Haru didn't like to admit the fact that going to the dentist was one of the few things he actually despised. Usually, he just disliked things, or merely didn't care about them, things like homework- He was pretty sure nobody actually enjoyed homework, but he didn't exactly dislike it either. Homework was just homework.

But going to the dentist was nothing like homework. Just the fact that someone would stick their fingers in his mouth, and at the same time trying to keep a conversation going, as if that were even possible, or worse, putting all kinds of painful stuff there... It was the worst. Haru hated going to the dentist, to the point where it was actually pretty childish.

Of course, that was a secret only known to Haru himself. At least that's what he thought, until Makoto brought it up once:

As nonchalant as Makoto could do, which is not so nochalant, really, he had said "To think that some people are scared of going to the dentist still ... Well, I can't really blame them, can I? Dentists can be pretty scary ..." out of the blue, with a tone of voice that Haru understood the second the words had come out of his mouth.

Haru had given him a pointed side stare, and Makoto glanced back at him, before looking away, pretending to not know what was going on.

"I mean, it's totally OK to be afraid of anything, you can't help it." he had continued, still not looking at Haru.

"I can't help it?" Haru had replied grumpily, and Makoto had blushed, the way he always does when he thinks he's been caught lying.

Basically, his "secret" had been revealed, but that was a long time ago now. Almost six months. Haru would have thought Makoto had forgotten about it by now. He had more important things to worry about, hadn't he? Well, that's what he thought at least. No, that's not correct. That's what he had hoped. But it was Makoto he was talking about, of course he hadn't. He was like the mom in their little group of friends after all. So, no, he hadn't thought he would forget.

How he had figured out when Haru's dentist appointment was, was another story.

Haru was simply relaxing in his bathtub when he heard door doorbell ring. Not wanting to get up, he ignored it. If it wasn't Makoto, then it probably wasn't anyone important, and if it was Makoto, he would come in the back- And there the back door slammed shut.

"Haru-chan?" he heard the distant voice of Makoto say. He didn't answer. They had gone through this routine a thousand times already, the only thing different now was the fact that he was not going to school, nor swim practice, nor had he planned anything with anyone, because of the dentist, which he intended to "forget".

The bathroom door started sliding open. "I'm coming in." Makoto said, despite the fact that the door was already open before he had finished his sentence.

Haru sat up in the bathtub, but not in a way that hinted he would get out. "What are you doing here, Makoto?" he asked slowly, eyeing him suspiciously.

Makoto looked back at him for a few seconds, before he sighed heavily. "It's only fifteen minutes until your dentist appointment," he complained. "And you're soaking wet!"

"It's not today." Haru lied.

"There's a note on your fridge." Makoto protested, before walking over to the bathtub and reaching out. "Come on."

Haru only stared at him for several moment, before he glanced away. "No."

"Haru!" Makoto complained, straightening up. "You can't just not go to the dentist! Your teeth will get bad!"

"I don't want to."

"You have to!"

"No."

Makoto groaned quietly, and sat down at the edge of the bathtub. "Please go to the dentist." he tried.

"No." was his answer.

"I can come with you!"

"I'm not a child."

"Well, you're acting like one!" Makoto blurted, before stopping and considering those words, as if they were a great insult.

"My teeth are fine." Haru insisted, flicking his dolphin toy. "I can go to the dentist when I need to."

"No, because then it will be worse, and you'll regret that you didn't go to the dentist today." Makoto protested, standing up. "So get going."

Haru shot his friend a glare. "I said no."

"Haru!" Makoto whined, before narrowing his eyes at him. "I can get you up from there whether you like it or not."

Haru was mildly surprised that Makoto was even capable of uttering a threat like that. But now that he thought about it, Haru hadn't really made fuzz about getting up from the tub before today. He guessed this was a day of a lot of variation, wasn't it?

But in the end, this was Makoto. He wouldn't force anyone to do anything, so the black haired boy just gave him doubting look, before closing his eyes and leaning back. Makoto was the type of guy to be the mom of everyone and pet cats, and he had never ever physically forced Haru to do anything, rather convinced him to do things (not in a bad way, of course), so in all honesty, he couldn't even imagine Makoto doing such a th-

"Alright, then."

Haru snapped his eyes open in surprise when he felt Makoto's hands tighten around his arm. "Makoto!" he exclaimed, but the other didn't let go.

"You have to go to the dentist!" Makoto said, emphasizing each word while trying to pull Haru out of the tub.

Haru, of course, resisted.

"You can't just – Stop! You can't force me to do anything!" Haru protested, using his free hand to hold onto the bathtub.

"When it comes to this matter I can!" Makoto replied, voice strained.

"No! I refuse!" Haru hissed, before quickly pulling away forcefully, dragging Makoto with him.

Makoto let out a surprised yelp, as he stumbled over the edge of the tub, landing face first into the water, on top of Haru.

Haru gave a shout too, not because he was particularly surprised, but it wasn't exactly comfortable having someone fall on top of you like that.

Makoto shot is head up, blinking rapidly to get the water out of his eyes. The first thing Haru took notice of was how close their faces were in that moment. Their noses nearly touched.

"Ah, sorry." Haru mumbled, feeling a blush making its way up his neck. He rubbed the spot on his chest where Makoto had hit him with his chin.

Makoto was just quiet for a few moments, both cheeks and ears pinking, before he got a facial expression which bore hint of annoyance, but mostly embarrassment.

"Now I'm soaking wet too." he mumbled, and smiled sheepishly. He moved his arm to pull himself out of the tub, but just when he was about to lift himself up, he grabbed a spot that, obviously, as their accident had splashed water all over … everything, really, was too slippery, making him fall right back onto Haru, only this time their foreheads connected, making them both exclaim a yelp of pain each.

"I'm sorry," Makoto quickly said, massaging his forehead.

"It's fine," Haru muttered, copying the other's movement.

For a few moments, none of them said a word. Then, breaking the silence, Makoto gave a short laugh. The sound echoed through the room like a happy melody.

Haru couldn't help it when the corners of his lips pointed slightly upwards, and he let a small noise almost resembling laughter escape them. The heavy silence between them was all of a sudden replaced with a comfortable one, and the two friends just looked at each other, both enjoying the humor of the situation.

Seconds later, it looked like Makoto suddenly again became aware of how close they were, having forgotten it in the haze of their clumsiness. Haru raised his eyebrows at him, as blue eyes met green.

Something happened between them in that moment.

"Uh, Haru-chan?" Makoto asked quietly.

Haru wasn't exactly sure what made him carefully lean up to press his lips against Makoto's, yet it felt completely right when he did it. He could feel Makoto tensing up against his body for a second, before he kissed him back. Their lips moved slowly and clumsily against each other, like a young couple at a school prom dancing together for the first time. Neither of them had had their first kiss, after all, until now. Moments went, and in the end, Makoto broke them apart.

"Ha- Haru-ch-"

"Stop it with the –chan, already." Haru interrupted, those words being the only thing that popped into his head at that moment.

They stayed there for a few more seconds, just staring at each other in a mix between shock and wonder. Neither of them had seen that coming, to be quite honest.

"Haru …?" Makoto finally said, or whispered, rather.

"I don't know … why I- where that came from." Haru mumbled, looking away as his blush finally made it to his cheeks.

"A- Ah … I see." Makoto replied awkwardly.

Silence settled between them again, before Makoto again broke it.

"Uh … Mind if I-"

"No."

Makoto gave him a surprised look, but Haru knew what he was going to say. Their eyes locked again, and slowly, as if asking for permission, Makoto leaned down, connecting their lips a second time.

Haru didn't think he had ever thought of being with his best friend like this. In fact, the thought had seemed kind of weird to him when it once in a while had struck his mind … So really, saying that he had never thought of it would be a lie. But now, as he was putting his arms around his friends head, burrowing his fingers in his messy, brown hair, he had never felt more at peace with himself, as if this was the moment his whole life had been leading up to.

Clishéd as hell, he thought, the words echoing what he had said his first day of school earlier that year, the day when Nagisa and Rin had stepped into the picture again. Before that, for a long, long time, it had only been Makoto and Haru. Makoto and Haru through hardships and sorrow, happiness and other challenges life gave them. He wouldn't say that having Nagisa and Rin back into his life, as well as Rei, was a bad thing, but he knew that Makoto and himself had been less together than before, and he remembered the one night where he had been unable to sleep because he had in fact been afraid of losing Makoto, now that so many things were happening. As it turned out, Haru had been thinking a lot more about Makoto than he first assumed. It was just natural. And he had been afraid of them falling apart from each other but …

In this moment, he knew that would never happen. Feeling the brunet's skin against his own, caressing his cheek as he smiled against his lips … It was a sure sign, Haru thought, that they wouldn't be losing each other. Not now. Not ever.

Suddenly, Makoto leaned back. "Oh," he muttered, looking down at his (thankfully waterproof) watch.

"What is it?" Haru said, almost annoyed at the sudden break.

"I," Makoto stopped for a second and smiled softly, a smile that only Makoto could manage, and a smile that made Haru's stomach flutter like the butterflies Rei loved so much, as well of a smile that he hoped he would see a lot more of now. "Well, I guess you can wait a few more days before going to the dentist."

Haru didn't react for a few seconds, before he too smiled, pulling Makoto down for another kiss. Both of the boys had completely forgotten that Makoto's clothes were soaked, but neither of them minded either, not in this moment. This moment was theirs, and everything else was just … background.

When Haru and Makoto first had met, it had been on swim practice, both recognizing each other from class. They had been too shy to speak to each other at first, but when Makoto saw Haru swim, he was at once mesmerized, and he spoke to him soon after. Since that, they had always been together, their relationship growing stronger and stronger. It was almost as if water had always been what brought them together, Haru had thought.

To this day, he had never been more correct.