Chapter Text
Dawn broke through the clouds in vast spreading rays of sunshine, gleaming out over the hills before they made it to the water. The clouds shone with streaks of pink, purple, red, and orange, and hazy shades of in between as the reflections glistened off the receding tide.
Within the walls of the upstairs apartment above a certain flower shop and snuggled under the covers lay the sleepy lump of Haruka Nanase. He tossed and turned a couple times before blinking awake and starting to get his bearings. He wasn’t the earliest of morning people, and it took him a while for his brain to get up to speed.
After a few minutes of blinking at the strange object on his nightstand, his eyes widened in shock and wonder as he recognized what it was. A stick he’d contemplated using to threaten the man the night before, along with a small note. It was great trouble to scoot across the bed, slowly stand, and pick it up to read, but he did so anyways because who in their right mind would leave a stick with a note?
As he read the words on the page though, he frowned. How could this little note hold such… knowledge but contempt? How could it be the answer to everything he was thinking at the moment? Everything he was starting to wonder about? Had the previous night been a dream? With sweeping tides, nearly drowning twice, and a man that changed into a fish? Had Haruka changed into a fish? Was it all real?
The author of the note knew just what to say though, and with the driftwood stick as proof who was Haruka to deny that it had? It had to have been a dream. It couldn’t be real. Haruka, a siren? That really really good looking man, a siren that had called to Haruka? No, there was no way that everything was real. Even if the note in his hand said otherwise.
[It really happened.] .
Sunlight filtered through the shop windows bold and strong, and with it came the crinkling sounds of a plastic bag. A small tinkle of the door opening, and Makoto came striding into the flower shop: plastic bag in hand, another behind his back, and a small gentle smile on his face. He was here to see Haruka and hopefully make up for last night when he’d run out on the guy for his boyfriend. Makoto knew very well that Haruka was too nice for his own good despite his external behavior, but that’s part of what made him Haruka.
It wasn’t long however, before Makoto’s eyes flicked to the sounds of mumbling, another body in the shop. Not only was this body half naked, wearing nothing but shorts, but he was a very unfamiliar man. One that had started picking up the small blue camera that Makoto recognized as Haruka’s, and what in the world was another guy doing in Haruka’s flowershop?!?
Makoto was shocked, and could feel the anger rising in him. Who… was that? Could it be a burglar? No, he was just looking at the camera with interest, what kind of burglar didn’t go for the cash register and instead focused on a small digital camera on the counter? Scanning the room for other possibilities, and perhaps Haru himself, Makoto’s gaze settled on the form of a crumpled jacket.
The same jacket Haru was wearing last night.
That was it, Makoto thought, this guy was bad news, and he had to go. Setting down the grocery bag as quietly as possible, Makoto kept his eyes on the strange guy with fairly long red hair, tanned skin, and a physique that could prove deadly as the guy held the camera like it was something utterly and completely strange. He peered at it, face scrunched in wonder and one hand on his chin. At least he did, until Makoto set down the bag a little too noisily.
“Hah?” They guy snapped around to glare at Makoto, eyes nearly as scarlet as his hair and peered down at him. It was a look Makoto didn’t like, and he gritted his teeth. If this burglar was going to bring any harm to Haru or the shop, Makoto would protect them.
Then he did something he would never do otherwise, if Haru or anyone he cared about was in danger. He dashed forward from his point on the floor and tackled the guy, wrapping his arms around a muscled but slender waist and both went crashing to the floor with a loud thump, making Haru perk up from where he was upstairs and wonder what the noise was.
A tanned leg swung out and knocked Makoto backwards as the intruder fell on his shoulder, though not as hard as Makoto would have hoped. He avoided the kick narrowly by leaning back, but then grabbed a leg and was unwilling to let the opportunity pass him by to incapacitate the guy.
“Who are you and what did you do with Haru?!” Makoto all but shouted out, and the downward tilt to his eyes and upturned corners of his lips gave him the appearance of a madman during interrogations. On the other hand that’s exactly what he was doing, and it made little difference when the guy snapped back.
“Let go of my legs dammit! I just GOT them!” If the words surprised the green-eyed young man, he didn’t show it, but then a quick glance of carmine eyes to the side spotted one of the chairs at the counter before reaching out to grab it. Makoto jerked in alarm as the tanned arm heaved it towards the both of them, and he barely jumped back, skittering to his feet clumsily.
“What’s going on?!” Came a smooth but authoritative command from the blue-eyed newcomer who was now shifting to the bottom of the stairs just as the chair clattered noisily to the hardwood floor.
“Haru!” Makoto’s head whipped around to gaze in wonder and sparkle with relief at the sight of his long-time friend who was very clearly unhurt, and still dressed in his pajamas which consisted of his usual swimsuit, black with purple stripes, and a slightly oversized Loosey-kun t shirt complete with the goofy character imprint on it.
“Makoto...?” That smooth voice asked coolly, and Makoto was hit with a wave of relief, glancing over to make sure that Haruka was indeed okay. Thank the gods. He paled with the incredulous comment the redheaded intruder made, however, blinking a few times to make sure that he’d actually heard correctly.
“Hey, fishbait! What the hell’s with that shirt?” Realizing he was still in the room, Makoto then jumped up and planted himself protectively in front of his childhood friend who had no choice but to back off a step and make room for him, as large as he was, and with a slight air of annoyance.
“Haru, please run next door and call the police while I keep this intruder busy. He looks dangerous.” Not taking his eyes off the stranger in the flower shop, Makoto inclined his head so Haruka could hear him speak and hopefully would do his bidding.
“Dangerous?! You’re the one that attacked me!” The redheaded man spit out, clenching his fist but not moving closer, only relaxing with a heated frown as Haruka placed a hand in front of Makoto, stopping him from moving anymore and sliding between the two.
“Makoto, it’s not what you think.” The brunette watched as Haruka’s eyes were fierce and intent, calming him down greatly. He tried to remember the last time he’d seen Haruka so serious, and found it had been far too long.
“Huh? Do you know him?” He finally asked of the raven, who glanced off to the side with a nervous gaze, and Makoto had his answer. Yes, Haruka knew him, and there was something that he was keeping from Makoto.
Then the intruder, or not so intruder at this point, swept right up behind Haruka and clasped his arms around his waist in a hug only lovers allowed and stared intently and possessively into Makoto’s eyes, his chin resting on Haruka’s shoulder. The guy may be smaller than Makoto, but that grin on his face was dangerous as he purred out, “Aw, sweetheart, looks like we’ve been found out.”
Instantly Makoto recoiled as Haruka shot an elbow into the stomach of the guy, his own face paling at an action he hadn’t seen Haruka take in years since their feisty days in high school and a small slip of nervous laughter bubbled out of his throat.
“This is Rin. He’s the son of a close family friend from overseas,” Haruka deadpanned in explanation to Makoto while the supposed Rin doubled over, clearly affected by the raven’s jab and murmuring something about everyone being so violent. Really, who was he to talk? “He got mugged and all his money, clothes, and bags were stolen so I was asked to take him in.”
“Hey what kind of lame ass story is that!? At least make it way cooler!” Rin snapped, baring extremely sharp teeth and a pissy attitude, but the look on Haruka’s face as he told Makoto was something strange. It held a small hint of amusement to it, and in his eyes, and Makoto couldn’t help but wonder at this new guy that already had brought out sides of his friend he hadn’t seen in years. Though it was also becoming obvious this guy was more bark than bite, even with the sharp teeth.
So Makoto couldn’t do much but sigh, the small usual smile slipping back on his face much to Haruka’s surprise. “Okay, I think I got it.” He turned then, and Haruka could see something small in the way his lips twitched that unsettled him. “Do you think I could talk to you alone for a bit, Haru-chan?” Definitely unsettled him when Makoto used that nickname.
Haruka nodded though, agreeing, and as Rin watched him hang his head slightly, his eyes narrowed. He could clearly see there was something about these two, and as Haruka followed the green-eyed giant out, his frown grew and he placed a somewhat contemplative hand at the nape of his neck. That was an odd way for them to go, just leaving him standing half naked in this shop, but he supposed he couldn’t do anything about it anyways. There was definitely something odd about the two though.
In the kitchen, Makoto placed the plastic bag he’d brought with him on the counter, the writing on it naming the classic “Thank you” of the local grocery store as Haruka watched, head tilted slightly in question. It wasn’t like Makoto to bring food over.
“I felt bad about leaving you yesterday, so I thought I’d drop by early to make you breakfast,” he started, then chuckled. “Though, it’s probably better you made it since I still can’t cook.”
Haruka blinked, then sighed slightly, touched by the gesture which elicited a wider smile from the brunette. But the events of last night had Haruka’s mind thinking about the reason for why Makoto had to leave. “What about Kisumi?” he’d asked, and that curt way of talking Makoto knew was only Haruka’s way of showing concern despite the impassiveness of his expression at the moment, and it was Makoto’s turn to grew a bit more serious as he turned back to the counter, for some reason unable to look Haruka in the eye.
“He’s fine. He’s tougher than he looks, kind of similar to how you are.” At that Haruka’s eyes narrowed in a glare that made Makoto chuckle and was part of the reason he’d said it in the first place. He knew his friend didn’t like being compared to Kisumi at all, and it was always plain as day on his face whenever Makoto brought it up, but really the two were similar. In… some aspects. Inner strength though, was one of them and it was something Makoto admired in the both of them. “Actually, I see a lot of your qualities in him.”
Now that remark had Haruka pouting further as the glare intensified, and it made Makoto really laugh nervously, covering up a small blush as he admitted, “That… came out a lot weirder than I intended, sorry.”
When Haruka turned his head to look away, Makoto wondered just when he got to be so unreadable, and it clenched at something inside his chest so much so he lowered his voice to a slightly dangerous level and asked, “So… are you going to tell me who he is?”
This made Haruka jerk back towards him, eyes wide, as he hadn’t seen this side of Makoto before, and it unnerved him all the more and to the point he felt like he needed to confirm the story he’d made up earlier. “I told you. His name is Rin.”
Makoto sat up then, his downturned green eyes looking right through Haruka as if he could completely see through the lie. Well, it wasn’t a lie that his name was Rin right now, since that was the name Haruka had given him while he didn’t have his own, but he clenched his jaw slightly at the fact that that gaze told him that his best friend really didn’t believe him completely.
“‘Rin’... I see,” he started, finally releasing Haruka from his gaze as he closed his eyes and turned, bringing a hand under his own chin in wonder. “You know I think I’ve heard of him before,” he glimmered with amusement as he continued. “When you were thirteen, you had a goldfish named ‘Rin’, didn’t you?”
Haruka’s eyes widened in shock. Had Makoto remembered that? Did he really see right through the name? Or did he just find it coincidental?
“And when you were about twelve, you had a stuffed animal named ‘Rin’ because you also wanted a baby brother,” he continued and Haruka was growing more and more nervous. He hoped it didn’t show on his face.
“And when you were sixteen, you named that small plant in the back of the shop ‘Rin’ to tend to whenever you felt lonely, right?” Oh no… Makoto was very clearly seeing right through the ‘coincidence’ that Haruka had named the guy ‘Rin’, and he bit his lip, fidgeting nervously.
“Makoto…” he started, as he didn’t think the brunette would remember all that! They had been close, but to remember tiny details? The guy merely smiled though, watching the emotions play out in Haruka’s eyes and in his gestures and was glad he was still able to read his childhood friend.
“Haru,” he started, placing a hand on the raven’s wrist and turning him so he could look directly into those wide ocean blue eyes, much to the other’s surprise.
“It’s okay if there is… something between you and him,” he half-whispered, indicating the seriousness of what he was saying despite the kind smile on his face which only grew as Haruka realized what he’d said. “I just want to make sure things are okay with you.”
With that, Haruka could feel his own chest clench tightly. Was Makoto really just… letting him go like that? It pained him more than he was relieved that he hadn’t found Haruka out, and it left a bad taste in Haru’s mouth and a pout on his lips.
Makoto had just said it was okay for him to… be with another.