Heyyyyyyyyy everyone! I thought I was going to write the climax in this chapter but then I'm like nooo it's still a filler chapter ugh I'm so sorry. So, I really do hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll update soon! I'm trying to update as quickly as I can before I start school in October.

Did y'all cry at yesterday's episode? Because I did omg. I was already having a bad day as it is and I'm like ohh, lemme cheer myself up with a new episode of Free omg my babies and I watched it and I'm like WHYYYYYY. I was at work too. So dumb ugh.

Anyways, thank y'all so so soooo much for reading this story still. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club/Eternal Summer

P.S. omg you guys, I got the Iwatobi swim jacket and I feel so cooooool. Okay bye haha.


"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sousuke said, making himself more discreet, peeking over his shoulder to see everyone else enjoying their selves.

"Cut the crap, son. I'm not an idiot. I had my men check around for me and those Mikoshiba brothers weren't exactly reliable either. Where is it?"

"What?" Sousuke drawled.

"You know what I'm talking about. My specimen!"

"He has a name."

"Please son, where did you suddenly think you could stand up to me? That is my specimen and I want it back."

"You don't even know where he is!" Sousuke stated, trying to calm his uneven tone.

"If that's how you want it, fine. But I'll get it back, even if I take drastic measures. Enjoy the rest of the week. Also, consider yourself cut out from the family, son." With that, Sousuke heard the line cut off. He turned towards the group worriedly.

"Guys, I think it's time for us to head back home."

Rin noticed Sousuke's demeanor. "Something's wrong. What happened, Sousuke?"

Sousuke looked down at the ground. "My father knows about Makoto."

Gou's face dropped. "How?! He's not coming right now, is he?" She grabbed Makoto's arm protectively.

"No, he's not coming now to get him. But he knows that we took him out. We need to get home though, just in case." Sousuke said, already turning around to leave the cove. He suddenly turned back around. "Rei, the potion is almost done. So hang tight for a little bit and also be safe. I don't know what my father has planned."

Rei nodded his head. "Got it, thank you very much, Sousuke-san." He waved at the others before diving back in the water, with Nagisa right behind him.

"Alright, let's go." Gou said, holding onto Makoto's arm to help guide him. He was learning really quickly, despite having occasional slip-ups that accidentally causes Gou to lose her balance. Rin threw an arm over Makoto's shoulder to help quicken the pace back to the car. Once they made it, everyone hopped in and Sousuke drove back home.

After Sousuke dropped off Chigusa at her house, he drove over to Rin and Gou's house. Rin looked over his shoulder at Makoto and Gou in the back and then rolled his eyes at the sight. He turned back towards the windshield and crossed his arms, grumbling in his seat. "They need to get a room."

Sousuke raised an eyebrow and looked at the two in his rearview mirror. Despite being a little bothered by the closeness of the two, he couldn't help but smile sincerely because of it. Makoto and Gou were laid back, Gou resting her head on Makoto's shoulder while he rested his on top of her head, their hands laced together in their lap. He led his eyes back towards the road, trying to shake his thoughts away. He didn't understand why he was bothered a bit by it, maybe because he sees Gou as a little sister to him. She's grown a lot in the last five years; she's not the young girl he once knew. She's also got a lot more pretty; she's matured in a lot of ways—No. You cannot think about that, Sousuke. She is, and will always be, a little sister to you. Don't-don't think like that.

After a few minutes, Sousuke pulled up to the Matsuoka home. Rin turned around in his seat to wake up the two. "Gou, Makoto, we're home. Actually, I'm gonna hang with Sousuke for the rest of the night and probably crash at his place." Rin looked between the two with a glare. "Don't do anymore funny business. I'll tell mom."

Gou rolled her eyes and yawned. "Onii-chan, I don't want to hear it. Besides, we're too tired and completely worried to do anything."

Sousuke looked over his shoulder. "Don't worry you two. We're going to figure out a plan tomorrow, okay? Just hang tight and don't leave the house."

Makoto and Gou nodded their heads. The two climbed out of the car, waved goodnight at Rin and Sousuke, and headed on inside the house. "Mom! Makoto and I are home! Rin's staying over at Sousuke's." Gou called out, taking off her shoes and bending down to help Makoto to take off his.

"Thanks a lot, Gou. I think I can get used to it now." Makoto said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Whoops, sorry Makoto. I couldn't help it!" she giggled, walking towards the kitchen counter, Makoto right behind her. "Oh, my mom left a note! It says she left dinner in the oven and she won't be back until later on tonight, probably when we're asleep." Gou opened the oven and laughed. She looked over at Makoto's confused face. "She made us pizza! My favorite!" she grabbed a pair of oven mitts to take out the pizza, placed it on the stove, and reached over in the cabinet to grab a couple of plates. Makoto stood by the counter, watching in awe of how fast Gou was going around the kitchen and grabbing things she needed. Then he sniffed the smell of the pizza, causing his stomach to rumble and his mouth to drool. Gou had everything gathered in her hands and headed over to the living room, causing Makoto to do a double-take.

"Uh, Gou? I thought when humans eat meals, they eat it at the table or something like that."

She placed the food on the coffee table and made herself comfortable before reaching out for her plate. "Oh, Makoto. We don't do that all the time. We can eat anywhere, as long we're not extremely messy." She patted the spot next to her on the couch. "Come on, sit and eat."

Makoto hesitantly strolled over to the couch and carefully sat down on the cushion. He grabbed his plate and looked down at the contents on there. Then he looked back up over at Gou to watch how she ate. She was already on her second piece, stuffing a big bite in her mouth. She noticed Makoto's staring so she glanced over at him, her cheeks turning red. She quickly swallowed what she had in her mouth.

"Uh. Sorry. When I'm hungry, I just dig in. Okay, you eat your pizza with your hand like this." She demonstrated, taking a bite of her pizza slowly.

Makoto chuckled at her demonstration, but turned back towards his pizza and picked up a slice. He carefully took a small bite of the pizza and chewed. His face suddenly turned into bliss when he swallowed, not realizing he had a string of cheese hanging from his mouth. He looked over at Gou with a face full of pure innocence. "This. Is. The. Best." He uttered word for word.

Gou leaned back to cover her face. "Makoto, oh my god, don't move a muscle, I'm going to be right back, I need to get my camera!" She got up from the couch and dashed away to get her phone. Once she grabbed it, she ran back towards a frozen Makoto to snap pictures of him.

"Gou? Can I move now? I kinda want to eat." Makoto asked, his eyebrows furrowed in worry and anticipation.

"Hold on, one more shot like this." Gou said, sticking her tongue out in concentration to take another shot. "Okay, you can eat."

Makoto eagerly complied, digging into his pizza. Gou continued taking pictures of him, giggling at all the faces Makoto made. Once the two were finished and Gou cleaned up, she sat back down on the couch and cuddled next to a stuffed Makoto. He ended up eating four more slices because he thought that he'll never have it again, much to Gou's dismay. Makoto looked down at Gou for a while. "Gou, what were you doing with that…device?"

Gou looked over at Makoto and brought her phone out. "This is a cell phone. It's used for lots of things, especially for talking to people that are not here and they are somewhere else. You can also take pictures or record footage of things, like anything. Here, this is you." She flicked over to one picture of him eating the pizza and showed it to him. His eyes widened in wonder and grabbed her phone.

"This is me?!" He questioned, incredulously. "Is this what I look like?"

Gou tilted her head at him. "You don't know what you look like?"

Makoto glanced to the side nervously. "Uh, when I knew that fisherman, he used to show me a thing called a mirror. That was back when I was younger, I've matured since then. Ever since the fisherman's death, I tried not to look at my reflection too much. It reminded me that I was a mon—"

Gou hushed him with a tender kiss on his cheek. "Don't say it. Don't you dare say that again." She patted his head. "Now, let's brighten up the mood here. Smile for me!" she brought up her phone to take a picture of the two. He obliged, but only stayed looking at her. "Ah, Makoto! You didn't face the camera!"

He laughed. "But you said to smile for you, so I did! Besides, I don't know what I'm looking at."

After ten attempts, Gou finally got the picture she wanted. She leaned back in content, smiling like an idiot. Makoto copied her and leaned his head on top of hers. She snuggled up against him and heaved a sigh. "I love you, Makoto. And I'll always protect you no matter what." Gou closed her eyes, feeling sleep takeover her.

Makoto smiled gently and pulled her closer. "Same with me, as well. I'll protect you." He breathed in her scent. "That's a promise."


By the time that Gou's mom made it back home, it was past one o'clock in the morning. Her job had a special charity event and she was part of the coordinators of the event. She opened the front door and stifled a yawn, taking off her shoes at the front door. "Ah, I'm home." She said to no one in particular. She noticed that the light was still on in the living room. She walked to the area and smiled at the sight before her. Makoto and Gou were sleeping on the couch, wrapped around each other like they never wanted to let go. She swallowed a chortle and then sped walked over to the supply closet to pull out an extra blanket. She brought it back to the couch and covered the two. "Goodnight, you two." She mouthed, tiptoeing away to her room for the night.


"I thought I said no funny business!" Rin exasperated, smacking his hand on both of Makoto and Gou's head. That furiously woke them up.

It was morning and Rin and Sousuke had already rushed over to the house to explain their plan. But once they entered the house, they were greeted by the lovely sight of the two on the couch. Rin choked on his spit when he saw that, anger already building up inside of him.

"Geez! Why did you do that, onii-chan!" Gou yelled, holding her injured head, Makoto following suit with holding his head in his hands as well.

"Good, now that both you are awake, let's get down to the plan." Rin looked over at Makoto. "Have you decided?"

"Decided what?" Makoto inquired, rubbing his head gently.

"If you wanted to stay human or not."

Makoto looked between Gou and Rin and Sousuke. Then he glanced down in his lap. "Yes." He raised his head and looked at Rin in determination. "I decided I wanted to stay human."

Sousuke nodded his head at him. "Okay. Nitori should be done with the potion very soon. In the meantime, we need to lay low and—" Sousuke was interrupted from a buzz coming from his pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked to see who it was from. It was picture message from his father. He opened it up and gasped at the picture.

"What is it, Sousuke?" Rin immediately asked. Sousuke showed the picture to Rin, Makoto, and Gou. Makoto gasped, tears already forming in his eyes.

"Why does he have my brother and sister?!" He screamed, grabbing Sousuke's shoulders. "We need to save them!"

This is what he probably meant when he said drastic measures. Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows and clicked his tongue in fury.


So, I honestly wanted to end this chapter when Makoto and Gou fell asleep on the couch and then I'm like, nahhhh, let's continue keeping cliff-hangers. Because that's the best.

Haha, don't kill me.