Chapter Nine

Haruka went on the slides.

Makoto didn't think Suzuka had the power to break him, but she proved him dead wrong with the most intense, pleading puppy-dog stare ever known to man. Her baby blue eyes practically shining with tears, her lip jutted out ever so slightly, and her long eyelashes fluttering as she looked up at her older cousin was just too much for Haruka to say no to.

And so, Makoto had the pleasure of watching Haruka Nanase, the so called lonely freak of Iwatobi High School, slide down a bright green twisty slide with a squealing six year old in his lap.

Makoto smiles fondly at the scene, recalling the nature of the relationship between the two cousins.

How could anyone hate Haruka Nanase when he looks like this?

It had taken them nearly fifteen minutes to get out the door, considering Suzuka was so hyperactive and excited to finally go on the playground!! that she couldn't sit still, which did not bode well for cleaning up. She ended up knocking over someone's coffee mug, which resulted in Makoto mopping up the coffee while Haruka picked up the shards.

Then, she couldn't find her earmuffs, which meant Haruka had to dig through her entire backpack - that is, until Suzuka realized she left them in her storage cubby at kindergarten.

Finally, finally, they had made it out the door. The weather was nice enough for them to walk, and Suzuka held both Makoto and Haruka's hands, swinging her arms happily as she skipped down the sidewalk. Every so often she would stop and pet dogs they'd pass or marvel at something in the window displays.

Many of the downtown shopkeepers created winter wonderlands or holiday themed displays that attracted lots of customers. She would point at a toy and whisper to Haruka, "We better put that on my Christmas list for Santa!" And Haruka would nod, pulling her along before she got too excited.

By the time they made it to the park, which was a little ways out of the town and about a fifteen minute walk with Suzuka's shorter gait, Suzuka practically burst out of their grasp and made a beeline for the playground, scrambling up the jungle gym to get to the slides.

"Haruka!" She shouts from the top of the structure. "Come on! Let's go down this one!"

Haruka frowns at the slide, looking like the last thing he wants to do is squeeze himself into a tube that does nothing but get you dirty and covered with static electricity, but he moves towards one of the ladders anyway, which is enough to bring a proud smile to Makoto's lips. Instead of joining them, he moves to the swingset and rocks back and forth softly, bemusedly watching the two interact.

They slide down the slides - Suzuka insisted they go down all three of them together at least twice - and Haruka resembles that of a grumpy cat each time they spiral down them. Eventually he declares he's had enough, and Suzuka decides it is time for a new activity, practically jumping into one of the vacant swings.

"Haruka! Push me!" She demands, her fingers curling around the rusted metal chains.

Haruka keeps his head down as he follows her to the swings, moving behind her and glumly pushing her. She begins to squeal when she picks up speed, kicking her bandaged legs back and forth to push herself higher.

Makoto simply can't resist - the childish side inside of him is too strong, too enticing - and he joins Suzuka, kicking back some dirt as he pumps his long legs to get higher up. He falls in sync with the little girl, and she shoots him a toothy smile - though, one of her two front teeth is missing - that makes his heart melt so fast he feels like a popsicle under the hottest summer sun.

Suzuka entertains herself by twisting around as she swings, her laughter radiating throughout Makoto's body and making him feel warm inside. Upon casting a look at Haruka, he sees the smallest of smiles on his face as well. Love for his younger cousin shines in his eyes, and whether or not he wants to admit it, it's there.

His heart lurches at the sight of Haruka fondly watching Suzuka, and he curses himself for allowing himself to stare. He turns his eyes away by force, biting his lip and feeling his cheeks flush.

Suzuka eventually loses interest in the swings and hops off when it's safe, tumbling into the dirt. After brushing herself off, she skips over to the nearby sandbox, immediately striking up a conversation with another girl making a sandcastle.

Makoto keeps a watchful eye on the six year old, smiling fondly as the charming girl makes friends with the stranger with nothing more than an excited introduction and suddenly they're building an entire sandcastle kingdom. Makoto is so lost in thought, he does not hear the creak of weight being shifted. He does not hear the rattling of chains next to him. He does not hear anything at all, until a warm voice cuts through the storm clouds in his head.

"She's cute, huh?"

Makoto's head snaps up so fast that colors swirl in his vision, and he clenches his fists into the chains to keep himself from tumbling backwards into the dirt. "Y-yeah," He agrees with a passing look at the child.

Makoto realizes in that moment that the person sitting next to him, with his long lanky legs kicking back and forth childishly, is the most beautiful person he has ever had the pleasure of knowing. He cannot help but stare as Haruka picks up speed on the swing.

"Well, aren't you going to join me?" He teases.

There is an unmistakable, crooked smile on his crooked pink lips. Makoto flushes darker, his face a bouquet of roses as his hands dig into the swing chains and he begins to pump his legs back, forth, back forth, until he's high in the sky. The wind threads itself through his knotted hair and he takes the risk of looking in Haruka's direction again.

Haruka is already looking back.

He is impossibly long and impossibly pretty, his dark, floppy hair a stark contrast to his snowflake skin. He stares up into the cloudless sky calmly as he swings with the most beautiful eyes Makoto's ever seen. They are like kaleidoscopes, every possible shade of blue swirled together.

Haruka's eyes hold an entire galaxy's worth of stars.

Their swings have fallen in sync, and Makoto cannot register what is happening until his hand has extended to grab onto Haruka's and suddenly, they've become one living, breathing body, skyrocketing themselves into space.

Is this what freedom feels like?

The swings begin to twist back and forth violently and they swing in crazy directions when a breathless laugh bubbles out of his mouth and he flies into the air, and Makoto feels like the air's been knocked out of his lungs and he can't breathe.

Having noticed the way Makoto is staring at Haruka with an awestricken look on his face, Haruka snaps back into reality and worries his bottom lip with his teeth, looking sheepish.

And then suddenly, a different feeling passes through his heart and travels down to his fingertips, a feeling that threatens to bring tears to his eyes. "Ow!"

He is lucky he has such a death grip on the swing, otherwise he would've fallen off and possibly broken a bone. His hand stings so much it feels like it's been burned with a fire poker or stung by a thousand wasps.

They both slow down rapidly, skidding to a stop as they dig their heels into the dirt ground.

"Makoto?" There is worry evident in Haruka's tone, an emotion Makoto hadn't ever seen him express, especially not to him. "What's wrong?"

Ignoring him, Makoto watches with horror as the 28 on his hand practically bubbles and spits at him before morphing into a 27. He realizes this is a painful - literally - reminder that the clock is ticking. He bites down on his lip hard, threatening to draw blood, trying to hold back the scream that wants to rip out of his throat. Is this going to happen every day? He thinks. This cruel reminder that I have one day less to save him?

"I-It's nothing," Makoto squeaks, clenching his hand into a fist before releasing it, shaking out his fingers. Luckily, the pain is subsiding pretty quickly, and feeling begins to return to his fingertips after a couple moments of mind-blanking, white-hot pain.

"Bullshit, Makoto."

Makoto blinks back tears. "R-really," He stutters. "I just accidentally hooked my finger on a sharp part of the chain. I'll be alright."

Haruka stares at him for a moment longer, trying to determine if he was lying or not. He shakes his head after a moment, hopping off the swingset. "We better get back," He says. "The sun will be setting soon."

Makoto can't help but notice the way Haruka's hands are red and raw from cold, and how he clenches them into fists and shoves them into his jacket to keep them warm.

They move towards the sandbox in silence to fetch Suzuka. She whines about having to go back to the bookstore, but her newfound friend has to leave too, which somehow helps her realize it is getting late. Not mention the fact that it has begun to snow lightly, flurries sticking to the pavement like confectionary sugar, the temperature steadily dropping.

The walk back is quieter than the walk to the park; it is clear Suzuka is already tired even though it is only nearing six-thirty in the evening. A small, tired yawn escapes her mouth, and her feet drag as they head back to downtown's main street. Eventually Haruka scoops her up into his arms and carries her the rest of the way home; by the time they're at the building, Suzuka's eyes have drooped to a close and she is sleeping soundly on Haruka's shoulder.

They enter the bookstore, which has less people from when they left an hour earlier. Asuka sees them walk in and takes her from Haruka, muttering something about how he should take the day off to enjoy the evening with his friend.

Makoto is thinking Haruka is going to ignore the suggestion and stay for his shift when he is proved wrong when Haruka moves back towards their chairs, slinging his backpack around his shoulders. He looks at Makoto expectantly, with intense eyes that demand for him to do the same.

"Oh," The noise leaves Makoto's mouth. He leans down and grabs his backpack, throwing it over one shoulder. They're about to leave the bookstore when Asuka calls out to them.

"À demain, Haruka, and it was nice meeting you, Makoto!" She calls, a suggestive tone in her voice, a tone Makoto decides to brush off.

Haruka says something under his breath in response and shoves open the front door, Makoto hot on his heels.

"Oh, it's cold!" Makoto notes when a gust of wind slaps him across the face upon stepping outside.

"It's not that bad," Haruka grumbles in annoyance, picking up his pace and wrapping his arms around himself.

The snow is starting to come down harder; it wasn't so bad when they were walking back from the park, but within minutes the wind has picked up so much it is hard to see where one is walking. Makoto winces, bracing the cold as he tries to keep up with Haruka, who is determinedly marching through the snow.

"Haruka, the snow is getting worse, don't you think it might be too difficult to get to the metro station?" Makoto shouts over the wind. Maybe he is speaking louder than usual because of how badly he is shivering - he really wishes he'd picked a warmer coat while getting dressed this morning.

"We can do it," Haruka argues, his voice strained against the force of the wind.

Makoto knows for a fact they absolutely cannot; from what he remembers, the weather forecast predicted a blizzard for this week. Makoto remembers from the first time he lived through this December that classes would be cancelled tomorrow.

"You don't have to be so worried about me, you know."

Makoto glances up, trying to shield his face from the wind and snow so he can get a good look at him.

"With the weather this bad, it could be dangerous to walk all this way through the blizzard!" Makoto yells from behind him. He's practically begging now, all dignity gone. "You could get sick, you know! Let's just turn back, okay? We can wait out the storm and then try to get home."

That seems like the most sensible idea to Makoto. At least, it's better than risking making it to the metro station and possibly catching a cold from being out in the open like this. He can't feel his hands or his toes anymore, not to mention, his teeth were chattering, knocking against his skull. Makoto knows that no matter how much Haruka insists that the cold doesn't bother him, it isn't possible for him to not be freezing while caught in the happenings of a blizzard. He waits for a response, or at least some form of acknowledgement.

He can't take this anymore. He cant take the way Haruka is so damn insistent on never being wrong, never relying on someone else.

"Haruka!" Makoto's voice is hoarse and exasperated as he shouts at the boy, stopping altogether.

Finally, he turns to face Makoto. His eyes are red, eyelashes coated with melted snow. There is frost in his hair and his lips are starting to turn blue. Makoto spots through the snow that Haruka is hardly dressed for the winter; his flimsy jacket is doing nothing to cover his neck, and his cheeks are blistered red from cold.

"You're kind of an idiot, you know," Makoto murmurs, stomping forward and yanking the scarf off his neck, throwing it around Haruka's.

He makes a move to tear away the piece of fabric, but Makoto grabs his hand to stop him before he can pull it off his neck. "I don't need your scarf," He hisses, but Makoto doesn't care about the venom lashed his way. No, not when Haruka looks like he is about to get sick from the biting cold.

"Come on," Makoto says quietly, something in his voice changing. He's calmer, like he's lost his sense of reason - it was probably frozen in the cold, along with the rest of him. "Let's go get you warm."

He takes Haruka's hand for the second time that day, his fingers curling around Haruka's, which are raw with cold. Either his senses have been numbed from the cold, but Makoto feels Haruka's grasp tightening around him. Even if the rest of him is frozen, there is a sort of warmth that radiates from his hand that Makoto can't help but notice, and he smiles at the way their fingers intertwine so perfectly.

Leading them the way they came from, he strains himself to keep the smile off his face. There is something about the way that Haruka holds his hand in that moment, he knows that even if Makoto were to let go, Haruka wouldn't.

The thought, overwhelming and bursting with hope, sends a wave of warmth that momentarily saves him from the frigid winter.

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A/N: I love this chapter so much omG