The Ocean We Left Behind

Chapter 5

Realistically, he had always thought that it could never be a possibility, but here they were. What they were doing wasn't anything out of the ordinary, shopping for groceries was a mundane task which usually grated on Haruka's nerves - it was the way they were going about the whole 'new relationship level' thing. He was quite a blunt person, as many people had pointed out, so unsurprisingly he had grasped Makoto's hand as they entered the supermarket, much to his boyfriend's protests.

They were in the 'frozens' isle when Haru began to get bored. If it were up to him they wouldn't be wasting time buying meats and vegetables, mackerel was all he needed. But Makoto had insisted that it wasn't healthy to eat mackerel and rice all of the time, he still allowed some mackerel but not nearly as much as Haru would have liked. This was normal, the friendly bickering over Haru's favourite fish, and something that definitely wouldn't let up just because they had progressed in their relationship.

When they reached the checkout Makoto immediately spotted Nagisa on duty at one of the tills, so they joined the small line. He looked a bit worn down from work but otherwise still his bubbly self.

"Oh, Haru-chan, Mako-chan!" he grinned when we reached the front of the queue, "The fireworks were great last night, weren't they?"

Haru didn't miss the way he subtly eyed their joined hands and the way his grin widened infinitesimally , "They really were." Makoto smiled, piling some of the first items on to the belt. The blond's mood had heightened so obviously that he was surprised Makoto didn't notice. Nagisa even managed to get a wink in when he wasn't looking, to which Haru responded with an eye-roll.

He was sure the blond would point it out at some point, although, knowing Nagisa it was likely he would wait to embarrass them later on by choosing the most awkward time to say it. To say he was not looking forward to it would be an understatement.

His hand was getting warmer now, almost uncomfortably so, but he didn't let go. Instead he watched as his two friends chatted animatedly, the word 'penguin' being dropped in their somewhere. It gave Haru a little time to think, he'd spent every other moment focused on Makoto so it was about time he had a good long think about what had transpired a week before.

They'd spent the night at Haru's house, bundled under a pile of blankets on the bed, sometimes sharing lazy kisses. It was peaceful, but he was so overwhelmed by this new side of their relationship that he hadn't been able to stop and think about what this meant for them both.

It was there in the brightly-lit supermarket that Haru realised something. Nothing had to change. Here they were, just like the previous times they needed groceries - bickering over mackerel, buying their favourite ice-lollies that they liked to share, chatting idly to Nagisa at the till. Nothing had changed. It made his heart swell with joy.

~

"Do you know where my phone is Ren?"

"You left it in the kitchen I think."

Makoto was collecting up his things to go to Haru's house, it had become a regular occurrence: he would stay with his boyfriend for a few days, three at most, then he would stay home for another few days, and then Haru would stay at Makoto's hose for a few days. It was a comfortable cycle.

It was in January that Nagisa chose to point it out.

"Are you actually dating now?" he asked Haru as they watched Makoto pondering over which brand of rice to buy. The question was out of the blue, but Haru wasn't too surprised, in fact he'd been expecting it to come far sooner.

"Yes." he said, like the answer was obvious, like Nagisa should know better than to ask.

The blond shook his head with a giggle, "It took you long enough. You two have been pining over each other since middle school."