Chapter Text
“Damn it, damn it…” Teruteru muttered as he sped walked down the wide, spacey hall that led directly onto the massive arena-pitch. Nekomaru had a match, of course he played as much as he trained. Himself and others. And Teruteru was rushing down, because Nekomaru had a moment of break, and he forgot his food (that Teruteru made, of course, since they got together he didn’t eat anything but what Teruteru made. Teruteru didn’t mind this, in fact, he was thrilled!) in a moment of extreme focus and distraction, and his water. Now Teruteru held it in his hands as he reached the front doors, sometimes surrounded by tall, broad, buff players (he wondered if Nekomaru knew that), but Teruteru didn’t stare this time (even if he was tempted), he wouldn’t do that to Nekomaru.
“Yo! Teruteru!” Nekomaru’s voice made Teruteru whip his head to the side, and there Nekomaru sat. His face was flushed safe from the patches of his eyes and nose, he was panting- he just got off the arena. The crowd of over ten thousand people in the seats overlapped in a constant choir of voices, words, shouts of excitement or rage- all of the drowned out the moment they saw each other. Teruteru approached him, looking awed.
“Ye’ look like straight shit, hun’.”
Nekomaru huffed, almost irritated. Right, Teruteru probably shouldn’t try to mess around when he was like this, exerted, tired, and above all- hungry and thirsty. Teruteru held out the bottle and container.
“Here, cher’.” The two were gone from Teruteru’s hand before he even blinked, Nekomaru drank the water like it owed him (it did), and immediately dug into the container like it held the answers to everything. And Teruteru stared in quiet fondness.
Nekomaru was coming to himself now, and he sighed. “Man, how could I have possibly forgotten these in the car?” he stared down at the empty container. He ate a lot, but his next match was in twenty minutes so surely his stomach would already adapt and digest enough to be able to play comfortably. His energy was already coming back.
“I dunno’, cher.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t… shouldn’t have snapped like that.” He hadn’t, but this implied he immediately regretted the irritated, hasty scoff he made earlier. He rarely got irritated at Teruteru (and when he did, Teruteru always got horny, because he was Teruteru and he always had a thing for getting degraded. He’ll never forget their first angry sex together, the time he seriously got on Nekomaru’s nerves), and when he did? It was impossible to self justify.
“Ye’ hadn’t.”
Nekomaru turned his head to the side at Teruteru’s words, then took another swing of water from the bottle. Teruteru almost had the urge to kiss him on the forehead, but he knew how Nekomaru felt about PDA when he was a Team Managed first and boyfriend second. So Teruteru held himself back. Just then-
“Yo! Nekomaru!” It wasn’t Akane’s voice, even if it was her vocabulary. No, this was a male voice, an unfamiliar voice. Maybe just to Teruteru, because Nekomaru turned to it like he’d always know where that voice came from. And a tall, tanned auburn-ginger (his hair was long and sun-damaged, tied in a low tail, and his own thin front hair lengthened over his eyebrows) muscled (same as Nekomaru, only broader- somehow) dude approached, and Teruteru stared almost… awed. Or was that right? Was he actually awkward instead of staring at him in wonder? No, Teruteru stared at him unfamiliarly.
“Who’s…” he muttered.
“Ito. My co-manager,” Nekomaru explained as he slowly stood.
“Co-manager.” Nekomaru had only mentioned he had one, once and that was it.
“Yeah. Leon Kuwata’s older brother.” Now it was clear why he looked almost familiar, he was related to the dude in Class 78. Teruteru didn’t like him, he was an asshole. But he was a nice customer to have because he always ate it like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, and it fueled Teruteru’s ego (Nekomaru found his little narcissistic trait adorable).
Finally the dude was close, close enough in both of their comfort zones. And it was like he didn’t see Teruteru before his eyes finally landed on Teruteru, and just stayed. Staring at him with an unreadable (the only readable part? His gaze held a mild amusement) expression with slightly parted lips.
“Oh,” his jockish voice came an octave higher, “who’s this?”
Nekomaru glanced back at Teruteru, then back at him, “he’s close.”
So close I have his body and soul memorized in my head and the back of my hand.
Ito’s eyes darted from Nekomaru, to Teruteru, then back to Nekomaru, glancing between them like he had read Nekomaru’s little thought. And a wide grin slowly stretched over his face. His gaze still held that excited look, like Teruteru was an only girl among a gang of boys like most movies and manga’s showed. If Teruteru wasn’t too distracted stepping an inch closer to Nekomaru, he would have taken offense.
"Oh shit," he cackled, almost, "I know you. The chef', Teruteru Hanamura. Aren't you."
Not only known for making good food, but also knowing the chemistry, biology, and mathematics behind it. That was Teruteru's intellect.
Ito suddenly stepped closer.
“I’m Ito Kai.” his fist as large as Nekomaru raised, a "fist bump" gesture as he waited half a second.
Teruteru glanced up to him, then to Nekomaru and his face flushed. Attention from one, bulking handsome handsome man that chronically looms over him is a fantasy-come-true. But having two of them? Him in the middle ?
Teruteru shakily grinned as he stared up at Ito’s dark maroon eyes (they were obviously a dark scarlet in this sun) and brought his own (obviously smaller, obviously more feminine that way) fist, and they tapped knuckles. “...yer' a charmer, gonna have be blushin'.”
“Oh yeah. You put existing chefs and chemists to shame everywhere. Suppose I should bow.”
Teruteru lowered his head with a bashful laugh, his fist was still in the air like an idiot’s, and he quickly lowered it. And Nekomaru stood to the side between them, arms crossed as he observed Teruteru’s face from where he stood.
If he was honest, and if he could be honest here, he was uncomfortable. It almost felt like he was third wheeling in that moment that was strictly his own and Teruteru’s. And he knew the gaze when someone was “into” someone else. And Ito could fool literally anyone that tried to get a look at his pecs beneath his shirt but he never could have lied or fooled Nekomaru. There’s a reason Ito was co-manager only.
Ito grinned, then glanced at Nekomaru. “Bring him around more, as your co-manager I think I deserve some of your work.” Obviously he long forgot what he approached for in the first place once he saw Teruteru for the first time.
“Some of your work” was said to Teruteru directly, and it was Ito obviously asking for Teruteru to whip out a dish- any dish- for him. Teruteru wouldn’t mind, in fact, he was used to people asking, or just sitting and expecting he remembered them specially among two hundred other customers with the same belief. It had Teruteru run around and whip out a dish as soon as possible, and perfecting it even when rushed. If he came late? He’d take the shouting they had reserved for him.
Only Teruteru felt a different kind of energy with Ito other than him being just a “customer”, he was enjoying Teruteru’s comfort zone as much as Teruteru was enjoying it.
“I’ll get to it.” Teruteru muttered, glancing to the side. Having witnessed the shouting from others before (and having to step in ninety per cent of the time), Nekomaru glanced at him, as if asking silently if he was serious in disbelief.
“Hey I wasn’t making a request, don’t treat me as an everyday customer. I’m your boyfriend’s buddy.” Ito turned to Nekomaru with that same flamboyance, that Nekomaru only half met with, and fist bumped his shoulder, “see ya’, man…” with that, he left. And once he was out of sight, Teruteru made a tight exhale, a smile of disbelief over his face as he pinched his nose bridge.
“Well shit,”
“...” Nekomaru hadn’t said a word, but he was listening, and looked like he was. Teruteru didn’t realize he was being listened to. “that just happened.”
“I guess it did.”
“The people here are always this comfortable or is that a “bro” thing with you and him?”
“No,” Nekomaru turned his head to where Ito left, staring with his arms still crossed. Ito was out of sight but it didn’t end Nekomaru’s scrutiny. “I suppose you just piqued his interest.”
“Didn’t know I had a charm to myself like that.” Teruteru ran his fingers through his hair, glancing at the food he came to give Nekomaru in the first place, “I’ll, um… I’ll be in the crowd, cher’. Like always.”
His gaze softened as he looked back to Teruteru, his arms uncrossed, and he stepped forward as he placed a gentle, large-but-light hand to Teruteru’s back, as a way to escort him (and safely, god forbid anyone here approaches him) back to the doors.
“I know you will. Put your whole spirit in when you cheer. I’ll know if you hadn’t.”
Teruteru caught the quip, and he chuckled, Nekomaru grinned as he observed him, observed Teruteru turning his head away, suddenly bashful, and suddenly long forgetting his interactions with Ito-san.
“Oh I will, cher’. There’ll be nothing in me, in the end.”
In the now-secluded, private hall. Nekomaru pressed his lips to Teruteru’s. It was safe to do so. Teruteru always yelped when he did this, he never got used to it.
“I know you will, you’ve never disappointed me.”