It's a promise!

Age 14:

"Hey, Haru-chan?" Makoto's somewhat serious voice directed my attention away from the crashing waves of the ocean towards him. "Could I ask you something?"

"You already asked me one." Haru pointed out, turning his head away from Makoto to attempt to hide a pout. "And lay off the -chan.'

"Right, sorry, sorry." Makoto chuckled softly, but then regained his serious voice from before. "What do you think will happen to us when we're older?"

"I don't know. Why are you asking me this?"

"I'm not sure. Mom just told me a little while back about all the joys of growing up. She told me about growing up and meeting amazing new friends along the way, and also at some point meeting that one special someone. The person you'll grow up to love, and possibly start a family with someday."

"I don't see why you're worried. You're Makoto. Everyone loves you, so I don't why you're worried about any of that." Makoto laughed at this, and muttered a soft 'You're right'. But Haru noticed how the way Makoto's laugh didn't have it's usual friendly aura, instead it was more laced with uncertainty. Or the way his eyes didn't shut naturally, more as if he was forcing them to shut and follow the dance of the laughter. "Makoto. Why Are you so worried?"

"Well...it's just...what if we get separated while growing up?" Makoto blurted out, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes as he strains to look Haruka in the eye. "Mom told me that even though life is filled with many joys, it's also filled with sadness. She said as you grow up, many people you find dear in your life leave as you grow older. She said that's what happened to her and her best friend in junior high. What if that happens to us, Haru-chan?!"

"It won't Makoto. I promise. I don't want to leave you, and I'm sure you don't want to leave me either."

"I don't want to leave you either, Haru.. But that's also what Mom's worried about."

"What? Why on Earth would your mom be worried about her son's best friend not leaving his side?" Haru asked, not trying to raise his voice, but failing in the end. He doesn't want to be mad at Mrs. Tachibana, but why was she worried over this? Isn't he like her third son, after Makoto himself and Ren?

"It's not that she doesn't like you Haru! You know she loves you very much, and you're like a son to her! But...it's just every parent-teacher conference, the teacher always tells her how inseparable we are. How we barely hang out with other kids because we have each other, and how they're scared to try and invite us to stuff because of the bond we have. She's scared I won't make other friends outside of you in the future."

"That..." Haru trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence. How was he supposed to know if any of that stuff was going to be true or not in the future? The only thing that he knew determine your future was the actions you took and the decisions you made. And in no way shape or form was he going to take an action or make a decision that left Makoto out of his life.

"I know it's silly." Makoto cut in before Haru could even think of more words to finish his sentence. "But I've just been worried about it. I don't want to disappoint my parents, but I also don't want to be without you, Haru."

"I got an idea Makoto." Haru said suddenly, his eyes widening with a new type of determination Makoto is pretty sure he hasn't seen before. "I know just how to test your Mom's theory!"

"I'm not sure if it was a theory, I think it was more of a concern..." Makoto trailed of seeing how intense Haru's glare was, and Makoto took that as a cue to not try and correct him. So he decided to change the topic back to Haru's earlier statement. "So...what are you thinking of doing, Haru?"