Chapter Text
“In short, our objective is to make the year as memorable as possible. Is everyone clear?” Tsukasa folds his arms, his gaze scanning the room as if he were appealing to a large audience rather than the two bright-eyed students sitting across from him.
Hiiro blinks, considering the vast amount of information Tsukasa relayed to the group. Hiiro was surprised to receive an invite to Yumenosaki’s yearbook club committee as their cameraman, considering his complete lack of experience. But he gladly accepted, certain that the experience would be a fun and memorable activity for his final year of high school. So far, to his relief, everything seemed to be pretty straightforward.
“Sora has a question!” Sora waves his hand in the air. “Will Hiiro-kun and Sora be working together to take pictures and then edit them, or are the roles separate?”
“Separate!” Hinata pipes up, just as Tsukasa raises a poised finger to answer. He snickers at Tsukasa’s pout. “What? I’m the captain. You’re only vice president. Besides, you’re overexplaining again… rookie~”
“Rookie?! This is a diarchy! I should have signed us up as co-presidents,” Tsukasa drops his chin into his hands, muttering, “I was certain you would rub salt into this wound every chance you got, and yet I still… Hold on, I am not overexplaining!”
“They’re flirting,” Sora whispers to Hiiro behind his hands, laughter ringing through his words. “Senpai and Shishou flirt by arguing, too.”
Hiiro grins back, eager to learn about all the different ways couples can express their affection for each other. It takes only a few more minutes of banter before Sora redirects the meeting back to some semblance of the intended purpose. “Now that all of the roles are sorted, Sora needs to take his leave! Shishou scheduled practice early today. Hiiro-kun, send Sora any photos you take right away, ‘kay?”
“Of course!” Hiiro nods promptly, the three of them bidding Sora goodbye before he can turn his attention back to the duo in front of him. “I need to attend my next club meeting, so I’ll be heading out as well. Thank you for entrusting me with this role!”
“Hey, all good~! We’re basically done here anyway. The only thing left to sort out is Tsukasa-kun’s attitude, and I can definitely deal with that on my own,” Hinata shoots a mischievous glance back at Tsukasa to check his reaction, which to his delight is feigned disbelief.
Hiiro chuckles, waving the two goodbye over the noise. He checks his watch and considers jogging to the dojo to make it to karate club in time, but reconsiders when he remembers the expensive camera straining on his neck by the strap. Tetora will definitely understand once Hiiro explains the situation.
• • •
With his belt looped tightly around his waist and his karate gi firmly in place, Hiiro tiptoes out onto the dojo’s tatami and crouches down next to Tetora. The other boy is absorbed in the match taking place before him, and Hiiro understands he must be overseeing a set of spars among the underclassmen. “I’m sorry I’m late, Buchou. Have I missed anything?” he whispers.
“Hiiro-kun!” Tetora’s eyes light up and his stiff posture relaxes. “Nah, this is still the first match. It just started a minute ago,” he resumes his steady gaze over the sparring students. “I’m tryna watch for everyone’s weak points. Wanna help me take some notes?”
“I do!” Hiiro agrees readily, setting himself down next to Tetora. Their shoulders touch, and Hiiro realizes immediately that he sat too close. Tetora doesn’t seem to be moving away, or really giving any indication that he noticed at all, Hiiro thinks. So this should be okay, right?
The spar surges on before them, a flurry of nimble limbs and belts whipping in the gusts they create. Hiiro tries and fails to focus on his underclassmen, his eyes drifting back to Tetora’s face at every interval. The moment he realizes it, he snaps his gaze away in a fluster, and the cycle continues. By the final lineup, he’s got a short list of bullet points and countless stolen glances.
Tetora rests his chin on Hiiro’s shoulder, checking the list of bullet points on Hiiro's phone screen. “Mm, I thought that too. Yamato keeps stepping back and taking time to charge up before he throws a kick. That should be a fluid combination.”
Hiiro nods, turning back to see their kouhai clapping each others’ shoulders with wide smiles. “Umu. I noticed that he also tends to lock his other ankle in place instead of sweeping his leg with the rest of his movements. Should I go direct him on how to loosen his muscles?”
“Sounds good! And I'm gonna tell Sugasano about his compensating for his blindspot better. Thanks for always havin’ my back!” Tetora beams at him, clapping his back in acknowledgement before turning to give his advice. Hiiro stands frozen in place for a moment, a faint blush blooming on his cheeks. Like co-presidents, he thinks, recalling how Hinata and Tsukasa argued— flirted?— about the division of their roles. Imagining himself and Tetora in the same situation as those two made him way too hopeful, so he dispels the thought with a firm stride towards Yamato, tips about maintaining muscle fluidity forming in his mind. Luckily, he has a lot of pent up energy to spend, and this is the perfect opportunity to occupy his mind with something less stressful.
By the time the club disbands for the night, Hiiro is exhausted, but satisfied. He feels properly stretched out, ready to rest and regain his strength. Then again, this is all just how his body feels. Anxiety still festers in his mind as he and Tetora crouch side-by-side, packing their bags.
“Hey, is that a camera?” Tetora points to the conspicuous lens sticking out from Hiiro’s backpack. “You trying out a new hobby?”
Hiiro laughs, covering his grin with his hand. “No, this is from the yearbook committee meeting earlier today. Hinata-kun and Tsukasa-kun entrusted me with taking pictures of our classmates to document our final year at Yumenosaki.”
“No way!” Tetora’s eyes light up at that, and Hiiro can tell he’s holding back from grabbing the camera to fiddle with the settings and see how they work. “Have you taken any yet? Did you get one of the guys sparring?”
His heart sinks. “I completely forgot. That would have been perfect.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it! Look, we’re still here now, looking all worn out and stuff. It’d still make a nice pic for the Karate club page. When do you need to have all the pictures done, anyway?”
Hiiro raises his hand to his chin, considering that. “I still have about five months. The photos are due on March 1st.” He offers the same hand for Tetora to take, pulling him up alongside him and promptly letting go. Usually Hiiro would have tugged him along for a while, but recently... he hasn’t had the courage to keep up with that behaviour.
“That’s plenty of time then,” Tetora grins, falling in stride with Hiiro as they walk, “nothin' to worry about. There’ll be plenty more sparring sessions before then.”
Hiiro gives him a grateful smile, but a strange wistful feeling swirls at the pit of his stomach. The idea of the two of them as his first picture of the year has his heart doing somersaults; but then, he worries he would be too obvious if he goes down that road. Once Hiiro knows for sure how he feels, he has a habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve. He knows he won’t be able to hold back. For Tetora’s sake, and the sake of their friendship, he has to. He has to let this idea dissipate with the cold evening breeze.
As they punch Hiiro’s floor into the elevator at Seisou Hall, Hiiro recalls Tetora’s initial interest in his camera. “Tetora-kun, would you like to take a closer look at my camera tomorrow? You definitely want to hold it, right?” He smiles fondly.
“For real? Of course I want to see it!” Tetora leans heavily into Hiiro, poking his cheek. “Am I really that obvious? Or are you just way too good at reading me?”
Hiiro leaves that question unanswered, his face burning. Recently, banter is not his strong suit. He wonders if Tetora notices.
If he does, he doesn’t acknowledge it. “Hey, it’s still not too late, y’know. You can crash in my dorm for a bit and we’ll take a picture for the yearbook. You seem disappointed.”
Hiiro’s eyes widen. “If that’s really fine...!”
“Of course, dude. C’mon, let’s just take the stairs back down to first floor. This thing takes forever.”
“Okay!” Hiiro nods with enthusiasm, and they rush off the elevator as soon as it reaches the second floor. Tetora’s made a habit of seeing Hiiro off despite the extra time it takes from his schedule, considering his dorm is down on the first floor. It’s that kind of gesture that sets Hiiro’s hopes leaping; but then again, isn’t it typical of a hero to be so thoughtful and kind?
• • •
“We’re back!” Tetora calls, and Hiiro chimes in, “I apologize for the intrusion!” When no answer echoes back, they relax and Tetora drags Hiiro inside by his hands after they remove their shoes. They settle side by side on his bed, and Hiiro is mindful not to sit too close.
“So! What kinda features does this fancy thing have, anyway? Is there some kinda mega-zoom function? Maybe a setting that adjusts the lighting? Or any of that stuff?” Tetora handles the camera with care once Hiiro places it in his palms.
Hiiro nods, “I’m still only learning myself, but I believe this camera does come with lighting adjustments. It is also capable of re-orienting the frame to best suit the subject. As for mega-zooming… I think the camera would need a stronger lens to manage that.” As he examines the camera and points out its features, he doesn’t notice Tetora, all starry eyes and soft smiles, shifting closer until their knees touch.
“Here, I’ll give it a shot~” Tetora catches Hiiro off guard, snapping a quick picture of him.
“Fuah! Let me see?” In the photo, he’s halfway through blinking and talking, a sight that has him giggling already. “Can you imagine this as the first picture on our club’s page?”
“Pffff. Yeah, I definitely can,” Tetora snickers, “buuuut… I don’t think I could ever face Taishou again if I disgraced his legacy like that.”
“Here, I’ll try to take a better one!” Hiiro reaches for the camera, carefully fitting the strap snug against his neck. “Hold still, Tetora-kun… strike your coolest pose!”
Tetora does the opposite. Trying to stifle his laughter only ends up making him giggle more. He takes a deep breath, steadying himself and flashing a serious pose. “Okay. I’m good. Do it, Hiiro-kun!”
The shutter clicks twice in quick succession, and Tetora bursts into laughter again. Hiiro can’t help joining in, delighting in the silliness of giggling at nothing. “Okay…. okay! Let’s see how the pictures came out!” The two of them hold their breath in an effort to calm down, to little avail.
The first picture looks perfect: a cool, responsible-looking Tetora, sharp eyes and subtle grin worthy of respect and admiration. The second, though… It must be the cutest thing Hiiro has ever seen. His friend mid-laughter, eyes crinkled shut from just how wide his smile stretches… it’s just as Hiiro thought. Having access to this photo is not going to be good for his pact to let his feelings ‘dissipate with the evening breeze,’ as he had quite eloquently put it.
“At least one of ‘em works well enough,” Tetora sighs, but with that big smile stubborn on his face. “The background is too boring, though— at least having it for both of ours would be. Let’s do your portrait outside instead.”
"That's a great idea." Hiiro didn’t know they’d be doing separate portraits; he was more under the impression they’d try to get a picture of both of them together, but having more pictures couldn’t hurt. They don’t have to end up using every one he takes, either, which takes a bit of the pressure off. “We should do that during the day, then.”
“Agreed. Guess I gotta kick you out then. As much as it pains me,” Tetora leans into the dramatics.
“I won’t stand for it causing you pain, Buchou!” Hiiro raises his fist to his heart.
“Okay, you got me. No pain caused. Cuz I’ll be seeing you tomorrow,” Tetora reaches over and ruffles Hiiro’s hair. This causes a severe malfunction in his heart rate.
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Hiiro clears his throat behind a clenched fist, hoping to conceal his expression. “Bright and early. Goodnight, Buchou.” By now he can muster a normal looking smile, right? He hopes so.
“Goodnight, Hiiro.” Tetora’s warm smile vanishes behind the crack of his door, and Hiiro is officially allowed to freak out. He hides his face behind his hands and lets the wall support his weight. He’s certain Tetora’s acting... closer? maybe even flirtier? than he ever has, and he absolutely cannot handle it. This stays on his mind all the way up to the second floor, and even still as he cracks the door to his own dorm open, shuffles out of his shoes, and collapses onto his bed, face buried in his pillow.
“What happened to you?” Hinata asks with a bit of alarm, but still not looking away from his phone.
“Today was a long day,” Hiiro says simply.