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ittetsu gave a sidelong glance, fingers wrapped around the spine of his history book so tight that his knuckles turned white. he fidgeted as he stared, wide-eyed behind his hand-me-down glasses. the more he looked, however, the more he wanted to look away in embarrassment. even as he willed himself to look away, he only manages to avert his gaze long enough to keep himself from staring at the boy blocking his only exit out the small store. his college uniform felt too constricting, too warm.
and it was so wrong.
he was twenty-years old — almost twenty-one, for god's sake — and he's leering at a boy he didn't know who was still in high school.
still, the boy was so . . . mesmerising. every time he hit against the blue and yellow ball, the muscles in his arms and back contracted. his face would twitch in concentration, brows furrowed, bottom lip jutting out from in between the grasp of his teeth. sweat rolled down the planes of his back, between his shoulder blades and over the ridges of his spine. the sun beat down against his back, making his complexion stand out.
god, and his shorts hung low against his hips. every time he turned, takeda could catch a glimpse of the slight v forming just along his hips. he could also see——
"keishin, there's a customer, the eldery man sitting outside next to the boy called, not even looking up from the sudoku puzzle in the morning newspaper.
ittetsu jumps, almost dropping the bag of potato crisps and the soda bottle slick with condensation. he scurries off to the counter, readjusting his thin frames. the tips of his ears burn - and it's possible his face is bright red, too. he stands, facing away from the others and leaning on the counter.
the noise stops: no more squeaking of shoes against the road, no more sounds of the impact between arms and ball. there's a faint rustle after that.
ittetsu manages to give a glance over his shoulder, just long enough to keep himself from staring. he stared at the blue towel slung over the boy's neck, doing his damn best to keep his eyes off the kid's body.
keishin gave a small sound of reluctant agreement. the veneer of sweat coating his body was uncomfortable, even for him; serving someone in this weather would be as gruesome as playing under the summer sun. he patted himself down with his towel, glancing every so often at the customer. his grandmother would probably have his head if she knew he was half-naked in front of a customer, man or not.
he grabbed his jersey. the words karasuno was emblazoned into the front, while his number was printed on the back. as he slipped it on, looking back at the customer, keishin couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious.
"gomen, ne," the teen said, easing his head out the top of the shirt. he patted his face with the towel. the man was as tall as him, and maybe even smaller; he gave him a fixed smile to keep himself from commenting.
"ah!" ittetsu jumps again out of his reverie, bowing slightly on instinct. "no, no! it's okay."
keishin nodded in lieu of a reply, and took his place behind the counter. he grabbed the man's items, turning it over to look for the barcode; before setting them back down.
"so. . . you're from karasuno?"
keishin looks up from his boring task. there was a confused look against his features for a second, but it quickly changed as he followed the megane's gaze to his shirt.
"yeah," he grins, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. "third year."
takeda stares, dumbfounded by his smile.
noting the lapse in the conversation, ukai smooths out his expression. "that'll be three hundred yen."
the other blinks, jumping out of another daydream. "ah-- hai."
as takeda reaches to fish for his wallet, ukai reaches and digs around the underside of the counter, muttering under his breath in a tone evident of his displeasure. the elder tries not to stare, a question forming on the tip of his tongue. to keep from prying, he places some bills and a few coins on the surface between them. the coins 'clink' as it meets the counter.
keishin's head pops up, confusion evident in the crease between his brows until he noted the change sitting on the counter. he slides it into his palm, guiding it with his other hand.
takeda is staring again; this time, battling a smile. he bites down on his lower lip, before giving a small giggle. the younger looks at him almost accusingly.
"what?" he challenges, voice threatening. he follows ittetsu's line of sight again, and scowls. "you have a problem with it?"
there was a pink butterfly clip keeping his hair away from his eyes, glittering from the sunlight reflecting off some of the goods.
i really need to cut it, keishin muses to himself.
takeda straightens up, cheeks pink with from laughing. ukai's look was deadly, but his threatening stance was nothing with the clip on. "no, no! it's cute."
that wasn't the word he was looking for.
keishin gives him an incredulous look, bordering pissed and flustered and everything in between. ittetsu beams back at him, smiling wide. he reaches over, and takes his plastic bag.
he gives one last bow, halting ukai from giving a retort. "arigatou gozaimasu!" he makes a break for it, clutching his snacks to his chest.
keishin glares, a red dust covering his cheeks. he reaches up, and touches the clip. "i'm not cute."