Haru pulled away, blinking up into Makoto's surprised face. He swallowed, feeling his heart thumping to burst out of his chest. Makoto looked surprised, frozen with wide eyes staring straight into him, and Haru began to let go of his shirt, fighting the urge to cry.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have-mmf!" Haru's lips were sealed closed when Makoto pressed forward, pulling him gently into his chest before threading his hands up into Haru's hair. A soft moan escaped him as he ran a thumb down Haru's jawline, prompting Haru to forget that he had legs and lean all of his weight onto Makoto.

He felt Makoto's hands, warm, just like he knew they'd be, run down his sides to settle and draw slow, languid circles on his hips, his fingertips tickling the slightly exposed skin near his stomach. Makoto broke the kiss briefly, confusing Haru as he opened his mouth to ask, when he felt Makoto grip him under his thighs, swooping him up into his arms and hoisting him into the air, eliciting a surprised gasp from Haru, before his back was pressed against the back door of his home, fingers finding their way into Makoto's hair, feather light touches caressing the shells of his ears.

"Mmm," Haru hummed into Makoto's mouth as they came together again, legs locking around Makoto's hips like they belonged there, like they had always belonged there, letting out a quiet moan when Makoto took his bottom lip between his teeth, kissing with his tongue. His hips were pinned, and he could feel the splinters on the door digging into his skin, but he didn't care because he could feel himself burn at the way Makoto kneaded and rubbed his thighs as he held him up, could feel his pulse shake his whole body at the way Makoto's hips twitched with every lick, caress, and touch, could feel his own hips begin to ache a little at how he wanted more, more, more as he scored long, trailing marks with his nails down Makoto's shoulder.

"Makoto," he whispered as they broke for air, a moment of looking into each other's eyes before coming together again. Haru opened his mouth to him, and Makoto entered slowly, gently, before Haru pulled him by his neck, begging for closer, begging and wanting for closer. He whimpered when Makoto found his tongue, and the wet noises of their kisses were embarrassing as they echoed and burned his ears, but he didn't care, he didn't want to care when this was happening, when this wasn't a dream, when all of this confirmed that he hadn't made a mistake.

A jingle from Makoto's back pocket made both of them gasp, and they broke off with panting, ravaged breaths, a blush fighting its way onto Haru's cheeks as he looked at the similar blush having found its way on Makoto's ears. They stood there panting for a moment more, lips barely touching, faces close enough to make each breath they had mingle together, Haru's legs still wrapped around Makoto's hips, Makoto's hands still tracing unidentifiable patterns on Haru's thighs. A line of drool broke off of their mouths and Makoto licked his lips, eyes flashing down when Haru mimicked him subconsciously.

"That's probably the twins," Makoto said, voice rough and ragged as his phone jingled again, and he let Haru slide down his body as he let him go. Haru began to move away as Makoto answered the phone, but he was pulled in by his neck, and soon his vision was swamped by Makoto's neck and collarbones.

"Hello?" he answered softly, planting a gentle kiss on top of Haru's head as he played with his hair on the nape of his neck. Haru gripped the sides of Makoto's shirt, shaking with each breath he took, still unable to believe that this was real and that this was happening. He pressed his lips to Makoto's collarbone, and he got another kiss on his head in response.

"Onii-chan! You said you'd be coming over today! Where are you?" Ran's voice echoed loudly in the phone. Haru could feel a smile pull at his lips.

"Nii-chan, you weren't lying were you? Mom made your favourite!" Ren butted in, just as loud.

"I'll be there in five minutes," Makoto sighed out a laugh. "You guys behave until I get there, okay? Don't give mom a hard time."

The twins whined indignantly over the phone. "We're in high school, now! We know that," they said together. The phone went dead after that and Makoto slipped it back into his pocket.

He pulled away a bit to look down into Haru's eyes, and they stood there for who knows how much longer, blinking quietly at each other. His hands were still playing with Haru's hair, and all Haru wanted to do was lean into the touch, to melt into his hands and lose himself completely.

"I guess I should go now," he said with a laugh, though Haru thought that it sounded like he really didn't want to go. "Do you want to come?"

Haru shook his head. "I don't think I should go this time," he replied quietly, the unspoken I don't think I could hold myself back echoing in the space between their breaths.

"Hmm, I see," Makoto hummed, as if disappointed, but he smiled as he leaned down for another kiss, all lips sliding over lips, sweet and lingering that caused Haru's body to shake at each soft press, each quick, sharp sound of their mouths coming together, that he knew that Makoto knew exactly why Haru wouldn't go visit his family with him.

They broke apart (how many kisses was that now? Haru didn't know anymore) and Makoto threaded their fingers together, giving their hands a squeeze before stepping back, and Haru already missed him. "I have to go," Makoto said, "but we should talk about this."

"When?" Haru breathed.

"Soon," Makoto breathed back, and he brought their hands up to his lips to kiss the back of Haru's hand before letting go, turning the corner and disappearing from Haru's sight. No good bye, but Haru knew that any more lingering moments would make it hard for him to break free. They didn't need a good bye. Haru opened his door and slipped inside.

He leaned against his bedroom door, having made his way up as soon as he got inside. He slid down, shaking as he pressed his fingers to his lips, tracing the contours of his mouth as he remembered each touch that burned him, that he was sure he'd remember forever.

Makoto had kissed him back.

Makoto had kissed him back.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, leaning his elbows on his knees. He couldn't stop the smile on his face from pulling at his lips, his whole body still trembling with the adrenaline that rushed through him. He felt a laugh slip out of his mouth, and for a moment he thought he was going delirious, crazy, but he didn't care.

Makoto had kissed him back.

He doubted he would ever get over it.

"You look awfully happy," Rin said to him as he settled down at his favourite seat, pulling out scribbled on manuscripts and multiple pens.

"Do I?" Haru tried to sound nonchalant, but the memories of what happened soon came flooding back to him, and he had to lower his head to hide his smile.

"Look at that!" Rin scoffed at him, smirk playing on his face. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Oh my God, Nanase, you're not even gonna share?" Rin quirked an eyebrow as he opened his large binder, flipping through the pages. "I thought we were friends."

Haru shrugged, ignoring him completely as he wiped the table. Rin didn't need to know. He didn't want to have to deal with the teasing, the jabs, the waggling eyebrows. It had been a week since then, and he couldn't stop finding everything was better, the colours were brighter, even the weather was nicer, despite some of the heavy rain they'd been getting.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and upon opening it, he began to smile.

"Okay, you're letting me see that right now," Rin leaned to grab his phone, but Haru stepped out of his reach.

"No."

"Is that Makoto?" Rin quirked an eyebrow, and when Haru opted to reply to the text message rather than reply to Rin, he began to laugh. "It is, isn't it?"

"Get to work, Rin," Haru snapped his phone shut, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Nanase Haruka," Rin fought to sound stern, commanding, but to Haru he just sounded ridiculous, "did something happen between you and Makoto?"

"No," Haru snapped almost too quickly, and Rin wasn't having any of it.

"I'm calling Nagisa," his phone was by his ear and ringing before Haru could even say anything against him, "I need back up."

Haru busied himself with writing down food supplies and orders when Nagisa burst in through the door, hair looking a very interesting shade of purple today, glitter coming off his cheeks like hail. "I'M HERE WHAT HAPPENED," he yelled, getting a few stares from the regulars.

Rin patted the bar stool next to him, watching as Nagisa plopped himself into it, shaking glitter off of his cheeks. "Oi! Watch where you shake!" Rin pushed his papers to the side.

"Sorry, sorry, Rin-chan!" Nagisa held up a peace sign. "So? Why did you need reinforcements?"

Rin pointed at Haru's face. "Look at him, and then look me in the eye because I dare you to tell me that nothing is different with him," he leaned over to Nagisa. Nagisa blinked at Rin for a moment before turning his full attention over to Haru.

Haru turned his head away, hating the scrutiny but unable to hide his emotions, as Nagisa squinted up at him. "Did anything happen on your date with Mako-chan?" Nagisa muttered, quirking an eyebrow.

Rin slapped the table. "I knew it!" Rin pulled Nagisa in by the shoulder. "He's been doing weird things the whole time I was here."

"Ooh, ooh, like what?" Nagisa gripped the top of Rin's thigh, fully immersed on Rin's side of the situation. Haru just wanted them to leave.

"Well, for one, he smiles out of no where," Rin pointed an accusing finger at Haru and he turned away from them. At least his back wouldn't giveaway a blush or anything like that. "Another is that every so often he'll just stare off into space with this whimsical look and it kind of makes me want to punch him."

Nagisa snickered when Haru shot him a glare before going back to organizing the display case behind the bar. "But that's not even the worst of it," Rin continued, voice a loud, harsh whisper. "Sometimes, when he thinks I'm not looking, he'll touch his lips really lightly and start giggling to himself."

Haru's eyes went wide, he could feel Nagisa put pieces together and he fought to stand still. "Oh my God, Haru-chan DID MAKO-CHAN KISS YOU?" Nagisa shrieked as he reached over the bar, turning Haru around and pulling him down, making him come face to face with two pairs of excited eyes.

"No," he lied, but Nagisa wasn't having any of it.

"I told you I would make you delectable, Haru-chan!" he hugged Haru over the bar. "So? How far did you go? Did you get to eat him back?"

"Nagisa!" Haru hissed. There were other people here.

Rin was cheek to cheek with Nagisa as he interrogated Haru alongside him. "So Makoto laid the moves on you, huh?" he asked, voice low and sly. "Is he a good kisser?"

Haru covered his face, refusing to answer, feeling himself go red. "Oh. My. GOD. Rin-chan, he is. Look at Haru-chan, he totally is," Nagisa was practically shaking Rin while he freaked out.

Rin pressed both of his hands into his mouth as he fought down a cackle. "Oh my God, Makoto, you sly, sly fox," Rin whistled lowly. "I cannot believe he's a good kisser. Is he better than me?"

Haru looked at him uncomfortably. "I don't think I should be making that comparison," Rin waved off his counter.

"It's fine. We were young when we dated. I've hooked up with plenty of people since then, you've had more sexual encounters with fountains than with - don't look at me like that like it's not true you giant fish," Rin snapped.

"No need to compare," Nagisa waved it off. "Did he do anything? In particular?"

Haru just stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Y'know, not like, lip pulling or whatever, that's normal. Did he do anything?" Nagisa stared at him, wide eyed, emphasis made with a bob of his head. Haru blinked from Rin to Nagisa before feeling a blush come up his cheeks. "He did, didn't he? What did he do?"

"Well," Haru stammered. He couldn't believe this was about to come out of his mouth. "He... pinned me..."

"Shut the fuck up," Rin muttered, leaning fully on the bar counter top. Nagisa just grabbed at Rin and shook him.

"A-and then he... lifted... me... up," Haru was positive he would be permanently red with the blush coming off his cheeks. He leaned over and pressed his face into the counter top.

Rin and Nagisa shared a look, eyes slowly going wide as if to pop out of their heads. Nagisa shrieked while Rin started to laugh as they grabbed on to each other. "Haru-chan I'm so happy for you!" Nagisa cried.

"After all these years," Rin faked a tear.

"It's finally happening," Nagisa leaned into Rin's shoulder. "Our baby's finally growing up. Call Ai-chan, let's celebrate."

Rin slapped a hand on Nagisa's back before he got too far. "L-let's not, actually," he stammered. Nagisa perked up immediately, practically sensing the fear.

"Why? Did something happen between the two of you?" he teased, although Haru knew that tone. He knew better, and so did Rin.

"No," he said. "Just, this isn't- we shouldn't-"

"Oh, my gosh. Did Rin-chan go on a date last weekend too?" Nagisa teased. Haru glanced down at Rin, the slow blush coming on his face completely telling.

"I asked him to help me watch over Sousuke and Gou, but we ended up never finding them!" Rin squeaked. "I had to apologize somehow, right?"

Nagisa raised an eyebrow. "Oh ho, Rin-chan, you went on a date with Ai-chan?" Nagisa smirked as he leaned in. "How much do you want to bet that Sousuke got Ai's help to keep you away from his date with Gou-chan."

"He wouldn't," Rin whispered, but Haru could see the slow suspicion in his eyes. "Ai!"

Nitori came out of the back room a moment later, looking a little flustered at everyone staring at him, but bowed despite everything. "Yes, Rin-san?" he asked.

"Did you help Sousuke keep me away from his date last weekend?" Haru had to hand it to Rin for not beating around the bush. Nitori flushed brightly.

"R-Rin-san! I didn't help Yamazaki-san!" he cried, clutching his manager's booklet in his hands.

"You better not have," Rin squinted his eyes.

"Gou-san may have asked me though," the words were barely audible, but Haru caught them and he turned to look at Nitori, who flashed him a wary smile.

"Rin-chan should take Ai-chan on a proper date," Nagisa butt in. "None of this 'gotta protect my sister' pretense." Haru nodded his consent.

Rin stammered. "Don't turn this on me!" he cried.

"Ah, so that's what happened?" Makoto breathed a laugh over the phone. It was late, but he was up marking quizzes, so Haru stayed up to talk to him.

"Yeah," he sighed, feeling apologetic. "Sorry."

Makoto chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Hakune and Chiaki got me to spill, too," he sighed. "They were definitely more subtle about it, at least. I barely even knew it happened until after."

Haru hummed, listening to the gentle rustle of papers. "Are you sleepy?" he asked quietly.

"Not really," Makoto said. "I'm talking to you, how could I be?"

Haru was glad he wasn't there in front of him, otherwise he would be able to see exactly how affected he got by those words. He covered his eyes with his hand. "Makoto..." his sentence trailed off, both of them knowing what they wanted to say.

"I know," he heard Makoto say it quietly over the phone. "But... not yet, okay? I want to see you when..."

Haru knew what Makoto meant without him having to say it. He wanted to see Makoto soon. "Soon, then," he said instead.

Makoto laughed. "Yeah of course! Oh, I have to go. The fire station's calling me," Haru felt his heart drop a bit. He wanted to talk to Makoto a bit longer. "I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Sure," Haru said. I love you.

"We'll meet up soon," Makoto continued.

"Of course," Haru replied. I love you.

"Good night, Haru. Sleep well," Makoto muttered.

"Good night," Haru heard the phone click off. I love you, Makoto.

That night Haru had dreams of warm hands that caressed and held him, and he felt safe for once in the expansive ocean of his dreams as he floated there, feeling the cold of the water, but having a warmth to keep him from shivering.

Haru woke up and went to work, sighing a bit at the lack of activity. It felt like a slow day, and he turned on the radio in the kitchen as he made his way around.

"Early this morning, an explosion at one of the old fisheries caught fire to the surrounding houses. Personnel scrambled to keep it quarantined, not before it caught on a boat, causing the boat to catch fire and explode. Police are currently investigating the cause of the accident.

Haru turned off the radio, shaking his head. The old fisheries were made of rotting, dried wood. He would bet anything that a teenager with a cigarette caused the fire. He sort of wished the city would do something about the fisheries. They didn't do anything anymore, as people now had boats they could sell their fish from, rather than having to get checked through a fishery.

He took off his apron, filtering through his phone to find that he missed a call from Makoto's mom. His phone lit up again, her number appearing once more on the screen. "Hello?" he asked. Perhaps she was asking about helping the twins.

"Oh, Haruka-kun," she nearly sobbed into the speaker, and Haru felt dread at the sound of her voice. She was a strong woman, an incredible mother. He had never heard her like this. "There's been an accident."

Haru gulped. "We're at the hospital right now," she continued, voice shaking. "It's Makoto..."