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If you'd ask Tsutomu about what love is, he would always shrug and go back to his practice. He was never the romantic type, always opting to avoid the topic because he believed that it was unnecessary.
That was until he had met Kanji.
--
It was just another regular day at Shiratorizawa, the sun shining radiantly, warm breezes swirling around the area. Goshiki was performing dutifully, receiving powerful spikes from his opponents and doing the same to them. He roared in pride, ignoring the outlandish stare from Shirabu.
"Did you see that, Kenjiro-san!? I just did a super risky line shot, and it was in!" Tsutomu encircled the smaller boy, waiting for a compliment from him. He stared at him with sparkles in his eyes.
"It was just luck; don't push your chances," Kenjiro impassively responded, scoffing before walking away from Goshiki.
"A-alright…" He looked dejectedly at Shirabu before slumping on the benches. Tsutomu sighed, his head pressed on the cold seat. Someone sat next to him; a familiar grey-haired upperclassman patted his back, trying to cheer him up.
"Don't worry, Tsutomu. We saw that, and I've got to admit, I was suprised!" Semi complimented the sulking teenager, smiling as he reached out a waterbottle to him. Goshiki suddenly beamed up in joy and started to ask multiple questions to Eita.
The two of them stayed there for a while before the older boy decided to stop the conversation as practice was about to be over. He waved at Tsutomu before walking over to the other third years.
"Eita-san…!" Goshiki stared wholeheartedly at the grey-haired boy, regaining his self-esteem that had been lost earlier. He stood up, a fierce look implanted on his face. The others stared at him contentedly, going back to their positions for another match between one another.
--
As the final bell rang, everyone packed up their belongings and left the gymnasium. Their faces flushed with sweat, and their arms and legs bruised due to constant receiving of vigorous balls. They chatted with one another, leaving in groups except for Tsutomu. Despite getting invites for dinner from the others, he declined politely.
He walked slowly under the moonlight, humming as he entered a convenience store. It was Saturday after all, the release of the newest shonen jump volume. Goshiki picked up a tuna-flavored onigiri and coolish ice cream before paying quietly and sitting down at an area where he could see the brightly lit streets.
He quickly grabbed the manga as soon as the cashier started restocking the volumes, thanking them before flipping the pages. As Tsutomu was in the middle of reading, he suddenly heard a squawky voice from behind him. He scoffed, glaring menacingly at the person behind him. Goshiki's eyes widened before calming himself down; he looked back at his manga, trying to ignore the comments of the latter. Out of anyone, I had to run onto the loud setter from Dateko.
"Oh! You read that too?" Kogane stared at him excitedly, sitting down next to Tsutomu without any permission. He then went on to chatter about Shonen Jump, giving some hand gestures along the way. Kanji hadn't noticed the irritated look Goshiki was giving him, completely oblivious of the latter's reaction.
"Mhm, yeah, sure," Tsutomu sarcastically replied to him, focusing on his manga instead. He put his hand on his face, scanning the pages quickly to leave the store.
"Your icecream is melting, by the way!" Kanji pointed out at the liquefying food, laughing as he sees Goshiki scrambling to eat it. As soon as Tsutomu finished licking the icecream and getting brainfreeze in the process, he went back to minding his own business– trying to forget that the latter was here.
The two of them were quiet for a while until Kogane suddenly came closer and held Goshiki's face.
"Wait, you have a stain on your mouth." He slicked off the vanilla on Tsutomu and licked it mindlessly off his own finger. Kanji smiled before swiping the volume off the shocked boy's hand. Goshiki froze. It was so fast, he hadn't realized what Kogane had done until after he had finished cupping his face.
His ears tingled with a red fade, gazing away with a flustered look—he was blushing over such a simple matter. Tsutomu quietly reminded himself to calm down, but his body refused to listen. He was flushed, touching the side of his face that Kogane's finger had brushed.
"Goshiki? You there?" Kanji tilted his head, tapping the shoulder of his friend. He still had that grin plastered on his face.
"Yeah…" Tsutomu mumbled, his voice raising a pitch higher. He tried to look for an excuse to leave, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of someone else. Then, his eyes darted to his phone. He scrambled to hold it, quickly opening the screen to show the time.
"It's already 9pm; I should get going," he hastily said before standing up and grabbing his belongings, walking much faster than before. Tsutomu didn't look back, just continued to brisk until he lost sight of the taller boy. What he hadn't realized was that he forgot his dorm key.
--
Once Goshiki had arrived at the dormitories, his heartbeat slowed down to the normal pace, and he seemed much more fine than earlier. He stood in front of the door, scurrying to grab the key inside of his messy gym bag. After removing all of the items inside of it, he internally screamed and blamed himself for reaching the highest level of stupidity.
He sat on the cold floor, cross-legged. Normally, Tsutomu would just knock at the door and wait for his roommate to open, but since it was the weekends, there wasn't anyone except the sports team inside the academy. He wanted to scream, but he shivered at the thought of entering the principal's office. Goshiki sighed, opening his phone, wincing at the high brightness.
He hovered over the contacts, debating whether to continue with this decision or not.
"Here goes nothing, I guess." He clicked on Kogane's number and called. The loud ringing noise annoyed him, but there was nothing he could do. He thought that the latter wouldn't respond, but just after a minute, the connection secured.
"HEY GOSHIKI! YOURE CALLING FOR YOUR DORM KEY, RIGHT? I HAVE IT HERE WITH ME! COME DOWNSTAIRS! IM OUTSIDE YOUR SCHOOL!" Kanji shouted loudly, his voice echoing inside of Goshiki's mind. He sighed; it was Kogane after all—he wasn't the one to lose energy so quickly.
"Wait, you're outside?" Tsutomu shockingly said, his face scrunching up at the thought of Kogane taking his precious time to walk over here. He felt somewhat glad, scoffing before rearranging his stuff and setting out to meet with Kanji.
"I'm coming. Wait there." He yawned, looking over at the window. The view was somber, but he could clearly see the illuminated moon gleaming. Tsutomu smiled, admiring the scenery. He soon reached the empty ground floor; the lights were dim, but thankfully he could still see the pathway. Once Goshiki stepped outside, he was met with the sight of a cheery boy.
He just sighed, trying not to care, but there was a small grin on his face. Kogane swiftly waved at him, looking much brighter than before. The two of them held a short conversation before Kanji gave the dorm key back to its owner. Though it was already pretty late, Tsutomu had wished for the latter to stay for a while. Maybe Kogane wasn't that bad after all.
--
After the incident, the two of them started to talk more frequently, although it was Kogane mostly holding up the conversations. He didn't care that Goshiki wasn't responding often, and that made Tsutomu's heart flutter. He'd always catch himself smiling at his phone as Kanji sent him another reel about some cute cats hanging out with each other.
"Hey, Tsutomu! Did you see the video i sent you in line? Those cats were super cute!" Kogane stood infront of Goshiki, smiling as he waited for an answer. He looked at him with beady eyes.
"Yes, I did. Now get out of the way, we'll be late for the next volume." Tsutomu mumbled as he hid his face on his scarf, cheeks furiously blushing.
Kanji had been nonstop texting him ever since the convenience encounter, asking Goshiki to go together every Saturday. After a week of persuasion, he reluctantly agreed. Kogane had waited in front of Shiratorizawa immediately after their practice, and when Tsutomu found him waving rapidly, he felt his heart racing faster than before. There had been stares from other students, but the taller boy didn't care; he completely ignored everyone but Goshiki.
The two of them walked together, with Kanji spitting out his typical hypothetical questions. Tsutomu just listened, giving small nods. Despite being chatty towards his upperclassmen, Goshiki wasn't close with people his age—and he sometimes envied how the others could easily interact together.
"What are you thinking about?" Kogane took a step closer, their faces one inch away. He observed Tsutomu, how his ears would always have a rosy red on the tip, the way he'd always frantically look away whenever Kanji stares at him. He gave a big grin before backing away and walked slightly faster than before.
"You can't just do that, Kanji!" Goshiki shouted, chasing after Kogane. Both of them ran until they reached the convenience store, in which they entered sweaty and out of breath.
The cashier gave them a small wave before pointing the manga section to the two of them. Kanji and Tsutomu thanked them before going to the area.
While they were busy talking to each other, mouths full from eating onigiri, there was a familiar figure outside of the store. The person stopped walking, then looked towards the window.
"Our dear Tsutomu with the Dateko kid?~ Oh, this'll be interesting!" They whistled, snapping a hasty picture before walking once more.
--
Everytime the two of them would meet up, Kogane had always been careful not to hug him too tightly because he had mentioned one time that his body ached a lot after practice, and that small gesture made him slowly warm up to the latter.
Whenever he'd pass by anything duck related, he repeatedly thought of Kogane– his gorgeous face, chapped lips that he'd definitely love to kiss, bandaged fingers from constant blocking, the tall figure that would always bend down to his level to wipe some crumbs on Tsutomu's face. He quickly shook those thoughts away, focusing on his practice.
Lately, he had been getting much more sloppy with his formation—and the others soon took notice of the change. He had been recieving more harsh but truthful comments from Ushijima-san, and he truly took it to heart, but everytime he stepped on the court– his mind would always think of Kanji's face. He sat down on the warm bench, a cold towel positioned on top of his head.
Sweat beads dripping from his face and falling down on the ground. Goshiki sighed, berating himself for not concentrating on the one sport he loved the most. Just as he was in the middle of reprimanding his mind, someone sat next to him. He didn't dare look at them in the face; it was his fault that his team had lost the practice match anyway.
"What's up, Tsutomu?~" A cheeky voice perked up. Goshiki couldn't see them, but he knew they were definitely grinning right now.
"It's nothing, Satori-san," he irrationally replied, trying not to be blinded with anger.
"I know you, Tsutomu. Whenever there's something wrong, you always act like this! Don't worry, your dear upperclassman is here for you!" Tendou harshly slapped the back of Goshiki's back. Due to the intense force of the slap, there was most likely a bruise behind him.
"I told you, there's nothing to be worried about, Satori-san." Tsutomu gritted his teeth. There was malice dripping from his words, but Tendou fretted it no mind.
"It's about someone, right?" Satori whispered to him, sending shivers down his spine. Tendou smiled, finally cracking the code to Goshiki.
"Wh-" Tsutomu wasn't able to finish his words because his upperclassman hushed him up, and so he obeyed. He reached for the towel on his head and tilted towards Satori. There was a slight blush plastered on the latter's face, and Goshiki's curiosity peaked.
"I was like that too, once. I liked a person but I didn't want to accept it– because I thought that I wasn't deserving of it. They clouded my mind for days and it affected my performance! We lost a match, and I was really upset, but the others paid it no mind and told me to go to them. And so I did! The end~! Long story short, you shouldn't deny your feelings." Satori said, gesturing some hand signal while explaining the story to Tsutomu. He patted Goshiki on the back again, but softer.
"Whoever you like, you should go for it! Take the risk, or lose the chance," Tendou whispered the last few words to Tsutomu before giving him an encouraging thumbs-up and walking away from the bench. He looked at his upperclassman dumbfounded but also glad.
Goshiki took a deep breath and slapped his face roughly, grinning as he decided that later today, after practice, he'd confess his feelings to Kogane. His ears tingled with a darker shade of red at the thought of Kanji. He snapped out of his thoughts as he got called back on court again, but this time with a more ferocious aura.
--
The two of them sat on top of the viridescent hill, cherry blossoms flowing freely with the wind. The sun was setting down, a mix of orange and yellow hues looming over the area. There weren't many people around, so it was a serene area. Kogane was yapping about some nonsensical topics as usual while sipping his favorite orange juice, while Goshiki just gazed at him, admiring how beautiful he looked under the peaceful environment.
"Hey, Tsutomu! Look at this view, it's perfect!" Kanji did a camera gesture, amazed at the surroundings. He was so caught up at the moment that he hadn't realized the two of them weren't on the same boat.
"Yeah, it is. The view is gorgeous," Tsutomu mumbled, looking over at Kogane. He hadn't looked away once, but it was alright; he didn't need to see anything else because Kanji was already the most perfect person in his eyes.
"Hey, Tsutomu?" Kogane's voice suddenly went serious, glancing over to Tsutomu. His gaze was stone cold, much different than earlier.
"Yes, Kanji?" Goshiki's voice was shaky. He tried not to think much of the shift in the latter's expression, but there was a lump in his throat. It felt like he couldn't breathe properly. His mind was panicking, going over different scenarios that could happen.
Much to Tsutomu's surprise, Kanji slowly intertwined their hands together and inched closer to him. He focused on Goshiki's flustered face, his attention solely on the other. Kogane noticed the emotion in his eyes, how it transitioned from a lovestruck to a frightened style. Tsutomu's lips were quivering; the ahoge on his hair was drooped down. The taller boy came closer and gave a small peck on the smaller boy's blushing cheek.
"I like you, Tsutomu," Kogane's mouth hovered close to Goshiki's ear and whispered. Grinning at the reaction that the latter showed. Kanji smiled awkwardly, cupping Tsutomu's face in awe.
"You don't need to say anything, I know. I've always known, from the moment that your ears tingled red back when I gave you the key. You're not the best at hiding your emotions, you know?" Kogane smiled broadly. He wiped away the tears that Goshiki had in his eyes, doing his best to be careful with the latter's soft face. He moved Tsutomu's face down to his chest, patting his back while encircling their thumbs together.
"I like you too, Kanji…" Tsutomu's voice was muffled from crying, staining the Dateko jersey. He mumbled constant apologizes to Kogane, but the taller boy just continued to comfort him. The two of them didn't say a word, just waited as the twinkling moon came up.
Soon, Kogane could hear the soft breaths from the smaller boy. He had positioned Goshiki down at his lap, so he had a perfect view of the resting beauty. Kanji brushed the droopy hair off Tsutomu's face, completely revealing his relaxed face. There was a bit of drool going down from his face, but Kogane just smiled. He could get used to this sight.
If you'd ever ask Tsutomu about what love is, he'd stop and think for a moment before blurting out a name: Kanji Koganegawa.
--
OMAKE:
Futakuchi grumbled as he walked around the back of Dateko. His legs were already exhausted from walking around the large area, and he still hadn't found their first-year setter.
"Tch. Why would Kanji stay out late!?" Kenji cursed the taller boy, promising to himself that he'd get a fitting punishment for disobeying school rules. He smirked at the idea of making Kogane run 100 laps around the track-and-field area.
His eyes suddenly darted at two figures on top of the hill. Futakuchi widened as he quickly took out his phone and snapped a picture.
"So, our dear Kanji finally got himself a boyfriend, huh?" He smiled menacingly, his expression shifting from annoyed to interested. He chuckled loudly before walking back to the dorms.
Later, he sent the image to the shared GC. Kogane woke up to multiple texts from his teammates and threat messages from Shiratorizawa.