Chapter Text
“Because we’re dating, let’s call each other by first name.”
Tsuji lifted his head from the battle log and looked at the person who had just stated his suggestion. Inukai smiled back at him cheerfully.
They had started dating a few days ago, as a result of Inukai’s impulsive action: kissing Tsuji as a thank-you whenever he saved him in a battle. Actually, it wasn’t a real relationship, but only an experiment to find out if Inukai was serious about his kisses or not. Tsuji honestly didn’t see the point of this trial date, but he was somewhat responsible for putting this ridiculous idea into Inukai’s head, so he had agreed.
A few days passed without anything changing in their life, and right when Tsuji was about to put the matter behind his back, Inukai suddenly came up with a new idea.
“Why?” Tsuji asked, turning off the tab and putting it on the table so he could focus on his teammate across the table.
“I just told you, didn’t I?” Inukai tilted his head to the side playfully, “Because we’re dating.”
“We’re experimentally dating.” Tsuji corrected.
“Don’t sweat small details.” Inukai waved his hand dismissively. “So what do you say?” he prompted.
Scratching his chin, Tsuji hummed quietly. “I don’t see the point of it, to be honest.” he said.
“The point of dating is to get closer to each other,” Inukai explained patiently, gesturing at both of them, “Using each other’s first name is the basis.”
“I see,” Tsuji gave an understanding nod.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Inukai smiled triumphantly, “Shinnosuke.”
Taken aback, Tsuji didn’t realize he’d leaned on the backrest of his chair to widen their distance until Inukai sent him a surprised look.
“What’s wrong?” Inukai asked, seeming more curious than concerned.
“Nothing,” Tsuji shook his head, sitting straight back. It was the first time someone aside from his family called his first name, but he never expected to be startled like that. It was just a way to refer to someone, wasn’t it?
“Did it sound too serious?” Inukai crossed his arms, eyebrows wrinkled, “How about Shinnosuke-chan?” he suggested jokingly. Tsuji shook his head instantly. “Shin-chan then?” Inukai refused to give up.
Tsuji gave another firm headshake, earning a whiny sound from his senpai. “I prefer sticking to our last names.” he said, “I’m more used to it.”
“No no, your evasive attitude convinced me even more that we should start using our first names.” Inukai insisted, leaning towards the younger teammate, “Shin-chan, try calling me by my first name.”
“Don’t be like that, Inukai-senpai.” Tsuji sighed, putting a hand on his forehead.
“Come on, just try it.” Inukai encouraged. “Do you remember my name?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then try.”
It dragged out for a while before Tsuji knew he wouldn’t get away without complying. “Okay, I’ll try.” he conceded with a long sigh, trying not to notice Inukai’s victorious smile. Calling a name shouldn’t be as significant as Inukai was making it out to be.
Taking in a deep breath, Tsuji looked directly at his older teammate, who was staring at him expectantly. “S-Sumi-” Strangely, words stuck in his throat as his heartbeat rose rapidly. He could even feel his cheeks heating up in a foreign nervousness. “…haru…” he trailed off, voice barely audible.
“I can’t hear you, Shin-chan.” Inukai sent Tsuji a smile, clearly enjoying his struggle.
For the first time ever, Tsuji couldn’t convince himself to like that smile. “Give me a second.” he stalled, which Inukai didn’t oppose. Why was this harder than he had thought? He was well aware that he barely called his friends by their first names, but he should’ve heard Inukai’s name from someone- wait, he hadn’t.
“Inukai-senpai-”
“Wrong, it’s Sumiharu.” Inukai interrupted, waving his finger.
“No, I have a question.” Tsuji continued. Inukai looked surprised but gestured for him to go on. “We’ve been hanging out together for a while; why haven’t I heard anyone calling you by your first name?”
A few seconds of silence passed; then Inukai sent Tsuji a clueless smile. “Because no one did?” he said, probably not understanding the question.
“I mean… not even your classmates or friends-” Only then, Tsuji realized the true nature of his question. He hastily added, “No, I don’t mean-”
Before Tsuji could clarify, Inukai started laughing. “I got what you meant.” he said in the middle of his laughter. It took Inukai a while to calm down while Tsuji kept staring at him in puzzlement. “The reason why no one calls me by my first name is that I’ve never done so to anyone either.”
Tsuji blinked. “Huh?” he blurted out unintelligibly.
“Is it a surprise to you?” Inukai looked amused.
“It is,” Tsuji confirmed.
“Do you want to know why?” Inukai leaned forward a little, propping his chin with a hand, a mysterious smile on his lips.
Tsuji swallowed before giving a reluctant nod. Despite the time they’ve spent around each other either as teammates or schoolmates, personal matters were all left out of their conversations. Inukai never openly talked about himself while Tsuji wasn’t the curious type so it was almost safe to say that aside from their skills in battle and daily habits, they knew nothing about each other.
“I’ll tell you…” Inukai paused, gazing at Tsuji as if waiting for his reaction, “… after you call me by my first name.”
Staring at Inukai’s signature smile, Tsuji used a few seconds to process what his senpai had just said before sending him a narrow look. “I don’t want to know anymore,” he said dryly, picking up the tab on the table.
“Oh come on! Don’t give up like that, Shin-chan.” Inukai whined, reaching over to yank the tab from Tsuji’s grasp.
Sighing, Tsuji gave his older teammate an exasperated look. “Tell me the reason first then.” he bargained.
“Then you will call me by my first name?” Inukai confirmed. Tsuji rolled his eyes. “Okay, so…” Inukai cleared his throat, putting on air. “The reason why I’ve never called anyone by their first name, aside from you – Shin-chan, is that…” he grinned, “I’m not close to them.”
Wow… that was anticlimactic. Tsuji swallowed the comment. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” Inukai affirmed. “Were you waiting for some emotional story?” he teased.
“No, I wasn’t.” Tsuji lied. He should’ve known better.
Inukai probably saw through him, but accepted the answer nevertheless because his main objective was achieved. “I’m done. Now is Shin-chan’s turn to call my name.” Inukai whistled joyfully.
Tsuji only had his own carelessness to blame for falling right into Inukai’s trap. Well, it wasn’t like he had any hope to win against his senpai in a word war anyway. He had better get this name calling matter over with if he wanted to have anything else done today. “Okay,” he sighed again, secretly wanting to pull on Inukai’s cheek to erase his current grin, “Sumiharu-senpai.” Unlike the first time, words rolled out from his tongue smoothly, surprising even Tsuji himself.
Inukai’s head perked up instantly, eyes shining like a puppy getting praised. “Again, Shin-chan.” he asked, his grin becoming almost irresistible. Almost.
“I’ve fulfilled my part of our deal.” Tsuji crossed his arms.
“Don’t be stingy like that,” Inukai whined, reaching towards Tsuji to grab his arms, which put him half lying on the table, “My name sounds hundreds times better in your voice.”
“You’re just saying things to get your way.” Tsuji averted his eyes to the side, avoiding his senpai’s begging look.
“No, just try it again, you will understand.” Inukai insisted, “Don’t you like hearing your name called by people close to you, Shin-chan?”
“Not really,” Tsuji said awkwardly. Hearing his name from people outside of his family was still a brand new experience and he couldn’t tell if he liked it or not. However, there was one thing he was certain of. “But I never hate it when Inukai-senpai calls me, either by my first or last name.”
A surprised sound pulled Tsuji’s eyes back right in time to see pink dusting Inukai’s cheeks. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Inukai hastily retreated to his seat and shielded his face from view with a hand.
“Inukai-senpai?” Tsuji tilted his head to the side questioningly.
“N-Nothing,” Inukai stuttered, trying to add a few unnatural laughs to cover for his weird reaction, “I’m just surprised. That’s all.”
“Why?” Tsuji lifted an eyebrow, “I only stated the truth.”
Inukai put down his hand and gave the younger teammate an exasperated smile. “So you’re smooth by nature, aren’t you?” he mumbled, earning another clueless look from Tsuji. “I also like the way you call me,” Inukai rested his chin on a palm, smiling gently, “Shinnosuke.”
Jolting backwards a little, Tsuji instinctively placed a hand on his chest where his heart had just skipped a beat. What was it?
That didn’t escape Inukai’s eyes. “Oh I see,” Inukai said with his usual sly smile, “Shin-chan is no good. Shinnosuke it is.”
“I don’t think I like your current expression, Inukai-senpai.” Tsuji said defensively.
“It’s Sumiharu for you, Shinnosuke.” Inukai corrected, earning a pointed look from his experimental lover.