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“Wait? You mean you’ve seriously never been kissed Reno?” Iharu’s loud chortling pierces through Reno’s eardrums. The red-pompadour buffoon has now alerted every officer in the bathhouse of their teammate’s lip virginity. Reno doesn’t have to turn his head to know all eyes are glued to him.
The heat blossoming in his face adds to the warmth Reno has already absorbed from the hot bath. He sinks further into the water, though that doesn’t lessen the attention he’s receiving. He mumbles quietly, “Is it that big of a deal?”
“Of course it is, dude! It’s like, uh, the greatest thing in the world!” Iharu flails his arms in frustration to explain his point. Excess water splashes out of the bath, and a few officers walk by and groan at the mess. “It’s the most important part of romance movies! Two people meet, they fall in love, they kiss! Zap! Bap! Boom!” Iharu delivers three quick punches to the air with excitement.
Reno hisses, “Movies aren’t real life. It can’t be that great.”
“I agree with Reno. Kissing is overrated.” Aoi chimes in from his seat next to Haruichi by the bath mirrors.
Relief cools Reno’s body. It was nice to have someone defend him. So what if he hasn’t kissed anybody? Does it matter?
“But-” Aoi continues, “It’s surprising to hear you’ve never been kissed, Reno. I had my first kiss in middle school.” Reno deflates again. He can’t think of a proper rebuttal. Why hadn’t he kissed anyone yet?
Haruichi nods beside Aoi, combing his fingers through his wet hair. “I had my first kiss in a supply closet at my dad’s office building. We got caught of course. Talk about awkward.” Haruichi ends his story with a shrug.
“I’ve kissed dozens of chicks but my first kiss was at in pre-k. That’s the earliest of all of us so I guess I have better game than you guys!” Iharu triumphantly flashes his sharp teeth.
“That doesn’t count, you were pretty much a baby. Let me guess, was it a kiss on the cheek?” Haruichi mocks, rolling his eyes. Iharu turns red in the face, flailing his arms more frantically.
He tries desperately to redeem himself, “S-so what, jackass?! It was a pretty romantic cheek kiss!”
“It doesn’t count,” Aoi plainly states.
That sets off Iharu completely. The redhead digs his arms deep into the bath, swoops them up, and sends out projectiles of hot bath water at their friends. Next thing Reno knows, Iharu is running out of the bathhouse to escape from the two pissed-off men he was arguing with. The silence they left behind gives Reno room to ponder. He huffs in irritation, “It’s not that weird, is it?”
He’s never kissed anyone or even held someone’s hand romantically. He can’t recall other students liking him in that way. They were nice to him generally but his heart was closed off. At that time he’d been focused on the defense force exams, and getting out of that orphanage.
“Yeah, I didn’t have time for that stuff anyway,” Reno fails to comfort himself. He pretends it worked.
Word travels fast in the Third Division; way too fast for Reno’s liking.
“Reno, you’ve never kissed anybody?” Those are the first words Kafka shouts out to him as Reno walks into the dorm room that night.
“If you’re trying to piss me off, sir, it’s working!” He sends Kafka a deadly glare. The older man has the audacity to suddenly act sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean for it to come out that way,” Kafka strains his voice apologetically. Reno ignores his friend’s babbling as he plops onto his bottom bunk bed. Kafka babbles more anyway, “You know, there’s nothing wrong with taking your time. Don’t let the others get in your head. The first one doesn’t have to be spectacular or anything, but make sure it’s with someone you like.”
Reno stares up blankly at the bottom of the top bed. He raises his hand to poke at Kafka’s mattress from below. “Sir, have you kissed someone before?”
Kafka answers him as he climbs the ladder up to his bunk. “Yep! I even had a boyfriend in high school!”
“Aw man… even you have more experience than me…” Reno sighs, lowering his hand.
The top bed creaks as Kafka makes himself comfortable. Minutes pass before the older man registers Reno’s rude comment. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!? I’ll have you know I’m a total catch!”
Reno laughs and tells the old man not to get too angry or his blood pressure will spike. In time, Kafka drifts off to sleep. Reno, however, is wide awake thinking about his kissing situation.
“Someone I like?” He whispers to himself. He hasn’t thought about it much. Lately, his brain has been full of training routines and ways to help Kafka hide his kaiju secret. He decides he’ll heed Kafka’s advice, though. If he gets a crush, he’ll act on it; and if he doesn’t, well that’s alright.
After a week no one cares about Reno’s first kiss. New gossip replaces the old and the pressure is off his back. Reno lets go of his worries. He forgets about it. Instead, he fills his time with friends, kaiju combat, and excessive training.
When his thoughts about kissing return, it’s at the strangest possible time.
The Third Division recruits are training under the supervision of the Vice-captain Hoshina. It started as the typical judo exercises. The recruits were pitted against each other initially but then Iharu challenged Hoshina to a one-on-one match. Watching the vice-captain destroy their friend encouraged them to line up to challenge Hoshina, seeking playful vengeance. Their jovial vice-captain took the cocky recruits in stride, out-maneuvering them with grace. Reno considered passing on the challenge but like the others, he got swept up in the excitement. Fighting Hoshina is a rush like no other. Even Kafka said he’d been scared when he’d fought the vice-captain as a daikaiju.
Reno stands across from Hoshina, arms up, body low. Reno can’t beat him but that doesn’t mean he won’t give it his best effort. His vice-captain allows him a moment to calm his nerves, smiling patiently while Reno sizes him up. Hoshina isn’t big, but his small body packs more power than any of them, even Kikoru. Reno assumes a comfortable starting position; Hoshina mirrors it. The younger man inches closer. His heart beats wildly, his body knows he’s in danger. It’s over as soon as it begins. Reno doesn’t remember seeing Hoshina move. He blinks, then as his eyes open, he’s flipped onto the ground. Mere milliseconds pass yet Reno memorizes the heavy muscles of his superior officer forcing him down. The press of Hoshina’s body shortcircuits his brain. His vision is dizzy. He lifts his head to Hoshina as the swordsman says something to him. Reno is too disoriented to make out the words and in an attempt to read lips, he stares unabashedly. The vice-captain’s face is flawless; not a blemish in sight. Reno wonders if this is the last view kaiju get when they face off against the man.
Iharu yells out to him, “Reno, dude, you good? He kicked your ass!”
Reno’s eyes rip away from Hoshina’s face, frantically searching for someone else to anchor onto. His stomach flips. Maybe Hoshina wouldn’t call attention to his blunder.
Above him, Hoshina points, “Earth to Ichikawa!” The vice-captain grins, endlessly entertained by embarrassing his subordinates.
Reno’s face reddens. Laughter pours out from his superior.
“Sorry, Ichikawa! I didn’t mean ta’ scramble yer’ noggin!” Red eyes are slightly unveiled as Hoshina continues talking to his flustered officer.
Reno thinks he might pass out. He hadn’t meant to stare at the vice-captain that long! It was impossible not to! He was right there!
“I’m up next.” Like an angel from heaven, Aoi steps up to challenge Hoshina and steals the spotlight. Reno can slink away without further humiliation. He silently thanks his savior. Kafka snickers as he welcomes Reno back to the sidelines. Iharu puts him into a loose headlock and that helps Reno distract himself from his trembling legs.
Training ends as soon as the vice-captain finishes tossing all of them around at least once. The only person spared was Akari, who valued her health enough to decline the offer to spar. Everyone else, however, went to bed aching in ways they hadn’t thought possible.
Reno spends that night staring up at the bottom of the top bunk. His heart is racing hours after being flipped by the vice-captain. What the hell is wrong with him? He groans, tossing and turning in his bed.
“Cut it out with the moving, Reno,” Kafka groans from above. The vibrations of Reno’s shifting around must’ve awoken the sleepy man.
“Sorry, sir.” Reno forces his body to freeze up. The itch in his muscles remains.
“What’s on your mind?” Kafka inquires, voice low so he doesn’t wake their other roommates.
Reno replies quietly, “I keep thinking about earlier.”
“You mean when you got crushed by the vice-captain?” Kafka leans over the bed railing to smirk down at Reno, “You’ve got the hots for him, huh?”
Reno chokes on his own saliva. The hots for Hoshina? There’s no way! Well, maybe… Wait, no! He can’t-
“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one! We all think Hoshina’s good-looking. All the superior officers are! It’s the way they carry themselves! So tough and in charge!”
“Sir, it sounds like you have a thing for authority…”
“Shut up, I’m trying to make you feel less awkward.”
“...Thank you, sir.” Talking about it does help. “It came out of nowhere…” Reno struggles to explain his new attraction.
“It’s probably the adrenaline rush of training. When he makes us run laps tomorrow you’ll be over your crush completely.” Kafka laughs painfully at the thought of future strenuous exercise.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Reno exhales, less stressed about his weird emotions, “Good night, Kafka.” His eyes drift closed minutes later.
The following morning when Hoshina makes the recruits run twenty laps, Reno finds himself pretty annoyed. But when they greet Hoshina at the finish line, the vice-captain flashes a smile that makes his heart act funny. That’s when Reno realizes that this is going to be a real problem.
Not only is a crush on his superior inconvenient, but the vice-captain is so far out of his league!
During their break, all the recruits crash together in the grass by a large tree. The others sit in the shade while inhaling their liquid refreshments at concerning speeds. Reno doesn’t sit with them, instead, he paces back and forth.
“Reno, watching you walk around is making me more tired,” Kafka whines.
The dread of his crush prevents Reno’s brain from registering his muscles’ soreness. “I’m thinking.”
“Thinkin’ about what?,” Iharu probes, “Shouldn’t you be too tired to think?”
“Alright folks, you’ve got five more minutes to cool down, then gather on the track!” The vice-captain’s instructions arouse further exhaustion in everyone. They drop their curiosity toward Reno’s pacing in favor of enjoying their final five minutes of rest. Reno is grateful because he’s honestly on the verge of panic. He spends his five minutes running to the bathroom and spraying cold water on his face.
“Hey, the five minutes are up!” Haruichi shouts to him from outside the bathroom. Sighing, Reno turns the faucet knob before heading back to the group. For their next activity, Hoshina gathers them together and pairs them up.
“Furuhashi, you’ll be with Hibino,” Hoshina starts listing off teams. Iharu gives a very energetic “Ol’ dude!” and starts punching Kafka’s arm.
“Izumo, I have you paired with Shinomiya.” Both Haruichi and Kikoru click their teeth.
“Kaguragi, It’ll be you and Igarashi.” Hakua howls in excitement. Aoi silently nods
“Minase, you’re with-” Reno's attention falters. He wanted to get paired up with Hakua or Aoi for this particular exercise since it would require spotting. This was going to be a series of gymnastics routines.
“Ichikawa. Takanashi. You two are a pair,” Hoshina reads from his clipboard, “Ah wait, Takanashi was the one who caught the stomach bug yesterday, right? Hmmmm.” He places a finger on his chin and eyes Reno curiously. Reno’s body locks up with nervous anticipation.
“Ichikawa, you’ll be with...” Everyone expects the vice-captain to add Reno to an existing pair. Reno waits to hear which team he’s assigned to. Hoshina grins, “Actually, I’ll spot ya’ myself.”
All the air leaves Reno’s lungs. His heart nearly explodes. “What? No fair,” voices grumble from behind Reno. Training with the vice-captain is a high honor but why him? Why today of all days?
“Let’s get started! Find a pommel horse when we get inside!” Hoshina’s sing-songy demands ring out, prompting the recruits to rush indoors and begin their partnered drills.
Reno meanders, unsure how to navigate working-out directly in front of Hoshina. He already intended to give the drill one hundred percent but now he’s got the added pressure of wanting to impress someone he likes. Aw man, this is gonna suck!
“Ichikawa, we’ll use this one over here,” The vice-captain points to a yellow pommel horse near the center. He nods speedily, not sure he can give a coherent verbal answer. Reno would rather not be in the middle but Hoshina has to observe the other recruits and the center is the best place for that. Reno positions himself onto the horse and Hoshina stares up at him with a big smile.
“D’ya need me to explain anything?” Hoshina chirps. This is the third time the recruits are using the pommel horses, so Reno is accustomed to them by now. Still, he appreciates Hoshina asking. The vice-captain is a considerate man. Reno nearly slips off out of shyness.
“Nope.” The word rushes out of Reno’s mouth despite his near fall. He does his best to avoid looking at Hoshina. He focuses all his energy on his movements. The heat from his embarrassment is nearly unbearable. His palms get sweaty and he prays he doesn’t slide off. Collecting all the confidence he can muster, Reno begins his exercise. Today they were only expected to do swings and cuts but if they were feeling up to it, they had permission to try more advanced moves.
Reno’s eyes dart over to Shinomiya who is doing Russian circles like it’s easy. With such stiff competition surrounding him, he knows he’ll have to go beyond as well. Sure, he’s never done them before, but he’s been training his upper body for challenges like these. Using his core strength he holds up his lower body. Slowly, he manages to move his body in a circular motion. Hoshina hums and takes a step back to not get hit by Reno’s swinging legs.
In the distance, he hears cheering. “Sick handstand, Aoi!” from Hakua and a “Holy shit, you’re spinning so fast, Iharu!” from Kafka followed by Iharu’s obnoxious cackling.
Damn it! And here he is with his slow fucking circles!
“Don’t worry about them,” Reno pauses at Hoshina's voice, surprised. He’d genuinely forced his brain to forget his attractive superior was watching him. Now that he’s remembered, he’s feeling even worse! Hoshina gently grips Reno’s wrists from where they support him on the bench, “I’ll keep you stable, you can try the handstand if you want. I won’t let ya’ fall.” He spoke softly enough that others wouldn’t overhear. Reno swallows nervously. He nods to Hoshina and repositions himself for a proper handstand. Hoshina’s hands move up to hold Reno’s middle. Reno finds the perfect stance.
“Ready for me to let go?” Hoshina asks.
“Yeah,” Reno’s voice is shaky but he’s confident in his balance.
Hoshina laughs, it’s soft and genuine. He sounds incredibly pleased with Reno’s handstand.
And then Reno makes a critical mistake.
He catches a glimpse of Hoshina’s face. The vice-captain’s eyes are crimson red. They reflect Reno’s face, glossy and bright.
Even upside-down, he’s handsome.
“Oh man,” is all Reno says before collapsing forward onto his superior.
Hoshina grunts as he catches his subordinate by his torso. Hoshina doesn’t struggle at all to hold Reno. For a moment Reno questions if he’s lighter than he thought he was or if the vice-captain is genuinely unaffected by his weight. Hoshina carefully positions Reno back right-side-up and sits him back onto the pommel horse.
“You alright?” Hoshina’s snickering rumbles in Reno’s ears. There are only a few inches between them. Reno coughs uncomfortably.
“I’m fine. I’ll stick to the circles.”
Reno hops off the horse to mount it from the opposite side. This time he’s facing Hoshina while he uses his arms to hold up his lower body. In an instant, his arms begin to shake. He feels his body tilting forward.
Shit, this isn’t good!
“Vice-captain!” In a flash, Hoshina places his hands on Reno’s arms to stabilize him. Thanks to inertia Reno’s upper body continues forward.
They both misread the distance between them and their faces touch.
It’s a surprisingly soft collision. Their lips softened the blow, noses pressed together.
Reno’s brain is full of fireworks and bright lights.
Hoshina readjusts his grasp to allow Reno to lower himself back off the pommel horse safely.
Reno’s eyes are wide and so are Hoshina’s. The pommel horse stands between them. The inanimate object is unaware of the incident it had indirectly caused.
“Ah ha ha,” Hoshina blinks his eyes shut, chuckling. This time his laughter sounds a bit nervous. “I should’ve caught you by your shoulders.”
“It was my fault!” Reno bows deeply. He’s sure his face must be redder than Hoshina’s eyes.
“Hm,” The vice-captain sounds distracted. “Well, I suppose that's enough pommel for the both of us! Would ya’ mind joining Iharu and Hibino for the rest of today?”
Reno salutes, shaking. His heart pounds, his lungs burn, and his arms are jelly. He wobbles over to his friends while Hoshina checks on the other officers.
Iharu greets Reno with humor that doesn’t match his mood. “Congrats on your first kiss, Reno! That was hilarious!”
Kafka kicks Iharu with his legs from where he sits on the pommel horse. Iharu yelps, “Ow! What was that for?”
“You’re supposed to be spotting me!” Kafka successfully diverts Iharu’s attention, leaving Reno the space to pretend he’s not losing his mind. The rest of training is a blur. When they’re about to head out, Hoshina calls out to him.
“Ichikawa, can you come with me?” The vice-captain asks. Reno can’t decipher the man’s expression.
Iharu whispers, “Oh shit, are you in trouble-” SMACK! “Ow! Ol’ dude, what the hell!?”
“We’ll meet you in the bathhouse, Reno.” Haruichi waves to him. Everyone heads off, leaving Reno with Hoshina.
Hoshina leads Reno to a vending machine in an empty corner of the base. His superior buys a drink and hands it to him. Reno accepts the drink with nervous, sweaty hands.
“I’m sorry about earlier, Ichikawa.” No humor lines Hoshina’s voice, “That’s probably not how ya’ wanted yer’ first kiss to go.”
His sweating worsens as his embarrassment intensifies. His face must show shock because Hoshina answers the question he didn’t ask.
“Cameras; I hear everything around here,” Hoshina states as if that’s perfectly normal and not terrifying.
Reno looks down at the peace offering drink in his hand. “This… is humiliating.”
Hoshina sighs, frustrated. “I hate that I took yer’ first from ya’ and it wasn’t even a proper kiss,”
“Are you mad at me?” Reno asks. It’s technically all his fault; all Hoshina did was catch him.
“Mad? At you?” Hoshina laughs in disbelief. “Ichikawa, if anything I’m mad at myself. I feel bad givin’ ya’ such a sorry kiss.”
“It doesn’t have to be spectacular as long as it’s someone I like,” Reno instinctively repeats Kafka’s words.
Hoshina smiles, wide, “I’m flattered.” Pink dusts the vice-captain’s nose.
Perhaps it’s because of the blood that swelled into his head during that handstand, but Reno decides he wants to test his luck.
He finds his voice, “There’s a way you can make it up to me, sir.”
Hoshina’s brows furrow, “How?”
“You can give me a better one.” He squeezes his drink anxiously. He holds eye contact.
Hoshina’s crimson eyes pop open, glimmering with curiosity. For a moment, Reno fears the worst.
“Yeah, alright,” The vice-captain's face shifts to amusement. He sizes up Reno like prey. Reno swallows thickly as Hoshina steps closer.
Hoshina’s hands snake around Reno’s waist. Reno clumsily wraps his arms around Hoshina, too. The drink falls to the floor and rolls away as if to give them some privacy. The older man chuckles. Reno can feel Hoshina’s breath tickling his face.
The vice-captain purrs, “Ya’ have to tilt yer’ head a little, ya’ dope.” And Reno does.
Hoshina closes the gap.