Chapter Text
"Do you think Ren would like this?"
Haru nods, eyes still scanning the shelf in front of him. He's sure that whatever Makoto has picked out for Ren is perfectly fine, and Ren will love it, but he also knows that Makoto isn't done speaking, and there's no point in answering when Makoto will end up reasoning through it himself, regardless of what Haru says.
"Ah, but – " There it is. " – if I buy it for Ren, then Ran will want one too. And I already got Ran one of those stuffed animals she likes."
Haru glances over. Makoto's expression is thoughtful, and a bit sad, but his eyes are certain, because even if Makoto doesn't know it, he's already made up his mind. "I'll get one for them both, I guess. And I can just get Ren one of those stuffed animals. I hope I have enough money..."
"I'll pay for one," Haru says, and walks away from the shelf. Makoto starts and jogs to catch up, protest more than likely on his lips, but Haru silences him before he can speak. "I don't mind. The twins love getting gifts from you." And because Makoto still doesn't look convinced, he adds, "I want to."
Makoto smiles, a little wryly. "They love getting gifts from you too, Haru."
"I know." He already bought the twins gifts, though. He bought Ran a small whiteboard, along with some dry erase markers, and a sketchpad and some pencils for Ren. They've both taken to drawing on everything, recently, so Haru figured he'd make it a bit simpler, for both the twins and their parents. It's a lot easier to encourage artistic skills when their canvas isn't the wall, after all.
Makoto sighs like he knows this, and turns toward another shelf.
Haru tries to stay close, but he knows he'll have to ditch Makoto at some point, if he actually wants to get any shopping done. He's already gotten gifts for everyone except Makoto (everyone being Rin, Nagisa, and Rei), and he really needs to get to it.
He's honestly not sure why choosing a gift for him is so difficult.
Maybe it's because none of the gifts he thinks of really feel right. He's thought about buying sweaters, gloves, and hats; key chains, cases, and charms. He even thought about swimwear, but quickly dismissed the idea; Makoto probably wouldn't appreciate it quite as much as, say, Haru might.
Haru continues to scan the shelves.
Makoto goes through a few more gift-tirades, sometimes while clutching his head in decision, before Haru even comes across something he likes.
He finds a medium-sized snow globe, the glare of the lights shining off of it. After making sure Makoto's busy contemplating two identical picture frames, he picks up the snow globe and gives it a small shake. The glitter pieces fly around for a few moments, before settling back at the bottom of the snow globe.
Inside the snow globe are two sleeping cats, one on a rug and one on a rocking chair. The chair sways slightly along with a few stray pieces of glitter. Cute, Haru thinks, only partly to his horror, because now he's thinking about Makoto being the sleepy cat on the chair, and isn't that a thought.
Now that he's looking at it, the scene does kind of remind him of the two of them. The black cat on the rug is curled up rather tightly, almost like he's scrunching his nose at the cold, and the olive-colored cat on the chair looks content, like he's purring at a dream he's having.
It's perfect.
"Makoto," Haru says, lamely hiding the snow globe behind his back. Unsure of what exactly to say, he tells Makoto the simplest thing: the truth. "I'm buying something. Don't wait up."
"I'm almost done, Haru. We can go pay together."
"No," Haru replies, a bit too quickly.
Makoto blinks. "Okay. I guess I'll be here, then."
Haru nods, and awkwardly walks backwards until he's out of sight of Makoto. Then he turns, and continues to stare at the snow globe. He shakes it one more time for good measure.
"Would you like this wrapped?" the cashier asks him, and Haru belatedly shakes his head. "Have a nice day."
Haru nods, and weaves his way back toward the center of the store, where Makoto is still contemplating the same two picture frames. He waits for Makoto to place one down before alerting him of his presence.
"Haru," Makoto says, for no discernable reason, and smiles.
Haru imagines the olive-colored cat.