Hot.

It was…well, hot. It was too much of a pain to think of a better word now—it was hot, he was hot and well…

…fuck it was hot!

Makoto swears he can't remember another time in his life when he was this hot.

And he's really tired of thinking how hot it is—it's making him even…more hot? Was that even the right way to—fuck it, it was too hot to think about being grammatically correct.

It's hot.

His jacket feels like glue against his skin. He feels like he should take it off—knows he should, but Gou (Kou?) has made it obvious that she'd rather them have it on (which he could totally take it off if he wanted to but he doesn't want her to make that face). It's a training day for the team and Rei has put it in her head that sweating it out under their jackets and sweat pants helps somehow.

He doesn't have any idea how, but whatever.

It is still really hot.

He wore a black tank-top and a pair of red shorts under his clothes and is thoroughly regretting it now, but how was he supposed to know they were going to be doing this "sweating out" method? (Which he thinks is stupid, but whatever.) Like who the hell even came up with something like that? Someone who is stupid, that's who.

He knows he's extremely hot when he starts calling imaginary people stupid.

Still hot.

The brunet lets out a sigh and runs a hand through sweat-drenched hair. He's pouring sweat and it's kind of embarrassing—no one else looks like they're really pouring sweat…that he can tell anyways. They just got done doing stationary exercises, which he's happy and unhappy about at the same time. Happy because now he doesn't have to be standing in one place under the scorching hot sun while he does whatever little Gou yells out with her sweet voice and blows her (annoying) whistle to signal them to start. He's unhappy because…

…well now they were going to be running.

And if he were being honest, he seriously hated running.

He wishes they could be at the pool instead.

But they can't.

Of all nights for someone—someone who was drunk at that—to break into the pool area and to release every form of human waste into their pool. Of course it had to be the night before their swim practice—an important practice to make up for the other practices they were forced to miss all last week because of non-stop thunderstorms (which also made it extremely humid too). But now they couldn't, because the pool had to be completely drained and cleaned out or else they'd risk catching whatever that drunk had in his system.

And that was just really gross.

He was glad the pool was getting cleaned.

But…it was hot.

One of the hottest days of the year, to be exact.

And it was starting to feel like some malevolent being was trying to keep him and his friends out of the nice, refreshing pool…

Now he has an idea of how Haru feels every time he sees a body of water.

Poor Haru.

He looks to his shorter teammate who's looking as passive as always.

The dark-haired swimmer is sitting on the ground stretching. (Which he probably should being doing also, but he feels if he sits down right now he won't get back up.) He doesn't look any different from normal—he doesn't even seem fazed from their exercises; which is embarrassing; again, because he is still sitting over here panting from doing sit-ups—and Haru definitely doesn't look like he is sweating, not even a drop.

Makoto feels a tad jealous, but he blames the heat for it—it's not like he's in the best of moods anyways.

Because, well…

He and Haru are fighting right now.

Not like a serious, 'I hate you, I never want to talk to you again' kind of fight. Just…a little quarrel over something really stupid and Haru's being extremely stubborn about it. He won't even talk to him right now. (Which Haru has always been a rarely-talkative person, but this is kind of ridiculous.)

But he can't really say anything either because he hasn't tried talking to him since then.

He's being a little stubborn too.

And it's still just as hot.

"All right boys!" Gou calls, signaling them all to gather around her.

Gou has a small sheen of sweat glistening over her forehead, but other than that she seems perfectly fine out in the heat.

Maybe he was the only weird one.

"You guys are going to start running around the course that the track team has so graciously allowed us to use." She smiles—practically grins at Rei who somehow had did the impossible job of convincing the track team to let them use the track when he, the captain of the swim team, could not.

Again, whatever. It didn't really matter who convinced who as long as they could use it.

Makoto realizes Gou is talking again and he tries to pay attention.

"…going to jog around for five minutes and run for ten…"

She's still talking but he's half listening. He notices suddenly that his head feels slightly foggy.

He is probably just imagining it.

"—koto-sempai?"

He looks up at his manager, partially aware that she'd said his name.

"Hmm?" He makes a small noise to acknowledge her.

She gives him a slight glare, because he wasn't listening, but repeats herself anyways. "I asked if five minutes jogging and ten minutes running interchangeably works for you, Captain."

He gets the slight feeling she's mocking him, but he blames the heat again. He's probably just being overly sensitive.

"Oh, yeah. That's fine."

He gives her his trade-mark smile (or that's what Nagisa refers to it anyways, his smile wasn't any different from anyone else's) and whatever glare-like look she'd been giving him simply melts away.

"Good!" She's smiling, and looks less annoyed.

The heats probably bothering her just as bad as it was messing with him.

"Gou-chan…"

Nagisa, who's been strangely quiet, finally speaks up but Gou instantly cuts him off with, "It's Kou!"

Nagisa waves her off and keeps talking. "I thought you said you were going to talk to Rin-chan about letting us go use their pool?"

Makoto sees Haru perk up at the mention of a pool out of the corner of his eye.

Gou shakes her head, and he watches Haru's shoulders drop a little.

His chest tightens for the other swimmer.

"Brother said that they are in the middle of a very important practice and that Mikoshiba-kun doesn't want any disturbances."

Her brows furrow slightly after mentioning Mikoshiba but she doesn't say anything else on the subject.

Nagisa deflates a little, not being nearly as energetic as he usually is, but he isn't sweating anywhere close to as bad as Makoto is so he feels it's safe to say the blond is fine.

"There's nothing wrong with running, Nagisa-kun." Rei assures and as a previous track member he would know best.

Though, it doesn't make either of them more eager to run—any of them for that matter. Haru is his normal self, but even Makoto can tell he really wants to be at the pool.

And it doesn't make it any better that they still aren't speaking.

Gou clasps her hand together and it makes a loud sound that makes him jump.

She gives him an apologetic look but doesn't comment, instead she says, "Let's stop moping around here and hurry up with this practice! The faster we get this done the faster we can all get into the air conditioning!"

And if that isn't motivational enough to get them going, he doesn't know what is.

All four of them stand in a row staying respectively in their own lanes. They look as if they are about to race, but Makoto thinks that everybody is a little too worn out to even consider it.

Besides, it's still hot.

The temperature feels like it's rising actually.

And his head was starting to hurt.

'All I have to do is finish this and we can all go home.' He thinks to himself, ignoring his headache. 'Maybe later I can try patching things up with Haru…'

He glances at Haru who's chosen to stand as far away from him as possible, standing in the exterior lane next to the grass and Rei's interior lane.

It's been four days since they have spoken, which is a long time by their standards. He'll just have to fix things again; it was his fault to begin with really. Normally everything between him and Haru is usually his fault though.

But…he just wishes that Haru would take better care of himself, that's all.

Gou claps her hands together once more to grab their attention again. She holds up her whistle in one hand and timer in the other.

"Ready?" She calls, "…annnnd GO!"

She clicks the timer and blows the whistle simultaneously.

And all four of them break out into a brisk jog.

Makoto keeps what he would consider an even pace and tries to practice controlling his breathing while he's moving. Jogging would actually be pleasant if it weren't as hot (and humid) as it was out here and he seriously wishes he'd stop pouring sweat too. His entire back feels soaked with it. The headache only gets worse, but he tries to ignore it as best as he can. Gou's only having them do this for 30 minutes and then they are all free to go do whatever they felt like.

A popsicle sounded nice right about now.

He notices that he's starting to get behind the others and he tries to pick up his pace a little. Makoto admits to himself that he isn't in the best shape that he could be—the exam period had taken all of his free time and he barely had time to breath with trying to cram and juggle his hectic life all at once.

He certainly didn't have any extra time to exercise.

He was regretting not making more time for it now.

If he wasn't feeling winded before, he was definitely feeling it now. Already he was losing control of his breathing and they hadn't even started running yet!

He hears a whistle faintly blow in the distance and he curses.

Time to run.

He increases his pace but doesn't try to keep up with the others like he has been. He's just wasting energy trying to stay level with his teammates who were probably in way better shape. Even someone like Nagisa knew how to keep to a regular regimen.

He doesn't even have the energy to be jealous.

Running feels like it's sucking the life out of him, but he keeps going. What kind of captain would he be if he just quit and let his team keep going on without him?

His headache is getting increasingly worse though and he's begins to think that it may be a migraine and not a headache—but, then again it wasn't hurting in the way a migraine would and probably by now his symptoms would be getting progressively worse.

His headache is simply awful and his mind feels slightly hazy, but otherwise he feels fine.

Maybe he's just tired.

He notices out of the corner of his eye a white blur of the same uniform he was wearing—that meant that someone was slowing down to his slow pace.

"Mako-chan!"

Though it's lacking its usual vigor, Makoto would recognize that voice anywhere.

"N-Nagisa." He calls back.

He is breathing slightly heavier and it's apparent in his voice.

Nagisa is running even with him now, slowing down to keep his pace with him. He's looking over the brunet with an odd look.

He doesn't say anything for what feels like minutes (but probably seconds because that damn whistle still hasn't blown…).

"Rei-chan said you look really red." He finally commented after a few seconds.

"Oh?"

He hadn't really been looking around at the rest of his team. He, at this point, was just trying to keep an even run with semi-steady breathing.

Talking wasn't going to help that either.

The whistle finally blows again and Makoto feels like he's going to cry out of happiness. That was the longest ten minutes of his life.

Although he still has to jog, it feels a lot better on his lungs and now he can actually catch up slightly on his breathing.

Nagisa is still by his side though, quietly observing him which was pretty unusual for him.

He considers telling him about the haziness he's feeling and (if he hasn't already noticed) how bad he is sweating. He settles for, "I have a small headache, Nagisa. I wouldn't worry too much about me."

And Makoto emphasis it with a smile.

Nagisa looks almost convinced but still doesn't increase his pace. Makoto keeps smiling to try and assure his teammate of his well-being.

Nagisa looks at him slightly longer before returning his smile with all of his pearly-teeth showing. "Okay, Mako-chan!"

He's got some of his energy back, which is good.

(He wishes he could borrow some).

Nagisa starts picking up his pace a little, before turning back again to say something else.

"Haru-chan…" Makoto perks up slightly at the mention of his name, "…he was the one who really noticed, not Rei-chan. He told me not to tell you though."

And the blond runs off, full of energy that has appeared out of nowhere.

So Haru…was worried? That meant that Haru wasn't that upset with him—right?

It made his chest flutter.

Makoto was a little upset that Haru didn't just come straight to him with his concerns but he guessed that this was as good as it was going to get until he actually spoke to Haru. He'd go home first, of course, shower and change and then maybe ask Haru if he wanted to go out to get ice cream or something—maybe even see about having a sleep over since he'd be by himself tonight.

Yeah, that's what'd he do.

With that resolve in mind, Makoto already felt like this practice was going to go by in a breeze.

Until a wave of dizziness washes over him and for a few seconds he loses his vision.

He shook his head.

'I can do this," he reminds himself, 'I can go for another 15 or so minutes—I'm fine. I can do this.'

He clenches his fist, 'I can do—'

Suddenly, out of nowhere, his feels a sharp pain in left leg. His leg suddenly contracts and it's almost agony to keep running. He doesn't get a chance to stop himself, though, before his leg just gives out.

He falls face first into the dirt.

"Agnhh!"

It's contracting again and it's almost like a burning sensation—no, it feels more like several pins are being punctured into his leg at once. He held onto his leg so tight, it was almost like he was keeping it from detaching itself. He can actually feel his own muscles constricting under his fingers. His eyes stung—tears pricking in the corners—the pain of was excruciating, so agonizing that he didn't even realize that his teammates were surrounding him until he opened his eyes.

"Makoto!"

He wasn't really sure who called his name (Haru?), everything was a little hazier than before. He quickly manages to sit up and puts a smile back onto his face, acting like nothing was happening at all. He discretely rubs his leg while looking up at his teammates with an apologetic expression.

"I'm fine!" He informs, before anyone else tries to say something.

"What happen?"

He recognizes Gou's voice and turns to look behind him. "It was just a leg cramp. I was so focused and it came out of nowhere—I just kind of fell over."

He laughs to lighten the mood but doesn't stop rubbing his leg.

"Are you okay?"

He watches Rei push his glasses to the bridge of his nose. He smiles at the former track-runner. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" His smile widens. "I didn't stretch properly before I started running, it's my own fault."

That's what it was. He just didn't prepare himself properly. That's why he was feeling so weird.

Right?

He laughs again and this time everyone seems to smile with him (excluding Haru, of course)—believing him.

He was vaguely aware of Haru's hand resting on his good leg, but he didn't dare look up at him.

(He also doesn't dare to admit how nice Haru's touch feels.)

He rubs the knots out of his calf and moves his leg around a little to test it before standing up right (by then Haru had removed his hand making Makoto missed the feeling of it). He presses on it firmly and smiles again when he felt no pain.

"All good!"

The rest of his teammates smile, excluding, again, Haru who kept a straight face. Their expressions change again when he starts to walk back to his lane on the track.

"Makoto-sempai?" Rei and Gou call almost simultaneously.

They all look at him with concerned expressions, even Haru in his own special way.

He looks back at them innocently, like a child who doesn't understand what he's done wrong.

"Are you sure you should be running now?"

After himself, Gou naturally was the biggest worrier.

"We haven't finished have we?" Makoto responds so casually. "Besides, I told you that I'm fine."

He put all of his weight onto one leg for emphasis.

None of them look like they believe him.

"C'mon guys, it's only like 15 more minutes."

"12." Gou corrects.

Makoto smiles. "See? 12 more minutes and we can go home and sit in our houses and be in the nice, cold air conditioning. I'll be fine."

He still feel sweat sliding down his body—sticking to him and making him feel even warmer. His headache wasn't getting any better either, but he ignores it.

He is fine.

And he's not sure if it was the look he was giving all of them (he's pretty sure he looks disgusting by now with all the sweat) or if it was how determined he sounds, but after a few seconds the rest of the swimmers line back on to the track, this time though Haru makes it a point to stand in the lane next to Makoto's (and he certainly wasn't complaining).

Gou held the time and whistle close to her chest. She still looks skeptical but Makoto gave her one last reassuring smile.

She smiles back at him.

"Ready?" She calls, pausing to give them time to answer.

Makoto felt a pull on his jacket and his eyes meet with solid blue ones; eyes that took his breath away. Haru's eyes were connected with his and silently asking him a question.

'Are you sure?'

And to be honest Makoto really wasn't sure but he wants to get this over with and be on his way home with Haru who was—finally—looking him in the eye and talking with him again.

Because if you'd ever learn anything about the two of them it is that a majority of their communication came from just looking into each other's eyes.

He hopes his eyes wouldn't show his actual hesitation.

'I'm sure.'

"GO!"

The whistle blew and they were off again.

He's not really sure why we wanted to keep running.

But at the same time he knows he doesn't want to let his team down—this was a necessary practice and as the captain he should at least be able to finish the exercise regimen. Besides, if he were to just call it quits and go home, he'd be forcing everyone else out of practice too. Nagisa and Rei wouldn't admit it, but they both enjoy it when they got to run. It wasn't anything compared to being in the pool, naturally, but they—especially Nagisa—had great amounts of energy that was easier to satisfy by running than by lifting weights or by doing other exercises.

Haru also seemed to enjoy it, in his own way. Again, it wasn't anything like being in the pool but it was the second best option to release pent up energy. Haru had mentioned before that he usually went on a run when he wasn't able to swim, it gave him time to think and it was relaxing sometimes.

He's the only one who hates running.

His chest is burning again and he feels like he can't breathe properly now. He tries to keep his breaths even at first but he's simply given up due to the sheer exhaustion that was washing over him right now. He is panting slightly and he can feel his heart hammering away in his chest.

It doesn't really feel right, but Makoto continues to ignore it.

Because Haru is watching him.

At first glance, it wasn't noticeable but when Makoto realizes that Haru wasn't that much farther ahead of him is when he starts glancing over at his shorter friend. It looks like Haru was running at a slower pace on purpose—probably to keep an eye on him.

Haru was really nice like that sometimes.

That's what a lot of people didn't realize about him either. Yes, Haru didn't exactly like to talk that much and most of the time when he did, it was usually something very blunt or offensive coming out of that mouth of his but he had other ways of making up for how he naturally was.

Skipping school to come and check on him when he was sick, tossing sunscreen at him before jumping in the pool, actually doing his homework and letting him copy when Haru knew that Makoto was too exhausted to even attempt at it—those, just like what he was doing now, were just some of the little things that he would go out of his way to do.

And Haru didn't do it just for him either, he was equally as attentive to Nagisa and Rei as he was to Makoto—Makoto usually got more of it though because of how hopeless he was.

Haru was a really good friend.

He kept glancing towards Haru, hoping to catch his eyes and when he finally does he smiles at the dark-haired boy, giving him with his silent message.

'Don't worry. I'm fine, I promise. You can keep going!'

Haru's expression doesn't change, but his eyes soften a little.

He actually looks like he wants to say something but decides against it after a few moments. He gives one last look to his brunet friend, making absolutely sure he was fine before he gradually picking up his pace and starts to get farther and farther ahead of Makoto.

Makoto is glad for that because it was getting harder and harder for him to keep a neutral expression with how terrible he was starting to feel again.

This—or whatever 'this' was—is irritating.

He had woken up fine this morning and he'd gotten through most of practice without feeling anything. The profuse sweating was a bit gross but he'd just have to scrub himself down when he showers later. Other than that though he'd felt fine.

But he didn't feel fine now.

The sun felt like it was baring down on him, almost like it was solely seeking him out and frying him like an omelet in a pan. He vaguely remembers Miho-sensei saying something about how sweat was supposed to be the bodies naturally way of cooling itself down, but he certainly wasn't feeling any cooler.

It made him even hotter.

His headache went from a dull throb to an insistent pounding and it felt like it was getting worse and worse with every step he took.

The only thing that keeps him going at this point is that they are almost done.

Fuck, 12 minutes was a long time…

"Five more minutes, guys!" Gou calls excitingly, probably just as ready to go home as he is.

When he gets home he is going to take a cold shower. He is going to get some aspirin to take for his head and maybe take a nap before he and Haru go out for ice cream—if he can get Haru to go out with him, that is.

Five more minutes and it's all over.

Five more minutes and he can go home.

Five more minutes and he can talk with Haru finally—actually talk.

Five more minutes—

He sees black spots starting to cloud his vision.

"—Wha…?"

His head feels like its pulsating and it vibrates through his entire body. His throat is dry and his feels like throwing up suddenly. His heart almost feels like it's going to beat out of his chest.

His running pace starts to slow down as each step gets harder and harder to take. He feels his leg cramp again except now his whole body is starting to cramp with it. He reaches to put a shaky hand to his head, not even managing to touch his forehead before his entire body goes dead causing him to collapse.

He feels himself hit the ground but his vision is almost completely black. The ground hurts and he's pretty sure his side will be all bruised up by tomorrow but all he can feel right now is how his head won't stop spinning, making him want to spew the content of his stomach right where he is laying.

He is slightly confused—doesn't even remember how he got on the ground but all he can do is just lay there on his side, his body being too heavy to even try to move.

Suddenly there is a cool hand being pressed to his forehead.

"—koto!?"

The hand stays on his face, pressing all over with its cool feeling—it moves all across his cheeks and back onto his forehead before removing itself completely.

He makes a whining sound when the hand pulls away.

"Makoto?!"

A voice? His mind is hazy and he barely registers his name being called again.

"Makoto!"

"Hmm…?"

He makes a slight noise to acknowledge the voice but even that makes him feel tired. The hand touches him again, this time it is his neck. He is too tired to even lean closer this time.

He decides that closing his eyes and taking a nap sounds really good right now—it's not like he can really see now anyways, everything is blurry.

Makoto simply shuts his eyes.

He hadn't even gotten 2ft away before turning back around to find his friend lying on the ground.

Haru's stomach drops.

The sight of his friend laying on the ground makes his breath leave him all at once. A second later, his mind catches up with him and he sprints all the way to the brunet dropping to his knees the second he was close enough and putting a cool hand to his forehead.

"Makoto?!" He calls, hoping to get some type of response from him.

Makoto doesn't say anything but he leans into his hand.

Haru presses all around his face, feeling the heat radiating off of his skin.

His body is soaked with sweat.

He was overheated.

He pulls his hand away and leans closer to the semi-conscious boy.

"Nhnn…" He makes a little whining sound when he removes his hand.

"Makoto!" He tries again, hoping that he could get more of a response out of him.

"Hmm…?"

It was a small sound but at least he knew that the brunet could vaguely hear him.

He watches closely, checking his breathing and feeling his neck for a pulse. This time though Makoto doesn't even move.

Haru notices his eyes closing.

He feels his blood run cold.

"Makoto? Makoto!"

He pats his cheek to get him to wake up.

By this point the rest of the team is surrounding them but he doesn't pay them any attention.

"Makoto!"

He still doesn't respond but it looks like he is still semi-awake and as long as he can keep him awake he should be okay.

Haru starts trying to cool him down.

He practically tears the zipper off of the jacket when he yanks it down. He pulls both of his arms out of the sleeves but doesn't try to pull it out from under him—he doesn't want Makoto to be sticking to the dirt of the track. He moves down to the hem of his sweats. He hooks his fingers around them and Gou lets out a squeak.

"H-Haru-sempai, what are you—"

"Makoto's overheated, I need to try and cool him down or he might have a stroke."

He doesn't have time to try and be modest. He pulls the sweats down in one fluid motion and he's thankful to see that Makoto is wearing a pair of shorts under them.

'At least he won't have to be embarrassed when he wakes up.'

He looks up and down the brunet's sweaty body and tries to think of what else he can to do to get him to cool down.

'Miho-sensei's gone and the locker room is locked…and the pool is off limits…'

He grimaces realizing that he might have to work with what they have here until he can figure something else out.

"Gou, I need you to try and find some towels."

He's pleased that she doesn't try to correct him and does exactly as he says.

She's probably just as worried as they all were.

He turns to his other team members who've been strangely quiet the entire time. They were sitting close enough that they could see what was going on, but far enough that they weren't getting in his way.

Nagisa looks like he is going to start crying and Rei has an arm around his shoulder attempting to comfort him.

Haru wants to say something to try and calm Nagisa down, but he doesn't have the time to right now.

"Nagisa, Makoto is going to be fine," he starts, slightly unsure of his own words but he continues. "I need you to go to the cooler and bring me back a couple of water bottles. He needs to try and drink something."

Nagisa also complies without saying a word as he jumps up and runs over where the cooler is sitting by the entrance.

"Rei," he perks at his name, giving Haru his full attention. "I want to get Makoto off the ground. I need you to help me lift him up and take him over to the bleachers."

Rei nods and moves to get on the other side of the semi-conscious boy. Together Haru and Rei reach under Makoto's back to move him into a sitting position before sliding his arms across their shoulders.

"Ready? On three. 1—2—3—lift!"

Both of them manage to pick themselves and their friend off the ground. Using their other free hands they put an arm under each leg, lifting Makoto until his feet weren't dragging on the ground. Makoto makes a little sound, his head falling onto Haru's shoulder in an awkward position.

He isn't sure, but he swears Makoto snuggles closer.

One wouldn't think it at first glance, but Makoto really wasn't that heavy. Rei and Haru easily move him over to the audience stands and lay him back down on his back. Gou arrives with perfect timing, arms filled with several towels and hands them to Haru who tentatively places one under the brunet's head. Nagisa runs back with an arm full of water bottles which Rei helps set down before the blond drops them all.

Haru takes one and hands it to Gou. "Can you start wetting some of the towels?"

The red-head looks a little confused but does as told. Haru takes another one of the bottles—opening it as he and Rei sit Makoto slightly up so it's easier to give him water.

"Makoto, I need you to try and drink this."

He held the water bottle to his mouth, waiting for the brunet to give him a signal that he was listening.

Makoto made another little humming sound, his eyes finally cracking open since he'd closed them.

Haru notices the way his eyes look completely out of focus, almost dull but tries to ignore it—he presses the water bottle slightly closer to his mouth.

"Drink." He repeats and is pleased when Makoto moves enough so that Haru could dump a little of the water into his mouth.

He whines a little when Haru pulls back the bottle. "Makoto, you need to try and drink this slowly, okay? Chugging the water down isn't going to help you feel any better."

If he has heard him, it doesn't look like he listening. He tries to lean up more to the bottle, a shaky hand reaching for it.

"M-more." His voice sounds slurred, almost like he was drunk but not quite.

Haru holds the bottle out of reach. "Makoto, please. Let me help you."

Makoto looks at his friend with hazy, unfocused eyes and smiles. "M'kay Haruuu…"

And he would have found that to be adorable if his friend weren't in such a bad condition.

He presses the bottle to his mouth again and gives him another small sip. He does this a few more time before he and Rei lay Makoto back onto his towel pillow.

"Gou, could you hand me one of those wet towels?"

She hands him the one held in her hand and watches as Haru folds it up neatly and places it across his friend's forehead.

Makoto let out a soft, happy sigh.

Haru holds up a hand for another one and pushes up Makoto's tank top so that he could lay it across his toned stomach. He kept doing this until his body was covered in cool towels.

"What now, Haru-chan?" Nagisa asked after watching Haru sit back against the bleachers, eyes still trained on his teammate.

"We need to try to see if we can cool him down enough that we can get him home. We need to keep watching though, if he doesn't start cooling off any we are going to have to call an ambulance." All three pairs of eyes go wide, Nagisa looks like he is about to interrupt but Haru quickly continues. "He should be fine now, it's only a possibility that it might happen but just keep watching him just in case. I'm going to try and call his mom and possibly see about her coming and getting him."

He stands and pulls his cellphone out of his pocket, dialing the house number he knew by heart as he starts to walk away from the others to hear better.

The phone rings a few time and eventually goes to voicemail. Haru curses slightly and hangs up to dial the cell number used when he or Makoto needed to get ahold of Mrs. Tachibana immediately.

It rings a few time also and Haru almost hangs up—but then a quiet, happy sounding voice answered on the other line. "Hello? Haru-chan?"

Mrs. Tachibana sounds slightly confused.

"Yeah it's me." He replies, not really sure how to continue.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, knowing that Haru didn't call unless Makoto was somehow unable to, especially her own personal cell phone.

"Makoto collapsed at practice." He heard her gasp on the other side of the line, but he kept talking before she could respond. "I'm pretty sure he overheated during practice and right now the rest of our friend are watching him. He seems fine and he's not unconscious or anything. We are just trying to cool him down at this point and I don't think he needs to go to the hospital if we can get his body temperature back down, but I was hoping it was possible for you to drive over and get him."

Mrs. Tachibana didn't say anything for a moment.

"…W-we aren't in the area at the moment."

Haru made a questioning noise but let her continue. "Makoto's father is away on business and Ren and Ran have an overnight field trip—I'm one of the parents supervising all of the kids, I probably could get one of the other moms to watch my group—actually no, even if I do that the bus still won't be back until tomorrow."

Her voice came out shaky and in a rush. Clearly she is worried about her oldest son.

"Haru—"

"It's okay, we can take care of him for now. I'll take him back to my house and watch over him until you return, so please don't worry too much."

There was a pause and he thought he heard a sniffle.

"You are such a wonderful boy, Haru-chan. Thank you so much." Her words sound watery and Haru wonders if she may be crying.

"Mm. I'll send you updates on how he is doing and I'll take him to the hospital if I need to."

"Thank you Haru-chan." He was positive she was crying now. "I know my son is in good hands if he is with you."

Haru made a little noise, slightly embarrassed.

"I'll send you mail as soon as I'm in Iwatobi and thank you again."

"It's no problem. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

He heard the click of the line cutting off and he clicks his own phone off as he walks back to the others. Makoto was still laying in the same spot, but he at least looks a little better than before.

Haru speaks before they rest of his team could ask him questions. "Makoto's parents are away. Nobody will be able to be here until tomorrow."

Nagisa gives him a look that was comparable to the twin's when they were crying. He looks almost like a child. "What are we going to do, Haru-chan? Makoto can't stay all by himself like this!"

As if he'd leave his best friend alone in this condition—he wasn't always one of the best of friends to have but Nagisa should give him at least some credit.

"I'm going to take him back to my place and watch over him until his mom returns. I'll need your help getting him home though."

Rei stood up and put a hand on Nagisa's shoulder who still look like he was about to cry. "Certainly, Haruka-sempai."

"I could call my brother and see if he will let me use his card to get a cab maybe?" Gou chips in helpfully.

She pulls out a plastic blue card from practically nowhere.

Haru's not really sure why Gou would have Rin's debit card, but he gives her a grateful look. He didn't bring his wallet with him this morning and he was pretty sure that neither Nagisa nor Rei had theirs either.

"Tell him I'll pay him back."

She nods and quickly pulls out her cellphone.

After a few seconds Gou brightens and calls out, "Big brother!"

Her smile fades quickly and she looks a little hurt. "I-I know! I know! It's an important practice but I have an emergency!"

Now she looks annoyed. "Yes! I'm fine! Now be quiet and listen! Makoto-sempai collapsed at practice—" her brows furrow and she stomps her foot on the ground, "—stop interrupting me! He's doing okay… Haru says he overheated himself I think, but we need a way to get him back to Haru's and I was wondering if I could use your card to pay for a cab fee. Haru said he'll pay you back."

A few beats of silence before, "Thank you big brother—yes, I'll tell Haru to mail you when Makoto's feeling better."

She looks pointedly at Haru who nods in agreement.

"Alright…Alright—tell Yamazaki-kun I said hi! Bye!"

She hangs up before he can respond back to her.

"Brother said you don't have to pay him back. Just let him know when Makoto is better."

"Alright."

"I'll call the cab right now."

The cab was quick to get there and the driver even helped them get Makoto into the car. He was a nice driver and chatted with them a little bit, mostly asking question about the semi-conscious boy in his back seat. Haru sat by the window in the very backseat of the van with Makoto in the middle, Gou being on his other side. Rei took the seat in front of Gou and Nagisa the one in front of Haru. Nagisa controlled most of the conversation with the driver only telling him bits and pieces of what happened. Makoto seemed to have cooled down quite a bit—though his skin still felt hot to the touch—when they got him in the air-conditioned van.

Somewhere along the ride he falls asleep, but Haru's positive now that his friend isn't in any danger and so he doesn't try to wake him. He shifts a little and moves enough so that Makoto can lean over and use his shoulder as a pillow. He also grabs onto Haru's hand and occasionally squeezes it while mumbling something incoherent.

It makes Haru smile.

When they arrived at Haru's house, he and Rei are able to get Makoto in the house and to Haru's bed with no problem. All of them are exhausted and even Nagisa, who managed to keep idle conversation going on the entire ride, is starting to fad. Gou decides, blue card in hand, that her brother wouldn't mind the extra fee of taking Nagisa, Rei, and herself home.

The three of them head back to the van but not before making Haru promise to mail them as soon as Makoto was awake and doing better to which Haru agrees.

He watches them leave with a small wave and returns to taking care of his friend.

He removes his tank top and shorts—leaving him in his briefs—now that Makoto has a little more privacy and turns the air down to a low 70 degrees. He grabs towels from the bathroom and places them accordingly all over his body. Occasionally, he has him sit up and take a couple sips of water, but other than that he can't do anything else but wait.

And waiting is torture.

Because now the adrenaline that had kept him going all day is starting to die down and the situation is starting to finally catch up to him—hitting him with full force.

This is the second time he's had to save his friend.

And it's the second time he could've lost him.

He's exaggerating it a little; Makoto hadn't been in too serious of danger. It might have been an entirely different situation though, if he hadn't have been forced into taking a first aid class. If he hadn't of known what to do, Makoto could be in an entirely different situation right now.

The thought terrifies him.

He folds into himself, dragging his knees up so that he could lay his head on them, feeling helpless all of a sudden.

Why wasn't he watching Makoto closer? Why didn't he push him to stop when he knew already that he wasn't okay? He broke it—that promise he'd made to himself. That day when he had to drag Makoto's lifeless body onto shore. When he was looking down at his best friend—looking down at Makoto who was always smiling, always happy and full of life—almost dead right in front of his eyes. He could have lost him—would have if Makoto hadn't miraculously turned over and spit up all of the water trying to drown him. Right then, right as Makoto had finally opened his eyes and connected them with his own, he promised that never again would he let this happen. From then on he would protect Makoto, just like he did when they were children.

And he failed.

Even if he saved him, if he couldn't stop it from happening to begin with, he's already failed.

And that scares him.

What…without Makoto…

No. He can't even think about it.

If Makoto wasn't there—

If he didn't have Makoto here with him—

"Haru…"

Haru jumps at the sound of his name and looks over to his teammate who appears to still be sleeping.

"Makoto?"

He doesn't respond.

Haru keeps staring at him and suddenly all he can focus on is his best friend. The way he's taking in small, easy breaths—how he looks so peaceful even with all that he went through earlier. His hair is ruffled slight, giving him—not that Haru would ever admit to him—the cutest bed head.

He is here.

He is fine.

And Haru finally feels like he can breathe again.

Makoto moves suddenly and his hand stretches out from where it has been curled by his side.

Almost like he's reaching out for Haru.

He is still asleep—Haru knows he still is and yet it still feels as if Makoto is trying to comfort him. He hesitates for a second but takes the larger, calloused hand in his own and he can't help but smile.

Everything is fine.

Haru shakes his head and has to smile to himself—leave it to Makoto to keep him from having a break down while asleep.

Eventually he decides after a little while to go over and get Makoto some fresh clothes and other stuff he would need for the night. Haru give his friend one last look over before quickly heading to the Tachibana residence, finding the key in its usually spot and hurriedly grabbing everything and rushing back to his own home.

Makoto was partially sitting up when he walks back into his bedroom.

"Makoto."

Haru places what he was holding on the dresser in the corner of the room, carefully making sure it stayed in place before walking over to his bed and sitting on the edge, waiting for his friend to notice he was there.

Partially clear eyes meet with his own and they hold a gaze for a few seconds—various expressions and looks being passed back and forth between the duo—before the brunet sighs in defeat and lays back down with no argument. Haru sits next to him and replaces the towels that had fallen off.

"I'm fine, Haru."

Haru makes a sound that tells Makoto he doesn't believe him.

"I'm feeling better now, I promise."

The dark-haired swimmer met eyes with his teammate once again.

"You promised me that earlier too and I turned around to find you on the ground."

The fury in his calm voice was obvious.

He's not angry—or at least he thinks he isn't.

"I-I—"

"Were you just going to keep going until you ended up in the hospital or were you just trying to give the whole team a heart attack?"

"No!" And when Haru gave him another disbelieving look he adds, "I didn't think I was that bad off…"

Haru's face twists up slightly. "And how good did you think you were doing? Your body obviously must have been showing signs of heat exhaustion. You were ignoring it on purpose."

His accusations makes the other flinch.

Makoto looks away from Haru, unable to look him in the eye any longer. He threw an arm over his eyes. "Yeah…you're right…"

Haru lets out a long sigh and reaches out to tug the arm off of Makoto's face. "Makoto, look at me."

Makoto pauses, almost debating whether or not he should but gingerly turns his gaze until he was looking straight at his friend.

A million and one looks pass over Haru's face in those few seconds, but one stood out to him the most.

'I was scared.'

And he really was.

"I don't want to be right Makoto…" He looks at the ground, his expression a mixture of guilt and grief.

"I don't want to be right…" He repeats again. "I just don't—can't see you like that, not again…"

Makoto's heart clenches.

"All I could think of when I saw your body lying there was that what if this time you didn't wake up. What if this time your eyes never opened again…I can't remember any time in my life when I didn't have you by my side, Makoto, and if you were to just suddenly leave…it scares me."

Makoto cautiously reaches out, giving Haru time to pull away if he wants to before gently touching his face with his larger hands. "I'm sorry, Haru. I really am."

Haru leans into his touch but his expression doesn't change.

He feels so guilty. "I didn't mean to scare you, honestly, I just…I didn't want to let anyone down, we haven't gotten to practice all week and I didn't want everyone to have to stop just because of me…and you were upset with me—"

Haru pulled away from his hand. "Upset? I wasn't upset with you."

Haru was looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"You were!" Makoto argues, wincing when he raises his voice slightly and his throat burns.

He clears it and continues, "You haven't talked to me in like four days and I just figured you were still mad about our argument."

Haru gives him another confused look. "Argument?"

And after a second it finally dawns on him. "The one from the other day…"

Haru shakes his head because that was hardly something one could call an argument.

"You mean when you started lecturing me about getting out of the bath or else I was going to get sick and how I needed to pay more attention to my body and take better care of myself?"

The way he repeats it is accusingly.

A small blush grazes Makoto's cheeks and he turns his gaze back up towards the ceiling, completely embarrassed. "Y-yeah…that's it."

Haru snorts which eventually turns into a laugh at the irony of this situation.

And eventually Makoto joins in with him.

"I guess I need to take my own advice too." He comments after they both finish laughing.

Haru gives him a 'duh' kind of look and it makes Makoto smile even more.

"I'll take it easy next time." He promises. "I'll try not to push myself when I know I can't do it."

'I won't make you worry again.' Is what he is really saying.

Haru snorts again because Makoto should know by now that he is always going to be worrying about him.

But he smiles anyways.

Because it's just like Makoto to go through something like this and to still be worried about him.

"You're and idiot." He comments idly before he flops back onto his own bed and turns over onto his side so that he and the other swimmer are face-to-face.

He feels the tension leaving his body just by being close to him and all the emotions that had been swirling around in his head, since the boy in front of him collapsed, leave along with it. He's exhausted, a little hungry, and he wants nothing more than to go and take a bath right now.

But he doesn't move.

He's close, close enough to him that he can feel warm air every time Makoto exhales.

He thinks he should move, he probably should move actually—but Makoto is staring back at him, staring at him with big green eyes, eyes that are filled with such tenderness and affection—so much life! It's all too much for Haru to handle and without even considering his actions—

He kisses him.

It's soft—his lips are so soft. It makes his mind cloudy and his body feels like its buzzing. He presses a little closer, waiting but not entirely sure what he is waiting for until he feels Makoto press back a little. He enjoys the feel of Makoto's sweet mouth pressed against his for a few more seconds before pulling back—opening his eyes that he doesn't remember closing. He watches the pretty pink color spread from Makoto's cheeks to his ears and eventually down to his chest and he smiles.

The brunet opens his mouth to speak, blushing furiously now, but Haru simply grips his chin and pushes their mouths back together.

He's too physically and emotionally drained to consider what this new development means for their relationship. Makoto's mouth is salty, their skin that presses together is sticky, and Haru is vaguely aware of the fact that both of them are in desperate need of showers.

But it's warm, his mind is fuzzy and he happily ignores all of that when he can feel Makoto gasp his name into his mouth, opening up just enough that Haru can slide his tongue into the other swimmers hot mouth.

He'll think about all of this later, think about how normal it feels to be doing with his best friend and how he wouldn't mind doing this from now on if Makoto allowed it. For now he's diving into this feeling of bliss, sticking to his best friend, sharing a sweaty hold, and wet kisses.

Because, well, it was fucking hot.

And they both were happy to deal with this heat.