Chapter Text
Fridays were nice, at least for the time being. In this semester, his schedule made it so he only had one class to attend on that day, which he was grateful for. Throughout the week he made plans of everything he could use this extra free time for, and it always made him feel really accomplished when he finished.
Sakusa was a simple man, who loved his organisation and routines. He knew that some people didn't get it, and he felt pity for them. What’s there not to like? The satisfaction he felt by the end of his perfectly structured days was unlike any other. A premeditated set of tasks was just what he needed to thrive.
All of this was exactly why he felt completely out of his comfort zone when he exited his apartment at 6:30am for his morning jog and found his neighbour about to do the same. Change, a word he dreaded, it was the perfect enemy of his love for repetition.
“Oh, hi, and goodbye too, I guess.”
Before he could mutter something in response, his neighbour sprinted towards the stairs. Sakusa blinked, not quite processing the situation, and proceeded to replay the scene in his mind to try to make some sense out of it.
In the middle of his second year of college, he decided to move into this apartment and it only took him a few weeks until he met his neighbour, a guy about the same age. Three years had passed since then, and he almost felt as if the person he had just seen was a complete stranger. This morning was too unlike what he was used to.
To begin with, Miya was many things, but an early riser wasn’t one of them. The guy was, for the most part, pretty quiet, and the only sounds that could be heard from his place only started after 9 o'clock.
There was also the fact that he was wearing sports attire, so he must be going on a jog himself. However, Sakusa covered a great deal of the area, and he would’ve recognized him if they had crossed paths before.
Finally, the biggest change was regarding his appearance. When they first met in the common hall, he was indeed drawn by his handsome features. That jaw seemed sharp enough to cut through everything, and the small nose gave perfect balance to the thick eyebrows that framed those rich dark eyes.
But Miya had been just that: a good-looking stranger. He was no different from those people you see in the streets, stare for a bit, and then go back to your business.
However, the Miya that had greeted him today was far more than that. Was that a new undercut? What’s up with the sudden dyed hair? Did his eyes seem lighter? Whatever it was, it made him look strikingly gorgeous, and Sakusa’s fast-beating heart was more than enough proof of that.
This last thought snapped him back to reality. I’m not into blonds, he felt the need to remember. And I’m not into Miya. There was nothing awful about him, but they had barely interacted and when they had nothing had really sparked to think about him in that way.
So, what had just happened?
For the time being, he had no answer, and that would have to do. These changes had already altered his daily routine, and he didn’t need them to completely wreck it. A breakdown because he was late to his exam after spending his whole morning wondering why his neighbour seemed more appealing? Hard pass.
He was a twenty-two-year-old man who was in perfect control of his hormones, or so he thought. Halfway through his jog, he liked to enter the park and walk at a fast pace for a bit. This was supposed to help him catch a breath, but he almost choked as he approached the zone with the small pond.
By the water, Miya was laying down on a yoga mat while stretching his legs. Only then Sakusa realized that he had been wearing shorts and that they did wonders to his physique. Those legs seem to go for ages and the muscly thighs were unbelievably thick.
When he was able to look away, his gaze flickered towards the big hands that were grasping his ankle for a better stretch. Slowly, his eyes made their way towards the beefy arms and then his firm pecs.
Dear lord .
His clothes seemed tighter and the whole atmosphere denser. It should be illegal to look that good, in public, where the passers-by had no option but to stare. How could they not? Apart from his looks alone, there was this aura that he irradiated as if to say ‘I’m here’, catching everyone’s undivided attention for at least a second.
He was so focused that he wasn’t able to look away when Miya’s eyes found his. The blond smiled broadly, and motioned him to approach as he sat down in a more comfortable position. Sakusa obliged, part of him still in trance due to the previous scene.
“Hi! It’s Sakusa, right?”
“Morning, Miya, I didn’t know you were into morning jogs.”
That was the best thing he could come up with?
“Ya couldn’t have known?” He replied, although his confused tone made it sound more like a question. “Anyways, I didn’t mean to be rude earlier, I was just in a hurry ‘cause a friend was outside and he isn’t the most patient one.”
This was also new, the Miya he knew wasn’t as talkative. Also, had his voice always been like that? It seemed somewhat warmer than what he remembered, but it did fit his new appearance quite well, so maybe his memory was failing him.
After all, they barely talked. Sure, they exchanged some greetings here and there and he knew that he had a restaurant from that time the delivery guy got the wrong address. However, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this was probably one of the longest conversations they had had.
His brain was telling him that this was the norm, so he should just say his goodbyes and continue with his days. That being said, his soul –as corny as it could sound– thought otherwise. At the beginning of the day, he had thought that Miya being different only meant trouble for him, but now some part of him saw it as chance.
Ever since he broke up with his last (and only) boyfriend, he had remained single. He had definitely moved on; he just hadn’t found someone else to date. As dumb as it seemed, since he didn’t go out as much or try new things, there was no way in which he could meet knew people, let alone date them.
Technically speaking, there was no need for his next boyfriend to be someone ‘new’. However, when he thought about the people he knew, no one sounded like a good candidate.
Until this Miya came around.
But before he could act on it, they had to deal with an inconvenience. The inconvenience was a pink haired man built like a rock, who approached them with the confidence of someone who had been invited –which clearly wasn’t the case.
“Hey, did you enjoy the mat?” The man asked Miya, not even sparing a glare towards Sakusa.
The blond got startled, but instead of doing the logical thing of staying put, he turned around to face the inconvenience. “Yup, ya really didn’t have to, thank ya.”
“It was my pleasure, your beautiful skin deserved the softest surface.”
“Ichigo-san, are ya saying I can’t handle it rough?”
Miya pouted and it was enough to make the other two men drool. This was insane, Sakusa had been out of the closet for seven years, yet he felt in the middle of a gay awakening. And, by the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one, although he didn’t know whether he was glad or not about this.
Ichigo was the first to recover, opting to invite Miya out after his yoga lesson, apparently he was the park’s instructor. However, the blond said that he wanted to get back into his workout, since he hadn’t been active for a while –‘try ever’, Sakusa would’ve added if he weren’t as socially awkward as he was.
As the yoga instructor returned to his class and Miya stood up, Sakusa took a deep breath. Everyone was parting ways, which means that it was time to be back to the same old. It’s not like he was going to give up on the ‘possibility’ of Miya, but maybe it was enough progress for a day.
“Do ya mind if I follow ya? I barely know the area.”
He didn’t have enough willpower to say no to that face. God, he was such a simp for a guy he had known for three years and counting.
They jogged in silence through Sakusa’s usual path. It was the first time that he had company and he had to admit it wasn’t bad. Sure, Miya was slightly behind him so it shouldn’t be too different from what he was used to.
But, it was key to remember that this guy made his presence be known without even lifting a finger. There had been many times where he had felt tempted to sneak a peek back there, just to be rewarded with an easy smile from the blond.
He had almost tripped twice and, in an unexpected turn of events, he wasn’t complaining at all.
When they were about two blocks away from their apartment complex, they slowed down to a walking pace. The workout had been nice, although Sakusa didn’t want to check his watch fully knowing that it had taken him way longer than it had to.
“I wanted to ask, why do ya wear the mask?” Miya asked just as he was re-positioning his facemask. “I mean it specifically when jogging, isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“Not so much as the thought of not wearing it, plus, I’m glad for the extra cardio.”
“Oh, are ya into fitness? Sports maybe?” Miya asked, perked up with interest.
Sakusa nodded. “Some, I’m even part of my college’s delegation.”
“Let me guess, track? Tennis? Maybe vol-?”
“Chess.”
A loud laugh was heard through the whole park and he was sure that at least half the neighbourhood was now up. They would be wondering what great joke was told, and Sakusa wouldn’t know how to answer.
No matter what some would think, chess was a sport, thank you. Hence, he immediately took off towards the park in front of their apartments –where there were three chess tables ready to use. Miya followed him with no hesitation and even cheered when he asked him if he was up for a game.
Oh, he was going to enjoy this.
If the blond was competitive, he could end up hating him after this game. Did it matter though? No. Adonis or not, if the guy had no respect for Sakusa’s biggest passion, there was no need to pursue anything more.
They decided to use no more than a minute per move and Sakusa put on a pair of latex gloves to make his first move. Thanks to his unusual opening, he rapidly won a pawn, which was a given, but he still felt delighted for the great start.
When he won another one, there was a change in Miya, who grew a bit more silent. He thought for longer periods of time, closed his eyes to visualise future plans, and even bit his lower lip deep in concentration. Try harding this much over something that isn’t a sport, huh?
As the game progressed, Sakusa had to admit that he was enjoying his dominance a bit too much. He played way more aggressively and faster than usual, it was careless, but he definitely had the expertise to allow it.
Or that’s how it was supposed to go, until Miya sacrificed his knight and Sakusa took it, without realising that he had just allowed a forced checkmate sequence.
Chess is so dumb , he thought, when in reality he was the dumb one. That’s what he gets for staring at his troubled opponent rather than thinking about his own moves. He had gotten way too overconfident, blitzing out moves without further thought and, as a result, getting clowned.
“Nice game.” He said, and he didn’t mean it at all. He wasn’t your average sore loser, but it did hunt him how he threw the game after feeling so confident.
“We played for like twenty minutes and I’m exhausted, what a tiring… sport.”
His tone still had some mocking undertones, but some sincerity shined through. It made his pride hurt a bit less. “You’ve just defeated a FIDE master, care to explain where you have been hiding?”
“Ya are a FM? Wait- have ya played in any Olympiad? Are ya playing this year?”
The fact that Miya knew about those terms was a relief. Yes, he had lost to someone he shouldn’t have, but at least it wasn’t to a complete chess stranger. He wanted to know more about the specifics of his knowledge, so after replying that he was representing Japan next month and he had done it on many occasions before, he asked about it.
Miya proceeded to explain, a bit embarrassed, that he had joined the chess club in his school to get extra cred for math, but that was it. The tournaments usually collided with his volleyball games, therefore, he had never participated in one to get ELO and/or titles.
Who allowed that? Whose fault was it that a (kind of) chess prodigy had ended up wasting his time as a jock? If Miya was an Olympian or something he could get it, but the guy was a restaurant owner!
Stupid volleyball.
“God, yer face. I still play on my phone and check some theory on occasion. Don’t get upset, I’m more than sure ya would have beat me with classical time control.”
“It’s not because of chess,” it’s not only because of chess. “I just don’t like volleyball, my ex went pro and I haven’t seen him ever since.”
Was it dumb to hate a whole sport just because of that? Perhaps, but in Sakusa’s defence, it was time to get the focus away from chess before he kidnapped Miya and dropped him at the national chess society. Plus, his distaste for volleyball went beyond that.
First off, he had been dragged to lessons when all he wanted to do was stay at home. Also, his wrists always ended up hurting as the so called ‘setters’ always missed his spiking point. And if that wasn’t enough, the ball was in contact with more than twelve people per match, twelve sweaty people that Sakusa didn’t want to be in contact with.
“Volleyball guys are off the table because of an asshole? That’s unfair, I’m presenting a formal complaint.” Miya sounded offended, but his playful expression revealed a bit more.
Was this another moment like at the park? Alright, two could play that game. He would have a nice comeback, unlike the yoga instructor guy who got rejected, yeah, because that was totally the kind of guy he was.
Pleasemakeitsoundnotcringey .
“If it’s worth it, I guess I could make an exception. Is there anyone in particular you are thinking about?” He asked, eyebrow arched. Wasitgood?
“There’s a few, but the best has to be this Miya guy. Perfect bod, as ya may have seen earlier by the pond or during our joint jog, and also brains, he even defeated a FM…”
Sakusa blushed at the first comment, maybe he hadn’t been as discreet as he had thought. However, he had made progress, he couldn’t possibly back down. “Brains you say? Didn’t he also need chess because he was bad at math?”
EXCUSE YOU, SAKUSA KIYOOMI. In what world is that flirting? You are insulting the guy! Who could like-?
“Well then, only bod, not everyone can have it all like ya… will understand,” as he said that, Miya looked at him up and down. “Although, I think there’s something ya are missing.”
“Whatisit?” It would be a miracle if he had been able to understand him there.
“My number.”
That was smooth, too smooth. Sakusa could only gape at the blond as he gave him his phone to write down his number.
He definitely got outplayed at the flirting part, but the number had to mean that it hadn’t been a complete disaster. Unless it was a fake number, and he ended up talking to a stranger, who could be a lunatic, who could then-
“Let’s head home, alright? Text me to grab dinner one of these days.”
It’s a date .
It wasn’t, but that’s what he should’ve probably said to ensure that he could get one in the future. Of course, he only thought about this an hour after they had each entered their respective apartments.
He was going to get a headache if he were to continue thinking in the dozen ways he could’ve been more appealing. Sakusa hadn’t felt like this in a while, or maybe ever. It was frightening to say the least.
But, for once, change was as frightening as it was exciting.