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It had been Fuji’s idea, that much was for certain. Barely a week ago, Fuji had said, “We should go to the beach” and “Saeki knows the owner of a hotel in Chiba”. No one knew exactly what happened, but Coach Ryuuzaki had announced a training camp at the beach a few days ago, all the while holding magazines filled with swimsuit models and Japanese beaches.
Now, as the Seigaku regulars were trying to pass time on the bus ride, Fuji sat in the back with Kawamura and looked entirely too pleased with himself. Echizen shifted around in his seat trying to find a comfortable position and failing miserably, which only made him crankier. It didn't help that it was early in the morning and traffic was heavy on the roads. Momoshiro was fast asleep, his face smushed against the window and drool coming out the corner of his mouth.
“How much longer?” Echizen asked, arms crossed.
“Twenty-five point six kilometers left,” Inui replied immediately from the seat in front. Echizen fought back the urge to roll his eyes.
“Don’t you like the beach, Echizen?” Fuji asked with that infuriating smirk on his face.
“I don’t hate it. But the last time I went, I almost suffocated to death because granny and Oji decided to sit on my face.” It was an experience he did not wish to relive.
Momoshiro murmured something that sounded like “no tennis in my burger.” Echizen stood and made his way to the front of the bus. He plopped himself down on the empty seat next to Tezuka.
“Captain, we need a plan,” Echizen said, “because there’s no way I’m losing against some old geezers at volleyball again.”
Tezuka nodded in understanding, the corner of his mouth twitching as he dreadfully remembered becoming the coach’s priority seat. “We are going to practice tennis, not beach volleyball,” Tezuka said.
“We were supposed to just have fun last time,” Echizen reminded him. “Are you really willing to take that risk?”
“…Let’s keep our guard up,” Tezuka said. There were some things experienced in life that bonded people together. Getting squished underneath old people's butts was apparently one of those things.
Echizen smiled, feeling victorious for that small moment. There was no guarantee the two of them would even be placed on the same team together again, but that was a detail for another time.
The humidity was awful, like a weight on their tired shoulders and it was the last thing Echizen wanted to put up with. It was hot and buggy and Echizen wandered off to find a vending machine as soon as the bus pulled up in front of the hotel. He found one soon enough, inserted his coin and kicked the machine a few times until a can spilled out. The Ponta was delightfully cold and Echizen pressed the can against his forehead with a sigh.
He gulped half the Ponta in one go. He leaned back against a nearby bench, pulling his cap lower to keep the sun out of his eyes. The beach was close. Seagulls were squawking annoyingly and the air smelled like salt.
When he returned to the bus, the rest of his team and their luggage was gone. Echizen grabbed his bag and made his way in the hotel. He found Fuji there, chatting with Coach Ryuuzaki over what sounded like room arrangements.
“Ah, there you are Echizen!” Coach Ryuuzaki walked over and dropped a key card into Echizen’s palm. “Your room’s on the third floor. The team’s already up there.”
“Thanks,” Echizen said.
Fuji waved goodbye to their coach and joined Echizen on the elevator.
"The weather's nice," Fuji said. "My cacti will like this heat."
Echizen didn't even want to know why Fuji had bothered bringing his plants with him. Echizen took a sip of his Ponta.
"I do hope you'll enjoy your room. Saeki said he booked some with great views," Fuji continued.
The elevator stopped on the third floor. Echizen stepped out. Fuji remained in place.
“Aren’t you coming, Fuji-senpai?”
“Kawamura and I are sharing the penthouse suite,” Fuji said with a little wave as the elevators doors shut closed.
Oh. So that’s what this whole beach training camp thing was about, Echizen thought as he roamed the hall looking for his room. He didn’t know if he felt happy or afraid for Kawamura’s sake. Fuji was one of those people Echizen would never want to have as an enemy.
He found his room with the door already open. Tezuka was inside, unpacking his luggage and folding his pants into a drawer. Echizen dropped his bag in the doorway.
“I took the bed near the window. I hope you don’t mind,” Tezuka said.
This was… Echizen felt like he had stepped into uncharted territory. He was going to share a room with the Captain. He was going to see Tezuka sleep. Wait… did Tezuka even sleep? Echizen had never imagined Tezuka sleeping before. In his mind, Tezuka was always standing with his arms crossed and his eyes vigilant. Tezuka probably slept with his eyes open.
Okay, that was a creepy thought. Echizen shook his head. “Yeah, that’s fine,” he said and went to lie down on the bed near the wardrobe. He surveyed the room for a bit, taking in the ugly beige walls, the TV on the wall, and the small bathroom in the corner, before turning his attention back to Tezuka.
Watching Tezuka hang his shirts turned out to be boring. Echizen went to the balcony, sliding the doors open and letting the sea salt wind wash over him. Fuji really did get some nice rooms. The view was pretty good, only partially covered by trees. Echizen could see the sea on the horizon. Looking down, he spotted the tennis courts.
Right. Training camp. Of course the hotel would have tennis courts. Tennis balls didn’t bounce too well on sand.
“Echizen!” Momoshiro called out. Echizen looked around, confused for several seconds until he saw Momoshiro waving frantically at him from the balcony next door. “These rooms are pretty sweet, huh? But why did Fuji-senpai have to put me in the same room as Mamushi?”
“Dunno,” Echizen said with a shrug. “Go ask him.”
“N-Nah, I’ll pass,” Momoshiro said sheepishly. “Hey, wanna go down to the beach? Coach said we'll only have the tennis courts tonight after supper.”
“Sure, let’s go.” He ran back inside and rummaged through his luggage for his swimsuit. He had to dump half his clothes on the floor before he finally found it. “Captain, me and Momo-chan-senpai are going to the beach. We’ll be back for supper.”
Tezuka nodded and shot a glance at the mess of clothes Echizen had left on the floor.
“Uh… I’ll pick it up later.”
“If you say so.” Tezuka sounded almost doubtful.
“I will!” Echizen insisted. As he stood in the doorway, Echizen felt a nagging guilt in the back of his mind that he was sure was Tezuka’s fault. Echizen sighed and returned to his room, hastily cramming all his clothes back in the luggage. “There, done.”
“Echizen, be mindful of your environment and act accordingly,” Tezuka said. “Go and don’t be careless.”
What the hell did that even mean? The captain was always so stern, Echizen thought as he joined Momoshiro outside. One would think he had just sent Echizen off to war instead of the beach.
The beach consisted of building an enormous sandcastle, which immediately got destroyed the second Kaidou joined them and started fighting with Momo. Kikumaru was flailing around in the water, shouting at everyone to come swim. And Fuji had attached himself to Kawamura’s arm like a life-sucking leech.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad afternoon. Anything beat having a volleyball tournament like last time.
They had supper at the hotel. Their sandals, swimsuits and hair were covered in so much sand they left a bunch of it on the dining hall floor. Other tourists and the hotel staff glared at them in contempt, unhappy to see a bunch of loud teenage boys having fun.
By the time tennis practice came around, they were all exhausted and not in the mood to play. That didn't stop Coach Ryuuzaki and Captain Tezuka from pushing the team harder than ever and demanding laps whenever one of them made an error. Echizen played his matches without complaints, even after his shoulder and back began hurting. When he took a break between matches, Echizen sat back and winced at how painfully his skin prickled. He rolled up his sleeve, finding his shoulder hot and tomato-red.
Echizen grimaced. He was sure his mother had packed him sunscreen but he hadn't even thought about putting some on before spending an entire day out in the sun.
As soon as practice was over, Echizen ran up to his room, stripped himself of his clothes and ran a cold shower. The water hitting his sunburned skin hurt at first but slowly worked to cool him down. He wrapped a towel around himself and exited the bathroom. Tezuka was on his bed, engrossed in a book and not at all looking like he had just spent hours playing tennis.
“All yours,” Echizen said. Tezuka snapped his book shut and locked himself in the bathroom. Echizen heard the shower running a minute later. Echizen went to his own bed, careful to lie down on his stomach, cringing at how sensitive his back and shoulders were.
This was awful. The beach was a terrible cursed place and Echizen never wanted to go back.
Echizen was still in the same place when Tezuka exited the shower. No position seemed to be comfortable. Half his body was red and burning from every slightest touch. Echizen buried his face into his pillow and groaned.
“Did you forget your sunscreen?” Tezuka asked from somewhere behind him.
“No. Yes. I dunno. My mom packed for me. I forgot to check,” Echizen admitted. He heard a drawer open and close. “I know, I know, Captain… I was careless, I let my guard down. You don’t need to tell me.”
The mattress tilted as Tezuka sat on the edge of the bed. Something cold and wet landed on his back and Echizen nearly jumped up. “Stay still,” Tezuka said. Echizen craned his head, seeing Tezuka holding a bottle in hand.
“It’ll help the burn,” Tezuka explained.
The first touches stung, but slowly the lotion began feeling nice and cool on his back. Tezuka rubbed gently, putting very little pressure on his sensitive back while simultaneously ensuring every inch of the burn was covered. Tezuka’s touches became surer along his upper back, rubbing into tension-filled muscles.
Echizen felt his eyelids drooping. It felt really good.
Really good.
“You’re skilled at this,” Echizen slurred. Tezuka worked on his shoulders, rubbing the stiffness out of the joints.
“Years of physiotherapy can teach you some techniques,” Tezuka replied curtly, digging his thumbs into Echizen's shoulder.
“That’s good. At least if your career as a tennis pro doesn’t work out, then you’ll have a promising future as a masseur,” Echizen said. That made Tezuka pause for a second. “Uh, that was a joke. You’ll be a great tennis player one day, so don’t worry about it.”
“I know what a joke is, Echizen,” Tezuka said.
Well that was embarrassing. It was hard to tell if Tezuka found jokes funny or not. He had never seen Tezuka laugh at a joke before. Was that because Tezuka found no jokes funny, or did people just not tell jokes around him? Echizen pondered it as Tezuka spread the lotion on his remaining shoulder.
“It’s done,” Tezuka said, re-capping his bottle. “Try to stay in this position.”
Echizen realized at that moment that he was still naked and covered by nothing but a towel around his waist. He could feel a blush rise on his face, not sure where the sudden self-consciousness came from. “Uh… how long do I have to stay like this?”
“As long as possible.”
That was not specific at all, Echizen thought with dread. He huffed, temporarily surrendering all movements. Tezuka went to wash his hands and then he was back to reading the same book as before. Echizen tried wiggling around but Tezuka seemed to shoot him these looks that said don’t move each time Echizen tried inching off the bed.
This was going to be a long night.
Despite Echizen declaring that the beach was his eternal enemy, he ended up back there the next day.
An empty volleyball net stood by a few feet away. The team stopped and stared at it, as if they were all suddenly experiencing a flashback. No one mentioned the volleyball net. They all went off in their own directions, all of them pretending the net didn’t exist.
Good. That meant today was not the day they would once again be traumatized with volleyball and Inui Juice.
Today Tezuka joined them at the beach, perched underneath a parasol with a beach towel, a book, and Oishi sitting next to him. He paused when Echizen walked by, his eyes darting up from his page. Tezuka was wearing regular old shorts and a t-shirt, not even a swimsuit. Clearly Tezuka did not understand the concept of going to the beach.
“Echizen!” Oishi lept up. “Tezuka told me how you forgot your sunscreen yesterday, so here I brought some for you.” Oishi pointed at the tube next to his bag. “Remember, you need to put some on every four hours! I also brought lunch and water bottles. Make sure you stay well-hydrated, Echizen. Also be careful not to go swimming at least half an hour after you eat.”
“I know,” Echizen flushed red in embarrassment, “…senpai,” he added afterwards. He glared at Tezuka as if to say I hope you’re happy. “I already put on my sunscreen.” He ran off quickly. Why did they always treat him like a kid? He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself without his senpai's help.
He sat on the sand, at the edge of the water. The waves would wash up, back and forth, occasionally brushing against Echizen’s toes. He didn’t get too much peace as Momo and Eiji found him minutes later and threw him into the ocean. They spent the morning and half of the afternoon there, playing on the beach until there was so much sand in their swimsuits that it hurt to walk.
Tennis practice was better. Echizen could feel the skin on his back peeling, but at least it hurt a lot less than it had the day before. Tezuka pushed them as hard as ever, as if to make up for the fact that the team spent the rest of the day goofing off. Echizen was utterly exhausted by the time he returned to his hotel room with Tezuka trailing close behind him.
“You can shower first,” Echizen said. Tezuka vanished into the washroom and the sound of running water could be heard seconds later. Echizen dug through his luggage for a fresh shirt, dumping the top of his sweaty Seigaku uniform on the floor next to his sand-soaked swimsuit.
Tezuka was freakishly neat, Echizen discovered from looking at the Tezuka’s half of the room. His clothes were all hidden away in drawers and his bed was made. His toiletries were organized in a line on his bedside table; sunscreen, a case for his glasses, a journal, some cream for his shoulder, the moisturizer he had used on Echizen’s back…
Echizen paused. Would Tezuka touch his back again today…? Maybe he would. That thought made Echizen swallow thickly and his gut twisted in anticipation. Remembering it now was a little embarrassing... even if it had felt nice. Tezuka’s hands had felt really good; they were careful yet insistent, adding pressure in the right places and rubbing the tension out of him.
It was suddenly very hot in the room, despite the whirring sound that indicated the air conditioning was on.
Tezuka emerged from the shower rubbing a towel over his damp hair. He wore fresh trousers but his torso was bare. Echizen cocked his head, as if that would somehow help him make more sense of what he was seeing and why it was making his stomach flutter weirdly.
“Echizen.”
Echizen jumped up. “Y-Yes captain?”
“The bathroom is yours.”
“Oh yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking.” Echizen grabbed his towel and headed for the washroom. He paused in the doorway and took another glance. “I never realized it, but you have a good body, huh captain?”
Tezuka paused, as if uncertain of how to reply to that. He finally answered with, “… I suppose.”
“It’s not too much muscle, but still really lean and solid,” Echizen continued. “I guess it makes sense, since you play so much tennis.”
“I suppose.”
“It’s nice,” Echizen said and managed not to turn red before he locked himself in the washroom.
Tezuka didn’t touch him that night. Actually, Tezuka hardly spared a glance at him. All Tezuka said was a short “Good night” before shutting off the lights and rolling around so Echizen couldn’t see him. Disappointment washed over Echizen like a wave. Echizen felt his back prickling as he tried and failed to fall asleep.
“Tezuka is acting strange,” Fuji commented.
Echizen wasn’t sure when Fuji had showed up at his breakfast table. Probably because Echizen had been looking down at his own plate and picking at it all morning.
“He looks the same to me,” Echizen said. Tezuka was at the other table with Oishi and Inui, his face the same stone brick wall as always.
Fuji’s eyes opened for a brief second. “No. Something’s off,” he insisted.
Echizen shrugged. “Whatever you say, Fuji-senpai.” He pushed his plate away, deciding that he wasn’t hungry after all. “I’m gonna go find a tennis court.” Tennis was good. Tennis would take his mind of this.
“You shouldn’t be too upset with Tezuka,” Fuji said. “He’s not very good at expressing himself.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Isn’t Kawamura-senpai waiting for you or something?”
Fuji smirked in a way that made Echizen feel like Fuji could read his mind and knew all his secrets.
“Don’t be angry at me. I thought I was doing you both a favour by putting you in the same room,” Fuji said.
What was that supposed to mean? Echizen would have loved some Ponta to sweeten up what was looking to be a sour day, but Inui had shoved three milk bottles in front of him and insisted Echizen finish them for breakfast. Echizen wasn’t sure if someone could die from calcium overdose, but it felt like he might be headed in that direction at this rate.
He downed the last of his milk and went off to the tennis courts. His hopes were quickly dashed the second he got there: the tennis courts were taken by senior citizen doing their morning exercise. Even if he really wanted to play, beating some old ladies at tennis would bring him very little joy. Echizen ended up kicking rocks and twirling his racket in his hand to kill time.
On his way back in the hotel, he bumped into Tezuka.
Echizen took one look at the racket in Tezuka’s hand and said, “Don’t bother. The courts are off limits to anyone under fifty.”
Tezuka stopped. “Ah… what a shame.”
“They might let you in though,” Echizen said and immediately regretted it. “That was a joke. You know, because you look older and... nevermind.” The last thing he needed was to make a bigger fool of himself in front of his captain.
“Yes, I understood your joke.”
“Yeah.” Echizen pulled his cap lower over his eyes.
Damn, this was so unlike him. Just yesterday he had been fine telling Tezuka exactly what he thought of the other’s appearance, and today he could hardly say a sentence to him. This was all the captain's fault. If Tezuka had given him a decent response, even a simple rejection, Echizen could have worked with it and carried on. All Tezuka had replied with was an “I suppose”. Echizen had absolutely no clue what that response meant and the ambiguousness of it was driving him nuts.
“Captain, hold on a second,” Echizen said. Tezuka looked at him expectantly. Echizen wanted to bite the inside of his cheek. “About what I said yesterday, I didn’t mean to make anything weird between us.”
“You didn’t,” Tezuka said after a thoughtful second. “Your compliment was simply unexpected.”
Again, it was hard to understand what Tezuka was thinking. Tezuka wasn’t outright rejecting Echizen’s comments, nor had he indicated any form of acceptance either. Echizen was at a standstill, as if he were playing a match with an equally skilled opponent and waiting for a fault, anything that would allow him to proceed in one direction or the other.
Echizen hadn’t played his best, but he had served and now the ball was in Tezuka’s court.
“Yeah, I guess I did kinda spring it on you.” Echizen scratched the back of his neck. “So, uh…”
“I didn’t mind it,” Tezuka finally said. He looked almost bashful for a second. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I will check on the tennis courts after all.”
Echizen stood there staring at Tezuka’s retreating back, flabbergasted. When Tezuka was out of eyesight, Echizen almost started jumping like an excited kid. Instead, Echizen decided that this little victory definitely meant he deserved some Ponta.
Okay, so maybe he was being a bit obvious with his staring, but in his defense, Tezuka didn’t look like he would be the self-conscious type.
They were at the beach for the third day in a row. Tezuka was wearing a swimsuit this time. Echizen may have been peeking at Tezuka once or twice over the course of the day, but that shouldn’t have mattered because everyone on the team had seen each other without clothes at some point. That was the magic of playing on an all-boys sports team.
Echizen had come to a very easy conclusion that he liked the way Tezuka looked, so yes, he was being rather obvious. And Tezuka had sort-of-kind-of accepted Echizen’s attempt to flirt, which meant he was more-or-less open to the idea of... something. Something more than staring, hopefully.
“Oi Echizen, stop ogling and let's see who can hold their breath the longest under water!” Momoshiro said before excitedly running to the water and taking Echizen with him. Echizen entertained his friend for a bit but his mind was definitely elsewhere.
Somewhere between the fourth or fifth time Echizen looked over, Tezuka met his stare and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
After the ninth time, Tezuka put on a t-shirt and Momoshiro splashed Echizen with water. Echizen got salt water up his nose and once again realized that he hated the beach with a passion.
Echizen gave in and went to sit next to Tezuka under the parasol. Echizen was dripping with water, wet sand clinging to his feet. “You don’t want to go swimming, captain?” Echizen asked. Tezuka didn't have a book with him today.
“Not now,” Tezuka said.
Echizen shrugged. “That’s fine. It’s good to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Did you see something you liked?” he asked, teasing.
“I did.”
Tezuka’s expression didn’t shift from neutral. Echizen gnawed the inside of his cheek. Was Tezuka responding literally or was he purposely going along with Echizen’s come-ons? Echizen decided to bite the bullet and push it a step further.
“Hm. I felt like you were looking at me a lot today, captain,” Echizen said.
“I was.” Tezuka said it like they were discussing the evening’s tennis practice; not at all like the big declaration Echizen took it for.
“Good. That makes two of us. I also saw something I liked today.” Echizen stood, brushing the sand off his swimsuit. “Are you sure you don’t want to go swimming, captain?”
“Perhaps in a bit,” Tezuka said. “I’ll enjoy the view for a while longer.”
Echizen strutted away, feeling Tezuka’s eyes on his back.
It was hard to know how to proceed and Tezuka was not at all being helpful. Supper was taken with the team and that hardly gave Echizen the chance to make another move. Tezuka was talking with Oishi and Inui, something about tennis practice for the following days once they returned home. That made Echizen realize that their beach training was coming to an end quite soon. Echizen knew he had to move fast with his plans or he might not get another chance.
However, getting up and squeezing himself between Tezuka and Oishi would definitely be too forceful. He'd have to be patient.
They took the courts after eating, all of them cursing the fact that they just ate a very large supper. Anyone who complained of having a stomach-ache was sent off to run laps around the hotel. Tezuka stood on the side with his arms crossed, reminding them that they were here for tennis practice, not for a beach vacation.
Not that Tezuka fooled anyone. After all, they had spent nearly the entire last three days on the beach.
Tennis practice ended late. In the elevator up to their rooms, Momoshiro invited Echizen to his room to watch a movie since “Mamushi jogs until one in the morning because he’s insane”. Echizen wanted to accept, but then he thought of Tezuka and decided that opportunities like this didn’t present themselves every day.
He gave Momo a half-hearted excuse and told him they’d watch a movie some other time. Echizen ran to his room. In his haste, he had to swipe his card key five times before it let him in.
Echizen heard the shower running and was glad; it would give him time to compose himself and think of a plan of action. Echizen’s stomach was doing that weird fluttery thing again. They were alone in the room. It suddenly hit Echizen like a brick to the head that Tezuka slept right there, next to him in the same room, and right now Tezuka was showering naked with only a wall separating them. Echizen had to remind himself to breathe normally.
Tezuka’s hair was still raining droplet over his skin when he stepped out of the washroom. Somehow, Tezuka’s eyes were so much more intense without his glasses.
“You can go,” Tezuka said, indicating to the shower.
“Thanks,” Echizen said. He didn’t know how well Tezuka could see without his glasses, but Echizen wasn’t exactly trying to hide the fact that he was letting his gaze run down Tezuka’s body. Looking closely, Echizen could see tan lines along Tezuka’s shoulders, barely visible but good evidence of the time Tezuka had spent outside.
“Hey captain, how well can you see without your glasses?” Echizen asked.
Tezuka sat on the bed and finished toweling off his hair. “Blurry,” he said, like it should’ve been obvious.
Echizen took the glasses from Tezuka’s bedside table. He stood in front of Tezuka and held up three fingers. “Can you see how many fingers I’ve got up?”
Tezuka sighed. “I’m not blind, Echizen.”
“Hm, I don’t know... you look lost without your glasses,” Echizen said, inching closer. “How about now?”
“Better,” Tezuka admitted.
Echizen dropped his hand, leaning in. “Is it better now?”
“I can see you fine, Echizen.”
“Yeah… how about now?” Echizen asked and pressed his lips against Tezuka’s. Echizen could feel his heart thumping so hard he thought it might burst out of his mouth, but then Tezuka pressed back to continue kissing him and dispelled all Echizen’s doubts.
He had closed his eyes and focused solely on the feeling of Tezuka’s lips sliding tentatively against his own, so slowly like they weren’t quite sure what to do, but certain enough that they wanted to continue.
Echizen pulled back, his mouth still tingling. “You look good without your glasses, captain.”
“I do need them back, Echizen,” Tezuka said.
Echizen very reluctantly gave them back, but not without first giving him another peck on the corner of his mouth.
Hours later, Echizen lay in bed with his mind swimming. His lips still prickled and Echizen’s chest felt ready to burst each time he remembered the kiss. He buried his face into his pillow, wanting to scream but not wanting to wake up Tezuka.
The room felt hot and stifling. Echizen threw his covers off and felt around the floor until he found his tennis shirt. He changed into his tennis clothes as quietly as possible, grabbed his racket, and was in the middle of tying his shoelaces when the lamp switched on.
Tezuka blinked at him from his bed, putting on his glasses. “What are you doing?” Tezuka asked, frowning.
Echizen’s heart stopped. He swallowed thickly. “Uh… I couldn’t sleep.”
A silence fell between them. Echizen could hear nothing but his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
“Me neither,” Tezuka finally said and went to the wardrobe. He retrieved his tennis uniform. “I’ll join you.”
The courts were eerily silent, the gate squeaking as Echizen and Tezuka made their way in. The moon was a bright sliver in the sky, looking down at them as they took in the sight of the silent tennis court and the dark hotel surrounding them.
“I’ll serve,” Tezuka said.
Echizen couldn’t stop looking at Tezuka’s mouth. “Sure,” he said, licking his own lips unconsciously.
Even if Echizen was distracted and even if it was the middle of the night, Tezuka played with no mercy. Not that Echizen expected anything different. His competitive side came out quickly, right when Tezuka took the first game.
He didn’t know if it was because of the silent night surrounding them, or because they were playing just the two of them, but it all felt so much more intimate than before. They could hear each other’s panting breaths, their grunts as they served and hit the ball over and over, the squeaks of their shoes on the hard pavement.They focused on nothing but the tennis and each other, observing every detail and slight movement the other made. Sweat trickled down Tezuka’s cheek and Echizen almost missed his serve from looking at how the bead rolled down Tezuka’s neck.
They must've played for hours, or long enough that they lost count of the score. The adrenaline was pumping through Echizen, propelling him to drop his racket and run to the other side of the net and straight to Tezuka. Echizen reached up, grabbing the front of Tezuka’s shirt and pulling him down for a sloppy kiss. Tezuka’s mouth was salty with sweat, his tongue hot as it slid against Echizen’s. They were both panting hard into each other’s mouths, kissing like this was part of the match. The intensity made Echizen dizzy, but still he didn’t let go of Tezuka’ shirt, just as Tezuka’s fingers had taken hold of his hair to keep him into the kiss.
They pulled apart after what felt like several long minutes. Echizen realized his cap had fallen off at some point. Tezuka looked a mess; his lips kiss-red, his hair disheveled and his shirt wrinkled where Echizen had scrunched it into his hand.
Echizen gave a smirk at that. “I think I won this match.”
It took a few seconds for Tezuka to catch his breath. “It’s getting late.”
Echizen huffed and slid his cap back on. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. “Mada mada dane, captain.”
“Echizen.”
Someone was shaking his shoulder. Echizen jolted up, looking around in the dark. “Captain?” The sun was not even up yet. He felt groggy and confused, like he had just gone to sleep an hour ago. After he and Tezuka had spent half the night playing tennis, one hour of sleep sounded entirely possible.
“Get ready for practice,” Tezuka said.
“Huh?” Practice? They had just practiced a few hours ago. “Captain, are you dreaming? Tennis practice is at night.”
“Volleyball practice,” Tezuka clarified. “Today is our last day.”
Oh crap.
Tezuka was right. Eiji and Momoshiro had been eyeing the volleyball net a lot yesterday. If today was their last day on the beach then…
Echizen groaned and sank back on the bed, throwing his arm over his face. “Give me a few more minutes of sleep,” he said. The sun was not even up. Volleyball practice could wait. They hadn’t practiced for the last volleyball tournament and they had survived. Kind of.
Okay, Echizen wasn’t the best volleyball player, but he had managed to survive.
“Meet me on the beach in ten minutes,” Tezuka said and left.
This sucked. Echizen groggily put on his shorts and tank top, cursing the morning with every movement. He somehow found his way to the beach, and then to the volleyball net. The sand was cold and squishy underneath his toes. The middle of the night tennis practice now felt like a really stupid decision.
“Take your position,” Tezuka told him, standing on the opposite side of the net with a ball.
Tezuka delivered an easy underhanded serve. Echizen prepared himself to hit it. The ball bounced on the sand next to him as Echizen took a swing. Tezuka looked at him like he was regretting this entire beach training.
“I’m tired,” Echizen said as a petty excuse.
Echizen frowned, picked up the ball, and threw it in the air. He jumped to hit a fast overhand serve. He missed and the ball hit him flat on the head.
He really hated volleyball.
“Where have you two been?” Fuji asked with a knowing smile on his face.
Tezuka and Echizen were covered in sand, their knuckles and wrists throbbing from volleyball practice. It was just past breakfast and Echizen was aching and felt his eyelids shutting by themselves. Five hours. Five hours of volleyball practice and yelling at the ball and making a complete fool of himself in front of his captain.
Kikumaru came running to the lobby with Oishi and Momoshiro at his heels. “Guys, guess what we’re gonna have this afternoon?”
“What?” Echizen asked, already knowing what was coming but still hoping it wasn’t the case.
“A volleyball tournament!” Eiji and Momoshiro said at the same time.
Echizen almost groaned out loud. He never wanted to see another volleyball again.
“Wow, what a surprise,” Fuji said very matter-of-factly.
“Yup, I never expected we’d be playing beach volleyball at the beach. Again,” Echizen said.
Tezuka didn't even bother arguing it. He was resigned to his fate. “We’ll hold the tournament after lunch,” he said.
The excited members of the team went off to inform the others about the tournament plans. Apparently their memory of the last disastrous volleyball tournament had all but vanished. Tezuka told Echizen they should get some lunch before they played. Echizen grumbled under his breath and tagged along, furiously biting into his food the entire lunch hour.
Back in their hotel room, Echizen dropped on Tezuka’s bed, stretching his arms up. His muscles felt well-exercised and his stomach filled with good food. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying not to think of the eminent volleyball tournament about to take place.
Tezuka emerged from the washroom in clean beach attire: shorts and a tank top, perfect for beach volleyball.
“You’re not changed,” Tezuka said.
Echizen groaned. He felt so comfortable he didn’t want to move. “You woke me up too early. Let me take a nap. Give me ten minutes.”
“You’re on my bed.”
“Come join me then.” Echizen patted the bed in invitation.
Tezuka took the offer with no hesitation. He ran a hand around Echizen’s waist, as if ready to pull up if needed. “We’ll be late,” Tezuka said, attempting to sound like the responsible captain he was even as his hand squeezed Echizen’s hip.
“You’re not convincing me, captain,” Echizen said.
“I suppose not.” Tezuka leaned over Echizen and kissed him.
Immediately, Echizen felt a difference. This kiss wasn’t a short peck or sloppy adrenaline-rushed mess like the others had been. Tezuka’s lips were dragging over his firmly, deepening until Echizen felt like there was no more air in the room. His arms found their way around Tezuka’s neck, holding him in place and feeling Tezuka’s soft hair underneath his fingertips. Everything felt hot and intense, from Tezuka’s hands squeezing his hips to the taut line of his body, pressed fully against his own and leaving nothing between them.
The second Tezuka pulled back, Echizen tightened his grip and pulled him back in. “Stay,” he mumbled against Tezuka’s mouth. Again, Tezuka offered no protest and took Echizen bottom lip into his mouth. All Echizen could think about was of how much better this was than tennis, how Tezuka kissed with as much passion as when he played a good match, and how they were both panting so hard yet unable to keep their mouth apart for more than a few seconds.
Tezuka’s hands were warm and rough, pressing underneath the hem of his shirt. Their legs were tangled together and Echizen moaned into Tezuka’ mouth, hoping it sounded encouraging. Tezuka tasted of the fish they had for lunch and smelled like sunscreen and the beach. From this close, Echizen could see Tezuka's cheeks had darkened from all the time spent in the sun.
Echizen was not sure how often they kissed or for how long. Soon they were both on their sides, languidly mouthing kisses wherever they could reach. Echizen sighed and relaxed, closing his eyes for a moment.
The last thing he felt was Tezuka’s lips on his neck before sleep enveloped him.
The first thing Echizen realized when he woke up was that he was hot. Then he realized there was no more sun shining through their window. Air puffed on Echizen’s neck where Tezuka had fallen asleep next to him. They were still entangled, their legs twisted together and Tezuka’s arm around his waist, both of them squished together on a rather small bed.
Looking at Tezuka, Echizen couldn’t help but smile. His hair was in disarray and his glasses were askew, his brows furrowed together as if he were yelling at someone to run laps in his dreams.
Gently, he shook Tezuka’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up,” he said. “We fell asleep.”
He watched as Tezuka’s eyes blinked awake, took a few seconds to register the fact that it was dark, before jolting up. “What time is it?” he asked urgently, fixing his glasses with one hand.
“We didn’t miss the bus,” Echizen said. “It’s only six.”
Tezuka instantly relaxed. “We missed the tournament,” he noted. He didn’t sound particularly upset at that fact.
“’S fine,” Echizen mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “There’ll be more volleyball tournaments and Inui Juice in the future.”
It was better this way. Now Echizen had a series of better memories of the beach that did not involve getting nearly squished to death by old people’s butts. Now he would think of the beach and remember salty kisses, the smell of sunscreen on Tezuka’s skin, and the feeling of soothing hands running over his back.
Echizen yawned. He was still hot, but knowing some of the heat was coming from Tezuka’ body made him want to stay there. “We still have a bit of time,” Echizen said. The bus would be leaving in two hours. That was plenty of time.
“I have to pack,” Tezuka said. He had his arm around Echizen, his fingers tracing patterns on his back.
“I don’t,” Echizen said with a snort. He had simply left his suitcase open on the floor the entire trip and took what he needed from there. What was the point of unpacking for a few days? It wasn’t the neatest method, and there was a lot of sand in his suitcase now, but it was going to save him time. “Don’t move. It’s your fault I’m so tired today.”
“You were the one to suggest volleyball practice,” Tezuka reminded him.
“Yeah, but I never said we should practice at the crack of dawn.”
“We always have to be prepared,” Tezuka said.
“Hm…” Echizen pressed soft kisses to the side of Tezuka’s neck, too lazy to try to reach his mouth. Tezuka sighed and arched so that Echizen could reach more of his neck. Echizen smiled against Tezuka’s skin.
The moment was cut short when the door suddenly slammed opened and the entire Seigaku team burst inside their room with mixed shouts of “Echizen!” and “Captain!”. Echizen groaned and pulled the bed covers over his head.
“Echizen, are you okay? You missed the volleyball tournament and—“
“Don’t tell me you were too chicken to show up, Ochibi!”
“C-Captain?”
Tezuka stood up, regarding them all sternly. Despite his disarrayed appearance, he radiated a murderous aura and the team stepped back. “What is the meaning of this?” Tezuka demanded.
“Captain, you never showed up for the tournament and we got worried so we borrowed a key card from the front desk,” Oishi explained.
“We’re fine,” Echizen snapped from under the covers. “You can get out now!”
There was a long pause in which the team looked at Tezuka, at Echizen on the bed, then back at Tezuka. Echizen could hear the puzzle pieces clicking together in their minds. Fantastic. Now he was never going to hear the end of it. He didn’t even want to think about how much teasing he would have to endure from Eiji, Fuji, and Momo.
“I apologize for missing the tournament,” Tezuka said, “but as you can see, we are fine.”
“O-Oh, yes,” Oishi said, his face turning bright red. Echizen could hear Momo and Eiji snickering in the back. Inui was scribbling something in his book, muttering about data under his breath. Kaidou had completely turned away as if the sight was too much for him to bear. Echizen was only glad that Fuji was not there or else he would have been making mocking comments at them. “Um, everyone, let’s go, nothing to see here.”
The team was shooed out by Oishi. They didn't leave quickly enough as it gave Momoshiro and Eiji plenty of chances to wiggle their eyebrows and hoot at Echizen before they left. The door clicked shut behind them, leaving a heavy silence.
“Well, that was fun,” Echizen muttered with a long sigh. The ride home tonight was going to be even less fun. Echizen was already dreading it with every fiber of his being.
“We let our guard down,” Tezuka said and the corner of his mouth tilted up. “Not that I regret it.”
“Good.” He tugged on Tezuka’s sleeve. “But I’m gonna be the one to suffer on the ride home so you better buy me a Ponta.”
“Hey Echizen, when’s the wedding?” Momoshiro asked and Eiji burst out laughing from behind him.
“Shut up,” Echizen said, his arms crossed.
Inui pushed up his glasses, “Logically speaking, the wedding should—“
Echizen slapped his hands over his ears. Tezuka was sitting all the way in the front of the bus with Oishi. The captain looked back and Echizen gave him his best help me look. Unfortunately, Tezuka also looked like he may need saving from Oishi. Just by looking at Tezuka’s face, it looked like Oishi was trying to give him The Talk.
Tezuka shook his head apologetically at Echizen. Echizen stuck his tongue out at him and returned to sulking.
The team spent an hour teasing him some more, then they went on to re-live the volleyball tournament in all its Inui Juice-filled glory (making Echizen even more grateful that he had at least missed it), before finally returning to making kissy noises in front of Echizen.
Echizen was even more grateful that Fuji was unconscious. Something about Inui Juice not mixing well with wasabi and a volleyball to the head had caused the accident. Taka-san was sitting next to Fuji, looking over him with a worried face. It wasn’t that Echizen was happy that Fuji had fallen victim to the Inui Juice, but Echizen was sure he wouldn’t be able to stand Fuji’s teasing on top of it all.
“Hey hey, Ochibi,” Eiji said, ruffling Echizen’s hair, “So how many kids are you and Tezuka planning to have?”
Echizen could swear a vein popped on his forehead. Momoshiro high fived Kikumaru and Inui took the question seriously and was trying to reach a logical conclusion using his data.
“Okay, that’s it.” Echizen stood up.
He stomped over to the front of the bus and plopped himself down at Tezuka’s side, opposite of Oishi.
“Ah, Echizen, I was just telling Tezuka about the volleyball tournament,” Oishi said.
“Fuji almost died, Inui showed off his butt, fish flew everywhere, and Coach Ryuuzaki won,” Echizen said. “Did I miss anything?”
“W-Well—“
“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I haven’t had a decent sleep in ages.” Echizen pulled his cap lower and leaned on Tezuka’s shoulder. This was the safest he would get. The others wouldn’t dare tease him if he was next to Tezuka. Oishi shuffled in place awkwardly before finally getting up to join Eiji in the back of the bus.
“Don’t wake me up no matter what,” Echizen breathed against Tezuka’s neck.
He lifted Echizen’s cap for a brief second to give him a kiss. “Sleep well,” Tezuka said, giving a small pat to Echizen’s head.
Echizen coughed, feeling his face burning hot. “You owe me a hundred million Pontas for this.”