Work Text:
“Jirou? Are you ready now?”
“Yes, yes- I’m coming, don’t worry.”
Finally, Sakuma hurried to walk out and close the door behind him, quickly stuffing his phone in his pocket as he rushed to Genda's side and took his hand.
“Took you long enough.”
“Shut up.” Sakuma couldn’t help himself from very maturely sticking his tongue out at him. Genda just rolled his eyes, already used to this, just carefully intertwining their fingers as they started walking.
It was a simple and small festival, but a very much welcome break from the stress and worries of school and practice. As soon as they found out it was held during a weekend, the decision of going wasn’t hard. They did spend the last few days studying for tests and so on- and it was harder than it looked like for them both, Genda needing to try his hardest just to get through the various homework and exercises and Sakuma having to make sure it would all get through his thick skull. They had earned their break for sure.
They didn’t take much longer to finally reach the festival, the noise and scent of food already in the air. The crowd wasn’t too big yet, perfect to just walk around and take a look.
“So… what first?”
Genda thought about it for a moment.
“Food?”
Sakuma should’ve seen that coming.
“Fine- let’s go look at the food.” He had to try really hard to keep himself from smiling when he looked at Genda's grin. He also failed- not like he minded much.
A few minutes later, and the happy couple walked away from the food stalls, Sakuma munching on his takoyaki while Genda happily ate his yakisoba, trying to be as careful as possible to keep stains off his shirt.
It felt… nice. Peaceful. Just being able to walk around and do nothing but enjoy their time together, not having to think about anything else. They didn’t have to worry about their next test or an oncoming match, they didn’t have to think about their mistakes or their injuries or how to keep running the team in the perfect way they were expected to.
They could just be themselves, just two boys in love with nothing else to think about. They could be happy like that. Sakuma couldn’t have wanted anything else more than that.
Then, he felt a tug on his paper plate. Frowning, he looked at it… only to find Genda shamelessly stabbing a chopstick into his takoyaki.
Sakuma stared at him. Genda stared back. Before he could say anything, Genda snatched the takoyaki from his plate and bit into it, even when it should still be too hot for that- either sheer bravery or stupidity, Sakuma couldn’t tell, he just pouted and glared at him. Genda definitely wasn’t sorry.
“You could’ve asked.”
Genda just stuffed the other half of the takoyaki into his mouth. Sakuma kept staring before finally sighing no one arguing now anyways.
“… I’ll win you a penguin as a sorry.”
“… Deal.”
Not like it was too hard, just a matter of finding the right game and Genda would breeze through it. It almost felt like cheating, but well- if he kept getting penguins out of it he didn’t really have a reason to complain or ask Genda to stop.
With the new, soft penguin safe in his hands, the smile was right back on Sakuma's face. There went another one for the collection- a green penguin might be a little bit weird, but hey, it would fit his goal of getting a rainbow of penguins just fine.
“Alright, I guess you’re forgiven now.”
Genda could barely hold back a laugh.
Time passed by faster than either of them expected between games, food and laughter, the last rays of sun disappearing under the horizon, the golden tint of the afternoon soon fading and letting the deep blues and purples of the cold night take over. It was a clear night, no clouds in sight, the sky littered with stars. With not much else left to do, they settled for taking a break from walking around and taking a seat, finding a nice bench away from the crowd. It wasn’t exactly quiet, but it was already so much better than all the loud music and voices.
Just the two of them.
As soon as Genda sat down, Sakuma scooted a bit closer to him, already resting his head on his shoulder. He didn’t need to ask anymore, they had gotten used to this kind of intimacy, to sharing gentle touches and kind affection whenever it was possible. Genda didn’t hesitate to put an arm around his shoulders and hold him a bit closer, his smile now soft as he glanced at him.
It was their own way to say ‘I love you’, even without speaking. They didn’t need to exchange any words to say it.
Soon, the fireworks started, fizzling in the air and then turning into a burst of light and colors.
They watched with wide eyes and bright smiles as the night sky was filled with the colors of that new spectacle, the perfect way to end such a magical night.
Then, Genda gently brushed Sakuma's cheek with his free hand, slipping it under his chin to tilt it up, smiling as soon as that simple gesture tinted his cheeks red. Neither of them said anything else, just leaned in to share that soft, gentle kiss under the fireworks. It was all they needed.