Disclaimer: I do not own Free! or any of its characters.

Haru: So you're back now?

Me: Meh we'll see.

Haru: Am I still going to be tortured? When will I be back to normal?

Me: Normal? Pfft xD Oh Haru you poor boy… On with the story! ^_^

Haru: -_-"

"Haru?" He still wasn't able to get an answer out of the boy. He walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him one more time. Haru's automatic reaction was to pull away but Makoto held him even tighter when he did so. "I'm not letting you go." To his surprise, Haru turned and buried his face in Makoto's chest. He was trembling. Makoto couldn't help but hold him tight. He said nothing. Neither of them said anything until the orca felt his shirt become wet.

"Why…" Haru said as he gritted his teeth between sniffles. Makoto pulled Haru back to look at his face. The boy's face was riddled with tears; a sight that Makoto had never seen before. Haru just seemed so…broken. Haru was normally the one who's character never wavered. Now, it was like a different boy was standing in front of the orca altogether. Haru's lips parted slightly before facing the ground. "W-why?" he choked. Makoto pulled him back into his arms and stroked his hair. I won't let anyone hurt you. I will make sure to protect you Haru-chan. As the boy cried out of frustration in his arms, he began to feel guilty again. Tears formed in his eyes. I'm so sorry Haru. If I had just come a little sooner, none of this would've happened. "I'm sorry Haru; I'm so sorry." The tears never stopped. They kept flowing until Haru eventually cried himself to sleep.

9:45 pm

Makoto finished his homework and cleaned the kitchen before going to check on his boyfriend in the other room. When he walked in, Haru was deep in sleep but not peacefully. The orca could clearly see the discomfort on Haru's face. His movements were restless as he softly mumbled under his breath. Makoto slowly approached the bed in hopes not to wake the boy. As he grew closer, he could vaguely make out Haru's words and his eyes grew wide: "N-no…pwease stop…Makoto…Mak-where…help…it hur-" Makoto didn't even let Haru finished his mumbled sentence before he acted without thought. He climbed into the bed and held Haru tight in his arms, "Shh I'm right here. I'm right here."

The next morning, Makoto woke up to an empty bed. He blinked a few times before his mind registered Haru's absence. He immediately jumped up and looked around. "Haru? Haru?" Where is he? He left the room to go search for the boy in a haste. He stopped suddenly when he heard the sound of water echoing from down the hall.

Haruka was soaking the bathtub. He stared up at the light shining through the skylight and took a deep breath. Where the stitches were still stung with certain movements so he decided to just lay still and let the warmth of the water calm the pain. The steam collecting in the room began to make Haru sweat. His hair clung to his face. Just then, he heard the sound of the door creak open. "Haru?" Makoto made his way in and when they locked eyes, he gave the boy a gentle smile and he knelt down by the tub. "How are you feeling?"

Haru shifted his eyes away. I can't believe I cried in front of him. "I'm fine."

Makoto leaned forward, grabbed Haru's chin, and turned his face towards him. "Haru, you don't have to lie to me."

He remained silent and just stared down at himself. Makoto followed suit and looked down at Haru's body before smiling and blushing. He let go of Haru's chin and placed it on his belly, "The baby's growing."

"A-ah…" Makoto looked up to see a red-faced Haru looking away with a scowl. "I-I feel ugly."

"Why?"

"Haru looked his lover in the eyes, "Look at me. I've already lost all my hard work."

I'm going to assume the vanity is the hormones talking. Makoto sighed and rubbed the boy's belly, "I think you look beautiful."

Haruka didn't say anything but he did furrow his brows regardless of the remaining blush across his cheeks.

The orca stood up and held out his hand, "Come on, we don't want to be late."

During the ultrasound, everything felt very routine but the clinical setting in itself made Haru uneasy. From the stark white walls to just the white coat the doctor wore, it all gave him flashbacks of the hospital. He closed his eyes tightly while the doctor was still setting things up to get started. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. He opened his eyes to Makoto smiling down at him, "It's going to be okay Haru."

The procedure began as normal: checking the health and growth of the baby. As the doctor roamed around Haru's belly, he remained unusually silent. The couple kept looking between the screen and the doctor's unreadable expression. Makoto spoke first, "Um, doctor, is there-"

The doctor stood up, "One moment." He walked over to the machine, pressed a few buttons and hooked up a couple more things. At this point, the couple were a mixture of worried and confused. Did something happen to the baby? The hospital said it was fine not too long ago. What's going on? they both thought.

After a few more moments of anxiety and staring at the screen (which neither of them knew exactly what they were looking at), there was a faint beating sound. "That's the heartbeat but…where is it?" He narrowed his eyes on the screen. The boys wanted to feel relief and excitement when they heard their baby's heartbeat but the doctor himself didn't seem very satisfied. "Ah! I found it!" Suddenly his entire demeanor changed. The heartbeat seemed to have an echo.

Haru raised a brow, "Wait what is goin-"

"Nanase-kun," the doctor smiled brightly, "you're having twins!"

To be continued…

Whew! Never thought I was going to have time to write this chapter lol. I'll see you guys in the next one! xx