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Soushirou doesn't know how he managed to get himself dragged into this mess. He was just minding his own business in his office as usual when he received a not so usual phone call from Hasegawa. He could hear Gen whining and complaining about whatever in the background as Hasegawa basically demanded that Soushirou come over to the First Division at once. Hasegawa hung up before Soushirou could even begin to ask why.
It doesn't matter though—because Soushirou finds out the reason he was summoned pretty quickly as he meets the top two of the First Division in Gen’s room. Hasegawa is scolding Gen about keeping up with his image as the First Division's captain while Gen is talking back with childish remarks. Soushirou already wants to return to his own office. Gen’s eyes light up when he spots Soushirou.
“Sou,” he whines as he walks up to Soushirou with open arms. “Hasegawa is being a bully!”
Soushirou sighs as Gen wraps himself around his torso. “What's goin’ on?”
“I have cleaned Narumi's room twice this week already,” Hasegawa says, tone exhausted.
“It's a Tuesday,” Soushirou states matter-of-factly.
Hasegawa presses his lips into a thin line. “Exactly.”
Soushirou replies by curving his lips into an ‘o’ shape. “And ya called me here because?”
The First Division Vice-Captain walks over to the door. “Please, make him clean his own room. Or help him,” he pleads. “I don't know, just—figure something out. I’m leaving him to you.”
Then, Hasegawa is out the door in the blink of an eye. Looks like a certain someone has been a bit too much of a nuisance lately.
“Sheesh,” Gen huffs. “What's up his ass, am I right?”
Soushirou gives him an unimpressed look.
Gen pouts back. “Whaaat?”
“Well, for starters, you and your insufferable attitude are probably what's up his ass,” Soushirou scolds.
“That's what she said,” Gen sing-songs like the immature child he is. “Anyways, I just got a new game on the BS5. You're so gonna suck it this time.”
If this were any other day, Soushirou would rise up to the challenge. (And he would probably win too.) However, Hasegawa had looked like he was ready to punt Gen off the rooftop of the Ariake Maritime Base’s tallest building, so Soushirou decides to reevaluate his course of action today. He looks over at Gen who is already unplugging the controllers from their chargers.
“I think you should listen to Vice-Captain Hasegawa for a change,” Soushirou suggests.
“Huh?” Gen scrunches his nose.
Soushirou shrugs. The fabric of his jacket rustles from the movement. “He looked like he was about ta pick ya up by the neck and hurl ya down the hallway.”
Gen huffs. “He always looks like that,” he dismisses with a wave of his hand. “Now, are you gonna play or what? There's always a single player option for me if you decide to be lame today.”
A controller is being waved enticingly in front of Soushirou's face, but he has already made up his mind. Without warning, he snatches both the devices out of the captain's hands and throws them onto the bed. Gen is about to yell at him for handling his precious things with such carelessness when Soushirou plants both his hands on the sides of the captain's arms firm enough to limit his movement.
“I’ll get ya anythin’ you want from Yamazon if you clean your room,” Soushirou bribes. Then, to top it off: “And I’ll make sure you struggle with cardio tomorrow.”
The offer seems to do its job because Gen perks up visibly. He narrows his eyes when he weighs his options out and ultimately lands right where Soushirou wants him to as he replies, “Fine, but you're helping me and getting me ice cream.”
Soushirou laughs. “Before or after having mind-blowing sex?”
“You're so cringe,” Gen snorts, but the corners of his lips are curling upwards. “Duh, after.”
Gen’s room isn't actually dirty per se, but it definitely is messy. Most of the things littered around the floor are pillows, plush toys and board game pieces. Soushirou remembers the time he stepped on a Lego brick in this very room when they first started—in Mina’s words—canoodling.
Soushirou always preferred coming over to Gen’s more, even though his room looks like a rebellious teenager’s hideout most of the time—but it is still proof that someone actually lives there. His own room is a stark contrast to his boyfriend's; it looks almost identical to when he first got assigned to it save for the few polaroids and photobooth prints of him and Gen sitting on his bedside table.
The captain is busy arranging his various manga and figurine collections on the shelves while Soushirou occupies himself with picking up the knick knacks scattered across the floor. Soushirou accidentally knocks an elbow against a cylindrical game piece and it rolls underneath the bed, not knowing when to stop. He groans when he has to get down on his chest to look for it.
He is about to reach his hand into the darkness when a couple boxes catch his eyes. They are shoved against the wall and tucked into a corner like they're supposed to be forgotten about. The stray game piece is now the least of Soushirou's concern and his curiosity is piqued. He shuffles on the floor until he is able to drag the surprisingly heavy boxes out of their hiding place.
One of the boxes contains several trophies, medals and certificates, all of them neatly arranged to prevent any damage to the items. Soushirou pulls a trophy out and reads the words carved into its wooden base.
NARUMI GEN
FIRST PLACE
U-15 TAEKWONDO CHAMPIONSHIP
It would have been more impressive if it were literally anyone else, but Soushirou already knows firsthand the kind of driving force that is Narumi Gen. He rummages through the box to find similar awards—all naming Gen as the top spot in both physical and academic categories. It is only when the first box is absolutely emptied, all its contents sprawled around Soushirou, that Gen looks over and promptly screams.
“Didn't your mother ever teach you not to snoop around other people's homes?!” He is kneeling in front of Soushirou in an instant.
“My, my. I didn't know you were such an overachiever, baby,” Soushirou teases.
The tips of Gen’s ears flame to life at the use of the pet name. He's sooo cute. Gen has never really gotten used to the affectionate terms Soushirou likes to call him.
He jabs a finger smack dab in the middle of the vice-captain’s forehead. “Quit being nosy, bowl cut.”
“C’mon, don't be like that.” Soushirou swipes a finger over a medal and shows it to Gen. “Plus, these things could use a lil’ dustin’.”
“No, they don't. Let's just put them back,” Gen mutters.
Soushirou purses his lips. He has been with Gen long enough to know that there is something bothering him, and it's most likely related to the boxes Soushirou just uncovered.
“Okay, how about I dust ‘em and you go back to whatever you were doin’?” Soushirou attempts to pacify the pout in Gen’s lips.
Gen grunts as he pushes himself off the floor. “Fine, but put them back where you found them.”
Soushirou smiles triumphantly and looks around to search for the damp rag he used to wipe down the cupboards earlier. The rough fabric of the cloth is about to come into contact with the medal that Soushirou still has in his hand when Gen speaks up again. “That other box is full of junk, so don't bother with it.”
And, well—that just makes the vice-captain want to go rummage through it even more. “Can I still have a look, though?” he asks for permission.
There's a brief silence before Gen grunts in acknowledgment, and Soushirou takes that as a yes.
When Soushirou is done with the last trophy, he finally gets the chance to lay his hands on the second box that Gen had seemed somewhat reluctant to allow Soushirou to have a look inside. He discards the lid by his side haphazardly and peers at the box’s contents.
At first, he can't really tell what he's looking at. It is more of a mess than Gen’s room on a typical Friday night, and that's saying a lot. Soushirou looks harder and concludes that the container is full to the brim with random trinkets; most of them worn with age or slightly damaged. There are outdated gaming consoles and teddy bears with frayed threads at the seams laying on top of the pile.
Soushirou digs through the box to find more—story books with yellowed pages, comics that have lost their colours and toys with bits of them chipped off. He looks up to find Gen already staring at him. The captain is absentmindedly worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.
Gen's eyes dart from Soushirou's face to the children's book in his hand. “It's all stuff from the orphanages I was in.”
Soushirou isn't really sure what to say. He opts for something lighthearted. “I never took ya as the sentimental type,” he jokes, and sticks his hand into the box to check if there's anything left.
The pads of his fingertips land on what feels like a smooth table top. Upon further inspection, it is actually a printed picture, in a standard 6R dimension.
“I’ll arrange ‘em nice and neat for ya,” Soushirou offers when Gen doesn't say anything.
He pulls the picture out and feels a sharp intake of breath enter his chest. The corners of the picture are slightly creased, and there are a few scratches on its surface. It’s a candid shot that shows Gen sitting in a circle with a number of children. He's in a gakuran, something that Soushirou never got to wear himself given his homeschooling. They all have a fan of playing cards in their hands and expectant looks in their shining eyes as they watch for Gen’s next move.
Soushirou must have been too focused on the photo because he doesn't notice that the captain has made his way over until a foreign set of fingers come to grip at the picture. He lets the thing slip out of his grasp when Gen tugs at it gently.
Gen has a very specific look on his face that wrenches the strings in Soushirou's heart painfully—vulnerability. It is not a freedom the First Division Captain allows for himself, even among his closest comrades like Hasegawa and Soushirou himself. The vice-captain wouldn't even need a whole hand to count the number of times he has seen Gen express himself like this, and all those times were because of particularly enervating battles.
“Are they kids from the orphanage?” Soushirou tries.
Gen nods curtly. “They were all brats,” he scoffs.
Soushirou laughs softly. “Maybe they learned how to be from someone.”
“What are you accusing me of?”
Soushirou shrugs.
The silence that follows isn't uncomfortable. Gen has shifted to sit with his legs in a crisscross position, his left knee touching Soushirou's right. Even through two layers of fabric, the heat from Gen’s body manages to make itself known.
“They all got adopted, last I heard,” he mumbles.
“That's good.”
“Yeah.”
Gen is thumbing at the edges of the picture, his twin pink flowers boring holes through it. If Soushirou had to put a name to the emotion boiling behind Gen’s eyes at the moment, it had to be bittersweetness. “You should get it framed,” Soushirou says.
Instead of arguing like he normally would, Gen agrees. “I should.”
“I’ll help ya put it up.”
“Thanks.”
⚔︎
The next time Soushirou visits the Ariake Maritime Base, there's a new shelf adjacent to the one housing Gen’s various collections. It displays the results of Gen's hardwork and effort back when he was just a regular student. Gleaming trophies and medals sit comfortably on the shelving. There's a framed picture perched at eye-level. Soushirou laughs when a BS5 controller gets chucked at him along with the threat of a challenge in a video game.