free!+ Sorry For The Mackerel

[dreamship]

Fandom: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
Title: Sorry for the Mackerel
Characters: Gou Matsuoka, Haruka Nanase, Makoto Tachibana, Makoto's mother
Genre: romance, humor
Rating: G
Summary: Gou tries to cook a special dinner for her boyfriend; it backfires splendidly when Haru starts heaving.


"How does it taste?" she asked, eyes full of curiosity and worry. Being only fifteen, the cooking skills of Gou Matsuoka--but please, it's Kou--rarely deviated from stove top ramen, cereal, and packaged snacks, but every once in a while she wanted to do something adventurous. And what sort of boyfriend would turn down a homemade dinner from a lovely, doting girlfriend? Her boyfriend, quiet as he was, was just far too nice to turn her down anyway--and she'd even clean his kitchen as gratitude for letting her make a mess in there.

Haruka Nanase--Haru, but drop the chan--chewed thoughtfully, balancing blue chopsticks delicately between his fingers (a gift from her, which had begun to show very faint signs of continued usage, to her delight). After a few seconds, he swallowed, then nodded calmly.

"It's good."

Gou deflated, a wide smile of relief on her face. "I'm so glad! I thought I'd screw up! I'm so glad it tastes okay!"

He nodded, cerulean eyes focused on her as he continued his meal. "You're not nearly as bad as Makoto. He's only good at curry."

Laughing, Gou moved to sit across from him at the table. This was a successful night. "Well, I knew he had to have a fault somewhere." Out of curiosity, Gou reached a hand to snag a piece of fish--only to find Haru gripping her hand gently; it started off almost with an almost predatory speed, fingers wrapping around hers, but his grip softened and his thumb brushed against the back of her hand. Hand-holding. Clever.

He took another bite of mackerel.

"Fine, fine, I won't try to steal any. I made it for you, anyway."

And with that, she held his hand tighter and rambled. Haruka, as Gou had easily come to find out, was a very great listener when he was focused. He spoke when needed and often stared towards the ocean, but he hung onto many details and remained shockingly observant to the smallest of things. And he agreed to help her with her math homework.

After dinner, the two shared a quick kiss and deposited the dishes into the sink for later, then began laying out books and sheets onto the table. Haru picked up the closest book, flipping to the chapter listed on the assignment sheet.

"So we're touching trigonometric functions and I never really understood half of this--Nagisa doesn't either--and... Haru-chan, are you okay? Your face is red."

Haru nodded, but his expression had steadily stiffened and his shoulders had begun to tense. White-knuckled, he set down the book from gripping it far too tightly. "'Scuse me a minute, Kou-chan." He barely made it to the kitchen trash can before he began heaving his guts out.

Gou's eyes widened, and she screamed out his name. "Are you okay?!"

He waved a hand at her. Fine, just fine.

"Haru-senpai, you are not fine!"

He waved his hand again. Yes, he was.

Hurrying over to his side, she rubbed gentle circles on his back. "I cooked it badly, didn't I?" she murmured.

He managed to pull his head away enough to take a breather, but the smell was stale and nauseating. Gou herself wished to join him. "The... the fish was good," he whispered. He sank to the floor, an arm wrapped around his midsection. "Gou... get a water bottle?"

Nodding, Gou sped to the fridge, withdrawing a water bottle. Grabbing a napkin for him as well, she was back to his side in record time. After wiping his lips, he took a sip from the water and sighed.

"I killed you... I did it, it was me," Gou mourned.

The melodramatics had begun.

"I poisoned you with your favorite food! Oh Haruka, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" Gou was near tears when Haru looked back up at her.

"I'm not dead... I'm going to lie down."

Thankfully, even with her panicked tear works, she was quite helpful, gathering a blanket for him and a bucket from the garden just in case. Once Haru was resting comfortably, she sat next to him, carefully stroking his hair.

"Haru... if it wasn't my cooking, what else could it have been?" she asked. "Are you getting sick? Did I get you sick?!" Her hand trailed down to his cheek, and she frowned. "...you feel kind of warm. Maybe you are getting sick."

"I'm sure it's nothing." His voice was a mumble as his eyes closed, face scrunched in slight displeasure.

He wasn't, and an hour later, he was heaving his guts out yet again and Gou was crying on the phone to Makoto. Haru was sporting a headache at this point, and even water made him gag a little. Thankfully, Makoto was calmer, helping Haru to his feet.

"We can take him to the emergency room," the swimming captain said. "He'll be okay."

***

The doctor chuckled softly as he stepped out of the room. Half an hour of panicked waiting in the lobby had finally concluded, with a cheerful doctor and positive results.

"It was just the fish," the doctor replied. "Scombroid food poisoning, which results from improper keeping of fish. You probably just got a bad batch; cooking it well doesn't completely kill off the bacteria."

"F-food poisoning?!" Gou stammered.

The doctor nodded. "He'll be fine, though. Just needs rest and fluids. We have him on an IV right now, and oxygen to help, but he should be feeling better within an hour."And with that, he turned to Makoto. "He has a prescription for nausea if it continues, but the best thing for him is rest. Think you can keep him out of the pool for a day or two, until he's eating normally again?"

Makoto nodded. He'd do his best. (It was atrocious how well the doctor seemed to know them both at this point.)

"You two can see him now," he said. "Just don't rile him up too much."

They both bowed. "Thank you," Makoto said. "My mother and I will watch over him until he's better."

"You're a good kid, Tachibana-kun. I tell you, you should consider nursing someday." Patting both of their shoulders, the doctor headed down the hall.

The moment he was gone, Gou wasted no time in rushing to Haru's side, near tears once again at the sight of the oxygen mask on Haru's face. The boy, while exhausted, still looked quite annoyed.

"Haruuu! I'm so sorry!" Gou apologized again. The tears were quick. "I cooked bad fish and that's why you got sick!"

Makoto just smiled sympathetically. "Mom says you can stay with us for a few days, until you're feeling better. But probably no mackerel for a few days."

Haru just sighed, reaching his free hand up to the oxygen mask. Clumsy fingers reached for it, obviously considering pulling it off. "It's nothing to fuss over. The doctor said it will pass quickly." But Gou's hands soon reached over to take his, urging it away from the mask. Her fingers held on tightly.

"I'm not going to kiss you if you keep crying like that," he told her.

Gou, if anything, just cried harder, until Makoto lowered the railing on the side of the bed so she could sit down next to him. ...and from there she just sniffled pathetically against his shoulder. He fell asleep on her. Makoto, shaking his head with a small smile, just pulled up a chair, sitting next to the bed.

An hour and a half later, a soft laugh roused Makoto from his sleep. "You're all so precious," came the soft voice belonging to his mother. Makoto groaned.

"Mom, that's so embarrassing! Don't tell me you took a picture!"

"Then I won't tell you." She smiled, reaching over to pat his shoulder. "Alright, time to wake up. It's time to go home."

Makoto nodded, fighting back a yawn as he reached over to nudge Haru's leg. To his surprise, the mask and the IV had both been removed in their sleep, the only remainder being a slight pinching mark on Haru's cheeks from the bands and a dolphin bandage from the children's section on his arm. His mother, tucking her phone into her pocket, move over to rouse Gou. "Come on, honey. It's time to get you home."

It was a sleepy corral getting all three teens from the room, and a very quiet ride to the Matsuoka house. Haru had gone right back to sleep, although Gou managed to resist the urge for a majority of the ride. Thanking Makoto's mother, she gave them a small wave once she opened the front door, then tucked inside.

As the Tachibana's vehicle drove off, she yawned and dragged herself to bed. Tomorrow... when she was awake again, she'd visit with soup. Packed ramen noodle, something she knew she was good at, to apologize for the mackerel and being the worst girlfriend ever.