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In hindsight, Jun probably should have realized that something was wrong much, much sooner.
On the surface, everything looked harmless; or at least, as innocent as the entire Seidou baseball team taking a group trip to the beach could possibly look. It had been Kuramochi’s idea, suggested one night when they were hanging out in Miyuki’s room in their usual fashion.
It’ll be fun, he’d said. A nice team trip to the beach.
Someone – someone responsible, maybe one of the third-years – had pointed out that they did, in fact, have a summer tournament coming up, but Kuramochi had continued to ramble on about having fun as a group on one of their days off because surely, we have to take a break sometime, he’d insisted.
Jun hadn’t bothered to complain at the time; he’d been half-asleep under Furuya’s massage anyway, and he didn’t have any particular objections to hanging out at the beach. So he’d let the others bicker about it until it was finally decided and I suppose it would do us some good to unwind had echoed through the room in Tetsu’s firm voice, settling the matter once and for all.
This was how Jun had ended up here, filing down along the path to the beach with his teammates, his mind somehow blissfully ignoring the fact that all of them, save one, are walking in normal boy’s swim trunks. Somehow, his brain isn’t really processing the fact that Tetsu is wearing a loose pair of pants unlike literally everyone else around them, and thus it doesn’t occur to him that there is probably some sort of reason for the deviation in wardrobe. So it’s due to this lack of attention that he doesn’t give himself any sort of warning, no opportunity to mentally brace himself, when they stop along the sand to start tossing down piles of bags and umbrellas and Tetsu reaches down and slides the damn pants right off his body.
The chatter and laughter that had been bubbling around them come screeching to a halt, all eyes turning to look at their captain, now standing on the beach in a white t-shirt and a tight blue speedo.
Jun wants to sob into the silence that follows, because it’s no secret to himself that he’s been inwardly admiring Tetsu for more than a little while now, and seeing the way the shiny blue fabric clings shamelessly to all of the muscle shaping out that nice, firm ass is just grossly unfair. He doesn’t know what horrible thing he might have done to deserve this – he was never that mean to the first-years, certainly not like some other people on the team – but he’s spared from making any sort of embarrassing noises right then and there because his thoughts are interrupted by a low wolf whistle from someone else in the vicinity.
“Damn, Tetsu,” someone calls out, and Jun recognizes it as Kuramochi’s voice. Regaining his bearings, he dares to glance around, and finds most of the other boys looking at the captain with some mixture of awe and embarrassment. The younger Kominato’s face is a bright, fiery red, and Jun wonders if he’s going to pass out already; they’ve barely been there five minutes, and he didn’t plan on anyone dying from heat stroke just yet.
The captain looks unfazed and shrugs his way out of his shirt, too, before tossing it aside and squatting down to rummage around in his bag. The crowd is dispersing a little at this point, people beginning to prop up umbrellas and spread out towels, and Jun gives a shaky exhale as he searches his own bag for his sunscreen. Once again, if his brain had been functioning properly rather than thinking about the way that Speedo-clad butt looks when it squats, it might have occurred to him that Tetsu would likely be doing the exact same thing. But he’s short-circuiting too much already to think of it and so is very much caught off guard when he looks up and sees his mostly-naked captain carefully rubbing white lotion along his abs.
Jun swallows the whine that’s forming in his throat and stomps off to apply his own sunscreen several blissful yards away, very pointedly not concerning himself with just how Tetsu is going to get that stuff onto his back.
–
Tetsu is stretching.
Jun can’t for the life of him fathom why Tetsu would be stretching in a place like this, unless he plans to soon partake in some particularly strenuous physical activity. He doesn’t really get any further in considering what physical activities one might partake in when visiting the beach, because Tetsu is bending over to reach his toes, and god it’s obscene the way the fabric catches the sunlight as the captain neatly folds himself in half. The process continues for a few more minutes, Tetsu rotating from one position to another, and between the mesmerizing motions and the heat of the sun beating down on him, Jun finds himself gradually zoning out.
“Jun?”
He’s horrified to realize that Tetsu is staring at him in a way that suggests that this isn’t the first time he’s said his name.
Shit.
“Yeah?” he asks weakly.
“We’re playing volleyball. Two-on-two. Coming?”
“Sure,” Jun responds, before his mind has even properly caught up to what’s going on. As if it’s even a question that Jun would be on Tetsu’s team, and Jun thinks with despair that he might actually agree to just about anything at this point, whether he actually likes it or not.
He follows behind Tetsu across the warm sand and sees that someone has already set up a net nearby. Kuramochi and Ryousuke are waiting for them, the shortstop tossing the ball up and down, getting used to the feel of it in his hands.
“Oi,” he calls, waving as the other two boys approach. “You guys know how this works?”
“Of course!” Jun huffs. He’s never played, but he’s watched enough on television to know the basics. “We’ll kick your asses, so let’s get to it.”
“Kyaha! Like hell you will. Come on, Ryou-san.”
The four boys spread out to position themselves, two on either side of the net, and Kuramochi tosses the ball over to Jun and Tetsu’s side.
“Look, I’m so sure we’ll destroy you, I’ll even give you the first serve.”
“Hah!” Jun barks. He’s not sure if he or Tetsu should be serving, but the captain scoots forward to stand closer to the net, so Jun takes that as his cue to back up to the boundary that’s been scratched into the sand, signaling the edge of their makeshift field. It can’t be that hard, Jun thinks, staring at the large white ball between his hands, so he smirks and readies himself for the serve.
Unfortunately, right as Jun moves to throw the ball up in front of him so he can hit it, Tetsu shifts. It’s not much of a movement, just a slight adjustment to his stance so he’s squatting a tiny bit lower, preparing for a possible return, but it’s enough to emphasize the swell of his ass just so.
Jun swings his arm through the air.
Thump.
He’s confused for a few seconds, reactions delayed, before he glances at the ground and sees the ball sitting stupidly in the sand a few feet from him.
Oh, god.
He’d completely missed the serve.
It’s uncomfortably quiet for a moment before Kuramochi breaks out into a fit of laughter on the opposite side of the net, clutching his sides and cackling hysterically. The elder Kominato is smiling next to him, looking unsettlingly knowing as he stares in Jun’s direction.
“Kyahahahaha! Seriously, dude?”
Tetsu looks over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow.
“Really, Jun? You can hit a fastball, and you can’t hit that?”
I know what else I’d like to hit right now, Jun’s traitorous mind supplies, and he screams inwardly.
–
They end up losing to the infallible Kuramochi and Ryousuke duo, though Jun considers the game an overall success, since he didn’t miss any more serves and also managed to avoid taking any balls to the face (which really didn’t seem entirely out of the question when he was standing behind Tetsu most of the time).
Exhausted, Jun throws himself face-down onto a towel, not really caring about the sun or the heat, and he avoids admitting that some part of him would maybe be okay with burning to death right now. He can feel the rays scorching his exposed back, but he squints his eyes shut and tries to relax. Unfortunately that only earns him a series of mental images of one very particular butt, and he groans against the towel.
He also should have known better than to think that he could get away with any amount of peace and quiet with the rest of the team around, because it’s only been a couple of minutes before he hears footsteps approaching and stopping near his head.
“Hey.”
“Hmmf.”
“Dude, come on. We’re gonna make a sandcastle, you wanna help?”
It’s Miyuki, he can tell now from the voice.
“No,” Jun responds miserably. “I don’t want to help.”
Silence, and Jun wonders if Miyuki will leave. But instead there’s a sigh, and Miyuki squats down, poking lightly at Jun’s shoulder with one finger.
“Are you okay? You’ve been kind of,” the poking stops, and Jun opens one eye to see Miyuki gesturing in the air with one hand. “Subdued? That’s not like you.”
“Sexually frustrated,” Jun mutters into his towel.
A moment too late, the realization of what he just said hits him, and he scrambles into a sitting position to stare at Miyuki, whose face mirrors his surprised expression. His eyebrows shoot straight up into his bangs, and Jun realizes with the utmost horror that he just confided about his problem to Miyuki Kazuya of all people. There’s a brief inhale, and then Miyuki erupts into laughter, doubling over and clutching at his stomach.
“Shut up!” Jun growls. “This isn’t fucking funny.”
“Gahahahaha!” There’s tears streaming down Miyuki’s face behind his visor, and Jun pales a little because this was really about the only possible way to make this entire situation worse.
“It’s hilarious,” Miyuki gasps, raising his head for air. “So, so hilarious.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Fuck, I can’t breathe.” The catcher finally straightens up, wet face glinting in the sunlight, and Jun knows just how childish it is, but he can’t help it at this point; he grabs a chunk of sand from the ground and tosses it at Miyuki’s face.
Whump.
It’s a satisfying noise, and Jun feels a tiny bit better, until Miyuki just starts cackling again.
“Goddammit, stop!”
The catcher is still quaking with laughter as he reaches up with one hand to slip the visor off his face, now uselessly splattered with sand.
“Miyuki Kazuya!”
The two boys turn to look in the direction of the noise, and unsurprisingly, Sawamura is barreling towards them.
“Hey, Mi-”
He stops mid-yell, and his footsteps slow, too, and Jun sees the way his mouth falls open into a surprised shape. He doesn’t really get it, until he looks back at Miyuki, and then suddenly everything makes sense.
It’s not that common of a sight to see Miyuki’s face unobstructed, especially out in public and in broad daylight. And okay, Jun has to admit, maybe there is a very good reason why he’s called the pretty-boy catcher, although he’s not Jun’s type (something about tall, dark, and nice ass runs infuriatingly through his mind). Long lashes flutter as his gaze drops to his hands, where he’s gently dusting the sand away from his visor, trying not to let it scratch the surface. He finishes, and gives his head a good shake back and forth, loosening the sand that’s settled in his hair.
“What?” he asks, sliding the visor back into place. The question whips Sawamura out of whatever trance he’d been in, and he hops the rest of the way over to Miyuki and Jun, although Jun swears there’s an extra reddish tint to his face that wasn’t there a moment ago.
“Play catch with me!”
Miyuki sighs. “Sawamura-”
“Don’t worry about Furuya, he’s dead. From the sun. Probably.” Sawamura’s voice drops a little. “Maybe. Or just sleeping, it’s hard to tell, really.”
“Sawamura, today is a fun day, I don’t have gear, and we’re not playing catch.”
The pitcher’s face falls a little, and Jun is admittedly a bit surprised; he was expecting more of a fight. “I know,” he says, energy draining out of his voice. “I didn’t mean… I know it’s a fun day, that’s… I thought…” He shakes his head, frowning, and turns to go. “Forget it.”
Jun sees Miyuki roll his eyes when Sawamura isn’t looking, but it’s more the expression of someone dealing with a wayward puppy than an outright nuisance.
“Fine.”
“Really?”
It’s like something out of a shoujo manga, Jun thinks, the way Sawamura’s face lights up, and some part of him warms at the sight.
“Yes. But I need to do something else first.”
“Okay!”
Miyuki takes a deep breath and hollers at the top of his lungs.
“Hey, Tetsu!”
The warmness that had been forming in Jun’s belly immediately vanishes, and he wants to scream in frustration, but he knows that would only rouse everyone else’s suspicion, too. So he bites down hard on the inside of his cheek instead and tries to keep his breathing even, his eyes honing in on Tetsu’s movements in the distance. He’d been working on the sandcastle, Jun guesses, but the captain stops at Miyuki’s summons and trots over to where he and Jun are still huddled together on the ground.
“What is it?”
“Jun-san wants to go for a swim,” Miyuki explains, voice dripping false sweetness. “But I hear he’s not very good at it, so would you mind going with him and keeping an eye on him? Can’t have one of our first-string players drowning himself like an idiot.”
“I swim just fine!” Jun yells, agitated, because no no no a dripping-wet Tetsu is definitely not what he wants to deal with.
“The water is a bit choppy today,” Tetsu says, shaking his head. “And it’s safer to have someone with you than going by yourself, it’s common sense.”
Miyuki grins, catlike, and ushers Sawamura away, waving at Jun as he leaves.
“Have fun~!”
Honestly, Jun thinks drowning himself in the ocean is sounding like a pretty great option at this point.
–
The swim, Jun decides, is not actually all that unpleasant. Visibility of Tetsu is limited while they’re in the water, after all, and the temperature is quite nice for this time of year, so he loses himself in playing around a bit near the shore. They don’t go too far out, neither of them quite so confident in their abilities, and once he starts to feel his limbs getting tired, he waves to Tetsu for the two of them to return to the beach.
They work their way back through the waves, emerging from the water and treading through the surf towards the dry sand above. It’s then that something catches Jun’s eye again, and he has to bite his lip.
Tetsu is wet. So wet, in fact, that there is still water working its way slowly down his back as he walks, gliding along the smooth skin until it reaches the band of his Speedo and continues its way down his butt. The rational part of Jun’s brain tries to explain that this is a poor time to be staring, but he can’t tear his eyes away, and the consequences come swiftly enough.
He slips on a particularly smooth patch of sand beneath the water, and before he knows it, he finds himself face-down in the surf.
Embarrassing.
Dimly he feels pain throbbing through his face, and he carefully works his way back into a standing position, not even bothering to look at Tetsu’s reaction. His face is wet from landing in the water, but something else feels strange, too, like a warmth that isn’t usually there and doesn’t have anything to do with the sun.
“Your nose is bleeding,” Tetsu says, a hint of his concern in his usually calm voice.
“Of course it’s bleeding,” Jun snaps, reaching for his face with one hand. “I’ve been staring at your goddamn ass all afternoon!”
Tetsu’s eyes widen, and Jun’s hand freezes in the middle of its trajectory. On second thought, his nose is probably actually bleeding because he just fell on his face like a fucking idiot, and he can feel his cheeks and neck begin to burn under Tetsu’s stare.
He gives up finally and sighs, all the tension draining from his body. It’s gone too far to try and hide anything at this point. He’d always hoped that any confession he might one day make to Tetsu would be a bit more than this, something proper, with flowers and sparkles and fluttery feelings in the pit of his stomach, rather than this disaster, but it’s out there now and there’s nothing he can do.
Tetsu opens his mouth to say something, but in the same moment Kawakami rushes up with a towel in hand.
“Um,” he stammers, hesitant about approaching Jun. “I saw you fall, I wasn’t sure if you were hurt.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Tetsu says reassuringly, taking the towel out of Kawakami’s hands. “Thank you.”
The pitcher just nods once and runs off hastily, something in Jun’s expression prompting him not to stay. Tetsu takes a few steps forward, adjusting his hold on the towel, and he begins wiping carefully at Jun’s face. Jun just stands there quietly, feeling stupider by the second, but Tetsu’s movements are slow and gentle and he can’t help relaxing a little bit under the attention.
Once he’s finally done cleaning, Tetsu just tosses the towel over one shoulder for lack of anyplace better to put it, and Jun sputters in surprise.
“Hey! That’s dirty, you’ll-”
“It’s fine,” Tetsu insists, “but really, you could have said something sooner.”
“What?” Jun asks, alarmed.
Tetsu just shrugs, and before Jun can process what is happening and make an attempt to stop it, Tetsu’s hand is on the back of his neck and he’s planting a light kiss on Jun’s throbbing nose. It’s brief, just a gentle brush of lips against Jun’s already overheated skin, but it’s enough to send a sudden spark down Jun’s spine and he twitches slightly at the contact. He blinks frantically as Tetsu pulls away, his eyes glued to Jun and waiting patiently for a response. His face seems redder than usual, Jun thinks, and he realizes that it’s because of the light. They must have been out here longer than he thought, because the sun is already setting, its reddish hue reflected in the ocean’s surface and covering the beach and the boys along it in a fiery swathe. Tetsu is still staring, and Jun has to admit to himself that maybe a sunset kiss on the beach isn’t the worst way to start things off, and a small smile graces his face at the thought.
“Sorry,” he mutters. He knows he’s blushing again, but it’s more pleasant this time, and the color deepens when Tetsu reaches over and grabs one of his hands.
“Let’s go,” he says, and although it’s his usual authoritative captain’s voice, there’s something different in it this time, something that makes Jun’s stomach flop happily in response. They head off to rejoin their teammates, feet splashing along the edge of the water, and Jun decides that maybe the beach trip was a solid idea after all.