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He watched his teammate try on one ‘dumb’ headband after the other as he continued to question why he was spending the day with Hakone’s most annoying at a trinket shop.
They barely even talked. Aside from the usual Toudou pestering him about the most useless of things and Arakita telling him to shut up, there was nothing. It was enough of a surprise Toudou had his number, let alone the other boy calling him out to meet up.
He thought that maybe he was just that bored out of his mind, or maybe the cold got to his head.
Or maybe that text was meant for someone else…
It was too late for trying to decipher the situation now that he’d allowed this to happen to himself.
He just wanted the day to be over and for Toudou to ‘fucking pick a headband already’.
It’s not like he needed any more of those anyway. Arakita didn’t understand why he had so many or why he thought they made him look good.
He thought he looked better without them, but he also understood how having your hair all over your face could mess up your cycling so maybe wearing one while training was okay.
Wait…
He thought what?
No, he couldn’t think of his teammate like that! Especially not Toudou! He could do whatever he wanted with himself and still look like ‘shit’. The way his bangs would lightly fall over his forehead after being held up by his headband for so long and how he’d ruffle through them to make them look even better. How his skin stayed so perfectly tanned even after receiving multiple beatings from Hakone’s harsh sunlight. Not to mention the way his eyes would glisten when he climbed. No, it didn’t really matter whether he was climbing or not. As long as he was on a road racer, his eyes would gleam with how much he enjoyed cycling. That was what made Toudou Jinpachi truly beautiful.
… What was wrong with him today, Arakita wondered. ‘Must be the shitty weather.’
“Arakita, doesn’t this look cute!” Toudou interrupts the other’s trail of thought as he tries on another headband, this time with cat ears.
Nobody knew any of Arakita’s weaknesses. Nobody knew how much he’d invest himself emotionally when it came to cats. Nobody knew anything about him, especially not this guy.
So then why.
Why did he feel so taunted by this boy who ‘innocently’ asked him if a stupid headband looked good on him or not. How could it get so warm in such a short amount of time when he was just complaining to himself about how ‘fucking’ cold it was that day and why couldn’t he look at him.
He couldn’t look at Toudou.
“Tsk, just pick one already!” Arakita finally manages to reply as he turns his head away, attempting to regulate his heart rate that he seemed to have lost control of.
“Hey, look at me when I’m talking to you!” Toudou says as he takes a few steps ahead of the other, locking his eyes onto his face.
Usually when he was being persistent, the ruder of the two would berate the whinier one with one of his snarky comebacks, but right now there wasn’t anything.
What happens when someone’s face reddens and you’re positive it isn’t just a fluke? Sometimes Arakita’s face would redden after long hours of Fukutomi’s training regimen. Other than vigorous exercise, he never really saw color seep through Arakita’s cheeks before.
Toudou never really saw Arakita look so embarrassed before.
“I’ll be outside.”
A slight movement of his lips that muffled his words followed by large swift strides towards the store’s exit was all he did in response, leaving Toudou to think about what just happened.
What did just happen?…
He could still feel Arakita’s warmth in the air around him as he stood there staring at the exit.