star-crossed
series; free! - iwatobi swim club
characters/pairings; makoto/haruka
word count; 1856
rating; k → t
summary; it's tanabata and makoto's wish is to hold haruka's hand
notes; my first fanfiction. like, ever. i didn't know what to write about so i thought 'why not some free! stuff?' and yeah.
sorry if it's not so good, it's my first time, like i mentioned! critiques and tips are much appreciated, i hope i can improve and write more in the future!
Legend has it that every year on the 7th day of the 7th month, two lovers - Orihime and Hikoboshi - seperated by the princess' angry father, Tentei, by the Heavenly River, are reunited with each other by crossing a bridge of magpies, who sympathised with the princess' tears when she realised neither one of them could cross the river of starlight. The lovers may then spend one night together in each other's embrace, before being cruelly separated by the river once again until next year. They say that if it rains on that night, the flock of magpies will not appear and both Orihime and Hikoboshi must wait another year until they can meet their beloved again.
Resting on a bench, Makoto peered up at the stars, the story repeating over and over in his mind like a broken record. A ribbon of stars cut through the pitch black of the night sky, the white light of each celestial body almost too stunningly bright to look at. The moon too shone splendidly but couldn't just quite rival the grandeur of the smaller and outnumbering stars. It was quite the spectacle to see, one that the male found hard to avert his eyes from.
"Perhaps they're shining particularly brighter this year to make sure the magpies definitely get to Orihime and Hikoboshi this year." he murmured to himself, a slight yet warm smile forming on his lips. If he remembered correctly, last year was met with an unfortunate shower of rain, meaning that the birds never arrived to the couple's aid. His gaze softened and the corners of his lips dropped just a tad. It was a bittersweet tale and although it was one of fiction, the male couldn't help but feel his chest tighten and allow discouraged sighs to escape his lips. For Makoto, folklore and fairytales were things of the past but this particular legend never slipped from his mind. It was... strange to say the least and he couldn't quite pinpoint the reason behind it.
"... Makoto." Deep in his thoughts, the brunet hadn't realised that Haruka was stood next to him, trying to get his attention. Hearing his name spoken by him, he broke away from his almost meditative state with a few blinks and turned towards his friend.
"Ah, Haru-ch -" He held his tongue at the last syllable, remembering that the male didn't favour being called by the nickname. He gave a wispy chuckle as Haruka simply blinked and looked around them, prompting Makoto to do the same. Having been so absorbed in his musing, he almost completely forgot where they were: the day was Tanabata and the two were at the local matsuri. Stalls were illuminated with autumnal colours; people taking part in festivities and donning patterned yukatas; the scents from the multiple food stalls mixed together to form one. It was borderline unpleasant but nevertheless bearable. Bamboo trees were decorated with strips of coloured paper, swaying gently to the evening summer breeze and carrying the hopeful wishes of many and the atmosphere was lively and buzzing, typical of your regular festival.
"Did you wait long?" Haruka asked, turning his head back to face the male. Makoto shook his head. It felt long but he supposed that was due to the fact he was so absorbed in his thoughts.
"Don't worry, I didn't arrive that much earlier than you." His voice was soft as ever and accompanying his response was a reassuring smile. Haruka nodded, glancing around him before joining him on the bench, leaving a sizable gap between the two so that they both covered the bench. He didn't feel like having strangers join them tonight.
No signs of Rei or Nagisa. "I guess the others aren't here yet then."
He shook his head once more. "No, you're the first one to arrive besides me. It's quite a journey for them to get here so it's understandable that they haven't arrived yet."
Haruka said nothing but Makoto knew his reply was silently acknowledged by him. He returned his attention to the star-littered sky, and spoke to the other, keeping his line of sight upwards.
"Hey, Haruka, you know what's special about that bunch of stars there?" He traced his finger along where the prominent stream of light was to show him. He followed his finger, staring at the area of the sky for a good moment before looking at Makoto.
"No, what? Does it have the mackerel constellation in?" he jested. The brunet simply chuckled, still keeping his eyes on the ribbon of stars.
"Ryugazaki-kun told you it doesn't exist, remember? No, it's the Heavenly River." Putting his hand down, he shuffled gently in his seat to meet Haruka's eyes. The black-haired male noticed the distinct sparkle in his eyes as he turned to face him but decided to keep quiet. He simply blinked.
"Heavenly River? Like the one in the story with the princess and the cow-herder?" Makoto nodded with enthusiasm, glad that his friend knew what he was talking about, similar to how a young child gets happy when an adult gestures to the jar of cookies they were desperately pointing to. Haruka was confused at the reaction but he couldn't deny that delight and passion on his face was... cute. He glanced away.
"That's right. It's probably my favourite story. Have you noticed how bright the stars are tonight? It's almost as if they're trying to make the magpies don't forget to go to Orihime and Hikoboshi this year." He paused, taking in the beauty of the sky. Noticing this, the other male looked back at him before making his line of sight follow suit.
"It's beautiful, don't you think?" Makoto tilted his head towards Haruka; he gave no response and seemed to be captivated by the stars. The brunet's smile widened as he watched the male.
Perhaps it was the both the moon and starlight that was spilling onto him but he found himself being engrossed by the male's somewhat-mystifying appearance: his hair seemed to glisten, as if reflecting the stars from up above; his skin looked soft like silk without any trace of hair or blemishes and his lips were the colour of ripe peaches. They looked warm and ever so slightly plump in a flattering sense.
They looked kissable.
Makoto could feel a deep heat rising to his cheeks and he quickly turned his head to the opposite direction of where Haruka was sitting, disguising it as if something had suddenly caught his attention. He let himself get too carried away. Haruka glimpsed at him from the corner of his eye, keeping his head up. Falling for Makoto's ruse, he went back to stargazing, dismissing it as nothing. After a few seconds, the taller male turned back, the blush having almost faded away. He tentatively looked at the other male once more before noticing his hand resting by his side. It was folded into a loose fist and Makoto contemplated on resting his own on top of his. Unlike his own, Haruka's hand was smaller and somewhat feminine in appearance compared to the regular 17-year-old's hand. He imagined taking hold of it, stroking the skin with his thumb while their palms met. They had held hands many times before but it had never meant anything, especially since they were children. Would it be weird if he were to suddenly hold his hand?
He took a silent gulp, and gave a fleeting look to see if his attention was still directed at the sky. It seemed so. His lips were parted and twitched slightly, suggesting that he had probably started counting them (though that would be a never-ending task for him to do so it was a little strange to see). Makoto edged his hand slowly, making sure he didn't make too large of a movement that would catch Haruka's eye. He could feel his fingers tremble with every shift and soon he found that their hands were no more than 10 centimetres away from each until -
"Haru-chaaaan! Mako-chaaaan!"
He jumped at the sudden call and quickly pulled his hand back to lap, turning to face what was obviously Nagisa and Rei's arrival. Nagisa's voice seemed to pull Haruka back to earth as he realised just how sore his neck was and how itchy his eyes had become. Makoto gave an exasperated smile, similar to what a mother pulls when their child cries over something trivial.
"Ah, Nagisa-kun, Ryugazaki-kun, you're both finally here!"
"Sorry to keep you both waiting. I kept telling Nagisa-kun to hurry up but he didn't seem to listen." With that, the blond gave an audible noise of disbelief aimed at Rei, before protesting that that was not the case at all. He listened, just that the documentary about penguins on TV had 10 minutes left and there was no point in just taping the last 10 minutes of a programme. Rei seemed overwhelmed by his response and tried to think of a rebuttal. This urged Makoto to reassure them that they didn't wait long and that it was fine. Haruka, on the other hand, stayed quiet. They did wait long.
"Well, since we're all here now, why don't we go look at the stalls?" Makoto suggested, which everyone agreed to. Apart from Haruka, who lifted his hand, palm facing the others.
"I think I'll sit here for a bit more."
"Eeh, doesn't your butt hurt from sitting on that old bench?" Nagisa questioned. Makoto directed a confused look at Haruka, who was now the only one still seated on the bench. He returned the look by closing his eyes as if to make his friend feel at ease.
"I'm fine, I just don't feel like walking yet."
"Geez, I never knew Haru-chan was so lazy! But okay, we'll meet up with you later!" Nagisa then took a hold of both Rei and Makoto's hands and dragged them towards the fish scoop game stall. Rei faltered in his steps, insisting to the smaller male that he didn't need to hold his hand (naturally, Nagisa ignored him). Makoto still kept his gaze at Haruka, his brows knitting gently to show his perplexment. Haruka directed a gentle nod to him to reassure him that he was fine. Eventually, the male turned towards the direction of where he was being dragged to and brightened upon seeing the goldfish.
Haruka exhaled almost inaudibly and peered at the space in which Makoto was once sat in. He laid his palm upon where the other male's hand had stopped, just before the space between them was closed. He was a man of little emotion yet he couldn't help but feel the corners of his lips lift a tad and a tickling heat brush his cheeks.
Rubbing his face with both his palms to rid himself of the dreaded tinge on his cheeks, he stood up from the bench. It wasn't until he was about to follow the others when he noticed a wing swoop next to him. It belonged to a magpie. The bird simply pecked at the space that had once been between the two male. Haruka watched it and smiled.
You don't see magpies all that often at the sea-side.