Tissues - free! iwatobi swim club, makoto, makoharu oneshot

[SapphireSong]

Heyyy everyone, I'm back with a story!   It's been so long, I dunno if anyone even remembers me LOL but here I am? xD;;

 

So Free! Iwatobi Swim Club is one of my favorite fandoms ever, and Free! Eternal Summer is currently killing me slowly with its ridiculously painful angst.  so to remedy that, I've been dabbling around with the characters as usual, and I finally managed to finish something (hopefully) worthy of sharing with you guys!

 

This story was originally supposed to be a drabble - based off the prompt "Tissues" from the 100 Prompts list - but well... it surpassed 3000 words and so 'drabble' doesn't really apply at all xDD;; Hence I'm posting it in its own thread! If I am able to finish anything else though, I may end up starting a drabble thread. We'll see.

But yeah! Without further ado, have some miserably allergic Makoto Tachibana and his concerned tsundere best friend Haruka Nanase. Note: I suppose this could be considered light m/m, but there's nothing overtly shippy in it, unless you count caretaking as shippy.  But I tagged it as m/m because MakoHaru is my OTP and they act like a married couple here as usual.

Comments are much appreciated! I hope you enjoy it!

 

Tissues

Makoto, Haru

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

left: Haru right: Makoto

 

A/N: "KushOnii-chan" = my attempt at a Japanese pun. xDD;; 'kushan' is an Japanese onomatopoeia for sneezing, and "Onii-chan" is Japanese for "big brother". (Ran is Makoto's little sister.)

 

----

Haru sat the same way he always did at his desk – ankles crossed, chin resting in his left hand and pen in his right – but today, rather than settling on the window, his gaze wandered to Makoto instead.

 

Of course, Makoto was currently trying very hard not to attract attention; but given the circumstances, Haru couldn’t oblige him. The taller boy had misery written all over him. His shoulders were hunched, his eyes painfully puffy, his nose as bright as the plants that were making him –

 

“hh’GgXtch!”

 

...do that. Haru twitched in sympathy as Makoto lurched forward for the fifteenth time in as many minutes, directing a carefully-muffled but unmistakably congested sneeze into his tented hands. Afterwards, he winced, pressing his fingertips gingerly to his sinuses and uttering a groan that likely only Haru noticed.

 

Haru sighed inaudibly. Makoto got a little sniffly and itchy every spring, but this year, his allergies were brutal. His eyes and throat were unbearably irritated, he'd been sneezing practically nonstop – so much so that last night Ran dubbed him KushOnii-chan, to his great dismay – and he hadn’t been able to take any medication during the day because every kind he tried made him so sleepy that he couldn’t see straight.

 

...Not that his symptoms didn’t make him exhausted enough as it was, Haru thought, eyeing his best friend with concerned disapproval. Makoto was positively drooping from it, his emerald green eyes bleary and fallen half-shut, red-rimmed and underlined with shadow. He was yawning every five minutes, too; and propping his head up with one fist as if it were too heavy to support otherwise. And finally, as if all that wasn't enough, the white mask that hid the rest of his face only served to make him look even more miserable.

 

On any other day, Makoto would have noticed Haru staring by now; but Haru suspected he was barely alert enough to pay attention to their teacher, let alone what was going on around him. As Haru continued to look on, Makoto sniffled multiple times, and rubbed at his nose and eyes as discreetly as he could. Haru frowned at the liquid sound, so intensely that on any other day, Makoto would have sensed his glare from a mile away.

 

Makoto had laden his jacket, pants pockets, and bookbag with numerous packages of tissues. Blowing his nose was about the only thing that brought him some relief... but he refused to do it in class because it was rude. So he’d only been able to do it every hour or so when they took breaks, and then over lunch period too. However, despite that relative infrequency, he’d run out of tissues about an hour ago.

 

Haru scowled harder at the memory. They’d been coming back into the classroom when Makoto had tossed the plastic packaging into the trash can by the door, sheepishly murmuring that he should’ve brought more. And before Haru could offer him any, Makoto had shaken his head and told him no, it was fine, he couldn’t use them in class anyway so don’t go to the trouble.

 

Stupid Makoto.

 

“hh – EhNGxst!-nnh..” That one almost got away from him, Haru could tell. Makoto’s eyebrows quirked and he quickly hid his face in the crook of his elbow, the tips of his ears turning pink. Haru resisted the temptation to sigh again. Makoto’s sneezes were naturally loud, and since this embarrassed him to no end, he had this nearly-subconscious habit of stifling them when he was around people. Haru thought it was ridiculous and probably unhealthy. If you had to sneeze, you should just do it.

“hh-h – ‘GhSHt! hh-NXst! h- ! ‘nGsT!-hnh...” Makoto was practically suffocating himself now in his effort to contain the recurring explosions. It was giving Haru a headache just to watch. Haru huffed a breath, reaching instinctively into his jacket pocket. His fingers brushed against the packet of tissues he had – put there by none other than Makoto himself, from a couple weeks ago when Haru had caught a cold. He had no use for them now, so he had every intention of giving them back. The only thing was to figure out how to get him to accept them.

 

“h-hh!!” Still burrowed into his jacket sleeve, Makoto tipped his head back involuntarily, lashes quivering. His breath caught so deeply in his chest this time that Haru arched an eyebrow – likely he wouldn’t be stifling this one.

 

“hh-NNGhSht! h’XxSh! ‘GtXsh! heh – GgXsh’h!-hhnh..”

 

...except somehow he did. Noticeably less successfully, but he still managed to keep them semi-quiet. Haru glared unreservedly in his direction, and this time Makoto did turn his head. His eyes widened a fraction when he caught Haru’s expression, and he lowered his arm slowly, giving Haru his usual weakly apologetic smile. Even though Haru couldn’t see his mouth, he’d recognize that stupid Makoto look anywhere.

 

Haru snorted just loudly enough for Makoto to hear, pointedly facing forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Makoto run both hands through his sandy brown hair and expel a sigh that seemed to come from his toes.

 

“Tachibana-kun!” Ama-chan-sensei’s bright chirp caused both of them to look up in surprise.

 

Makoto blinked, sitting up straighter. “Y-yes, sedsei?” He tried very hard to appear eager and attentive, but failed rather spectacularly. Even Ama-chan-sensei seemed to hesitate momentarily, arching an eyebrow at him before breezing on.

 

“Can you give us a brief summary of your modern literature analysis paper?”

 

Makoto swallowed, shifted, then nodded bravely, pushing himself to his feet. “I chose Touson Shib..Shimazaki’s The Broken Commandment,” he began, voice raspy and thick. He reddened almost imperceptibly, and cleared his throat. “Mby essay will focus od the represedtation and idtroduction of ndaturalism to Japadese literature, as well as explori’g the cedtral themes of idedtity and prejudice.” He took a deep breath, gaze fixed to his desk. Haru guessed he was mentally willing Ama-chan-sensei to move on to someone else – then realized he was doing that very thing as well.

 

“Very good!” Ama-chan-sensei affirmed, beaming at him. “As expected of our Tachibana Makoto!”

 

Makoto blushed at the praise, lifting his head shyly. “A-ah, thagk you,” he said, his eyes brightening for a second before dimming again, a queer expression gracing his features.

 

“You may sit down,” Ama-chan-sensei prompted kindly after a moment when he didn’t move. Makoto started slightly, his cheeks tinting pinker, and nodded.

 

“A-ah, thag – hh!” Before he could finish, his breath hitched audibly, and his hands flinched to his face a second too late. “heiYySHh’u!” The violence of the sneeze made both Haru and Ama-chan-sensei wince. A few of their classmates tittered.

 

Makoto instantly turned two shades redder, cupping his hands over his mask. “E-excuse –” he stammered, but his eyelashes were already fluttering again. “–mhh – HehEGhSH! ‘IiSHh! H’YiSHhu!! hh..!”

 

Haru chewed the inside of his lip, unhappily witnessing his best friend’s misfortune but carefully angling his head so that Makoto would have at least one less person staring directly at him. As usual, sneezing just once unrestrained was an open invitation for Makoto’s irritated respiratory system to go haywire, at which point the 17-year-old utterly lost control of his symptoms no matter how embarrassed he was. Haru’s hand inched toward his pocket again, but he didn’t take out the tissues. However badly he needed them, he knew Makoto would rather leave the room like this than stay and be humiliated further.

 

“hehIiShh’u! A-Aba-cha – h’EHhGtch’! Aba-chad-sedsei –...” Sure enough, Makoto fought to address their teacher in between sneezes, raising a shaky hand, the other still pressed futilely to his face. “B...Mbay I use th-hh – hh! h’YgSHh! HehEGktSH’uh! ...restroob..?”

 

“Of course, Tachibana-kun,” Ama-chan-sensei responded, sympathetically.

 

Still sneezing, Makoto barely managed to nod his thanks, almost tripping over his chair in his hurry to get to the door. Haru let himself sigh audibly as he vanished from sight, turning to gaze languidly out the window. At least now Makoto would get some relief and Haru could stop worrying about him.

 

Fifteen minutes later, though, Haru found himself doing just that.

 

Makoto still hadn’t returned, and Haru couldn’t imagine what was taking him so long. Unlike Haru himself, Makoto was almost religiously diligent about attending classes, such that he barely ever took breaks at all, much less ones that lasted longer than five minutes. So now, either he was still at the mercy of his symptoms, or....

 

After another couple minutes of trying and failing to keep these troublesome thoughts out of his head, Haru decided it was just too much effort.

 

“Sensei, may I be excused to the restroom?” He intoned.

 

“Certainly, Nanase-kun,” Ama-chan-sensei dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

 

There was no sign of Makoto outside the classroom or in the halls. Haru made his way as far as the door of the boy’s bathroom before he hesitated, absently chewing his lip. This was the closest one to their classroom; however, it was small, less-used than the newer, bigger restroom located in the center of the building. Maybe Makoto had gone there instead, and that was what was taking him longer –

 

“hh-IhGTSHh’h! h’EGksh’u!..”

 

….Nope. This was the place.

 

Haru turned the knob and pushed his shoulder against the door, which stuck for a second like it always did before opening with a creak of complaint. It took him about two seconds more to scan the tiny room for Makoto.

 

The boy in question was sitting on the floor, back against the wall and knees tucked almost to his chin. His face was hidden in his loosely folded arms, his hair clinging to the back of his neck from sweat. And, predictably, he was sneezing. And sneezing. And sneezing.

 

“”EHGTCh! hehIGkTsh’h! h’hhYISsh’k! hh..! Hh’IiSHh’U!”

 

His shoulders spasmed in rhythm with the explosions, his entire frame shuddering harshly with every sneeze. He was no longer making any effort to suppress them, whether by choice or inability, Haru couldn’t say. But judging from the droop of his posture, the way his breath was catching raggedly in his throat between each outburst, Haru suspected it was the latter.

 

“heh.. hh.. hihh.. hh-hh..!” Makoto emerged from the safety of his sleeves, caught in the throes of a particularly nasty buildup. Tears glittered in the corners of his eyes, and his head reared back far enough to bump the wall before he snapped forward again with a resounding “hah’EHGtSHu!!”

 

The distinct wheeze in Makoto’s breathing was all Haru needed to hear. In one swift motion, he crossed the room, pulled the tissues out of his pocket, and crouched in front of Makoto, shoes squeaking on the linoleum. Without prelude, he gently peeled the mask from his best friend’s face, setting it aside and resting his hand on Makoto’s shoulder.

 

Makoto gave a tiny gasp of relief at the removal of the mask, his features relaxing almost imperceptibly; then, in delayed reaction, opened his eyes. Their normally clear, vibrant green was blurred with allergic tears, the skin around them an angry shade of red. It took him a full second to register Haru’s presence, at which he feebly jumped and tried to hold out his hand in protest.

 

“H-Haru..!” he choked out, breathless, voice in even worse shape than before.

 

Haru frowned unabashedly at him. Makoto’s face was swollen and blotchy, his nose as uncomfortably pink as Haru had ever seen it, nostrils chapped and madly quivering. Makoto gulped and shook his head, hand brushing Haru’s jacket as he attempted to warn him back. But Haru, unmoved, simply reached up and pressed a generous handful of tissues to Makoto’s face.

 

“Hh-HH!”

 

And just in time, too. Before Makoto had a chance to resist, his breath snagged yet again, his expression morphing into one of desperation; eyelids drooping, lips parting, nostrils flaring with a familiar urgency. Prepared for this very thing, of course, Haru adjusted his hold on the tissues, applying them in a way he hoped was at least marginally comfortable before –

 

“hh’ISSChH! HEhHSSCh’U! H’YIGgkSH’h! h‘EHSsHk!”

 

Though he anticipated the number and general force of his friend’s sneezes, their sheer violence in such close quarters both startled and worried Haru, and he had to consciously keep from flinching as Makoto pitched forward against Haru’s hand. Even through the protection of the tissues, Haru could feel the fury and wetness of each sneeze, and he found himself holding his own breath as Makoto’s caught and built.

 

“Hh!!..nghh” In the middle of one final visibly ticklish inhale, Makoto suddenly faltered, uttering a strangled sound in his throat and wilting against Haru’s steady hand. He stayed that way, eyes closed, for a minute, then slowly lifted his head, shakily closing his own fingers around the tissues.

 

Haru silently let go, looking on with mild approval as Makoto finally blew his nose, first gingerly and then with force.

 

“...Stupid..” Haru muttered when he was sure Makoto could hear him, shifting to sit cross-legged beside him. “You should’ve done that a long time ago.”

 

Makoto paused, a second tissue halfway to his face, and gave what could only be described as a sheepish grimace. “Eheh.. s-sorry,” he managed, before blowing his nose again, barely able to force any air through his aggravated nasal passages. “There isedt ady toilet paper...”

 

Haru huffed a breath, looking away. That’s not what I meant..

 

Makoto sighed, the air whistling weakly in his throat. “I kdow what you medt.. a’d I’b sorry, it’s just too ebarrassi’g..!” Tone pitching up into a tired whine, he let one knee fall, burying his face in his hands.

 

Haru arched an eyebrow. “And this isn’t..?” he pointed out, dryly but not without sympathy.

 

Makoto peeked at him. “I...” He sniffled, then winced at the sound.

 

Haru sighed. “Here.” He set the rest of the tissues next to Makoto, still wrapped in their plastic packaging. “It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

 

Makoto’s shoulders slumped in relief as he reached out to pick them up. “Doh, it’s great, thagk you Haru.” He turned the package over in his hands, a wan smile quirking at his lips. “What would I do withoud you?”

 

Haru resisted the urge to snort, instead just turning his head again. “It’s nothing.”

 

“Doh, seriously..” Makoto rubbed his nose, gazing at Haru so earnestly that Haru couldn’t help but look back at him in spite of himself. “You eved left class to...” Realization dawned in his eyes, and he straightened in alarm. “Haru, you left class! You cad’t just –”

 

“I had to use the bathroom,” Haru stated, calmly standing up and walking over the nearest urinal.

 

“...ah...” Whatever else Makoto had been saying died on his lips, and, after a moment of staring incredulously at Haru’s back, he sighed, breathing a helpless little laugh and leaning his head back against the wall. “hnn.... I wadt to go hobe..”

 

“Then you should,” Haru countered, back still to Makoto as he moved to wash his hands.

 

“Ahaa..” Makoto covered his face again, mumbling through his fingers. “Did I say that out loud..”

 

“Mm.” Haru turned, giving Makoto a rare, softer expression. Noting how painfully bright the red rimming his eyes was, even from this distance, he remembered something his grandmother had done for him when he was young. Pivoting, he grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and folded it into a neat rectangle, then soaked it under the cold stream of water and wrung it out.

 

With a few short strides, he was at Makoto’s side again, dropping to a knee and touching his fingertips to Makoto’s forehead. Makoto lowered his hands to look at him, blinking, at which Haru draped the cool towel over his friend’s puffy eyes. Makoto immediately wilted in relief, the thoughtful gesture producing an audible whimper from him. Haru felt a twinge of satisfaction as he watched Makoto relax by degrees, heaving a deep, weary sigh.

 

Haru shifted to sit next to him, keeping the wet cloth securely against Makoto’s eyes. After several moments, Makoto reached up to hold it there himself. “That.. feels abazi’g, thagk you so buch Haru...” he murmured, pressing it into the corners of his eyes.

 

Haru suddenly felt a little warm. “You don’t have to thank me for something like that..” he muttered, pointedly staring at anything that wasn’t Makoto.

 

“Nn, I wadt to.” Makoto shook his head, peeking sideways at Haru from over the paper towel. “You kdew just what I deeded.” He smiled again, tiredly but gently, exuding sincerity and gratitude like only Makoto could.

 

Haru struggled to keep a neutral expression, heat prickling his cheeks. “It’s nothing,” he repeated. Avoiding his gaze, he got to his feet, absently adjusting his jacket. “I’m going back to class.”

 

“A-ah, wait for mbe,” Makoto supplied, scrambling to stand and nearly falling over in the process. He took a deep breath to steady himself, hand drifting instinctively to his forehead; then stuffed the remaining tissues in his pocket.

 

Haru shot him an extremely unimpressed look, embarrassment forgotten. “You’re not going back.”

 

“Wh..” Makoto opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Haru... I have to –”

 

“No you don’t.” Haru didn’t raise his voice, but his sharp tone was just as effective, causing Makoto to swallow the rest of his words and look glumly at the floor. Haru sighed, lightening up a bit. “If you want to go home, you should.”

 

Makoto glanced up at him, clearly wavering... but then shook his head. “Doh, it’s okay,” he insisted, setting off resolutely toward the door. “It’s better dow, so I’ll....” He stopped by the garbage can, poised to throw away the paper towel but obviously loath to part with it. “I-I’ll be fi... hh!” Without warning, his breath hitched sharply, and he froze, features twitching with irritation. After a few seconds of itchy expectance, however, the sensation seemed to fade, and he frowned. Sniffled. “....fide.”

 

Haru narrowed his eyes at him. “Not ‘fine’. You’ll start sneezing again.”

 

Makoto hesitated, rubbing self-consciously at the back of his neck. “Doh I w...” He trailed off, wrinkling his nose.

 

Haru gazed at him impassively. Then, as if to prove Haru’s point, Makoto’s nostrils quivered, his head tilting back involuntarily.

 

“hhnh.. heh.. hh’h... hh-hh!” He gave into it, reluctantly, chest heaving with each dramatic breath, a hand hovering inches from the tip of his reddened nose. “Hhh.. hh-hh – Heh’h!!” His eyes squeezed shut, eyebrows quirking with a final helpless gasp before – “HhKt!..nnh”

 

Makoto’s eyes shot open as the sneeze eluded him at the very last second. He squinted, almost cross-eyed, at his nose, then gave a disgruntled sigh. “I wodthh –!” he tried again, and again his breathing shuddered. “hhh- hht’!....ngh...”

 

Frustration furrowed his brow as, for the second time, the sneeze diffused at the last moment. “I... hh!” He made another attempt to speak, but it was no use. Another hitching breath tipped his head backward again, his eyelashes beaded with moisture. “Hhnh! Hh-hh-hh!– H’kkt! Dabbit!” Makoto blurted the curse in place of the yet-again-aborted sneeze, then clapped a hand over his mouth, stricken.

 

Haru raised his eyebrows at him. Makoto blushed deep red.

 

“S-sorry,” he sputtered from behind his palm, “I didedt –!”

 

“Maakoto.” Haru drew out the first syllable of his friend’s name, amused, bordering on affectionate.

 

“Hn..?” Makoto lowered his hand, cracking an eye open to peek at Haru. The flush of his cheeks and neck were as much a result of his exhaustion and allergies as his chagrin, Haru knew; and as he met Haru’s gaze, his abused nose was still crinkling in discomfort.

 

Something stirred within Haru’s chest at the sight. Sympathy, mixed with something else, something he couldn’t name; but suddenly he had an idea.

 

As Makoto grimaced in frustration, trying to fend off the maddening itch, Haru reached over and ran the pad of his finger lightly down the bridge of Makoto’s nose, hoping to help resolve his current predicament. The effect was immediate: The taller boy’s eyelids slammed shut, quivering, his breath catching deep in his throat as his jaw slackened. Encouraged, Haru traced the shape of Makoto’s nostrils with his fingernail, stopping at his septum and poking gently.

 

“Hh-hhh!!” Makoto’s reflexive inhale was so sharp that he stumbled backward a step. Nostrils trembling in preparation, glowing pink, he took one final stuttering breath before snapping forward with a loud, visceral “heh’EJHSSHh’U!” His hands flinched to his face just barely in time, and he kept them cupped over his mouth and nose for several moments afterwards, looking dazed.

 

“Bless you,” Haru quipped, feeling rather pleased with himself.

 

Makoto shook his head, however, breath shuddering arduously behind his tented hands. “N-Ndot duhh-- h’YIiGSsH’h! hehEGKtSH’h! hh’ISSHh’u! hhNGKSh’u! hhEeSsHh’uh! hh’h-!” The sneezes echoed off the bathroom walls, each one bending him double. He suffered through several in a row before he could even stop to breathe, at which point he straightened dizzily, gasping, nostrils still flaring. “hh.. hheh... hihh’h.. hh-hh–! h’IEGHkSsH’h!!-huh..” Losing his balance with that one, he whimpered, over-corrected, and staggered right into Haru.

 

“Makoto..!” Startled, Haru grabbed his shoulders, steadying him. “Are you okay?”

 

Makoto seemed to try to laugh, sniffle, groan, and nod all at once, resulting in one of the most pathetic sounds Haru had ever heard. Haru sighed and loosened his grip, but didn’t let go.

 

Respiratory system somewhat appeased for the moment, Makoto slowly caught his breath, shoulders sagging with fatigue. He swiped absently at his nose, then blanched and hurriedly fished the package of tissues out from his pocket, backpedaling out of Haru’s space and mumbling an apology.

 

Haru looked away politely while he blew his nose, but kept one hand on Makoto’s bicep, in case Makoto’s equilibrium was still off. Sure enough, when he was finished, Makoto wobbled slightly, and Haru sighed and stepped closer, shifting his hand to Makoto’s shoulder blade.

 

Makoto gratefully accepted this quiet invitation, drooping over and resting his forehead against Haru’s shoulder. “Haaruu.. what do I do...” he moaned, voice scratchy and tired.

 

On some odd twinge of impulse, Haru pulled him into a hug, closing the remaining distance between them and wrapping both arms around the taller boy.

 

“..Idiot,” he said gently.

 

Makoto squeaked in surprise, then hid his face in Haru’s shoulder, shaking his head. “Th-that’s dot ad adswer...” he complained, leaning against his friend as if he might fall over. He sniffled again, the sound thick and stunted from trying to move air through his inflamed sinuses.

 

Haru sighed softly. He could practically feel the misery emanating from Makoto. He placed a hand on the back of Makoto’s head, absently running his fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “Then... Let’s go.”

 

In one smooth motion, he broke from the embrace to clasp Makoto’s wrist, leading him toward the door. If Makoto wouldn’t go home, he was going to the nurse’s office instead. Making him go any longer without antihistamines would be cruelty.... and if he fell asleep because of it, Haru decided, that’d just be all the better.

----

 

There you go! As always, I'd love to know what you think~! =w=

Edited February 14, 2016 by {rhodochrosite}

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Oh My God!

You. You there.

Your greatness is overflowing! This was beyond beautiful, perfect, amazing!

[Sawyer]

As someone who has heard and seen a lot about this series but never actually watched it, I will tell you that this fic just about convinced me. Wow! I like to leave really long comments on these, usually, but I'm seriously so speechless right now. You pushed my buttons over and over and over... so many of my favorite sneezing tropes in one fic. This is an INSTANT favorite for me, and I haven't even watched the anime yet. Thank you so much for this, I loved it a lot. You're very good!

[Leafeon78]

Thanks for the great story

[melonbun]

Wow, seconded what Sen Beret said about the speechlessness!

I loved everything about this! MakoHaru's also my OTP so I'm just an incoherent squee-ing mess right now. I honestly don't know where to begin. . . I *really* enjoyed how you wrote embarrassed Makoto with his uncontrollable fits, holding back and failing miserably. Unff. I also liked the little details like adding in a trick Haru learned from his grandma and the tissue packet role reversal, hehe~

[EmeraldThread]

Sfg!!! AH. Okay, composure is nowhere to be seen and this is beautiful, and I don't think I've gotten to tell you yet what I think of it in detail and what I love about it as a whole (since it's the first time I've read it all at once), so I guess I'll try to do that in some kind of understandable matter.

Okay, so allergic!Makoto. I don't usually go that much for allergies, but there are certain situations where I enjoy it very very much, and you pretty much nailed it. Makoto is so miserable, and I feel bad for him, and also slightly bad for enjoying said misery, but you've written it so perfectly. Perfectly. I already knew you had their characters down, but every time I read your writing, it shows through that you truly care about portraying the characters you're writing about, and not only that, but you know them. You know who they are and what they would do, and of course Haru would leave class to make sure Makoto is okay and give him tissues and tell him not to bother going back to class because he's sneezing too much (and is otherwise wicked unhappy, too). X3 With or without sneezing, your writing is fantastic, and I absolutely love it no matter what. Your attention to detail is amazing, and I can tell you pay a lot of attention to that sort of thing regardless of what you're writing.

Before I get too much farther, this line is probably my favorite in the whole thing, because it's so accurate, and exactly what Haru would think of that face as. xDD;;;

Even though Haru couldn’t see his mouth, he’d recognize that stupid Makoto look anywhere.

That stupid Makoto look. Yes.

But seriously, the Makoto. It's beautiful, your spellings are perfect for him, and I can hear them in my head when I read them. I can hear Makoto's voice (pathetic as it is right now), and Haru's when he talks to him and takes care of him, and when he tries to play it off like he's not actually doing anything. AND YOUR DESCRIPTIONS. I loved those at least as much, if not more than the sneezing parts because I could picture how miserable Makoto was through Haru's eyes, see how much Haru knows about Makoto and what he needs, and just...feel it. You write these descriptions like...I don't even know, they're just perfect, and so THEM. This is exactly how Makoto would act, and how Haru would respond to it, and I love the caretaking parts, where Haru's giving him the wet paper towel, and WHEN HE COAXES HIS SNEEZE ALKFJSLKFJSDLKSD!!! I love that as it is, but MakoHaru doing that is just lksdjflkdnotfair. How you described it is beautiful. All of this is beautiful, I don't even know what else to say exactly because it's...perfect. EVERYTHING they do, sorry for enjoying your misery Makoto, but I can't.

I'm sososo glad you posted this, and I hope you get to write more soon!! X3

[Natto]

As always this was absolutely brilliant. You managed to combine the adorable tenderness and sweetness that makes up their relationship, while still making the whole thing smoking hot. Makoto was absolutely miserable and I loved it. The fits were spectacular. The descriptions of his puffy red-rimmed eyes and inflamed sinuses and all that stuff was beautiful. And Haru was just so loving, while still being awkward and standoffish. Like, he knows what to do but doesn't really want to admit that he does. The dynamic was perfect and totally spot on.

...also, side-note, I liked that Amachan-sensei was nice to Makoto and let him escape without question. XD;; I figured she'd be kind about it, since you're going to write her in-character, but for a moment I was worried Makoto would have to answer questions about it. XD;;

Anyway, I'm so glad that you finally posted this, I know you worked really hard. You did a beautiful job.

[ProfessorBiscuit]

I love how detailed and descriptive you were, especially with Makoto's buildups. You also got the relationship between Makoto and Haru spot on. I absolutely adored everything about this! Thanks for sharing it with us!!

[Akahana]

So, Gray pretty much summed up everything I wanted to say so...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS FIC THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH SNEEZY MAKOTO AND CARING HARU <3 <3 <3

[Melody]

YOU ARE AMAZING LIKE YOUR TALENT FOR WRITING AND GETTING THE CHARACTERS SPOT ON IS RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF AMAZING. LIKE I AM DEAD. I DIED DURING THE PROCESS OF READING THIS STORY BECAUSE IT'S JUST SO DAMN PERFECT. THANK YOU THANK YOU, YOU GODLY HUMAN BEING. No seriously. Awesome fic.

[monochrome]

This is so cute!! Thank you so much for writing it~

[SterlingSilver]

Smiley, dear~! It's nice to see you around~! I still haven't watched Free, but I really loved what you did with the characters here >w<~ Very cute, realistic interactions (from what I know about the fandom xD) and the little headcannon of Makato sneezing himself silly until he blows his nose is just precious <3. Everyone here has already said just about all I can say in way of how lovely this is, so I'll just second all of it.

This fic is perfect, just like everything else I've ever read from you <3

[Ciuty80]

:drool:

soooo perfect!!!!

[peppercat]

Oh sweet dolphins this was the most adorable thing I have ever read ever. First of all, allergic!Makoto is such a poor baby I'm so glad Haru was there for him and second of all, Haru we all know that under that waterdere exterior you care don't even try to hide it.

Somehow, I'm left wondering what happens after they leave the washroom....

[A-Place-To-Be-Me]

*deep breath*

Good grief, I don't even know if there are words out there to describe how fantastic this was. If so they're probably out of my reach at 2am XD

This was absolute and utter perfection. The rapid fire sneezes, Makato's stubborn determination to suffer through to the end of class, the whole Haru-holding-tissues-over-his-nose-while-he-sneezes, and that hug at the end...

Not even to mention the descriptiveness and your grasp of these characters...

Pure magic. You must secretly be a wizard in disguise. Or maybe not so secretly.

[Mei]

This is what happened to me after reading this. In emoticons. I R DED NAO. All your fault. Right in the Mako/Haru feels.

like whoa. More please?

[March Hare]

Homf nomf nomf, soooooo tasty.

Yes yes, this was exactly what I needed just now. Thank you so much, you darling smileyface girl.

[Akahana]

Don't mind me just rereading this and drowning in the MakoHaru <3

[valemari2012]

Just loved it! :') ❤?

[RachTheCool]

THIS FIC NEEDS SOME LOVEEEE 

I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW AMAZING THIS IS IM SO INCREDIBLY SPEECHLESS BUT HOPEFULLY TYPING EVERYTHING IN CAPS WILL GIVE YOU SOMEWHAT OF AN IDEA

I just finished the series, and I love love love Rin Matsuoka, but after reading this masterpiece, I have more love for the other characters.

MAKOOOTOOOOO