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It was a typical day, after school. The ping pong club was having a meeting. Well, it wasn’t so much a meeting anymore as it was an intense scrimmage between two of the players. Hanzawa, being the club captain, was serving as the umpire for the match. However, it was getting increasingly difficult for him to stay impartial. Why was this?
Because Tashiro was playing.
The dyed-blond boy was in the middle of a high-stakes rally with his opponent. They had been at it for minutes now, so it was only natural for him to be working up a sweat. Hanzawa watched as the droplets stuck Tashiro’s hair to his forehead and the way his arms swung with the force of the paddle, his lithe muscles pulled taut. The older of the two swallowed thickly, trying not to lose himself in his staring.
It was evident that he was falling for this boy. Falling… hard.
This was a very confusing moment for Hanzawa. Well, more like a confusing few months, if he was honest. Ever since the ping pong season had started for the year, the older male had found himself growing more and more attracted to the younger. Which was a crisis for the prior, who had previously thought he was completely straight and just too focused on his studies to pursue someone.
Apparently not.
At the moment, Tashiro missed the final swing, ending the intense rally, and the scrimmage, as well. The false blond groaned at losing his rhythm and placed down his paddle, wiping the sweat from his face. Sighing, he plastered a smile back on and gave a “good game,” to his opponent. Thankfully, it was an obvious loss so Hanzawa didn’t have to deal with the arguing over which one of them won, which would betray the fact that he wasn’t paying attention. In fact, he had only just now come back to reality. He internally scolded himself.
Now that the match was over, all of the club members that had been previously watching in earnest were packing up for the day. Time that felt like seconds had flown the hours by so quickly. Glancing at his watch, Hanzawa realized just how late it was and cleared his throat to get the attention of the other players.
“Well, well, it seems like that meeting flew by,” he chuckled, speaking in his normal, mysterious fashion, not letting his sheepishness betray itself in his voice. “You are all dismissed for the day. I’ll take things back to the sports closet. Good job everyone.” He smiled, that typical smile he gave with his eyes closed.
Subconsciously, he was facing Tashiro again, as if he was telling the blond, alone, that he had done well. The younger looked away, hiding how his face had reddened. This caused Hanzawa to frown, worrying that he had upset the other, but that didn’t last long.
“Hanzawa-senpai!” Tashiro suddenly perked up, smiling brightly again. It seemed like everyone else was filing out of the gym, leaving the two alone. That made the brunet’s heart race as he paid more attention to his underclassman, tilting his head to let the other continue on. “Let me help you bring this stuff back. I know the table can be difficult to bring back all by yourself. Believe me, I’ve had to do it before,” the blond said again as he rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle.
“That’s very kind of you, Tashiro. I will accept your assistance,” Hanzawa replied with a soft smile, unable to hide the slight redness in his face as Tashiro was staring right at him. He could only hope that the younger wouldn’t notice. (But notice he did, and his heart soared).
“Great!”
And thus, the two of them folded up the ping pong table, grabbed the paddles and balls, and brought them back to the sports closet. On the way, they chatted about random things like the match or how their classes were going. Everything seemed to be going fine, normal even, as if they were just senpai and kouhai, getting along with each other, not two teens that were hopelessly pining for one another.
Yes, Tashiro felt the same way that Hanzawa did. As far as either of them knew, it was a hopeless crush. There was little hope, or so they thought. Every little blush, or a gaze that lasted too long was an indicator of possible reciprocation. Even so, they were both deep in denial. They did not want to get their hopes up fruitlessly. Though, thankfully, they were both very patient and did not want to risk what they had.
However, that patience was about to be tested.
The last stop of the day was the locker room, and Hanzawa was dreading every moment the two of them walked to the building. They would be changing near each other, and the older was worried he’d catch himself staring again.
So, when they got inside and started to change, Hanzawa made a point to stare straight at the wall, his entire body stiff as he changed out of the sports clothes, back into his normal ones once again.
This time, Tashiro was the one looking, but for a different reason. He could see how tense his upperclassman’s muscles were, and he tilted his head in a questioning fashion.
“Did the meeting take a lot out of you? You look really tense,” the blond pointed out, innocently.
Hanzawa internally cursed himself as his shoulders rose up, tensing even more, not unlike a cat would. Tashiro was worried he had upset the older somehow.
“I’m okay, really,” the brunet replied, plastering on a smile. Everything about him was strained. Anyone could see he was struggling with something, and Tashiro was determined to figure out what that something was.
“Cmon, senpai, I think we both know that isn’t true. You can tell me anything, I promise!” The blond offered, giving a reassuring and innocent smile. He really did not know what he was asking of Hanzawa or the bombshell of information that was soon to be dropped on him.
Eventually, Hanzawa took a deep breath, letting his shoulders drop and forcing himself to relax. The last thing he wanted to do was make Tashiro worry. It looked like this was the only way he could do it. He turned to look at the younger and his breath caught in his throat. The last thing he expected was for his underclassman to ask him this question while still shirtless. How was he supposed to answer like this, too? There was no way to stop how his eyes trailed up and down the blond’s uncovered torso, but he soon shook his head, trying to come back to himself. Tashiro slipped on his regular shirt at nearly the same time, anyway, and the moment was lost.
“Fine, if you really want to know, I suppose I might as well get it off my chest now, or else it’s going to haunt me forever…” the brunet muttered in warning of the feelings he was about to unleash. Tashiro’s concerned smile was what drove Hanzawa to continue. He never wanted to see that worried look on the younger’s face, much less toward himself. As an upperclassman, a friend, and maybe even more, he wished that the other would always be happy, if possible. “I… like you Tashiro, I have for awhile. I just didn’t know how to say it. To be clear, I am not asking you to reciprocate my feelings; however, I feel it is only right for you to know-“
“I like you too, Hanzawa-senpai,” Tashiro immediately said, nearly cutting off the older’s sentence. He seemed to brighten up at the other’s confession and walked closer to him, smiling an even bigger smile than Hanzawa had ever seen on his face.
All for him. No one else.
That was enough to make Hanzawa’s eyes pop open in surprise. His dark, indigo irises that hardly anyone ever saw were as wide as saucers now, and his face became hot and red from all the blush rushing to his cheeks. Despite his best efforts to remain calm in this situation, he was freaking out inside and out.
“Tashiro… you don’t know how happy it makes me to hear that. Truly, so happy,” Hanzawa replied, unable to help himself as he walked up even closer to Tashiro and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling the shorter blond close and resting his head upon the younger’s shoulder, bending down and resting his head against it.
“Me too… I’ve honestly been pining over you for months now,” Tashiro replied sheepishly as he hugged the taller brunet back in earnest, nudging his forehead against Hanzawa’s so they could each look into each other’s beautiful eyes. The most luscious green meeting the deepest blue.
“As have I. I’m not sure if I can hold myself back any longer…” Hanzawa trailed off as he gazed upon every inch of Tashiro’s soft, pale face. He brought a hand up and used it to cup the other’s cheek, softly brushing over the lightest smattering of sun spots with his thumb. His eyes were drawn to the younger’s pretty pink lips that were parted like the most beautiful flower petals the older had ever seen.
“May I..?” He asked, knowing Tashiro would know what he was implying as he ran that same thumb gently along the blond’s lower lip. It was enough to bring the other to an extremely flustered state, but he still smiled that beautiful smile he always had. Hanzawa could feel it on the pad of his thumb.
“Of course!”
And that was all Hanzawa needed before he moved the last bit of the way forward, his own lips meeting Tashiro’s soft and sweet ones, tasting the candies he typically enjoyed. It was a first for both of them, so naturally, it was a bit awkward. Even their noses bumped at first! But, that didn’t mean that they didn’t feel the butterflies in their stomachs erupting the moment they connected.
Hanzawa tilted his head a little to the side and placed his free hand on the back of Tashiro’s neck, while the blond wrapped his arms around the brunet’s shoulders. The angle was much better now, and their lips slid back and forth with ease. Months of want was now all spilling out at once. But even they knew when it was enough. After all, they’d have plenty of time to figure out… everything else.
After what felt like hours, but was probably only a minute or so, the two pulled away from each other with a soft ‘smack.’ They were both bright red all the way down their necks and panting to catch their breath. Though, they stayed in an embrace, gazing at each other lovingly as Hanzawa intertwined their hands and fingers together, giving Tashiro’s a gentle squeeze.
“That was… unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Hanzawa spoke up first, still breathless and in awe.
“I feel the same. It was amazing!” Tashiro replied, equally as breathless, but seemingly with a new spark of energy as he smiled brightly once more. The other’s happiness made another rare, genuine smile creep over Hanzawa’s face. Tashiro returned the squeeze to the other’s hand and held it within his own like it was the most precious thing he had ever touched. Hanzawa’s heart squeezed in his chest from the cuteness overload.
“Indeed, very amazing,” Hanzawa said in agreement, causing Tashiro to laugh a little at how formal the other was acting.
“So, we’re boyfriends then, huh? We need to have a date now! After all, we kinda did this backwards,” Tashiro rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
Hanzawa couldn’t help but reply with his own chuckle. “Of course we’re boyfriends. And yes, I suppose we did. Well… if you’re free tomorrow, there’s this fun new arcade that just opened up in town. They also have a snack bar with mochi ice cream, if it interests you,” he offered, knowing Tashiro could never turn down video games and sweets. What he didn’t know, however, was that the blond’s face could brighten up ever more than it already had. The brunet swore he had to squint, as the blond radiated his own light.
“Woah really?! I’d love to! As if I could turn that down! You really know how to pick a date spot, senpai,” Tashiro replied with a small blush. A date huh… he never thought it’d actually happen!
“Why, thank you. How does seven in the evening work?” Hanzawa asked with a tilt of his head.
“It’s perfect!” Tashiro said immediately, practically bouncing.
“Then it’s a date. Now, how about I see you to the train station? It’s quite late now,” Hanzawa added, checking the time on his watch. It was nearly nine, and already dark outside.
Tashiro simply nodded and they both make sure they had all their belongings before heading to the station. Hanzawa couldn’t help but give the other a kiss on the cheek before he left, and Tashiro gave the older a quick hug. Once the blond was safely on his train home, Hanzawa waved him goodbye before heading back to the dorms.
They both slept soundly, dreaming of their amazing first date tomorrow.