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"And make sure his food is soft and moist so he won't choke on it. And make sure he goes to the bathroom at least twice. Also-" Haruka would have continued to ramble on had Nagisa not held up a mitten-clad hand to silence the raven.
"Haru-chan, you don't have to worry. We'll take very good care of Mako-chan! We're going to have so much fun, I can't wait!" the blonde cheered. Makoto let out a muffled laugh. "Just relax and, if you're that worried for Mako-chan, Rei-chan and I will both have our phones on so you can call and check up on us." Haruka chuckled and shook his head from side to side.
"You're right, Nagisa. I'll do my best to relax today. I'll see the both of you later in the evening," the former Olympic swimmer said. All three of them- four, counting Makoto's shaky arm movements- waved goodbye to Akane and left the café. Before they parted their ways, Haruka leaned down and pushed Makoto's hat back slightly, planting several kisses on Makoto's temporarily exposed forehead. Makoto made a jovial gurgling noise. Haruka covered his forehead again. "I love you, Makoto. Bye Rei, Nagisa." He waved as the spectacled man pushed the wheelchair with Haruka's fiancé and Therapy Cat and the smaller blonde skipping alongside them. He waved back with an open-mouthed smile. Haruka let his hand fall to his side.
Now, what exactly was he going to do?
Coming home without Makoto was something he had not experienced in quite some time. Back in their college days, when their schedules would not always line up, Haruka would always return to the apartment all warm and homey. All because Makoto was there occupying it. Most days, he would have been studying. Other days, when he was able to relax, Makoto would be lounging on the couch they loved to cuddle on, binge-watching movies and such. Then, after eating dinner together, they would either study or watch TV together. They were always together and that was why their apartment was always a home.
So it was rather odd to say in the least.
Entering the bedroom, it took some time for Haruka to find the collection of jammers he had shoved to the bottom of the drawer. He pulled out a random pair and pondered on whether or not he would take his goggles and swim cap as well. He decided against it; today was a day to relax and just be...
Free.
He would rather not think about the last time he had gone swimming. That was a dark place to go and today was not the day to dwell on the past. Before leaving the locker room- and feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the fact that his jammers were now slightly big on him- Haruka sent a text to Rei to see how the three of them were doing. As if being true to their shared promise, not even a minute has passed before Rei sent a picture of Nagisa helping Makoto push the bowling ball down the metal ramp. From behind the camera, Rei gave a reassuring thumbs-up. As the spectacled man would say, Haruka sent a quick message consisting of one word: Beautiful.
Turning off his phone, Haruka closed the locker door and made way for the pool.
There were not many people there, which made it much easier on the former Olympic swimmer. He did not wish to be recognized and then swarmed by adoring fans who would hand him fake sympathy. Well, maybe it was not fake, but it was most certainly unnecessary for Haruka. He stood by an empty lane that was not surrounded by other people and took a deep breath. Everything would be alright, nothing was going to happen to him.
At least, not yet.
Haruka shook his head quickly. He could not, would not, should not have that mentality when he finally had some time for himself. He stood still, breathing deeply to clear his mind. Nice and easy. The buzzing in his brain faded and moved to the back of his mind where it can be easily overlooked and ignored. He opened his eyes and drank in the sight before him. The water, clear as always but rippling and forming small waves from the slight movements of the people in the pool. It was beautiful, relaxing...
Haruka dove in.
The moment he turned his phone back on, Haruka was bombarded by dozens of text messages. Most were from Nagisa, sending a constant stream of positive updates of their day together with Makoto. Most of the messages were riddled with typos. Each message had a shaky photo attached as if to reassure Haruka that all was fine and that he should not worry about them.
The thing was, it worked. The anxiety lessened, and Haruka focused on drying his hair better. He may have been able to swim at his leisure for hours, but he did not have the same privilege with returning home to have Makoto fuss over him and lecturing for the umpteenth time that he could have caught a cold. He would not even dare leave the locker room until his hair was as dry as possible, his towel almost completely soaked. Grimacing as he tugged his hat on again, Haruka received another message, this time from Rei.
Is Makoto-senpai able to eat pizza?
Haruka chuckled. He truly was thankful to have the spectacled man and the jovial blond in his life.
Start with one slice, cut it in small pieces, no crust, he responded quickly, albeit rather fearful.
There were a lot of foods he avoided now. He was afraid Makoto would not be able to chew the food properly or swallow. There was the possibility he could even choke because he could not eat that food. It was one of the only times Haruka would ever baby Makoto; of all the horrific ways he could lose his loved one, choking to death was one Haruka was determined to avoid.
Thank you Haruka-senpai.
He left the locker room and the building. Before he could get caught up in a conversation with Nagisa, Haruka left the messaging app and found Sousuke's contact. He dialed his number and brought his phone to his ear, shivering slightly from how cold it had already gotten. He paused at a red light, watching cars speed by. They were going too fast...
"Hello?" the deep, husky voice answered.
"Sousuke," Haruka started.
"Ah, Haru. How are you doing? How's Makoto?" the butterfly swimmer asked. Haruka continued to walk once the light turned green, then turned left in the direction of the supermarket. He needed mackerel. How much did it cost now?
"Makoto is doing fine. So am I. But I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"Come by my apartment in three hours. Is that alright?" There was a pause.
"Your shoulder?" Sousuke did not need to say more. Haruka made a sound of approval, almost. "I'll stop by." Then he hung up.
Perfect timing too. Haruka was right in front of the supermarket and he needed all of his focus to buy the best mackerel.
There was a knock on the door while Haruka was cooking his mackerel. He turned the stove off and headed for the entrance.
"Yo, Haru," Sousuke greeted once the door opened. Haruka nodded in acknowledgment. He gesticulated for the larger man to enter and returned to the kitchen. Sousuke shut the door and followed. He looked around the kitchen and the living room, all clean with little clutter. He smirked. "This place is a mess," he teased.
"At least it looks better than the disaster you call a closet," the former swimmer shot back, not taking his eyes off the mackerel. Both men were smiling though.
"So, your shoulder?" Sousuke went straight to the point. Haruka shrugged- only with his right shoulder, the larger man noted. He sat down at the small kitchen table, sighing at the lack of leg room. "Can't believe you still have that love of mackerel."
"Of course. It's the greatest food ever," Haruka answered, turning off the stove for the second and last time, serving the cooked fish on a plate with rice and sat down across from the butterfly swimmer.
"You could at least eat something else with it. I thought you learned that by now from the doctors," Sousuke said. With a deadpan expression, Haruka got up once more and grabbed a banana from the bunch, peeled it and took a bite out of it.
"Happy now?" he asked, his voice muffled with the fruit in his mouth. Sousuke chuckled.
"Yes. Now eat," he ordered and got up. He opened the freezer and found the ice pack he had bought for Haruka months ago. He wrapped it in a clean dish rag and held it in place on Haruka's left shoulder. "Is this good?"
"Mm," the raven responded, pensively chewing his mackerel. They stayed that way for some time, up until Haruka finally finished eating.
"By the way, where's Makoto?" Sousuke asked, removing the ice pack and began to move Haruka's arm over his head. "Tell if it starts to hurt."
"Makoto is with Nagisa and Rei. They told me to take a break today, so they're taking care of him." Haruka hissed. Sousuke slowed the movements in response.
"Good. You've been working too hard. You feel extra stiff today. Are you sure you can't continue with physical therapy?" Haruka shook his head. He had been able to take a few sessions when he was in the hospital, but the bills began to loom over his head and Makoto's care became his first priority. His savings were starting to drain, so now he couldn't think about taking more sessions until later on.
He doubted he'd be able to.
"What else is happening?" Even though Sousuke was trying to keep the conversation going, both of them could feel the silence creeping on them.
"Not much. I was able to swim today."
"You missed that, huh?"
"Mm."
The conversation ended and they accepted the silence between them.
"Here." Haruka held out a mug of freshly made coffee to Sousuke.
"Thank you." He took a sip before adding, "You didn't have to make this for me."
"Don't care. So, how's Rin doing?" Sousuke chuckled.
"Great. Training right now, I bet," he said. Then his demeanor changed. "Haru... Rin doesn't know what happened. He only knows that you won't be competing anymore. He's devastated." Haruka sat up quickly.
"How does he not know?"
"That boy does not pay attention to anything else when he has a goal. You should know that," Sousuke answered.
"I don't think Rin would appreciate you calling him a boy."
"Then don't tell him. But seriously, you need to tell him what happened."
"Why can't you?"
"I'm busy helping Kazu-nii with the restaurant right now. I can't."
"Well, how will I be able to tell Rin? I'd rather not call him." Sousuke's lips formed a straight line. "What?" Haruka turned to face the larger man.
"He plans to visit Tokyo for New Year's. Kind of like the old days, huh?" He chuckled. Haruka clasped his hands.
In all honesty, Haruka had always assumed that Rin knew what had happened once the media discovered he, Nanase Haruka, was no longer competing and world-renowned swim coach Tachibana Makoto was "suffering" and could no longer do what he loved most alongside his finacé. The world almost had its own apocalypse with the shock of The Swim World's Power Couple- the media's words, not Haruka's- departure from the Olympics.
And now he would have to tell his whole story for the first time to his close friend, a story he would rather leave behind.
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