green eyed boy

Not even Haru was sure how to read himself in a sense of romanticism. He’d never really thought about it before, never really cared, though suddenly it was something worth at least considering. It was all a bit confusing though, wasn’t it? Who really knew about these sorts of things? There was no set rules, as far as he was aware. A lot of it would be discovered through trial and error, he supposed, testing boundaries and venturing into previously untouched territories.

It wasn’t entirely unpleasant and bothersome though, he thought. The warm digits tangled around his own were nice, pleasant. The light, unfamiliar flip in the pit of his stomach that the contact elicited was… interesting.

Nothing had really changed much, on the face of things, at least. They still talked about the same old stuff, did the same old things every day, only now with occasional hand-holding and a 200% increase in flustered, nervous stuttering from the gentle giant over seemingly trivial things. Like hands accidentally brushing or shoulders bumping.

No brains, huh? Sometimes that would be nice, he muses, almost wistfully. Not having to think about anything. Like right then, regarding Makoto’s next comment and the accompanying suggestive squeeze around his hand that had sent his previous comfort with the situation scattering. The only motor functions Haru was apparently rendered capable of came in the form of turning his head to the side, his only available voice a quiet, noncommittal “Mh…”. The sentiment was no less than mutual, though voicing it quite so easily and in so many words was another story for a different day. He wasn’t really sure how Makoto could come out with these little lines every now and then with no apparent trace of mortification. Maybe it had something to do with that fact that he was more attuned to himself, assessing and sorting the things he felt instead of pointedly ignoring them; pushing them to some forgotten corner of his mind and heart until he could ignore them no longer.

Makoto’s suggestion to move on from the room was actually welcomed. The previously comfortable darkness of the room had suddenly felt too thick and almost suffocating, warm and sticky and claustrophobic.

"Alright," he agreed easily, replying to the squeeze around his hand by untangling their hands, deliberately lacking haste as to avoid any misunderstandings regarding the whole hand-holding situation. Only once he let his hand fall lifelessly to his side did he realise how clammy his palm had grown without his notice.

The route to the underwater tunnel was conveniently signposted once farewell to the jellyfish room had been bade, making the next leg of their short journey quick and simple. By now, blue hues had once again become entranced with their surroundings, neck craned back to watch the creatures swimming serenely overhead. All of a sudden feeling greatly calmed again, wishing he was on the other side of the glass, weightless, like he’d float away to some unknown depth if there wasn’t anything there to anchor him in place.

He’d found them a nice spot along the wave-shaped tunnel wall, just behind one of the bends, quiet and not too crowded. Despite his efforts and much to his chagrin, contradicting the sense of peace that their surroundings evoked, Haru couldn’t quite keep his mind from wandering into those dark, dusty corners of ignored thoughts. Of the tangles of fingers and easy smiles—too easy, disarmingly so—that are so often thrown his way.

Maybe it wasn’t that bad, and he was making an issue out of nothing. Maybe, with some steeled nerves and abandoned caution, it wouldn’t be so hard confronting the issues. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right? To let his guard slip, just a little, for now, easing himself into the situation while the notion was upon him; fingertips dully itching for something to hold on to.

With this admittedly uncertain resolve, Haru willed his hand to reach out, letting nimble fingers coil gently around the soft fabric of Makoto’s sleeve around his wrist. It was the next best thing to hand-holding, he told himself—more appropriate, at least, less in-your-face-PDA and more discrete, comfortable, just how he liked things—with his gaze fixed firmly on the underwater world just behind the glass.

Others would have called them 'dates' but Makoto didn't see why they had to categorise normal friend outings as 'dates' simply because there was something more romantic between them now. They walked together, ran together, shopped together and explored new places together but that didn't mean that every little step outside their own doors together was a date; He envisioned dates as outings that were suggested with the name 'date' in them, times together that they'd have just for the sake of having a date.

They held hands maybe, there might be a kiss at the end (if he was going by the learning experiences that the daytime soap operas his mother watched had afforded him) and one of them would pay for the other or they'd split the bill. This wasn't a date, this was Haru's birthday treat.

Once they'd stepped through into the calming, quiet world of the underground tunnel he let Haru lead them to where he wanted to go, neck craned up so he could watched the sealife swim above the tunnel in awe; The way the water shimmered, the lighting, it was like he was seeing that special thing again he saw whenever they all swam together. The smile on his face grew wider, eyes almost sparkling as he looked around; Even the quiet being broken by a chatty group of schoolchildren being shown through by their teachers and an aquarium employee didn't detract his gaze from darting this way and that in a sheen of pure wonder.

The split was earlier, the walk alone longer than Iwatobi and that was still something he struggled to adjust to.

His bag had been dumped in his room and he'd gone back out, his wallet in his pocket and a neatly folded note in his hand that contained the things he could remember he needed to buy. Green eyes smiled as much as his lips as he walked, stopping outside the supermarket to gaze at the selotaped on home advertisements with longing at one that was offering up kittens for /free/ to a /good home/; His home was good! But he knew he couldn't keep a cat without seeing if his apartment mates would approve of it first.

As a large hand snaked around his own in a warm tangle of fingers, Haruka’s gaze was torn away from the illuminated display for a brief moment and cast down to their joined hands, before returning it to the almost alien-like creatures gliding languidly behind the glass. It was the first time that he’d done anything like hold Makoto’s hand in public—did it still count? The room was almost completely blacked out, nobody would have seen—and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Perhaps a little uneasy, if he were to be honest. Despite his uncertainty, and comforted by the darkness, Haru didn’t retract his hand immediately. He even adjusted the grip slightly so that it was more comfortable.

"Mn." It was a quiet hum of affirmation that, yes, the jellyfish were wonderful; half distracted as blue eyes followed the movements of one of the gelatinous animals in particular as it bumped into one of the others nearby.

It was dark, that was what had given him the strength to reach out and take his hand in a clumsy tangle of fingers and warm palms. The lights shifted in the tank and projected them in a soft glow of rainbow colours, flickering between different colours on a minute or so cycle and he took the time to concentrate on that to will the tremble away from his form and voice; He was nervous about overstepping the mark after all.

He could read Haru but he didn't know how to read Haru in a sense of romanticism.

As added protection he moved half a step closer and shielded their hands between their bodies, just in case they were happened upon by other observers in the aquarium. His heart was still thumbing but the trembling was gone, aided by the fact that Haru's hand had shifted and settling in comfort in his grip. His gaze turned to glance to the tank next to the one they were stood before where different shaped jellyfish glided around in lazy pulses, but when Haru spoke in one of his usual philosophical manners he turned his attention to him. "That depends. I don't think they have brains." Makoto answered gently. "But I'm sure they don't feel lonely at least, not with all of them there together." A squeeze of his hand, green eyes settling a doting look on Haru.

It was like he was projecting his feelings, that he would feel the same as the Jellyfish; It didn't matter what happened as long as he had Haruka there with him. "I think that maybe some of them know, but others don't because they were born here so it's all they know." He wouldn't know what it would feel like to swim and hit a literal wall, it was something they sought out in the pool after all; But in the ocean? It sounded frightening. The ocean was bad enough without him being confined and enclosed to it.

While Makoto was dealing with the attendants, Haruka stood nearby, his attention very much stolen by their surroundings as keen eyes scanned around the large space.

Upon being granted entrance, the pair took some time to observe the immediate tanks that lined the walls, containing mostly coral fish and sea creatures from the reefs. They were quite pretty, though not exactly a main attraction. The nearby touch-tanks of rockpools and mangroves were next on the hit-list, with Makoto’s grasp around his wrist not unexpected as he headed for them. He’d be lying if he said that the temptation to strip down to his jammers (yes, he was wearing them underneath) wasn’t there; it was definitely there. However, just being able to dip his hands into the shallow tanks and let his fingertips delicately brush against the water’s inhabitants was enough, enough to subdue the urgency to shed all threads of outerwear and become the newest addition to the ray pool.

He was so lost in a small world of his own, staring down into what lay beneath shimmering ripples, that he hadn’t heard Makoto talking to him, asking if they should move along. It took a gentle nudge from his companion to return Haruka from his reverie, earning a quiet ‘Sorry’ in kind for spacing out. With a hint of reluctance, the enchanted swimmer withdrew his arm from hanging over the wall of the tank and straightened himself up. Finding a use for Makoto’s present sooner than he thought, Haru dipped into the bag to grab the towel, padding his arm dry before offering it to Makoto to dry off his hands if he wanted to.

"Let’s find the jellyfish," he suggested as he spotted the advertisement for the jellyfish tanks while flipping through a brochure they had picked up in the lobby, which was soon handed to Makoto to check over the map printed on the back.

He'd handed the tickets over at the door and followed Haruka in, eyes more on his friend as he studied that first reaction to the place; There was the slightly interested glances at the tanks but when the open tank had appeared he really had automatically grasped Haruka's wrist and allowed himself to be tugged forward so his friend could inspect it. "...." His gaze switched from Haruka to the rippled surface of the water, watching the rays and starfish skate along under the water in lazy, though sometimes startled, paths. His hand felt warm from where it had held Haruka's wrist, though he had let it go so Haruka could dip both of his hands into the water.

He'd felt his heart jump when he realised he'd wanted to hold his hand next time. "Should we go?" He asked after a time, worried that Haruka would waste the day here simply because he could touch the water and feel it. Blue eyes stayed transfixed on the water and Makoto gently plucked at his arm to rouse him, sending him a patient smile at his apology. "Don't apologise, it's your day." And honestly, Makoto's heart gave a funny start when Haruka used his towel already.

Today was a good day.

Ruffling the hair on the back of his head, Suga cracked a small smile at the brunet’s question. He was relieved that the stranger had been nothing but understanding and friendly about this whole thing. (Though he was still inwardly kicking himself for becoming distracted.)

                        ✧ "Haah, not sure I can really blame the cart for this one, but it’s entirely possible. However, please, let me buy you your purchases for today.. and I won’t be taking no for an answer, by the way. Just incase you decide to try it~“

His retort held a cheeky tone to it, but Suga’s smile was genuine. He knew it was necessary to do something nice in order to make up for all this mess; not to mention the fact that even within their first few moments of meeting, Suga could tell that the other was generally a pleasant person. Therefore, in order to show he was serious about paying for the purchases, the shorter male quickly scooped any items located within Makoto’s cart and placed them within his own cart before he could protest.

He loved his friends, he dearly loved Haru even though he didn't know exactly what they were at the moment, but new people were fun.

"What...? No, you can't do that...!" It was shopping for two people and he had money from Ikki and himself in his wallet, but as he protested Suga was transferring his purchases into his cart and Makoto's was left empty and useless. "Uhm...at least let me give you some money for those..? Or I can buy you lunch...?" Since nothing he was buying was immediately perishable.

"It’s a gift," he corrected, rather matter-of-factly. It was in a gift bag. It was a gift. With that clarified, Haruka accepted the bag as it was handed to him to peer in at it’s contents, though not before casting an unfortunately familiar look to his companion, one which read ‘quit calling me "-chan"’ quite clearly. Inspecting the contents of the bag, blue eyes were drawn to the cartoonesque image of a dolphin that had been stitched into the towel. It was cute, something quite typical of Makoto. Maybe he’d use it later after showering. "Thank you," he added after closing up the carrier and threading his wrist through the blue rope handles, however, Makoto would probably end up carrying it before the day was done.

"Is it bad if it is?" Makoto asked, the smile on his face lifting slightly when Haru took the bag despite his words. The look that was given to him made Makoto raise a hand to face level in surrender. "Sorry." He commented, though not without sounding rather amused at Haruka's reactions to his words despite the fact that it was a common exchange; it was hard to shake habit after all. He had turned to the aquarium in preparation to enter it, though he watched out of the corner of his eye as Haruka inspected the contents of the bag. "Hmm?" He turned his head to glance properly at him, the smile a seemingly permeanant fixture on his lips. "It's no problem, I hope you can use it."

Giving a nod at Haruka's words, he walked alongside Haru into the building and headed over to the attendants at the entranceway to the first section of the aquarium, handing their tickets over so they could go and have a look at the fish. The first room was spacious, with various tanks dotted in the wall with a variety of small colourful fish in it, in the centre lay an open top pool with rays and small shark breeds swimming leisurely around the enormous tank.

"Am I late?" Haruka never really had much of a flare when it came to greetings. He’d only asked, announcing his presence to the other, since he noticed Makoto checking his watch as he was approaching—maybe it was his phone. He couldn’t tell from behind—and wondered if he was late or if the other boy was just early. It was hard to tell sometimes, when you were as lackadaisical as Haruka was when it came to everyday affairs that didn’t require a strict sense of punctuality. He was never in much of a rush to do anything. Even so, he had been fairly certain that he left at a decent time that morning.

"A little." Rather used to the absence of hellos, Makoto turned to face his friend when he came up to him with a bright smile on his face. He was glad he'd come along, though he knew he would but Makoto had worried that he might have made a predictable choice by ways of a birthday outing; nothing else seemed to fit so well when he looked at places and activities in books and on the computer at school. "But it's fine, you're here now." He greeted, looking a little red in the cheeks as he held the bag out.

The bag he had watched cerulean hues notice with a jump of his heart.

—It was that time of the week again. That time where, once again, the food in the house had begun to run scarce. This was due mostly to the fact that Kageyama always seemed to return home every night ravenously hungry after a long day at practice, but it wasn’t like Suga minded this or anything. In fact, he almost looked forward to the days where he could fill the empty hours with mindless errands while his partner was away. He wasn’t the type to enjoy solitude very much, though it was probably better for the silvette’s studies that this sort of arrangement had been made.

Pushing the school book he had been reviewing away from him, Suga gathered all his required shopping necessities before heading out on his way. Luckily, it didn’t take him very long to reach the store (seeing as the apartment building was located only a few blocks away). Grabbing a trolley from the entrance of the store, Sugawara pulled the list he had scribbled for himself out of his pocket and began reading it over silently to himself.

That was, until his cart came to an immediate halt when it collided with a rather harsh impact into a mystery object. An object that would quickly become clear to the silvette was a person, a darker haired male, who was now sprawled out on the floor thanks to Suga.

Overcome with embarrassment, Koushi maneuvered his way over to the other and extended a hand to help him up.

"Mn." It was a small noise of agreement, figuring the whole thing would be easier if they had the entire riddle. Probably. As far as he could tell, however, there was nobody else around and staring cluelessly at the gate would get them nowhere. "Let’s head back." Maybe they’d run into someone who could provided the missing piece.

Turning around and heading back the way they came, the swimmer allowed himself to mull over the two pieces that they did have. He’d come this far, so he might as well get involved.

"Then let's ask around...?" That was all they could do on the walk back, maybe hope to come across someone who had the first part so they could collaborate and hopefully figure this out. "Maybe the music room in the school? The music sheet books?" He asked hopefully, having no idea how they were going to solve this riddle.

He was at a loss so far.

The melody of the heart.

Well, that could mean anything. Or absolutely nothing without context, which was what he currently lacked. Why was he doing this again? All the way out in the middle of a forest. After reading over the words a couple of times, deciding they wouldn’t make much more sense no matter how many times he read them, Haruka drew his eyes away in favour of looking skyward, trying to spot the letter’s deliverer. He assumed it was one of the doves.

"You don’t have to keep apologising," he commented from over his shoulder as he padded back to the living room, his tone almost suggesting that the apology was already expected and right on cue. Makoto was one of those people that apologised for just about everything, then apologised for apologising. Haruka found it a bit redundant—he had nothing to be sorry for, really—though let it slide without making a fuss. He hated fusses.

As Makoto made the suggestion to let Haru pick what they did the next time they had an outing, the freestylist flicked his eyes over to his friend for a few fleeting seconds, before casting them back towards the television. He was thinking about it, though it was probably hard to tell given his neutral expression. The list of things that Haruka actually wanted to do was usually quite limited and predictable, though this time there was something he had been thinking about for a while now.

He felt safe, even with Haru knowing how he felt it was as if nothing had changed. They had kissed, Makoto got a little bit more flustered around him but their friendship hadn't shattered or gotten any different from how it had always been. He felt light as he stepped into the living room and set the snack bowl down, grabbing a handful of popcorn before he found his seat next to his dark haired best friend. "Okay, thank you." As much as he had wanted on automatic to apologise again, he decided after some thought to say that instead in repeating the circle.

Haru looked over at him and Makoto met his gaze until it left him, smiling at him in a rather happy way; He really felt so content and warm right now and it was such a pleasant change from how worried he'd been since he realised that he had been developing feelings for the freestylist. It had been an odd, slow realisation that had taken him by surprise but upon reflection it hadn't; He'd never been fussed about gender, all he had wanted was someone he could feel comfortable with, someone who would accept him for him and someone who he could love unconditionally.

Haru had happened to be that person.

That was unexpected. And embarrassing to hear when it was actually put in to words. He wasn’t sure how to respond, if he could even reciprocate the feelings verbally yet, still struggling when it came to voicing and pressing his feelings onto others. He wasn’t even sure if he could call it that just yet, everyone always said that clichéd line, ‘you just know' when the time comes. Things weren't always that black and white, but it definitely felt like they were headed down that track. For now, he'd deal with it like he dealt with almost everything else; by ignoring it. Perhaps in time, though currently every passing second felt drawn out and he had to say something.

"I…" He began, but stalled immediately after, just unable to get the words out at present. He averted his gaze sidelong, drew in a small breath and released it in a quiet sigh, his bravery from a few moments ago returning back to some hidden away pocket within himself. "I know. You’re really embarrassing sometimes, you know that?" he mentioned in a weak attempt to lighten the serious mood in the room, to return their conversations to something that could be considered ‘normal’ for them. "And stop adding ‘-chan’ to my name," he added as an afterthought, sounding riled, thin brows drawn into a light frown as he remembered Makoto’s blathering before he had interrupted whatever it was he was saying. Something about snacks.

It felt like maybe his heart would never calm down, that his chest was always going to ring with the heavy, flustered beats it had been pressing onto him for a while now. The silence that stretched out between his confession and Haruka finally speaking had the grip on his shirt tighten, nerves taking their toll on him as he waited for something; a postive response or a negative one, just something to breach the moment for them.

The words his friend spoke soothed him oddly.

"Aaah..sorry.." A quiet chuckle and a relieved tone flooded his voice, an embarrassed smile on his lips and he gazed at his best friend with a warm expression because if Haruka knew then that meant that he didn't mind it at all. Maybe he had been unfair to worry like he had about it. "Sorry..." Though the second apology was for his worry, he didn't even know if Haruka would understand it.

There was a small sense of relief upon crossing the threshold into his friend’s apartment. He slipped his shoes off at the front door and lined them up with Makoto’s in a neat line, before padding into the living area. He responded with a quiet ‘Ok’ once told to make himself at home, slipping down to sit in front of the sofa, his back resting against the edge of the cushions behind him. He found the remote and switched the TV on, not caring what was on, just looking for some background noise. It was some afternoon quiz show which he recognised but couldn’t remember the title of. It wasn’t important. Drawing his knees towards his chest and crossing his ankles, Haruka let Makoto mosey into the kitchen and busy himself with playing host. He was watching the screen in front of him but not really paying much attention to it, his mind too far off in other places to listen to the obscure questions that were being dealt to the hopeful contestants.

Wouldn’t it all be easier if they just cleared the air, sooner rather than later? Regardless of the outcome, it would at least lift the uneasy atmosphere that had been hanging between them lately. He didn’t exactly hate how things currently sat, but he didn’t like it either. Makoto was on edge around him and he didn’t want to tiptoe around things. He should just clear the air, get it out of the way.

After flicking his eyes back and forth a few times between the television and the door to the kitchen, he’d decided.

Tipping his head back, leaning it against the seat behind him, he took a steadying breath and steeled his nerves, before pushing himself up and heading towards the kitchen. Makoto was at the counter, preparing drinks as he had promised. A a few small steps took him close enough to reach out for the hem at the back of his shirt, slender digits curling loosely around the fabric to give a small tug. “Makoto,” he began, before stopping, having only planned this far ahead.

For once he was nervous, actually nervous, and trying to ignore the odd accelerated heartbeat that thrummed in his chest. It felt vaguely like adrenaline, but he wasn’t sure. Which was stupid, getting so fidgety over something so fundamentally simple. He should just…

Leaning up on his toes, trying to diminish the small difference in height, Haruka cast his last shred of caution to the wind and pressed their lips together gently, his eyes fluttering closed without even realising it. It was chaste by all means, and he didn’t linger for too long, but enough to leave his chest feeling just tight enough to not simply ignore. The actual feeling when contact was made was softer than he expected, a bit strange but not unpleasant. Definitely something he could get used to, in moderation.

"Haru-chan...?" The tug on his shirt, turning slightly to look over his shoulder at his friend with an inquistive look. "Are you okay? The drinks will be ready in a minute, we even have sna--.." He'd been off on a tirade about what he'd done, having no idea on what Haruka was planning or why he was feeling like there was a nervous air about them, until Haruka suddenly leaned forward and his vision was filled with the dark colour of his friend's hair. He froze at the soft contact to his lips, however brief it was and when it broke Makoto was left stood there with a bright red face and a flustered, confused look about him.

What was happening? He stared wide eyed down at Haruka and raised a hand to press against his lips in a startled manner. "H..." Voice somewhat muffled by his hand until it fell away from his mouth. "Haru....?" Did this mean what he thought it did? His hand reached out to grasp at Haruka's shirt in the normal nervous motion, tugging gently on it as he lowered his head.