I am SO sorry about the delay. This chapter was really difficult and fought me as much as it could. The central idea- the drama midway through- was one of some dispute between me and my series of betas. I couldn't quite seem to get my core concept to come through properly. You'll probably know what I mean when you get there; I still didn't manage to get the point across, I just know it, but as I don't seem to know how... Well. Anyway, the problem was 'reason' so maybe drop off a review telling me what you think about how well I got it across to you personally?
Okay, that's about all I have to complain about. Once again, I'm really sorry for the delay.
P.S. I absolutely adore sleepy!Rin.

Chapter 23- Of Reason and Standoffs
The midwinter sun was slow to shine through the living room curtains and Makoto was just as slow to give into the wordless demand of society for him to get up. He lay on the sofa bed between his lovers (and their cat) feeling warm and absolutely blissful.
There was nothing quite like waking up squeezed between a softly snoring redheaded body and a sleepily mumbling jet-haired body. If Makoto had his choice in the matter he could and would wake up in this way, in this position, every day of his life. Haru would stay where he was and would be happy. Rin would remain the heat at their sides, the embers of his fire waiting to be banked by awareness but for a while, at least, would be a precious and cuddly warmth. The brunette pulled himself to a sitting position at the top of the sofa bed carefully and looked to either side. Despite the fact that he remembered well the redhead burrowing between himself and Haru with a petulant frown and arms crossed, Rin lay on the opposite side (Makoto's right), across from Haru. Shaking his head with a smile, Makoto was once again deliriously happy that Haru was still there, was still a gentle purr of breath against the brunette's hip, was still summoning the choking warmth in Makoto's chest with every inhale.

And on the other side... Makoto snorted with amusement.

Though they hadn't taken up the rest of the queen-size sofa bed (though to Rin's credit Akiha lay in the space the redhead's ass should be occupying) Rin was half hanging off his side. Lying on his stomach with his left arm and leg resting on the carpet and snoring quietly the redhead was completely at peace with the world.

A soft moan echoed from Makoto's other side and he smiled as he turned back to look at Haruka.
Another pillow-muffled moan later and those breathtaking blues cracked open. Slowly, making an expression of almost-pain as he forced himself awake, those sapphire eyes roamed until they found emerald already sparkling down at him.

"Mmmakoto?" Haru slurred.

"Good morning, Haru-chan."

Too tired to complain about the honorific Haru offered up a beatific smile. He wiggled a little closer and sighed when he pillowed his head on Makoto's thigh, evoking a quiet chuckle from the brunette.

"Really now, it's getting late and we should get up."

"Comfortable."

"Oh come on, Haru-"

"Rin first."

Makoto blinked- first down at the older boy then at what blue eyes were trained on- and sighed. "I suppose he will need more prodding..."

"Right."

"Lazy," Makoto chastised with a laugh.

He leaned over and poked Rin in the shoulder. Not even a grumble.

"Rin."

He switched to actually shaking the redhead but all that got him was a growl and Rin shifted away from his touch. So, with vaulted eyebrow, Makoto shoved him. With a half of a startled yelp Rin fell from the bed. Haru sniggered against Makoto's hip and the brunette enjoyed a smirk of his own. A hand popped up from beside the sofa, index finger pointing to the ceiling.

"I'm up."

"I've heard that many a morning, Rinrin."

The red-haired boy popped his head over the edge of the bed to glare at them with muzzy crimson eyes and flopped his upper body heavily on the frame. "You're right. I'm not up."

Makoto grinned. "Come on you two, you can't always be lazy bums in the morning."

"Like hell I can't," Rin spat and Haru hummed agreement.

"Rin, you have a run to do and Haru, you have a morning bath to take. Up, the both of you."

"You know it's really bad that his and my morning routines leave you to logically be the one to cook?" Rin said as he crawled onto the bed and over to his lovers, flopping down and resting his head on Makoto's other leg. Akiha mewled sleepily and stretched her small paws out with all her toes spreading apart and Rin snatched her up to drop her in their boyfriend's lap.

"Really?" The brunette said with a sigh, now fully weighed down by sleepy others.

"Really," Rin agreed.

Haru reached out to pet Akiha- cleaning her back leg- and Makoto intercepted his hand, running his thumb over the smooth yellow band and feeling his heart clench inside him. Haru glanced up and wrapped his other arm around the brunette's waist and pressed his nose to Makoto's hip in an awkward hug.

"It'll be all right," Rin murmured drowsily. "No matter what, we'll be fine."

Green eyes twinkled like Haru's were wont to at the sight of water. "I think you're right."
Then he poked Rin's forehead. "Now get up."

They thought about it a moment, ruby eyes meeting sapphire, and then rolled out of bed in tandem. It left Makoto with their kitten but that was okay with him. He curled back under the blanket with the bath-dampened Bobtail curled in his arm and watched Haru patiently dress Rin as the redhead swayed on his feet.

Next it was Haru trying to coax the warm and comfortable brunette-and-kitten duo out of their nest.

The three of them managed to make it to the kitchen eventually, Makoto still holding Akiha to his chest and Rin barely dressed from his post-run shower and Haru at the stove. Gou was nowhere to be seen today but Rin shrugged it off without a thought.

"It's early."

By the time Rin was fully dressed Haru had finished their miso breakfast (pork this time instead of mackerel) and left the rest to simmer as he took a seat between his boyfriends. They ate in companionable silence and simply took their time appreciating the relaxed skinship they could enjoy together when no one was looking.

Gou arrived with a peppy cheer that Makoto gaped at, remembering her lethargy just the day previous. But she simply laughed at his expression.
"Well of course I have to become a human being at some point, isn't that right, Onii-chan?"

Rin scowled but before he could swipe at her she twirled away and snatched up her purse.
"Gotta go! Meeting Hana-chan for studying. Be nice, boys~!"

And then she was gone, sucking a bit of sunshine out of the house with her.

"Bullshit," Rin muttered after a long beat of silence. "Did you see that skirt? Way too cute. She's gonna go see Mikoshiba."

"Oh, Rin, could you not worry about her for a minute?" Makoto said in exasperation.

"If her big brother doesn't have her back, who does? I swear-"
Makoto shoved a chunk of pork past sharp teeth and grinned when Rin accepted it with a begrudging glare.

Haru smiled and shook his head. "You're both idiots."

"Not that you would have us any other way." Makoto quipped.

Haru was saved having to reply by the door bell ringing. He glanced at Rin- who seemed startled by the abruptness of the bell but was still chewing- and stood.
Not that he really expected the Matsuokas' guest.

"...Aunt Tachibana?"

Tachibana Megumi smiled the family smile at him, reaching out and feathering her fingers over the fading yellow spot on his cheekbone.

"Nice to see you, Haru-chan. Is everything all right?"

He nodded dumbly, still touched by her motherly concern, and shifted to allow her in.
"Makoto is in the dining room."

"Thank you. However..." She paused while switching to the house slippers and looked at him. "It's all three of you I need to speak with. Where's Mrs. Matsuoka?"

Eyes marginally wider and stomach feeling abruptly sour it took him a moment to reply. "She- ah- I think she's still in her bedroom..."

"Oh, I see."
Change made she gestured for him to go on ahead and followed after him.

"H-how are Ren and Ran?"

"They're all right. I'm sorry to be rude but with little Aki-chan gone they've been much better in school because they aren't so sleepy all the time! They miss their brother but they're all right."

He paused. "Auntie, I'm sorry-"

Her small hand on his shoulder made a lump rise in his throat.
Why couldn't my mother be like her?

"It's just fine, Haru-chan. Everything will be cleared up shortly, I'm sure!"

He wanted to argue he wasn't as certain of that but when faced by her smile he simply couldn't.

So he looked away. "Yeah."

"As it stands..."

Haruka swallowed, his heart in his throat, and nodded at Mrs. Tachibana to continue.
They sat at the Matsuoka kitchen table; the three nervous boys on one side and the Tachibana matriarch on the other.
Makoto squeezed Haru's hand and unconsciously some of the tension eased out of the black-haired boy. Rin absentmindedly rubbed the eldest's shoulder, worrying his bottom lip as they watched the older woman with a wariness usually reserved for one approaching an unsprung bear trap.

"They can't legally throw you out of the family unless they have another registry for you to join. Since you know Takao and his pride-" Haru nodded and felt the edges of a faint smile when Megumi rolled her eyes- "it's unlikely he'll set one up, seeing as you're his only heir and he still thinks he can change your mind."

"But what'll happen to me then?"

"Setsuna called me last night to inform me that your father has agreed to let you stay in your home until the end of the next school year, upon which time it will be sold."

It hurt- something inside of him twisted sharply and brought odd, hot tears to his eyes- but Haru nodded resolutely.
"Th-thank you, Auntie. For everything."

"Mom, we can't thank you enough-"

Megumi giggled and waved her son's gratitude off with the family smile. "I was more than happy to try, sweetheart. Haru-chan is a part of our family. And you mean so much to all of us here in Iwatobi, Haru. Neither Kimiko or I would've let you go without a fight."

Rin snorted and ran a hand through silky ink hair. "Like hell I was letting him go. We could've hidden him in a pool."

"Rin! It's not even spring, it's way too cold for him to be in a pool! He got sick last year because-"

Nestled between his squabbling boyfriends Haru muffled a chuckle behind his hand and Megumi smiled at the spark of love in the boy's eyes.
Haruka met her eyes and offered her his own small smile- a tribute to her effort on his behalf, a symbol of his happiness- and Mrs. Tachibana felt her heart lift a bit.

"There was a condition to the arrangement Meme's not telling you about," Matsuoka Kimiko said briskly as she hurried down the hall from her room and settled her skirt.

"What sort of condition?" Her redheaded son asked warily.

She ruffled his hair (to his complaint) and replied "Takao wanted to see Haru. His orders."

Rin snapped upright immediately. "Haru is not fucking going there alone! Not after his dad fucking hit him-"

"This time we're going and we're not leaving." Makoto agreed icily.

The boys' parents grinned at the display of aggression- from both of the black-haired teen's lovers- and Kimiko nodded.

"I would've suggested you go anyway. Takao may have promised civility but I don't trust anyone who can strike their child."

"Took the words from my mouth, Kimi," Megumi said.

Takao wasn't happy to see them and twice as unhappy to see Rin's hand shoved in the back pocket of Haruka's jeans.
Rin growled in retribution at the man's disgusted glare. Rin wasn't about to put up with an ounce of bullshit though and his distrust made that abundantly clear.

"I believe I asked for my son to come alone."

"The last time he was alone with you he came back to us with a bruise." Makoto said.
Rin kissed the yellowing skin to demonstrate.

"I wouldn't have come without them. I'll leave with them right now if you won't let them in."

Frustration and fury made a potent cocktail of dark blue eyes but the three boys he glared at refused to budge. He took a half step forward and both of the teenagers flanking his son edged in front of their boyfriend.

"Go ahead and hit him, I dare you." Rin snarled, teeth bared and eyes glowing with anger and no small amount of hate.

"I can still have you thrown out of my home for trespassing-"

"And I could have you locked up for child abuse," Rin spat back.

The pair glared at each other for a few long moments before Haru shook his head and said firmly "I'm staying with them. I'll gladly take the name Matsuoka or Tachibana instead of my own. If my own family thinks I'm disgusting then I hardly want to be a part of it."

Takao scoffed dryly. "And no doubt Nobuo would be happy to claim you as his son. And that Matsuoka woman..."

Rin's glare sharpened with pure, murderous intent at the contempt in cold blue eyes. A second later their expressions contorted and swapped; Rin regarded the older man with disdain and Takao's warped into fury.
Haruka had wrapped an arm around Rin's waist and kissed his shoulder and the redhead immediately relaxed.

"I won't have you insulting either of those pieces of my family, Father."

"I still can't believe how readily they accepted this- sickness of yours."

This time, surprising both his lovers, it was Makoto who spoke up.

"With all due respect, sir," the gentle giant growled. "Our parents were able to see the love we carry for each other and were open-minded enough to honor our relationship."

"Leave it be, Makoto, there's no talking to this asshole."

"Haruka is here to speak to me and I have graciously allowed you into my home. Do not continue to test my patience."

Tea was brewed for them over the broken and stilted conversation. Takao asked where different things- kinds of tea, extra cups, sugar- were and Haru gave the shortest possible responses. Rin kept a sharp eye on the tea-making process while his lovers took comfort in the closeness of their bodies. Another reason, Rin felt, that Haru needed both of them and not just one. If Haru had been here alone with Rin he would be much more confrontational, feeding on Rin's emotions, while if he were with only Makoto it was unlikely he would have been as defiant as he was.
With the both of them he was comforted by the brunette's presence but riled enough by Rin's nervous energy to keep himself from relaxing too much.

Once brewed- and Rin had watched like a hawk to make sure nothing unsavory had been added- Takao handed out the cups with thinly veiled irritation.

Makoto was the first to cave, with an exasperated look at Rin's stubborn glare, and take a sip of the proffered tea.
"Thank you," the brunette said quietly.

Takao almost jumped at the sound of someone's voice but contained himself.

"The reason I called you here was to ask a few questions of you, Haruka."

Rin bristled at the deliberate use of their boyfriend's full name but Haru shook it off.
"What do you want to know?"

"Have you put any thought into future schooling?"

The bland question almost floored them. Why ask something so generic? But Haru cocked his head.
"Makoto persuaded me to look at a few places. Just to start applications and look at programs I may be interested in."

"And what are you interested in?"

"I'm going to follow Rin to the Olympics."

Takao gracefully ignored the shark-toothed grin on Rin's face. "Continuing to swim, I see."

"I like it. Pretty much everything else is too much effort."

"Haru..." Makoto sighed softly.

"...but I might pursue art too."

And Makoto beamed.

"Neither of those things will find you an acceptable job. Take up business or accounting. There is always need for educated people to manage the money of foolish people."

The threesome entertained the image altogether; Haruka in a suit and tie sitting behind a desk for his adult life? They shuddered in unison.

"The Olympics will be lucrative." Haru snapped, shaking off the horrible idea of being attached to a desk.

Lips pressed into a thin line and eyes narrowed again Takao glared at his son.
"I can see I won't change your mind about that idiotic goal. Very well then. Next, you must stop eating so much mackerel. It is unsightly and unhealthy."

"Definitely not." Haru said sharply.

"Been there tried that." Rin muttered under his breath. "And he actually tries to listen to us..."

Takao sliced across Rin's grumbles. "If we were to cut your allowance how would you sustain yourself?"

"Makoto got a part-time job. I can too."

"I'll see if I can get you a job, Haru-chan! If you want one..."

Takao blew a hard breath out his nose and set his shoulders, deliberately putting his cup on its saucer.

"One last question then, and this is the one that digs under my skin and burns. Why do you love two men?"

There was a hint of frustration in Takao's tone but Haru couldn't hear it. After all those seemingly innocuous questions to broach this one sent him reeling.

His mind was stuck on one word, hung up on the whole sentence really, but hinging on the one single word that stood out to him.
Why?

Sapphire eyes blinked owlishly up at the older man. "I- I wasn't aware I needed a reason to love them. I've never considering having or needing a reason. I just... do. I love Makoto just as much as I love Rin. I can't imagine life without them. I guess... that's why."

"No!" The man snapped. "Those aren't reasons! If you have no reasoning how can you say you love them?!"

Haru was lost, swimming in uncertainty, completely and totally unsure of how to explain his feelings. How could he put his emotions into words his father would understand when all he could do was experience them? Was acknowledge and hang onto and worship the warmth and painfully perfect pressure they evoked in him? How could he explain that?

The black-haired boy was frozen, staring at the hands clenched where they rested above his knees, mind whirring faster than he could keep up.
A dry snort made him glance, surprised, at Rin. Rin, who wore an expression a careful mix of disdain and annoyance, but who Haruka could see the uncertainty in. The unease hiding under that lax façade seemed to increase as Rin opened his mouth.

"What kind of fucking question is that? Have you needed a reason?"

Takao turned a dark look on Rin- clearly the redhead was his least favorite of the threesome- but said nothing. Rin rolled his eyes. He seemed to be gaining confidence, at least, if not common sense.

"How do you honestly expect him to find a 'reason'? He has enough trouble with his emotions on a normal basis," the youngest grumbled with a flippant wave. "You expect him to try and put it into words?"

"I am trying to understand my son's choices..." Haru's father tossed the redhead (who bared his teeth in an awful imitation of a smile) a bland look. "...and I am failing."

And then Haru's heaven-sent saint spoke up.
"If I may, sir."

Takao's lips set in a thin hard line but he said nothing and Haruka sent his lover an endlessly grateful look.
Makoto smiled at that and lifted his gaze firmly to narrow icy eyes.

"Haru-chan has some problems with understanding and getting his feelings across, you see."

"I just said that! Well, if you want to pry into your kid's head, Makoto is his live-in translator." Rin said with no small amount of fondness.

It earned him an amusedly pleased smirk before Makoto turned his attention back to Takao. "Rin's right. I know Haru-chan better than he knows himself sometimes. What he means is simple. He can't pick an individual reason because to him, there are none. There's... there's really nothing he dislikes about us. We may press his buttons sometimes- I know he hates it when I add the -chan but I can't help it and I know it aggravates him when Rin takes so long in the bathroom in the morning- but he does, and always has I think, love us. Loved us for us. Loved us for being ourselves and for everything we do. He can't pick a single reason when we are the entire reason."

The Nanase pair was staring at him, Takao with incredulity and Haru with his heart in his throat because no one could reach down deep into his soul and pull out the words he desperately wanted to say and say them perfectly as he meant them like Makoto could.

Green eyes caught blue and Makoto smiled the Tachibana family smile- head cocked and the tilt of the lips that made Haru draw mental comparisons of angels- and quietly asked "Was that about right?"

And all Haru could think to reply with was a hoarse "I love you."

"Good enough?" Rin drawled.

It was obvious from the darkness of Takao's eyes that Makoto's words hadn't been satisfactory and surprising even himself Haru found his voice calm and level when he spoke.

"You don't understand me. They do. Makoto and Rin are the only ones who have ever made me feel so at home with myself. You know... all my life, I've been made to feel less than human. I've been 'odd'. I haven't ever been 'right' according to you or normal people. Makoto's never looked at me as anyone other than someone he loves. He's my compassion, my feeling, my anchor. He's never said a bad word about me and he never will. He accepts me and he always has. No matter what weird or strange things I do or how much he has to put up with me. He's the port in the storm, the one I always know will be there when I need him, the man I can fall back on when everything else is going to hell."

Haru's hands on his knees were white-knuckled and his chest was tight, his throat and eyes burning, but his voice remained steady.

Makoto looked blankly stunned, like these were words he'd never expected to hear, words that had just shaken him in the best way.

"Rin is the opposite. Rin pushes me mercilessly. He doesn't take anything lying down. He's aggressive. He drags me behind him as he always has. He's my passion. My drive. He's the ocean during a storm. Wild waves and danger and excitement. But he's more than even that; he's gentle and he's emotional and he's change. He's everything I never knew I needed. He completes me in a way I never thought to look for or find and now that he's here I don't know how I lived without him by my side all these years."

Rin's mouth had dropped open not halfway through and he sat staring dumbly at their panting boyfriend.
"H-Haru?"

The black-haired boy bolted upright, rising to his full height. His hands were clenched fists at his sides and glaring right into his father's eyes he shouted, "They're mine and they're perfect and I love them for everything they are! There's your goddamn reasons!"

Haruka stood, chest heaving, muscles taut, in his living room and wondered dimly what had just happened. He'd never lost his temper in his life. Hell, he'd hardly ever been angry. Wrath was a completely new emotion to him.

"How dare you..." Takao started to stand and within seconds both Makoto and Rin were on their feet.

"How dare you speak to your father that way in his house!"

Haru's carefully constructed walls were crumbling down around him and he couldn't seem to control his own mouth anymore. "I'm no son of yours, you say. In that case, neither are you my father."

He hadn't meant to say it aloud- but standing there on the brink of breaking down it was all he could see: Rin standing wrathful and sharp between him and his father's narrow-eyed glare and Makoto partly in front of him and anchoring him with an arm around his waist it slipped out anyway. "They're my sword and my shield and I'll need them both to defend myself from hatred like yours."

Rin tilted his head, scarlet eyes wide and jaw slack, and Makoto squeezed his waist after a long moment of silence.

Takao glared.

Rin recovered and looked forward again but it was just to deliver a parting grin that bared every last shark's tooth he possessed. Then he turned, winding his own arm around Haru's waist, and they left as one.

Haru sagged in their arms at the bottom of the stairs to the shrine and his lovers shifted immediately to cradle him until he could sit.

"What just happened?" He whispered, head in his hands.

Rin snorted, rubbing the black-haired boy's back soothingly. "You gave your asshole father a piece of your mind."

"How do I get it back?" He asked dismally.

Makoto's brow furrowed and he carded a gentle hand through silky jet strands. "You don't, Haru. He needed to hear that. He needed to know how you felt. And for once, it was something I couldn't say for you."

The oldest's hands were shaking as he reached under his shirt and found the ring on its braided cord. He yanked at the tie until the strap tore and deposited the ring into his palm.
He was shaking too badly to put it on and as Rin pulled Haru's head to his chest Makoto slid the ring on for the oldest. As Rin cradled the trembling teen Makoto unwound the knot on his own necklace and put his own ring back on, holding his arms open for Haru as Rin pulled out the cord his father's ring and his own rested on.

For Haru, it seemed to help that they were all wearing their symbols again. His shaking slowly calmed and his shoulders relaxed as he lay in Makoto's hold.

"It's too cold for us to stay out here forever," Rin said eventually, once the leg his own was pressed against had stopped quaking. "You two wait here, okay? I'll be right back."

"Rin..?" Haru mumbled. His adrenaline rush had left him and now he was just drained, too exhausted to bother trying to get out of Makoto's reassuring arms, snuggling instead into his boyfriend's chest.

"Are you really okay?"

"I will be. I think. I still don't... really know what happened."

"I've never seen you angry," Makoto whispered, running his fingers over Haru's light jacket and evoking a shiver from the black-haired boy, who nuzzled even closer for warmth and affection.

"It was kinda hot," Rin agreed out of nowhere, smirking at the huddled pair over the railing. "That aside, come on. Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Haru didn't much appreciate the idle answer and asked again when they saw the train station and once more after getting on the train.
"Where are we going? Are we going to visit either Rei or Nagisa?"

"You'll see," Rin replied with an additional degree of irritability. He kept his gaze on the book he'd rummaged out of his bag, determined not to give the black-haired boy the satisfaction of trying to read him.

Suddenly the book was yanked from his hands and without looking up Rin growled under his breath. "I swear to god, Haru, if I don't get my fucking book back-"

"Where. Are we. Going."

"Can you two please just stop? This day's been hard enough," Makoto sighed from where he stood next to them. They didn't have to acknowledge his disappointed face to know he was pulling it.

"I'm sorry," Haru whispered, leaning heavily into Makoto's side and handing Rin his book back sheepishly.
It was an apology to both and it was accepted with a hidden kiss to the top of his head and a smirk from Rin.

"Where are we going?"

Rin sighed.

"Samezuka's pool?" Haru asked, utterly baffled.

The redhead snorted. "Don't tell me you couldn't use the water to get your mind off things."

Sapphire eyes were shining with gratitude and eagerness. Emerald were more skeptical.
"What if we get caught..?"

"We won't. I had Seijuurou sneak by and unlock the place for us."

Haru was halfway through his belt when he paused. "...I don't have my swimsuit."

"Well that's rare," the redhead snorted. "But don't worry, you can either go full-on Nagisa style or borrow a swimsuit from the locker room."
Haru deliberated for a second before he headed for the locker room (missing Rin's pout) and his lovers watched him go.

"How did you really arrange this?"

"Called the Captain, told him I needed a favor, asked him to leave the pool open. He asked if it had to do with Haru and the thing with his dad and all he needed to know was yes."

"Seijuurou-san is very nice indeed..."

Rin chuckled and shook his head. "No kidding." He leaned over and kissed the brunette's temple. "So you gonna get naked, or..?"

Makoto laughed and shoved the redhead away. "No, but nice try. I think I'll sit on the edge and watch you two play."

"No fun," Rin whispered heatedly, tugging on his boyfriend's earlobe with sharp teeth before he sauntered for the locker room.

They spent the dusk together in almost-silence; Makoto with his pants rolled up dangling his feet in the water, Rin running laps on the other end, and Haru floating serenely in the middle of the pool. Occasionally Haru would join in Rin's laps or Rin would take a break to float alongside his lover. Makoto watched them with a peaceful expression on his face and he glanced at the moon rising.

He looked away from his boyfriends for all of ten seconds.

A wet hand clamped around either ankle and he found himself being yanked bodily forward. Before he could do more than yelp his back hit the water and he went under.

Haru and Rin swirled over him, hands gentle as they swept over his shirt, smiling down at him with warmth and adoration in their eyes. They swam closer, each claiming his mouth- Haru then Rin- and pulled him to the surface.

Makoto coughed slightly and shook his hair out of his eyes, laughing at the two of them. "You two are such idiots," he whispered.

Haru rested his head on the brunette's shoulder with a sigh. "We can go home now."

"Oh, now that I'm soaked, it's time to go?"

Rin snorted. "I told you to get naked, babe."

Makoto gave a long-suffering sigh and hauled himself out of the pool, holding out a hand for both his lovers.

"Let's go home. I'm sure our cat is anxious."

Sorry if anything/everything is unsatisfactory. I just wanted it done. It is now done. Good night, y'all.
Shoutout to HimesayuriPhoenix and Valeforwings (PhoenixSempai and Bokunocorgi on Tumblr!) on here for the help and encouragement and a second one to Tumblr lovelies Harukaaaaaaa and thedolphinandhisorca for dealing with the rough versions of this chapter and helping me shape it into... this. (and if anyone doesn't know, I'll repeat- you can find me on Tumblr too at Raelinae!) Oh, and listening to me whining about it. I love my kouhai!