Work Text:
Onoda was ecstatic. It was rare that they got time to themselves like this. He hadn’t seen Midousuji and Manami in over a month. They’d see each other at races, of course, but that didn’t allow much time. A few heated kisses, maybe some friction, but that was it.
Now finally, all three of their schedules had aligned and Midousuji and Manami were at his house for the weekend. Of course, Onoda had already drawn up a detailed plan to maximize their time together. Not to mention the fact that his mother was away on a business trip.
“Oi, Sakaaamichi,” Midousuji whined. “Come over here.”
Onoda rolled his eyes. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” He walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies his mom had made before she left.
Manami snatched a cookie off of the plate and stuffed it into his mouth. Midousuji stared at him in disgust. “What?” he grumbled, his mouth full. Midousuji’s nose wrinkled.
“Honestly, Manami, learn some manners!” Onoda sighed in fake exasperation. He couldn’t hide an affectionate smile. He flopped down on the couch on top of Manami. The blue-haired climber smiled slyly. Midousuji bared his teeth.
“Okay,” said Onoda, his voice full of anticipation. “Can we race today?”
His two boyfriends perked up at the mention of a race. “What kind of race?” Midousuji asked slowly.
Onoda shrugged. “Oh, you know. I was thinking we could bike out to Akihabara and then race home. There’s a back way home on some mountain roads. Great climbs. Several Grade 3s and I think one Grade 4 or Grade 5.”
Manami and Midousuji both straightened up. Onoda could practically read their minds at this point. A Grade 5 climb was always fun. Well, he supposed it depended what your definition of fun was. But for the climbers, it would be a great training challenge. Nationals were coming up, so they were all taking any chances to train they got. It would be hosted by Sohoku, so any Grade 5 climbs in the area were likely to be used for the race. Onoda’s spine tingled with excitement just thinking about it.
Midousuji snorted. “Otaku. I knew you’d make us go to Akihabara.”
“Like you don’t want to go too, Midousuji,” Manami said playfully.
“Gross,” he grumbled. “Fine, I guess we can go, but only because it’s a good training opportunity. There aren’t many good climbs near Kyoto Fushimi.”
Onoda beamed at his success. “Alright! Quick, we better go fast, or they’re going to run out of the new posters. They just came out today.”
Midousuji rolled his eyes.
Within minutes they were out of the house. Manami crouched next to his bike, double-checking the tire pressure. This would be a long ride, and he certainly didn’t want a flat or any added resistance to his tires. He had to be on his game to beat Midousuji and Onoda.
He hopped onto his bike, cycling lazy circles in the driveway as he waited for Midousuji and Onoda to do their final checks. Finally, they were on their way. Every time they visited, Onoda dragged them to Akihabara. Manami actually enjoyed the trip. It was always fun biking with Onoda. If he had a choice, all of his races would be against Onoda or Midousuji. The scenery in the area was nice, too, and it wasn’t like he could turn down a chance to train.
“Hurry, zakus,” Midousuji yelled, immediately sprinting down the street. Manami grinned. His pedals churned as he fought to catch up. Soon all three of them were even. Midousuji had to remind himself that this wasn’t a race. He didn’t want to be all sweaty and gross around those disgusting otakus. They took turns drafting. Midousuji was the fastest on the flats, so for the majority of the time he held the lead.
Within a few hours, they had arrived at Akihabara. The place was swarming with activity, even with the frigid temperatures keeping all but the most dedicated fans home. There was a particularly long line in front of the Love Hime store. Onoda lit up in excitement. He grabbed his boyfriends’ hands and pulled them towards the shop.
“Look, the new poster!” He pointed at the large poster hanging above the front door. Apparently that was what all the otakus were so eager to buy. He looked a tiny bit apologetic. “Sorry the line is so long, though. You can go somewhere else if you guys want, for a few minutes.”
Manami shook his head staunchly. “No, we’re here to hang out with you, Sakamichi. Right, Midousuji?” He smiled up at the taller boy.
Midousuji huffed. “Whatever. You guys are gross.”
Onoda giggled. Inwardly, he was relieved. He really hadn’t wanted to wait by himself. Occasionally the other fans could get a little rowdy, but with Midousuji’s frightening physique and expressions the other fans kept a safe distance. There were a lot of stares as they waited in line.
He wished that more people understood how amazing Midousuji was. Even the members of his own cycling team were frightened of the boy. They hated him because of his sometimes questionable racing strategy, but if they could just look past that they might be able to see how incredible Midousuji was. It had taken over a month for his team to accept their relationship and stop trying to convince Onoda to break up with them. Luckily, they’d been more accepting of Manami.
Midousuji gave threatening glares to anyone who dared to stare at him, and they eventually reached the front of the line. Luckily, Onoda managed to snag the last one they had in stock, to the other fans chagrin. He leaned up on his tippy toes and gave Midousuji a peck on the cheek to thank him.
“Gross,” Midousuji mumbled. Belying his words, Onoda and Manami could both see a dusting of pink across his cheeks.
“Alright, let’s get parfaits to celebrate!” Manami linked arms with both of them.
“Ah, there’s a good place a few blocks from here,” Onoda said automatically.
They continued walking in harmonious silence. They got quite a few stares. Gay men weren’t uncommon in the district, but three of them together was a little strange. Not to mention their mismatching appearances. All three had changed into new outfits. It was gross sitting in your own sweat for the better part of a day after a bike ride, and all three had learned from previous mistakes. Onoda had even brought a skirt to try out. Usually, he wouldn’t dare, but he knew Midousuji and Manami would make sure that no one made a comment. The cute, petite boy with the blue haired young man and the scary, tall teenager got a lot of stares that day.
The parfait was delicious. Afterwards they went shopping. Midousuji and Manami managed to convince Onoda to buy more skirts. Apparently, he was pretty adorable in them. Finally they were done shopping. Midousuji and Manami were both totally worn out from the excitement of the day. Onoda, however, was still going strong. And of course the race was still on. None of them would miss an opportunity to race. Especially against each other.
Onoda leaned down to touch his toes. He’d never been very flexible, but since joining the cycling team he’d become able to actually touch the floor. It had taken multiple injuries for Maki to finally convince him to stretch more before cycling. Now he actually did yoga in the morning as well. Pulling muscles was painful, and being unable to bike afterwards was even worse.
He threw his leg over the saddle and began biking. They were just biking together at a moderate pace until they left the city. Onoda insisted that it was too dangerous to race through the traffic. He wanted this to be a nice visit to his home, not the emergency room.
Once they reached the small road leading to the mountains, Onoda shifted up two gears. He heard the cyclists next to him shift up as well. He held up a hand.
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” They shot off like bullets. Belatedly, Onoda hoped that nobody got lost. He knew the roads around here pretty well, but it could be confusing for a stranger to these parts. He had given them maps with the route just in case, but knowing Manami he had probably lost his already. And Midousuji had likely thrown it out immediately after receiving it. His boyfriends really were a handful.
At the moment, they were pretty close together. Midousuji had the lead, with Onoda in the middle and Manami last. They were still on the flats. When they got to the mountains, things would likely get much more competitive. They were all climbers at heart. Midousuji was the only all arounder of the three, though, so he had a distinct advantage. Onoda had designed the race so that it ended on top of a hill halfway between his house and Akihabara. They would bike at their leisure the rest of the way.
Slowly, the land began to incline upwards. Onoda grinned when Manami clicked down a gear, and Midousuji then followed his lead. Having biked here before, he knew the incline didn’t become a steep mountain, as the others assumed. It actually led to a steep decline. He would wait to shift up until right before the downhill. His boyfriends were very smart and attuned to the movements of other bikers, as he’d learned in the official races. He didn’t want to give away the surprise. Though he hated deceiving others, he’d learned that strategy in a race was as important as being in great shape. The downhill was also very sudden and came at a sharp corner. If you weren’t in a sufficiently high gear, you would be forced to coast down instead of using the decline to accelerate and slingshot up into the immediate mountain climb. He really enjoyed having the home advantage, for once.
He recognized the straightaway that led up to the descent. He shifted up 1, 2, 3, 4 gears. He’d saved up over the summer with a job at Akihabara and bought a nice, fancy used racing bike at a discount. It had way more than the ten gears of his old bike. During some of those huge climbs at the Inter-high he’d been worried about snapping a chain. That would have put all his hard work to waste. His new bike had 32 gears. Midousuji and Manami’s bikes had more, but it was good enough for him.
It was like the world dropped out from under them as they rounded the sharp turn. Onoda didn’t even bother decelerating around the turn. His knees scraped the ground painfully as he leaned to accelerate. He hunkered down over his handlebars, getting as low as possible. After the Inter-High, he’d decided to work on his descents and sprinting. Of course, he focused on climbing, since that was his specialty, but if he wanted to be competitive he needed to rectify his weak points.
Now he descended like an arrow. It was just a little bit terrifying to be going that fast down a twisting, turning, decrepit mountain road. If he hit a pothole, or even a patch of gravel, he would crash badly. Naruko had told him that was the exact stuff to not focus on while descending. If he thought about falling, his body would unconsciously slow down. Still, it was hard not to think about it as he plummeted down the side of the mountain. Even with the surprise, Midousuji was right behind him. Manami was a little farther behind, but he would doubtless catch up at the next mountain.
The rest of the race carried the same competitive tension as they jostled for first place. Since the majority of the race was mountainous, there wasn’t really a need for drafting. Finally, at the top of the biggest mountain, Midousuji hit the apex first. Onoda crossed right behind him, with Manami taking third. He’d made a valiant effort on the mountains, but he still needed to work on his descents.
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Manami taunted once they hit the bottom of the descent. “I’m working on my descents this summer. Next time we race I’ll win.”
Midousuji smirked. “Sure, zaku.”
Onoda just smiled during their exchange. They had stopped at the bottom to take a short break before they cycled at their leisure back to Onoda’s house. He’d brought some snacks from Akihabara, and they ate ravenously. Biking as far and hard as they had consumed a lot of calories. It would make any teenage boy hungry. Eventually, the snacks were finished and they hopped back on their bikes. Onoda had made sure to select snacks that wouldn’t sit in their bellies while they biked. Rice balls were a perfect snack for cycling. He always brought them when he went out to train on his own.
After two hours, they arrived back at Onoda’s house. They were all gross and sweaty. Manami’s legs ached. Onoda began a cool down stretch while Midousuji got in the shower. They’d decided on a shower schedule on the way back. Midousuji had completely refused to shower after either of them, saying that they would make the shower all grimy and gross, and neither Onoda nor Manami really cared about who showered first. Since Onoda had won, he went after Midousuji.
Once they’d all showered, they collapsed onto the couch. Onoda brought out the ice cream his mom had bought for them before she’d left. It was really lucky she’d had a business trip the very weekend his boyfriends had decided to come over. Though knowing his boyfriends, it probably hadn’t been a coincidence. He grinned wryly. Yeah, they’d probably pulled some strings. His mom was notoriously gullible. It ran in the family, apparently.
The winner got to choose what to watch, so they started out with the first generation of Gundam. Midousuji really had a love for mecha anime. They naturally curled around each other. Manami ended up with his legs across Onoda and Mido, and Onoda ended up curled into Midousuji’s chest. He was the perfect height to cuddle. Midousuji leaned against Manami’s shoulder. His neck stuck out awkwardly, but it was worth it for the way his face lit up in a bright smile. Gross.
They cuddled in silence. Occasionally, one of them would make an observation about the anime or curl closer, but for the most part they sat in comfortable quiet. Just the way they liked it.