𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯
𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦
𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴
𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦
𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦
𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦
「 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 - 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘥 」
☆。*。☆。
★。＼｜／。★
𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 || 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐤𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐱 𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
★。／｜＼。★
☆。*。☆。
Haru didn't talk about it, but he was lonely.
Ever since his mother moved to Tokyo to help his ill father, he'd lived alone in the house. Throughout the years Haru had convinced himself it didn't bother him that much, as he had Makoto as his friend, and would sometimes go over to his house to have dinner with his family. I mean, it was the bare minimum, how he was dealing with living like this at quite a young age, he was sure it was just okay. But at night when Haru woke with a start after a nightmare, drenched in sweat, a lump in his throat, and everything about his surroundings looking off and intimidating...
He was alone. Truly, alone.
Haru sometimes felt the need to call his green-eyed friend, but most times he didn't want to bother him and just left it. So he continued the way he was, despite even after reuniting with Rin and Nagisa feeling the same hollowness when he returns to an empty house.
Well, that was all pre-you.
You had a lot of friends outside the charming little swim club, greatly admired by many others at school for your looks and skills in more things other than just swimming. You didn't seem to get lonely, despite your situation at home being one in the same with Haru's. Your parents were lovely people, but always quite busy. They were hardworking, of course they got overwhelmed with work sometimes, and had to leave for longer periods. Haru's place had become a second home of sorts to you, and your parents were happy you had somewhere to go, someone to be with and not get lonely.
In fact, sometimes you'd stay with Haru for days on end. You were there 24/7, the one to get Haru out of the bathtub and on the way to school in the mornings, the one to tag along home with him after school to just hang out... Not even Makoto knew of the extra key to the front door underneath the welcome mat, only you. You'd call out Haru's name, announcing your arrival, and his spirits would automatically be lifted. He got used to cooking for two, sometimes even making the life-changing decision to make something other than mackerel for your sake. He got all flustered and stubborn when you made a big deal out of it, gushing and teasing him, but really, he was doing it in hopes that you'd want to stay more often, and for longer.
It was always a bit of a disappointment when you weren't there with him some mornings, when he'd reach out with bleary-eyed and a sleep-addled mind, and was unable to find your warmth, however much he scoured the blankets.
Haru felt like... He just hated being apart from you. You gave him strength, truly.
When the lineup for relays didn't include you, you would always be cheering up in the stands. Gou and Mrs. Amakata weren't half as loud as you, but they'd try to match your enthusiasm, being easily motivated and almost envious of how perfect your relationship was. Coach Sasabe would slap you on the back and laugh heartily, making teases which you just grinned and chuckled at. Rin would occasionally notice your passionate support and make suggestive eyes at Haru, who would huff and try to will the heat flooding to his face away.
