Title: The Importance of a Kiss

Fandom: Free!

Pairings: Makoto/Haruka, Sousuke/Rin, (past one-sided Rin→Haruka)

Rating: T

Warnings: Emotional Breakdowns? (but happy endings)

Summary: Post-Free! Eternal Summer Fic

Kisses have all kinds of meanings, and you shouldn't throw them around carelessly. If you do, someone might get hurt.

A/N: I really wanted to make sure I finished this before New Year's since it's a late Christmas Party fic. It turned out differently then I originally thought it would, but it was still a lot of fun to write! I hope everyone enjoys! :)

The Importance of a Kiss

Chapter 1: Childhood Kisses

First kisses are important. That's what everyone told him, and he took it to heart. First kisses had to be given to someone you love, someone who will cherish it. The young Makoto soaked this information in like a sponge. First kisses are important.

Makoto is nine years old when he decides he wants to give his first kiss away. He loved only one person enough to kiss them, and that was his best friend, Nanase Haruka. They had been friends for as long as he could remember, and at age seven he had already become aware that his feelings for Haru were different than his feelings for his other friends. Haru was different, and Makoto always felt like he was walking on sunshine and clouds when he was near.

When Makoto was seven he had already figured out that his feelings weren't a like, but a love. Makoto wasn't stupid, and he knew himself. He didn't say anything to Haru because, really, Haru should know. Haru and Makoto had been friends for so long and they sometimes could tell each other things without even saying anything. Makoto loved that.

Makoto is nine when he and Haru are watching a movie in the Nanase's living room. Makoto's parents and Haru's parents went out to dinner, and Haru's grandmother was watching them. She was a sweet old lady, Makoto liked her very much. Haru's grandmother was in the kitchen making them dinner. On the screen Makoto saw the princess and the prince kiss, and it reminded him.

It reminded him of what he was told by his older friends on the playground a few days prior. Haru had been sick that day and Makoto had to trudge through the day without him, it was very lonely. Makoto had to hang out with his other friends by himself and they talked about kisses. Only the oldest friend, who had turned ten years old first, had kissed someone other than his family. Makoto's eyes were wide with wonder. He wanted to give a kiss to Haru, because he loved Haru very much. Haru would cherish his first kiss, he knew he would.

That's why Makoto turned to Haru and watched him stare at the television, paying attention to the story. His gaze did not go unnoticed, and soon Haru was looking back at Makoto, a question in his eyes.

"Haru-chan," Makoto started. "Can I give you my first kiss?"

Makoto's cheeks burned and Haru's eyes widened just a fraction in surprise before they went back to normal.

"Why?" he asked.

Makoto duck his head, feeling embarrassed. He wasn't sure what to tell Haru, but he really did want to kiss him. He twiddled his thumbs, trying to think of a reason. When he turned to look at Haru he saw that the older boy didn't seem to be bothered.

"Because first kisses are important." Makoto said, the reason just falling out of him naturally. "You need to cherish them, and Haru definitely will, right?"

Haru's eyes glazed over, a sign he was thinking about what Makoto had said. After a little Haru nodded, and turned his body to face Makoto.

"Okay. Makoto will cherish mine, too."

Makoto jumped up onto his knees, grabbing Haru's hands.

"Of course I will!" he smiled. His lips were stretched from ear to ear. Haru was going to give Makoto his first kiss, too.

They stared at each other in silence, unsure of how to go about it. Haru was sitting with his knees up to his chest, just as he always did when they watched movies, and Makoto was sitting on his knees, hands clasping Haru's. Makoto shuffled forward until his knees touched Haru's toes. He leaned in over Haru's bent legs and Haru leaned forward when he got that far. The kiss was soft, and gentle, and warm. Their noses bumped together, but it wasn't at all unpleasant.

Their eyes had shut naturally, so when Makoto pulled back he had to force them open. His heart was soaring, and his face burning. His whole body was a shade of bright red. Makoto's lips tingled pleasantly and he let his small tongue press against them, trying to calm them down. Haru's eyes opened a moment later, sitting back again and his cheeks were dusted pink. Makoto smiled and Haru turned his head away, back to the movie. Haru had only let go of one hand, keeping the other tightly in his grasp. They watched the rest of the movie like that, with their tiny fingers wound together.

When Makoto is eleven he and Haru gained a new friend. His name was Rin and he was very interesting. Makoto liked him a lot, and he knew Haru secretly did too.

Makoto is eleven when rumors of girls his age running around stealing kisses reaches his mother's ears. He is eleven when his mother sits him down after dinner to have a talk about kissing.

"It's okay mom. I already gave my first kiss to Haru-chan," Makoto smiled. He didn't have to worry about losing his first kiss. After all, he had already given it to Haru long before.

His mother's posture went ridged. His eyes widened in concern, his mom looked stiff in her chair.

"You and Haru kiss?" she asked, eyes filled with something he could not understand.

"No, we just gave each other our first kiss."

His mother let out a breath she had been holding, her posture hunched over. Looking very tired, she picked herself up in her seat again. She was not expecting this when she had heard about the kissing problem at her son's school.

"Makoto, you aren't supposed to kiss friends," she informed. The boy only smiled, swinging his legs in his chair.

"Of course not," he agreed. The response made her more worried than anything else. She was going to speak again when Makoto continued on, tilting his head, gaze far away. His cheeks went pink. "I love Haru, so it's okay."

His mother's brain stuttered. She had to collect herself, think about what she was going to say. She was at a complete loss to the situation.

"Makoto, love comes in different forms," she started carefully. She didn't want to make her son feel bad.

"Yup," he smiled at her. "The way I love my friends and the way I love you and dad and Ren and Ran is different. I love everyone, but it's not like Haru. I really love Haru."

Her eyes were so open they ached. It seemed her little boy did like Haru in a different way. She had seen signs of it, but ignored them. He was her first child, she didn't know if what she was seeing was unusual or not for childhood friends. Her mouth tightened into a frown. She loved her child, but she was also incredibly worried for him.

"Makoto, it's okay if you love Haru. I'll love you no matter what, but liking boys is," she trailed off, trying to find the right words. "If you like boys, life will be very difficult. People don't treat boys who like boys kindly. You might get teased or hurt."

The small boy's eyes widened just a fraction before they went down to the table, his smile disappeared in an instant.

"It really is wrong?"

"No! No it's not wrong," she backtracked. Even when she was trying her best she was still hurting her baby. She chastised herself for not having realized what words like that insinuated.

"But that's what Tadashi said when Haru and I still held hands," Makoto whispered. Tears started to drip down into his lap. His head was bowed. She felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Haru told me not to listen." He said more to himself than his mother. Haru was protecting him, but shortly after that Makoto and Haru stopped holding hands, and Haru started telling Makoto he couldn't call him Haru-chan. Maybe Haru was thinking about the things his mom was talking about.

"Makoto," his mom whispered. She stood up and walked over to her son, placing his small cheeks in her hands. She gave the boy a reassuring smile.

"Makoto, it's okay to love boys. There's nothing wrong with it. People, they're just afraid. They're afraid of what doesn't make sense to them."

Makoto cried in silence, wringing his fingers together.

"Mom's not afraid?"

"Not at all," his mother shook her head. "You're my son, aren't you? Honestly, how could I ever be afraid of you? You're perfect just the way you are. If you do like other boys, then that's fine too. I'm a bad mother for not noticing." Makoto jolted, he grabbed his mother's hands in his.

"You're not a bad mother! You're the best mother ever!" he instead urgently. His mother laughed and wiped his tears before pulling him into a tight hug.

"My sweet boy," she whispered, kissing his forehead. She picked him up off his seat and Makoto squeaked.

His mom had stopped carrying him when he was six, yet here she was carrying him and he was nearly twelve years old. She walked them into the living room where they sat on the couch. The twins were busying themselves with toy blocks on the floor, his father watching them from his chair, book in hand.

"Honey, I have something to tell you." She said, glancing over to her husband. He looked up from his book at her, eyebrows rising at the sight of her with their eleven year old curled up in her lap.

"Alright," he said. He placed his book on the coffee table. The twins blubbered and yelled at each other, fighting over something in the background.

"Our son likes boys."

His eyes went wide as he processed the information. He sat in silence, and saw his first born clinging onto his mother's shirt, crying. He was afraid of the answer. He took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay, he's your son."

"Our son," she corrected. His eyes returned to the crying boy and he got up. He walked over to them, sitting down on the couch. He sighed again, hearing the whimpers of his sweet, gentle hearted son. He wrapped his arms around the two.

"He's our son." He confirmed. Makoto cried out before throwing his arms around his dad. He smiled at the boy. He didn't want his first born, the one who gave him no problems in all years of his life, a reason to feel so upset.

They pulled away and Makoto's crying digressed into upset hiccups. His mother sighed, leaning her head against his.

"Now that we have that behind us, there's the thing about kissing." She said, and Makoto looked up at her confused.

"Makoto, all kisses are important, not just the first ones. You can only kiss people you really love. Your family and your loved one should be the only one to receive kisses, understand that? You shouldn't give them out thoughtlessly." Makoto nodded, understanding what his mom was trying to say.

"And please," she added. "Don't go kissing anyone else until you're older. Kids should be kids for as long as they can, you shouldn't be kissing anyone until you're older. Understand?" Makoto nodded again, smiling.

"How old is older?" Makoto asked curiously. His mother gave him a look before seeing that he was genuinely curious, and wasn't planning on anything.

"Sixteen at least," she supplied. She turned to her husband who just shrugged, uncaring towards the situation.

"Okay. It's okay, you don't have to worry about the girls trying to steal kisses at school. I only want to kiss Haru-chan anyways." He reassured with a smile. Makoto father's face suddenly showed realization before exasperation. It would be a lie to say he hadn't suspected it.

"Well you should be more aware, and tell Haru that too. I can't believe these girls are doing that in the first place, it's ridiculous. If you boys were running around doing the same thing I'd have to give you a good smack." She scowled, thinking about what kind of parents were raising, or failing to raise, these children.

Makoto paled at the thought. His mother had never spanked him, but the twins needed a few good pats on the butt to stop them from trying to play with things or do things they shouldn't. He knew that they didn't really hurt, but the idea was still a bit frightening. Makoto really hated the idea of pain.

"Alright you little pains, it's time for your bath." His mother cooed, getting up off the couch. Makoto scrambled to get off her lap before she did so. She scooped up the two who giggled and squirmed in her arms, chanting no like it was their favorite word.

Makoto's father ruffled his hair before returning to his chair and picking up his book.

He sat on the couch smiling, he felt like the whole world was brighter than it was before.

Makoto is still just eleven when his world falls apart. His good friend Rin tells him that he's leaving after the relay, and they won't be seeing each other for a very long time. Rin is going to Australia to swim. This saddens Makoto, but he has Haru so he knows he'll get through it. They had a wonderful relay, and Makoto is so happy he could cry. The relay was so fun he thought he was floating in his own happiness.

That happiness was short lived.

After getting changed he had to go out to see his parents. Haru said it was fine for him to go instead of wait, and so he did. His parents congratulated him and asked if he wanted to go out to eat. He declined, and told them he'd leave with Haru after they said a final goodbye to Rin. His parents shot the boy a grateful smile, the twins had been kicking up a fuss in their boredom and they wanted to take them home as quick as possible.

While walking around to look for Haru and Rin he found Nagisa talking with his sisters. They waved to each other before Makoto continued his search. He didn't find them in the locker room, and they weren't in the showers. Makoto was just about to give up and go find Nagisa again when he saw a tuff of dark hair. There at the exit of the locker room was Haru and Rin. Makoto wondered how he could have missed them, but the locker room and shower were both very big.

"Haru," a quiet voice said. Makoto's body froze for reasons beyond him. Rin had never called Haru by his first name before, it stunned him into silence. He had just been about to call out to the two, but found his feet glued to the ground and his mouth sealed shut.

"Can I give you a goodbye kiss?"

Makoto felt his arms and legs go cold. A kiss? Rin wanted a kiss from Haru?

"Okay," answered his best friend.

His tummy swirled uncomfortably. He felt a knot growing in his throat. He felt awful, but he couldn't move, couldn't speak. It felt like he was falling off a cliff. His stomach dropped painfully as he watched his two friends kiss. Seconds felt like hours and Makoto tried to direct his gaze away, but couldn't. When they pulled apart Rin had tears in his eyes, and his voice sounded like he was choking them back.

"Can I give you a few more?"

Haru nodded and they kissed again, and again, and again until Rin finally calmed down. Makoto was the one crying now, silent tears falling down his cheeks. They picked their bags up off the floor before exiting the room. When the dorm slammed back shut Makoto cried silently into his hands, gasping for breath. Haru and Rin, they were kissing. Haru kissed Rin. They had kissed so many times, too. Makoto felt his shaky legs carry him out the emergency exit. His body did not feel like his own.

For the smallest of seconds he felt afraid of using it, he was always worried about breaking unspoken rules. You only use emergency exits for emergencies, but he didn't want to see Rin and Haru. He couldn't see Rin and Haru right now. He felt bad, he felt awful. He wanted to say goodbye to Rin too, but he would only be upset.

His legs carried him home in a quick pace. He was huffing and puffing when he reached his house. He slipped of his shoes and ran into his room, shutting the door. He jumped onto his bed and finally let out his wails and whimpers.

He heard the door click open but he just shoved his face further into his pillow.

"Makoto, dear, are you alright?" his mother asked. Makoto tried to breathe.

"I'm okay, can you just," he sucked in another breath. "Can you leave mom? I'll be okay."

His mother watched him apprehensively before she shut the door. He could hear his mother and father talk just outside his room. They were trying to figure out why Makoto was so upset, until they decided it was likely because Rin was leaving tomorrow.

They left him alone until dinner. Makoto just tried to get through it, clinging onto their theory that he was upset because Rin was leaving. He didn't want to tell them the real reason why. He was upset about his friend leaving, but now he didn't feel it. He only felt cold, like his whole body was in an ice bath.

Makoto was just eleven when he had his heart break.