Chapter 2

On my way, you awake?

Of course I am, Mako!

...you've been up for most of the night, haven't you?

Early in the morning, Makoto met Seijuurou at his home to help his college-bound boyfriend move his things into his new dorm just like the brunette said he would, with a surprise gift in hand. He greeted Makoto at the door with his usual big hug and gentle kiss, letting the brunette inside and they went into the kitchen.

"You nervous?" Makoto took the mug handed to him, blowing off the steam coming from the freshly-brewed tea and taking a sip, green eyes focusing on amber. "It's okay if you are. I would be."

"Ah...a little..."

Seijuurou had already packed everything that he needed the night before (a reason being that he couldn't get to sleep for quite some time) judging by the several suitcases resting in by the front door when the brunette had arrived. However, the redhead raised an eyebrow when he saw the large bag in Makoto's hand. And before he could ask about it, Makoto answered his thoughts.

"It's a secret. I did tell your mom though, I'm surprised she didn't tell you." Makoto winked and gave Seijuurou a soft smile. "Come on, your parents are waiting for us to get all of this in the car so that they can drop us off. You'll get to see it later."

Makoto grabbed his share of suitcases and Seijuurou got his and followed him out the door to put them in the back of the car. Like Makoto said, his parents were waiting outside, talking amongst themselves and both adults smiled upon seing their son and his boyfriend walk towards them, struggling with the luggage by the time they reached the vehicle. Once everything and everyone was inside, they embarked on the road to Seijuurou's university.

Luckily for Makoto, he had met Seijuurou's parents multiple times so conversation came easy. That, and his parents adored him. He didn't mind answering their questions, like how was his parents and siblings, and if he was excited to be done with high school soon, and if he had anything planned specifically for the swim team. And of course, they told embarassing stories about Seijuurou when he was little, specifically when he cried for hours when he was little because swim practice was cancelled, making him flush and sink back in his seat.

"Is that true, Sei?" Makoto smiled, turning his head to the right to stare at Seijuurou who was covering his face with his hands and groaning.

"...maybe."

And soon enough, hours flew by and they had arrived.

"Have a good time, boys." Mrs. Mikoshiba said, getting out of the car to give her son and Makoto a hug and smiling at the two young men after they took everything out of the car. "Take good care of Seijuurou, and I hope you get home safe tonight, Makoto!"

"I will." Makoto smiled, cheeks lightly turning pink when Seijuurou wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. "Thank you!"

"Alright, this is it..." Seijuurou glanced down at the paper in his hand with his room information on it. Folding it, he put it in his pocket and reached for the doorknob, turning it and stepping aside and smiling at Makoto. "You first, babe."

Leaning over and pecking Seijuurou's cheek, Makoto lifted the bags he was carrying off of the floor and walked inside, the redhead following behind and his eyes roamed around the room. Two twin beds, small kitchenette area, bathroom, desks, drawers...everything that a student would need to have during their stay for a year. And with how much he was paying aside from the scholarships, it was well worth the money, even if it was a double room.

"Looks like your roommate isn't here yet..." Makoto said, setting down the suitases next to the bed closest to the window. "What does it say that his name is?"

Seijuurou unfolded the piece of paper again, glancing down and scanning until coming at his missing roomate's name. "...Aikawa Sanada, it seems."

Makoto nodded, putting his gift down at the foot of the bed and felt Seijuurou rest his hands on his hips, hunching over and putting his chin on the brunette's shoulder.

"Should we start unpacking and get you all settled in?" Makoto leaned into Seijuurou, staring at the pile of black suicases.

"Mmmph...maybe." The oldest started placing light kisses on Makoto's shoulder and nosing the fabric away, a quiet groan escaping from Makoto's throat. "I'd rather just kiss you, since I've been wanting to for hours..."

"You do know that he could show up at any time, right?" Green eyes fell shut and he bit his lip as Seijuurou's thumbs slipped past the hem of his shirt and rubbed at his hipbones. "Sei...if we unpack your stuff, I'll give you your present..."

With a sigh, quick bite, and a yelp from Makoto, Seijuurou detatched himself.

"Fine." Seijuurou frowned, earning a quick kiss from Makoto and dragged him down to the five suitcases, starting to unzip them open and handed his clothes to Makoto so he could put them away neatly in the empty dresser.

"These are my favorite, you know." Makoto chuckled, holding a pair of Seijuurou's underwear, olive green with a blue border and yellow stitching. "You say my ass looks nice all the time, but you in these definitely takes the title away from me."

"I'll be dead before I admit that my ass looks better than yours, Mako." Seijuurou grinned and leaned to the side, eyes trailing down Makoto's backside and right down to the brunette's behind. "But I guess I could just wear pants a little less around you to show off..."

Green eyes rolled with a smirk as he continued to put the folded clothes into the dresser. There was a knock at the door and the couple looked to see a young man with his own bags standing in the doorway, a smile on his face. He was about Makoto's hight, black hair, brown eyes, and he seemed...friendly, which was a good sign.

"Which one of you is...Mikoshiba, Seijuurou?" He asked, glancing down at the room assignment paper in his hand.

"That'd be me." Seijuurou got up from the floor and walked to where he was standing and outstretched his hand. "And that's Makoto, my boyfriend."

"Hi." Makoto waved, leaning against the dresser. "It's nice to meet you."

"Ah...boyfriend, eh?" Aikawa looked between the brunette and redhead, and gave a reasuuring laugh at Seijurou's solid expression. "It's alright, I'm fine with it. No worries!" He walked inside, placing his bags on the spare bed, stretching his arms out. "Did you go around campus yet?"

"Not yet, Makoto suggested that I should unpack and get that out of the way before anything else." Seijuurou shrugged. "But I think we might go out soon and see what's around since we're almost done."

"Cool, cool...well, I'll be going and doing that now, so I'll be seeing you later tonight! It was nice meeting you, Makoto!" And with that, Aikawa left the room, closing the door behind him.

Seijuurou sat on his bed, glancing over at Makoto and he patted the empty space next to him. Makoto laughed, taking the hint that he should sit down, and as soon as he did the redhead snuck his arms around Makoto's waist and pulled him close.

"He seems really nice." Makoto said, placing his hands ontop of Seijuurou's, smiling. "You really lucked out."

"It's going to be weird having a roomate after so long, but I think I'll manage." Seijuurou tilted his head, a grin spreading on his face. "But we unpacked, present now? Please, please, please?"

Makoto kissed his boyfriend's cheek and he reached over, picking up the large giftbag from the end of the bed with ease and handed it to the redhead. Seijuurou eagerly reached in, discarding the multiple pieces of colored tissue paper and let them fall to the floor around his feet and eyes widened as he pulled out a fairly large plush orca first.

"...I love it!" Seijuurou pulled it to his chest and inhaled, surprised to notice that Makoto must've sprayed some of his cologne on it. "It...even smells like you..."

"There's more, you know." Makoto gingerly wrangled the orca out of the swimmers arms, watching as Seijuurou reached into the bag again, pulling out a simple black-framed picture of the two during a joint practice, Makoto's wet hair pushed back to resemble his own and the biggest, most genuine smiles on their faces with their hands joined in the middle.

"Mako..." His voice was hushed, touching the glass with his fingertip and he felt Makoto's hand squeeze his thigh. "This is amazing, how did you-"

"Nagisa." The brunette laughed. "Since he was the one that took the picture, but owing him a favor is definitely worth seeing you smile like how you are now."

Setting that aside on his pillow, he pulled out a jar and multiple bags of chocolate peppermint patties, which made Seijuurou look over at Makoto with a grin on his face and the younger just smiled and shrugged.

"I'm just replenishing your stash so I can eat all of them again." Makoto reached his arm over, plucking one out of the open glass jar and put it in his mouth, smiling as he chewed and swallowed. Seijuuou leaned over, placing his lips onto Makoto's, tasting the strong taste of peppermint followed by the undertones of chocolate. Makoto eagerly kissed back, letting out a content sigh as he felt the redhead's tounge swipe at his bottom lip.

"You know I don't care if you eat them," Seijuurou said as he pulled away, golden eyes staring at a very flushed Makoto, holding the orca close to him.

"There's...one more thing." Makoto rested his head on the soft material, smiling. "I don't know why you keep stopping."

"Because I love everything since my boyfriend happens to be very amazing at giving gifts." Seijuurou stuck his tongue out teasingly. "You spoil me." His attention went back to the bag, pulling out the final white and orange item, which Seijuuou recognized as one of Makoto's favorite shirts.

"I don't know if it'll fit, but..." Makoto's cheeks slowly turned darker. "It's a big on me even, so it could fit on you, if you choose to wear it."

"I'll wear it, but then I'd be afraid that it wouldn't smell like you anymore." Seijuurou pouted, but then put his hands on Makoto's over the plush animal, giving the brunette a reassuring smile. "But that's why I'm glad I have this lil' guy now to help me get through the night."

Makoto rested his head on Seijuurou's shoulder, lacing his fingers with the redheads and smiling into the thin material of Seijuurou's shirt. "Then remind me next week to sneak you some of my cologne, okay?"

"Awh Mako, now I feel bad that you gave me so many amazing and thoughtful things and I didn't even think of anything..." Seijuurou paused, glancing towards his dresser. "Just a minute, I think I know what you'll like..." He kissed the top of Makoto's head, hands moving to shift the brunette so he was laying on the bed as he got up, opening the drawer that he thought contained what he was looking for.

"You better not be messing up my neat work." Makoto joked, making himsef comfortable. "Everything is all sorted and perfect so you won't have any troubles finding anything until your first load of laundry."

"I'm not, don't worry...ah, there it is..." His hands grasped a gray shirt, pulling it out smiling, turning around and sitting on the edge of the bed, holding it out for Makoto. "Here. I can always just order some more, and I was planning to already, but...I want you to have my first one."

Green eyes glistened and Makoto set the plush aside, taking the shirt from Seijuurou and held it in front of him, the blue words "Kyoto swim team" pressed into the fabric. He smiled, trying to ignore the growing lump in his throat, eyes focused on the words until his vision became blurry.

"...You'll sneak me some of your cologne too, right? So if I wear it, it can still smell like you?" Makoto finally spoke, voice wavering a bit and he bit his lip, trying to smile but failed, quite miserably. The youngest looked downward at the shirt clutched in his hands, trembling, attempting to not let any sobs building up in his chest escape his lips. "R-right?"

"Makoto..." Seijuurou instantly wrapped his arms around the shaking brunette, hands rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings into his ear, heart dropping when he felt tears fall against and soak into his shirt and the whimpers getting all the more audible. "Mako, hey...it's going to be okay...I promise..."

The couple sat there, Seijuurou continuing to comfort Makoto and trying to get him to calm him down. After a few moments, the trembling slowed and the brunette became quiet, and the redhead tilted Makoto's head up, frowning at meeting his eyes with red-green watery orbs.

"Hey..." he whispered, closing his eyes and pressing their foreheads together. "I love you. I love you, so much, Makoto..."

"I know..." Makoto hiccuped, squeezing his eyes shut. "I-I know..."

"You want to go around campus and do some sight-seeing before your have to leave tonight? We can scope out some date spots while we're at it..."

"...yeah, the fresh air would be nice. Just let me wash my face off real quick, okay?"

Seijuurou kissed the top of Makoto's head, letting the brunette get up from the bed and grabbing the orca plush once again to rest it in his lap. "Take as much time as you like."

With fingers laced together and a smile back on Makoto's face, the pair went out to explore the area.

When Seijuurou had first looked up the area when he got accepted, he didn't pay much attention to what was around. Aside from picking out a landmark here and there so he wouldn't get lost, but as for places to eat and the such, he forgot his mental note to look into it. But with Makoto at his side, it was much more pleasurable even if they were to get lost.

They had sucessfully found the train station (which thankfully was only five minutes away, walking distance), and with the aid of the help desk in the main building, there was plenty of information on nearby restaurants and shopping areas.

"We can go wherever you want when you come back," Seijuurou said, sitting with Makoto at a table in the commons, marking down the areas on the map he had picked up. "There's way more stuff around than I thought..." Makoto just smiled, leaning his head on Seijuurou's shoulder and rubbing his thumb across the top of his hand. "You don't have to decide now, since next weekend I'll be coming to see you." Seijuurou pecked Makoto on the cheek. "I think we have time to get something to eat before you have to catch the train so you don't have to worry about rushing to get something for dinner and won't be starving by the time you get home. That sound good?"

"Then should we just go back to your room really quick so I can get my bag?"

Seijuurou folded up the map, standing up and wrapping his arm around the brunette's waist.

"Do that, and I might just hide you under my bed so you won't have to leave. I'm sure Aikawa won't mind."

"You have no idea how tempting that sounds."

"Call me when you get home, okay?"

Seijuurou brushed Makoto's hair out of his face, the two pressed together saying their goodbyes before the younger's train arrived. The redhead frowned when he saw Makoto's sad expression return, so with habit, he pressed their lips together, and was relieved when he felt Makoto smile against his skin.

"I will." Makoto sighed when the sound of the train coming into the station was overbearing, and he adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and looking over at his way home. "Well...I should get going..."

"Makoto."

The brunette looked upward, and Seijuurou kissed him again.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

The oldest moved his hands to rest in his pockets, watching as his boyfriend stepped inside with dozens of other people, disappearing from his sight. As the doors shut and it started to move, his heart started to ache and he stood there until the train was long gone, and the redhead began to make the short trip back to his dorm, alone.

Aikawa was back when he returned, stepping into the shower by the time Seijuurou had sat on his bed, and golden eyes fell to the gifts from the backstroke swimmer. Most importantly, the orca. He reached for it, pressing his face into the felt, inhaling Makoto's scent and exhaled with a saddened sigh. Seijuurou paused, getting his phone from his pocket and unlocking the screen, pointing the backside towards him and snapped a picture of him and his plush present, sending it to Makoto with a short, but simple message.

It's kind of like you're still here.

He smiled, putting the phone on his pillow and he stood, taking the jar of chocolate mints and the picture frame to put them on his desk, along with setting Makoto's shirt in his pajama drawer. It didn't take long for Seijuurou's phone to chime, and the redhead dived on his bed to check the message, smiling when he read Makoto's reply with a similar message and photo attached.

There was Makoto, green eyes bright as he looked into the camera, holding a plush similar to the orca on Seijuurou's bed, but instead it was light blue with darker spots and a small, yellow horn poking out from between the brunette's arms. He must've taken the picture that morning, due to the brunette's bedhead and disheveled clothes.

That's why I bought this when I got your presents, so I wouldn't be lonely either.

Author's note: I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE MAKOTO CRY IT JUST SORT OF HAPPENED OH GOD (and sorry if this seems a bit weird, I'm still trying to get in the hang of non-drabble esq fics oops and the fact it was looked through and edited super early in the morning when I was half-asleep)

But, next up in 2.5 explains my favorite thing that has been changed a lot, the peppermint patty thing!

(and yeah, again with the Sei narwhal stuff! if interested, it's based on the narwhal that I have and it's suuuuuuuper comfortable to cuddle and sleep with uwu)