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"Oh! Mob, this color looks perfect for you!" The excitement in Teruki's voice amused Mob as he observed the small bottle in his friend's hand. It was a dragonfly blue-ish green, iridescent and shiny even in the dim hall light. The two were having a sleepover when Mob had mentioned something about how nice Teruki's nails looked with their bright pinks and oranges and neon greens. That had somehow brought them to Teruki's collection of polish, as he had insisted on finding something for Mob to wear on his nails. Mob had never painted his nails before. He was almost... excited? Mob twisted the bottle in the light, giving Teruki a small smile.
"It's pretty."
Teruki absolutely beamed and led the way back with a newfound pep in his step. Sleepovers with Teru were fun. Mob found that he was good company, though Teru did talk a bit more than him and had a habit of staying up way later than Mob was used to. He didn't really mind. The more they got together, the more Mob learned about the other boy, and about himself.
"So, how're you preparing for midterms?" Teruki asked, shaking the bottle.
Mob shrugged. "Not doing much. Goda and I are still meeting up to study, but I think he's worse at this stuff than I am."
"Ah, right I remember you mentioning Goda. How is he doing?"
"Good... I think." To be honest, Mob wasn't really sure. He had a feeling Goda was acting different lately, but Mob had always had a hard time telling with this sort of stuff. He hoped Goda was okay, though he wasn't sure there was much he could do if he wasn't.
He must have been silent and spacing out for a bit because when he blinked Teru was giving him a 'look'.
"Oh. Did you say something?"
"Yeah, but it wasn't important. Alright, let's start with the left hand..." Mob quickly offered his left hand, splaying out his fingers on the table top. He nearly startled when Teruki started painting (he had asked him to do it for him, since he wasn't confident in his ability to do so himself). The polish felt cold on his nails, but it didn't bother him too much.
"Oh."
"Hm?"
"That feels weird."
Teruki chuckled. "It'll feel normal again in a bit, once it dries." Teruki started to babble about his day, something about how he'd been bombarded with people inviting him to parties and dates during spring break. He hadn't been terribly interested it seemed. Eventually his words started to run together in Mob's head, and before he knew it his nails were painted and drying. Mob felt a little awkward having to hold his hands in such a way while he waited, but Teruki assured him they would dry soon.
The rest of the night was fairly uneventful, as they played some video games and Mob listened dutifully to Teruki's chatter. He had fun.
The next day was a Saturday, and Mob all but forgot about his new nails until Ritsu asked if Teruki had done them for him. Mob had simply nodded, tired from not sleeping much that night and trying desperately to figure out his latest homework problem.
Ritsu had left it at that. Their parents didn't seem to mind, and Mob quickly forgot again, though he did find himself staring at the way the light bounced off the shiny metallic paint on more than one occasion. It really was pretty.
Sunday passed with little event.
Monday, however...
Stares. People were staring at him. They were staring at his nails. He almost didn't notice until he nearly bumped into a fellow classmate and saw how quickly his eyes darted from his nails to his face. Mob wasn't used to being stared at. Not this much, anyway. Especially not for something as simple as this. How on earth did Teruki deal with this? A few people complimented him but he was so flustered he ended up just nodding his thanks and rushing off to his next class.
Needless to say he felt a bit weird.
On his way to the Body Improvement Club after school, Mob suddenly realized that the other members might be... amused by the paint. He doubted they would ridicule him for it, but the thought of them thinking he was 'less of a man' or what have you kind of put him on edge. Especially some of the newer members of the club. They were younger than him and the original members, but they were also kind of... different? He stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to think of a way to hide it. Nothing came to mind, except maybe working out by himself. When was the last time he'd done that? What was it they had planned today? Gosh, he couldn't remember... He'd have to find something, some sort of excuse.
Getting changed was simple, but once he and the others were walking to the weight training area, he realized he didn't have any pockets to hide his hands in. He resorted to holding them behind his back. Hopefully nobody would notice his unusual pose or how much he was sweating already...
"Oi! Kageyama! You hiding something behind your back?" Onigawara's voice startled Mob once he walked through the door.
Shit.
"A-ah... no..."
Onigawara chuckled, giving him a weird look. He seemed amused but Mob was too terrified to notice. Honestly, Mob knew he was overthinking things, but he couldn't really help it. "What? Come on, White-T, you're a terrible liar. What is it?" Genuine interest gleamed in Onigawara's eyes.
Mob's fists tightened behind his back. More of the club members were looking over at them, pausing in picking up weights and preparing equipment. Goda was preoccupied with stretching, chatting idly with Shimura. Riku Akio and Shiori Ryou, some of the new members, were walking over. The two of them had a habit of tailing Onigawara for his 'cool' personality. Not good for Mob.
"It's n-nothing."
Onigawara seemed to realize he was pushing it, backing off a little. Even now, years later, Onigawara was still taller than Mob, and had an ever present intimidating sneer on his face. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Heh. Whatever, let's get goin' on our training--"
"No, no, I want to know what Kageyama is hiding too!" Akio said with a toothy smile. He had a slowly healing black eye from when he tripped and hit his head on a pole. He'd been telling people it was from getting into a fight all week. Mob couldn't help being leery of him.
"It's nothing, r-really--"
"Aw come on, Mob! You can show us," Ryou said, arms crossed. He had yet to change into the workout uniform.
This was exactly what Mob had been afraid of. Looking around desperately for some sort of relief, he ended up freaking out internally. He gulped audibly. He was cornered and the instant he showed his new nails they'd make fun of him and everyone else would laugh at him and he'd be embarrassed to hell and back again and they'd kick him out of the club and--
"Okay, guys, that's enough," Goda nearly bellowed. "Let's focus on body improvement!" Everyone in the room let out an enthusiastic shout at that, Mob sighing in relief that the attention had been turned away from him.
Mob quickly discovered that if he curled his fingers around the dumbbell just right his fingers were effectively hidden. Already he was about five minutes in and his muscles were burning. He'd become used to that over the years, but it didn't help that he was nervous and jumpy over something as silly as fingernail polish. He had so liked the color too. It was a shame. He knew he couldn't do this for the rest of the week, so he made mental plans to take the polish off that night. Hopefully he could inconspicuously borrow his mom's polish remover...
"Kageyama," Sagawa's curious voice brought him back to the present. "Is that... nail polish?"
Mob froze, staring at his fellow club member and then at his hands, which had slipped up while he was thinking. He wasn't even sure how to respond.
"Uh- I mean-"
Sagawa gave him a smile and a thumbs up. "It looks really good! I've been thinking about getting mine done too!"
Mob blinked. The others were beginning to crowd around him, wanting to see. "R-really?"
"Yeah!"
"So that's what you were hidin'!"
"Oh, that's a cool color, Kageyama!"
"Where'd you get them done?"
Mob couldn't help the furious blush creeping into his cheeks at the sudden attention. He was definitely not used to this. He was definitely not expecting this reaction either. His newly revealed fingers dug into his knees, dumbbells forgotten. Words seemed to have trouble forming in his mouth, a weird feeling bubbling in his chest.
100% relief
...
Musashi had no idea what all the commotion was with the guys this time, but he had just about had it with their eagerness to goof around. If he let this continue, they'd end up just being a bunch of after school slackers! Not on his watch. It was time to sweat and be active and improve their muscle quality!
"Alright guys, break it up--" they just were not listening to him. This was rare. He grumbled inwardly, marching towards the group. What was so interesting anyway? He pushed his way through the crowd, only to find himself nearly standing over a freakishly red-faced Mob.
Mob startled at his sudden appearance.
"O-oh--"
"K-Kageyama!" He gulped. Of course, now the guys had decided to go quiet. "Um. What's this all about? We're burning daylight here!" Mob winced at his probably-too-loud voice, which made Musashi wince apologetically.
Before Mob could say anything, Sagawa spoke up. "Kageyama got his nails done!"
"We were just looking!"
"They're so cool!"
The chorus of praise made Mob even more flustered, hiding his face behind his hands. Oh no. He was really cute when he was embarrassed. Like, incredibly cute. Something in Musashi's chest swelled and he couldn't talk for a moment. It was like the words were just stuck in his throat. Shit, the guys were starting to look at him weird, he had to say something, shitshitshit--
"Ah! They do look nice!" He blurted, giving Mob a smile. "Just make sure you can still work out in them!" He turned to the rest of the club. "As for all of you, let's get back to business! Our muscles aren't going to train themselves!" Before anyone could say that actually they technically were, the gang started chanting "Fight on!" and returned to their weight training.
Musashi let out a breath, feeling tense.
Mob cleared his throat nearby, Musashi jumping a bit.
"Ah, let's get going, Kageyama!"
Mob looked like he wanted to say something but quickly changed his mind, giving a determined nod, joining Musashi and the others in club activities.
The next day Sagawa and Yamamura came in with pastel purple nails. On Wednesday Kumagawa and Shimura had bright orange and silver nails, respectively. Onigawara showed off his black nails on Thursday, though the paint job was a bit sloppy and the edges were already chipped. The smile on Mob's face was the biggest Musashi had ever seen on him (which wasn't saying much) and he was happy that the team was encouraging him so much.
Musashi had received the group text on Monday night about getting nails done, specifically to help boost Kageyama's confidence. He would have loved to be a part of it, but...
"We're still studying tonight at your place, right?" Musashi asked Mob as he gathered his things in the locker room. Mob nodded.
"Good! I think I'm getting the hang of my English lessons. Math is still a bother, though."
Mob nodded again, throwing his backpack over his shoulders. "Yeah. My math homework is getting harder for me."
Musashi made an empathetic hum, nodding. "You ready to go?"
Mob nodded and smiled.
The two walked out of the school and down the path to Mob's place. It was fairly quiet except for the occasional observation from Mob and some of Musashi's own talking. It wasn't really about anything important, but he felt the need to fill the air for a bit. They were a couple blocks away from Mob's house when Mob turned to him and spoke.
"Um. Thank you."
Musashi blinked, pausing mid-stride. "Hm? For what?"
Apparently that wasn't the response Mob had been expecting, eyes averted expertly. "Oh, uh. Onigawara. He said that it was your idea for everyone to get their nails painted."
"What--" realization dawned on him. Goddamnit, that cheeky bastard... While Onigawara wasn't the brightest of the bunch, he was definitely a lot more perceptive than the rest of the club. He forced a humble smile, making a mental note to have a stern talk with him later. "Oh, um. It's no problem, heh."
Mob smiled, and they continued on their way. After a few minutes he started talking again.
"My mom recently bought some more colors... Um. If you want I could, uh, lend you some?"
Musashi's entire mind went completely blank. It was like he just up and forgot everything, like whatever had been I his brain just vanished without a trace (Like what happened with the author's computer ;n;). Before he could realize any sort of anything, his mouth was moving on its own.
"Um!" Oh no oh no oh no. He was definitely talking too loud. The look on Mob's face didn't really give him any clues as to what he should say. Again, his mouth continued without him. "Sure! I-I mean, if it isn't a bother!" The awkward laugh that left him absolutely mortified him. He could have died right on the spot.
Fortunately, Mob was none the wiser. At least, he didn't act like he was noticing Musashi's weird behavior. Instead he just smiled and said something about arriving at his house, Musashi following blindly.
...
The study session went by slower than Mob was expecting, the two of them coming to the realization that their English was still just as terrible as they had left off the last time they'd studied. The stress in Mob's room could have been cut with a knife. Mob let out an uncharacteristic grumble, placing his paper down in frustration. They were both sitting on the floor, Mob cross-legged and Goda on his stomach, chewing that poor pencil of his as always. Mob was surprised he was still using that thing.
"You okay?" Musashi asked, continuing to stare down the worksheet, as if sheer intimidation would force the answers out.
"Not really."
A pause. "Maybe we should take a break."
Mob let out a sigh, nodding. "Okay. Do you want anything to drink?"
"Sure."
The two of them were having an amusing conversation in the kitchen about what Mob's math teacher had done in class the other day, when Ritsu walked into the room. He seemed tired. That was pretty normal for him, but Mob still wondered at that.
"Hey, Shigeo, Goda. You done studying?"
"Eh... Not yet," Mob said, frowning.
"We were just taking a break."
"Hm. Well, if you two need any help, just let me know. I'll be in the living room."
"Okay. Thanks." Mob scrunched up his face at his now empty glass of milk. He really didn't want to get back to his homework... "Oh. I can get some of that nail polish now, if you want?"
Oh. Musashi had been smiling at him, but now his face was contorted into something Mob couldn't quite recognize. Had he said something wrong? After a moment of whatever was going on in Musashi's head passed, he let out a breath and smiled softly.
"Sure."
His voice was odd. More quiet than Mob was used to. Timid? Mob's head already hurt from trying to work through their homework, he didn't have the energy to decipher Musashi's new mannerisms.
He smiled in return and dismissed himself to go rummage through his mom's make up supplies.
It only took him a few minutes to find the small collection of bottles (honestly, his mom didn't wear the stuff often. She'd only bought the new stuff because of his sudden interest in it) and once he'd taken the tray of bottles out he carefully made his way back to the kitchen. He paused when he heard Ritsu's voice.
"...Pretty convenient that your family has a free room for Shigeo's college years."
Musashi let out a huff. "If you're trying to insinuate--"
"I'm not saying anything. Just, if you try anything..." He must have made a gesture or something because the next huff Musashi let out sounded annoyed. Mob was confused. Why would Musashi 'try anything'? What did that even mean? Surely Mob's flurry of feelings for his fellow classmate was unrequited. He took a deep breath, trying to sort this all out. Maybe he'd figure this out later.
He walked into the room, pretending like he hadn't just overheard Ritsu threatening his crush.
(Oh yeah. He had a crush on Goda.)
"Hey Ritsu." He turned to Goda, setting the tray on the counter. "You can see what colors we have."
Goda quickly busied himself with looking at the little bottles, Ritsu dismissing himself after grabbing a glass of water. Mob noticed that Goda wasn't actually touching any of the bottles.
"Um... Uh..."
Mob blinked, a bit confused by Musashi's muttering.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hm? O-oh, no! Not at all! I just, uh..." He gulped. "I've never done this before."
Mob blinked again.
"...Oh." He wasn't sure why that was such a revelation. He supposed it made sense. He'd never actually seen Musashi's nails done before. There was a decent pause.
"Do you want me to help you? I'm not very good--"
"Sure!" Musashi blurted. "Uh, I mean, sure. Yeah. Okay. Heh..."
The dorky, awkward smile on Goda's face nearly stopped Mob's heart.
...
Okay. Mob was kind of terrible at this, Musashi had to admit it. The shiny red paint had dripped a little more than it should have, and Mob was slow going, trying to make sure the paint was even. He was still on the first hand. But Musashi's heart was beating like crazy in his chest, for so many different reasons he couldn't all explain. Mob was holding his hand. Mob. Was holding. His hand. Hopefully the slight tremors in his hand weren't noticeable.
He found himself staring at Mob as they sat cross legged across from each other in the middle of Mob's room. Mob's face was twisted in concentration, as much as his face would anyway, lips pursed and eyebrows scrunched. Oh man. Musashi couldn't help but relish the idea that he was one of the few people who would see this face of his. Oh man.
Of course, all that to say, Musashi was pretty sure he was making an idiot out of himself. He had no idea what he was talking about now, but nervous babble escaped him nevertheless. Mob didn't seem to be listening either way, but Musashi knew he'd have to shut up eventually.
"Done." Mob's quiet voice cut him off, sounding pleased with himself. Oh. He had finished with that hand. His hand was achingly returned to him, and he admired the halfway decent handiwork as Mob went to work on his other hand, saying something about letting the paint dry.
Musashi forgot about talking all of a sudden, staring at his nails. The red was deep and shiny, almost metallic. The color reminded him of a stage curtain. A flood of feeling welled up behind his eyes. It was... Nice. Really, really nice.
He was suddenly transported to his younger years.
His older sister had done a much sloppier job with his nails, and they had been having fun, giggling all the while. Muriko had smiled a bright and wonderful smile, taking his hand and leading him downstairs, "To show momma!" He remembered the weird sense of pride in his small, child heart. The pride had swelled when he beamed up at his mom, nails presented with only the flourish a six year old boy could have. The smile on her face was amused, curious, and something else entirely.
"Oh my! Would you look at that. My baby boy's a pretty little thing now!" She had turned back to the dishes she was cleaning. The next thing she said was for Muriko. "Now, how about you help your brother wash that stuff off. He's got to grow into a responsible young man someday, right?"
He remembered the sting in her words. He remembered the sting that slipped quietly into his chest whenever someone told him to 'man-up' or 'you don't want to be like your sisters' or 'that's not what boys do'--
"Goda?"
Oh. Oh no. No-no-no-no. There was an unmistakable wetness in his eyes, trailing down his cheeks, dripping onto the floor. His hands were shaking. No. This wasn't right. Oh no. He started, blinking furiously through tears when he realized Mob was still holding his hand despite being finished. Oh god, his cheeks were burning and he couldn't even wipe away the tears with his hands, he was such a mess he couldn't even form words or sounds. Biting back a sob he hid his face in the crook of his elbow, hand twisted away.
"I-I'm s-sorry--" he somehow stuttered. He couldn't believe this. What was happening right now, it was just too impossible for him to comprehend. He was crying. In front of Kageyama. In front of Mob. Over some stupid nail polish. His mind was still trying to catch up with this sudden turn of events.
His heart shuddered when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Mob moving to sit next to him. He didn't dare move his arm to look at him. What on earth was he supposed to do? He had to stop, but how? He gulped in big lungful a of air, desperately trying to calm down. Okay. Okay. Just a few more breaths, just a few more moments and he'd be fine. The hand on his shoulder squeezed slightly, and for a moment he forgot where he was.
A final shaky breath and he slowly let his arm drop, a familiar pressure gathering in his chest.
He sniffed, unable to look over at Mob. Pathetic. "S-sorry... I'm s-so sorry."
"It... It's okay." Musashi's breathing stopped and he froze when Mob carefully, oh-so-gently wiped away the tears on his face. His heart ached at the tiny gesture, threatening new tears. A few blinks kept them away. Mob continued, unfreezing him. "It's okay to cry. I'm... I, uh, don't know what's wrong, but shishou always said that crying is a normal thing."
Musashi nodded, not trusting his voice. He knew he was right, but he felt like he had to refuse to cry. He couldn't. Not now. Not in front of Kageyama.
A few shaky breaths later and Mob asked if he wanted to talk about it. Musashi shrugged. He still couldn't look at Mob. Shame and embarrassment filled his entire being. Terrible. He was terrible.
"You can talk to me. If you want."
Musashi stared at the floor boards for a long while. It didn't look like they'd be returning to their homework anytime soon. Another rough breath.
"I... I don't know. All my life... people important to me have told me to be the best man I can be. T-to be good and kind..." He bit his cheek. "To be a strong man, to throw anything frivolous or... silly or p-pretty... out."
He dared to glance at Mob. His face was full of concern, listening intently. Back to the floor his eyes went, gritting his teeth. Honestly? This was terrifying. He didn't even know what to say. An ugly sniff barely cleared his sinuses. "I'm sorry," he concluded, blinking away a few tears and giving an apologetic smile.
"It's okay."
There was a long silence between them.
An unsure smile came to Musashi's lips. Even if there was still a lot more to... whatever this was, it felt good being able to get something off his chest. He held out a hand, looking at his nails.
"They look good," he said. "Thank you."
Mob nodded.
Their eyes met for a moment, and the irrational part of his mind wondered if they were going kiss. His mind blanked at the thought of that. As much as he would've liked that, he had a feeling now wasn't a great time. Besides. Mob didn't like him like that.
"Do you want to hang out over spring break?" Mob asked suddenly.
Musashi barely even started to smile before he started nodding. "Sure!"
(The next day the whole body improvement club officially had their nails painted. Musashi was showered with encouragement and he began to feel even better about himself. Mob had helped in more ways than one.
Mob and Musashi passed their midterms, and the two of them met over the break to celebrate.
It was when Mob told him about his latest exorcism that Musashi made up his mind to ask him on a date. He just had to get up the nerve somehow....)