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The trouble started with an innocent request: So...Makoto...can I have your number or not?
Sousuke had been direct as ever, and Makoto couldn’t think of any convincing reason not to give him his number. Not quite sure what he was doing, he had taken the phone Sousuke offered and quickly tapped his digits in as a new contact. When he handed it back, Sousuke’s normally serious features had relaxed into an almost-smile.
Makoto definitely smiled back. He might have blushed a little, too...
And he left the joint practice that day a little more cheerful than usual, but if anyone noticed, they didn’t mention it to him. (Here’s a hint: everyone noticed.)
When he didn’t hear from Sousuke for several days, Makoto didn’t really think much of it. He was busy putting in extra practice in preparation for nationals and couldn’t afford to get distracted by anything or anyone. But one afternoon the next week, when he had just ended his leg of relay practice and dragged his tired body up and out of the water, he was rather surprised to look up just in time to find a pair in Samezuka track suits walking up to the other side of the fence that surrounded the pool.
“Rin!” Makoto waved and started to head over to the fence when his eye was caught by the second person standing behind Rin. It was Sousuke, but this Sousuke was definitely not smiling. His jaw was set tightly, and the stirring of worry in Makoto’s gut was an early warning sign that his dark gaze was directed solely at him.
Of course, Makoto had no idea why. And instead of asking -- he wasn’t sure he could be that blunt -- he let his eyes fall to the ground to focus somewhere around Rin and Sousuke’s feet. “What brings you to Iwatobi?”
“This guy,” Rin said with a quick flick of his hand toward Sousuke. His tone was only half frustrated, half amused. “He’s been moping around the dorm for days waiting for you to reply to his stupid texts. Can you please just talk to him? It’s getting ridiculous.”
“I...don’t understand.” And he didn’t. Rin’s statement made absolutely no sense to Makoto. He hadn’t received any texts from Sousuke. Makoto didn’t even have a texting plan on his phone.
Without waiting for Makoto to confirm that he would, indeed, talk to Sousuke, Rin walked away. Makoto faintly heard him call out to his sister. I’ve been abandoned?
When Makoto turned his attention back to Sousuke, his hands were fisted at his sides and he was still making the same rather intimidating expression. “Are you o--”
“Did I say something to offend you?” Sousuke demanded, interrupting Makoto’s attempt to initiate conversation.
Deep down, Makoto was glad. Even in this situation, he could appreciate Sousuke’s direct nature. The way he got right to the point rather than beating around the bush with disingenuous small talk was something to be admired. Makoto’s lips curved slightly of their own accord. They were practically opposites when he thought of it like that, and it was sort of refreshi--
“Are you laughing at me?” Sousuke demanded again.
“No. Of course not!” Makoto snapped a bit more harshly than intended. He put his hands up in surrender to soften it a bit. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure we can work something out.” Makoto wound his fingers into the chain link of the fence nervously, but he didn’t look away from Sousuke.
“I sent you...ahem…several texts…” Sousuke began. His cheeks were slightly flushed and he ran his hand through his hair once, then twice.
“Really?” was all Makoto could say, and it was completely on autopilot. He was too focused on the way Sousuke’s teeth were chewing subtly at his lip, the way his adam’s apple bobbed hesitantly when he swallowed. Makoto’s whole body flooded with relief as he realized that Sousuke, despite appearances, was actually rather nervous, himself.
“Yes, really.” Sousuke’s tone had changed. It was colder, more distant.
Makoto flinched and wondered if Sousuke was withdrawing, pulling part of himself back inside the way Haruka did when he was embarrassed. Encouraged by the familiarity of the situation, Makoto finally relaxed enough, himself, to process what Sousuke had been saying. “I’m not sure I understand, but…”
Sousuke had sent Makoto texts.
Sousuke had waited for a reply.
None had come.
Oh, Makoto thought and leaned a little into the chain link fence, I see. To Sousuke, he replied, “I never received any texts from you, Sousuke. I’m sorry.”
Sousuke’s cheeks pinkened when he must have realized his mistake. “Ah…”
“In fact,” Makoto continued, much more comfortable now that they were on even ground, “I can’t even receive texts. It’s funny, I’ve never needed to before now.” Sousuke was staring at him, perhaps in disbelief, but it was true. If Haruka needed to contact him, he would just show up at Makoto’s house, and if Nagisa and Rei needed anything they would call. It had just seemed a bit useless before so he’d never bothered to get a plan.
But he was a bit curious. “May I see the messages you sent? They were meant for me, after all.”
Sousuke grunted softly and continued to scrutinize Makoto for a long held breath before looking away to fiddle with the buttons of his phone. His gaze awakened something hot and tight in the pit of Makoto’s stomach. It wasn’t much different from the first time they had finally talked face to face. Sousuke’s intense eyes had settled on Makoto after a joint practice and he’d walked right up to him and asked without preamble to be taught to properly swim breaststroke. As it turned out, Sousuke’s doctor had prescribed a relaxed training regimen consisting of cardio and breaststroke to keep the muscles in his shoulder strong while they healed, and Rin had mentioned that Makoto was both a good teacher and an accomplished breaststroke swimmer.
When Makoto had tried to point out that Rin was remembering elementary school and that Nagisa would probably give better overall instruction since it was his specialty, Sousuke had shrugged it off and insisted that Makoto would be more than adequate. He wasn’t trying to swim it competitively, after all, just to keep his body in shape. And against his will, Makoto’s eyes had more than obviously traveled up and down Sousuke’s physique at the mere suggestion that it could be in anything other than perfect form.
Sousuke had chuckled and Makoto had blushed at being caught. He had fidgeted with the strap on his bag, and then the others had called to him, and he’d made his excuses to Sousuke. But it had been a rather enlightening conversation, and at the next joint practice Sousuke had somewhat forcefully asked for his number.
Makoto hadn’t read anything into it at the time, but now that Sousuke stood before him, he realized he hadn’t understood at all…
He looked up just as Sousuke slid his phone through one of the wide gaps in the chain link. Displayed in bright relief was a one-sided conversation that made Makoto’s heart simultaneously flutter and skip in his chest as he scanned it:
Wednesday
- Makoto, it’s Sousuke.
- So, about training. Are you free Friday night? Thanks.
Thursday
- Makoto, if Friday doesn’t work, let me know?
- Maybe we can get dinner afterward? Or, you know, we don’t have to.
Friday
- Makoto?
- It’s Friday, but since I haven’t heard from you, I guess we’re not training?
Friday night
- Makoto, do you want to meet Sunday afternoon instead?
- Do you like action movies? There’s a bistro by the theater, maybe we can grab lunch and a movie?
Saturday
- Makoto, have I done something wrong?
Sunday
- Okay, I can take a hint. Sorry.
Makoto frowned at the words on the screen. He could practically feel Sousuke getting disheartened with each passing day, and...and was he mistaken, or had there been something else going on between the lines?
He raised his head to find Sousuke watching him and rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, offering the most apologetic smile he could muster. “I’m really sorry about the misunderstanding,” he began, and swallowing his usual polite deference, he added, “Let’s try again today. Do you have your suit?”
Sousuke nodded, his expression unreadable.
Makoto should have been focusing on nationals. He should have been practicing the relay handoff and helping the others to improve their times. He should have been doing anything other than training a member of a rival team to swim the basics of breaststroke. Instead, he opened the gate for Sousuke and pointed him toward the locker room. “You can leave your stuff in there. It will be safe, even if you don’t lock it up.”
While he waited for Sousuke to return, Makoto sat on the shaded bench near the pool and watched as Haruka and Rin fell into their old routine, challenged one another, and dove into the pool. He was sure no one would notice if one more joined them for practice.
Makoto was grinning brightly when Sousuke hit the wall with a resounding smack and surfaced next to him. He was more than pleased with his student’s progress in the span of an afternoon training session.
For his part, Sousuke was gripping the wall and breathing hard from the unaccustomed effort of swimming an unfamiliar style. Between gasps, Makoto could see that he was smiling, too, and perhaps it was overly optimistic, but Makoto thought Sousuke might even be having fun.
Makoto laughed softly at the thought, and aloud he said, “I think we’re done for the day.”
Sousuke pushed his goggles up onto his forehead and nodded to let him know that he’d heard. Scrubbing his fingers over his eyes, he managed to get a few words out between gasps: “Makoto...dinner...with...me?”
The familiar slide of electricity down Makoto’s spine reemerged when Sousuke’s intense eyes rose to meet his own. His normal reticent seriousness had been replaced by a brightness that Makoto couldn’t explain, but he liked it. It complemented the upturned curve of his smiling mouth. “Dinner...would be nice.” Makoto glanced quickly toward the rest of his team. “Haru and the others will--”
“No!” Sousuke barked out immediately and drifted forward.
Makoto raised a brow, more surprised than intimidated.
“I mean, I’d like to spend time with you. Alone.”
Sousuke drifted forward again and Makoto automatically stepped back to maintain a polite level of personal space between them. Sousuke followed, until Makoto’s back bumped against the edge of the pool, and Sousuke was standing just before him. There were mere inches remaining between them and the heat from Sousuke’s skin radiated against Makoto’s.
“Ah, Sousuke, I’m flattered, but…” He could have pushed him away just then. He probably should have. But Makoto’s eyes were drawn down to Sousuke’s firm abs sheathed in lightly tanned skin and up to his broad shoulders. And then there was the memory of Sousuke’s smirk and leer the first time Makoto had felt the flutter of something suspiciously like attraction bubbling up inside of him and he just couldn’t help it: he allowed his fingers to drift forward and graze across Sousuke’s flat stomach. A soft gasp escaped Sousuke’s lips and Makoto smiled just a bit more confidently this time. “Actually, dinner sounds good. I’ll just let the others know that they can leave without me. Go ahead and get changed.”
Makoto hopped out of the pool before Sousuke could react and left him there in what he suspected was a state of shock. It only took Makoto about ten steps to realize what he’d done and turn several shades of bright red. Luckily, by the time he reached the others he had it (mostly) under control.
Sousuke, as it turned out, was everything Makoto had hoped he would be. He was honest and straightforward, but also clever and playful, and when he flirted with Makoto he could manage to raise a blush to his cheeks with the simplest word or phrase.
After the first dinner they’d shared together, Makoto had gone straight home and asked his parents if he could have a messaging plan added to his phone. They had been more than happy about this development and probably took it as proof that Makoto was expanding his circle of friends and acquaintances to include more than just Haruka and the swim team. He knew they worried about him, but Makoto was a simple person with simple needs -- up until recently, his family, friends, and swimming had been enough. But lately his relationship with Haruka had been changing, and the effects had begun to ripple and spread out across Makoto’s universe. Between the pressure to choose a career path and Haruka finally deciding to take his own training seriously enough to compete at the national level, Makoto had felt a bit unbalanced. Lost. As if he was losing his stable footing and beginning to drift.
With Sousuke, he felt he could forget all of that, everything. Or rather, he did forget it without ever realizing that the weight had been lifted. It was just so…natural.
Their first kiss had been a cliche kiss goodnight on Makoto’s front steps. Sousuke had wrapped his arms around Makoto’s shoulders and pulled him close, and before he knew what was happening, it was all over. Only the ghost of Sousuke’s lips on his own lingered as proof that it had happened at all. And then Makoto’s father had opened the door and Sousuke had already been halfway down the street toward the steps down the hill that would take him to the train station.
Their second kiss had occurred on Rin’s bed on the bottom bunk in the Samezuka dorm, and it hadn’t been limited to strictly kissing. They had been waiting for Rin to return from the shower so they could meet up with Haru and the others, and it had just...happened. Sousuke had looked practically edible in his Tokyo-esque street clothes and styled hair and Makoto couldn’t help himself; he’d leaned over and stolen a kiss (or two) before he could talk himself out of it. Sousuke’s hands had slipped under the edge of Makoto’s shirt and a moan had escaped his parted lips. It was just then that they’d heard Rin yelling at Momotarou outside the dorm room, and they had practically jumped apart before he could enter and find them in a rather compromising position on his own bed.
Makoto prayed Rin never found out because he would never be able to look him the eyes again.
It went on like that: stealing kisses in the locker room after joint practice, flirting and teasing and just talking, a lot, and really getting to know one another. And it was so effortless that Makoto didn’t even know when it happened. When had he started spending more time with Sousuke than Haru? When had he started thinking of Sousuke first? When had he started to miss the feel of Sousuke’s powerful arms wrapped around him and the taste of his mouth and the slip of his palms along his hip and...and...
As Makoto lay on his own bed in the darkness, he thought about all of this. They were both starting exams and needed time to study and focus on the information they were meant to regurgitate during the tests, so he and Sousuke had informally decided to keep the messages to a minimum. However, Makoto hadn’t been able to read anymore about English past participles or biological theories or geometry, and he’d flopped onto his bed and turned out the light, utterly defeated.
He had considered going over to Haruka’s to be sure he was studying properly -- and he would, he promised himself, as soon as he was finished taking care of…things.
Because he was feeling pent up and stressed and honestly missing the level of contact he’d become accustomed to, Makoto decided he definitely needed a break. He hiked his jeans and boxers down past his hips and closed his eyes. His hands were broad, nearly the same as Sousuke’s, and he let himself imagine they weren’t his hands at all stroking his hip bones and upper thighs. Those were Sousuke’s fingers lightly sliding across his skin, dragging his short nails around the base of his quickly growing erection. It was Sousuke thumbing over his nipples and palming heat across his abs. He imagined Sousuke’s mouth on his own, greedy and insistent, intense and hungry for more. He was always like that. He wanted Makoto with a passion Makoto had never imagined he could command. With the tilt of his head and the slightest playful smile, Makoto could entice Sousuke’s hands to touch him. A deliberately gentle nip at his jaw could send shivers down Sousuke’s spine. He could drag out heated breaths and soft moans from Sousuke's lips with a series of well-placed kisses down the muscled column of his neck.
Soon enough, Makoto felt the pressure between his hips building. He was gasping as quietly as he could in the darkness -- eternally thankful for the lock on his door and the twins’ reliable bedtime -- and his hips bucked up into his hand, desperately seeking more friction. When he couldn’t stand it any longer, he grabbed his pillow and clutched it against his face to muffle the brunt of the incoherent sounds that slipped between his lips as he came.
After what seemed like an eternity of staring blissfully up at his ceiling, Makoto finally started to resurface. But he was drunk on endorphins and giddy with emotions he had yet to put a name to, so he wasn’t particularly in his right mind when he turned on the bedside lamp and reached for his cell phone...
Sousuke was lying in bed on the top bunk studying when his phone vibrated to let him know he had a message. And it was a good one, too; Makoto had sent him a picture in a text. It was something new they were trying, so Sousuke eagerly tapped the screen to open it.
When Makoto, himself, appeared on screen, Sousuke covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the groan that tried to escape. There he was: beautiful with flushed cheeks, half naked with a stupid smile on his face, his flat stomach, the soft trail of hair that led down, down toward more interesting places...
Sousuke had seen that look before, so he knew exactly what Makoto had been up to and, wow, now he really wanted to ditch studying and ask him to meet up somewhere -- anywhere -- they could be alone. But Sousuke’s pride and self-discipline wouldn’t let him seriously consider it. Instead, he saved the photo for later and put his phone away.
However, just as he managed to get back into studying, he was interrupted again.
“Whoa! What the hell?!” Rin sat up so fast he smacked his head on the underside of Sousuke’s bunk. “OW! SHIT! Ugh…” There was a pause, and then Rin muttered something that made Sousuke’s blood freeze in his veins, “Makoto...I did not need to see that…”
Sousuke’s eyes widened.
Oh. No.
He leaned over the edge to look down at Rin and his worst fears were confirmed: Makoto’s body was displayed on Rin’s phone just as blatantly naked and satiated as he had been on Sousuke’s.
Sousuke grabbed his phone and furiously dialed.
The next day, Makoto didn’t want to go to school. He didn’t want to swim. He didn’t even want to climb out from under the blankets.
He just wanted to disappear.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had only been Rin, but he’d realized after Sousuke had pointed it out that he had sent it to everyone listed under the “Swimming” category in his contacts, which was located just beneath Sousuke’s name in the list. He had sent it to everyone. Goro-chan. Ama-chan. The members of the Samezuka team that he had gotten close to. Gou-chan. Nagisa. Rei. Haruka.
Makoto had hastily sent a text to each person on the list, individually apologizing for the picture and hoping that he hadn’t caused them too much trouble. He’d received a few replies, and everyone had played it off as no big deal (at least one had even been a bit too enthusiastic for comfort). But something impersonal like texting was nowhere near as embarrassing as seeing them in person.
Makoto wanted to walk out into the street and let the earth just swallow him up now and forever.
Instead, he remained in bed until he got a text from Haruka. It simply stated, I’m outside. I’ll wait five minutes.
There was nothing about the photo. That was was it. And somehow, that made Makoto feel like at least his life wasn’t quite over yet. Haru wasn’t going to bring it up (he hoped), so perhaps no one else would either? It was a long shot, but there were exams to take and he couldn’t let a mistake like that ruin his future.
Right?
Well, that’s what he told himself to motivate his feet to slide off the bed and his body to rise from the blankets and get dressed. When he finally emerged from his house carrying tamago and a piece of toast to eat along the way, Haruka was already halfway down the hill.
“I told you I wouldn’t wait,” he said when Makoto eventually caught up. Aside from a faint blush in his cheeks, Haruka didn’t let on that he even knew about the photo. It was enough to let Makoto pretend for a little while.
At least until he encountered Nagisa, who burst out laughing as soon as he saw him. “Oh, Mako-chan! It’s okay! We’ve all done things like that at least once. There was this one time when I was messaging Rei-chan and--”
Rei arrived just in time to clamp a hand over Nagisa’s mouth. “Don’t worry about it, Makoto-senpai. Just please be more careful in the future.”
Haruka snorted softly beside him, but didn’t say anything.
Makoto was a little embarrassed, but he was no longer worried about what they thought, so he supposed everything was okay. “Haru-chan, Rei, Nagisa...let’s go. Exams start today. Let’s all do our best.”
When they started into the school, Makoto held his head high, sure that nothing could stand in his way.
Meanwhile, on the Samezuka campus…
“Die,” Rin muttered as he and Sousuke moved between classes.
“So you don’t mind, then?” Sousuke asked a bit more seriously than he probably should have.
Rin glanced at him sideways and shook his head. “If you go out with him? No. If he sends me any more pictures? Yes, yes, I do.”
Sousuke rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t say it didn’t feel satisfying to have his best friend’s blessing. It meant a lot to him. “Thanks.”
“Just, seriously, NEVER AGAIN,” Rin reiterated before entering the classroom to start their exam.
- end