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“Haru. I still don’t understand why we’re looking at this.” Makoto sighs lightly as he sinks down onto his bed. Haru has commandeered his new laptop and is currently scrolling through page after page of this new website. It’s the big thing at school at the moment but Makoto can’t understand why his best friend is so enraptured. So what if Kou was talking about it nonstop, Haru hasn’t listened to any of her advice before.
“You’ve seen the key rings.” Haru replies and Makoto frowns.
“What do - Oh!” The key rings. That’s right, over the past couple of months everyone at Iwatobi has been going crazy over swimmers. A live action drama of a swimming anime has just finished filming in their small port town and the high school was even used for a few shots. Makoto isn’t sure what that’s got to do with anything, though.
“What about it, Haru?”
Haru sighs heavily and glances up from the blinding light. It’s dark in the room aside from the lamp and the house is quiet.
“You remember Shima-san?” He asks and Makoto has to squint.
“Kou’s friend? Didn’t she graduate last year?”
“Yes. She left school early.” Haru says and it’s incredibly strange that he would remember something about a third year girl. He doesn’t even know the names of their classmates.
“How do you know that, Haru?” Makoto asks and more importantly, why does it matter?
His eyes must relay both points because Haru fixes him with a serious look before showing him the screen. It takes a second for his eyes to focus but Makoto realises that Haru didn’t remember at all. He’s on a wiki for the television show called Free! and the characters look suspiciously familiar.
“What is this?” Makoto wonders aloud, scrolling through the page slowly.
“She wrote a story about us and it’s been made into a show.” Haru says easily, like there isn’t anything wrong with that at all. “It’s why she left early.”
Oh…
It makes sense. So much so that memories of a lunch time a long while ago pop into his mind when Shima-chan got them all to sign a petition. But maybe it wasn’t a petition at all.
“I think we signed our rights of the story.” Makoto says and Haru smirks.
“What’s so funny?” Really, this is serious…isn’t it?!
“It’s almost our story.” He replies. “I was looking at it before. Here.” Haru reaches for the laptop and motions for Makoto to lie on his stomach as well. There isn’t too much room on the bed but they both fit in front of the computer easily enough. The second tab opens and it’s already on a loaded page.
“Rin said to make an account. He thought we’d find it funny.” Haru explains as the login page finishes loading. What in Kami’s name is so funny about all of this? Now he knows why girls have been looking at him funny for so long. People have even been asking for photographs and information about Haru and his relationship!
“Look at this.” Haru mutters but he doesn’t move for a second. It seems that he’s contemplating. He must decide because he’s typing ‘makoharu’ into the search engine and Makoto’s eyes widen considerably.
“Rin told me to.” Haru clears up and the teen nods an ‘Ah’ of understanding.
The internet is pretty slow but it only takes a moment for the page to finish loading and what Makoto sees is almost too much to handle.
There are pictures and pictures of boys kissing and having sex…comics and manga panels…of them.
“Haru, this is…” Makoto trails off breathily.
“Us.” His friend confirms and the brunette is starting to feel warmer by the minute. Was he always laying this close to Haru? Their hips are touching and Haru’s toes graze against his foot. The boys on the screen are all different types of versions of themselves but all Makoto can focus on is the ones where they are up close and personal.
What a turn of events.
Looking upward, Makoto focuses on the only thing that he can do to distract himself from the drawing of Haru performing what looks like amazing fellatio.
His skin is beyond warm and Makoto is certain that he’s getting an erection. He might be imagining it but Haru’s breathing seems to have changed also.
“What’s this?” Makoto asks quickly, clicking on the link. A blog loads that is labelled ‘marukaprompts’.
“2000 followers?” Haru reads as he looks at the doodled version of them smiling and looking cute. He shakes his head before taking the lead by scrolling through to the bottom of the page. From the looks of it these are story ideas.
“Fills?” Makoto mutters and Haru clicks into the post.
Haru thinks about Makoto when he masturbates. The summary reads and Haru promptly clicks the ‘back’ button.
“Haru…” Makoto whispers and he’s not really sure what he’s trying to say.
“Let’s just…go on.” Haru replies stiffly. He even sounds a little tense and Makoto feels guilty. That story looked like porn and was probably disgustingly graphic, but nothing can reach his own secret fantasies about his best friend and the fact that the summary sounded attractive. Yeah, Makoto is disgusting for sure.
For a while Haru scrolls, reads and moves onto the next page. It’s a silent affair and both boys are completely astounded that there are so many story ideas revolving around the two of them and even some with their friends. It isn’t until Haru gets to the deeper parts of the site that he pauses, unable to go on.
“Don’t read it.” He says and Makoto tries to look over his hand that covers the screen.
Green meet blue slowly and a soft, “Haru,” does the job. The hand moves slowly and Makoto is left to read, Makoto leaves Iwatobi after Haru sleeps with Rin. Haru goes after Makoto to tell him he loves him but it might be too late.
“I wouldn’t do that.” Haru states resolutely. “And Rin wouldn’t do that.” He pauses, glaring sharply. “Makoto isn’t allowed to leave…Not without me.”
All too suddenly, it feels like his breath is stuck in his throat and Makoto looks away from the computer. He even takes it away from Haru and places it on the floor. Then he’s sitting up and so is his friend. Haru looks deathly serious and Makoto isn’t sure what he’s doing but their hands are touching and no one is pulling away. It’s just like when they were younger and needed to assure each other but this feels like so much more. Surely it’s all in his mind?
He clears his throat softly and keeps Haru’s gaze. “They’re just…stories, Haru. None of it is real.” Makoto says almost regrettably because while some of the prompts were sad and hurtful or just down right ridiculous, others were something that he wouldn’t mind exploring further. He can’t, though, because it’s all fake and the feelings are only real on his end.
A silence falls and Haru doesn’t let go. If anything it feels like he is holding tighter.
“Some of it’s real.” His friend finally murmurs and Makoto’s ears prick. What - what does that mean?
“What do you mean?” He asks quickly and Makoto curses his hopeful heart. He must love misery.
“I’m Haru and you’re Makoto.” Haru explains matter-of-factly and he can’t help but nod in agreement.
“Yeah, we are.” It’s true, but that’s not the part that Makoto wishes for.
…
“And…I’ve thought about Makoto when I touched myself.” Haru admits and it’s so soft that Makoto has to lean closer. His brain computes a moment too late and he’s unable to move at all. Their eyes catch and Makoto knows they are too close. The scent of Haru and soap is amazing and his wavering azure eyes are too emotive.
“I-” He begins to speak but pauses when his heart mysteriously levels out. The fear seeps away slowly as the blue hold him steady and Makoto states, “I’ve thought of Haru, too…you know.”
It doesn’t seem like Haru does know because he looks confused.
“WhenItouchmyself.” Makoto says quickly, words running together. Haru gets it this time and his face turns even redder. Their eyes break apart and they both look in different directions.
“Let’s just stay away from Tumblr. Ne, Haru?” Makoto asks after a long minute’s silence.
“Aa.” Haru responds awkwardly but they don’t move. Makoto can feel the tension between them and he hopes that his friend hasn’t seen how worked up he is. Their hands are still linked, he’s sweating and it’s all so embarrassing.
“Do you think of anyone else?” Haru asks surprisingly. It must be a test. His friend probably imagines all types of people. But no, for Makoto it’s-
“Just Haru.” He murmurs, feeling more depressed by the second.
His worries are all void, however, when Haru threads his fingers between Makoto’s and whispers,
“Me too. Just Makoto.”
Makoto isn’t exactly sure what this all means but he hopes that when Haru lets him steal a kiss, and then another, that their feelings are mutual.
“I like you.” Makoto admits, using his free hand to thread at the nape of Haru’s neck.
It’s soft and barely there but he doesn’t miss it. A ‘me too’ disappears into the atmosphere as their third kiss ensues and this time it takes a lot longer for either to part.
It’s by no means a start. Makoto and Haru have barely dipped their toes in the water. However, Haru has always been one to dive in head first and Makoto is going to find out how very true that is. The waters are just being tested and the verdict is being drawn. Makoto won’t complain no matter what, his mind is filled up with horrible dirty thoughts after all.
Maybe having a tv show about their life or a website full of prompt ideas and porn isn’t so bad. It might be good research material in the future.