"Wanna come shopping with me?" Makoto asked Haru over the phone. He received a few second of silence in response, Haru thinking about it.
"Sure." He answered shortly, smiling to himself. They talked for a moment more before agreeing for Makoto to come pick Haru up at his house and head out from there.
As agreed, Makoto stopped by Haru's house to pick him up, surprisingly finding the boy waiting for him outside of the bathtub and fully dressed. They greeted each other before Haru locked up and they started for the market. Before they even got to the end of the steps away from Haru's house, Makoto grabbed Haru's hand with his own and smiled down at him with light eyes. Haru's cheeks tinted slightly with pink, but he tightened his grip on Makoto's hand.
They walked the whole way to the store like that, ignoring any giggling girls or scornful glances. Not that they really got any to begin with since this was a pretty usual sight for them. Once they got to the store, though, they had to separate their hands so Makoto was free to guide the shopping cart. Haru whined, more to himself than out loud, but kept wanting to keep holding hands to himself. He didn't want to burden Makoto with that, and besides, pushing a cart with one hand was probably pretty hard. So they walked side by side throughout the store, not really talking to much. Haru helped Makoto find the things on his list, and Makoto grabbed some mackerel for Haru.
Their time in the store went by faster than expected, and in no time they were back on their way to Haru's house, bags in hand. Haru still pouted slightly at not being able to hold Makoto's hand home because of the grocery bags they both held. Haru didn't think Makoto had noticed, but he had indeed noticed Haru's lip poking out in his child-like pout. He thought it looked cute, but didn't suit Haru that much. He wanted it to go away as soon as possible, and preferably be replaced with a smile. He would see to it that Haru's pout would go away as soon as he could make it.
After they arrived at Haru's house, Haru of course invited Makoto in for dinner. While they were in the kitchen putting the groceries away, Haru felt a warmth against his back and two strong arms slide down his own, interlocking their fingers.
"I'm sorry we couldn't hold hands in the store." Makoto apologized to Haru, resting his chin on Haru's shoulder.
"You noticed?" Haru asked,slightly embarrassed at his childish behavior.
Makoto nodded on his shoulder and brought up Haru's hand to kiss the back of it. Haru blushed at the gesture, and smiled.
"It's okay." He said, leaning against Makoto's chest.
They stayed like that for awhile, before Haru's hunger forced them to depart. But when they went to bed, they fell asleep holding hands, and that was more than Haru could have ever wished for.