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One of the first things that Will Henderson learned about Seiji Katayama, his soon-to-be fencing teammate, was that he had a boyfriend named Nicholas, and their relationship seemed at once very devoted and very…unconventional.
Seiji was, to put it mildly, an incredibly blunt, honest person. He did not mince words, nor did he sugar-coat anything he said. Will, like most of the others in Lakeshore U’s fencing club, was affronted by this at first. The longer he spent in Seiji’s presence, however, and the more he got to know the guy, the more he realized that Seiji was rarely malicious with his comments. Most of what he said, when addressing members of the club, at least, was helpful and insightful, if one could look past the brusque overtone. Will, unlike many others in the club, was not surprised to find out that Seiji was in a relationship. After all, he could see that underneath the polished, haughty exterior, Seiji seemed to be a decent guy.
What did surprise him was that Seiji’s boyfriend appeared to be the exact opposite of Seiji himself in terms of personality. Will had heard snippets of phone conversations between them periodically in the locker room, or during breaks at practice.
“What do you mean we’re out of milk? What happened to the milk I bought two days ago?” Seiji had said into his phone once, holding it with his shoulder while tying his shoes. Will could hear a voice on the other end, but not what was being said. After a moment, Seiji pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “Nicholas, you know as well as I do that cow’s milk is not an adequate source of nutrition for neonate kittens. I reminded you to pick up more KMR after the last can ran out—” Seiji’s eyebrows pinched together briefly as the other person apparently cut him off. “Yes, of course I’ll buy some on my way home. But we’re taking them to the shelter tomorrow.” The voice on the other end got momentarily louder, and Seiji’s face relaxed into a smile. “Yes, I still love you. Bye.” Seiji let the phone drop from his shoulder onto the bench, still smiling.
Who was this guy? Will had thought after hearing that call, or a number of others, all of which, from what Will could tell, seemed to involve Nicholas doing something foolish or irritating or irresponsible, but ultimately still endearing, judging by Seiji’s reactions.
He didn’t have to wait very long to find out the answer to his question. Nicholas appeared at their first practice match. He had an undercut which appeared to have been tousled by the breeze outside, and a friendly smile which turned to a grin when he spotted Seiji across the salle. Will watched, stretching by one of the benches, as Seiji’s expression went soft at the sight of Nicholas jogging up to him.
“Your hair is a disaster,” Seiji said, reaching forward to touch it as Nicholas leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“You like it,” Nicholas said, beaming.
“I don’t,” Seiji replied.
“I have something you’ll like even better,” Nicholas continued as if Seiji hadn’t spoken, and he unzipped the colorful windbreaker he was wearing, then quickly took it off and dropped it to the floor next to him. He spun around and used one thumb to point over his shoulder, glancing back at Seiji. “Huh? Huh? What do you think?”
Seiji’s hand came up to cover his mouth and Will watched, astounded, as a light blush crept up Seiji’s neck and settled on his ridiculously high cheekbones.
“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Davey, another teammate, sat down next to Will, and Will shushed him, nodding in the direction of Seiji and Nicholas.
“Aww, shit, that Seiji’s guy?” Davey whispered.
Will huffed a laugh. “I would imagine so, considering his attire.”
Nicholas was wearing a t-shirt replica of Seiji’s own Lakeshore University Fencing jersey, complete with KATAYAMA across the back, and from his reaction, Seiji appeared to be mildly embarrassed and very pleased.
Will and Davey both chuckled, looking away and returning to their stretches, and a minute or two later, two pairs of shoes appeared in front of them.
“Will. Davey,” Seiji said, and they looked up to see Seiji smiling faintly, and Nicholas bouncing on the balls of his feet, windbreaker now tied around his waist. “This is my boyfriend, Nicholas Cox. Nicholas, this is Will Henderson and Davey Serrano, two of my teammates.”
Will and Davey stood up and Nicholas grinned and stuck his hand out to shake. “Nice to meet you guys. Seiji says you’re both really talented.”
“Does he now?” Davey drawled, and Will elbowed him, smiling back.
“I hear you’re also a fencer?” Will asked, and Nicholas nodded eagerly.
“That’s how we met,” he said, gesturing between himself and Seiji.
“He was atrocious,” Seiji said mildly. “I thought him a lost cause for some time.”
Nicholas laughed loudly. Will and Davey half-smiled, not sure if they were allowed to partake in this joke at Nicholas’ expense. Nicholas waved a hand in the air as if waving away the momentary awkwardness, then addressed them both. “Well, I’ll let you get to it. Good luck!” He turned to Seiji, reaching out, and ran his thumb gently over one of Seiji’s cheekbones. “Good luck, babe. Not that you need it.” He winked and jogged away to the other side of the salle, where extra benches had been set up for visitors.
Seiji turned back to his teammates, one eyebrow raised as if daring them to comment.
“He seems really great, dude,” Davey offered, and Will nodded.
“He is,” Seiji confirmed.
“Just be careful with all that affectionate stuff around Coach. I’d hate for you to end up doing suicides coz you guys are too cute,” Davey added, snickering.
Seiji sniffed, quietly indignant. “Why must every fencing coach be like this?”
-
After that first practice match, Nicholas came to every one of their matches that he could, and would often hang out with the team afterward. Will learned that Nicholas was currently in trade school to become an electrician, and he still fenced regularly at the gym near the apartment he shared with Seiji. Will liked the guy, and Nicholas had a way of putting people at ease, so one night, as the two of them were playing video games with Seiji, Davey, and Levi, one of the other guys from the club, he asked Nicholas something while Seiji was busy brushing his teeth in the bathroom down the hall.
“Look, we can all tell Seiji’s a good guy,” he said, and Davey and Levi nodded. “And you two are obviously a great couple. But can I ask, like…how did it happen? Because at first, he seemed so…” He trailed off, gesturing helplessly, but Nicholas seemed to know what he meant.
“Cold? Uncaring? Distant?” Nicholas laughed, and the other guys nodded, chuckling. “I’ll admit, he didn’t make it easy to get to know him, but I was persistent. First because I wanted to know his weaknesses, since all I cared about then was beating him in a match. But later on, I started to realize that all his jabs and harsh-sounding critiques were his way of trying to help people be the best they could be. And his stiltedness in conversation wasn’t because he doesn’t like people, he just legitimately didn’t know how to interact sometimes. Once I got to know him, I found out how kind he is, and generous, and how much he cares about his teammates, in his own way.” Nicholas shook his head, smiling. “He still drives me up the wall sometimes, and I know he’d say the same thing about me. But I can’t picture my life without him. He’s the best.” Nicholas’ smile turned a little sheepish, and he scratched his head, a bit awkward. “Sorry, was that too much?”
“Dude,” Davey said after a moment’s pause, “that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, I shit you not.”
Nicholas laughed as Will and Levi nodded eagerly.
“I’ve heard better,” a dry voice said from the hallway, and the boys all turned to see Seiji, who was looking down at Nicholas with twinkling eyes.
Nicholas didn’t seem embarrassed at all. “Shut up, no you haven’t,” he said mildly, standing up and stretching his arms out toward Seiji. Seiji rolled his eyes but dutifully came forward, smiling as Nicholas wrapped him up in a tight hug.
Will could certainly see how much they cared about each other. It seemed that Seiji and Nicholas had more in common than Will had first thought.