Makoto Tachibana from Free!

~~~

"Makoto?" You call, knocking on the door to his room. "Your mother let me in; she wasn't expecting anyone. Did you forget to mention that I'm coming over for a study session?"

You're answered with a "Sorry! I'll be right out, I completely forgot-" and loud fumbling as he opens the door.

Oh my.

In front of you is a half naked Makoto, towel and change of clothes tucked under his arm. "I'm sorry, (Name)!" He groans, head in hands. "I was just getting ready to shower and-"

"Mako." You say calmly. "It's fine." He seems to lighten up at this, shoulders relaxing. "Go take your shower, alright?" You say. "I'll wait for you in here." You shoulder towards his room, and he smiles.

"Alright! Sorry again for forgetting..." He apologizes. You watch him disappear down the hallway towards the bathroom before stepping into his room.

But when he doesn't return 5 minutes later, you decide to go check on him. As you near the hazy door of the bathroom, you're about to knock when..

"She's the girl that no one ever knows, and I say hi but she's too shy to say, 'hello'..." Makoto sings, humming the next few bars.

Your eyes widen. This was one of your favorite songs! And, to top it all off, Makoto was actually a really good singer. Holding your breath, you press your ear to the door, trying to listen.

And as he hits the chorus, you accidentally sing along with him. Caught up in the situation, you don't realize he's stopped singing.

"But I'm never going down," you sing. "Never giving up, never gonna leave so put your hands up,"

"If you like me," Makoto joins in.

"Then say you like me." You finish. You wait for him to continue singing, but it's quiet for nothing except the water hitting Makoto and the floor. The water then stops, and you can hear him stepping out the shower, but you keep quiet. Had he heard you? Was he angry you heard him? Or maybe he just stopped.

"(Name)..." Makoto says quietly, coming out the bathroom, clothed, hair drooping. "How long have you been here?" He doesn't sound angry, to your relief.

"Um.. since Say You Like Me started?"

Makoto nods. "Let's get back, alright? We have to start studying."

You both walk uncomfortably back to his room, and he gets out his textbooks. "Okay, well, what do want to start wi-"

"You sing really well, Mako." You blurt out. "You know that, right?"

A light shade of pink starts covering his cheeks. "I'm not that good. I'm really just a shower singer..."

"You're better than that! You're world class!"

"What about yourself?" Makoto asks, and it's your turn to go pink. "You're the best singer I've heard in a long time!" The backstroke swimmer exclaims.

He suddenly realizes he's pretty much shouting. "S-sorry. We'll start-"

"You really think that?" You ask quietly, and Makoto nods.

"Yeah."

"Thanks.

Makoto blinks his emerald eyes. "It's true." He says after a moment. "And thank you about the singing too."

"No problem."

A silence passes.

"Mako?"

"Hm?"

"Do you wanna sing together?"

"Yes."

***

"Let the storm rage oooooooon!" You giggle, Makoto finishing it off for you.

"The cold never bothered me anyway!" He chirps, and the both of you collapse on his bed laughing.

"Wanna sing 'Say You Like Me' again?" Makoto questions, and you nod enthusiastically.

Sitting up, you sing the first verse, and Makoto sings the next. You end harmonizing the last line with Makoto.

"If you like me, say you like me." You sing together, and all of a sudden, you're just staring into each other's eyes.

Ugh. You think. So cliche.

"I like you." Makoto says hurriedly, going red after he finishes. "I.. uh.. It's okay if you don't like me back, I mean, I got caught up in the song and-" You zone out after that, flushing red as he continues to ramble.

"Mako." You say. "I like you too."

Makoto stops talking, looking at you with wide eyes. "R-really?!" He smiles at you widely, and tackles you with a bone crushing hug. You chuckle, pulling him into a kiss, Makoto surprised at first but melting into it.

You pull apart suddenly when Ran and Ren burst open the door, and the twins gasp, Ran closing the door as quickly as he opened it. "Mom wants you to eat now, Onii-san. And (Name) can stay if she wants! We're sorry for running in!" Ren stammers from past the door, and you can hear hurried footsteps running down the stairs.

"I tooold you she was Onii-san's girlfriend!" You hear Ran whining, and you wince, Makoto laughing shyly.

"Shall we?"

~~~
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