Drowning (MakoHaru) *HIATUS*

Chapter Six

Makoto smiled softly at the sight before him. Haru was fast asleep, laying on his dining room table. His expression was blank, face calm, and Makoto loved how cute he lo-

Wait. What was Makoto thinking? He doesn't like Haru, only as a friend. Then why are his thoughts like this? Makoto sighed, slowly and gingerly picking Haru up princess style and slowly but surely took Haru to bed.

"Rei-bae!" Nagisa whispered loudly. "You saw that, right?"

"If what you are talking about is Makoto-Senpai's evident love for Haruka-Senpai and not the bar of chocolate on the table, then yes. I saw it." Rei stated in a matter-of-fact tone, shoving up his red glasses that were sliding down again. Rei turned his head to check the time on Haru's clock. It had only been five minutes since the trio had busted into the ravenette' house.

'Please hurry up, Makoto-senpai.' Rei urged. 'Fall in love with Haruka-senpai before it's too late.'

---

Makoto gazed at Haru's sleeping figure, his heart melting. It had been a while since he had properly come over to Haru's house. Akihiko had preoccupied him. Haru's calm expression sent Makoto's heart fluttering, and he still did not know why. He liked Akihiko, so why was he like... This?

Haru began to cough in his sleep. Awake now, he turned to his side, coughing as if he was hacking up his lungs. Once the coughing ceased, Haru wiped his mouth and moved away from his position. Makoto's eyes widened as he spotted a small pool of crimson. His heart crawled into his mouth.

"Haru..?" He asked in a shaky voice, fearful for his friend. "Are you alive?" Meekly, Haru managed a single nod, before slowly sitting up. "HARU!" Makoto screamed, grabbing Haru's shoulders and shaking him about. "WHY ARE YOU COUGHING UP B-BLOOD?! WHAT HAPPENED?! IS IT YOUR ILLNESS?! ARE YOU DYING?! DO I NEED TO GET YOU WATER?!" Haru glared at Makoto, his ears aching.

"Makoto..." He wheezed. "Stop.. yel...ling. Your.. high... pitched.. voice.. hurts.."

"A-Ah! I'm sorry! I'll.. GET YOU WATER! WAIT NO! YOU NEED TO BE IN WATER! YOU'RE DRYING UP! YOU'RE! YOU'RE-"

"Makoto." Haru managed, now able to speak full sentences. "I'm..." He faltered. He knew he wasn't fine. Akihiko was still in the picture, now even more threatening then ever. "Fine." He instantly regretted it. He just wanted to scream what was on his mind.

'I'm being threatened by your crush who beat me up and now I'm coughing up blood, I don't know what to do in my life, I'm sexually confused, I think I have a crush on my best friend, I'm pretty sure I have a broken rib, and, you've been forgetting about me for weeks!'

Haru wanted to warn Makoto about what Akihiko had told him before knocking him unconscious. The only thing stopping him was Makoto. He knew for a fact that if he warned Makoto about his 'precious Aki-chan' that Makoto would be hurt. He would think that Haru was lying and be disappointed. Haru didn't want to disappoint Makoto.

Makoto sighed, relief written all over his face. "That's good. You should probably go wash up! Nagisa, Rei, and I ought to get to school before lunch ends. Ama-chan will be okay with it, but I'm not so sure it will be like that with Rei and Nagisa's sensei. I wish they were in our class.. don't you? Then we could get away with taking care of the sick person. Oh! And that would mean they'd be in our year, so when we have to leave, the swimclub won't have to suffer! But it would suffer though... Because it would probably close down and end up like before! And..." Haru listened to Makoto blabber about the useful things Makoto thought were relevant. He watched Makoto's expressions form into different faces as each topic came and went. In Haru and Makoto's friendship, Makoto did most of the talking, and Haru did most of the listening, so Haru was used to Makoto's constant babble.

"Makoto." Though sometimes, Haru would speak, and Makoto's ears would perk up and he would shush, immediately listening to what Haru wanted to say. Makoto loved it when Haru spoke, for his voice was one of a kind. It was cool, calm, and beautiful, much like the water Haru loved so much. Or like his name. Spring was Makoto's favorite season for it was cool. It was beautiful. And it was calm. Just like Haru.

"Oh! Sorry, Haru." Makoto giggled, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He smiled before straigtening up from his position on the floor. He stretched his aching muscles before retreating to the door. "I should probably go catch up with the other two. Will you be okay alone? I could stay if you want, Haru. Haru?" A soft snore was Haru's reply. Makoto smiled softly. Through the dimly lit room, he could see Haru's soft face, peaceful in the large bed. Being careful not to wake Haru, Makoto tiptoed to the side of Haru's bed. Ever so slightly, he daintily pressed his lips onto the top of Haru's forehead before murmuring a good night and left the room flushing crimson.

In the closet of Haru's bedroom, Rei and Nagisa talked amongst themselves, voices hushed. With great effort, Nagisa managed to contain the loud fanboy scream itching to squirm its way out of his mouth, and due to the risks, Rei had slapped his hand over Nagisa's mouth.

"You saw that, right?" Nagisa whispered through Rei's big hand, his eyes sparkling. Rei managed a nod, holding in a loud squeal himself.

"Yes, I did, Nagisa-kun. I... can't believe I did this.. but I took pictures." Nagisa bit his tongue, a muffled squeal escaping his mouth. Both swimmers were jumping with excitement. Rei's fingers twitched in anticipation as he pressed in the password of his phone into the keyboard. Nagisa giggled, his eyes eying the pictures Rei had snapped.

"We're so gonna post that onto tumblr on our joint account, right?" Nagisa asked.

"Absolutely, Nagisa-kun." Rei confirmed, an evil glint in his eyes. "Gou-san needs to see this."