Diving Deep (requests closed)

Makoto (Free!) - Another Chance

Several minutes later I almost jumped in shock when I heard the clearing of someone's throat directly across from me. Looking up quickly from the papers I had been reading over, I was met with deep green eyes that I refused to admit had my heart beating a bit faster than usual. It didn't help when he gave me a smile that seemed to make the whole room that much brighter. Giving myself a mental shake, I stood up and gave a small bow as I introduced myself.

"Hello, my name is (y/n). I take it that you are the client I am here to meet, Tachibana-san?"

--------

Over the weeks that followed, I found myself growing to respect the young man I had met, both for the kindness that he shower upon the people around him and for the way he seemed to pick up on the smallest change in someone's feelings. When one of the children he taught was feeling sad, he was the first to notice it and was just as quick to figure out what was wrong and have the kid back smiling and running around with little more than a smile and a few softly whispered words.

Soon enough that respect grew into an affection that I was doing my best to ignore, not wanting to put my heart at risk again, even if I highly doubted that Tachibana would break it as heartlessly as Sousuke had. That didn't mean he would accept someone as broken as I was and I didn't want him to be with me out of pity either.

So I pushed my feelings to the back of my mind and continued the work I had been hired to do, hiding it from those around me how much my heart would race at the sound of his voice and fighting down the blush that wanted to surface each time our eyes would meet by chance. Knowing that the time I had left on this job was slowly coming to an end was both a curse and a blessing, wanting to stay beside him longer but knowing it was for the best, both for me and for him.

It would be cruel to drag this out longer, especially when the maroon-haired girl started coming around to visit. Having seen the smile when Tachibana greeted her the first time, I'd had to leave early to hide the pain I'd felt, knowing that someone else already had a place in his heart. No matter how big his heart, it wasn't in me to want a piece of what someone else had.

If I wasn't going to be his, then he wouldn't be mine. I didn't want a repeat of last time, my heart couldn't take it.

--------

"It was a pleasure working with you, Tachibana-san. I am glad our company was able to meet your expectations." I didn't hide the smile as we looked at the finished building in front of us, the newly expanded swim school a true sight to behold with the large glass windows showing off the multiple new pools shimmering in the sunlight.

"You went above and beyond anything I could have asked for. The building looks amazing, both inside and out. Thank you for putting so much hard work into seeing this through to the end. I can see why your company praised your skills so much when they recommended you for the job." The brunette smiled at the blush that stained my cheeks.

Flustered, I thanked him and began saying my farewells. I was just about to leave when I felt a pair of gentle hands grip my arms from behind. A head came to rest on my shoulder as I stood there in mild shock, not having expected anything like this to happen, especially with the maroon-haired lady nearby.

"Tachibana-san? What are you doing?" I asked in a shaky voice, not sure what to expect anymore from the young man.

"I don't want you to leave. I like you, (y/n)-chan. I don't want to stop seeing you each day, saying hello in the mornings and goodbye in the evenings. In fact, I would like to someday come to a point where instead of goodbye, I would be telling you goodnight. But that would have to be after we have been dating for some time and are ready to move in together.

"B-but aren't you dating her already?" I asked almost brokenly as I pointed to the lady who stood wide-eyed next to the buildings entrance.

"You mean Gou? Goodness no! She's a childhood friend and dating her would be like dating my sister. Besides, I already told her I was interested in you." Feeling him shaking with laughter against my back, I tried and failed to fight down the blush at the thought of him so close to me.

"You... You like me? But why? I'm not-" My words faltered as I was quickly spun around to face him, his lips brushing softly against my own before I was pulled into a hug.

"What I feel for you went beyond just liking quite a few weeks ago, (y/n)-chan. I love you. I love everything about you. The way you smile when you are talking about something you like, the way you almost pout when something doesn't work out how you wanted it to, even the way you refuse to let your feelings for me get in the way of your job. But now that you aren't working for me anymore, I want you to stop hiding your feelings, okay?" I could feel myself begin trembling as he held me against him, his hands warm against my back.

I stayed silent as I couldn't help but remember the pain I'd gone through with Sousuke, the heartache as I'd realized my love for him had outlasted his for me.

"You don't have to worry so much. I love you at least as much as you love me and I don't plan on ever letting that change. If your feelings ever start to fade, I promise I'll do everything I can to bring them back to the same level as what I feel for you." Hearing his heart beating next to my ear as he spoke those words with so much conviction, I asked myself if maybe I could give love another chance, just this once.

--------

It was several years down the road that I saw him again, eyes staring sadly at me as I stood in shock, never having expected to run into him like this. Feeling a tug on my hand, I looked down at the child pulling on me so insistently before holding his arms up with a smile.

"Momma, who dat?" He asked as I picked him up, his green eyes wide as he pointed at the man.

"He's somebody I used to know, dear." Turning to look at Sousuke, I nodded my head and turned away, walking to the nearby table where Makoto waited for us with our daughter.

Behind me the dark-haired man turned away, realizing that although people often get a second chance, his chance had been missed when he'd kept walking to the car.  All he'd have needed to do to get me back that night, would have been to turn around and come back to me, to ask for that second chance and start over. Instead, he'd gotten in the car and left, never regaining a place in my life.

As for me, my second chance had come in the form of Makoto, the green-eyed man who had given me what I'd needed most in life. Makoto gave me someone who would love me as much as I love him and for that I would treasure him throughout my life.