Work Text:
“Do you think Miss Sonia likes roses?”
Even with the Biology textbook propped on his knees covering half his face, Kazuichi could still see the dramatic eye roll from Leon Kuwata. “Jesus, Kaz. This again?”
“What do you mean ‘again’?” he countered, leaning forward.
“Two nights ago when we were doing Algebra you wanted to know if Sonia liked the quadratic equation.”
Kazuchi blinked back at Leon. “Well, does she?”
Leon released a heavy sigh, one hand raking down the side of his face towards his goatee. “You’re fuckin’ impossible, man. I don’t even know why we’re doing this. You’re not even studying anyways.”
Kazuchi grabbed Leon's textbook, yanking it off his lap to reveal his phone concealed within the pages. “Neither are you, dumbass.” He snapped the textbook shut, tossing it onto the floor. The sound was muffled by the week’s worth of dirty laundry strewn around the bed. “And I already told you, it’s because Sonia’s dad won’t let her marry a guy without a college degree!”
“She told you that?” Leon muttered, leaning back against his pillow and propping his arm behind his head.
“Well… no. But she’s a princess, man! I’ve gotta be as respectable as I can for a girl like her!”
Leon sighed and shook his head. “You’re impossible,” he repeated, eyes now glued to his phone. Any illusion of studying was long gone.
“Why do you keep saying that?” Kazuichi whined, flopping backwards onto the bed.
“Because you are,” Leon replied simply. “You couldn’t even bag a regular girl, let alone a princess.”
Kazuchi’s lower lip jutted out into a pout. “I could,” he mumbled.
“Could not,” Leon said, thumb flicking idly up the screen of his phone. “Have you ever even kissed a girl, Kaz?”
Kazuichi mumbled something imperceptible under his breath. Leon already knew the fucking answer, so asking him was just some means of masochistic torture.
It wasn’t Kazuichi’s fault that he’d never kissed a girl; not really. He’d never really been good at talking to girls (or talking to anyone, for that matter). Machines had always made more sense to him than human beings, but he wasn’t pathetic enough to build himself a girlfriend.
Yet.
“If you’d just give me some tips, man,” Kazuichi groaned, staring up at the ceiling. Where Kazuichi was helpless with girls, Leon had always been every bit the resident Ladies’ Man of their class. He’d bagged a burgeoning idol in their freshman year, after all. After Sayaka, there had come a string of other chicks, none of which had lasted long but had been enough to put another notch on Leon’s belt.
“Yeah, I’ve got a tip.” Leon finally tore his eyes away from his phone. “Stop acting like such a pathetic lovesick bastard whenever Sonia’s around.”
“I do not!”
“You do too,” Leon replied, “And it’s fucking embarrassing to watch.”
“And yet you’re still here,” Kazuchi pointed out. “I can’t be that embarrassing if you’re still my friend.”
“For now,” Leon replied, the corner of his lip curving up into a smirk.
Kazuichi’s eyes widened. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!” he squeaked.
Leon just released a laugh, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
“Look,” Kazuichi continued. “I just need some practice, that’s all! You know me, man. I always learn best with my hands.” Reading from a book had never really cut it for Kazuichi. Words seemed to just cause his eyes to glaze over. Muscle memory was where he stored all of his knowledge, and even now he was itching to learn using something tangible.
“Why don’t you teach me?” The words blurted from his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. Kazuichi’s brain-to-mouth filter was particularly weak, and he was infamously known for speaking without thinking.
“What? ” Leon replied, phone fumbling out of his hands. “I’m not gay, Kaz.”
“Me neither!” he replied, perhaps too quickly for his own good. “But it wouldn’t be gay. It’s only gay if there’s feelings involved.”
And he’d definitely never thought about Leon in that way before. Not even late at night, when he couldn’t sleep and his mind decided to wander. And absolutely not two weeks ago when he’d hung around the baseball diamond for practice and had watched the sweat that glistened on Leon’s toned arms as he pitched strike after strike.
“No way, man,” Leon replied, hands held out in front of him.
That should have been the end of it. Kazuichi should have been glad that Leon had rejected his impulsive thought, should have been quick to put this all behind them.
But Kazuichi didn’t know when to keep his stupid mouth shut.
“What, are you chicken?”
Leon straightened at that accusation. Like a cat arching its back for defense, ready to take on anyone that dared challenge him. “I’m not a chicken,” he responded.
Kazuichi leaned forward, his heart suddenly racing. “Then prove it,” he whispered.
Leon released a huff, eyes narrowed as he stared Kazuichi down. He pushed himself into a seated position, their faces only a few inches apart now, their eyes locked on each other as neither dared to be the first to blink. Kazuichi was afraid to even breathe, feeling Leon’s own exhales against his cheek.
“I’m not a fucking chicken,” Leon whispered, before finally pressing his lips against Kazuichi’s.
It took the mechanic a moment to respond. He blinked in rapid succession, before finally closing his eyes and allowing his mind to focus in on the kiss. Leon’s lips were pressed against his, and Leon’s hand had come to rest against Kazuichi’s shoulder. He did his best to memorize every action, to understand kissing as if it were a blueprint for heavy machinery.
Leon’s mouth parted, capturing Kazuichi’s upper lip and sucking gently.
(How the hell was he supposed to remember this when his brain had basically blue screened?)
It took Kazuichi a few seconds before he remembered that he should be doing more than sitting there like a horny statue. Slowly he brought one of his hands up to cup the nape of Leon’s neck, fingers tangling with the shaggy red hair he found there. He tried to copy Leon’s movements, his own lips parting to allow Leon better access to his mouth.
His body felt electrified, cognizant of each touch. His heart hammered against his ribcage as Leon’s fingers dug into the soft flesh of his shoulder. His lips moved hungrily, as if savouring every bit of Kazuichi. Fuck, Leon was good at this. No wonder girls were always falling at his feet – they probably all gossiped about how he was some sort of kissing god.
One of Leon’s hands slipped up towards Kazuichi’s cheek, pulling him closer. He followed, their chests now pressed flush against each other. The only way to get any closer would be to remove the shirts that clung stupidly to their skin. Without much thought, Kazuichi used his free hand to pull at the sleeve of Leon’s jean jacket.
His fingers managed to snake beneath the denim to Leon’s arms; just as taut and toned as they’d been when on full display on the baseball diamond. His hand ran up the muscles of Leon’s bicep, his lips continuing to press frantically against Leon’s.
Leon, for his part, had taken to exploring Kazuichi’s mouth. He hadn’t hesitated in ramming his tongue in there, and while the mechanic had initially been shocked by the bold move he’d allowed Leon to take control. He knew what he was doing, and Kazuichi was just here to learn.
(Right?)
Kazuichi’s fingers entwined themselves further into Leon’s hair, tugging gently at the red locks. Leon responded in turn by grazing his teeth across Kazuichi’s lower lip. An involuntary moan slipped out of Kazuichi’s mouth at the contact.
Within a fraction of a second, Leon had pulled away. His own lower lip was swollen, his pupils shot. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, then tugged awkwardly at his jacket, trying to straighten out its crumpled appearance.
“See, I told you.” His voice seemed softer now, his blue eyes looking anywhere but Kazuichi’s face. “I’m not a chicken.”
“I. Uh…” He searched his brain for something to say that was more coherent than “Kiss me again you bastard”.
“Look, man.” Leon laughed, eyes still on the floor of his bedroom. “No homo, right?”
Kazuichi’s mouth felt dry. It was something he’d heard Leon say a million times before – hell, it was something Kazuichi had said a million times before – and he’d never thought much of it.
But now he wanted to grab Leon by the shoulders and shake him.
Yes. Yes homo.
And yet somewhere in the last five minutes he’d learned his lesson. He kept his mouth shut, simply offering Leon a nod of his head and a grunt.
Did you like that as much as I did?
He had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from asking the questions that were burning a hole through his brain.
Do you want to do that again as much as I do?
“Hey man, it’s getting pretty late and it’s not like we were doing much studying anyways.” Leon gathered his textbook off the floor. “You know how my mom is about having to cook for extra people.”
Kazuichi’s heart sunk in his chest. While it was true Mrs. Kuwata didn’t like extra guests staying for dinner, that had never stopped Leon and Kazuichi from simply ordering a pizza for themselves, or just eating an entire bag of Doritos in lieu of a real meal.
Leon’s intention was clear – get the hell out of my house.
“Yeah, okay.” Kazuichi reached for his hoodie and his Biology textbook, suddenly glad that Leon wouldn’t look him in the eye. He didn’t need to see the way that Kazuichi was barely holding himself together. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow or whatever.”
“Yeah,” Leon replied, burying his head in his phone once more. “See ya, man.”
Kazuichi steeled himself as he left Leon’s room, every semblance of impulse control in his body being used to keep himself from saying something he might regret.
Or from turning around, jumping on Leon, and pinning him to the bed with his lips.
As he left the house, jaw tight and feet slapping hard against the sidewalk, he couldn’t help but think: Leon had managed to do one thing right.
Right now, Sonia Nevermind was the last thing on his fucking mind.