A/N: Hey people, I hope you're having fun. I know I am.
The next day, Makoto dragged Haruka out of the bath. The black haired boy frowned as he squeezed the water from his dolphin toy.
Makoto sighed. He had planned to stop walking Haruka to school, but he had thought he should inform Haruka in person.
But, once he saw him in person, he lost his willpower. It was a vicious cycle.
Makoto shook his head. Well, it was only day one of trying out the avoidance strategy. He would get better as time went by. Right?
Makoto frowned as he followed Haruka into the kitchen.
Haruka got out his apron, ignoring Makoto's gloominess as he focused on cooking.
Haruka threw the mackerel into the frying pan, jabbing it with the spatula. Makoto stared. He hadn't thought that cooking could look so violent. Gradually, with each violent flip of the fish, Makoto started to realize; Haruka was annoyed.
Makoto sighed. It was probably because he had ditched him yesterday. He should apologize.
"Haru…" he said.
Haru ignored him and continued cooking.
Makoto licked his lips.
"Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday…"
Makoto trailed off as Haruka turned his glare from the mackerel to him.
Makoto waited.
Haruka shook his head. It resembled one of his hair-flips.
After a pause, Haruka spoke.
"It's not your fault" Haruka said. Makoto frowned. He was pretty sure it was.
Haruka turned and waved the spatula at him.
"You can follow Gou if you want, that's your choice. It's not your job to take care of me"
Makoto shot a confused look at him. He wasn't following Gou; he was just talking with her. And he enjoyed taking care of Haru.
Haruka continued to glare until Makoto offered him a weak nod.
Haruka nodded back and returned to his cooking.
Makoto sighed. It was going to be a long day.
At school, Gou and Makoto met between classes to discuss how the 'avoid Haruka' plan was going. The answer was 'pretty crappily'.
Every time Makoto tried to avoid him, Haruka would stare with those expectant eyes. It killed Makoto's resolve in an instant.
It didn't help that Haruka was in a bad mood. Makoto knew he couldn't leave an upset Haruka alone. His mothering instincts wouldn't let him.
Makoto frowned.
Although Makoto thought Haruka was overreacting he still felt horrible. He hated it when Haruka was troubled.
Makoto tried his best to cheer him up, but Haruka continued his bad mood, talking less and glaring more.
As the day progressed, Makoto's meetings with Gou changed from 'what are you doing to avoid him' to 'what is up with him today' ones.
By the time they were ready for swim practice, even Nagisa had noticed.
"Makoto, what did you do?" asked Nagisa.
Makoto shook his head.
"I don't know. I think it's because I left with Gou the other day"
Nagisa smirked. Makoto knew that was a bad sign.
"So he's jealous?"
Makoto sighed.
"It's not like that. He's just annoyed that I ditched him"
Nagisa smiled. "Whatever you say Makoto"
Makoto sighed again. Nagisa's expression turned bemused.
"Wait, so why did you leave yesterday anyways?"
Makoto scrambled for an excuse.
"I just—I just needed to talk to Gou about some things"
Nagisa's eyes widened. "That's really suspicious. What would you need to talk to Gou for?"
Makoto searched for an excuse. Crap. Why did he have to suck at hiding things? "It's nothing. Nothing important"
Makoto figured now was as good a time as any to beat a hasty retreat.
'Well, I'd better get going…I need to do those swimming exercises Gou recommended" Makoto said.
Nagisa laughed at his obvious evasion.
"Makoto, I think you need to stop being a coward. If you would just confess, then Haru would turn back to his normal self"
Makoto forced a smile.
"Maybe another day" he said. However, what he really meant was 'no way in hell'.
