And this is where it feels like the real story starts.

Thank you so much, Miley, for reviewing the first chapter! I hope you continue to enjoy it. I'd kind of gotten the impression in the past that the Free! fandom wasn't all that active on this site, so it was a pleasant surprise to get a review at all!

Chapter Two: Firsts

Haru nodded and turned to go put his bookbag in his room. That was that. Makoto remained behind for an extra second, frozen to the spot, as if he couldn't believe he'd actually said it.

Haru wondered if he was supposed to feel different now that he was officially someone's boyfriend. Did Makoto feel different? Their afternoon was rather ordinary compared to the drama of the walk home. With the final exams of their high school career fast approaching, they'd begun dedicating their afternoons to studying. Before long they were set up at the table, with only their books between them, like any other day. But today, when Makoto would glance up every so often, Haru knew it wasn't to make sure he was still on track. Though he chose not to comment, Haru suspected Makoto was the one getting nothing done today. His constant fidgeting lent to an unusually tense atmosphere…

Until the light from the sun's rays began to fade and Makoto straightened up with a deep breath. He sent one of his familiar soft smiles Haru's way and began packing up his things. "It's getting late. Are you coming over for dinner tonight?"

It was such a perfunctory question these days. Haru rarely took him up on this offer. Perhaps that was why Makoto's mouth popped open to form a little 'O' when Haru nodded. His movements paused for just a second. Perhaps he was absorbing the implications of taking his best friend—his new boyfriend—home to have dinner with his parents.

But this was not such a strange occurrence, really. After his mother had relocated to be closer to his father's job more permanently, Mrs. Tachibana had insisted Haru join them for dinner at least three nights a week. As the years passed, he'd gotten more adept at taking care of himself—even if he was still a little too dependent on his routines and mackerel did make up the majority of his diet—but the standing invitation remained. So Haru was curious about whether this changed things but aimed to treat it like any other night. And Makoto, it seemed, had decided to follow his lead.

So the walk down to Makoto's house was casual. Makoto's voice held only the softest hint of a tremble when he announced his return and Haru's arrival. Which, of course, brought his younger siblings running to greet him with their usual excitement. And which Haru responded to with his usual quiet fondness. Makoto appeared relieved at the ordinariness of this exchange, and Haru felt a flare of triumph. Finally, it seemed he had done something right.

The Tachibanas did not seem to notice that anything had changed between the two of them. Dinner, too, was an ordinary affair. Because it was Makoto's parents, Haru made an effort to hide his groans when the conversation inevitably turned to plans for the future. (Just because he actually had plans now didn't endear him to the tedious topic at all.) Luckily, Makoto did most of the talking.

"So you're both heading off to Tokyo now, huh?" Mr. Tachibana remarked, almost absentmindedly dishing out a second serving for his younger son.

Makoto nodded. "Different schools, but they're pretty close. Once finals are over, we're going to go look for an apartment together."

He paused, chopsticks halfway to his mouth, as he absorbed his own words. And, in light of the last few hours, Haru supposed the two of them getting an apartment together did have some different connotations now.

"Everything okay?" Makoto's mother asked. "You look a little flushed."

Indeed, Makoto's face had warmed a bit, but he swallowed and put on his most convincing smile. "Yeah, I'm just… tired. I think today's catching up to me."

Mr. Tachibana looked up, smiling good-naturedly. "Ah, youth…" he joked in that over-the-top dad way. "Say what you will about high school being the prime of your life and all that, but I don't miss that last year."

His wife smiled and shook her head at his overly wistful reminiscing, and Makoto seemed to relax a bit. It was just so… normal. Dinner as a whole was almost disturbingly normal.

Once everyone had finished, Makoto moved automatically to clear the dishes from the table. Haru shadowed him, but save for a few brief smiles, Makoto seemed reluctant to meet his eyes. And unusually relieved when he denied the twins' request to hang around after playing video games.

"I'll walk Haru back up the hill," Makoto offered a little too quickly. "Be right back."

He had to suppress another sigh as the door closed behind them. Makoto was still surrounded by this tense atmosphere, radiating uneasiness. His response to one of his dreams coming true after all these years wasn't quite living up to Haru's expectations. He didn't try to take his hand this time, just in case. "…Did I say something wrong?"

Mentally, he tried to run back through all the conversation throughout dinner… But he hadn't actually said all that much. No more than usual… Which, even around the Tachibanas, was next to nothing.

"No!" Makoto rushed to assure him. "No… Just… Maybe we can hold off on telling my family? Just for now?"

"Sure." Haru tilted his head as Makoto's shoulders relaxed a bit. Perhaps this was normal. (Haru sure wouldn't know.) For all he knew, Rin and Sousuke had been together for months before they'd told anyone. He did feel like he was still missing something, though.

"Thanks." They'd reached Haru's door. Finally, that familiar soft smile was back in place. It urged a smile in return from Haru. Makoto turned to head back down. "I'll see you in the morning."

Haru's smile faded, those prickles of confusion returning. "Wait."

Makoto turned back with a questioning expression.

"Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?" Because he may not have known much about dating, but he was pretty sure that was supposed to come next.

Makoto's face flushed so red that he could see it clearly even in this dim lighting. He opened his mouth, but no response emerged. Someone else may have been reassured that their partner was apparently as lost and inexperienced as they were, but it rubbed Haru the wrong way. He was used to Makoto knowing what to do. Even when he did stand his ground and go against his friend's wishes, it was always with the silent knowledge that he was just being stubborn or avoiding his responsibilities.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he finally answered, sounding a little dazed. "I guess we should."

Haru nodded. He saw Makoto hurriedly wipe his hands against his jeans before stepping closer. His own palms were dry. But he would wonder about that later. He watched his friend until Makoto averted his eyes, his blush darkening again for just a second.

It was all very quick. Makoto turned at the last second, as if he was going for Haru's cheek instead. As a result, they caught each other on the corner of their mouths. It was chaste and a little awkward, but Makoto pulled back before he really had time to linger on it.

"Right, well, good night!" he practically chirped out, his face still pink, before all but running back down to his own house.

That was good… right?

…

Haru's mind was still stuck on the previous night as he soaked in the bath the next morning. He'd never kissed anyone before. As far as he knew, neither had Makoto. Had he lived up to his friend's (his boyfriend's, he corrected himself) expectations? He wasn't sure he had any expectations himself. Makoto seemed happy last night… right?

He sunk a little deeper into the water, leaving only his nose free to continue supplying him with oxygen. This relationship business was exhausting.

This is how Makoto found him when he appeared in his bathroom. He hovered in the doorway, though, and Haru rose to his feet without any prompting, and started searching out each piece of his uniform. (Though Makoto had already set out most of it on his bed before coming to retrieve him from the bathroom.) The taller boy was smiling, but that edge of uneasiness had returned. Was he wondering if he'd dreamed the events of the previous day? …Which answer was he hoping for?

They didn't speak much as Haru got ready for school. They'd adapted to being able to communicate without words—or entirely through one-sided conversations—a long time ago. But once their houses were out of sight, once they had started along the familiar path to the school, Haru slipped his hand into Makoto's again.

He seemed a little surprised at first. But a small smile formed on his face again, and he didn't pull away until they spotted the crowd filtering into the school. And Haru wasn't complaining. It felt like something they should be doing, but he wasn't big on handholding. His palm started sweating, and he kept feeling these little twitches going through Makoto's fingers—like the contact was making him nervous—and he was honestly kind of glad when they were able to go back to walking with the usual amount of space between them.

All the same, so far so good, he supposed. His mind felt so busy these days. He was glad their classes were mainly review for the upcoming exams, because he found himself struggling to focus on anything but Makoto. His now-boyfriend (he wondered, did that disqualify him from also being his best friend now?) had been a constant presence in his life for about as long as he could remember. They'd had their adjustment period, of course, when they'd first been getting to know each other. But Haru could hardly even remember that now. They'd settled into each other's company so easily… Honestly… it had allowed him to never give Makoto much thought at all.

It made him feel a little guilty now. Because clearly, Makoto had never grown that numb to him. He glanced over at the other boy now, and Makoto's eyes flickered over to meet his a second later. It was uncanny. Like they were magnets. Like Makoto could feel the direction of Haru's thoughts shifting.

Was this awareness natural and unassuming to Makoto? Or was his crush just one big drain on his focus and energy? Haru had never given it much thought before. (After all, wasn't that just who Makoto was? He kept an eye on everyone.) But now he hoped not with a force that caught him off-guard. It thudded in his chest like a physical addition to his self, demanding to be acknowledged.

Makoto smiled upon catching his eye, and Haru found it incredibly easy to smile back. Like a reflex. Seeing Haru made Makoto smile. And he'd never really considered that before, but now it made him feel… warm. He liked that.

And he may not have understood this dating thing completely… but if Makoto kept smiling at him like this… he got the feeling any doubts he had would just… slip away.