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“What’s the matter?”
Hatz balked in the doorway, his gaze shooting daggers at the little shit who took his spot. The culprit, Khun, returned the glare with feigned innocence, but his doe-eyed look was betrayed by the glee dancing in his eyes.
“Move.”
“Hey, no need to be rude,” Khun pouted. “There’s plenty of space in here. Unless... you’re embarrassed to sit next to some cute guys in a hot tub...?” he trailed off, curving his lips into a perfect ‘O’ of surprise.
Shibisu interjected, “Aw, you think I’m cute?”, but both Khun and Hatz ignored him.
Khun’s high, playful tone was like gas to fire; the flicker of annoyance in Hatz’ chest erupted into a fireball.
“That’s not the point!” he snapped, his hands curling into fists. He pointed at Khun. “You waited until I left to join. You knew I would come back.”
Khun waved off the accusatory gesture and turned his back to Hatz. “You forfeited your right to this spot the moment you walked out of the sauna.”
He had a point, so Hatz turned to Shibisu. “Why did you let him in?”
Isu threw his hands up defensively, inadvertently splashing Khun. “Hey, don’t drag me into this! You didn’t ask me to save your spot!”
“Watch it, Isu! You got my hair wet!” Khun ran his dry hand over the assaulted side of hair, then gave his head a haughty toss. “Anyway, Hatz, if you’re going to be so hot-headed, sitting in a hot tub will only make it worse.”
“What would make it worse is sitting next to you, you intolerable beauty queen!” Hatz tossed his towel on a nearby bench and marched towards Khun.
(“I think sitting anywhere within earshot of each other would make it worse,” Shubisu muttered to himself.)
“If you’re going to have such a fit over your hair getting a little wet, why did you even come to a pool party?” Hatz continued, now towering over that prissy blue head.
“It’s a team bonding event; I had to come. I’m a co-captain, after all.” Khun examined his nails, keeping his gaze down and obviously refusing to acknowledge Hatz’s presence. “Sounds like the real issue is you just don’t want me here.”
(Isu sunk lower until his chin grazed the water. “Supposed to be team bonding.”)
“Stealing people’s spots is the exact opposite of bonding. That is the real issue here,” Hatz returned, trying to shift the conversation back to his point. He wondered how they ever scored goals together if, whenever they talked off-field, it derailed into stupid bickering like this.
“Oh, did I violate one of your sportmanship codes?” Khun mocked. He stretched back so his arms nearly touched Hatz’s legs, still looking pointedly away from him. “Sharing is caring. I suggest adding that to –”
Khun cut himself off with a yelp as Hatz siezed his arms, yanking him up and out of the tub. “Ow! Dude, what the hell–!”
Suddenly he grew quiet. His mouth hung open, frozen mid-breath, and a wide ring of white surrounded the deep blue irises staring directly into Hatz’s.
The black-haired boy blinked. Something about the steam rolling lazily off Khun’s skin – about the beads of water dancing down his torso – something about his own hands gripping Khun’s arms, above his pretty little face like that – the soft skin under his callouses –
The fire in Hatz’s gut sunk lower in his abdomen.
“I–! I just noticed the time!” Shibisu stammered into the silence, scrambling out of the water and nearly slipping. “I have to go pick up the pizza!”
“Pizza...?” Hatz repeated, watching Shibisu dart out of the room. He was distracted enough to let Khun wrench away from his grip, but it didn’t matter to him anymore; the tension of the moment had passed.
At least, it had passed for Hatz. Khun returned to his spot (Hatz’ spot...) in the tub and turned away. Hatz could feel the discontent emanating from him.
“Just forget it,” Hatz said, running a hand though already-tousled hair out of exasperation. Or maybe it was awkwardness.
He walked along the edge of the sauna and dipped his toes into the water on the side opposite Khun. It really was a small space – any more than three people, and someone’s legs or feet would inevitably be bumping into one or another’s. But two people was a comfortable number, as it left enough space for both people to stretch out.
Khun crossed his arms over his chest with a huff of annoyance when Hatz stepped further in.
“What?” Hatz noticed the wash of red on his teammate’s face, creeping up his cheekbones and down his neck. Was Khun overheating? “Is the sauna too hot for you?”
Khun cleared his throat. “You could say that.”
Hatz didn’t know how to respond to that. As he settled further into the tub, his body stiffened at the scalding heat; within a few moments, though, he relaxed, and he welcomed the warmth melting away the soreness in his muscles. Last night’s practice was short but brutal: back-to-back short sprints, mini-scrimmages, and high-rep circuits focusing on quads and core.
That reminded him...
“Are practices going to start earlier? The sun is setting halfway through practice at this point.”
It took Khun a moment to turn to Hatz, as if he was dragging himself out of a deep reverie. “...yeah. Isu and I were talking about starting at four instead of five, though we have to make sure that won’t interfere with anyone’s classes.” His eyes were still slightly unfocused, and Hatz felt like he was seeing through rather than looking at him.
“Okay.”
At this, the fog over Khun’s gaze dissipated, and he stared directly at the boy across him. Hatz shifted uncomfortably. He felt exposed, but not because the only thing he wore were the red trunks clinging to his hips.
Khun’s eyes dipped down for a second, and he looked away quickly.
Shit. Now it was Hatz’s turn to look away. He crossed his legs and fumbled in his mind for something to say. “Earrings –”
“Hatz –”
They both froze. Hatz opened his mouth again, but this time Khun beat him to it.
“Really? ‘Earrings’? Isn’t that a little old? Should I call you Stick again?” The laugh that escaped his chest sounded a little forced, but maybe he was just irritated at the nickname.
It was coined three years prior, at their first game of the season – and the first season they played on the same team – when the referee forced Khun to take out his earrings and the first-year (at the time) had the audacity to put it back in mid-game. Hatz, back then a midfielder, bickered with Khun about honoring the rules of the game, who accused him of having a stick up his ass. Because of this stupid argument, they both fumbled an important play that led to a score against them. They rightfully earned the wrath of the team and coach and were sentenced a month of sitting on the bench during games.
“No, but that won’t stop you.”
Khun chuckled, genuinely this time. “What a time that was.”
Hatz groaned. “It was miserable.”
“Remember the laps we had to run during water breaks, and the scraps we had to live off of because we were kicked to the end of the line in the team dining hall?”
“I remember you crying over the cold water in the shower –”
“And you throwing a fit when another teammate blatantly disrespected a senior and never apologized, but faced none of the punishment we got?”
“You were so angry about your whole hair care routine being thrown off because you had to shower an hour later than everyone else –”
“I didn’t know your face could turn so red!”
“Like yours just now?”
That shut him up. “Anyway, why do you care so much about being pretty?”
A flash of irritation sharpened Khun’s features for a moment, but it quickly morphed into a wicked grin. “Aw, you think I’m pretty?”
“It’s just a fact, and you know it anyway.”
Khun’s grin grew lopsided, as if his face forgot what it was supposed to be doing. “That, um, was not the answer I was expecting.”
“What were you expecting, then?”
Khun shrugged, tossing a smirk in Hatz’s direction. “Well, you to get all hot and bothered, of course.”
“Why would I get defensive?”
The smirk grew. “Because you always want to play with me.”
“Do you mean, fight? I’ve always wondered why we argue so much.”
Khun was quiet for a moment. Then, “Yeah, I wonder, too. Why you’re so insufferable.” He leaned back against the rim of the tub and ran his hands through his hair, seeming stressed.
“Hmph. The feeling is mutual.” Hatz shot a glance at Khun to pick up context clues, because he honestly didn’t know where this was going.
“Ugh!” Khun stood up suddenly, steaming water cascading from his shoulders and down his arms. Hatz’s eyes followed the trail of droplets from his neck pooling into his collarbones. “Talking never works. That’s the problem with you!”
“What... problem?” Hatz dragged his gaze from Khun’s chest to his face. His face was really close. When did he –
With him so close, Hatz could see the details in Khun’s expression; its gradual descent into softness, the fondness in his eyes and gentle voice shaping his lips. “You don’t understand even when I make it clear for you.”
Softness. The softness, in the touch of Khun’s hand cupping his jaw, in the thumb hovering over Hatz’s lips.
“Hatz.” Khun’s eyes burned into his like blue flames, hot and wild and impossible to turn away from. “What do you want to do, right now?”
The words tumbled out of Hatz like they’d been waiting years to confess his thoughts: “I want to kiss you.”
Oh.
“How much?”
“Badly.” Something in Hatz’s demeanor had changed, and the blush bloomed across Khun’s face again. He didn’t even complain that Hatz’s wet hands were in his hair. A thought came to Hatz, of how satisfying it would be to see that neat little bob torn into a frenzy of blue strands. Like his hair after a game, messy and sticking to the sweat on his neck... but by his own hands.
His hands in his hair.
Khun’s lips, next to his.
Hatz’s lips, on Khun’s.
Softness, again, but this time in the curve of Khun’s mouth against his; and then it was torn, just a little, by the tightening of Khun’s hands on Hatz’s jaw, a promise in the pressure of his lips, soft and pliable and greedy.
Hatz was greedy, too, his head following Khun’s when he pulled back.
“The feeling is mutual, you said?”
“Y-yeah.”
An impish smirk tugged at now-pink lips. “And what feeling was it, exactly?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Hatz licked his own lips watching that grin widen.
Khun’s eyes traveled down Hatz’s face, too. “I wouldn’t mind if you did.”
“I want to –”
“With your mouth, not your words, idiot.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me to kiss y–”
“Shut up,” Khun whispered, pulling in closer.
For once, Hatz obeyed.