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It had been hotter than usual the whole summer. The engine of a plane purred as it passed over the tennis courts, dragging a white tail behind it - the only cloud-looking thing anywhere around that wasn't coming from Icchan's nose. Bane passed the back of his hand over his nose and sniffed. It really was the kind of heat that makes your eyes water. Unless that was just sweat as well, is it possible to sweat into your eyes? Well, at least now he could cool off for a while; the benches by the courts were still in the shade of the trees, and he and Saeki had nothing to do but wait for the other practice matches to finish. Bane felt his attention drift to the court in front of him, but--
"They seem to be doing well today." Saeki had returned from the fountain and was still mopping the side of his cheek with a towel. Bane looked up at him and watched him nod back towards the court, but Bane ignored that.
"Is it possible to sweat into your eyes?"
Saeki gave an incredulous frown and shuffled away. "Was it something I said?" Bane called after him, with a laugh, and he saw Saeki smile and shake his head. But Sae was pretty perceptive, wasn't he? He could tell that Bane wanted to be alone with his thoughts. That, or he's just not a fan of idiotic conversation, one or the other.
Ryoh was really backing Davide into a corner. Bane leaned forward, curling the fingers of one hand over his lips. Davide had been playing defensively for some time now; worse, Ryoh was baiting him towards the net without much trouble. Still, the score, at least, was pretty damn close. Davide was fighting tooth and nail to keep it that way.
It was hot.
The weather. The weather was hot. The weather that was hot, combined with the tough shots Ryoh was putting him through, caused Davide to sweat a whole lot. Which was…
…Probably uncomfortable for him. Bane coughed suddenly. Uncomfortable because of Davide's long hair, which was becoming more and more dishevelled. When it was unset, Davide's hair fell down over his face and neck in curling, bright tresses; the contrast made his skin seem all the paler. From where Bane was sitting, he could see one of those tresses, not falling away elegantly, but sticking over Davide's face and lips with sweat. It made Bane uncomfortable to see it. He wanted so desperately to wipe it away, and…
The point was called, and Davide recalled his attention from the game just long enough to catch Bane's gaze. Bane started, but hurriedly grabbed at his own hair before making a shrugging motion. Seeing this, Davide slicked a hand through his hair, and, dissatisfied, swung his racquet through the air as if pretending to hit Bane with it. "It's not that long!" Bane called back, and he could hear Ryoh snickering at him from the other end of the court. Well, the less time spent dwelling on that one, the better.
With his back turned towards Bane, Davide gathered together all his wayward hair and smoothed it into one hand. He tied it up in a high ponytail, the damp, darkened ends brushing against his neck. Didn't that tickle him? Bane straightened his back and tried to look as casual as possible, as he imagined how Davide would look and sound, reacting to a touch on his neck.
At some point he noticed the match had resumed, and actually, it was almost over. He wanted to pay attention to it, he would've, but after every few passes he saw Davide close in front of him, pale skin shining in a soft blue light. Davide's school shirt was open and draping off his left shoulder, so that his neck was displayed… invitingly. What was he, a vampire, but Bane couldn't change it no matter how many times the scene replayed in front of him. He would slide his lips over Davide's skin, listening to the changes in the way he breathed.
"Bane-san." When Bane refocused, he could see Davide - actual, existing Davide - walking towards him. The match was already over, somehow. Ryoh had won? Bane shuffled over on the bench to make room for Davide beside him, and prayed the outcome of the game wouldn't come up in conversation. He watched from the corner of his eye: Davide had pulled his bag out from under the bench, sifting through it for his towel and water bottle. Davide was not doing anything miraculous at all, but recently, Bane's chest felt tight when he was close by and it made it difficult for him to think of what to talk about.
"I think I'm becoming allergic to you." Bane said, for lack of anything else to say.
"Mn?" Davide turned to face Bane and tilted his head to the side. "I think that's a pretty ir-RASH-onal thing to say." He chuckled and Bane aimed a kick at his ankle. Any kind of conversation would be better than puns, any at all. I can't stop fantasising about doing you; what was your day like? Bane cringed at the thought. He was a dumbass, and so was Davide. He gave Davide a clip around the ear for good measure. "I didn't say anything that time!" Davide protested.
"No, but you're still a dumbass."
Davide shot him a sharp look, but he was laughing; Bane couldn't help grinning himself. He thrust his arm roughly around Davide's shoulder - a good, permissible, manly sort of affection, and it winded Davide in the process. Good. With a sudden burst of energy, Bane squeezed Davide a bit tighter, and Davide grunted at him. "Stop it, my hair's caught."
Instead of moving away, as perhaps Bane should have, he moved closer, pulling Davide's back towards him. The inside of his thigh brushed slightly against Davide's hip, just as Davide gasped in surprise. "Let me comb your hair out for you," Bane said. This was totally normal. "Give me your brush." Davide gave a noise of assent and fished his hairbrush out of his bag. A memory came back to Bane as he slid the band out of Davide's hair. "I used to do this for you all the time when we were kids," he said, passing the teeth of the brush through the bright strands.
There was a pause. "Yeah," Davide said, but ventured nothing further than that. Bane could sense that Davide's mood had changed, but he was unable to figure out why. As he opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, a soft, sweet scent reached him, distracting him completely. It was Davide. Or his hair, as was more likely, but it made Bane realise how his fantasy was incomplete. This was real; this Davide was warm and close. Bane swept Davide's hair to one side, and he could see the whiteness of that neck just in front of him. He felt like his lips were tingling in anticipation.
"Ba…ne-san?" Davide's voice recalled him; Bane realised he'd been breathing quite heavily and quite close to Davide's ear.
"Your hair smells nice." Why. Why did Bane have to be that dumbass who has to say exactly what was on his mind.
"Ah." Davide said, reflexively reaching a hand behind his head to touch his hair. "I thought you were wheezing or something. Because you're allergic to me."
Bane moved away, most reluctantly, and smiled. "Well, that too." He passed the brush and the hair band back to Davide. "Think you can fix it now?"
"Mn. I'll go style it." Davide hurried off in the direction of the clubroom.
"Yeah, get going, before I break out in hives." Bane called after him. He watched Davide disappear indoors, unable to suppress his grin. With a light heart, he turned back towards the courts-- only to see Ryoh and Sae standing elbow to elbow and smirking right back at him.