A/N: Word count: 1,264
Tags: Canonverse, Established Relationship, Fluff, Childhood Memories

After a particularly exhausting training session with Coach Azuma, Haruka was relieved to finally drop his bag in the genkan. Makoto was already home, sitting on the bed with folded legs, faced away from the door. Haruka's heart swelled with fondness when he saw him.

"I'm home," he said as he took off his shoes, but when he didn't receive a response, he frowned. Was Makoto wearing earphones or had he simply not heard him?

Deciding to surprise him, Haruka tip-toed over to the bed and hugged Makoto from behind, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Haru!" Makoto yelped and he dropped his phone on his lap. "You scared me!"

"I did call out to you, but you didn't reply."

"Sorry, I didn't hear." Makoto turned his head and pressed a kiss to Haruka's cheek. "Welcome home."

Haruka smiled and seized the opportunity for a proper kiss. This was what he looked forward to all day, so he made sure to savour the feeling of Makoto's lips sliding over his oh so tenderly. Once satisfied, he leaned his chin on Makoto's shoulder. "So, what are you looking at that's more interesting than me?"

"Also you," Makoto giggled as he picked his phone back up and showed Haruka the screen. It was a picture of the two of them together as toddlers, their little hands and faces covered in fingerpaint. "My mom was clearing out the attic earlier and she found all of my baby picture albums, so she scanned them and uploaded them on the drive."

"Oh," Haruka said, releasing his hold on Makoto to sit down beside him. "Show me."

Backing out to the previous screen, Makoto scrolled up to the start of the file and selected the first picture: a tiny baby with one thin strip of hair on his head, lying inside his mother's arms in the hospital. Mrs. Tachibana was smiling brightly, but her eyes conveyed immense fatigue. She once told him Makoto's labour had taken nearly twenty-eight hours and that was clearly visible on her face.

"This was taken right after I was born," Makoto said as if Haruka couldn't tell, "My very first picture."

"You look like a potato."

"Hey!"

"What?" Haruka shrugged, "You look good now, but there you looked like a potato."

"I guess you have a point." Makoto chuckled. "Most of these early pictures all look the same, so I'll go through them quickly to spare your eyes."

Judging by the number of pictures there were, it was clear Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana were very excited about their baby and were determined to capture every yawn and giggle. Not that he expected anything less of them.

"How long did it take your mom to scan all of these?"

"All day," Makoto said, "She started this morning and only got through a few albums. She hasn't even gotten to my third birthday yet, let alone the birth of the twins and all their albums."

"Sounds like she's going to have her work cut out for her the next couple of weeks."

"Yeah, but she's determined. She wants to make sure our pictures are always saved somewhere else, in case a fire or something like that happens."

That wasn't a bad idea. Living in the digital age, Haruka hadn't thought twice about his baby pictures and how they weren't stored in multiple places. It would be a shame if all those pictures, including ones of his grandma, would be lost. He wasn't sure whether his parents took the old family albums with them to Hokkaido or not, so he'd have to check when his mom called. Otherwise, their next trip to Iwatobi would probably look a whole lot different.

They flew through the first year of Makoto's life. With every picture, Makoto's cheeks grew a bit chubbier and his hair fuller, and after a couple of months, he started to look like himself: like the cute little kid that would soon become Haruka's very best friend.

Then, after Makoto's second New Year's and the shrine visit, spring came and with it, a flood of memories. The Tachibanas packed up all their stuff in their tiny apartment and moved into their house in Iwatobi. There were no pictures of what happened right afterwards, but Haruka vaguely remembered it.

By the hand, his mother led him down the stairs, to the house beneath theirs that was previously vacant. A new family had moved in, so they had to be polite and welcome them to town. His father told him he saw the new family had a little boy around his age and claimed he was sure Haruka and he would become best friends. Back then, his dad had no clue how right he would be.

When they entered the garden, a large man was walking towards the moving truck, but he stopped and smiled when he saw their family. He introduced himself and called over his wife and their son to come meet the new neighbours.

That was the first time he saw Makoto; on his mother's arm, clutching her pink sweater in his pudgy fist, large green eyes filled with wonder.

"This was right before we first met," Haruka said when the picture on Makoto's screen showed him sitting among the boxes in their living room. "You were wearing these dungarees."

"Really? I'm surprised you remember that."

"Our moms love to tell this story, so I'm not sure if I actually remember it or if I've just been told so many times that I think I remember it," Haruka said, smiling as he studied little Makoto's bright grin. "You were so happy and bubbly, yet when your mom took you to meet my parents, you were trying to hide in your mom's chest. It wasn't until you saw me that you showed your face."

Makoto smiled too. "I was shy back then. Meeting new people is scary."

"You weren't scared of me, though."

"How could I ever be scared of you?" Makoto said, "I already knew back then that you would be my best friend, the person I would love the most." Makoto continued swiping through the album and a handful of photos later, Haruka made his first appearance. They were sitting on the couch together, mouths full of cookie crumbs. "And we've been inseparable ever since."

Haruka couldn't help but mirror Makoto's expression. "Who would've guessed back then that we would be here two decades later?"

"Me," Makoto said, "I always knew we would stay together, no matter what."

"Is that so?"

"Hm. I knew that nothing could ever happen that would make me want to stop being with you."

Heat rushed to Haruka's cheeks and he averted his eyes. How could Makoto say these things so casually, without a blink or a stutter? "Idiot."

"I mean it," Makoto said as he put his phone down beside him and wrapped his arms around Haruka's body. "I loved you then, I love you now, and I'll love you every day yet to come."

His tone was a bit teasing, like he purposely wanted to embarrass him, but that didn't make the sentiment any less genuine. "I love you too," Haruka said, and before Makoto could say more things that made him want to run out the door and jump into the nearest pond, he pressed a long, silencing kiss against Makoto's lips.

Two decades worth of memories were stored not just in photo albums and on their phones, but also in their hearts. They would continue to make more memories together in all the years yet to come.

A/N: Thank you for reading and i hope to see you again tomorrow!