"There," his Makoto said, tossing the rubber mallet into the sand and dusting off his hands before he propped them on his waist and looked out to Haru. "Is that better?"

Haru scrunched his nose at the tent in the sand and made sure there was plenty of pout in his gaze when he looked back at those bright green eyes.

"No," he stated. "You shouldn't have to do all of this. I can come back to the house with you."

Makoto was already shaking his head as he lowered himself down to sit crisscross in front of his temporary shelter. "No, Haru. You've been out of the water for far too long. You're not about to leave it now. Stay at least a couple of days. Give yourself some time to recover, okay?"

He tilted his head with this look in his eyes that Haru didn't very much appreciate, because he knew there was no way he could argue with it. He turned his head away stubbornly, cursing his heart for being so soft.

"Haruka …"

A chill rippled down his spine. It was so different coming out of his human's mouth. He hadn't heard the name in so long — not outside of his dreams — it was somehow both painful and healing all at once, and he wasn't sure if he regretted that Makoto had access to his given name, or if he was grateful.

He looked back at him. Somehow the look he was being given now was even more pitiful — but also scarily severe.

"I don't want to do that again," Makoto said, and the fear was palpable in his eyes. Haru would not ignore it. He already felt guilty for having scared him in such a way, and they really couldn't afford for Haru to go turning into sea foam after all that his Makoto had already been through. It was more than he should have had to face, and Haru didn't want to put him through anymore, so he conceded.

"Fine. But you should at least sleep inside."

He didn't actually want that. He just felt bad that he'd complained enough that Makoto had decided running off to fetch a tent to sleep in on the beach was the best solution for staying together.

"I don't want to," his human said, casually brushing sand off of his knees. "It'll make me anxious, and you don't really want me to leave you here either."

Haru huffed a sigh and let himself sink enough that his nose dipped under the surface.

"And anyway," Makoto continued. "I'm not a stranger to camping. We- … We used to go all the time." There was a very brief second during which Haru could see the pain, but it was washed away by a very courageous and steady breath, and then he was smiling again. "I miss it. I think this'll be fun."

Haru studied him for a moment, admiring his gumption, enamored by how stubborn he was in all reality. No one would ever think so at first glance, but his Makoto just as well knew how to hold his ground, and he did it with such grace, framed by the setting sun and the calm of the breeze ruffling through his hair.

He was so achingly handsome. It wasn't fair.

"You're too far away," he mumbled, but even across the small distance between them his Makoto smiled, because he heard it.

He got back to his feet without qualm and waded out into the water, letting the land slope underneath him, keeping his gaze set on Haru and showing not a single ounce of fear or discomfort, and Haru was already nuzzling into the warmth of his skin even before Makoto could fully open his arms for him. They closed around his body with such strength and sureness, and Haru sighed heavily into his neck — for the very first time lamenting the fact that they came from two completely different worlds.

It was still in his DNA, that need to always be with the sea. But for his Makoto he would give up his tail in an instant and without hesitation, just to be with him always — to never have to have a moment like this, where he was confined to the water where his human could not stay.

But for now he relished the hold of his arms, and the warmth of his skin, the scent of him, and the steadiness of his heartbeat. He was never so grateful for anything else in his life — and being with Makoto made him realize that he should have been.

"Is that who I think it is?" Makoto said over his head after a peaceful moment had passed.

Haru peeked back over his shoulder where Makoto was smiling out at the bottlenose, who was poking his nose up out of the water. The moment that he saw he had their attention, he clicked a happy chirping song and gracefully dove in an arcing backflip, tail flicking up on his way back beneath the surface.

Makoto chuckled.

Haru rested his temple on his shoulder and stared out at the horizon. "I told them they didn't need to hover."

"Them?"

"Your orca's still here too."

"Really?"

Haru shrugged. He'd been surprised to find them still there when Makoto had returned to the house to grab the camping supplies, promising he'd be back. He'd dejectedly swam further out and let himself sink to the ocean floor to spend some time scrubbing his tail, and that's when he'd noticed them. Of course, it was only because they'd joyfully swam in circles around him, nudging his neck and his hair, singing happily when he patted their heads and gave their noses a stroke.

He wasn't at all unhappy to see them. He'd just been a bit confused regarding why they'd lingered. He'd even looked the orca dead in the eye and said, "Makoto's home now. You don't have to stay."

The orca had insisted that it wasn't time yet.

Haru didn't know what that meant.

"Is this our pod now?" Makoto asked, a tickling warmth to his tone.

Haru peeked up at him and actually found his lips curling up into a smile. It was followed by an involuntary chuckle. Makoto dropped his gaze to him.

"What? Is that funny?"

Haru shook his head and leaned into him comfortably, watching his fingers draw an invisible pattern on his broad chest. "I mean, yeah a little bit, but … You'd want to make a pod with me?"

He looked back up, and Makoto flashed his teeth. "Of course I would," he said brightly. "Admittedly, I don't know what all that entails. You'll have to explain that, but I don't think there's anything I wouldn't be willing to do with or for you, Haru-chan."

It had taken him a second, to really get used to the –chan. He wasn't sure he liked it when the Nagisa used it, but from Makoto he would allow it. So he didn't complain about it just now.

Anyway. It was funny. Biologically speaking, there was no way that they'd ever be able to form the basis of a traditional pod, but he liked the idea of this small interspecies family sticking together because of reasons they'd probably never be able to accurately explain to anyone outside of it — protecting each other, following each other, being happy … It was an attractive idea. And of course, Makoto's willingness — his openness and honest acceptance of every strange nuance of Haru's world — was far more than what Haru would have ever dared to ask of anybody.

He tilted his chin up to place a kiss on the underside of his chin. "I feel the same."

Makoto could only stay in the water with him for so long. He started to shiver at some point, and that was when Haru sent him back to the shore — with dread and longing in the pit of his stomach, but he was admittedly happy that he could still see him, and that they could at least continue talking.

He watched Makoto build a fire pit, and was impressed by his misplaced ability to somehow perfectly pull off cooking sausages over a campfire, even though every meal he cooked in the kitchen turned into an atrocity. Haru didn't know how that worked, but it was a quirk that he found more endearing than he should have, and he ate his sausages gratefully. As much as he preferred fish, they were a nice treat — probably more so because of the moment than the food itself.

They talked warmly about good memories that they had of their loved ones, and it wasn't a sad moment at all. In fact, it felt very much like all those souls were around somewhere. Out of sight but with them, close, enjoying the time with them, and listening in on their stories. It was comforting, and Haru did feel a lot better, being in the water, even though he longed to be wrapped up in Makoto's blanket cocoon with him.

The fire died out on its own, becoming smoldering embers and leaving the light of the night to the moon, and the stars, and the streetlights in the distance. Makoto drifted off to sleep halfway through a sentence, draped across the threshold of his tent with his head cradled on his arm in the sand. He seemed comfortable, so Haru didn't try to wake him. He gave him one last lingering look and then swam down to the sea floor to scrub his tail and try to sleep as well.

It was surprisingly easy.

The next day was very much the same, except that they had to spend more time being mindful of all the humans that came and went along the shore. Makoto had made sure to find an area of the beach that was as secluded as it could be to pitch his tent, but there was no escaping the fact that it was a public area and locals passing by was inevitable. There were the ones on a jog, the ones walking their pets, the ones bringing their children out to play in the water, the ones leisurely looking for fish.

In general, they were well enough away from Makoto's side of the beach, but Haru still had to be mindful not to make himself obvious, so he spent a lot of the daytime further out and under the surface, away from the boats, and the swimmers, and the paddlers, but he poked his head up every now and then just to check that Makoto was still there, and also to make sure Makoto knew he was still there.

His human spent most of his time reading, or people-watching. He got up a few times to get food or go to the bathroom, but in general, he stayed in the area, and even though Haru hated that his Makoto was so limited because of him, he was also grateful for every single smile that Makoto passed him when he raised his head above the surface.

Makoto joined him in the water at one point, and the beach cleared out well before the sun was fully set, and they had the space to themselves again — to hold each other and kiss and cuddle, and talk quietly and comfortably, until Makoto started to get cold and this time fell asleep next to the warmth of the fire. Haru didn't take his eyes off of him until it died out, and then he tended to himself and managed again to sleep easily.

They gave it three days.

His Makoto forced him to be honest about how he was feeling, how his recovery was coming along, how much time he felt like he needed to truly be at full strength again, and for Makoto's sake he didn't cut any corners. As much as he just wanted to be with him, he also knew he owed it to him to be perfectly healthy, so he was diligent about his upkeep, and waited until his tail was back at full shine and he could feel the rejuvenation in his skin and in his lungs, before he gave the confirmation that he was okay to come back on land.

Of course they waited for nightfall again, and Makoto had gone back to the house to gather towels and clothes during that time. He carried Haru out of the water, wrapped him up snuggly, and they sat in the tent to wait for him to dry off.

"Did you ever go camping with the other one?" Haru asked distantly, staring at the stars through the opening of the tent.

Makoto had been doing the same, but he looked to Haru with a crease on his brow at the question. "You mean Kisumi?"

Haru just nodded, and Makoto chuckled, rubbing a palm up and down his back.

"No. Kisumi hates stuff like this. He's a city-boy if I ever knew one, likes the nightlife and going to brunch when he's hung-over the next day. That kind of thing."

Haru pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I truly don't understand what possessed you to be with it in the first place."

Makoto laughed. "I guess we are super different. It worked surprisingly well when it was working though."

Haru made a sour face and Makoto laughed some more. "No need to be jealous, Haru-chan."

"I'm not jealous."

"Sure you're not."

"I just pity the time you wasted on that when you could have been with me."

"I didn't know you then." Makoto nudged him with his shoulder and a giggle. "And I wouldn't call it a waste. I learned a lot from being with Kisumi — some of which has already been super helpful in this context."

"Like learning how to mate?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes away. "You and that word. I'm never going to escape it."

"So you've never had sex in a tent then."

Makoto blinked at the water for a moment, and then slid his gaze back to Haru from the side. Haru just simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are there any special requirements, or does it work the same way?"

That smile curled up with allure, and Haru allowed his lips to mirror it, satisfied when Makoto's first response was to roll over him and ease him onto his back, knees straddling his tail.

"I'm pretty sure it works the same way, but I guess we'll find out."

He leaned in for a warm, belly-curling kiss, and Haru ran his fingers up through his hair, then down his neck and across his chest. He'd become obsessed with the warmth of his skin and the way that he smelled, especially in preceding moments like this that started so soft and careful and gradually swelled with passion and connection and a magnetizing pull to be closer and closer.

"That was smooth, by the way," Makoto mumbled in the middle of it.

Haru allowed the smile. "You liked that?"

"Yeah."