The subway was completely swarmed with people draped in coats and scarves, jostling Makishima as they scrambled for their respective trains. He scanned the sea of heads, wondering how on earth he had managed to pull himself out of bed and go to the train station this insanely early in the morning-(6:00 wasn't a time for a normal human, after all-) when a holler of "Maki-chan!" came across the crowd. People were staring, and he tsked in embarrasment and lowered his head as Hokogaku's 'sleeping beauty' began making his way across.

"Maki-chan!" Toudou repeated again in a breath of awe. "I didn't think that you would be here this early!"

"It's hard when your phone's vibrating every second to remind you." Makishima grumbled, fishing out the device and showing Toudou the long line of alerts. "Sersiouly, stop." (Of course the texts weren't endearing, Makishima would never think that.)

Toudou just laughed, running a hand through his hair (perfect, as always.) "Well, since Maki-chan actually agreed to go on a date-I can't just let this opportunity go, could I?"

"It's not like I would fly across the world in a span of one night, Toudou." Makishima sighed.

"But you could oversleep and forget!"

"..." Makishima didn't have any response to that, just turning and wrapping his scarf tighter around himself. "So, you've brought me out here; what are we going to do now?"

"Just you wait, Maki-chan!" Toudou crowed, pointing a victorious finger at the sky. "I,Toudou Jinpachi, have arranged the perfect date! It'll be unforgettable, and one day in the future, you'll look back and think about how amazing this day was-"

"All right, I get it-I get it!" Makishima groaned. "Can we just go now?"

"Uwa-so eager, Maki-chan!"

"Shut up!"

Needless to say, the train was even more crowded than the subway, and Makishima found himself uncomfortably squished between a crying girl's family and a snappish bussinesswoman on the phone. Toudou had somehow gotten a seat, chatting Makishima's ear off about the new hair product he was using, and 'did Maki-chan see any difference?' that Makishima tuned in and out, letting Toudou's voice become a pleasant fizzle in the background.

"Mama, I'm tired!" The little girl complained. "My feet hurt and I want to go back home!"

"Now, now," the mother sighed, the bags under her eyes evident; did they sleep at all? "We'll be getting off after a few stops, it'll be fine."

Makishima yawned and finally noticed that Toudou's voice was lost and he too, had been listening in on the conversation.

"Here, you can have my seat." Toudou stood up gingerly, swaying with the motions of the train as he gripped the rail, flashing a smile to the girl, who just started at him in awe.

"Thank you so much," the mother smiled wearily.

"My pleasure." Toudou grinned back; the girl was still staring at him in a way that made Makishima feel slightly uncomfortable. "No trouble at all."

When he finally moved away, the girl started blushing, all the way down her neck.

"Starting your fanclub young now, are you?" Makishima murmured as Toudou made his way to his side.

"Come on, Maki-chan, it's nothing like that!" Toudou laughed. "Why, were you jealous?"

"No way, idiot."

The train made a sharp turn and Toudou accidentally jostled Makishima with his bony elbow. "Sorry, Maki-chan!"

"Tch."

But he noticed that Toudou kept on pressing into him slightly, even when the train was passing through stable areas, and just finally decided to entwine their fingers together, (ever so slightly) to rid himself of all the bother.

Toudou gaped at Makishima for a moment, then finally linked his fingers more firmly, leaning in to whisper My Maki-chan is so cute which in turn, caused Makishima to blush a flaming pink and try to shake the fingers away from his. Toudou, of course, just held on all the firmer.

They stopped at a bustling shopping center, Toudou dragging him along off the train. "Come on, Maki-chan-let's go somewhere to eat!"

"Where are you-"

Toudou stopped at a wooden sign anchored on thin silver, hands perched on hips. "Maki-chan, it's a french bakery! Let's go in!"

"Toudou-"

"If we ever go to Le Tour de France, french food is a must!"

"Toudou-"

"Let's go!"

"Toudou!"

"Eh?" The climber finally turned to face Makishima. "What's the matter, Maki-chan?"

"..." He opened and closed his mouth, finally thinking better of it and just waving Toudou ahead. "Your call."

Toudou frowned (ever so slightly) but went on ahead into the bakery.

They ended up ordering few things; Makishima with a blueberry croissant, and Toudou with a simple cup of french onion soup, after tedious minutes of agonizing over the menu-What food has the least calories in here?

They chattered about aimless things while waiting for their food to arrive-(more like Toudou talking and Makishima doing his best to keep interested).

Their food arrived, and Makishima bit into his crossiant aimlessly, causing some sauce to ooze out onto his cheek.

"Ah, Maki-chan." Toudou breathed, grabbing a napkin and reaching across to wipe it from his face, so close that Makishima could see every eyelash sweeping over the electric irises. "You've got food on your face."

He pulled back triumphantly, folding the napkin meticulously. "You actually let me do it, Maki-chan!"

"Eh?"

"I thought you would slap me or something, but you actually let me do it! You do care, after all!"

Makishima just scoffed, taking another bite. Toudou's soup arrived, and they ate in silence for awhile, Makishima's mind drifting off.

"-chan!"

"Hm?" Makishima blinked.

"Geez!" Toudou sighed, piece of bread in hand. "I was asking you something!"

"Sorry, didn't hear it." Makishima yawned, cleaning his hands of the croissant.

"Why do you only call me Jinpachi in races?"

Makshima spluttered. "I-that's-" He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, avoiding Toudou's insistent stare. "You're just more..."

"Beautiful?" Toudou pipped in (unhelpfully).

"No! Just.." Makishima sighed, putting his arm back down on the table. "It's adrenaline, I guess."

"Oh!" Toudou exclaimed. "Then that explains why-"

"Toudou, shut up."

After they were done, Toudou slapped down a bill (not heeding any of Makishima's sharp protests) and dragged him out into the sun and across the road, keeping the direction until they reached a metropolitan shopping center.

"...Was this your plan all along?" Makishima groaned, a bit taken aback by the sheer size of the shopping center-at this rate, he would be here for the next 30 years.

"Nope!" Toudou laughed, brilliant in his own aura and discrepancy. (How conventionally attractive, Makishima thought).

Top priority, he'd found out, was to get Toudou a new headband he'd been wanting-(They all look exactly the same.)

"Maki-chan! How does this one look?" Toudou twirled around for him to inspect, expectant eyes meeting Makishima's.

"Very...nice." Makishima mustered, attempting an awkward smile. He knew he had said the wrong thing when the corners of Toudou's mouth started turning down. "Such a liar, Maki-chan.."

"Look, they're all exactly the same!" Makishima sighed. "The least you could do is pick a different color or something!"

"But that would throw off everything!" Toudou protested. "I'm getting this one!"

"Why would you ask my opinion if you've already decided to buy it?!"

"I wanted Maki-chan's opinion!" Toudou pouted.

"You've already got enough confidence in yourself to know if you look good in something or not." Makishima sighed. "You don't need my opinion."

"But-Maki-chan's opinion is something that matters to me very much." Toudou murmered, face serious. While Makishima was floundering for an appropriate phrase, Toudou drifted off to the cash register, shamelessly flirting with the sales girl. Makishima just moved to the door, hunched awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Toudou came a few minutes later, triumphant. "Got thirty percent off, Maki-chan!"

"You really shouldn't sell yourself for those kinds of things." Makishima yawned.

"Maki-chan, you do care!"

"No, not at all."

"So mean!"

They wandered around a bit more for awhile, Toudou chatting Makishima's ear off about tiny, inconsequential things; Makishima quietly listening by his side.

"My beauty doesn't just take care of itself, you know!" Toudou proudly proclaimed as he went over the basics of his skin-care routine for (what was it? The 50th time?).

"You know, you're the ultimate relationship destroyer." Makishima mused after awhile.

"Eh? Why do you say so, Maki-chan?"

"Like flirting with...that girl back there." Makishima uncomfortably fidgeted. "They probably have boyfriends or something, yet-"

"Oh ho!" Toudou smirked. "Are you...jealous?"

"What? No."

"You're jealous, aren't you?" Toudou laughed, spinning around with his bags hooked on his ring finger. "Maki-chan is jealous!"

Makishima just tsked and let it go, but that didn't keep Toudou from pressing closer to his side for the duration of the shopping trip.

"There's a place I want to show you." Makishima suddenly blurted out as they were eating some ice cream, clutching his cup so tightly he feared it might break.

"Eh? What place, Maki-chan?"

"It's a surprise," the climber mumbled into his fist. Toudou decided not to push it.

They got on a transit bus, deciding to sit in the front, Toudou leaning his head against Makishima's shoulder as the bus started moving, listlessly entwining their fingers together; Makishima just looked away.

"You know, it would be nice if we could stay like this." Toudou breathed, closing his eyes. "Just you, me, and the world with us."

"Third year is ending soon." Makishima said, closing his eyes. "That can't happen."

"That's why we take advantage of it now, right?" Toudou sighed, content. "I wouldn't want to be any place where you aren't, Maki-chan."

"Our stop." Makishima suddenly, stood up, jostling Toudou's head from his shoulder. Toudou rubbed the side of his neck for a moment before getting up to join him, shopping bags cool against his legs.

They had stopped at the base of a gigantic mountain, feathered in green and brown. "Ahh.." Toudou sighed in awe. "It's beautiful, Maki-chan."

Makishima smiled. "It really is, isn't it?" He started walking along the path. "Come on, Toudou."
Toudou hurried after him, bags bumping against his side as he ran to the climber.

The air was quiet around them, still in isolation and reflexive light as they asended the mountain, a thrumming tempo in Toudou's heart as he chased after the fading light, the trees, the animals that fled o their approach-to Makishima, green hair inherent in the secenry; a diatribe of thoughts running through Toudou's head.

"Maki-chan." he said after awhile, breaking the still silence plastered around them. "Wouldn't it be easier to bike?"

"Yeah." Makishima replied.

"Then why didn't we rent one of those bikes down there?"

"I don't...want us to race." Makishima admitted after a while. "I wouldn't want it this to become a...compeititon."

Toudou gaped. "Maki-chan..."

Makishima shook his head. "Forget it."

"I'll never forget it, Maki-chan!" Toudou fervently promised, scrabbling over rocks to reach. "I'll never forget! Ever!"

"..." Makishima couldn't help the smile that lifted the corner of his mouth. "However you like it, Jinpachi."

They climbed in another silence for more moments, the stupid grin refusing to leave Toudou's face, still standing in glorified brilliance.

"We're here." Makishima said, brushing past ferns and trees to lead Toudou to an rocky outcropping. Toudou dropped his bags on the stone, putting hands to cover his mouth.

"Oh, Maki-chan." he breathed in reverence. "Maki-chan." No photo would ever do justice to the breathtaking splendor that lay beneath him; the ocean, beautiful and uncontrolled, dashing and roaring against the rocks, expanse of dark, dark gray stretching on for eons too far for Toudou's eyes to catch. He would have to enclosed his moment in infinity forever, just him and Makishima, and the ocean beneath them, salty spray rising to meet Toudou's face and outstretched arms.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." Makishima quietly said, on his knees, peering over the rocky outcropping. "It really is." Toudou replied, squatting on his knees to join him. "I love it, Maki-chan." he murmured around a kiss on the other's cheek. "Thank you so much."

Makishima turned slightly to catch Toudou's lips with his, brushing against them softly before pulling away. Toudou's eyes were brimming over, tears encroaching his cheecks. "Don't leave, Maki-chan. Don't go to England. Stay with me."

"I..." Makishima groaned and put his head between his knees. "This isn't easy for me either, Jinpachi."

"It doesn't have to be!" Toudou protested, frantically wiping his eyes. "You can stay! We could go to university together; still race-like it used to be, Maki-chan!"

"It never was that way in the first place." Makishima pointed out bluntly.

"It doesn't have to be!"

"..I'm sorry, Jinpachi." Makishima murmured, pulling Toudou closer to him. "I'm sorry." he mumbled in his hair.

"If you really were, you would stay." Toudou said quietly, barely enough for Makishima to catch it.

"Look at the ocean, Maki-chan." Toudou pointed to the glittering waves beneath them. "We're nothing compared to that. The world goes on day by day without us. None of us are the main characters here; why not make the most of it?"

Makishima said nothing, just burying his face deeper in Toudou's hair, breathing the comforting scent of his shampoo. "I'll never forget you."

"Yes, you will." Toudou laughed, sound still sharp and light. "You'll never answer my calls."

"...I'll try." Makishima mumbled.

"It's okay, Maki-chan." Toudou twisted around in his arms, reaching up to cup Makishima's face in his hands. "I'll never forget you, either."

~X~

As they were walking down the mountain, Toudou exclaimed-"That's right! There's also a place I want to show you, Maki-chan!"

"Where?"

"It's a su~rpr~ise!" Toudou laughed, swinging around to grin at him, eyes still a bit red. "It would ruin it if you knew what it was, right?"

"I guess." Makishima snickered. "But your surprises usually end up with someone getting injured."

"It's not my fault Arakita sat on that firecracker!"

Makishima just laughed, tipping his head back and ignoring Toudou's stunned face. "Fine, fine."

They had to take another bus to Toudou's 'surprise' and this time, it was Makishima who entwined their hands together. Toudou smiled, features softening as he ran a finger over Makishima's bony hand. "I'll miss this."

"So will I." Makishima admitted.

Both of them said nothing more on the ride to Toudou's spot, content with silence.

"We're here!" Toudou jumped up, tugging Makishima's hands in his, bags slipping and sliding with them. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, yeah." Makishima sighed, running a hand through his hair.

The place that Toudou had wanted to show him turned out to be a shrine.

"Really, Toudou? It's not even New Years!"

"It doesn't have to be New Years to pray." Toudou stubbornly said, dropping his bags at the entrance, taking off his shoes and headband, motioning Makishima over to do the same. The shrine was beautiful, ferns and flowers wherever Makishima looked, but Toudou kept on dragging him through the greenery, leading him to the stone building that emerged from the plants.

"Come on, Maki-chan." Toudou murmered as he clasped his hands together. "Pray for your family, friends, interhigh, and when you're done, pray for me."

Makishima didn't say anything, just dipped his head a bit deeper, taking a shaky breath. "Then..what are you going to pray for, Toudou?"

"Maki-chan's happiness, of course." Toudou said without a thought. "That's what I want the most."

"..." Makishima looked back down at his hands, and then at Toudou again. The boy's eyes were closed, fringe and hair gently framing his cheekbones, and in that moment, he thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. He turned back to his own hands and closed his eyes.

He prayed for Toudou's happiness that day.

~X~
"Did you have fun, Maki-chan?" Toudou asked on the subway back, gripping a safety bar and grinning at Makishima endearingly.

Makishima opened his mouth, then wordlessly pointed to the sign in front of them.

Safety requires all passengers to avoid unnecessary conversation.

Toudou frowned, and Makishima watched his face as he slowly got it. Toudou broke out into a grin so wide Makishima was surprised his face could contain it.

"Did you have fun, Toudou?" Toudou said nothing, but pointed to the sign again, bringing a finger to lips. "No talking when not needed, Maki-chan."

Whatever the obstacles that faced them, they would go through; the inevitable ups and downs that they would truly survive would be something that they would face,

Together.

I'm loving this couple so much right now it's terrifying

THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE LOVE FOR THIS SHIP QAQ

I hope you enjoyed it!

-K.K