Free! does not belong to me. Neither does High Speed!

Stagger

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Nobody was really surprised when Makoto learned to walk before Haruka, even if he was five months younger.

To be fair, Haruka didn't seem very interested in walking. And he didn't need to.

He could swim. The baby liked it when his mother filled the bathtub to the brim and let him move his arms and legs to keep himself floating, and he could spend hours like that, splashing water and smiling and throwing a tantrum when he was taken out of his beloved water.

Besides, he wasn't helpless out of the bathtub. Haruka crawled towards wherever he wanted to go, and he was able to stand without losing his balance as long as he had something to hold onto.

But he'd never attempted to take a single step. While his parents were worried about the fact that their only child wasn't still able to walk, his grandmother didn't seem to be concerned. She watched as the baby crawled around with the neighbours' son following him, smiling every time the two toddlers stopped their game to look at each other as if they could talk to each other without words.

However, when the spring came and the Tachibanas had to leave Makoto with the Nanases one afternoon, and the first thing Makoto did was to stagger towards Haruka, who was sitting on the floor hugging his stuffed dolphin, a little frown made the older baby's face seem too serious for his young age.

Makoto saw it, too, and maybe that was the reason he dropped to the floor. He sat up and stared at Haruka, who seemed to be angry. He crawled towards his grandmother, not looking at Makoto and still hugging his favourite toy.

"Uu-chan?"

From his grandmother's lap, Haruka turned his head towards Makoto, a pout forming on his lips.

"No," he replied. Neither his grandmother nor Makoto understood what he meant, but he sounded immensely offended.

He didn't play with Makoto that afternoon, and the poor baby had to entertain himself by shaking his rattle. However, Haruka did stand beside his grandmother and did something he hadn't done before: to raise his foot, move it forward and drop it again. However, he always ended up falling, and he refused to stand up again when he stepped on a toy, hurting his foot. He didn't cry –Haruka didn't usually cry–, but he crawled towards Makoto and sat beside him, apparently too tired after spending the afternoon trying to walk to be angry with his friend.

Makoto smiled and handed Haruka his rattle, and they started a game nobody quite understood, that only ended when Makoto's father showed up to pick him up.

That night, Haruka slept better than usually. Learning to walk must be tiring.

But in the next days, he kept trying to walk. He would crawl towards his grandmother and grab her clothes while taking unsteady steps, most of the time falling to the floor, but always standing up again. He seemed genuinely determined to walk.

It wasn't until the next week when Makoto's parents dropped by with their son again; if Haruka had cared, he'd have found out that they'd been visiting some relatives. However, he focused on Makoto, who walked towards him until he was just a meter away.

Setting his jaw, Haruka stood quickly, holding onto his grandmother's leg, and took a little step. He staggered, but he managed to stay standing. Clenching his teeth, he let go the woman's clothes and tried to walk towards Makoto without help.

The first step was fine. Haruka staggered, but was able to keep standing.

The second step made him fall again. Haruka sat up and pouted, and it seemed as if he was going to cry.

Without a word, Makoto grabbed his arm and pulled, trying to make Haruka stand up again. He ended up losing his balance and falling backwards, but he tried again. This time, Haruka made an effort and got up, grabbing Makoto's arm with both hands, probably knowing he'd fall again without his help.

Makoto took a step away from Haruka and looked at him smiling. Haruka frowned and moved forward, shortening the space between them. They did it again. And again. And several more times. And Haruka found out he no longer needed to hold onto Makoto with both hands, and he kept playing with just one hand on his friend's arm.

The Tachibanas were about to leave when Haruka's grandmother called everyone to see what her grandson had achieved.

Haruka was few centimetres away from Makoto, standing unsteadily. Makoto took a step away. Haruka made a strange move, as if he wanted to grab his friend's arm but changed his time in the last moment, and then followed Makoto, this time without any help. They did that again, and not once Haruka fell. When he was about to, all he had to do was holding onto Makoto's extended arms.

Haruka was too young to put it into words, but he seemed to be quite proud when he spotted the adult's surprised faces. He smiled at them before taking another step towards Makoto.