouth to speak again, he found no words would come out. For what seemed to be a good minute of staring, Makoto managed to regain his composure and speak again.

"T-that's," he took a deep breath, "that's my friends goggles, could you give them back?"

"Goggles?" the raven asked in a gentle voice, and he lifted the item in question.

"Uh… yes…"

The boy swam over, and leaned in so close that their noses were only an inch a part. Makoto blushed. The other really was beautiful… and what was he thinking?! Whatever the other was… fish, or person, or merman, he needed to get himself together! The boy looked him up and down, and the taller male shrunk back, blushing even more from the inspection

"You're that type?" It was actually more of a statement rather than a question. Makoto wasn't really sure what he meant by that, but sighed in relief as the boy backed away. The disinterested expression on the boy's face faded and changed into fascination, blue eyes stared intently.

"I… guess?"

"Hm…." There was an awkward silence. Makoto looked up to see the hole and the sun, lower down in the sky. He remembered that he had to go.

"Um…"

"What's it like up there?" the boy interrupted.

"Uh, well, it's er- dry…" Makoto said nervously. The other huffed impatiently. Well, what was he supposed to say? He really needed to go right now, even though in the back of his mind, he really wanted to stay and get to know this gorgeous… he smacked himself on the cheek. No, no, you are not supposed to think about these kinds of things. "Look, I have to go… I'll come back another time and we'll talk then, okay?" the merman looked rather put-out by this response and was about to swim away when the brunet spoke up again.

"I'm Makoto… um… what's your name?"

The boy watched him for a moment before speaking, "Haruka." And he threw Rei's goggles at Makoto and left. He meant it when he said he would come back again. He didn't have a big boat like Nagisa, but he would try to see Haruka again. He didn't want to go with Nagisa or Rei this time, he just wanted to go by himself.

He didn't really know how, but just being around the merman, Haruka, he got the feeling the other boy wasn't a people-person, er… merpeople person… thing. You get the idea. The only reason he spoke to Makoto was obviously because he was curious. So Makoto decided he would go by himself another time since he was worried that he would scare Haruka away by bringing more people.

So the brunet swam, and was greeted by Nagisa and Rei, both of which were rather flushed and somewhat awkward. Makoto wondered what the two were doing while he was gone, and he had an inkling of what probably occurred, if the blushes were anything to go by. Say what you will, the brunet wasn't as dense as people thought him to be. Rei thanked Makoto for the goggles and they quickly went inside to sail back for shore.

After Nagisa set the boat and they began their journey homeward, Makoto stepped out of the captain's cabin to allow Rei and Nagisa some private time. He leaned over the railing and sighed. It was only a matter of time before the two realized their feelings, if they hadn't already. He was happy for them, he really was. But once they became a couple, Makoto would have to drift away. He would only be a hindrance.

As he was nursing these thoughts, he noticed something splashing nearby. He rubbed his eyes. He thought he saw a flash of that iridescent blue. Haruka couldn't have…. could he? Makoto stared at the water intensely.

Instead of Haruka, a fish jumped out of the water. The brunet sighed in disappointment. Oh well, what did he expect? Nothing good would come out of it anyway–if the merman was following the boat.

So Makoto sat down on one of the lawn chairs on the open deck, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Hoped you liked the chappie. Thank you for dropping reviews, ashira23 and MidoriTenchi90. You guys are awesome. That goes for everyone else who favorited/followed. You guys rock just as much. Stick around for the next chappie and bear with me for awhile until the next chappie gets out.