28 DAYS [MakoHaru]

thirty six → 12/28

Chapter Thirty-Six: December 28th

A/N: sorry for the lack of updates, I've been in Europe for the past two weeks :) finally home and I have nothing to do with my life over the summer so hopefully I'll be updating more frequently :O

The doorbell rings while Makoto is still in the shower.

Honestly, there is no worse feeling than holding everyone up, but when it's in the shower, it suddenly becomes ten times worse.

"Makoto!" His mother calls from the kitchen. "The Amakatas are here!"

Makoto, instantly going into a state of panic, nearly trips but catches himself on the side handle on the wall. He's lucky his hands aren't soapy or he definitely would've fell.

He quickly rinses himself under the pressurized stream of water and fumbles for a towel, scrubbing himself dry. He doesn't bother combing his hair - everything, including his hairbrush, is already packed away - and he rushes to pull on comfortable clothes for the long day of traveling ahead.

In the bottom drawer of his armoire is a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a simple brown t-shirt. After yanking on the clothing, he slips on his sneakers, knots a light jacket around his waist, and puts his eyeglasses on; contacts are too much of a struggle on travel days. When the world crystallizes, he is able to locate his luggage, tossing his backpack over one shoulder and scrambling into the kitchen.

Makoto instantly notices half of the Amakata family is waiting for him; Asuka is situated on one of the island stools and Miss Amakata is in the middle of a friendly conversation with his mom. Haruka's there too, taking in the appearance of the house. Makoto notices he's staring at the pitcher of peach tea sitting on the kitchen table, an unrecognizable emotion in his face.

Because Haruka hasn't noticed his presence yet, he clears his throat to catch the attention of the moms. "I'm ready," He explains meekly.

Asuka snorts in amusement when she takes in his frazzled appearance. "Your shoes are untied," She jokes, pointing. Makoto gasps and looks down worriedly, earning even more laughter from the teen. "Ha! Made you look!" She teases.

"Why are you always late," Haruka deadpans, crossing his arms and glaring at Makoto. For a second, Makoto thinks he's genuinely annoyed (and maybe he unknowingly did something to piss off Haruka again) but there's a bemused twinkle in his eye that shows he's just playing.

Miss Amakata answers the question before Makoto can open his mouth to retort. "Haruka, instead of being sassy, why don't you help Makoto with his bags so we can get in the car," She directs with a snap of her fingers. Her voice is like sugar, but her stare is hard and no-nonsense. 

Haruka grumbles something incomprehensible and grabs Makoto's suitcase from him. Their hands brush as his fingers curl around the handle, and Makoto ignores the way his fingers alight with electricity as Haruka allows the touch to linger a moment too long before wheeling the suitcase away. Makoto meets his eye, but Haruka's expression doesn't change, and he heads towards the door, shaking his head.

"Ready?" Miss Amakata turns to Makoto, smiling warmly.

Makoto grins the best he can. "As I'll ever be," He responds weakly.

Miss Amakata grabs his shoulder reassuringly before following Haruka out the door. Asuka hops off the stool and lingers at Makoto's side. Makoto only just now realizes how short she is; the top of her head only comes to his chest. He shoots her a quick smile of acknowledgement, and she takes it as her cue to leave him and his mother alone.

"Thanks, Mom," Makoto says awkwardly. "For letting me go."

She nods, smiling. "I hope you have a great time, honey," She rests her hands on her shoulders. She, too, is quite short in comparison to him. "But stay out of trouble, okay? I don't want to hear any national warnings concerning you."