Work Text:
Club:
Tenga wasn’t exactly sure when this… crush developed. It was almost like he woke up one day and his brain decided to point out that, hey your body improvement club captain is pretty hot, and it all sorta snowballed from there.
And not just that, but lately all Tenga could think about was doing all this sappy shit like going out on dates, and holding hands, and- and kissing. Tenga felt his stomach flutter and he swallowed.
That was happening a lot to. That fluttering feeling. Like he had swallowed a bunch of butterflies and they were flying around in his stomach.
It would happen whenever he made eye contact with his captain for too long. Or when their hands would accidentally brush when passing the other a dumbbell. Or that one time Tenga had pushed himself too hard and Musashi helped him to the infirmary, an arm wrapped firmly around his waist.
Even now when Musashi was standing right in front of him and the rest of the members, giving out his after club critiques and encouragements, all he could do was notice the way he carded his fingers through his hair when he talked. Or how his lips turned up into a blindingly proud smile when he told Kageyama that he broke his personal best for running time today.
All he could think about was pressing his lips against that smile, and feeling it melt into something softer, sweeter. More private and just for him and him alone.
He was just so- so… cute his brain supplied, making the tips of his ears go red. He huffed out a sigh and buried his face in his hands. Why did he have to have this big dumb crush on this big dumb guy?
Tenga wasn’t used to having all these soft fluttery feelings for people. He was supposed to be a punk, a feared and respected delinquent of this joint, and yet he couldn’t think about some dumb guy without gettin all red and flustered like some chump. It was embarrassing to say the least.
It was even more embarrassing when he jumped a little and let out a surprised grunt when a big, strong hand clapped him on the shoulder. He looked up only to realize that all the other club members had filed out of the room and he’d just been sitting here, daydreaming like a fool for who knows how long, while Musashi fixed him with a friendly but mildly concerned smile.
“Onigawara, you alright? You’re usually not one to lag behind. All the others have already started heading home.” Musashi’s hand was still resting on his shoulder and Tenga could feel heat starting to pool in his cheeks. He worried his bottom lip in between his teeth and cast his gaze down awkwardly. “Ughh well, ya see i was just distracted by- by, uh-” Musashi was giving him an encouraging nod and Tenga kind of wanted to die. It’s not like he could just be like ‘Oh ya know, I was just thinkin’ about how bad I got it for you, and the time got away from me.’
Just thinking about it made him break out into a sweat. And Musashi was still looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Tenga coughed awkwardly and stood up, subtly shifting enough to get his shoulder out from under Musashi’s hand. If Musashi noticed he didn’t say anything about it.
“Well you know, i was just thinkin’ about how- uhh.. how much homework I have to do this week and deadlines and stuff. Ya know school and shit” Tenga finished lamely, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Musashi continued to pin him down with a calculating stare before nodding to himself, apparently satisfied with the answer he was given, and then giving Tenga a sympathetic smile. Tenga felt relief wash over him knowing that Musashi believed his lame ass excuse.
“I know what you mean,” Musashi started, grabbing his things and slinging his bag over his shoulder, “school's tough.”
Tenga nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets, following Musashi out of the room. It was at this point that a thought hit him. Musashi and him hardly ever walked back to the train station alone. And not at all since he’d realized his feelings for the guy. It was always with someone else from the club, but almost never just the two of them.
Tenga, to his absolute dismay, felt his heart pick up at the prospect of the two of them being alone together.
Why’d he have to be so smitten with this guy anyway? Tenga pushed his hands even further into his pockets and did his best to ignore the incessant pounding in his chest. This was stupid. He was being stupid.
“Soooo-” Tenga started, trying to sound cool and laid back, “Got any plans for the upcoming weekend?” It was the standard kind of small talk he made to ease some of the tension in the air. Tenga wasn’t so good with awkward silences so he always did his best to fill up the space with some kind of nonsense chatter.
Musashi placed his palm on his cheek and turned his gaze upward, thoughtful. “Well, I was planning a weekend run with everyone but most of the team’s busy so I was thinking about doing some solo body improvement.” Tenga would have laughed if he didn’t find Musashi’s persistence to better himself physically so weirdly endearing. Working out seemed to be the only thing on this guys mind most days.
“Mhm that sounds about right.” Tenga said, picking at some frayed fabric on his sleeve, and trying to stop a stupid smile from forming on his face. This guy really was so predictable.
“Hey, what’s wrong with wanting to improve myself? It takes work to keep this in shape.” Musashi said, gesturing toward his well toned body (Tenga did his best not to let his eyes wander). If it weren’t for the twitching lips threatening to turn into an amused smile onigawara would have thought he almost sounded a little offended.
Tenga snorted and put his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey now, I’m not bad mouthin’ your workout regiment there big guy. I’m just saying yer a predictable guy” Musashi pulled a face so Tenga hurried on with what he was saying “Not in a bad way or anythin’. It’s uh- well it’s kind of nice you bein so predictable. Sort of gives you a reliable feel ya know. I-I like that about you...” Musashi blinked owlishly at him and Tenga coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his reddening neck. God, why’d he always have ta go and say such embarrassing shit?
Tenga chanced a look back over to Musashi just in time to see him say “reliable, huh?” to himself, and look down at his shoes, grinning. And that right there was the cutest shit he’d ever seen.
Tenga thought he was gonna have a heart attack.
Musashi’s grin only grew when he saw onigawara looking over at him, and he slung an arm over his shoulder, beaming down at him. Tenga was pretty sure he was gonna pass out.
“I’m glad you think that Onigawara” Musashi said sincerely, looking him right in the eye. Tenga could feel himself getting more and more flustered by the second and he sputtered for something to say.
Musashi cocked up an eyebrow, “You okay there Onigawara? You sure are getting red. You’re not getting sick are you?”
Tenga’s face got redder and he elbowed Musashi in the ribs. “Sheesh man quit yer worryin’. I-I’m just a little warm is all. And having a big, sweaty hunk of meat leaning all over me ain't helping.”
Musashi just laughed and slapped him good naturedly on the back before peeling himself off of his side. “Sorry about that Onigawara.” Tenga almost regretted saying anything, sorta liking the way Musashi felt pressed up against his side.
“S’okay. I didn’t mind, really.. I was just messin’ with you.” Tenga mumbled, walking a little closer to Musashi and bumping their shoulders.
Musashi gave him this weird unreadable look and for a second Tenga irrationally thought he’d done something wrong, but then that look melted into a soft smile and they walked the rest of the way like that, shoulders occasionally bumping against each other, and hands accidentally brushing.
Neither of them said anything whenever it happened, but Tenga still felt a thrill go up his spine every time Musashi’s fingers skimmed over his own.
Tenga thought that he’d try and make an effort to walk alone with Musashi more often after that.
----
Lunch:
Tenga took a bite out of his sandwich, tearing angrily through the bread and meat and cheese with his teeth. He took a few more equally aggressive bites before shoving the rest in his mouth and slumping against the wall he was sitting by.
About a week ago Musashi and him had started eating lunch together, and to say it was a highlight of his day was an understatement. It was great getting spend more time with the guy he liked outside of club and it always put him in a good mood.
But the problem was is that Tenga had been waiting for about 15 minutes and Musashi still hadn’t shown up. Tenga knew it was dumb to be getting this bent out of shape about it because, hey, Musashi was a popular guy. He had plenty of other friends and it wasn’t fair for tenga to want to monopolize all his time. It wasn’t like they were boyriends or anything.
Tenga felt an uncomfortable throb in his chest at that, which he resolutely ignored, crossing his arms tightly against his chest and staring stoically out the window (definitely NOT pouting).
It’s just, if he hadn’t wanted to eat lunch with him today, he could have at least told him. The bastard.
It was a nice day out and everyone else from his class was eating lunch out in the quad. But not him. He had stayed inside just in case Musashi decided to show up. Damn, this crush was making him turn into a pathetic loser.
And it’s not like my feelings for him are gonna change anything Tenga reminded himself. He had no plans to confess because why should he? It’s not like Musashi actually liked him or anything. If anything, telling him would just make things a little awkward between them and that was something Tenga sure as hell didn’t want to deal with.
He could just picture Musashi smiling sadly at him as he politely declined his confession and told Tenga that I hope you can find someone in the future who can return your feelings.
Tenga frowned and rubbed at his chest. His heart was starting to hurt.
The door slid open and Tenga sat up a little bit straighter, his traitorous heart picking up speed when he saw who it was. Even when he was supposed to be feeling annoyed with the guy, he still got all happy and flustered when he showed up.
He was about to chew Musashi out for showing up so late when he saw the tight lipped frown on his face. Tennga snapped his mouth shut and pushed out a chair with his foot, gesturing for Musashi to sit.
He did, letting his shoulders sag and sighing. He looked stressed.
“Hey man. What the hell happened? You look like shit.” Tenga winced. He wasn’t good at comforting people by a long shot and tended to put his foot in his mouth in situations like this. but the worry must have shown in his voice because Musashi offered him a small smile and seemed to relax a little.
“Sorry I was late. When I was on my way over here i was pulled aside by the guidance counselor.” Musashi sighed again, and Tenga didn’t know what to do or say so he just patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. He was starting to feel like a major ass for being so annoyed with Musashi earlier.
“S’all good man, I understand. What did the guidance counselor want?” Musashi’s jaw clenched and Tenga felt himself getting a little nervous. Whatever their conversation had been about, it obviously wasn’t a good thing.
“The counselor had a meeting with my parents today. I’m…” Musashi winced before going on, obviously very uncomfortable by this topic “I’m at risk of failing my english course. And they all agreed that if I didn’t start showing improvement in the next month that I would have to be pulled from my club duties in order to focus on on my studies.” Musashi put his head in his hands.
Tenga felt his heart clench. This club meant everything to Musashi. They couldn’t do this to him. Could they?
“Onigawara I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Musashi groaned, words muffled from behind his hands, and slumped against Tenga, their shoulders pressed firmly together. Tenga’s heart stuttered in his chest, but he ignored it. Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tenga rubbed (what he hoped were) soothing circles on Musashi’s back and cleared his throat awkwardly. He was starting to sweat.
He had an idea, but he didn’t know how to articulate it and it was making him feel tense. He’d never been good at these things.
“Um- I could maybe, I mean if you wanted I could…” Tenga sighed in irritation at his own inability to form a coherent sentence. He swallowed and tried again.
“What I’m tryin’ to say is that I could tutor you if you wanted.” Musashi sat up very abruptly and looked at Tenga all wide eyed. Damn he was sure making Tanga feel nervous.
“Like, uh, we could- we could study together at my place if ya want. I may not look it, but I’ve always been pretty good at foreign language classes.” The way Musashi was staring at him in disbelief made his insides twist and face heat up even more and he continued rambling, unable to stop himself.
“I mean, I have a really high grade in that class anyway. I'm ranked top ten of our grade. Not to- not to brag or anything. God, I probably sound like an ass right now, sorry. I-” musashi was giving him this weird smile and Tenga felt his words get caught in his throat so he just kind of stared back it him, clamping his mouth shut.
“You’d seriously do that for me Onigawara? You’d take time out of your schedule to help me out?” Musashi was giving him this hopeful look that was doing things to Tenga’s heart and he felt like he was having a hard time breathing. Man his face felt hot.
“Y-yeah man. Stop acting like it’s such a big deal. I know you love that club and I don’t wanna see you have to give up something you obviously care about for such a stupid ass reason. So yeah I’ll help you out, now stop staring at me like that, sheesh.”
And before he could chicken out he added, “ ‘sides, I like doing club… with you.”
Musashi was giving him this super soft, sincere ass smile and it was making Tenga’s heart beat so hard that he had to look away in order to calm down.
“Thank you Onigawara” Musashi’s voice had gotten all low and sincere and Tenga’s stomach was doing that stupid fluttery thing, and oh god he really really liked this big loser.
“S’nothing, just drop it. Yer making this a way bigger deal than it is.” Tenga said, shrugging, not quite looking at Musashi.
Musashi sighed and Tenga felt him grip his shoulder. Tenga finally made eye contact with him and Musashi was looking at him very determined, his jaw set and eyes blazing. They really were such nice eyes. Tenga was starting to get nervous again.
“Seriously Onigawara thank you. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do. I’m lucky that I have you to count on.” Tenga felt a lump in his throat and all he could do was nod, not sure how to handle the way Musashi was looking at him right now. Tenga wasn’t used to people being grateful to him, especially someone he liked so damn much.
“You’re welcome.” Tenga finally mumbled. And Musashi’s face broke out into this slow spreading grin and from this close Tenga could see the little dimples that formed at the corners of his mouth.
Tenga swallowed, Musashi really was a very handsome guy and he was sitting pretty damn close to Tenga, and his hand was still on his damn shoulder, his thumb sliding up and down the juncture where shoulder met neck.
Musashi had always been pretty handsy with him, but this felt different somehow.
Tenga opened his mouth to say something but his throat felt dry and nothing came out. Something in the air felt… off. Sort of tense. Or electric.
From this close Tenga could see a small fading scar by Musashi’s right eyebrow. He sort of wanted to kiss it. Tenga’s damn heart couldn’t calm down.
“Onigawara-” The way Musashi said his name, all shakey and low, set Tenga’s nerves on fire and he swallowed thickly.
Musashi opened his mouth to continue but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the chiming of bells. Lunch was over. They both jumped and Musashi quickly stood up, laughing a little too loud for it to seem natural. The weird whatever that was that had been charging the air between them was gone and Tenga could breathe again.
“See you after school Onigawara.” Musashi said, already making his way to the door.
“Yeah, see you.” Tenga called after his retreating figure. Before Musashi walked out of the room, he turned back around one last time and gave Tenga another one of those small smiles, “And thank you, again.” Tenga just nodded, unable to get his mouth to form words for what felt like the 20th time in the past 5 minutes.
Musashi was gone and his classmates started filing back in and going to their desks. “What the hell was that?” Tenga mumbled to himself, face still flushed.
----
Study date:
Musashi had been coming over to study at Tenga’s place for 2 weeks now (4 times a week for 2 hours, on mondays, wednesdays, fridays, and sundays) and Tenga could already see how quickly he was improving.
The problem wasn’t, Tenga had realized within the first 30 minutes of their first study session together, that Musashi couldn’t understand the course material in general, but that he couldn’t understand it the way it was being taught to him. As soon as they had found a different method to go about it, Musashi’s grade started slowly but surely improving.
Tenga felt this weird, giddy sort of pride at being the one to help Musashi find a way to better learn the course material.
Okay and maybe some of that giddiness also had to do with the fact that even though their 2 hour study session was up, Musashi had agreed to stay for dinner tonight.
A part of him knew it was stupid letting himself get all excited over them spending this much time together. Because with how things were going Musashi would no longer be at risk of being put on academic probation soon enough which, of course, was a good thing. But that also meant that all this extra time together spent at his home would soon come to a close.
It’s just that Tenga couldn’t help but feel pretty damn happy about this. Who wouldn’t be happy having the guy they liked sitting on their bed with them, chatting comfortably as they waited for dinner to be ready. And not only that, but the more time they spent together, the better they got to know each other, and the more Tenga realized how much he really really liked Musashi.
He was just so energetic and nice, and got all excited when he talked about club (which was cute as hell), and he was always so cool and supportive whenever Tenga got up the courage to let him see his art.
In fact at this very moment, Musashi was leaning against him, flipping through some of his art notebooks and making little appreciative noises and remarks when he saw a drawing he particularly liked.
He always felt a swell of pride whenever Musashi complimented him on his skills.
Tenga was doing his best to hide his stupid blush and big dopey grin because if he hadn’t been obvious about his big ass crush on Musashi in the past, then he sure as hell was being obvious now.
He was having a harder time than usual keeping himself in check today. He had already been caught twice for staring too long and had had to come up with some pretty dumb ass excuses so as not to draw suspicion. He still wasn’t completely sure if they had entirely worked.
Spending all this time with Musashi was making him feel reckless.
Even now, Tenga was stealing glances over at Musashi who was hunched over one of his art notebooks, carefully scanning each page. Musashi was really cute when he concentrated, his eyebrows scrunched up with a very serious glint in his eye, and he would absent mindedly lick and bite his lips every once in awhile.
It was very distracting and made Tenga’s ears go pink whenever he did it. It always made Tenga wanna kiss him.
He thought about kissing musashi a lot.
In his mind he always imagined standing on his toes and pulling Musashi down by the shirt collar. Then he would wrap his arms around his neck and plant a soft kiss right on Musashi’s mouth, while Musashi wound his arms around Tenga’s waist, pulling him closer. It would be soft and slow and Tenga could just imagine himself absolutely melting into it.
Tenga felt his breath catch in his throat and heart rate pick up. He probably shouldn’t be thinking about this stuff with the guy in question sitting not even half a foot away from him. But it was hard not to when all he wanted was to throw himself into Musashi’s arms or something as equally mortifying and cheesy.
“Um, Onigawara?” Musashi asked softly and bumped their shoulders together, successfully pulling Tenga out of his day dreaming. He realized he had been staring again.
Ugh shit “Hm?? Yeah” He cleared his throat, his voice sounding hoarse and dry, “yeah what’s up?”
Musashi’s eyes flitted from his face, back to the page of his art notebook, and then back to him again. He seemed a little… nervous? And oh my god was he blushing? Tenga’s palms started sweating and he wiped them off on his sweat pants.
Had Tenga been being too obvious with all his staring? Had Musashi figured it out? Oh god, Tenga would honestly die on the spot.
“Is, uh- Is something wrong?” Tenga asked, picking anxiously at the fabric of his pants.
Musashi cleared his throat, and lifted up the notebook, pointing at a drawing on one of the pages. “Is that a drawing of me?”
It took a second for the question to sink in, like his brain couldn’t understand the words that had been spoken to him. Then he looked at the page. God damnit.
Tenga felt his heart slam against his ribcage. It sure as hell was.
In fact it was 3 detailed sketches of him, one in side profile, one of him running, and ugh the worst one of all, one of him smiling with a hand running through his sweaty hair and a towel thrown over his bare shoulders.
Tenga wanted to scream.
“AUGHh! You weren’t supposed to see that!” was all he could manage, snatching the notebook away and literally flinging it onto a pile of dirty laundry behind him as Musashi stared at him dumbfounded. Tenga was pretty sure he’d never blushed this hard in his entire 15 years on this earth. He wanted to die.
“Uh well you see” Tenga started rambling, his voice going up a few octaves and scrambling for a good reason as to why he had a bunch of drawings of his captain in his notebook.
“As an artist, which I am. An artist. That is. It’s important to do candid life drawings ya know. Good practice. And I’m in club with you. AND and everyone else of course-”
“Onigawara” Musashi tried to get his attention but he couldn’t seem to stop talking.
“So I mean it's only natural that I’d have a few sketches of you. BECAUSE. Because uh, we’re around one another so much and-”
“Onigawara, listen.”
“I mean of course I have sketches of loads of other people too. Not just you. That would be weird, hahah. Ugh, hm. Like I’ve drawn kageyama and stuff. You just have a good. Face. A good face for uhh drawing I mean I-”
“ Onigawara .” Musashi said again, using his captain voice and putting both hands on Tenga’s cheeks, successfully silencing him.
They were both staring at each other in silence, all the blood rushing to Tenga’s face as his heart threatened to rip out of his rib cage. Musashi opened his mouth to say something and Tenga expected to here something like, yes it was okay that Tenga sketched his teammates some times, and no it really wasn’t that weird that he’d drawn musashi. What he hadn’t expected to hear was-
“You’re really cute when you blush.” And apparently Musashi hadn’t expected to say that either, because he made a strangled noise of surprise and pulled his hands away from Tenga’s face so fast it was as if he’d been burned.
Tenga just stared at him in wide eyed, slack jawed awe. He called me cute. He felt a smile growing on his face. The guy I like thinks I’m cute. Tenga was beaming up at his captain, and Musashi buried his face in his hands, scooting away. The tips of his ears were bright red.
It was really adorable. Tenga wanted to tease him about it.
“You called me cute.” Tenga said smugly and Musashi let out an embarrassed groan, turning himself away from Tenga.
“I just meant to tell you that I thought it was- I don’t know kind of… endearing? That you got all flustered over something so ridiculous. I didn’t mean to call you...” he trailed off and let out a frustrated sigh from behind his hands.
Logically Tenga knew that even if Musashi thought he was cute that didn’t mean he liked him or anything. He knew that finding someone aesthetically appealing didn’t automatically equal attraction. But the hopeful part of his brain was telling him to push. Telling him that hey you may not get a chance like this again.
And there was no way in hell Tenga was gonna give up a chance like that.
“To What? To call me cute? But you did. You said it. That means you were thinkin it, right?” Tenga was inching closer on the bed and he felt Musashi tense up. He was nervous too. Good.
“Ugh can’t you just drop it?” Musashi gritted out.
“No.” Tenga put his hands on top of Musashi’s and tried to pull them away from his face. Keyword tried. Musashi was doing his damndest to keep that red ass face of his hidden.
“C’mon what the big deal?” Tenga said in between tugs “So what? Sometimes I draw you for practice and you think I’m cute. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”
“Will you” tug “look at” tug “me?” Musashi sighed and let his hands fall from his face, averting his gaze. Tenga let out a triumphant laugh and let Musashi’s hands go.
“If only you were this spirited during weight training” Musashi griped, folding his arms over his chest. Tenga would have been a lot more offended if Musashi wasn’t sporting a blush almost as bad as his.
“So,” he started, meeting Musashi’s eye “Do ya really think I’m cute?” Now that the excitement had died down Tenga was starting to get nervous again and he fidgeted uncomfortably, picking at his sweat pants.
Musashi looked equally as uncomfortable and he ran his hand through his hair, huffing out a sigh.
“Here’s the deal. I’ll answer your question honestly If you answer one of mine honestly. Deal?” The way he said it made Tenga anxious but he swallowed and nodded his head, shaking Musashi’s outstretched hand. “Deal.”
“And afterwards, we both have to drop it, Okay?”
Tenga nodded “okay”.
“That means no more questions or anything. We just let it go. Got it?”
Tenga snorted and rolled his eyes. “I got it, I got it, jeez man.”
“Alright,” Musashi Started, anxiously worrying his lip between his teeth, which wasn’t helping Tenga’s nerves at all. “So yeah I think You’re pretty cute, just in general.”
Musashi’s words rang through his ears and Tenga felt his breath hitch.
“Like you know, you’re a pretty handsome guy and all but you usually put up such a stoic front that whenever i get to see you all flustered or nervous and less of the big bad delinquent you pretend to be-”
“ Hey” Tenga interrupted, not sure if he was feeling more flustered or offended. Musashi put up a hand to silence him.
“Let me finish. It just feels different. Like I’m getting a chance to see the real you. You’re very genuine when you get nervous and, i don’t know, I just find it- I find you very appealing when you get like that.”
Tenga heard himself gasp and covered his mouth with his hands, covering up the big, giddy smile that is threatening to grow on his face, a nervous giggle trying to bubble up to the surface. He forcefully kept it down in fear of mortifying himself. Musashi lets out an uncomfortable groan and pulled anxiously at his hair.
“Oh my god this is so embarrassing. I don’t know why I said that.”
Tenga was hardly listening, Musashi’s words replaying in his head
He finds me endearing Tenga kept telling himself, feeling his heart swell at the implications that could carry with him. Tenga was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe his feelings could be mutual. He had to find out.
Tenga had an idea.
His heart was pounding violently against his rib cage and he swallowed thickly.
“It’s” Tenga’s voice was shaking so he took a deep breath and tried again “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with finding your friends cute.”
Musashi’s face went carefully blank.
Please say you meant it as more than friends.
He stared at Tenga and opened his mouth before clamping it shut again.
Please, please correct me. I’m testing you dammit.
Then Musashi shook his head ever so slightly and heaved out a long sigh, before looking back up and smiling at him.
I just want you to like me back so bad.
“Yeah, Onigawara. You’re right. Nothing’s wrong with that at all.” Tenga sort of wanted to cry.
But he didn’t. Instead he swallowed around the lump in his throat, and plastered the most casual smile on his face he could muster, leaning against the wall.”see, that wasn’t so bad now was it?”
“I suppose not.” Musashi said, looking a little more relaxed. “So now it’s my turn.”
The smile slid off of his face and he felt his heart sink even more. Oh right.
“Okay man, lay it on me.” He tried his best to sound confident, but the nervousness from what kind of question he was about to be asked coupled by the disappointment he felt after letting his hopes get too high, made it hard to pull off.
“Okay. So. What made you want to draw me? Really?” Musashi sounded calm and casual but he was fiddling with his sideburns and a faint pink was dusting his cheeks.
Tenga swallowed. Of course that was his question, of fucking course.
Tenga could lie if he wanted, he knew that. But after getting such a sincere response from Musashi that sort of felt like cheating. So maybe he would just leave the whole i like you part out of it and tell him the rest.
He let out a long sigh. Okay.
“Well. I guess I like drawing you because I like drawing really strong, angular people, and i enjoy really handsome, masculine faces. When I draw that is. Of course.” he cleared his throat and continued to avoid Musashi’s gaze “And you, uh, fit the bill for all of that. I just really like the way you look is all…” He heard Musashi exhale sharply.
He finally looked up and felt his whole body go warm. Musashi was a lot closer to him than he had been a few minutes ago and he was staring questioningly into Tenga’s eyes, eyebrows pulled together like he was trying to solve some equation.
Tenga felt his anxiety spike up. “Why are ya lookin’ at me like that, jesus? Did I do somethin’ wrong?”
“No, not at all. Like you said, nothing wrong with finding a friend attractive.” Now Tenga felt like he was the one being tested. Tested for what, he wasn’t sure. His mouth went dry.
Musashi was leaning over him, and it was one of those moments where their height difference was really put into perspective. That weird electricity that he hadn’t felt since that one time at lunch weeks ago was filling the air again.
Something in Tenga was telling him to lean forward and bridge the gap between them, so he gripped onto his bed sheets to stop himself from doing just that.
Musashi’s eyes flicked down to his hands then back up to his face, landing briefly on his lips. Tenga watched his adam's apple bob as he swallowed. Tenga’s heart was beating thunderously loud and he couldn’t hear anything past the blood roaring in his ears.
What the hell was happening?
Musashi licked his lips and put his shaking hands on both of Tenga’s shoulders.
What the hell was happening?
Musashi’s hands slid up his his shoulders, past his neck, and rested on his cheeks, the pads of his thumbs caressing his face. Tenga could swear he felt his heart stop for a second.
Oh my god what the hell was happening?
Tenga looked up at Musashi and Tenga’s wide eyes met Musashi’s half lidded ones, his cheeks the darkest shade of red Tenga had ever seen them.
“Mu-Musashi?” His voice was shaking. Musashi moved his face ever so slightly closer and whispered “You know, you really are so cute when you blush.”
And Tenga knew without a shadow of a doubt what was about to happen. Musashi was about to kiss him.
The guy Tenga liked most in the world was about to kiss him.
And Tenga would be damned if he wasn’t going to meet him halfway.
He took a shaky breath and steeled himself. He could do this.
He let his eyes flutter closed and leaned up and-
“TENGA DINNER’S READY”
They both jumped and Tenga, in his shock, fell right off the edge of the bed. Musashi let out a grunt of surprise and rushed over to give him a helping hand, laughing nervously and refusing to meet his eyes.
Tenga let out a frustrated sigh and called back to his mom “OKAY WE’RE COMIN’ ”
Musashi was out of his room before Tenga even got the chance to turn back towards him.
They didn’t get chance to talk about what had just happened, or at least what had just almost happened after dinner. And Musashi never tried to bring it up the next day.
In fact it seemed like he was doing everything in his power not to bring it up. Like he wanted to avoid the subject at all costs.
And after three days of awkward exchanges and forced laughter followed by a hasty retreat whenever Tenga even tried to bring up that day in general, Tenga started to think that maybe somehow he had read the situation wrong. That it was just wishful thinking and Musashi was not in fact going to kiss him that day.
Tenga’s heart felt like lead. He stopped trying to bring it up.
----
Mob:
Enough was enough. It had been over a week since the incident , as Tenga had taken to calling it, and the uncomfortable tension that was growing between them since then had been getting so out of hand that even the body improvement club had started picking up on it.
But today was the last straw.
Musashi hadn’t shown up for their study session last night, texting Tenga that he had prior engagements. Prior engagements, that when asked about for clarification, Musashi could provide no answer. Tenga knew when he was being lied to.
And today Musashi had just straight up not shown up to eat lunch with him, not even giving him some fake ass excuse this time around. Tenga didn’t do the entire let’s avoid each other until we eventually grow apart shtick. And he wasn’t about to start doing it now.
If Musashi didn’t want to hang out with Tenga because he had misread the atmosphere and almost kissed his captain than so fucking be it. But the least he could do was have the balls to say it to his face, instead of dancing around the subject like a jackass.
Tenga felt angry tears threatening to well up and spill down his face, so he ground his palms against his eyes and forced himself not to cry. Tenga wasn’t about to cry over some idiot who didn’t even have the common decency to at least talk to him about what happened.
Tenga sucked in a shuddering breath and tried to stamp down the anxiety in his chest. This is what he got for fooling himself into thinking he really stood a chance to have the guy he liked like him back. He had been stupid and careless and too obvious and now he was paying for it.
Tenga sucked in a few more uneven breaths, trying to calm his nerves before heading over to the club room. He had skipped practice today, not wanting to be around Musashi until he could catch him alone. And Tenga knew for a fact that he hadn’t left yet, seeing the others walk home without him.
Tenga slid the door opened, fully prepared to let Musashi have it when his mouth snapped shut in confusion. Musashi was sitting in one of the chairs, elbows resting on his thighs and leaning his chin onto his steepled fingers, looking blankly at the wall, brows pulled tightly together.
Something was wrong.
Tenga hated the fact that he felt his burning anger and hurt being muted by an overwhelming concern for musashi. He groaned in frustration and flung himself into the chair adjacent to Musashi, their knees bumping together. Damn this guy for making Tenga care so much.
Musashi jumped, obviously pulled out of whatever train of thought he had been in. His eyes grew wide and round when he looked at Tenga, and it would have been kind of funny if Tenga’s emotions weren’t battling between being pissed off and worried about the guy.
Musashi opened and closed his mouth a few times, obviously floundering for something to say, the tips of his ears going red. And damn he had no business being this cute when Tenga was supposed to be angry at him. It made Tenga sort of want to punch him. Or kiss him. Maybe both.
Tenga let out another frustrated sigh and rubbed his hands against his face.
“Listen. I’m still angry with you and I’m pretty sure you know why” Musashi flinched, and Tenga felt his traitorous heart throb in sympathy “ But You’re obviously upset about somethin’ and I’m still yer friend even though you’ve been the biggest jack ass in the world this week. So here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna sit here, and you’re gonna tell me what wrong. And then later we’ll talk about why you’ve been ignoring me. Capiche?”
Musashi was staring at him like he’d grown a second head and Tenga just rolled his eyes, waiting for him to start talking. Musashi’s face crumpled and his shoulders sagged in defeat. Or maybe even shame. He wasn't completely sure. Tenga wanted so badly to reach out and hug him. He probably would’ve if he wasn’t so pissed off.
“Onigawara I’m so sorr-”
“Uh-uh” Tenga said forcefully, successfully cutting Musashi off. “Explain what’s wrong now, beg for my forgiveness later.”
Musashi gave him an unsure and tight lipped smile that came off as more of a grimace. He obviously wasn’t sure what to do. Tenga took pity on him and snorted, giving him a small smile in return. Musashi visibly calmed down after that. Interesting.
“I, uh, I saw something I shouldn’t have.” He glanced up at Tenga, and Tenga lifted an eyebrow, signalling for him to elaborate. Musashi heaved out another sigh.
“Okay so you remember that blonde guy from black vinegar? Teruki Hanazawa?”
Tenga grimaced and nodded. Yep, he sure as hell remembered that guy. Wouldn’t be forgetting him any time soon.
“Well. He showed up at club today, saying he needed to talk to kageyama about something. And I know that Kageyama’s told me that he’s different from back then, that they’re friends now. But I just, I don’t know… I just didn’t trust him being alone with Kageyama.”
Tenga hummed in understanding. He still wasn’t exactly sure what had happened on that day but he could still remember that bruise around Kageyama’s neck and the only other one around still standing had been Teruki. It had been easy enough to put two and two together.
“That being said, I might have followed them in secret.”
Tenga’s eyebrows shot up and Musashi gripped the hem of his shorts, casting his eyes down in shame. The look on his face was definitely shame; Tenga was sure of it this time.
“And what happened?” Tenga asked, when the silence had gone on for too long. Musashi started biting anxiously on one of his nails. He was starting to look extremely uncomfortable.
“Well. Uh. They talked for a bit and I was too far away to hear them. But I mean it obviously wasn’t about anything threatening. If anything just looked a bit awkward. That should have been my cue to leave… But I didn’t.”
“And why didn’t you?” Musashi groaned at the question.
“Ugghh, because I was just really curious about what was going to happen. I’m really nosy and I know it. It’s a bad habit of mine. But I should have left. I really should have left…” Musashi’s vagaries were starting to grate on Tenga’s nerves. He couldn’t lie, He was really curious to know what happened as well.
“Yeah okay, But why? What happened?”
Musashi pulled a face before continuing. “Well they talked for a little bit longer and then the blonde guy grabbed onto mobs hands and sort of pulled him closer. And they...” Musashi swallowed and squirmed uneasily. “They, uh, they kissed.”
Tenga was so surprised by this information that he almost didn’t notice the way Musashi’s mouth curled in discomfort at the word kiss. Almost.
Tenga felt the world stop for a second.
He glared up at Musashi, and heard his heartbeat ring in his ears. Please let me be wrong about this.
“Musashi. You aren’t… You’re not uncomfortable ? Are you?” Musashi’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.
Please PLEASE let me be wrong about this.
“Well. Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be.” Tenga felt tears welling up in his eyes again.
Ah, so that's how it is. Tenga’s blood ran cold.
“Oh. I see” Tenga said coldly and stood up so forcefully the chair he’d been sitting in toppled over and clattered to the ground. Musashi stood up to and looked at him, bewildered. Musashi rested an unsure hand on his shoulder, and all of Tenga’s built up anger boiled to the surface.
He swung his fist to punch Musashi right in his stupid face.
Musashi of course, being much stronger and more agile than Tenga, caught his arm before his fist connected and Tenga let out a strangled growl of frustration.
“Onigawara, what the hell?!” Musashi was looking at him with bewilderment and genuine hurt, which was rich considering.
“What the hell do you mean what the hell ?!?!!”
“I mean why are you getting so angry about this? I didn’t say anything wrong. Who wouldn’t be uncomfortable?” Musashi said this so sincerely, so absolutely, that Tenga knew he meant it. Tears started spilling down his face.
Musashi made a startled grunt and tried to touch his cheeks. Tenga shoved him away and buried his head in his hands.
“I shoulda known you were one of those guys.” Tenga said between sobs, tears falling hot and humiliating through his fingers. Like it wasn’t bad enough that the guy he liked and one of his all time best friends was grossed out by guys like him, but now he was crying in front of him too. Tenga’s chest had never hurt this bad. He wanted to crawl into bed and never wake back up.
“Wha- Onigawara what are you talking about?”
Tenga bit back a growl and pulled angrily at his hair, messing up his pomp.
“I’m talking about the fact that yer one of those assholes that gets fucking uncomfortable when their guy friends kiss other guys!!”
Musashi was looking at him like he was crazy. It only made Tenga’s tears come faster, splattering on the floor in heavy drops.
“Onigawara why do you think- Oh. Oh. Oh no. No Onigawara when I said- I didn’t mean it like-” It was obvious that Musashi was trying to stumble his way through some kind of explanation, but Tenga wasn’t listening.
He couldn’t hear him over the sound of his heart thudding anxiously against his ribs. He felt like throwing up.
Tenga wiped aggressively at his face and tried to stop himself from shaking. He looked up at Musashi and jabbed an accusatory finger at his chest.
“Well then looks like you’re gonna have to be even more uncomfortable now you asshole. Because guess fucking what?! I like guys.” Musashi looked at him in wide eyed shock and struggled to keep talking again.
Which was why Tenga said “Which I mean should have been pretty obvious considering I tried to kiss you! But maybe you’re just to stupid to put two and two together!!!” at the exact same time Musashi said “I’m not uncomfortable that Kageyama kissed a guy! I’m uncomfortable that I invaded on their privacy. Onigawara I literally tried to kiss you.”
They both went quiet, the silence of the room suffocating after so much yelling.
Tenga couldn’t breathe, and it had very little to do with the fact that his nose was stuffed up.
He had to have heard that wrong. Musashi didn’t- why would he- he didn’t even like Tenga. Did he?
“Onigawara.” Tenga didn’t respond, mind filled with static.
“Onigawara. Look at me. Please.” Tenga looked up at him wordlessly with watery, red rimmed eyes and he felt like he might pass out. Musashi kept talking. Tenga listened this time.
“What did you- what did you say just then?”
Tenga felt the tips of his ears go red. He took a shaky breath and mumbled “I said i tried to k-kiss you.” Musashi inhaled sharply and Tenga saw a light flush spread from his nose, to his cheeks, and down his neck. Tenga’s mouth went dry.
“Oh. Oh my god. Oh my god. I’m an idiot.” Musashi groaned and buried his face into his hands. What the hell?
“What the hell are ya talkin’ about Musashi? Because I’d sure love to know what the hell is happening.”
He heard musashi’s breath catch in his throat and he pulled his hands away from his face, now beet red. Tenga felt his heart stutter in his chest.
“I thought. Oh my god, I thought you didn’t want to kiss me that day. You’re eyes got all wide and you looked really freaked out. I thought I had almost forced you into doing something you didn’t want to do. That’s why I’ve been avoiding you.”
Tenga felt like his whole body was on fire, his emotions ranging from somewhere in between confused anxiety and earth shaking happiness.
“No, you idiot. I’ve wanted you to kiss me for months. For months Musashi. And you thought that I- You thought. Oh my god” Tenga was starting to laugh a little hysterically, “I thought that i had just made it all up in my head. I thought you were uncomfortable because I tried to kiss you. We avoided each other because we wanted to- ahaha oh my god. And then I thought that you h-hated me and..” The rest of his sentence got caught in his throat. He couldn’t understand why, but he was crying again.
It was mortifying.
Musashi made a noise of surprise and was suddenly very close, wiping the tears streaming down Tenga’s face with the pads of his thumbs. This gesture only made him cry harder.
He didn’t know why this was happening. Well, it used to happen when he was younger. If he would experience too many emotionally charged things at once, he would panic and shake and cry. But it had been a while.
It’s just that he was so relieved, and anxious, and confused, and they had spent a week, a whole week, avoiding each other because of some stupid misunderstanding. And the guy he liked liked him back and all he could do was cry like a loser in front of Musashi. He was being the exact opposite of cool.
“Uhh. Hey. we can’t really stay at school forever, and it’s getting late. My house is closer than yours. Do you.. Do you, uh, maybe want to come over so that we can talk…” Musashi sounded nervous and unsure of himself, voice and hands shaking. It made him feel a bit better about being such a mess right now. He nodded.
----
Tenga raised his eyebrows in confusion when they started heading in the opposite direction of the train station. “Uh, Musashi, you know we’re going the wrong way right?” His tears and shaking had subsided but his voice sounded stuffy and raw. The tips of Musashi’s ears went bright red.
“I live the other way actually.”
“Then why do you always walk with us to the station after practice? Do ya just really like getting that much more extra exercise in?” Tenga snorted and Musashi laughed nervously.
“Um. Well actually. I just like walking with you.” Tenga felt warmth course through his entire body, and bit back a smile.
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
----
Confession:
Tenga accepted the tea he was handed with shaky hands and took a small sip before setting it on the bedside table and pulling his legs onto the bed, sitting cross legged and accidentally bumping his knee against Musashi’s.
“Sorry” he mumbled, glancing up at Musashi who looked about as stiff and anxious as he felt.
Neither of them seemed to know how to start this conversation. As soon as Tenga had walked through the door he’d been practically shoved into Musashi’s room while Musashi anxiously rambled on about needing to go call his parents (they were both still at work) and tell them he had a guest over. Then he had left to do that and make some tea, leaving Tenga to sit quietly in his room for the better part of 10 minutes.
Musashi’s room was littered in workout equipment, fitness magazines, and motivational posters. There was also a picture the entire club had taken together sitting on his desk. Tenga had remembered how nervous he was when Musashi had wrapped an arm around his shoulder and told him to smile. Tenga had smiled at the memory.
Now they were both sitting on Musashi’s bed, both unsure how to proceed.
“I- no you go first.” They both said at the same time, blushing and laughing uncomfortably. Musashi groaned and covered his face for a second.
“This is awkward. Why are things like this always so awkward?” Musashi griped and Tenga couldn’t help but smile a little. Musashi took a deep breath and pulled his hands from his face, looking at Tenga resolutely. Tenga felt his gut twist.
“Okay. Alright. Guess I’ll go first.” Tenga just nodded at him.
“Onigawara, I know this is pretty obvious by now. But, uh” Musashi’s face was getting slowly pinker and he rubbed anxiously at the back of his neck, “I like you. A lot.”
Tenga knew this now, of course, but knowing it and hearing it were two very different things. Tenga felt a happy flush spread across his face, and he covered the smile growing on his face with the palm of his hand. He felt like his heart was about to beat right out of his chest.
Musashi stared at him for a second before pulling his hand away from his mouth. Tenga’s eyes widened, his heart slamming violently against his ribs. Musashi grunted in surprise and dropped his hand.
“AH! Sorry, sorry about that. That was rude of me. I just don’t like it when you try to hide your smile from people. You look… really cute… when you, uh, when you smile like that…” Musashi looked absolutely mortified by what he had said and let his eyes cast quickly down at his hands, refusing to meet Tenga’s eyes.
Tenga on the other hand thought that if he became any happier he might actually pass out. The way Musashi had said it, his voice low and honest, had made warmth spread from the tips of his fingers, all the way down to his toes. Tenga felt like he was melting.
If either of them got any redder, Tenga was pretty sure their faces would never go back to the same color.
Tenga swallowed thickly and tried to make eye contact with Musashi but as soon as they looked at eachother they both smiled shyly like a couple of dopes and quickly looked away. God they were actin’ like a couple of middle school girls. It was embarrassing and pretty unbecoming of two tough lookin’ guys to be actin like this. And yet. And yet…
Tenga had never been happier.
Tenga cleared his throat and took a deep breath. If musashi could tell Tenga how he felt, so could he. You can do this. You can. Do. This.
“So, uh, I mean. It’s pretty obvious that I. too. I mean c-considering all that embarrassing shit I said back at school. That I, um, hmmm.” Musashi was staring him down with an expectant intensity and it was only helping to make Tenga nervous as hell. He cleared his throat again and picked anxiously at the hem of his pant leg. He was a mess.
“What I’m tryin’ to say is… that I l-like you too. A lot. For a while now. And I was hopin’... well I was hopin’ that maybe you’d want to be…” Tenga’s skin felt like it was on fire and he let out a frustrated groan at not being able to get the words out right. He was messin’ this up.
“Damnit!” he sat up on his knees and grabbed Musashi’s face with both hands, hovering over him and looking him directly in his wide, brown eyes, “Do you wanna be my boyfriend or what?!”
Musashi stared at him in shocked silence and Tenga was afraid if he didn’t get an answer soon he was gonna do something embarrassing like run away or pass out from nerves.
Musashi opened his mouth but no words came out so he clamped his mouth shut, wrapped his arms firmly around Tenga’s waist and buried his face in his shoulder, his sideburns tickling his neck.
Tenga let out a surprised and undignified sound and felt his cheeks burn.
“A-ah Musashi what the hell are ya doin? This is embarrassing.” Musashi only hugged him tighter, making the fluttery feeling in Tenga’s stomach go crazy.
He felt Musashi laugh against his neck. It sounded a little desperate.
“I’m sorry Onigawara. You’re just so cute. You’re just so unbelievably cute when you get like that and I couldn’t handle it anymore.” Musashi sounded almost frustrated, his voice muffled in the crook of his neck. Tenga inhaled sharply and wrapped his arms around Musashi’s shoulders. His heart felt like it was about to burst.
“You sure do like callin’ me cute...” Tenga mumbled, resting his chin on top of Musashi’s head.
“Yeah it’s because you are. Sometimes it’s too much for me to handle. Sometimes you’d just be talking to me about things you’d care about, like your art and I’d have to physically stop myself from hugging you like this, did you know that? Did you know you were driving me crazy every day just by being you?”
Tenga couldn’t breathe, his body felt like it was buzzing. Musashi was being so earnest, saying things like this with his mouth pressed right against Tenga’s neck. Tenga hugged him tighter.
“Well you too- you made me- made me feel like that… just by being you too.”
Musashi let out another one of those breathless laughs and it it tickled against Tenga’s neck, making his stomach flutter nervously. No one had ever hugged him like this before.
“Yes.” Musashi whispered out of nowhere, making Tenga arch up an eyebrow in confusion.
“Uh. yes what?” he heard musashi snort and felt him shake his head.
“Yes. I’ll be your boyfriend. Of course I’ll be your boyfriend.”
Tenga felt light headed, the buzz of adrenaline and happiness warming up his skin making him feel dizzy. “Oh. Oh good.” was all he could manage, his grip tightening around Musashi’s broad shoulders.
They both stayed like that for a while, just holding onto one another and Musashi casually trailing his hand up and down Tenga’s spine until Tenga’s knees fell asleep and his back ached in protest. They stayed like that until Tenga physically couldn’t stop squirming and they both pulled away, shyly looking at each other, both unsure how to proceed.
At least until Musashi slipped one of Tenga’s hands into his own and looked at him, anxiously biting at his lips. Musashi’s eyes fell to his lips for a fraction of a second and Tenga felt his heart constrict in his chest.
Musashi licked his lips and leaned forward a little. Tenga felt the room spin around him.
“Tenga. I-I want to… Can I kiss you?” Musashi whispered this low and soft, and Tenga felt the words melt right into his stomach.
His mouth didn’t seem to want to cooperate with his brain so he just nodded mutely, all noise falling away aside from the thunderous beating of his own heart.
Musashi took in a shuddering breath and put both hands on Tenga’s cheeks, big and rough and warm. Tenga inhaled sharply and leaned into them. He saw Musashi’s eyes soften at that.
“I didn’t expect you to be so soft and affectionate Onigawara. I like it.” Musashi was smiling so adoringly at him and normally Tenga would have been insulted by this, but Musashi’s words only seemed to warm him to his core. He smiled back.
Musashi inched forward slowly and planted a soft, warm kiss… on his cheek. Tenga made a grunt of shocked disapproval. Musashi laughed rough and warm.
“Hey, hey, give me a second. I’m working my way up to it. Besides, I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Let me savour it, okay?” Tenga’s breath caught in his throat.
He’s been thinking about doing this for a while.
Tenga felt such unbridled contentment at this that he was afraid he might cry again. Instead he nodded, pretended to give a resigned sigh (which both of them knew was fake as hell) and wrapped his arms loosely around Musashi’s waist.
“Take yer time then i guess, ya big loser.” Musashi grinned and kissed him on the temple. Tenga felt like he was soaring.
Then he placed another on his hairline, then his nose, both cheeks, his eyelids, and just when he was about to start complaining, the corner of his mouth. They both inhaled sharply. He could feel Musashi’s hands shaking against his face.
“O-okay,” Musashi mumbled, his breath ghosting over Tenga’s lips, “I’m gonna kiss you now. If- if that’s okay.” Tenga nodded numbly, his heart pounding frantically in his chest.
Musashi nodded back and cradled the back of Tenga’s skull in his hands, his thumbs resting behind his ears, and tilted his head up. Tenga closed his eyes and leaned in.
The first brush of lips were soft and barely there before Musashi leaned back.
“Is this okay?” Musashi whispered, their lips brushing feather light when he talked. Tenga swallowed and nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah this is more than okay.” Musashi nodded and leaned back in, brushing their lips together more firmly, his feeling warm and soft and firm against Tenga’s. Tenga leaned into it, relishing in the way their lips dragged together when he did. Musashi gasped and pulled away, but just barely.
“Are you okay?” Tenga asked just above a whisper, his lips tingling pleasantly.
“Yeah. It just feels… really nice” Musashi swallowed and blinked his half lidded eyes slowly before continuing.
“Is it, uh. Is it alright if I kiss you again Onigawara?”
“Yeah. of course. Please” Tenga could be embarrassed about being so eager later, but right now he just wanted to kiss the guy he liked for as long as he would let him.
Musashi took Tenga by the arms and wrapped them around his neck.
“It’ll be more comfortable this way I think.” He mumbled out as way of explanation when Tenga gave him a puzzled look. Then he wrapped his arms around Tenga’s waist and pulled him closer. Tenga’s breath hitched.
Musashi felt warm and solid against him and Tenga pulled him down for another kiss. Tenga’s lips moved firmly against Musashi’s and when Musashi hummed softly into it, tenga felt himself melt.
Musashi pulled him flush against him, eliciting a warm gasp from Tenga’s barely parted lips. He could have sworn he heard a suppressed groan catch in the back of Musashi’s throat. Tenga’s heart rate picked up.
Musashi was rubbing small circles up and down Tenga’s spine, his hands going lower each time around and Tenga felt a weird hot tug right at the pit of his stomach and it was making his breath come out in quick ragged puffs.
He knew he should probably call it quits, or at least tell Musashi to slow down but his thumbs sliding down the knobs of his spine and Musashi’s lips dragging firmly against his, leaving Tenga tasting sparks at the tip of his tongue felt too good. Distractingly good. So good in fact that when Musashi tugged his lip gently in between his teeth, Tenga couldn’t suppress the loud breathy groan that slipped past his lips.
Musashi went statue still and Tenga saw the deep red blush that spread from his hairline all the way down into the collar of his shirt when Tenga shoved himself away in mortification.
They looked at each other and Tenga started laughing loud and nervously, hiding his reddening face in his hands. Tenga sort of wanted the floor to give away and swallow him whole.
“Oh my god, Tenga I’m really sorry. I pushed too much didn’t I? I got too carried away. I’m sorry.” Musashi was talking in a rush, sounding flustered and out of breath.
“No, no I’m sorry. That must’ve been weird. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Tenga hid his face further in his hands.
“Uncomfortable? Tenga what? What are you talking about” Tenga sighed. Was he really gonna have to spell it out for the guy?
“It has to be weird. Hearing a guy make those, uh- those kind of noises” Tenga felt like he was on fire. Please just let me die right here, right now.
“O-oh” tenga could hear the embarrassment in Musashi’s voice.
“Yeah, oh.” tenga mumbled, just barely above a whisper. He heard Musashi swallow.
“W-well actually… I don’t think uncomfortable is exactly the right word for how that made me feel.” Tenga’s eyes widened and he peaked up at Musashi who looked like a flustered mess.
“O-oh really?” Tenga’s voice cracked and he swallowed. His throat felt extremely dry.
“Yeah. Really. I like you so. You know… that means that I- I like kissing you. I mean I really like kissing you. And making you feel a certain way when I’m doing that. So when you uh, when you did that I definitely wasn’t uncomfortable.”
Tenga’s heart was slamming against his rib cage and his insides were burning. he was pretty sure he was about to pass out.
“Okay, okay! I got it. We both go the hots for eachother. Let’s talk about something else, this is embarrassing.”
Musashi let out a sigh of relief and slumped against his wall. “Agreed.”
Tenga was still unable to move from the place he had frozen on the very edge of the bed and Musashi sighed, and then chuckled a bit, gesturing for Tenga to come over.
“What?” Tenga asked stubbornly, embarrassment still clinging to his insides. Musashi rolled his eyes and sat up, coming into Tenga’s space.
“Wh-what are you doing?!” Tenga asked, panicky and flustered, when Musashi wrapped his arms around him from behind. Musashi slumped forward and buried his face into the crook of Tenga’s neck, letting out an embarrassed laugh.
“I kind of want to cuddle with my boyfriend if that’s alright?” Musashi sounded unsure and anxious, holding onto Tenga tightly.
Tenga let out a soft, surprised gasp, and had to bite back an embarrassingly excited giggle that threatened to bubble out from between his lips.
“O-oh yeah. Yeah. That’s alright.”
Musashi gave him one final squeeze before pulling Tenga down with him. Tenga rested his head against Musashi’s chest and Musashi wrapped his arms around him, placing a soft kiss on the top of tenga’s head.
Tenga felt his heart squeeze in his chest and snuggled up closer to musashi, not trying to fight back that happy smile that was turning up his lips this time.
“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Musashi mumbled tiredly, moving his hand up and down Tenga’s back. Tenga nodded and bit back a yawn.
“Mhm. Sounds good.”
“Okay. And Onigawara?”
“Hmm?” Musashi leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against his lips.
“I think you’re cute.”
A happy warmth rushed through his body and rested in his heart. He buried his face in Musashi’s chest.
“You too.”