Every time Makoto ran off to Haru's his mom would catch him at the front door as he slipped into his shoes. And every time she would say, in her sweetest voice, "Have fun with your boyfriend."

And every time Makoto would get flustered. Cheeks heating pink, hands waving high in the air as he denied it. "He's not my boyfriend!" His voice cracked every time.

And today was no different. It was a Saturday morning. Haru had asked Makoto to go over before they went swimming. And Makoto was more than happy to oblige. They literally had nothing else going on that weekend and he was glad to get out of the house. But knowing his mom's habit of embarrassing him, he tried to sneak out before she caught him at the door.

But to no prevail, she put her hand on his shoulder. His younger siblings clinging onto his sides, probably working as minions. He would do anything to have a normal goodbye. It would be short and sweet. Because that's what mom's did, right? They waved their sons off without suggesting he had a relationship other than friendship with the neighbor boy.

But not Makoto's mom. Makoto's mom had enough energy to joke with her son and wrestle with her twin kids.

She pulled the twins off of him, "Make sure he eats before you two go out." Makoto waited for it. "Have fun on your date." There it was.

"It's not a ̶ he's not my," Makoto let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll be back," He settled with.

And with that he ran up the stairs to Haru's place. The steps gave him enough distance to clear his mind. Haru as anything other than his friend was completely asinine. Haru asking him out on dates. Makoto asking Haru on dates. They'd probably just go to the beach all the time. Or end up eating mackerel.

And they would kiss after the date.

Makoto and Haru kissed sometimes. They had ever since they were young. Soft, innocent kisses that had nothing behind them except for curiosity. Makoto liked kissing Haru. They hadn't kissed in months. Makoto was starting to miss it. Not that he would ever admit it though.

People who were dating should be kissing. Not two best friends.

Makoto knocked on the front door and when Haru didn't answer he opened it. Of course he found Haru sitting in the tub. Holding his hand out, Haru grabbed it.

His thoughts were still racing thinking about kissing Haru. And Makoto didn't realize he held onto Haru's hand a little longer than he should. He jumped back with a quick apology.

Haru walked passed him, mumbling something about breakfast.

Following him into the kitchen, Makoto thought about Haru in this big house. All by himself. Haru had always been self-sufficient. But emotionally, he needed something to bind him to the earth. To guide him through the days. The connections Haru made with people held significance within his life.

Makoto wondered how significant his connection was with Haru. Sure, they had kissed. They were friends. They just went with the flow of things.

Kissing was just experimenting. Everyone kissed. Kisses had different meanings. It didn't always mean boyfriend. It didn't always mean love. Rin always talked about kissing in such an emotional manner. Heat and desire connecting souls to each other. Nagisa thought about kissing as something you do to make yourself and somebody else happy. Bubbly and sweet, sometimes a little too long and suffocating. Rei spoke of the chemicals working in the human brain when shared human contact occurred. It was something that just happened. Kou explained to Makoto about the importance of letting the partner initiate the first kiss. Trust and confidence in a single kiss.

Everyone kissed.

So when Haru leaned over the table, pushing their now empty plates away to kiss Makoto he let it happen.

Makoto counted the seconds their lips were connected. One, two, three, four. It left Makoto wanting more of something he did not know he even wanted.

"Ready to go?" Haru stared up at Makoto. Long eyelashes taunting him. Soft, plump lips still puckered out.

Makoto held the back of Haru's head in his hands as he pulled him into another kiss. A sweet warmth filling his body. Haru let go briefly only to scoot around the table to get closer to Makoto. Hands wrapped around Makoto's shoulders. Makoto kept his hands on Haru's waist. But he made sure to hold him close to where their bodies were almost touching.

Kissing like this was just out of curiosity.

So why did his heart beat so fast? Why was he so nervous? This was just Haru. It was Haru. His best friend. He liked kissing his best friend. He liked kissing Haru. He liked Haru.

"Makoto," Haru's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He hadn't realized they had stopped kissing.

Makoto looked at the floor. Now was a weird time to realize that he had a crush. And he couldn't hide it. Makoto's face instantly lit up, red coloring his face. He tried covering it with his arms.

Haru reached up to pull his arms back down around his waist.

Shyly, Makoto looked to Haru. And he understood what Haru was trying to say when he called out his name.

"I like you," Makoto whispered. Translating Haru's silent language. Feeling it against his tongue.

Haru nodded. He brought him into another kiss. And they spent the rest of the morning kissing. When they finally went swimming, they ended up kissing again.

By the time Makoto had to go home it felt like they didn't have enough hours in the day. He invited Haru over for dinner, but Haru refused. They were both exhausted from a day of kissing and swimming. They both needed sleep. But made quick promises to see each other the following day.

Makoto waved bye to his mom the next day. Smile bright and a skip in his step.

"Have fun with your boyfriend," She teased.

Makoto tied up his shoes, "I will."

Thanks for reading. not where i started or went with this. just wanted more of makoto saying that he totally wasnt boyfriends with haru but really he was for like a lot longer than he thought. ok bye.