Haru started early the next day, four in the morning to be exact. But he didn't mind. He found that he liked riding his company owned bike though the beautiful, starry sky. He loved seeing all of the twinkling stars and wishing on them. He knew wishing for things was stupid, but he didn't care. When Haru looked up into the early morning sky, all of his worries were washed away, like the ocean waves of Iwatobi's grand beach. And that was another thing that Haru liked. Haru had always loved water for unknown reasons to anyone other than him. Being in Iwatobi made him close to the ocean, and seeing the clear, blue water put his mind at ease. He couldn't remember the last time he was this content, but he knew soon he'd have to part from this beautiful sight, for he had deliveries to make. He rode into the surrounding neighborhoods and stopped momentarily. The blue eyed teen brought out his map and scanned the houses, making sure he knew the route perfectly.

Alright, so the first house is this one... he thought as he threw the paper in the driveway. Haru continued down the line until he reached a house at the very end of the block, marking the end of this neighborhood. But by the time he reached the last house, he could tell that something was different about this one. This one had its lights on, not like the other ones. He wondered who could be up at this hour, but he figured it was probably just an early worker. Still, it made him quite curious.

Haru went on his route every day for about a week now, and every day except for one day, the lights to that last house had been on. As much as he hated to admit it, the mystery behind the lights in that particular house was killing him. He wanted to know so badly what went on in that house, but each day he reminded himself not to go up to that door and knock. Haru had eventually settled on watching from afar if just for a minute, hoping that someone or something would go out. But it never happened, and Haru felt more and more like an idiot for waiting each day for something to happen. But it was something to do, he supposed.

Then suddenly, the lights stopped being on.

This happened for four days of the week, and Haru began to get nervous. He had even stopped by each day in the afternoon to check on the house. The car hadn't moved from the driveway, and Haru thought something was terribly wrong. On this particular day, he heard crying coming from the house. At first, he did his best to ignore it. But then it got louder and louder, and none of the neighbors appeared to even have cared. Not being able to ignore it anymore, Haru made his way up the driveway and cautiously knocked on the door, as if something would come out and attack him if he wasn't careful. There was a weak sounding "coming!" then a few steps. Then, he heard protests coming from what sounded like crying kids. This was really starting to make him uncomfortable, and unwanted memories of the past started to creep back into his mind. Luckily, the door opened just in time to reveal a boy about Haru's age. The boy looked weary and pale, with dark circles rimmed around his gorgeous green eyes. His hair was tousled a bit, and suddenly Haru was glad he knocked on the door.

No, not because of the boy. I just wanted to see what was wrong. Haru mentally slapped himself. All of his own fatigue had caused him to think weird things, and this was no exception. The boy's face had lit up a little when he saw Haru.

"Oh, you're our paper boy. Hello!" he said with a cheerful tone. Haru was caught by surprise.

He knew who I was? "Uh, hello. I..." Haru suddenly felt ridiculous. He knocked on the door without knowing what the hell he was going to say if they answered. But the green eyed boy only offered a sweet smile.

"Was there something you were here for?" Haru felt even more ridiculous as he scrambled to give him an answer.

"Uh, not really... My boss just wanted to me to ask how you were enjoying our paper." Haru mentally slapped himself. Way to go Haru, you managed to ask the stupidest thing you could come up with. But to his surprise, the boy only smiled again and answered.

"We like it very much, thank you! Is that all you wanted to know?" Haru was about to nod, when more screaming could be heard, and the brunette haired boy's face went from happy to a mixture of concern and fatigued. He sighed and apologized to Haru as he quickly ran to check on whatever was going on. When he came back, he smiled another weary smile, noting Haru's concern.

"It's okay, really. I can handle it." Haru didn't know what "it" was, but he knew that this teen was having a hard time handling the situation. Haru didn't like this one bit, and spoke up before he knew what he was saying.

"I can help you." he said, covering his mouth in embarrassment. The other teen seemed surprised.

"But you look like you need help yourself..." he said, then quickly covered his mouth as well. "I mean, not that you look really that bad or anything! Or just, I don't know..." he turned away from Haru, who was staring incredulously at him. He had no idea that this boy had even noticed him, much less cared for him.

"No, you're right. I'm homeless, so of course I'd look bad." Now it was the brunette haired boy's turn to look at Haru incredulously.

"Oh. It's no wonder you're so skinny. And you look and smell like you haven't had a decent bath in a week. And oh, your poor clothes are torn. And look at those cuts on your face, where did those come from? And..." the boy rambled on, and Haru thought of he was exactly like a mom worrying over her precious child.

Kind of like my mom... Haru thought, but quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He was not about to start down that path again.

"You really should come in." Haru heard him say. This caught him off guard, and he gave a hurried response.

"No, I really should get going. My boss needs me. I'll be back tomorrow." he said as he walked briskly away from the other teen. The green eyed boy still was concerned, so he decided to call out one last time to his paper boy.

"By the way, my name is Makoto! Makoto Tachibana! Come by if you need anything, okay?" Haru simply nodded, and hurried back to the printing place. Although he didn't show it, Haru was flustered at the total stranger's kindness. Sure other people had taken him in in the past, but it was only ever for one day, and nobody ever actually fussed over him like Makoto had. It felt different... but nice. Haru usually didn't like people, but he found that Makoto was different. But he didn't necessarily feel comfortable with it quite yet.

He needed to think.

Makoto, on the other hand, was amazed by the nature of his paper boy. Makoto had never met anyone whose eyes spoke for themselves so easily. Every morning he'd wake up early for his part time job, and he'd see Haru on his bike, with a dreamy look in his eyes as he stared into their house. At first Makoto felt uncomfortable, but he soon realized that since Haru never actually made an attempt to break in, he felt more at ease. Now he was genuinely curious as to what that ocean eyed boy thought of every day. Then there was the incident today, when he'd seen Haru up close for the first time. He looked like he was suffering, and Makoto's motherly instincts had kicked in. But it only made Haru flustered, and he ran away. Makoto had really wanted to help him, he did. However, he also had his own problems at home to take care of. But, he didn't want to dwell on that now. He just wanted to think about what Haru had said about helping. It would be a big help around the house, but who knows what else Haru had going on. And how would Makoto ever repay him anyway? Makoto thought more and more as he cooked breakfast for everyone.

Huh, maybe there is a way to thank him. Makoto thought as he started to come up with different possibilities.

And in that moment, both boys wondered if they'd see each other again by the time tomorrow came.