I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed, so many of you and it made me feel really happy :)
And thanks again to Zaabeth for helping
…
Haruka floated in the sea, his body rising and falling with the currents and waves, the relaxing smell of salt assaulting his nose. The noises of someone making their way through the ocean caught his attention, causing him to push his feet to the ground and seek out the sound's origin.
He looked towards the shore and saw Makoto forcing his way through the surfs, eagerly waving at his friend as the water dripped off his chest. Haruka watched him in confusion. Although Makoto was getting better with his fear he still avoided the ocean when possible, not seeking it out so willingly.
"Haru-chan!" He called out once he was closer.
Haruka wanted to tell him to drop the chan, but he found he was rendered speechless, his eyes soaking in the way Makoto's body almost glistened in the sun.
"Haru!" The object of his observation shouted once at his side, his voice sounding distant despite how close they now stood.
Haruka nodded dumbly in response before he felt two strong arms wrap around his waist, pulling him into the taller boy's chest. Haruka inhaled deeply, all smells of the sea gone, instead replaced with the scents of Makoto. No amount of products in the world could smell as perfect as the boy.
"Haru." Makoto said, softer this time, gently brushing aside some of his wet bangs. Haruka felt electric just from the touch.
"What are you doing here?" He managed to ask, looking up to meet green eyes, so close he could count the brown flecks.
But Makoto didn't answer, instead he just repeated his name, his breath against his ear causing a shiver to go down Haruka's spin. He brought his arms up and wrapped them around his friend's broad shoulders, feeling each individual muscle under his skin.
"Haru-chan." Makoto said, lightly chuckling at his friend.
Suddenly, Haruka felt like he was being shook, but not with the movement of the waves. It was a force far stronger than that.
Slowly, sleepy eyes began to open and he found himself lying in his bed, a hand placed on his shoulder as he was moved with a gentle shaking motion.
"Good morning Haru-chan. Or should I say good afternoon." Makoto smiled, tilting his head to one side.
"Makoto? What are you doing here?" Haruka asked groggily, pulling his hands back in embarrassment when he realised they were tightly gripping his friend's shirt. He was thankful that he was woken from quite a mild dream. If it had been one of his more intense fantasies, he would have had a difficult situation to explain to Makoto.
"I came to get you for practice, but I had at least expected you to have had a bath by now." He laughed.
"I went to bed late." He shrugged, pushing himself so that he was now sitting, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
Recently, he could find very few reasons to get out of bed on the weekends, with Makoto always occupied with Gou his days just seemed to stretch, rattling around his house alone.
"Where's Gou?" He asked as he felt his bed sag with Makoto's added weight.
"She's out with her friend." He explained, leaning back on his arms and staring at the ceiling.
Haruka turned to look at his friend, taking in every last detail of him while the latter was unaware. His plump lips that were gently blowing out air, his defined jawline, his strong chest, his muscular arms that tensed as he leant against them.
"We should get going." Makoto finally said, pushing himself up.
Haruka frowned lightly.
"If Gou's out then why are we having this practice?" He questioned. As their manager she usually arranged their practices, the boys having a tendency of finding other activities to distract them without her gentle nagging.
"Nagisa's idea. He wants to see if he can get Rei to learn some new strokes." Makoto said, holding out his hand for Haruka.
With a quick smile Haruka reached up and took hold of the hand, letting the taller boy pull him out of his bed.
"Fine." Haruka relented. "But I'm having something to eat before we go." He kept hold of Makoto's hand, blushing slightly when he realised his friend made no attempts to let go either.
"I guess I can allow that." Makoto laughed, finally dropping his hand as he turned around. "Get ready and I'll wait for you in the kitchen."
Haruka watched as he walked out the room, sighing and running his fingers through his hair. Why did he have to develop these feelings? Life was much easier when Makoto was just his best friend and nothing more. Groaning he kicked a pair of discarded shoes across the room, cringing slightly as they clattered across the wooden floor.
…
Once dressed, Haruka joined Makoto in the kitchen, who stood up from the table when he saw him walk in.
"I'm impressed, I expected you to just be in your swim shorts." Makoto said, his carefree smile gracing his face once again.
In response, Haruka just rolled his eyes, choosing not to mention that he was wearing them underneath for easy access.
Makoto leant against the counter and watched his friend take ingredients out of the fridge to beginning cooking.
"Mackeral? Really?" He asked in disbelief. It was a wonder how could he not get tired of the same food day after day.
Haruka just shrugged in response, Makoto groaning loudly and letting his shoulders slump as he heard the familiar sizzle of fish against the hot pan.
"You need to vary your diet, Haru." He scolded, still not getting a single word out of him. "Haru, you listening? Haru?"
Tired of being ignored Makoto reached out a finger and sharply poked Haruka in his side, the boy jumping away in shock from the unexpected contact.
"Is Haru-chan ticklish?" Makoto asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
"No, I'm not." He said, trying to keep his face neutral, his body betraying him by squirming every time Makoto's finger touched him.
The finger was replaced by a whole hand, another quickly joining, the tips dancing across his skin.
"Makoto, stop." He tried to move away but he was trapped. Haruka could feel the heat from the chest stood just behind his back.
Makoto didn't stop. Instead he increased his pace, watching in satisfaction as Haruka writhed under his touch.
"Please." He begged, cursing as a small laugh escaped his lips.
He hadn't wanted to get carried away, knowing he would only end up reading too much into the situation. Haruka had seen Makoto pin Ren and Ran to the ground with tickles numerous times, this moment wasn't any different. Makoto would always comment on how close they were, comparing them to brothers, and this was just a brotherly display of affection.
But, despite reminding himself of this, he couldn't help but imagine it was something more. Perhaps Makoto was just looking for small reasons to touch him? Perhaps this was his shy way of letting Haruka know he felt something more too?
"I will stop if you promise me something." Makoto laughed, his deep chuckle echoing through Haruka's mind.
"Anything." He replied breathlessly.
"You will stop eating mackerel for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Haruka nodded at his request, expecting Makoto to stop but his relief never came. Instead the hands moved from his hips to his stomach.
Unable to control himself Haruka giggled helplessly, his body shaking, falling backwards into his friend's chest. He hated, yet loved, every minute of his torture.
"You said you'd stop." He complained through his laughs.
"I did, but I love hearing you laugh." He explained, Haruka's cheeks flushing at the confession.
All too quickly Makoto pulled away, reaching into his pocket to grab his now ringing phone.
"Hey." His cheerful voice exclaimed as he answered the phone.
Haruka's spirits waned, hating how he could tell just from the tone who was on the other end. The loving voice Makoto used only for Gou.
He looked back at his fish – almost forgetting he was cooking something in the heat of the moment. Seeing the less-than-ideal sight, he groaned. One side was burnt and the other not even cooked. He flipped the fish over, knowing he wouldn't enjoy his meal as much as usual.
"Haru?" Makoto's voice called out, bringing him back to reality. He had stopped listening altogether when his friend had answered the phone.
"Yes?" He looked towards the other.
"Be quick, okay? I told Nagisa we'd be there half an hour ago." He smiled, pulling his hand away from his speaker and returning to his conversation. "Of course I was listening Gou-chan."
Haruka turned back to his cooking with a heavy heart. In Makoto's eyes he would always be a little brother that he tolerated, loved because he had to and never anything more.
…
"Where's Gou?" Nagisa asked as Haruka and Makoto arrived at the pool. Clearly he wasn't the only one who thought it strange to see the pair separated on a weekend.
"Shopping." Makoto laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I saw her last night anyway."
"Yes, it was the big anniversary dinner." Rei commented, stretching out his body. "How did it go?"
"Good thanks, we had a great time."
"Did she like the present?" Nagisa asked, bounding up to his captain.
"Yeah, she did." Makoto said, shooting a thankful smile in Haruka's direction.
"How much did she like it?" Nagisa questioned, raising his eyebrows quickly.
"Nagisa." Rei scolded, letting his arms drop it his side, but the blonde ignored him, continuing to look up at Makoto with wide eyes.
"I'm not giving you all the details." Makoto said, his cheeks becoming pink.
"So something did happen!" Nagisa exclaimed in excitement, causing Makoto's blush to brighten. "Come on, we're all friends here and we want to know."
"I'm not bothered." Haruka stated, the young boy turning to glare at him but he didn't change his mind. The last thing he wanted was all the sordid details of Makoto's night with Gou.
"Then don't listen." Nagisa shrugged, turning back toward Makoto.
"Nagisa." Makoto sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "I'm going to get changed."
He reached down and grabbed his bag, walking towards the changing room. The excitable boy followed close behind.
"No fair Mako-chan!" He exclaimed. "You can't leave me hanging like this."
Haruka watched them leave with a sigh, guilt slowly encasing his heart. Not once had he asked Makoto about his date. The whole time he ate his breakfast, the whole walk here there wasn't a single mention of Gou. For someone who claimed to care deeply about Makoto he hadn't been taking much of an interest in his life recently.
"Don't you need to change too, Haru-senpai?" Rei asked, turning only to see a pile of clothes where Haruka had once been, the boy in question now submerged within the pool's cool water.
Rei shook his head slightly and continued his stretches, waiting for his other team mates to return.
…
Haruka only stopped swimming when he noticed Nagisa and Makoto walking back out into the sun. With a few swift kicks, he brought his feet to the bottom of the pool, standing tall in the water. Judging by the smug look on Nagisa's face, the persistence had worked and Makoto had caved, giving Nagisa all the details from last night.
"I think I'm going to have an ice lolly." The young boy declared loudly.
Nagisa strutted over to the cool box, aware of three sets of eyes following him, and reached in to pull a treat out. They were usually reserved for after practice but the boy clearly decided he deserved one now.
He slowly brought the ice to his mouth, loudly slurping and sucking as it passed his lips, nodding his head in Makoto's direction. Haruka gasped slightly at the implication while Rei just shook his head.
"Nagisa!" Makoto shouted, having watched his whole act. "You said if I told you that you'd keep it to yourself."
"I didn't say anything." Nagisa feigned innocence.
"But you might as well have just come out here and announced it." He groaned, hiding his face in his hands in embarrassment.
"Fine, Makoto got a…" He started but was soon cut off.
"Don't you even dare." Makoto warned.
"Okay, it can be our little secret Mako-chan." He smiled up at the boy who responded by letting himself drop into the pool, refusing to make eye contact with the other two members as he began swimming laps.
…
Haraku watched as Nagisa held his hands under Rei's back as he practiced his backstroke, pulling away slightly when he thought he'd mastered it only to quickly replace them as he watched his friend begin to sink. That was when he noticed a distinct lack of ripples through the water. Haruka turned to see Makoto no longer aggressively lapping the pool, instead resting on the side, head still down.
He swam over to him, catching his eye and tilting his head to one side in question.
"I'm fine Haru." He laughed, trying to forget his earlier embarrassment.
Haruka gave him a look that implied he didn't believe his act for a second.
"Really, I'm alright." He smiled.
The other boy finally nodded before swimming away slightly.
"Haru?" Makoto called out, causing the boy to freeze and turn around. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Makoto held his hand up where a pair of goggles hung off his fingers.
He slowly slid back into the pool, and Haruka held his hand out for his possession. But Makoto held them above his head, out of reach for the smaller boy.
"And what do I get in return if I give these to you?" Makoto asked, smirking down at the boy.
Haruka wasn't one to play in a pool, he preferred to swim, preferred to feel the water surrounding him, but the teasing glint in Makoto's eye challenged him, he couldn't resist. He jumped quickly, hoping to catch the taller boy off guard and get the goggles, however, he didn't count on Makoto being able to read his every movement. The goggles were soon thrown to his other hand and behind his back, rendering Haruka's action useless.
"I'm not giving up that easy Haru-chan." He laughed as Haruka tried to reach behind him, the act only resulting in his chest being pressed against the others and a blush on his cheeks, the goggles still untouched.
He groaned and tried to move around the taller boy but Makoto mimicked his movement and the prize still remained annoyingly out of reach. It seemed Makoto had made it his mission for the day to tease him, and if he was being completely honest with himself, he wasn't complaining.
"I need those." Haruka lied, he'd been swimming fine without them earlier but he was enjoying the dance the two of them were doing through the water.
"You're going to have to offer me something before I give them up." He joked.
"You can have anything you want from me." He mumbled, far too honestly for his liking.
"Oh Haru-chan, you shouldn't make these sorts promises." He shook his head with a smile, Haruka thankful he'd missed the truth in his voice. "I've got all sorts of ideas going through my mind."
"Like what?" He whispered, stopping in the water and pressing his body fully against his.
"H-Haru?" Makoto questioned, eyes widening ever so slightly.
"Mako-chan!" A high pitched voice called out, causing the boy in question to drop the goggles and jump back from his friend.
"Gou-chan? What are you doing here?" He asked, turning towards his girlfriend.
Haruka watched as the goggles slowly sunk to the bottom of the pool, once again his time with Makoto had been cut short, whether it was a phone call or turning up in person, Gou always ruined it. He let his body drop under water, reaching out for the goggles that he'd been previously fighting for. Resurfacing, he noticed Makoto was already out the pool, standing by the girl's side. He watched as the male gently brushed her hair from her face. Haruka's cheeks flushed slightly as he thought back to his dream, Makoto providing him with that same caring gesture.
"Stop, you're getting my hair wet." Gou giggled, letting the boy pull her into a soggy embrace anyway. He then greeted the friend she'd brought with her over her head.
"Gou! You're ruining it for everyone." Nagisa called out, voicing Haruka's thoughts but far more playfully.
"How so?" She glared, pulling away from Makoto.
"We just wanted some fun but now we've got our manager bossing us around." He responded, sticking his tongue out at her.
"I'm not here to boss you around, just here for the view." She replied, then blushed, trailing a finger down Makoto's chiselled chest.
The action caused Haruka to slap the water in anger and push himself from the pool, although his response went unnoticed by most around him. He walked over to the couple with a scowl on his face.
"Hello Nanase-kun." Gou's friend said, smiling at the boy as he arrived.
He nodded at her in acknowledgment, he'd seen her with Gou before but had never cared to learn her name or converse with her. He saw Makoto giving him a firm look, silently telling him to treat her politely.
"Hello." He said in return, the girl blushing slightly at his greeting.
"Go on boys, carry on swimming. Act like we're not here." Gou said, linking her arms with the other girl and pulling her away to the stands, the pair whispering furiously as they did.
"Come on Haru-chan." Makoto gestured with his head and walked back towards the pool's edge.
"Drop the 'chan'." He muttered, following after him.
Makoto paused a few steps before the water, pulling an arm across his chest and stretching, each muscle in his back contracting perfectly. Haruka stopped in his tracks, watching in awe as Makoto repeated the action with his other arm. Finishing, he dropped his arms to his side and continued walking towards the pool, only for a voice to call out to him.
"No! You haven't stretched out enough, Makoto." Gou teased, watching him with the usual glazed over eyes.
Makoto shot his girlfriend a wink over his shoulder before holding his arm above his head and pulling it in another stretch, Gou biting her lip as she stared. Annoyed, Haruka began moving towards the stretching boy and with a quick push he fell into the pool, the splash so powerful it hit him, water dripped from his hair.
"Haru." Makoto moaned as he resurfaced.
"You were taking too long." He shrugged.
Makoto gave him a look and brought his hand out of the water, reaching it towards him. But before he could make a grab for the other boy's legs Nagisa jumped on his back, sending him, once again, crashing under the water.
He sprung up and turned to face the younger boy, his eyes narrowed playfully.
"I was just cooling you off." Nagisa offered weakly as an excuse before Makoto leapt at him.
The pair raced around the pool, as fast as they could against the resistant water, splashing each other, their laughs ringing out from the pool.
Haruka watched them – Nagisa dragging Rei in so he could be used as a shield, Makoto intent on getting Nagisa back whatever the cost – and he felt the corners of his lips tugging up slightly as he stood there.
But as he turned towards the two girls, the smile quickly faded. Gou's eyes were fixed on Makoto, her face brimming with pride as she chatted, probably boasting about last night and what she'd done with him. He watched as she leaned in to whisper to the other girl, not-so-subtly pointing at Haruka as she did. Her friend looked up and caught his eye, waving slightly at him. Haruka offered an awkward wave in return before she blushed and looked back down. Gou giggled at the exchange and quickly winked at Haruka, who just looked away in confusion.
Pushing the pair to the back of his mind he jumped into the water, deciding if Nagisa was using Rei, then Makoto deserved a partner in this fight.
…
Hope everyone liked it :)
