"Ha-Haruka?" Makoto spun around in his seat and looked to the door. Confusion and surprise were written on his face. He clearly wasn't expecting the shorter male to randomly appear in his doorway.

"Don't call me that." It was an instant reflex to say that, but he just ignored his own comment and continued. "Like I said, we need to talk."

"About what?" The brown-haired boy was clearly nervous about Haru being there.

"You've been avoiding me... also, I know the truth now."

"Truth? Avoiding?" Haru just gave Makoto a look and the taller male couldn't help but sigh. He knew full well he couldn't act like he didn't know what Haru was talking about. "I have been avoiding you, I'm sorry..."

"Tell me why."

"It's because..."

"Because we're soulmates?" Makoto gasped and looked even more surprised.

"You know? Since when?"

"I just asked your parents about it. They told me."

"I see..." Makoto looked down at the ground, wanting to avoid Haru's gaze.

"Tell me why you decided to avoid me. It can't just be because we're soulmates, so be more specific." Haru made his way to Makoto's bed and sat down on it. The action was to show he wasn't going anywhere until he got the answers he wanted.

"I... When I found out we are soulmates, I became worried."

"Why?"

"I know how you hate talking about soulmates and the whole topic of them... I just didn't want you to hate me. So I wanted to avoid you until I decided it was time to tell you." Makoto felt bad about the whole thing and felt worse now. He didn't give Haru the full truth, and he wasn't sure that now was the time to tell his best friend that he was in love with him.

"Makoto... I'd never hate you. You're my closest friend."

"Thank you, Haru." Makoto felt a little better to hear that from the black-haired male.

"...What now?"

"...I think we need to find out how we really feel about each other. Since we're soulmates, that means we're supposed to... date and stuff right?"

"I guess." Haru still wasn't sure about dating anyone. He didn't like the thought, but dating Makoto didn't seem as bad for some reason.

"Maybe we should do a trial dating situation. You know, neither of us have ever been with another person romantically before. It might help us figure out what we really want and feel... I mean if it's okay with you!" Haru took a few moments to think it over. He wasn't sure, but he was willing to try.

"Alright, let's trial date." Makoto wasn't expecting Haru to agree so quickly, so he couldn't help but smile before covering it up with a cough. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Haru." Makoto gently smiled at his "boyfriend". That one word caused all types of feelings for the love-struck boy. He was so happy now, but he knew he needed to calm himself down a bit. He genuinely wanted to find out how true his feelings were and how Haru truly felt. He didn't suggest them to trial date only to get Haru to be his boyfriend. He would never do anything as sneaky as that.

So, with that, the two best friends began to date. Not much changed, but the distance between the two. They walked closer together and sat closer as well. It was clear to everyone around them that something had changed. However, only the swim club members knew of the truth behind the change. Everyone accepted it well, as it was already expected. They all agreed to keep silent about it instantly, other than Nagisa. It was extremely hard to get the blond boy to agree to keep quiet about Haru and Makoto dating. He was so happy he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, literally.

Another change was that Makoto seemed happier than before. He practically shinned brightly whenever he was around Haru, which was most of the time. He was insanely thrilled to be able to spend time with his best friend in a different type of way. He was figuring out how real his feelings were, and was now happy about them.

Unfortunately, though, Haru didn't seem to feel anything at all about it. He was his usual self, much to Makoto's and the swim team's dismay. They'd all been hoping the black-haired boy would at least seem less neutral than he was, but he didn't. He was just like he usually was, making Makoto thing dark thoughts once again.

Makoto began to doubt Haru's feelings, not that he knew what they truly were anyway. Rejection began to set in and the brown-haired boy began to distance himself. He was upset with himself more than he was upset with Haru. He wasn't sure why he was acting so childish though. However, he was in love and love makes people act ways they wouldn't normally act.

Haru tried multiple times to talk to Makoto about his feelings, but the taller boy would avoid him each time. The members of the swim team also tried to help, but nothing seemed to work. The black-haired boy, along with Makoto's close friends were beginning to worry again, so Haru had to speak to someone about it. The person he once again chose to call for help, was Rin.

"Haru, what is it now?" Rin was sounding tired, which was probably because it was 2 in the morning when Haru decided to call him. The black-haired boy had been unable to fall asleep with the Makoto situation on his mind.

"He's avoiding me again." Rin sighed and sat up in bed. He knew this wouldn't be a quick conversation.

"Why?" Haru then explained how they were soulmates and began to date on a trial basis. "I... wow, that's shocking... Well, I guess it really is to be expected, so I should have seen it coming."

"Huh?"

"Well Haru, Makoto is in love with you, he always has been. Everyone but you knew it. So, dating was something we all expected one day from you two."

"Wait, what?" Haru was in shock. Sure Makoto was always nicer to him, but he never thought that he was in love with him.

"You acted completely normal, didn't you? While dating, you were your usual emotionless self, right?"

"...I guess?" Haru sounded a little offended at being called emotionless since he never thought it was a problem before now. He didn't really think he was all that emotionless anyway, but he realized that it was mostly only Makoto who could see his true feelings in situations.

"Well, you probably hurt him. He might think you don't like being with him in that way, and you know Haru if that's true, or even if it's not, you need to explain your feelings to him. So, if you don't want him as a boyfriend, you can still keep him as a best friend. You don't want to fully lose him, do you?"

"I...see..." Haru was stumped. He wasn't sure what his actual feelings were. He never really needed to think about his romantic feelings before. Swimming was always the most important thing swirling around in his mind, so he wasn't used to someone taking its place and needing to think about what he felt about them instead of the water.

"Can I go back to bed?" Rin decided the conversation could be over with Haru remaining silent in his thoughts.

"Yeah... Thank you." With those words, Haru hung up. He knew he had to go to bed, but he had some serious thinking to get to. He wasn't sure how he felt, but he knew he didn't want to lose Makoto as a friend.

~

It took Haru all night, but he figured out his feelings for Makoto.

He loved Makoto. He hated the thought of being away from him. He also didn't like the thought of someone else with him or with Makoto. His heart hurt when he thought about hurting Makoto. All of that led to Haru understanding he'd always been in love with the taller boy, just as Makoto loved him always.

"I need to tell Makoto." So, Haru got ready for school and headed out. He wanted to get to his best friend and tell him how he felt before anything else happened between them. However, he was stopped by a note on his door that was from Makoto.

The note said:
'Go to school without me. I'm not coming today. Also, I won't be at home, so don't go to my house.'

"What? Makoto doesn't skip school." All horrible thoughts then invaded Haru's mind. He became worried that his best friend would go off and do something stupid. So, Haru decided to skip school in favor of going after the taller male. He had a feeling where Makoto had run off to, so he headed there first.

The location was the beach further away from their houses. Makoto was sitting in the sand, staring off into the ocean. He looked upset and like he was in a dark place in his mind.

"Makoto!" Haru called out as he went to his friend's side. The boy just looked up at Haru and faked a smile.

"Hey, Haru. Why aren't you at-"

"I feel the same way about you." Makoto was confused at Haru's words, but as he realized what he meant, he was shocked at his forwardness. "Rin told me how you feel about me. I spent last night figuring out how I feel about you. I... love you too."

"Ha...Haru..." Makoto was in complete shock. He was frozen as he thought all about what Haru had just confessed to him. He didn't fully believe it, but he trusted Haru, so he trusted his words, to a point. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, so Makoto... date me for real." Haru was being oddly talkative and forward. He didn't seem like himself, but he needed to not be. Haru knew he needed to be open in that moment.

"If that's alright with you."

"It is." Haru then sat down next to Makoto and looked up to him. He had a slight smile on his face for the first time in a while.

That was when they both knew that no matter what they faced, they would be okay. They would handle it all together. Not only as boyfriends but as best friends; as true soulmates.