Never Changing

Twenty-three years old, Haruka muses. It's been three years since he had become an ordinary man, since he was no longer considered the genius he had been as a child. Not that it really mattered. Haruka was fine with drifting through life as he had always been.

"Haruuu!" called the voice that had been a forever constant in his life. "Table three requests two orders of mackerel grilled with miso!"

"Mm," he mutters, already pulling out the slabs of raw fish to put on the grill. His best friend, bright green eyes sparkling with good cheer, leaned over the side of the counter to watch.

"Haru-chan," Makoto said a moment later, "Nagisa and Rei mentioned that they were going to drop by later. Let's close up early and go home to clean up."

"Neither of them would care, would they?" Haruka replied carelessly, using a cooking brush to paint on the miso before flipping the fish steaks. "… Drop the 'chan'," he added a second too late. His best friend laughed softly.

"Excuse me! May we have two iced teas?"

Makoto turned his attention to the customer. "Coming right up!" he said gaily. At the appearance of a handsome young man with a brilliant smile and the torso of a Greek god, the two young ladies dressed in bikinis giggled a little nervously, twirling their hair and blushing profusely. Makoto didn't seem to notice, as usual. He stepped behind the counter and reached underneath to pull out two clean glasses before heading towards one of the many coolers off to the side. He had to sidestep Haruka carefully to make sure not to jostle him. "Sorry, Haru," he said anyway.

"Whatever," was Haruka's mumbled reply. As the fish grilled and Makoto took more orders, he glanced out the open front of his recently opened store and gazed at the ocean. It glimmered welcomingly from a mere 50 meters away, across the concrete of the boardwalk and the sand of the beach.

"Haru," he heard Makoto's voice murmur softly in his ear. "The fish will burn if you don't pay attention."

He tried to turn to glare at his best friend, but his forehead knocked into Makoto's chin instead. Curse the brunette for growing so tall. What Japanese grew over 190 cm? Makoto smiled down at him from his impressive height and, not for the first time, Haruka felt himself subconsciously raising himself up on tiptoe.

"Let's close up at least two hours early, okay? We can go swim for about an hour and then be back in time to clean a little before Nagisa and Rei arrive."

The idea of swimming pacified the blue-haired man and he gave a quick nod. Makoto laughed softly, his breath ghosting over Haruka's bare neck and raising goose bumps in its wake.

Haruka returned his gaze to the slow-cooking fish, but his mind was always 50 meters away, already dreaming of the endless blue that would embrace him and soothe his tired mind.

Makoto carefully shut the shutters to the restaurant and locked them securely. Tucking the key into his pocket, he turned around to talk to his lifelong friend only to see that Nanase Haruka had magically turned into a single apron lying on the ground.

Sighing, but not without fondness, he plucked it up and neatly folded it under his huge hands. He trailed his gaze towards the glittering waters and found the head of his friend bobbing up and down slowly with the waves. Makoto couldn't help but laugh.

Six years, he mused, since they had started the Iwatobi Swim Club. Six years since the reunion between the four of the old Junior Swim Club.

Well, after that it only took about three years before it was just him and Haruka again. Haruka had decided against going to college, instead opting to open a fish-specialty restaurant on the boardwalk by his beloved ocean. It was something very Haruka-like to do – not to mention that the required uniform for all employees was to be a swimsuit. Makoto glanced down at his own green jammers and chuckled quietly. Somehow he wondered if Haruka had set that rule because he just wanted to wear the swimsuit himself, or to prevent women from asking for jobs in the store.

Their relationship hadn't changed. Makoto, as usual, followed Haruka around like a puppy. When he heard that Haruka had bought a small building on the boardwalk and was going to open a restaurant, Makoto's first action was to become the first employee – also the only other employee. Occasionally they got part-timers during the summer, but kids were always more concerned with playing rather than working.

Haruka had been, both surprisingly and yet expectedly, against Makoto working for him. He should find something that he really wanted to do, he had said to the green-eyed giant. Makoto had merely laughed and replied that he just wanted to stay with Haruka. After all, technology was amazing; Makoto had signed up for online college courses in psychology and oceanography. He was considering become either a marine biologist, or possibly a counselor at Iwatobi High. He did want to both conquer his fear of the ocean – which was coming along very nicely with Haruka's help – and to help other people with their own fears. Haruka called him a busybody, but he did enjoy helping other people.

He thought of his younger siblings, Ren and Ran, and wondered how they were doing in that fancy metropolitan boarding school in Tokyo. His parents had moved there around two years ago, just in time for the twins to begin high school. From what he had last heard, Ran was doing very well in her studies while Ren had joined the soccer team. He hoped that they were doing well.

"Makoto!"

Makoto was pulled out of his thoughts by Haruka calling his name. His childhood friend stood on the beach, forming a puddle in the sand. "What's wrong, Haru? Go ahead and swim."

"… You're not coming with me?"

Makoto's eyes widened and his lips curled into an ecstatic smile. "Coming!" he called, pounding his way across the sand. A wave came up and pulled him along with itself, and he was suddenly he was neck deep, feet barely touching the bottom. The old panic welled up inside him for a moment before he felt a gentle grasp on his hand.

Haruka.

The panic faded away and he smiled at the man with the beautiful blue eyes. "I'm okay," he said softly. He walked a little back towards the direction of the shoreline until his feet could fully reach the bottom. "Since you're here, I'm okay."

Haruka nodded, but he didn't let go. Raising a wet, hand, he brushed Makoto's bangs away from his face, to clearly see his green eyes. He didn't doubt Makoto's words, but normally it was easier to just look into his eyes and see what he was feeling.

Peace and contentment. And utter adoration for… for what?

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Haruka muttered a quick, "Good," before letting go and allowing the water to come underneath him and let him float along the surface. He heard soft splashes as Makoto sliced his hands and legs cleanly through the water in a backstroke to pull up towards his side.

They floated there, in perfect silence, savoring the moment together.

Before…

"Ah… darn, it's time to leave, Haru."

"I'm not leaving."

"Haru, we have to go see Nagisa and Rei."

"They can come here."

"Rin's on TV tonight."

Makoto remained floating, waiting. Then he heard reluctant splashing as Haruka started to freestyle towards the shore. Laughing quietly, he flipped over and swam along with him, pulling up to Haruka's side in no time.

"Race you, Haru."

Haruka was not happy, to say the least, when he opened his front door at insistent knocking to receive an armful of blonde.

"Haru-chan! I missed you! Did you miss me? Where's Mako-chan?"

Through all the nonstop chatter, Rei came in quietly and gave a quick bow to Haruka as a greeting. "It's been a long time, Haruka-senpai."

"So formal, Rei-chan! You don't have to be!" Nagisa scolded him. "We're all old friends here! Ah, Haru-chan, how is your restaurant going? Are you and Mako-chan making a lot of money? Enough to go on a honeymoon?"

"Nagisa!" Rei yelped, plainly shocked. Haruka rolled his eyes. It was true that he and Makoto were now like newlyweds due to the fact that they were living together in Haruka's house. Technically, Makoto still had ownership of his old house but the big guy didn't like being alone so he often slept over at Haruka's. Makoto was currently looking for buyers among the real estate agents.

"Nagisa! Rei!" Makoto had to stoop, as usual, through the doorway to avoid hitting his head. "It's been so long!"

Much to Haruka's relief, Nagisa let go of him only to fling himself at Makoto with renewed vigor. "Mako-chan! How are you and Haru-chan doing? Is the store okay? Does Haru-chan still try to dive into fish tanks?

Rei sighed wearily. Clearly, he had been going through nonstop chatter himself. He gestured to the many bags he was carrying; most of which were yellow and pink and clearly not Rei's. "Where should I put these?"

"Guest room," Haruka grabbed a few of them himself and walked down the hall to the room across from the bathroom. On the way, Rei noticed that a small but tall table – more like a square stool, really – was the only décor in the hallway. On it was a round fishbowl half-filled with water. There was a large rock in the center, with the flat surface barely poking out of the water. Several water plants were along the bottom, planted among the colorful rocks.

"Haruka-senpai, what's this?"

Haruka spared it a passing glance. "It's Makoto's old fishbowl," he replied. Putting down one bag, he lightly tapped the glass. A tiny turtle swam into view, perching itself on the rock.

"Oh, it's quite cute," Rei remarked. "But isn't this a bit small for it? A fishbowl is supposed to hold fish. The turtle will outgrow the bowl soon, won't it?"

"Makoto's not ready yet," Haruka replied cryptically, using his pointer finger to gently poke at the turtle's shell. "He might be with a little more time… but not yet," he smiled a little as the turtle retracted itself back into its shell. "He's halfway there though."

"Hah? I-I see…" Rei said a way that clearly meant he didn't.

Haruka gazed at the fishbowl a little while longer before again shouldering the bags. "Let's hurry. The swimming Olympics are supposed to start soon."

"Ah, yes!"

Unseen by either of them, Makoto smiled softly as he had managed to hear their conversation despite Nagisa's loud one-sided dialogue.

As they gather around Haruka's table, Nagisa is eagerly filling in of what had happened the past six months of his life. Recently he had started his new job at the zoo as the penguin caretaker and trainer. "It's so much fun!" he exclaimed. "The penguins are so cute and happy! They like to follow me around when I'm feeding them! Maybe they think I'm their mama."

"That's because you're holding food, isn't it?" Rei pointed out, before giving a very undignified yelp. Nagisa had reached under the table and pinched his leg. Hard.

"Rei-chan, tell them your big news!" Nagisa said teasingly. Both Haruka and Makoto were intrigued by the deep shade of red Rei's face took.

Rei coughed and cleared his throat. "I, uh, may have foundagirlfriend," he muttered the last part so quickly and quietly that Makoto and Haruka nearly missed. But they both caught it and their eyes widened slightly.

"That's great, Rei!" Makoto said immediately. "Is she a girl who goes to your university?"

"No," Rei shook his head sheepishly. "We met out on the street. She's a self-employed street artist."

"A what?"

"A street artist. That's what she calls herself anyway," Rei explained. He described of how his girlfriend was a street singer and painter, which was how they met. Rei had heard her voice and fallen in love with it, thereby going to visit her every day. What he didn't count on was falling in love with her. He apparently started crushing on her hard before Nagisa finally gave him the courage to speak to her.

"She's kind of like Haru-chan, actually," Nagisa said cheerfully. "She's a lot more talkative and outgoing for sure, but she's really a 'free' person, you know? She does what she wants and she does it with a passion!"

"True," Rei said dreamily. "That passion of hers is what makes her beautiful."

"Aww, Rei-chan is all lovey-dovey!" Nagisa teased him. Makoto laughed and Haruka's lips twitched upwards into a faint smile. Rei sputtered for a bit before fixing his glasses and turning his head.

"Ah," he said as he noticed the clock. "It's almost time."

"Oh, you're right," Makoto reached for the remote control to turn on the TV in the corner. "I'll make the tea. Haru, could you bring out the snacks? Not too many; we still need to have dinner."

"Ehhh? C'mon, Mako-chan, we're not kids anymore! I brought beer!" the ever peppy blonde brought out a cooler that he had forced Rei to carry and pulled out several cans. "Let's party tonight~!"

"You really brought that sort of thing…"

"You made me carry those?!"

"Rei-chan, just because you have the alcohol tolerance of five-year-old…"

"I'll fry some mackerel," Haruka said, already reaching for his at-home apron.

"Eh? Haru, aren't you going to watch?" Makoto asked, reluctantly accepting a beer can. "We very rarely get to see Rin… plus he'll be swim in an official Olympic pool, you know?"

"… Turn up the volume."

"Roger that~" Makoto chuckled quietly under his breath. Haruka scowled at him and turned his head away, as he usually did.

"Ah, it's Rin-chan!" Nagisa shouted at once as their old friend's face appeared on the screen. "Mm? Is it just me or has his teeth gotten pointier?"

"Now that you mention it…" Rei peered at the screen. "They do look like they grew… that's odd."

Haruka called out from the kitchen, "It's true that a shark's teeth keep growing. When a pair falls out, another grows in."

"Ehh?! So did Rin-chan lose all of his teeth before this or something?!"

"Haru, do you want any help?"

"Get out the plates. The mackerel's almost ready. Rice too."

"Geez, stop cooking just mackerel and rice! Add some vegetables too!"

"Then I'll make a seaweed salad."

"Geez…" Makoto got up. "I'll cut some fruit too then. It's better to have a well-balanced meal."

"Mako-chan is still like a mom, ne~"

"More like a housewife," Haruka muttered under his breath.

"Haru, I heard that."

Haruka turned his head away in defiance, but only managed childish petulance. Makoto laughed quietly as he sliced watermelon, honeydew, and mandarin oranges for a simple fruit salad.

"Ah! I can see Gou-chan and Miko-chan!" Nagisa yelled excitedly. "Ai-chan is there too!"

"It's to be expected," Makoto dumped all the fruit into a clear glass bowl and placed it on the table. "Come to think of it, isn't Kou-chan and Mikoshiba-san's wedding soon? More importantly, did they get Rin to agree?"

"He called me yesterday," Haruka interjected, setting down the steaming plates of mackerel. "I think he had been drinking. He was just screaming obscenities down the line for about an hour."

"Was that what that noise was?" Makoto remembered a strange sound like a quiet radio last night in the middle of the night. He sighed in relief. "Oh, good, I thought the house was haunted."

"Are you still afraid of ghosts are your age, Makoto-senpai?"

The green-eyed man scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "… Maybe just a little… normally though, I go to Haru's room to sleep if I have nightmares or something."

"You're heavy," Haruka said, already eating. "You hug me so tight in your sleep that when I dream, I dream that I'm drowning."

"Really?! Why did you say anything?!" Makoto protested.

"… You looked happy so I kept quiet."

"Haru…"

"Mako-chan's really big and heavy though. If you're not careful, Haru-chan, then you might really suffocate underneath him."

"Don't say such unlucky things, Nagisa-kun!"

"Ah, Rin's starting to swim!"

The four friends fell silent for a while as they watched their childhood friend dive into the water and practically rocketed towards the other end. They held their breath as he pushed off the opposite side and made his way back to the start.

"Rin's gotten a lot faster as freestyle, ne Haru?"

"… Ah."

"Rin-chan is a all-rounder swimmer after all," Nagisa remarked. "Though his specialty is still the butterfly stroke."

"And making people angry," Haruka added.

"Haru…" Makoto's tone was of a gentle rebuke. "You know he can't help it. He's finally achieved his dream. Let him brag every now and then."

"Unless he makes you cry again, Haru-chan," Nagisa said, bringing up an agreed-to-be-unmentionable incident. Everyone noticeably stiffened.

"N-Nagisa…"

"You know, it was the first time I saw Mako-chan so angry~ Mako-chan is really the killer whale type, ne! Rin-chan had a handprint on his right cheek for weeks!"

"Nagisa!" Makoto wailed, his face going scarlet. He hid his blush in his hands and muttered quietly, "That's because he was… towards Haru… he made Haru-chan cry…" at the moment he sounded on the verge of tears himself. Makoto didn't like to hurt people, but that one time he just couldn't let Rin get away with it…

"Drop the 'chan'," Haruka grumbled. The tension around the table broke and everyone laughed. Even Makoto gave a weak chuckle and when he removed his hands from his face it was his usual smile.

"So where is everyone sleeping tonight?"

"Haru and I can be in Haru's room, and Rei and Nagisa can be in mine… Or you can have separate rooms if you'd like. We've recently renovated one of the old studies to be a guest room."

"But I want to sleep with Haru-chan!"

"No way," was the immediate answer of Haruka. "You kick in your sleep."

"I haven't done that lately! Tell them, Rei-chan!"

"You still do. Makoto-senpai, I'll take the guest room."

"EHHH?! Haru-chan, Rei-chan, you're all so mean!" Nagisa wailed, flinging himself into Makoto's lap and mock crying. "Mama Mako-chan, comfort me!"

"Who is 'Mama'…" Makoto sweat-dropped. He noticed Haruka giving the blonde the evil eye and lightly pushed Nagisa off. "Nagisa, you're already twenty-two. You should be fine sleeping by yourself, right?"

"Mako-chan is twenty-three, and you still sleep with Haru-chan!"

"Ah, well… that's a little different…"

"It's not different at all!"

"Nagisa is too noisy," Haruka grumbled as he and Makoto laid side-by-side in Haruka's bed. Makoto laughed.

"He's just excited to see all of us, I think. It's nice to see them again though. I hope that next time they visit Rin and Kou-chan can come along too. Maybe we could invite Ama-chan-sensei and Goro-san too?"

"They have two kids to watch over. No way."

"Haru, don't you like kids?"

"It's not that I don't like them, but they're too noisy. I like my bath time to be quiet time."

"It's not even about sleep?!" Makoto chuckled. He threw an arm around Haruka out of pure habit. "Let's go to sleep, Haru-chan. Nagisa and Rei are really excited about hanging out in the city tomorrow."

"Why did I agree to that again?"

"I persuaded you."

"Oh. Right."

"Good night, Haru," Makoto yawned sleepily and pulled Haru a little closer to cuddle. This position always made Haruka feel uncomfortable – because he was pretty sure that friends, no matter how long they've been together, did not do this sort of thing – but since it was Makoto he was okay with it.

"… Let's have fun tomorrow, Makoto."

"Un…"

"Let's buy some more mackerel tomorrow too."

"Un…"

"Makoto? Are you listening?"

"Zzz…"

Haruka sighed and rolled over so that he was facing Makoto and tucked his head under Makoto's chin. To his irritation, his feet barely reached halfway down Makoto's calves. Makoto had really grown.

Have I… changed at all?

He thought about it seriously. His life had centered around Iwatobi, water, mackerel, and Makoto. Even though everybody else's life had changed, his own had stayed almost the exact same. Makoto had almost stayed the same too, though Haruka felt guilty as if it were his fault.

But… can we stay like this forever?

Haruka wanted it to. He desired it to.

I don't… want to change… he thought sleepily, eyes drifting shut. I… want to stay like this forever…

Sleep claimed him and Haruka's dreams were, as always, of sunlight and oceans and beautiful green eyes. It was Haruka's life and it was enough.

It was enough…

Haruka is usually shown to be pretty caring about his friends, but in the end Haru is still Haru and Haru is selfish as well. I feel like if Makoto ever did leave him to go to a university far away, he'd have something of a mental breakdown. I heard that the director of Free! wanted to write a season where Makoto went to a college in Tokyo and Haruka is still in Iwatobi and trying to adjust to the change. So long as we still get to see Makoto in each episode, I'd be totally cool with that. But if they take out Makoto altogether, I'm going to scream.

(Not to mention that if Haru, Nagisa, Rei, and Rin {possibly Gou} go to visit Makoto, I can totally imagine Haruka tackling Makoto with a hug and hanging on to him for the rest of the time he's there. It's so freakin' cute. Maybe I should write something on it.)

At any rate, I apologize for this fanfiction being so messy. My thoughts were kind of all over the place and not that well developed. I hope you enjoy it just the same.