Free!Dom (Free! Fanfic/ONC Entry)

Fragile Butterfly

Understanding Haru was something very few could claim, yet Makoto Tachibana, in fact, did know his childhood friend quite well. His friend's eccentric behaviors never bothered him, yet there were still times Makoto worried about Haru. In the back of his mind, he couldn't think of a time he and Haru weren't together, particularly after Haru's grandmother died. Taking care of Haru simply became a natural extension of his everyday life.

The fact someone needed to take care of Haru was a fact of life. Haru's love of the water meant Makoto's childhood friend almost always wore swim trunks under his clothes instead of underwear just in case he found a place where the water invited him in. This eccentric behavior of Haru's involve places people normally wouldn't swim such as fish tanks and water fountains. Makoto found amusement in Haru's love of the water, yet knew only to well Haru might get in trouble if he did something considered socially unacceptable in public.

Taking care of Haru also meant keeping Haru on schedule. Makoto stopped by every morning before school and made sure his childhood friend arrived on time. Sometimes he found Haru lounging in his bathtub enjoying the water. Other times he found Haru standing in front of the kitchen stove wearing only his swim trunks and an apron cooking himself mackerel for breakfast. Sometimes Haru wasn't at his family home and instead started towards school but found himself distracted by some body of water beckoning him.

Today he made sure Haru arrived at Rin and Guo's place early knowing full well any distraction might make the trip take even more time. He watched in amusement as Haru ignored their literary teacher attempting to goad Haru into socializing with everyone else, yet nobody in the room minded Haru participating as Haru always did. The amusement he felt disappeared when he saw the news broadcast which indicated the disappearance of the pop idol Haru-chan, but he wasn't surprised when Haru reacted in the manner he did.

Having taken care of Haru since childhood, Makoto knew the best thing for his childhood friend was making sure got home safely, yet he also knew he would need Rin's help. A quick glance at Rin let him know his second childhood friend was thinking the same thing. He gently tugged on Haru's sleeve and maneuvered his childhood friend towards the door. Makoto wasn't surprised when Haru started in the wrong direction upon leaving the house and gently tugged his sleeve as a mental guide for Haru regarding the actual direction.

Haru turned towards Makoto and Makoto saw the panic in Haru's vivid blue eyes. "It's going to be okay. Haruna will be okay Haru."

"You don't know that."

Makoto found himself taking a deep breath while Haru's eyes darted in the direction Rin spoke from. "Could you possibly help instead of hindering here?"

"Is it really okay to get Haru's hopes up?"

Haru turned around and started walking in the wrong direction again. Makoto quickened his step and got in front of Haru. He gently placed his hands on his childhood friend's shoulders. "Not that way." Makoto gently turned Haru around and gently pushed him in the direction of Haru's home. He now faced Rin and gave his other childhood friend an exasperated look. "You know how Haru is Rin."

Rin rubbed the back of his head and closed his eyes. "Okay. Maybe I could have worded that better. I don't want to lie to him though, particularly when we don't know what's going on."

The latest words made Haru stop and Makoto let out a sigh. "Haru..."

Rin stepped over. "Haru, look at me." Haru instead looked away, but his eyes narrowed slightly. Rin and Makoto watched as Haru started walking in the direction he now looked. A flash of light alerted the two of the oncoming car and both reached out reflexively grabbed Haru's arms and yanked him back. Makoto was sure Rin held on as tightly as he did, yet he didn't appreciate the way their other childhood friend raised his voice. "Haru! What were you thinking!"

"The only thing Haru's thinking about is the fact Haruna's missing."

A pair of magenta eyes widened slightly and then closed. Rin spoke in a reflexive manner which indicated he was angry, but this time the anger was directed at himself. "I'm sorry Haru. I should know better. Don't scare us like that though. You almost got hit by a car." The two continued holding onto Haru's arms to prevent him from taking off. "Look, the best thing you can do for Haruna right now is to go home."

Makoto watched Haru look away. The expression on Haru's face indicated his current situation was outside his normal routine, but a change of any kind was never something Haru dealt well with. Somehow Makoto and Rin managed to get Haru turned around, but also got their childhood friend home without any other incident. They both watched Haru kick off his shoes upon entering the domicile, but scurry off towards his room. Makoto slipped his shoes off and headed towards the room.

Makoto wasn't surprised when he found Haru sitting in the corner of his room on the bed with the sheet pulled over his head. He did feel a pang of uneasiness at seeing Haru wrap his arms around his knees and hide his face. "Seriously..."

Rin's voice made Makoto flinch, but he quickly pushed Rin aside. He put his face right into Rin's. "Don't. Don't agitate Haru any more than he already is."

The pained look on Rin's face made Makoto back off slightly. Rin turned his head and spoke in a whisper. "I know. It's hard though seeing Haru like this with the way she treated him when we were growing up. I'm Nagisa's never met her. If he ever knew..."

"Yeah, well, it never bothered Haru."

"She dressed him up like a girl!"

Makoto clapped a hand over Rin's mouth. "Shush! What happened to not agitate Haru. He didn't care."

"Haru never understood the social implications. Not like Nagisa did." Rin looked away but folded his arms across his chest. "Nagisa never understood why Haru... if he did..."

The memory of the cruelty of Nagisa's older sisters made Makoto look away. "I don't think he'd stop admiring Haru for that."

"Why not? He thought Haru did what he did that day because Haru was being nice to him. He didn't realize Haru has no issues dressing in girls clothing let alone a girl's swimsuit."

"Haru is..." Makoto frowned but backed away so his back now leaned up against the all wall. "I think our opinions on that vary slightly."

"Still..."

"Could we not talk about Haruna's fetish of making Haru dress up like her twin sister? That's really not the same as Nagisa's sisters dressing him up like a girl. You know it isn't, but you know full well the reason Haru enjoyed it had nothing to do with liking to dress in girls clothing. If that were one of his eccentric behaviors, you know full well we'd have to deal with him attempting to dress in female clothing every day just like we have to deal with his other behaviors."

"Sorry. I'd better get home." Rin still couldn't make eye contact with Makoto.

"Could you possibly not say anything to the others?"

"I know. The situation between Haru and her is a private matter, but some secrets are best not talked about."