Work Text:
It wasn’t the first time Loser entered this organized house. However, it’s the first time for him to cook here with him, Ishikawa.
“ Yuki, where is salt?”
“Here “
Ishikawa replied to him, and reached for the shelf above his head while staring at the pasta in the boiling pot. Salt, pepper, sugar etc were still put in order.
Loser sprinkled some salt on the seafood on the frying pan. While he was multi-tasking such as frying shrimp and squid, adding some salt and pepper, and crushing tomatoes, the man who was two years older than him was just staring at the pot.
“ I can do that much,too”
Ishikawa said with small voice and mischievous expression. Loser laughed.
The two volleyball players wanted to eat something on the way home from practice. They could have gone to the restaurant, but Loser said that his cooking skills had improved recently, so they decided to cook at Ishikawa’s house which was closer to the gym.
Loser holding the frying pan looked at the Japanese player next to him. He remembered the first time they met as teammates. At that time, he was on edge in a new place, and he had a sense of rivalry with everyone. He thought it would be difficult to communicate with this Japanese player that no one could read his expression. But now, two years later, he felt free to go his home like this and cook together shoulder to shoulder.
Being a team is always a special experience. A pleasant sense of unity, a sense of security, and courage. Ishikawa gave them to Loser.
Ishikawa is a type of person who has his own world. Even though he looks quiet and shy, he’s louder than anyone else during the game, and he’s excited like a child during practice. He insists on his opinion without hesitation, but that doesn’t mean that he usually talks a lot. He always keeps his own pace, so people around him naturally adapt to it. Loser is one of them.
“ Yuki, what about next season? What are you going to do?”
Loser stopped what he was doing, looked to Ishikawa, and asked. He felt that it was too early to talk about the next season, but it came to his mind, so he decided to ask about it.
Ishikawa kept silent for a while, staring at the boiling pot and thinking with pouting. Then, he glanced at Loser and said clearly.
“ I want to challenge”
He didn’t say “in a new place”, but Loser thought that was how it meant. He turned off the heat. The sauce was already ready.
“Yuki”
When he called his name, Ishikawa, who was still pouting, turned to him. Pasta was swimming in a boiling pot. When Loser embraced him, Ishikawa lost his balance a little and his head was pushed into Loser’s chest. He put his head on the shoulder of this middle blocker and closed his eyes. They remained the same until the pasta was boiled.
The pasta was a little overcooked, but he felt like the sauce was pretty good.
“How was that taste?”
Loser said. Ishikawa, who was full of his mouth, deliberately frowned and tilted his head and made a gesture of “so-so.” When Loser poked his shoulder, he gave his unique laughter.
They didn’t talk about volleyball. They just talk about popular songs, the railroad strike scheduled for next week, the cafe Loser went to recently while watching TV. Ishikawa was sitting on the sofa, and Loser was sitting on the floor.
After talking for a while,there was silence. But there was no need to look for any topic in a hurry. The voice of the host of the talk show coming from the TV filled the silence of them.
Loser was thinking about next season again. This might be the last season that they could play together. Will we meet as opponent next season ? Then it’s still good. He might go to a place with a time difference.
He tilted his head back and looked at Ishikawa sitting on the sofa. His face, staring blankly at the TV screen, turned upside down in Loser’s eyes. He stared at his dark brown eyes, eyelashes, thinly opened lips.
“Yuuki”
He tried to pronounce it slowly and carefully. He knew that his real name was not pronounced “Yuki.” However, for Loser, both “Yuki” and “Yuuki” sound similar, so it was difficult to pronounce it correctly. But this time, he seemed to be able to say it well. Ishikawa, whose name was called, raised his eyebrows somewhat surprised, tied his mouth and looked at Loser. His thin and long eyelashes shake.
Loser put his hand on Ishikawa’s thigh, knelt on the floor. He put his left hand on his cheek, and kissed him. When he stared at the dark brown eyes up close, Ishikawa also stared back. Loser put his tongue in his mouth which already opened thinly. His eyes were open for a moment, and then he closed his eyes slowly. Loser stared at his eyelids for a moment.
He stood his right knee on the sofa, and grabbed Ishikawa’s head with both hands. The soft hair tickled between his fingers. It was a kiss that seemed to continue forever. Loser heard Ishikawa’s breath right next to him and it immediately disappeared into his mouth.
Immediately after hearing a loud laugh from the TV, Ishikawa lightly pushed Loser’s chest. So the two of them left. When Ishikawa wiped his mouth by his T-shirt, Loser also slowly wiped his mouth and sit on the floor. They faced the TV again. The talk-show seemed to be heading for the ending.
Loser leaned his head on Ishikawa’s lap and sighed deeply and long. It was rare for him to do that. Ishikawa reached for Loser’s head on his lap, and brushed his hair gently. That was a different way of touching than during the game or practice. Loser, who heard a gentle laugh from above his head, still sighed and press his face on Ishikawa’s lap.