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It was possible that the Fujis' living room had never seen anything like this before. It was late, and everyone was a little drunk, because otherwise it would never have happened. Ryoma wasn't entirely sure who'd suggested the game, and who had been for it and who against -- there had been a lot of discussion, that much was certain -- but in the end they sat around a single bottle, every one of them. Kawamura looked nervous, Kaidoh looked grumpy, Fuji smiled, Eiji chattered excitedly, and Tezuka looked solemn but, surprisingly, not disapproving.
"You have to kiss whoever the bottle points at," Fuji reminded them, "and the person on the left of whoever has been kissed will be next. That way we can have more people participate." He smiled sunnily.
"But who will be first?" Eiji asked, gripping the bottle.
"I think you decide that by spinning the bottle," Oishi said, and the corners of Eiji's mouth took a decided downward turn.
"Eiji can start, I don't mind," Taka-san said kindly.
"Of course!" Oishi hurried to reassure him, and then he said, "Oh," because Eiji had taken the opportunity to get the bottle moving before anyone had the chance to object. It whirled twice and stopped right in front of Oishi.
"This is a good start!" Eiji said. Oishi was still looking at the bottle. Ryoma glanced at the others: Momo was encouraging his senpais loudly, Inui had leaned forward and was sitting unnervingly still, and Fuji was still smiling. "Show them how it's done," Fuji said. Tezuka was looking at Oishi and Eiji, but Ryoma couldn't figure out what he was thinking.
"Here we go," Eiji said but now his voice wasn't as enthusiastic. Oishi smiled at him. "Here we go," he echoed, and then he reached forward and put his hand on Eiji's shoulder, and leaned and kissed Eiji on the mouth. The kiss didn't last more than five seconds, but Ryoma supposed it was still pretty good: there was no fumbling or colliding, and taking the circumstances into account it could have gone a lot worse.
When Oishi withdrew, Eiji blinked, looking surprised, and Oishi was blushing slightly. Ryoma hid his smirk. "Now that went well, didn't it?" Momo said, and Inui replied, "The high level of compatibility of the Golden Pair helps them to succeed in trying out new things."
"Also," Fuji said, "it's still your turn, Eiji, since you're sitting to Oishi's left." Eiji looked up at Fuji, eyes wide, and then he grinned. "We'll see who I get this time!"
The bottle spun around several times. It slowed down as it was passing Oishi, but whirled another semi-circle before stopping in front of Ryoma. Ryoma felt everyone's eyes on him; his skin prickled as if he was nervous. He told himself he couldn't be, and looked expectantly at Eiji.
"Don't move, I can come to you, Ochibi!" Eiji said and got up. He crouched in front of him and said, "Um," and then he kneeled and shuffled closer. "Good thing you don't have your cap, I'd hit my forehead!" He leaned forward. Ryoma stayed where he was, since it was likely that moving would make Eiji miss or something, and looked curiously at Eiji. Eiji seemed hesitant, approaching him slowly. He tilted his head, and then his lips touched Ryoma's.
Eiji's mouth was warm. Ryoma had automatically closed his eyes and all his concentration was focused on how Eiji's lips felt. They were soft and clung to his. Ryoma's mouth tingled, and then Eiji drew back and looked at him. Ryoma stared back. Somehow it felt like they hadn't finished, and they moved simultaneously forward and kissed again. Ryoma tilted his head and his lips dragged against Eiji's, and Eiji moved too, and Ryoma could feel his breath against his lips and his mouth was watering. His cheeks felt like they were reddening too, and he thought briefly that it didn't seem to require love or anything to flush from kissing. Eiji closed his mouth so that Ryoma's lower lip was caught for a fleeting moment, and then Eiji drew back again. Ryoma looked at him, and there was the same satisfaction and contentment in Eiji's eyes that he was feeling: he'd been curious about how it felt, they had experimented, and it had been enough.
Eiji got up and went back to where he had been sitting. Ryoma looked at the others: his eyes found Tezuka first. He was looking at Eiji, his expression sharp. Something slow and warm coiled inside Ryoma, startling him, and he looked away before anyone noticed. Fuji was saying, "You sure were thorough," and Oishi was saying disbelievingly, "Eiji..." while Momo asked, "Echizen! What was that?" He sounded incredulous, and Ryoma schooled his face to radiate indifference when he turned to look at him.
"You sit on my left," Ryoma said. "It's your turn." To his satisfaction, Momo looked surprised.
Naturally, Momo got Kaidoh, and naturally, they yelled about it, except somewhere in the middle of the argument Momo stopped saying "You're an idiot and I don't kiss idiots!" and declared "You're probably a lousy kisser, too!" and then it suddenly seemed as if neither of them could wait to kiss the other and prove him wrong. Ryoma thought it was pretty interesting. Momo looked surprisingly determined and Kaidoh scowled darkly, and they kissed for so long that Oishi and Eiji had to separate them before they passed out from lack of oxygen. They were breathing heavily and kept wiping their mouths with the back of their hands, but at least they weren't arguing anymore. Ryoma couldn't tell if it was because neither of them had turned out to be a lousy kisser, or if they just needed to catch their breath.
"Your spirit is admirable!" Fuji told them. Then he grabbed the bottle.
Fuji got Inui. "This will be interesting," he said. "Data kissing or animal instincts?" He smirked at Inui. Inui's glasses glinted ominously, and Ryoma was glad Inui wouldn't be spinning the bottle next. "You'd expect this kind of competitiveness on a tennis court instead of a game of spin the bottle," Oishi laughed.
Ryoma missed most of the kiss: he could only see Inui's back, and he refused to crane his neck and make it obvious he was staring. The kiss was a long one and Ryoma thought they used tongue -- he could hear it even though he couldn't see, and he didn't know if the thought made him feel intrigued or slightly disgusted. He did notice that everyone was watching, from Momo, sprawling and leaning on his hands, and Kaidoh, wearing an almost scandalised look as Fuji and Inui kissed right in front of him, to Tezuka-buchou. Tezuka was looking as he always did, calm and serious, although Ryoma thought he looked interested, too.
When the kiss ended, Fuji didn't comment; he just smiled at Inui, who adjusted his glasses. Kaidoh muttered something about how long it had taken, and Fuji turned his attention to Kaidoh. "Your turn!" he announced, and Kaidoh jumped. Ryoma didn't know how they kept missing whose turn it was: he wanted a turn too, although he wouldn't have admitted it, and kept a close eye on the bottle. He didn't particularly want to kiss Kaidoh, but then he didn't particularly want to kiss anyone, he just thought it would be fun. Kaidoh gave the bottle a vicious whirl -- Ryoma found himself wondering if you could do a Snake with a bottle -- and it took a while until it slowed down. It finally pointed at Eiji.
"I keep taking all the turns, nya!" Eiji was smiling as if he'd won something. Kaidoh appeared to be reluctant to go to him, but Eiji laughed and sprang to his feet. He was definitely looking relaxed now. "Give Eiji-senpai some tongue action, Mamushi!" Momo said, but when Ryoma looked at him he coughed. Kaidoh couldn't even look up at Eiji, but Eiji put his hands on Kaidoh's shoulders and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "That wasn't so bad, eh?" he asked before whirling around and going back next to Oishi.
Then it was Kawamura's turn. Ryoma tried not to fidget as the bottle spun around. It slowed down around Eiji and Oishi, and Ryoma felt anticipation flutter in his chest. The bottle came to a halt almost in front of him, but -- "Momo!" Eiji declared. Ryoma shifted to hide his sigh. The game was significantly less exciting if you didn't get to do anything.
"Should I go get a racket for Taka-san?" Ryoma asked Momo. Momo glared at him. "Now, Momo," Kawamura chuckled, "go easy on me. I don't think I can handle what you and Kaidoh had going on." "They were very passionate, weren't they?" Fuji said to Tezuka, and Kaidoh told him, "Senpai, you've got it all wrong." Luckily Momo didn't seem to hear Fuji's remark or he and Kaidoh would have argued for another ten minutes.
Momo and Kawamura smacked their lips together in a flashy kiss. Kawamura looked sheepish afterwards and kept scratching the back of his head; Momo was acting as if he kissed his male friends every day, and Ryoma itched to do something to make him lose his cool. It was Inui's turn, however, and he concentrated once again on the bottle.
The bottle ended up pointing at Eiji. "Maybe we should invent another rule to keep you from hogging all the kisses," Fuji said. Eiji told him that it was his it was his lucky night and winked; then he stopped and wondered if he should have gambled instead of playing a kissing game. He looked so thoughtful that everyone laughed. Inui and Eiji shuffled awkwardly to meet in the middle of the circle and kissed there on their knees. Ryoma looked at them, but then he looked behind them at Tezuka. Tezuka's eyes were also on Inui and Eiji, but maybe he could sense Ryoma's look because his gaze shifted and then they were looking each other in the eye. Ryoma wondered what Tezuka-buchou thought of the game: he hadn't made any comments that Ryoma had noticed. It didn't seem like a pastime Tezuka would embrace, but then Ryoma could hardly believe they were all doing this anyway. It seemed like something Fuji and Eiji would get up to, but not anyone else. He didn't have time to interpret Tezuka's expression: their eyes met for a moment and then Inui and Eiji broke their kiss and moved so that Ryoma couldn't see Tezuka anymore.
"Inui will want to question you for data later," Fuji told Eiji after the kiss. Eiji grinned and said, "You're just jealous!" "Eiji gets to kiss all the good-looking guys in the team!" Kawamura said, and Ryoma's eyes widened in surprise: Kawamura must have had more to drink than he'd realised. "So do you," Eiji noticed and gave Kawamura the bottle. He looked suddenly nervous, so maybe he wasn't that drunk after all.
The bottle missed Ryoma, again, and Ryoma felt bored. What was the point of spin the bottle if you didn't get to kiss anyone, nice or disgusting? However, when it stopped in front of Fuji Ryoma felt livelier: that meant Tezuka would spin next. The thought of Tezuka's spin choosing Ryoma made him feel weird inside -- kissing buchou in front of everyone. He didn't really know how he felt about it. Kissing Eiji had been nice enough, but buchou was different. He wondered what would happen if buchou did get him. Would Ryoma go to him? Would he put his hand on Tezuka's shoulder like Eiji had done and kiss him, or would buchou want to kiss him? The thought made him feel restless, and he shifted to sit more comfortably. He was so busy imagining what it would be like to be so close to buchou, to be touching Tezuka's shoulder or arm, that he missed Kawamura and Fuji's kiss completely.
When Fuji and Kawamura had returned to their seats, Eiji looked around and remarked, "No one has got the same person twice yet."
"What would be the odds!" Momo said. Then he stopped and frowned. "What would the odds be, Inui-senpai?" Others turned to Inui too, clearly interested.
"In theory, the probability for getting a specific person is 12.5 percent," Inui replied. "It's neither more nor less likely to get the same person twice."
"Why in theory, though?" Oishi asked.
"The twist of the wrist and the force of the spin are unique for every person. With enough data, it would be possible to calculate the probabilities for everyone here, and they would all be different."
The room became quieter for a moment as everyone pondered how data applied to spinning the bottle; then Fuji noticed it was Tezuka's turn. Ryoma imagined Tezuka being able to control it as if he was hitting a zero shiki drop shot, how the bottle would abruptly stop spinning and roll a couple of inches. The bottle didn't do that, but slowed down as it always did, coming to a halt between Tezuka and Oishi. "I guess that's me, since we didn't agree anything about getting yourself," Oishi said. "I think it points more towards you anyway," Eiji said. "You it is, then," Tezuka said, and Ryoma's eyes flickered between him and Oishi. He tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.
Oishi looked quite like he had butterflies in his stomach too. Tezuka didn't look nervous at all: he turned to Oishi and put his hands on Oishi's cheeks, tipping Oishi's head to the right; then he simply leaned in and put his mouth on Oishi's. He dropped his hand and Ryoma could see the kiss clearly. Oishi looked like he couldn't to move, but Tezuka looked almost comfortable. Ryoma thought Tezuka would see the kiss as something he wanted to carry out properly. Then he saw Tezuka's tongue slipping into Oishi's mouth and he couldn't really think at all.
The kiss was long and looked complicated. Ryoma felt overwhelmed just from looking, almost unpleasantly surprised, although it wasn't really a bad thing buchou could kiss like that, was it? Then Tezuka withdrew gently and took his hand off Oishi's cheek. Tezuka looked perfectly normal, except that his lips were redder and wetter. Ryoma couldn't tear his eyes away from them. He realised slowly that no one had spoken during the kiss and that everyone was looking at Oishi and Tezuka. Oishi looked down and was almost cringing. Ryoma thought Oishi looked mortified, and there was something heavy and suffocating in his chest. He thought he wouldn't look like that if he had just kissed Tezuka. Then Eiji flung his arm around Oishi's shoulders and exclaimed, "Ne, Oishi! You look like the cat got your tongue!" and the others turned their attention to Oishi and laughed and commented. No one noticed when Tezuka looked at Ryoma with such force it nearly made Ryoma gasp.
Tezuka's gaze pinned Ryoma for a moment, but then he looked away. Ryoma kept looking at Tezuka, feeling off balance. He had to look deliberately away after a moment. He hoped no one was paying him too much attention.
It was Eiji's turn, and he got Fuji. Surprisingly, some of the regulars cheered when the bottle stopped; Ryoma wondered if it was the alcohol or the game that was affecting them. It was certainly affecting Ryoma, although he didn't feel like cheering or calling out like Momo, quite the opposite: he felt like going someplace by himself to sort out his thoughts, preferably with a racket and a ball. He looked at Tezuka and felt warm all over. Eiji had crawled in front of Fuji and there was definitely a hint of smirk in Fuji's expression. Ryoma wondered why people played this game: was it because of the excitement of doing something unusual?
"Eiji," Fuji murmured and took Eiji's face in both his hands. Ryoma thought about how there was something competitive in the air, and then Fuji pressed his mouth against Eiji's.
Fuji kissed slowly: he remained where he was for a moment, then tilted his head and stayed there for another, as if testing to see if Eiji's lips felt any different from that angle. Ryoma saw how he slid his tongue along Eiji's lower lip; Eiji had his eyes closed, but Fuji was watching him under his lashes and smiling slightly. Then Fuji pushed his hands into Eiji's hair, tilted his head further back and slid his tongue into Eiji's mouth: he did something rhythmic with his tongue so that their bodies moved faintly, and Eiji's breathing suddenly went fast and shallow. Ryoma's groin felt tight and he was panicking in a far corner of his mind -- was he supposed to be feeling like this, looking at two of his senpais kissing? A team of teenaged tennis players didn't play this game because it was hot, did they? It should have been gross or funny. Fuji said "Mmmm" and pulled his tongue back where it belonged; Eiji moaned. Fuji gave him a couple of more kisses, just delicate touches of his mouth against Eiji's, and then pulled away completely and smiled. Eiji opened his eyes slowly, a soft look of wonder in them.
"Okay, Eiji?" Fuji asked, and Eiji said "Yeah" faintly in reply. Then he blinked a couple of times. "Nya, Fuji!" he said, louder. "Where did you learn that?"
"Fuji-senpai's triple counter!" Momo said and laughed, and Eiji giggled, and Oishi laughed and sounded almost relieved as Eiji came back to sit next to him.
"I've wanted to try that for a while now," Fuji said.
"Fuji-senpai is a formidable opponent, on and off the courts!" Momo said, on a roll. Even Kaidoh was laughing now. "Hey, Taka-san, is he always like that?" Momo asked Kawamura, who blushed bright red.
Ryoma thought it was strange that everyone found it so funny that Fuji could render Eiji inarticulate, but the tension was certainly gone from the room. He looked around the circle, and even Tezuka-buchou was smiling. Then Tezuka looked down and gripped the bottle on the floor.
"Let's see who comes next!" Kawamura said, shushing the others.
"Oh, buchou's turn!" Oishi said as well, uncharacteristically boisterous.
Tezuka held the bottle with the tips of his fingers and turned it until it pointed at him; Ryoma kept looking at his hand. Tezuka gave the bottle a spin and drew back to see where it would stop. The room was suddenly completely silent. The bottle slowed down until it came neatly to a halt, pointing unmistakably at Ryoma. Ryoma couldn't breathe. He couldn't take his eyes off the bottle.
"Hey, Echizen," Momo started to say, stretching the words insinuatingly, and Ryoma was desperately grateful for the interruption when Fuji said suddenly, "Yuuta!" in a delighted voice. "I wasn't expecting you!"
Ryoma looked up: Fuji and everyone else was looking past him towards the doorway where Fuji's brother and sister had just come in.
"What are you doing?" Fuji's brother asked. He sounded highly suspicious.
"I told Yuuta you had a party, Syuusuke, and he wanted to come by right away!" the sister said.
"I did not," Fuji's brother said. He was scowling, his shoulders hunched.
"It was nice of you to come," Fuji said. He got up; Eiji had already leapt to his feet, and the others were standing up as well. Ryoma realised that the game was over. There was a knot in his stomach. "Do you want something to eat, something to drink?" Fuji asked his siblings. "I could have something," Eiji said eagerly. Fuji's sister laughed and asked if they'd had fun, and Momo stretched and yawned and said he felt a bit hungry, and Fuji explained that they'd been playing games that were at least as exhausting as tennis, and everyone laughed. Ryoma got up reluctantly. He couldn't seem to look anywhere but down. The knot had transformed into countless tiny little hooks that were making him feel raw: he thought maybe he could leave soon since it was already so late.
The others bustled through the door, as loud and cheerful as ever, and Ryoma moved slowly after them. He realised he hadn't been paying attention when Tezuka's voice startled him. "Echizen," Tezuka said, and Ryoma stopped and turned: Tezuka was still in the room, standing where he'd been sitting earlier in the circle. He was looking at Ryoma.
"What?" Ryoma said. He was feeling exposed without his cap, as if his every thought and wish was written on his face. He tried to look like he wanted nothing better than to go to the kitchen and help himself to one of Fuji's milder snacks. "Let's go," he said and turned. Tezuka followed him, but at the door Ryoma felt him stop. "Echizen," he said again.
Ryoma turned his head to look at Tezuka, who looked back solemnly. "We weren't finished," Tezuka said, and Ryoma's stomach dropped in a completely improbable way below the floor level. He opened his mouth to answer, but found that he didn't have any words.
Tezuka stepped closer and lifted his hand to Ryoma's face, his fingers touching Ryoma's cheek lightly, and Ryoma blinked, his breath stopping abruptly. Tezuka moved his fingers, sliding them down so that they were softly grazing Ryoma's jaw, and his thumb touched the corner of Ryoma's mouth. Ryoma searched his face: he was looking into Ryoma's eyes but Ryoma couldn't tell what he was thinking. Then he leaned forward, and Ryoma had to close his eyes.
Tezuka's mouth felt surprisingly cool, and it took Ryoma a while to get his bearings. Tezuka's lips made his skin prickle in a way that would have made him withdraw in any other situation. Tezuka's hand slipped down to Ryoma's neck, his fingers curving and tickling. Then Ryoma felt the pressure on his mouth lift and he thought the kiss was over, but Tezuka tilted his head and kissed him more firmly instead, lips gliding wetly, and suddenly Ryoma fought not to moan. His knees felt like they would buckle any moment; when Tezuka put his hand on his shoulder and pressed him against the wall Ryoma was grateful for the support. He wanted to get closer and for once he didn't have to reach out, buchou was right there, his mouth against Ryoma's. Their tongues touched and this time Ryoma did moan, quiet and muffled, unable to stop himself, unable to think. He was hot all over, yearning shivering down his limbs and burning inside him.
When Tezuka stopped and drew back Ryoma didn't know where he was for a second. The small part of him that had wondered whether this was part of the game for Tezuka was silenced when he opened his eyes. Tezuka's expression was a mixture of determination and things Ryoma couldn't even name; he felt as if Tezuka was looking at everything he was, looking inside him so that it was almost as if they were touching. They looked at each other for longer than Ryoma could measure, than it was possible to measure. Then Tezuka stepped away, turned and left. Ryoma's shoulder felt cold where Tezuka's hand had been: he hadn't even noticed it was there by the end. He licked his lips, his face flushing as if he had only now grasped that Tezuka's mouth had touched his, more intimate than he could have imagined.
When Ryoma entered the kitchen he found it packed with people. Fuji was standing so close to his grumpy-looking brother that their shoulders were touching; Kaidoh and Momo were arguing about something that involved eating spicier and spicier foods; Inui was telling them that actually, they were both right; Eiji was suggesting that they'd have a spicy food eating contest, and when Oishi pointed out that Eiji wasn't very good at eating anything spicy he said smoothly that he could watch; Kawamura was talking to Fuji's sister, slightly pink and laughing nervously; and Tezuka was following their conversation, agreeing with something Fuji's sister had just said. He was smiling. There was an empty spot right next to him, just big enough for another person. Ryoma stepped forward.