"So for today's practice, I think we'll be okay just practicing the regimen Gou-chan laid out for us yesterday." As usual, Iwatobi's small swim team listened to Makoto speak at the beginning of practice. "Everyone got it?"

"Got it!" chimed Rei and Nagisa, giving their captain an obedient and enthusiastic salute. Haruka stayed silent, which was nothing abnormal for him. ...but what was strange was that when his two underclassmen dove into the pool to begin their practicing, he, who was always in the pool before Makoto was even done giving instructions, remained standing where he was. Makoto started to turn to join Rei and Nagisa, but then noticed that Haruka hadn't moved. He tilted his head in concern.

"...why do you do that?" Haruka asked before Makoto could ask him what was wrong.

"...huh? Do what, Haru-?" Makoto blinked, confused.

"With your eyes."

...that didn't make things any clearer. Makoto continued to stare at Haruka with a lost expression, resulting in an irritated sigh from the apathetic boy. "When you talk. You keep rubbing your eyes when you talk," he explained in a calm yet impatient tone.

Makoto's eyes widened a bit and he brought his hand to his face. "...I do? Oh, I didn't even notice... How long have I been doing it-?"

"A few days now."

Makoto flashed an embarrassed smile and scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I really didn't even know… I guess my eyes have been bothering me a bit."

He expected that once Haruka heard the answer to his question, he would be satisfied enough to go to his beloved water. Yet to his surprise, he still didn't move. "Why?"

"...um… I'm not sure, honestly… Allergies, maybe?"

Haruka cocked an eyebrow incredulously. "You might need your eyes checked."

Wow, Haru sure is talkative today… Makoto flapped his hand dismissively, giving a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"How's your vision?"

Makoto frowned. "Fine…"

Haruka clearly wasn't convinced. "Read that poster." He pointed to a colorful flyer posted about 15 feet away; Makoto's smile faltered.

"...u-um…" He squinted. "It, says… ...shouldn't we start practicing now?"

Bingo. "You need to see an eye doctor."

Makoto let out a quivering sigh, accompanied by a pout. "No way…"

But it was evident that Haruka had won this one. He turned and finally dove into the pool, Makoto hesitantly following after him.

Three days later, Makoto met Haruka outside of his house with his head hanging low, covering his face with his hand. This was a very unusual sight: normally, Makoto would greet Haruka with a bright and energetic smile, yet now he was staring at the ground and surrounded in a gloomy haze. "...good morning, Makoto." More abnormality: Haruka was the one to speak first. To make things even more reversed, Makoto didn't respond.

Haruka quickly realized why Makoto was acting so strangely. He fell into pace with Makoto's sluggish walking and drifted to his side, then in one swift motion, grabbed Makoto by the wrist and pulled his hand away from his face. It was just as he suspected: Makoto was wearing glasses. The lenses were relatively thin, but the frames were a dark brown color and quite thick. They complimented his eyes nicely.

Makoto gazed down at him in horror, blushing embarrassedly from ear to ear. "...so you did need your vision checked," Haruka commented nonchalantly.

"...shush…!" Makoto squeaked, averting his gaze in shame. The glasses slid down his nose with the movement of his head and an amused smile threatened at the corners of Haruka's mouth.

"Let me see."

For a second, Makoto opened his mouth to protest, but he seemed to have been in no mood to argue. He slowly faced Haruka.

"They look cute."

Makoto buried his face in his hands and mumbled an embarrassed "thank you."