They had been together for as long as Makoto could remember. Even before his earliest memories, there was evidence of their friendship (or at that age, their mother's friendship) in the family photo album.

The oldest picture he could find was when they were between 6 and 8 months old. He was crawling over to Haruka, who was splayed out on top of a jungle themed activity mat. It was easy to tell them apart due to their features but also because it was before Haru was able to voice her pushy personality. She had cute purple ribbons holding up her abnormally full head of hair for an infant and also a purple onesie with hearts all over it. He, on the other hand, was dressed in a hunter green one with trucks. They were both smiling.

One would think that because of their history, they would be more like siblings than anything else. This wasn't some romantic comedy where the "childhood friends" eventually get together. That was just too strange of a concept. Or so he thought until that one unspeakable night, the night when he started to see Haru differently.

One Year Prior

It finally happened. After almost a full year in the hospital Grandma Nanase passed away in her sleep. Makoto and Haru were going to see her after school, like they did every day. Haru would say that it was on the way back to their houses so there was no reason not to stop by. In reality it wasn't in the complete opposite direction but the hospital was in no means "on the way" home.

Makoto didn't mind though. He knew Haru needed to see her, to see the only family that she really felt a connection with. She was his kin too, in a way, because the Nanase and Tachibana families were so close, the feelings were mutual even if there wasn't any blood relation. She was his grandma too.

That day everything changed though. As if on autopilot, the pair didn't bother to notice anything at odds until they reached Grandma's room, which was empty. "Maybe she's with a doctor." Haru said in a tense voice, well, tense to Makoto's ears at least. They waited for what seemed like forever but in hindsight were only a few minutes before Makoto decided to push the nurse call button.

The woman came in the room with a confused look on her face, as if she had no clue why she was being summoned to room number 491. "Oh. Nanase-chan. Tachibana-kun…." She fumbled with her speech, restarting her sentences several times before finally saying "We called the Nanase residence this morning and talked to your mother. I wasn't expecting you because, well, I figured you would have known…."

Haru nodded and walked out of the room in silence.

"Haru," Makoto began but decided against it. He knew when was the right time to try to have a conversation and when it wasn't. Instead the walk home was silent, but not the comfortable silence that he often shared with Haru. The entire time he felt like he needed to say something but couldn't find the right words.

"I'm going to take a long bath." She said when they arrived at her house. Haru's normal baths were usually an hour or two, so a long one would be, well, longer.

"Ok. I'll come back this evening though. So please call me when you get out." He said as he watched her walk in and shut the door. As much as he wanted to stay with her, it was better this way. Haru didn't really get along with her parents - what teenage girl does - but they needed to grieve together.

He waited until 9pm to give up on that call and head over. He was surprised by loud music blasting and after setting down his shoes and excusing himself, which he doubted anyone would hear; he headed in the direction of the living room.

On instinct, his first stop was to the CD player, where he turned down the volume to save his eardrums from bursting. The action was immediately greeted with a whiney "Hey," from Haru.

The uncharacteristic pout lasted for a split second before she shreaked "MAKOTO" and lunged at him. This was not what he expected. Hugs, maybe, but something was off. Way off.

She smelled of her mother's perfume and something vinegary but sweet. His eyes fell to the bottles on the coffee table. There was a bottle of expensive brandy and two others of cheap plum wine.

"Why do you have…." He started to ask but was interrupted.

"Want some?" Haru asked and pulled away from him. "I started with what was left of Grandma's brandy but there wasn't a lot so, I got more." She forcefully thrust a half empty bottle into his hand and opened a new one, taking a big gulp after it was opened.

"How…"

"You can get a lot of things you shouldn't as a cute girl, silly." She giggled.

Finally, his brain was starting to catch up. He looked at Haru as if seeing her for the first time. It was; however, the first time he had seen her dressed in such a manner. She was clad in only a tight fitting tanktop and a middle school skirt, which, due to its small size, was fashioned at her natural waist. This caused the once knee length article to change into a miniskirt.

"Haru…"

"-Ka." She interrupted again.

"Ka?" Why did he feel like he was one step behind of everything today?

"Har-u-ka." She said flirtatiously, wagging her finger and tilting her head with each syllable. This sent her into another fit of giggles. Makoto was shocked for a moment since he rarely ever heard her laugh. It was cute. She repeated herself again.

"Haruka," he started. His tone was airy and his lips tingled at saying her full name. It felt strange after calling her "Haru" for so long. Then again, this whole situation was very strange. "Haruka." He said again, only this time more naturally.

"Again!"

"Haruka."

"Again!"

"Haruka." This time he smiled when he said it. At least she was a fun drunk.

This apparently pleased her since she responded by twirling around once and smiling at him. Another rarity and it caused his heart to skip a beat. It was beautiful. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her give a full toothy grin. She was beautiful when she smiled.

"Haruka, you shouldn't be drinking this stuff." He said, pulling his mind back to the present. He set down the bottle that she handed him and moved towards her with his arm outstretched, gesturing for the bottle that she was currently in her possession.

"No. It's tastey." She said and took another gulp. "Plus I had to get all dressed up just to get it."

Something clicked in Makoto's head and he responded in a serious tone. "You shouldn't have gone out dressed like that. Especially not to get alcohol. Who knows what could have happened to you."

She smirked and bit her nail. A nail that was freshly polished, Makoto noticed. "Why? Are you jealous?" Her voice sounded…. sensual. It caught him off guard how skilled she was at flirting.

"I think, you've had enough." He said after several moments. He moved to take the bottle from her but she pulled away just at the right moment and caused him to lose his balance and slip on the empty bottle of brandy.

There was a loud crack as his head collided with the table. He rolled over and felt for blood. Thankfully there was none but the bump was enough to force him to shakes his head a few times to clear it.

"Makoto. Makoto." His name was beginning to become clearer and he blinked a few times to see Haruka face taking up most of his visual space. She had crawled on top of him and was currently staring at him with a concerned look on her face.

"That hurt." He said with a sheepish smile and scooted back to lean against the surface that caused his injury. This produced more giggles and she sat down, straddling his lap.

He gulped. This was too much. She was too close. His whole body was beginning to tighten, with one area worse than any other. He was also pretty sure that he was breathing rather quickly.

Her body heavy, but not in a bad way, on top of him. He felt himself blushing at her stare. Her eyes, lined with smoky makeup, were all too clear considering how intoxicated she was.

"Har—" He started but groaned when she squirmed against him.

"Shhh." She said and placed a sultry fingertip to his lips. He felt like he was on fire. He could hear his heart beat in his ears as she leaned her forehead against his. Her other hand reached to grab a fistful of his shirt and she squirmed against him again.

Her sweet breath was threatening to intoxicate him as well and without noticing it, he reached his hands down to her silky thighs and began to play with the hem of her skirt. They were so soft. He wondered how soft her lips were. Full lips that we stained red by the wine. All he had to do was lean in not even an inch and they would touch. He could feel their heat and slide his tongue into her wet mouth. She was so close. All he had to do was….

"Don't leave me." She said and her gentle touch on his shirt transformed into a tight grip.

"What?" He asked. His brain was too foggy to process what's was happening.

"Please, don't ever leave me, Makoto. Everyone always leaves me. I don't want to be alone." Tepid drops – tears—hit his cheeks before she moved to bury her head into his neck. Her body began to shake with forceful sobs.

Gingerly, he pried his hands away from her hips to wrap around the small of her back. He began making cooing noises as he rubs circles along her spine. The mood was gone but his heart still continued to race and his breathing was still shallow.

"It's ok, Haruka. I'm right here." He felt a tinge of guilt as the roughness of his voice. It took a while, but eventually those words, spoken over and over again, were becoming smoother.

He stopped once he noticed her sobs had ceased and her breathing had become deep and even. Awkwardly, he cradled her against him and carried the weak girl into her bedroom. In the corner of his eye he could see clothes thrown around and her mother's makeup littering her desk. For the first time, he wondered where they were. Why was Haruka home alone?

"Stay with me." She whispered as he set her down on the bed. When he didn't respond right way, she repeated herself in a pleading tone. "Please."

He sighed and crawled into the bed with her, praying that wherever Haruka's parents were, they wouldn't come home before he left. She sighed, contented, and cuddled up next to him. It wasn't the first time that they had slept in the same bed together, but it was the first time he felt hyper aware of her. Aware of her soft breasts against his chest and her leg wrapped around his hips. He groaned and began counting sheep, hoping eventually the breath that tickled his neck, which is what he was actually counting, would turn into sheep.

Haruka slept late into the morning and he used that time to clean up the evidence of the night before, fearful of her parents walking through the door. It wasn't until he finished that he noticed the note on the fridge. It stated they would be staying overnight at her uncles and would return late afternoon after making funeral arrangements.

"Good morning, Haruka." He said when he noticed her walk into the kitchen. She responded by giving him a quizzical look. Well, he could tell that's what it was. Anyone else would see a blank stare.

"Haru. You always call me Haru…" She said in her usual monotone voice and pulled out two pieces of mackerel and the tabletop grill.

"Right. Haru-chan." She glared at him.

"Mak-o-to!" His mother called from the other room. "Your alarm has been going off for a while now. You are going to be late for school!"

He looked up from where he was sleeping at his desk. He felt restless last night so he started to look through old albums. Wiping drool off the plastic shell, he looked down at the picture of him and Haruka as babies. It was one of the few photos of her with a full smile.

'Thanks. Mom, I'm just going to jump into the shower and get going!" He closed the album and thought absently how it would be easier if he could just go back to seeing her as his kid sister but he couldn't. He has always loved her, but after that night, he was aware of things about Haruka he never wanted to know. Like the texture of her skin.