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This is it, this time for sure.
Tanaka knows people are staring. That’s okay. He has one mission and one mission alone.
He peeks around the corner to the shoe lockers, where students are milling about, gathering their things to head home or to club activities at the end of the day. A couple of girls pass Tanaka, giggling amongst themselves. Tanaka’s ears burn, but he does not waver. He only has eyes for one person.
There!
Ennoshita yawns, not bothering to cover his mouth after the long day. He trudges to his locker, no doubt exhausted from all the work he put into his schoolwork and volleyball club. Tanaka tenses. This was it. The moment he had been waiting for. Ennoshita opens his locker—
And is promptly interrupted by the call of one of his classmates, running up to him and bowing apologetically. Ennoshita pulls open the door to his locker and Tanaka watches as a small white envelope flutters down from the locker, Tanaka’s heart falling with it. Ennoshita and his classmate are too involved in their discussion of history notes to notice the fallen envelope.
“Dammit,” Tanaka murmurs under his breath.
A sudden force slams into his back like a brick. “Hey, Ryuu!” Noya chirps loudly. Too loudly. “Wanna go to the convenience store af—”
Tanaka slaps a hand over Noya’s mouth and pulls him away from the doorway, slamming him flat against the wall just as Ennoshita picks up the noise and turns his head. Against Tanaka’s hand, Noya makes a series of muffled protests. Tanaka holds a finger over his mouth and glares at Noya. Noya holds up his hands in surrender and Tanaka releases him, peeking back around the corner once more. Noya sticks his head out as well.
Ennoshita is slipping his feet into his shoes, utterly unaware of the letter a foot away from him. Ennoshita starts walking towards the gym, and Tanaka’s shoulders droop. Leaning against the wall, he presses a hand over his eyes and groans.
Noya blinks, looking at Tanaka. “Is there a reason you’re stalking Chikara?” he asks.
“I’m not—” Tanaka starts, then sighs. “I’m not stalking him,” he mumbles, pushing his fingers together.
“Then what? Trying to play a prank on him again?” Noya grins. “He’ll put you in that crab hold if you scare him again.”
“No, no,” Tanaka says. “Nothing like that.”
Noya puts his hands on his hips. “You’re acting really weird, Ryuu,” he says. “The only time you were ever this out of sorts was when Kiyoko-san got sick and couldn’t come to school in time to receive your homemade chocolates.” Noya’s eyes widen. “Is Chikara going after a girl you like?” he whispers, not bothering to tone down the volume at all.
Tanaka looks at Noya. Looks at Ennoshita’s locker. Looks at the storage closet behind them. He makes a decision. He grabs Noya by the neck of his shirt and throws open the storage closet door, tossing Noya inside and closing the door behind them.
Noya looks bewildered for a moment, then his face splits into a grin. “Oh boy,” he says, “now we’re getting to the good stuff.”
Tanaka puts his hands on his hips, as much as he can in the cramped space between mops and buckets. “You must solemnly swear on our friendship that you will not tell a soul what I’m going to tell you,” Tanaka says.
Noya makes a cross over his heart with his finger. “I swear.”
Tanaka sighs and crosses his arms, leaning against the wall of the storage closet. “So I kind of—definitely—have this little kind of—big—crush on Chikara.”
Noya’s mouth parts in an ‘O.’ “Then…Chikara…that letter on the ground…you…”
“Yes,” Tanaka says, covering his face. “I wrote him a confession letter and it fell on the ground. I failed again.”
“Got a thing for captains, huh?” Noya says. “I remember last year when Daichi-san—”
“We don’t talk about my crush on Daichi-san,” Tanaka says quickly, scrambling to cover Noya’s mouth. “It’s just—Chikara is so reliable, and sturdy, and he’s not afraid to tell me what he really thinks, and—”
Noya removes Tanaka’s hands from over his mouth. “It’s okay, Ryuu,” he says, smiling. “You don’t have to explain it to me, I understand. Chikara’s a good man, a real good man. You have my blessing.”
Tanaka shoots him a half-smile. “That means a lot to me. Thanks, Yuu.”
“Now,” Noya says, clapping his hands together. “What was that about failing again?”
Tanaka scratches the back of his neck. “I’m at a loss,” he admits. “I’ve tried everything I can think of to get Chikara’s attention, but every time, something gets in my way. Multiple times I went to his class to tell him I needed to talk to him, but he was either deep in homework or talking to a group of classmates. I sent him a letter of challenge, thinking that would get him to come to the rooftop, but he passed it off as a joke. All the gifts I make for him aren’t good enough to portray my feelings. I’m at a loss.”
“Have you considered just going up to him and confessing, instead of making a big deal about it?” Noya suggests.
Tanaka had. But… “It makes me feel queasy just thinking about it,” he admits.
“I think that’s your best bet,” Noya says, nodding to himself. “After school, we can run through some scenarios at you place, if you’d like.”
Tanaka’s shoulders slump and he smiles. “Thank you, I think that would help a lot. If I think about my words beforehand and practice, maybe I’ll be able to steal away some of Chikara’s time to get my confession out.”
“Good deal,” Noya says, patting Tanaka on the shoulder. “C’mon, let’s get to practice. We can worry about this more after club. Oh, and don’t forget to rescue that confession letter!”
------------------------------------
“Um, Yuu, is this really—is this really necessary?” Tanaka asks, plucking at the wig on his head and the girls’ uniform Noya had forced him into. They’re standing in Tanaka’s bedroom in socks, Noya in his uniform and Tanaka in…this. Where the hell had Noya even found this stuff?
“Of course it is,” Noya says. “You are to embody the spirit of a teenage girl, mustering up all her courage and hope and prayers and putting that spirit into her one shot at a confession to the handsome boy of her dreams.”
“Yeah, but I’m not a—” Tanaka says.
“Shush hush, my young protégé,” Noya cuts him off. “Let me pose a question to you.” He paces back and forth the length of his room.
“What do you think a confession from one Tanaka Ryuunosuke to one Ennoshita Chikara would look like?” he asks.
“Something cool and manly, hopefully,” Tanaka says.
“Correct!” Noya says. “However, a confession like that, no matter how admittedly awesome it would be, is not going to fly. How are you going to pierce Chikara’s heart of stone and make him see the true nature of your feelings?”
“Um,” Tanaka says.
“You have to reveal a side he’s never seen before—your sensitive side,” Noya says. “If he sees that, he’ll fall for you for sure.” Noya looks down. “Isn’t that right, kitten-san?”
Tanaka feels something soft rubbing against his legs. He looks down to see his new kitten, a little calico scrap of thing with the brightest green eyes he’d ever seen. “Oh great,” Tanaka says, scratching her ears. “She’s come for chew toys.” As if understanding his words, the kitten starts to gnaw on Tanaka’s fingers. “How horrible of you,” he says, still smiling at her feeble attempts to bit off his fingertips with her tiny teeth.
“Did you decide on a name yet?” Noya asks.
“Yeah,” Tanaka says. “Killer Fluffy McBiter Face Villain Whiskers. The First.”
“Her name is what,” Noya says. “Dude, that’s like…the single most awesome name I’ve ever heard in my life. Hi, McBiter Face.”
McBiter Face mews at him and then climbs onto Ryuu’s laundry and curls herself into a ball on top of it, peeking at them over the top of it.
“Shall we continue?” Tanaka suggests.
“Indeed,” Noya says. “Alright. I’m Chikara. You’re you. You’ve found me alone and unbothered by homework. Give me your best confession spiel, and we’ll work from there.”
“Ah,” Tanaka says. “Okay.”
He takes a deep breath. His hand unconsciously goes to the hair of the wig, twirling it around his finger. He can’t meet Noya’s eyes. “Chikara...” he says. “Thanks for hearing me out. I’ve got…I’ve got something I’ve been meaning to tell you. It’s something small that’s been growing inside me—um, not like a tumor or anything!” Tanaka says, eyes wide. Noya keeps a straight face, as Ennoshita would.
“It’s, uh, hard to articulate. But it’s a feeling inside me. It may be little, but it’s still very strong. And I want to share them—these feelings for you. Chikara, I think I l—”
“Dude,” Noya says. “Why am I even here?”
“What?” Tanaka says.
Noya sighs, smiling at Tanaka fondly. “Ryuu…you’ve got this confession thing down pat. You’re showing the right amount of delicacy, mixed with your signature Ryuunosuke brand charm. You’re sincere, but not too mushy. In my opinion, you’re all set to confess to him without any of my help.”
“Really?” Tanaka says. “You really think I can do it?”
“Sure do,” Noya says. “Hell, if I was Chikara I would have fallen in love with you right on the spot.”
“I wasn’t that good,” Tanaka says, but he feels chuffed at Noya’s praise anyway. He frowns. “But that doesn’t solve the problem of cornering Chikara in the first place. I haven’t had any luck at all on that front.”
“Well, that’s why you have me as a wingman,” Noya says. “I’ll be sure to secure you a perfect opportunity to tell him your feelings!”
“That’s a relief,” Tanaka sighs. “But—hey. Don’t do anything too out there, okay? I don’t want this to be dramatic.”
“Don’t worry!” Noya says, slapping Tanaka on the back. “I’m sure this is just another one of the scenarios you had in mind!”
----------------------------
This is not what Tanaka had in mind.
Two weeks after Noya had promised to secure him a chance to tell Ennoshita how he feels, Tanaka is back in his own house. He’s got a bag of corn pottage in one hand and an armful of yogurt drinks and juice in the other. And when he pushes open the door to his room, Noya has Kinoshita in a headlock on the floor while Narita counts down the hold.
Tanaka fixes Noya with a look of what he hopes is pure despair, but Noya simply flips a thumbs up at him, sticking his tongue out the corner of his mouth and still managing to hold Kinoshita down. What the hell was he thinking? With all their friends here, there was no privacy. This was a disaster.
“C’mon, guys,” Ennoshita sighs, the only one actually seated at the table. “Weren’t we supposed to study today? Finals are going to sneak up on you faster than you’d think…”
A study date. Of course! Tanaka resists the urge to smack himself in the face, not that he could with his arms full of snacks for his barbarian friends and teammates. Noya was a genius after all. What better way to clue Ennoshita in to his feelings? He could slip him a note, or flirt, or…
Actually, no, that’s all a bit too ambitious for Tanaka. Does he even know how to flirt? Shit. He doesn’t know how to flirt.
Play it cool, Ryuunosuke, Tanaka thinks to himself. It’s just Chikara.
“Oh, Ryuu,” Ennoshita says, calling Tanaka by his nickname. Tanaka starts and promptly drops all the drinks. They clatter against the floor and draw the entire attention of the room to him.
“I, uh, brought drinks?” Tanaka says.
“Yeah, about that,” Ennoshita says after a pause. “Could I bother you for water? I think I’m a little dehydrated.”
“Not a problem, captain,” Tanaka says, saluting Ennoshita. “Can’t have our best and brightest passing out on us, can we?”
He grins. Ennoshita’s eyes flash to his, then glance to the side. He hunches his shoulders and his ears tips turn a delicate shade of pink. “I’m not—I’m not that good at studying, y’know,” he mutters. “And—hey! Quit it with the whole ‘captain’ routine when we’re not on the court. It’s embarrassing!”
“Whatever you say,” Tanaka says. “Captain.”
Tanaka makes the mistake of glancing up to see three pairs of wide eyes fixed on him. Noya’s jaw is hanging open. Tanaka is made painfully aware of what he just said, the teasing lilt to his voice, and the fact that he had instinctually, without any specialty training from Noya, flirted with Ennoshita. And Ennoshita was getting flustered by it. Ennoshita huffs and turns his head away from Tanaka, setting eyes on their three silent companions.
“What are you lot staring at?” Ennoshita demands, following their gaze back to Tanaka.
“Water,” Tanaka squeaks. “Right. I’ll go…do that.”
He darts out of the room, pressing his back to the wall and clapping hands over his cheeks. They’re burning. Did he really just do that? Did he really just flirt with Ennoshita? Tanaka tries to recall how he did it, but he has no idea. It had just slipped out, as easy as calling for cover, as easy as speaking his name. As easy as having each other’s back with a receive and a spike and hands clapping together when the ball went through.
This crush thing was, Tanaka realizes, a little bigger than he had thought.
When he returns with a few bottles of water, he feels the soft brush of fur against his ankle. McBiter Face walks past him, swishing her tail in the air and nose twitching. She takes in his visitors with a long, slow blink.
“Oh, Ryuu!” Kinoshita exclaims. “Is that your new kitten?”
“Yeah,” he says, putting the water on the table. “Be careful, she has a habit of nipping.”
McBiter Face flicks her ear and then sets her beady eyes on Ennoshita. Great, Tanaka thinks. My cat is going to scare away the guy I like.
“Oi, kitten,” Tanaka says. “Don’t go terrorizing Chikara now, you hear?”
In typical, teenage defiance of her father, McBiter Face looks back at him and then immediately charts a course directly into Ennoshita’s lap. She climbs his crossed legs, seats herself nicely into the pocket made in his lap, and tucks herself in, tucking her tail over her nose. And then, against all odds, she starts to purr.
Ennoshita pets her back and gives her a nice scratch behind the ears. Tanaka stares at her. Well, well, well. Finally, she behaved! Wait, but how was it that his cat could get closer to Ennoshita then he could?” That wasn’t very fair. His stare turns to a glare, but content as she was, McBiter Face doesn’t even bat a metaphorical eyelash at Tanaka’s suffering.
“What’s her name?” Ennoshita asks, smiling down at her.
“Killer Fluffy McBiter Face Villain Whiskers the First,” Tanaka says through gritted teeth. “Living up to her name, I see.”
“Her name is what,” Ennoshita says. “How could you—how did you even come up with a name like that?”
“There was a lot of yelling,” Tanaka admits. “I don’t know why she’s being so docile. Usually she’s a tiny whirlwind of terror.”
“I guess she can sense that I’m the best and brightest,” Ennoshita says, shooting Tanaka the smuggest of all smug grins. Noya laughs.
Tanaka sits down. This was bound to be a long study date.
As it turns out though, their study session went rather well. Besides the initial chaos from Tanaka’s accidental flirting and McBiter Face’s entrance and the fact that Tanaka literally cannot stop thinking about Ennoshita teasing him back, he’d say it was a success.
Given, Tanaka had started multiple staring contests with his cat. She was happily soaking in Ennoshita’s affections, blissfully ignorant of Tanaka’s crush. It was like she was rubbing the distance between him and Ennoshita in Tanaka’s face. All the effort Tanaka had put into confessing, and his cat gets onto Ennoshita’s pants in a heartbeat.
For shame, McBiter Face , Tanaka thinks. For shame.
At least he does get a little bit closer. Noya uses his wingman superpowers to guide Kinoshita and Narita to the other side of the table so that Ennoshita and Tanaka can sit together. It’s kind of embarrassing. They sit so close their knees brush, even though they have the entire length of the table to themselves. Ennoshita doesn’t seem to find or even notice. He leans into Tanaka when explaining something, their arms brushing. Ennoshita’s touch makes homework both fantastic and unbearable.
Tanaka doesn’t pretend to be good at algebra and Ennoshita doesn’t pretend to be bad at algebra. He’s in calculus, but he took algebra last year and therefore knows all the tricks and techniques to the math that makes Tanaka’s head spin. He feels a little guilty, though. Ennoshita spends so much time helping Tanaka that he doesn’t have much time to study his own work.
“Sorry that I’m really dumb,” Tanaka says, scratching his nose. “Math doesn’t make sense to me.”
“You’re not dumb,” Ennoshita says. Tanaka gives him a look and Ennoshita laughs. “Alright, alright, so you’re not the brightest at math. But you always do really well in chemistry! Chemistry’s tough—even I have trouble with it sometimes.”
“Please,” Tanaka says. “Chikara, you’re good at everything.”
Ennoshita’s ear tips turn pink again. Tanaka thinks he likes the praise, if his little cough and turning away from Tanaka says anything. “Not everything…” Ennoshita mumbles. “I still can’t spike like you.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Tanaka says, throwing an arm around Ennoshita’s shoulders. “That’s why I’m the ace, and you’re the captain. You watch my back, and I’ll take us to victory!”
Ennoshita raises an eyebrow at him and grins. “You talk big; why don’t you put your money where your mouth is on the court?”
“Why you—” Tanaka says. He wraps Ennoshita in a headlock and gives him a noogie.
“Stop, stop!” Ennoshita laughs. “You’ll disturb the princess.”
“What princess?” Tanaka asks.
Ennoshita gestures to the kitten in his lap. Oh, right. Tanaka had forgotten about his traitorous daughter, curling up happily in Ennoshita’s lap like she belonged there. Ennoshita smiles softly at her, eyes gentle. He runs a finger down the bridge of her nose and she lifts her head to rub against his finger. He laughs lightly, like angel breath or some shit. Why didn’t Ennoshita look at him like that?
“McBiter Face, you lousy, lap-stealing bastard,” Tanaka mutters.
“I don’t know what you just said,” Ennoshita says, “but this is a princess. Princess McBiter Face.”
Tanaka makes a noise of disgust. “You two are revolting. Get a room or something.”
Ennoshita socks him in the arm, and none too lightly, either. “Get to work, slack ass!” he orders. “You have to finish those problems before I leave.”
“Yes, captain,” Tanaka says miserably, sticking his nose back in the homework. The numbers seem to be mocking him. Your cat has better game than you, they whisper. Tanaka briefly considers punching his worksheet.
“You know,” Ennoshita says after a moment. “I don’t actually mind tutoring you. I study enough at home that I kind of figure this is time for helping you guys. Yes, you too, Yuu. I see you avoiding Japanese Lit.” He turns to Tanaka. “So don’t feel bad about taking up my time, okay? I’m happy to spend it helping you. Gotta keep our ace in top condition.”
Tanaka swallows. “Sometimes,” he mumbles, “you’re too bright to look at directly, Chikara.”
“Huh?” Ennoshita says.
“Nevermind,” Tanaka says quickly, stuffing his face back into his homework. But he smiles, and the algebra work is just a little more tolerable.
------------------------------------
Tanaka waves his friends out of his house once the sun sets and the streetlights start to come on. he’s feeling worn out, and even though Ennoshita seems to bloom in his element (studying), the rest of their friends are yawning and leaning on the table, finding excuses to check their phones or even daring to sacrifice their fingers to McBiter Face in a poor excuse for ‘playing’ with her.
Tanaka leans against the wall of the entryway once he closes the door. He lets out a long sigh. Even with Yuu’s setup of the whole ‘study date’ and encouraging thumbs ups thrown across the room whenever Tanaka looked up from Ennoshita’s explanations, this was yet another flub on the confession front. Tanaka just hadn’t felt it. With all their friends together, the thought of confessing and getting rejected was unbearable. Noya’s effort to set them up had been in vain.
The flirting, or the teasing, or whatever it was they were doing had been nice though.
Is it just not meant to be? Tanaka thinks. They’d be going to different universities, if Tanaka decided he wanted to go to university in the first place. What was the point of confessing if they would be going their separate ways? Sure, they could figure out a way to do it long-distance, and Tanaka would always be around when Ennoshita came back, but…maybe he should just give it up.
Tanaka presses a hand over his heart. “What’ll I do with these feelings, then?” he mumbles to himself. His hand curls into a fist and he slams it against the wall. “Dammit!”
If it was Nishinoya, he would have confessed months ago, surely in some elaborate, public way with all that overflowing confidence of his. Tanaka had thought he possessed that same confidence, too. But the truth was, Ennoshita made him nervous. In a good way. In a bad way. In a way that made him want to share his feelings with Ennoshita. Made him want to scream it from the rooftops.
But there was also something fragile and delicate inside Tanaka, too. Something he hadn’t known with Shimizu or any other girl he had crushed on before.
Tanaka was afraid of rejection. He didn’t want Ennoshita to say sorry, Ryuu, but. He didn’t want Ennoshita to brush him off. He couldn’t swoon over how unattainable Ennoshita was, because this wasn’t a simple fondness or a, or a crush based on how gorgeous Ennoshita was, even if seeing him did make Tanaka’s heart flutter. This was something bigger.
McBiter Face walks out of Tanaka’s room to find him. When she sees him slumped against the wall, she lets out a long mew. Tanaka sighs and leans down to scoop her up. As if sensing his melancholy, she makes no attempt to bite him, just lets out a rough, rumbling purr and makes the biggest, most innocent eyes she can muster at Tanaka.
“Yeah, yeah,” he says. “I know you like Chikara too. He called you a princess, you little scoundrel.”
McBiter Face blinks.
“You can’t do that, you know,” Tanaka says. “All that climbing in Chikara’s lap. I’d like to do that too, if I were small and cute. It’s not fair to me, see? If you shower him in love, no one thinks it’s weird, but if I do it—”
Tanaka’s swallows thickly. “If I do it, I’ll get pushed away.” He holds his kitten close to his chest, trying to suffocate that overpowering, awful feeling swelling in his chest and making his eyes burn. He buries his face in her fur.
Then, his front door opens. Ennoshita steps into the entryway. “Ryuu?” he calls, too loud. “I forgot my textbook—” He stops when he sees Tanaka, eyes wide.
Tanaka knows what he looks like. A tall, strong third-year known for his headstrong nature, and punk appearance, and shouted taunts, about to cry into the fur of an itty bitty kitten. He doesn’t look anything like the ‘sensitive’ Noya had told him to be. He just looks pathetic.
“Ryuu,” Ennoshita says softly, closing the door and stepping closer to him. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
It’s nothing , Tanaka wants to say. It’s nothing, I’ll just never be able to tell you my true feelings, and then you’ll be gone, off to fancy university and you’ll forget all about me.
And then, he realizes that this is exactly the opportunity he’d been waiting for. They’re alone. There’s no chance that anyone will walk in on them, and even when Ennoshita rejects him, Tanaka will be able to run and hide in his room for the rest of the weekend. It’s time.
Tanaka wipes at his nose and puts McBiter Face down. “I have to tell you something,” he says, voice wobbling.
“Okay,” Ennoshita says, sitting on the step. “Yeah, sure. Anything.”
Tanaka sits next to him. “This is…kind of hard to say,” he says. “It’s something I’ve kept secret for a long time.” Ennoshita looks mildly terrified, so Tanaka clarifies. “It’s nothing bad, so don’t look so worried.”
Ennoshita swallows. “Oh,” he says. “That’s good.” He still looks worried.
Tanaka looks at his hands. “There’s someone—someone important to me. I’ve had feelings for them for a while now, and I’ve tried every way I can think of to tell them what they mean to me. Yuu even tried to help me but…I guess I’m a hopeless case.” He smiles. “I just wondered if you’d hear me out about this person.”
“Of course,” Ennoshita says softly.
“He’s—” Ennoshita blinks but doesn’t flinch at the ‘he,’ “He’s a good man. A really good man. He’s strong and reliable. He’s the one everyone turns to when they need help, no matter what, and he’ll be there for them. He has his weaknesses, of course, but I’ve watched him overcome them since I was a first-year and honestly…he inspires me to be a better person, too. That’s why I want to tell him how I feel, before we graduate.”
“He sounds like a good guy,” Ennoshita says. “I’m sure he would hear you out.”
“Yeah,” Tanaka says. He half-laughs. “He’s really the best and brightest of all of us.” Ennoshita sucks in a breath, but Tanaka doesn’t give him an opportunity to react. He looks at Ennoshita. “I really like you, Chikara. I understand if you can’t accept my feelings, but I just wanted you to know.”
For a moment, Ennoshita doesn’t say anything. Then he leans forward, huffing a laugh with a smile on his face.
“You know, for a moment there, you had me worried,” Ennoshita says. “I really thought you had a crush on some cool third-year. I thought, ‘man, this guy sounds so cool; I can’t compete with him at all.’ I should have known it was just you being as embarrassing as usual.”
“Worried—compete—embarrassing—” Tanaka sputters.
“I have something for you,” Ennoshita says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. He rubs his fingers over it, smiling softly.
“Here,” he says, and hands Tanaka a shiny, small button.
“This is—” Tanaka starts.
“This is the button from my uniform,” Ennoshita says. “It’s seen me through these three years. It’s seen my frustration with you, seen how I couldn’t stop thinking about you, seen you grow and change into something amazing and beautiful, and seen my feelings for you do the same. It’s seen me through your crush on Kiyoko-san, and on Daichi-san—”
“Did everyone know about my crush on Daichi?” Tanaka mutters.
“—and it’s seen me through years of crushing on you,” Ennoshita says. He takes Tanaka’s hand and curls it around the button. “You weren’t the only one struggling to confess, you know.”
Tanaka holds the button close to his chest. “I’ll treasure it,” he says.
Ennoshita’s grin widens, prompting a smile from Tanaka, too. “I like this side of you,” Ennoshita says. “I knew that a soft side existed, but it’s nice to see for real, when it’s just the two of us.”
“And my rebellious side?” Tanaka asks.
“I like that one, too.”
“And my competitive side?”
“That one especially.”
“And my taunting side?”
“Hmmm,” Ennoshita says. “Yeah, I guess I like that one, too.”
“I’ll take my shirt off more often, then,” Tanaka teases.
“Nooo,” Ennoshita moans, leaning his head against Tanaka’s shoulder. “I really can’t handle that; I’m torn between my duties as a captain and my desires as Ennoshita Chikara.”
“And what do you want right now, as Ennoshita Chikara?” Tanaka asks.
Ennoshita looks up at him. “I’d really, really like to kiss you now, if that’s okay,” he murmurs.
“That’s…that’s definitely okay,” Tanaka says. He swallows. “I don’t know how to, though.”
“It can’t be that hard,” Ennoshita says. “Just close your eyes.”
Tanaka does, bracing himself against Ennoshita shoulder as Ennoshita leans in. he feels Ennoshita’s breath across lips before he feels him, mouth pressed against mouth lightly. It’s only fleeting pressure, but Tanaka feels sparks dancing across his skin.
“Wow,” he says. “That was—really cool.”
“Idiot,” Ennoshita says fondly. “That was barely even a real kiss.”
And then Ennoshita leans again, kissing Tanaka harder. The soft sounds of kissing makes Tanaka’s heart flutter and he reaches forward, cupping the side of Ennoshita’s head and pulling him closer. Ennoshita leans into him, pulls on the front of his shirt to kiss him better.
Ennoshita’s hair is softer than McBiter Face’s fur, Tanaka thinks. But even softer than that is Ennoshita’s mouth. He’s pretty sure he could just keep kissing Ennoshita until the sun rose again.
Ennoshita pulls away, smiling. “Wow,” he breathes.
“Wow,” Tanaka agrees.
“We should—we should do this more often,” Ennoshita says.
“Okay,” Tanaka says.
“We should also maybe think about telling the team,” Ennoshita says.
“They know,” Tanaka assures him.
“Um, well,” Ennoshita says, blushing from ears to cheeks. “I should probably get going. If you keep smiling at me like that, I’m going to be tempted to keep kissing you forever, or something.”
“I don’t mind,” Tanaka says.
Ennoshita gently smacks him on the head. “Get some rest, ace. I’ll—I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tanaka smiles when Ennoshita opens the door. He smiles when Ennoshita waves goodbye to him. He smiles when the door closes, looking at the tiny button in his hand.
Chikara forget his textbook again , Tanaka thinks faintly.
That’s okay though. Tanaka can bring it to him tomorrow, go to his house and maybe study some more, maybe kiss some more because, get this—Ennoshita Chikara liked him back.