Work Text:
It was a hot and sunny afternoon once school and practice had ended. It had been a rather uneventful and lazy day, one that Ishigaki didn’t mind. He enjoyed the cool wind that snuck through the classroom windows and followed him on his way out of the school grounds on his red and black Anchor. Ishigaki was following someone himself, though; Ihara and Tsuji took the laid back ride just in front of him. They were all headed over to Ihara’s house to hang out for the evening. Ihara had offered to have them over just a few days ago to smoke and waste time.
Ishigaki watched Ihara take small swerves and whistle, lazily entertaining himself on the ride towards home. He then suddenly laughed as he straightened out again. “Hey- Tsuji-kun, I went out to Shibuya again the other day.”
“You told me about this yesterday.”
“But I didn’t tell you about this part!” Ihara slowed somewhat so he could pull beside Tsuji and talk to him directly. Tsuji kept looking forward while he pedaled, but didn’t seem to mind Ihara chatting with him.
“I went into a t-shirt store and saw they had some bike related shirts- I was surprised! But they had this one shirt that I thought about buying for you, since it seemed like something you would like!”
“Oh?”
“Yeah- but it was expensive and I was kind of broke,” Ihara mumbled and waved it off. Ishigaki chuckled softly behind him. “But anyway- I tried one on to take pictures, because if it looks good on me then it would look good on you.”
“Sure...”
“But I noticed that the bike was high enough that the tires would line up with your nipples- I really wish I had had money on me then to get it!”
Ishigaki couldn’t help a small, stunted laugh, but then rubbed his face and sighed. “Ihara-kun…”
“I still have the pictures!” Ihara laughed while quickly patting his back pockets. “I’ll show you when I get home- the shirt might even still be there at the store!”
“T-That’s alright,” Tsuji muttered awkwardly, but Ihara was still giddy.
“You still have to see it! I tried it on in public just for you- there were girls there and everything!”
“You took off your own shirt…?”
“No! I just put it over my own, of course. They didn’t have a changing room there.”
“I see.”
They soon pulled up into Ihara’s driveway, and as he had told them before, his parents weren’t home. They walked their bikes into the cluttered garage and out of the hot sun. The shade inside Ihara’s home made the sun’s warmth still lingering on Ishigaki’s skin more apparent. Ihara continued to chatter and showed off the picture on his phone as they left their shoes and bags at the door then wandered inside.
“Maaaan! My back’s all stiff again.” Ihara grunted as he stretched his arms over his head. Ishigaki followed in close behind him with Tsuji just a step behind himself; the halls of Ihara’s home were thin but the atmosphere was homely. The hardwood floor underfoot was scuffed but swept, Ihara walked over it heavily without a care and went to the kitchen. Ishigaki stepped into the small room with him while Tsuji lingered in the doorway.
“Have you been leaning over your desk too much?”
“It could be that. I do a lot of hunched-over stuff, cycling, studying… I’m going to be a hunchback at this rate!” Ihara let out a long breath as he opened the fridge and bent over once again to rummage through it. Ishigaki hummed behind him then accepted a can of bepsi that Ihara handed back to him.
“You’re really studying hard, huh?”
“Not really. I hate sitting down for hours and doing that stuff, it’s boring.” Ihara handed back another can to Ishigaki to give to Tsuji before he grabbed his own and straightened up. He shut the fridge door with his knee and pushed back hair from his face with his hand. Ishigaki did expect that answer, but he knew Ihara knew he was just teasing him. Ishigaki handed over the extra can to Tsuji before Ihara went on leading way into the house again.
“Alright- up to my room, we can’t go outside today.”
“Eh? But it’s sunny out,” Tsuji said while they followed Ihara to a short but steep set of stairs. Ihara went up a few steps with one hand on the banister and his other holding the cold can of bepsi.
“My neighbors are nosy, they’re home right now and’ll probably barbeque sometime soon or something.”
“Ah. I understand.”
“It’s pretty hot out today, anyway. But won’t it make your room smell…?” Ishigaki asked as he went on and followed Ihara up the steps. Ihara stopped at the top of the stairs with a shrug and a grin.
“That’s what cologne is for- and we’ll open a window. My parents won’t be able to tell!”
Ishigaki wasn’t too sure of his strategy, but he followed him deeper into the house anyway with a light smile.
Ihara’s room was a bit cleaner than usual; most of his dirty clothes had landed in the hamper, his futon was unmade but it wasn’t a complete mess. The blinds were pulled over the window and kept the room dim as the three wandered inside. The shelves across from his bed were lined with different books and papers. A dusty television sat low near the middle just next to Ihara’s desk with the chair pulled out. Ihara first went over to the window and pulled the blinds to let in some sunlight while Tsuji and Ishigaki stood near the door.
“It’s a bit messy- I’ve been busy with stuff, but it’s not that bad this time!” Ihara mumbled as he undid the lock and pushed open his window. The sound of birds and distant cars came through with the breeze and sunlight. He went to his desk, next, and went rummaging through one of the drawers. “Sit wherever.”
Ishigaki chose the end of his futon while Tsuji sat himself on the floor just before it. When Ihara turned back to them with a small box in one hand and his pipe in the other, he chuckled at Tsuji and came over.
“You don’t have to sit on the floor, Tsuji-”
“It’s alright, I don’t mind. It’s your bed.”
“You can have my spot if you want it,” Ishigaki offered and patted the spot beside himself. Tsuji shook his head, however, while Ihara dropped himself down beside Ishigaki on the futon.
“I don’t mind.”
“Your humility makes me feel bad sometimes, Tsuji-kun,” Ihara sighed while he set down the box and started to get his things together. He put down his small pipe and a mostly empty cheap lighter beside it. He then opened the small black box and picked out a sandwich bag, which was a third of the way full of weed.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, that makes it worse!”
Both Ishigaki and Ihara laughed just a little while Ihara picked up the pipe and started to stuff some weed in. Ishigaki leaned against the wall and watched him, Tsuji checked his phone while he waited. They usually came over Ihara’s house to do this kind of thing, though they would just hang out there at times as well. Ihara’s parents worked later and more often so his house was usually the best place to go and relax together. They had gone to Tsuji’s a few times, and Ishigaki’s as well, but they weren’t usually the best for the sort of thing they were doing now.
However, Ishigaki made sure that they didn’t smoke too often. He knew it was important not to damage their lungs, as cyclists it would be terrible to overdo it and hurt themselves. He enjoyed the occasional time to relax and have fun with his friends, though, and he prefered to be there while Tsuji and Ihara smoked anyway. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, but… Ihara could get a bit out of hand, and Tsuji wasn’t always aware enough to stop him.
Once Ihara had the pipe filled to his liking, he fetched his lighter and gave it a few test flicks to make sure it still worked. When a flame sprung up he quickly let go of the button and brought the pipe to his mouth.
“I’ll get it started- it’s called Hawaiian, so it might taste different.”
“Hawaiian?”
“Like pineapple.” Ihara flicked the lighter a few times to bring the flame back and made sure to tip his head away; he had learned pretty quick to be careful from the one time he had burnt his own hair. With the practiced skill he had, however, Ihara easily brought the lighter to the end of the pipe and inhaled. The small bits of plant briefly caught fire under the lighter, Ihara’s fingers twitched around the body of the pipe as he tried not to burn his fingers with the small tool. After just a moment of holding his pose, however, he brought both things down and let out a breath towards the window, thin with white smoke.
“...I don’t taste anything.” Ihara scratched his head and passed off the pipe and lighter to Tsuji.
“We just started, it might take a few.”
Tsuji went and took a puff next, easily lighting the finicky lighter over the small pipe. He let out a slightly fuller breath of smoke before passing over the warm pipe to Ishigaki. The smell of weed was just becoming apparent in the air, though Ishigaki couldn’t smell any pineapple like Ihara had said. Disregarding this, he lit the burnt weed in the end of the pipe and inhaled slowly. He could tell then that it had truly began to light when he felt the burn in the back of his throat. He held off for a few seconds, long enough to take down the lighter and pipe before he exhaled. It ended in a cough, with a much thicker cloud of smoke escaping his mouth.
“Woo! You’ve finally got it going, haha!” Ihara laughed as Ishigaki covered his mouth and tried to recover from the heavy toke. His face split into a grin as he wiped his face on his arm.
“S-Sorry, I didn’t expect that.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, pass it back to me.”
Ishigaki handed over the pipe and lighter and Ihara went on to light up again. He took long drags on the pipe, the charred pieces in the end burned and receded with his deep breath in. He took the pipe down and let out a rather impressive cloud of smoke over head, only to stifle a small cough with his arm.
“Heh- I can taste a bit of that Hawaiian now. Weird!”
He handed the pipe off to Tsuji, but kept the lighter. He motioned for Tsuji to lean in so he could light the end for him and Tsuji complied without hesitation. He took careful breaths while Ihara held the lit lighter over the end, Ishigaki watched and let himself relax against the wall. He cracked open his can of bepsi and drank some to try and soothe his throat.
Tsuji exhaled smoke, Ihara had already began to giggle.
“You’re always so good at this, Tsuji-kun.”
“You’re the one holding the lighter.”
Tsuji handed over the pipe to Ishigaki who set his bepsi down on the floor beside the bed. Ihara used the lighter for him this time as well; Ishigaki leaned in with a hand on the bed to close the distance. He breathed in the smoke for just a few seconds before he leaned away again and let it out towards the window. The pot had really began to burn now, creating a thick white smoke with every toke.
By the time they had passed the pipe around a fourth time, Ishigaki started to feel the usual relaxation come on. He sipped bepsi with his shoulder against the wall and watched Tsuji light the end of the pipe for Ihara, his thin fingers holding the lighter and his other hand on Ihara’s knee to keep his balance. When Tsuji pulled back, Ihara lingered on the pipe for just a few seconds more before he took it down. He let the breath out through his nose in two puffs of smoke, but broke halfway because he laughed. Ishigaki couldn’t help but laugh along as Ihara coughed and smiled.
“Haha- I think I can smell the neighbors using the barbeque already!”
“You can’t smell anything like that, Ihara.” Ishigaki shook his head but smiled back as Tsuji took the pipe. Ihara let himself flop against the wall lazily, leaving Tsuji to light his own pipe while he sighed.
“I can smell things just fine! I only blew it out my nose one time so far- makes my nostrils feel weird.” Ihara sniffed and rubbed his nose with a foolish grin, Ishigaki couldn’t help another chuckle. Tsuji blew smoke towards the window while Ihara lazily went digging through his box again to restock their pipe. Ishigaki took it from Tsuji and waited for Ihara to get out another small bunch of pot. Ihara leaned and flopped on his side while holding it so he could grab his bedside garbage can, nearly dumping its contents on the floor. He straightened back up and offered it out to Ishigaki. Ishigaki tapped the ashes out into the garbage, but then took the can from him.
“Eh? Stealing my garbage…?”
“You’re going to knock it over at this rate, you’ll never get the ash out of your carpet,” Ishigaki muttered and set it down behind himself. Ihara giggled in response and didn’t fight, instead he slipped the new bunch into the end of the pipe in Ishigaki’s hand. Ishigaki got the lighter from Tsuji while Ihara went looking for his can of bepsi.
“You’re too smart for your own good, Ishiyan…”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
Ihara watched Ishigaki as he carefully dabbed the flame of the lighter over the fresh plant to let it catch fire. Ihara leaned with his forearms on his knees and watched Ishigaki take steady breaths with the pipe; his tired eyes still showed interest, paired with his lazy smirk.
“You’re a real smart guy.”
Ishigaki brought the pipe down when he felt his throat start to burn. He exhaled with a few coughs, waving his free hand in front of his face to clear the smoke.
“You- You just say that whenever we do this.”
“I say it other times, too!” Ihara defended with a slight huff. He took the pipe back, Ishigaki kept the lighter so he could light it for him. Ihara stuck the end to his lips and still mumbled while Ishigaki fumbled with the lighter. “I give you lots of compliments, Ishiyan- not just ‘cause I’m baked.”
“You do, Ihara-kun, don’t worry.”
Ihara took a deep breath, Ishigaki watched the plant burn and Ihara’s lungs slowly expand. He brought the pipe down and Ishigaki took away the lighter, but Ihara motioned for him to get closer again. With a questioning look, Ishigaki leaned in, and Ihara slowly let out the smoke in Ishigaki’s face. Ishigaki inched back in surprise, but Ihara laughed half way through his exhale and slapped his shoulder.
“C’mon! It’s called sharing, Ishiyan!”
“You have to warn me beforehand, you’re full of surprises…” Ishigaki blushed just slightly but let Ihara pass off the pipe to Tsuji. Tsuji seemed skeptical as he watched the two of them and took the pipe to his lips; Ishigaki could tell that he was getting tired fast, too. Tsuji was the kind of guy to curl up and sleep after a few tokes, unlike himself and Ihara, who were usually too busy eating or laughing at something.
Tsuji played along, however. Ishigaki lit the end of the pipe and waited for Tsuji to take a long, deep breath before he took the lighter away. Tsuji leaned towards Ihara who met him in the middle, their faces just a few inches apart. Tsuji breathed out the smoke in Ihara’s face who breathed it in, only to break off halfway and sit back.
“You’re weird, Ihara-kun-”
Ihara blew the smoke out to the side, “Eh? Eh? It worked though!” Ihara laughed and Ishigaki swore he could see a slight tint to Tsuji’s hollow cheeks. Tsuji passed him the pipe while rubbing under his nose with a few fingers, Ishigaki took it and lit it up for himself. After a good deep breath, he motioned for Ihara to come closer and leaned in. Ihara readily leaned in as well and Ishigaki blew smoke into his mouth. Ihara’s face was pretty close to his own, but Ishigaki stood firm until he was out of breath. He leaned back and watched Ihara hold his lungful of smoke for just a few seconds before letting it out towards the window. He pushed his hair behind his ear and grinned.
“Ishiyan! That’s how it’s done- You get better at this stuff every time-”
Ishigaki laughed, “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”
“It’s a fun thing, in the very least!”
Ishigaki handed over the pipe and lighter to Ihara. He took a toke and blew it in Tsuji’s general direction teasingly, though Tsuji gave him nothing more than a slight roll of his eyes. Tsuji took his turn next, but to Ishigaki’s surprise, he beckoned Ishigaki forward after taking down the pipe. Ishigaki scooted forward on the futon slightly so he could lean forward properly and accept the smoke. Tsuji narrowed his tired eyes slightly in concentration as he breathed out into Ishigaki’s mouth, then leaned back. Ishigaki leaned away as well and tipped his head back to let the smoke out towards the ceiling. He was definitely starting to feel high.
“Haha… man.”
“What?” Ishigaki looked Ihara’s way when he spoke. Ihara stared at him for a few seconds, his smile soon dropped.
“...I can’t remember.”
The both of them broke out into small giggles. While Ihara and Ishigaki were preoccupied, though, they didn’t notice Tsuji slowly sinking down beside him.
“Alright gimme that, we’re done after this one- Hey, oi, Tsuji!”
It was too late. Tsuji was already lying on the floor beside the bed, facing away from them, the pipe and lighter left on the edge of the futon. Ihara straightened out a leg so he could nudge Tsuji’s lower back, Tsuji grunted at him.
“Don’t go to sleep there! You’re on the floor!”
“Mmhh…” Tsuji ignored him and didn’t move an inch. Ishigaki shook his head in fake dismay.
“It’s too late for him, Ihara-kun…”
“Shit.” Ihara watched Tsuji’s broad shoulders for a few seconds, his brows slightly furrowed. He soon leaned to the side and yanked something out from under himself- a pillow- then tossed it in a gentle ark to Tsuji. When it landed on his head Tsuji flinched, but then slowly grabbed it and moved it to be under his head.
“Goodnight, Tsuji-kun.”
A few muffled sounds answered Ihara that Ishigaki couldn’t discern as words. Tsuji sunk into the floor again and relaxed. Ihara and Ishigaki watched him for a few moments before Ihara broke in with another giggle.
“That pillow was under my ass for a while- he doesn’t even care.”
“You were the one who handed it to him, Ihara. Shame on you,” Ishigaki muttered his light hearted scolding and listened to Ihara laugh more. Ihara finally took the pipe and the small box then tried to stand up.
“Alright- I think we’re done. Tsuji-kun’s definitely done.”
“Yeah, I’m finished.” Ishigaki nodded and rubbed his cheek. He couldn’t say that he would be against taking a nap, too, but he wasn't sure what Ihara had planned. Ihara somehow managed to stumble his way to his feet, one hand on the wall, before he made way over to his desk and put his supplies away. When he turned around again, he was armed with the aforementioned bottle of cologne.
“I don’t think my parents will be home soon- but better safe than sorry.” Ihara stood in the middle of the room, next to Tsuji’s legs, and began to spray the air. The cologne came out as a watery and not-as-effective mist, but it seemed to do the job; The job being mix badly with barely-hawaiian scented weed smoke. Ihara gave Tsuji a small sprits for good measures, Ishigaki let out a breathy laugh.
“That should do it. My parents don’t know what weed smells like anyway.” Ihara set the cologne on his small night stand before he trampled back up onto the bed, narrowly missing Tsuji’s legs on his way over. He dropped himself back down with a sigh, Ishigaki leaned against the wall and watched him.
“Man, I’m pretty fucking beat too. Practice today was hard…”
“We barely did anything we don’t usually do.” Ishigaki smirked and watched Ihara slouch further against the wall. His cheek squished against it and his eyes were already shut, he scratched his head and mumbled something Ishigaki couldn’t make out. Ihara’s hand moved to fish through the pocket of his uniform pants while Ishigaki finished off the rest of his bepsi.
“...Ishiyan?”
Ishigaki took a sip, “Hm?”
“Wanna watch a show with me?” Ihara held up his phone with a hopeful glint in his tired eyes. Ishigaki thought on it as he set down the empty can next to the futon; he wasn't usually interested in the kind of stuff that Ihara watched, but it wasn't like they were bad. Ishigaki soon gave a tentative nod and was met with a big grin
“Just keep it quiet so we don't wake up Tsuji.”
“Yes! Come here, I have headphones.” Ihara scooted himself back so he sat at the head of the bed, leaving enough space for Ishigaki to sit at his side. Ishigaki obediently took the space and crawled over, sitting down between Ihara and the wall. Ihara leaned and picked up a set of earbuds from his bedside table and in only about a minute he had found something for them to watch. He gave Ishigaki an earbud that he put in and the two watched Ihara's phone screen that he held in his lap. Ihara's thicker thigh was pushed against Ishigaki’s, their shoulders against one another.
They sat slumped together watching Ihara’s small phone screen, Ishigaki listened to the show with one ear and could hear Tsuji’s soft, uneven snores with the other. Ihara finished off his bepsi within the first few minutes of sitting together then tossed the empty can towards his garbage can, only for it to miss. Ihara muttered something about getting it later before he adjusted how he sat. He let one arm come behind Ishigaki’s so they weren’t shoulder to shoulder, Ishigaki glanced sideways to him as Ihara shifted. Ihara suddenly dropped his chin onto Ishigaki’s shoulder, then let out a long sigh.
Ishigaki grunted, “What are you doing?”
“Your shoulder is too boney, Ishiyan…”
“Your chin is boney, too.”
“Whaaat? No, my whole face is pretty soft.” Ihara gave his own cheek a light slap with his free hand as proof. Ishigaki reached up and poked him in the face, Ihara squirmed.
“Hey-”
“Your face is soft, I guess.”
“It is!” Ihara kept his voice down but happily agreed with him. Ihara got himself comfortable again- this time with his head still resting on Ishigaki’s shoulder- and continued to watch his show. Ishigaki didn't mind this too much, though Ihara's hair was tickling his neck. He decided to ignore it and relax as well; he was comfortable even with Ihara leaning on him. He shut his eyes lightly and just listened to the show playing on Ihara's phone. He could smell the neighbors starting to barbeque like Ihara had predicted, carried in on the cool breeze and just under all the cologne Ihara had sprayed. It was a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere, he understood how Tsuji could always fall asleep in Ihara’s room so easily…
Ishigaki’s stomach growled. His eyes popped open and Ihara snorted beside him.
“I heard that-”
“S-Sorry, sorry.” Ishigaki patted his own stomach while Ihara sat up. Ishigaki’s headphone fell out, but Ihara was already coiling them up and paused their show.
“It’s all good- let's go get some snacks before we doze off like Tsuji-kun over there.”
“Ah- thanks…”
“It's no problem!”