The water in the bathtub had turned cold a long time ago, but Haru refused to get out. He sat stubbornly in the tub, hoping that somehow the water would wash away the uncertainty in his heart. After all, the water always had the answers he needed. Why would this time be any different?
Carefully Haru lowered himself further into the water so only his nose and eyes remained above the water. Taking a deep breath, Haru forced himself to start thinking all over. His mind had been running in circles for a while now and he never seemed to be able to get out of the cycle.
Lately the day of Makoto's near drowning had been playing over and over in his head, but that wasn't the problem. It had been long enough now that the pain wasn't as suffocating as it had first been and the paralyzing fear no longer accompanied it.
Instead what he kept getting stuck on was how close he had come to kissing Makoto.
Yes, of course he was just doing it to try to save his friends life and he was thrilled that it hadn't come down to mouth-to-mouth (learning it in class and applying it in a real life situation were vastly different), but now that the fear had subsided he was starting to look at it differently.
He was starting to see it as a loss. A loss of something he hadn't even known he wanted.
Makoto was fine. He had survived and gone on to be just as amazing as he had always been. So what was it Haru was missing? What was it he was yearning for without even meaning to?
Unconsciously Haru ran his fingers over his lips under the water. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew what it was that was bothering him.
He wanted to kiss Makoto. To see if his lips were as soft as they looked and to find out if he tasted as sweet as his smile.
The thought made Haru plunge his head under the cold water. It wasn't the fact that he wanted to kiss Makoto that bothered him; it was the fact that he had wanted to for years. It was this fact, too, he knew, that made him feel like Makoto's near drowning was a loss. There had been his single chance to kiss Makoto without it seeming weird.
Haru resurfaced and shook his hair off of his face, little droplets flying across his bathroom. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with himself. He shouldn't look at such a serious situation in this light. What mattered was that Makoto was safe and alive.
Before Haru could delve deeper into his thoughts, a soft knock sounded on his bathroom door followed by Makoto's voice announcing that he was coming in. Haru cursed quietly to himself before ducking under the water again. He never seemed to be ready to face Makoto anymore.
Unfortunately, Haru could only hold his breath for so long and, when he resurfaced, Makoto was standing there with his hand extended and that breathtaking smile covering his lips as always. Haru could almost feel the blush rise to his cheeks as he took in the sight.
"Ohayo, Haru-chan!" Makoto said, extending his hand further forward.
All Haru could do was avert his eyes and gratefully accept the hand in front of him. As Makoto pulled him out of the water, Haru relished in the comfort of his hand in Makoto's. It was a feeling he had known his whole life; one he hoped he would never have to go without.
Distracted by this thought, Haru forgot to let go of Makoto's hand at the appropriate time. So, as Makoto continued to pull his hand back to his side, he inadvertently dragged Haru forward, too. Haru, still wet from the tub, slipped and tipped forward, taking Makoto down with him.
In moments they were in a heap on the ground, both groaning and now soaking wet. Haru pushed himself up hastily and suddenly froze. He had both hands propped on either side of Makoto's head and was now staring down at his best friend who had a blush tainting his cheeks.
Haru could swear that he, too, was red-faced, but that thought didn't even cross his mind. Before he could chicken out, Haru leaned down and closed the gap between them, placing his lips against Makoto's.
In that moment, fireworks exploded inside Haru's stomach. He had spent years fantasizing about what kissing Makoto would be like and he had never even gotten close to how amazing it really felt.
Of course, in all of his fantasies, he had pictured much more romantic scenarios for their first kiss, but that was okay. With how badly this desire had been plaguing him recently, he didn't even care, he was just thrilled to have it happen.
Slowly Haru pulled away. He didn't move far, though, just enough to see Makoto's eyes and expression clearly. He knew he should be feeling panic about the situation but he didn't have it in him to be worried. He was on cloud nine and he would be damned if someone ruined that for him now.
Makoto was the first to break the silence, which surprised Haruka, but he didn't mind.
"Haru…" Makoto reached up to brush a few stray hairs off of Haru's forehead before laying his hand comfortably against Haruka's cheek. "You have no idea how long I've waited for that."
Haru couldn't stifle the laugh that came next, "I think I do."
Makoto smiled up at him before pulling him back down for another kiss. And in that moment Haru realized that, as impossible as it may be, Makoto tasted even sweeter than his smile.
