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As much as he didn’t want to give his partner the satisfaction he was asking for, Kenji found himself smiling.
Shigeru dragged him along the sidewalk as the chilly, late-autumn breeze swept through the trees and tossed Kenji’s scarf in his face.
“Dude. Where are you dragging me?” Kenji smirked.
Shigeru looked over his shoulder, a grin splitting his face.
Shit, I’m so in love... Kenji couldn’t breathe. That smile had him completely smitten. He knew his boyfriend knew exactly how attractive he was. It was completely intentional and damn it worked well.
Shigeru tossed his head slightly, flicking wavy hair off his forehead. “Are you stupid, Kenji? We’re on my street. I think it’s obvious.”
Kenji couldn’t help laughing. “I know we’re going to your house, Shi. But why did you have to meet me at Datekou and wait for practice to be over and not talk to my first years who are in love with you and— And why are you literally dragging me?”
Shigeru flipped around and walked backward holding onto both of Kenji’s hands, looking straight into his eyes. “It’s a surprise!”
Kenji leaned forward to quickly kiss Shigeru. Of course it’s a surprise. It always is with you.
“Aren’t you going to try to guess what it is?” Shigeru’s eyes sparkled.
Kenji felt nothing but bliss. “Does it involve being able to kiss you and run my hands over every inch of you and—”
“Kenji, stop!”
For the amount of suggestive jokes Shigeru produced on a daily basis, Kenji sometimes forgot how easy it was to get him flustered, but the blush spreading across his cheeks was proof of that. Kenji stepped on Shigeru’s shoe, making his shaky backward walk falter as he stumbled. Kenji easily caught him around the waist and pulled him upright, snug against his chest. “I love you.”
Shigeru looked like a fish out of water. “I love you too,” he breathed.
Kenji released him and they continued the walk side by side and hand in hand.
Shigeru let go of Kenji’s hand as he let them in through the front door.
Kenji grasped at the air, feeling that something was off. Shigeru never let go of his hand.
“C’mere, baby!” Shigeru knelt down, patting his thighs lightly.
A skittering noise echoed from inside and Kenji watched the tiny ball of hell incarnate sprint at the door.
Shigeru laughed and scooped the wriggling ball of fur into his arms. “Hi, you! Yeah, I missed you too!!”
Kenji stood still in the doorway, watching his boyfriend cuddle the beagle puppy with every ounce of affection in his body. It was just a dog, but Kenji couldn’t keep the pang of jealousy down. The hardest part was that he wanted to hate the little creature, but it was adorable .
“Come say hi, Kenji!” Shigeru laughed as the puppy licked his face.
Kenji knelt on the step and held a hand out in front of the dog’s face.
The dog just looked at him, still wiggling furiously in Shigeru’s arms. It nudged Kenji’s hand with its nose once then leaped out of Shigeru’s grasp, jumping up and down in the foyer.
Shigeru stood up, grinning at Kenji. “We got a puppy.”
“I can see that...”
“Her name is Lola,” Shigeru continued smiling down at the little creature. “She can be a bit of a stinker but most of the time she’s sugar and spice and everything nice!”
Kenji forcibly took Shigeru’s hand and followed him inside, stepping cautiously as the tiny dog jumped around Shigeru’s feet. “Is your family home, Shi?”
“Nope, just the three of us,” Shigeru said contentedly, kneeling again by a cabinet in the kitchen and grabbing a dog treat, waving it temptingly above the puppy’s head. He giggled as Lola licked it out of his hand.
Shigeru snatched another treat out of the bag and offered it to Kenji.
“Sorry, I only eat people food,” Kenji joked.
Shigeru laughed, his dancing eyes finally focusing on Kenji for the first time since they’d entered the house.
Kenji grabbed onto the opportunity and pulled Shigeru to his feet and plant a couple light kisses to his cheek.
The dog jumped against Shigeru’s leg, making him look down again.
“Kenji, you have to give her the treat!” Shigeru planted the treat in the palm of his boyfriend’s hand.
Kenji waved the treat over its head, smiling slightly as it tried to jump to get the food. Kenji moved his hand in a circle and the puppy followed him, spinning around, still trying to reach it. Kenji heard Shigeru giggle and he laughed too, tossing the treat onto the floor.
The dog stumbled slightly before going after it.
Good. Stay dizzy. Stay out of my way. Kenji turned his attention back to Shigeru, attempting to draw him into another hug.
Shigeru laughed and pulled away. “Kenji, stop, you’re all sweaty from practice still!”
Kenji pulled him close anyway. “It wasn’t my idea to drag me away before I could even shower. That was all you. Not my fault.”
Shigeru grinned, taking both of Kenji’s hands. “Well in that case...”
Kenji smirked and pulled Shigeru towards his bedroom, enjoying the familiarity of this space.
“I’ll be right back,” Kenji said, readjusting his backpack over his shoulder and stepping toward the bathroom door.
“I haven’t showered yet today either!” Shigeru tugged on his hand. “Let me too!”
Kenji tilted his head and furrowed his brow. “It’s 1:30 on a Sunday and you haven’t showered?”
“I wanted to wait for you,” Shigeru said with complete honesty, eyes wide.
Kenji smirked. “Your hair looks fantastic for not doing anything with it.”
Shigeru blushed slightly.
“You totally fixed it before you left, didn’t you,” Kenji laughed.
“Did not!”
“Yes, you did,” Kenji said, burying his face in the soft locks of light brown hair. “I can smell your product.”
Shigeru stifled his laughter in Kenji’s neck. “I couldn’t show up at your school looking like a complete wreck! I have to keep all your first years desperately pining after me and jealous of you for having the perfect boyfriend!”
“You’re perfect even when you aren’t trying to be a model. It’s just a different kind of perfect and the great thing is that that’s the kind of perfect no one else is allowed to see. Come shower with me.”
Shigeru smiled and bounced into the bathroom with Kenji, shutting the door. No one else was home anyway, but it just felt more intimate this way. It always did. It was perfect.
When the water warmed, the two stepped into the stream. Kenji flicked a couple drops of water at Shigeru’s face, grinning as he flinched away.
Kenji laughed and held onto Shigeru’s shoulders and pushed him directly under the water.
Shigeru gasped for breath and shoved wet hair out of his eyes.
Kenji snickered and kissed him profusely.
“I love you,” Shigeru ran his hands through Kenji’s hair and pushed his back against the wall.
“I love you too, babe,” Kenji murmured against Shigeru’s chest.
Half an hour later, Kenji wrapped his boyfriend in an oversized towel to dry him off. Since he had just come from practice, he had a fresh change of clothes in his backpack. He donned the bottom half, but Shigeru darted in before Kenji could grab his t-shirt.
Shigeru tugged the dark teal blue shirt on and it hung a bit loose on his slightly smaller frame.
“Come back here,” Kenji laughed, grabbing a hold of the bottom hem of the t-shirt as Shigeru reached for the doorknob. “Put your stupid clothes on, ya nerd...”
Shigeru wrinkled his nose. “I’m not putting on what I just took off! That’s gross!”
Kenji couldn’t restrain his hand from curling around Shigeru’s bare hip. “So this is better?” he breathed on the back of Shigeru’s neck, grinning at the goosebumps that formed on his skin.
Shigeru snickered and pulled Kenji out of the bathroom.
Kenji pushed Shigeru onto the neatly-made, queen-sized bed, leaning over him and kissing him hard.
Shigeru pressed himself closer against Kenji, running his hands down Kenji’s bare chest.
Kenji smiled and leaned further over the bed, placing one knee on the mattress, between Shigeru’s legs.
Suddenly a high-pitched whine broke his focus.
Kenji looked over to the small dog, wagging its tail in the doorway. He sighed.
“Sorry, I can close the door,” Shigeru said softly, sitting up.
“Nah, don’t bother.” Kenji stood up and ran a hand through his hair, walking over to the dresser. He tossed some underwear and sweatpants in Shigeru’s direction.
“Kenji, don’t be mad.” Shigeru deflated.
“I’m not mad,” Kenji promised, tucking a lock of Shigeru’s hair behind his ear. “I just got kinda startled and I’m not really in the mood.”
Kenji tried to ignore the disappointment written on Shigeru’s face. Stupid cock-blocking dog ...
They headed back out into the greatroom, hand in hand. Shigeru asked about practice and they chatted comfortably about volleyball and figured out a good time for their teams to have another joint practice session.
When they normally would’ve crashed onto the couch to cuddle and softly whisper praises to each other, Kenji found a small puppy leaping up onto the couch before him. He raised an eyebrow at it. He still couldn’t bring himself to hate it, but it was getting hugely in the way of everything he’d wanted this afternoon.
Shigeru flopped onto the couch anyway, pulling Lola into his lap.
Kenji sat down next to Shigeru, gently placing an arm around his shoulders. He was going to have to get used to having the dog there. He just wasn’t used to having to share Shigeru’s affection. By the looks the dog gave him, it clearly felt the same.
“Kenji, is everything okay?” Shigeru asked. “You seem not as happy today...”
“It’s nothing,” Kenji reassured Shigeru with a kiss to the cheek. “Just a little tired from practice. I’m fine.”
“Why do you insist upon practicing on Sunday mornings too?” Shigeru wrinkled his nose. “You know it’s less time you get to spend with me on the weekends.”
Kenji chuckled. “It wasn’t really my idea. The others really wanted the extra practice sessions and I couldn’t say no to them...”
“Aww, and they say such mean things about you all the time!” Shigeru placed himself in Kenji’s lap and traced his boyfriend’s jaw with the back of a finger.
Kenji blinked. “What do you mean?”
Shigeru giggled. “All the time when we swap teams for a few minutes. All those things you thought I wouldn’t find out about because you only told your team? I know everything. And they always come text me when they need help and when you’re being mean. Really, Kenji, you shouldn’t be so harsh on them. So many extra laps...”
Kenji frowned. “Running is good for you. Pain is fear leaving the body. That kind of stuff.”
“Such a cruel captain,” Shigeru purred.
The puppy jumped on Kenji’s leg and scratched at his shorts.
Kenji snickered and kissed Shigeru, pushing Lola out of the way. “Because your underlings never tell me anything about you.”
Shigeru sat straight up. “What did they tell you?”
“Mostly just assorted grumbles from a lot of them. Kyoutani though... When you can get him talking, he’ll spill anything to anyone.”
“What’d he say!!”
Kenji grinned. “Oh he didn’t say anything to me. But he did tell a couple of the others about that time he caught you and I in the locker room.”
Shigeru buried his face in Kenji’s chest. “That fuzzy bastard!”
Kenji laughed out loud. “They all already assumed the worst about us... There’s not much we could do to make things worse.”
“Fine...” Shigeru smiled and stayed snuggled up against Kenji. “One time Koganegawa came up to me and asked if we were dating. Like. A month ago. It was hilarious; he’s so clueless sometimes.”
Kenji chuckled, taking a moment to reminisce on the last six months that he’d been the luckiest guy on the planet.
Suddenly, the puppy was back on the couch, crawling over them.
Kenji smiled and tried to pick the squirmy ball of fur up, but she wiggled out of his hands to paw at Shigeru’s chest.
“Aww, baby!” Shigeru snuggled his dog. “You have to love on Kenji too! He’s a part of the family!”
Kenji smirked.
“How about I go make us lunch and you guys can bond! The little green bone is her favorite toy, Kenji. Charm her and she’ll love you instantly!”
The instant Shigeru stood up, Lola padded after him.
“No, stay in here! You and Kenji need to get along better!”
Kenji looked in a basket of toys and grabbed the little green bone he assumed Shigeru was talking about, waving it in front of the dog’s face.
Lola turned her attention to Kenji and he contentedly wrestled with her for a few minutes.
“Hey, Kenji, c’mere!” Shigeru yelled from the kitchen.
“I’m not a dog, Shi; you can’t order me around.”
“Kenji!”
Kenji hopped to his feet and scampered into the kitchen. “What’s up?”
Shigeru was sitting on the counter, swinging his legs and holding his arms out.
Kenji approached him, accepting the hug.
Shigeru latched on immediately, hooking his legs around Kenji’s waist.
Kenji smirked, catching Shigeru easily, sliding one hand around his back and the other under his butt.
“Kenji, do you not like my dog...”
“What? That doesn’t even make sense, Shi. It’s a dog. She’s cute.”
“You keep looking at her with a weird expression.”
Kenji didn’t want to talk about the dog. He wanted to just stand here and hold his boyfriend and be in love without anyone or anything competing for attention.
Shigeru leaned his head on Kenji’s shoulder. “I want you two to get along...”
“We do. She’s a great puppy. You’re lucky to have her.”
“I’m lucky to have you.”
The click of nails on hardwood floor echoed through the kitchen as the little dog joined them.
“Hi, Lola!” Shigeru baby-talked.
Kenji reluctantly let Shigeru slide out of his arms to kneel on the floor again.
“Weren’t you making lunch?” Kenji asked with mild annoyance.
“Mhm, give me two seconds, I have to get her something too.”
Shigeru stood up and rummaged again in a cabinet, retrieving dog food.
Kenji sighed and went to the fridge himself, only smiling again when he felt Shigeru’s arms wrap around him from behind.
“Are you going to make us sandwiches, Kenji?” Shigeru asked teasingly.
Kenji smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Am I going to? I don’t remember being your slave.”
Shigeru kissed him. “But I think it better when you make the sandwiches. I don’t know what you do differently, but it’s always really delicious!”
Kenji narrowed his eyes. “I do absolutely nothing different...”
Shigeru pouted.
Kenji slapped his hands over his face and turned away. “Okay, you win!”
Shigeru laughed.
He knows he’s cute and that is a massive problem... Kenji thought, grabbing bread.
Kenji sat on the counter to eat his sandwich like they usually did. Shigeru started next to him there as well, but after a few seconds, he hopped down and Lola bounced over to him.
Shigeru fed her a bit of meat from his sandwich, giggling when she licked it out of his hands. “Kenji, come down here!”
Kenji slid off the counter and sat on the floor, offering a piece of chicken from his own sandwich. “Please love me, doggy...”
Lola sniffed at his hand for several seconds before accepting the food.
“She does love you, I promise,” Shigeru said, leaning his head on Kenji’s shoulder. “I tell her stories about you all the time and I was really excited for you to get to meet her today.”
Kenji smiled and put his hand around Shigeru’s waist. “I’m glad you’re excited. You’re kinda cute when you’re not trying to commit murder.”
Shigeru tilted his head. “Commit murder? Who, me?”
Kenji tried hard to keep his smile down. “Yeah, you.”
Shigeru begged with his eyes, somehow even more effectively than he normally did. It was probably a side-effect of having a dog. “Just kinda cute?”
Kenji rolled his eyes, gesturing off-handedly with his half-eaten sandwich. “Yeah, I mean, when you’re being relatively nice you’re a little endearing. Like in a so-ugly-it’s-a-little-bit-adorable kind of thing.”
“What.”
“Yeah... Like a... fruit bat or something.”
“A fruit bat.”
“Mhm. Kinda creepy, kinda fuzzy, squishy nose, always flying around my head making annoying, high-pitched noises.”
“Kenji!” Shigeru pouted.
Kenji hit his breaking point and laughed, pulling Shigeru into his lap. “Don’t pout at me, I can’t handle that.”
“Don’t call me a fruit bat!”
“Don’t be so ugly.” Kenji littered his boyfriend’s face with soft kisses, snickering softly at the noises of protest.
“You better make that up to me or my self-esteem is going to suffer!”
Kenji laughed out loud. “Good. You could stand to be knocked down a peg or two.”
Shigeru started to stand up, polishing off his sandwich.
Kenji followed after him an instant later, scooping him up in his arms.
Shigeru squealed and locked his arms around Kenji’s neck.
“Can I make it up to you?”
Shigeru nodded, smiling contentedly.
Kenji carried his boyfriend back to the bedroom, kicking the door shut, but the dog managed to sneak in at the last minute anyway. Kenji sighed, dropping Shigeru onto the bed.
“Kenji...”
Kenji tried to pick Lola up to place her outside, but she kept wiggling away from him. He looked back over at Shigeru. “I want all of you. No split attention. Sorry for being selfish, but I don’t want to share. Not when it comes to you.”
Shigeru looked at him seriously for a moment before the corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Are you jealous of my dog?”
“No.” Kenji blushed. “I’m just not used to... having to compete for your affection.”
Shigeru patted the bed. The dog jumped onto the mattress. “You too, Kenji.”
Kenji was a bit cautious, but he sat down on the edge of the bed.
Shigeru reached over and pulled him onto the pillow, resting his own head on Kenji’s chest.
Lola hopped up in between them, curling up on Kenji’s chest as well.
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Shigeru said softly. “You’re not competing for my love. You mean no less to me now than before. I think once you guys start getting along better, you’ll see that she’s not taking me away from you. You’re still all mine and I’m still all yours. But if you want her out of the room, that’s fine with me because I’d never pick her over you.”
Kenji smiled, running one hand over Lola’s back and the other through Shigeru’s hair. “This is probably fine, don’t you think?”
“I like this,” Shigeru agreed.
“How about you stop ordering me around to do things like make you sandwiches. You have a dog now. You can order her around.”
“Yeah, but you’re my boyfriend so that’s pretty much the same thing except you’re actually capable of making me sandwiches.”
“You are playing with fire, dude...”
“Can I order one more thing of you?”
“Depends.”
“Never stop loving me?”
“Oh. That’s an easy one. No problem.”
“Never.”
“Never ever.”
Shigeru kissed Kenji hard. “Never ever ever forever?”
“Dude, calm down, I get the picture. Never.”
“Good boy.”
Kenji laughed and punched his boyfriend. He was never going to fall out of love with Shigeru. That, he knew for certain.
