Work Text:
1.
Raichi yawned, throwing out his arms and stretching out his sore muscles after a long day of practice at the Bastard Munchen stratum. Noel Noa had dragged him, Gin, and the other defenders on their team aside to practice a new formation—one where, if necessary, they could score goals from.
It was about time, in Raichi’s opinion, because Noel Noa spent way too long talking to Isagi about “Ego” and letting him and Kaiser rip into each other for fun or maybe just to watch their weird vaguely sexual tension rather than actually teach people shit, and it pissed him off.
The training drills today were fun, though. Running and fighting, long kicks, and a good 2v2 in the goal box. Though, to be fair, any game that let him play with Gin was a good one, and having them actually do synergy exercises was fun as hell. Noel Noa had correctly assessed their good “chemistry as players” which was just a fancy way of saying they worked well together(obviously, five months in their QPR with no issues), and let the two work together.
Gin always had his back, which made any action he took easier. He knew that if he called for extra support, or predicted where the ball would be, his goalie would always be there. Of course, the fact Gin was also built as hell and an incredible player also helped, but, y'know.
He went through a couple more stretches, grinning as he felt the burn in his legs, and pushing forwards to loosen the muscles out further, and startled as a cool sensation met his arm. “Huh? Who the fuck—?” He turned his gaze to Yukkimiya, who had pressed water into his hand. “Just making sure you had some.” He replied to the question Raichi hadn’t asked, sitting down beside him.
Usually, this was about the time where he’d be sitting with Gagamaru, but Gin hadn’t come out of the showers yet, having been kept late by Noel Noa, and he was in a good mood, so he humored the attempt at kinship and took the bottle.
It wasn’t too surprising that Yukkimiya wanted to be buddy-buddy with someone other than.. well.. the rest of the team, who weren’t exactly personable. Not to say that Raichi was personable, he wasn't, he was just slightly less of a bastard then the rest of his aptly named teammates. “Thanks.” He huffed out, taking a few sips of water.
Yukkimiya made small talk with him as he continued to wait for Gin, sloshing around his own bottle of water and sighing. “Y’know.. I’d really appreciate it if Yoichi and Kaiser.. stopped whatever they were doing off-field.” Raichi rolled his eyes, sighing, “You mean hate-fucking with their eyes?” Yukkimiya coughed, seeming startled at Raichi’s bluntness, but nodded. He laughed at that. “Yeah, me too.”
“Kaiser texts Yoichi at like. 2am. I can’t tell if it’s hate mail or a booty call.” Yukkimiya pinched his brow, leaning forward like the knowledge pained him. Raichi just nodded. “I’d believe either, though honestly it’s just as likely he and Ness have got… something going on. What is with his ‘I’ll only pass to Kaiser my king’ shit? It’s ridiculous.”
The two spent a few minutes chatting before he brought Gin up. “Actually.. I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s you and Gagamaru’s relationship..? If you feel comfortable enough to share?” Raichi really didn't feel like it, which was seemingly exemplified in his glare, which Yukkimiya took in at a glance and awkwardly laughed. “Sorry, Its just.. you’re close, aren’t you?” What was he getting at??
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Raichi really wasn’t someone to beat around the bush, he just also liked not being directly in the spotlight about his relationship. They had a practical and unspoken rule of “Keep your hands to yourself until we’re not on national TV” which had served them very, very well in the past several months. Sure, some people thought they were a thing, but most people were a little too busy looking at the burning house fire that was Nagi and Reo’s relationship to care.
“I guess I was just curious, since I’ve seen you…” he trailed off, but Raichi had a feeling about what he was getting at. While neither of them particularly cared for kissing, Gin especially was very much a cuddler. Raichi begrudgingly(Read: very happily) accepted quite a bit of cuddling related PDA when off screen, and at times, in front of other Blue lockers, and even the team.
It didn’t help that whenever he swatted Gin away he would start using his version of puppy dog eyes, which usually meant staring at him from afar with a frankly stupid amount of yearning in his eyes.
But still, when it came to the matter at hand, “I’m gonna be honest, I don't give a damn about answering you, so deal with it.” Yukkimiya just nodded, shrugging. Perhaps he decided that leaving it was worth it to keep Raichi’s good graces. He wouldn’t be surprised, the man certainly had a high EQ. And that was that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.
“Asshole,” he muttered, gently moving Gin’s head as to not wake him. As soon as they had gotten on the bus, Gin had taken no time at all to monopolize his body, cuddling into his side like a koala and seemingly forgetting the rest of the people around them. He grumbled more misgivings as Isagi looked between them from over the seat, grinning cheekily at the both of them. “Y’know, I always wondered if there was something going on between you two…“ “Shut up before I make you-“ he started, before noticing how Gin stirred at the movement. He glared daggers into Isagi before sighing, giving up on holding a good argument with Gin in his arms.
They hadn’t had much time together to do anything more than soccer, like their usual cuddling, missing the past few days from a lack of time, so he could hardly blame his partner, who was, in fact, the most physically affectionate being out there. He understood the idiocy, but still found it frustrating.
About half way through the ride they were told to come up through the back and wave to the crowds, so Raichi shook his goalie awake and then went out with the rest of them, waving and screaming towards their fans.
It was also overwhelming to realize just how much people actually cared about them all, and blue lock’s success. People were cheering in the streets for all of them, mostly more popular or higher ranked people, like Isagi, or Bachira, but still. For them.
Raichi’s eyes caught onto a sign with his own name, and he felt his face light up with a sharp grin. This was fun, after all.
After they had gotten back inside, He and Isagi switched seats, putting him next to Kurona. They got along decently well, on account of neither of them being Isagi, Káiser, or Kunigami, who were all varying shades of “holy moly please get help” though Isagi was mostly unhinged on field, not off.
“People are talking now about you and Gin.” There was a certain curiosity to his tone that Raichi had grown familiar with over the part few months. Kurona wasn’t bothered by his lack of response, and continued without a beat. “They have questions. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want, want.” He paused for a moment, “I think.” Maybe if it was someone else asking, he would have changed the subject, but it was Kurona, so he shrugged. Saying nothing for a moment, before speaking, “Does there need to be an answer?” It wasn’t a full confession of their relationship, something that was not quite romance but never just friendship, that teetered the line between, a love with no need for words or greater phrases. No, but it was not a denial.
“Maybe not, not.” Kurona hummed, swinging his legs back and forth under the seat. It was Kurona, so he told the truth. “We’re something, I guess.” He spoke hesitantly, but not with fear of a reaction. It was just the first time he’d said it out loud. Kurona nodded. “Makes sense, sense. I get that too.” He was a calming presence, really. Raichi’s anger was rarely stoked around the guy. Well. Rarely. “It was very obvious, though.” “HUH? WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3.
Raichi hated interviews. Everything about them set him on edge. He hated having to be made over by the makeup artists, he hated the stupid outfits, but most of all, he hated the questions.
For some reason the majority of fans were just as interested in the teams’ relationships as they were the soccer, and that meant a truly staggering amount of questions ended up being about who liked who.
Especially during solo interviews. They had already done the team one yesterday, and luckily for him, most of the questions pertained to other members of blue lock with even wilder reputations. That, or they were just a PR disaster waiting to happen. You thought he was bad? Please, just look at the rest of them.
Raichi was kind of an asshole but he wasn’t Ryuusei “I sent dick pics to Spain’s midfielder and got banned from twitter” Shidou or Itoshi “almost strangled the last interviewer when he asked about Sae” Rin so he had something going for himself.
Of course, it also helped that Gin and him were not regularly getting reported to HR for aggressively making out or have a tragic romance, so he didnt get many weird questions in the group interview. He had mostly been asked about his play style and how it felt to be on the national team—something he was all too happy to share about—and Raichi preferred it that way.
But the U-20s team all had their own interviews and even his teammates’ insanity couldn’t save him from invasive questions, and even more unfortunately, he couldn’t fight the interviewer because after Rin tried to tackle one of them everyone was reminded of the anti-rioting electric shock collar stuck in all of their uniforms. Ego, that bastard.
So here Raichi was in an interview chair trying not to look murderous. He was murderous, mind you, but he wasn’t a complete idiot about PR, so he was attempting to be calm. The interviewer turned to him, winking. He had slicked back hair and a grin on his face that felt a little too forced to be real. The camera’s light blinked once, then twice, and from across the studio he heard a voice shout “We’re on!”
The interviewer introduced himself first, speaking to the audience with a certainty in front of the camera Raichi was sure he didn’t have. “Hello and welcome back to JNF! I’m your host, Fukudo Bradley. Today we’ll be interviewing the aggressive defender of the U-20 team….Raichi Jingo!”
He grinned, teeth and all, trying not to preen under the attention. What? He liked the audience, just not the questions. Raichi wouldn’t be in the U-20 team if he couldn’t handle people. The man spoke again. “It’s a pleasure to have you here, Raichi.” He smiled, blinking expectantly. He internally sighed before forcing his expression into something pleasant. “Happy to be here.”
The interviewer’s grin tightened. Ah. He may have been coming off a little passive aggressive. Oh well. He tried. The man cycled through several questions, each more boring than the last. The first few were soccer related, but his last question was just about what foods he enjoyed. Raichi was bored, but unfortunately for him, he would not continue to be bored with the next question.
“Ah, this is a question we’ve asked many other blue lock participants! Who are you closest to on the team?” Fukodu spoke, looking intently at him. Raichi huffed. “Closest too? Gin, probably.” He shrugged. It was the truth, after all. Everyone else was considerably less tolerable. He could handle most of the old Z-team, Yukimiya, and Kurona, but that was about it.
The interviewer leaned forward, not bothering to conceal his curiosity. “Oh? How curious! When Gagamaru was on earlier, he said the same thing. What would you call your relationship?” The question irked him. Gin wouldn’t have said anything stupid, right? They were keeping it on the down low. Still, he couldn’t help but be frustrated.
“What do you think?” He asked, gritting his teeth as he glared at the man. The interviewer laughed. “Hahaha, it wasn’t an insult, my friend! Many people are just curious about the friendship that the U-20 team shares.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes—they almost looked predatory—Ah. He was looking for this reaction. Raichi’s hands curled into fists as he forced himself to calm down. He would not give this man more than an inch.
“I’ll make it clear then, me and Gin have been close since our time together in team-Z. I still talk to most of the people on that team, as they are fellow members of the U-20 team. Any other questions and I’ll make you regret it.” He grinned, teeth and all, putting all of his frustration to the forefront. The man gulped, and Raichi could see the nervousness in his features.
“Ah… I see. Well, I suppose that answers that. Isagi mentioned the same thing in his interview.. how lovely.” He smiled tightly, and Raichi really really wanted to punch the expression off of his face.
He was tempted to start a fight on national TV, but resisted the urge, just long enough to get off the set. They didn’t know anything anyways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+1
It was actually pretty rare the two ended up sleeping together. Gin ran hot, and Raichi couldn’t stand overheating when he was trying to sleep, so usually they ended up in separate beds.
Not like he minded it always, though. Now, for example, Gin was pressed against his side, head lying on his chest. Hair was splayed across his side, his eyes lazily gazing up at Raichi as he read a new comic. It was one of those rare times when the two of them were alone and had nothing in particular planned besides enjoying each other’s company, and both of them were doing all they could to soak up the time alone.
Gin was quieter than you’d expect. It annoyed Raichi at first because the mountain man seemed to be communicating in a way he couldn’t understand. Instead of saying how he felt Gagamaru would huff, or shrug, or just get a strange expression on his face. It took a while for Raichi to become fluent, but it made their relationship a lot easier when he understood it.
He was getting a little too hot now. “Gin, move.” He spoke, shifting slightly. Immediately, the man was up, looking slightly confused. Raichi huffed. “I’m just getting hot, it’s nothing you did.” Gin blinked again, before tilting his head and frowning slightly. He was giving Raichi the eyes.
Raichi found it was very hard to say no to Gin’s weird bug eyes. They weren’t supposed to be as cute as Raichi thought they were, but it was a side effect from overexposure. After a moment, he relented, speaking again. “You can lay on my other side.”
Gin took his offer, leaning back down on his chest, the left side this time. “Mm.” He didn’t seem to be up for talking. Raichi got back to his reading, the weight on his chest present as ever.
He was about halfway through the next chapter when his human furnace started to move again. The jerk had the gall to look up at him, blinking expectantly. Raichi glared back, but as per usual, Gin was undeterred. Raichi knew what he wanted, and as always, he was struggling not to give in and indulge his person.
He resisted it for about 30 seconds before sighing in frustration and patting his head. He leaned into the touch. Raichi had no idea why Gin enjoyed it, maybe it was related to the whole fighting bears in his free time thing.
It was stupid how much he enjoyed the idiot next to him. His idiot, who loved metal bands and hiking and nature and boxing and just about anything he could be hands on with. His stupid partner, who he never doubted on the field. The goalie he got to protect.
It was them. It was enough.