A/N: Word count: 3,105

Tags: Canonverse, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Costume Party, Costume Regret


What had seemed to be an amazing idea initially was quickly becoming one of the greatest regrets of Haruka's life.

Between the stares, both on the train ride here and at their destination, the immobility and the goosebumps that were erupting all over his skin, Haruka concluded that living the dream was not worth it. He should've stayed home like he intended when he was first invited.

"It looks great, Haru, but isn't it a bit… inconvenient?" Asahi asked, raising his voice so Haruka could hear him above the loud bass of the music. Asahi was clad in a long white lab coat with a thick black belt, matching gloves and goggles and a grey wig to complete the mad scientist-look. If Asahi was the one disapproving of a choice he made, then Haruka screwed up really badly.

"Did Makoto carry you all the way here? Vampire-Kisumi asked, lisping through his fake fangs. "I think my uncle has a wheelbarrow you can borrow on the way back."

His friends laughed and if Haruka could stand right now, he would've strangled Kisumi. Why was Makoto taking so long to get some drinks and why had he even agreed to come here?

When they were at Marron a few weeks ago, Kisumi told them he was planning a Halloween party at his uncle's house; the Shigino family loved parties and every reason to hold one was as good as the next. But Kisumi wouldn't be Kisumi if he didn't add his own flair to a party and Halloween was the perfect occasion to go nuts.

The second Haruka heard of it, he decided he wasn't going and when Kisumi said it would be a costume party, his resolve strengthened. No matter how Kisumi pleaded, assured him it would be a small get-together with friends, tried to bribe him with a dozen cans of mackerel, Haruka wouldn't budge.

Despite not being big on parties either, Makoto had promised to come. He was a huge people-pleaser and if he was invited to something, the chances of him turning it down were very slim. It didn't sit quite well with Haruka that Makoto would be in such an environment by himself, without him being there to glare away anyone who would try to flirt with Makoto, but it wasn't like he could forbid him to go. He didn't want to, either. Makoto was an adult who was free to make his own choices and even if he could be a bit oblivious at times, their friends would be there to protect him if something happened.

But the thought lingered in Haruka's head and the closer the date came, the more he considered going. If Makoto were to outright ask him to come, then he wouldn't be able to refuse, but it didn't even get that far. When he saw the ad for the Halloween costume of his dreams, he was sold.

And that was how Haruka found himself on Kisumi's uncle's couch on October 31st, surrounded by approximately sixty people he didn't know - so much for it being a small get-together with friends - in nothing more than a mermaid tail and glittery scale-makeup adorning his cheeks and arms.

"Aren't you cold, Nanase?" his teammate, Suzuki Ryota, asked. He'd gone all out and wore a Pokémon trainer costume, complete with a Pokéball and a Pikachu plushie. "I brought an extra jacket, you can wear it if you want."

"It's fine," Haruka said through clenched teeth, trying his best not to shiver as to not admit defeat. His coat was lying somewhere in a pile in Kisumi's bedroom, but he had chosen this costume so he was going to commit to it for the whole night. That was the burden he had to carry. If only he had called the town committee back in Iwatobi and asked if they could've lent him the Iwatobi-chan mascot sumo suit. Then he would've lived a dream that wasn't as susceptible to critical stares and teasing remarks. Not being recognisable would've been a bonus too.

More people entered the room, but this time, they weren't strangers - whether it was to his delight or not wasn't clear yet. With whiskers and black noses drawn on their faces, Ikuya and Hiyori came in with matching cat-ears, collars with bells and tails. The instant Ikuya spotted him, his eyes widened in wonder and he sped over to his side with Hiyori following closely behind him.

"Ikuya, HIyori, I'm so glad you could make it!" Kisumi said, but Ikuya didn't even notice the host.

"Haru…" he mumbled, "Your costume is amazing. Where did you get it?"

"I don't know, somewhere online."

"And your makeup, did you do it yourself or did Makoto do it?"

"I did it," Haruka said. If Makoto had done it, it probably would've looked like smears of light blue blood on his face instead of scales.

"Speaking of, where is Makoto?" Hiyori asked while looking around the room. Although they hadn't become friends until recently, Hiyori had already learnt Makoto and Haruka were practically joined at the hip and thus a package-deal.

"His Highness is getting drinks for his beached boyfriend," Asahi said with a grin.

"Makoto is dressed as a prince?" Ikuya asked in disbelief, mouth slightly open and fire twinkling in his auburn eyes. "Are you The Little Mermaid and the prince?"

Kisumi said, "I suppose it's The Little Merman in Haru's case."

Haruka shrugged. It wasn't like he had specifically aimed for The Little Mermaid, but when he showed Makoto the light blue tale, Makoto had joked that they could wear couple's costumes and that he could be the prince. Only a fool wouldn't want to behold the sight of Makoto in a fancy prince suit, so that idea had received an immediate green light from Haruka.

But now, it wasn't his costume solely that he was regretting. Makoto was already too handsome for his own good normally, but this outfit enhanced his natural charm, making him damn near irresistible. Haruka was very much present now, but he couldn't do anything but watch as others tried to flirt with an unsuspecting Makoto. These people would throw themselves at him the minute he left Haruka's side as if they thought 'let's talk to this hot guy now his weird fish friend isn't here'.

Sufficient to say, Haruka dug his own grave in multiple ways.

But someone who didn't share that viewpoint was Ikuya, whose gaze drifted from Haruka's tail to his cat-clothes and his chest deflated in a manner that could only be described as envious. "How nice."

"Your costumes are very nice too," Kisumi said and the fake blood at the corners of his mouth made his smirk look even more devious than usual. "And a lot more practical."

"Yeah, but they're not as nice as Haru and Makoto's."

"Anyway, are there any snacks?" Hiyori changed the subject with a smile, though there was a clear glint of jealousy behind his glasses too. If Kisumi threw another costume party next year, Haruka would bet good money on what Ikuya and Hiyori would be wearing.

"There's a large table at the back with food and drinks," Asahi said, "Come, I'll show you."

As Asahi led Ikuya and Hiyori through the crowd, the group surrounding Haruka dispersed, leaving him alone with Kisumi. Haruka sighed. Could this night get any worse?

"Don't be so sulky, Haru," he said, "It's a party, try to have fun a little."

Haruka scoffed. "Maybe I would have fun if you had the cans of mackerel you promised me."

Kisumi laughed. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten about that. You'll have your cans before the end of next week, and I'll make sure I have some mackerel at my next party for you too."

His next party. As if Haruka would even attend another one of these parties after such a disastrous night. He might've been stupid enough to come here in a fishtail, but he wasn't that much of an idiot.

"To make it up to you for not having mackerel now, I'll go find Makoto for you. I'll tell him to hurry back to your side," Kisumi said, grabbing the cape of his suit and dramatically waving it around himself as he turned to walk off. This vampire-act of his was a bit too convincing. Maybe he was actually a bloodsucker.

Left to his devices, Haruka scanned the crowd to check if Makoto was among them somewhere. Who were all these people and how did Kisumi even know them? He'd been an amicable guy since middle school, but in the few months that they had lived here, Haruka had only met two, maybe three new people he would consider his friends and they were all from the swim team. With this many acquaintances, Kisumi could easily fill up twenty basketball teams.

Perhaps Kisumi was more like a spider after all. Once you got ensnared in his web of friendship, there was no way out.

At last, Makoto finally emerged from the masses and Haruka's heart sighed in relief. His golden crown was still firmly placed upon his brown locks and against his neat blue jacket, that was complete with epaulettes and a sash, he clutched two cups and a plastic plate of food. His beaming smile returned the instant their eyes met.

"Sorry it took so long," Makoto said as he plopped down next to Haruka on the couch. "All these people were trying to talk to me and I had a hard time shutting down the conversations. If it weren't for Kisumi, I'd probably still be stuck." Makoto handed him one of the cups. "Here. There isn't any water, so I got us barley tea and I didn't know what kind of snacks you wanted, so I got a little of everything."

"Thanks," Haruka said and he took a sip. "Sorry for making you do all of this for me."

"It's alright, I don't mind," Makoto said, his sunny smile not losing its radiance. "There are so many people here, though. I thought it would be just us, Asahi, Ikuya, Hiyori and maybe a couple of Kisumi's other friends."

"I guess these are only his dearest friends. If this house had been even bigger, he would've invited two-hundred of his closest friends."

Although it was hard to hear through the booming music, Makoto giggled. The warm sound melted Haruka's frigid heart a little. "Kisumi has always been that guy who gets along with everyone, huh?"

"So are you," Haruka said, as was proven by all the people who flocked to him on his way to the snacks table and back.

"Maybe so, but I do prefer an actually small group of friends together at once. Otherwise, it gets too loud and overwhelming."

Haruka nodded. He loved all his friends immensely, but if there were more than seven of them present at once - excluding Makoto - then he would go home with a massive headache and a longing for the water's clutch. Something that was bound to happen after tonight, too.

When Haruka reached over Makoto's lap to grab a handful of crisps to kill time with, Makoto's hand caught his wrist.

"Haru, you're freezing!" Makoto said, eyebrows raised in concern, "Here, take my jacket."

"It's fine, I'm not that cold," Haruka said, nonchalantly stuffing the crisps into his mouth, but Makoto saw right through his lies.

"Yes, you are." Makoto lifted the sash over his head and unbuttoned his jacket, wrapping it around Haruka's shoulders.

"This ruins both of our costumes."

"No, it doesn't," Makoto said with a clever grin, "It improves our costumes. You are a merman who I, the prince, found washed up on the shoreline behind my castle. I saved you and offered you my jacket to warm you up. It fits perfectly."

It was a nice fragment from their fairytale, but the weight pressing down on Haruka's stomach didn't crumble nor ebb away. "I shouldn't have picked this costume."

"Why not?" Makoto asked, "It looks great and it really suits you."

"Wearing it is too much trouble. Everyone is staring at me and I can't even go to the bathroom by myself."

"I understand that it's not easy to wear, but since when have you cared about what other people think?" Makoto put his hand over his free one and intertwined their fingers.

"I don't, it's just annoying…" Haruka said as he averted his eyes, but he didn't pull away from Makoto's touch. "Besides, I'm a bother to you."

Although he couldn't see it, Haruka could almost hear the frown that twisted Makoto's handsome face. "Who says you're a bother to me?"

"No one, but I am," Haruka said, "You have to carry me everywhere, you have to get us drinks and snacks and you can't have fun because you're stuck here on the couch with me. And now you even have to give up your own costume for me."

"Who says I'm not having fun?" Makoto said with his gentle smile. "I already told you that I don't mind carrying you or getting you snacks, and I'm not much of a dancer anyway so it's not like there's any other place I would be at than the couch."

Even if he said that, it still left a bitter taste in Haruka's mouth. What college student wanted to be their boyfriend's babysitter at a party? Makoto was just being selfless so he wouldn't feel bad about his ego-centric outfit choice.

"You know, I was looking forward to seeing you in your mermaid tail," Makoto said, so softly Haruka almost hadn't caught it. "So it's a shame that you're not enjoying wearing it."

"How so?" Haruka asked, turning his head to face Makoto again.

"When you saw the ad, you were so excited to wear it. Excited enough to want to come to this party even though you hate parties," Makoto said, chuckling a little in reminiscence. "It was so cute and it reminded me of when we were in kindergarten. When the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, you immediately said you wanted to be a mermaid. I still remember how disappointed you looked when some of the other kids told you that was impossible."

A wave of nostalgia showered over Haruka at that memory. Although they were so small back then, Haruka remembered it vividly. When the teacher explained that she meant what occupation they would like to have as an adult rather than a dream species they wanted to become, he had pouted for the rest of the day. Because he liked helping his mom with cooking, he begrudgingly drew a chef instead.

"When I saw the disheartened look on your face, I wanted to make you feel better and I thought to myself that I would do anything to make your dream come true," Makoto continued, "And now, the opportunity for that dream to become reality finally arrived. I was so relieved when you decided to come because I wouldn't feel comfortable being here without you, and I felt like it was a mutual exchange: I help you out with your mermaid tail, you keep me company."

Haruka hadn't thought of it like that, but it wasn't necessary for Makoto to give something in return for him tagging along. For Makoto, Haruka would do anything, even if it was something he despised as much as going to parties with deafening music and loads of strangers.

"But even if it wasn't a mutual exchange, then I still wouldn't mind carrying you. As long as it makes you happy, I'd carry you to the end of the world and back," Makoto said, rubbing his thumb over Haruka's knuckles. "So I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying yourself. We can go home if you want. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

A tiny smile stretched Haruka's cheeks at Makoto's endless kindness and devotion. His sweet words untied the knot in Haruka's stomach and suddenly, he didn't feel so misplaced anymore. "We already went through the trouble of dressing up and coming here, we might as well stay a little longer." Haruka shrugged, trying to regain an aloof demeanour. "It's only for one night anyway."

"Thanks, Haru," Makoto said and he leaned closer to press a kiss to Haruka's lips, but when he realised where they were, he hesitated.

Although they weren't keen on public displays of affection, there were so many people here that probably no one was batting an eye at them. A quick little kiss wouldn't hurt.

But as their lips met in a tender kiss, Haruka decided to prolong it, because there was no sign more obvious to show that Makoto was taken. With a dash of luck, some of the people who were trying to flirt with Makoto before caught a glimpse of them and received the message to back off.

After a couple of seconds, Makoto pulled back. He put his hand on Haruka's leg, caressing the fabric of his tail with his fingertips. "Even if it's a bit inconvenient because you can't move freely, the tail does look beautiful on you."

"Thanks," Haruka said as he ran his gaze over Makoto's figure. "The princely garbs look good on you too. Don't throw them out after tonight."

Hearty laughter left Makoto's lips. "Alright, if you keep your tail, too."

"Of course," Haruka said, "Maybe we can continue this fairytale later then, play out what happens after the prince finds the merman and gives him his jacket."

"That's not a bad idea," Makoto said with a flame of wanton igniting in his pupils. "We can keep these outfits for at-home usage. At the next Halloween party, we can dress up as something more convenient and conventional, like witches or cats."

"Ikuya and Hiyori already claimed cats. Maybe we should do ghosts, then we only have to cut eyes and mouth-holes out of old sheets and we're done."

"So we're going from high effort to the bottom of the barrel, huh?" Makoto snorted. "We'll think about it later, we still have 365 days left to decide. For now, let's enjoy this party and these costumes for as long as they last."

"Yeah," Haruka agreed as he grabbed a bat-cookie from the plate. But before he took a bite, he mumbled, "Thanks, Makoto."

He was blessed with another sunny smile. "Happy Halloween, Haru."

Their lips met in another kiss, that was brief yet immensely loving.

Even if Haruka got tricked into coming to a party, as long as Makoto was with him, every day was a treat.


A/N: Happy Halloween everyone!

Sharing all these little fics has been so much fun and this month has given me the opportunity to flesh out some ideas I wouldn't have had time to write otherwise. I struggled more with some prompts than with others and even if getting everything finished and up on time was a bit hectic on some days, now that it's over, I feel happy and fulfilled. Thank you so much for taking this month-long journey with me and I hope that, between all these stories, there was at least one that you enjoyed.

You can find me over on Twitter and Tumblr at DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content between fic-updates. You can also send me a message on Curious Cat whenever you want.

Once again, thank you so much for reading and for your support, I hope you enjoyed and I wish you all a lovely end of the year!