Chapter Text
“I’m never wearing this” Ritsu said, deadpanned and acerbic, looking his friend directly in the eye and glaring hard enough to bore holes into his retinas.
“But you have to!” Shou cooed, thrusting the shirt into Ritsu’s face so that his vision was blanketed with the most haughty shade of neon green.
“I’d prefer eating my own toenails than...this” Ritsu looked at the shirt with blatant disgust, and threw it back at Shou. Shou, unfazed, crawled up to him, giving it back
“Boyfriends are required to go to their boyfriends’ matches, it’s like...a rule of teenage society. Especially when said boyfriend is competing with their school’s toughest rival. In the finals”
“And I am coming to cheer you from the frontmost bench” Ritsu pointed, “but that does not require for me to wear...that hideous, hideous jersey. Seriously, where did the designers even get the idea? The board of administrators should be sued for this”
“You can spend the remainder of your high school days doing just that all you want, but tomorrow you’re going to have to wear this and come. There’s only one of these in the school with my name on the back and out of all my fanclub I’m bequeathing it to you”
“You are obligated to" Ritsu pointed yet again "You’re not doing this out of choice, so there goes your emotional blackmail” he smirked, triumphantly.
“And you were the one said we were obligated to play boyfriends” Shou remarked, leaning is so that he could press the shirt harder against Ritsu’s torso. Ritsu loosely held it and wondered how believable it would sound if it just happened to be dumped into the garbage bin by his mother.
“Plus, keeping obligation aside, you’d still be the only one I’d give this too” Shou nonchalantly said, putting his arms behind his neck
And Ritsu felt his throat go dry.
Suddenly the statement meant something. Something it didn't earlier.
There was hesitation, but he still managed to ask “W-why?”
Shou’s eyes widened, like he’d been put in a spot he had no prior preparation for before. Ritsu could practically see the gears in his brain churning, pushing hard for an answer. Shou went back, putting space between them again, and laughed sheepishly
“You’re my best friend, that’s why”
Friends. Yeah. Their actual relationship. Ritsu cleared his throat.
“Sure. I’ll put it on. But after the game you’ll be buying me snacks. Compensation”
“You got it” Shou murmured, not really sounding like anything, utterly winded.
“Look who showed u- oh my Ritsu have you ever thought that this could totally be your colour?” Shou exclaimed as soon as Ritsu stepped in the back room, where the players were warming up.
“I look like a traffic light” Ritsu grumbled, looking away “I think I will give an eye strain to at least half the school population on my way here”
“Less pressure on me, then!” Shou barked a laugh, pulling him closer.
Ritsu sarcastically smiled, “Well I’m glad I could be of some hel- wait a second”
Ritsu stomped all over to Shou “Put that phone down”
“Just one picture, please” Shou faux begged, jutting out his lower lip like a toddler.
“Not a chance, give it back!” Ritsu snapped, trying to jump all the way to Shou’s outstretched hand
“I need a cool wallpaper though! The one with the birds is getting monotonous to look at”
“Then use something else for fuck’s sake”
“Like you said, not a chance” and Ritsu’s attack was interrupted by a flash that went straight into his eyes.
Shou stepped back enough, opened his phone, and satisfactorily smiled to himself “A view from above, not bad. You know one can look skinnier from that point of view? Also” he zoomed in on the picture “do you have dandruff?”
“Asshole!” he screamed, pouncing on him like a lion, silent yet ferocious “Delete this!”
“Nah” he smirked, as he kept shuffling backwards. Once a wall was nearing Shou jumped to the other side and jogged away from Ritsu’s grab. Ritsu scowled and tried his luck again, this time by going straight for the waist
“Am I the wrestler or are you?” Shou asked, as he ruffled Ritsu’s already messy hair before holding his arm and shoving his away from his body
“I don’t give a damn” Ritsu spat
“This is really good warmup, though” Shou admitted “You have a lot of dexterity”
One side of Ritsu’s mouth twitched “Good” and he went for it again. Ritsu didn’t even think it was about the picture too much anymore. He was having a bucket load of enjoyment simply playing this little game, and by the looks of it, so was he.
They played their little game of cat and mouse until Ritsu stumbled on something he didn’t quite know of, and before he knew it, he had Shou pinned on the wall.
Ritsu didn’t know which one of them won.
Shou was unable to do anything because Ritsu had him pinned down by his wrists and Ritsu did have a good grip.
But, at the same time, Ritsu was equally impotent at doing anything at all because his knees were weak and his voice suddenly vanished and all his mind could comprehend was how close they both were to each other. How enticing this felt. How much the temptation of going closer to him was washing him away.
Did Ritsu want to pull away? No. Did he want to stay? He couldn’t.
There was a knock on the door, calling out for Shou, telling him that his slot was coming soon so he better warm up (the proper way).
Ritsu jostled backwards, and twiddled his thumbs. His gaze wandered everywhere in the room but at Shou. Shou coughed awkwardly
“So…”
“Yeah” Ritsu agreed on the statement that was sent to the air without words.
“Wish me luck” he said hoarsely.
“Good luck” he wished him, peeling his gaze from the ground and straight into his eyes, because he was not going to let him go on that ring and think about…this. He didn’t want him to think that he did something wrong, or that he should have done something there. He didn’t want him to think Ritsu was angry or too weirded out by this and confuse his thoughts.
Shou patted his back once and reached for the doorknob
“Don’t go too wild” Ritsu warned him
“I’ll try” Shou snorted.
“And don’t use your powers even if you are on the verge of losing”
“Of course dude!” He turned back and did his own version of finger guns before sprinting to the front.
Ritsu gave a contented sigh, before his eyes drifted to the shirt.
He wondered if Shou would believe that the murder of crows on the school trees pecked the shirt off.
Bleachers were surprisingly cramped. Ritsu had to shove a few people just to get on a seat that provided a good view and allowed him to breathe. Well, the breathing part was still a point of contention.
He could see many eyes on him before the game started. A lot of whispering. A boy came up to him and asked if he found this at the garbage dump. Ritsu faked vexation at that, and started talking about how he ‘took offence to his boyfriend’s jersey’. A task that required way too many teeth grinding against each other.
“Kageyama! Look your boyfriend is about to attack” an acquaintance of his from the math club nudged him with his elbow, and Ritsu’s attention strapped back to the match at hand. And alright, Ritsu might not have been the most avid sports watcher, but he knew the mood was very dull considering Shou had just aimed for his head. It was lifeless, demotivating, to know such a decisive attack was being met with such low enthusiasm.
He took matters into his own hands, then. He breathed deeply, and with all the force he had inside him, yelled
“Suzuki! Get him!”
Perhaps it was because of Ritsu's position as the president, perhaps it was out of respect that they joined it, but in the end the entire bleachers were abuzz with the same chant, urging Shou on to show the guy who really was the boss among the two. And Shou loved attention, so naturally he got even more fired up and used his entire body weight to attack him and slam him against the floor. He had him in a chokehold and when the referee started counting, Ritsu was so intensely focused and he started shouting the countdown with him.
The entire audience exchanged very impressed looks, some even snickering to themselves good naturedly how devoted a boyfriend Ritsu really was. A few people even deflated at the sight of Ritsu’s passionate behaviour, and Ritsu took that as a personal win. Not that he focused too much on that in the first place, not when his friend was about to win that round.
Their eyes locked as soon as halftime rang. That period only lasted for about five minutes. Ritsu waved shyly.
“You know you can meet him there Kageyama” someone insisted.
“I don’t wanna bother him. He needs to refresh”
“What he needs is a good luck’s kiss” a girl behind him teased, making loud kissing sounds.
“Maybe not a kiss” his friend said, glaring at the girl, “But definitely some encouragement. Come on, what kind of a boyfriend will you be then?”
“I’m wearing his jersey that’s more than my side of the bargain” Ritsu pointed at his shirt.
“For god’s sake Kageyama go up to him before he stares a hole into your back” the girl shoved him, and before Ritsu knew he was beyond the bleachers and into the boundaries of the main ring. Ritsu looked back, and everyone was just urging him on. Maybe they wanted to see action other than wrestling that day
Shou was at a loss of breath. And sweaty. His spiky hair was dampened and his muscles looked prominent after the past few rounds. There was a scratch on his left upper thigh and a small bruise near his shoulder. When he talked to him, his voice was scratchy and deep and it was doing all sorts of things to Ritsu. His brain was short circuiting horribly. The memory of Shou being pinned under him was quickly flung to his brain like a stone in water.
He hastily snatched the water bottle and downed a huge gulp. Shou raised an eyebrow.
“ You know I need this to, gee I don’t know, drink?”
Ritsu coughed into his hand. He looked to the other side, focused on the rusty corners of the bench. Away from his body.
“Sorry…it’s just…people pushed me down here”
“Oh…well…” Shou rubbed his hand at the back of his neck “Thanks, I guess?”
“You’re doing really good” Ritsu complimented, genuinely, “Just don’t get cocky whenever you win a point”
“Yeah” he chuckled, “Won’t do that again”
“I’ll be cheering for you,” Ritsu said, smiling and nodding his head.
“Won’t I get a good luck’s kiss?” Shou pouted.
Ritsu scoffed, “The people there were asking me to do the same”
“Shouldn’t you be pleasing your audience?” Shou smirked.
“You’re pleasing the audience enough for the both of us” Ritsu retorted, face red with the mere mention of kissing.
“Suit yourself” Shou shrugged, as he got up. He rotated his arms. Ritsu turned back on his heel and walked away.
As soon as the starting bell rang, all thoughts buzzing in his head, all unwelcome imagery and fantasies ceased to exist as people around him started to cheer on for their school representative.
When Suzuki’s hand was raised by the referee as a win on his part, everyone went wild. Maybe it was because Ritsu had already charged the audience beforehand, maybe it was because it was the finals with their rival school, but either way, Ritsu could not even hear his own thoughts when everyone roared in applause.
The entirety of the 45 minutes went like this. Ritsu held onto the railing more than once whenever he thought Shou was in danger or was on the losing side. He lost the next round, and that brought down everyone’s- including Shou’s- spirits, and Ritsu didn’t want to have any of that.
He hollered again. Put hands around his mouth and screamed like his life depended on it. Clapped until his hands were raw and sore and numb. His friend even hugged him in relief and Ritsu hugged him back when Shou won the winning point, and that’s when everything went so incredibly bonkers that Ritsu thought he was living in a surreal reality. That this was just a drunken dream.
“Kageyama” his friend said, but Ritsu couldn’t catch it. He pinched his arm tightly to get his attention.
“Kageyama!! Your boyfriend” he said, pointing towards Shou, who was pointing towards him and winking at him flirtatiously. The students were going 'oohs' and 'ahh's like petty middle schoolers at that display of affection and Ritsu felt his face heat crank up to eleven, and the sudden urge to hide behind his friend suddenly overtook him. Instead though, he rolled his eyes fondly and beamed back in return, jutting his arms out to give him two thumbs up, to which Shou responded by blowing him a kiss, making people go even madder.
Ritsu shook his head affectionately. The absolute nerve of this guy…
“That guy was ready to take the wrestling outside the ring when I was done with him!” Shou boasted proudly as they walked home together. Shou insisted they had their arms intertwined, not only for…well, publicity purposes, because now that Shou was the new hot topic their relationship was equally more in the spotlight; but also because Shou thought he was going to collapse without Ritsu’s weight sustaining him.
“Yeah well, take this” he pressed an energy bar through Shou’s lips, forcing him to eat. Shou whined and pushed it back.
“Please…I just won…I don’t wanna be on a diet anymore”
“This has a lot of energy,” Ritsu reasoned. “You’ll be able to walk better. Then when you reach home you can stuff your mouth with whatever junk you like”
“You’d think a boyfriend would treat his winner boyfriend” Shou mumbled. “Oh wait…I had to treat you, right? For the shirt thing…let’s take a u turn and find that nice diner-”
“I have a test tomorrow” Ritsu retorted, pushing his face away from his shoulder, because the weight was becoming unbearable to carry “And we’ve had enough excitement for one day. You need rest”
“That’s right about the excitement part” Shou smiled “I could hear you loud and clear from the bleachers. Felt nice”
“Glad to hear that”
“I’ve never had this much motivation earlier. It was much quieter before. Thanks for that” Shou said, as he flopped his head back on Ritsu and spoke into his shoulder.
Ritsu could very acutely feel his lips moving on his collar. He tried his level best to ignore it. To let it fade away.
“Welcome” he mumbled. There was silence afterwards. Shou was swinging more than walking. Ritsu held his arm even tighter so that he didn’t fall flat. Shou mumbled drowsily about pizzas and cakes and other food. Ritsu told him about the friend he was with at the bleachers. Little conversation, comfortable conversations.
Once they reached the bus stand, Ritsu peeled him off of him. Shou leaned on the pole, and sighed.
“What a happening day” he said, exhausted.
“Sure was,” Ritsu agreed. “You sure you’ll be able to go home on your own? Or do you need me to escort you there before you oversleep your bus stop”
“No no you have that test thingy” Shou shook his arms tiredly “It will take you, like, an hour”
“You look like you’ll fall asleep right now” Ritsu affectionately replied.
“I won’t” Shou argued, though his drooped eyes and body sliding down wasn’t helping his case.
“Here” Ritsu offered without giving a second thought “take my hand”
Shou held his hand without question. Ritsu revelled in the familiar feeling of doing that. The feeling of letting their hands fit into each other so perfectly. It almost felt like they were...actually dating. Like they were a real couple because he's only ever seen this feeling being described with romantic couples and-
Ritsu stopped that train of thought before it went out of hand.
“I’m going to transfer some of my power to you” he muttered, dark eyes looking straight into electric blue.
“You know how to do that now?” Shou asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Well, let’s frame it like this- best case scenario, you get part of my powers and have enough for, like, 2 hours. Worst case, you’ll turn into a chimpanzee”
“You can’t do that”
“Don’t hold your breath”
Shou chuckled, and squeezed his hands “Alright, get along with it. If I turn into a chimpanzee then you're keeping me”
Ritsu grinned, and set his aura ablaze. He then let it intertwine with Shou’s aura, and didn’t let it retreat. He felt warmth ebb in and out of his body like waves of an ocean. He sometimes even felt Shou's aura on his skin, electrifying and bubbly and excited, just like him. He gave and gave until he felt the first tones of tiredness himself.
Shou seemed to at least stand on his two feet now, which meant the whole process was an accomplishment. Ritsu inwardly patted himself on the back for performing this perfectly at the first time.
The bus could be seen from afar now. Shou strapped on his bag and readied himself.
“You can burn this thing now” Shou giggled as he tugged on the shirt playfully. Ritsu swatted his hand away and looked down. He pressed his lips. The bold ‘Suzuki 10’ was visible despite the night.
He noncommittally hummed in response.
And while he did eye the dustbin for a solid half a minute just before he entered the bath, he ended up chucking the shirt into the laundry instead.
And then the next day, deep into his wardrobe where no one’s eyes can reach.