Haru hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep on the bench in the hallway until he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder.

"Haru," he blinked to find a blur of dark waves and sparkling grey in front of him. "Haru!"

He rubbed his eyes to see Hakune standing in front of him, hand on his shoulder, with a bottle of water in her hand, looking more than a little concerned. "Here," she offered him the bottle, and he hadn't realized how thirsty he'd been until he drank more than half. "Are you okay?"

He didn't know what to say. Haru certainly was as far away from fine as he could possibly be, but how could he say that, when just down the hall, Makoto was worse? He shook his head, and Hakune sat down next to him, her thigh touching his. It felt warm, and he suddenly choked up a little. "I walked in on the doctor explaining to everyone in the waiting room that Makoto is stabilized again," she explained, and Haru felt numb even as he nodded his head. "He said it was best to not see him until his condition stables a bit more, like when he can breathe on his own and such." She looked at him carefully, reading every line on his face like he was a book.

Like how Makoto used to.

"You've been through a lot, Haru," was all she said, and Haru found it in himself to meet her grey eyes.

"Do you know," Haru took a shaky breath through his nose, "what happened to him?"

Hakune looked at him for a moment, as if gauging whether or not he could handle it, but he pleaded her with his eyes. He needed to know. She let out a slow breath, sighing a bit at the end, before leaning back on the wall. "He was called in for an emergency, since the explosion at the old fisheries were larger than the personnel currently on duty could handle," she started, slow, careful, eyes distant as she remembered the information. "He... he helped a boy get out of his room from a nearby house that had caught fire in the explosion. There was a second explosion, apparently, and the shockwave knocked Makoto into the ocean."

Haru swallowed. With all the fire proof gear that Makoto would have been wearing...

"He got pulled under by a current, and drowned. The paramedic I asked said that his heart stopped, and he was clinically dead on the way to the hospital," Hakune's voice wavered, and Haru offered her the water bottle for her to drink. She took it carefully, taking a sip through trembling lips before she closed her eyes. Haru wanted to know how to give comfort in times like this; his friends were so much better at it. He placed his hand on her knee.

"They managed to get his heart to start again," she continued, eyes squinting through tears as she focused her thoughts, "and cleared his lungs. They've been keeping him stable ever since. He hit his head, but there's no way of knowing if he has brain damage until he wakes up. They can't scan him right now, he can't breathe on his own yet..."

Haru closed his eyes, feeling defeated. They sat there, listening to the whir of the vending machine and the flickering buzz of the fluorescent lights above them. He glanced over at Hakune, who was staring at an indeterminate spot on the wall in front of them, eyes distant, forlorn. "Chiaki doesn't know yet," she said, after a beat.

She looked over at him and gave him a sad smile. Haru just looked at her, locking his gaze. "You should rest some more," she said, and he felt startled as she pulled his head into her lap, covering his eyes with her hand. "I'll just call Chiaki. You go to sleep."

Haru didn't know why, but with her hand warm, covering his eyes, and the way her thumb stroked through his hairline, everything suddenly became too much, and tears slipped out of his eyes. He closed them, the burn of the tears more prominent in the dark. Haru knew he was getting Hakune's lap wet, but she either didn't notice or chose to ignore it, and he drifted away as he cried on her lap, the last thing he heard was her voice.

"Hey, Chiaki?"

Haru woke up to hushed, frantic whispering, and he felt Hakune's hand still on his eyes. He lay still as the world was brought back to him through his haze of sleep, and he began to pick up the conversation above him.

"If Makoto knew that you left," Chiaki sounded harsh, angry. But at who? Why was he mentioning Makoto?

"Chiaki," Hakune's voice was sharp, even in her whisper, and Haru could tell from her pause that she was directing attention to him in her lap, probably to not wake him up. "Can you not do this now?"

"Hakune, you need to start thinking more about yourself," Chiaki pleaded with her. "You could have called me first before you flew over here." Flew?

Hakune sighed. "We'll talk more later," and they fell into heavy silence. Haru moved his head and Hakune lifted her hand from his eyes. "Did we wake you up, Haru?"

He shook his head and looked up at Chiaki. He couldn't read the expression on his face, but he offered Haru a tight smile when they locked eyes. "Yo, sorry if we woke you," he said. He turned to Hakune. "I'm going to buy food for everyone in the waiting room with Seijuurou. It doesn't look like anyone wants to leave. You want anything?"

Hakune shook her head. "You brought Mikoshiba?" she asked. Chiaki shrugged at her helplessly.

"We were having drinks when you called me. I'm his ride," he offered. He nodded at Haru and disappeared through the waiting room door. He and Hakune soon followed.

"You don't have to get anything for us, Chiaki-kun," he heard Mrs. Tachibana protest, voice already sounding weary, exhausted.

Chiaki politely shook his head. "If I know you, Tachibana-san, you'll want to stay here as long as possible. I'll buy food. It's no problem," he kneeled down in front of her with a smile. "Is there anything in particular anyone wanted?"

"Chiaki," Hakune spoke from next to Haru. Chiaki turned tight lipped towards her. She sighed as she stepped towards him, choosing to ignore their earlier conversation. "Maybe Chinese, so everyone can share together? I don't think anyone wants to be alone right now."

Chiaki's eyes softened as he stood up. "Good idea," he mumbled, pulling her into his chest and ruffling her hair. "If that's alright with you, Tachibana-san."

Mrs. Tachibana smiled at them. "It sounds like a lovely idea," she said. "I would have said anything anyway, I'm not really... I'm not really myself right now."

Chiaki looked back with sad eyes. "No one faults you for it," he replied. He nodded his head towards Mikoshiba, who had been standing near the wall, looking a bit out of place. "Come on. I'm your ride home so you're helping me."

Haru watched as he startled forward, nearly bumping into Hakune. Mikoshiba seemingly flushed but Hakune was to preoccupied watching the Tachibanas to notice. Haru might have laughed at the way a squeak managed to escape Mikoshiba's lips, but he didn't feel like laughing.

He didn't really feel like doing anything.

He sat down next to Hakune as they waited for Chiaki to come back. He glanced up when Nagisa sat down on Hakune's other side.

"Haku-chan," he said gently.

"It's been a while, Nagisa," she said gently. "Sorry it took so long for me to see you."

Nagisa shook his head and leaned on her shoulder. "It's fine, Haku-chan. We know you're busy," he replied quietly.

Haru leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes. The clock dinged, indicating the time. It was late.

It was hard, Haru thought, waiting for something he wasn't sure he wanted the end result of.

It had been nearly two weeks of Haru going in and out of the hospital.

Around the third day Makoto's breathing tube had been removed, and the family had filed in to see him. He was breathing on his own, but according to the doctor, due to all the trauma his body sustained, it would be hard to tell when he would wake up. All they could do was wait.

Around the fifth day of waiting, Hakune came by with Chiaki and forced Mrs. Tachibana to go home.

"Tachibana-san," Hakune had said gently as she pulled her to her feet. "I know you're worried, but it wouldn't do you any good if you ended up at the hospital, too. Makoto wouldn't want that, now, would he? Come on, Chiaki, help me."

Day six and seven blurred together because he had stayed by Makoto, not getting a wink of sleep. Every breath he took, Haru watched, hoping that they would stay steady, rhythmic, peaceful.

He got in trouble with Hakune when day eight rolled around.

"You and Tachibana-san are the same," she huffed as she dragged him to her house, a train ride away from the hospital. "If you think Makoto would be happy with the both of you getting sick over waiting for him to wake up, then you obviously don't know him very well."

He was greeted at the door by a white cloud of fur, and he knelt down to pet the shaking mass of fluff.

"This is my dog, San," Hakune said. "I adopted her a while ago to watch the house while I'm away."

Haru glanced up, taking in his surroundings as he stepped over the threshold. There were piles of papers on the coffee table and a few dishes in the sink. For some reason he felt that it didn't suit Hakune; he thought she'd be more organized than this.

"I haven't had time to clean up lately," she admitted, reading his mind. "I've been busy with work."

"You still go to the hospital," Haru pointed out.

She shrugged. "Only when I have time," she sidestepped him to head into the kitchen. "Do you like green tea?

Day nine, Haru forced himself to go to work, only to leave early when he got a call from Chiaki.

"Makoto's eyes opened," he'd said, and Haru nearly dropped the pan he was holding. "He went back to sleep though, but it means he might wake up completely soon. The doctor said it's a good sign."

He spent the next two days right by Makoto's side, hoping he'd open his eyes for him.

Haru stretched his arms and he looked at the calendar on the wall. It had already been twelve days since Makoto got into the hospital. Mrs. Tachibana was sitting across from him, on Makoto's other side, holding his hand and reading. Haru had taken a nap in his chair, having come off a night shift from work.

His restaurant had recently begun to stay late for the younger crowds coming in looking for a place to drink and chat, and his boss had said he needed a whole separate menu for the social night folk.

"Haruka-kun," he glanced up to see Mrs. Tachibana looking at him with gentle eyes. "Thank you for always coming here to watch over Makoto." Her eyes were telling him she understood; that she knew, and it made Haru want to cry with relief.

The door opened and Nagisa and Rei stepped in. "We brought food!" he chirped merrily, before sitting down next to Haru to look at Makoto. "He looks better now," he murmured gently.

Nobody wanted to acknowledge it completely, but the burn marks on his left side hadn't healed as nicely. The doctors had said it was because the explosion cause muscle damage, and Makoto would need to go into physical therapy for it. Haru touched Makoto's neck lightly, where the burn mark began to fade into his normal skin. He wondered how Makoto would react when he saw the marks? Haru secretly promised himself to make sure Makoto never hated them.

They were there because he protected someone.

"Haruka-san," Rei offered him the lunch box and Haru took it, thanking him with a head nod. They ate quietly as Nagisa and Rei looked through all the get well cards Makoto's students had sent in. Haru wondered what they did about him being gone. He had been an assistant teacher only, so maybe his supervisor took over.

"Mmmghhh," Haru nearly started out of his chair when he saw Makoto's head move, voice crackling from disuse as his face scrunched up. Nagisa gasped and Rei looked up at Mrs. Tachibana.

"I'm getting the doctor," she said, and hurried out of the room. Rei followed after her.

"Haru-chan, I'm going to call everyone, okay? Stay here with him," Nagisa patted his shoulders and dashed out.

Haru scooted closer to Makoto, finding his hand and lacing their fingers together. "Makoto?" he called tentatively.

"Mmmghh," he groaned, and his voice sounded terrible, but Haru felt his heart skip. Makoto was waking up. He felt his hand wiggle around his fingers, and Haru squeezed them tighter, kissing the back of his hand before brushing his bangs off his forehead.

"It's okay, Makoto," he whispered against his temple before pulling back, tracing a finger lightly on his forehead. "I'm here."

He watched carefully as Makoto slowly opened his eyes, and he was greeted by green, dull from being closed for so long, and watery from pain that he was probably feeling in his left side, but they were Makoto's eyes. His eyes were open. They were unfocused on the ceiling before the fell on Haru, and he watched as they blinked into focus, looking tired, spent, even though he'd been asleep all this time.

"Makoto, it's me," he whispered, leaning forward so he could look into his eyes better. He'd missed them so much. "It's Haru."

The door opened and Haru glanced up to see the doctor step forward. "Tachibana-kun? My name is Dr. Yamada. You're at Iwatobi General Hospital right now. I need you to cooperate with me. Can you nod?"

He watched Makoto's eyes squint in pain and Haru brushed his thumb on the back of his hand. "Is it painful, Tachibana-kun? Can you blink for me then?" and he watched Makoto blink his eyes slowly.

"I'm going to do a check up on you, okay? We're going to see if you have any brain damage. Do you remember why you're at the hospital Tachibana-kun?" the doctor asked him as he flashed a light into his eyes. He heard Makoto's voice groan a bit, trying to speak.

"Your vitals look fine. A drink of water, maybe, to help your voice out," the doctor handed him a glass of water. Haru eased him up to help him drink, watching him carefully.

Makoto took slow sips, it obviously pained him to swallow anything, or to use his left hand. The doctor continued to speak. "You were asleep for a while, almost two weeks. And there's been damage to your left side, so you will be under physical therapy for that. You should be discharged in a few days, but I suggest you stay with your family until you're done your physical therapy."

Makoto finished the water and cupped the glass with both hands. "Everything will be fine now, Tachibana-kun," the doctor said gently. "Now that you're awake, everything else is smooth sailing from here."

"Okay," Makoto croaked, and Haru felt his chest swell with relief.

The doctor wrote things on his tab and placed them at the foot of Makoto's bed. "Do you have any questions for me, Tachibana-kun?" he asked gently.

"Just one," Makoto said.

"Who's Tachibana-kun?"