Epilogue

I heard the sound of the doorbell ring and looked at the time. I slipped on my jacket before opening it and seeing Makoto standing in front of me with a smile.

"Good morning." I greeted him as he walked inside.

"Good morning. Is he ready?"

"Is he ever ready?" I sighed as Makoto laughed and went into the bathroom as usual. Haru was found sitting in the tub filled with water.

"Let's go. We'll be late for our flight, Haru-chan." Makoto outstretched his hand for his best friend to take.

"I told you to stop calling me –chan." Haru said as he grabbed onto Makoto's hand and pulled him up.

"You're going to turn into a prune one day if you keep soaking in that tub." I yelled through the door after Makoto stepped out of the bathroom, so Haru could put his clothes on.

"Are you guys settled in?" Makoto asked me as I placed my small backpack on my back.

"Does it look like it?" I asked as I outstretched my arm towards all the packed boxes in the living room.

"It looks like my place." Makoto laughed and Haru finally appeared from the bathroom fully clothed. I threw his jacket towards him and began to push the two of them out the door.

"Let's get a move on."

"But I need my mackerel." Haru said after I closed the apartment door behind me. I fished into my backpack and pulled out the familiar breakfast for Haru to eat and tossed it towards him.

"Already made it."

"Do you have the keys?" Haru asked me as I locked the door.

"Yup."

"Passports?"

"Yup."

"Maybe this was a good idea for you two after all." Makoto commented on our living arrangement.

"I think so too." I agreed as we began to make our way to the airport.

"Ugh Kei!" The all too familiar brunette came into the apartment without a care in the world. The black haired girl looked over her shoulder to see him standing there with his glasses perched on his nose and papers clutched in his hand.

"Hi Makoto!"

"I need your help!" He cried as he ran over to her and stuck the papers in her face. "Can you proof read my essay? I don't know if what I'm doing is right."

"Sure, but I want to finish dinner first, okay? You can have some."

"Yes, please!" The brunette nodded his head at his childhood friend.

"Makoto?" The pair looked over to the bathroom to see the familiar ocean eyed boy walking over to them with a towel on his head and nothing but his boxers on.

"H-Haru! Where are your clothes?" The brunette felt extremely awkward at that moment as he saw his friend walk over to them. He quickly moved away from the couple and stood on the other side of their kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from the family room.

"It's just like wearing a bathing suit Makoto." Kei said to her red-cheeked friend.

"What's that?" Haru asked his partner what she was stirring in the pot.

"It's a new recipe I'm trying out. I've been figuring out how to make you a proper diet like your coach suggested." She answered.

"I want mackerel." He stated as he continued to look at the pot.

"Nope. We're having this."

"Mackerel."

"Go put on some clothes, Haru." Kei pushed Haru slightly towards their bedroom, so he could throw something over his boxers and Makoto's ears would no longer be red.

"Mackerel."

"No."

"Mackerel."

"No."

"I want mackerel." Haru stated from the bedroom. A sigh escaped Kei's lips as she continued to stir the ingredients in the pot.

"We go through this everyday, Haru. You can't just live off of mackerel." She sighed, but their brunette friend laughed at the couple's exchange as he waited for dinner to be ready.

"What do you mean, you're here?" Kei questioned what Haru was saying on the phone.

"I brought you your bento. You forgot it at home when you left this morning." Before Kei was able to make a comment she had turned the corner and saw Haru standing a few feet away from her. She hung up the phone and walked over to him and saw him holding her bento in his hand.

"Thank you! I completely forgot it when I left this morning." She thanked Haru as she took the neatly wrapped lunch from him.

"Don't forget it tomorrow, I'm at the pool early tomorrow morning." Haru stated.

"I won't, I promise. Now you should get going to practice. I'll see you when I get home." She said as she leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek before turning around and waving at him. When she reached her group of friends once again they all crowded around her like vultures.

"Was that Haru?"

"Is that your boyfriend you're always talking about?"

"You two look like such a cute couple!"

"You two decorated the place nicely." Kei's mom commented on the layout of the small apartment as she walked around.

"Yea well, I guess it also helps that we didn't bring a ton of stuff." Kei added onto her mother's thought. Their discussion was interrupted by the familiar cry of Kei's father bursting into the room after seeing the bedroom.

"There's only one bed!"

"And your point is…"

"Why is there only one bed?"

"Did you want them to sleep in separate beds?" Kei's mother yelled at her husband.

"I wanted them to live in separate apartments!" Kei sighed at the same idea that her father continued to complain about.

"Well too bad! I like this apartment." Kei's mother put her foot down on the matter and her father began to cry as he talked to his wife.

"Why did I let you talk me into this idea?"

"Because whatever I say goes." She shot back at her husband. Everyone in the apartment stopped what they were doing when they heard the sound of keys and the front door opening.

"Haru-chan!" Kaiya and Kaito both yelled in unison as they ran to the familiar boy that they had grown to love so much.

"Kaiya? Kaito?" Haru seemed a little confused as to why the twins were tackling him in his apartment. Once he closed the door and looked up he swallowed the smallest lump that gathered in his throat as he saw Kei's father standing beside his daughter in a protective manner.

"I think we need to have a talk, Haruka Nanase." As Kei's father crossed his arms over his chest and held his head high Kei, Mrs. Mizuko, Keiya and Kaito all pressed their hands against their foreheads and sighed.

"Do you really need to have a talk with him every time you see him?" Kei asked her father.

"Nagisa! Rei!" Kei yelled through her laptop towards the duo in Rei's bedroom. Haru, Kei and Makoto had gathered in the couple's apartment to Skype with their friends back at home.

"Kei-chan! Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" The familiar blonde also yelled.

"How are you guys?" Makoto asked his friends.

"We're great! We have a bunch of new members and they're great!" Nagisa praised the new members of their Swim Club.

"So who's the captain then?" Kei asked the two boys.

"I am! And Nagisa-kun is vice-captain." Rei answered.

"What was it you said about vice-captains last year, Nagisa?" Kei asked the blonde.

"I believe it was something like 'they don't do anything really'." Makoto stated beside his friend.

"But I do stuff!" Nagisa yelled on his end of the connection.

"I think you should personally go to every vice-captain and apologize." Kei teased her blonde friend.

"But that's so many people!"

"Then maybe you'll learn to think before you speak for once."

"Wait Kei-chan…"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a cheerleading uniform for Haru-chan's new swim team?"

"W-What? Don't change the subject!" Kei's voice cracked slightly at the question.

"But you still need to buy one for him!"

"What? Haru! Say something!" Kei looked to the man she was living with to only have him shrug his shoulders.

"Don't bring me into this." He stated. Kei groaned before pushing her forehead into his forearm.

"Ugh….Haru!"

"Who's that?"

"I don't know."

"No way! That's Haru's girlfriend!"

"Wow…wait…is she the one that wanted to be a singer?"

"Yea, I saw her perform last year since my cousin was in the same choir."

"And…"

"And she's good man. She could probably be one too."

"I guess it also helps that she's easy on the eyes."

"That Haru is one lucky guy."

"I heard he swims for her."

"What? How can you swim for someone?"

"I don't know! That's just what I've heard."

"She gave up her dream, so he's swimming for her because he's living out his." The two boys looked behind them and were surprised to see the coach standing behind them with his hands on his waist as he stared at the couple on the other side of the pool. The couple didn't see anyone around them as they continued to talk and only look at each other. The coach knew that Kei was one of the few people that would never render Haru's progress, so she would come in every once in a while to see how his progress has developed.

"C-Coach!"

"It's a good thing she isn't going into the spotlight, then she'd have to deal with knuckle heads like you."

"We're terribly sorry." The pair bowed towards their coach.

"Maybe you two would be able to find a girl like her…if you cleaned up your brains." The coach said as he walked away from the pair and towards the couple on the other side of the pool.

They reminded him of him and his wife.

They reminded him of happiness.

They reminded him of love.

Kei's hand reached up to her forehead and lightly massaged the area. Her exam was tomorrow and she was worried that she wasn't going to do well. Haru leaned against the doorframe and observed her as she sat in front of the table with her books scattered across the wood. He walked over to her and kneeled down behind her. His nimble fingers rested on her shoulder as he began to place slight pressure on the tensed up skin.

"Come to bed." He stated. She shook her head and sighed.

"I can't. I want to make sure I know this." He stood up silently and took her hand away from her pencil. She looked up at him and he saw how tired her eyes were from staring at the pages of her textbook.

"Come on." He began to tug at her hand and she reluctantly got up from her spot. As she left her books and papers behind she arrived at her comfortable bed and rolled into the comfy sheets. Kei rolled over to her other half and placed her head on his chest and reached out her arm, so she was holding him. With her right leg in-between his she began to relax in her position.

"I love you, Haru." She mumbled against his chest. She didn't see the small smile on his face that he always got when she said those three little words. He lightly wrapped his arms around her as he let his eyes close.

"I love you too, Kei."

Haru had a tradition. Right before he would get onto the platform he would always look to his left and into the stands. The smallest smirk would form on his lips as he steps onto the familiar platform. He still couldn't believe that after all these years she was still standing in the bleachers.

Just like every other time she was pressed up against the bar. Her, now full, charm bracelet was prominent on her right wrist as she would wave at him and yell his name as loud as she could. Her long black hair was in a bun on the crown of her head. A smile was plastered onto her face and her violet orbs were now crescent moons as she cheered on the man she was in love with. The only difference was that her left hand, that was gripping onto the bar, had a small sparkle coming off of her finger. Before Haru dove into the water he knew that he made all the right decisions.

Kei was always beside him because she believed in him more than he believed in himself. She understood him more than he would like to admit. She made him happy.

That's why last night he asked her that important question.

She was a part of him.

She was a part of his future.

And that's the end! I honestly loved writing this Epilogue! So leave me your reviews and thoughts on both stories or what your favourite part was or anything! And if you haven't already then go check out the Rin story! I'll be focusing on that now!

-xoxo