Haru opened his closet and filtered through everything. Everything. Every article of clothing he owned was out, scattered on the floor, off the hangers, out of the cabinets, spread out on his bed sheets.

He was meeting with Makoto tomorrow and could think of nothing to wear.

It would have been alright, maybe, if it was just Makoto and him. But he was meeting Chiaki and Hakune as well. It was almost like meeting Makoto's university parents.

Makoto's apparently friendly, outgoing, very, very unaware of personal space university parents.

He wanted to tear off every strand of hair on his head. What was he even supposed to do in a situation like this? How did anyone even handle a situation like this? He couldn't call Rin, he'd just laugh at how stressed he was, and that would probably lead to him punching Rin, which would probably lead into a scuffle, and the last thing he needed was having to explain why he had a black eye to Makoto in front of his university parents.

Haru sighed, thoughts drifting to maybe calling Rei, but that wouldn't work. Rei was constantly in button ups and slacks to wear underneath his lab coat for work, and whenever he did dress for an occasion, his sense of fashion, was rather, well, the colours were nice at least. But too bright for Haru. And too... much.

Nagisa was a Pandora's box that Haru did not want to open. In all honesty he wasn't sure how to even assess the option. Whenever he saw Nagisa, his hair was always fluffier, always softer, but also almost always a ridiculous colour before Nagisa had to fix it, the only explanation being that he let a beauty school student try dying his hair. It wasn't that Nagisa wasn't good at his craft, in fact he was. It's just that the abundance of his customers were rather...

Out there, to put it nicely.

Haru pinched at a tuft of hair that was falling below his eyes, resting at his cheekbones. He'd been so busy with the restaurant, it had been a few months since he'd gotten a hair cut, and he had to admit the dark mess on his head was beginning to look very disheveled on top of him always mussing it up due to an incompetent apprentice, or a heart palpitation induced stress...

He dialed a number on his phone and listened to the ringtone before he even thought to hang up. "Hellooooo?" Nagisa's voice answered after the second ring.

"Nagisa."

It was a full three, four, five seconds before Nagisa spoke. "Haru-chan! Why are you calling?" he sounded delighted, probably already guessing at the reason behind Haru's call.

Haru sighed. Either take the plunge, or hang up. "I need a favour..."

Haru found himself staring up at the elaborate glass door that decorated the front of Nagisa's salon. He glanced up at the windows on the second level, eyeing them with a hint of distaste.

His sister's boutique was just beyond those windows.

"Haru-chan!" Haru maybe had about a second or two before he was swamped with weight that was emphasized by high velocities. Nagisa could never really break that old habit of his, running, flying, very deadly hugs were always going to be something he did.

Haru managed to stumble enough to keep his balance without falling, but he grunted at how tightly Nagisa was hugging him. "Off. Can't breathe," he wheezed, and he felt Nagisa finally ease himself off of Haru, before he grabbed both of his wrists, prompting Haru to look him in the eye.

"I am going to make you look smoking hot, Haru-chan," Nagisa said, noses almost touching each other as if he was letting Haru in on an incredible secret.

"I just need to look presentable," Haru tried to argue back, but Nagisa shushed him with a press of a finger over his lips.

"No, Haru-chan. Smoking hot."

"Nagisa."

"You will turn heads when you're done."

"Nagisa, enough," Haru sighed hard through his nose, pinching the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb. He could feel Nagisa pouting in front of him as he took the key to the salon out and unlocked the door.

Haru walked behind Nagisa as he was led through the empty salon. "I promise, Haru-chan, I will make you look so great, Mako-chan's mouth will water," all Haru could do to respond to what Nagisa said was nearly choke on his spit. "You will be edible and he will want you for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert."

He couldn't fight off the blush that was making its way up his neck, staining his cheeks before it settled in his ears. It wasn't as though he didn't want Makoto to find him... aesthetically appealing, it's just... "Could you be a little more crass?" he managed to say, throat tight.

Nagisa just raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't challenge me, Haru-chan. You know I can," Nagisa replied after a while, and Haru silently conceded. It was common knowledge to anyone who knew Nagisa at this point. He sat down in the chair that Nagisa gestured to, and he fidgeted slightly as the salon cape is thrown over his shoulders. "You haven't been getting your hair trimmed."

Haru shrugged. He had been too busy to even think about his hair, aside from washing it. He didn't think it looked that bad, but it was definitely time for a trim. "You know what would look good?" he heard Nagisa asked, and he knew he didn't have to respond. "Blue."

"No," Haru's response was almost immediate. Nagisa made a whining sound behind him, and he watched his reflection in the mirror.

"Haru-chan, I don't mean bright blue," he emphasized, as if it was supposed to make Haru feel any better. "I meant like a wash. If you get a blue wash, it'll highlight your hair, and there'll only be a hint of it in the sun. Your hair will still look black, just a better black."

Haru fought the urge to roll his eyes. "No," he stated simply, but it looked like Nagisa wasn't having it this time.

"Haru-chan, please, you are ruining my plan to make you look delectable. You never let me fix your hair," he had run around the chair and now was nuzzling his head in Haru's stomach. Haru sighed.

"If the colour is too bright, it comes out right away," he had maybe a three second delay before Nagisa squealed, arms wrapping around him in a tight hug.

"AHHHH, I KNEW YOU WOULD LISTEN! I promise, you will look so good when I'm done. My honour as a hair stylist is at stake here!" Nagisa whirled around behind him as he put things onto his trolley, and Haru sighed. He hoped he wouldn't regret it.

He felt the first snip of Nagisa's scissors work at his shaggy locks, and he closed his eyes, thankful for the silence. He needed the time to collect himself, and he let himself drift to Nagisa's hands working at his head.

"Hey, Haru-chan?" Nagisa's gentle voice prompted Haru to slowly open his eyes, and he glanced at Nagisa in the reflection of the mirror.

He straightened his posture when he noticed the worried tone in Nagisa's voice, feeling his eyebrows furrow just a little bit with concern. "Do you think Rei-chan has been really... distant lately?" Nagisa asked him, barely a whisper. Haru knew where this was coming from, Rei had been incredibly busy recently.

"Does he come home late?" Haru watched Nagisa's face for a sign, a giveaway to whatever it was that as bothering.

"I just," Nagisa found it difficult to form words, and Haru had to wonder briefly just how much of their relationship was a result of just being. "He's been really out of it lately. I think he's pushing too hard at work, he comes home exhausted and I don't know what to do for him."

Haru fell silent as Nagisa prepped his colour wash. Haru wished that sometimes he knew what to say during moments like this, but he had always been bad with words, and it's not as though his life was just brimming with romantic interaction.

"Maybe it would be best for him if he had his own apartment," Haru looked up at Nagisa through the reflection, and he could see just how much that hurt Nagisa to say.

"You don't want to, though," he murmured.

Nagisa gave him a sad smile, and it was so un-Nagisa-like that it hurt. "But if it's for the best... I don't want to burden him with things, and he works so hard, and God knows I can't cook..."

"Rei needs you," Haru said out of the blue. Nagisa blinked up in surprise. "He finds comfort in you being there. Ask him."

Haru saw a flash of something in Nagisa's eyes, as if the words he had just said comforted him like he didn't expect them to. "Okay, Haru-chan. I will."

Nagisa washed and dried off his hair, but didn't let Haru look in the mirror. "Nuh-uh, Haru-chan. You have to wait until after," he dragged Haru up to the boutique just above his salon.

"We really don't need to get new clothes," Haru protested even as he got shoved into a dressing room.

"You say that Haru-chan, but what did you say to me over the phone last night?" Nagisa called as he tossed in shirts, pants, cardigans, whatever he got his hands on.

Haru sighed, opting not to answer that question. He didn't want to have to admit out loud that he had a lapse of confidence in his wardrobe. Or his evident panic in the late night of having to meet Hakune and Chiaki. Or his worry of how he should act around them, around Makoto-

"Haru-chan, are you done?" Haru slid the curtain open and stepped out. He fixed the shirt he wore, tugging it down self consciously before he tugged at his jeans (they were a tighter fit than what he was used to for pants) fidgeting at every little thing. "Haru-chan you look so good! Let me take a picture!"

Nagisa's phone snapped before Haru could even protest it, and he soon found himself in front of a mirror. He glanced up, touching his hair delicately before his eyes wandered down to his clothes. "What do you think?" Nagisa asked, beaming at his reflection as he nuzzled his cheek into Haru's shoulder. "Told you your hair would look nice. It looks even more black than before now."

"Thank you," Haru wished he could articulate better exactly how appreciative he really felt, those two words seemingly not near enough what he could give to Nagisa. Nagisa's beaming face seemed to say otherwise.

"No problem, Haru-chan!" Nagisa chirped.

Haru walked out of the salon, the jingle of the door chimes echoing behind him. He would be a little early to the meeting if he left now, so he headed to the cafe that Makoto had told him about.

He walked slowly, wanting to kill time a little bit. With each step he got more nervous. He didn't have to be nervous. This was ridiculous-

Haru glanced up, noticing right away Makoto entering the cafe. He watched him sit down at an empty table and Haru sighed in relief. At least for the first few moments, he'd have Makoto to himself.

"Haru!" Makoto waved him over when he entered the cafe and he slowly made his way over to sit down. Makoto stood up abruptly as he reached the table, which startled him.

"Makoto?" he watched his eyes, which looked searching, eyeing him up and down before Makoto snapped out of whatever reverie he had found himself in.

"O-oh, sorry! Here," Makoto pulled the chair out next to him and sat down, pink staining his ears as he stared intently at the table in front of him. Haru hastily sat down and peered sideways at Makoto's face. Was there something wrong?

The both of them flinched and looked up when the cafe door swung open and Hakune walked in. Haru glanced over her appearance. She always seemed to make an effort to look nice, and he couldn't help but find it nice. Perhaps next time he'd save himself the embarrassment of asking Nagisa and just go straight to Hakune. "Oh, you're both here!" she called out a little breathily.

Haru watched her sit down, noticing the way she was glancing back and forth between them. Makoto seemed to notice as well and his eyebrows drew together. A smile pulled on her cheeks and she covered her mouth. "What?" Makoto asked.

"Nothing," she replied, waving it off quickly, but keeping her mouth covered. Her smile was reaching her eyes.

"That's not nothing, you smile like that when you think something is funny," he said, and Haru found himself watching the both of them closely. Was there something going on that he was missing?

"But there's nothing funny happening Makoto. What could I possibly be finding funny?" her voice shook, like she was holding in a giggle, as her words seemed to tease Makoto in a gentle sing song. Her hand pressed to her lips as she continued to glance between them, before saying, "You look really nice, Haru."

Haru blushed as he pulled at his shirt. "Thank you," he replied quietly.

"Your hair looks great, too, did you do something to it?" she asked. Haru looked at her. She had asked him the question, but for some reason she was staring at Makoto with a certain look in her eyes that he couldn't quite decipher.

"Ah, I got a trim..." he trailed off as he watched Makoto's face, who was staring at Hakune intensely, like he wanted her to stop. Stop what, though? His ears were still pink.

"Hmm, really? It looks good on you," Hakune said, turning her attention back to Haru, giving him a bright, genuine smile. "Perhaps you should tell me where you got your hair done. I'd love to go have a look."

The door swung open (which was a relief since he didn't want to admit in front of Makoto that he went to Nagisa for help) and a very tall person walked in, glancing around before his eyes settled on their table. "Yo!" he lifted a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Chiaki. Been a while," Hakune greeted him first, standing up to allow herself to be pulled into a hug that lifted her off the ground. "I'm wearing heels, why are you still that much taller than me?"

Chiaki ruffled her hair affectionately. "Because you're still very short. I'm literally thirty centimeters taller than you," he said as his eyes landed on Makoto, who stood up to go greet him. "You."

"Hi, Chiaki," Makoto laughed in greeting, before being pulled into a hug. Haru could see, as they greeted each other, that Chiaki even towered over Makoto. He felt himself go wide eyed as Chiaki suddenly rained kisses on Makoto's cheek as he tried to pull away. "What are you doing?!"

Chiaki laughed. "Did you see that? Cute," he sat down next to Hakune as she watched Makoto wipe his face, blushing bright red. "I love doing that to him."

Makoto clicked his tongue as he sat back down next to Haru. "I should call the police for sexual harassment," he glared, but it looked like he was about to laugh at him, so it must have been something he was okay with. "Chiaki, this is Haru."

Haru was suddenly pierced with a very intense stare as Chiaki looked at him. He tried not to fidget under his gaze, but he wanted to break his stare and glance away. A moment later Chiaki held out his hand. "Nice to meet you Haru," he said, and Haru took his hand to shake.

"Likewise," he replied, feeling very small all of a sudden.

"He's so pretty, isn't he?" Chiaki looked at Hakune and Haru could feel the blush building on his cheeks. He felt Makoto shift his chair closer to his. It was subtle, and it surprised Haru. He glanced up at Makoto, although he didn't look back at him.

Hakune looked amused as she watched Chiaki's face. "I agree," she said simply, and her and Chiaki exchanged a look with each other, the same expression that was on Hakune's face a moment earlier found its way onto his face, and the both of them turned their heads to look at Makoto.

"Okay, seriously, what is going on?" Makoto asked. He looked genuinely confused.

"Nothing," Chiaki replied quickly, nudging Hakune in the side.

"Absolutely. Nothing is going on," she tilted her head at Makoto, smiling widely. Haru suddenly found himself being stared at by Chiaki and Hakune, and he glanced up at Makoto with confusion, who merely squinted his eyes at the two people in front of them.

"Did you guys order anything? I kind of need a coffee," Chiaki looked around and waved a waitress to the table.

"I am running on coffee right now, actually," Hakune supplied, and she leaned heavily on the table. "How's work for the both of you?"

Chiaki made a noise that was close to a snort, and Makoto looked rather sheepish. "Well, the students are restless from coming back from summer vacation, so it's been... tough," Makoto said. Haru hummed. He remembered his time at the swim club. Children around middle school ages were tough, so he could understand.

"How about you, Chiaki? Are you in trouble with your faculty yet?" Hakune glanced sideways at Chiaki as the waitress came back with brewed coffee and some menus.

He made an indignant noise, hands waving in the air with futility. "Why does that question always come up when I'm with you?" he asked, he looked pained about it. Haru tilted his head at Hakune and caught her eye. She leaned in towards to him to explain.

"One year, I think it was the first year he started teaching at the high school? The girls just started throwing themselves at him," she pointed a finger at Haru to keep his attention. Chiaki rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his coffee, opting to look into the menu instead of involving himself in the conversation.

"It started off cute, with maybe a few Valentine's cards, and small gifts. You even left a jar of lollipops on your desk for your homeroom, right? For White Day?" she glanced at Chiaki, who made no move to acknowledge her.

"But then it got worse. One girl gave him a cloth rose for Valentine's Day, and after class she confessed to him. And, and," Hakune reached over to grab Haru's hands, eyes bearing into him, "the 'cloth rose' was a 'panty rose'."

Makoto jolted forward into table, hands over his mouth to stifle his laughter, and Chiaki just leaned away, red clearly making its way up his neck. "'Panty rose'?" Haru asked weakly.

"It's something that couples usually get for Valentine's Day for... different sort of activities," it looked like Hakune was laughing as well, shoulders clearly shaking in an attempt to hold it in. "The girl got in trouble for bringing the thing to school, but he also got in trouble. What were you told? To 'tone it down'?"

Chiaki glared at her through narrowed eyes. "I don't think I'm the only one that gets confessions from his students," eyes making a clear b-line to Makoto.

Makoto wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. "I never get anything that out there," he said between deep breaths.

"It's your fault!" Chiaki pointed an accusing finger at Makoto. "You start them on puberty in middle school and as soon as they get to high school they're full of raging hormones for me to deal with!"

Hakune burst into laughter as Makoto leaned away, trying not to laugh. "H-how is that my fault?" he gasped. "They would go through puberty during middle school anyway!"

"You make it worse!" Chiaki snapped.

Haru pressed his hand to his lips, the beginnings of a snort bubbling up in his throat. "I can't make it worse! How is that even possible?" Makoto argued back. Haru couldn't take it anymore.

A chuckle rose and jumped out of his throat, startling the group into silence, but he couldn't help it. He held his sides as he began to laugh hard, uncontrollable waves tumbling out of his open mouth. "I-I," he tried to articulate exactly why he started laughing but he couldn't breathe, and he was soon near tears in his laughter.

"Oh, look what you've done!" Hakune began laughing with him, and her laugh felt contagious to him as he started to laugh harder as he gripped the table, fists shaking. The two of them were practically rolling in their chairs as Chiaki and Makoto just stared at them. "You're both so dumb!"

Haru felt a warm hand rub his back as he began to finally calm down. He glanced up and all of his laughter stopped, a blush instead replacing his mirth as he looked at Makoto, who was watching him with fondness in his eyes that it caught Haru's breath in his throat.

They both flinched when Hakune coughed and they moved away from each other. Chiaki gave her a sip of water. "Honestly, Hakune," he mumbled sternly.

"You're easy to laugh at, okay? I can't help it," she said. "Besides, Haru doesn't look nervous anymore."

Haru glanced up at her to see Hakune smiling warmly at him. "I guess it's fine then," Chiaki sighed, though he smiled a bit with her, "even if it was at my expense."

"Isn't that how it usually is?"

Haru walked slowly with Hakune as they made their way to the train station. He was tired from a long day with them, but as he watched Makoto and Chiaki talk in front of them, nudging each other and laughing together, he found that he was happy with today. He looked at Hakune, feeling her gaze on him. "How are you, Haru?" she asked.

"Fine," he mumbled. "Thank you, by the way."

She looked at him, confused. "For what?"

"You noticed I was nervous," he said. Hakune shrugged, giving him a gentle nudge as they continued to walk.

"It was nothing," she said. "Chiaki only looks intimidating at first, because of all of his piercings and tattoos, but look," she pointed at him as they walked, and Haru watched him clap a hand on Makoto's shoulder as they started laughing in earnest, "he's pretty harmless."

"How tall is he?" Haru asked suddenly. It had bothered him while they were together.

Hakune hummed a bit as she thought. "He's... ten centimeters taller than Makoto maybe? I can't remember anymore," she said.

They reached the station and Chiaki turned to Makoto. "Are you going home?" he asked.

Makoto suddenly looked down at his hands before he glanced back up at Chiaki. "A-ah, actually. I'm going to go see my parents for a bit," he stammered and Haru watched him, a little surprised.

"Oh, really? Maybe I should come, too. I haven't seen the twins in a while-" Hakune cut him off with a quick tug.

"Chiaki! Help me with groceries! It's getting late and I haven't bought them yet," Hakune started to drag him towards the platform of the incoming train.

"What? You always have food at home though, you're kitchen is ridiculous," he protested as he was getting dragged away.

"I forgot this time."

"Since when have you ever forgotten-"

"Bye Haru! Bye Makoto!" Hakune called as the train pulled in, shoving Chiaki in. "Say hi to the twins for us! We'll visit next time!" The door closed and the train slowly began to pull away.

Haru glanced up at Makoto, who waved at them through the window as the train passed, a smile pulling up on his cheeks. "Well, that was interesting," he said to Haru, and he nodded.

They walked slowly back towards their neighbourhood in silence, and it called to Haru's mind of the many times he would walk home with Makoto after school, when things were simpler. He looked at him from the corner of his eye and his gaze looked faraway, like he was remembering the same things Haru was. "This feels nostalgic," Makoto said, smiling down at Haru, confirming his thoughts.

"Yeah," Haru turned his gaze away from Makoto's smile, afraid it would burn him. Although Haru wasn't too sure if he actually minded being marked by Makoto's smile, if it meant that everyone knew about how much it meant to him. It's just that it hurt, like how staring into the sun hurts.

They reached the temple steps, and Haru began to walk up them. He heard footsteps behind him and noticed that Makoto was following. "Aren't you visiting?" Haru asked quietly. He glanced at Makoto's old house before looking back down at him.

"O-oh, yeah, I am. Just..." he trailed off before looking Haru in the eye again. "In a bit. I'll walk you to your door."

"You don't have to," Haru could feel his heart fly up his throat as he said the words, and he hoped his voice didn't crack, the rushing blood in his ears too loud for him to really be sure.

"I want to," Makoto said more firmly and Haru numbly made his way up the steps, feeling Makoto's hand settle warmly on the small of his back, and he wondered for a moment if he could feel every nerve in his body sizzle and fry under his touch.

They made it to Haru's back door in silence that was no longer comfortable, a heavy hanging atmosphere between them, almost stifling, like it were the hottest days of summer, even though it was turning into fall with each passing day. Haru turned to look up at Makoto, whose mouth was open partially, as if frozen on words that refused to come out of his throat. "I... I had fun today," Haru stammered. "Thank you for inviting me."

Makoto smiled at him then, eyes piercing into him as he brushed away a strand of hair off Haru's cheek. Haru gasped quietly. "No problem," he replied quietly. "I... I always wanted you to meet them."

Haru blinked, feeling himself get pulled in closer to Makoto, even though he knew he was in the exact same spot. "Really?" he breathed, feeling the edge of Makoto's shirt on the backs of his hands.

"Yeah," Makoto whispered. "Haru..."

Haru didn't even allow himself to think as he pulled at the collar of Makoto's shirt, pressing his lips on Makoto's mouth as he stumbled back, hitting the door. Makoto's hands planted themselves on the door to steady the both of them. Haru opened his eyes when he felt a lack of response, and he saw that Makoto was staring at him wide eyed.

Makoto looked shocked, and Haru had a sudden feeling that he'd made a mistake.