Work Text:
Makoto had been worried about another joint practice with Samezuka for a variety of reasons. Number one was the likely chance that Nagisa and Momo would do something stupid again, like the cannonball contest they attempted a few weeks ago. Number to was the likelihood that Haru and Rin’s competitive streaks would once again surface since they were within five feet of each other and water and then the idea of the two teams practicing would be down the drain so to speak. The biggest reason though, was Sousuke. Simply put the other teenager terrified him.
He knew it wasn’t right to judge someone by their looks, but Sousuke was just so intimidating. The other swimmer was taller and so much more well-built than Makoto, but it was the looks that Makoto caught that really did it. Makoto had noticed a few weeks ago at a joint practice that Sousuke was just...staring at him, well glaring would probably be a more appropriate term. Mentally he had gone through what he’d done and said at practice that day to see if he could have possibly offended Sousuke in some way, but nothing stuck out to him. Makoto had asked Haru about it once they’d left the school, but Haru just made a little hmm noise and shrugged, saying something about how Makoto would have to figure it out on his own. This only lead Makoto to wonder what he needed to figure out exactly.
After that little incident, Makoto seemed to be more aware of Sousuke even though he hadn’t been difficult to ignore before. They’d had a few blessedly short conversation, in which Sousuke just sort of barked a few words at Makoto before he was saved by another teammate. A part of him knew he was just running away from the problem at hand, everyone he’d talked about this too said he should just talk to Sousuke if he was really worried there was a problem. That was easier said then done though.
This particular practice was just finishing up however and Makoto needed to play his role as a visiting captain and guest after the other team members had left, which really just meant helping clean up around the pool. Nagisa, Rei, and Gou took their leave together and Haru was of course getting as many extra laps as he could while Rin alternated between sort of coaching him and sort of yelling at him. Makoto shook his head and laughed a little at the familiar sight before grabbing a handful of damp towels off the floor and walked back to the laundry hamper near the locker rooms to throw them in.
He was just about to turn around and go back to the pool to give Haru a ten minute warning, when he was suddenly face to face with Sousuke. Alone. In a rather small hallway. Makoto tried his best to smile before sidestepping around the other man, but in the blink of eye he found himself trapped between the wall and Sousuke, his arms against the wall on either side of Makoto’s head to bar him from leaving.
This was it.
He was going to die.
Makoto briefly wondered if his life would flash before his eyes, maybe being too nice could really kill you. That’s probably what everyone would say, that he was so nice, they couldn’t even begin to wonder why he’d been killed like this. A million thoughts similar to this were swirling around in Makoto’s head as he felt the stoic almost lazer guided glare of Sousuke, it was almost hot it was so focused. He shut his eyes for a brief moment, wondering if that would really make it all quicker when Sousuke spoke up. Or at least tried to.
“Will..will you...willyougooutwithme?”
Makoto opened his eyes and blinked a few times before eloquently answering back, “What?” He had not understood one word out of Sousuke’s mouth, but the other teenager appeared to be...blushing? Sousuke looked down at the ground quickly and Makoto almost thought he looked a little nervous. What was really going on here?
Sousuke took a deep breath before speaking again, his words still shaky but clearer this time. “Will you go out with me?”
Makoto’s eyes widened even further as the words registered in his mind and he repeated himself, “What?!” this time sounding more surprised than confused. Sousuke only let out a groan in response and hung his head, his hair coming so close to Makoto that he could smell the chlorine in it.
“I...I’ve been trying to ask you out for a while now.” Sousuke admitted, speaking more to the floor than to Makoto. “I liked watching you act as a captain and when you swim and you’re really hot so I wanted to ask you out. Things just kept getting messed up whenever I tried though.”
“You...you were trying to ask me out?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you hated me.”
This time it was Sousuke’s turn. “What?” his gaze shot up and he focused on Makoto, he looked just as embarrassed as he did. Makoto lifted a hand to rub his arm as he explained,
“I just, you were a-always looking at me and whenever you spoke you always seemed annoyed. So, I thought I’d done something to offend you or make you angry with me.”
Both of the teens just stood in a bit of awkward silence for a while before they both burst out laughing. A combination of feeling both relief and the ridiculousness of the situation. Once their laughter died down, they just stared at each for a few moments of silence, Makoto realizing that Sousuke looked good when he smiled, he looked beautiful. They stood there for a few more moments before Makoto tentatively reached up his hand and held it against Sousuke’s cheek, the feeling indescribable when he saw the a small smile touch the edge of his mouth again.
“So,” Sousuke spoke up again, his voice a little softer this time, “that date?"
Makoto blushed a little more but nodded quickly before answering back, “I’d like that very much.”