Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So here’s the plan, Fucking Earbuds...”

Hiruma slammed his shotgun on the table, just to stun the four individuals sitting in this dark room with him. To Hiruma’s left was Jumonji, and to his right was Taka. Adjacent to the spiky blonde was Banba, at least to somehow act as a voice of reason for the only person sitting in front of them all.

“Fucking Dreads won’t stop flirting with our damned Manajerk, you all know this.” Hiruma removed the shotgun to amble back and forth in forethought, a pointed finger tapping his chin. “Instead of just telling him that she’s clearly not for his interests, because that damned Mop Head isn’t socially adept enough to figure that out, we’re gonna send that message a roundabout way… by distracting him with somebody else! And that,“ He stopped ambling to pivot his foot, pointing at the poor person in the chair, “Will be done with you.”

That poor person, sitting amongst these five college students, mind you… is Tenma Dojiro. Former ace runner of the Shinryuji Nagas and Teikoku’s Alexanders, 3rd year collegiate halfback of the Saikyou Wizards, and currently, but not literally, being strapped to a chair just to abide by Hiruma’s new scheme to…

“I have to dress up as a girl?!” Tenma exclaimed, arms immediately crossed with a deep frown. “Why can’t you just find an actual girl to do this? Why do I have to?”

Hiruma shrugged carelessly, “Because why not? Wouldn’t this be a fun turn of events? Kekekeke…” 

“No other girl would approach Agon without some form of bribery.” Banba, who had to sigh because this was another one of Hiruma’s crackhead schemes, moved closer to Tenma with some form of reassurance. “It’s also not easy to find somebody who’s willing to date Agon for a month during summer break, at least to keep him away from Mamori. We could’ve asked Karin but she doesn’t go to this school.”

“And it wouldn't be safe if she were put on this… sort of thing.” Jumonji added, and this only made Tenma glare at all four of them.

The halfback gesticulated, “Oh, but if I do this, even though I’d probably be murdered, it’s okay?” 

Taka frowned at his upperclassman. “Aren’t you a Taekwondo black belt, Tenma?”

“I am, but…” Tenma made a face, before exhaling desperately. “Agon’s a damned genetic freak! I can’t just fight him!”

“Well, if that horny bastard tries to put moves on you, he’d be too hard to evade your self defense! Kekeke…” Hiruma’s shotgun either disappeared, or morphed itself into a pistol, indicated by him having clicked the safety off. “And besides, out of everyone on the team, you’re the prettiest.”

Tenma rolled his eyes. “I appreciate the compliment, but I… I can’t just date Agon for an entire month to keep him away from Mamori! I know he’s being excessive with her but I just, I can’t. It doesn’t sit right with me; wearing a dress and putting on makeup, to somehow fool him?” His eyes looked to the others, searching for some semblance of shared sentiment.

Jumonji looked at him rather thoughtfully, and so did Taka. The ex-delinquent shrugged and scratched his chin. “Honestly, you’d probably pull it off way too well.”

Banba seconded that, much to Tenma’s horror. “Agreed.”

There was no way to get out of this. Either Tenma could somehow make a beeline for the door (he’d fail, Taka’s right there, and Banba would just carry him back to his seat), or he’d refuse to do this and possibly subject himself to a one-man firing squad (not the outcome he’d favor, nor had confidence in surviving). He closed his eyes, his shoulders dropped and he had to think about it; it would just be a month of ‘dating’ Agon Kongo to keep him distracted, that’s all. Easier said than done…

He gave up. He’ll have to play his part. “Fine.” Tenma finally conceded, and when he opened his eyes, the barrel of that pistol was moved away from his face. “What’s my safe fail, then?”

Hiruma thought about it, or pretended to think about it, before sneering in a way that made Tenma’s stomach drop to his ankles. “I honestly would say that absolutely anything is fair game, but…” The blonde concedes, “If he tries to take your clothes off… you can call it quits.”

“Wouldn’t it be game over then? I’d be dead, and even if I defend myself against him, Agon would kill me if he sees me after summer break.”

“You’re under Hiruma’s protection.” Banba stated, and surprisingly that wasn’t a tall claim. “So Agon can’t do anything to you. Besides, Hiruma can always, you know… blackmail him.”

“That’s right, Fucking Baldy!” Hiruma smiled and stepped up to place a hand on the table. “You better look as convincing as you already are, Fucking Earbuds, because if you don’t do this right, or if you forfeit,” He got real close to Tenma’s face, pointed teeth bared with a grin, “I’ll fucking kill you.”

If it weren’t for the fact that Tenma had seven full days to mentally prepare himself, since Hiruma proposed this a week before summer break, he probably would’ve forfeited like an hour after their little meeting.

He told his girlfriends about this plan as well, because he figures they’d probably be able to physically tell that it’s him under whatever disguise he’s got on, and instead of looking as cross as he did, they really dragged Tenma to multiple women’s clothing stores to pick out the perfect outfits for him to wear. Don’t… get him wrong; Tenma loves their encouragement, but they were way too excited to pick out skirts and dresses for his little catfish mission.

They also picked out proper makeup for him, though he insisted he’d get ready on his own when the day comes. Doing makeup is the one thing Tenma didn’t need help with (don’t ask why, he’s had many girlfriends), and he didn’t want to go too crazy, so he just settled for the basics: lipsticks, lip glosses, eyeliner and two of his girlfriends’ eyeshadow palettes. Since his parents left their old house to him, living alone is a major plus for times like this, so that he wouldn't have to potentially explain to them that he’s going to pretend to date some guy for 30 whole damn days. It’s not like they’ve never asked him the question, and you know what that question is, but this would surely lead to them finally surmising his sexuality.

Tenma, fresh out of the shower, looks at his outfit of the day; red flats, black pantyhoses, a gray skater skirt with a gold belt and a pink, waist cropped shirt. He’s meant to wear a padded sports bra, and a neck band to hide his throat (his Adam’s Apple isn’t even that big, but still). There is also a designated wig for him; long, dark brown and layered to end at his mid back. A blush creeps up his face, because nearly all the shirts and sweaters his girls picked out are cropped, and he told them that he wanted to be as modest as possible. The wig they chose was also a fan favorite amongst them, because they always said they wanted to see Tenma with dark brown hair. 

How nice of them to enact their silly fantasies when Tenma might not make it out of this month alive.

He doesn’t waste time in putting on his clothes, the belt cinching perfectly around his waist (and the skirt covers his stomach, thank goodness). He then puts on a wig cap, and starts his makeup. He doesn’t really need foundation, since his skin is already clear, so he just chooses to wear rosy lip gloss, and some light pink eyeshadow. A natural look, is what one of his girls might say seeing him right now, even more so when he puts the wig on his head. Once he’s finished, he takes a final look at his vanity mirror…

And Tenma somehow manages to amaze and terrify himself at the same damn time. Not because he looks ugly, but because he can seriously pass as a really pretty woman.

He steps out of his parents’ house with a purse in hand. It contains a bit of money, some touchup makeup, and a fake ID Hiruma gave him a few days ago (in which he snapped a picture of Tenma wearing a ponytailed dark brown wig while he was out ‘girl-shopping’. No, Tenma did not tell him his location that day). He looks around, thanking Buddha that nobody happened to be walking near the driveway, and heads to the train station. His car is sitting right there, yes, but if he dares to drive at all, that could give his identity away.

Pulling out his phone, he thumbs through his contacts once he reaches the station. Already, as he’s heading to the boarding area, there are men of varying ages passing glances at him, some of them even double taking. He quickly finds himself a seat and calls Hiruma, mentally blocking out the fact that he’s receiving the attention he usually gets from women, from other men.

Yes, he has a girl voice on deck, one that’s rather impressive and dissimilar to his actual voice, and he answers Hiruma with a higher pitch in tone. “So… location?”

“Fucking Dreads is at Goyogi Park, four stops away from your train line.” Hiruma answers him, and his voice sounds distant because he’s cleaning one of his rifles. “I hope that disguise you got on is as passable as your girly voice, Pretty Prince.”

So, the park mentioned is about 20 minutes away from their university by car; hopefully he doesn’t run into somebody he knows. Tenma decides to momentarily look up, just to see if he’s out of plain sight since he’s sitting on the far end of the boarding area. Instead, he spots at least seven eyes subtly checking him out. 

“Yeah, it’s quite passable…” The train comes, and Tenma quickly gets up to board it. Once again, luck is on his side, because he immediately finds himself a seat. He’d probably dive right out of the train’s emergency window if somebody straight up gropes him.

Tenma crosses his legs, unconsciously feeling at and pulling his skirt down. “Is he far from the entrance or..?”

There is a pause, presumably because Hiruma is watching Agon from his secret cameras. “He’s by the bridge, but it looks like he’s going to the snack area. Of course…” He mutters that last part to himself. “You know what to do; walk in there, sit in his general area and wait for him to come for you.”

Tenma furrows a brow; the amount of confidence Hiruma has in duping the dreadhead genius is astounding. “But… What if he doesn’t come? Like, what if I’m not his type?”

“Fucking Earbuds, as long as you have on a skirt and some lip gloss, he’d be down to immediately fuck you. Kekeke…”

Tenma can only chuckle (in pain) at that, before they both ended the call. While that’s a surefire sign that this would work… Tenma does not want Agon to feel attracted to him, knowing the way he is by default. Agon is a sociopathic, self-aggrandizing asshole, literally a person that Tenma could never relate to despite their similar popularity with girls. Having someone like that attracted to you is like asking for a demon to manifest in the waking world, and the fact that Tenma will have to somehow convince, seduce (in the most non sexual way possible), and keep Agon as a boyfriend gives no justice against any of this.

They both also have this weird, mutual hate thing going on too; Tenma and Agon, as polar opposites of one another, don’t interact often because their strengths clash in a way that bruises Agon’s ego. As a man himself who’s actually dated girls and has maintained relationships for more than 24 hours, Tenma simply existing near him during team practice is akin to a bright light blocking out the sight of a dirt pile. He’s everything that Agon can never be, just as Agon is everything that Tenma can’t be.

The train ride, and the walk to the park took a lot less time than he thought, though that’s mostly because he’s carrying his MP3. He has to put on some music to distract himself from the obvious stares he’s getting, and Tenma feels inclined to self-insist that he doesn’t look that pretty. 

When he enters Goyogi Park, he heads to the snack area and sits on the benches near the sakura trees. It’s only now that Tenma realizes how this whole thing could affect him. Sure, he’s pretending, but he has to keep pretending to like this man for 30 whole days, and as Agon’s existential arch nemesis, he’s bound to be thrown in for a mental loop throughout this month. Not only is Tenma rather bubbly, but he’s also very expressive, and in turn, extremely sensitive. Even in his disguise, if Agon were to ever get mad at him and switch to his normal personality all of the sudden, Tenma would probably cry. 

That seems unlikely to happen though. Presumably, Agon will be a gentleman, the complete opposite of the brash, violent piece of shit he normally is. Even imagining that seems beyond cursed, Tenma can’t imagine Agon ever being nice to him. He wonders if he’ll spend his dating hours unironically wanting to see Agon be his usual, aggressive self, just so he won’t go insane. The type of mind games a ‘sweetheart Agon’ could play would be… dangerous, to say the least. That’s what Tenma can assume right now.

He has the urge to hop into a bush when he looks to his left and spots Agon, back turned to him, by the variety snack machines picking out two taiyaki packs. He looks so normal and rather reserved, almost like his twin brother Unsui. Tenma looks away from him to avoid eye contact and pockets his earbuds. The moment of truth awaits, at some point Agon will notice him, and approach him.

Or maybe not, Tenma sorely hopes, even though Agon is supposed to approach the halfback to begin with. He can’t imagine how a girl should react to seeing someone like Agon, and he honestly doesn’t know what would possess a poor soul to even give him the time of day. Agon is both incapable of expressing his feelings, and is a man who runs away from proper commitment. It’s quite sad, really…

“Are you alright?”

Tenma almost jumps out of his seat and turns to see Agon, in the flesh, sitting right next to him on the bench. Where in the fuck did he come from?! Tenma blinks thrice in shock; wasn’t Agon like… a good several meters away from him a moment ago? 

He clears his throat, just then remembering to speak with his girl voice. “Uh, yeah? Why?”

Agon takes his Oakley Juliets off, amber eyes beaming handsomely within the sunlight. “You looked spaced out. I hope something isn’t bothering you.”

“I’m just thinking about something.” Tenma assures him, the breeze kicking in and forcing him to push his hair behind his ear. The simple notion of that makes Agon’s eyebrows raise slightly, in a way that indicates major physical attraction. Good grief. “You don’t need to worry.”

“Ah, I can’t help it. You’re sitting here all alone, in deep thought.” Agon leans forward a bit, a means to mimic Tenma’s posture right now. “Are you waiting for anyone?”

If Tenma didn’t have to forfeit his sanity just to keep Mamori safe, he would totally say yes to that and then pretend to call his pseudo ‘boyfriend’ to get away from Agon. He unfortunately has to play his role. He has to play dumb. “Well, no…” He fidgets a little, purposely looking reserved. Agon seems to like those types of women. “I’m just here to pass time. I don’t have any plans… Why ask?”

Perhaps he could attempt to spice things up by asking Agon questions as well, at least to see how he’d respond. This only insinuates that Agon wants to get with him and the dreadhead, while it’s clear in his eyes that he’s attracted to the ‘woman’ he’s looking at, answers him with an uncanny amount of modesty. “I dunno, I figured you did. I don’t have any plans, either. I like to just walk around…” He looks down with an awfully shy smile that looks way too sincere for Tenma’s liking. “I tend to get bored.”

“Ahh, I can tell.” Tenma smiles, brushing his hair back again and keeping his hand by his ear. Agon gives him a look, and he shrugs. “You just have to be. Why else would you strike up a conversation with me?”

Agon pauses to presumably think about it, still keeping that charming smirk on his face. “Maybe it’s because I find you interesting.”

All Tenma can do is raise his eyebrows and blink, surprised.

“You know what, why don’t I make this a bit less boring for both of us?” Agon shifts the taiyaki snacks to one hand and stands up with a proposition; “Wanna get some food with me? I know a nice place nearby.”

Again, Tenma’s kind of stunned, but he outwardly shows excitement and nods with a pretty smile. “Sure!” Woah, he thinks to himself as he takes Agon’s hand and walks out of the snack area. Agon hands him one of the taiyaki, to which Tenma thanks him while looking at the snack, then the floor, and then at Agon’s hand in awe. 

Agon is way too smooth. Tenma didn’t even realize he was asking him out until he agreed. Girls tend to do that to him, and they are more obvious, but since Agon is a guy it’s almost… riveting, how quick that went down. In a way, he gave Agon the green light because he’s supposed to but still, everything about Agon’s behavior is uncanny. He seems like a completely different person.

Quite pliant of Agon to take him to MoMo Cafe, a spot that mostly serves tea lattes and pastries. It would’ve been extremely funny if Agon just took him to an actual restaurant, but it’s clear that the dreadhead can read the air. As arrogant as he is, he could’ve shown off by spoiling Tenma greatly. Instead, he chose a cafe that’s both easy on the eyes, and not very intimidating. Smart move.

Tenma and Agon sit in the perfect spot for the sunlight to hit both of their faces without giving them sunburn. They both order drinks, Agon choosing soda and Tenma going with lemonade, and upon Agon’s courtesy, settling for an afternoon meal plan. It’s quite simple; most of the meal is just finger foods and light pastries. Luckily, the small batch of rations can keep Tenma from spending too much time with Agon in here. The average ‘hook up’ is about a good hour if both parties aren’t originally mutual friends. Tenma hasn’t hooked up with a stranger in a while, almost all his girlfriends started off as being friends with him.

“Do you live around here?” Agon asks him, tearing open a plastic straw and taking a sip of his soda. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“Well, yes but no…” Tenma says, and pauses at first, before realizing he’d just found his cop-out. “I’m from Kyoto, but I’m just visiting for the summer. I’m meant to leave in a month.”

So that way, when the 30-day relationship comes to an end, Tenma can say goodbye to Agon and this impressive disguise. He glances elsewhere in afterthought; he had to freaking cancel his flight to Osaka this month, which means he’ll have to push back his flight to the beginning of August. It’ll cost much more, but it’s not impossible for him; he’s quite blessed with well-off parents.

The dreadhead’s face falls, “Ah, that sucks.” He pouts, which if Tenma was some oblivious girl who didn’t know Agon from a hole in the wall, he’d look rather cute. “I was hoping to really get to know you.”

Just so that you can fuck me, stupid. Tenma resists the urge to roll his eyes. Then, he decides to entertain the mood of his thoughts. “And why is that?”

“Because you’re really pretty.” Agon smiles, and then he shrugs, knowing how facetious that is. “That’s all I can really gather right now; you’re pretty and you seem really sweet.”

Tenma just hums to that, choosing to sip his lemonade and dramatically cast his eyes to the side. “Yeah yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

“And how many guys have landed you by saying that?”

“None.” 

Agon narrows his eyes. “Does that mean I’m the only successor, then?”

He’s baiting, just like Tenma kind of is. Alright, he swirls a finger around the rim of his lemonade, let’s play. “I wouldn’t know now.” Hazel eyes look directly into Agon’s ambers, the conviction behind his words aren’t there. Perhaps, since Agon is too shallow to keep a relationship, why not turn him promising loyalty into a game? “You can try to be.”

Agon gives him a calculating gaze, one that’s half amused and half scrutinizing. The scrutiny, though, comes from Tenma not going along with Agon’s flirting. Girls aren’t meant to challenge anything he says, and clearly Agon’s not used to a little bit of banter. “What’s your name?”

Those words leave Agon’s mouth and Tenma completely forgets that he needs a separate name to go by for this month. It comes to him in a split second. “Temari.”

Geez, he just chose a damned name with the same prefix as his own, couldn’t I be a bit more creative?

“Temari…” Agon rolls the name off his tongue smoothly. “Very pretty name.”

Tenma offhandedly wonders if he asks for the names of the girls that he ‘dates’. Something about the way Agon stared him down just now makes it seem like he doesn’t do that. “Is that the only compliment you can use to make me swoon?”

“Well, we’re both sitting in front of one another in a cafe, so I’m doing something right.” The dreadhead humbly chuckles at that and god, did Tenma wish he could retch at how sincere he sounds. He knows that behind that goody-two-shoe exterior, Agon’s just imagining what he’d look like naked.

Not… the greatest inference Tenma could make, at least for his sanity. Though, technically since they’re in the same team, they’ve seen each other without clothes by default. It’s just that him changing in the locker room doesn’t make Agon horny.

Tenma closes his eyes for a second. I should just delete my mind.

Their meals come along, and they engage in small chats while eating the finger foods. Tenma was meant to ask Agon for his name but… given he’s already shown that he not only doesn’t take Agon seriously, but is also a pseudo-sought after hottie, he may as well not bother. Perhaps Agon would keep crawling back if Tenma just perceives him as some hot-to-trot nobody, asking for his name might feed his ego and make this whole plan not work.

Meanwhile, in another part of Tenma’s mind he feels like an asshole for being so inconsiderate, since such behavior is nothing like him.

“Wait, you’re older than me?” Agon asks, almost incredulous. “Really?”

In lieu of conversation, Tenma had offhandedly suffixed Agon’s name as an older person, and felt like flicking himself in the forehead. He comes up with a quick ‘lie’ so that it doesn’t blow his cover. “You look and act younger than me, so…” Tenma shrugs, still maintaining a nonchalant timbre.

Agon rolls his eyes. “I act younger? I’m a grown man, Temari. You can’t be that much older.” He puts aside his scone to clean his hands before clasping them together. “C’mon, I doubt it.”

And Tenma doubts that that didn’t partially jab at his ego. How rude of him… but it feels well deserved for someone as arrogant as Agon. Since he asked, Tenma decides to humor him. “I’m twenty one.”

A slow nod, as if Agon still doesn’t believe him. “Ah… Not too far from me.”

“What, you don’t like anyone older than you?”

“Nah, it’s not that. I like older women.” Agon smiles at him. “I wouldn’t be able to tell your age. You look very young.”

A blessing of his family’s genetics, and a curse for him in the damn football league. Even Sena and Monta look older than him and they’re both not only younger, but shorter. Tenma smiles a bit though. “Why, thanks...” It’d be cool to just test how much Agon was truly attracted to him, so Tenma keeps the smile lingering on his face while swirling the straw in his lemonade. He tilts his head slightly, making his hair move with him. “So how old are you? Are you in school?”

Instead, those simple gestures make Agon’s eyes glint in a way that would’ve had Tenma jumping out the window and running for the hills. “Yeah. I go to Saikyou.” He smirks, the obvious pride in his face because Saikyou is a ‘ rich kid’ university. Tenma’s no stranger to this, he went to Teikoku and the differences between these two schools is eye opening for him. While Teikoku was a snobby kid rich school, Saikyou was a smart outcast kid rich school. “I’m in my 2nd year.”

At least that’s not a lie, that means Agon’s 20 years old . Tenma raises his brows, “You must be really smart.” 

He expects Agon to parrot that with a big, shit eating grin, but instead the dreadhead chuckles and shakes his head, waving his hand abashedly. “I mean, I wouldn’t say that…”

Tenma’s eyebrows raise again, now that is a surprise. This is another show of Agon being strangely humble, it really makes Tenma wonder if he’s acting on instinct or if everything that he’s saying is making himself gag. It has to be the former, since Agon would theoretically do anything to smash Temari. By this logic, Tenma can do and say whatever he wants as long as he doesn’t cross the ‘line’ and that line is Agon’s attraction to him. Not a hard thing to do, unless Agon straight up asks to fuck, and that’s unlikely to happen because Tenma isn’t proving to be easy. He is just extremely good-looking, and Agon wants a piece of him, clearly.

Or a piece of Temari, not him. Dear God, Tenma needs to not think about that endgame. He and Agon are not gonna fuck. That’s not gonna happen.

“And what about you?” Agon finally bites his scone, clear patience in his eyes.

Tenma smiles offhandedly. Agon looks just like his older brother. “I graduated a little over last year.” When Agon frowns at that, Tenma just shrugs. “My program ends mid-semester every year. I did engineering.”

That is the major Tenma’s going for right now, matter of fact. Agon’s eyes go wide with a genuine grin. “Ah, so you’re the smart one here!”

Tenma giggles at him, covering his mouth and waving his hand. “Oh, c’mon. It’s just book smarts.”

“Still. Engineers make a lot of money.” Agon taps his fingers together, seeming to think about something. “That’s interesting…”

“Uh-huh, that’s something you could use.” Tenma accidentally lets out, and since he had clasp his mouth shut, he has to play it off. He can smell gold-diggery off of Agon from a mile away, of course he’d made that damned comment.

“Hey, hey-” Agon sits up, raising a finger at Tenma. “I may be a college student, but I’m not broke. This whole meal is on my tab.”

Universally, the words college student and not broke are both oxymorons. “You sure you’re not feeling some kind of way because I said that?”

Agon pauses, tilts his head in a curt fashion with a straight face. “It was on me to begin with.”

Tenma just rolls his eyes and sips his lemonade, maybe the makeup on his face made it look way prettier than it actually was. Much of their conversation elapsed smoothly from then on, and the waitress comes by to both clean up their dishes as well as hand them their check. Agon handles the pay as he vows, smoothly putting money for the bill before handing it to the waitress with a charming smile.

That smile didn’t beam as much as it did when Agon smiled at him before. Tenma doesn’t know why that stuck out to him, but it did. Probably would’ve been a red flag if Agon gave the waitress as much attention as his newfound ‘girlfriend’.

They left the cafe, and upon walking across the street Agon stops to lean against a streetlight pole. “Temari…”

Tenma’s walking in stride but had to turn around to see that Agon had stopped. The name leaves the utility player’s mouth like silk, and again, Tenma’s impressed by how bewitching Agon’s pretending to be. “Hmm?” He approaches Agon, feigning interest in him.

“What else do you like to do?” Agon tilts his head, “You’ve said you enjoy movie nights and arcades, right?”

“Well…” Tenma drums his fingers against his purse. “Ah, are you asking about things you’d like to do with me?”

The soft, shy chuckle Agon does to that is so unreasonably cute. It’s completely unlike how he actually is, and that’s scary, “Not just with you, I wanna know what you like in general.”

“I like a lot of things…” Tenma puts a finger to his glossed lips; perhaps Agon’s not directly pushing because he only dates girls for a very limited time. He wants Tenma to tell him what ‘Temari’ likes so that they can continue on from there. So, since his Temari persona is not an easy lay, he decides to be forward about it. “It sounds like you’re asking me out.”

Agon shrugs, the smirk on his face still maintaining innocence. “Maybe I am.” And then he does something that actually shocks Tenma; he pulls out his phone, and hands it to him. “Put your number down for me. Maybe we could hang out sometime this week; I’m gonna be here all summer.”

Man, if Tenma really could he’d just reject Agon on the spot, in front of everyone, in the most jackass way possible. He can’t, not only because he’s required to be with the dreadhead, but because Tenma would feel bad doing that to anybody. He’s already incapable of saying ‘no’ most of the time, for crying out loud.

“Alright then…” Tenma takes Agon’s phone and almost has an aneurysm at the idea of Agon already having his phone number but obviously, his number is nowhere to be found. If Tenma was smart, he’d get a backup phone just for this; he didn’t think about this month’s prerequisites aside from the fact that he’s going to suffer. He hands Agon’s phone back to him. “There, my number and my name. You better hold up to your claims.”

Agon seems to smile at his phone screen before looking at Tenma, and that sentence had hit him a second too late. “Huh?”

“You seem so interested in me.” Tenma returns a smile to him, folding his hands behind his back. “If you decide not to text me, I’m going to consider you a flake.”

Agon scoffs, but doesn’t look like he’s caught red-handed by that; maybe he’s not allowing Tenma to see that. “Why would I flake on you? I like you.”

“I know that. Sort of.” Tenma blinks at him, looks around, and decides to be even more difficult. “Kind of. Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Ah, you don’t believe me?” Agon’s brows raise, clearly seeing this as a challenge. “How about we go to an arcade for the evening?”

They start walking in the direction Agon pivots his heel to. Tenma decides to go along with him, only to snort at his question. “So you can prove yourself to me?”

Agon side eyes him in a way that both spells competition, and gives Tenma the feeling that Agon’s probably thinking of doing some very naughty things to his scrutinizing ass. It’s taking everything in the halfback to not book it to the nearest police station.

“Sure.” Is all Agon says, and if Tenma were looking then, he’d probably catch Agon’s jaw tense for a moment. And no, it’s not for any particularly bad reason…

Chapter Text

Their very first ‘date’, since they did set out to an arcade after their cafe luncheon, left really good impressions on ‘Temari’. The girl persona couldn’t be more than pleased by Agon’s drive to succeed, given he spent a lot of time winning prizes for her while making her smile with his quick wit and confidence, and his rather thoughtful level of attraction towards her. She is swooned by his charisma, his looks, the way he regards her and says his name.

As for Tenma… he doesn’t know what to feel.

This is for two reasons; on one hand, Agon is extremely affable as a boyfriend, but Tenma knows that he has one goal and one goal only; to fuck Temari. On the other hand, Tenma acted so far out of his own comfort zone that he couldn’t resist the guilt building up in his gut. Even with Agon clearly showering him with attraction, Tenma acted exactly as he should perceive it; as some excellent love bombing that should only be dismissed or even ridiculed. In lieu, Temari is some girl Agon is attracted to, who’s in the process of wrapping him around her finger while taking everything he does for granted.

It’s so unlike Tenma. God should’ve taken away maybe a teaspoon of empathy from his big heart, just so he can do this without feeling tugged by the shit that Agon is doing.

Agon had messaged him the morning after the previous date, which surprised Tenma because Agon should’ve… ditched him by now, right? Again, this is all going to plan, which is great, though Tenma can’t help but feel odd. Through texting, Agon sounds almost like how Tenma would, minus the jubilance and frequent usage of emoticons. The dreadhead freely shows a lot of affection in messages; he’d ask what he’s up to, and how he’s doing. And he wouldn’t be pushy at all.

Now here Tenma is, laying on the sofa, debating on whether or not he should strike up a date with Agon to at least keep him roped in. Perhaps he shouldn’t; in some twisted, fucked up way, Tenma showing interest would end up making Agon lose interest in him. That’s how finicky his underclassman is.

The blonde combs his fingers through his hair with a deep exhale, and casts a glance at the ticking toaster oven in his kitchen. Agon has to chase, that’s what keeps him interested, and Temari should not make it easy for her to be caught. Tenma hopes that he doesn’t crack under intentionally bruising Agon’s ego even though he deserves it. His phone’s notif sound startles him out of his own thoughts, and he flips it open to see a message from Agon.

Hey beautiful.

Sappy, Tenma thinks to himself; how cute . He texts him back, thumbs fidgeting through words, phrases, a whole sentence maybe, before he decides on his final reply: Hi.

Goodness, this is hard. Maybe Tenma’s just making this hard for himself, but he doesn’t think that Agon’s interested in anything going on in ‘Temari’s’ life. He just wants another smothering date.

What are you up to? Agon asks him, and then a few seconds later: I’m bored.

Spoke too soon. He tilts his head: Bored? I’m about to eat supper. Find something to do.

Agon K.: I’d rather do something with you, Temari; the streets get quite uneventful when there’s no one around.

Yeah, you’d know a lot about that. Are you outside right now?

It’s quite odd to imagine Agon texting anybody, especially with him replying extremely fast. This man has his full attention on whatever Tenma’s sending him. Nah, I’m at home. I’d rather not be, though.

You’ll worry your parents if you keep slipping out of the house like that, you know. Tenma smiles; Agon’s not only tall, he’s muscular too. He has less to worry about in terms of physical danger, but still, it’s an honorary ‘worry’ he’s showing. Tenma is older than Agon.

They don’t care, is all he says, and then he changes the topic: I’ve been thinking about taking us both to Matcha Park. They have a weekly carnival open there.

Tenma hums in thought; another majorly public place of course, which for a normal new couple would be fine. He honestly expected Agon’s next date idea to be something more… intimate, something that will surely get him in Temari’s pants, but they are once again going to an open, less intimidating space. Again, this is a normal thing for a new couple to do, but since this is Agon, the dreadhead is taking this really slow.

Which means Agon has made it a major goal to sleep with Temari, and Tenma can’t do anything but enable his drive.

I hate this.

Really? And you wanna go tonight?

Agon K.: Yeah. I’d rather be out with you than in here just wasting away to be honest.

The moment he read that text, the toaster oven dings loudly, making Tenma jolt up. Startled by the cut in silence, he quickly agrees to meet him at Matcha Park before flipping his phone closed. There’s fast footsteps rushing down from upstairs and into the living room area from the only other person in this house.

“Ah, it’s done!” In comes Tenma’s mom, a light brown bob-haired and hazel eyed woman that’s about Tenma’s height, and her stride is notably fast as she literally dashes across the living room to get to the kitchen. As young as she looks, and she seriously looks a few years older than Tenma, she is what she’d proudly call herself a new fifty.  

Tenma silently watches his mother as she pulls a small cake out of the toaster oven. She hums to herself, plating the cake and decorating it cutely, seeming to not acknowledge her son’s presence. That is, until she suddenly looks up and tilts her head at him. “Why the long face, Tenma?”

“Hmm-” He quickly straightens his posture and tries not to look like a deer caught in headlights. “Nothing… It’s nothing, mom.”

“You sure?” She asks, resuming her cake embellishments. “You’re never this quiet, y’know. Is something bothering you?”

Tenma and his parents are rather transformative with one another, and their only child is known for being extremely talkative. Very rarely is he quiet around his mother, so it makes sense that she’s asking him this. “Not at all. I’m thinking about going somewhere.”

And fuck, he realizes that now he can’t go out. His mother is sticking around for a few days due to a maintenance appointment, which means that Tenma can’t disguise himself for any dates with Agon for the rest of this week. Well, he can, but he’d have to sneak past his mom, who’s way too attentive for him to simply evade with a skirt and some girly shirt on. He’s gonna have to change his course of plans with Agon, and while he inwardly favors this, he knows he has to keep Agon’s attention or else…

His mother puts a dollop of whip cream over her cake. “Well, alright.” She saunters to the living area to sit on the couch adjacent to her son, and slides the food tray over her lap. “If I may ask, Tenma…” She taps her cake fork against the plate twice, in meager thought, and Tenma shifts his phone in his pocket to slouch back...

“Who left their pink lipstick in our bathroom?”

Tenma’s eyes go wide and he reckons if he’d slouched even further, he would’ve choked on his own breath. He knows exactly what she’s talking about; he was trying out some lip shades and left a particular lipstick in the bathroom cabinet, and completely forgot to put it in his damn room. It wasn’t in the guest bathroom either, it was left in the family bathroom, so it’s a given that his mother would find it.

He sits up again, having to save face. “...You sure that’s not yours, mom?”

His mom gives him a straight face, putting the fork down to eye her son funnily. “I took all my makeup with me when I left here, son, and I don’t wear that brand.” She takes her fork again, and cuts a small piece of her dessert to munch. “If you’re bringing your girlfriends in this house, that’s fine by me. Just don’t make a mess.”

He sighs to mask his relief, and gets up. Thank goodness he’s not single. “It might be Usagi’s. She was here yesterday; I'll put it away.”

That’s where his second mistake comes, because Usagi is one of Tenma’s girlfriends and she was here yesterday, but Tenma’s mother knows about every girl he’s exclusively dated… because he literally talks about them to her all the time. “I thought Usagi didn’t wear makeup…?”

He stops in his tracks, and faces her with a laugh that hopefully doesn’t sound nervous. “Well, now she does!” He shrugs with a big smile, only making his mom narrow her eyes at him. “Okay, she’s just getting into it. I didn’t tell her to, but  she’s curious, y’know, so she wants to try makeup now.”

His mother doesn’t seem to buy that, and instead of frowning at him, she only smiles lightly. “You know you’re a bad liar.”

And just like that, any last bit of confidence leaves Tenma’s body.

“If it’s yours, then it’s okay.” She shrugs, eating a piece of her cake. “I’m only saying that because there was a clean skirt laying on your bed when I first came here.” If there was a sniper around, it’d be aimed at Tenma’s chest, but his mother continues casually: “This isn’t the first time you've worn girly clothes, y’know.”

… There was a time, when Tenma was younger, where he would wear clearly oversized dresses and dance like an idiot to make his cousins laugh. It’s moments like that where he wishes he was born with a few more serious brain cells. “Mom…” He starts, shaking his head and realizing that lying to this woman is damn near impossible, since she essentially has seen enough evidence. “Wait, you went through my room?”

“You always leave your door open.”

“Ah, yeah…” Nevermind, he can’t checkmate her then. “Look, I can explain…” He starts, his mom eats and patiently watches her son’s lips fidgeting with themselves before he purses his mouth and folds his hands. “Promise me you won’t laugh.”

“If it’s anything like the thing in high school, then I’d have no choice but to laugh.”

Tenma makes a face, “Mom, we don’t talk about the thing.” 

She’s doesn’t give a flying fuck about his embarrassment. Rightfully so, because nobody else is in this house but them. “But is this current situation the same as the thing with your high school crush?”

“Oh my god- No! It’s not that!” He shakes his arms with his head, the silence between them not clarifying enough, “It’s not that, that was in the past!”

She hums, eating a bit more as her son pouts at her like a shunned puppy. The look Tenma gives her makes her sigh. “C’mon Tenma, you don’t need to be so worried. I have no issue with that part of your life, you can love whoever you want, guy or girl. It doesn’t matter to me or your father.”

And there it goes. “Mom, we had this talk before. I’m not into guys! ”

“So why was there a skirt on your bed?” His mom blinks twice, “You haven’t even denied it was yours this whole time, either.”

Which Tenma now realizes is something he should’ve done from the get go… but you know, he’s dumb.

He heaves a sigh, and plops back down on the sofa to run a hand over his face. With enough willpower to lift a marshmallow, he meekly comes clean. “It’s… Okay, the lipstick and the skirt and stuff are mine, but I’m not wearing it because I want to.”

His mom just blinks at him because that obviously doesn’t make sense. “...Then why are you wearing it?”

“There’s this… issue in our team...” Tenma fidgets a little, not knowing how to break this ‘fake girlfriend’ situation down without worrying his mother because of its context. “So there’s this guy in our team who’s really pushy on our youngest manager, right? And our team captain, who happens to be dating our manager, came up with a plan to keep that guy from trying to steal his girlfriend…”

He pauses, evidently, at his mom slowing her chewing. The cogs are turning, and she’s doing the math in her head before he can conclude his brief story, and instead of giving him clearance, or even lambasting him… she just straight up bursts into laughter.

“Mo-” Tenma stands up, frantically trying to save his man-rep. “It’s not funny, mom! I have to do this for a whole damn month!”

“So-” She coughs out a laugh, and barely gets a chance to clear her throat, her words coming out with giggles. “So let me- let me get this straight, hun’... Your team captain,” She takes a shaky breath in, “Thinks it’s wise… to make a grown man dress up as a woman to distract another man from his girlfriend?”

He doesn’t know if her breakdown of this whole situation is worse than her disowning him as a son for actually engaging in crossdressing. He refuses to meet her eyes. “... Yes…”

“Why couldn’t he ask a girl then?”

That’s what I said! “Because… this guy is really scary, and they want somebody who can actually fight to deal with him.”

She nods really slowly, tilting her head and running through a mental list of all the people Tenma has ever described to her. “Is this that dreadheaded fellow that was trying to hit on me when I went to last year’s Rice Bowl afterparty?”

Tenma's shoulders drop, “Mom… please don’t mention that.” Tenma shakes his head, secondhand embarrassment creeping up his spine. “But yes, it’s that guy.”

“My goodness, son…” She puts a dainty wrist to her forehead, “You’re being forced to date him? There’s no way he’d not know it’s you.”

He wishes that she was right. It’s uncanny how good-looking Tenma is as a woman. “Actually, according to him and some random strangers that kept staring at me throughout our whole date-”

“Oh my- You two already went on a date?!-”

“MOM, JUST-” Tenma scrunches his face, “According to that evening, I actually look really good as a girl. I took a picture… because my girlfriends wanted to see.” He pulls out his phone, cycles through some apps to show his photos, and he goes to sit on the armrest beside his mom to show him his very first disguise.

“Wow…” Her eyes go wide, but not necessarily in surprise. “You look just like me when I was younger!"

“Mom.”

“What? Is that not a good thing? You’re quite convincing as a girl, I knew this, but you mean to tell me that boy is gullible enough to not know you’re a man on his team under that light makeup? My, my…” His mom eats another piece of her cake, gesturing with her fork in afterthought. “I mean, I do remember him vaguely. He seemed a little socially inept.”

Tenma accidentally snorts so bad at that, he stumbles off the armrest.

She shrugs, not caring that she potentially insulted the most dangerous individual in the Kanto league. “Who comes up to a random older woman, and asks for a night out?”

“To be fair mom, you look nowhere near your age.”

“Neither do you, but you don’t see him coming onto you. Well… until now-” She giggles at her son’s flushed face. “Were you meant to go on a date with him tonight?”

 “Yeah… I have to keep him roped in till the end of July, but I dunno…” Part of him is relieved that she’s not making this a big deal, but it’s concerning how comfortable she is with talking about this because given the familial context… Tenma does not like men. Or at least, does not like men like Agon. He doesn’t know anymore, high school fucked up his sexuality.

“You have my permission.”

She sees through him, once again, and Tenma makes a face at her for it. “I didn’t need your permission.”

“You sat here and explained yourself to me instead of lying, and waiting for me to be distracted so that you could dress up and leave the house without me knowing.” She calmly eats her last piece, like she didn’t just read Tenma for filth. “I think you were meant to ask for my permission this whole time. Go ahead, just make sure you’re home before ten.”

He exhales, and shamefully starts to walk towards the small corridor leading to their stairs, but not without turning around. “Uhh… Can I use your car?” Tenma turns around, feeling like he needs to explain himself. “I have a feeling that he’s gonna buy me a lot of gifts, and I don’t wanna carry them on the train.”

“Sure.” She nods at him, and Tenma rushes upstairs to both check his messages (Agon’s apparently on his damn way already), and to switch into his disguise. 

He chose a more conservative outfit; a baggy pastel brown sweater, which he actually wears a lot at home, and a black circle skirt with black leggings. Using his mom’s imposed curfew is the perfect caveat for his sanity; Tenma honestly doesn’t want to do anything extracurricular with Agon, and as of now they’d have around three hours to kill at the park. He also realizes that he’s going to have to walk past his mom, with his disguise on.

“If I may suggest, sweetheart,” His mom yells from downstairs, “You should pair nude eyeshadow and red lipstick with that skirt of yours-”

“I don’t need advice, mom!”

“You’re gonna make my arms fall off.”

“Temari, I only got you like four things.”

“I cannot see over this giant teddy bear!”

Tenma’s currently fighting for his life trying to carry not one, but six prizes that Agon won for him. The majority of their date consisted of eating a bunch of sweets, and watching Agon absolutely shred all sense of competition on the minigames at the carnival. Despite the teddy bear in Tenma’s arms being about as big as his whole torso, and the other prizes being half that size, Agon’s clearly not done… because he’s now playing a dart game that has a giant Hello Kitty stuffy as one of the prizes.

“Don’t you think this is enough? Please don’t-” Tenma flinches at Agon making another bullseye, lamenting on the idea of wrestling another stuffed toy in his grasp. “Agon?”

His laserlike focus is cut almost immediately, and he faces his girlfriend with a confused look. “Yeah? Once I'm done, I’ll carry all that for you.”

“I have way too many of them now! Please don’t win another for me.”

“Really now?” Agon tilts his head, showing disappointment. He looks at his girlfriend, though he can barely see her face, and at last decides to side with logistics. "Okay, fine…" He drags out, taking the giant teddy bear and a mink pillow from Tenma's hands. "There. Now you can breathe."

"Gee, thanks." Tenma sighs, his womanly voice purposely going up an octave to show how hard it was to keep everything from scattering about. "You wanna get some food? We've been here for a while and we only ate candy."

Agon smiles at Tenma, though it seems somewhat strained. "Of course. You want something from the sushi bar over there?" He nods towards his far left. 

"Mmm, that sounds nice…" Tenma grins, "We can go there!" 

It wasn't a far walk, and by Agon's choice they’d sat closer to the trees. Tenma kept feeling the need to either adjust his skirt, or to use the two other prizes in his hands to cover himself despite his skirt not being skimpy. People keep staring at him, mostly men, and he doesn't know if it's because he's a really pretty girl, or worse… If it's because they know he's a man underneath it all, but he’d digress… 

Aside from that, Tenma also discovered another oddity about this man earlier. When Tenma would ask him to not try so hard, to not spoil him, Agon complies almost reluctantly, as though he can't help but spend his money and talent on impressing Temari. It seems extremely impulsive, and Tenma reckons that most girls wouldn't be able to pick this up because Agon is so charming. It wouldn't make him mad, per say, but Agon would react in the same way one would when resisting the urge to scratch an itch. 

"How's your night?" Tenma quips, watching Agon finish his meal quietly. "Since you're always so bored."

Somewhere in the midst of their walking, Agon found a dispensary for large throwaway bags so that Tenma wouldn’t have to juggle between walking correctly and sacrificing his line of view carrying all the nice prizes. "It's fun." Agon says, but not without smirking and narrowing his eyes. "I give off the impression that I'm bored?" 

"Well, the first time you saw me, you took me on a date because you were bored."

He shows blatant awareness and disregard of any attachment by saying that; by rights, Agon only ever dates and fucks girls whenever he’s bored. ‘Temari’ has made herself too keen to Agon’s advances, but Tenma likes to superimpose the fact that Agon is just some scrub… even though he’s ‘dating’ him.

“I hung out with you,” Agon corrects her with a finger up, “Because you seem like an interesting person. Wouldn’t it be quite odd to consider an evening at an arcade to be a date so soon?”

“Not really.” Tenma shakes his head, tossing his hair back with a sneer. “Not if you want to get your point across. It seems like you like me.”

“Maybe I do.”

“Certainly you do.” Tenma giggles at him, covering his mouth cutely. It’s also a little weird that Agon isn’t being verbally direct. His actions show what his words fail to hide, and Tenma is sure he knows this. It’s part of his act, Tenma tilts his head, remember that.

“Okay- fine. I do. I like you.” Agon holds his hands up, surrendering an obvious truth, then he shrugs with a smile. “But still, it’s not right of me to declare this to be a date, unless you want it to be.”

Once again, he’s smart. A desperate man would consider an interaction like this with a woman to be a date. Agon is allowing Temari to determine what this really is, that way it doesn’t hold him accountable for hurting ‘her’ feelings. At the end of the day, if it doesn’t go well, Agon can just say ‘Well none of this was ever serious to begin with’.

Tenma might have to buy some serotonin gummies for this month because holy fuck, is that fucking horrible. This relationship has now turned into a challenge of ‘who could fall in love and break who first’.

“Well, since I’m not a pansy I will consider it a date, because look at this…” Tenma gestures to the prizes sitting beside him, making Agon laugh a little. “You’ve spoiled me tonight! I’m sure your previous girlfriends must’ve loved you.”

Agon neatly puts all of his mini containers and chopsticks in one pile while Tenma’s talking, and that last sentence makes him look at his girlfriend with a slight shake to his head. “I’ve never had a girlfriend.”

Huh? Tenma’s eyes go wide. Agon’s… being honest? That’s so weird. “Really? Well, with the way you swaggered over to me, I’d assume you have a lot of experience.”

Yeah, only for a night in bed, because Agon can’t form proper connections to save his life. Still, he continues to maintain honesty. “Nah, I never dated a girl before. I know how to talk the talk, but… That stuff’s more complicated…”

This is… riveting. “Complicated? For someone like you?”

“I was never really ready for dating.”

“And you think you’re ready with me?”

Agon looks at his girlfriend, looks at Temari. His eyes pick up something Tenma’s not hiding well enough, and it’s baiting; his girlfriend is baiting him to say the wrong thing. The dreadhead smiles, “I dunno… you’d tell me.”

Tenma rolls his eyes. His candid humility is cute, but it’s Agon, so it’s not supposed to be cute. “Y’know, I’m not a fan of barking.” He quirks a sassy brow at Agon’s frown. “Don’t look at me like that. You can’t just show off throughout our date, and then speak so unconfidently.”

The smile on Agon’s face gets even bigger. “There we go.” 

“Huh-” Tenma pauses, and realizes that he essentially… just gave Agon his answer, two times over. It may have sounded like pep talk, but if Temari didn’t truly think Agon was ‘ready’ for her, she wouldn’t have said all of that. Smooth, he narrows his eyes and rolls them at Agon; silent, yet impressed. Real smooth.

To end the night off, Tenma and Agon take a short walk through the unconverted paths in Matcha Park. These particular paths lead to the nearest train station, and since Tenma came with a car, he decided it would be best to walk with Agon instead of saying bye to him at the actual carnival area. Buddha knows Tenma wouldn’t want Agon seeing him in a car, because Agon would probably ask for a ride home, and a car ride with this man is way too intimate for Tenma’s liking.

Agon is strangely easy to talk to as well. Tenma asks him questions about his university that he already knows the answer to, and finds it quite funny that the topic of football gets him a little excited. That’s another odd thing that Tenma notices; Agon may be charismatic, but he only shows a limited amount of true emotion. Even when he’s talking about football his excitement is unreasonably muted, and it is unironically muted by his need to brag. Once again, Tenma’s getting that impulsive vibe from him, like Agon can’t help but act like this.

… Is that a self-esteem issue? Agon, with self-esteem issues? Tenma couldn’t possibly imagine such a flaw of his being this easily shown. Perhaps Agon is doing this on purpose, maybe it ties into his false personality.

“You have practice Tuesday afternoon, and you wanna get breakfast with me?” Tenma furrows a brow. He’s already told Agon that he needs to be home before ten, and the dreadhead didn’t seem to mind. Tenma was expecting to be peer pressured into staying out later but… no, Agon didn’t do that at all.

Crossing the street to finally get to the train station, Tenma takes a moment to think; while he can’t say no to Agon, he can create boundaries and limits, so how the hell will he be going on this date and getting to his team practice on time? He’ll have to figure it out; it could be done, but…

Agon just shrugs like it’s no big deal, because it never is for him. “Yeah, I don’t really care about being late. I’m the best at my team.”

Yeah, okay, but I’m faster than you. Agon has him beat at practically everything else except for speed, and Tenma has gotten faster over the years. He can’t help his ego over that, because Agon’s arrogance gets so annoying sometimes. “Uh-huh, yeah. Great. Well unlike you, I have plans myself, so I can’t afford to be as tardy as you.” 

“Aww, you do?” Agon kisses his lips and almost pouts which again, looks cute but shouldn’t. “What do you have to do? I can totally work around our time.”

How kind of him. Agon is actually showing consideration… “I have to be at my cousin’s place in the afternoon.” Tenma clasps his hands together, doing the math in his head. “So I can’t stick around past twelve.”

Practice will start at 13:00 this Tuesday. That gives him an hour to head back home, change into his jersey, and then go back to their university. A very feasible itinerary, considering his parent’s home is just several minutes away from a metropolis. 

Of course, this bums Agon a bit, but he’s accepting of her schedule. “Alright, that’s fine.”

“You actually have to wake up early too.”

Agon stops walking to give Tenma a funny look. “What makes you think I don’t?”

“I dunno, you seem like a person who sleeps in all the time.” Tenma tosses his hair back. He and Agon stop just before a particular train line, one that Agon would have to take, and Tenma mentally crosses his fingers in hopes of Agon not wanting to ride home with him. Of course, the courtesy can be extended for the sake of Temari’s ‘safety’ but… Tenma would rather act like he has to take a separate station altogether. 

And… he spoke too soon. “Sometimes I do. Are you not coming with me?” Agon turns to the train line entrance; he has two minutes until his subway comes, so that gives Tenma a minute to decline him wholeheartedly.

Tenma shakes his head. “I take a different line, Agon.”

He makes a face, obviously, as a man who clearly cares about the safety of any woman that’s in front of him… “Ah? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Your line comes sooner than mine. You gotta go like, now.” Tenma shuffles his fingers over a plushie to point at the arrival times on the subway line screen. “Don’t worry about me carrying all this stuff, I like to walk home alone.”

“Temari, that’s not safe.” Agon says, seemingly completely unaware of the time ticking down to one minute. “A woman like you shouldn’t be walking around alone.”

As much as Tenma would agree, he’s hard pressed to take a stand against Agon’s chivalry just because his mode of transportation is still at the parking lot. He also speaks in a rushed tone, because he can hear the waiting area announcing his train’s arrival from here. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Your train is coming, Agon!” 

Agon makes a sound of exasperation, and says something about his ‘baby being very difficult’ in a light hearted tone, and then bids him farewell. Tenma waves back at him, the bag of prizes toted over his shoulder, and he turns around to let out a deep exhale; thank god, he wasn’t freaking pushy. He glances again to check if Agon is probably looking at him, though despite the train having stopped far ahead of him, Agon is nowhere to be seen.

The very moment that train leaves, Tenma hastily makes his way back to the Matcha Park parking lot. The weight of Agon’s words are starting to hit him, now that he once again realizes that he’s in a damn skirt and a cute sweater. Since both areas are generally public, he doubts that anything would happen to him, but it still behooves him to feel at his skirt every now and then. 

The walk back was only a good eight minutes, give or take, and the moment his mom’s car comes into view, he literally books it down the lot while fumbling with the buttons on its keyfob. He should laugh at himself a little for being so frantic, but good god did he feel extremely terrified; both of Agon possibly not being on the train home and possibly stalking him at this very moment, and of the idea of having to defend himself against any pushy man. Not that he can’t, it’s just that he’s not a girl; he doesn’t want anything… flying out…

During the drive home, he kept replaying their interaction in his head. The small discrepancies of Agon’s personality are getting to him: First, the whole I need to buy you stuff act, while charming, was kind of unneeded in Tenma’s eyes. Even ‘Temari’ did not seem like the kind of girl to be wooed by gift showering, and he’s sure Agon can read that right off of ‘her’, yet it bothered Agon for some reason. Then, Agon did not want to admit that he liked Temari; his actions show a different truth clear as day, yet it’s almost like he has to dilute, or even belittle the idea of admitting that he likes someone. If he wanted to be enigmatic, he would have waited for Temari to make plans and not do it himself; it makes no sense to go above and beyond in impressing somebody, only to say that he ‘might, could, possibly’ like that person.

Agon is just… odd. Maybe Tenma is reading too much into his fake personality, but as a man, he can’t help but see it. As somebody who knows how horrible he really is, this ‘other side’ of Agon is something he’s going to have to spend more time around to fully understand. 

Tenma pulls into his home driveway quicker than expected. He gets out of the car and takes his bagged prizes out from the rear passenger seats. Adjusting his skirt, and seeing the damn living room light is on (his mom is probably waiting for whatever tea he’s got to share with her. He won’t bother right now, he’s too tired to engage), he saunters up the front door steps and one-hands the correct key into the lock, pulling open the front door and shifting a bit to keep the bag from hitting it. There’s a short walkway in the entrance of his home, and once he takes his shoes off, he goes to the living room area and sees his mom sitting on the couch, talking on the phone.

His mother is speaking English, and he hopes she isn’t talking about how her son took up a hobby catfishing a grown man out of snatching somebody’s girlfriend.

It takes her a moment to address him, but before she can say anything to him, she notices the big bag behind him. Her eyes widen at the assorted prizes and plushies, like she cannot see her fully grown-ass son in a skirt and some frilly sweater. “Wow…” His mom switches languages, and slowly puts the landline down with an impressed blink. “I didn’t know it was your birthday, Tenma.”

Tenma gives her a straight face in the midst of fighting with the back of his skirt because it's riding up his ass. “Real funny, mom.” He heaves a sigh, again, and starts to trudge towards the stairs. “Ima go to bed, I’m really tired.”

She just giggles, “Alright, hun. Get some sleep.” Her wave to him is so innocent, but the smile on her face says otherwise. All he does is mean mug her as best as he can, while fast walking towards the staircase like a disgruntled puppy. He drops the bag of prizes in the hallway; he’ll deal with that tomorrow morning, probably.

It boggles his mind with how easily drained he feels after he and Agon hang out. Even after their first ‘date’, when Tenma came home, all he wanted to do was sleep. He of course stayed up to talk to his girlfriends, but right now he doesn’t want to do that. Perhaps that’s the effect that Agon may have on people; if you strip away the superficial beauty and allure of that man, all he really does is drain you. That’s kind of sad, at least to Tenma it is.

He takes everything off upon entering his room, literally stripping clothes mid-walk before grabbing his towel and heading to the bathroom. He takes a quick shower, doesn’t wish to think too much about Agon, and only thinks about the well-deserved date he’ll have with his girlfriends tomorrow. Then after tomorrow, will be the brunch date that Agon and he had set up on the fly. For some reason even the thought of that, especially knowing that he’ll be finding out more and more about his boyfriend’s fake persona, exhausts him even more.

He steps out of the shower, does his nighttime routine (laugh all you want, but Tenma has the best skin and the softest hair in the entire team for a reason) and slips into nothing but his favorite oversized sweater before sliding under his blanket. No doubt, this month will take more out of him than he can anticipate, and while he doesn’t want to see the real side of Agon while he’s dressed as his girlfriend… he doesn’t know how long he can handle the sweet and courteous version of Agon before it likely breaks him. He has yet to prepare himself mentally for Tuesday, and luckily football practice will be his mode of tension release afterwards.

It’s only now, with him just minutes away from drifting into a blissful sleep, that he realizes he forgot his jersey in the Wizards’ football clubhouse.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Texting Hiruma this morning wasn't a hassle; the quarterback responded almost instantly. Tenma told him it would be highly unlikely that he'd make it to practice on time, and the blonde already knew that he left his uniform in the clubhouse. 

"Going on a date, Pretty Prince?" 

Tenma made a face, still laying in bed with a hand smoothing over his hair. 'Pretty Prince' is a term Hiruma doesn't use often, and he's been calling him that a lot lately. "Uhh… Yeah..." 

The blonde snickered lightly. "Is Fucking Dreads trying to grope you yet?" 

"He's actually not. He's…" Tenma thought it over. Agon has been mostly normal, minus his tendency to smother 'Temari' with gifts and snacks. Tenma has always been wishy-washy in how he talks about Agon; usually mean things never escape his mouth, but when it came to the dreadhead… "He's kind of incessant."

Too strong of a word, he knew that. Overbearing is a better term, but incessant was the first word on his mind. 

Tenma continued, "He's surprisingly honest about his dating experience, while you know… Still being an arrogant asshole."

Hiruma hummed flatly, clearly none of this surprised him. "That's expected. Fucking Dreads isn't an idiot, but you seem to be giving him something good to look at. Kekekeke…" 

That wasn't wrong, but the comment still made Tenma flush a little. Again, he knew how convincing he was as a girl but… Did he really look that pretty? "Ah…" He rolled over to look out his window, choosing to ignore Hiruma's rather bold compliment. "He doesn't have the slightest clue. I dunno, I'm surprised that he's shown this much interest in me."

"That's how it is in the beginning." Hiruma says, and Tenma could almost see him shrugging. "Remember, you and Fucking Dreads are an exposition, so don't start falling for him." And then he laughed at that, like the possibility of it was too hilarious to imagine. Tenma would agree, because Agon is somebody who he especially wouldn’t ever have eyes for. 

That conversation ironically gave Tenma a bit of energy to carry on with his morning routine. Despite that, the blonde had freshened up, and promptly did not feel in the mood to be on his best behavior. His makeup was rather light this morning: pink gloss and natural-shadowed eyes, and his brown wig loosely was curled this time. He went with an outfit that didn’t look too overly appealing: a pair of pastel green sweatpants and a white crew neck crop top, with white sneakers that he feels are gender-ambiguous. Though this particular outfit is also extremely comfortable, the subtle embellishments of his pink-gold necklace (it was one of the prizes Agon won at the arcade) and some handmade bracelets at least polish his lack of ‘feminine’ presentation today.

Currently waiting for Agon right outside of a breakfast shop, he looks down at his outfit and picks at his pink shades; while he doesn’t want any attention on him right now, a part of him reckons Agon will treat Temari very differently now that she’s not in a skirt. Tenma himself cannot relate, he is the kind of boyfriend that would prefer seeing his girlfriends in clothing that they’re comfortable in, and as a person who’s worn skirts, dresses AND heels before (don’t ask), he can truly say from experience that these pretty forms of apparel are god awful, and unreasonably painful.

Perhaps, he should give his evermore-loving boyfriend a heads up on behalf of his outfit choice? Maybe… make it seem like Temari is under the weather just so he can observe what Agon would do with a girl that isn’t presenting prettily enough to impress him? He takes his phone out, and leans against the window wall of the shop; Hey, are you almost here?

As expected, Agon answers quickly. I got off the subway already, I’m not too far. How are you?

Tenma smirks, perfect. I’m here already. I’m kinda tired, I’ve been running errands all day yesterday. Not like he actually was running errands though; he had so much fun with his girlfriends yesterday he almost completely forgot about this date. So I just rolled out of bed and came out here.

Agon K.: Aw, my baby’s tired :((( Don’t worry, I’m coming right now. Then a pause. Nvm, I already see you.

Tenma blinks, looks up and around before he spots Agon swaggering over from across the street. Good grief, Tenma may have been mentally blocking out Agon’s sense of style since he enrolled in Saikyou, but this man has the nerve to pair yellow graffiti-styled pants with a brown v-neck shirt. He’d totally slap Agon with his wig if he wasn’t required to keep it on.

“Hey, babe.” Agon slides his phone into his pocket, and there’s a nanosecond glance that he does at the entirety of his ‘girlfriend’s outfit, but his expression remains unreadably positive. “I’m gonna assume your morning was quite eventful.”

Tenma chuckles at that, though he doesn’t remember Agon ever being sarcastic. Hell, he reckons Agon himself can’t even take sarcasm! “Yeah, yeah it was…” He feels at his hair, and has to think to himself not to apologize for not looking pretty. ‘Temari’ is a woman that is not apologetic, but Tenma, although being drained, knows he’s partially pulling this on purpose. “Can we go in? I’m very hungry.”

“Of course!” The dreadhead leads the way, opening the door and letting Tenma in first. At least he does that, still; it wouldn’t surprise Tenma if he walked in without holding the door open just because ‘she’ didn’t look pretty enough, as rude as that sounds. 

They sit by the windows, this time a bit closer to the entrance and… rather distant from other people, since everyone else isn’t in this particular section of the shop. Tenma wonders why; maybe he’s just reading too far into it, but if intimacy was a factor, they would have distanced themselves towards the back of the shop, away from the entrance. 

“So aside from football practice for the summer, what do you do?” Tenma crosses his arms underneath the table, kind of relieved that he can at least wear a pair of briefs without having to put on leggings. He needs to learn a better method to make that part of him incog, just in case it decides to get too windy when he’s wearing a skirt. “You always spend so much time with me.”

“Nothing, really.” Agon shrugs, “Sometimes I work.” And Tenma can’t verify if that’s true or not. “You think we spend too much time together?”

The now-brunette takes a hairband from his wrist and loosely ties his hair back so that he can eat his souffle pancakes. “It’s not very often that I have three dates within a week. Though,” He cuts a piece, and eats it while maintaining enough daint to look feminine even though he really wants to vacuum this plate clean, “I know this is your first time dating, so…”

Agon was sipping some orange juice as he spoke, and it seems like he’s paying more attention to his ‘girlfriend’s’ actions as opposed to just always smiling at her. “Is there like,” He gestures for half a second and cuts it abruptly, “Some sort of time buffer for dates or something?”

“Well, not really-” Tenma giggles at his innocent question, “I myself am just not used to it. You seem to like my company a lot. Like, a lot, a lot.”

He’s developed a thing for jabbing at oddities about Agon that he can tell won't result in Agon getting mad at him. Technically, as a girl who’s never met him before, Agon can’t get upset ‘if the shoe fits’, or else he’d be exposing himself. All Agon does is chuckle lightly, going to eat a bit more of his pancakes before sipping his drink again, and keeping his eyes on Tenma. For a moment, their eye contact wavers.

Those amber eyes are not saying anything, probably on purpose. Tenma thinks back to Agon’s fickleness, maybe hesitance, to admitting he is really into his own proclaimed girlfriend. He wonders if Agon is taking back those words, or is in the process of taking back those words, because he doesn’t seem to be as touchy and warm as he was on their previous date. Even the first time they met, he seemed so into Temari. In tandem, Tenma is also extremely dressed down; not that he’s not presenting as a female, but he’s not dressed to look ‘pretty’ right now. He’s dressed to feel comfortable.

This should not feel like testing the waters, since apparel choice is not an icebreaker to normal people. With Agon, simply not looking nice enough to sexually arouse him is the icebreaker.

It seems like, now that he’s looked away, Agon is actually thinking about that statement. “You’re interesting.”

Tenma eyes him with scrutiny, though he’s smiling. “That’s all?”

“Well, yeah- like, what do you want me to say?” Agon laughs a little, and again, he looks down at Tenma’s crop top. His… plain, not so sexy crop top, suddenly looks a lot more interesting to him for a moment, before Agon smirks. “Is this an interrogation? I don’t spend time with people that I don’t like or find interesting.”

So now Agon is okay with admitting that. Tenma can smell the manipulative tact in his statement, and if he were gullible, he’d say something like ‘but you did not say that before’. “I’d have to say,” He purposely fries his timbre, and it makes his feminine voice sound husky, “You’re quite different from the guys I’ve dated.”

That sounded way too natural coming out of Tenma’s mouth, as a man who’s only dated women. 

Agon’s brows raise and he sits up slightly. That fed his ego a bit. “Yeah? In what way?”

“You have no experience.”

That ego boost may or may not have been teetered. Agon has no real dating experience but he also managed to score one with Temari, who ‘dated men with experience’. It’s a double-edged compliment. 

Tenma continues, “Though, you seem like a sweet man. You’re young too, and I think you’re very good looking.” That last part is not a lie. Tenma's masculinity isn’t that fragile, so he can objectively say that Agon is an attractive guy.

Agon stops cutting up another pancake piece just to make a face. “You’re literally a year older than me.”

“So?” Tenma shrugs, and he’ll forever make it a point to also jab at their age difference. “You’re younger, and inexperienced.”

“Does that mean you’ll teach me the ropes?” 

Not gonna be the reason for any of your future victim-blaming. An egotistical person would say yes to that, but Tenma knows better. “That’s something you’ll just learn on your own.”

Agon’s expression looks partially impressed but Tenma can’t help but think his eyes are saying something different. He can tell that Agon has a minor discrepancy for chastity, rather that he prefers women who haven’t had sex or haven’t dated. He wants women fresh out of the pot in one way or the other, a hallmark trait of someone who’s manipulative. Agon may favor the idea of taking somebody’s innocence…

That only makes Tenma want to gag, to be honest. Being in front of this personality type and having to pretend like he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with is making him lose his appetite. However, Temari by his own definition knows how to deal with men, which means that Agon will have a harder time manipulating ‘her’.

That also means that the satisfaction he could get from succeeding (aka him fucking Temari and leaving her for dust ) would be bountiful, by tenfold.

Tenma looks down at his plate. He’s already halfway done with all of his food, but he just can’t finish it anymore. He takes a moment to look down at his purse, slipping his phone into his hand beneath the table to peep the time. Somehow, it’s already 11:50, and Tenma could thank Buddha for luck being on his side. “Before you head to practice, Agon, what are you gonna do?”

"Well, I'm already here with you." He shrugs, eating a bit more fruitfully. A moment later, he continues, "Though I'm pretty sure I'd head straight to practice." 

"Ah wow… You're gonna actually be on time?" 

Agon sits up with a small laugh. "What is with you thinking that I'm a slack off?"  

"That is not what I said." Tenma wags his finger in front of Agon, grinning at him. Agon likes to… Over exaggerate semantics relating to him, a habit that manipulative people have. "You don't seem to care about stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if you skipped out on team practice. Especially since you told me how great and amazing you are."

How Agon responds to this will determine one of two things, and ironically, Agon's reaction was tame. He almost scoffs. "Temari, now you're making me sound arrogant." Agon chuckles, and there's no nervousness in his timbre at all. "I am a good player, but I wouldn't skip team practice just because of that. Please don't think so lowly of me."

Tenma snorts, smiling a bit more flirtatiously just to hide how he's really feeling about that. As harmless as the banter was, did… Did Agon just gaslight him? Because on their previous date, when the topic of football was brought up, Agon made it seem like he was the only player actually playing in the field. There was no mention of other members, and he even made it clear that his utility status automatically concedes him as the best player. Now that Tenma had joked about his arrogance… Agon has now turned it back onto him? In saying that he is calling Agon arrogant, when Agon literally reeks of it? 

If this were an actual argument and not a tease, the gas lighting could've been worse. Tenma feels like this will be a progressive trend between them. Now he especially has to watch what feelings 'Temari' chooses to express to Agon. Those same feelings could be mercilessly used against her. 

Agon is enjoying his food, and Tenma doesn't know why he's so focused on that. After a minute, he looks down at his plate. The food was so good, but because he's in front of somebody who he can read like a book, he just can't muster up the appetite to eat anymore. Is it anxiety? Irritation? Disgust, making him do this? He doesn't know. "I think I'm done. Do you want anything else?"

Agon pauses to answer him, feet audibly shifting beneath the table. "Nah, this will be good for the morning. Oh-" The deadhead reaches down, digging into his pocket. "I almost forgot…" 

"Hmm?" Tenma blinks, watches Agon find whatever he's looking for, and extends his hand once the deadhead motions for him to do so. Agon gives him… A little box, just a little bigger than the size of his palm, and it's white and rose pink. 

"That's for you." Agon grins in an oddly sheepish manner, and once again it looks unreasonably cute. "I uhh… went to get you something before we'd see each other." 

Tenma looks down at the little box, and then at Agon. It's thoughtful, yes, but it was also unnecessary. He can't feed into Agon's ego, but he also can't spit on Agon's efforts outright. So he settles for an in-between initial reaction. "You just love spoiling me, don't you?" 

"Ah, I wouldn't say that…" Agon waves his hand in humble dismissal. "I saw it at a shop and it reminded me of you."

How romantic, Tenma smiles at him, and slides the box into his purse. He decides to test more waters; Agon would buy him nice things randomly. Perhaps he can.. Reward him with some affirmation. "Thank you, baby." 

And the word baby purposely slipped out his mouth quietly, like Agon wasn't supposed to hear it. The deadhead did though, and a rare brow raise cracked through his mask. There's no way Agon expected that. "Did you just call me baby?"

While Tenma's stomaching the need to puke out of his nose probably, Temari shrugs; he decides to be bittersweet. "Yeah. Why are you surprised?" 

"Wouldn't have expected such a term of endearment from you. At least," Agon pauses, eyeing his girlfriend up and down and still maintaining that cute, shocked, clueless look on his face, "Not yet."

Tenma hums, shrugs, and decides to ignore that whole 'freshly claimed boyfriend' glow Agon's got going on. "Don't think about it too much." And his tone is dismissive, before he catches the waitress right on time and proceeds to daintily ask for a check. As cold as he may be, he knows that Agon's also acting, so he can't just treat Agon's kindness the way he, Tenma, would. Temari is a seasoned pro with men; she doesn't give a shit about his inexperienced reactions. 

Agon's smile simmers as he looks down. He chuckles, but doesn't say a word. 

They leave the breakfast shop, and bid each other farewell. In lieu of the public (the street isn’t too busy right now), Agon tilts his head at Tenma. "You don't wanna hug me?" 

Tenma is surprised that Agon didn't go to touch him at all. Then he remembers that he isn't wearing a skirt nor showing enough skin, so Agon probably doesn't want to touch him on his own volition, as shallow as that sounds. "Ah? Oh-" He pushes aside free strands of hair and against his damn soul protesting, he gives Agon a warm embrace, one that doesn't match the dismissive tone he had calling him 'baby'. Agon hugs back, hands snaking around his small waist but not going any further down. Surprisingly, he's respecting boundaries. 

"Bye, babe." Agon smirks down at his girlfriend, and they sweetly part ways. Tenma watches him saunter away, and he can swear that Agon's got more of a bounce to his step… But he also can't believe that he went on a date with a guy who dresses like he blindly plucks out apparel from his wardrobe. Even Tenma himself, who oftentimes does not dress as bubbly and giddy as his personality, knows what matches and what doesn't. 

When the deadhead disappears from his sight, Tenma goes to the parking lot and gets in his car. This time, he's perfectly fine with driving his sedan, since he parked a bit farther from the breakfast shop. He peels out of the lot, and heads straight home. 

Yes, he may have purposely did to Agon what Agon did to him, and in retrospect, Tenma wonders why he acts like that. At that moment, it seemed… Satisfying, to play the same antics as his boyfriend. If Agon was somebody with an actual cushion of morality, he wouldn't have done such a thing. He found it very difficult to remove his own personal bias against Agon, disliking him is just second nature for Tenma. 

Tenma is not a mean person, at all. He doesn't have a single mean bone in his body, and he can't bring himself to insult anybody, but… Agon, for some reason, tests that very easily. Especially now, that he's seeing firsthand how two-faced the utility player is, and how manipulative his way of speaking was. And it was so blatant too; as a man, Tenma can fish it out of a clear lake, and he thinks about all the girls Agon has ever dated and tossed aside. 

It made him unreasonably angry. He's not supposed to be, but he can't help it. One of his current girlfriends had a run in with a man like this before, and Tenma witnessed all the self-depreciating habits she had to unlearn while dating him. It sounds so tiring, to stick around someone like this; someone who feeds you one thing, says something else, and then denies what's being fed altogether. Unfortunately for Tenma, he's letting his own dislike for Agon seep into Temari's character. 

The blonde heaves a sigh. Was it logical, reasonable to do? Temari has presented as smart and rather attentive to wording, so of course she'd bite back at Agon, who's also smart enough to engage in wordplay. The only solace Tenma can use for this is that at the end of the day, Agon's an asshole, so he deserves it. 

His phone rings. Tenma always has a Bluetooth earpiece on when he's driving, so he momentarily flicks a glance at the caller ID, sees it's one of his girlfriends and answers her in relief. "Hey, Rina, what's up?" 

He can bet that at least three of his girlfriends are up right now. He actually texted Rina before meeting up with Agon, for the sake of comfort . She answers him in a jolly tone. " Doji~ " She drags out his nickname. "Good morning, baby. How did your date go?" 

His girlfriends like to humor him. They know that he hates referring to his and Agon's dates as actual dates, because they're not. "It was… Fine. I'm just more relieved that it's over."

She makes a sound, one that doesn't sound too happy. "You know you have another three weeks of doing this."

And the sound he makes is like that of being poked in the ribs. "Please, don't remind me."

"I knowwww, but… I've been meaning to ask if everything's alright." Her tone raises in pitch at the end. "When you hung out with us yesterday, you looked so tired."

Tenma was but wasn't, but he didn't think that was noticeable. He also doesn't like showing whenever he's tired, or mildly sick, because he doesn't want to feel like an inconvenience. "... I did?" 

"Well, not tired but… Drained. You seemed very out of it, and we thought that fake-dating Agon was starting to get to you." Rina starts to shift, he can hear her earring softly clinking against her phone.

Ugh, dammit. Even his girlfriends think that Agon's slithery facetiousness is getting on his nerves. "I didn't think I looked tired. I'm sorry-" 

"No no, it's okay. Don't apologize, you always do that when you're exhausted." She giggles, and it's a warm giggle, one that makes Tenma grin a little. "If you want a break, you can always tell us. We know that Agon is super irritating." 

Tenma, cruising down the expressway now, wishes his inner melting pot of emotions would match the smoothness of this ride. "It's not that I want a break from any of you. I love you all so much… it's just that I don't like spending too much time around him. This guy is manipulative as fuck." And he couldn't help his tongue at all. He had to vent to somebody. "He and I haven't had an argument or anything, but he keeps buying me stuff and then cheapening his attraction towards me. The more I engage in fake dating him, the more I can't imagine any girl even liking him for a second."

"Wow, you almost sound like how I did when I ranted about my ex."

Tenma opens his mouth and his cheeks flush, because it really did sound like he was, indeed, dating Agon for real and is just venting about his boyfriend's flaws. Ew. 

Rina sighs, "At least it's not real, Tenma. You know that, you just have to take your heart out of the equation." 

He takes an exit lane out, being just a couple minutes away from his parent's house. "That's hard to do." At least for him it is. He's too… Well, he's not insensitive enough to do that. 

"Ah, you can do it. I believe you can. You already hate him anyway." Rina pauses, and then snickers out of nowhere; "At least he's not Collars."

"RINA." Tenma did not expect her to make that reference. That nickname, Collars, belonged to somebody in highschool, that of which ironically pairs with this situation in the most uncanny way possible. "We do not talk about Collars!" 

"Agon is not Collars though. And Collars attends your university too, so…" Rina casually continues, as though her boyfriend isn't a bit flushed, "Whenever Agon gives you a gift, just imagine that it's a gift from Collars."

He chooses to ignore that whole thing. He will not use his highschool crush as substantial coping for having to deal with Agon's smothering. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with all the gifts he's given me already. I don't even want to accept anything from Agon." 

"You'd accept gifts from Collars, though."

"Leave Collars out of the equation." Tenma inhales; this is the one thing his girlfriends will never live down, and he regrets ever telling them, and his mom. "I'll figure something out. I have to go to practice soon, and luckily, I can kind of be late."

He pulls up to his driveway at that moment. A light sigh escapes his lips; all he has to do is get inside, shower, and change into some casual clothing. He should be exactly on time, if not a little bit late. Though, since he's given Hiruma the heads up on his previous plans, he can just rehabilitate in his house for a good 15 minutes. Maybe that way, his appetite would come back. 

As if the universe suddenly decided he shouldn't ever get a break, someone starts calling him in the midst of Rina on the line. "Hold on, babe I gotta- someone's calling me." He looks down at his phone and feels his blood pressure drop at the sight of Hiruma's name. He puts Rina on hold, and then answers the quarterback. "Yeah?" 

"Looks like you'll be right on time, Fucking Ear Buds." 

Right… Tenma completely forgot about Hiruma's hidden phone cameras. Of course he'd know when he and Agon departed. "Uhh… Man, I'm not even home yet."

There's a several second long pause, and the sound of keys clicking before Hiruma practically sneers through the phone. "You're parked right now."

Tenma, in the midst of getting out of his car, whips around trying to figure out if this man really put cameras around his house.

"Don't worry, the camera is just up the block, but I can still see you. Kekekeke…" 

There's a sound of a ceramic cup being picked up. It's an odd detail that Tenma just zeroed in on, knowing Hiruma doesn't really drink out of ceramic cups. According to Mamori, his coffee is always in a to-go plastic cup. He had to ask, at least to stave off how creeped out he just got. "Are you using that gift mug Mamori bought you?"

Hiruma sips, and doesn't answer his question directly. "Good observation, Ears." He then snorts, and then changes the subject. "Are you planning on being late to practice now?" 

The blonde slides his purse in hand and locks the car door. Tenma left the breakfast shop at around 12:15. He has enough time to refresh himself, but it looks like he'll have to get through afternoon practice without a moment to breathe. Why? Because Agon will be at practice. "Am I allowed to answer that question truthfully?" 

"Go ahead." 

Trick answer, Tenma narrows his eyes. "Sure." He leans against the car for a moment, then remembers he's wearing makeup and looks like a girl and makes haste in entering the house. 

The chuckle Hiruma does is that of amusement. He knows that Tenma needs a moment from their devilish utility player, given he's not readily cocking a glock into the phone speaker. "Good answer. I don't accept tardiness." 

"But what about Agon?" Tenma steps into his house, holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he heads upstairs. 

"Fucking Dreads is still on the streets, not too far from his house. Don't compare yourself to that mop head."

"Heh, noted." Tenma snorts, pulling off his wig with a smirk. When Hiruma first came into Saikyou, he expected them both to not get along. That wasn't the case; somehow their personalities mesh in a way that allows for free banter. It almost mirrors how Hiruma talks to Agon, and given that they used to be friends, he wonders if that's the reason why Hiruma and he are so amicable. 

"Hurry up and get ready, your uniform is sitting in the clubhouse. Fucking Manager neatly folded it for you." 

Tenma can hear Mamori's protest faintly and found it even funnier that Hiruma didn't answer the question about his gift mug. Putting the phone on speaker and tossing it on his bed, he starts undressing. "Yeah, yeah, at the very least, you should end the call so that I can do so." 

It's then that he hears a gun's safety clinking off, and Hiruma doesn't directly heed to that. Instead, he huffs (and Tenma can imagine him smiling) before saying in a low voice: "You look quite good with that pink lipgloss on, Pretty Prince." 

And Hiruma fucking ends the call there. Tenma, of course, is in the middle of undressing and when Hiruma made that comment, the running back toppled over his own briefs. It doesn't help that not only is he naked, but he can see himself in his standalone mirror still wearing that light, glossy pink lipstick. 

"Babe?" 

Rina's voice cuts in to save his sanity, and Tenma shakes his head before looking in the direction of his phone. "I'm here. Just… taking everything off." 

Or sitting on the floor and wondering where the fuck that came from. Tenma decides not to think too much about it, and picks himself up to put a robe on and take his phone to the bathroom. At the very least, talking to his girlfriends will be his main source of relief because boy, was he in for a mental loop within the next week…

"Is this really necessary, Hiruma?" 

"Hnn?" The quarterback, watching some members of the Wizards walk into the locker room from his laptop screen, doesn’t even bother looking up. Not that he isn’t heeding Mamori’s tone of voice, nor the way she’s slightly leaning forward with both hands on the table.

She unfortunately can’t express her irritation too loudly, because the last thing Mamori wants anyone to hear is that… “You have Tenma of all people, masquerading as Agon’s girlfriend?”  

Hiruma blows a gum bubble, and it stops right at the end of her sentence, but he doesn’t move his eyes from the screen. He decided to let Mamori know about his latest ‘plan’ to stave Agon off of her. It couldn’t be helped, because he was running through the many possibilities of what could unfold this next month, and realized that should Agon ever bring his ‘girlfriend’ to campus, Mamori would unironically comment on how she ‘looks like Tenma’. 

That may be hilarious to think about, but that’s not the outcome Hiruma wants.

With a quick bite, the bubble pops and he chews the gum back to give Mamori his best grin. “Is that not what I said, Fucking Manager?”

Mamori rolls her eyes, “It is, but why?” She stands up straight now to sit on the end of Hiruma’s desk. Nobody else is allowed to do such a thing without him shooting at their butt cheek. “I came to you about Agon once. I know you know that me and Tenma talk a lot, but couldn’t you just get a girl to hit on Agon? You had to bribe the one guy that’s closest to me, aside from you?”

“Redefine close when you’re referring to me, Manajerk.”

“Answer my question.” Mamori ignores his quip, and crosses her arms. He just stares at her pointedly. She brashly exhales, slightly shaking her head. “All of them.”

To hold such information from her would be quite criminal, Hiruma knows it’s best to keep things transparent with Mamori once she’s made aware. He answers her questions in no particular order. “Fucking Ear Buds is your best friend, and best friends would protect each other, wouldn’t they?” He has to grin wildly, there’s absolutely no malice in his voice. “And he’s the only person in this entire university that could stand a chance against Fucking Dreads in a fight, should he find out while they are ‘dating’. He’s also the only guy that I figured would look good in a dress while he’s at it, kekekeke…”

Mamori, as expected, looks a little surprised and almost worried. That expression ceases once he starts to laugh, and she decides just for once, to spite him. “Tenma was right…”

Hiruma stops laughing and just exhales, choosing not to make her elaborate. He already knows what she means by that.

“So… he’s going to do this for a month?” Mamori looks behind Hiruma, out the window of the clubhouse second floor office. The field is right outside, and she can see a casually dressed Tenma walking towards the clubhouse. Her lips purse.

“Yup.”

Mamori moves from the desk to stand in front of the window. “Does anybody else know?”

“All of the important people do.” Hiruma clicks the camera feed off and closes his laptop. When he turns around and sees Mamori’s knitted brows of clear concern, the quarterback exhales audibly. That’s not a face he can smile at. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, Fucking Manager. Pretty Prince will do juuust fine playing his part.”

“I just-” She stops and glances back outside for a moment, “I don’t want things to get ugly, that’s all.”

“It won’t.” Hiruma’s in front of her now, and instead of reassuring her any further he lightly tickles the bottom of her chin with his pointer finger, brushing that same finger along her cheek. That is all she needs to understand, before he turns away from her and grabs his marksman rifle. “Practice will start in a few minutes. Get your files ready, we’re gonna be testing a few formations.”

Mamori watches him leave the room. He did not use her irritating pet name that time because he knows this revelation bothers her, and while she can’t do anything about it, she kind of wants to see if the blonde halfback is at least okay. She’s never had a date with Agon, nor ever plans to, but she can’t imagine what could be running through Tenma’s head.

It’s even more insane because Tenma is both of their superiors. Sometimes Mamori would like to apologize to her upperclassmen for their captain’s… crazy schemes.

The endgame of this is unclear to her; Hiruma doesn’t do these things on purpose. She’ll definitely be thinking about it later, but she ought to get her data ready for this practice session. Everything is going to seem super uncanny to her now that Agon’s fake girlfriend is currently in the locker room, changing, and Agon himself is nowhere to be found.

She sighs, prepares everything in the nick of time, and then heads out the office.

To nobody’s surprise, the first hour of practice went by smoothly. Ikkyu and Taka were set to create a new technique, Yamato chose to warm up and help some of the other freshmen with pushing back dummies, and the juniors and seniors stuck amongst themselves for the most part. 

It is only when Agon so graciously enters the field announcing for everyone to ‘rejoice in his beloved return’, that Banba had somehow managed to pull Tenma aside, the blonde’s expression obscured by his whole frame.

Mamori is the only person who caught this, and she mentally pats herself on the back for conveniently leaving her bag by the right end of the bleachers, near where they’re going to stand. Standing up and walking to her belongings, she can only hope that she can catch whatever they are saying from this distance. It isn’t like Banba to just do that unless there’s a reason. 

She gets to her bag and immediately pretends to rummage through it, stilling her movements when she catches Banba’s voice.

“...Your laces came undone…”

“Why’d you pull me aside?”

“Your face, that’s why…” 

Mamori squints, trying to cancel out Agon’s loud ass voice and Hiruma letting off rounds just to piss the dreadhead off, her fingers finding home on the edge of a spiral book.

“Catch on... if you look too obvious…”

“... Think I’m trying? I can’t help it!” There’s a pause, before Tenma goes: “Banba, my cleats were fine this whole time.”

Another pause, one that Mamori feels tense over. “What did he do…?”

“BALD TRASH!”

Mamori flinches at Agon suddenly screaming, evidently at Banba, who turns and glares at Agon for the rude name. She stands and walks towards the players while eyeing the two, catching something in how Tenma handily leans on one leg. From that view, he’s partially obscured from Agon’s sight.

Though, that doesn’t stop Agon, who’s arrogantly tossed his helmet against his shoulder, from sneering at the two. “Quit tryna take that little twink out back. We’re a bunch of football players, aren’t we?”

Such an insult doesn’t fly over Banba’s head, but he chose to ignore it. “What are you on about? You just got here.”

Agon loudly kisses his teeth at the lineman. “Yeah, and I didn’t come here to see you flirting with the girliest boy in the team.”

If Mamori had her camcorder, she would’ve recorded Tenma’s eye roll for the sake of keeping it, because he looks so fed up with Agon even though the dreadhead arrived a few minutes ago. Usually, Tenma either ignores or blatantly dismisses Agon’s insults, that of which Agon surprisingly doesn’t do very often. But today-

“If you came here to practice, then that’s what you ought to do, Agon.” Tenma suddenly adds in before even Banba, or Hiruma, could make a comment. “Not making every interaction into some silly little fanfiction.”

That is sure to get Agon fired up, and he immediately looks the blonde up and down. Now, they’re about a couple dozen feet away from each other. “You got a lot of mouth talking to me like that, Trash-”

Tenma cuts him off immediately. “I have a name.” He glowers at the dreadhead, and his tone gets really nasty. “Use it, and cut your cheeky bullshit, we don’t have all fucking day.”

At this point, everybody is quiet. Even Hiruma, who should be shooting bullets in the air to get everybody back into position, is watching this spectacle. For one, Tenma doesn’t ever use two curse words in a sentence, and two… it is extremely rare to see Tenma angry.

Agon gets even closer as he snarls out. “I got all fucking day if you got an attitude with me, little boy! Try that shit with me again-” 

The majority of the seniors and juniors come between them, mostly to keep Agon from getting any closer to Tenma. The junior on the other hand hasn’t moved at all, he just crosses his arms and scoffs.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough!” Yamato comes in between them, being a clear peacemaker. Quite odd as well, Mamori thinks, because Yamato never seemed to like his high-school superior. He’s the last person she’d imagine to diffuse any situation involving Tenma. “C’mon Agon, don’t start fights when you haven’t even put your full uniform on.”

Agon doesn’t push further. If this were the Agon they all knew back in high school, he and Tenma would’ve been brawling by now. Agon has mostly grown out of the phase of physical fights, but he’s still unpredictable. “Tell that- tell him, not to be a little bitch!”

“Fuu…” Akaba strums a rather soothing note, completely contrasting the energy in the field right now. “It’s quite telling that Agon has chosen to abide by Tenma’s beat…” The redhead shifts his guitar back to move past Ikkyu, and he dares to stand in Agon’s face with a small smirk. 

Agon doesn’t do a thing. He just gives Akaba his deadliest glare possible.

Akaba turns to face the rest of the team. “This will not escalate any further, we can all relax.”

Now, their captain quarterback snickers, loud enough for the two to hear. “Fucking Dreads…” Hiruma walks up to him, and practically shoves his shoulder against Agon’s side knowing he wouldn’t do a thing. “It’s 3:40. You either play with us or warm up the bench. It’s your pick, kekeke…”

Mamori looks between Agon, who’s exhaling as though everybody just said something stupid to him, and Tenma and Banba. Banba looks extremely concerned for Tenma, and now that she’s a bit closer to the group this same expression can be seen on Jumonji’s and Taka’s faces as well. Perhaps these are the people that are in on it as well.

Everything deescalated quite quickly, given Hiruma had the bright idea of threatening to flashbang everybody if they dared fight with each other again, and practice went on as normal. Mamori retired back to her seat, watching the team run through formations seamlessly. She expected Agon to bug out again but he didn’t seem to do that at all. In fact, he was placed in positions where Tenma and he would be least likely to collide; that isn’t uncommon in team practice, but such an unwritten ‘rule’ seems especially punctual today.

Practice continued on well into the evening. At some point Agon and Ikkyu chat amongst each other as the rest of the team tidied the field up. Mamori takes it upon herself to head to the entrance of the clubhouse but not walk in, she decides she’d just motion for everyone to enter just so that she can pull Tenma aside. As she pushes open and secures the doors in place, she couldn’t help but think it over.

What is she meant to say to him? Would it be alright if she expresses her concern, especially with how mad he got earlier today? She can’t just act like she doesn’t know, Tenma is a guy that she talks to quite often. Whenever she needed advice on something dating-related, she went to him. If she needed an ear and Hiruma wasn’t there, Tenma was there. It would behoove her to do the same for him, wouldn’t it?

As the guys file in, she watches Tenma approach, eyes focused on taking off his gloves. Luckily, he’s the last one to enter, so she reaches out and taps his forearm very lightly. “Hey, Tenma?”

“Hmm?” He looks at her, hazel eyes bright with his usual giddy charm. It’s as if nothing even happened earlier.

Mamori carefully thinks her words over, before she nods her head towards the side of the building. “Do you mind if we talk?” 

The halfback furrows a brow. “About?”

“Um, earlier today…” Mamori glances back to see if Hiruma is watching them, but he’s nowhere to be found. “Just, come with me for a second.”

She closes the doors and walks several feet from the doors, away from the windows, with Tenma following suit. With an inhale, Mamori turns around and opens her eyes and as expected, Tenma’s hazel eyes show a hint of concern.

“Is everything alright, Mamori?” Tenma runs a hand through his slightly sweat-laced hair.

Perhaps, it’s best to just get to the point. “Yeah, I’m okay, it’s just that… Hiruma told me.”

A blink, then a gaze cast leftwards, and Tenma looks back at her with a light frown. “Told you what?”

“About the…” Mamori starts to talk with her hands, “His way of getting Agon away from me…”

It clicks immediately, “Oh…”   Tenma widely nods, and then exhales with a shake of his head. “Yeah, that’s… that’s a thing that’s going on.”

“Are you alright, though?”

It’s as if he expected Mamori to either get mad at him or to exclaim incredulously, Mamori can tell that from how his eyes went wide at her question. “I’m… I’m fine. I dunno, I expected you to be a little…”

“Shocked?” The manager tosses a hand back. “Well, that can wait for another day, but you got really upset today and, given that you technically were with him this morning, I was hoping you weren’t… you know, left in bad spirits.”

His lips pursed together, and Mamori knows that when he does that, it’s because he doesn’t want to talk about how he really feels about something. Tenma takes a deep breath and instead of actually responding to that, he looks right into her eyes. “I’m okay now, but… whatever I tell you in the future, can you please keep it between us?”

Mamori had to lean back a bit, she did not expect Tenma to give her such an intense gaze. Granted, he’s a good looking guy, but the poignance in his glare shows that he may be uncovering something either really incredible, or super terrifying. “Of course. Everything we talk about is between us.”

“I mean… when you came to me complaining about Agon, it somehow got to Hiruma’s ears.”

There’s no malice in his voice when he says that. It’s the irony in that statement that should’ve been humorous, but Mamori took it as this incident being her fault. “That’s because I told Hiruma about Agon, but I didn’t expect him to… go about doing this.”

“I know, I know… Me neither. Nothing ever escapes his grasp. But like I said, it’s already been almost a week, and I’m not… I don’t like what I'm seeing from this man.” Tenma reaches up to pull his hair back again, and Mamori instinctively takes a hand towel out of her bag and starts to pat Tenma’s face. He lightly protests, but her insistent glare makes him cave in.

“It concerns me, and I hope you two don’t end up fighting or just… I don’t know.” Mamori’s hand drops from Tenma’s face and she casts her gaze downwards. “If anything, you can come vent to me. I’m always around if you need me.”

“Ahh, thank you Mamo’.” Tenma chuckles, his smile is a little weak. Mamori can tell that he’s mentally exhausted. “Honestly, it isn’t that bad. It’s just that I get too into it, you know.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Mamori starts to follow him back towards the clubhouse entrance. “You’re always super loving and caring, and since you’re acting like you don’t know him, you can’t just be the way you normally are.” Even then, Mamori looks aside, Tenma’s personality is just universally attractive. A lot of girls at their university fawn over him because he’s so friendly and open, the exact opposite of how Agon is.

Or is that Agon’s exact opposite? Agon becomes the same friendly, charismatic man whenever he’s around people that he needs to be around, people who he can use. It’s also scary how Agon’s personality changes, as if he’s always been hiding such a kind, sensible soul behind his evil, chaotic demeanor. What if that also applies to Tenma, who is arguably the most pristine member of the Wizards, but has the ability to turn into a bone-chilling demon whenever he could?

She scratches her chin in deep thought. Perhaps, they are one and the same…

“Uhh…”

Mamori blinks out of it, and realizes she stopped walking now that she’s several feet away from Tenma and the clubhouse entrance. His hand is on the handle, but he hasn’t opened the door yet. “Oh- Sorry, I was thinking about something.” She approaches him, but he eyes her expectantly. She raises a brow at him.

“Did you hear what I just said?”

“I uh… I didn’t.” She sheepishly tucked her hair back. “Can you repeat what you said?”

Tenma’s fingers drum against the handle. “I’m sure Hiruma told you but, please, do not tell anybody else. It’s only you, Jumonji, Taka and Banba that know. I’d rather not have even half the team know about… that.”

An easy vow, because Mamori isn’t keen to tell such secrets. In a way, it’s a good thing she knows now. She can’t imagine mistaking Tenma for a girl but at the same time, she can see him being really pretty in crossdress. It would’ve also been suspicious if she’d see Agon’s girlfriend, and then accidentally ask where Tenma was. “Right. It’s between us.”

He nods, and finally opens the door to the clubhouse. The entrance corridors are empty, with everyone presumably in the locker rooms and showers freshening up, or in the office. Tenma bids her farewell and heads to his locker, leaving Mamori with her thoughts once again. She slows her pace as she saunters to the second floor, racking her brain behind the logic of this scheme and its setup. It still baffles her, how Hiruma could pin two diametrically opposed men as a pseudo-heterosexual couple, for a whole month. And why set this for a month, and not the entire summer?

There has to be something she’s not seeing. Something that makes no sense to her, but made all the sense to those who know. Asking Hiruma would prove unfruitful, so she’ll have to get her information elsewhere. One way or another, the mystery will come out to her before the rest of this month elapses.

Chapter Text

If only he had a teaspoon of Agon’s sociopathy…

That phrase would periodically crawl into his thoughts every once in a while. Tenma couldn’t help but think over his past interactions with Agon as his ‘girlfriend’, wondering what the premise of his disguise is really for. The obvious questions of ‘Why couldn’t you get a girl’ or ‘Why go for somebody that’s literally a member of the Saikyou Wizards’ had to be ruled out; there’s more to this scheme, and while curiosity nibbles around in the back of Tenma’s thoughts, he’s not sure if he really wants to investigate on that end.

Maybe Mamori knows something that he doesn’t. That’s probably why she didn’t react the way he expected her to. He would ask her if there was more behind her boyfriend’s intentions, but he didn’t want to risk Hiruma catching her ‘spilling the beans’. Maybe I should just… treat it as is. I’m only playing dress up, to keep Agon from flirting with Mamori.

Man, if only ignorance was that easy.

He hasn't received a text or a call from Agon since their latest breakfast. Their first, second and third date all happened within a week, and it has been about four days since the latter. While Tenma is supposed to date him for a month, he can’t bring himself to text Agon and initiate conversation. Agon either is too busy, or if he’s given up on his main squeeze, Temari, and found himself an easier woman to subjugate.

Once again, if only it was that easy... Tenma should be celebrating if that were the case, because wouldn’t that technically mean that he successfully staved Agon off of Mamori?

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Even with a new woman in his sight, Agon would go out of his way to hit on Mamori. It’s only recently that after meeting ‘Temari’, Agon no longer seems to be trying to get Mamori’s attention. In fact, he stays away from her, and most of the girls at the campus in general. That's odd, Tenma thinks, considering everything he’s psychoanalyzed, and the fact that Agon and he haven't chatted in four days.

All five of his girlfriends remarked that since Agon isn’t flirting with other women, he might actually be into Temari. So into her, that no other woman is attractive enough to him.

The thought of that gives Tenma the gnarliest of chills.

His phone, sitting on his dresser a few paces away from him, starts ringing. Tenma blinks out of his thoughts, and goes to see who’s calling; he’d imagine it’d be Usagi, she insisted on leaving her snacks here and has likely changed her mind, but his eyes damn near pop out of their sockets in seeing that it’s Agon calling. He sucks in a breath, clears his throat and starts practicing his girl-voice before answering the call.

“...Agon?”

“Hey babe.” Agon’s voice is so soft on the other end, like he’s trying not to perturb a sleeping cat. Amidst the surprise in hearing Agon sounding so gentle, it takes everything in Tenma’s spirit not to gag at being called ‘babe’ by him. “Sorry I haven’t been around to chat, things got busy on my end.”

They only had football practice once since their last date, though Tenma can’t just accuse him, like he’s stalking the dreadhead. “It’s fine, Agon. It’s only been four days.”

Though prior to that date, they were texting every day. “I know, Temari but-” He pauses, and it sounds like he’s moving something, before continuing again in a soft voice. “I missed you. Umm…”

Tenma waits for him to finish rummaging through whatever he’s moving, not bothering to pretend to share the same sentiment. He looks down at the carpet below his dresser, his toes curling against the soft fabric, and it just occurred to him that he’s not wearing anything underneath his oversized shirt.

“I was wondering if you’d wanna come to my place later today.”

Tenma freezes, and he’s pretty sure time as a whole froze over that proposition. He looks to his left, his right, and then at the mirror in front of him, and then down at the seams of his shirt. Instead of jumping out of his bedroom window and nose diving into his mom’s berry bushes outside, he chooses to humor Agon’s delayed invite: “To do what?”

Surprisingly, Agon doesn’t respond to that in a sleazy manner. Instead he chuckles out a scoff. “I dunno, to like, watch movies or something!” 

Tenma narrows his eyes.

“Babe, I can feel you side-eyeing me from here.”

“Well, it’s not too often a newly made couple decides to spend a date night at one another’s house. Especially at a guy’s house.” Tenma hums; he knows he is not supposed to say no. He just wants to hear some form of perversion from Agon’s mouth so that he can ridicule him.

“I don’t have anything in mind that… I dunno, would make that weird.”

Agon’s tone of voice sounds so adorably innocent and wholesome, it’s making Tenma want to roundhouse kick him through the damn phone line. “You don’t strike me as an unknowing man.”

Contextually, he’s saying that Agon doesn’t seem like a virgin. He’s probably allergic to that word, anyways.

“Temari, how would you know? Do you have a radar for that, too?”

“Maybe.” Tenma grins, “You just don’t. Usually, guys that move fast do not have the best intentions.”

Another outing of Agon’s true persona, an aspect that Temari should know nothing about. He’s luckily using his knowledge of Agon to his advantage, even if it’s meant to demean and belittle him.

Agon doesn’t take the bait by getting irritated or called out. Instead, he just quietly chuckles nervously like a first-time boyfriend would. “I just don’t feel like walking around all day. I can be a bit of a homebody, y’know?” He pauses, and then his tone grows apologetic. “I don’t… mean to give off the wrong signals, I promise. You don’t have to say yes if you don’t feel comfortable.”

His sincerity… for fuck’s sake, Tenma wishes that Agon would just snap and start catcalling him through the phone. He walks to his bed and plops down with an exhale. “Sure, sure…”

Agon continues, again sounding like a shy man who’s trying not to be perverted. “I have this movie we can watch, but… do you like action movies?”

“I can. It depends, what did you have in mind?”

Agon hums and there is that rummaging sound again, which Tenma now realizes that he’s literally looking through a selection of movies. It only makes the insinuation funnier, he really wasn’t trying to make sexual moves on him. “I have Creeping Dragon, and a lot of karate films.”

Damn, that’s a classic. He’d never imagine Agon to have good taste in movies. “Alright, I’ll come later tonight.”

“...Tonight?”

If only he was able to see what Agon’s face would look like paired with that question. His tone makes it sound like he’s surprised, maybe a little apprehensive.

“Why not a bit earlier? It wouldn’t be safe for you to travel here and back home so late.”

All Tenma wants to do now is scream into his pillow; why does he sound like him?! Acting like he actually cares about Temari’s safety as opposed to securing a chance to fuck. “I have some errands to run, and if anything I can always call a cab. I’ll be fine, Agon; I’m an adult.”

“...You’re a year older than me.”

“Which means a year more of life experience!”

“I would not feel very good knowing you’re outdoors when the sun is down.”

“Like I said, honey,” Tenma inhales, at least to suppress a possible gag creeping up his throat, “I will call a cab. I’m not low on money, I frequent taxis and stuff home.” The blonde feels at his comforter; he’s always been the ‘ mom of the group’, especially as a man with multiple knowing girlfriends. Tenma himself doesn’t stray away to have fun when his girlfriends are with him because their safety is his number one priority. It’s scary how Agon can mimic this trait so well, given who he actually is. “So what time? I can drop by after five.”

Agon exhales, “Okay, that’s not too late… You can come by anytime after, just let me know. I’ll be home all day… Just not after eight.”

“Why? You got something to do at eight?”

“No, because that would be too late for you.”

Tenma rolls his eyes; how thoughtful… It's almost nauseating. “You’re giving me a curfew?”

“Maybe.” Agon chuckles lightly, and then there’s more shifting, as if he’s standing up, and Tenma can faintly hear him walking. “Anyways, feel free to bring any snacks if you want. Do you still have that gloss you were wearing the last time?”

The halfback makes a face, fingers stopping on the edge of his bed. “...Yes? Why?”

“Can you uhh… wear it? It-” Agon stops, for some reason Tenma can see his droopy puppy eyes downcast with a timid gaze. “It looked really nice on you.”

He can’t help but snort; even if Agon is faking it, he found the imagery really funny. Shy Agon would look kind of like Unsui, and he recalls his twin being much quieter than him. “I wouldn’t mind wearing it for you.”

Cheeky, and judging from Agon’s short laugh, that definitely turned him on. Tenma casts a glance at his window in aforesaid thought.

“Alright Temari, I’m gonna go freshen up. I’ll see you later.” Agon’s footsteps are a bit louder, he’s presumably heading up the stairs or something, Tenma doesn't know. “Love you.”

“Bye.” Tenma ends the call there, not bothering to say ‘I love you’ back, because he’s certain that would be Agon’s caveat to mistreat him in the future. He tosses his phone on the bed hoping he didn’t just set himself up for failure; if it so happens that Agon figures out Temari’s true identity, Tenma may not live to see the next day. Sure, he’s an excellent martial artist, but one can’t underestimate the damage aggression and rage can do to a person. Agon would skin him alive.

He’ll have to figure out the right outfit, at least to keep Agon from getting touchy, but also not to raise any flags. If he went underdressed again it shouldn’t be an issue, but he’d end up being half a layer away from looking the same gender as Agon. He also doesn’t want to potentially arouse Agon either, because Tenma himself knows that movie nights don’t always end with both parties watching the rolling credits.

The clock reads 14:15 in the afternoon, he has at least three hours to figure out what to wear, and in that time, Tenma will take several moments to pray that he makes it out alive.

“You’re looking quite comfortable.”

“Am I?” Tenma pops his taro milk open with a bendy straw, a beverage Agon just so happened to have in his fridge. It also happens to be his favorite type of drink. He looks down at his outfit; black pantyhose and gray belted shorts (for technical reasons that are below the belt) with a baggy navy blue shirt. It’s at least a bit form fitting around the waist, since Tenma already has a small waist, and he had pushed up his bra this time, so that there’s a clear concave in his shirt where his ‘cleavage’ would be.

While the outfit itself is very conservative, and Tenma managed to wear shaping briefs to keep his privates tucked, he didn’t expect Agon to make a comment on it. Now that he’s turned around to look at his boyfriend, it’s clear that Agon likes what he’s seeing.

“I like your fit.” Agon smiles at his girlfriend. He, in turn, is only dressed in a black tank top and white sweats. He also smells fresh, like a mix of linen and eucalyptus, and judging from the slight dampness around his hairline, he took a shower before Tenma came.

It also just now occurred to Tenma that Agon literally never smells bad. Even when they’re in practice, all sweaty and rundown from drills, Agon never had bad body odor. Kind of like how he is; hell, Teikoku’s roster used to refer to Tenma as their flower boy because he always smells good.

“Thanks…” Tenma grabs a bag of prawn chips and saunters over to the countertop. Agon’s kitchen and living room are separated by a divider, akin to a traditional Japanese house, and most of their dinnerware is made out of wood or some form of infused bamboo. He can appreciate the aesthetic, it’s kind of jarring to imagine a child as unruly as the dreadhead behind him to come from a household with strict values.

“So you have that movie up yet?” As he’s opening and dumping the prawn chips, Tenma’s eyes glaze around the neat countertop again, eyeing his handbag to his right. He takes a moment to grab his bag and look inside just to see if he left any personal credentials. He can hear Agon getting closer to him.

“Yeah, but it’s paused.” Agon stops right beside him, amber eyes looking Tenma up and down.

As simple as the gesture is, for Agon to be eyeing him like this makes Tenma feel like he’s standing on a thin sheet of ice. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he feels like all it would take is a closer look, maybe an accidental skirt lift, or Agon somehow bumping against his neck for his disguise to completely crumble. The halfback balls up the empty chip bag and turns to his left, away from Agon, to put it in the trash bin.

When he puts his bag down, Agon is now leaning against the countertop, still looking at him.

Instead of acting like a deer caught in headlights, Tenma looks him up and down as well. “Does my face bother you?”

Tenma said that with a grin, one that Agon returns with a soft laugh. “Not at all. I’m digging your makeup.” That grin simmers into an unreasonably warm smirk, one that Tenma reckons could melt any woman instantly. “You’re wearing that lipgloss again.”

For the sake of his sanity, he won’t indulge in getting Agon aroused over some light teasing. “Mm-hmm.” Tenma smiles, and struts pointedly to pass Agon, a hand running against his bicep. “C’mon, we got a movie to watch.”

Of course, Agon follows suit, probably watching Tenma’s gait the whole time, that of which Tenma did exaggerate a bit just in case Agon somehow can identify him by his walk. Everything he'll do, he realizes, has to be intentional; since they are in Agon’s house, there's a high chance for him to be exposed. He’s at least hoping Agon won’t be too pushy with him, such behavior wouldn’t be so congruent after their last date.

They sit in front of the TV, Tenma lounging back with his feet tucked and knees to the side, Agon sitting next to him with a hand draped over the top of the couch just slightly resting against Tenma’s shoulder. The movie starts, and the dreadhead situates his feet off the table, spreading his legs and slouching back. They did watch in silence at first, Agon’s phone vibrating a couple times, though the utility player ignored it at first.

After the fourth time, he sighs and grabs his phone, the action notably sloppy. Tenma flicks a gaze at whatever message is on his screen. Apparently it’s from Unsui, and he caught a few words in the twin’s messages, but Tenma decides to play dumb. “Who’s that?”

“It’s just my brother.” Agon shrugs, and again, the shrug itself looks sloppy. 

“Why would you put him as Shit-Bro in your contacts?”

Unko is the name Agon gives to Unsui, Tenma has now discovered, and even the question makes Agon snort. “It’s an inside joke between us.”

“Really? That’s so mean!” Tenma giggles a bit, “Looks like he’ll have to spend vacation with you as well. You guys don’t go to the same university?”

Agon only replies to the messages, of which Unsui stated he’ll be buying groceries before coming home tonight, with a single emoticon. He then places his phone down, despite being real close to tossing it aside. “Nah, we don’t.”

Tenma tilts his head; Agon is unreasonably laconic about the topic of his brother. Tenma knows of Unsui, but why not divulge a bit about his family with Temari? “Is he younger than you? Like a baby brother?”

The question made Agon’s smile twitch in the way a younger sibling’s would twitch at such a question. Tenma is an only child, but he’s seen that same look on his cousins before. “Me and him are twins.”

“Oh no, there’s two of you?!”

Now Agon has to give Tenma a funny look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tenma can easily insult the everliving fuck out of this man by insinuating who the better twin is, but he knows that Agon’s ego is fragile. He can’t get on his bad side. “Your twin must be a lucky man. You both are blessed with handsome faces.”

Agon’s brows raise, probably because the comment wasn’t just about him. That likely happens a lot; when mentioning both twins, people will only acknowledge Agon. To say that both Agon and Unsui are good looking men is a fact, but it is also not something Agon hears often. As expected, he takes it as simple flattery. “Perhaps you’d be right.”

Tenma casts a glance at Agon’s phone, and then looks at him. “Or what, is your brother hotter than you?”

The dreadhead scoffs out a laugh at her obvious teasing, though Tenma wonders if his earlier guise of carelessness is an ode to this reaction. “Temari! We’re twins.” He points at his face. “We look exactly the same.”

“He even has dreads too?”

“Nah, he doesn’t have hair.” Agon laxes back, and then adds with a slight nod. “He’s bald.”

Tenma snorts; that’s quite the description. Unsui, last he remembered, had the closest grained buzzcut he’s ever seen. If one were looking at him from afar they'd think he was bald, but the light fade around his hairline proves otherwise. He hasn’t seen that twin in a while, rather he hasn’t actually spoken to Unsui personally. He wonders if Agon will introduce him one day.

He doubts it. Agon might keep pretty little Temari a secret, so that his older brother doesn’t start trying to get with him.

Tenma’s eyes go wide at his own inference. That has to be the messiest thing I’ve ever thought of, ever.

“I’d like to meet him one day.” Tenma shrugs, but mostly to ward off the way his eyebrows would’ve jumped off his face from what he just thought. “I wanna meet your whole family one day.”

“That might be easier said than done, but…” Agon sighs and shifts around to slouch even further. “We’ll see.”

While it normally isn't an issue to introduce one’s partner to their parents, Tenma knows the significance of a man showing his girlfriend to his parents. Out of all the sixteen girls he’s dated in his life, his parents have only met eleven of them, and all eleven of those girls were with him for more than a year, or are still dating him currently. Usually, mothers of a son tend to dissent more, though Tenma’s mother was never mean nor judgemental with any of his girlfriends. He wonders if Agon’s mom has a specific standard her sons must follow in order for their girlfriends to be accepted by the family.

That shines Agon’s fleeting affairs in a whole new light; temporarily dating women, over and over, is much easier than having to find, or even mold a single woman into somebody their mother would want their son to marry. Rina’s mother is an unfortunate victim of a hateful mother-in-law, and it mostly had to do with her lack of adherence to Buddhism. Judging from how the Kongo household looks, their family must be over bearingly traditional.

Every now and then, he’d snack on the shrimp chips and sip his drink along with Agon, who didn’t speak much. Tenma can say that he appreciates Agon not being so chatty during a movie, but it does shock him quite a bit to see Agon so quiet. He combs through his thoughts a bit more, only to realize that they’re been silent for about ten whole minutes.

When he looks at Agon, the dreadhead’s face is comically scrunched up in a manner that makes Tenma snort a bit too loudly. Agon blinks from the television and looks at his girlfriend with raised brow. “What?”

“Why are you mean-mugging?”

The protagonist is just traveling down a silent hall. “I got focused. Heh…” Agon moves his hand from the back of Tenma’s shoulder. He knows that bit, having to move his arm so that it doesn’t practically fall asleep. “I get so absorbed into karate movies.”

Tenma smiles at him, putting his drink down to cross one leg over the other. “Do you have the sequel?”

“Nah, and… even if I did,” Agon tilts his head towards the clock on the wall, “It’d be way too late to watch the whole thing.”

Fuck outta here, he knows that Agon would totally want them to glaze over another movie if it means they get to actually fuck. Agon hasn’t broken a single boundary, he hasn’t shown a single proper red flag yet, and Tenma decides to use this moment to suss it out of him. “Well… unfortunately I can’t just stay late, you know that.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

It took every muscle in Tenma’s body not to look extremely shocked.

“And like I said, I want you to get home safe.” Agon continues, not looking at Tenma at first but keeping his body language completely open to him. “It’d be cute if we did have a sleepover but I don’t… I’m not comfortable with that.”

Tenma nods with a resounding ‘ahh’, even if the notion was a little weird. Did he hear that right? Did Agon just exercise… acknowledging a girl’s boundaries? Is Agon not being pushy right now?

…Did someone spike his drink?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Tenma’s face must be etched in a weird fashion, he can tell. “No, it’s…” Fucking hell, he almost broke character. He’ll have to subvert his own integrity just to get out of this. “I think I’ve spent way too much time with fast guys.”

Agon chuckles and it sounds super shy, he even scratches the back of his head sheepishly. For a moment, he almost looks as reserved as his brother does. “Well, we barely really know each other. I wouldn’t imagine us knocking out on my couch to happen on our fourth date.”

“Right, right...” It really would be cute if that did happen, and Tenma has had that happen before. Then again, said girls he’d known like the back of his hand; an established connection always existed before he’d allow them to get that comfortable with him. It was for safety reasons, and Agon is anything but safe.

They settle back into watching the rest of the movie, and Tenma gets engrossed in the fighting scenes, just as much as Agon is. The dreadhead would brief things about the action, and Tenma not only found his attention to detail something to adore, but everything about his commentary screams that Agon is secretly a giant movie critic. 

Tenma flicks a gaze at the dreadhead, who's now shaking his head in disapproval. “You’d think he’d kill him off with that final blow.”

“Well if he did, there would be no sequel. He also can’t kill him because he knows where the dragon vault is.” Agon shakes his head, and Tenma stifles a laugh, “He could’ve just snuck into the temple and snatched the scrolls before the guardian locked it up.”

Tenma looks up and down at Agon, amusement playing in his features but something seems a little off about the lowerclassman’s appearance. He tucks flyaways of his hair back, the action catching Agon’s eye. “What if the vault is guarded by a spell?”

Agon chuckles with his shoulders, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees. “Ku, it has to be. All those scrolls are probably meant to bind the temple and the vault together…”

Tenma cracks a smile, and he playfully hits Agon’s arm. He never knew Agon would be this interesting to watch when he’s locked in to something interesting, he even talks about this movie like he’s watching a football game. The now brunette looks over at him again; he’s dressed very loungelike, in clothing that is not meant to impress. Perhaps he wants Temari to ogle his muscles, and Tenma himself can’t lie and say that Agon’s physique isn’t to die for. Tenma has a more lean, svelte build, one that suits a dancer and not a football player; he reckon he could never be as buff as either Agon or Unsui.

His eyes trail down to his sweatpants. Tenma suddenly finds himself hyper-focusing on the fact that in the middle of the summer, within a relatively cool home, Agon is wearing thick socks. Not the ones that look like cute booties, but socks that look slightly thicker than usual. Then he thinks about certain times in the locker room, or on the field; has Agon ever walked around barefoot? This was such a weird line of thought, but seriously, he's seen nearly everybody in the team settle down barefooted before.

Before he can stop himself, Tenma blurts out, “Why are you wearing socks?”

“Huh?” Agon blinks at Tenma. The question has caught him off guard, and he sits up straight for some reason. “Because… I want to?”

“But it’s hot.”

“Not in here.”

“It’s not cool enough to walk around in socks.” Tenma blinks back, now more puzzled, but he watches Agon’s eyes trail down objectively and has to glare at him. “I’m wearing pantyhose because of my shorts, Agon.”

“Okay, but why can’t I just wear socks in the house?”

“It’s hot!” Tenma nearly exclaims; hell, even seeing Agon’s socks now kind of makes him want to sweat. “You can take them off, they’re making me heat up just from looking at them. You got nothing to hide.”

That last bit was said jokingly, but the mere statement itself gets Agon unreasonably defensive. “I’m not hiding anything!”

“I-” Tenma makes a face; Agon doesn’t sound angry, his attitude right now reminds him of a kid who doesn’t want his mom to see his secret stash of Barbie doll clothing. “I was joking, you didn’t have to get so riled…” Then Tenma decides to humor the prospect, “Unless you do have something to hide. Just take your socks off.”

“No.”

“Agon, please?”  

Agon shakes his head so hard, his dreads swing with him. “No.”

Tenma inhales, “Just seeing you in them is getting me hot right now! You can put them back on if your feet end up freezing against the floor.”

“Temari, they’re not gonna-” The dreadhead sighs exasperatedly, almost flailing his arms. What is so hard about taking off a pair of socks? “I just don’t wanna take my socks off.”

“Why?”

Agon’s face goes flat. Now he’s just peeved off, but Tenma can’t help but stifle a laugh. “Are you really pressing me about this?”

Tenma reaches out to touch Agon’s shoulder. “Just take them off, babe. It’s summertime.” He only gets a dramatic ass groan from the dreadhead, who pivots his feet off the edge of the table to bend over as if he’s about to slip a bag of coke out of his damn socks. He takes his sweet time removing his socks, all while scrunching up his face like a gremlin, and Tenma has to put both hands to his mouth to stop from gasping audibly.

Agon’s feet are so soft and so feminine looking, that to pair them with the face that’s currently side-eyeing him feels unreal. He has big feet, no doubt, but despite the veins they look like the oversized feet of a princess that has never done hard labor. It’s almost impressive, even his toenails are perfect in hue and in how they’re cut.

“What are you staring at?”

“Oh my god, Agon…” Tenma’s palms go to his cheeks in pure shock. “You have such nice feet-”

“NO I DON’T!”

Him yelling like that makes Tenma jump, and he reckons Agon also flinched a little at his own voice. Tenma blinks once, twice, and then tilts his head at Agon who’s currently in the midst of sitting crossed legged just so he can hide his feet. “Agon, I… You mean to tell me that you’re insecure about that? Not many people have such well pedicured feet! You should be proud!”

Agon crosses his arms, maybe in an attempt to look manly and intimidating. “But I don’t do pedicures, Temari! That’s girly!”

His tone is so stinkingly laced with middle school boy energy, it makes Tenma laugh heartily. His laugh continues creep into his words, “There’s nothing wrong with that, Agon-”

“Yeah, but-” Agon scrunches his nose for a second before choosing to avoid eye contact with Tenma entirely. “Can we not talk about my feet?”

Part of Tenma wonders how normal Agon would handle this. He’d probably sock Tenma so hard he’d tackle the Grim Reaper mid-flight, and then proceed to jump any college freshman who does so much as breathe in his direction. Since he’s in front of Temari, and not Tenma, he’s resorted to pouting about his insecurity.

Holy hell, Agon with an insecurity? And not just any insecurity, but an insecurity about having well pampered feet?

Tenma has to clown him. He just has to; this is such good material, he’d reckon Hiruma would have a field day over this. “What kind of salts do you use? Y’know, for your foot baths?”

Agon literally has to sit up and plant, practically stomp, his feet on the ground just to frantically say- “Temari, I don’t take foot baths, okay?! My feet just look like that! Leave me alone…”

The mighty, egomaniacal Agon is now reduced to sinking back into the couch, with his arms crossed and his face stuck in an expression that can only be described as chewing an entire lemon wedge, with the zest.

Tenma almost falls off the couch in laughter. “Look, I’m sorry! You don’t have to be ashamed about it! Agon…” He accidentally cracks a bit, seeing Agon not moving at all to that. “Ok, I’ll stop talking about it. I’ll pretend they aren’t even there.”

That only slightly lessens the look on his face, and Agon’s tense arms loosen marginally. The dreadhead’s eyes only move to Tenma’s face, expecting his girlfriend to crack then and there but Tenma holds his gaze right back.

That was so silly, even more so with Agon being allergic to anything ‘girly’. Tenma knew this for a long time, but now that he knows that Agon is one of those people with very blessed genetics, it’s even funnier to see Agon actually be abashed instead of threatening to kill someone. He just turns into a sulking toddler.

The movie draws close to ending, and luckily for Tenma he can go home soon. He did enjoy his time here, and especially enjoyed poking fun at his pseudo-boyfriend. Agon canned the brooding antic quite quickly, surprisingly, choosing to sit with his legs crossed again until the credits rolled. Tenma clasps both hands together, “So… wait, what time is it?”

He could pull his phone out of his pocket and check but Agon is right next to him. He doesn’t want to risk that. “7:50… Yeah, it’s pretty late.” Agon shrugs his pocket away, but his gaze looks a bit reluctant. Like he doesn’t want Temari to leave, and for some reason, Tenma can’t pinpoint any hidden lust in those eyes.

“Hmm… Yeah.” Tenma stands and pulls his shorts down a bit. He’s been keeping his legs crossed the majority of the night, maintaining proper posture just in case, but these shorts aren’t very forgiving to his thighs. They do little to hide the shapely muscles beneath…

Those of which Agon is looking at. Not in scrutiny, but in surprise. Almost in admiration.

Tenma blinks twice at his boyfriend. “Yes?”

Agon looks from his legs, to his face, amber eyes flickering at his glossed lips. “Do you play sports, Temari?”

Shit, what would be a good lie to come up with here? Tenma isn’t beefy looking, but his legs aren’t scrawny, and there is a reason why he was once known as the Sideline’s Magician. “No, I dance.” He smiles, “I do ballet.”

That’s… actually not a lie at all. Tenma used to do ballet years ago between elementary and middle school; his balance, and flexibility are impeccable from spending years as a ballet boy.  

“Wow… Well yeah, I-” Agon chuckles a little, “You look really fit, that’s all. I like fit girls.”

Agon usually goes for curvy, or busty looking women. Usually women older than him from what Tenma has seen, and from what Mamori has told him. He can’t imagine Agon wanting to be with a girl that either works out or shows even a smidgen of muscle, because those kinds of women aren’t weak and coercible.

“Thanks.” Tenma tilts his head and then turns away from Agon for a moment. “Where is your restroom?”

Agon points past where Tenma’s standing. “Down the hall, first door to the right.” 

Tenma touches his shoulder with a soft ‘thanks’, and makes his way to the bathroom rather quickly. He doesn’t need to use it at all, but the moment he turned away he felt Agon’s eyes on his backside. He’d rather not be in the living room given Agon ideas just by existing. 

It’s annoying how he can go from being somewhat okay around Agon, to feeling like he’s in immense danger for all the dumbest reasons. Agon really does think he’s a woman, which is good, but Tenma can’t let this be a fully crossed boundary. What if Agon will want to have their dates at his house instead? The line between simple flirts and real intimacy thins rapidly when two parties are in a room… together… alone. Who knows what monster he’d awaken should they have a movie night again, and Agon decides to put the movies on him?

Tenma turns the faucet on but doesn’t wash his hands. His house has great insulation, but he can’t just sit in the bathroom in silence. His phone and car keys are luckily with him right now, so he can just dip and think of as many excuses as possible should Agon ask for him to swing by again. Nothing in his boyfriend’s attitude shows pushy behavior, but still… Agon is a wildcard.

Turning the faucet off, Tenma steps out of the bathroom and sees Agon is not on the couch, but is quietly putting the movie back where it belongs. He’s sitting on the ground cross legged like a little boy sorting out his hot wheels collection. He looks quite cute when he’s doing something in silence.

Tenma’s focus goes to his feet again, toes slightly curled, and he puckers his bottom lip trying not to laugh because he just envisioned Agon’s stank face.

“Whaaaat?”

Tenma blinks and looks at Agon, who’s not only shying his feet away but also glaring at him like an angry kitten. He cracks up accidentally, and then quickly fixes to sigh and place both hands on his hips as he approaches Agon, bending down to hug his back. That diffident glare doesn’t leave Agon’s face and Tenma almost suppresses the urge to rub his head. “Goodnight, Agon. I’ll catch you later.” He turns and heads to the door, knowing that Agon’s watching him still.

The dreadhead pushes the CD box back into the bottom shelf. “‘Night, babe.”

Tenma opens the door, and turns around to see Agon starting to stand. He narrows his eyes; “We should have a foot spa day next time, you know-”

“Good night, Temari!”

Chapter Text

Instead of staying at her dorm, Mamori chose to spend last night at Hiruma’s luxury apartment. His apartment, bathed in cool ceiling lights and a marron palette, became a second home for her quite quickly. Hiruma’s presence made it better, she’ll have to admit, even with him being mostly focused on his laptop. 

His latest scheme, and his lack of explanation behind its purpose has left Mamori with more questions than answers. Tenma being subjected to date the most evil college athlete in all of Tokyo is not a cause without reason; the only way she can connect the dots here is to compare and contrast between her budding best guy friend, and the guy who couldn’t stop flirting with her ever since the start her 2nd year of highschool. She pulls out her phone, and shoots a text.

Anezaki M.: Do you ever wonder why Hiruma made you do this?

Mamori eyes her boyfriend sitting right across from her, who’s not bothered by the fact that her feet are slightly resting on his arm. He’s also not looking at her, his attention is fully on whatever is on his screen. A minute later, she gets a reply.

Doji-kun: Not at all.

Doji-kun: Honestly, I think Yoichi just has a thing for seeing me dolled up.

Tenma and Musashi are the only people who have referred to Hiruma by his first name. Mamori had to stifle a grin at that, flicking her gaze at Hiruma, who’s still not paying attention to her. Tenma, you lost a bet that one time…

Doji-kun: And had to wear a maid outfit? Yeah he totally rigged that to see me in a dress -_-

Anezaki M.: I wouldn’t say he has a thing for you in dresses, you were just unlucky (≧∇≦)

Hiruma had developed a penchant for picking on Tenma. From their first day of uni to now, their interactions have always been light banter and at first, Hiruma rarely made comments about Tenma’s appearance. He started trickling more and more quips about how pretty and ‘soft’ looking Tenma is as time went on, though once again, they were not meant to put Tenma down or insult him. If anything, she’d reckon Hiruma’s a little… charmed.

The quarterback told her a bit about his and Agon’s old friendship. There was a time when Agon looked very different from how he looks now. His amber eyes were paired with shoulder length bleached hair instead of dreads, and his apparel resembled that of a ‘gadget kid’; if you were to see younger Agon out in public, you’d assume he was a giant nerd. Mamori likened this description to Tenma; light, captivating eyes, short blonde hair, and eye-catching fashion sense. Their friendship was completely borne from an exchange; Hiruma got to ‘fill’ up his book of threats, and Agon got to feed his own ego by using his reflexive talent for violence.

His stories, short and curt, carried way too much weight for Mamori to agree with them simply using each other back then. To everyone else, Agon is this shallow, violent sociopath who only ever uses people for his own benefit. Though, when Hiruma talked of him, this trait of his was ignored, and it seemed like they both had fond memories that Hiruma doesn’t want to, or even refuses to recall. He likes to keep things that were of the past, in the past.

She wonders what Hiruma would be like if he met Tenma at that age, instead of Agon. Then she remembers that Tenma is somebody who probably wouldn’t hurt a fly. She wonders if he, too, was different as a child.

Anezaki M.: Do you have any childhood friends?

For how much she and Tenma talk, it just dawned on her that he never talks about his past. He has told her about some funny experiences, but she knows nothing about his past aside from that.

Doji-kun: Random much.

Doji-kun: But yeah, only one.

Now that is a shock. It would behoove anyone to think that Tenma has always been a popular guy with many friends. Really?

Doji-kun: Yup… and there is a heavy pause here. I was really close with Yamabushi a long time ago. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, he used to be in the Nagas. We met at a park when we were seven.

Anezaki M.: Yamabushi Gondayu? Him???

Doji-kun: XD Yes, him. We went to different middle schools but lived in the same area, so I hung out with him almost every single day.

Considering how Tenma still looks like he’s 16, and Yamabushi was facially pushing 30 at the age of 17, it’s a funny sight to see two completely different looking people as best friends. She can see Yamabushi and Tenma being close; Yamabushi is strong-hearted and wise, but also very sensitive. In a way, he resembles Kurita, and Tenma counteractively resembles Agon. Tenma’s happy-go-lucky spirit matches well with Yamabushi’s bearhug persona. What a warm pair…

For some reason, that thought brought about a dark cloud, since Tenma was strictly referring to Yamabushi in the past. 

Anezaki M.: Are you guys still friends?

Doji-kun: Well…

Doji-kun: He and I joined Shinryuji together, and I left that school promptly after enrolling bc I hated it there. I moved to Osaka soon after, and couldn’t talk with him anymore.

Doji-kun: I wish I did stay, just because I really did miss him even after enrolling in Teikoku, but god Shinryuji is fucking horrible.

Mamori can not help the pout forming on her lips. Shinryuji is an all-boys school, and Tenma… well…

Anezaki M.: Why did you hate it so much? It was THE top school in the Kanto league for almost a decade.

Doji-kun: The guys there didn’t want to talk to me! Everybody thought I was a girl T⌓T

She accidentally snorts, and quickly covers her mouth. Hiruma stops typing to side eye her with a confused look.

Anezaki M: HOW?

Doji-kun: I had long hair back then, so I looked too girly apparently??? Because when I was there, all the seniors kept teasing me about my hair and how I looked and that made me cry. It was just bad times, I hated it so much…

Mamori would’ve never guessed that Tenma left Shinryuji High because he was bullied. He has said that being mistaken for a girl was a recurrent theme in his life, even when he went to Teikoku, but he seemed to have it the absolute worst in Shinryuji. So he chose to cut his hair, and adopt his trademark snowboarder shades in order to look manlier, a stylistic choice borne from being singled out. Ugh, she would go back in time and hug him if she could.

Anezaki M.: Those guys were all terrible, at least you got out of there before it could get worse. I wouldn’t know what that team would be like if you and Agon were there at the same time.

Doji-kun: I’m pretty sure I’d out-game him any day of the week.

Another stifled laugh out of her mouth, and now Hiruma has stopped typing again to face her with a raised brow. Not that she’s distracting him, he looks more confused than annoyed. Somehow, he manages to pin the source for her amusement correctly. “You talking to Pretty Prince again, Manajerk?”

Mamori blinks at Hiruma, pursing her lips with a tiny smile. She releases them with an audible pop, and tilts her head. “Maybe.”

Hiruma returns his attention to his screen, the sneer on his face contrasting his sharp gaze. He stays like that for almost a minute, long enough for Mamori to think he’s dismissed her. Then he suddenly turns to her with his trademark crazyman grin:

“If you think Fucking Ear Buds has the answer behind his own dilemma, you’re looking to the wrong source.”

That took her smile away completely. Now, Mamori is not only staring at him like a deer caught in headlights… but she’s just bamboozled by the latter part of that sentence. “Why wouldn’t he know, then?”

“If he did know, he wouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

She makes a noise that half sounds like a sigh, and a scoff. “How could he decline such a thing when you’ve practically kidnapped him and had him cornered with three of his peers? I’ve never seen anybody straight up tell you ‘No’.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Hiruma’s grin lessens now, his green eyes glinting in a way that Mamori can’t decipher. “He totally had no choice in taking part in the plan, but he wouldn’t have done the act in the first place if he knew.”

Again, her boyfriend is speaking in riddles, and while it annoys Mamori greatly that he can’t just tell her why this is happening, he’s only ever elusive when it’s about something that Mamori is better off not knowing about.

But what exactly is the secret behind this scheme? Is there an ulterior motive, aside from keeping Agon away from her?

“The plan? The act?” She continues to press even further. It would do her no avail, she knows this, but the manager continues, “You know, it would’ve been easier if you just threatened Agon, like you always do, as opposed to turning Tenma into a guinea pig.”

“Kekekeke, dearest Anezaki…” Hiruma shakes his head, tapping his sharp nails against the edge of his laptop and still maintaining that unreadable look. This time, it has translated down to his smirk. “That’s where you got it all wrong. Pretty Prince is not the guinea pig here…”

Bypassing Tokyo’s traffic to get to Kanagawa is beyond impossible to do without swearing up a storm, and Tenma kept metaphorically biting his tongue to keep the anxiety from creeping up his neck.

He was about to head out and run some errands when he nearly dropped everything in his hands (quite literally) in a daunting realization; he had forgotten his handbag at Agon’s house. He left it in the kitchen, just a foot from the refrigerator, and he doesn’t know if he had closed it or not. 

He kept his phone in his pocket instead of his bag last night, hence why by nature he forgot about the bag altogether. Luckily for him his wallet wasn’t in there, but he’s afraid that any trinkets aside from his touch up makeup would give away his identity. There’s this one milkshake keychain that he carries around that’s in that bag, and if Agon fucking sees it, he might end up putting two and two together and-

Tenma, for fuck’s sake… He takes a deep breath in. In a sense of poetic timing, he reaches the Kanagawa express lane, and all the traffic disappears. Nothing’s gonna happen, I’m pretty sure he didn’t go through your shit. He wouldn’t do that.

Except he would. Agon would totally rummage through somebody’s belongings if it fed his curiosity. Temari isn’t a staple interest as far as Tenma knows, so who’s to say he wouldn’t invade her privacy at any convenience? He’s also had an entire night to do so, Tenma can’t imagine Agon not keeping his sticky hands to himself to stave off the mystery that is his ‘girlfriend’.

He put on some music to distract himself for the remainder of the ride, ignoring the fact that Agon might be at home right now. Sure, he pinned his wig into a messy mid bun, put on makeup, and decided to wear a skirt and a loose fitting cropped sweater just in case. It’s just that he can’t imagine what he’d say should Agon open the door and call him by his real name, or even attempt to rip his wig off or-

Nevermind. No time to think about that now, he sighs as he turns into the neighborhood where Agon’s family home is. Their house is right off the turn itself, gated and well-kempt, though he parks a bit further down in case he comes face to face with his pseudo boyfriend. Imagine the look on Agon’s face should he see Temari, pulling up in Tenma’s car.

An ironic sight, considering Temari doesn’t see Agon as an official partner, and Tenma himself is known for having multiple girlfriends. That would be really messy…

Stepping out his car and walking down the sidewalk, Tenma absentmindedly dusts his skirt as he approaches the already opened gate, leading to the aged, traditional porch of the Kongo household. Their home is separated from others by lavish greenery and some small but expensive looking accent fountains. Upon reaching the front door, there is a narrow water well that spans the front of the house; he can see koi fish swimming around amidst the ambient sounds of the fountains running.

He knocks on the door four times, pursing his lip together in hopes that he’ll have enough courage to face what is inevitable; that his secret will be exposed, and that he might die in the plight of Hiruma’s foul play. The door clinks unlocked and opens, and he’s greeted by…

Unsui. 

Unsui, who’s clad in a normal white shirt, beige shorts, and slightly darker beige sandals. Unsui, who blinks at the person in front of him with a face so confused, it looks like the quarterback forgot what planet he’s on.

Tenma, of course, isn’t paying immediate attention to that. The initial rush of his anxiety leaves him like a crashing wave, and he almost feels like passing out for a second. Maybe it’s just the heat, he figures.

“Umm… hello there?” Unsui cocks a brow and looks from Tenma’s folded hands to his face. The confused look from earlier seems to dwindle into clarity. “If I may ask, who are you?”

The shellshock is real right now; Tenma has never really taken a close look at Unsui’s face… he literally looks like Agon with a buzzcut. They are spitting images of one another, not a single difference facially distinguishes them. He’s also extremely polite, something Agon could never be.

The brunette has to blink out of his thoughts when he realizes he spent a few seconds too long not responding back. “I… Is Agon here?”

Not a direct answer to Unsui’s question, but Unsui decides to roll with it. “Well, no. He left not too long ago. Umm…”

Tenma inhales almost too sharply. “I’m sorry,” He almost says Unsui’s name but shakes his head apologetically, “My name is Temari and I’m Agon’s girlfriend. I left my bag in the kitchen yesterday.”

Clarity washes over Unsui’s face, and he slowly nods, “Oh… I was wondering who’s bag it was. I kept it in my room just in case.” Unsui’s amber eyes fall away for a moment before catching onto Tenma’s again; there’s a different gaze in his eyes now, one that mirrors his earlier confusion. “Come in. I'll get it for you.”

It would’ve been nerve racking if he told Tenma to stay outside while he gets the bag, and the brunette knows that that’s for a stupid reason. Unsui moves aside for him to walk in, closing the door and walking past Tenma. Tenma doesn’t catch the glance Unsui gives him, but he does catch how rigid his body language is. Unsui has always been reticent, but it seems like Temari’s presence is raising more questions for him than answers.

The quarterback doesn’t appear to let that show in his voice though. “Do you want something to drink while I get it?”

Tenma goes to sit on the couch, crossing a leg over the other and maintaining dainty posture. He feels so exposed in the gaze of those eyes. “I’m fine.”

Unsui nods and turns to the hallway ahead, Tenma watching him walk until he’s out of sight. Just from that alone, he is certain that this is actually Unsui, and not Agon having shaved off all his hair. He had that look on his face that would make Tenma think he’s never seen a girl up close. Judging from that alone, Unsui has no idea of who Temari is. Even the name didn’t ring a bell.

Are all Agon’s affairs a secret? Tenma tilts his head; he doesn’t have siblings, but he cannot imagine hiding something like a potential significant other from someone who lives with you. His parents were always accepting of all that he does, so Tenma never had issues telling them whatever was on his mind. These two are twins, they likely can read each other beyond the five senses, even; shouldn’t it be a little odd that Unsui didn’t immediately infer that the aforementioned bag was from somebody Agon is dating?

And why did Unsui put it in his room?

The quarterback comes back with the bag closed, and it’s only now that Tenma remembers it was closed when he left it. Still a 50/50 chance that it is untouched. “Why did… you put it in your room?”

Unsui holds the bag out to Tenma as he asks that. “I didn’t know who it belonged to, and I’m assuming you left right before I came because Agon was about to look through it.” He turns his gaze away to look towards the kitchen, conveniently before he could catch Tenma closing his eyes in relief. “I hid it away for the time being.”

Tenma quickly scrapped the expression, standing up and opening his bag to look at his things. Even though Unsui said Agon didn’t get into it, he still wanted to check regardless. “Thanks, umm…”

Unsui looks back at Tenma with a blink, the pause between them wasn’t registered correctly. “You’re welcome.”

Tenma blinks and tilts his head; he had paused so Unsui could give him his name. Is his brother that alien to recognition? “What’s your name? Because you look just like my boyfriend, and it’s kind of…”

“Uncanny? Yeah, I get that a lot.” Unsui places his hands on his hips, the humor of that statement lost entirely to his lack of mirth, and to Tenma’s surprise, poorly suppressed anxiety. “I’m Unsui.”

“Unsui…” Tenma rolls the name through his lips, smacking them with a grin. “So you’re the less nosy twin, I assume?”

That makes Unsui’s eyebrow crinkle, but the faintest trace of a smile graces his features. There’s a notion to his entire being that just seems so… foreign to comradery. “I guess…” He goes to the kitchen to get himself a bottle of cold brew tea. Tenma can’t help but watch him move; he’s so similar to Agon yet different. Even the smoothness of his movements match his brother’s but unlike Agon, they are subdued. Gentle.

He wants to ask more questions, maybe to get Unsui to talk more. There is a barrier that Tenma feels like he’s crossed just because he’s standing right in front of Agon’s brother, dressed up as some extremely pretty woman. “So you’re here for summer vacation too? What university do you go to?”

“Enma University.” Unsui answers him and pauses in the middle of opening the tea bottle as he does, clearly not expecting Temari to talk to him. “Me and Agon go to different schools.”

Tenma hums, “I figured that much. He goes to Saikyou…” He sneakily slides his phone into his bag the moment Unsui looks away from him.

The quarterback turns back to Temari again, eyeing her with an inquisitive stare. He’s curious, Tenma can see that, and Unsui couldn’t contain it for too long. “How long have you known Agon for?”

He’s asking that question like this is some ancient secret. Tenma wishes it was in a way; he wishes he could say ‘Oh, I’ve known Agon for about three years’, so that it won’t seem weird that a girl he just met was in his house last night. “Like… two weeks ago.”

The expected surprise etches Unsui’s face, and Tenma has to keep from looking awed. It feels so uncanny talking to Unsui considering he and Agon look just alike. Seriously; and it doesn’t help that Unsui isn’t part of this unfortunate Yoichi-scheme. The quarterback looks to his left, then his right, and then nods slowly again. “I see.”

Tenma narrows his eyes. That face has answers to something. “Why the weird looks, Unsui?”

“Well… it’s not expected of my brother to date.” Unsui slightly shakes his head, “I at first thought this bag was a family friend of ours. Agon doesn’t really talk to girls like that to bring them here.”

Tenma, knowing that Agon is a stud, understands that Unsui is speaking vaguely just because he wouldn’t want to both label his brother as a womanizer, nor tell Temari the truth on Agon’s ‘puritan’ relationship efforts. With the traditional visage of the home, he’s certain that their parents wouldn’t allow a girl in their house anyway.

“Really? I dunno…” Tenma walks towards Unsui, leaning against the room divider. “You two are really good looking guys, I can’t imagine him being single.” Knowing he’s nipped something at the way Unsui’s brows raise, he continues with a sneer, “You got a girlfriend too, Unsui? Maybe we can have a double date one day.”

Unsui chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his neck and drawing his eyes away in a timid fashion. Boy, was he right in thinking that Agon looks like him when he acts all shy and shit. At least when Unsui does it, it’s actually adorable.

Umm… Totally straight thought there. Totally.

Tenma shouldn’t even bother trying to save face. This month is the gayest he’s ever been in his whole life, allegedly.

“Uhh, I… No, I don’t.” Unsui shakes his head, taking a sip of his tea. His smile looks so stifled, Tenma wishes Unsui would flesh himself out a bit more. There’s a brewing personality underneath his borne rigidity.

“There’s no way, you’re so handsome!” Tenma gestures at him with a slight laugh. “I actually told Agon that I’d want to meet his family. He told me he has a twin brother, but I didn’t know your name.”

Unsui looks more surprised at the fact that Agon mentioned (technically, Tenma did) he has a brother, that Tenma can tell. “He did?”

“Yeah, and… I’m very happy to meet you.” The brunette came up to him to shake Unsui’s hand. “Actually… Maybe I can get your number as well. I know a few girl friends who’d love to talk to you.”

Perhaps that’s a ruse to get more information on Agon, perhaps not. If he gets Unsui’s number, he knows he can at least count on Unsui to inadvertently make sure things go as planned.

Unsui’s body language relaxes marginally, “You want my number, to play as my wingwoman?” He looks even more shocked that Tenma just nods at him. “Alright, uhh… give me a moment. I have to get my phone.”

Unsui walks past him, and Tenma furrows a brow. “You don’t know your number by heart?”

The quarterback turns around with a look that resembles a baby poodle. “I don’t… give people my number often.”

As Unsui then heads to his room to get his phone, Tenma pouts at him; it almost hurts to see how secluded Unsui is, and from the looks of it, it seems to be completely due to Agon outshining him. Unsui reminds him of a more toned down Yamabushi; intimidating looking, but soft and mostly quiet when you peep beyond the cover, and full of great humor and sensibility as you get to know them…

Perhaps Tenma just misses what it’s like to have a male best friend.

He pulls out his touch up lipstick, a ruby red that matches what he’s wearing right now, and goes to the accent mirror by the wall. It’s a little habit that he might develop, but because he feels so much more comfortable talking to Unsui, Tenma reckons he ought to check himself every now and then. If he gets too comfortable, that will expose his disguise…

Unsui returns as Tenma is puckering his lips to distribute the lipstick. He puts his makeup away and takes a piece of paper from a little stationery on an accent table. “Go ahead.” Unsui gives him the digits. Tenma then folds the paper and puts it in his bag. “Something tells me that he likes to keep secrets. I’m pretty sure we weren’t meant to meet so soon, but here we are.”

“I don’t really talk with him. We go to different schools and have different lifestyles.” Unsui shrugs, a tinge of sadness blankets his face. Tenma wants to hug him so bad. “So… I don’t know much, and I’d imagine he doesn’t tell others much either.”

“Hnnn… You already seem like a quiet guy.”

“Yeah…” Unsui’s voice trails off in a way that sounds like his ‘quietness’ is voluntary. Tenma pats his arm with a soft giggle though, unable to dismiss Unsui’s mood, and the quarterback once again reacts like an alien who's never been touched before.

“Thank you for keeping my bag safe too, by the way.” The brunette smiles warmly, heading towards the door. Now this is where Unsui moves with more clarity; if he  didn’t know any better he’d think Unsui was avidly trying to kick him out. Unsui never had somebody show a modicum of true interest in him as a person, and it is clear as day in his actions. “I’ll catch you around, Unsui.”

“Yeah.” He repeats, this time his timbre completely betraying how quick he is in bidding Tenma farewell. “Bye, Temari.”

Tenma waves at the quarterback once he’s walked down the front porch, Unsui returning the wave like that of a shy child peering out the window. When the door closes, Tenma finds himself gazing at it for a bit longer before turning away and heading to his car. 

That went… a lot better than expected, and a part of him knew he ought to excuse himself quickly before he’d risk chatting with Unsui for hours. Agon’s older brother is a lot easier to talk to, mostly because he isn’t undressing Tenma with his eyes.

He gets in his car, and immediately takes his phone out to shoot Unsui a greeting text, that way he’d know it’s Temari talking to him. For the record, he will not follow in Agon’s steps in calling Unsui Shit-Bro of all things, he just chose to put him as ‘Bestie’ for the time being, just in case if somebody so happened to take a peek at his phone. Irony strikes again, when he realizes that it took him much longer to save Agon’s number in comparison.

He starts up his car, taps his finger against the steering wheel four times, and then dismisses the thought of texting Agon right now. He instead chooses to go home, completely undo his disguise, and go right back on with his day. The earlier theory of there being a reason behind the mystery surrounding Agon’s family might be more congruent to truth than not. Though, there is no consequence in not telling Agon that Temari met Unsui…

Hell, since Unsui isn’t declared as an important person to him, Tenma can act like that never happened in the face of Agon.

Chapter Text

Getting out of bed this morning was quite fruitful; Tenma woke up with a lot more energy than he bargained for.

To which the universe then decided to jostle his marbles, since he cannot have nice things anymore, manifesting in the form of a random phone call from Agon while he was eating breakfast.

“So I’m going to my uni’s gym in a bit. I know you said you were in town, and since Saikyou isn’t too far away, I’d be really happy if you dropped by.”

Yes, Tenma was in Tokyo. He was in a boba-themed cafe to buy some pancakes, and is currently sitting at his family’s home munching in peace. The moment those words leave Agon’s mouth, Tenma nearly choked on his boba-pancake bits.

Instead of doing the mentally stable thing and saying ‘no’, Tenma unfortunately over-thought this invite as Agon’s means to sus his pseudo girlfriend out. It could mean three things: Agon is making it official by showing everyone what his girlfriend looks like, or he’s skeptical and wants to bring Temari to Saikyou just to see if anybody would recognize her, or it could mean absolutely nothing.

Well, he’ll be finding that out real soon. Amongst other things…

His previous experience with wearing heels is doing justice, because apparently he’s killing his catwalk. Learning how to tuck wasn’t too hard, that of which he took the liberty of trying a couple days ago. Luckily for Tenma, he has an interesting assortment of family members; his dad was once a former bodybuilder, his mother a well-known baker. Both his closest aunts are fashion designers, and his closest uncle is a drag queen;

“All you gotta do is make sure you’re completely waxed down there, and then-” His uncle, Akihiro, went into his Hermes tote (that of which he brought without question when Tenma asked him for help), and handed Tenma an unopened packet. It contained a weird contraption that looked like a normal thong. “Wear this.”

Tenma’s cheeks went pink; not necessarily because the garment looks like a girl’s undergarments, but because it wasn’t the first time he’s worn something similar out of curiosity. He’s… a very experimental person, let’s just say that. “Isn’t this… just a thong?”

Akihiro shook his head, “It’s a tuck gaff. It works like a thong, all you have to do is slide your man parts in the pocket. You’re not going hardcore, so just put this on and it’ll keep everything down there compressed.”

Tenma looked at the packet and the red tuck gaff within. It came with instructions as well, and he blinked when Akihiro said that last bit. “What would going… hardcore mean? If it works better than this does, I wouldn’t mind doing it because I’d rather wear skirts and shorts.”

“Ah… Well that,” Akihiro tossed a hand back and nonchalantly said, "would be taping down your privates. You might end up scabbed, though.”

Tenma looked from his uncle, to the tucking gaff in his hand, then back to his uncle, and then at the living room floor. Yeah… he’ll stick with the gaff instead…

It actually doesn’t feel uncomfortable, and as far as he tested before leaving, one could touch his crotch and not feel a bulge at all. Walking in heels felt more natural with it on, and if the wind decides to be his nemesis, he’s wearing an extra pair of compression briefs underneath.

His actual fit is something… risky, to say the least. His skater skirt, black and embroidered in lace, reveals his mid-thigh. A portion of his shapely legs are covered with burgundy thigh-highs that are slightly see through, and his black laced ankle boots are a couple inches high. His lips are stained deep red with soft eye wings, and his wig is styled in a fringed, half ponytail, the ends sporting soft waves. By notion of one of his girlfriends, he’s also wearing a blood red fitted cropped halter.

Walking through campus with the look that he has on right now, and the rose pink shades he’s adorning has him feeling like a celebrity who accidentally stumbled into the public without a convincing disguise. Not that anybody was coming up to him because of the bustle of his walk, but guys and girls alike were staring at him either in awe, or with a slight tinge of envy. He can’t be self conscious, like being urged to check if he didn’t tuck properly or feeling like he needs to secure his wig tighter.

Agon should already be at the football club right now, and Tenma knows how to get there, but he’ll have to put up his best facade to ask one of the players in there where the football gym is. Tenma chose to be fashionably late so that he could spend the least amount of time here as possible.

Saikyou’s clubhouse entrance is completely open, and upon stepping in Tenma is whisked by the building’s air conditioning. As expected, there aren’t many students around; some of the 2nd and 3rd string members are sitting in the locker room fresh out of a gym session. Tenma pretends to walk around confused until he reaches a slightly opened door that’s at the start of a short corridor. He knows that this is the captain’s office, and Hiruma or Mamori seeing him would be the safest bet he could place. Very rarely do either of them leave the office door open, though.

Slowly pushing the door open, he sees Banba sitting there all alone, head tucked downwards looking at what Tenma can assume is practice datum. Even with him facing the direction of the door, Banba is not only super focused on what he’s reading, but he’s wearing headphones as well. The halfback exhales in relief; Banba at least, is somebody he can feel comfortable talking to like this.

He approaches the lineman until he’s standing just a couple feet from him. Banba still doesn’t seem to acknowledge him, and knowing the tall man before him, he does not listen to particularly loud music. He must be really focused. “Umm… hey-”

It’s quite funny to talk to someone you know so well like they’re a stranger. He had to keep from playfully slapping Banba’s shoulder and grinning at him like he normally would in this scenario.

Banba’s eyes flicker from the papers to the floor for a second, and that’s when he gets a glimpse of the ankle boots. He blinks again and trails his gaze up and nearly double takes at the extremely pretty face patiently awaiting his response…

That of which took five seconds too damn long to give. Banba does a hard blink and then slightly shakes his head. “H-Hello there.” He clears his throat, trying not to look like he’s struggling to maintain eye contact. “You don’t look like a student from here, uh…”

Tenma blinks and tilts his head before turning his head to look at the door, even though he had closed it. Is he really that hot? There’s no way Banba cannot recognize him. He wouldn’t mind breaking character if it meant keeping certain confusions abay. “I am, actually.”

“Really?” Banba blinks; he seems to be blinking a lot now. “I don’t mean to be rude at all, but why are you here?”

Tenma wants to pat himself on the back for his exceptional makeup skills, and slap Banba’s damn forehead so that his reaction doesn’t gas him up too much. “Because-” He huffs exasperatedly. “Banba, it’s me!”

“I- huh?” The lineman completely takes his headphones off now. He’s hearing Temari, so he has no idea what he’s talking about. “I don’t… know you?”

Tenma takes a quick glance behind him for good measure before switching to his normal voice. “No, Banba. It’s me! Tenma!”

It takes Banba a good five seconds to register a male voice coming from the petite, cutely dressed girl in front of him. Then it takes five more seconds for him to realize that it’s his damn team member. Once it hits him, Banba slaps both hands against his head, eyes wide like saucers.

“Wh-” He literally has to stand from his seat. “Wait… are you..? How?” Banba kept glancing from Tenma’s dolled up face, to his slightly protruding bosom, to his skirt and his legs. He points a finger at the halfback with his mouth still agape, words lost in his throat.

“Yes, Banba. I’m here because I have to… go see him.” Tenma shakes his head; he doesn’t want to say Agon’s name. “I came in here to ‘ask’ where the gym was but I… I couldn’t just pretend in front of you.”

Now that Banba knows who he really is, the lineman’s stupor dies down. “Oh… Well, I’ll… take you to the gym then.”

Tenma softly clears his throat, and switches back to sounding like Temari, the simple action making Banba’s brows twitch up. “Thank you.” 

Banba leaves everything behind, likely because he’ll come back to continue what he was doing, and ‘guides’ Tenma over to the football team’s gym. It isn’t too far from Hiruma’s office; just back down the corridor from their locker room. Tenma is seeing more and more lesser string members leave, likely because Agon’s presence scared them, and at this point the ambience of moving students dims down, so much so that Tenma could actually hear the sounds of barbells being dropped in the actual gym.

Tenma swallows, a sudden ball of anxiety welling up in his core. He keeps glancing at Banba as they walk, like that of a scared child on their first day of preschool. He whispers in his womanly voice, stifling his nervousness. “Maybe like… after all this, we can get some food after? I don’t know if I can like… You know…”

There’s nobody in this portion of the building, but Banba looks unreasonably uncomfortable for some reason. He can't even look Tenma in the eye. “Uh…”

“...What?” Tenma blinks, frowns, and misinterprets his demeanor. He quickly lowers his voice, now that they’re paces away from the gym entrance. “I don’t mean that to start stuff! I just don’t think I’m gonna wanna go home after this.”

“No, it’s just-” Banba makes a loose gesture with his hand while slightly averting his gaze, again. “Your disguise is super convincing…”

“Are you serious right now?” Tenma sighs, exasperated. “I’m not that pretty. I mean, I may pass, but-”

“No, no Tenma, you’re… You don’t understand.” Banba has to stand up even straighter and gesture with open palms to make his point: “You look like a completely different person. An actual woman and… it’s throwing me off.”

“Ugh…” Tenma rolls his eyes. Banba isn’t wrong, and it’s a good thing that Banba thinks this, but he wonders if the lineman will consider counseling after being bamboozled earlier. He’s never seen Banba look so close to being flustered; hell, if Tenma was an actual girl, he’d reckon Banba would catch feelings for him.

This revelation suddenly made him think about Ikkyu, whom he doesn’t talk to much, but recalls him being unable to function around girls. If that kid is in the fucking gym, I swear…

“You ready?”

The brunette blinks from his thoughts and looks up at Banba. It’s quite thoughtful of Banba to ask such a thing instead of opening the doors while Tenma’s still digesting the consequences of this visit. “Y-yeah…”

Banba doesn’t believe him. “Just let me know. I won’t open the doors until you’re not staring at the ground like that.”

“Banba-” He scoffs and hits the lineman’s shoulder. “Open the doors. I’ll say hi to him, and get this over with.”

The lineman stares at him a moment longer as if waiting for visible affirmation, and when Tenma gives him a ready nod, Banba pushes the door open and allows Tenma in first. Tenma, in his skirt, boots, and near model-esque makeup, sees nothing but familiar heads. The majority of them aren’t close enough to the entrance to heed his presence, but the ones that are…

To the immediate right where the pulldown machines are, Jumonji is in the middle of a rep, Yamato is looking down at his phone typing away, and Taka is right beside him rummaging for something in his bag. The way they all stopped, dropped what they did and stared in that order would’ve made Tenma fall to the floor laughing if it wasn’t because of him.

“Banba, hey-” Surprisingly, Taka is the first one to speak. “Uh… Didn’t know you were bringing a friend over…”

Taka looks up and down at Tenma, and it just occurs to the halfback that he’s dressed exactly like Taka’s type of girl; dark clothing, hair messily tied back, and red lipstick. Someone help him…

“Yeah…” Jumonji’s eyes almost glaze over like he’s checking him out but he quickly rights himself. “What’s your name?”

Banba opens his mouth, but then looks down at Tenma, who looks up at him, who’s also inwardly asking for help in a situation that he definitely doesn’t need help in. It wouldn’t hurt to introduce himself as Agon’s… girlfriend, would it?

“Look man, if you wanted to bring a date to the gym, you gotta remember,” Yamato grins with a finger pointed up, the obvious humor latent in his voice, “The football gym is always in use. This isn’t the most intimate spot, y’know.”

“Sh- she- This- Uhh…” Banba actually stutters at the implication, it’s making Jumonji chuckle. “This isn’t my girlfriend, Yamato. This-” He gestures towards Tenma, perhaps in an attempt to take attention off of him. “This is Agon’s girlfriend.”

Jumonji’s face goes from amused, to crashing down into pure shock. Taka, who’s fished a book out of his bag, wordlessly looks Tenma up and down as his book slips right out of his hand and falls to the floor.

You know something is just downright outrageous when Taka drops his book.

Only Jumonji and Taka know that Agon’s ‘girlfriend’ is actually not a girl, and Jumonji can’t help but really scrutinize the ‘woman’ beside Banba. “Oh…” 

Tenma gives his best smile at Jumonji, who is having trouble figuring out how this hot girl in front of him could be a whole ass man, and as for Taka…

Tenma’s pretty sure Taka’s brain just logged out.

“Nice to meet you guys…” He waves softly; Tenma realizes the only person who isn’t drowning in revelation is Yamato, rightfully so. Speaking of which, is Yamato checking me out right now-

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Kongo!” Yamato says the moniker like it isn’t the most illegal surname to ever be uttered. He approaches Tenma with a hand to shake. Tenma grasps it, and Yamato’s grip is notably soft as he slightly bows a bit, his smile beaming bright over him.

Tenma, in all of his years at Teikoku, has always known that Yamato dislikes him for reasons that have nothing to do with athletic prowess. It is so strange to see Yamato smiling at him. 

“If you’re looking for Agon, he’s-” Yamato turns around in the supposed direction Agon is in. “He’s probably in the refreshment room or something, that’s where I last saw him.” He lets go of Tenma’s hand, which the halfback didn’t realize he was holding this whole time. “I can take you there if you want.”

Banba seems to sense something that Tenma either isn’t sensing, or is subconsciously ignoring to sense, because the lineman cuts in with a slight chuckle. “It’s fine, Yamato. I can point her to it and she can go on her own.”

A part of Tenma wanted to ask Banba to walk with him just because he feels so uncomfortable with the prospect of Yamato trying to hit on him. 

“Temari,” Banba meets Tenma’s eyes; his gaze shifts for a nanosecond but he doesn’t lose his poise, “The refreshments room is up ahead, just past the door to your left.”

Tenma nods, seeing Yamato back away with a closed mouth smirk. Yamato respects Banba enough to not persist. “Thank you.” He bows slightly before walking (rather strutting, with these heels) ahead, as Banba had pointed. There were other notable faces, most being juniors, and they all gaped at him walking by like he is the most majestic thing they’ve seen in years.

If he could just… disintegrate and disappear from people’s sight at will, he would. By Buddha, he totally would.

The refreshment room isn’t closed off; it’s a separate section of the gym that has no door. There is a small area in said room with a door, and the moment he reaches the dividing wall leading to the room, he quickly saunters in and practically glues his back to the wall with a deep sigh of relief. The last thing he’d want to see is Agon threatening to crush everybody in the gym for staring at him that way. 

Maybe I should take my back off this wall, just in case he walks in and thinks something’s wrong…

Tenma fixes his posture, smoothing his hair and pulling his skirt down, and starts to trail towards the separate room thinking he’d be alone, or most likely, see Agon in there. He opens the door with his gaze downwards and once he tucks his hair back with an exhale he doesn’t come face to face with Agon. The door knob is still on his fingers, and staring back at him is… Akaba. Akaba, who doesn’t look like he’s worked out at all, who is also wiping his shades. When Akaba looks at him however, Tenma doesn’t see the usual red contacts he adorns; Akaba’s natural eyes are a very light brown, light enough to compliment the redness of his hair. Coupled with his partially unbuttoned dress shirt and black slacks, Tenma cannot help but stare for two reasons… 

No wonder Akaba always has those striking red contacts on. His real eyes are so freaking pretty.

Akaba doesn’t seem to mind his staring, though he’s especially taking in the appearance of Agon’s new girlfriend. His light brown eyes go from Tenma’s really pretty, dolled-up face to his outfit, the hand holding his glasses propped up with the tip of his shades touching his lips.

Tenma has to act like his breathing didn’t just hitch. Why was that hot? Why the hell was that hot?

You might be asking what the second reason for his staring is. Well, Tenma is dressed as a woman, standing right in front of the same guy whom his girlfriends and he have nicknamed Collars. Back in high school, Tenma met a boy in his 2nd year who had transferred from Bando High School along with many other Bando kids. Collars was different, however; Collars was the only transfer student from Bando that ended up in the 1st string. He was very quiet, humble and sweet, so Tenma grew curious to get to know him, and before he knew it, his damn sanity went haywire. Collars was the guy who ended up making Tenma question his sexuality, and here he is, standing right in front of him…

Smirking. Amused.

Tenma tries not to white-knuckle his way out of the room. Old feelings start to bubble back up; those feelings are not in his pot anymore, but he can still feel its heat. 

“Good afternoon.” Akaba nods a little, the tip of his shades still dancing around his bottom lip. 

Tenma almost struggles to speak, which is strange because he’s not uncomfortable around Akaba by any means, but when the redhead is staring at him like that… 

For fuck’s sake, I swear I don’t like him like that anymore! “Hi, umm…” Tenma glances back at the door, moving his fingers from the knob, and trying not to look like a deer caught in headlights. “I thought my boyfriend would be here.”

Akaba’s eyebrow quirks up. “Your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, I’m-” Tenma stops for a moment, hyper aware of the ambience between them, or lack thereof. This particular part of the refreshment room is completely silent. He shakes his head slightly, his nerves are starting to act up again. “Sorry, my name is Temari. I’m Agon’s girlfriend, I just wanted to see him for a bit.”

Funny how he hesitated to give his alias to the others, but didn’t think twice about giving it to Akaba.

Akaba looks him up and down again, the clear awe not leaving his eyes. “Oh, really?” His eyebrows raise along with his chin. “Well, Temari, my name is Akaba. Me and Agon are in the same team. It’s nice to meet you.”

His voice is really nice- Is it possible for heeled boots and thong gaffs to possess a man? “Nice to meet you too, Akaba…” The name slips out like the first sip of a cold glass of water, way too smooth. Way too knowing. “I like your hair.”

He had to drop that weak ass compliment to keep from staring into Akaba’s eyes.

Akaba tilts his head, his smile growing a bit warm. “...Thank you.” He moves from the wall and starts to approach Temari, stopping just a few feet from Agon’s girlfriend. “How long have you and Agon been together?”

His tone sounded so strangely grabbing, like an interrogation rather than a curious inquiry. “We started dating at the beginning of this month.”

“Fuu…” Akaba hums, getting more comfortable with the woman before him. “May I ask, where have you two met each other?”

Tenma’s brow raises, then furrows. “Why ask…?” He would’ve ended that off by saying ‘Curious much?’, but he’s afraid he might slip up and start sounding flirty unintentionally, like he always does.

“I’ve never known Agon had a girlfriend, that’s why. He doesn’t mention any significant others to us, so this is a bit… riveting for me to see.” Akaba smiles softly, like a friend that’s seeing a milestone. Tenma feels so put off by it though; Akaba and Agon hate the shit out of each other. “You’re a very gorgeous lady, as well.”

Tenma grins, almost cheeses at him, even though he’s internally screaming. Damn, how the fuck is Akaba single again? He could’ve said pretty, he could’ve said beautiful, but he called me gorgeous… With his smooth deep voice, coupled with his looks, and those eyes? If Tenma was a girl he’d actually pounce on him. Shit, he wouldn’t need to be a girl to do that to be fair…

So, to keep from flushing like a dumbass, Tenma decides to act as he normally does with Agon. “You’re saying Agon couldn’t pull me? That’s not a kind thing to say about your fellow teammate.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” The redhead shrugs, “You seem rather counterfeit for his tastes. You do not fit his type at all.”

Tenma can’t tell if he should be worried that he’s in danger, or if he should step away from Akaba just in case he accidentally trips and maybe locks an embrace with the redhead by ‘accident’. “Looks like I didn’t need to.”

“Of course not…” Akaba does that damned smile again, casting his gaze downwards. Oh, he’s intrigued by Temari’s personality, that’s for sure, and Tenma is currently trying not to… he doesn’t know what he’s trying not to do. The redhead is making him think things, and he doesn’t want to indulge in those ideas. Their physical distance is intimate enough already.

Akaba starts to back off, going to set his glasses on the small table. “Let me know when you’re done pretending.”

Tenma blinks a few times; pretending? Why would Akaba think Temari would pretend to be Agon’s type? “What do you mean? Pretend?”

Akaba turns around again, and crosses his arms to give Temari a calculating look. He then saunters over until he’s right beside him just to close the door. Tenma backs away by mistake, and realizes way too late now that Akaba is essentially blocking the door. When the redhead turns again, he continues closing distance, forcing Tenma to back up as he speaks:

“I am quite aware of nuances beyond one’s major chords, and you, Temari… you’re quite the interesting composition…” He doesn’t relent, even until Tenma’s back hits the wall, and when it does, Akaba stands just close enough to crane his neck down at him. His palm rests against the wall just inches from Tenma’s ear. “I really mean it when I tell you this is riveting.”

Tenma gulps, trying to salvage as much as his brain as possible because god damn, Akaba smells really good and his towering gaze is giving him jelly-knees. “I don’t… I don’t understand-”

“You do. You surely do.” Akaba smirks, looks down at Tenma’s not-so-stable legs, and purses his lips together before full-on sneering: “Is this really you, Tenma?”

If somebody were to snatch his wig at this moment… The whole world around him stops, everything pauses, even the ticking of the analog clock seems to mute itself, and Tenma is just there, helpless, staring into Akaba’s eyes, caught red handed with his wrists tied back.

“How di- how- '' He starts; there is no point in hiding it, especially around Akaba. How the fuck could he have known?! “How did you know?”

“Fuu…” Akaba moves away from him, diminishing the ominous aura as quickly as it came. “Your gait hasn’t changed. Those heels don’t hide that from me, and the serenade your personality gives… that measure hasn’t changed that much. You do very well in hiding that from the others, though.” He goes back to his glasses, hanging them against the opened part of his dress shirt. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me… Though I’d like to ask why you are partaking in such a play.”

So Akaba doesn’t even fucking know about Hiruma’s scheme?! He’s not even in on the catfishing, and he managed to figure out who he was from talking to him?! Tenma exhales incredulously, Akaba must be fucking psychic. “Well, Hiruma didn’t like how Agon was flirting with Mamori, so he made me… dress up…” He gestures down to himself.

Akaba slowly nods, and for some reason that made too much sense to him. Tenma wants to ask why, but he feels like he shouldn’t. “Well…” He starts, and takes Tenma’s hand in a gentlemanly fashion. “He obviously isn't here anymore. I’d imagine he’d be in the far end of our gym.”

“Ah…” Tenma looks down at Akaba’s hand. His hand is soft, his grasp even softer, and for a moment Tenma forgets that he currently has four girlfriends. “I guess, ummm-”

“You don’t need to act afraid when speaking to me.”

“I’m not acting afraid, I’m just-” Tenma inhales; he’s been speaking in his womanly voice just in case someone walks in on them. “I’m in a skirt, in front of you. I feel weird now that you know…”

Akaba blinks and looks Tenma up and down. If Tenma was as smitten as he used to be, he’d assume Akaba was checking him out. “I don’t find it distracting.” The redhead shrugs, smoothing a thumb over the back of Tenma’s hand before releasing his hand altogether. The action makes Tenma look down at his hand as he speaks; “I quite like the change in composition… but your usual overture is most compelling, Tenma.”

As an old-time dance kid, musical terms are not lost on him, and that statement alone makes Tenma’s face heat up real bad. To make matters worse, Akaba’s looking right at him with a sneer that both reeks that he knows what he’s doing, and that he is being completely honest.

The door opens suddenly, and Akaba seamlessly slides backwards to lean against the table. Tenma turns his attention to see Agon, in the flesh, standing with his head tilted to the side and a brow raised up.

Hopefully Agon thinks that the more-than-likely pink shade in Tenma’s face is just his light makeup. 

“Ah, there you are!” He practically runs over to Agon and hugs him, as though he was trying to get away from the redhead who’s currently watching the display with innocent eyes.

Akaba shrugs, “Guess you wouldn’t need to head to the racks.”

“Hey babe…” Agon chuckles and rubs at Tenma’s lower back, almost pausing for too long when he gets a clear look at Temari’s cute face. “What’re you doing in here?”

“I thought you were in here.” Tenma releases him and feels his hair. “So I was going to ask your friend if he knew where you were.”

At the word ‘friend’, Agon’s eyes flick to Akaba with a gaze that is dangerously unreadable, and if Tenma was an unsuspecting woman, he wouldn’t have noticed it. It was used on purpose, to see if Agon would accuse Akaba of trying to makeout with his hot girlfriend.

That’s not something Tenma would be averse to, but… that’s neither here nor there.

His eyes, when he looks back at Tenma, snap back to a loving gaze. “Well, here I am. C’mon… I’m almost done with my sets actually.”

“Really? You couldn’t at least let me watch?” Tenma grins at his fake boyfriend, even though that sentence makes him want to snort battery acid because he just said that in front of Akaba. He turns and starts to exit along with Agon, not sure if he should wave back at Akaba or exit this room like the fullback doesn’t exist. 

He sorely chooses the latter; Agon is an attention whore.

Agon actually spared Tenma the opportunity to watch him workout, which is odd considering how he’s always extra performative in front of the girls that he drags around for one night stands. Tenma kind of expected that treatment, even more so because he and Agon are a ‘thing’. It seems like Tenma came in a bit too late for that to be a possibility.

Which is a great thing on his part, to be honest.

While the dreadhead is freshening up, Tenma chooses to ‘wander’ his way back towards Hiruma’s office, and instead of seeing Banba in there, he’s greeted by Hiruma and Mamori. Banba’s papers are still in the room.

Hiruma usually has his perpetual smirk on his face to everything, but when he sees Tenma as Temari for the first time, the blonde’s jaw drops. He is legitimately gobsmacked, and Mamori as well.

At the same time, Tenma steps in and freezes right before them. Why the heck do I feel like I’m in trouble?

“Well, well…”  The quarterback recovers his gusto almost as immediately as he’d lost it. “There’s a face I don’t think I’ve ever seen before… Close the door.”

Tenma turns around and closes the door that Hiruma’s motioned to. Mamori, still shocked at what she’s seeing, finally speaks up. “Tenma, is… Is that you?!”

The halfback rubs the back of his neck, not wanting to touch his long wig. He speaks in his normal voice, “Y-yeah…” Then beams a smile at the both of them; “This is my disguise… how convincing is it?”

Hiruma approaches him and circles around, evaluating each and every inch of Tenma’s attire. “Very, very convincing…” The quarterback looks him up and down fondly, and Tenma starts to feel flustered. He’s looking almost too fondly. “I’m a lil’ jealous of Fucking Dreads; he gets to chop it up with this pretty thing, kekeke…”

‘Flirting’ isn’t new to Tenma; hell, with his giddy personality, he always accidentally comes off as flirty, and he and Hiruma have had their fair share of flirty banter. While he knows that his disguise is practically fool-proof, Tenma feels like Hiruma was being serious about that last part.

Even Mamori caught onto it too, and she decides to humor them both. “Tenma and Agon aren’t actually dating, you know…”

That makes Hiruma side eye his manager. “I’m aware, Manajerk.”

The now brunette sends a quick text to Agon and sits on one of the chairs in front of Hiruma’s desk, right next to Mamori. “So… just a month, right?”

“That sort of depends on you, Pretty Prince.” Hiruma shrugs, “Have you made up a proper excuse to end it in a month?”

“I have, actually. I said I’d head back home since I’m ‘visiting’.” Tenma crosses his hands on top of his palm. “But umm… I don’t know, man...” He starts to fidget, there’s so much he has to say but he doesn’t know if he should say it, or where to even start.

Mamori tilts her head, concerned. “What’s wrong, Tenma?”

Tenma takes a deep breath, and then visibly deflates. “He’s acting very different from what I expected…” He searches for the right words again, both Mamori and Hiruma awaiting his explanation, “I haven’t seen him flirting with other girls whenever I’m here and, you know, not all dressed up. He’s been very communicable; a little too smothering but, he shows no signs of being a douche. He seems so awfully legit and it’s actually disturbing me.”

“Just like how you’re lookin’ real nice in that dress, the mop head is obviously actin’ nice to keep you swooning.” Hiruma feels at the end of his pistol, a sneer creeping up his lips. “He hasn’t tried to fuck you yet, no?”

Mamori gives Hiruma a stern look, while Tenma shakes his head and wishes his brain could automatically censor out words. “He hasn’t.”

“Then you’re a good catch. You’re not being easy, so expect Agon to keep his facade up the way you keep yours.” The quarterback snorts, “Don’t you know how to act, theater boy?”

“Duh, of course I do, Yoichi.” Tenma rolls his eyes, again he’s the only person who could speak to Hiruma with such gusto while not getting shot in the forehead. “It’s… I’m just a little worried.”

“Awww, worried you’ll actually break Fucking Dreads’ heart? You’re such a doll, Pretty Prince.”

“Hiruma…” Mamori glares at her boyfriend, “This plan was conflicting from the start, and you know how Tenma is as a person.”

Mamori must be feeling like she’s two steps away from entering the twilight zone or something. Her best male friend is ‘dating’ the one guy who’s been harassing her for years just to keep said man from interacting with her, and for her to see it actually working? Her confusion, and Hiruma’s absolute attitude over Tenma’s observations make the halfback feel like there’s much more to this whole scheme…

Aside from Hiruma waking up one day and thinking ‘Tenma is the only guy in the Saikyou Wizards who would look extremely convincing in a dress’, of course.

Tenma clears his throat, using his Temari voice because he feels a little paranoid. “I’m fine, Mamori. Trust me.” The stark contrast in his tone makes her cock her neck back, but she smiles faintly at him. She believes him, but Mamori is Mamori; she’s always concerned for everyone’s well being.

As expected, the three of them are interrupted by the door being opened very quietly, and surprisingly (not to Tenma), it’s Agon who’s opened the door. The dreadhead never opens doors so respectfully, the only reason he did so is because Tenma had texted Agon on his whereabouts.

“Speaking of the devil-'' Hiruma stands up, the blonde demon snickering at his own use of words. Agon’s eye twitches. “We were just keeping your little miss’ safe, kekekeke…”

Agon looks Hiruma up and down. “I reckon you were, Blondie.” At least their rivalry isn’t kept away from Temari. Agon didn’t call Hiruma ‘trash’, though. “I wanna talk with her in private. I don’t want you two gossiping about us.”

Now, if Temari was an actual stranger… This would make both Hiruma and Mamori look like a couple that spreads rumors. If Temari didn’t know either of them, she would’ve disliked them by assumption of Agon’s words. Tenma raises a brow feigning oblivion, while Mamori and Hiruma promptly excuse themselves. Again, this is something the quarterback would never do unless a person he trusts is sitting in his office.

Tenma happens to be one of those people Hiruma trusts. If Agon’s ego wasn’t so damn big, he’d be wondering why Hiruma would leave a girl he didn’t know with him in his office.

“So… How’ve you been?” Agon starts, and he goes to sit on the desk in front of Tenma. That’s customary of Agon, he can never sit on chairs correctly to begin with. “I’m hoping you didn’t have to travel too far to come here.”

“I’m fine.” Tenma giggles a little but that isn’t a lie, he’s certain his stomach will start rumbling if he doesn’t eat within the next two hours. “And either way, I’m always traveling, it’s not new to me. What about you?”

“I’m good, I’m a’ight…” Agon leans back, arms propping him up, as he looks up and down at Temari’s attire with an ensnared gaze. “You look real good today, babe.”

Tenma’s whole gut somersaults; as a man, given that tone Agon just used, he’s lucky they are not sitting on a loveseat or a bed at this moment. That tone of voice sounds like he’s a few moments away from tearing Tenma’s clothes right off. He also realizes that since Agon just finished working out, he’s probably much hornier than he normally is (if that’s even possible). The halfback knows how that feels because he’s the same way; whenever he finishes practice, he’s more likely to be very sensual later.

Let’s hope that I’m safe here, alone… with him… Because what’s stopping Agon from bending him over the table and-

Tenma flips his hair back appearing completely normal, as though his thoughts aren’t purposely giving him pseudo PTSD. “Thanks, I wanted to try out something different.”

“Red really suits you.” Agon grins now, and then he tilts his head. “How do you like my teammates?”

Tenma blinks at Agon, and then shrugs; Temari doesn’t have much of an opinion on them. “They’re all cool, I’ve only seen a few of them.”

“Ah, yeah I… Don’t really talk too much on campus. I’m only really acquainted with my team captain and his girlfriend.” Agon moves to shrug both hands up, and Tenma finds it extremely surprising that Agon is telling the truth. He doesn’t actually talk to anybody in terms of actual conversation, aside from Hiruma and Ikkyu. “And that guy you met?”

Tenma won’t dare act like he knows Akaba’s name. He chooses to act like that question had no double meaning behind it. “He’s a nice guy, too.” He crosses his legs; maybe, if he tampers around with the aforementioned wording, he could get some answers here. “I didn’t think you’d be friends with musicians.”

Agon chuckles, and it sounds a little too sharp at first. “Me and him aren’t friends, we just play in the same team. Did he tell you that?”

That was an actual question, a chink in his armor. Tenma shakes his head, “I just assumed, honestly.”

“Hmm…” Agon hops off the desk and starts sauntering around, maybe he can tell that he looks a little too paranoid. “He is a little creepy, that’s why I had to ask. I reckon most girls don’t spend much time around him because uhh… he tends to… stalk around.”

I know this motherfucker did NOT-! Did Agon really just project his own perverse behavior onto Akaba, somebody who likely is too good to date anybody enrolled in campus?! Since when would Akaba give off the vibe of a stalker?

He’d rather not entertain the prospect of Agon trying to fight Akaba over talking to his girlfriend either. In a strange way, Tenma can’t imagine such a thing; this might be a crazy take of his, but Akaba might be the only actual person Agon is actually scared of. “We should get lunch, Agon.”

“We really should, I’m starving…” Agon casts a look towards the adjacent wall; where there’s a bulletin of old sports certificates and awards won by players of the Wizards over the years. He doesn’t know if that was subconscious or not, because Akaba was crowned Tokyo’s MVP in his first year again… Said coronation is on a gilded paper pinned to that same bulletin. They are both polar opposites; unlike Agon’s impulsive and whorish behavior, Akaba always seems so incredibly sure of himself. Maybe Tenma’s unearthed a deep insecurity of Agon’s by doing so much as interacting with Akaba.

Or maybe he’s overthinking it.

“Sushi?” Agon simply asks, now that he is standing up, though Tenma’s psychoanalysis delays his response time. “Babe?”

He blinks, eyelashes fluttering cutely. “Sure… Where would you wanna go?” As Temari, he smiles with his chin up to look most attractive to his boyfriend. As Tenma however, he doesn’t know if he’s accidentally put himself in the hot seat for taking too long to answer.

Because I was looking at that board, where Akaba’s face was. Tenma gets up and fixes his skirt daintily. What if he thinks I was staring at the same guy that I was told is a ‘creep’? What would that spell for him?

“Maybe Kiki’s.” Agon takes Temari’s hand very gently, almost slips his hand into his pseudo-girlfriend’s palm. It’s a stark, comforting contrast to the internal fear festering in Tenma’s brain. “It’s not too far from here. I don’t want you to travel too far.”

Temari chuckles at his thoughtfulness, “I keep telling you I’m fine with walking around, Agon!”

“Yeaaaaah, but I’m not-” Agon heads to the door, stringing Tenma along with hands barely grasping his own. It is a means to show he’s not being forceful, at least that’s what Tenma can piece, but he doesn’t really recall Agon being a ‘hand holder’. He puts his arms over Tenma’s shoulders very often, but he doesn’t walk while holding hands. He sure as hell doesn’t start walking ahead while doing so, almost like a person dragging their favorite friend along somewhere. Agon’s true esteem is becoming more and more obvious, and Tenma doesn’t know if this is something to happily bask in, or if he should be awfully concerned for how Agon really is.

He shouldn’t think too much about what Agon said about Akaba. It’s very likely Agon isn’t thinking anything of it either, and if he is… It’ll be Tenma’s job to reassure Agon that his girlfriend’s eyes are only on him.

Chapter Text

Two weeks in and Tenma finds himself getting more and more comfortable with his ‘double agent’ antics. Not necessarily because he's gotten closer to Agon, but for a few reasons:

A couple of days ago, his ebbing curiosity regarding why he was chosen to do this was partially sated when Hiruma was asking him questions about how their dates went; if he didn't know any better he would've assumed Hiruma actually cared about his wellbeing. He also asked if Agon was eyeing any women whenever Tenma wasn't in his line of sight, and Tenma found himself having to dig through his memory to answer that question. The dreadhead seems to only have eyes for Temari and Temari only, that much is a given considering he immediately started driving them both around whenever his father's pickup truck was readily available. 

Now, during practice when he's obviously not wearing his disguise… Tenma has to keep his distance from Agon. The dreadhead, while happy when he’s with his girlfriend, has been hurling more homoerotic comments at Tenma whenever he’d speak to literally any of the guys, namely Banba and Akaba. It never got physical, but Taka and Jumonji both agreed that there is something extremely wrong with how reactive Agon is towards Tenma's very existence. 

It’s beyond mind boggling, and for poor soft-hearted Tenma, a bit overbearing at times to deal with. It's like Agon is trying to isolate Tenma from the other men in the team, a dumb move to do when Tenma is his superior. 

Call him toxic, because every time Agon would insult Tenma, Tenma would finish practice, kiss his own teeth, and proceed to text Unsui on the phone like he's Temari. He isn't flirting with Unsui at all, but he's decided to use his connections to the older Kongo brother as a means to get more information on Agon as a person. He also really likes Unsui’s personality because he reminds him of Yamabushi.

Tenma is sitting on a bench in one of the outdoor vendor hubs in Shinjuku, not too far from the outer city junction, munching on a sponge cake while typing away to Agon's older brother. There was no practice today, but Tenma would think about how Unsui probably doesn't have anyone to talk to, and it would make him sad. 

Bestie: I would've never guessed you knew anything about football

Tenma smirks; he figures blurring the lines between himself and Temari by mentioning football would earn him brownie points. Well, both you and Agon play football in college so I almost always hear SOMETHING about it from him xD . He pauses, then breaks monotony; Do you always drive back and forth from the Kansai area after practice? 

Bestie: I was only here for one day the other week, the day I met you. I left afterwards, but I'm back again today. 

That sounds tiring… From what Unsui told him the other day, he returned to his parents’ house just to help deliver stuff to some areas on his father’s behalf. The older twin used to send one word replies and if he sent a sentence that was more than six words, he used to apologize about it in some roundabout way. Luckily, Temari’s personality is breaking him out of his shell a little. Does your team practice everyday? 

Bestie: The Fires practice every two weeks, but we've used this week as a break. By ‘we’ Tenma knows Unsui is excluding himself. I was… Also invited to some hangout by Agon's team captain. 

Very interesting , because Tenma is invited to the same place today. He'll act like he has no clue about it though. 

Temari: OMG so you'll be around the area tonight! Maybe we can run into each other before you go! :D

He stands up from the court bench to throw out the cake wrapper, and heads down the vendor street. The place they're heading to is Shiraki, a rather expensive restaurant on Hiruma’s treat. Knowing his captain, he likely bribed the owners for a reservation in one of the exclusive areas. Tenma adjusts his headphones (fluffy and white because he's feeling especially good today) and smiles at Unsui’s response. 

Bestie: That would be funny, Tokyo is a large city. 

Temari: It is… Where are you meant to be later?

Bestie: At Shiraki, if you’ve ever heard of it.

Temari: Oooh expensiiiive… Then he decides to humor the quarterback. Are you going on a date?

Unsui: Real funny, Temari…

He isn’t fully looking as he’s walking to the parking lot, which neighbors the city subway lines in this area. Tenma gets a bit distracted chuckling at Unsui’s dry quip when he bumps into someone taller than him; the person was coming out from the station’s entrance and they had held their arms out to keep Tenma from actually falling.

“Oh, I’m sorry-” Tenma bows at first before he realizes that he's staring at a face he recognizes . He nearly has a stroke seeing Agon’s eyes peer down at him, but from the concerned gaze and the obvious lack of hair… it’s actually Unsui blinking back down at him. Irony catches up to Tenma and he’s a little too spooked to express immediate recognition.

Unsui smiles softly, “It’s fine, Tenma. I actually didn’t think I’d run into you.”

Welp, so much for ‘running into’ Unsui before he goes to Shiraki. 

“Heyyyy…” Tenma smiles a little disjointedly, pulling back his hair and fixing his footing. What crack is the universe smoking on, like how did Unsui just so happen to bump into him, when he was texting ‘Temari’ mere seconds before they bumped into each other? “How have you been?”

As much time as he spent around Hiruma’s friends and fellow captains, Unsui has always been a mystery to him. The quarterback is always quiet, and his freakish resemblance to Agon always throws Tenma off, yet the two of them have never conversed fully. Strange, at least to Tenma, because it seems like he and Unsui would be really good friends. Perhaps today is the day to test that out.

“I’ve been fine…” Unsui looks at him a bit too hard. Tenma had to remind himself that it’s because Unsui doesn’t socialize in public very often. It’s also because Unsui has only seen Tenma with his shades on. As though he’s suddenly aware of his own gaze, his expression softens. “I’m assuming you’re heading to the restaurant right now?”

Tenma would get there right on time, if not ten minutes later than Hiruma, Musashi and Mamori. Unsui, if he were to take the subway, would need to make three transfers; that Tenma knew. “Yup...”

The haste in Unsui’s speech would sound so jarring if he weren’t a stranger to him. “Alright, I’ll see you there.”

Tenma frowns, and stops Unsui before he can walk off; “Wait!” It wouldn’t be fair to just leave the quarterback to take public transportation since they’re both heading to the same place. He also would like to get to know Unsui more when he’s not Temari. “Dude, you don’t need to take the subway there, I can drive us both.”

Immediately, Unsui gets bashful. “No no, it’s fine, I can’t impose…”

Tenma shrugs, “I wouldn’t mind. My car is right there.” He swings his keys pointing backwards at the parking lot, “If you take the subway, you’d be very late.”

It seems like Unsui is well aware of that, and also looks apologetic already; he can tell the twin had some painstaking errand to do that made him run late. It’s even more telling that he’s taken the subway here instead of driving his father’s pickup truck. “I mean…”

He is about to say along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t want to be a burden’ which Tenma has to shut him up with reassurance. “We’re heading there together anyways, it’s fine! It would cut time on your end.”

Unsui sighs, and had Tenma turn around too quickly, he would’ve missed the way his shoulders loosened up, as though a wave of physical reprieve washed over him. Tenma doesn’t comment on it, but it does make him feel bad for the man.

The parking lot is a good two minutes away from the subway station, and the whole walk there was mostly silent. Tenma would pull a bit of small talk out of Unsui, but the quarterback would only give short replies. Again, they both are technically strangers, Tenma shouldn’t expect him to be so open. When they reach his car, Unsui gets in and almost immediately marvels at its interior.

Tenma grins at him. “It’s nice, right?” His car is a sports model coupe, and the interior is mostly customized and fully black; the center console is glossy black and the doors have carbon gunmetal trims. He even added little green accent lights around the car because he’s nice like that.

“Yeah…” Unsui looks back, then at his shoes, and then around again. “This must’ve cost a lot.”

The blonde starts his car, the smooth sound of its engine awing the captain. He has to stifle a laugh; it’s not very common for Kanto country boys like them to have cars like this, and he’s certain Unsui has never been in a sports car before. “My parents were really happy with my scholarship so… they got me this car.”

“In the same year it came out?” Unsui looks at him wide eyed. Tenma offhandedly finds his expression cute. “Wow…”

“Thank you, thank you…” Tenma peels out of the parking space. “So how's the Kansai region?”

“It’s very different…” Unsui hums very quietly, likely about to conclude his answer there. Tenma smiles at him and encourages him to continue through body language. “Enma University is a really good school, and their sports teams are extensive. They didn’t have a football team prior to me and Kurita joining, but they funded our football program seeing the amount of allstar alumni that joined.”

Said fund was actually a huge grant given to the representative of their university by Hiruma, because he’s a fucking nut. He wanted Kurita and Unsui to have a fair shot at creating an excellent football team, to not have to lobby and sort out funds and means necessary to start a football club like Hiruma had done with the Devil Bats. Hiruma obviously kept this a secret, as he was certain Unsui would feel guilty and indebted to Saikyou’s captain for doing such a kind thing.

“What about you?” Unsui asks him, his hands folded neatly together in his lap. He’s so reclusive and shy, and Tenma has to remember that as of now, they don’t know each other. As far as Unsui knows, Tenma’s the super kind senpai that always smells like vanilla lattes and cherries.

“Honestly, we’ve been tightening up in our practice sessions, but… that’s not new. I’ve been fine…” How do I talk to him without bringing up what we’ve chatted about before? “I've been kinda wanting to get to know some of Hiruma’s friends from the other teams; I kinda know you, by proxy of course… I know Musashi. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get to know you.” Tenma shrugs loosely, glancing in Unsui’s direction and feeling bad seeing how surprised he looks. Through text, Unsui is comforting and has a dry and clean cut sense of humor; he’s hiding such a personality beneath those eyes. “Unless you like… don’t… wanna…”

He had to backtrack; he is afraid he’d sound flirty again. There were too many times where some guy thought he was coming onto them. Unsui shakes his head slightly. “No it’s… it’s alright…”

His voice trails, and Tenma catches on immediately. They reach a red light, to which Tenma fully faces him when the car idles. “... Alright?” He parrots, but it’s because he wants Unsui to express himself.

“I don’t really… Nothing about me is interesting. Especially not-” Unsui stops himself for a moment and gestures very minutely, “I don’t mean to be patronizing, it's just, I never thought you’d ever… want… to talk to me.”

“Huuuuh?” Tenma cocks his neck back, almost giving himself a double chin. If Unsui weren’t so tight lipped, he probably would’ve chuckled at that. “What gave you that impression?”

“You always seem to be somebody who has many friends.” Unsui states, but he looks like he’s about to backtrack again. “I don’t know much about you, but I hear that you are a very busy person so… It never seemed possible for you to, you know…” He gestures very loosely as he’s speaking.

The light turns green, and Tenma accelerates. He playfully scoffs and throws a hand at that. “Oh, come onnn… I’m not shallow like that.” 

He had to think about it for a moment. Unsui isn’t completely wrong, but believe it or not, Tenma isn’t somebody with many friends. One of the major reasons why he dates other women is because they were once friends with him. He always had trouble keeping platonic relationships with others, so he just resorted to dating the ones he gets close to. It keeps him from really feeling alone.

The blonde just shakes his head, “I really don’t do much, to be honest. I’m mostly at home, chatting on the phone with my girls.” Now he has to act oblivious. “You got a girlfriend?”

“Uh-” The question obviously caught Unsui off guard, but Tenma can’t look at his face for longer than a glance because he’s driving. “No, I don’t.”

Tenma makes a face, “Get outta here…”

“What do you mean?”

“I figured since you look just like Agon-” And Buddha forgive him for bringing up that arrogant hoe around his reticent brother, “You’d be with somebody by now.”

There’s a sharp intake of breath Unsui does the moment Tenma mentions his younger brother, but he scraps the expression and chuckles lightly, scratching the back of his head. “Heh well, no I… never had a girlfriend…” He goes quiet again, and Tenma eyes him for a moment to encourage him to talk more. “I never looked for one.”

He was hesitant to say that, and Tenma pouted a little. Unsui is handsome, more handsome than his starstruck younger brother in Tenma’s opinion. “Ahh…” It wouldn’t hurt to play conjecture as well, wouldn’t it? “It never crossed your mind?”

If he were looking, he would’ve caught the uncomfortable shift of Unsui’s furthermost arm. “I never did. I’ve just focused on football and school, I never really had the time to explore that.”

Tenma can hear confliction in Unsui’s tone, likely as though he’s second guessing his past experiences. “Even the women your brother was with wouldn’t try anything with you?

“I make my exit before they’d try, but I doubt they would’ve.” Unsui gestures towards himself. “I’ve only seen a handful of the girls Agon’s been with, and they ignored me. I figured that’s how they are…”

Those girls have no eyes. “Maybe you two could double date one day.”

Immediately, Unsui looks doubtful; “No shot.” He even shakes his head, his arm resting on the car door. “Agon would not want the girls he’s with to interact with anybody in his family.”

Tenma chides, “Maybe he fears you’d steal them?”

Unsui cracks a smirk at that, when a statement like that normally would prompt him to be serious. “But no, I wouldn’t. I don’t look for stuff like that.”

“Stuff like that?”

“Like- '' Again, there’s hesitance and anxiety in Unsui’s body language, as though the blonde is prying into something. “I don’t look for people with somebody, that’s not right. I’m the same way, I'll admit; I would prefer to… keep my partner a secret too.”

Tenma nods in agreement, “You have morals. Don’t ever change.” He meant that last part. 

Several minutes go by as they both sit in silence, at some point Tenma realizes that his radio wasn’t even on the whole time. Normally Tenma would have music playing as background noise, but he was so immersed in listening to whatever Unsui had to say, and Unsui’s company in general. Rarely does he ever feel comfortable sitting in silence with somebody (he has this fear that they may be bored of his presence), but that’s not the case with Unsui; they are both vibing in peace. 

They reach the inner city, Shiraki should be at least a few minutes away from where they are. “That was quick.” Unsui offhandedly says, he probably was unwilling to break the silence but had to, just because.

“Yup, and had you taken the subway, you would’ve still been at the first transfer, bud.” Tenma gives him a knowing, but playful look. The only reason why it takes so long by subway to Shiraki is because Shiraki is a long walk away from the stations. Most really lavish restaurants would take a quick taxi ride from a station if a person had to make haste.

Unsui has been glancing at Tenma a lot, gaze holding a repressed stare with an opinion that he almost doesn’t want to say. It’s only now that he decides to let it out. “I don’t mean to be weird but, I know you’re older than me.” Unsui starts, “But you look like… a younger version of Agon.”

Tenma’s eyes go wide. “That’s… scary.” To be very frank, people in Teikoku used to think that Tenma and Agon were related, and would joke about him being Tenma’s cousin until they saw how nasty he was. Tenma’s family is known to age gracefully, but hearing that out of Unsui’s mouth must be jarring for him. “I heard that years ago, but y’know… People know better. Agon and I are… arch nemeses at this point.”

Unsui’s eyes go up and down like he’s fondly sizing him up. “I always thought you two were alike.”

“Us? Me and him?” Tenma frowns, then follows the glance Unsui’s making. ”We don't even dress the same."

They both dress very differently; Tenma and Agon are like night and day. Agon favors bright and vibrant colors only, while Tenma either wears all black, or pale colors only. As of today, he’s only in a fitted black T-shirt and black sweatpants, the white stripe designs along his pants seams made of a reflective material.

Unsui shakes his head, “Well no, because you also… have girlfriends. The difference is that you're very kind.” He looks a little sheepish. “I can see that you’re a very nice and warm person.”

Shade to his younger brother, who is anything but nice and warm as a person. Since Tenma has his own bone to pick with Agon, it’s a bit eye opening to see Unsui, who’s normally taking the piss for his evil twin, partially give hints to how he really feels about Agon. Tenma can tell he probably despises how Agon gets away with everything; shit, he can relate too.

“I can tell the same with you.” Tenma grins at him, “You’re just shy.”

All Unsui can do is politely deny that with a chuckle.

“You know you’re a sweet guy, you just don’t wanna show off. I can see it.” Tenma jokingly punches his arm, an offhanded thought skips through his mind over how hard Unsui’s bicep is. “I think you and I could be real good friends.”

“Heh…” The quarterback smiles at that, there’s a bit of relief in his body language. Tenma wonders if he’s been trying to change his poise so that he wouldn’t be sorely judged, which makes Tenma want to hug him. “You think so?”

“Yeah, like… You’re super calm and nice, I uhh-” Tenma takes a moment to be very candid, he feels like he has to be. “I’ve only had one guy friend in my life so… having one now would be really nice because all of my friends are girls.”

Ironic how they’re heading to a restaurant together to meet Hiruma and Mamori, a couple, as well as Musashi. Even more ironic that Temari made it seem like Unsui was going on a date. This whole day has been very ironic.

This prompts Unsui to be honest as well. “I never really had a friend, really…”

The parking lot is in view. Tenma’s jaw drops over that; “ Never?”

“Yeah. Only recently, with Kurita and Sena and the rest of my team did I start having friends…” Unsui chuckles airily, there’s a bit of forlorn sadness behind it. “I’ve always been studying or training, so I never made time to grow a circle of friends.”

He was also overshadowed by his genius brother, who also did not have that many friends, but in turn didn’t need any because he spends his days fucking random girls. Tenma shakes his head as he pulls into the parking lot. “I think you deserve better.”

Unsui doesn’t say anything to that, but he does smile very lightly. His eyes tell a hundred stories and every single one of them shows how alien, yet grateful he is for being acknowledged. I wanna hug him, he’s too sweet; and that’s him factoring in the conversations they’d have as ‘Temari’. 

Tenma finds a parking spot pretty close to the building’s gazebo-like entrance. He exhales and shoots a text to Hiruma. “You think anybody else would be there?”

The quarterback pulls out his phone at that moment, appearing to punch something in. “Aside from Hiruma, Musashi, and Mamori, not at all.” 

So this is a friendly meeting, perhaps? Hiruma isn’t a ‘friendly’ individual; Tenma only ever been to Saikyou’s varsity hangouts but not anything as close-quartered as this. Shutting his car off, he nods lightly, “Fair… Just told him we’re heading in.” As long as Agon isn’t there, they should be fine; Hiruma made sure to speak of this venue in secret because he genuinely wanted Tenma there. If Agon were part of this, nobody would be having a good time; he probably would’ve gotten them all escorted out.

“I’ll get out in a moment, I gotta make a call.” Unsui kindly gestures at his phone, and he does it rather shyly like Tenma isn’t supposed to see who he’s calling. The blonde shrugs and takes that as a means to leave, and as he’s halfway out of the car Unsui puts the phone to his ear. 

Almost instantly after… Tenma's phone starts to ring. 

Tenma's blood pressure drops so fast that he swears he might collapse. With his car door still open, one foot on the ground and the other still in the car, he's certain all the color has left his face hearing the two phones ring simultaneously; if he were to leave and act oblivious Unsui would question him harshly. What’s worse is Tenma’s phone isn’t in the rear passenger seats or anything. It’s in his pocket and it’s not on vibrate.

Unsui is completely silent, the only sound between them being their phones. “...Tenma…”

Tenma blinks like his soul didn't just threaten to leave his body. “...Hmm…?”

The dots clicked way too quickly for the quarterback. Unsui eyes his phone, then him, and then Tenma’s pocket where the other ringing is coming from. “You mind answering that?”

Somehow it hasn’t occurred to Tenma that whoever has his phone number has the ability to call Temari, which means that if they call while Tenma is not Temari, he would answer the phone as himself. As a man.

He’s so fucking finished. There’s no way out of this; Tenma can’t just sucker punch Unsui and dash (he wouldn’t hurt a damn fly), and he also can’t run and hide under his basement because they’re in the middle of Taito City, many miles away from Kanagawa. His best bet is to face this like a man. Tenma, with an inhale that doesn’t appear as ragged as his heart rate, takes his phone from his pocket. His expression looks mostly normal until he says ‘Hey’ into the other end… 

The other end that Unsui can clearly hear out of. 

What if he just… melted into the pavement, and evaporated right off the ground?

“So…” The blank look simmers into heavy judgment, as Unsui flips his phone closed, speaking in an unexpectedly stern tone. “You wish to explain this?”

There may or may not be a pinkened flush on Tenma’s face and he’s certain he’ll either pass out or throw up and cry. Tenma can’t tell if Unsui’s mad, shocked, betrayed or all of the above. He’s somehow not very easy to read when something actually bothers him. 

“Uh…” Tenma only barely manages and then he gives up. He slumps back into his seat sloppily, almost kneeling against the edge of the car, and his mouth moves faster than his brain. “I swear Unsui, this isn’t what you think it is! Hiruma had literally kidnapped me and because your brother wouldn’t stop flirting with Mamori, he forced me to be Agon’s girlfriend in disguise, and I was gonna say no but then I panicked and felt pressured so now I have to keep this going for a whole month- I’m telling you, it’s not for anything beyond that, I’m not trying to be cruel to your brother by pretending to be a girl, but now I have no choice but to-”

“Tenma.”

Tenma immediately shuts his mouth. He looks at him wide eyed and likely scared out of his mind, thinking Unsui would dropkick him for tricking his brother in such a devious way.

Instead… Unsui takes a deep breath and looks to digest all of what Tenma said. He seems to take his words very seriously, then he remembers this is Hiruma Tenma’s talking about. “I have a lot of questions. A lot, but I feel that if I ask you these questions now, you wouldn’t have the answer to them. But…” The quarterback visibly dissects Tenma’s facial features. “I’m beyond stumped to see that you were the person I was texting this past week. You’ve… showed up to my house, in a skirt and full makeup…” Unsui studies him even longer, still unable to see how he pulled it off so well. “And my brother didn’t bat an eye.”

“He-” Tenma isn’t sure if he should be worried at how ‘calm’ Unsui looks over this. “He didn’t. He’s been… really receptive of his ‘girlfriend’-”

“Of You.” Unsui finishes for him; “Now that I’m looking at you and… looking back at ‘Temari’ and how she’d speak, it’s… you sound and act a lot like her. But Agon is your teammate, I would imagine he’d catch on well before the both of us started talking.” He crosses his arms, appears to think of something, yet doesn’t add on to that. Tenma thinks he’d get accusative if he does. “We should head in.”

Now he’s confused. Where’s the punchline? Rather, when is the punch to his face coming? Shouldn’t Unsui be vetting Tenma like hell right now? How is it that those who know the truth behind Temari, end up being so dismissive and even understanding about it? 

Tenma watches Unsui shut his door and follows suit with him, feeling like he’s on shaky ground. “Aren’t you… mad? Like I’d imagine this would anger you, no?” Even though Agon is a piece of shit, there’s no denying his older brother should feel some type of way knowing he’s being tricked; then again Tenma’s also too sweet and empathetic for his own good.

The quarterback shakes his head. “I’m not involved in whatever Agon has going on, but from what you told me, as ‘her’, he’s treating you very differently from any other girl he’s ever had in the past.”

Tenma offhandedly locks his car. He’s ever had, like women are property. The choice of words Unsui uses is not personal misogyny, but is a literal clue-in on how Agon really perceives his ladies.

“Does anyone that we are meeting today know?” Unsui asks him, instead of silently pretending he doesn’t know. This could be him already establishing some trust with Tenma, and the blonde feels a little relieved that he’s asking this right now.

“Only Musashi doesn’t know.” Tenma leans against the car door, somehow feeling like he hasn’t been breathing this whole time. He might be lightheaded from his own anxiety.

Unsui saunters around the car to stand next to him instead of hastily walking in and making Tenma forcefully swallow his guilt. He seems to be studying his expression. Tenma wonders if he looks like he’s about to faint. “Like I said,” The quarterback breathes in, again this is a lot for him to discover, “I’m not involved in anything Agon has going for him, but since I’ve met the… the girlfriend, and I now know you, I won’t say a thing. Your secret is safe with me.”

Tenma exhales and his shoulders drop like he’s been carrying a ton of bricks; he almost has to brace his palms against his car because he really was that anxious. “Thank you, I… It’s only for another two weeks. Not even. It’s killing me on the inside to do this.” Somehow, him saying this shocks the quarterback. “It doesn’t feel right to see Agon be so intimate, knowing that I’m pretending, and I know he doesn’t truly care, but I’ve been using that against him and it’s killing me.”

There’s a bit of concern, some pity, and reassurance in Unsui’s eyes. Those eyes look just like Agon’s. “You’re a good person, but to do this consciously… I do hope you’ve been decompressing after every date.”

“I have… Trust me, I have.” Tenma stands a bit straighter, reprieve filling his graces again. He’s a bit grateful that Unsui is as understanding as he is, if it weren’t for the little time they’ve known each other Tenma would’ve hugged him at this moment. He really needs a fucking hug. “My girls help me, and some others in the know like Banba have too. I’ll be fine, y’know. I’m just hella soft-”

“Fucking Monk!”

Unsui turns around, and Tenma looks past his head to see Hiruma so patiently strutting towards the two from the restaurant’s entrance. He has a damn AK-47 slung against his shoulder, which Tenma furrows a brow at. They’re at a high end restaurant, can’t he just put his guns away for a day?

And because Hiruma is a fucking asshole, he starts snickering at the close proximity of the two men. “Kekekekeke… The last thing I’d expect to see is you hitting it off with Fucking Dreads’ brother.”

Unsui probably made a face at that, meanwhile Tenma is a little flushed considering what they just talked about. “You couldn’t wait for us?” The quarterback turns around completely to address Hiruma, and Tenma randomly hyper focuses on how broad and muscular Unsui’s back is. “We were on our way in.”

“I would’ve, but you two took too damn long.” Hiruma snarls, but it’s not a negative snarl. His expression changes and he smirks at Tenma. “Pretty Prince might start begging you to carry him like a bride!”

Unsui looks at Tenma when he hears the moniker. They accidentally lock eyes and it makes Unsui do a weird double take with a crooked smile. Tenma is quick to divert the millisecond-long awkwardness, because he is certain Hiruma would see something worth teasing about. “Well, why don’t you kindly walk us in, Yoichi?”

“My fucking pleasure, Pretty Prince.” Hiruma saucily drawls that out, obviously from the way they looked at each other. Unsui frowns with a tiny smile; he’s amused, and Tenma just shrugs and walks along. Somehow’ he’s convinced this really is just a friendly dinner…

Mamori was more than happy earlier to find that Tenma was invited; it’s been a while since she has hung out with him outside of practice. Now that she is with Musashi, she wonders why Hiruma felt inclined to leave their table. She had no idea of Tenma or Unsui’s whereabouts until Hiruma randomly said ‘Finally’ after looking at his phone, and then got annoyed that it took Tenma three minutes too long to enter the restaurant’s premises.

What surprised her though, was seeing Hiruma walk up the elevated section’s stairs with both Tenma and Unsui in stride. Unsui texted her in advance telling her he’ll be late, so she was expecting to see him come around by the time they start eating.

“Mamori, Musashi! Hey, y’all!” Tenma waves with his beaming smile, as per usual. 

“Tenma, I haven’t seen you in a while!” She gets up and immediately goes to hug him. The embrace lasts a little longer than it should.

“I know, I know. I’ve been really busy.” Tenma rubs her back when they release each other, a telegraphed notion that she should be doing for him. “Me and my mom were picking out tiles for our new yard.”

The manager fixes the skull pendant of his necklace forward. She really misses seeing him beam his naturally pure, bright smile. During their short phone calls, he would sound slightly despondent nowadays; perhaps something has lifted his spirits up in recent times.

She looks past him at the other quarterback by their booth, who’s quietly shaking hands with Musashi. “Unsui! Long time no see!”

“Same to you, Mamori.” His smile is rather pliant this time; despite the obvious wear and bristle on his face, and his wrinkled shirt and jeans, his expression looks very relaxed. She glances at Tenma, who’s going to sit beside Musashi, and then Unsui, who almost naturally sits right next to the shorter blonde.

Something definitely happened before those three entered.

“Before you ask, Manajerk.” Hiruma totes his gun against his thighs once he sits down, very slyly tapping the spot next to him so that no one else can see. “Pretty Prince hadn’t tripped into a closet yet.”

“Really…” Tenma playfully snarls at Hiruma, while the riddled statement makes Unsui huff a light chuckle. “Maybe you should come out the closet for me, Spiky.”

Musashi shakes his head, sipping his water, “It seems things haven’t changed.”

He is referring to the borderline flirting Tenma and Hiruma always do. Mamori giggles, Musashi’s comment making Hiruma cock the safety off of his gun. For show, obviously.

“I wouldn’t have expected you two to be so close.” Unsui looks rather surprised, given Tenma is so hyper and bubbly and Hiruma is the devil in human cosplay.

Tenma smiles at Unsui, “Believe it or not, Hiruma and I are really friendly; he just acts like a standoff.” And even with Hiruma purposely aiming his AK at Tenma’s face, the blonde just runs his hands through his hair with sass. “So, what’s happening with your company, Musashi?”

“We’ve actually expanded our clubhouse at the start of this year.” Musashi smiles, having to lean a bit to look at the youthful senior. “It’s mostly our weight room, since it wasn’t big enough for some of us.”

“Fucking Ram throwing some of the newbies around for sport again? Kekeke…” Hiruma’s referring to Gaou, who could likely bench press the entire clubhouse building if you give him enough pre workout.

Begrudgingly, Musashi shakes his head, “He’s the main reason why.”

Mamori watches the chatter between the men grow more fluid, and as usual, she’s elected to people-watching. It isn’t long before she starts becoming hyper aware of where she is. Truth be told, this really is a rather intimate setting; Shiraki’s atmosphere is very romantic. The restaurant’s interiors are mostly red and darkened gold and even the candle stands on their booth table is rose colored. There’s a light scent of styrax and jasmine in the air.

She has been on dates like this with Hiruma before, and there’s two types of dates they have: the abbellimentos, as Akaba calls them, where they both go to a fancy restaurant or a lavish setting as a couple, and their normal dates, where Hiruma is typing like a madman on his laptop as Mamori sits next to him either studying or reviewing football data, the latter always feeling the most authentic to her. if the dots in her mind are connecting, this currently feels like a date accompanied with an audience…

She and Hiruma are not the ones on a ‘date’.

Whatever went through Hiruma’s mind to invite Tenma was clearly for Mamori’s sake, but it’s even more telling for him to invite Unsui here and not Kurita. He, Musashi and Kurita actually hung out together very recently, so it’s likely because this environment isn’t something that Kurita would subscribe to. Neither would Musashi either, for it seems like this has little to do with Takekura’s captain.

She and Unsui relate to each other on a level where she and Hiruma don’t. She’d minutely think of how Unsui and Tenma would be as friends, given they are the men in her life who are extremely sensible. The difference between the two is that she strangely feels like she does not know Tenma at all. They’ve had long phone conversations and chats within Hiruma’s office, yet she can’t tell anything about Tenma beyond basic information. Unsui subtly individualizes himself from his younger brother, while Tenma talks more about his girlfriends than he does about himself. In a way, she wouldn’t be surprised if they either get along very well, or if they avoid each other the way Yamato does with Tenma already.

She may be jumping all types of guns connecting the dots right now but given the setting, and the small group she’s with… Mamori is almost certain that Hiruma is playing matchmaker.

The waiter comes around to take Tenma and Unsui’s drink orders, as Hiruma already ordered a kaiseki plan for the five of them. Tenma, pipy and sweet as usual, orders dragonwell green tea.

“You like tea?” Unsui looks at Tenma, and there’s familiarity in his gaze… one that looks like they’ve been talking to each other extensively.

And Tenma’s body language and response is almost pointedly refashioned, like he’s told Unsui this before but has to say it again for the rest of them. “Yeah! I only prefer green tea though.”

“Me too.” Unsui looks back up at the waiter with this newfound assertiveness in his body language. He’s normally burrowing in the shadows if he’s not directly addressed, but in this case… “I’ll take that as well.”

The waiter nods and notes it as Tenma pokes at his shoulder, “Oooh, twins…”  

It’s actually quite relieving to see Unsui roll his eyes and chuckle at the blonde’s quip. Any other time, Unsui would have had a sore gaze that’d show he’s reminded of Agon. Mamori’s smile is slow and budding, like she’s seeing a laboring man finally getting a back massage.

“Kekekeke…” Hiruma takes a rather long sip of his black coffee, his voice like a record scratch to Mamori’s grin. He doesn’t say anything at all.

Unsui blinks twice at the other quarterback. “What?” And his cluelessness somehow makes Musashi crack a smirk. She’s just as clueless as well.

Tenma seems to see what Hiruma’s saying, or rather what he’s not saying. “If you wanted to match with me, you could’ve ordered tea too. I still love you.” Being a flirt, he playfully blows a kiss at Hiruma. Hiruma clanks his hand away with the end of his rifle.

It clicks for her then. She decides not to react. “I hope the Fires come to the festival next week.”

Unsui nods to her, “The majority of Enma’s Fires will be coming back to Japan next week just for the festival. Sena does miss you.” He adds that last part rather warmly.

If Mamori could fully see Hiruma’s face, or the fact that he too has been studying Tenma and Unsui’s interactions, she would’ve caught his next statement before he could even breathe it out. “The Fucking Shrimps better watch themselves around Agon’s new girl.”

Mamori could pinch his damn arm… He didn’t have to mention that in front of Unsui and Musashi… and Tenma, who likely doesn’t want any association with his disguise at this moment. Tenma’s reaction does not seem telling, all he does is raise his brows, though she’s certain he’s likely screaming on the inside.

Unsui however, has a reaction she doesn’t expect, “I think Temari knows better than to get them in trouble. She’s got a good head on her shoulders.”

Hiruma’s eyebrows practically disappear into his hairline. “Oh?” His shock both looks so premeditated, yet unbridled at the same time. 

At this moment, the waiter comes around with Unsui and Tenma’s tea cups. Both of their cups are mint green colored. When the waiter steps away, she addresses him with a lower tone as though Agon would materialize right in front of them. “You’ve met Temari?” Mamori has to tame her shock; expectedly, because she knows Unsui doesn’t try to get to know Agon’s one night stands. 

If it wasn’t for the fact that Tenma’s leaning all the way back into his seat, he’d be looking unnaturally still.

“Yeah; she forgot her purse and came by my house to get it.” Unsui shrugs; he takes a sip of his tea and looks at Hiruma. Whatever expression Hiruma’s holding makes him nearly roll his eyes. “I’m pretty sure all they did was watch movies together.”

Because if Agon actually… slept with Temari (god save her brain), she would’ve been caught in Agon’s bedroom. Her purse would also not be left at his house, and if it was, Agon would’ve thrown it out. Agon has never brought girls to his house, but Unsui has told her of women mistaking him for Agon and accusing him of throwing their bags out when they wouldn’t leave their hotel rooms. Rooms that were bought for them by the girl in question.

“Ah…” Good, she can almost hear Hiruma adding that. She’s pretty sure he too, wouldn’t want this scheme to lead to them having sex. He’s even told Tenma to call it quits if Agon dares to coerce that to Temari. She eyes Tenma, seeing him visibly relaxed now, and Unsui doesn’t appear to be looking in his direction. So the coast is clear.

“For you to put a name to this girl kind of shows that he’s invested in her.” Musashi takes another sip of his water, “Or am I being too optimistic?”

“I wouldn’t levy that word upon you, Old Man.” Hiruma takes another sip of his coffee, almost parroting Musashi’s actions.

Tenma inhales; it seems like he hasn’t even drank his tea yet. He was likely holding his tongue, but his voice rolls out almost smoothly, like they’re all aware of the actor among them. “I doubt he’ll be paying any attention to Unsui’s team if he decides to actually show up to the festival.”

Musashi leans forward, hearing the obvious bite in the blonde’s tone. “You two are still at odds with each other?”

It’s then that Tenma takes a sip, and he draws the cup to his mouth like it’s beer. “Always.”

Mamori sighs; Musashi and the majority of her friends have only really met Tenma at the last Rice Bowl afterparty, prior to that was their exposure to him during the Christmas Bowl. The amount of fear Tenma generated out of them when he angrily threw a whole book at Agon’s neck for flirting with his mother was beyond anything she had ever seen. There’s not a single person in the Japanese league who has outwardly lambasted Agon like that, not even Unsui. Even Monta still thinks that Tenma might beat him up for looking at him funny.

Now, his budding hatred for Tenma may feel warranted, at least to Agon, but Mamori finds herself getting a bad pull in her gut from Tenma’s response, even though the guys have moved on to talking about football. She recently is seeing Agon getting more and more unhinged around Tenma, so much so that they literally have to be in separate rooms within the clubhouse; there’s something about Agon having an official girlfriend, and Tenma having four, that makes the dreadhead want to constantly butt heads with the blonde.

It raises more questions than answers, still. Much to his detriment, Tenma will have to play harder for the next two weeks. That’s the only way she’ll get her answers as to why her good male friend is in this predicament, and probably the only way he’ll survive.

Chapter Text

Saikyou’s Wizards have gone back to their normal routine. They’ve been rotating through formations; some people were switched around to play as different positions because Hiruma loves to trick everybody, and some were stationed as part of the kick team with Akaba. In this next formation, from what Tenma can see, Akaba had pulled Hiruma to the side and likely elected to be part of the offense. The blonde finds himself watching the redhead move a bit slower than he should, and it catches Hiruma’s attention. He quickly tucks his helmet into his arm and covers his ears.

Hiruma shoots at the sky to grab the Wizards’ attention. “Fucking Geeks!” He totes his shotgun against his shoulder. “We have two months until the season starts. This is allstar season, if I catch any of you slacking off this next play I'm shooting your asses off!" He looks at Mamori, who raises her left hand and does three signals. Hiruma turns back to the team. “Standard I-Formation; last defensive five take the line. Running backs, normal set. Utility switch. Get to it!”

The Wizards get right into place; their offensive and defensive line switch places, Banba being the center tackle. Yamato assumes his role as an end tackle and Ikkyu plays as Cornerback. The offense now has the likes of Jumonji, followed by Taka as wide receiver. Akaba reserves his tight end position, and that leaves Tenma and another sophomore as their halfback. 

The utility switch in this case is Agon, who does not look too pleased by the change considering they barely swap Agon from offense to defense so suddenly. He objects right before Hiruma goes to his position. “Trash Blondie, what are you cooking up right now?”

Hiruma doesn't answer that question. He responds by telling Agon what his position is. “Strong Safety. Ikkyu’s mirror.”

That means he'd be on the opposite side of where Ikkyu is. From where Tenma is standing, there's a pause in Agon's stature before he saucily turns around, likely having snarled at Hiruma’s smirk. 

The play goes very smoothly, but due to the switch between the lineman they were not as telegraphed as they usually are. Jumonji snaps the ball back to Hiruma, and Hiruma glances ahead. He quickly hands Tenma the ball instead of throwing it to an obviously ‘open’ Taka. 

Agon, as he always does, assumes the role of the opposing captain noticing the age-old trick Hiruma’s playing. “Flank! Taka doesn't have the ball!”

So it forces the defensive end to focus on Tenma right as he reaches the line of scrimmage. He plays it dangerous this time, because normally he'd go straight to the sideline edge, but if he did that he wouldn't have much of a chance. Yamato and Ikkyu are on one end, he would risk being tackled by the former Eyeshield legend before even crossing Ikkyu’s path. He decides to go the other way, cutting right between one of their senior lineman and Banba. Somewhere behind him, Hiruma might be gazing hard at this ballsy move. 

The field is ominously clear once Tenma passes the defensive line. He quickly pays heed to both blind spots and sees Yamato turning in his direction only to be thwarted momentarily by Akaba. He sees Ikkyu a bit ahead but jukes him faster than he could recuperate, and Agon… Agon is possibly right behind him. 

He glances to his left, sprinting even faster when he catches a glimpse of Agon's heavy strides catching up to him. Like a shadow overcasting a sun’s rays, the creeping feeling in his spine beckons him to slow down, but he doesn’t.

According to Hiruma’s record, Agon and Tenma are close, if not equal to one another in running speed. In this case, Agon has a few meters in-time to catch up to Tenma before he can sack the blonde, and Hiruma is certain this wouldn’t be a touchdown, but…

Tenma won’t allow that. He feels the brush of Agon’s rough fingers against his back, hears him slightly chuckle like he’s right by his damn neck, and it only reminds him of the times he’d catch the suggestive glances in Agon’s face when he’s dressed as Temari. The ick he’d get fuels his feet to go even faster, and he even has the balls to slightly derail his pace so that he practically butts into Agon’s side, the dreadhead’s leg getting caught right behind Tenma’s heel. Tenma stumbles, but jumps forward so that he can cross the last five meters, stretching his arm out with the ball in hand.

When he lands on the ground, half of his torso is in the endzone. The ball is in, and that’s all that matters. 

Mamori blows her whistle, as the rest of the team start to either clap or comment in shock. “Safety!”

Tenma exhales; that’s a first, maybe in a while since he’s successfully ran to the endzone without using the sideline. He gets to his knees and looks back at where Agon is, just eight meters from where he is, and he is getting up from the ground. 

There is no way Tenma had successfully pushed him, floored him, just like that. Agon had to have been distracted.

“That was intense…” Taka approaches him first, holding a hand out to help Tenma up. He then leans forward almost warningly, luckily the chatter amongst the team doesn’t draw attention to what he’s saying. “You know what you just did, right?”

“I just kinda…” Tenma knows, but… “How is he on the ground?”

“You literally shoved him.” Taka blinks twice, “His foot got caught in your stride, but you managed to derail him.” Which is something that nobody aside from Sena has ever done.

Did he? Really? Tenma runs his hands through his sweat-laced hair. It didn’t feel like a shove to him. He barely felt Agon at all, but for Taka to call it a ‘shove’, he wonders just how hard he butted into Agon’s body.

As if the world hears his thoughts, he and Taka turn their attention towards the crowd around Agon and for some reason, it’s multiple heads telling him to ‘calm down’ and ‘relax’; yet there is no movement on his end. Even Ikkyu is saying ‘chill out man’, trying to pacify whatever Agon’s got going on, and with the way they’re talking he’s expecting to see Agon thrashing around like a turbulent toddler.

The utility player seems to be dusting himself off almost too calmly, but he’s saying something under his breath that is warranting the team’s attention. Tenma sighs tiredly; yes, he’s been keeping his distance from the dreadhead, but for everyone to crowd around him like this makes no sense. “Ugh, what’s he mad about now?”

Oh, Agon heard that. He heard that, of all things, loud and clear. “What I’m mad about, trash?!” He pushes past Jumonji, stomping his way to Tenma. Tenma unintentionally holds his arm out to keep Taka from harm’s way, leading to Agon putting his finger in his face. “Why are you even fucking talking?! Keep your fucking mouth shut, this ain’t about you, bitch!”

Tenma has heard people refer to him in many negative ways, but the word ‘bitch’ always manages to set him off. He cocks his neck back with a deep frown. “Who are you calling a bitch?”

“YOU, you fast ass bitch!” And he practically spits that out, getting in Tenma’s face. Banba pulls him away, probably thinking it was going to get physical. “You’re too scared to go toe to toe with some freshman that outshined you in high school, that’s why you went to me!”

‘Some freshman’ in this regard is Yamato, who’s possibly turning a blind eye to the meaning of those words, but also can’t help but be the voice of peace. “What is going on right now? Do you two still have beef?”

Exasperation is clear in Yamato’s voice since he’s seen them go at it the other week. Tenma doesn’t blame him.

The blonde hasn’t raised his voice at all, but he’s backing away from Agon, who rudely shoves Banba’s fist off his jersey. “And you’re upset because you tripped?”

“I tripped?!” Agon rips himself out of Banba’s grasp, his voice suddenly getting real low when he goes up to Tenma and asks: “What warranted you to shove me?”

That is a real question, if he’d remove Agon's toddlerish rage out of that. What possessed him to push Agon? Was it the drive to win? Not at all, Tenma wouldn't stiff arm or purposely nab a guy to get ahead, he's usually fast enough to not have to do that. Was it fear? He may have felt Agon's presence, but Tenma is so pipy while playing football that fear doesn't cross his mind. Is he angry at him? 

Yes. Yes he is; he's angry at Agon for acting like a good man to a made up woman, while treating Tenma like the scum of the Earth. Maybe that's why he did it, but it wasn't a conscious thought. It also was not an illegal play, as Agon did misstep and trip on Tenma's heel. 

Tenma's had it. He is not going to entertain this idiot. His tone sounds different as he speaks, the field going quiet as he looks right in Agon's eyes. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Now leave me alone.” And Tenma turns on his heel and straight up leaves Agon there, probably a risky thing to do considering Agon could swing at Tenma's temple at any moment. Everyone else is pretty much stumped to see Tenma get this serious. 

“You're lying.”

Caught by the sudden obstinacy in Agon’s voice, the blonde blinks and accidentally stops to look back at him. “Why would I lie?” He should've kept walking, not letting Agon in on his own thoughts. The utility player, as fucked up an individual as he is, is extremely intelligent. 

“Why would you ask that?” Agon's smiling at him for some strange reason, and there's a bit of chatter between their peers as he starts sauntering like a cat would to a cornered mouse. “You know damn well your ass should be nowhere near me, and yet you come on my side, just to butt into me? You're a freak, trash; a flagrant fag with no sense of self worth.”

Where the fuck is Agon getting this from? Tenma's choice of running path had nothing to do with him! “You really think you're all that…” Tenma shakes his head and almost laughs. “You're gross.”

“You should not be calling me gross, you li-”

“You're grossssss,” Tenma cuts him right off in a sing-song manner, “You're disgusting, and you're a pervert, you piece of shit.” Because he knows he can make humor out of his own anxiety, he sticks his tongue out at Agon. It did warrant some of his fellow upperclassmen to chuckle. 

Agon doesn’t bother refuting that. Instead… “Takes one to know one, eh, trash?”

That has him fucked up. Tenma takes it very seriously when somebody talks down about his relationships. To call him a pervert is an insult to his partners as well. “I’m nothing like you.”

“You sure about that?” Agon isn’t physically approaching him. In fact, he’s backing away. “You pretty yourself up and then go on to have multiple girlfriends to hide how miserable you really are. You know nobody here fucking likes you, right?”

“My god, shut up…” Tenma shakes his head and that’s almost involuntarily done. Agon’s obviously talking out of his ass, there’s no way such a shallow perception of him actually exists, and the others actually believe that… 

He should leave now.

Agon almost cackles at the blonde, “Just because you put on that stupid fucking lovey-dovey attitude doesn’t hide how embarrassing your reputation really is. Everybody knows…”

“Agon.” Banba grounds out, gripping the dreadhead’s jersey like he’s about to throw him across the field. 

That is bullshit. That’s all bullshit, Tenma tells himself as he scoffs and rolls his eyes and walks off, yet his gut gets tight at the way Agon’s words are arranged. They are unreasonably close to hitting a tender side within him that he does hide, and if Tenma stays any longer, his careless tread might crash and burn.

“And now you’re walking away, you little bitch?” Agon’s snicker cuts into his internalizing thoughts, “You had all this fight in you, and now that I’m saying the shit that nobody else will, you can’t throw punches-?”

“Agon!” Taka looks like he’s going to throw his helmet at Agon’s forehead. “Quit it!”

He doesn’t relent; he gets louder. “Everybody knows you’re a lonely freak. Go run off and plug your ears and blast your shitty music to shut out how out of place you are in a team of new school talent-”

“Shut up, Agon!” Jumonji groans like he’s had it. 

Agon knows nothing. He knows nothing, yet why is it that the others are interjecting like he’s about to say something?

“Maybe-” Tenma turns around while sauntering backwards, a fresh smirk on his face to show that Agon’s words are bouncing off of his body. “Maybe you’re rambling! You should just call it quits and shut up.”

“ Maybe we all know exactly who you are. You got a lot of ugly dirt up your fucking sleeve.” The way the dreadhead says that sounds like he’s talking to a harlot. “Close your legs and cover your fucking wrists, whore!”

The moment those words leave Agon’s mouth, all the mirth in Tenma’s indomitable spirit vanishes. The air in his lungs vanishes; like a criminal confronted by the police while they’re getting their morning coffee. No amount of his usual pipy energy could mask the damage that blow dealt. That got to him, and it got to him good.

He doesn’t realize that his feet are moving away on their own now, but feeling a foreign heat rise up in his gut that used to make him vomit when he was a child, he needs to get the fuck off the field. His face feels stuck, and he’s certain he looks emotionless right now, but he absolutely cannot shut down in front of his peers. Somebody calls his name, but he turns away and starts bristling towards the clubhouse without answering them.

“Oh come on, is that trash really gonna go and cry?” Agon coos nastily, rubbing his hands together and snickering. “He should know better than to try and go toe to toe with me. Dish out what he can’t take.”

Mamori, who had called out to the senior halfback, is stopped by Hiruma. All he gives her is a curt, knowing stare, and an even sharper shake of his head.

“All that over him passing you in one game?” Jumonji snarls at Agon. Clearly, Agon’s words aren’t what’s got everyone really upset at him. It was Tenma’s reaction that did it in. “Couldn’t you just play and keep it clean?”

Agon rolls his eyes at Jumonji, dismissing him immediately. “Shut up, you’re backwater trash. Don’t get involved.”

“I’m backwater?!” Jumonji is quick to throw his helmet off, his fiery street dialect catching his tone. “Ya got a ton o’ sleaze on the streets and ya wanna call me backwater?”

That got Agon mad. “The fuck do you know about me?!”

“You guys!” Yamato steps between them, even though there’s a considerable amount of distance between the two. A fight between Jumonji and Agon… would end really rough and bloody if he hadn’t done so. “Practice is over! Can it, for now. There’s no need for animosity.”

And to supplant the running back's statement, Hiruma lets off a shotgun clip in the air to startle everybody into silence. He had moved away from Mamori to do so. “Fucking Dreads,” Hiruma clanks his nails against the trigger of the shotgun, “If you can’t handle a loss, get off the fucking team.”

“Ah?!” Agon practically barks that out, “Nobody fucking lost here, fucking Blonde Trash! Maybe you should’ve kept the field in order before that fruity lil’ piece of shit could badmouth me. I ain’t done with that fucker, when I see him Ima-” 

“You’ve done enough.”

A baritone voice speaks out from the crowd, quiet yet terrifyingly calm, and it commands the attention of all of the athletes. Akaba steps up to Agon, red eyes dark with heavy judgment and for the first time in a long time, the rest of the team sees Agon go silent for a moment.

And only a moment. “What are you gonna do? You’re a fucking freak too.”

“I know much of your discordance is caused by a twang in your chords.” A grin grows on Akaba’s face, and it’s baiting, like the bared teeth of a leopard. “You were distracted by something in Tenma, weren’t you? Why would you resort to projecting your own chaos onto him?”

“I’m not projecting shit, you red eyed-”

“But you are-”

“Quit fucking interrupting me!” Agon sticks his neck out. Just like that, a chink in his armor is exposed.

Akaba doesn’t falter, even with Agon having yelled in his face. “But am I wrong?”

No answer. Complete silence. Just Agon staring pure death into Akaba’s eyes, and the guitarist being completely unphased.

“So, as I said, you have done enough. Lest you wish to conduct pandemonium, we may go on with the rest of our day like this never happened. Like what you said never came out.” Akaba crosses his arms, and suddenly his entire expression gets dark, outdoing the animosity in Agon’s face. “As long as you allow it, Kongo.”

Agon seemingly bites his tongue on whether or not he can insult Akaba directly, because no matter what he says, it does not make Akaba falter at all. The red head backs off from him on his own, and casually walks back towards Hiruma. If Agon is to make a move to hit Akaba at all, Hiruma won’t hesitate to shoot him down.

Though, perhaps it won’t be Hiruma who will subdue Agon in this case…

What Agon said had more of an effect on him than he expected.

The moment Tenma had entered the clubhouse he was racked with physical anxiety. His body, hot with embarrassment and rage, soon manifested into a well of unease within his core, so much so that he almost trips onto a ledge. The moment he stumbled, he suddenly pursed his lips realizing he’s about to throw up.

So he ran to the bathroom to let it all go. 

A couple minutes later, he’s slumped against the lockers in the changing room, completely alone. Anxiety never creeps up on him like this, but it wasn’t necessarily Agon’s initial insult that got to him. It was what he said after, about him being fake, along with the rest of the team stopping Agon from speaking like he’s about to spill something. Like he’s about to say too much. And then the very last thing…

Whenever there is no chatter, no girlfriends to hug and date, or neither of his parents around to converse with, he’s left with the harsh reality of the fact that nobody else likes him. As a nepo-child graced with luck and adaptability, he’s always been one of the top alumni without even trying, especially in his theater school. Other kids, especially guys, put him in a box outside of the norm; it gave them a reason to avoid and resent him. They called him Shuten Doji, a drunkard who out-drank, or out- acted, everybody at their own game. A natural talent that came at his own expense.

At 13 years old, he found himself in the shower one day with a razor blade and blood running from his wrists. The blood would wash away, leaving nothing but a hapless scar. It felt like proper punishment for being so fake to everyone else, so superficial.  

A couple years later, the consequences of his actions really got to him when he realized that being a kid in a Japanese highschool, would only make others think he is an exhibionist because nobody in their right mind would scar themselves on purpose. Especially not somebody as happy as he is.

Only somebody who is a longtime friend of his would notice it, would know that that part of his life is true. Though to everybody else, what was said likely sounded random; just a shitty bluff coming from Agon, yet that wasn’t a bluff at all. That is a deep insecurity of his. He wears things to cover his wrists, and even when he disguises himself as Temari he puts on thick bangles and bracelets or wears concealer to cover his wrists. There are only three slits, but those three slits are with him for life despite barely being noticeable.

Tenma exhales and fans himself as though he’s sweating, but he’s doing so because he still feels hot with embarrassment, and now more notably, anger. “Yo, relax, relax, relax-” He tells himself, putting a hand over his forearm and drawing out another deep breath.

He hears footsteps heading into the locker room, and the first few are notably slow and cautious. Into the locker room comes Taka, Akaba, Banba and Yamato in that order. He doesn’t care too much about the last person in particular, and evidently Yamato doesn’t even acknowledge him slouched against the lockers.

Banba starts to approach him but Tenma, whose eyes are partially covered by his forearm, puts a hand out. “I’m fine.”

His tone makes Taka and he flinch. It was surprisingly assertive, and it’s because Tenma is now royally pissed off that Agon went to such lengths to get on his nerves over a mistake he made. That hand turns into a fist, but he drops it and sighs to himself.

Akaba seems to understand his attitude. When Tenma glances at him, he feels like he’s looking at somebody who knows what he’s feeling. It gives him a bit of energy to at least get up from the floor. “If I sit any longer, I think I’d… probably get a cramp or something.” 

Tenma dusts his compressions off with a slight laugh, but he cannot shake off the fury in him right now. Even his humor comes off curt and forced.

Banba and Taka both seem to get the hint, in that they should give Tenma some space. He has never been outwardly upset like this, so one would think somebody as soft and sweet as Tenma would go for immediate coddling and comfort. He beats himself up if his bad mood spreads to anyone else, so he isolates himself if he cannot be performatively dissonant.

More of the team enters the locker room, and now Tenma has to keep his head ducked nearly into his own locker to keep from having to speak. The others seem to know not to say anything to him, but that isn’t until they hear the loud ass personality that sparked Tenma’s upset.

“Where’s that little pussy?” Agon walks in with way too much bravado to match the viciousness of his tone. He probably spots Tenma within seconds afterwards, but Tenma’s turned away from him, and that anger is ripped back open like a bandaid over a fresh cut.

Taka exasperatedly sighs, “Can you not?” It’s useless to say, because Agon is already standing just a few feet from Tenma’s back. Evidently, this makes the seniors stop  what they’re doing because Agon could literally do something drastic if he really wanted to. 

Tenma does not budge. “Why are you popping up on me again?”

“Are you gonna do something about it?” Agon keens, “Did what I say hit you in a place where it hurts, trash? Because I’ma be real… you not facing me isn’t helping your case. Nobody’s gonna come to your bitchass rescue.”

Tenma’s nails start to scrape against the metal of the locker for a moment before he closes his locker and turns around. “I’m not in the mood to talk to you. So leave.”

“I’m not fucking leaving.”

Tenma’s face scrunches up real nastily but he shakes the expression off as quick as it comes. “Well you should.”

Agon is quite surprised. It is more evident that he garners amusement from humiliating Tenma, because he’d usually be spazzing off if anybody spoke like that to him. “I should? The fuck are you gonna do? You already fell off trying to insult me out in the field.”

“So you come here to brag about how you threw a tantrum over me outrunning you? Get over yourself.” Tenma slides his fuzzy slippers aside with his foot. “I don’t think this room has enough space for your fat ego.”

Agon gets really close to Tenma’s face. “You wanna get smart with me? Whores like you should keep their mouths shut.”

“Are you done?” And that’s when he snaps. Tenma pushes, nearly shoves aside his bag to get right into Agon’s face. “Because I’m getting sick and tired of you always targeting me for no fucking reason. What did I do to you?!”

“What did you do? Look at you, trash!” Agon gestures up and down at Tenma’s entire body. “You got all this mouth, and couldn’t take it when I put it right back to ya-”

“So why the fuck are you here?!” Tenma yells in Agon’s face, straight up. At this point, everybody has stopped what they are doing, not expecting to hear the happiest member of the team yell at the most treacherous sophomore in existence. “You did what you had to do; bravo, congraaaats~ You want a medal now?”

Agon’s lip curls up nastily, and if his shades weren’t on Tenma would see actual shock in his eyes. “Watch your fucking mouth.”

He physically steps forward: “No, YOU watch your fucking mouth!” Tenma points a finger in Agon’s face at this point, the sudden fire in his voice catching onto his body language. At the moment he swears, he gets so close to Agon that it forces the dreadhead to slightly lean against the bench behind him. “I’m your senpai, you have no right to be talking to or about me the way that you do. Who the fuck do you think you are?!” 

Like the toxic piece of shit Agon is, he decides to subvert the narrative. Now that it is Tenma who’s visibly angry, he sits down right in front of the blonde while calmly removing his glasses. To anybody who didn’t know any better, they’d assume Tenma was going off on Agon for no reason, and to anybody that does, they know that Agon only takes his glasses off right before he’s about to beat someone up. Yet, the notion of violence disappears when he scoffs and goes: “So now you’re screaming to get your point across? You make all the other senpais look bad; why don’t you take responsibility for what you’re saying?”

That doesn’t calm Tenma down. It gets him even angrier, louder. “You should take responsibility!”

“Take responsibility, trash!”

“YOU take responsibility! Take responsibility for what the fuck you say and do!” And at the word ‘fuck’, Tenma slaps Agon’s Oakley shades out of his hand. This warrants his peers to stand at attention, but it doesn’t scare Tenma not one bit. “Take responsibility! Because I didn’t do shit to you! All you do is harass and insult me- and for what?! It’s getting old now!”

That is a real question, and even Agon can’t hide how shocked he is at Tenma amassing the balls to literally slap his glasses out of his hand. He shakes his head very slightly. “‘Cause you piss me off, trash.”

“Then keep that shit to yourself!” At this point, Tenma is practically inches from Agon, playing a dangerous game, but he cannot help how frustrated he is. The next few words are spat out like acid, and the smugness in Agon’s visage crumbles slowly with every next word: “I’ve had enough from stupid ass, bum ass shit stains like you. Fuck you!” Tenma backs away and grabs his things, stomping away from his assailant. His bustling warrants everyone to move out of his way, and it takes everything in Tenma not to start tearing up because that is how angry Agon made him.

He’s not done, however. Even as some people like Jumonji, Banba or Taka try to comfort him on his way out, Tenma shrugs them off and turns right back around to glare daggers at Agon from the locker room’s entrance. “You’re an ugly fucking bastard.” Tenma’s voice does slightly crack, so he grips his bag for dear life, as if letting go would make him cry on the spot. “I don’t how you could sit so proudly acting like a fucking brat just because I haven’t been paying any attention to you. You’re a fucking disgrace! No girl deserves a used rag like you!”

He leaves before anything could be said, the last comment making surprised chatter and even a few worried exclaims arise, but Tenma’s far ahead in the hall to even give a damn at this point. He passes by Hiruma’s office, the door invitingly open and likely for a reason, but he doesn’t go in. He just chooses to go straight home and freshen up there.

Mamori: He came to you just to bother you even more?

Tenma: Yup…

Mamori: Because me and Hiruma heard you yelling from the office. There’s a pause before another message comes through. I’m so sorry for all this, Tenma. This isn’t fair to you at all.

Now that he’s settled and clean, wearing nothing but a pink robe and fuzzy slippers, Tenma runs a hand through his hair before taking out the whip cream. Truth be told, he did cry in the car the moment he parked in his driveway, but to him that’s not something he wishes to dwell on. He takes his phone in his hand and sends a quick text to Mamori.

Tenma: It’s not you though, love.

As he cuts up some strawberries and a kiwi for his fruit sandwich, Mamori’s words really start to simmer in Tenma’s head. She is sympathetic, and she is likely putting herself in his shoes. Seeing a sweet side of Agon only to get the worst aspect of him hours or days later sounds like tripping in and out of hell. He swears to himself that it isn’t so bad, but he hasn’t taken note of the ways he’s been coping…

His dates with his girlfriend have been at his house, and they are not sexual at all. He’s usually making something with them, or letting them study at his place in comfortable silence, but on these dates he doesn’t welcome as much physical touch as he used to. The overstim he’d get from being around Agon’s fake side leaves him feeling so gross, he doesn’t even want his partners touching him. 

So he chats with Unsui very often, especially now that the veil is off for the older twin, and these chats aren’t just random; they chat right after or even during phone calls with Agon, as though Unsui has been reduced to some form of emotional rebound. That also snapped some sense into the blonde, realizing just how selfish he too has become in the face of pretending to be someone else to a womanizer.

He puts the knife down and stares at the cutting board feeling like he’s going to cry again.

His phone rings, and he blinks out of nearly tearing up. The frustration still lingers, knowing just how much that jerk has affected his life without even trying. He doesn’t even look at the caller ID as he flips the phone open and puts it to his ear, not saying anything.

“Tenma?”

That is Unsui’s voice, somehow he manages to call right when Tenma’s in a bad mood. The calmness of the older twin’s timbre almost brings about a need to vent. That need makes Tenma feel guilty. “Hey…”

His despondence warrants Unsui to be concerned too. “... Hey, uhh-” There’s metal shuffling on his end. “What’s wrong?”

Tenma takes a deep breath, swallows, eyes his fruits and the sandwich slices to the side, and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Unsui.”

He can practically feel the confused look he must have right now. “Huh?”

“I’ve been… You may not know, but I feel so bad for talking to you every time I interact with Agon. It’s not right at all.” Tenma exhales, and angles the phone between his ear and shoulder as he arranges the fruit pieces on the sandwich slices.

“Why would you feel sorry for that?” Unsui asks him, and it’s likely that the quarterback is in his dad’s pickup truck right now. Either that, or he’s working on it.

“Because it’s selfish, like- I come back from dealing with Agon and then I start talking to you to like, ‘make me’ feel better or something. I just feel wrong for talking with you the way that I do.”

There’s a pause on the other end, as Unsui evidently is putting the pieces together from their previous texts, from their night out at a restaurant, and instead of accepting his apology, Unsui puts everything down to speak. “Agon has angered you, has he?”

“I-” Tenma freezes in place. “How did you…?”

Unsui surprisingly chuckles, “Why else would you apologize for talking to me? I never took it in any other way aside from you wanting to get to know me. Besides… you always ask me how I’m doing and what I’m up to. There is nothing selfish about you, and I don’t want whatever Agon has done to get in your head.”

A weight that Tenma didn’t know existed just slid right off his shoulders, and if he could he’d probably be jelly-kneed from the unexpected relief. Unsui did not hold him accountable for a very human thing to do. Instead he knew that this was sparked from his brother being a fucking asshat, and he reassures Tenma that his guilt is misplaced by Agon’s toxicity. 

“I… uhh…” Tenma’s voice gets lost in his throat. Now he feels silly. “Wow, I sat here sad as hell for nothing.”

“I know he did something for you to think that way. You’re fine, I welcome your texts any time.”

If Tenma was slightly more bi than he allegedly is, he’d kiss Unsui on the cheek. That proved enough revelation to brighten Tenma’s spirits. “I mean… he did. Unless you knew about that too.”

“Well, that's likely the reason why I’m replacing the shocks on this truck.”

Again, he’s stopped in his tracks. “What?”

“I’m fixing my dad’s pickup a bit because Agon told me he planned on taking his girlfriend out somewhere with it. I told him it didn’t need to be fixed, but he got… irrationally angry. In lesser words, he told me that his girlfriend ‘shouldn't be riding in something that’s going to break down’.”

Holy hell, so Agon took what Tenma said personally? Those words sound extremely poetic, considering what happened a few hours ago. 

“So I figured he must’ve gotten angry at you and you know, not his girlfriend.” The sound of a wrench turning returns. “If I may ask…”

“What happened?” Tenma finishes that question for him. He starts putting his cute fruit sandwich together; had it been a few minutes ago, had it not been Unsui on the phone, Tenma probably wouldn’t have mustered the strength to talk about what’s been plaguing him the past month. “Well ever since Agon started ‘dating’ Temari, he’s been extremely rude to me. Like, worse than how he normally is, like he’ll go out of his way to throw slurs at me when I’m around the guys.” A chuckle passes his lips, “If he knows that I’m talking to you, he’d probably do the same to you.”

Unsui returns that chuckle back, but it sounds anxious. Tenma almost rears up to apologize for making him uncomfortable but the quarterback speaks before he could do so. “You know, you likely remind him of everything that he’s not.”

A bold statement, one fitting from Agon’s own older brother.

Tenma plates his sandwiches and goes to sit on the couch. “Because I resemble him when he was younger?”

“Likely. But I don’t know. Agon doesn’t target people for longer than… maybe five minutes.” Because he’d likely have them bloody and crawling on the floor. “Your case is very different, but I know Agon. Something about you makes him uneasy.”

”Uneasy?” Tenma frowns at nothing, biting into his sandwich and putting the phone on speaker. He set it on the couch’s armrest. “I make Agon uneasy?”

There’s sounds of notable labor on Unsui’s end, the quarterback is likely lifting heavy things, pausing in his speech to do so. “If Agon lashes out without provocation at the same thing multiple times… Whatever it is makes him uneasy. I doubt that he hates you… Or at least that hate cannot mask that he’s uncomfortable around you.” Unsui sighs, and Tenma accidentally envisions his broad back. “But knowing that that happened is actually really funny.”

There’s humor, looseness in Unsui’s voice. Tenma smiles because he knows he’s getting a glimpse of a personality that nobody has ever had a chance to interact with. “Heh… I did yell at him, too. Like in his face.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. You threw a book at him for flirting with your mom.”

That had Tenma laughing. Even though that was a heat of the moment thing, he remembered how Agon’s whole torso jerked backwards and he looked like a confused  janitor mop. Good times. “He deserved it then, he deserves it now.”

Unsui laughs too. His laugh is actually really soothing to the ear; it sounds like the warm caress of someone bigger than you. “You have more than enough power to give it right back to him.” There’s a comfortable silence, and it’s likely from Unsui searching for something to say. “I hope that made you feel better.”

“It did. You did.” Tenma added, because he feels like Unsui deserves a bit of credit for trying. He totally could’ve just said ‘Oh wow’ or something less expressive and then called back another time, but he took time out of his current errand to answer Tenma. Hell, he could’ve said ‘I accept your apology’ if he was slightly more self-centered because he evidently knew that Tenma always talks to him to rebound from Agon.

The blond feels at his robe before piquing up, not wanting Unsui to end the call yet. “I just… want you to know that I really appreciate you and everything you say. You’re such a sweet guy.”

He expects Unsui to brush that off and be stoic and humble, maybe even politely denying that. He didn’t expect Unsui to chuckle nervously at the last bit. “I… I suppose so…”

“See? You’re graduating, you went from denying the obvious to embracing it!” Tenma giggles, clapping his hands.

“Please do not, with the applause again.” Unsui might be shaking his head on the other end. Sometimes Tenma would jokingly applaud Unsui if he showed a modicum of confidence. “Alright, I think I should go. I’m not done yet but I will need full hands for the time being. I… thank you for… what you said.”

Is it possible to hear somebody blushing? “Don’t mention it. I’ll leave you to it; I luv ya!” Tenma pretends to blow a kiss knowing Unsui won’t see it, and again that last sentence elicits a nervous chuckle out of Unsui before he too bids farewell. Tenma ends the call and eats as he mulls through that last revelation…

Agon being uneasy makes a lot more sense when one puts his fleeting nature into context. He never focuses on one thing for a long time, that much is evident with the women he used to fling with. In recent times, Agon has focused on two things in particular; Temari, his girlfriend, and Tenma, his arch nemesis. Both are the posterpeople of the two extremes that exist in Agon’s head, though in this case, that only means that Agon feels attacked, or somewhat threatened by some aspect of Tenma.

He was distracted earlier, that’s what caused him to fall. He had to be. But whatever had distracted him prompted him to lash out and start bullying Tenma. Perhaps he won’t find the answer for why Agon is so uncomfortable around him, but he may likely find out how much Agon loves his new squeeze in due time.

A notification sound rings in the silent living room and Tenma looks at his phone. It is a message from Agon, and all it says is ‘Hey babe… Wanna hang out with me tonight?’ There is no other lead in, and usually Agon waits for Temari to answer before proposing something. A good girlfriend would respond with a yes, if she has free time. A good girlfriend would do anything with her loving boyfriend if it isn’t at the cost of her sanity. Tenma doesn’t respond to that message. He closes the tab of Agon’s number and goes to call one of his girlfriends.

What Tenma said earlier needs to really sink in. It wouldn’t hurt to punish the ugly bastard a bit more…

Chapter Text

“Are you alright, Agon?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The dreadhead smiles at his girlfriend. It doesn’t do much to hide how pensive he looked just moments before Temari asked him that. “I’ve been a little busy lately, so I’m going through a mental checklist of stuff I still need to do.”

That could or could not be true. That day that he and Agon actually got into it, he left him on read when he offered a date night. He told Agon a reasonable excuse the day after as to why Temari hasn’t answered his text.

It was simple: She went out with some friends, and lost her phone. Agon seemed more worried through text than disenfranchised like he normally would’ve been, but Temari kept the story at that.

This morning, they had a very short call while Tenma was sitting in his basement. His girlfriends were in the living room, and he didn’t want their voices to be heard by his pseudo-boyfriend. Completely not in his disguise, he spoke with Agon about a pressing matter that most relationships need closure on: boundaries.

“You know I appreciate the gifts you give to me, babe.” Smooth and sultry, as Temari always is, and she said it in a way that didn’t butter up Agon’s ego. 

The dreadhead sounded quite happy, but he wasn’t stupid. “Really?”

“Of course, but-” Temari paused meaningfully, “I’ve never been with a man who did THIS much.” And there was an emphasis there, pointing out that Agon was doing too much in ‘her’ eyes. “A good man, at that. I’ve been with a guy who used to excessively get me things and he… Well, he ended up being a skirt chaser all along.”

Tenma had to put more of an undermining of Agon’s efforts; he wanted to strip Agon of ways he can ‘distract’ his prey. Limiting his chance to lovebomb Temari is the best way to do so. “I don’t… mean to be that way at all, and I’m sorry that such a man would do that to you. I can’t imagine that; you’re such a sweet, lovely lady!”

When faced with judgment of physical love bombing, Agon resorted to verbal love bombing. Tenma narrowed his eyes at the ground, flexing his toes; he really cannot help smothering the women he has his eyes on. “You’re so gushy, Agon! My gosh!”

That earned a laugh that sounded strangely nervous. As a man, Tenma could tell that it was Agon not knowing what to say. It was also Agon being aware of his own compulsory need to gas his women up so that they remain clueless…

“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” Instead of saying ‘No worries’ or dissolving any criticism, Tenma levied that boundary in front of Agon’s face. “I’m your first girlfriend. You don’t want to disappoint me, I get that, but keep in mind that overcompensating is how women will take advantage of you.”

Ironic, Tenma thought to himself.

“I really only do it because I think you deserve it.” Agon warmly said, but if they were in front of each other, he would likely show that he felt called out. ‘Overcompensating’ is a direct insult to his ego. “If it does bother you, I can dial it back. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I just…” And he hesitated real hard, “I don’t know how to… show my admiration.”

That’s an actual truth, as far as Tenma was concerned. On the flip side of Agon’s sexism and hypersexuality, was a man who has no idea how to interact with anybody appropriately. Somebody who was terribly isolated growing up. “It’s okay, it’s alright.” Tenma almost has to console him, because he can hear Agon actually sounding very dejected. “Just… next time, we can stick to keeping our dates simple. Like a restaurant.”

And that is exactly why they are sitting in a restaurant right now. Agon had taken Temari’s advice, and chose a simple diner to go to. Tenma had texted saying that he wasn’t too hungry, so he won’t be eating much; the only thing he ordered was a purple yam souffle. Agon had a six ounce steak with mashed potatoes, so Tenma spent most of his time either chatting with Agon or on his phone (he is using one of his girlfriend’s strawberry phone sleeves to hide his actual phone). He had told Agon that his friend circle has been ‘really active’, purposely diverting attention from ‘Temari’s’ boyfriend whenever they are in comfortable silence. At least it’s comfortable on Tenma’s end, but he can see Agon constantly glancing at his girlfriend whenever they go half a minute without speaking.

Bestie: There is no way you are texting me all of this WHILE on a date with my brother.

Tenma stifles his smirk; he’s been getting more and more ballsy, so he sent Unsui a long winded story of something crazy that happened earlier today. Tenma is still angry at Agon for practically bullying him on campus, so he wants to show Agon that his beloved girlfriend has a life that’s beyond his existence. Tenma himself finds no issue if his girlfriends start texting or calling their friends when they’re not in the middle of a conversation, but he’s noticed the hallmark trait of people as narcissistic as Agon being that they cannot stand silence.

Temari: You’d be wrong, babes, because I ammmm ^^

Bestie: You’re losing your mind.

He can imagine Unsui chuckling then. Trust me, he has no idea. He just finished eating right now.

Bestie: And you’re leaving him there to sit and wait for you? There is a pause, Tenma can see Agon putting his hands in his pocket and probably looking off elsewhere. Agon isn’t the kind of person that likes quiet time.

It’s probably the least attractive thing about him, even though there’s nothing attractive about him as a person. Quite funny that even Unsui knows that Agon loves to be the center of attention at all times.

Bestie: I think you should get off the phone now.

Temari: Why so?

Tenma blinks from his screen, thinking Unsui somehow predicted Agon snatching his phone away, but instead he sees Agon still looking like he’s in deep thought. He’s transfixed in something deep mentally, and he’s been that way since he picked Tenma up earlier this evening. He shuts his phone, taking Unsui’s advice: “So what’s your love language?”

Agon looks at his girlfriend; there isn’t any noticeable ‘uptick’ in his body language, as though he isn’t snapped out of whatever is on his mind. He does give Temari’s question a bit of thought. “I don’t know… Hmm…” He scratches the bottom of his chin. “I think uhh… I tend to, you know, give people gifts. And I like to show them how much I love them. Yeah…”

Maybe Tenma should’ve rephrased that, because Agon answered it as ‘How do you love other people’ and not ‘How do you receive love’? “I know that.” And he giggles cutely, making Agon chalk up a tiny smirk. That smirk is scarily unreadable. “But I meant like, what do you want?”

“Ohhhh…” Agon again thinks of it, and then shrugs. “I dunno, maybe… affirmation? Telling me things? Letting me know how I’m doing? I’m uh…” He averts eyes with Tenma and starts to fidget. “I’m very critical of myself, so…”

Also, another truth, if one were to remove Agon’s assholery. Agon has built himself up as an athlete who can never be touched, and a man who can never be beaten. That is a painfully high bar to set for yourself; Tenma knows, because he used to be that way towards girls when he was younger. Despite always being a chick magnet, Tenma used to think he needed to impress his girlfriends at every possible turn, and would exhaust himself. Of course, all it took was for him to stop freaking overthinking; in Agon’s case, his issue has been embedded in him since he was a toddler, likely.

Tenma wonders what their family dynamic must’ve been like. He cannot imagine it being friendly or fair to either of the Kongo Twins.

“I think you’re doing fine.” Temari on the other hand, simplifies his issue by reinstating the one thing he’s called Agon out for. “Just don’t overdo it, and don’t overexert yourself, y’know? You’re a good man, from what I’m seeing.”

“Heh, I am… happy to hear that.” Agon’s eyes trail downwards, the humility in their chat obviously foreign to him. Weird how he emulates Unsui any time Temari compliments him, or ‘brings’ him down to Earth. He sits up and almost on cue, the waitress goes to run their tab. When she approaches their table, she hands Agon the receipt and bows with respect. 

Tenma on the other hand, watches Agon to see if he gives that waitress any wandering eyes, but there is none. How surprising, he thinks; he’s really not breaking character.

Their date is evidently over. Tenma is lucky that he kept his phone with him, it’d be the perfect advent to conveniently shed the spotlight off of Agon’s person. Yes, it’s evil to do this when he knows what he said to Agon in the heat of his anger, and yes, he knows that Agon is likely thinking about everything leading up to this moment, but he cannot fathom feeding this fucking man’s ego. Tenma wants him humbled so badly.

He’s mentally graduated out of some of his fears, so he did accept Agon’s offer to drive them both to the restaurant. Tenma had taken the subway to one of his girlfriends house, so that Agon could pick him up from there; Tenma wouldn’t dare let Agon know where he lived. He also chose to walk down the street so that Agon wouldn’t know of his girlfriends’ direct address either. 

The dreadhead had opened the car door for Tenma to get in, and Tenma gracefully slips into the pickup truck and crosses his legs. Even on this date, Tenma opted to wear black and red stylish baggy pants complimented with red suede ankle heels. His top is a cute cowl halter shirt, as he didn’t feel like wearing a skirt today. When Agon closes the door, he pulls out his phone and sends Unsui a quick text: We’ve finished ^^

Agon gets in wordlessly, and it prompts Tenma to pay extra attention to him. He revs the pickup truck and proceeds to seamlessly back out of his parking spot. Once he puts the car in first gear, the dreadhead ambles the car very slowly to the small parking lot’s exit. For some reason, his jaw looks tense.

Tenma feels like jumping out of this damn vehicle, but he acts oblivious, piquing up at some random idea. “We should have a baking night! Something homebodied, no?”

The tenseness disappears as he glances at her while making his turn into the street. “Ah, we should…” He flexes his fingers on the steering wheel. Tenma doesn’t know if he should be wary of that as well, usually that is a sign of stress. “I’m taking you home, right?”

Agon’s voice is unnaturally quiet all of the sudden. Tenma keeps his eyes on his pseudo boyfriend as he nods: “You can drop me off at the station hub right by my house…” So that it would look like Temari is just getting more ‘fare’ money before walking herself home. He’s hoping Agon won’t be hard pressed to follow him to his damn girlfriend’s house, though judging from how quiet the dreadhead is, he might actually leave Tenma alone. Speaking of which… “Are you sure everything’s fine, baby?”

He’ll baptize his tongue in two weeks from now after saying that last word, don’t worry.

Agon nods, confused that Tenma is able to see his mood change. “Yeah? I’m fine, babe. Like I said, I got a lot on my mind…” And he trails off, like those thoughts took hold of his voice, and goes back to being quiet while actively lessening the crease in his brows. He’s hiding his emotions, and this time, he’s making it obvious that he is.

This is such an unpredictable scenario to be in, and Tenma doesn’t know what to do. He wants to suss out whatever has Agon’s brain on a chokehold, but he wants to act like the women Agon’s only been with; women that don’t know who he is.

For the sake of humility, and because Tenma is certain he’s sitting next to a ticking time bomb, he bravely chooses the latter. “What happened in the past few days?”

Agon’s jaw is tense again. He even swallows and inhales, because Temari has unknowingly ripped the bandaid off of a fresh wound. Then suddenly, without incident, the tenseness is gone. Agon loosens up and just casually shrugs. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Temari hums, and decides not to press him any further. Agon is now hiding his feelings, so Tenma will choose to act clueless. He pulls out his phone to see a text from his girlfriend, and one from Unsui.

Honey-Hono: I left the porch lights off for when you come back.

Bestie: Good. I was beginning to worry…

Bestie: Well, still am…

“Who are you texting?”

Tenma tries not to flinch at that; Agon didn’t ask that with a lick of malice, he sounds genuinely curious. However, that question is always laced with something real sour. “My friends.” His pink lips flash the best smile he can muster. “They’re in town, and they’ve been keeping me updated with stuff. I thought I told you this before.”

Agon does not reconfirm that last statement. He just nods very slightly and stays silent for a minute, keeping his eyes on the road. “Why do you bring up your past exes?”

So that’s what’s been on his mind, eh? Tenma cocks his neck back. He pulls his wavy brown hair back with a head tilt. “Huh?”

“You mentioned,” And Agon pauses before continuing, “That one of your exes used to be real smothering. Was he… recent?”

If Tenma lacked a few more IQ points, he’d think Agon was asking that for the sake of procuring some sort of ‘vengeance’; like the idea of a man mistreating his girlfriend is something horrid enough for his entire mood to change. Tenma knows that that is far from the truth, and Agon was one wrong sentence away from sounding accusative. “Not really, but I’ve been single for quite a while.”

“Was he your first?”

“... No?” Temari now raises a brow, etching suspicion on her face at his questions. “If you’re planning on ‘visiting’ him, you won’t find him anywhere in Shinjuku, Mr. White Knight.”

Even though he’s mostly chiding on his first supposition, Tenma couldn’t help but be a little bitter because he knows Agon is psychoanalyzing Temari. They’re just a couple minutes away from where he told Agon to drop him off at, and he can sense an argument coming. Finally, he thinks to himself, as Tenma has been wishing for an actual conflict; at least that will be the only real thing about this fake relationship.

Agon shakes his head, seeming to rival Temari’s bitterness by acting oblivious. “I’m not a fan of going after people in the past.” He makes his final turn, now they are on the same street as the station hub. “They’re in the past for a reason.”

Don’t get attached, Tenma has to tighten his own jaw at the subtlety of Agon’s message. “What do you mean by that?”

Agon gives Temari a funny side eye. “Y’know what I mean by that.”

“Well, if we backtrack to your first question, it sounds like you think I’m holding a grudge.” Temari leans back, purposely shedding more of her dainty, overly ‘feminine’ body language. He knows that the disguise he has on is attractive to most, but the biggest factor that’s allowing Agon to act this way is that Tenma isn’t wearing a fucking skirt. “And, if you think I’m comparing you to my ex… Please know that some people have experienced things that warrant them to be cautious. It’s not about you.”

And god, if Tenma could snap a picture of the way Agon’s whole face fell for a split second after that, like he was caught red handed. Agon swiftly pulls up and parks right in front of the station hub, turning the interior light of the pickup truck on and this time, he turns his whole body to look at his girlfriend with a slight frown. “Do I upset you?”

“Wh-” Temari blinks twice, while in the back of his head, Tenma knows that he’s struck a nerve. “You haven’t done anything for me to feel that way-”

“It’s a yes or no question, babe.”

And Agon’s face and voice are deadpan. Even though the lights are on inside of the car, Agon’s eyes still look dark.

“You don’t…” Tenma shakes his head halfway, trying not to tremble, “But why would you ask about that particular ex? Is it because I told you about him?”

“I don’t want to be made an example. That’s why.” He’s got a clean cut, stern stare, one that looks like it’s supposed to be on Unsui’s face. “I take these things very seriously.”

Now it’s Tenma’s turn to misunderstand him. “You’re not an example, Agon.” You’re an embodiment. “You shouldn’t think that unless you think of other women that way. You’re a very sweet man, and we’ve only just started dating.”

There’s a calculating gaze in Agon’s eyes as Tenma is speaking. Tenma had refused to verbally give Agon the benefit of the doubt when he said that Agon might think of other women as simple plays. The dreadhead purses his lips, and he looks extremely conflicted, like what Temari is saying is said to make him confused.

No way… He’s not going to spin this around on me, is he?

“Since we just started, love,” Agon shifts his sitting position to look more comfortable, still maintaining that quiet tone he’s been adorning this whole time, “Please do not equate me with that kind of trash. You know I wouldn’t do that to you, right?”

Stop acting like that. Stop acting so fucking innocent, I swear to god… Lord knows how furious Tenma is right now, because it’s clear that Agon is lying, but Tenma can’t show that he knows that he is. “Is this what’s been bothering you this whole time, Agon?”

Fuck, his anger got the best of him. Tenma should’ve answered Agon’s question, should’ve given him that validation, because Agon is now especially peeved that his own girlfriend can see through his mood so well. The dreadhead curtly shakes his head, and his anger seeps into his voice. “It’s not.”

Tenma has to match his energy now. “So what was the point of asking about my ex all of the sudden? After asking who I was texting?” It’s Temari tilting her head and frowning at Agon’s glare. If Tenma can get under Agon’s skin when he’s upset, Temari can drip right into his bloodstream with ease. “You're sounding paranoid, and you’re taking that out on me.”

Agon exhales and pinches the bridge of his nose for a split second. “Why do you keep detracting?”

“Detracting?” Temari sounds wholly offended, but Agon actively seems to backpedal on his own words.

“You keep backtracking and explaining yourself over things I said beforehand.” Agon shakes his head, like what Temari is doing is disappointing him. “Can you please focus on what I’m saying now?”

“What you said before grabbed my attention now, because you were being cryptic.” Tenma puts both hands on his thighs. “I don’t want to think that you’re upset because we had that talk about boundaries, and that I was pointing out a flaw-”

“So it was a flaw you spoke about?” There it is; Agon’s buzzword. “Not something you didn’t like?”

“It isn’t something I like. Being given gifts all the time is not how I want my partners to love me; it seems exhausting.” Tenma partially wants to reach out and pat Agon’s arm or shoulder, because he actually looks like a destitute child who just got told they were ugly for the first time. It is tugging at poor Tenma’s heartstrings, but he has to keep shedding off this man’s layers. “And my past experiences with that have not been very great, because I know where it comes from.”

Agon, intelligent as he is, connects the dots before Tenma can even think to hide them. “You liken me to a skirt chaser, because I ‘showered’ you with too many gifts?”

He sounds so blatantly hurt, that Tenma almost forgot who he was talking to. “Agon-”

“Is that what you’ve been thinking this whole time? If that’s the case, then you could’ve declined everything from the start.”

Suddenly, Tenma realizes the blame has been shifted onto him, by himself. Not by Agon, because unless Agon knows that Temari is someone he goes to school with, Agon’s self critical nature has him focusing on the fact that Temari had a bad partner in the past. He is not focused on anything else, not even on the courtesy and chivalry that he’s actively shown towards his own girlfriend.

Agon… must have a very low self esteem behind the bravado, and the obvious genetic supremacy. Tenma is trying so hard not to both apologize, and not to bear hug Agon so that he’d stop looking at him like a heartbroken boy. “I wasn’t trying to-”

“You know-” Agon cuts his girlfriend off by accident, and he evidently didn’t mean to, but him interrupting her only got him angrier. “It’s alright. It’s alright, I’m just thinking too much.”

Too concerned with how easily his boyfriend is cracking, Tenma swallows and reaches out to rub the back of Agon’s hand. He sounded so manic trying to convince Temari that it’s ‘okay’. “Agon, you’re mad at me. You don’t need to hide that.”

Agon inhales, and reassures through poorly hidden gritted teeth: “I told you already, I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I am fine, Temari.”

“You’re clearly angry, Agon!” Temari gestures at his torso, “Stop trying to hide it-”

Agon suddenly rears up, hands grasping at the arms rests of his seat. “I told you I’m okay. Why won’t you listen to me?!”

The moment he raises his voice, Agon’s hand goes up to make a gesture towards himself, but instead, that same hand flying up makes Tenma flinch. Even though he made no move to hit Temari, the fact that he raised his voice is what led to Tenma accidentally flinching, a move that could’ve given him away.

Agon’s reaction is… weird , though; because when Temari flinched, he also flinched. The alter persona Tenma’s adorned, or Temari, should not think that Agon would ever hit ‘her’. Tenma has had a girlfriend before who was in an abusive relationship and she used to flinch a lot, even whenever he gave her high fives. For him to react like this is just him going off of how Agon really is as a person. ‘Temari’, should not know who he really is.

Tenma can’t help it. And Agon’s voice when he yelled ‘Why won’t you listen to me’ is burnt into his mind.

Agon has a look of concern, but his eyes show a strange hint of skepticism. He momentarily foregoes his own sudden fury. Instead of allowing Tenma to peer through his mask, he frowns at him and asks, “Temari?”

Tenma has to make up a lie, at least to cover up his predisposition to the dreadhead. “I’ve been in… bad situations before. It’s a force of habit.”

Agon nods slowly, that skeptical look in his eyes completely disappears. “I’m sorry… I wasn’t trying to scare you.” The overwhelmingly hurt look slowly returns, and it makes Agon look away from her with a hand against his mouth, staring at the steering wheel.

A person of guilty conscience would be more inclined to say ‘I wasn’t gonna hit you’. Agon’s response is not only ambiguous, but also thoughtful, in that Tenma would’ve been suckered in if he were actually a girl. Agon is playing his role way too well, and it only sickens Tenma to know that he’s putting on this act just so they can fuck.

Or is he? Agon has been super honest this whole time, giving away his own personal flaws and being overly candid with his own issues. All Temari did was exacerbate those same issues accidentally, and now…

Agon actually looks like he wants to be left alone. There’s a glint in his face that mirrors disgust.

“I…” Tenma doesn’t know if Temari should say anything. Should she excuse herself? Should she tell Agon that she has to go home now, feeling uncomfortable with his silence? Or should she reassure Agon that she wasn’t thinking of him as a violent man? “Agon… That was just… I wasn’t thinking that you would hit me; I have a bad habit of-”

“I understand.”

Those words come out quietly, politely, a little too broken even. Agon isn’t looking at her, that disgusted gaze on his face getting worse.

Tenma can’t bear to sit here anymore. There’s so much that’s being said without a word being spoken, so he grabs hold of the car door and quickly exits. “I’m gonna go…” He steps out the pickup truck and gives Agon one last look. He still isn’t making eye contact. “I appreciate what you’re doing. Please don’t think otherwise. Love you.”

And Tenma shuts the door, turning and briskly walking towards the station hub so that he wouldn’t have to see Agon’s face. Within seconds of him being on the sidewalk, Tenma hears the pickup truck zip away, the exhaust ripping into his thoughts and forcing him to turn around. Agon had sped off, and turned at the next possible block and disappeared. That also, says more than what words can explain.

Deep breath in, Tenma closes his eyes and tries not to get emotional. He is way too empathic, feeling the confusion and inner anger Agon felt because on one end, it really seemed like Agon was trying not to jump the gun. He was trying not to disappoint his girlfriend, and it only made things worse; Tenma cannot imagine being in that situation without wanting to cry, because he’s a damn pansy and he’s too soft for things like this.

His phone starts to ring and it’s his girlfriend Honoka calling him. She answers with a question, expecting Tenma to give her details immediately. “Umm… I think I’ll skip dinner tonight.” And he meant that. He looks down at his outfit, handpicked by himself and meant to embody great sex appeal.

He desperately wants to take it all off. He feels so ugly right now.

“I’ve never seen Mop Head speed off that fast in the face of a sexy woman! Kekeke…”

Tenma, once his girlfriend’s father dropped him off at his parent’s house, freshened up and immediately called Hiruma for the sake of some closure. Now that he’s in more comfortable clothing (literally an oversized periwinkle sweater and black biker shorts), he’s sitting in Hiruma’s apartment glaring at the crazy blonde. “You were watching us?” 

Hiruma continues to snicker for moments longer, before softly hitting the blunt end of his rifle against the table. Mamori is sleeping in his bedroom at the moment, and Tenma won’t comment on the faint pink mark on Hiruma’s collarbone, poorly hidden by his black shirt. “You know I don’t appreciate stupid questions, Pretty Prince.”

‘Duh, of course he was’ is the proper answer to that question. “Well umm… he did speed off.” Tenma purses his lip in thought. Hiruma likely expected him to scoff at Agon’s actions, but his dejection makes the captain tilt his head.

“You’re upset.”

Somehow, Hiruma managed to validate his feelings by saying them out loud. “I am. A lot happened during that car ride. We got into an argument.”

Hiruma nods slowly, circling around his working chair to lean against the desk, so that he’s right in front of Tenma. “And what’d he say? What happened for Agon to run away from you, my canary?”

Tenma rolls his eyes, “You know, I’m convinced you secretly wanna be in Agon’s shoes.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.”

Tenma’s damn jaw nearly drops, and he’s left gagging on his own words. He did not expect Hiruma to be so forward about that either.

“Spit it out, Fucking Ear Buds.” Hiruma pops a gum bubble like it’d signal Tenma to stop thinking about his response. “What happened between you two?”

Because that is the only reason why he’s sitting in this office right now. Tenma takes a moment to summarize; it isn’t too hard to explain, but it’s damn sure hard to think about. “I made a mention of a fake ‘ex’ being a smothering womanizer earlier today, and it’s been on Agon’s mind throughout the whole date. I could tell because he was so quiet, and he kept looking at me without saying anything the whole evening. He brought it up in the car, and I had to explain to him that I wasn’t calling him that, but he couldn’t keep from getting upset. Then he raised his voice, and I flinched by accident, and… he got silent after that.”

The smirk on Hiruma’s face is wiped off with those last statements. He doesn’t need a further explanation. “Normally, to tell a story like that, would have Fucking Dreads laughing it off and boasting about how he could take your supposed ‘ex’ on in a fight, in an attempt to woo you.” Hiruma paces a little, thinking to himself; “But for him to actually show how upset he was…” He scratches his chin, and then stops and slowly turns to fully face Tenma again, eyes calculating something that he evidently can’t equate.

There is pure confusion written on Hiruma’s face. This is not something he can telegraph at all.

“That’s what I’m saying.” Tenma crosses his legs and leans back. “He was too focused on the similarities between this fake ex and who he really is. It’s like he’s trying not to show that he’s a bird of the same flock.”

“He shouldn’t have to.” Hiruma shakes his head, perfectly drawn brows creasing together and it somehow resembles the same disgusted look Agon had. He suddenly tips his chin up. “Let me ask you… When you told him that story, what exactly was his reaction? I don’t care about what he said, what did he show?”

“Well that was over the phone, but with how he sounded, I felt the need to like… console him, reassure him that he’s not being perceived that way.”

“Ah…” Hiruma’s eyes go wide, then they narrow, and then he tilts his head with a look of awe. “You might have broken that man, Tenma.”

You know it’s serious when Hiruma says your real name.

“Wh-” Tenma sits up, suddenly feeling like a convict. Even though deep down he wants Agon to sit down and shut up and stop being a prick, for him to rip that out of him in that nature was so unbelievably toxic, now that he thought about it. “I didn’t mean to-”

“You did. Just not in that way. Don’t think I forgot how upset you were during our last practice, I could hear you from my own office that day.” Hiruma crosses his arms, “What you said got to him then. His cute little girlfriend establishing boundaries that he can’t cross was what broke the camel’s back. You knew, but you’re too kind to realize just how deep Fucking Dread’s thought process goes.”

He’s not chastising Tenma either, Hiruma genuinely sounds both awed and impressed. All it took was around three days for Agon to really start feeling like how he should feel. Tenma’s get back was cruel, but it was the only way for what he said to really sink into the dreadhead’s brain.

“If I hadn't explained that to him, he would've kept doing what he was doing. I don't think I have enough like… I just don't have that in me.” Tenma isn't a spoiled brat at all. He's always been the man to compensate for all his girlfriends, and he prefers to not be smothered with gifts. You can smother him with attention and cuddles, but not gifts.

What if he chose to be honest… so that he can later show why he’s always been single? It sounds like a roundabout way to break Temari’s ‘heart’. 

On that same tangent, Agon made him so mad this past month. He shouldn't show too much sympathy to someone as terrible as him. “He'll bounce back.” Tenma immediately waves his hand wayward. “I guarantee you this isn't the first time some woman has gotten upset at him. He'll act like he cares, and then go right back to being the womanizer he is.”

“If he somehow does. I do mean, somehow. ” Hiruma glances at his bedroom door for a moment. “For Fucking Dreads to go out of his way to act upset, and to pardon you like that shows a bit too much effort. If a woman is difficult, he leaves them alone. By his standards, he's technically ‘put up with’ a lot of things from you.”

That is the only way to call it. Agon doesn't tolerate women being difficult or criticizing. He'd rather a lady be clueless, which is what Temari is not. 

“If he calls you in the middle of the night, you should answer him.”

Tenma blinks with a furrowed brow. “At those times?”

“He does not sleep very well if something bothers him.” Hiruma goes back to sit in his working chair. “If he didn’t blow up on you after yelling, what you said got to him. I wouldn’t doubt that he’d ignore what had happened, but this is… odd behavior. Not something I’d ever see that Mop Head ever doing.”

“Are you saying he feels guilty?” Tenma, incredulous, knows he already answered that question himself. Agon showed signs in his own way that he was guilty for yelling at Temari, but only time will tell now. Hopefully, he actually breaks up with Temari so that Tenma can be free of the Olympic level mental gymnastics he has to keep doing.

“You got two fucking weeks to keep Fucking Dreads as your boyfriend. Don’t forget that.”

Tenma groans; it’s as if Hiruma read his damn mind. “What if he just ends it on his own?”

“Then you’ve failed your task.” Hiruma’s nails tap against the barrel of his rifle. “I’d shoot anyone dead if they fail to follow any of my plans.”

Tenma eyes the rifle. There’s no magazine present on it, meaning that the rifle isn’t loaded. “Remember that I’m your upperclassman.” He crosses his arms, seeing Hiruma slightly lower the rifle. “Last I checked, I go by a name.”

The balls on his petite ass to look Hiruma dead in the eye and point out the obvious empty ‘punishment’. He knows Hiruma won’t do anything to him because Hiruma did not put a name to that supposed threat. He said ‘anyone’, not him.

Hiruma smirks at him; it’s an amused smirk. “Hmph…” He lowers his rifle finally. Perhaps, he said all that on purpose. “Alright. You’re the boss, Pretty Prince. I expect you to know what you should do now.”

They unironically learned a lot without saying much at all, and perhaps it’s because both he and Hiruma have first hand experience of Agon’s personal side. Tenma can go another week without seeing that man and be perfectly fine. He damn sure won’t mind verbally smacking Agon down if he takes his stupid anger on him again during practice, and if Agon were to dare turn around and start abusing Temari, Temari will have to abuse him back.

And that isn’t too hard to do. Tenma’s already cut through him once. Temari can deal a killing blow to Agon if that idiot jock doesn’t watch his mood and his mouth.

Chapter Text

It’s been thirteen hours since that date.

Prior to meeting with Hiruma, Tenma got home at around 19:45. He left a bit after, and returned at a quarter to ten. He laid in bed last night and somehow managed to fall asleep in the middle of a video call with his girlfriends. They did not wake him up either, and he was a bit annoyed that his exhaustion crept up on him that fast, but he also did not expect to sleep so smoothly.

It is now 11:15, the halfback woke up not too long ago. Tenma steps out of the shower, and goes to his room. He freshens up and doesn’t bother putting on a full outfit again. The oversized pullover and biker short combo was super comfy last night, so he picks out a black oversized sherpa sweater and black biker shorts. Surprisingly, he actually doesn’t have anything to do today; there’s no dates with any of his girls, Saikyou does not have practice either, and he doesn’t have any major errands to run.

I’m gonna be so bored, Tenma pouts at nothing in particular. Even though he deserves a day where he’s not situated around noise , his house is way too quiet. He almost feels the need to call his girlfriends to come over, but he knows that all of them have varying schedules today.

He’ll have to stick with the peace for now, because he does need breakfast. Something about being emotionally drained last night left him with no appetite, and now it’s reared back around to kick him in the ass. He quickly whips up a hot, soothing bowl of udon, and then slips into the tall wooden seat of the kitchen island, facing the entire living room and dining room area. Again, his parent’s home is huge, and every time Tenma is alone, he can’t help but hyperfocus on its vastness, and its ambience.

He eats slowly for the next thirty minutes, his mind dissecting what happened last night. Their date was short, Tenma himself doesn’t have many short dates, and he knew that Agon wasn’t used to just being at one place with a woman. He has to exhaust his girls first and foremost before they finally give in to what he really wants; sex, and he can’t do that with Temari. He had be transformative throughout that date, and instead it led to an argument. Tenma had a strange feeling about him, it really did seem like Agon was battling something yesterday. The man was so at odds with his own words, and his own feelings.

Agon never strikes him as somebody who cares if another person thinks he’s an asshole. He just reduces that person to ‘trash’, because of course they wouldn’t understand the burden of interacting with mundane folk. Yet he looked so hurt after Temari had brought her ex back up, when his normal response should’ve prompted him to kick her out of his car and call her an ugly bitch. Agon sat there and allowed Temari to question his guilty conscience, and all he did was try to divert how angry he really was at that.

‘Why won’t you listen to me?!’ Those words echo in Tenma’s head one too many times. Even when he went to bed he couldn’t help but mentally play back the angered desperation in Agon’s voice, the way he forced his whole body forward like a child screaming when they’re being ignored. It was such an unhinged, vulnerable expression, Agon never acts like that even when he’s in his usual pissy mood.

Out of nowhere, Tenma jumps out of his seat and dashes back upstairs. I forgot to text Unsui back! Somehow thinking about Agon made him realize he left Unsui’s concerning message on read.

Once he gets his phone, he immediately runs back downstairs and places his now empty bowl in the sink and washes his hands. Afterwards, he swiftly texts out a message.

Tenma: OMG I forgot to reply! I got home safe, don’t worry <3 <3

He puts the phone down and drinks down his strawberry milk. Within half a minute, he gets a text back.

Bestie: I figured.

Bestie: And Tenma…

Uh oh, Tenma pauses in the midst of putting the cat shaped bottle down. That doesn’t sound good.

Bestie: Can I call you? I feel it’s best to speak with you instead of texting.

Tenma: Of course

He presses the call button as he’s heading to the living room to plop onto the couch. “Heyyyy~” The blonde drawls out in a sugary tone, which earns a very short chuckle from Unsui. 

“Good morning.” Unsui greets him immediately. Tenma smiles at the sound of the quarterback’s voice; Unsui sounds like he’s been up for a while. “I am happy to hear that you’re alright. You sound well rested.” He starts, yet… Whatever tense energy that came out of that text starts to leak through his next words: “I just wanna know what… happened yesterday?”

His gut does a somersault thinking that Agon went crazy and vandalized Unsui’s belongings or took his anger out in some form of criminal activity, one that would warrant Unsui’s accountability by proxy. He sounds like he’s seen the aftermath of an unexpected tornado. “Ummm…” Tenma blinks and looks at the window walls at the entrance corridor. He won’t bother acting dumb. “Why do you ask? Did Agon like, try to fight you? Please don’t tell me he did something drastic-”

“He… He didn’t. It’s just…” Unsui sounds like he’s trying to ascertain what it was that he saw. “There’s a reason why I said what I said at first, because… Agon didn’t return home until five in the morning, so I thought he and you were in the city or elsewhere. But when he did, he came in alone, dropped everything,” Unsui pauses, as though Tenma’s right in front of him, evidently gesturing as he’s speaking, “And just… left again.”

Tenma frowns; isn’t that typical Agon behavior after a date? He’d imagine the dreadhead’s mood being that much of a hodgepodge, to where he’d go from wildly energetic to suddenly trudging around like he’s late on taxes.  “Dropped… everything?”

“He didn’t take the pickup truck with him. He dropped the keys, his wallet… and walked right back out. Then,” Unsui pauses again, “He returned twenty minutes ago and went straight to his room. When I went to ask him where he went…”

Aside from Tenma offhandedly being concerned that Agon possibly didn’t sleep all night, he inhales and supplants Unsui’s words. “Did he curse you out?”

This is where Unsui’s awe simmers in. “He didn’t. He… He just goes; ‘leave me alone’.” Unsui’s voice changes to match the exact tone Agon used, and it sounds like a voice at war with its owner’s mind. Unsettlingly quiet, just moments away from a nervous breakdown. “Agon never really shows any emotion after a date. He goes about his day as normal; comes back either hungover or tired, and just sleeps. Agon did not sleep at all, and whatever he did while he was gone, he did sober. He hasn’t left his room since his return, so I want to know in brief words… What happened last night?”

The blonde swallows, “We got into an argument…” He combs over the imagery of where Unsui is. “Wait… he’s in the house and you’re talking to me?”

“Our walls are insulated. He can’t hear a thing from his room, and I’m sitting in the front lawn.”

“Oh…” Tenma fidgets with the fabric of his sweater. He pouts at the ground; there is no way that Agon was so affected by Tenma’s feelings, that it made him shut down after a mildly sour (if that even?) date with Temari. “I… I may have made an example out of him, because I was still angry with him. I told him this story of a guy who was a womanizer, just to give some character to my disguise, and he couldn’t get that out of his head the whole day.”

“Why would you do that?”

He didn’t expect to hear such an oddly stern, defensive tone from the older Kongo twin, and it immediately prompts shame out of him. “I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it because of how he’s been towards me during practice, and I wanted him to stop being so smothering when we’re dating! That was the only way I knew how to.”

“It is… most effective, I’ll tell you that.” On Unsui’s end, he can hear some birds chirping nearby, only highlighting how quiet his house environment is. It’s even more insane to know that Agon is a floor above Unsui at the moment. “Me and Agon are identical twins. I understand his plight beyond words. With how he walked past me not too long ago…” Unsui pointedly exhales. “I knew that you hurt him deeply.”

That’s two people that are saying that Agon’s beat! Tenma’s pride would serenade for this newfound affirmation, but his pride is not big enough. He feels that same ugly feeling he had when he looked down at his attractive outfit last night.

“I am not upset at you.” Unsui reassures him, “But I think I’m now seeing that he’s been actively trying, but in secret…”

“Trying?” Tenma’s nose scrunches up. “Trying what?”

A moment of silence, perhaps because Unsui’s next words sound so impossible to fathom in context. “Trying to change.”

Tenma goes silent, his mouth even gapes at the mere idea of Agon… changing? Trying, like… attempting?! What exactly sparked him to change? There’s no way Tenma will accredit himself to Agon’s change of heart, this has to be something ongoing. “How…?”

Not even a ‘when’ or a ‘why’, but a how, because how could Agon ever reformat his dickheaded nature?!

“If I am not mistaken, it started during the Youth World Cup.” Unsui digs through his memories, not telling Tenma exact examples of this change. Instead, he tells him what sparked it. “A few things transpired then; he and Kurita were arch nemeses by his wright, but Kurita had saved his life, practically, on the field. He won’t say it, but he has developed a level of respect for some of the former Devil Bat members, and…” There’s a sound of shifting on his end, “He was targeted harshly by Oberman’s son.”

The Youth World Cup… The end-year championship for football teams from all nations across the world. It takes place every two years, Tenma so happened to be recruited in his freshman year. Rumors had it that Donald had lobbied his way into Team USA’s lineup at the age of sixteen. Tenma remembers Mr. Don, because he looked like he was triple his age despite being a couple months younger than Tenma. He would make it more than clear to crush any of your ambitions, and he did it mercilessly.

Tenma somehow managed to narrowly escape that asshole’s main target of interest. He reckons Agon, as brash as he is, could be reduced to a bawling mess from how vile Donald can be.

“You know who he is?”

“Sorely,” Is all Tenma says at first, “He was a monster. Going against him is something I’d wish on nobody. You’re telling me that from that, Agon has been slowly trying to… connect with others?”

“He had a lot of fun playing football. I felt it then. Being a part of something made him feel good, so I reckon he wants to… redeem himself.” Unsui does grunt a little while getting up out of his seat.

“Feelin’ a little rusty?”

He can see Unsui rolling his eyes at that. “Really funny.” The quarterback inhales for a moment, and Tenma would’ve asked if he was in pain had it not been for Unsui’s slight laugh afterwards. “I just find it very odd that it only took… one argument. I’m no stranger to how Agon is, but he’s never brought girls to our parent’s house. Ever; he would always do his business with them elsewhere, so when I first saw Temari I was certain that he was trying to break barriers. How he is with you, I can’t place that beyond him being uncomfortable with you, but with Temari…”

With his girlfriend, Agon is actually a sweet man to be around. The only problem, Tenma has noticed, is that he keeps resorting to using lavish gift-giving and borderline exhibitionism to keep her roped in. If Temari were some random woman who knew nothing of Agon, she’d likely think Agon was some rich athlete with so much to offer. As a man, a good looking man who’s always been popular around girls, Tenma knows that it’d be a matter of time before Agon would meet his match, or somebody to settle him down.

Does this mean that Temari is his match? Which would mean that he is Agon’s match?

“Are you still there?”

“Huh-” Tenma blinks out of his thoughts. Unsui had been speaking, but right after he hears his own codename, Tenma’s brain starts filing out crazy hypotheses. He was just moments away from his phone slipping out of his hand. “I’m sorry, I uhh… Were you saying something?”

Unsui hums, and just dismisses himself altogether. “It’s fine, it’s just… something I was guessing, but I figured it wasn’t that-”

“Say it.” Tenma leans forward like Unsui is in front of him, the adamance in his voice catching the quarterback off guard. Tenma rescinds, “If there’s anybody that has a clue about what Agon could be feeling, it’d be you.”

“I was gonna say that… he likely wants to prove that he’s different by dating Temari. Taking her to school, bringing her home, initiating dates and paying for her.” Unsui sounds… sad, for some reason, and as if he’s realized that Tenma could hear his despondence, he suddenly backtracks his own tone. “I mean, technically you only have to be a girl for less than a month, but… My younger brother is using his relationship with you, or Temari, to prove to himself that he can connect with others. Somehow, I find this, and the fact that he’s upstairs moping right now, a bit ironic.”

That’s depressing to think about, though Tenma can strangely relate. He used to parade around the fact that Yamabushi and he were best guy friends because Yamabushi was the only guy who didn’t make Tenma feel out of place. The halfback has only ever had close friendships with girls, and if a guy were to be friendly with him, Tenma would tokenize that relation a bit too much. He did wish that he could apologize to Yamabushi for the times in middle school when he’d embarrass his friend like that, because he used to innocently call Yamabushi his ‘boyfriend’, not realizing what it meant back then. He wonders if Agon felt embarrassed the more he kept being authentic; that’s the one thing that he never does.

Or maybe he has been doing just that; showing authenticity. Tenma thinks back to the time he and Agon watched a movie at his house. In all honesty, that one date was better than all the other dates they’ve had, it also is the most intimate thing they’ve done, and while they partially cuddled together, Tenma felt more comfortable throwing jokes at him. He felt comfortable listening to Agon turn into the critical nerd that he is, having commentary on every major movie scene there was.

Tenma does miss that. Things were simpler, then. “Well, you likely never seen how Agon is with other girls but, would you imagine him telling a woman that he’s very self critical and doesn’t know how he should show affection?”

“Wh-” Unsui sounds astonished, “What?” He pauses and then rears back up before Tenma can repeat himself. “Wait, wait… He said that to you, or…”

“He said that to me. This was before we actually started arguing.”

“...Then I was right.”

That Unsui was right, that Agon was trying to change. He wouldn’t tell Temari this because ‘Temari’ doesn’t know him from a hole in the wall, she has no business knowing that he’s in the process of reinventing himself. Tenma, on the other hand, is wondering why this possible proactive need to change, has been prompting Agon to be extremely rancid towards him.

He is convinced that that is not as important as the former circumstance.

“Agon would never tell his flaws to somebody, even if he’s trying to persuade them. He did that with Temari, with you.” Unsui sighs, “In a way, I am happy Hiruma chose you as his guinea pig.”

Tenma’s face falls flat. “Really now?” He scoffs at hearing Unsui chuckle, what a rat. “I’m having my brain jostled in hella directions every time I’m around him, and you’re happy for that?”

“I’m not happy about that, but-” The quarterback’s voice is warm. “It takes a loving, accepting person to really understand and deal with someone like him.”

Something clicks. Tenma’s girlfriends, both past and present, have always said he was loving and accepting. Even Usagi had mentioned that Tenma treated his girls equally despite them all looking so different, and oftentimes not as attractive as he is (not in his opinion). Tenma isn’t too much of a looks based person; all he really wants is somebody to talk to. Now he’s imagining that Agon, who spent his life being told he was better than everyone, grew hyper aware of the loneliness surrounding his very person. When he’s not fucking or fighting… Who does he go to to get his opinions, thoughts and feelings out?

“Agon doesn’t talk to anybody about anything. Not even me.” Like the quarterback is reading his mind, Unsui continues being very honest. Somehow, Tenma feels they’re getting too personal. “A lot of who he is is hidden. You may not know it, but Agon is a perfectionist; he’s been this way since we were little. If he makes one mistake he takes it to heart; it’s even worse if other people notice it, and call him out for it. By ‘people’, I mean those he is attached to, like Hiruma for example. Or me, and as of now… You.”

“Agon is not attached to me-”

“He is.” Unsui cuts him off then, because he is paramount. “He was never that rude to Hiruma. You being upset had affected him after practice, that shows that he has been attached to you in some way.”

To be an ‘attachment’ to Agon, given how he treats him, only makes Tenma feel extremely sour. Conflicted by the positive outlook of Agon redeeming himself secretly, his whole mood has gone bittersweet. He purses his lips, he doesn’t know why this gets to him all the sudden. “I just… I really do wish that he’d stop being so mean to me. He hasn’t spoken to me since I called him out, but Temari on the other hand… I think he’d likely call it quits.”

“He wouldn’t.” There’s a sound of Unsui locking the gate to his front yard, Tenma assumes, and the quarterback might be walking to the front door because his voice is getting quiet. “I don’t think he’d let any of that just slide. Though, I’d have to talk to him to see to it myself.”

Somehow, that’s both validating and terrifying to hear. If Agon truly feels some way about their last interaction and texts his girlfriend for the sake of closure, then it means that he has actively chosen to make healthier decisions to maintain relations with someone. The scary part about that is it only further highlights just how much Agon likes Temari, which would do a major injustice to his efforts should he ever find out that Temari isn’t a real woman.

Tenma’s heart feels like it’ll crack into billions of pieces. He’s too empathic for all of this; hell, this revelation is so frustrating it makes him want to cry.

“If you’re heading back in, I’ll get off the phone.” Tenma scrunches his nose for a moment, a little upset that he can’t hide how stressed he is at the moment. “I don’t think he’ll be that affected. He’s probably sleeping right now, anyway....”

When Unsui had bid Tenma goodbye, he didn’t bother reinstating a point against his last statement. He can tell that Tenma doesn’t want to imagine this scheme actually hitting Agon where it hurts, but he’s been more and more certain that this is the direction Hiruma’s scheme is meant to go.

He has sworn to himself (although it may be a lie) that he’s thrown aside the lifelong assuage of being compared to Agon, of being deemed less than him in every way possible, and somehow this situation harkens to that long part of his past. Unsui never figured Agon would care to make friends because the concept of such should not matter to a godlike being. He, by right, is just that and nothing more, nothing less.

Agon’s rudeness and inability to peacefully interact with others is a byproduct of his appraised upbringing. The older twin never needs to remind himself of that.

Unsui stares at his phone contacts for a bit too long while entering his parent’s home; Tenma had recently sent him a picture to use as his contact photo. In the picture, Tenma was wearing a fluffy pink pullover, doing a peace sign with an unreasonably cute wink. It’s actually hilarious to know that Agon got told off by somebody who appears as demure as Tenma. Though, from what Tenma told him, he is an eighth degree Taekwondo black belt; he does know how to defend himself.

As Agon’s twin brother, he inherently knows that Agon classifies shorter, prettier men like 'women'. Agon’s gynosexuality shows whenever he’s around other guys who appear feminine, like Kisaragi or even Taka. Hiruma as well at one point, but it was always obvious to Unsui that he treats effeminate looking men with less aggression. Tenma, though… 

Well, the first time Unsui saw Tenma’s actual eyes, he saw exactly why girls fall head over heels for him. His cute, petite face is paired with sharp and striking hazel eyes, thick dark lashes, and blonde hair that is toned to compliment the ‘male siren’-esque effect of his stare. He stared at Tenma that day they ran into each other because Tenma was that good looking, good looking enough to be too attractive to both men and women.

Unsui can tell that the older halfback has an effect on people that either has them thirsting over him, or them thinking he’s subtly flirting with them. He wonders what interaction would spawn Agon’s ‘hatred’, if that even, because he remembered his younger brother acting very oddly unkempt around Tenma when they faced each other in his freshman year. He has yet to figure out what this exactly is.

Something about Tenma as a person, highlights something about Agon and his feelings.

A part of him wants to lie to Tenma, to tell him that Agon is done with Temari, just so that the poor blonde doesn’t have to feel like he’s stepping on landmines. Though such thought is painted with a bit of selfishness, because Unsui can clearly see how comfortable Tenma is talking to him. Tenma's comfort is the only thing he has, that Agon doesn’t…

He can’t lie to himself. He shouldn’t dwell too hard on the latter; he has to get to the bottom of something.

When he reaches Agon’s bedroom door, it takes him a few seconds too long to actually knock. Unsui takes a breath, and knocks on the door twice. “Agon?”

It’s currently 12:25. Unsui is convinced his brother is actually asleep but it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Oh, am I wrong? He can faintly hear Agon moving around in his room. There’s less bustle than normal, but it isn’t slow enough to indicate that Unsui just woke him up. The door however, doesn’t open; Agon doesn’t even approach the door at first.

 So Unsui knocks again, and instead of interrogating his twin, he half-smiles. “I bought some more tonkotsu packets yesterday.”

What he’s really saying is ‘Is everything okay, because you haven’t eaten or slept yet’. Agon answers, his voice unnaturally quiet. “I’m not hungry.”

Unsui feels a tug in his gut; his brother is still upset. Now, he can trickle in with his concern. “Did you eat while you were out?”

“No. ”Agon isn’t lying. 

This actually worries Unsui a little bit; the last time he skipped meals and sleep was right before he cut Hiruma off. There is emotional strife in the younger twin. “And you still haven’t slept?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because you’ve been out all night.” Unsui frowns, Agon's question sounds strangely pointed at something. Convicted. “Can you open the door?”

‘Let me see if you're okay. Please’ , and he knows this might be asking for too much. Agon would prefer nobody seeing him right after a loss of some sort. There’s more shuffling, walking, and then the sound of him moving the ottoman next to his bed (Unsui knows that sound by heart), and then he hears Agon’s footsteps nearing the door. Again, he does not open the door immediately, despite Unsui hearing and knowing that he’s right in front of it. 

There’s about four seconds of silence before the knob turns slowly, and the door is pulled open, revealing Agon and his entire room. His room is clean as always because Agon is a surprisingly clean person (an ode to his perfectionism), but Agon, clad in a stained white T-shirt and black shorts, wears an expression that ages him thirty years.

Agon looks so exhausted. Fed up. Stressed out. If Unsui didn’t know any better, he’d think his brother had been ranting to a wall about his problems. “What do you want?”

“I just came to tell you that there’s ramen packets. You don’t need to spend too much time making breakfast.” Unsui tilts his head, unable to digest Agon’s appearance. This is… vulnerable, not the way Agon would ever show his face to anybody. How far is he willing to go to change? This seems to be eating at him from the inside out.

Agon blinks twice, and inhales with his lips pursed like he’s already said an entire monologue. “I told you, I’m not hungry.”

“Alright.” Unsui furrows his brows, “You should sleep then.”

“I don’t want to.” Agon steps away like he’s about to close the door, but he doesn’t. He’s waiting for Unsui to say the wrong thing, and when Unsui gives him a confused look, Agon groans in annoyance. “What are you, acting like mom? If I don’t wanna eat or sleep now, then I don’t wanna eat or sleep. What’s it to you?!”

Unsui narrows his eyes. Their mother has been dead for years. Agon never mentions their mother in conversation. “You just…" He almost points that out, but knowing that would unearth bad memories, Unsui scraps the acknowledgement altogether. "You’ve been out, and you look very tired. I just want to know…” ‘ If everything is okay.’

He expects Agon to say ‘I’m fine, now shut up and leave me alone’ or to call him ‘Pickypants Mcgee’ with a smug smirk (Because he’s seriously called Unsui that before), but instead, his brother looks agitated by the unspoken question. Like he’s heard that question before. 

The dreadhead shakes his head, his response different from his body language. “Quit being so nosy.” And he shuts the doors then. There’s no typical Agon-level rage, no name-calling, no cursing at all. Nothing but resignation, and melancholic forethought on that face of his.

Unsui is left standing there, now knowing that his own hypothesis was correct, and now feeling like Tenma was beyond wrong for thinking his brother would dismiss his girlfriend after this. Agon, if he were a normal man with a non-abrasive track record, would be playing with fire putting so much attachment on a woman he just met. Agon is not a normal man, he is Agon, and he’s conflicted by his own efforts to change his ways being thrown back at him.

The quarterback doesn’t press his brother any further. If Agon decides to eat, he will eat. He shouldn’t check after him like they’re still children, even though that’s not the underlying message Agon is sending.

He’s confused. Morally confused, as in Agon can’t bear to even talk to anybody until his confusion dissipates. If turning a new leaf is what Agon is doing, it would be in Unsui’s best interest to leave him alone, and to not think too much about him in his presence.

He won’t tell Tenma what just happened, he doesn’t want to make the blonde feel like he’s torn Agon apart.

Unsui really hopes that once this particular month-long date ends, Tenma would still be friends with him. He knows it’s a petty thing to worry about right now, but Unsui cannot help but feel like second guessing himself. Every time he speaks to Tenma he doesn’t know if he’s being boring or not, even with Tenma telling him otherwise. He’s been holding back on asking to hang out with him because he thinks Tenma will say no, and he can’t think of anything they both would do. And Tenma’s very attractive, it’d make Unsui feel strange to be seen standing next to a pretty penny like him…

Maybe later, Unsui swallows for no apparent reason, maybe I’ll ask him later…

Chapter Text

Later couldn’t come any time sooner.

Despite his nerves kicking his ass over wanting to hang with the halfback, Unsui found it hard to simply wait. That evening after their phone call, he was brainstorming things he could do with Tenma. Because he’s so withdrawn from even the simplest of pleasures, Unsui thinks that he’s not interesting enough to pitch something worthwhile with somebody else. Despite his newfound drive to connect with the halfback, he knows he should give Tenma some time before proposing anything.

Two days later, the quarterback is sitting by the cherry trees in Matcha Park, not too far from his house. This park became his main place to meditate in the early hours, and he has since been walking through the cherry tree path in afterthought for the past ten minutes. He texted Tenma to meet him here at 10:20 in the morning, and it is now 10:15…

Five minutes. He just needs five minutes to calm his nerves-

Unsui gets a text. He opens his phone and sees the pretty blonde’s contact photo:

Tenma: I’m here! I was afraid I’d get wrapped in traffic. Coming to you right now (o^▽^o)

… And the parking lot is not even two minutes away from here. Well, there goes his time to prepare.

Unsui sends him a picture of where he is before leaning against a tree. As expected, Tenma comes into view a whole minute later and Unsui tries not to stare too hard at him like he did the first time they met. Tenma saunters with his signature shades on, in a pair of baby blue cargo shorts that are bunched up at his hips, and a navy blue long sleeved crop top that shows his toned stomach. His gait accentuates how small his waist is, since Tenma has a tendency to look like he’s strutting when he walks. It doesn’t help that his pants are quite snug fitting, showing the very ends of his quads…

“Good morningggg!" When Tenma’s within good distance, he comes up to hug Unsui.

“Hey…” The quarterback cocks his neck back a little but accepts the embrace, his cheek partially touching the top of Tenma’s head. His hair smells like strawberry daiquiri…

“I’m sorry, I tend to hug my girlfriends, so I just…” Tenma releases him then. “Force of habit.”

“It’s alright.” Unsui chuckles a little, tossing a hand waywards in a shy manner because now that Tenma is right in front of him, Unsui realizes he could’ve just called to make plans. Having to do it in person is way more intimidating than he thought. “So… I wanted to ask you something, umm…”

Tenma, who likely misreads Unsui’s reticence as a cause of concern, steps forward with furrowed brows. He removes his shades. “Is everything alright?”

Unsui looks at him for five nanoseconds too long and looks elsewhere; it is extremely hard to maintain eye contact with the upperclassman. His eyes are too pretty, bewitching… “Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just…” He takes a moment to try and formulate words, but his nerves are in the air already. He feels like he’s going to get laughed at. “I didn’t think it’d be genuine to ask you this over the phone or through text, so I wanted to ask in person.”

It’s then that he accidentally looks at Tenma’s face. The blonde has his full attention on Unsui, and now the quarterback is hyper focused on how bright and clear those hazel irises look staring at him.

Unsui backpedals, realizing the selfishness in this ordeal. “I’m sorry, I do apologize for asking you to come out here when you don’t live by this park. Uh, I don’t really do stuff like this but I’d like to know if you’d… like to hang out with me today?”

“Umm…” The blonde blinks twice, furrows a brow, and then cocks his neck back. Tenma’s eyes are wide as he nods with his whole head and shoulders, “Yes? Like,” He chuckles into a slight frown at Unsui’s shy face, “Did you think I was gonna say no to that, Unsui?”

“Hehe…” Unsui scratches the back of his head and airily chuckles. “Kinda…”

“Of course not, I’d love to hang out with you!” Tenma laughs, the smile on his face as merry as it always is. “Do you have a place you’d like to take me?”

Then Tenma swiftly puts his shades back on when a few people amble near the both of them, blocking those magnetic irises from Unsui. The quarterback tilts his head in confusion at that. “Uh…” Unsui purses his lips at himself, sheepishly shaking his head. “No…”

Tenma tilts his hand with a funny frown this time, before snorting out another laugh. The laugh isn’t condescending. “How about we head to the mall? I do wanna buy some things, you can shop around with me too.”

That’s… actually a good idea, wow… Unsui does need to get a few essentials. He’s trying to break the habit of cutting his own costs, the poor man never treats himself. “I would love that.”

The way Tenma’s eyes light up pinches something in Unsui’s chest, in a good way. “Alright, let’s go! I’ll drive us both there.” He motions for Unsui to follow him back to the nearby parking lot. 

Somewhere in his mind, Unsui wishes this ‘break’ Tenma’s taking from being Agon’s girlfriend will be long; he really likes seeing the blonde happy.

They cascade into light conversation, Unsui soon finding himself matching Tenma’s pace (this little blonde walks really fast for some reason). When they get into Tenma’s coupe, Unsui folds his fingers together like a kindergartener sitting in a corner. “So… what are you going to do afterwards?”

Tenma hums in thought, starting his car. “Probably go home. Though I kinda feel like choppin’ it up.” He removes his shades the very moment he shuts his car door, the action leaving Unsui even more perplexed. “You wanna go to a diner with me?”

Why did Unsui’s brain concoct something else out of that statement? Maybe it’s Tenma’s inflection, how he always sounds so flirty. Maybe it’s his face, and how he’s maintaining eye contact with Unsui. Maybe he smells really good, and looks good in this simple outfit of his…

Truth be told, Unsui’s anxiety, his nervousness, and the constant feeling that he’s going to fuck things up aren’t just because he’s alien to having friends. 

It’s because Unsui is fucking gay, and he likes Tenma.

He unexpectedly caught feelings for the blonde the day they were at the restaurant, as stupid as that sounds. He was seated next to Tenma in the restaurant, they were chatting with one another, and then Tenma offered to drive him home. While they headed back to Kanagawa, he and Tenma were talking about football, and apparently Unsui said something funny and Tenma laughed at his joke…

Seeing that smile, paired with those carefree and beautiful, hazel eyes… That was the very moment he started crushing on the halfback, as stupid as that sounds.

He took a cold shower that night. In a fit of fervent denial, Unsui tried to convince himself that Tenma looked too much like Agon when Agon was thirteen, but their facial features are truly nothing alike. He also tried telling himself that his pre-established friendship with ‘Temari’ was the reason why he started catching feelings, but that made no sense given he crushed hard on Tenma being Tenma. Now here he is, having overthought the prospect of hanging out with him because of some superficial crush…

“Unsui?”

“Hmm?” Unsui answers unreasonably fast even though his brain is still stuck in Venus. Then he realizes, I’ve been staring at him this whole time, huh… “Well… I mean I’d imagine that’d be too early of an idea for us, no?” Then he overthinks his own implications, and has to backtrack, “I meant that we only just started really talking to each other; I’m a bit surprised to know that you are that comfortable with me.”

Tenma blinks twice, there’s evident confusion on his face, but he responds before Unsui could attempt to apologize. “I dunno, you’re a comfortable person to be around. You’re not pushy or mean, you’re very sweet. I wouldn’t mind your company.” The blonde starts driving out of his parking space, and once he reaches the turn into the street, he shoots Unsui a knowing look. “Don’t act like you’re ‘superimposing’. The invitation is on me, if you don’t wanna eat afterwards then it’s fine.”

Unsui would be very comfortable sitting across from Tenma at a diner, but he’s a few accidental stares away from being a yes-man, just agreeing to things so that he doesn’t upset his pretty friend. Gosh, this sucks… “I can go to the diner afterwards. I don’t have anything to do today, I think it’d be worth it.”

Shopping was definitely worth it.

Unsui was a bit marveled by the obvious difference in he and Tenma’s income brackets. While Unsui went to the department stores to get simple branded deodorants and multi pack t-shirts, Tenma had spent a bit on hair and skin products, and a particular skull chain rimmed with rhinestones. He too, hadn’t bought much in quantity, but the types of stores Tenma shops at casually are stores that Unsui would only go to if he got really lucky with some birthday money.

“So… This is where you go to get all of your hair care stuff…?” Unsui eyes Tenma’s cute and half filled shopping tote. The blonde has a membership in this store, so he shops with their members-only tote bag.

“Yeah, I come here all the time because my favorite brands are always here. My girls wanted a few things too.” That explains the few feminine products in his bag, like nail polishes and makeup and spa items. Unsui faintly wonders if Tenma borrows his girlfriends’ makeup when he’s dressing as Temari.

Tenma turns halfway to look at the fragrance aisle, and Unsui is certain this is the most lavish fragrance aisle he’s ever seen. The shelves are a clean glossy white, and each display bottle sits on backlit lalique pedestals. Tenma eyes the body mists first but a particular foreign cologne bottle catches his eye. He spritzes a bit of the cologne onto his wrist, waves it around softly and then smells his wrist. 

His face lights up from the scent. “This smells so good! I can’t wear it though, it doesn’t fit my usual scents and stuff.” 

“What do you usually wear?” Unsui asks and then realizes that’s probably a dumb question.

Tenma still answers him with a warm smile. “I like more fruity and sweet scents. This is like… musky. See?” Tenma holds his wrist out for Unsui to smell it as well. Aside from being a little shocked at how soft and well manicured Tenma’s hands are, the cologne itself smells luxurious, like that of an earthy musk mixed with some vanilla. Unsui has never worn such a high end cologne in his life, but this one smells so good…

Unsui carefully takes the cologne in his hand and spritzes it on his own wrist, smelling it again. “Wow…”

“I know right?! It’s addicting!” Tenma puts a finger to his chin as Unsui places the cologne down, the quarterback’s eyes never leaving the bottle. “Do you want it?”

Unsui blinks thrice, “Huh?” 

“I can buy it for you.” Tenma shrugs, “I think the scent fits you very well.”

He can’t just say yes to that, because… “Tenma… it costs twenty nine thousand yen.”

Tenma doesn’t even bother looking at the embossed price tag. “Yeah?” He tilts his head, “Don’t worry, it’s not gonna put a dent in my wallet. I think it’d be nice to buy this for you.” 

“I-” Unsui inhales, “If you want… you can buy it…”

The only reason Unsui accepted the offer is because Tenma really likes the scent of that specific cologne. Maybe, Unsui figures, if I wear it around him, he’d want to spend more time with me.

And as if they’re talking about a mere keychain, Tenma just takes the golden plated box that cologne comes in and plops it in his shopping bag. “Okay!”

He watches the blonde turn around to check a few body mists. Ironic how Unsui has to play tug of war with three sides of his brain; the one that’s prideful of how he has Tenma’s trust and Agon doesn’t, the other that is deathly afraid of Tenma figuring him out, and the smaller but quickly growing part of him that needs to spend time with the blonde. It’s hard to say no to him, and that makes it harder for him to suppress feeding his own pride.

Then Tenma touches Unsui’s bicep before motioning to the cashier. His inner worries disappear completely, and now he feels exceptionally thirsty.

The cashier rings everything up as Tenma pulls his wallet out, pushing his shades up more as he does so. She smiles quite shyly at Tenma, and Unsui doesn’t bother noticing that she’s not paying any attention to him. “Your total is seventy five thousand, forty hundred and fifty yen, sir!”

Unsui gets a little jelly-kneed at the total, trying not to show his shock when Tenma pulls out a gold card with absolutely no flagrance, nor bluster to his body language. He just casually has a gold card with him at all times?!

Perhaps the cashier can see that Tenma is really good looking, because he flashes her a kind smile that she may or may not have thought was flirting. Even more so when he thanks her with a slight bow and her smile too grows warmly. Tenma makes a comment on her appearance that sounds way too genuine to be flirty, though. “I like your earrings! They’re really cute!”

The cashier has golden strawberry earrings on, and that compliment has her flushed. “Really? Thank you so much, sir! You’re so sweet…” And it’s evidently taking everything in her not to ask for his name and his number.

Unsui casts a wayward glance at the wall behind her with a nod to no one in particular. Same.

They leave the high end store, Tenma shifting the bag so that it sits comfortably on his shoulder. Unsui had offered to hold the bag for the blonde but Tenma remarked that Unsui had a bigger bag than he did, which is true, but most of Unsui’s purchases were from convenient markets. He spent probably an eighth of what Tenma spent this afternoon.

The two men step out of the mall and into the large parking lot, Tenma using his keyfob to distinguish his coupe. A few people seem to cast glances at the pair, mostly at Tenma for that matter, and the ones who ogled were mostly women. Despite the passive attention that Tenma gets, Unsui realizes that the blonde doesn’t even break pace in walking despite giving kind smiles over to a few of them. 

Once they reach his car Tenma unlocks his doors with his keyfob, putting his bag in the backseat and Unsui following suit. The very moment they both sit in the car, Tenma slides his shades off. 

Unsui can’t help it, he has to know: “So if you don’t mind me asking,” Unsui studies Tenma, namely the shades that are now hung against his collar, “Are your shades prescription?”

“Ah… No…” Tenma pulls his lips to one side and chuckles lightly for a moment. He likely didn’t expect Unsui to notice how he only wears his shades when he’s in public. “I prefer to put them on when I’m not on a date.”

That does not make sense to Unsui at all. “...Why?”

“Well… Ok so, this is gonna sound really weird.” Tenma starts with loose gestures, already sounding a bit sheepish. “I’ve always caught people’s attention when I’m out, so I wear shades a lot.” 

“Because of your eyes?” Unsui blurts that out and wishes he didn’t somehow give himself away then and there, but the casual shake of Tenma’s head reassures him that he’s in the clear.

The halfback starts his car, and plops his hands against his thighs. “I mean… I do have pretty eyes for a guy…” And Tenma says this with a downcast tone, like that’s a bad thing. Unsui frowns, but the blonde continues, “And I tend to stare at people, like at both guys and girls but for different reasons. A lot of guys I’ve seen are like… you know, they got some muscle on them and stuff. They’re also tall…”

And those are two things that Tenma is not. He’s not that tall, and he’s not that muscular. 

“So I stare at guys too and I don’t wanna be creepy when I do it, but it-” Tenma’s hands move in circular motions rather rapidly, like he’s frustrated at what he’s saying, “It doesn’t come from a bad place. My dad was a bodybuilder, so I always feel far away from him because I’m skinny and I look more like my mom.”

Unsui hums. He doesn’t see an issue with either of those things; however, from what he has placed from their text messages and from Yamabushi, and the kind of flagrant energy Tenma gave off when they face each other in the Christmas Bowl, he can imagine Tenma being quite envious of other men for looking more masculine.

Despite that, as lithe and pretty as Tenma is, he gets more girls than any guy he knows; probably more than all the guys in the league. It’s even more insane knowing that his relationships are always long term, despite there being multiple women in the mix. Unsui wonders how Tenma made that work.

He’s trying to avoid the corroding pull in his gut knowing that Tenma is not single, and also not into men.

“I… I mean, I think you are fine the way you look…” Unsui trails off to stop himself because he probably sounds dumb again. Tenma however, tilts his head in confusion which the quarterback finds odd. He tries to create a bridge. “I guess I may not understand why you’d check other guys like that, because you already are perfectly fine. I’d imagine your girlfriends tell you this all the time.”

Because it takes really dilapidated eyesight to consider and call Tenma ugly. The blonde pulls out of the parking spot with a long gaze ahead. “Yeah…” His fingers tap against the steering wheel once he’s leveled out, barely hitting the gas pedal and letting the car sail on its own. “I tend to feel very off around guys, if you couldn’t tell.”

Aside from Tenma’s cuddly nature and his soft appearance, Unsui can see why this man would be so alienated around other men. He doesn’t embody the average masculine, yet girls love him. Guys, however… Unsui reckons men are likely to resent him for his luck. He still can’t help but think that this discrepancy Tenma has towards men is odd for a straight man to have, especially a straight man with multiple girlfriends. Appearance comparisons should be out of the question with his lifestyle.

The pull becomes a slight tug upwards. Somehow Unsui can relate to this nervousness, but he only feels those nerves around Tenma. Maybe… maybe he might have a chance… 

“I’m thinking of Oasis?” Tenma taps his finger against the steering wheel. “For food this evening.”

“Oasis?!” Unsui’s eyes go comically wide. “That’s an upscale restaurant!” The diner itself has a very luxe lounge feel that has a rooftop overlooking the ocean, as it is very close to the ocean. One would need to make at least five figures to eat there casually.

“Yeah but their food is really good, and I like how relaxing the place is!” Tenma grins at Unsui, and it’s clear he’s finding humor in Unsui acting like his wallet will jump out his pocket. “Don’t worry, the tab’s on me.”

Unsui fidgets a little. “If I can, can I at least buy something myself?” Tenma already spent nearly thirty thousand yen on him without batting an eye. He would feel so weird letting Tenma pay for him at the diner.

“Yes, you can, but if you want something and can’t get it, I can buy it for you.” The blonde rolls his eyes playfully with a cute giggle. “You’re so silly, Unsui. That’s what friends do.”

“Ah…” Unsui chuckles shyly, he’s not used to someone being so nice. This is how Tenma is as a friend? Unsui does hope that he keeps this kindness to those closest to him, it’d be very easy to take advantage of him if otherwise. Tenma turns the radio on, and he drives straight to Minatomirai, where Oasis is.

The silence between them was comfortable. Unsui remembers Tenma telling him he’s not used to sitting in silence with someone else unless they’re his girlfriends, but he feels comfortable sharing silent moments with Unsui. His heart fills with pride knowing that Tenma cannot share this with Agon at all, and he knows his brother couldn’t handle sitting within three feet of the pretty blonde anyways.

Unsui casts a glance at Tenma, who’s quietly bopping to the music, eyes concentrated on the road as the wind from his slightly open window whisks his short hair. He’ll sightsee when they reach Yokohama.

Upon entering the diner, they are immediately seated on the rooftop floor. The interior is very hickory themed, with cushioned beige chairs and warm lighting towards the embossed walls. There’s an entire side of the diner where the wall is a giant window, and the outside area has lit candles and lantern torches decorated with vines. They both choose to sit outside by the edge just for the view of the calm ocean. 

Apparently, the managers know who Tenma is, which the blonde explains that his mom used to work at this diner’s bakery shop when he was a child. Unsui had ordered a soba bowl and Tenma opted for a household sushi platter for the both of them to pick on. They eat in silence, Unsui being quite awed at how he ended up befriending someone as kind yet privileged as Tenma. It’s even more riveting that Tenma’s girlfriends get to experience things like this from this man.

They finished eating and both agreed to spend more time just to chat with each other. Unsui found himself thinking back to how downtrodden Tenma looked, describing his own appearance. He’s certain that the blonde might have a discrepancy with men because he intimidates them, but also… he might be somewhat attracted to them.

He decided to take this time to extrapolate on this. “I know you were friends with Yamabushi. Childhood friends. Did you feel that way around him?”

If Unsui wanted to move sleuth, he could’ve easily texted Yamabushi for information on Tenma, but that probably wouldn’t yield much. He has mentioned Tenma to him in a call recently, and Yamabushi found it heartwarming that Unsui was so stoked that he reconnected with his childhood friend. He was surprisingly secretive about Tenma, though.

“Yamabushi was always very nice to me, so no.” Tenma shakes his head, “He used to try to get me to befriend his other friends but I came off too strong all the time.”

Again, Unsui is confused. “Too strong?”

“Like… I only really know what ‘friendship’ was from dating girls.” Tenma shrugs, pushing his blonde locks back. “Since I connected with women easily, I thought I could have that same thing with guys but you know… that’s not how that works. I came off a bit too flirty and a little possessive of Yamabushi whenever we were in a group with other boys… mostly because I felt like I was going to be ignored.”

“Why would you be ignored?” Unsui tilts his head, “Because you were ‘different’?”

Tenma looks elsewhere, “Yeah…” He purses his lips for a second. “Yamabushi never batted an eye though, he always tried to get me acclimated but it didn’t work. He couldn’t do much when we were in Shinryuji, because we both were not in the same classes.”

“But you two were set to be on the same team, yes?”

“I was only there for three days. That couldn’t happen.” Tenma takes a sip of his water, “It was really annoying though, guys ignored me because I looked too girly. I used to have longer hair back then.”

Unsui blinks with wide eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, my real hair color is black.” Tenma points at his head, and Unsui is trying to wrap his head around how exotic Tenma looked at the time. “And my hair used to be like… this long?” He gestures towards the middle of his chest. “About this long, and it was layered.”

“I’m… having a hard time trying to imagine how you looked.” Unsui scratches his chin; he can imagine Tenma was mistaken for a girl many times growing up. Tenma raises a finger and goes into his wallet, unzipping a portion of it that held a bunch of polaroid pictures. He goes through all of them and then finds a photo of him at the age of fourteen, showing that to Unsui.

Unsui looks from the old photo, to Tenma’s face. He hasn’t freaking aged at all! Not only that, but Tenma’s long pitch black hair and hazel eyes are a dangerously gorgeous combo. He was grinning as expected, and his black hair was indeed layered, half of it tied back with a white ribbon. Tenma was also wearing blue shorts and a white baggy shirt. He literally looks like a teenage girl in the photo.

The quarterback somehow gathered the fucking balls to slyly compliment the halfback. “Cute.”

“I-” Tenma makes a face at him but smiles crookedly. “Do I tickle your fancy, Unsui?”

And just like that Unsui’s lost his confidence, and ends up stammering and laughing nervously to hide his abashment.

“Thank you, though. I guess I was cute with long hair.” Tenma chuckles a little, looking at the picture with a newfound appreciation.

“I mean I’m sure you’ve always been good looking.“ Unsui asks him, actively trying to avoid how warm his cheeks are. “It really shocks me that you are so…”

“Insecure?”

“That is a strong word.”

“I was insecure for a long time though, honestly.” Tenma feels at his hair again, which Unsui realizes is something he does when he’s either nervous or embarrassed. “I’m a bit better now, but I think I’m on the right track befriending people like you, Akaba, Banba or Yoichi.”

Hiruma is an unorthodox male, in Unsui’s opinion; attractive, seducingly assertive and maybe a little aggressive, but his calculating nature and attention to detail sets him apart from most guys. The same goes for Akaba, except the fullback is quiet and reserved, somehow he manages to garner a sizable bunch of onlooking women. Unsui also knows that Akaba is not straight.

Interestingly enough, Unsui does adore Hiruma’s affinity for Tenma. He does envy that they both can flirt so casually without any feelings involved. Unsui can’t do that.

“I think that the rest of Enma would like you too. Kurita especially.” Because if he can relate Yamabushi to anyone else, it’d be Kurita. “They were afraid of you because… you know… But I know you guys would get along quite well.”

“That’s very sweet to hear.” Tenma grins toothily for a moment, amused. “Your team is cute.”

“Huh?” Unsui tilts his head with a crooked frown. That’s a strange way to describe them. “Cute?”

“Yeah! You guys are a funny bunch, I adore y’all!” Tenma folds his hands together with a giggle. “I’m sure you guys will do well this upcoming season. But yeah, if they’re coming to the festival, I’d love to hang with them.”

Unsui huffs a small laugh; Monta and Kotaro are actually the most afraid of him ever since that Rice Bowl party. Musashi was beyond shocked, thinking that Tenma had two personalities or something, but he too came to see Tenma as a sweetheart. It’s interesting how easy it is for others to misconstrue or even demonize the halfback simply because of his overwhelming luck with women, and the ironic sets of talents he has; athleticism, makeup, and acting…

“They’ll be coming.” Unsui rests his chin on his palm. “Do you have any other friends aside from, you know, the ones you mentioned?”

“Not at all.” Tenma casts a look downwards, one that is a little sad. “I mean, even the guys I mentioned, I don’t hang out with them like that. I only ever really hang out with Mamori, and… you, as of lately. I hope I’m not making you feel weird.”

“Why would you?”

“I’m very… uhh,” Tenma chuckles nervously, “Everything I just said…”

“Oh…” Unsui shakes his head. “I’m not weirded out at all, your kindness and transparency are what I like about you. You’ve always been very thoughtful towards me, and I myself didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. Besides, I think all those things you’ve criticized yourself for are actually the best things about you.” Like that face, and that voice, and that beaming smile, and those mesmerizing hazel eyes…

The quarterback’s body betrays him and he fucking blushes.

“Why are you-” Tenma accidentally giggles. He puts a hand in front of his mouth, not even negatively suspecting the sudden abashed look on Unsui’s face.

“I dunno, I never-” Unsui looks away, trying to act like he’s not burning up for no fucking reason. Is it suddenly hotter this evening? “I never talked about this with anyone so I dunno…”

He doesn’t see Tenma stand up a little just to pat his shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s fine.” Tenma’s grin lessens into something warmer. “I appreciate that deeply. I really do...”

Unsui exhales a little; imagine if Tenma found out about his feelings then and there, and started calling Unsui names. Not that he’d ever do that, but Unsui’s fears keep actualizing themselves every time he does so much as look at Tenma for too long. He fears that Tenma knowing will end their friendship, a friendship that only further fuels Unsui’s feelings, and he’s certain if he and Tenma break away right now, he might get really sad.

They haven’t even been friends for a whole month, and here he is dreading the possibility of things going wrong.

And then Tenma’s giggling again, pulling him out of his thoughts. “You look a little cute when you’re embarrassed, you know.”

Unsui immediately snaps a glare in his direction, cursing at himself because he can still feel the flush on his cheeks. “Don’t start teasing me now…” The quarterback casts the same glare at the sunset like that’ll save his dignity. He’s not going to live this down, huh…

Well, if Tenma’s going to be clueless, he ought to be having fun while he’s at it.

Chapter Text

The Matcha Festival is being held not too far from the central hub of Shinjuku. It is most vibrant in the evening, as the entire park becomes lit up with diffused, warm toned lanterns. A big portion of the park’s walkways was redecorated with cottages and life-sized miniature biomes, since the whole theme of the Matcha Festival is blending fantasy worlds with that of real world nature. Majority of the onlookers are either college students, old couples, or people in their late 20s and early 30s sightseeing with their children.

Through the early evening, half of the Enma Fires got lost and Gaou and Kurita took it upon themselves to toss the polka dot boulders by the lily ponds for fun. Apparently, after Yamato and Riku started boasting about the overall speed of their respective teams, they challenged each other (and dragged Sena) to a race around the perimeter of the entire park.

Mamori sits beside Hiruma, and behind them, Unsui and Musashi are engaged in a rather deep conversation, one that she won't eavesdrop on. The majority of Saikyou is packed together (aside from Yamato) and sitting on the benches beneath the willow trees. Mamori takes a relaxed breath, the breeze blowing her hair back as she counts all of the heads; everyone from her university’s team is here…

Everyone except Agon. It would behoove her to assume he’d skip this event.

“Looking for someone, Manajerk?”

Mamori blinks, she doesn't even need to turn to the head that’s speaking to her. “I’m just watching everyone enjoying themselves.” It wouldn’t hurt to state the obvious. “Agon is not here.”

“Fucking Dreads is too busy pretending to be single, kekeke…”

“You aren’t saying he’s cheating on his new ‘girlfriend’, are you?” Mamori looks to Hiruma then. He’s sitting beside her, his free hand barely ghosts above her waist, though she can feel his arm pressed against her back. He’s not very fond of overt public displays like this. “Wouldn’t that compromise the plan already, if he’s supposed to stay loyal?”

Hiruam gives it a bit of thought, but seems to scrap whatever he had in mind entirely. “That Mophead is in too deep to cheat on his new girl.” The blonde looks over in Tenma’s direction. What he says sounds like a contradiction, but it really just means that Agon likely chose to stay home.

Which is odd behavior for that man.

“His ‘girl’ is over there.” She points blatantly at the upperclassman, who’s sitting cross legged on a wooden picnic table smirking down at Taka. Whatever they're talking about seems quite deep, and Taka’s doing most of the talking, which is beyond surprising. “I always wonder how Tenma’s able to get Taka to come out of his shell so easily.”

“He liked him before.”

“Hiruma-” Mamori rolls her eyes, moving closer to him so that their sides are pressed together. That makes him glance at her. “How would you know that?”

“He’s complimented Pretty Prince way too many times.”

“You compliment Tenma way too many times.”

The nonchalant look on his face turns into a glare. “We’re not talking about me.”

Check. She hums, her face reeking of doubt and suspicion. She won’t press that matter. “Either way… It’s only about two weeks until it’s over. Tenma’s been in better spirits lately.” And that’s something she’s very happy about. She’d rather this whole scheme be over with now so that things can go back to normal. 

Then Mamori takes another glance around, all three of the teams mingling together in earnest. Everything is normal now.

Meanwhile, away from both of them, Kotaro is sweating out of his boxers, having lost another game of dice for the tenth time. “YOU GUYS ARE FRIGGIN’ CHEATING! CHEATERS!”

“How do you cheat in dice? You just roll the damn thing.” Jumonji crosses his arms, not phased by the amount of sweat flying off of the kicker’s body.

“You lost to god damn Komusubi of all people. Like how?!” Kuroki looks down at the dice, and goes to pick it up as it is his turn.

Kotaro stops him before he can even lay a finger on them.

Togano's eyes go wide behind his shades, which have no business being on his face when the sun isn't even out. “You’re not gonna double down.”

The incessant hair combing starts… “I am doubling down, it's smart! I have to win against him at least!” Kotaro flings his finger in Komusubi’s direction. He’s sitting right across from him, beside the three Ha-Ha Brothers, Ikkyu, and Akaba, who's leaning against the tree beside their bench.

The tiny linebacker closes his eyes with humble vigor: “HNN-GOO!”

“‘You’ve lost against me five times in a row already. You’re better off challenging the others instead’.” Banba, who’s standing over the group, translates that for them all. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many losses in one go.”

“How about you come over here and go against me, huh?” Kotaro snaps his fingers, twisting his comb in his hand, and points to Komusubi. “If you’re gonna make comments, you oughta be part of the game too! No bets!”

“Ahh…” Banba sighs, and Komusubi and Monta make room for the bigger lineman. Kotaro takes the dice and rolls, dropping it on the mini playmat Kuroki bought for them. He rolls a 5.

Banba rolls a 6.

Then Kotaro, thinking he’s safe, rolls with confidence. This time he got a 3, which has him sweating again.

Then Banba languidly rolls… and lands a 7. The others can’t help but chuckle. “Seven out…”

Kotaro looks like he’s about to explode. “DAMMIT! THAT QUICK?!”

“Fuu…” The light strumming of a few minor chords cuts into the amused chatter. “You should end this piece before you ruin your composition entirely, Kotaro.”

“Ah, Akaba…” Ikkyu smirks knowingly, eyeing Kotaro’s reddening face. “You can’t go a day without pissing this poor guy off, eh?”

“You know, nobody asked for you to be here, Aka-baka!” Kotaro crosses his arms like a toddler. “Why don’t you go climb that tree and play your stupid guitar up there?”

“I wouldn’t be inclined to do such a thing.” Akaba shakes his head and strums a short funky melody that has no business making Komusubi snort. “Who’s next?”

Kuroki raises his hand; “Me.” He takes the dice and they commence playing once again.

Akaba’s attention drifts from the group to one pair in particular. Mamori and Hiruma are sitting beside each other, Mamori saying something in Hiruma’s ear that evidently has the blonde smirking. The redhead casts no thought to that, instead sauntering away from the group and turning his direction to Unsui, who is behind the devil quarterback…

Enma’s quarterback had a short talk with Musashi about life. Unsui could’ve gone elsewhere, probably could’ve spent some time hanging with Ikkyu, but he also didn’t want to get roped into a game of dice with Kotaro. It’s not like he hates the kicker at all, but the Matcha Festival feels somewhat placating. He’d rather have a quiet night.

The only person he hasn’t spoken to ever since they all got there is Tenma, ironically so because they were texting each other prior to the trio-team’s scattered arrival. It is mostly on his end, because he’d either slink away from any major groups or stick around Musashi and Mamori for the most part. He’s a little afraid of talking to Tenma directly in front of the others.

He wonders if Tenma can tell, because the blonde hasn’t actively sought him out. It’s not like he’s too far from Unsui either, they are a good thirty feet from one another. Maybe later, when the firework show starts…

Blinking and realizing where his eyes are, Unsui flicks his gaze down to his phone; his dumbass was just staring at Taka and Tenma, the two of them laughing about something. It’s at that moment the blonde far ahead all of the sudden holds a finger out to Taka and goes on his phone for a moment, and then Unsui receives a text. His heart’s in his fucking ass right now, what if he saw Unsui staring while he fucking zoned out-

Tenma: Where are you? 

Unsui exhales like his soul just dropped back into his body. I’m not too far, but I wanted to ask Hiruma about something. He doesn’t bother hinting at his location, and surprisingly, Tenma doesn’t look up to figure it out for himself either.

Tenma: …About? Then another message pops up. Temari? Because of Agon?

Unsui K: …Yes. The sheepishness is heavy in his response.

Tenma: Don’t.

That makes Unsui frown at his phone screen, looking up for a moment to see that Tenma is typing away. Taka has given him some space, but something tells Unsui that he knows who he’s texting, especially from the way the wide receiver casually lays a wrist on Tenma’s knee, his arm propped against the bench table. Tenma’s short, blonde hair blows softly in the breeze and for a moment, Unsui wants to ask him what he’s about to say in person just so that he can be closer to him.

Why can’t he just be normal and like, not have a crush on a man that’s not gay four times over?

The message is much shorter than Unsui expected, and he looks down to read as the notification pops up: 

Tenma: Hiruma is not gonna tell you anything, and I think it’s because you’re Agon’s brother. I think asking about Temari directly might put you on the spot.

In truth, Unsui has seen his brother acting differently, so he wants to know if Hiruma has seen it too. But, to put him on the spot for what? Seeing Taka lean forward to tell Tenma something, and Tenma nodding in agreement to whatever he said, Unsui panics for no fucking reason. Elaborate on that last part.

Tenma: Me and him actually spoke about you before, he knows you and I are close. He already correctly assumed you know about what’s going on, like right in front of me and Taka. Unsui flicks his gaze to see Taka partially leaning against his knee, still not looking at what Tenma’s typing. He’s a little shocked that the standoffish wide receiver gets like that around the halfback. I just feel like he’ll try to stage something to make you AND Agon see me at the same time, but I might be paranoid. What were you trying to ask?

Well, Tenma basically dissuaded his main reason as to why he wanted to ask, but it doesn’t stave off Unsui’s curiosity. He could ask why Hiruma said what he said in front of Taka, but Unsui knows that Taka knows. He’s also afraid that Hiruma is picking up something between them two. I wanted to know why he’s doing what he’s doing.

Tenma: Agon kept flirting with Mamori, so he made me crossdress. It sounds stupid as hell.

Unsui K: Yeah, but… why YOU?

And he looks up and sees Tenma pausing, evidently reading that message multiple times over, thumbs fidgeting over his phone buttons. He looks conflicted by the question, and Taka looks up with that same lounging hand going to Tenma’s bicep to get his attention. Tenma’s hazel eyes brighten with a tiny chuckle from what Unsui can see, perhaps Taka is making light of whatever he had going on in his mind.

Yet, with an inhale that looks way too bothered for Unsui to dismiss, Tenma shuts his phone and leans into his propped arm, the same arm that Taka is touching, now fully addressing the wide receiver with a subdued smile. They are remarkably close, and Unsui wonders how that came to be considering Taka’s just as laconic as he is.

He can relate, though.

There may be layers to this whole thing that Unsui will not get answers to directly. Judging from the way Tenma left him on read just now, he can’t divulge what he wants to say. A ballsy move would be to tap Hiruma’s shoulder, who’s not even five feet from him, and tell him to head out somewhere quiet for a little talk. That wouldn’t yield any closure, if anything Hiruma might attempt to confuse him even more.

As he looks around the premises, he catches red eyes glancing in his direction for a split second. Unsui’s brain clicks then as he turns back over to where Akaba is, only to see the redhead has conveniently disappeared behind the tree he’s standing by. He was literally standing around Kotaro, Komusubi, Banba and a few others, who were all further down by the lily ponds, and now he’s by a tree that’s much closer to Unsui, standing alone.

His directive has changed. Unsui pockets his phone and gets up, approaching the tree from the left side where Akaba was last seen out of. The fullback doesn’t appear to be purposely hiding, he just happened to move out Unsui’s line of sight. That much can be inferred from how casually he blinks up at Unsui’s serious glare.

“Yes?” Akaba tilts his head forward, his fingers caressing the strings of his guitar. The gesture looks way too fond.

Unsui blinks from the neck of his guitar, to those piercing red eyes that tell absolutely no stories. He doesn’t want to sound confrontational, so he points thumb to his right. “Take a walk with me real quick? I wanna talk to you.”

Akaba looks him up and down, and the unreadable gaze in his eyes is making Unsui feel like he’s reading his mind. “About?”

“Come with me.” Unsui nods eastward, “I prefer we speak in private…”

“Let me ask you something.” 

The two men are standing in the cherry park, further away from the main festival and in ambient silence. If Unsui wanted to raise suspicions, he would’ve had them both leave the park entirely, but he’s not expecting to spend too much time speaking to Akaba. The redhead looks behind them, at where the majority of their team and every other guest is. Some loose sakura petals flutter to the ground from the breeze.

“Do you know exactly what Hiruma’s trying to do?”

Akaba turns back to Unsui, his eyes still unreadable. He blinks with a raised brow, “Relative to what?”

“I know you know.” Unsui crosses his arms. He’s not being confrontational; if he wants his answers, he knows that he can likely get it from Akaba since the both of them shared some things while in the US. “About Tenma and Agon.”

“Fuu…” The amusement plays on Akaba’s face. “Is that why you pulled me away from the cantata? I am not part of his scheme at all, I only knew about it from Tenma.” 

Akaba isn’t lying. “I’m just curious…” Unsui approaches the redhead, taking slow steps until he’s standing in front of him. “You are the only person who understands Hiruma’s line of thinking.”

Akaba seems to think about it for a bit, his index knuckle going to lightly tap against his lip while making eye contact with Unsui. Again, the action looks way too fond. “I can only give you ghost notes, but my intuition never lies. Perhaps you’ve seen it for yourself, the change in Agon’s chords.” He leisurely gesture with that same finger outwards, “His semitones are out of whack, even more so now that he’s dating Temari. Judging from the fact that Tenma is with the others right now… he’s probably sussed that out of Agon recently, hnn?”

Unsui could feel the hairs standing on his neck; Akaba was able to tell that Tenma and Agon had an argument! Granted, it’d be notable to begin with, but nobody is that aware of the implications behind other people… Nobody, aside from Akaba.

“Just like how your truth was sussed out…”

The quarterback blinks with a hard glare. “Our conversation was prompted by you…”

At the hotel, while everyone was sleeping, Unsui had chosen to sit outside on the porch, overlooking the sky and the ground far below. He wasn’t alone, he had walked in here not too long ago to see Akaba sitting peacefully as well. Neither of them looked to be bothered by one another’s presence.

“Unsui…”

The quarterback, still a bit smitten by the fact that the Youth World Cup is just hours away, almost didn’t hear Akaba speak. His mind was in a whirlwind of bittersweet thoughts. “Hmm?”

“Do you like men?”

Unsui gripped the arms of his chair like the chair was about to despawn right beneath his butt. “Wh-What?” He shook his head and cocked his neck forward. “Where did that come from?”

Akaba didn’t look suspicious, or grossed out, or even appalled. He blinked at Unsui rather innocently. “It came from you.”

“But-” He almost said ‘how’, almost gave himself away. “That was so random!”

Akaba smiled at him knowingly. “Answer the question.”

Unsui looked ahead for a moment, then down at the bustling streets of New York. He furrowed his brow at Akaba, and he reckoned if he straight up lied, the redhead would say something even more damning. “And what if I do?”

Akaba shrugged.

Unsui visibly deflated. He was expecting way worse than that.

“It takes one to know one, Unsui.” Akaba strummed a light chord, followed by a short rhythm that sounded rather romantic. “And sometimes, it’s a little obvious. Especially for me. I’d like to openly relate to someone in such a way.”

There was a moment of calm silence after that short song, and Unsui felt strangely validated. This wasn’t a secret that killed him on the inside, but he never expected that saying it aloud would put him on edge. Yet he still felt like defending himself. “I never really thought about dating another man, really…”

“Have you ever kissed another man?”

“No.” He answered almost too quickly. It came out in a way he didn’t want it to, it came out sounding earnest. “...Have you?”

Akaba was looking ahead. “I have.” He then turned to Unsui and got up, placing his guitar on his seat as he did so. He went to Unsui’s side, then crouched down with a head tilt. “Are you curious?”

He was… But he was nervous. “I…” Unsui looked away from him then. He couldn’t say no.

“If not, it’s fine.” Akaba’s hand landed on the end of Unsui’s chair arm, just a centimeter away from Unsui’s hand. “But I think you could benefit from a cadence.” 

Unsui eyed him again. He was a little blown away by Akaba’s transparency, and he did think the redhead was attractive. He slyly moved his hand so that it was under Akaba’s fingers for a second. Somehow, the redhead read him like a book, and shifted his hand so that it was resting against his bicep.

The quarterback swallowed.

“Fuu… You’re such a medley.” The redhead smiled warmly, and leaned forward to press his lips against Unsui’s. It was a chaste kiss, and it lasted for only a second and a half but to Unsui, it felt much longer, much deeper…

Until Akaba broke it off, tenderly ran a hand along Unsui’s shoulder, and told him ‘not to be so fearful next time’. It didn’t deter him from what he’s attracted to.

It only made him more sure of his own preference…

“Perhaps you’re missing the point.”

That tugs Unsui out of his memory; that night replayed itself in his head every time he thought about his sexuality, and it’s because he never told anybody he was gay. Not even his twin brother. Akaba had correctly figured it out from being within close proximity of him.

He takes a moment to realize how… important their conversation back then was, and then somehow related this emphasis to what they are talking about right now. Perhaps Akaba can see it meant a lot to him, because he’s the one who referenced it. “Our talk of… us not being straight,” Precisely, Unsui being gay and Akaba being bi, “When you asked me, you never judged me for it. Are you implying something right now?”

“Maybe I am.” Akaba smirks a little. “Agon secretly has been reconstructing his ballad since our senior year of highschool, and he’s been keeping Temari close to him as a means to prove that he is.”

Another  correct prediction on Akaba’s part, even though he partially said it prior.

“It’d make no sense for him to keep dating her for this long, ‘sense’ as in factoring how he is.” Akaba looks away, towards the sky, “Hiruma likely wants to see if Agon truly wishes to change himself for the better.”

“That sounds like the most… roundabout way to wish positivity upon someone.” Unsui raises his brows. At the same time, it makes the most sense. “But at the expense of Tenma? They’d be perfectly fine on dates, but Tenma would tell me how uncomfortable he’d feel seeing Agon be so considerate. He was in shambles about it not too long ago.”

“If he is, then Agon is succeeding.”

Huh? Succeeding? “He’s not pretending in front of her.”

‘Her’ being Temari. “Therefore, he’s trying to accept his own truth.” Akaba only turns his eyes in Unsui’s direction. “Hiruma likely wants him to work harder in that regard, so he gave him a catalyst, a catalyst that came in the form of our beloved Tenma.”

Using the word ‘beloved’ with the blonde’s name made Unsui’s heart stumble on fucking nothing, and he hates that he’s crushing so hard. “How perceptive…But, Agon and Tenma hate each other.”

Akaba doesn’t answer him. Instead, he narrows his eyes, and then chuckles cryptically.

Unsui narrows his eyes back; He knows something, doesn’t he?

“Behind you.”

Before the quarterback can react, he feels a plastic pellet hit his left butt cheek. His flinches a little, it doesn’t hurt too bad, but it’s enough to make him wince lightly. Turning around, Unsui then sees the only person who’d ever carry a BB gun without reason. “You couldn’t have aimed anywhere else?”

“I was being considerate, Fucking Monk.” Hiruma pops a bubble of gum, obnoxiously chewing afterwards. “I feared you’d be ticklish anywhere else! Kekekeke…”

“Fuu…” Akaba pats Unsui’s arm, “I feel our etude is over…”

“Why’d you come to us?” Unsui's brows crease; since when would Hiruma seek him out?

“Your pretty little blonde princess was wondering where you went.”

“You use a lot of tasteful words to describe Tenma very often, Hiruma.” Akaba sneers at him, which earns a sharp gaze from the gun toting blonde. “Perhaps you’d like to make a song out of him?”

“Don’t get it twisted, Fucking Red Eyes…” Hiruma taps the BB gun against his shoulder a few times. “If I wanted to fuck Pretty Prince, I would’ve done so by now.”

“Then why haven’t you?” 

That earns an eye twitch from the blonde, before he just cryptically cackles.

Unsui looks between the two, not expecting Hiruma to casually say something like that. He knows he and Tenma are rather fond of each other, but he didn’t think too much of their borderline homoerotic friendship. Knowing that Hiruma might like Tenma kind of has Unsui agitated…

But he can’t show that.

“Sure… Anyways, we’re on our way back.” Akaba tosses a hand upwards, “We didn’t miss the fireworks, right?”

“We still have five minutes to reach the river bay.” Hiruma turns away from them, popping another gum bubble as he saunters back. Unsui and Akaba glance at each other and follow suit. Maybe it’s a little too telling that Hiruma came out here alone, in search of them, namely Unsui…

He also knows something, huh…

Everyone had regrouped for the firework show, even Yamato, Riku and Sena had finished their race along the park’s perimeter. Whether or not they ran through the park multiple times is up to question.

By the lily ponds is a huge sheared boulder that mimics a tiny ‘cliff’, and in front of that big boulder is a railed walkway overlooking the lakes. Some of the college students either sat there, or on the ground. Hiruma and Mamori lay beside the giant rock, the blonde acting like he’s forced to have his arm beneath Mamori’s shoulders, and Kid and Tetsuma sit cross legged on the other end; half of Enma Fires and Takekura’s Babels are on the giant rock, having practically fought each other for the ‘best’ seats.

Despite the moving and the shimmying around as they waited, Unsui and Tenma inadvertently find themselves watching the two aforementioned teams try to wrestle one another, and without saying a word, concurrently decide to stand by the railing together. The only other people here were couples, or Banba and Kurita as well as Musashi, but they aren’t standing right beside the two.

There’s silence between them, only the sounds of chattering from behind color their ambience. Unsui eyes the moonlit water and then his gaze trails to Tenma’s hands. He inhales and looks at the blonde’s side profile. “So how’ve you been?”

“I’ve been good.” Tenma’s slightly leaning forward, resting on his forearms. His left hand is feeling at his cheek offhandedly, unable to break away and be as pipy as he usually is. “You?”

“I’m alright…” Unsui finds the lack of open endedness a little concerning. Tenma appears to be pensive; matter of fact, ever since they both chose to stand together he’s looked extremely pensive. In some sliver of unconfident thought, Unsui is wondering if he’s hyper aware of the fact that the majority of their peers do not know that they know each other. Well, aside from the Fires, which they got acclimated to Tenma quickly today, and he wasn’t shy about telling them that he and Unsui were friends.

The halfback suddenly turns to him. “You know I don’t like bringing him up, but I have to.”

Unsui breathes deeper than usual from that gaze. Tenma is being thoughtful, because nobody ever acknowledges Unsui, so he feels bad talking about his twin brother. However, this is Tenma he’s talking to; Unsui will excuse the notion. “Go ahead.”

Tenma stands a bit straighter this time, leaning his stomach against the railing. “To answer your earlier question…” And his hazel eyes get a bit dim; it’s not a question he expected to cloud over his mood, Tenma wanted to believe he was overthinking it.

Instead, he sighs and looks Unsui in the eyes. “I wish I knew.”

The quarterback’s frown is soft, still showing concern, and he nods leftwards as he speaks. “I didn’t mean to upset you when I asked earlier.”

“No, it just-” Tenma stops and does a side pout. If this were a week ago, prior to the arguments, prior to him psychoanalyzing Agon’s behaviors, he would reduce his answer to ‘Hiruma thinks he has a sense of humor’. Now that he’s this far in, the fact that Agon hasn’t somehow figured out who he really is and more importantly, has shown evident feelings for Temari, leaves Tenma frustrated in his own confusion. “It bothers me, like… Me and Agon don’t get along. Yet, if what you said holds true, about him wanting to change, him trying to fix himself through me, maybe Hiruma saw it just as much as you did.”

Yet they both know this still doesn’t concretely answer why Hiruma chose Tenma. Unsui, from what he and Akaba just spoke about, decides to throw a bone in. “Hiruma knows that you and Agon are polar opposites. It would behoove him, in some crazy way, to get you two to somehow see ‘eye to eye’. That’s the most I can make of it.”

“Hmm…” Tenma looks down at the water now, and they stand together in silence. Then they look up, and a blue shooting firework beams up the sky, before exploding into a flurry of whites and greens. A few more come afterwards, all exploding into different shapes like circles and stars, and the duo as well as everyone else take a moment to marvel at the sight.

Tenma wants to cement something into the lowerclassman beside him. There’s a thought that is creeping in his head in regards to all of this, and it’s the main reason why he’s so troubled. He glances at Unsui, at the strong sharp lines of the Kongo Twin’s jaw, at the clear definition of his traps and side delts, and it reminds him of Yamabushi…

Which is where the reference to his conflict starts.

Suddenly, Tenma leans his head against Unsui’s shoulder as the fireworks highlight different colors on their bodies. Unsui tenses, his nose greeted with the scent of mint and styrax, then he feels Tenma’s arm against his and how the blonde for some reason isn’t as warm as he is.

It’s taking everything in Unsui not to wrap his arm around the blonde so that he could warm him up.

“I’m starting to think that it goes both ways.” Tenma starts, and he moves his head in a way that almost feels like nuzzling. “Agon is trying to change, but I think it’s also meant to highlight something about me as well. I don’t know what, but maybe I will find out sooner or later.”

The fireworks bloom in the sky as the rest of the teams gasps and gawks in awe. A particular firework, bright and overtaking, explodes in a blooming red and pink spiral, aftershock sprinkles of gold littering before the stars. Unsui smiles, “Is this where you tell me that you’ve developed feelings for him?”

His smile is bitter. His tone is not.

Tenma scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I’m more likely to get with you before I’d ever consider that messy toolbag.”

Unsui’s whole body stiffens like he has just got electrocuted, his eyes wide and locked onto the sky above. There’s evident tensing in his jaw and he swallows hard because holy fuck, did Tenma just say that?! Did he just casually, out of his mouth, say ‘I’d pick you over Agon’ like that doesn’t mean way too much to him?!

“But I think it’s less than that. I’m starting to see my own well of compassion.” Tenma’s hand softly caresses Unsui’s bicep, completely unaware of the quarterback’s state of being at first. “I’ve always been nice, but it was like… a default thing, you know? I hate saying no to people, I just go with the flow. But there were so many things I wanted to stop when it came to h- Are you alright?”

Whatever Tenma was saying went in one ear and out the other because Unsui still hasn’t recovered. “H-huh?”

To add more wood to the fire, Tenma places his hand on Unsui’s chest. “Your heart’s beating real fast. You okay, Unsui?”

“I’m fine.” No, Unsui’s not fine. That shit did a number to his damn sanity!

“Is it because I’m leaning on you?” Tenma sheepishly stands up straight, Unsui flicking his gaze at him. “I’m sorry, I’d-”

“No no, it’s fine.” Unsui says almost too fast, and he immediately darts his eyes towards the lake. For fucks sake, now he’s caught red handed. To attempt to save face, he shakes his head with a steely look. “You can lean on me if you want…”

And so Tenma does, and Unsui’s heartbeat doesn’t drop anytime soon.

“They seem really chummy.” Mamori smiles over where Tenma and Unsui stand, her eyes digesting the scene before her. The blonde beside her lifts his head, and then looks at her, and then looks at the two of them.

“Fucking Monk should get Pretty Prince’s head off his shoulder, kekekeke…”

“Why?” Mamori side-eyes her boyfriend with a sneer. “Are you jealous?”

Hiruma, in the midst of cackling still, suddenly stops and gives Mamori a deep glare. The shotgun in his free hand is cocked but not aimed at anyone, and certainly not aimed at her. “Shut up, Manajerk…”

Somewhere not too far from them, Akaba watches Unsui and Tenma with a warm smile on his face. His earlier allegory, although he never outwardly said it back then, seems to have manifested in a completely different way. He strums a few airy, sensual notes as a firework goes off, and it explodes into a vibrant red hue in the shape of a big heart.

If Hiruma ever sees the blush that formed on the quarterback’s face, unbeknownst to Tenma who’s marveling at the fireworks, he wouldn’t let Unsui live that down at all.

Chapter Text

Practice sessions for football season are starting to kick back up. Now that the team has acclimated their talented freshmen, Saikyou’s Wizards are due to make great progress like they've always had. This university is known for having some of the top alumni in both academics, and athleticism. 

“Is Fucking Dreads skipping practice?!” Hiruma clocks his double barrel shotgun at the sky, there'd be steam coming out of his ears at this very moment. “The season starts in a little over a month, and he chooses to slack off?!”

“Hiruma, please put that bag away.” Mamori cautiously points at the duffel bag right by foot. In that bag lies dormant bombs and claymores. “This isn't too rare of an occurrence.”

He turns away from the field, where the rest of the team is doing their usual drills. “When you consider his recent perfect attendance, Manajerk, of course it's gonna piss me off.”

Even though he's riled up at the fact that one of their ace players decided to be a no-show, Hiruma knows that it has something to do with the blonde that's currently doing run plays with Akaba and Yamato. He knows of their scuffle, but it's been four days since then. There's no way Agon would be that hung up, still. 

“Ima talk to Fucking Earbuds. If not then I'll get my answers from Fucking Monk.” He taps the nose of his shotgun, choosing to stave off his irritation…

As the team does his drills, Hiruma gives it more and more passive thought. He had a feeling, given Tenma’s outburst in the locker room, that Temari left a huge impression on Agon. It was part of the many possibilities of this scheme he had in mind, but he wouldn’t have expected the outcome of that argument to trickle into Agon’s next date, and when Tenma came to him that same night with a debriefing, it only left more questions.

Or rather, more answers to questions that Hiruma never thought of in the first place.

He’s seen Agon change during the World Cup. He’s watched the dreadhead slowly fall back from dating multiple girls every week, hyper focusing on training instead. He knows that Agon is searching for something else, because the fact that he recently started going after women that he’s conveniently around (aka ONLY Mamori), as opposed to whole strangers, shows that the dreadhead wants to stoop down, and wants to relive his years of having… a friend. Somebody he was close to. In order to rekindle such a connection, he will have to shed away more and more of his barriers.

Hiruma himself had that same issue before he met Kurita, while he was friends with Agon as children. Kurita showed him that there was more to life beyond manipulating and controlling people and places like chess pieces, but Agon… Agon was a boy who would spill anything and everything about himself if you gave him the space to do so, then proceed to cling onto you relentlessly. Friendship with him had to only go one way, and if he sees you befriend someone else, it’ll fuck up his mental.

The primary reason for having Tenma roleplay as Agon’s girlfriend has less to do with that. He won’t divulge on the main reason, but he will admit that he did not expect for Agon to take the initiative in self-reflection through a girl he found on the streets. It feels ironic.

It all circles back to the main point of this scheme.

Practice comes to an end half an hour later, and Hiruma walks onto the field to let off a shotty round instead of blowing his whistle. “Well, allstars! You all look tidied up for September; we’re aiming to reach the Koshien Bowl again this year. If any of you fuck this up, it’s on your ass!”

The team is dismissed afterwards. All the members are sweaty and in need of refreshments, yet the quarterback is looking for a particular face in the mix. He spots Tenma pulling off his helmet to push back his sweat laced locks, so Hiruma wastes no time in slinking back…

Tenma, on the other hand, fixes his shades and takes his gloves off. The halfback finds himself a bit springier than usual since he’s had a date with one of his girls yesterday. His time at the Matcha Festival as well felt like a good reprieve from the mental jargon he threw himself into. He casts a look at Taka who’s fanning out his hair from his neck, and is facing away from him.

What he and Taka spoke about had a lot to do with his recent friendships. He offhandedly thinks about Unsui, and then the vivid memories of a younger Yamabushi. He won’t think too much about that conversation…

Before Tenma can head into the locker room with the rest of his team, a shadow looms from behind, and a hand clasps his shoulder. He almost turns around completely, but the sound of a raspy voice stops him in his tracks:

“My office after you freshen up.” Hiruma moves back to look Tenma in the eyes with a sneer. “If you're late, I'll kill you.”

The blonde watches Hiruma slide past him, toting his shotgun as though he didn’t just tickle his ear with his voice. Tenma rolls his eyes and exhales; couldn’t he be less overt with that shit?

Falling in line, Tenma goes to the locker rooms and takes a quick shower, getting in there faster than the rest of the team. He used to skip the showers in highschool, opting to use spray on deodorant and loose fitting clothing until he gets home because he never likes showering with the other guys. Nowadays he’s kind of grown out of that, but the stigma is still there; he’s always sure to finish before too many of them can enter. He steps out and fixes up to slide on pastel blue biker shorts and a tea rose colored oversized shirt, and then heads to Hiruma’s office.

The door is closed as expected. Tenma doesn’t even knock; He just opens the door and shuts it right behind him, hanging on a hip as the quarterback looks up from his scattered data papers. Tenma blinks obviously; “Yes?”

“No greeting, Pretty Prince?” Hiruma’s smile is sharp and crooked, because he’s fucking crazy. “With all this sass you got, you’re making it seem like you have prior commitment.”

“I could.” Tenma shrugs, he’s not wrong on that end, but he is a free bird today. “What’s up? Why’d you call me here?”

Hiruma rubs his palms together, eyeing Tenma’s face and his outfit. Blue eyes lock onto hazel with an unexpectedly serious gaze. “Has Fucking Dreads spoken to you since your argument?”

Tenma finds himself taking a sharp inhale; it was an offhand concern that Agon was nowhere to be found at all. The dreadhead was seen on campus, it’s just that he did not show up to practice. “He hasn’t.” He approaches Hiruma’s desk, going to sit on the chair across from where the captain is seated. “Not to me, obviously, and not to his… girlfriend either.”

Hiruma folds his hands under his chin. “‘He’ll bounce back’, is what you said to me that night.” He takes a moment to notably breathe, a measured action that catches Tenma’s attention. “I haven’t seen that since; he’s been MIA this whole time.”

“Is this something that I am to blame for?” Tenma tilts his head with a frown.

That question annoys Hiruma instantly. “Take a moment to comprehend my words, Fucking Earbuds.” He leans back in his seat, spreading his legs and resting his elbows on his chair arms. “I’m not shifting any blame onto you.”

Hiruma wants to discuss the prospect of his pseudo-boyfriend, that is what Tenma translates out of that. He takes a moment to recall what Hiruma had said in regards to the utility player, and then exhales. “Can I ask you something?” He waits for the captain’s quiet nod. “You told me that Agon doesn’t sleep well if something bothers him. How close were you two?”

“We used to sleep in his bed together.”

Tenma sputters at the bomb drop. “Wh-”

“Not like that. Sometimes, after we finished our bounties,” And he shows a sneer, the only clear emotion on his face, before it’s gone again, “It’d be really late, so Fucking Dreads would offer a spot for me to sleep. I could’ve slept on the couch, but he only offered his bed at all times.”

That last part felt poignant. It was an unnecessary add-on, but something that had to be said to paint the picture of something Tenma can’t readily fathom. “And he’d… let you sleep next to him? Like he wouldn’t-” And this felt odd as fuck to say but Tenma had to ask, “He wouldn’t put any moves on you or anything?”

It takes Hiruma a second too long to respond. A single second. “He had no problem letting me get that close to him.”

That doesn’t answer Tenma’s question. “But would he-”

“He tried.”

Tenma sits back in silence, feeling like he’s crossing a boundary by asking that question, and even more so from Hiruma’s interjected response.

Yet the blond continues: “Fucking Dreads has no understanding of what should be kept tucked away and what shouldn’t. He didn’t know any better back then, so one of the ways he’d express that was by being overly possessive. He didn’t like it if I paid more attention to Fucking Old Man than to him, and he especially couldn’t stand Ryokan at all.” Hiruma’s expression gets dark for a second, not with contempt, but with retrospect. “What I am saying is, Mophead has confessed to me before.”

This is… Way too fucking intimate. Tenma is too overwhelmed by this information, as it feels like something he shouldn’t know about. “And you… rejected him?”

Hiruma shakes his head, “He told me he wanted me around him forever, and that I didn’t deserve to be around ‘other trash’. I was only meant to be his.” And he doesn’t close that off with ‘his friend’ or ‘his partner in crime’. He left it at his, like Agon wanted ownership upon him. Or in other words… “So seeing me around Fucking Fatty forced him to separate the both of us.”

Tenma knows of that particular part of Hiruma’s past, he’s told him about that when Tenma asked how he and Kurita were so close. It never occurred to him that Agon could do such a thing out of jealousy, which makes no sense to Tenma at all. Then he takes a moment to self-reflect; this ‘confession’ of Agon oddly mirrors the dynamic he and Yamabushi shared. Tenma, long haired and constantly mistaken for a little girl in his teens, used to be scared shitless of the thought of Yamabushi cutting him off.

Yet he turned tail and went to Teikoku High School without even telling his own best friend why he did so.

“Agon never told you why he did what he did?”

“He didn’t have to. I already knew why.” And Hiruma has explained why he did so just now. “And I had no problem being close to him. Our prior commitment was our ultimatum; I got my intel, and he got a chance to beat people up. But what it became was indeed, very personal; it didn’t feel like a friendship in hindsight. It wasn’t supposed to be.” The blonde looks at the ground to his left, blue eyes deepening. “But Fucking Dreads wanted more.”

Tenma takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair, digesting all of this. He still can’t stop thinking about the parallels of this in relation to him and Yamabushi, although Tenma never double crossed him to the extent that Agon did. He and Yamabushi made an oath to never leave one another alone; they were set to go to the same schools together even after Tenma’s family moved to the richer estates in Kanagawa. That oath was broken because Tenma could not stand being in an all-boys school.

He clung onto the fact that Yamabushi would be there too, but that did not abade how uncomfortable he felt. He saw how respected Yamabushi quickly became over his height and formidable appearance. It made Tenma feel some type of way when he’d sit away from the other boys because he quote-unquote ‘looked too girly to even breathe the same air as them’. All the insults aside, Tenma realized he felt most resentful whenever Yamabushi was comfortably chilling in other friend circles, so in conjunction with feeling out of place, he vainfully felt like Yamabushi had ‘moved on’ from wanting him around.

He still, to this day, wishes to apologize to that man.

“Why I’m telling you this, is because you are in a position to be someone he’s actually interested in.” Hiruma pivots the subject away from all that, rolling his chair forward to lean against the desk. “Fucking Dreads likes his girlfriend and wants to be better just for her. You only reminded him of all the shit he has to sort out. He’s not going to give you up.”

“He-” Tenma would never expect Hiruma to say that last part out loud; it was a fact that lay dormant in his waking thoughts, like ambient background music to jumbled chatter, but to hear it… “I don’t know if I should be scared or not, because… what you’re telling me is that Agon used to be really clingy and possessive of you to the point where he’d try to isolate you from your own friends. You’re telling me that he’d do that-”

Then Tenma stops himself. A different resolve crosses his mind.

“Or that he’s actively trying not to do that to his own girlfriend, because he’s… getting closer to her. He’s trying to break bad habits.”

Hiruma stays still for a moment, and then nods.

“Can you be so sure that this is really the case?”

“Look at the fact that he’s been absent since; he did not attend the Matcha Festival with his beloved Temari, and he hasn’t spoken to ‘her’ from what you told me.” Hiruma crosses his arms. “This is not normal behavior for that horny idiot.”

It really isn’t. Even Unsui told Tenma that Agon has been mostly at home in recent times. Agon should be out and about bagging random women, yet his own twin brother has said he isn’t doing that lately. Tenma thinks of it from a woman’s perspective; for a girl’s boyfriend to get angry at her, and then go no contact for five whole days… It sounds like a form of punishment worse than straight up insulting her. “But to leave his girlfriend in the dark…”

“If he knew where you’d live, he’d show up at your door without notice.” Hiruma is resolute on this fact. “What I’m saying is hypothetical, but me and Fucking Dreads were once a unit. He’s not too hard to read in that aspect.” He takes his mug, the one that was gifted by Mamori, and takes a quick sip of his black coffee. “You can leave now, Pretty Prince. Go tend to your harem while you’re at it, kekekeke…”

Tenma scoffs at Hiruma and stands up. Maybe he should expect that very soon. Tenma’s thoughts may be jumbled on the subject, but his gut is telling him that Hiruma is right. To entrust him with this kind of insight on their former friendship shows that Hiruma is aware that Temari means a lot more to Agon than some girl he wants to bang, and it’s filling Tenma with so much anxiety knowing that Temari is literally a female version of him, the same person Agon can’t stand.

On his drive back home, Tenma stops at a teahouse themed store and buys a few snacks for himself. He’ll spend the rest of the day at home, calling up Unsui and getting household chores done, because he knows he’s left a few tasks hanging that need to be done. It’s the least he can do to declutter his own brain, and he’ll use that time to ruminate on this aspect even more.

Tenma doesn't usually stay up this late. Webcalls with his girlfriends have been happening later than usual, due to two of them having work until 10pm. He would've opted to call them tomorrow, but they all wanted to group talk with him tonight. 

In earlier years, it was many times harder to get his girls to meet each other since nobody really sported a phone back then. Now he can easily call, text, and have webcalls with them whenever he's at home. His girlfriends tend to make a collaborative effort to come see him. If they don't, then they attempt to video chat with him at the same time. 

Their lives have been quite eventful for the most part; between coworker or colleague drama with his long distance girlfriend in Hokkaido, and the oddball storytime Rina and Usagi served them all up with when they went to concert a couple days ago, he felt like he didn't have much to add on his own behalf. He mostly listened to what they shared with him and amongst each other. 

Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, Tenma takes a deep breath. It's 1:34 in the morning, and their call ended around twenty minutes ago. He just finished his night routine, having slid into a large T-shirt and trunks, and plopping into bed and pulling the covers over his body. His window is slightly open, the breeze from outside gently rustling any loose hairs that tickle his forehead. 

Then his phone starts ringing. Tenma at first, is inclined to believe it's either his mom or dad since they are both out of the country at the moment, but when he lifts the device up and looks at the caller ID… It's Agon who's calling. 

“If he calls you in the middle of the night, you should answer him.”

Tenma clears his throat, watching the phone ring for another 10 seconds. Could this be… Them coming to an end? Could Agon be wanting to break up? If he did, then he technically shouldn’t be calling and especially not at this time.

He’s definitely not looking to break up.

Tenma hums to get his voice ready and with a hesitant thumb, presses the call button. He breathes like he just got done yawning. “...Hello?”

“Temari, hey…”

Agon sounds like he isn’t in bed, he sounds wide awake. Tenma purses his lips, wondering what he could lead in with; could he pretend to be upset at the way Agon waved her off? Maybe he should, because it would dig into Agon’s psyche even further. However, Tenma thinks about it for a bit, and doesn’t feel like playing mind games with this man right now.

“Hey…” Tenma returns the greeting, making tired noises. “Why did you call? What’s wrong…?”

There is a pause. Tenma can clearly hear how quiet Agon’s house is. Silence overtakes the other end of the call, before he suddenly says with way too much weight in his voice: “I’m sorry.”

“Huh-” Tenma shakes his head like he’s got something in his hair. Did… Did he just hear Agon Kongo, the Agon Kongo, apologize? He’s so surprised that he can’t even play his part, feigning his womanly voice but actually being awestruck. “What…”

“About our last date.” Agon’s voice is quiet, like somebody is listening to him as he speaks. Tenma wonders if he’s speaking to a version of Agon from a different timeline, who’s being held at gunpoint at the moment. “I got upset and yelled at you.”

“I… I mean, it’s alright…” He’s still gobsmacked, Tenma has to take a breath in to steady his composure. “Can I… ask…” He trails off, sitting up a bit more now. With what Unsui and he have talked about, ignoring the opportunity to get possible explanations for their argument would do him no justice. It would also do Agon no justice, either; if this man really wants to change, for real, he needs somebody to allow him to be transformative.

He didn’t realize he stayed quiet for a bit too long. “Yeah?”

“Umm-” Tenma pulls his hair back. “Why did you… get upset? I want to know what set you off that night.”

The simple, Agon-coded response would be ‘Because you didn’t listen to me when I said I was okay’, but judging from the sound of his pseudo boyfriend’s shirt rustling, and the overwhelming silence in the Kongo household, Agon is actually thinking about it. The dreadhead sighs out of nowhere. “You know, when we had that one call,” Tenma knows what call he’s talking about, “I felt really upset because I thought I wasn’t doing enough. But…”

Tenma waits; he wants to give Agon the space to speak. The dreadhead always sounds concise and rather throughout when he’s calm, and not being a damn crackhead incarnate.

“Can I be honest with you?”

And Agon’s voice is even quieter than it was, like it’s just a few decibels away from a whisper. “Yeah, of course you can. Is anybody awake at your house, Agon?” He wants to get a visual of where Agon is because his tone has to be deliberate.

“My dad’s awake right now.” That’s likely why he’s so quiet. “I’m in my room, so I gotta be quiet.”

Nevermind, that raises even more questions for Tenma. He has a ton of privacy in his own house, and Agon house is not even small enough for accidental eavesdropping. “Oh… Alright…” Tenma tilts his head. “Um, what did you want to say?”

“Remember when I said I never dated anyone?” Agon goes silent again; he’s likely mentally debating something. “That in itself is true, but… I’ve been with women before.”

And he used the plural, women. Not a woman; Temari has to act shocked. “You… You have?”

“Yeah.” Agon sounds ambivalent. Tenma can’t help but notice that he keeps pausing, though he doesn’t comment on it. He imagines that Agon is trying to sort out his words, trying to be… honest. “I’ve had flings with women before but never had a relationship, so when we had that argument, I felt called out. I know you look down on guys like that, and I just so happened to be one of them before.”

This is… riveting. Eye opening. The clarity Tenma is getting is profound, and he has to stifle the urge to break character just to ask Agon if he’s been snorting bleach powder. “...Agon…” Tenma purses his lips. Realizing that he doesn’t know where to start, “Why would you feel called out? You’ve been nothing but a sweetheart to me.”

“I’ve yelled at you over this stuff, though.”

Agon is focused on the one thing that made everything go wrong; just like before, he’s turning a blind eye to his good guy antics, which is something he wouldn’t do. “Yeah, but… I’m not-'' Tenma feels at his shirt, saying his next words very gently. “I’m not mad at you. I was confused, and still am. I don’t judge you for being with other women before, but it makes little sense for what I said to make you feel bad.”

“...I wasn’t the greatest guy.” Agon says this so unexpectedly, that Tenma wants to hop through the phone and check if Agon is on his deathbed. What has gotten into him?! “These flings didn’t last for long, I’m not used to being around anyone for so long.”

“We’ve only been dating for like two weeks…”

“That’s too long for me. That’s what I mean; I used to only be around girls for a day.”

Tenma tries not to drop his phone, reminding himself to keep an actual grip on the device. Agon is confessing right now, holy shit… Is this really happening? “So that’s why? Because you always had one night stands or something?” He accidentally slips that one out, but hopefully Agon thinks that’s just a nuanced assumption.

“Yeah…” Agon’s voice trails off, so Tenma takes this time to digest everything he just said. He's being honest, and honesty out of Agon’s mouth is already crazy. It wouldn’t hurt to ask him something more sentimental.

“Did I hurt your feelings when I said what I said?” Tenma starts off, and then he rephrases, “All of what I had said.”

“... I don’t want you to feel bad…” He sounds sheepish, reminding Tenma of Unsui. 

“You can tell me.”

And it takes Agon some time to actually, vocally admit it. When he does, his voice is really low. “You did…”

“I’m sorry…” Tenma can’t help himself; he can’t bear to call bullshit on any of this. Agon would never say this to anybody, he’s getting a side of him that nobody else has witnessed. “I really didn’t mean to hurt you. And… when I flinched,” He recalls that now, “It was not towards you. None of my bad experiences that I’ve mentioned were pinned against you. You’re a good man, and… I’m grateful that you’re telling me this.”

There’s silence. Agon probably doesn’t know what to say to that.

“Have you told anybody this? Any friends?”

“I don’t have any friends.”

Now this is getting too real. Tenma’s a little scared. “You… you don’t have friends?”

“Well… one. He’s my fellow team member.” Agon is referring to Ikkyu. “That’s about it, we’ve known each other since highschool, but I don’t really have to tell him any of this stuff.” He hums, searching for words again, “I was a little afraid you’d dump me, not gonna lie. I went no contact because I didn’t know if I could talk to you again. I kinda… I never had the chance to talk with anyone like this.”

If it weren’t for Agon being an overt douche, Tenma would hug him. This feels like an echo to his older brother, Unsui, who also didn’t have many friends, and who also bottles his problems away because he thinks he can’t go to anybody for them. The quarterback has gotten better at that, but Agon’s case is different; his obnoxious behavior makes it hard for him to get any sympathy, and Tenma wonders if he’s been fully aware of that this whole time.

Imagine going through life, having to think if you’re the best because if you don’t, you’ll just be stuck with the abject loneliness you constantly feel. Maybe Agon really needs that hug.

Tenma nods at the wall. “Well, now you have me. Please don’t be afraid to talk to me, I’m your girlfriend, y’know.”

“I’m not sure if dumping my issues on you would do you justice.”

“It’s not dumping, it’s me giving you space to express yourself.” Tenma smiles, “And I’d… I’d like for you to tell me if I’m doing something to upset you, just like how I told you before. Communication is very important to me.” That is no lie, communicating is big in all of Tenma’s relationships.

“Right. I’ll try to…” Agon chuckles a little, “Keep that in mind.”

The blonde smiles; Even if this is a start, it’s a great start at something better. “And… Agon?” His womanly voice kicks an up-tone. “Have you been thinking about this ever since? Because it’s very late.” When Temari could’ve been asleep, unaware of his train of thought.

“I would’ve asked to meet you somewhere but I… Didn’t know what to say, and I couldn’t wait.” He sounds sheepish again, and Tenma huffs a silent chuckle. Sheepish Agon is so cute to him. “I’m sorry to wake you up.”

“You’re fine, I was awake anyway.” Tenma doesn’t lie on that end, and knowing that Agon’s probably frowning, he stretches the truth. “I was binge watching some anime shows.”

“Oh.” Agon snorts at that.

“What’s that about?”

“You watch anime?” He asks, and Tenma can see his sneer through the damn phone. “Heh…”

“Hey! What’s so bad about anime?”

“I dunno, I always felt like that stuff was for kids.”

Tenma rolls his eyes; of course Agon would say something like that. “Then what would you do to pass time, Uncle Kongo? Read the newspaper?”

“What?! I ain’t no damn oldhead.”

Tenma laughs, finding his vernacular rather authentic. Agon really does sound like himself saying that. “Gosh… I guess we can leave it off at that, unless you have something else to say.”

“I can’t… think of anything...” Agon is probably scratching his head. Tenma can envision him actively looking for words, as though he’s regretting not writing what he wants to speak about. “Aside from how tired you might be. I’ll let off, you go get some sleep.”

“Eh…” Tenma tosses a hand back. “I’ll sleep later.”

“Really now? Ugh…” Agon scoffs playfully, “You’re always making me worry.”

Tenma giggles, and his giggle is quite cute. “Well, that’s because you care about me, babe.”

“I really do.”

Now he’s speechless. Agon said that with that same weight in his voice from earlier. He meant that.

“I’ma go and try to sleep.” Agon cuts in all the sudden, and he sounds a lot more relaxed. “Goodnight, Temari.”

“Hmmm… Goodnight, Agon.” Tenma’s eyes get a little soft, feeling the weight in his shoulders being lifted now that he has closure. He ends the call and smiles at his bedsheets; even though he wanted Agon to feel like shit the day he targeted him, he also can’t help but want to see him actually come down from his high horse. He wants to see Agon be human, and for him to be comfortable being human. The blonde puts his fluffy headband on and lays on his side, sliding a hand under his pillow.

He actually falls asleep fairly quickly, and sleeps soundly throughout the night.

Chapter Text

Just like the first week of them dating, things have gone back to being peachy for the most part. Tenma texted Agon the morning after their call to see if he was okay (and he also wanted to make sure that call actually fucking happened and wasn’t a figment of his own imagination), and as expected, the dreadhead relayed that he was feeling a lot better now. Agon also admitted that he felt uncomfortable speaking to Temari about himself, to which Tenma told him through text that he’d always accept whatever Agon says as long as it’s honest.

Tenma did not expect to see the words ‘I really appreciate you…’ on his screen. In that exact format. He expected silence, not gratitude, and it makes him wonder what Agon’s reaction to that was in real time.

The Wizards’ 1st string is sitting in the lounge room, fresh out of practice. Agon actually did show up, and to everybody’s surprise he mostly kept to himself the whole session. He isn’t sitting with the rest of the team now, so Tenma assumes he left early.

He and Agon have a date later today, and Tenma’s girlfriends came up with the bright idea of him ‘pretending’ to be on his period. They want to know if this man is actually genuine, because periods would normally have a guy like Agon rudely shoving a woman off. When Tenma told him about it during a morning call however, Agon’s first concern was whether or not Temari was okay with going on a date with him. He even opted for another movie night just so that she wouldn’t have to move too much. ‘Temari’ assured Agon that she’d be fine, and that she’d rather spend time outside with him.

Nothing in the dreadhead’s verbiage sounded pretentious then.

The blond does his trademark hair sweep as he saunters away from the rest of the group. He was sitting beside Mamori, chatting with her for a bit, but since he’s got somewhere to be Tenma decides to take his leave. He’s already dressed up, wearing a seamless periwinkle cropped hoodie and sweat shorts. The only thing he needs to do is get his bag from the locker room. 

Heading down the corridor to the locker room entrance, he walks straight in without missing a beat in his gait. Tenma expects to be the only one in here, but when he pivots to the open locker sector across from the granite sinks, he sees Agon sitting on the changing bench. Tenma’s locker is at the very end of the aisle, about three lockers away from where Agon sits. His heart skips a beat, and not in a good way.

They have not interacted with each other since Tenma had yelled at him. It’s a bit of a mindfuck to look at him quietly rummaging through his bag with all that has gone down so far, and Tenma can’t show that he knows what he knows. 

So, he takes a deep breath and quietly goes to open his locker. The tick and click of the combination makes the dreadhead stop for a second, the silence between them deafening. Tenma opens his locker, a barely audible creak coming from the hinge of its metal door. He casts a look at Agon; from where he sits, they’re not even two paces away from one another.

He notices something in Agon’s bag; a pretty pink bowtied box of chocolate-wafered teddy bears, a brand that Tenma is all too familiar with. He loves that kind of chocolate, but there’s only one reason why that would be in Agon’s bag.

Hazel eyes maintain impartial diction as he softly asks: “You like those too?”

It’s a different approach from what he’d normally do. He’d usually avoid the dreadhead, but Tenma cannot bring himself to do so. Agon has been too fucking quiet lately.

Agon looks up and down at Tenma and doesn’t answer that, nudging the box deeper into the bag with an odd frown. “Why are you talking to me?”

There’s not much malice in his voice, but it doesn’t mask the genuine confusion in his tone. Tenma slings his own bag onto his right shoulder and slightly leans against the open locker door. “There’s no harm in doing so.” Minimizing the threat that Agon is, because the dreadhead could very well throw him into the mirrors across from them, but Tenma is certain that Agon won’t put his hands on him. Despite being so rancid towards Tenma, they’ve never physically fought.

Agon shifts the bag from between his calves with his left foot.

“Agon?”

Amber eyes trail from Tenma’s legs, to his face. His lips are slightly pulled back.

Tenma resigns his defensiveness completely, his expression falling into one of tired compromise. “What about me angers you so much?” Because he’s seen the underside of this man, of how he feels about talking out his problems. Tenma has to know why…

“Why does it matter to you?” Agon shrugs, his tone too resigning the past contempt he had trouble hiding at one point.

“Because it doesn’t make sense to me, that’s why.” Tenma closes his locker completely, leaning against it on his shoulder and slightly hanging on a hip. Ego would prompt Tenma to say that Agon had skipped practice and stayed out of campus because of him, but it wouldn’t be fair to throw that onto the lowerclassman. “We don’t get along, I get that, but why go out of your way to insult me the way you do?”

“Because we don’t get along.”

No open ended inflection, no room for an interjection. This is a topic that Agon does not want to talk about. 

Would it trouble Tenma if he pried further? The worst that could happen is Agon actually blowing up on him. He sighs, “I never had an issue with you. I just want to understand you. If you don’t have a reason why, then it’s okay.”

Agon definitely senses what Tenma means by that last bit. To say he doesn’t know why Tenma upsets him is admitting a major weakness, and it’s exactly what Tenma wants him to see. Without warning, the dreadhead stands up, picking up his bag to put it against the bench, but he doesn’t move from where he stands. There’s suddenly not enough space between them. “Whether or not you did, is not my problem. We’re not friends, trash; you don’t have to come to me for closure.”

The blond shifts to prop his foot against his other ankle. “It’s not in me to just have grudges or problems with people.”

“That’s because you’re a yes-man.”

Tnema doesn’t look bothered by that, his voice gets really soft: “And you’re avoiding the question.”

There is silence between them. Agon is actively searching Tenma’s eyes, an action Tenma should be doing to him. Then, that gaze goes unreadably soft for a nanosecond, before he deeply frowns at the shorter blonde.

An unexpected, exasperated sigh leaves Agon’s lips as though Tenma is an annoying gnat. “These aren’t for me.” He’s referring to the chocolates in his bag, answering Tenma’s first question. He zips the bag closed, and leaves the locker room entirely.

… That alone left Tenma with more answers than questions. Agon did exactly as Tenma rebutted, and the blonde is now alone, in the locker room, staring at the ground as though he cracked some code.

Though, that will have to wait another time. It is something Tenma will keep in mind, but he needs to head home and change into his disguise. When he leaves the locker room, he sees Agon in the corridor looking at something on his phone, and whatever he’s looking at slows his pace. They unintentionally end up walking into the lounge room, in full view of everyone, next to each other.  

Muted conversation builds up, as though everyone is expecting Agon to say something obnoxious, but the dreadhead only saunters to the empty kitchenette area in silence. Tenma is quick to turn right and make his exit. Akaba is the only person he manages to make eye contact with as he leaves, but he doesn’t bother announcing his leave either. 

Sliding into his car and starting it up with a tentative hum, Tenma wonders if Agon’s attitude will trickle into their date this afternoon.

“You weren’t lying… This really is the perfect spot, Agon.”

Tenma shifts in his seat, watching Agon calmly sorting out a few snacks from his bag. They’re sitting on a picnic table in the Hamarikyu Gardens, just before the ocean bay ahead of them. The wind isn’t warm, nor is it humid out; today’s weather is perfect for the park and luckily for them, the table they’re at is shaded by a tree.

The utility player looks at Temari with a warm smile. “Yeah? Ocean views are always better.” He’s finished sorting almost everything out; a few bags of chips, some dorayaki, a fruit bowl for Temari and a homemade bento box for himself, followed by a taro drink and a bottle of cherry soda. He goes back into his bag, and slides out something Tenma has seen before. “I got you some chocolate too, because… I figured it’d help…”

Tenma giggles, his womanly voice holding smooth inflection. “You’re cute.” He actually is, too. Buying chocolates for a girl in her period is a cutesy thing to do, Tenma is well aware of that. “I actually really like wafer chocolates, I’m surprised you got those.”

A proud chuckle leaves Agon’s lips and he taps two fingers to his forehead. “I can read minds, babe.”

“Sure, you can…” Tenma situates the fruit bowl and his taro drink a bit closer to him, opening the plastic tab and plucking off the bowl’s disposable fork. “Thank you for all of this, really. I’ve been really busy this morning, and I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” He actually was hungry prior to leaving his house too; he didn’t have enough time to snack on something before Agon picked him up at the train station.

“Of course, of course.” Agon picks up a piece of lean meat from his bento box, his chopsticks then going for a bit of rice next to it. “So, how’ve you been?”

“I’ve been good, umm… Getting ready for next week.” Tenma pouts a little, not looking at Agon for a moment. “I have to go back to Kyoto, so I’ve been packing up.”

“Ah…” Agon looks down and surprisingly, chooses to eat a bit more in silence. His eyes dimmer like he’s thinking about something, debating something, and Tenma wants him to at least say what’s on his mind. He’ll have to be patient as Agon’s pseudo-girlfriend, maybe as himself as well.

Tenma eyes the teddy bear chocolates in retrospect. 

He shifts to cross his legs, his black pantyhose pulling a bit too taut around his quads. They’re lucky they’re sitting because the skirt Tenma has on feels too short, and he doesn’t want to tie his cardigan around his waist anymore. “You said you had something to tell me.”

He did; right before Tenma left his house, Agon sent him a few messages regarding a topic he wished to discuss in person. He hadn’t said anything about it during the drive here, nor while they were walking here, and whenever he thought Temari wasn’t looking, he’d stare at the ground pensively. 

The way his amber eyes seem to darken like there’s a mountain of stress beneath them, makes Tenma lower his fork. “Yeah…” Agon even places the chopsticks over the bento box, both hands going to rest beneath the table. “I’m happy that I got to meet you, really. I couldn’t tell you this through text, because I didn’t think it’d be right to do so, umm…” He’s very slightly rocking side to side. “I’d like for you to meet my family.”

That catches Tenma way off guard, so off guard that he cocks his neck back and has to lean forward because he’s afraid his choker will expose his Adam’s apple. “Wh- you-” He pulls some of his long hair over his shoulders. “You want me to meet your family?”

“Well, they learned about us not too long ago.”

“You were keeping us a secret?”

“I normally hide my… affairs, but I hid our relationship from them because… It’s not for a bad reason, I promise.” Agon shakes his left palm out in reassurance, before that palm falls against the table. “This is new to me, and I wasn't comfortable with them knowing. I’d only want you to meet my twin brother, though.”

He wasn’t comfortable? Tenma frowns, his eyes narrowing. “And not your parents? Just your twin brother?”

“I know you’ve met him already, that’s why.” Agon shrugs, still not being fully transparent.

“But why not your mom and dad?” Tenma tilts his head, “Are they strict?”

“My father is strict. I don’t tell him about what I do for that reason.” There’s absolutely no mention of Agon’s mother afterwards. “If you don’t want to meet them, it’s perfectly fine. You don’t have to go through such trouble.”

Why would that be any trouble, though? He thought back to an old chat he had with Unsui. When he had offhandedly asked the quarterback how their dad was doing, Unsui gave him an emotionally removed reply that basically said ‘Well, he’s breathing, so he’s alright’, and that wasn’t what Tenma meant when he asked that, either. 

He is certain that Agon actually doesn’t want his girlfriend to meet his family; rather, that this was an obligation.

Agon looks Temari over. “Are you feeling alright, by the way?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Tenma giggles, “I’m fine, Agon. I’m not dying, you know.”

He shrugs with his arms up. “Just making sure.”

Tenma gives him a warm smile and forks over a piece of cold kiwi, chewing and looking at the ocean bay in front of them both. “I wouldn’t mind meeting them before I leave, Agon.” When he turns back to Agon, the dreadhead is giving him a tense stare. “What? There’s no harm in meeting your family, right?”

It takes Agon two seconds too long to respond. “Right…” He eats a bit of his food as Tenma now stares at him cautiously.

“Are you uncomfortable with that?”

“No.” He doesn’t shake his head either. That sounded like a rehearsed response. “It’s just that my dad can be… Annoying.” Agon tosses his gaze wayward, and Tenma feels like ‘annoying’ is a heavy understatement. “Truth is, he found out that I’m dating someone, and now he wants to meet you.”

Why couldn’t Agon say that from the start? If their father is capable of having Agon tongue tied like this, Tenma doesn’t want to imagine the type of personality Mr. Kongo would have.

And Agon’s next sentence only verifies this sentiment: “He won’t leave me alone about it either.”

“Ah-” Tenma chuckles a bit, hopefully trying to alleviate the tension in his pseudo-boyfriend’s words. It works marginally, but only because Agon’s parroting his laugh. “So I guess I can say hi to him and then leave, right?”

“That’d be nice.” As in, I’d like for you to do that and nothing more.  

They eat together in silence for a few minutes, and Tenma finds himself wondering if this was the reason behind Agon’s reticence during practice. Clearly, the notion of their father wanting to meet Temari makes Agon anxious, as this is something Agon can’t dish off. Tenma wonders how the twins’ father made this new discovery, and also wonders what that man either said or done to basically force Agon to propose this.

The soft interrogation they had in the locker room… There must’ve been so much more going on in this man’s home life over the years. Once again, Tenma finds his abating curiosity sidelined by something else. He may not understand why Agon hates him, but he’s starting to see why Agon really likes Temari; she gives him space to express himself.

Does… does his father not do that? As all parents should?

“What was your childhood like?” Tenma has to know now; he can probably find the root to Agon’s persona just from asking. “Was your dad mean or…?”

“He actually really likes me a lot.” Agon slides his empty bento box back into his bag. “I got excellent marks in everything and he was really proud about them, so he rarely ever gets mad at me.” 

So Agon was a golden child, essentially? Not something Tenma can relate to, because he’s an only child. A smile graces the now brunette’s face. “Was your twin treated the same way?”

“No.”

Tenma blinks, not expecting Agon to just leave his response at that. “So he was mean to your brother?” That actually pisses Tenma off; he can’t imagine a kid Unsui being treated badly. The poor man deserved better if that was the case.

Again, Agon keeps his response short. “No.” He opens a bag of chips, and pauses at Temari’s glare. “I can’t speak on my brother’s behalf.”

As the dreadhead eats away, Tenma can’t tell if the secrecy is a good or a bad thing. It could either mean Unsui simply wasn’t treated the same way, or it could mean he was the abused sibling. In a strange way, Tenma feels like both twins were heavily disenfranchised.

“I understand.” He feels at his wig, and stands up to fix his skirt. That catches Agon’s eye. “Don’t worry, I have to kinda stand every now and then.”

Agon nods in understanding. Tenma goes to throw out his fruit bowl and his empty taro drink, and returns to eat the snacks with the dreadhead, he’s most excited about the dorayaki in particular. They do engage in some small talk, and while Tenma doesn’t press the topic of Unsui further, he has this urge to hold Agon’s hand; their father doesn’t seem like a nice man.

He’ll have to ask Unsui about that later. It’d kill Tenma to assume a terrible impression of their past.

Agon pulls out mini packets of towelettes for the both of them, and pops a few mints in his mouth. He is a very clean man, no doubt, but to see Agon carrying mini towelettes with him seems so out of character that it’s funny. 

Tenma wipes his hands clean and stands again, making sure to fix his skirt as he does so. “I’m gonna go stand by the railing if you wanna join.” He points with his thumb at the railing ahead as Agon’s going to discard their used towelettes.

He gets a nod and a hum from Agon before he saunters off, and Tenma goes to stand by the railing. Going into his purse, he sees five text message notifications: three from his girlfriends, and two from Unsui, the latter was received a few minutes ago.

Bestie: So… 

Bestie: You won’t guess who’s with me right now.

Perhaps that is Unsui’s way of building suspense, because he’d normally make that a single message. Tenma almost thinks it’s him uncannily mentioning his father, but the happier notion of Unsui hanging out with somebody dissuades that assumption. Who? I don’t think I’d be able to guess without any context.

Unsui responds fairly quickly, too. Tenma turns around to see Agon walking back to their picnic table, cleaning everything up on his own. Chivalry isn’t dead with him, huh?

Then he turns back to his phone and he feels a lump grow in his chest:

Bestie: Yamabushi.

Bestie: I saw him at the store today and he and I have been talking for a bit.

Tenma’s lips purse, shift to one side, and he knits them together. He’s spoken about Yamabushi in a positive light, and thinks of him in a positive light, but he sometimes forgets that he was once Unsui’s football captain. Of course the two of them would know each other very well. He casts another glance at Agon, who’s cleaned their table and is observing some birds.

You’re still with him?

Bestie: Yeah. Then there’s a pause. He says hi, by the way. He wants to know how you’re doing.

Tenma wonders what they’re talking about, and wonders if Unsui is talking about him to his old friend. If he is, then he’s wondering how their discourse is going, how Yamabushi feels about him, and whether or not there's bad blood on his end. He was about to surmise Yamabushi not wanting anything to do with him, but Unsui just said that the former captain asked about him. Unsui wouldn’t lie about that…

He also wonders why Unsui had to tell him that, too.

I’m good. I hope he’s okay. That last sentence took way too long to type out. Tenma wants to be friendlier but he’s racked with so many emotions.

Bestie: He’s happy to hear that. He’s doing good too.

Unsui must be dead-set on making sure Tenma knows exactly what Yamabushi is saying. That’s thoughtful of him, but it’s nerve wracking to Tenma, it only indicates that they are indeed talking about him. The brunette shuts the phone way too harshly and drops it in his purse, not wanting to be anxious on this particular date, especially given how anxious Agon was not too long ago.

“Babe?” Agon calls out from behind him, and Tenma can hear him getting up and walking over. “Have any ideas after this?”

The breeze gently rustles Tenma’s dark brown locks. He shrugs at Agon, “Not… really? You’re asking for suggestions from me?”

Agon returns that shrug back, and it makes Tenma smile a little. “I dunno, figured you’d have something in mind.” He heaves a deep sigh, closing his eyes as the breeze kisses his face, and opening them to give Temari a warm smile. Tenma turns back around, but seconds later finds himself slid into two strong arms.

Agon’s arms are below Tenma’s, his fingers interlocking just before the front of Tenma’s hips, and his cheek slightly rests against the back of Tenma’s head. Despite the closeness of the embrace it does not feel invasive or perverted; it’s friendly, almost feels like the hug of a diffident child. Someone who needs to be consoled, and maybe that’s just Tenma’s ‘elder cousin’ instincts kicking in because Agon is younger than him.

It also just occurred to Tenma that Agon is hugging him from behind. If this happened like two weeks ago, Tenma would’ve pretended to have a heart attack and a seizure just so he’d get off of him.

“You alright?” His womanly voice comes out tenderly, almost mother-like. Almost like himself.

Agon evidently nods, his face nuzzling against Tenma’s hair. “I’m good now.”

Crazy to see that this is the same man who called Tenma a bunch of slurs, made him feel alienated, and made a spectacle of his past scars. Crazy to see that Tenma, who at one point was in tears from that scuffle, no longer identifies the man behind him as an enemy. Agon isn’t giving Tenma a reason to run for the hills, instead Tenma feels like he’s with a toddler who’s tugging his finger for attention. It’s an innocent feeling, he can’t help it because he’s older than Agon, and because in hindsight, Agon is showing incredibly naive mannerisms given he and Temari have only dated for almost three weeks. However, it feels like they’ve known each other for much longer.

“Have you ever had a moment like this with any girls in the past?” Tenma tilts his head towards Agon, “Like… where you’re like this?”

“Yes and no.” Agon shifts a little, “It was never this close.”

Close. Everything was shallow for him back then. “I wonder how you even… You were never truly yourself around other women, huh?”

“Well,” Again, he’s shifting like he wants to break away but he’s still embracing Tenma, “There wasn’t much I was looking for back then so…” He shrugs, “I didn’t have to do much.”

Even the way he answered that shows that Agon is super alien to just being around others. He can boast, he can posture and poise, but he simply can’t be. “Well, I guess I’m lucky to get that out of you then?”

“Lucky?” Agon chuckles a bit too sharply, resting his cheek on Tenma’s shoulder now. “I’m not special, Temari.”

Tenma wonders if he audibly hallucinated hearing that last sentence. “Maybe not, but I think it takes some bravery to open up to somebody after… not doing so all your life.”

While he knows that Agon is a glorified loner, Temari knows that Agon barely has friends, nor has experience with intimacy, nor has parents who gave him proper attention growing up. Coming so clean this early in a relationship must be nerve wracking for this man, especially if he’s doing this to prove to himself that he can change.

Agon doesn’t say a word. In fact the statement makes the man behind Tenma physically freeze, and he can feel his chest going still. Then Agon loosens up, and he’s holding Tenma even closer, the brunette getting a stronger whiff of his eucalyptus musk. He’s comfortable, cozy now, and judging from the huffed chuckle and the feeling of his cheeks beaming, the dreadhead behind him is smiling at that.

All preconceived, negative notions from earlier today are pushed to the back of Tenma’s mind. He will find his answers through letting Agon express himself, and maybe then will Tenma crack the code behind why he was chosen for this month-long dating scheme.

Chapter Text

If the generous parking space and greenery in front of Tenma’s family home wasn’t enough of a show of wealth, then the interior of the house basically set the record straight for the quarterback. Tenma had told him through text that his house wasn’t a mansion but Unsui can beg to differ; the modern looking living room alone is bigger than his own house’s first floor.

It's late dusk, and as of now, Unsui has been awake for fourteen hours. He had driven to Enma Fires’ clubhouse at six in the morning to sort out football data by himself. Then he drove to Matcha Park for his usual morning meditation, and came out of it to a phone call from his father. Back and forth, either on the road or fixing up their house's backyard shed by instruction, Unsui had spent the majority of his morning and afternoon on the move.

The whole day passed by in a blur, and Unsui had almost forgotten that he had plans with Tenma today. The blonde invited him to his house, and because Unsui loves spending time with him, he didn’t dare refuse the invite.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Tenma guides Unsui further in because the quarterback is standing like a statue. “I’ll get our snacks and put on a movie upstairs.” 

“...Alright…” Watching Tenma go into the kitchen, Unsui’s almost startled by how soft the couch is. His back sinks into the cushions and then lifts his head up with a frown. “Wait… Upstairs?”

“Yeah…” Tenma turns around from the snack pantry and sheepishly shrugs. “I’ve been upstairs this whole evening and I don’t really feel like leaving my room, so…” He spins on one heel and busies himself with preparing the snack bowls. “You’re allowed to shower too, if you want. We have spare robes and things in the guest bathrooms upstairs.”

This house has guest bathrooms?! Multiple, just for guests? “I… It’s okay, umm-” Then he grows self conscious; Unsui didn’t have time to properly freshen up before coming here. Hell, he even stopped his task prematurely to tell his father that he had plans for the night. He was very vague about it too, he’d rather not divulge his personal life to his dad.

“Do I smell bad?” The question comes out like the whine of a small puppy, and Unsui wishes he had better control of his damn mouth.

Again, Tenma has to give him a funny look. “No? You told me you’ve been working hard the whole day, and I figured you could decompress here.” He then ruffles one of the bowls and pulls out a cold, fresh fruit bowl from the fridge. The blonde looks up with a smile. “You’re more than welcome to, don’t worry.”

Maybe Unsui should do that. He can’t be in here smelling like a mix of fading powder deodorant and sweat. Tenma smelled like warm cookies when he hugged Unsui at the door. The least the quarterback can do is make himself olfactorily presentable. “I'd still like to shower.”

“Alright, I’ll show you where they are- Oh, I’ll show you where my room is too!” Tenma swivels around from the kitchen island to lightly jog towards the stairs which… look like they’re floating. Seriously, how much does this place cost?! 

Unsui follows Tenma upstairs. The blonde’s bedroom door to the left of the hall is open. He can clearly see that his bedroom is spacious, decked with funky decor, old football trophies, music albums and an organized vanity dresser with a light up mirror. The adjacent walls of the room are painted black, and the wall across from the door has what looks like gold flaked art. Four doors down the ensembled hall is a bamboo closet with robes, towels and spare washcloths neighboring the aforementioned guest bathroom, and even that looks too luxurious.

“How do I… use the…” Unsui blushes at the shower ahead; the bathroom is neutrally lit with brown marble tiling and bamboo accents. The shower in question is an open glass enclosure; if somebody were to walk into the bathroom, they’d clearly see him naked.

“Easy.” Tenma quickly explains how the water dial works, which was luckily easy to understand. “We put the body washes in that cabinet-” He points to the cabinet next to the tall mirrored sink, “There’s a few different types in there.”

“Wow…” Unsui looks down at his robe and towel, and then at the blonde. “I’m… I really appreciate this, Tenma.”

“Well, you’re in my house, and you’re welcome to come any time. I’ll be in my room by the time you’re done, so go ahead and get busy.” And with a cheeky wink, Tenma turns around and saunters back downstairs, leaving Unsui with fucking butterflies.

The quarterback takes a quick shower. He chooses a body wash that closely matches the cologne Tenma bought him, ridding himself of the overtone of hardwork laced on his bodily scent. Ten minutes later, Unsui dries himself and promptly puts the robe on.

When he enters Tenma’s room with nothing but his boxers underneath the cotton terry bathrobe, the blonde doesn't even bat an eye. Snacks sitting at the foot of his bed, Tenma asks Unsui if he’d like his clothes washed. Unsui insists they can be aired out instead, aware of the fact that his family would ask questions on how his clothes got so clean.

“So we’re watching Dragon Samurai?” The moment the quarterback’s body makes contact with Tenma’s bed, he has to fight the urge to snuggle into it. Unsui shifts to rest his back against the headboard. “Didn’t think you had a thing for cheesy martial art movies.”

Tenma shifts to lay on his side. Unsui finds himself eyeing Tenma’s cute outfit; an oversized powder blue sweater, and black compression shorts. “I watch these movies a lot, and I couldn’t resist putting it on again.”

That ironically is the kind of ‘cinema’ Agon and Unsui grew up on. The movie starts and they both watch the intro in silence, Tenma having to remind Unsui to pick at whatever he wants because the quarterback is stiffly sitting like he’s not allowed to breathe. Unsui can’t help it, he’s too hyper aware of the fact that he’s practically naked in front of his pretty blonde friend. 

And Tenma’s shorts are showing his pretty thighs. Unsui swallows and darts his gaze at the TV screen. “So you’ve watched it before?” He tilts his head, “Why not play something different for the both of us?”

Tenma shrugs, “Because I’d be too invested. I dunno, I’m-” His hands slap his thighs when he shrugs again, and Unsui tries not to think about how attractive Tenma’s quads look. “When I’m having movie dates with my girls, we don’t even watch the movie. We just talk the majority of the night.”

They eat away at the assorted snacks. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Tenma gets a call from one of his girlfriends. He does answer it, rather pipy to hear from her, and he blatantly tells her that he’s watching a movie with Unsui. The halfback did say that he'd told his girls about him, but Unsui never believed it until now.

When Unsui shyly greets her over speaker, Honoka giggles and swoons: “Heeeey, Tenma’s boyfriend!” 

The poor quarterback might have a heart attack before the night ends, to be honest.

“HONOKA.” Tenma rolls his eyes and mouths ‘I’m sorry’ to Unsui, who’s frozen in place. “He’s my friend!”

“Yeah, yeah I know that.” She seems so comfortable, Unsui offhandedly wonders if this is how people usually talk in relationships. “He’s your friend, he happens to be cute, and he’s watching movies in your house at this time? Is he naked right now?”

Well technically, Unsui is, but…

“No, he’s not. Geez, stop shipping me with every guy I breathe near.” Tenma huffs but still chuckles; he finds the joke genuinely funny. Unsui can lessen the internal panic seeing that Tenma is very comfortable in his own sexuality, he wouldn’t know how to feel if Tenma reacted negatively to that joke. Their conversation ends a bit sooner after Honoka tells him she’s heading out to a girl’s dinner, Tenma bidding her farewell by blowing a kiss to the phone.

Straight men don’t do that, right? Do straight men act like that with their girlfriends?

“She sounds like fun.” Unsui smirks, and shifts to lean into the pillow to ease his anxiety. “You really do tell your girlfriends everything.”

“They know that I’m not good at making friends with guys, so they tease me about it anytime I meet a man.” Tenma scoffs and rubs his fingers, his sleeves covering his knuckles. One of Unsui’s biggest turn ons is sleeves going over one’s knuckles. How is Tenma casually ticking every box the more they hang with each other?

“Heh…” Unsui feels at the back of his head, his cheeks a little hot at Tenma’s choice of words. He decides to change the subject to something less convicting. “So… you had a picnic date with Agon?”

“I did.” Tenma nods. There's silence for a short while, and he scoots a bit closer to him, learning more on his side. “Agon’s… doing much better. He’s talking about himself more and I dunno, he’s… happier?” The blonde feels at his thigh in thought. “Yeah, he’s happier, really. Even when he was in our clubhouse, I saw him moving with a pep in his step.”

“That’s good to hear.” Unsui’s lips gradually lift into a smile. He expected things to be better for his brother after they made up, which Tenma has chosen to keep most of what was said private, but he did say that Agon confessed about his past. His brother might be serious about this…

Which prompts Unsui to ask: “So… When Temari leaves, what will you do?” He watches Tenma’s face carefully. “This isn’t a real relationship, but what you’re seeing from him is indeed real. How will you… work that out?”

The blonde hums, and Unsui hopes he didn’t ruin his mood. “Hmm… I almost don’t want to, because I really like the things we talk about. He’s very smart and funny and I wish he didn’t act like an asshole all the time. I think he can be likable if he drops his tough guy act.” Tenma inhales through his nose, finally meeting Unsui’s gaze. “Was he like that when you were kids?”

Unsui looks elsewhere. Ten years ago, they were ten. Both twins were differentiated by then; Agon was the star studded ace, the one who can do the impossible, and Unsui was his older brother with nothing special about him. Subtract another six years to that, and he and Agon were little children. Unsui wasn’t into twinning as much as Agon was, but that didn’t deter them from always wearing the same outfits, always choosing the same colored books, pens, schoolbags….

“I wanna play hopscotch with you!”

“I ran out of chalk, Agon.” Unsui almost complained, his little hands struggling with the nib of chalk. He nodded ahead to the kids in the playground. “We can play tag with them together.”

Agon stomped his foot and crossed his arms. “No, I don’t wanna play with them. They keep getting mad at me.”

“Why?”

“They said I was too fast, and it got them mad, so I can’t play with them anymore.” Agon pouted, dropping his hands and taking the little chalk from Unsui’s stained hands. “Can we play cards inside?”

Four year old Unsui smiled at his twin. “Yeah we can! Let’s go home!”

Amber eyes deepen at the foot of the bed, Unsui slightly shakes his head. “Nah…” He crosses his arms. “Agon and I were very close when we were really young. We're twins, so to him, we had to look, act and do the same things. It was-” He stops himself because what he was about to say feels too personal, like the information could be catastrophic if it falls in the wrong hands.

“It was?” Tenma parrots, leaning to him with kinder purchase. “Was it because he was lonely then, too?”

The movie is still playing, but they seem to have forgotten it for this conversation.

“It was his way of relating to someone. Agon never fitted in with the other children the way I would, so he always wanted to do things with me only because I never judged him.” Unsui remembered when they were six, when their father started noticing the differences between them. Even then, Agon was clueless…

“Why does Papa keep making you do chores?” Agon glared at how Unsui was bent over, wiping the floors of their house down.

Unsui didn’t meet his gaze. “Mama is tired from cooking, so I’m cleaning the floors.” 

“Liar.”

It was a lie. Agon knew that much, but didn’t know why he said that lie.

“I can’t play with you right now. After this, I have to do my homework.”

“I’ll do it for you. I need you to play the new racing game I got.” Agon referred to the recent gift their father got him. 

Unsui felt a pit of jealousy growing in his core. Why did Agon get a game at random? It wasn’t even their birthday! “You don’t have to do my homework, Agon.”

“If I can’t play with you because of stupid chores, then I will do your homework so that we can play together.” And he angrily stomped off to get Unsui’s bag, sitting on the clean area of the living room doing Unsui’s homework as he cleaned.

“Sometimes I feel at fault for how he is now.” Unsui props a knee up, resting his elbow against it. “I didn’t realize how upset Agon was whenever our dad would pull us apart. I just… I focused too much on how he never got in trouble, how he always got the attention. I didn’t realize he wanted me to do less and less…” Just to keep him company.

“It’s not your fault. You were a child too, you know.” Tenma puts a hand on Unsui’s shoulder, massaging it slightly. “If anything, your dad separated you two unjustly. You guys misunderstood each other.”

More like Unsui had a sour taste of reality and Agon simply transcended it entirely. “I guess it wouldn’t be too fair to put so much pressure on myself.”

“It never is.” Tenma smiles warmly, “Agon being the clingy little brother is so cute though, oh my god… It’s crazy because I can actually see him being that way too. I wish he was more comfortable being himself.”

“He is, but with you.” Unsui doesn’t even let Tenma get a word in despite the shocked look on his face. “Temari and you have the same personality, basically. So he is comfortable being around your personality. You’re honestly a breath of fresh air in his life.”

Unsui has seen some of the girls Agon fucked over the years. There was never anything serious, so he often felt off kilter seeing how heartbroken girls would be over him. All Agon ever did then was lie, yet now he’s being authentic in a relationship with a fake girlfriend. Irony is golden at times.

“That’s… good to hear… In a way…” Tenma's voice trails off, and Unsui decides that would conclude their chat. He unconsciously starts to lay on the bed, not realizing it until Tenma moves their snacks to his desk and comes around to pull the blanket over him.

Unsui gives him a look. “Really?”

“I’m tucking you in, sleepyhead.” Tenma giggles at the quarterback. “Y’know you look exhausted, right? You didn’t have to come tonight; we could’ve rescheduled.”

“I wanted to be out of the house.” Unsui admits suddenly. He normally has a lie ready for such sentiment but right now, he’d rather be here than at home with his father around. 

The movie elapses, though Unsui finds himself getting more and more placid, eyelids growing heavy. Tenma’s presence both inspires and diminishes his anxiety, and maybe Unsui is a bit of a masochist but there’s an inner thrill he gets being this close to the blonde. Especially given Tenma doesn’t seem to care about sharing affection either.

Deep down, there's an intense desire that Unsui represses almost unhealthily. Even if he’s a little embarrassed about being almost naked on Tenma’s bed, that other side of him would imagine the blond maybe leaning too close and laying on him, maybe putting a hand to his chest or even more. Especially with that innocent face of his, his pristine image that hides more to it than he lets on.

Tenma probably said a thing or two to him, but he wouldn’t know. He was knocked out from the mere comfort he’s in before this movie even ended.

That was the deepest sleep he’s had in a long damn while.

Unsui stirs back into the waking world, rolling his shoulders to flex his back. He somehow woke up sleeping on his damn stomach, face half plastered against Tenma’s feathery soft pillows.

A soft groan leaves his lips, and he barely lifts his head. Tenma is nowhere to be found.

In an instant, he’s fully awake; he’d fallen asleep on Tenma’s bed! What if the blonde had to sleep elsewhere? He could’ve woke Unsui up to tell him to sleep in one of the guest rooms, but apparently the blonde hadn’t done so. The quarterback takes a reassuring breath in; Tenma probably saw him sleeping, laughed to himself, and decided to let him sleep in for the evening.

…When did he come here again? Last night at around 20:00? That’s nighttime. Wait, what time is it right now?

He looks out the window that is adjacent to the bed, and the sun is out. Then he looks at the cute kitty clock on Tenma’s marbly white desk; it’s fucking 10 in the morning. I slept all night?!

No wonder he started zoning out as the day passed on, he didn’t realize how tired he actually was. He doesn’t get out of bed though, he just lays there and contemplates how he managed to end up sleeping over at Tenma’s house. Luck really must be on his side.

His train of thought stops when the door to the bedroom opens and Unsui turns his head around. He’s gobsmacked to see Tenma slowly strutting into the room fresh out of a shower, his hair damp and his face looking softer than it usually does. He’s only wearing a crimson bathrobe that stops at his mid-thighs, and said color contrasts beautifully with his hazel eyes.

The upperclassman blinks at him in slight surprise, but his expression simmers down into a really warm smile. “Oh, hey.”

Unsui stares for way too long. Tenma looks beautiful. “Hey, Tenma, I-” He stops himself, he was about to apologize for falling asleep. His mind struggles to come up with something to say, so he opens his mouth: “You just… came out of the shower?”

He should smack himself for being so fucking dumb. Of course Tenma just came out of the shower!

Tenma walks further into the room, stopping a few feet from Unsui while pulling back his damp hair and fuck, does he look good with his hair all wet… “Yeah, I could’ve done it earlier but I also wanted to prep some breakfast for the both of us.” He sighs and his hand drops, now fancily walking towards his dresser. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“I was awake for a bit, it’s okay.” Unsui still doesn’t find much incentive to move. The quarterback stays quiet as Tenma starts telling him about what he’s planning out for breakfast, meanwhile… His eyes are transfixed on Tenma’s physique.

Lithe. Slim and svelte, if the robe’s belt cinched around his waist isn’t saying enough. Yet despite the bare musculature on Tenma’s torso, his legs are where his body shines; they are in perfect proportion to his upper body but they hold way more muscle definition, especially in his thighs and the sides of his calves. His legs are shapely, almost feminine even, as Tenma doesn’t have any visible leg hair. Unsui can’t help but admire how good the blonde naturally looks. There’s something super attractive about Tenma being older than him and being so petite, so easy to carry and hold… Something about having a small body like his underneath his own…

Something’s… up. 

Amber eyes dart to the side of the bed, his face etched into a deep frown. That expression cascades into something worse; something is up, alright, and Unsui can feel it in his groin. He just got a boner from staring at Tenma’s legs.

Unsui closes his eyes like he’s been damned to hell ten times over. Maybe he’s getting too lucky.

Tenma turns around with his supposed outfit in hand. It’s folded neatly but he presumes that the blonde is going to wear something oversized. He gives Unsui a funny look. “You’re still laying there like that?” He giggles cutely, “Like a log?”

Not funny, universe, for having Tenma innocently make a reference to a type of wood this morning. “I’m too comfortable.” He’s not comfortable, lying on his stomach is just exacerbating Unsui’s boner. If he turns around he’d be pitching a clear tent.

Luckily for him and the rest of us, he does not read any fanfiction or enough doujinshis to know where that could possibly go.

“Alright… I’ll go change in the other room.” Tenma smiles at him. Unsui bites back an apology, but he can’t get up and leave because his dick is embarrassingly hard. “Meet ya downstairs. Don’t stick around too long or the rice will get cold!” He skips out of his room, spinning on a heel to softly shut the door which Unsui is grateful for. 

Once he feels like Tenma’s actually downstairs, Unsui gets up from the bed, scurries out of the room, and dashes into the bathroom. The mirror and walls are still foggy from Tenma’s shower and Unsui can faintly smell the apricot scented soap the upperclassman used.

“Come on…” He whispers downwards in irritation, hands under the waistband of his boxers. He’s way more aroused than he thought he was apparently, because his dick hasn’t softened one bit since he woke up. “Now is not the fucking time.”

Maybe he had a really good dream and that, in tandem with sleeping on his stomach, is why he’s brick hard right now; however the shame he’d feel for ‘fixing’ his boner in Tenma’s house would haunt him for decades probably. He can’t go downstairs like this! Unfortunately, he isn’t exactly small either, so he’ll have to wait until his nerves calm entirely. Unsui sits on the toilet cover and covers his hands in his face. This sucks…

Five minutes later and his dick is still half hard.

“Unsui? Are you alright?”

“I-I-I’m fine! I’m just… Freshening up!” Wow, he could’ve just said he was shitting, with how panicked he sounded.

“Okay?” There’s a pause on Tenma’s end. “Just… you can use the toothbrushes in the cabinet too! They have covers on them.”

Unsui chooses to distract himself from his predicament. “Is the rice cold? Have I waited too long?”

“Well nah, the rice cooker just finished and I came up here to get you.” 

He can imagine Tenma’s warm smile through that door. He glares at his dick. Fucking get soft already! “Alright, I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay!” The halfback leaves again, Unsui can faintly hear him going down the stairs. The poor quarterback shamefully goes to brush his teeth and wash his face, feeling the arousal coming down fully, finally. With a ruffle of his boxers to make sure his dick won’t spring up again, Unsui ties the robe around his body loosely and heads downstairs.

It doesn’t help that Tenma is wearing a pastel pink cropped sweater and loose shorts. The moment Unsui catches sight of the blonde in the dining room, he almost feels the need to run back upstairs just to be safe.

“I make us rice and beef ramen. There’s some soft boiled eggs in that bowl, I wasn’t sure if you liked that.” The blonde puts his breakfast down and nods to Unsui again. “You want anything to drink aside from water?”

“I’d… stick with water, really.” Unsui inhales and eyes the kitchen. The broth smells amazing; Tenma can cook as well? He’s too perfect. “Thank you again, this is really kind of you.”

“Uh? You think I’ma let you go home on an empty stomach? You’d at least eat before you leave.” He walks past Unsui but not without tapping his bicep. The quarterback’s dick twitches minutely and Unsui feels like he’s lost the privilege to eat here. “You want anything else?”

“Nah, I’m fine with just ramen for the morning.” Unsui nods and watches Tenma give him the most generous serving possible. It’s then that he realizes that he’s fucking starving. The blonde struts past him with his ramen bowl and places it on the table across from him. Unsui slides into his seat and Tenma sits down with a smile. “Dig in.”

Breakfast was great. They ate in silence, reminiscent of their time at that high end restaurant, and Unsui offered to do the dishes. Tenma busied himself with cleaning the dinner table, and the quarterback strangely feels like he’s at home. Sated, and relaxed, he’s more inclined to spend another day in the blonde’s home…

Then it hits him. He’s been here for a whole night already.

I can feel an interrogation waiting… “I wish I could stick around longer, I really do.” His amber eyes gleam with transparency. Unsui means that. “But my family had no idea of my plans and uhh…”

“What, do they think you got a secret girlfriend too?” Tenma chuckles, “In a way I mean.. Spending the night and going back home early in the morning is uhh…”

Tenma doesn’t know that he’s gay, and the mere fact that he could’ve been a hairslength away from fucking the pretty blonde last night is making his gut do somersaults. Maybe that’s what Unsui dreamt about; damn his fantasies. “I think Agon is at home right now, so… probably have nothing to worry about.”

“Y’sure about that?” Tenma grabs his phone from the kitchen countertop and shows  him texts from Agon, the most recent ones taking him by surprise.

Yesterday at 23:44 |

Agon K.: I’m actually home alone rn

Temari: Yeah? That’s good, no family’s there currently? There was prior context to that question, Unsui feels.

Agon K.: Nah, even my brother is gone. He doesn’t go anywhere and he left outta nowhere earlier. Lol I think he’s on a date or something

That is cute but so messy, considering Agon’s pseudo girlfriend is the sole reason for Unsui’s morning wood. He’s just happy that Tenma has no idea of the effect he has on him. “Since when does Agon care about what I do?”

“Since last night, apparently.” Tenma shrugs, putting his phone back down and tugging Unsui’s robe sleeve. “Lemme get your clothes, and you can be on your way. Hopefully Agon doesn’t accuse you of sleeping with somebody.”

That is a funny thought. It’d be hilarious if Agon reprimanded Unsui for having sneaky links, something he’s done for years on end. “Heh… I don’t think he’d do that.” Tenma gives him a funny smile, making Unsui laugh a bit more. While the blonde gets his clothes, Unsui lounges in the living room feeling at his thighs in offhand thought; it’s ten in the morning, so he’s certain Agon is sleeping anyways; his twin is not a morning person at all.

A tiny smile washes over his stern features when Tenma comes back around with his refreshed clothes, likely having been muddled with scented dryer sheets. Things couldn’t get better than this.

Driving back home was peaceful for the quarterback. He got no calls, no notes or urgency, nothing to disturb his peace.

Yet the very moment he parks right outside of his family home, Unsui sees Agon sitting on the front porch, eyes downcast with a gaze too deep for him to have so early in the morning. He isn’t even supposed to be awake by now, and Unsui instinctively thinks that he’s in some kind of trouble for ditching his tasks so suddenly.

He gets out of the pickup truck and saunters to the front door. Agon doesn’t greet him, doesn’t move, but the second Unsui passes his seat he barely turns his head: “Don’t go inside.”

Unsui halts, looks at his younger brother with a furrowed brow. “What? Why?”

“Dad’s in there.”

That’s the only context Agon gives. Confusion crosses his face, and anxiety bubbles in his gut at the fact that he’s been absent the whole night. “Why are you up?” Unsui glances at the front door, and then at Agon.

“Woke up early.” Agon slouches back, but that doesn’t hide the errant twitch in his left delt. “So I got out and came here.”

Got out? His brother is being way too open ended. Something’s wrong.

Before he can ask further, the front door opens. The way Agon’s whole body seizes up when they’re both greeted by their same-height, gray haired father, like a deer caught in headlights… What exactly happened before he came back?

Mr. Kongo immediately addresses Unsui. “How were your plans?”

Immediate conviction. There’s no genuine curiosity in that tone, their father is making it sound like Unsui got pulled over by the cops. “It was fun.” He boldly says, knowing that he’s supposed to treat a conversation with this man like a game of chess.

Agon narrows his eyes from where he’s sitting.

“Agon has informed me of his new girlfriend, as you know. Yet you,” Their father’s cold, amber eyes bore into Unsui’s, the embedded creases between his eyebrows deepen even more, “You’ve been very absent lately.”

Unsui is in his second year of college. Wouldn’t it behoove their father to expect him to have more free time? Just how low are his expectations? “I’ve been getting more and more acquainted with some people at my university, so I won’t… be home that often.” It takes actual effort to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

“Who dropped you off when you came back from that little hangout of yours?”

Unsui’s breath is caught in his throat; he’s talking about Hiruma’s invitation to that restaurant. Even Agon looks back at him curiously. He has no idea of the quarterback’s recent trips, but then again, he is not as nosy as their dad. “W-what?”

“Unsui, don’t tell me you forgot.” It’s now that he uses Unsui’s name, for only when he’s about to reprimand him. “I was at home that day. You came back in a really nice car.”

His heart is thundering in his chest, but his voice stays even. “Just a friend of mine.”

“How long have you known this person?”

“Quite a while.” Unsui shrugs as though he can’t think of a proper time frame. He’s hoping this man doesn’t recognize the vehicle, or likely saw who was in that vehicle. Then with confidence he didn’t know he had, Unsui tilts his head. “Why?”

Agon sighs a little too casually and gets up from his seat like he’s about to walk in the house. He doesn’t though.

The vibe between them feels dark, heavily overcast. “You aren’t the type to hang around such esteemed individuals, Unsui.”

Again with the use of his name in an unnerving connotation. Unsui raises a brow, and beside him, Agon is paying attention to both of them. “Esteemed?” 

“That friend of yours had a Shinagawa plate on their car.”

Unsui never fucking noticed that! Shinagawa plates are lent out amongst the wealthiest wards in Tokyo, and that kind of license plate is seen as a status symbol. It completely blew past his mind just how rich Tenma’s family is.

“I would’ve never expected this out of you. This kind of secrecy…” Mr. Kongo steps forward again, nearly in Unsui’s face. “Are you also hiding a secret partner from me?”

Anxiety builds up in Unsui’s core now, feeling like he’s being put on the spot. Their dad didn’t say girlfriend, he said partner. That question had to be pointing to a completely different suspicion. There is no way their father would know of Unsui being gay, because if he did-

“Unko-chan’s too busy with his football team for all that, Paps!”

Unsui’s eyes go wide, but he suppresses his shock as much as he can. The timing, the way their father snaps his gaze to Agon, the way Agon says that quip with his arms crossed… It’s as if he watched a knife coming at him in real time, only for it to be deflected by his own twin brother. Agon did not have to interject, and the fact that he did only shows that he’s actively taking attention from Unsui.

In this circumstance, Agon is defending him. Why would he do that?

“Ah.” Mr Kongo nods rather widely. “I only ask that because he’s been going out more and more recently. I’d never expected him to be so sociable.”

Now he’s talking like Unsui isn’t right in front of him. The quarterback’s gut feels so tense with unknown emotions.

“We’re men, dad. And we’re on vacation.” Agon shrugs, remaining visibly impartial. Unsui glances from him, to their father, who doesn’t look to scold him the way he’s scolded Unsui.

Bitter. Unsui is bitter. Even if he had a secret partner, why is that a problem? Unsui almost feels like calling him out, wanting to point out the contradicting attitude just so that his father can stop pressing him.

Another glance at Agon and Unsui catches him staring right back for a nanosecond. ‘Don’t’. He knew exactly what Unsui was thinking.

“Well then,” Mr. Kongo shrugs now, no longer showing any interest in Unsui’s plans at all, “If there’s anything new developing in your life, you ought to be honest about it, Unsui. I don’t like liars.” He turns around and heads back into the house, shutting the door and leaving both twins to stare at the wooden door frame for a moment.

“Why did he question me like that-” ‘When he congratulated you for having a girlfriend in front of me?’ Unsui’s jaw tenses and he glares at the ground.

Agon doesn’t answer that, because Unsui knows the answer to that question. It just hurts him to know that he’ll always be maimed in the spotlight by any means. Instead, the younger twin turns back to his seat. “I did not tell dad about Temari.”

Both twins rarely leave their things outside of their rooms for a reason. “I know you didn’t.”

His twin narrows his eyes.

“You wouldn’t have told him to begin with.”

“And what about you?” Agon nods at him and for a moment, Unsui mistakes the question for deflecting. “Been seeing someone lately?”

Your fake girlfriend. Unsui nods loosely. “Yeah, I’ve been hanging with them a lot. They’re really cool.”

“Do I know them?”

Agon knows Temari. He does not know Tenma Dojiro. “Not at all.” He gets a hum in response, and Unsui sighs at nothing. He can’t go back in the house because his father might try to get information out of him too. He’s already done that to Agon, Mr. Kongo would show way less mercy with him.

He turns heel and trudges off the porch, standing in the walkway before the house’s entrance. “I’m gonna drive around for a bit.”

“Dad will be gone before the afternoon.”

Unsui turns, looks up at Agon, and an impartial gaze meets him back. Once again, Agon is aiding him, telling him when it’s safe for him to return. He hasn’t done something like this since they were children.

Then he realizes that Agon has been aiding him from the moment he turned up to the house. He made Unsui stay out here because he knew he was going to get interrogated, and had it not been for Agon interrupting the two, Unsui would’ve had to do one of two things: confess to a relationship that he himself isn’t in just to shut that man up, or more terrifyingly, confess to the fact that he likes men. This relationship really is changing him, or… is helping Agon change in a healthy manner.

The quarterback turns to their pickup truck again, this time with a tiny smile. “Right…”

Chapter Text

The fateful day had to be sooner than later. After Tenma and Agon had a chat regarding Agon’s proposition, they decided that today would be that special day. Not only does it mark three weeks of them ‘dating’, but it’s also the day he’s meant to meet the Kongo Brothers’ father. 

From the way Agon texted him earlier asking (rather politely) if Temari could wear something that ‘didn’t show a lot of skin’, Tenma can faintly tell what type of people Agon’s parents are; hella old fashioned. After a short call with his mom, which had to be short because she was way too enthusiastic about his request, he had grabbed the off white floral halter sundress from her wardrobe, and a chestnut cardigan. He slides on his tucking gaff followed by a nude pantyhose and casts a glance at the mirror; this particular sundress would definitely look great on him. 

I should ask Unsui if my outfit is okay, and Tenma frowns at himself for how seamless the thought was. Agon should be the one verifying his appearance, but it’s more comforting to get that kind of validation from his older brother. Putting the dress on and fitting it properly over his padded bra, Tenma goes to shoot Unsui a text.

Tenma: Unsuiiii ^^ And Unsui’s reply is almost instant.

Bestie: Hey.

Bestie: So… I’m ‘meeting’ you today. Can’t wait.

Tenma stifles his laugh. Unsui can be sarcastic, sometimes. I won’t disappoint ^^ I actually want you to look at my outfit and tell me if it’s okay.

Bestie: Did Agon say something weird regarding your choice of clothing?

Maybe it’s a twin-tuition thing they got going on or maybe those two were speaking to each other today, because Agon was a little too anal about what Temari should wear. He’s surprised that Unsui made that inference.

Tenma: He was a little… worried? Which is weird, because Agon would be down to see me in a skirt any day. That sounds SO crazy out of context, but he’s not wrong. It takes Unsui a good minute to respond back.

Bestie: The reason why is because our dad is a little jaded, so if you came by with what you’d normally wear, he’d probably make a comment about it.

Bestie: I wouldn’t mind looking at your outfit because I don’t want him to end up offending you.

He’s so sweet, Tenma smiles: I’m a big boy, I can handle it. But here… Tenma fluffs out the dress and takes a mirror selfie of himself sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. Just as he sends the picture, Unsui sends another text;

Bestie: I was going to ask if I can call you.

Tenma: Okay! Though Tenma knows Unsui would probably feel apologetic about ‘calling too early’ so Tenma decides to call Unsui himself, putting the phone on speaker. Once again, he picks up almost instantly. “Hey, Unsui!”

“Good afternoon.” Unsui pauses, likely looking at Tenma’s cute selfie. “You know, even without the wig…” He chuckles, “You really do look like a pretty woman.”

“Thank you, thank you, I try.” Tenma giggles, going to get his long wig. “Whatcha been up to?”

“I’m just reading.” And can faintly hear paper, or maybe the page of a book being flicked on Unsui’s end. Then he rounds up like he’s forgotten something. “Also, yes, that dress is perfectly fine to wear. You look beautiful.”

“Aww, thank you.” The grin on Tenma’s face should not be that damn big considering he’s a man wearing said dress. He puts on his heels and struts out of his room with his purse and phone in hand, a bead of comfortable silence passing them both. “By the way, uhh…” He heads downstairs, thinks for a bit, then changes his directive entirely. “Do you guys like your father?”

“He’s just our father.”

That tone is completely void of all emotional attachment. Tenma shivers a little.

“He can be a little overbearing. I don’t want you to get an improper impression of him, so I’ll just leave it at that.”

That is a blunt echo to what Agon had said, about their father being ‘annoying’. The blonde exits his house in no time, heading four blocks straight ahead. “I feel like… you’re saying this for my safety.” Because Tenma is a man. A man disguised as a woman who is dating Agon. He figures the safety is completely physical.

It’s not. “I know that you’re a sweet person. You’re very considerate. You don’t have to be too cordial to our father when you meet him.” Unsui puts down whatever he’s reading, indicated by a soft thud. “He’s very serious, so there’s no need for any of that.”

“Oh… thanks for the heads up…” He can’t be nice to their father? How weird. “You’re at home right now right? Will you be there when I come through?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, thank god.” Tenma breathes out a sigh, tossing his long hair back. “I feel a bit more comfortable about the whole thing now.”

“You’re dating Agon, Tenma.”

 Unsui kind of struggles saying that, like it was supposed to be supplanted with another statement. So Tenma finishes it for him. “What, I can still want you around even though I’m not your girlfriend.” That has Unsui sputtering for some reason, and Tenma giggles at his reaction. “Can’t help the idea, eh?”

“You know…” Unsui huffs a sigh like he’s talking to an annoying child. “You being my ‘girlfriend’ was never my consideration.”

“Okay, so how about me being your boyfriend?”

“Wh-I-you-I c- Tenma!”  

Tenma snorts a laugh at him; he can see Unsui blushing and looking sheepish as he always does anytime they make a joke like this. It’s such a funny contrast to him and Hiruma; if he had a thousand yen for every time the quarterback would ‘threateningly’ flirt with him, he’d be able to buy a new car. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I have multiple girlfriends but I'm still available, and they all know you so-”

“Can you not-” Unsui tries not to laugh, but his voice gets extremely quiet all of a sudden. “Ah…” His voice grows distant, a clear contrast from his amusement, as he’s addressing somebody on his end.

Tenma looks ahead and decides to stop at the bench a block away. He checks his latest messages: Agon should be here within a few minutes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nah, umm… I’m in my backyard, and my dad just came by to tell me my brothers are here.”

That stops him in his tracks. “You have more siblings?!”

“Yeah, two older brothers.” Unsui inhales rather sharply. “Yeah they… they just came…”

Why is he so reticent all the sudden? The quarterback was so relaxed and calm at the start of this call but now… “Is your dad outside?”

“Nah…” There’s silence for a good ten seconds, then the sound of a porch chair creaking a bit. “I’m sorry, I was… checking to see if my dad actually left.” There’s another pause, “Our backdoor isn’t too thick, and I was hoping he wasn’t standing by the door waiting for me to greet them.”

“He’d do that to you? That’s so weird.” It’s as if Unsui needs to be supervised which is ironic; Agon is the one that'd need supervision.

“Yeah, we had a… He suspects that I’m seeing somebody, so I’ve been a bit more careful speaking, but I just said your name, so I panicked a little.”

“Oh…” Tenma narrows his eyes. So their father would snoop on their sons’ conversations? Why would Unsui seeing someone be an issue? Agon has ‘seen’ half of Tokyo and he’s not even thirty yet. “I dunno your dad, so there’d be no reason to worry. Besides, you are seeing me.”

“Don’t-” Unsui chuckles sheepishly, “Well yeah, but you know… my brother knows your name.” He then huffs a sigh, and Tenma can very faintly hear other voices. “I gotta go… Don’t wanna risk anything.”

“Alright… I’ll see you.” After Unsui hums in response, the quarterback ends the call. Tenma is a little worried; what is it like over there right now? Usually when he goes to his cousins’ houses, everybody is happy to see everybody. Both sides of his family get along very well, so it’s a little jarring to hear how tense Unsui was. It makes him wonder how Agon will act when they reach his house.

Just as he thinks of the dreadhead, Tenma spots his pickup truck coming down the intersection. He turns right and stops in front of Tenma, rolling his window down. “Babe…” And there’s a soft, refreshed smile on his face, “You look so cute.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Tenma hops into his car, fixing his dress reflexively once he sits. “How’re you feeling, Agon?”

“Really good, now that you’re here.” He huffs a short chuckle and handsomely smirks in Temna’s direction. “If this was a bit earlier, I would go to the park with you afterwards. You have anything else to do?”

Something’s telling Tenma that this won’t be as simple as a ‘hi-bye’ meet and greet. He might actually have to sit with the entire family. “I don't… Think so? Yeah, I don't know if I do yet.”

“Hmm…” Agon takes a breath as he merges into the highway entry lane. He glances at his pseudo girlfriend, “Let me know if that changes.”

“I wouldn’t mind spending more time with you afterwards, though.” Tenma smiles, and to test the waters he nudges Agon’s arm. “Maybe we can watch a movie with the family for the night?”

Agon’s chuckle is way too tense to return the lightheartedness in that statement. Everything in that tight smile of his is screaming ‘NO’, and Tenma can only giggle nervously. He would have acted oblivious, but not in this case.

Yet Agon notices, and he smooths his hand against Tenma’s thigh. “I’d rather head out with you instead, babe.”

Tenma hums and taps the back of Agon’s hand, warmly smiling at him but looking to the window with a slight frown. This is so weird…

The car ride goes fairly well. Agon is rather talkative today, luckily not as stern as his earlier mood through texting was, though as they draw closer to his house Tenma finds himself focusing on how apprehensive Agon becomes. He wouldn’t show it in his voice, but Tenma catches the way his jaw tenses, or how he’d take a notably deep breath the moment they pull up to the traditional family home.

“Everyone should be at the dinner table or something, I’m pretty sure.” He turns the truck off and gets out of the car, stopping midway when he sees Tenma go to open his door. “Babe, let me get that for you.”

“I can open it myself-” Tenma starts, but Agon’s already got his door closed, and he’s jogging over to Tenma’s side with a silly smile on his face. “Agon…!” He can’t help but giggle.

Of course, his lovely boyfriend extends his hand once he opens the truck’s door, Tenma taking it and then proceeding to boop Agon’s forehead. “I was being nice, babe.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go inside.” Tenma rolls his eyes, leaning his head against Agon’s shoulder. 

He stands up straight once Agon and he are on the front porch, unsure if they could physically display affection in this house. As expected, the scent of a medley of foods wafts through the living room area, and when they get by the couches, Agon gives Tenma a look of anticipation. In a way it looks like he’s bracing himself, and Tenma squeezes his hand just to comfort him. 

He turns to the kitchen opening and sees Unsui walking right out. He only gives them both a minute wave, and from upstairs comes two older men that Tenma’s never met. One of them looks to be in his late 20s, and he has a rather chiseled face with undercut auburn hair and striking brown-green eyes. Another man, who’s slightly older looking, is just as facially chiseled, and has his shoulder length hair tied back and hazel eyes. Man, Tenma blinks real slow at the sight of them, Agon’s whole family is good looking…

“Oh wow, Agon has a girlfriend?” The eldest male snickers at the pair. Not in a mean way but in a way that an older brother would. “That’s a first.”

The fact that he’s contextually right, given Agon’s never officially dated before makes his quip ironically funny. Tenma can’t help but giggle, and seeing Unsui suppress a smirk makes it even better.

“Temari, nice to see you again.” Unsui feels out his shirt and gestures to the other men. “These are our older brothers, Shito and Ginjiro.”

“Hello, Temari.” Ginjiro, the aforesaid eldest, raises a peace sign with a slight nod. Shito waves and smiles warmly. 

That’s their brother? Tenma seriously thought Ginjiro was their uncle. “Hi, Ginjiro, Shito. It’s nice to meet you guys, uhh…” He can’t help but ask, putting his best impression of his female voice to use. “If I may ask, how old are you two?”

Shito points at himself, “Well, I’m thirty two. Ginjiro is four years older than me.”

“Yup.” Ginjiro smiles, “We’re all quite far apart in age. Those two-” He’s referring to the twins, “Are the babies of the family.” That comment makes Unsui smile a bit while Agon looks a little miffed, like a baby brother would look. Clearly, the ‘baby’ of the family is truly Agon and Agon only.

Tenma blinks widely. “Wow…” That would mean that the twins are twelve years apart from Shito, and their eldest brother is thirty six. Geez…

Agon rubs the small of Tenma’s back before looking around. “Where’s uhh…”

“Dad?” Shito points to the corridor leading to the backyard. “He’s outside, I think?” He heads to the dining area, where the seatings are already set with plates and chopsticks. “We can all sit and get to know each other until he comes.”

Until he comes, like all conversations are meant to end the moment that old man enters the vicinity. So they go to sit at the dining table; Agon sits next to Tenma, and Unsui sits with his elder brothers. They get to know a bit about each other and Tenma discovers that Ginjiro is a chef, and Shito is a pro league soccer player. He also realizes that both the elder brothers are very different from the two twins. Age aside, they both speak much more freely about things as if they came from a completely different household altogether, and the energy surrounding them is extremely chill.

Unsui gets up to bring the food over (Tenma hates that he’s always doing the chores, ugh, poor baby…) , placing everything at the center of the table. The rice, meats and greens are steaming hot and smell amazing, and Ginjiro avidly goes out of his way to pat his own shoulder since he’s the one who cooked everything. Just as there’s light chuckles here and there between the group, the last person they’re waiting on steps into the house, through the kitchen, and stops at the very foot of the dining area.

“Sup, Dad.” Ginjiro waves, and Shito returns the greeting as well. Both of the Kongo twins say hello to him simultaneously, and Tenma also greets him with a slight bow to show respect.

Mr. Kongo is staring dead at him, but is only addressing his sons. The atmosphere feels way too stiff now. “Have you all introduced yourselves?”

“Yeah.” Ginjiro nods.

Shito points wayward. “We did.”

“Dad… This is my girlfriend, Temari.” Agon gestures to his girlfriend as their father saunters to sit at the head of the table, a seat separating him and Agon. Tenma takes a moment to look at his appearance; obviously aged, graying long hair, and narrow glasses that barely hide the surveying gaze in those wrinkled eyes. This is their father, and while he by honor is obligated to join… none of his children look to be close to him. This is so odd to Tenma, who’s always open to chat with his own parents, but seeing that Agon, Unsui, Shito and Ginjiro and Mr. Kongo are all here but not their mom…

“You are Temari, yes?”

Tenma blinks at him; did Agon not just say that? “Yes, sir.”

“How are you feeling today?” Mr. Kongo fixes his sweater collar. The question seems too imperative.

“I feel great, I’m really happy to get to meet you guys.” Tenma smiles brightly at the other men and their father with an open gesture. The elder brothers look to adore him already, and Unsui looks happy that they’re all getting along. Agon rests his arm on the back of Tenma’s chair.

“Be careful with that one, Temari.” Ginjiro points at Agon with a sneer. “He’s got a mean snore.”

“Bro-” Agon makes a motion to throw something at him. Tenma daintily puts a hand over his mouth, stifling a giggle.

Mr. Kongo nods in approval. “You all are getting along well.” He holds his hands out. “Let us all eat, shall we?”

The food was fantastic, as expected, and once the family is done eating, they clean the dinner table and sit back down just to have some conversations. Tenma cannot help but notice that the topics they talk about have become a lot more toned down, such is expected when a parent walks in, but even the way they respond to each other seems more restricted. The twins, namely Unsui, seem to be the most quiet.

“So, Temari,” Mr. Kongo cuts in once some silence passes the group, and Tenma realizes this man has been eyeing him for a while, “What are you studying?”

“I’m not in school anymore, I graduated last year.” Tenma shakes his head kindly, “I studied engineering.”

“Really?” He leans forward, “And are you from here?”

“Nope. Kyoto. I’m a countryside girl!” Tenma grins and looks to the elder brothers who catch onto his Kansai inflection quickly. His grin quickly subsides when he looks back at Mr. Kongo, who’s not chuckling at all.

“How did you meet my son?”

“Well, we met at a park.” Agon answers for her, clearly sensing something Tenma cannot see. “I saw her and we had a chat and… yeah, the rest is history.”

“This is quite surprising.” Mr. Kongo taps his glass of water. “My son is always very focused, he’s never been distracted by any woman ever.”

That is a whole ass lie, and the fact that only he and Unsui knows that it is is both funny and eye opening. This man really doesn’t know his kids at all…

And how is Tenma supposed to respond to that? He gets this urge to be really cheeky. “Well, I clearly am the exception.” Tenma squeezes Agon’s bicep, and he turns to her with an almost sheepish grin. Mr. Kongo just narrows his eyes calculatingly, and it takes everything in Tenma not to visibly shy away from his glare. 

“Agon,” Mr. Kongo smirks at his genius son, “Your girlfriend is very proud.”

“Ah, dad-” Agon tosses a hand backwards, as if warding away something out of those words; Tenma doesn’t seem to see why. “I’m attracted to confidence, y’know.”

Shito snorts, “Yet you’re the shy guy out of all of us.”

“I am?” Agon jabs a finger at himself, and then points with his thumb at Unsui. “He’s more shy than me!”

Shito and Ginjiro exchange glances, they clearly are reviving some childhood memories of the twins as children. They both shake their heads in unison: “We doubt that.”

Their father huffs in slight amusement at the interaction, which somehow manages to quiet them all down. “Temari, do you have any talents?”

That is a strangely pointed question. “Uh…” Tenma taps his chin with a finger, looking at the table in thought. He glances at Agon, who’s leaning back with arms crossed. “I can do ballet, I know how to draw very well too...” Which isn’t a lie.

“That’s all?”

That’s all? “That’s.. All I can think of right now.” Tenma gives his best feminine chuckle. Is he being put on the spot? “I’m also really into fashion, I got an eye for things like that…” And Mr. Kongo legitimately looks down at Tenma’s cardigan and the top of his dress as he says that. He shyly chuckles and feels at his long hair.

“What’s with that look, Dad?” Agon tilts his head, looking at where he’s looking.

“She said she was into fashion.” Mr. Kongo shrugs. Agon blinks at him.

“Her dress is really cute.” Agon smiles back at his father. “I really like it.”

“I haven’t seen younger people wear florals in such a manner.” Mr. Kongo, if he were their age, would’ve sounded reckless saying that. “How old are you, Temari?”

Something offput is welling up in Tenma and he feels the need to defend himself. “I’m only twenty one.”

“Only?”

“Do I not look my age?” Tenma chuckles, lighthearted, but the humor is completely lost on the older man. He almost looks taken aback.

Unsui gets up to get something, and quickly returns with a taro tea, going to sit beside Agon now.

“I actually get told that I seem older,” Tenma continues, at least to forge clemency, “But that’s probably because I’m the eldest of my cousins. Quite funny that I’m dating a baby of the family.”

“Don’t listen to those two.” Agon glares at his elder brother and cutely pouts at Tenma, and Tenma can’t help but laugh at him. It’s funny how Agon literally acts like the baby and gets the baby treatment as well. How cute.

“It’s our unfortunate existence; we’re the youngest cousins.” Unsui shrugs and snaps the cap of his taro. “Our whole family is old.”

“Yeah, all of their cousins are at least twenty seven and older.” Ginjiro is talking about the twins. “Me and Shito have cousins in their fifties right now.”

“What the… Wow, your family tree must be large.” Tenma tilts his head. He hums and looks down at his empty plate, and at all the other empty plates. Dinner is evidently over and at this point, they’re all just having some banter.

Some of them are. Mr. Kongo tips his head at Unsui while the brothers are chatting with each other. The only person who catches this is Tenma. “Tidy up the table. Dinner is over.”

He says it low enough for only Unsui to hear, at least that might’ve been his intention, but Tenma saw how he never looked at Unsui until now. Unsui gets up without a word and walks behind his brother, but Tenma stops him by putting a hand on his wrist. “So are you in school too?”

Unsui looks at him kindly, but there’s tension in those eyes, as though simply touching his wrist to catch his attention is a big issue. “Yeah.” He also shakes the hand that Tenma holds him with in an awkward way before gathering all the plates, and Tenma once again has no idea why this might be such a discrepancy. 

He can’t help himself. “May I help him?”

It’s just a simple act of kindness. Tenma can’t just sit here and watch Unsui do the work, yet Mr. Kongo blankly looks at him with unsmiling eyes. “You are our guest of honor. You do not have to accompany Agon’s brother.”

Not Unsui. Not my son; he’s ‘Agon’s brother’. And what the fuck does he mean by ‘accompany’? Tenma doesn’t have ill intentions, but the way their father said that sounds like instigating. “My family always cleans the dinner table together, so I just feel like helping out.”

While Unsui returns to grab more plateware, Mr. Kongo dismisses what Tenma says entirely. “You do not need to help him.” His tone is ice cold. It takes everything in Tenma not to verbally combat him because Mr. Kongo speaks in a way that’s almost meant to piss someone off. If any of Tenma’s girlfriends had a father like this… Guaranteed, Tenma would be having verbal fights with him on sight.

By nature, Tenma does not give any attention to people who are mean to him (like Agon), or people who are too full of themselves (like Yamato), so he turns to the elder brothers. “Are you guys only visiting for a day or sleeping over?”

The elder brothers seem to not react weirdly to the question, but the twins exchange sharp glances from across the dining area because what Tenma did was blatantly disregard their father.

“Nah, I’m leaving tonight. I live in Hachioji.” Ginjiro points wayward with a chiseled smile. “My kids have school tomorrow.” Of course Ginjiro is married, Tenma thinks, he’s so damn handsome.

“I’m sticking around for a night.” Shito leans back so that Unsui can grab the last pot. “I hope my brothers didn’t touch my gaming system.”

“I moved it to my room!” Agon raises his hand.

Shito is quick to throw his arms up, his hands slapping at his thighs. “Are you serious-!”

“And I beat your time trial score in Tokyo Xtreme! You can’t gap me anymore!”

“Put the game on right now. I’m tearing you down, MopHead!”

Tenma can’t help but snort at the fact that Shito and Hiruma both call Agon MopHead with absolutely no repercussions. Maybe Shito, who doesn’t seem as silly as Ginjiro, was rather close with the twins as they grew up. 

“Wanna join us, babe?” Agon nudges his pseudo girlfriend gently.

“I’ll join you guys. I just have to use the bathroom.” He kindly gets up, but realizes that none of the brothers nor their quiet father have gotten up, and he faintly wonders if he’s broken a rule. “Where’s it…?”

“Down the corridor, to your right.” Ginjiro gestures to the hall, and Tenma thanks him as the brothers now get up from their seats. Agon and Shito immediately skip their way upstairs like they’re both still little kids, Unsui stuck himself in the kitchen, and Ginjiro heads to the back porch to answer a phone call from his wife. Tenma stops to get some gloss from his purse, retouching his lips at the mirror like he did when he first met Unsui in his disguise. As much as he wants to accompany the older twin, he can’t risk raising suspicions with their father in the house.

And speaking of, that man hasn’t left his seat.

Tenma can see the back of his head from the accent mirror, so he closes his lip gloss and fast walks to where the bathroom is. He did need to use it, but he purposely spent a good five extra minutes in there just wanting to breathe. There was so much unnecessary tension and he just needed to get away from that fucking man. Pulling out his phone, Tenma decides to text Unsui, maybe he has his phone with him:

Tenma: Is everything alright? Like… how was I? There is no immediate response, so he washes his hands and puts his phone back in his purse.

Exiting the bathroom with his gaze at the purse’s zipper, Tenma misses the sight of a shadow in front of him and stops short when he almost bumps into somebody, and he immediately assumes it’s Unsui. “My bad-”

Then he looks, and his hazel eyes go wide when he comes face to face with their father. 

Tenma feels paralyzed. Mr. Kongo looks down at him with such intense judgment, his eyes trailing from Tenma’s head to his toes, the air around them somehow cold and unforgiving. Yet all the old man does is ask a simple question: “This is the best my great son can do?”

Every train of thought stops. For the first time in a long time, Tenma feels ugly. Especially because he’s a man in leggings and a skirt, especially because he’s not an actual woman. Especially because he’s toying with Agon’s attention. His father may not know that, nor care, but god does Tenma feel like crawling into the deepest, darkest cave and never coming out.

Still, he had the damned balls, and also was a little shocked to say: “What?”

“What?” Mr. Kongo repeats, as if to mock him, because it did not sound clarifying nor formal. “I’m Agon’s father, standing right in front of you, and you couldn’t hear me? You say ‘what’ when I’m facing you?”

And he spits those last two words out, as if he couldn’t bear to look at Tenma’s dolled up, ugly face. Tenma purses his lips to keep from looking hurt, taking a breath and finally stepping away from the elder man. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t- I didn’t-”

“And you’re Agon’s girlfriend?”

Tenma swallows, standing straighter and trying to maintain monotony even though he feels like he’s cracking on the inside. “Yes, sir.”

Mr. Kongo blinks at him, and with the most disgraced raise of his brow, he shakes his head. “What is so special about you?” That question is rhetorical; he just passes him with the same energy as that of a person walking away from a freak, and Tenma is left standing there, wondering if he should move… And balling his fists up to keep from actually crying.

It doesn’t work, because the moment he hears that man heading up the stairs a tear falls from his eyes. Something about knowing that he can’t ‘act out’ and defend himself because it could bring unwanted attention, and being blatantly insulted like that just made Tenma extremely emotional. Not to mention, his father’s disgust would be multiplied tenfold if he knew that ‘Temari’ isn’t real, that he isn’t meant to date Agon seriously, and that Temari is ‘leaving’ for good within a mere seven days,

He goes back into the bathroom, shuts and locks the door, and rethinks this entire month’s scheme while he cries in silence.

He heard it all.

The moment that dining chair softly scraped against the tempered wood floors, Unsui knew that there was something brewing in his father’s mind. He didn’t realize what it was until after he hesitantly picked up his phone (it was in his pocket and he was too afraid to take it out in case his father saw him texting), and read Tenma’s message. Having completely finished the dishes by then, he walked towards the hallway and stopped when he saw his father was there already… And was talking to ‘Temari’.

Unsui was white-knuckled the whole time. He does not like seeing people being wrongly chastised just like how he always is, and there was something raw and boiling growing inside of him when his father asked that last question. Never in his childhood or adulthood has he ever felt so furious. Hell, he had to literally tell himself not to punch the wall because of it.

He turns away from the hallway opening and heads back into the kitchen like he’s organizing things in the pantry. His father does not spare him a glance as he heads upstairs, and it’s because Unsui is where he is supposed to be. In the kitchen, away from everyone else, doing chores and not being part of any discourse. Jaw tense with a barrage of curse words rambling through his mind, he almost feels like he’s in the twilight zone with how heated he is. Deep down, he cares so much for the one person he’s gotten close to, and all his crush feelings aside, he cannot bear to see Tenma in a bad mood.

He’d move mountains to go and comfort his sweetheart friend, but because he’s at home, he can’t do anything without raising suspicions. His angry impulses lead him to the bathroom door, but the moment he hears faint sniffling, he has to go back to the kitchen. He resorts to texting:

Unsui K.: Do you want me to tell Agon you need to be somewhere?

Tenma: Yeah.

Tenma: I don’t want to be here anymore. I wasn’t even supposed to stay this long, I just wanted to say hi and bye but I regret every fucking second of this and I wanna leave now.

Unsui closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Somehow time favors his strife, because Agon comes downstairs just as Unsui is thinking of calling him over. The younger twin goes over to where the bathroom is to ask if Temari is okay, and somehow with absolutely no vitriol, Tenma answers him like normal:

“Uhh I… I kinda can’t hang Agon, I’m sorry. I told you that I have some errands to run.”

Unsui completely forgot that Tenma has a background in acting, and is a little spooked to hear how unbothered and calm he is. “Ah, okay.” Agon sounds receptive. “I’ll take you home. You alright?”

“Of course! Just give a few more minutes, I’m touching up.”

No, Tenma is not touching up. Tenma was crying, and he had no choice but to lie to Agon because unlike Unsui, Agon would actually blow up on their father should he learn about the way this man confronted Temari. Agon gives her some space, going into the kitchen to get a drink, and Unsui’s back is to him, but he cannot help but notice how his younger twin closes the fridge door so quietly. He keeps his attention on aimlessly wiping the countertop as Agon hops back upstairs, likely to tell Shinto he’ll be stepping out. It takes everything in Unsui’s body not to offer to drive Tenma home himself.

His twin brother comes back, and frowns when he sees Unsui still wiping. “The countertop’s clean.”

It was said in an obvious manner. Unsui blinks out of his own little world. “I’m just thinking about something.”

“About your girl?”

“I’m not dating anyone, Agon.” Unsui gives him a sideways look and of course, Agon puts him in a light chokehold and starts rubbing his damn head with his knuckles.

“You don’t gotta hide it, Unko-chan!”

“Hey, quit it!” Unsui raises his voice, and unfortunately he’s still a bit too angry. Instead of slipping away from Agon’s clearly playful grasp, he nearly shoves his younger twin off while smacking that hand from him. Agon moves away before the smack even lands, sensing the ire in his twin’s actions, and looking shocked that Unsui reacted that way.

He got too angry. There’s silence between the both of them. Agon’s eyes are questioning, and for a split second Unsui wants to be honest, he wants to tell him of what he heard.

Before he can speak however, Tenma saunters by the entrance of the kitchen looking like he’d never cried in his life. His light makeup appears untouched, and his eyes lack the telltale moisture of tears. How in the…? “I’m ready. I gotta go to the Tanaga Mall to buy something.”

The Tanaga Mall is fifteen minutes away by express. Agon slings his arm around Temari’s shoulders. “Alright, I’ll take you straight there.” And he looks out towards the living room ahead. Unsui knows why; their father isn’t a fan of PDA.

Right before he and Temari exit the kitchen, Agon tosses a look at him that’s way too paramount, because again… Unsui showed his emotions. He may not know what angered him, but he’s hoping Agon will not ask him about it later. His twin exits the house, and Unsui looks down at his phone.

He’ll definitely call Tenma later tonight. He just needs to know if he’s really okay.

Chapter Text

Yesterday was quite fun. Shinto slept in his old bedroom and left earlier this morning, and yes, Agon did beat him in Tokyo Xtreme last night.

Reflecting on things is not something Agon does, and he wonders if this is a dreaded side effect of being in a serious relationship. The girls he had fucked only knew who he was for a day, so Agon never cared to reflect on the impression he’s left on them. Something was different about Temari, different enough for him to feel super uncomfortable whenever he felt like he’d done the wrong thing.

That’s putting it nicely; Nine times out of ten, Agon would put that uncomfy feeling into beating some random trash’s ass with it, which he did the day after his and Temari’s argument in the middle of the night. That whole thing made Agon realize, somehow, that he can’t be the way he’s always been around her. She’s not an aimless woman; she’s receptive, smart and sweet, and instead of doing what most women do- making their man apologize with his wallet- she chose to talk to him. Listen to and understand him.

That’s what made her different. Nobody can understand him. 

It made him itch at the parts of himself that Agon’s never spared a thought for, and even though he’s not looking to make any friends, he feels strangely done with finding a random bitch to fuck every night. He saw Temari and thought she could reawaken that drive in him, but she instilled something more than that. Now, he’s sitting on the living room couch rethinking ever bringing her to meet his father for other reasons, reasons that involve his twin’s attitude yesterday evening.

Slow, purposeful footsteps are trailing from the corridor leading to the back porch, he knows that it’s Unsui heading towards the kitchen. He hears the fridge door open and close, mentally counting the time it takes for his twin to exit and he knows that Unsui knows. He just knows. “Dad’s gonna leave in two days.”

The footsteps stop behind him, and there’s silence for a few seconds. He glances at the mirror on the wall ahead, seeing Unsui’s reflection; his brother is reading something on his phone. “Yeah? I knew that.”

‘Of course’. Agon turns his head in Unsui’s direction and calmly asks. “What was up with you last night?” There’s silence again. Agon made a point to ask that calmly because he has assumptions in his head that he doesn’t want to jump to. 

Unsui shrugs, “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Agon shifts to look back at him now. “You damn near threw me out the kitchen when I was playing around with you.”

“I did not, Agon. I just wasn’t expecting you to do all that.” Unsui pockets his phone then. 

Whatever he felt last night is clearly personal. Agon looks him up and down. This is the first time, in a long time, that Unsui is lying to him. “Do you have a problem with me being in a relationship?”

Their father made it apparent that he did not like his sons lying to him. Agon has been lying this whole time, but that doesn’t matter. Unsui, however, has been nothing but honest until now. “I do not.”

“So why were you upset last night?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“Then what made you upset?”

“It’s none of your business.” His twin’s voice is grounded, brewing and angry. 

Agon cocks his neck back. “Ohhhh…” He leans back, “You got something you’re protecting now, Unko? What’s got you looking like that?”

Unsui doesn’t answer him at first. His tongue is held so far back, Agon can see how tense his jaw is set. Then he tilts his head with a surprisingly calm look, “Are you asking because you wanna tease me, or are you just being nosy?”

Nope. Unsui is actually mad. Agon narrows his eyes, he would've started insulting Unsui, but it's clear that the quarterback isn't taking this lightly. He looks at the ground just as Unsui faintly sighs. “You knew I wasn’t trying to get at you.”

“I knew…” Unsui admits, and then he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I just thought about something at the moment, that’s all.”

Agon nods silently. He tests the waters. “If you are with somebody, would you bring them here?”

“No.” Unsui answers immediately, clearly before he can stop himself. He walks over to the living room and sits on the adjacent couch. “You know why. Dad went through your phone to figure out if you were dating somebody. He’d-” 

‘He’d be way more obnoxious about it if it were me’. Agon doesn’t need him to finish that sentence aloud. 

“I didn’t ask for him to look through my phone. I never wanted him to know.” And that pisses Agon off to no end; he knows their father is nosy, but his relationship with Temari is something he actively wanted to keep a secret. Not because she’s disposable, but because their father believes in stupid shit too much.

“I know.” Unsui puts his drink down, propping his elbows on his knees and fidgeting a bit. There’s silence between them again, and Agon starts to connect the dots on his brother’s behavior. Whatever pissed him off had nothing to do with chores: Unsui does them all the time. It had nothing to do with jealousy: If Agon was an idiot, he’d assume Unsui was mad that he’s got a girlfriend.

So he looks Unsui dead in his eyes. “Did dad say anything to you about her?”

Unsui’s jaw tenses again. “No.”

“Did he say anything to her while I was upstairs?”

It takes Unsui a single second too long to respond, and that’s all Agon needed. “I don’t know.”

Agon inhales sharply; he’s lying again. “What did he say to her?”

Unsui swallows and looks down. “I…” He glances up at the ceiling, troubled, folding his hands on his laps. “Please don’t get ups-”

“Well when you put it like that, I have no fucking choice but to get upset!” Agon flings his arm in Unsui’s direction. “Quit dancing around the fucking question, just tell me!” 

Something unstable is building up in his being, and Agon feels uncomfortable. He's never gotten defensive over another person, but hearing anybody even criticize Temari is making him want to send a few people to a hospital. 

The anger bubbles back up in his older twin’s eyes. “Dad had said, basically… That there was nothing special about her.” And his quick look of concern is warned, because Agon’s expression falls flat. “It was coming way before that. When Temari joked around with him, you saw how he looked. Dad acts like that regarding people around you.”

Deep down, Agon knew that their father held him to the highest decree, but he never thought about what that exactly meant. Now that Unsui is telling him that their dad confronted Temari when he wasn’t around, it puts so much into perspective. If Agon were a child that wanted friends, what would his father have done? Gone to each and every one of his friends to psychoanalyze and scare them away? To suss them out of all flaws and imperfection, because nobody is as perfect as Agon is? What would that have done to Agon if he sought that stuff out at a young age? He never thought of his father’s appraisal in that way, and now that man is putting a rift between him and Temari? Just to keep her from getting close to his perfect son?

In a way, Agon should have expected that. It makes way too much sense. “Oh.” And that’s all he says, but he wants to say more. He really wants to say more.

Unsui knows that, too. “I couldn't go up to dad about it, it's not my place to do so. If you're angry about it-”

“Of course I'm fucking angry about it!” Now Agon’s lashing out, because he can't think of anything to say. Whatever he has to say should be said to their father, but even he knows better than to argue with that man. It won't make things harder for him… But it will make things worse for Temari. Agon roughly leans back and wrests his arms crossed, huffing a heated breath. 

The quarterback looks at him thoughtfully. If there is somebody who can understand why he is acting this way, it's his older brother. “If dad criticizes anybody else, that is none of your concern either.” 

Agon gives him a death glare.

Unsui doesn't look scared at all: “Now that dad has met the only woman that you've decided to really date, that goes out the window. You're still sitting here with your phone in your pocket. You can call dad right now and curse him out.”

Unsui is right. Agon doesn't move a muscle. He doesn't leave the living room either.

“You don't want Temari to have to deal with our dad. That's why you're holding back how you really feel.” Those hazel eyes soften, summarizing the resolve in Agon's head. Making it make sense. “You really like this woman.”

“I-” The words tangle in Agon's throat. He harshly swallows the urge to punch something. “It'd be annoying to deal with. That's why.”

“It's also not fair to her, and you recognize that. What made you like her so much?” Unsui tilts his head, and Agon's uneasy hands ball into fists. “I just want to know. I've never seen you act this way towards anyone, not even Hiruma.”

Hiruma Yoichi. All the thoughts and regards of their long gone friendship have been drowned out with reckless aggression, and in a lesser case, countless rebounds of sex. Agon would not mind fucking a man if he were pretty enough, but that's where his bitterness towards Hiruma tends to teeter; between wanting to throw him into a wall, and wanting to fuck him into one. He never told his dad about Hiruma, as Hiruma was his only friend, because he knew that it would cause problems for his father to know about him.

This whole ‘changing for his own benefit’ thing is… Exhausting.

For unspoken reasons, Agon ignores that question entirely. “She’s got six days left in Kanto.” Agon says, in a way to absolve himself of this frustration. Temari will not have to cross paths with his father if she's not in the Kanto region. But for her to leave him…

“Talk to her.” Unsui warmly smiles, “Even if she doesn't tell you about what dad said, try speaking to her more. Maybe then you'll figure out your feelings.”

Agon rolls his eyes. “I wasn't asking for advice, idiot.”

“I know. I'm still giving it to you.” Unsui folds his hands. Before he can say anything else, his phone starts to ring. 

Agon kisses his own teeth teasingly. “Your babe keeps calling you. You need to put your phone on vibrate.”

“It's not-” Unsui scoffs and quickly leaves the living area, surprisingly going for the front door. Agon keeps an open ear just in case he answers the call but instead, Unsui moves fast enough to leave the house without Agon hearing a lick of their conversation. At least when he hides, it looks so stinkingly obvious. 

Getting up and going to his own room, Agon then lays in bed and stares at his ceiling in afterthought. A few minutes later, he decides to call Temari, but the call goes inactive in an instant. He looks down at a new message:

Temari: I'm with my baby sister, she's sleeping on me lol

Agon K.: Aww, how cute… I guess I'll talk to you later, babe?

Temari: OK, we can call each other tonight <3

A smile crosses his face and he has to wrestle his brain to keep it there. Speaking to Temari rekindles that ‘icky feeling’- and that’s what he’ll call it- when he used to talk to Hiruma when they were younger. He can’t help the reaction he has to that icky feeling; it makes him nervous, and that nervousness has been frustrating him whenever they are not near each other.

Stop being fucking dependent. He has to mentally slap himself to stave off his feelings. She’s not that Trash Blondie. Don’t start hanging onto her like last time…

The ‘last time’ that he was so dependent, he found himself staring at Hiruma jollyfully playing with that fatass Kurita. Agon’s pace of life never held space for somebody to talk to, someone to debrief with, and the only person that he had found that from ended up doing exactly what his peers, his one night stands and his father do: separate him from the rest. Sure, Agon’s genius should be treated in a different class from others but what if… What if it wasn’t? What if he was the reason behind Hiruma being happy? Would such an organic, happy moment happen if he was in the picture?

No, because he’s too perfect for happy moments. Perfection doesn’t need happiness.

Agon sharply inhales and balls his fist into his pillowcase. He’s so sick of bringing awareness to the world around him, and it makes him want to go beat up a random hothead on the metropolitan streets. Change is so fucking hard…

“Who was that just now?”

“Agon.” Tenma purses his lips, not out of frustration, but because Agon called while he was on the phone with Unsui. The blonde pulls his hair back and feels at his plush hoodie, looking at the empty pastel green plate in front of him.

Yesterday threw him in for a loop. He may or not have made a hilarious mistake calling his girlfriends to vent, because they immediately started doubling down on jumping that old man for disrespecting him. Instead of spending the afternoon at home, Tenma drove to his comfort cafe spot to wind down and couldn't resist talking to Unsui, who was there for him last night. “Don’t worry, I’m-” Tenma pauses to type up an excuse to his pseudo-boyfriend. “I’ll call him later, I’m just letting him know.”

“Ah.” Unsui exhales, “Alright…”

Tenma frowns at the table. “Are you at home right now?”

“Yeah… Well, I’m about to sit in the pickup truck right now because uh… Wanna say some things…” That truck’s car door can be heard opening and closing. “So… I think you know that Agon is serious about you now.”

“I-” Tenma doesn’t want to admit it. That this scheme has gone too far. “Can I just say, Unsui; it was not my prerogative to trick him like this. I didn’t think he’d actually start liking me like… to this extent, you know? And I’m debating on ending it because I feel terrible, but seeing how he is with me… I don’t wanna hurt him. I really don’t.”

“...You don’t have to explain yourself, you know.”

“I know, but it feels so… Fast and with how well I’m acting this out, I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I still don’t really know why I was chosen to do this!”

“I think…” Unsui takes this deep breath that Tenma almost mistakes for exasperation, until he says, “If you want your answers… There is only one person who can give them to you.”

Tenma blinks, “Who?”

“The only person who isn’t afraid of him.”

Hiruma? No, he wouldn’t divulge that, Tenma is certain of it. His thoughts circle around until he stops at one name, and one name only. “Akaba?”

“Yup. I actually wanted to know about Hiruma’s scheme myself, but I’ve been left in the dark. Akaba seems to know why, even though he’s not a part of the plan but… Hiruma interrupted us. Your best bet is to ask him.”

Tenma looks at his matcha drink, and then out the window. “I shouldn’t be surprised, I mean… he knew it was me when I went to our gym with my disguise. No doubt Agon’s scared of him.” Who wouldn’t be? Akaba could take a look at you and tell you that you’re going through a divorce without ever knowing that you’re married in the first place. He’s so uncanny with his awareness that the team is convinced he’s legitimately psychic.

Unsui chuckles, and some comfortable silence falls upon them. A minute or so later, he clears his throat. “But what I really mean to say is, well…” He pauses for a few seconds, “Something tells me that you won't let him down as hard as you think you will.”

“You're being too optimistic.” Tenma takes a deep breath. “Even if I break it to him, he'll beat me into a pulp, and to be honest… I'll gladly take it.”

“Why say that?” Unsui’s confusion only makes Tenma just as confused, and with more clarity, the quarterback echoes his inner thoughts. “Agon hasn't attacked you directly ever since you and he got into it, right?”

“Well…” Tenma furrows his brows realizing that they indeed haven't spoken to each other outside of Tenma’s disguise. He saw Agon in the clubhouse yesterday, and Tenma had walked past them while he was chatting with Ikkyu. For some reason, the dreadhead went silent when he did, an indication that Tenma’s presence was not ignored. 

That sticks out to him more, now that he thinks about it. 

“We haven't interacted at all.” Tenma scratches the back of his head. “But imagine how pissed he'll be knowing his girlfriend that he loves so much is actually the man that he hates!”

“Hmm… To be honest with you,” Unsui speaks, clear and cut, “The fact that he has not noticed that you and Temari act the same is beyond baffling to me.”

“He does not know me personally.”

“He kind of doesn't need to. He's been ‘around’ you longer, and your personality is very much out there. I feel like…” Unsui hums, “I don't think he'd be as upset as you think.”

There's an odd tinge of nervousness in his voice that is so subtle, Tenma would’ve missed it if his attention wasn't completely on what Unsui’s saying. He does not comment on it, though, thinking that Unsui is just uncertain. “Only time will tell at this point…”

It does bring some relief to know that Tenma can choose how to work through this fake relationship. He can choose to end it if it gets too intense, and so far, it luckily hasn't. If Agon starts showing errant signs of attachment, Tenma would probably be dead on his last day acting as Temari. He is still more than willing to accept whatever backlash Agon would have for him, because deep down, Tenma feels like he deserves it. 

“I'll leave you to it. Are you with anybody else?”

“Nope. Chose to go out alone today. I know, it's rare.” If it were anywhere else, Tenma would go with his girls because if he heads out alone, the chances of women stopping him goes up by at least a thousandfold. That's the only functional reason why he carries his shades. “I'll catch some me time. I guess I'll text you later?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Alright…” Tenma grins and blows a kiss to the phone. “Bye, snookums!”

“Tenma, you've been at it with that word since this morning. Don't call me that.”

In truth Unsui, being the sweet gentleman he is, had texted Tenma this morning to see if he was alright. Tenma did cry in the bathroom last night, but he felt much better when he got home and slept, and in even greater spirits when he called Unsui the most ridiculous pet names earlier. 

So he concedes. “I'm sorry, pumpkin. I'll stop.”

Unsui groans loudly and Tenma laughs at him. “Goodbye, Tenma.” And with that he ends the call. Tenma takes a deep breath in retrospect; he shouldn't think too much about it. He's already exiled the way Mr. Kongo made him feel, and he has more than enough time to figure out how to break this truth out to Agon. Regardless of what Hiruma wants, Tenma pushes back more of his hair as he reaches back for his jacket without looking. I want to give him a chance, so I should be honest with him. 

A frown creases his brows when he doesn't feel his jacket in hand, rather it was hanging quite loosely off the seat and had fallen on the floor while he was thinking. He turns to his left just as a passerby picks up his jacket for him. “Ah, th-”

As Tenma looks up to beam his charismatic smile, the face that stares back at him makes that smile fade away staggeringly. The man before him, taller and buffer than he is, stares back in surprised recognition. He's wearing a baseball cap and a light hoodie, and his facial features are rough, his masculine frame and stubble facial hair projecting an intimidating aura that doesn't match the soft squint of his eyes. 

Tenma lets out a heavy breath. He's staring at his old friend. His best friend, none other than Yamabushi Gondayu himself. The look on his face doesn't cessate. 

Yamabushi looks down at Tenma’s hand, words evidently caught on his tongue when he speaks. “...You dropped your jacket.”

“Right… Um-” Tenma swallows, his throat hitches unexpectedly. He takes the jacket and doesn't put it on, feeling hot as hell all of the sudden. 

Yamabushi stands straight like he's made of magma and steel, but his eyes and face are timid. “I didn't know you'd be here.” He takes his hat off, revealing the spiky black hair Tenma is all too familiar with. 

Tenma’s train of thought is completely gone. The cafe feels so much quieter than it really is, it's as if Yamabushi’s presence alone deafens the atmosphere. “Yeah…” Hazel eyes leer wayward. “I go to Saikyou. I haven't-”

I haven't seen you since highschool. I haven't spoken with you since freshman year. I haven't talked with you since middle school summer vacation. If Tenma says any of those sentences, he's certain he'll re-erect the folly of his own choices, of having ditched his best friend for higher accolades. Yet Yamabushi looks at Tenma and smiles at him. However kind it is, his smile looks restricted, like there's more words behind it. Tenma’s heart feels weird. He cannot return that smile.

“You're here alone?” Yamabushi looks around, as if expecting somebody to walk over to them. Such is a given because Tenma rarely used to walk alone when they were younger.

“Yup. I'm… Alone.” Why am I anxious? There's something bubbling in his gut seeing Yamabushi’s face again. He has not changed much, still looking very mature with his small kind eyes. The only difference is that his big muscles are slightly more defined, and it shows through his hoodie. Tenma eyes Yamabushi’s chest, and then his face. “You came here alone too?”

“I was gonna buy some tea here.” Yamabushi scratches the back of his head in a way that makes him look less imposing. Tenma’s chest warms a bit. “Umm… How's life?”

“Life's been good.” Tenma stares at his face for too long. “You haven't changed much.”

“Neither have you.” Yamabushi looks away for a moment, shuffling his hands into his pockets, and Tenma stirs up thinking he's about to leave. 

“You wanna sit with me?”  Tenma almost desperately taps at the seat across from him. He cannot help it, he can't help the resurrected, clingy behavior he exudes with his only male friend. 

But Yamabushi’s response crushes his heart in a way that Tenma doesn't anticipate: “Why?” He frowns at Tenma and tilts his head. “Why would you want me to sit with you? We haven't spoken in years.”

“I wanna…” Tenma inhales, trying to pick up the pieces to his own heart again. Yamabushi has resigned their friendship, so much so that he assumes Tenma has cut him off. “I wanna speak with you.”

Yamabushi gives him a long, heavy look, weighted with a hardened shell like that of an old scab. He takes a deep breath in, and shifts to sit across from Tenma. Those hands never leave his pockets as he does so. 

And just like that, from looking at his matured, masculine face and those tiny, soft and kind eyes, Tenma’s mind goes blank. “So…” The blonde starts, reflexively pushing his hair back.

“So…” Yamabushi parrots, patiently awaiting what he has to say. 

It's been such a long time. Tenma doesn't know where to start, but he can only begin with what he wishes to finish it with: “I'm sorry for what I did.”

The unassuming look on Yamabushi's face doesn't change, but the way his breath deepens hearing that… It looks like that took a weight off his shoulders. Then he straightens his posture. “What you did?” The old captain shakes his head slightly. “You just wanted to get away from the bullying. It's okay.”

“No, no it's not.” And Tenma knows it's not. Yamabushi is just shouldering the pain he silently hid. “We made a vow to never separate. I left without telling you.”

“You were scouted by Teikoku so early, though.” Yamabushi still has that frown on his face. “That is a one time opportunity. I didn’t understand it then, but I knew it was best for you to go to another school.” 

Tenma is marginally sidelining how hurtful the bullying he got from the Naga superiors was because that doesn’t mean a thing to him anymore. He didn’t think that Yamabushi would default his choices to ‘those kids were harassing you’ because that’s only part of why Tenma did what he did. “Did it hurt you when I left?”

The old captain inhales, looks away, tucks his lips to one side before those soft eyes grow even softer. “We were just kids. But…” He looks up at Tenma’s expression. “I was, but like I said, moving was a better option for you.”

Bullying wasn’t the main reason. Tenma admires his consideration, but ditching Yamabushi had more to do with the fact that Yamabushi was befriending the other guys. That was it, the fact that his friend was friends with other dudes, dudes that he can relate with, made Tenma feel extremely inferior.

“But why ask if it hurt me?” Yamabushi leans forward, removing his hands from his pockets and folding them on the table. The mere width of those fingers dwarfs Tenma’s. “All you did was move away. It’s been years since then, were you really holding so much guilt for that all this time?”

The taller man’s sympathy is leaking through his tone, and it has Tenma’s gut and chest on a chokehold. Even with all the thoughts he has regarding the end of their friendship, he can’t bring himself to confess because he doesn’t even know what confessing would do for him. Tenma will admit, his attachment to Yamabushi was very abnormal, and he never gave it much thought aside from ‘He’s my best guy friend’. Tenma’s older now, he’s explored more of himself as time passed, and as a grown man, it’s clear as to why Tenma can’t confess his true reason behind leaving.

But it’s best to tell him, now that he’s here waiting…

Tenma looks down at the table, and then at Yamabushi. “I saw how chummy you got with the other guys.”

Yamabushi makes a face. “Huh?”

“I never had any luck befriending other guys, you know that.” Tenma fidgets a little. “So when I saw how happy you were with our peers at the time, it made me… Upset. I may have regretted joining Shinryuji, but I-” He huffs a breath, feeling those bottled up emotions bubble up again, “I couldn’t stand seeing you make friends with our peers. I thought you’d… not want to be friends with me.”

Yamabushi stays silent, likely piecing everything together.

“So I left. I took that scout’s offer, and left, because I thought you found better friends...” And Tenma can remember how he used to think he had the upper hand. His speed as a running back was one in a million back then, he remembered holding that over his head to show to those guys, those manly guys at that all-boys school, that he wasn’t less than them. Above all else, he thought that he made himself equal to Yamabushi by joining Shiryuji’s nine-year rival team.

That frown turns into raised brows. Yamabushi looks surprised, and not surprised at the same time. His face goes downcast like he just got told the worst thing imaginable. Deep down, he knew. “You really did it to spite me…”

Spite is the correct word here, too. Tenma knits his lips together, and they stay in that weighted silence for a long moment.

“Why?” The old captain asks.

“Because-” Tenma shuts his mouth again. He can’t say it, he doesn’t know how to say it.

“Did you really think I’d throw our friendship away like that?” Yamabushi tilts his head. He’s hurt. “We have been friends since childhood. Why would you feel that way?”

His past reasoning is so pathetic in retrospect, but Tenma answers honestly: “I was nothing like them.”

“I didn’t care.”

Tenma’s eyes go wide, awestruck at Yamabushi’s clarity.

“I never cared how ‘different’ you were. The only thing I cared about was that our upperclassmen kept bullying you.” Yamabushi purses his lips, now looking more upset, but he takes a grounding breath to continue on. “You felt different from the other guys, is that why you started being possessive over me?”

Tenma flinches at the bluntness of his words. He was very possessive over him. “Well yes, but-” He stops, thinking Yamabushi is going to be mad, but the old captain is all ears, “I think I didn’t know what it was like to be friends with a guy, so I… I thought too much of our friendship.”

The lines were blurred. They were so blurred that Tenma now knows deep down, he would’ve seen himself dating his male best friend. There’s absolutely no other attraction that tethers him to such a possibility other than the fact that they were close, and that Yamabushi was so kind and receptive. He was grounding, he gave a meaningful pause to Tenma’s social, busy life. He was a person that Tenma felt he could wind down to, because even though Tenma’s loves all his girlfriends, he is well aware of how much they rely on him for emotional support. Ever since he ditched Yamabushi, Tenma hadn’t taken the time to sort himself out until he freaking turned twenty, and it was easy to hide this lack of self reflection when you have money, and multiple girls that love you.

The same can be said for his female friends too. Anybody he ‘befriends’, he ends up dating, and he’s only ever dated women. This was the reason why he never had male friends. He could predict he’d end up asking them out.

Yamabushi looks confused, again he’s trying to understand what Tenma really means by that, so before he can come to a conclusion, Tenma dials back for him. “I know you only like women.”

“Is that what-!” Yamabushi cocks his neck back, palms on the table now. “That’s what you meant? You had… you liked me in that way?”

“I could’ve.” Tenma shrugs, and then he takes a deep breath. God, does he feel lightheaded saying that out loud. “But I didn’t know back then. I understand why I did what I did now, and if I acted on impulses, it definitely would’ve ruined our friendship. I guess I left because I felt cheated on.” And it’s so stupid, so freaking stupid that he did that when he was younger, and that kind of behavior only perpetuates this odd ‘my bestie belongs to me only’ attitude he had.

Yet, instead of yelling or being blown right off by the former captain… Yamabushi starts chuckling.

“What’s so funny?” Tenma’s face scrunches as Yamabushi just straight up laughs now. “What’s funny?! Why are you-”

“I think I’d be the last person you’d like like that.” It’s a shock that Yamabushi isn’t angry, but even more so that he’s amused by all this. He huffs another chuckle from his chest. “Your face is red, Tenma.”

“I-” Tenma averts his gaze. “I’m just surprised that you’re not upset.”

“I’m not. I’m… Heh,” Yamabushi leans back, “That’s funny. I was wondering why this bothered you so much.”

Maybe being in an all boys school had made Yamabushi immune to innate objection to this matter, which is the opposite of what an all-boys school normally does. “Well yeah, that’s… That’s why.” Tenma sheepishly feels at his hair and breathes a chuckle too, he’s a little relieved that his old friend isn’t weirded out by this. So the guilt was all in my head huh? It only proves how important Yamabushi was in his life.

Tenma starts to connect the dots here. He was innocently infatuated with Akaba at one point, and that had nothing to do with him ‘getting back’ at Yamabushi. All his crush on Akaba did was enlighten him to the prospect of being romantically attracted to other men, something he was supposed to realize in his friendship with Yamabushi. Still, it doesn’t change how he feels about him, and obviously Tenma’s not actively crushing on him, but this conversation lifted a weight off his shoulders.

“So… that tea,” Tenma smiles at Yamabushi, “What were you gonna get?”

“Chai milk tea.” Yamabushi narrows his eyes, “Do not pay for me. I have my own money.”

“It’s my treat.”

“Who said it was your treat?”

“I did.” Tenma stands up and giggles, “Ima buy you some tea. Remember what I used to do when the dorayaki stand was in our neighborhood? You always forget to bring money with you.”

“You really don’t have to, Tenma.” Yamabushi’s words go in one ear and out the other. Tenma’s already skipping to the cashier’s counter. “Wait! You don’t even know how I want it.”

Tenma turns on one heel with a grin, “Then come order it, and I’ll pay for you. It’s my treat whether you like it or not.”

“Ah…” Yamabushi shakes his head now that they’re standing next to each other. “You really haven’t changed…”

So Yamabushi makes his order, and Tenma pays. The blonde had completely forgotten about his own problems being around his old friend once again, and instead of aiming to leave the cafe, he and Yamabushi stayed there for almost an hour.

Walking out of the cafe, Tenma finds himself smiling gleefully at the ground, bumping into Yamabushi a couple times as they walk. It’s no secret anymore, Yamabushi now knows how he once felt, and somehow, they’re continuing on like nothing ever happened.

The halfback walks to his car with Yamabushi in stride, and the old captain eyes the sweet ride before looking at his friend. “You want my number?”

Tenma blinks up, “Ah… Yeah, Give me a sec.” He pulls out his phone, and then pauses, “You wanna sit in my car? I can drive you home.”

“Tenma, please-”

“I can drive you home.”

“Alright…” Yamabushi almost sounds exasperated, but he still sits with his friend. Tenma plops into the driver’s seat but leans towards his friend, clearly showing his phone screen to him. Then a message pops up:

Agon K.: You think we should have another movie night, babe?

Tenma’s soul leaves his fucking body. Oh no…

“What the WHAT?!” Yamabushi’s eyes go wide- like ACTUALLY wide- seeing the person who sent that message. “How did… When-” He slaps his palms to his temples like he’s hallucinating. “YOU’RE DATING AGON?!”

“Umm…” Tenma looks away from him entirely. “It’s… It’s not what it looks like.”

“Tenma, Agon Kongo just called you ‘babe’!” And Yamabushi’s actually yelling, because this is treacherous to him. “Since when did you two even-”

“IT’S NOT REAL!” Tenma blurts out, dropping the phone to his lap. Silence falls between them, and when Yamabushi settles further into his seat Tenma inhales: “We’re not really dating. I’m… He doesn’t know that it’s me.”

The look on Yamabushi’s face can only be described as ‘staring at a dog with eight legs’. “...How… Does he not know…?”

For fuck’s sake… Why is his luck like this? “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“Of course not, especially if he doesn’t know.” Yamabushi furrows a brow at him. “Is this something you chose to do?”

“I didn’t. I promise.” Tenma folds his hands on his lap. He promised he wouldn’t tell a soul. It wouldn’t hurt to put Yamabushi onto this crack headed scheme now that he saw what he saw. “Ok so, here’s what’s going down…”

Chapter Text

“Did he really say that, babe?”

After running errands this morning, Tenma is now sitting in his bedroom on another well needed webcam call with his girlfriends. He’s having a quick chat with them since he has a date to go to with his pseudo boyfriend, shaking his palms out at Usagi’s question. “I’m not lying, you guys. He legit wants me to meet his parents! I swear like-I-” He puts his palms to his temples, “I’m still trying to take it all in, for real.”

Rina is busy curling her hair. She stops mid-motion to lean forward, brown eyes searching her boyfriend’s face. “Agon Kongo of all people, wanting you to meet his family?” She’s especially shocked, because one of her closest friends actually dated Agon in the past, so she knows quite a bit about him. She loosens the curling iron to let her hair bounce. “I’m more surprised that he actually called you to confess beforehand.”

Honoka, who had provided hospice for Tenma on a previous date with Agon, nods in agreement. “Did he text you after that call?”

Tenma feels that Agon’s messages were a bit too private to talk about, so he just nods. “Yeah, he… actually thanked me for listening to him.” Which isn’t too far off from the truth; he thinks it’d be wrong if he told his girlfriends that Agon admitted feeling nervous. “Y’know, I was hard pressed to believe that this is a ruse, but it’s getting harder and harder to see that now…”

The quietest girl in the bunch speaks up. Ayame confided in Tenma about her first-time experience with Agon a couple years ago. “I’d agree; I think he actually likes Temari a lot.” Her input catches the girls and him a little off guard, they expected Ayame to stay silent the whole call. “No guy goes to such lengths just to sleep with somebody. Well…”

“He did take you to an amusement park though, Ayame. And then he took you shopping right before you guys, you know…” Rina tilts her head, fluffing out her curls. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was it like with him?”

Ayame doesn’t look bothered by the question; in fact she’s extremely honest about her own experience. “He was really good in bed.”

Tenma pinches the bridge of his nose. “You guys…”

“Really?” Usagi blushes and puts her hand to her mouth.

Honoka, who’s in the middle of adjusting her bra (his girlfriends are very comfortable with each other and him), gasps at the compliment. “If he gets around as much as he does, then he’d have to be good in bed. Duh.”

Ayame tosses her hand back like the memory isn’t that compelling. “Yeaaaah, but not as good as Doji-kun, though.”

The halfback shakes his head downwards. “You guys…”

“Oh, we’re sorry, Tenma! I forgot that you don’t like it when we bring up sex.” Rina apologizes, but the apology makes the other three girls giggle.

He has to roll his eyes; they think they’re funny… “I can smell the sarcasm in your voice, hun.” Tenma leans back, propping himself on his palms.

They’re on some kind of timing, because Usagi is quick to change the subject. “You look so cute in that fluffy sweater, Tenma!”

It’s a luxe pastel pink fleece sweater, one he bought from a french clothing store a couple days ago. “Thanks…” He grins a little. “So… With all that being said, I feel very conflicted…” All four of his girlfriends are immediately all-ears:

“What’s up?”

“Was Agon being weird on you guys’ last date?” Honoka plops forward to lay on her stomach. “You pretended to be on your period.”

“Far from that. He was thoughtful, like… He even bought me the chocolate wafers that I always liked.” Which was a crazy coincidence, because Tenma has brought those teddy wafers to campus on multiple occasions. ‘Temari’ never told Agon that ‘she’ liked those wafers either, though he imagined Agon picked them because they are considered rather girly. They also taste amazing, too. “My thing is, I… it still bothers me that I don’t know what makes him so attracted to me.”

And apparently, that made his girlfriends deadpan at him. Rina tilts her head, “You’re really nice.”

Usagi points with a palm up. “You’re also really pretty as a girl. Like, prettier than us.”

“You’re funny, and I bet Agon has a thing for funny women.” Ayame shrugs.

Tenma can’t help but snort at how simple their answers are.

Honoka raises a finger. “I’m gonna add on to that last part; from what you tell us, you don’t let Agon get the last laugh. Like, every asshole guy gets obsessed with the girls that don’t ‘submit’ to their toxic ways.”

“But clearly, he cares about you though. Like… actually.” Rina stands up and goes to his vanity to put her curling iron away, speaking a bit louder and with clear sass. “Because oh my god, I remember when my friend was going to hook up with him, but then she got hers, and he literally shoved her away and left her alone.” She scoffs, “He was such an asshole back then.”

Sounds about right. If Agon was still as misogynistic as he was before, he’d definitely think periods are gross. “But he’s not being that way now, and I really…” Tenma thinks, and then decides not to expand on that because he might get misconstrued. “Maybe I’m overthinking.”

“Eh?” Ayame blinks twice, then she frowns. “Don’t tell me you’re catching feelings for him.”

That has Tenma all the way fucked up. “Oh hell no, I’d never. Not him.”

“Yeah, like in my opinion, you should pick Unsui over Agon. Unsui is such a sweetheart…” And as always, Usagi’s statement arouses encouraging chatter between the ladies.

“Please don’t start with that, guys! We’re just friends!” Can’t he just talk to a man without his girls shamelessly shipping him with one? “The whole point here is… I mean, aside from what you guys said, you really have to wonder how he had a thing for me from seeing me out in Goyogi Park. Out of all the women there… Why me? I get that Hiruma knew he’d be there but…” At face value, Usagi’s first point already answers that question, but it’s deeper than that. “Agon’s not the kinda guy to think ahead, y’know? Like was his change of heart really on a whim?”

There’s silence amongst them all. The mere happenstance of how this whole thing developed is really making his girlfriends think. Since they’re all majorly invested in his current life dilemmas (especially AFTER he got close with Unsui, god they’re so messy), they all are just as puzzled at how smooth this whole thing was. There has to be a reason behind that, behind all of the reasons they possibly came up with.

Honoka half shrugs, gesturing loosely. “Why not… ask Hiruma?”

“He wouldn’t tell me himself. I know he won’t.”

Usagi hums, “Then I guess you’re gonna have to look into Agon even further. Like if you can’t get a proper reason from Hiruma, or Mamori, then…”

“You’re gonna have to be Conan for this, Tenma.” Ayame crosses her arms.

Tenma exhales, he’s mildly irritated. He’d be a fool to think this would get anywhere, because the most he and his girls can do is make educated guesses. He has kept tabs on Agon and his behavior, both towards himself and towards Temari, and towards other people in their university, and it truly seems like Temari’s existence in this man’s life singlehandedly inspired Agon to be a better person.

If Tenma’s ego was high, he’d relish in how easily he managed to ‘manipulate’ this man. It only makes him want to (curse his big heart) befriend Agon just so he can watch the younger man progress through life without being vile, or fucking his way through his personal troubles.

Rina tilts her chin forward. “Why not ask Collars?”

“I don’t… think Akaba would know, really…” Then Tenma lets that thought marinate. Akaba figured out it was him in his full blown disguise without knowing about Hiruma’s scheme. Akaba was majorly unreactive upon that revelation, even understanding of the fact that Tenma was clearly playing a part. The redhead might know something beyond Hiruma’s plans, which Agon spotting Temari and liking her so quickly is a mystery that is beyond Hiruma’s plans.

“You know what…” The halfback sits up, “I think… After this family meet and greet Agon’s got going on, I'll go ask Akaba about all this.”

“Ooh, boy…” Hononka chuckles, “If you can understand him…”

Honoka went to the same middle school as Akaba, so she knows about his eccentric lingo. Pretty much everybody has a hard time understanding him, but Tenma was blessed as a ballet boy and a theatre kid. A lot of what he says is pieceable to him. “Nah, I can understand him. He wouldn’t tell a lie, either.”

“Just try not to kiss him as you speak.” Rina sneers, and his girlfriends giggle too because they can’t fucking let him live for once…

“I’m not gonna kiss him, oh my god…”

“If you’re gonna kiss any guy, Tenma, kiss Unsui!”

“Usagi.” The blonde rolls his eyes. “Ima end the damn call if you guys keep at it.”

It’s not like this actually angers him, by the way. Tenma has had a personal intervention regarding his preferences, so the concept of kissing a man isn’t uncomfortable to him; in fact, if he can connect with a man, he wouldn’t mind it at all. He just can’t completely show that to his girlfriends because they might literally try to hook him up with any guys they know of who might be into other men. It’s almost happened a few times, albeit jokingly, but sometimes the jokes are a little dangerous when their boyfriend is wearing pastel colors and cat-ear headphones.

Shit, maybe he is bi. Tenma hasn’t had the chance to really explore that, though.

“Sorry, sorry… Umm, have we helped out?” Usagi leans forward. “We really can’t help you here, aside from…”

“You guys did, actually.” Tenma smiles warmly, flicking his hair back reflexively. “I was a little stressed, but… talking it out kinda helped. It’s a little less scary to think about now.”

Ayame chuckles, “As long as Agon doesn’t show up to your next date naked, then I think you’re good.”

“That… That is not an image I need in my head right now.”

“Oh my god, Ayame, isn’t that what he did on your date?!” Rina starts to laugh, and Ayame amusedly continues on:

“He literally- okay, I friggin’ walked away from the living room, and then I came back, and this man was on the couch with no clothes on.”

Honoka shakes her head with a giggle. “And you still did it? Goodness…”

“I dunno, he was smooth! He was also kinda big, so-”

“I swear to God…” Tenma rubs his fingers against his temple, and apparently that makes his girlfriends crack up. “Have this conversation when I am not here. I do not need the mental imagery of that.”

And they still decide to play along. Honoka teasingly picks up her bra straps. “Tenma, don’t feel sad! We’re with you and not with him for a reason, baby!”

Ayame tosses a hand back. “Don’t worry, it’s not the size of the boat, it’s the motion in the ocean. You reel way better ‘tides’ than he does.”

“OKAY, I am signing off.”

He doesn’t sign off. He sticks around to hear how his girlfriends’ days have been, before ending the webcall with a stupidly blushed face because they would not stop making sexual comparisons between him and his nemesis.

Chapter Text

Five days left. 

Time moved at a turtle's pace yesterday. He and Yamabushi somehow spent two hours chatting at his family home. Long after Tenma had dropped him off, the blonde was laying in bed, rerolling Unsui's words through his brain:

“If you want your answers, there is only one person who can give them to you.”

So practice has ended, and now that Tenma is refreshed and wearing a pair of shorts with a cropped shirt, he’s sitting in Hiruma’s office. There’s comfortable silence between the two; Tenma is texting his girlfriends and the captain is surveying something (probably a camera feed on a random street) on his laptop. It’s a little relieving that this stunt will be over in five days, but considering everything he has come to discover about Agon, it would be the rudest awakening to cut the man right off knowing he will never see Temari again. 

There has to be more to this than what meets the eye. He and Hiruma even had an intervention about his and Agon’s past friendship; what does that have to do with Tenma? What is the significance behind telling Tenma that Agon wants to ‘be better’ for Temari? Why make it such a big deal? 

“Something on your mind, Pretty Prince?”

Tenma blinks at the blonde in front of him. “A lot, actually.” Tenma flicks his hair back saucily, in a way that's meant to make Hiruma raise a brow. “Unfortunately, this time it's not you.”

“Kekekekeke… Buttering me up?” Hiruma sharply smirks, blue eyes clearly colored with charm. “I'm not one of your girlfriends, Fucking Earbuds. Spill.” 

Usually, Hiruma would ignore the notion of somebody being pensive since that’s none of his business. He clearly knows closure weighs heavy on Tenma’s mind. “Where’s Akaba?”

Hiruma takes a languid sip of his coffee, purposely taking his sweet time to drink, before tipping his chin towards the door. “Fucking Red Eyes is likely in the break room.”

Tenma was hoping he’d be close by too. Luck must be on his side. “Ah… I figured…”

“Are you still stressed about breaking your poor Mophead’s heart?” Hiruma teasingly coos, standing up with a rifle slouched against his shoulder, and that smirk still plastered on his lips. “None of this is your concern, you know. If anything, cutting it short will teach that dreadhead to stop being so clingy! Kekekeke…”

Hiruma takes a lot of joy in knowing that this unexpected turn in his scheme has led them to this point. Tenma can't help but snort. “I ought to let him down softly.”

The amusement on Hiruma’s face falls wayside for a moment, but it picks right back up when he leans on the desk in front of Tenma. “Quit being so soft.”

“I can't help it. He may have it out for me, but I'm not one to hold a grudge. I want to at least… give him some closure.” Tenma eyes the mag of Hiruma’s holstered rifle. “Because how else do you think this would end?”

“Better than you'd expect.”

“Huh?” Tenma cocks his neck back. That answer was so resolute. “What do you…”

“I think you were looking for Fucking Red Eyes, eh?” Hiruma purposely tips the barrel against Tenma’s bottom lip. “You should get going, my canary.”

So Hiruma doesn't want to elaborate on that. Alright then. Tenma scoffs at him, “You'd wish I'd sing for you.” He snickers and holds the neck of the rifle between two fingers just to kiss the barrel with a wink. “I'll be on my way then. Thank you.” He stands up and struts out of the office with his eyes closed. 

“You're a tease, Pretty Prince. Kekekeke…”

He knows Hiruma’s watching. Tenma’s got compression shorts on. Hiruma is definitely watching him walk away. 

The devil quarterback will come for him for being so cheeky later, but Tenma couldn't care less. Picking up the pace the moment he’s in the clubhouse corridor, he makes his way to the gym, heading straight to the break room. These answers that Akaba could give him better be worth the damn suspense. Not knowing the thought process behind this scheme is eating him alive…

And whatever it is, Tenma wants to hear all of it.

“That's why you came to me?”

“Well, yeah…” Halfway through his long, and likely incoherent ramble, Tenma is reminded that Akaba was never ‘in the know’ of Hiruma’s plan to begin with. At face value though, Akaba should know nothing. “I wouldn't be here if Unsui didn't tell me about you guys’ conversation.”

“Fuu, of course he did.” Akaba smiles with closed eyes, strumming light chords. The tune sounds strangely charged, sensual even. “Our cantata was interrupted by Hiruma. Though, I hate to break it to you Tenma, but… I may have been the ghost writer behind this chaos.”

“You…?” There's no way. The blonde frowns, “Was it your idea or…”

“What I told Hiruma, likely led him to enlisting you like this.” Akaba sits against the short table, right next to Tenma who's sitting on a chair. He taps the neck of his guitar twice, then holsters it against his back: 

“Perhaps I should be straight forward, yes?” Akaba smirks in a way that has Tenma averting his eyes. He's hot, okay? “You remember when you wore that maid outfit?”

Of course Tenma remembers that shit. And it's not his first time wearing a dress, but having to do it in front of his teammates? He should've never lost that damn bet. “Can't forget it.” And he gives Akaba a cross look. 

“That's part of the reason, it’s not entirely why he chose you.” The fullback tilts his head. “You are an interesting individual, Tenma, one that mirrors Agon's semitones at times.”

“No shot.” This is the last time he'll hear that. Tenma is nothing like Agon. “Me and Agon are polar opposites.”

Those red eyes sharpen impossibly. “Exactly my point.”

Tenma shuts up then. When Akaba says something in that way, he's not looking to argue. 

“Fuu… How little you really know…” Akaba moves away from the table, taking a few steps forward and turning on a heel so that he's in front of Tenma. He crosses his arms and nods towards the exit. “It'd be a bit of a problem if we speak about it here. Why don't you come to my house, and I'll show you?”

Tenma’s cheeks grow beet red because his brain went in every other direction that wasn't PG-13. Oh my fucking god… Not in THAT way, dammit! He nods with a meek voice before standing up: “…Sure...” 

Akaba’s family home is located in Aoyama, which is around forty minutes away from Tenma’s. Prior to heading there, the fullback had told Tenma to grab an outfit that ‘matched his chords’, so Tenma went back home and quickly plucked out a good attire before leaving his house. When the blonde got there, Akaba ushered Tenma into his bedroom, the walls red and modestly decorated with musical trinkets. There’s even an entire library aisle of either composition books, or VHS tapes of football games for study purposes. 

The guitarist takes his contacts off and sits on his bed, and Tenma is a little too distracted by simply being in his old crush’s bedroom to pay proper attention to the redheaded athlete. “Now, Tenma…” Akaba glances at the apparel on his chair. “Change into that outfit.”

“Like, in front of you, or…?”

Akaba gives Tenma a weird look. Tenma stares back like a deer caught in headlights. Wow Tenma, just… throw yourself INTO the furnace while you’re at it, huh?

“If you wish. I wouldn't mind.”

Tenma’s face burns so red, he might need a fire extinguisher to douse himself down. “N-no, I-… I’ll go into the closet to change. There's certain things I gotta do and I can't show you.” Like putting on his tucking gaff, which looks like a damn thong and gives Tenma such a snatched waist. He can't be changing into that in front of this hot ass red eyed man! 

Akaba gestures to the walk-in closet behind him. “By all means.” 

Tenma gathers his things and heads in the closet. Taking a breath, the blonde strips promptly, and then starts on his gaff. A few minutes later, he breaks the silence. “So is this meant to answer all my questions or…?”

“I'd like for you to come out in your outfit. It will provide color to the coda.” Akaba’s voice is a bit muffled, so they'd have to speak a bit louder to one another. “What I meant earlier, is that Agon has certain perceptions for the types of people he sees. With women, he’s clearly avid of them, especially their shapely aspects above all else. That applies to anyone that acquiesces to the same instruments. Feminine looks, clear skin, a small waist…” And he pauses, while Tenma eyes himself in the stand alone mirror to make sure his bulge is completely hidden. He bends over to put on the black skater skirt as Akaba continues on:

“In short, you’d fit his type quite well.”

Tenma falls flat on his face with his skirt barely above his knees, and he covers his butt even though Akaba can’t see him. “NUH-UH, DUDE!” The blonde quickly gets up on his feet. “Agon freakin’ hates me! I can’t be his type if we-” 

He stops himself; Agon and he are too alike. Both are athletes, both are popular with women, both are considered charming and good looking. Their public reputation with women is the only major polarizing similarity they have, they’re like yin and yang in that aspect-

Nevermind that analogy. How many times has he seen sappy quotes like ‘You are the Ying to my Yang’ at those cheap niche clothing stores?

“You had mentioned Unsui telling you that Agon gets nervous around you. The reason why he is so ‘nervous’ is because you put a spell on him.” Akaba so casually says that like that's not the most romantic way to say ‘That boy is mean to you because he likes you’. “He obviously cannot let anyone know of this, so he chooses to accuse you of being a suitor for men.”

Tenma gapes at himself in the mirror; he's got his padded bra and a skater skirt on. There is no way he's Agon type! Maybe Akaba is just being funny, or maybe he's smoking something… “You…” The blonde pauses to peek out of the closet. 

Akaba has apparently moved his chair to face the closet, and he jumps when red eyes are staring back at him.

Tenma blushes before continuing as best as he can. “How… How did you come to this conclusion?” 

“Agon’s musical fittance isn’t as one dimensional…” The fullback eyes his strings, feeling up and down the G String as his eyes trail back to Tenma. “He makes his composition known for obvious reasons, but when it comes to… other likings, he’ll play in a different sync behind closed doors.”

Akaba’s musical lingo doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Tenma may not be as smart as Akaba or Hiruma, but as a dance and theater kid, everything Akaba says makes sense to him. “There is no way…” Tenma shakes his head vigorously. “Agon doesn’t like guys, Akaba.”

“It's not a matter of if he does or doesn't. He can.” Akaba tilts his head, “And he has a certain taste when it comes to that.”

Tenma closes the door with a long stare. Imagine if Agon was into big, bearish men…

He should delete his ability to think, and the amount of terminology he was force fed from his girlfriends’ archives of Boy Love doujinshis. “So… Agon's… Bi…” That's hard to believe, but not at the same time. “I don't believe that he likes me, though. He can't; even if you say he's projecting, it's just-”

“Agon is impulsive, Tenma. Even with his inherent intellect, he is in a constant sforzando. Clearly, when it comes to self expression, he lacks heavily in that aspect. You don't. Perhaps you're underestimating your appeal to your own gender.”

How is Akaba so comfortable talking about how attractive Tenma is to other men? Hell, his old crush casually saying that he is attractive is making Tenma sweat. Unable to think of anything to say, he just focuses on finishing his outfit, donning a minute of silence between the two of them. 

“Have I scared you?”

“N-No, I'm just… I'm a little focused right now, but I'm not-” Tenma puts his top, his thigh highs, and his wig on, stopping to check the outfit. “I'm not scared. I came to you for answers, and I want all of them.”

“Good, because I've only scratched the surface on this topic.”

ONLY?! He only scratched the surface?! How far does this damn secret go? 

“Let me know when you are finished.” The redhead continues: “I'd prefer to talk to you face to face now that you know what you know.”

“I mean I-'' Tenma looks down at his outfit, not realizing he’s already done. “Yeah, I’m done. Wait-” He eyes his legs. He didn't put on any panty hose. “I forgot to wear something to cover my legs.”

“No need. Come out.”

“O-okay…” Tenma takes a deep breath and opens the closet door. He steps out in fluffy black knee high socks, a black skater skirt, and a golden-black cropped sweater that shows the clear toned line of his stomach. His legs, despite bearing soft muscles, do not betray the telltale traits of a runner. In the same breadth, Tenma’s thighs make his legs look more feminine than need be.

“My…” Akaba gazes at Tenma’s face and apparel appraisingly, a sliver of awe in his features. “I know I’ve said this before, but you could really pass for a very pretty woman.”

Tenma feels his cheeks heat up, and wishes he could throw out his stupid heart for a few minutes. “...Thanks…” He feels at his wig, which is now straight with a bit of volume. “So, I’m in my outfit. What more is there to this?”

“Please, sit on my bed.” Akaba stands to turn his chair around, while Tenma goes to his bed. The redhead waits for him to settle down before he suddenly throws down a serious disclaimer: “Are you comfortable with knowing that Agon likes you?”

When he puts it in normal-people words and not his usual musical lingo, it makes Tenma want to nose dive into a kiddie pool. He takes a deep breath, because this can't get any worse. “I'm fine with it, since it's just an innocent crush and nothing more.”

“It's not.”

Tenma snaps his gaze at the redhead and gulps. Aw, fuck.

Akaba looks away for a moment, then looks back. “I mentioned the maid outfit for a reason. It's the only way I came to discover his infatuation with you.” 

Infatuation?! That makes it so much worse! “I-In… You mean to tell me he started crushing on me when he saw me in a dress?”

“Those feelings were certainly there beforehand, but perhaps, the moment you walked into the clubhouse lounge in that outfit, it inspired a choir within him. Nobody else saw it then, not even me, because he was sitting the furthest away from everyone.” Akaba looks at the carpeted floor of his room. That day, as Tenma remembered, Agon looked so disgusted that he was sitting near the lounge’s other exit. To Tenma, Agon must’ve been so appalled at seeing another man in a dress, a man that’s older than him, matter of fact. 

To be candid, Tenma did think he wore that maid outfit well, so despite his current feeling about it, he was making cute little poses back then. He probably did so to keep from passing out in embarrassment in front of a bunch of damn men, so he had to have fun with it. Then Hiruma started cackling and taking pictures on Mamori’s damn polaroid camera…

“Those pictures,” And now Akaba just so happens to mention them, “Were taken for fun. Hiruma kept them in the first drawer behind his office desk.”

“Of course he did.” Tenma rolls his eyes, leaning back and propping himself up on his palms. “I knew he’d like seeing me all dolled up.”

The fullback smirks, “To be frank, you did penchant a lovely chorus out of that maid outfit.”

Tenma’s face grows hot enough for it to practically steam. Like damn, does Akaba not know he sounds too suave to casually utter such things?

“But as I said, Hiruma kept those pictures safe in his drawer. One day when we were chatting, he remarked that ‘something’ was missing from that same drawer. It was those pictures of you, and I thought very little of it until I recalled Agon entering the office during off hours, about a month before Hiruma kidnapped you...”

“So he stole them just… For later blackmail? Or out of denial? Like he actually liked…” If Tenma could vomit right now, he would. “Seeing me in that outfit?”

The redhead takes a deep breath. “Well…” He blinks and looks Tenma dead in his eyes. “I found him with those pictures alone by the shower stalls. I don’t know why he chose that place out of all places, but I had accidentally walked in on him… strumming his admiration.”

Strumming his…? Walked in on him-?

Wait, no... Tenma’s eyes gradually widen like saucers, and he goes from leaning back to sitting right up and slapping his palms to his head. “Akaba…” Words can’t describe how hard his whole gut dropped just now. He says his name again: “Akaba… Swear on your life.”

“Hand to God.” Akaba nods; clearly this is something he didn’t even expect. “It’s the best way I can put it.” The nicest way, he means. “He does not have a ‘simple’ crush on you. You excite him beyond innocent qualities.”

The universe could fold in on itself, spawn galaxy sized key lime pies in the process, and that still wouldn’t come close to how unbelievable this is. So in all this time that Agon was aggressively shunning Tenma, he actually had eyes for him. Agon never pinned himself as Tenma’s nemesis; maybe he did before, but it developed into something else, and it developed so strongly that he couldn’t even privately contain it.

And now Tenma, dressed in a pretty skirt with his mid waist showing, has come to know this: Agon got caught jerking off to some pictures of him in a maid outfit.

Tenma falls back onto the mattress, his head bounces lightly against the blankets beneath him. “So he… likes me in that way, too.” He can’t fathom Agon rubbing one off to him in any fashion. Matter of fact, if one has touched themselves to somebody, how could they bear to speak to that person so rudely? “So… Did Hiruma get those pictures back?” It’s a bad question, he knows, because who wants to touch some pictures that a guy jerked off to?

Akaba shakes his head, “Agon likely still has them.”

What if I jumped into oncoming traffic on the expressway? Someone help him… “...oh…”

Hazel eyes leer over to his side, eyeing the blankets beneath him. This puts Agon’s animosity in a different light. Maybe he was upset at himself for liking Tenma so much, so he’s upped the ante to ‘fix’ how he really felt. That only worked for a short amount of time, clearly, because now Agon doesn’t speak to Tenma at all. The silent treatment should bring the blonde relief, but knowing this, what exactly is running through Agon’s mind when he sees Tenma now?

The redhead gives him another minute or so, likely knowing the poor man has to mentally recover from this secret. “Now, with this outfit of yours, it’s hard for the average musician to distinguish between you and your ‘alter ego’, if that even. How long are you meant to date him?”

Tenma turns his head to Akaba, drawing his knees up and resting his hands on his stomach. “Till this weekend.” 

“It’s over that soon?” Akaba shakes his head, “Fuu… poor thing. He’ll recover.”

Akaba’s referring to Agon being the ‘poor thing’ in question. “Him? Recover?”

The fullback stands up and turns away. “Clearly, he is enthralled by your symphony if you’re still with him for this long. Something tells me that you wish to break it to him in a way that’s least compromising.”

Stop reading my soul. Tenma hadn’t said anything about wanting to tell Agon the truth, either. “I do, but it’s… It’s risky to do so. He might kill me.”

“Hmm…” Akaba goes to put his chair back, and then scratches his chin in a succession of quick thoughts. “Then, I want you to do something for me.” He turns, watching Tenma turn to look at him. “That wig of yours, is it real hair?”

Tenma involuntarily feels at it despite knowing the answer. “Yeah.”

“Cut it short.”

“Wh-” He shoots up then and there and cocks his neck back. “Akaba, I can’t just cut this hair short! What if I look too much like a guy?!”

“That’s not the point here. The point is that your actual hair is short, Tenma. Should Agon really love his girlfriend beyond the surface notes of her composition, your hair should not matter. If anything,” Akaba stares at him calculatingly, “He may be even more accepting of you telling him the truth. It’s less of a visual shock to him if you cut that wig short.”

Ah, using a psychology trick to lessen the blow. That’s actually really smart. “Do psychology tricks even work on someone like Agon?”

“They don’t have to work entirely. They are just meant to steer his reverb in the right direction.”

So we’re manipulating my chances of getting my ass beat. That’s still not as bad as ripping his wig off and screaming that he’s a man. “Can I ask… When you saw him doing the thing…”

The mental image of what that could’ve looked like assaults Tenma’s brain, and the reality of this discovery slams into his consciousness like a ton of bricks.

He sucks a breath in and continues, “Did you say anything…?”

Akaba nods, but… “It’s best to keep that etude to myself. It was not pretty at all, nor did it get anywhere. I made my leave as quickly as possible.” 

“Oh…” Maybe he’s right. Tenma wouldn't want to know what justification came out of Agon’s mouth in defense of his own actions.

Akaba starts putting his guitar up on its red and goldenrod pedestal. In that time Tenma stands up and smooths his skirt down. He kind of almost forgot that he’s got no pantyhose on, so the draft between his legs makes him feel extremely exposed. He also just laid back with his knees up, in a skirt… But it seems like Akaba probably didn’t see anything given how he didn’t point it out.

“Do you have another date? Or are you meant to head home?”

“Hell, I’m going straight home. We just had practice, I… need to decompress.” And he just learned that Agon’s got a bad crush on him. He might actually need to lay down and sleep it off. “I’m fine though. I promise.”

Akaba hums, seeming to look past Tenma’s blank stare, and he tilts his head. “All I can say is that, since you and he have produced an actual harmony with one another, it wouldn't be hard to convince him that you wouldn't dare tell his secrets. He's actively trying to rearrange his own composition as we speak.”

“I know and… To be honest, this whole month wasn’t… It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. I was convinced he’d start trying to get in bed with me after the first date.” Tenma looks at the bookshelves as Akaba is leading him out of his room. He’s really learned a lot about Agon’s character and who he could’ve been if he was just treated normally. If Agon and Unsui were raised in the same manner, Agon would probably still be an outcast, just not a violent, and overly sexual one, but he’d be somebody with a lot to talk about. The kind of person you’d sit on the couch and yap with. That possibility almost feels bittersweet.

The two athletes bid each other goodbye, and Tenma doesn’t even bother acknowledging that he’s in his full disguise right now. He’ll go home and change out of it, he’s not in the mood to worry about that stuff now. Instead, as he’s driving out of Aoyama, and back to Kanagawa, the last bits of his current sanity start teetering off into a scary place.

You want to know why this discovery is so terrifying? Ok sure, a man jerking off to you in a maid outfit is creepy, but at most it is a laughable circumstance. This particular man in question is Agon Kongo, the same man who’s known for being violent, overly macho in overture, and who has a reputation for fucking different women every week. This man lives a life that technically shouldn’t coop up fantasies that’d lead him to masturbating, because if he really wanted it, Agon could just go and fuck a girl to ‘fix’ that urge. Yet, he was found jerking off to Tenma, which means that he could not find the right kind of girl to satiate his urges-

Maybe that’s why he likes Temari. Because Temari looks and acts like Tenma.

Tenma almost misdirects a lane change and quickly straightens his steering wheel to avoid accidentally hitting the car to his right. He ought to focus on the road and not think about this too much. Besides, there’s nothing he needs to worry about. This conversation didn’t kill him, and he’s not injured by any means, so he’s perfectly fine…

“Tenma-kun, are you okay?” Rina, who’s busy curling her hair, puts the iron down to lean towards her webcam.

Honoka tilts her head on her end of the call. “Uh, Tenma…?”

“Baby, is everything… alright?” Ayame blinks a few times, and all the girls virtually exchange looks at their boyfriend.

After dressing down to a black oversized shirt, Tenma had opted to call his girlfriends because he totally was not fine, and who the fuck else would he chat about this to? This stuff is so groundbreaking and straight up mind boggling that he needs another ear to listen in on this. He can’t keep this shit a secret.

He also can’t properly talk to them either. The moment their webcams connected, Tenma went from speaking normally, to being completely incoherent; like, he has tears in his eyes but he keeps laughing, incoherent.

“Tenma, are those happy tears or angry tears? What’s wrong?” Usagi waves her hands like he’s physically in front of her. At first, his tears were a cause of concern, but they all have no idea why he’s currently got his face bunched up in his hands right now.

“You guys, th-” A really bad snort comes out, and Tenma looks up for a moment just to wipe his tears. He tries again: “You guys, I-” He giggles again, eyes still wet from all the manic tears.

At this point, Rina has completely ditched curling her hair. “Take a breath, baby. You’re scaring us.”

His girlfriends concurrently agree on that, and so Tenma does. Laying his stomach with the laptop in front of him, he softly face-plants his mattress and takes a deep breath before pulling his head back up and running his fingers through his hair. “Ok so, I never got an explanation as to why I’m dressing up as Agon’s girlfriend, right? So I’ve been like, I’ve been thinking about it, and I went to Hiruma and asked about it, and then I spoke with Akaba, and then… and then, like-”

He swallows, takes another deep breath, and then moves to sit cross legged this time.

“...You know you’re not wearing any pants, right?” Rina points out (and of course it had to be her).

“I don’t care, look…” Tenma puts his hands to his face, takes a deep breath again, and then decides to cut to the chase. “I was made to date Agon because Agon likes me! Like, me, not the girl version or whatever. He has a CRUSH ON ME!”

All of his girlfriends stop what they’re doing. None of them say a word for seven seconds, as though those words needed actual time to be heard, understood, and digested. Then the disbelief trickles in slowly, progressively…

“No…”

“Get out…”

“THERE IS NO WAY!”

“HE DOESN’T EVEN LIKE MEN, WHAT?!”

Exactly what Tenma had said. “I… Literally, Akaba basically said that I was put to be his fake girlfriend because Agon can only really like somebody if that person resembles me and… I guess Hiruma thought what better way for Agon to live his fantasy by him spotting and dating a female version of me.”

“Hmm…” Honoka glances elsewhere and scratches her chin. “So that explains why he came up to you at Goyogi Park. Like, if somebody saw you, and then saw a picture of Temari, they would think you guys are siblings or just look alike.”

“But Agon is…” Ayame scoffs, “That man isn’t the type to like guys. How did Akaba even figure that out?”

Tenma gulps. He was wishfully hoping neither of them would ask. 

And that doesn’t go unnoticed. “Tenma?” Rina tilts her head.

“Why’d you gulp?” Usagi frowns, “Did Agon like… say something weird about you or…”

As though he had thoroughly digested everything he learned earlier this afternoon, the halfback ever so calmly states: “He stole the pictures of me in a maid outfit.”

Ayame damn near falls off of her vanity chair. “HE STOLE THEM?!”

Tenma faceplants the mattress because he’s about to cry again. He can’t just tell his girlfriends ‘Agon jerked off-’ because he’s so certain that would traumatize all of them. At the very least, they just need to know that his arch nemesis might not be a nemesis at all. It is still killing him on the inside.

“Oh my god, so he took Hiruma’s photos?” Honoka slaps her hands against her cheeks. “Agon is in the closet?!”

“That man is in the closet…” Rina is smiling so hard, but she’s shaking her head in pure disbelief. “He is in the closet, and he chooses to be rude and disrespect you?”

Usagi shifts her lips to the side. “That makes a lot of sense actually…”

Tenma’s voice is muffled, but loud enough for them to hear. He’s lost the spirit to lift his head up. “The fact that you guys can rationalize this better than I can is impressive.” His girlfriends giggle a little at the weak groan he lets out after.

“I love that you just had to call us for this too.” Honoka knocks against her laptop. “You look a little out of it.”

Tenma frowns into his blanket. “Y’all can’t see my face.”

“That’s why I’m saying you look out of it!” Honoka taps her finger against her temple, and his girlfriends lightheartedly agree. “We can end the call here.”

Usagi agrees, “Yeah, we can have another call later, Tenma.” The latter two also agree with them as well.

Tenma stays silent as they say their reasons of ‘you’re clearly uncomfortable’ or ‘this is bothering you’ or ‘Tenma are you crying again? Pick your head up!’. It makes him feel bad if he leaves their call on short notice unless there’s an emergency. He doesn’t like ruining the vibe, and wants to stay longer just because they want to talk to him. “Umm…”

“It’s okay Tenma, we can leave.” Rina softly clasps her hands together. “I feel like you need to relax after this.”

“Yeah…” Ayame huffs a chuckle, “You might need an onsen bath.”

Tenma snorts; he needs more than a therapeutic bath to wash off the effects of his new discovery. “You know what? I’ll go and settle down, umm…” He finally lifts his head up and inhales. “Is that okay with you guys?”

Rina makes a face. “Tenma, if I found out that Agon had a crush on me and that he has really weird pictures of me in his possession, I’d drop off the face of the earth for at least a month.”

“Heh, you’re right.” He should change identities and move out of the country. His girls think Agon just likes him. In reality, Agon is badly sexually attracted to him. That is honestly a perfect reason to start a new life in a different continent. Tenma sighs to himself, “I’ll probably nap and then wake up, and drown my sorrows with a tub of green tea ice cream.” Green tea ice cream sounds really nice right now, actually...

His girlfriends concurrently bid him the kindest goodbyes and virtual kisses for a few minutes before the web call goes dead. Tenma closes his laptop while staring off into space, then turning over in bed to stare at the ceiling. A long sigh later, the blonde looks at his phone. He reaches out lazily and thumbs out a contact number without pause.

Tenma: You wanna go out tomorrow? A couple minutes later, he gets a response.

Bestie: Eh, sure.

Bestie: Where to?

Tenma: Some bar or something, I wanna drink.

Bestie: … You alright?

Because it’s out of character for Tenma to even want to drink. Being a man of multiple girlfriends, he’s usually the party mom of the group, so he seldom drinks. This time, however… he definitely needs a drink.

Tenma: I’m doing fine. I’ll text you about the place later tonight…

Chapter Text

From the moment Tenma opted to go to a bar with him yesterday, Unsui knew something was very wrong.

Despite that, Unsui picked the blonde up at his house, and Tenma gave him directions to where this particular bar is. They reached Tokyo, cruised into Shinjuku, and after Tenma made him take a right and two distant lefts, Unsui almost had a heart attack; this bar that they’re meant to be at is floral themed, and rather small and quaint. 

It’s also located in Ni-Chome, the giant gay district that Unsui’s gay ass can’t be in because he’s scared shitless of being found out…

And his friend’s jolly attitude didn’t make it any better. Unsui asked him why he’d chosen this bar out of all bars out there. Tenma’s innocent response: ‘The guys here are always really nice to me!’

Yeah Tenma, it’s because the majority of them are either gay or bi. Of course they'll be nice to a pretty, pipy blonde like him. 

When they entered, a lot of eyes were on Tenma, way more eyes than Unsui was comfortable with, but it was warranted because Tenma looks so cute tonight. The blonde is wearing a black baggy crop top sweater with pastel stripes around the seams and black wide leg jeans, chains and small pastel trinkets hanging by his beltline. He’s got some smudged black eyeliner on, bringing out his beautiful hazel eyes even more, and it made it worse for Unsui because he didn’t bring his shades tonight. The blonde didn’t seem to mind the attention; he gave little ‘hi’s and hugs to people he seemed to know, but he and Unsui settled at the bar soon after. It’s been a good hour since, and the quarterback has to remind himself that Tenma is three Midori Sour’s in.

He has a high tolerance, Unsui tilts his head. His only social saving grace is sitting beside him, and perhaps it’s the energy in the bar, but Unsui keeps feeling the urge to pull him close, to let the rest of the world know that this man is taken, and that he’s with him. It’s a burning urge too, because Unsui is too possessive for his own good.

“Unsui…”

“Hmm?” The quarterback blinks out of his thoughts.

Tenma takes a light sip, tilting his pretty head. “You okay? Do you want to go somewhere else?”

Unsui slouches into his bar seat. “I’m good. I’ve never been in a bar before.”  Of course Tenma is reading his stiffness as discomfort, which Unsui feels to some degree. Everyone is mostly chatting or dancing in this bar, but Unsui’s focused on the same sex couples walking about as well; women with women, or men with men, and there is a strange sense of validation in his heart seeing these people be together so freely.

It gets drowned out by a bit of envy knowing that he possibly can’t live that kind of life because of his family, and maybe because of himself as well.

Looking at the bright colors, and the general lively music playing… despite this area being a safe space for him, Unsui feels so out of place. He shakes the feeling off. “You want another drink?”

“No doubt. I can’t pass up on Tao's drinks!” Tenma sets the glass down on the marble countertop, propping his elbow against the edge. “That’s the bartender's name.”

Tenma points behind Unsui at said bartender, who’s clean shaven, buzzcutted, and rather buff. His muscles slightly puff out of the vested dress shirt he’s wearing, and when Tenma turns to wave and request another drink, the man tips his chin and smoothly slides the glass away with a dashingly handsome smile at the short blonde.

Because he fits Unsui’s physical description, the quarterback wishes he didn’t feel some type of way at how comfortable that man was greeting Tenma like that.

“He makes the best drinks, man.” The blonde lightly giggles and turns back to Unsui while running a hand over his hair. “He’s really good looking too…” 

Unsui frowns immediately.

Those giggles stop. “... My bad.”

“Huh?” The quarterback relaxes his face that instant, not realizing his inner thoughts bled through his expression.

“I made a weird comment, I’m sorry…” Tenma puts a hand up, carding through his hair with the other hand. “You know me, I tend to compliment everybody.” The bartender slides Tenma’s drink over and as the blonde thanks him, Unsui has this urge to apologize to that man.

“It’s… It’s fine. I’m not like, upset or anything.” Unsui averts his eyes for a second. There’s silence between them, Tenma doesn’t seem to dissent the buzzkill, but Unsui’s beating himself up about it on the inside. It’d be extremely ironic if Tenma thinks that Unsui is actually homophobic, and to be frank, him being ten thousand coats deep in the closet makes him LOOK like he is.

That’s far from the truth. It’s scary how misleading his appearance is.

“Wanna move to the booths?” Tenma points to his left. “I think I’ll settle on this glass for a bit.”

Unsui blinks at Tenma’s glass. This is Tenma's fourth drink. How does he handle his liquor so well?! “Alright…”

Once Tenma and he settle into a booth, the universe decides to make random strangers approach them a handful of times. Unsui would try his best not to glare because it felt like they were being interrupted. Luckily things get quiet, and they can finally talk without interruptions. At first they chat about football, then Tenma starts talking about his girlfriends in further detail, and Unsui couldn’t help but ask how much they know about him.

“They know quite a bit about you actually. I told them about the first time we met, and also when you… found out about my disguise. Basically, every time we get together, they know about it.” Tenma rolls his eyes and snorts at a passing thought. “They like you a lot too, so they keep calling you my boyfriend. I’m so sorry.”

The quarterback tries his best not to blush. “Why apologize for that?”

“I dunno how you feel about… jokes like that. That’s why.” Tenma scratches his own arm lightly. “Y’know, most guys aren’t comfortable with that kind of stuff so… to be fair, I don’t try to rope you in with my girls because I don't want you to feel weird.”

Rope me in? Tenma is a little loosened up, he can tell. So perhaps, Unsui can spare lowering his guard a bit. “Nah… I’m just not used to it, that's all.” He tosses a hand like those words mean nothing to him. “I’m alright with that stuff.”

Meanwhile, Unsui wishes it wasn’t a joke. Somewhere in his mind sits a fantasy of them actually being together, of Unsui getting to do the things that Tenma might be doing with his girlfriends: like sitting him on his lap, or cooking meals with him, or cuddling on the couch and chatting aimlessly. Somewhere in his mind sits the thought of them in his bed, maybe Tenma feeling around his muscles, maybe Unsui worshipping his lithe body…

He really, really wishes he could just feel as comfortable and as free as everybody else here.

“I mean,” Unsui piques up, because his curiosity is itching, “Have you ever been like this with another guy?”

“Yamabushi, kinda.” Tenma shrugs, “We’ve reconciled, by the way. I’ve learned a bit about myself when we spoke, and how we fell off, but… there were reasons behind it.”

It seems these reasons are personal, if Tenma not immediately saying them made that obvious. “I guess that’s good. Like I said, I wouldn’t mind if you were more… If you joke around, in that way.” Unsui shakes his head slightly, and it’s mostly at himself because he’s scared to death to say this next part: “I wouldn’t mind if you were more affectionate with me.”

 “Really?” Tenma gives him a positively surprised smile, much to Unsui’s relief. “Great, I’ma hug you everytime I see you.”

Please do, and if Unsui could make it more obvious that he’d want more than a hug he would, but Tenma is straight and he’s not. He can’t live out his delusions…

“Oh my? Is that Doji-chan?!” A very familiar voice progressively approaches them with much enthusiasm, and Unsui inwardly holds his breath.

“I freaking knew you’d be here, Sanzo!” Tenma quips happily, putting his hands to his hips and admiring Sanzo’s outfit. “You look so cozy tonight.” Sanzo is wearing something that resembles a long robe that Unsui would see famous Europeans on TV wearing. 

“You look good too, hun! And is that Unsui with you?” Sanzo smiles at the quarterback, and Unsui can see that old flicker of past admiration in those eyes. However, Sanzo is clearly not going to fawn over him like he did before. “I didn’t know you two were friends!”

“We met at a friendly dinner, and... Yeah. The rest is history.” Tenma isn’t lying there, he and Unsui did get a bit closer after they had dinner with Hiruma, Mamori, and Musashi. “I wanted Unsui to come with me, too.”

Unsui was half expecting Tenma to say ‘I wanna drink and I couldn’t think of anybody else to drive me’, but he has to remember Tenma doesn’t necessitate people like that. If he wants somebody around, he wants them around because he likes their company. “Hi, Sanzo.”

“Nice seeing you again, Unsui-chan!” Sanzo goes to sit beside Unsui, but pauses, and chooses to sit next to Tenma instead. As the two start chatting with each other, Unsui starts overthinking... Because his eyes were mostly on Tenma this entire time. Did Sanzo catch him staring? Is that why he's sitting next to Tenma now? 

Sanzo swirls his glass of Rose before placing it on the table in front of them. “Are you guys in the same university?”

Unsui somehow links back into reality right on time, and he shakes his head. “We're not. I go to Enma University now.”

“Yeah? You still play football?” Sanzo props his chin against his palm.

Unsui nods, “Still a quarterback, for the Fires...”

“He’s their captain, too.” Tenma puts his arm around Unsui’s shoulder. Tenma says it like it’s a big honor rather than a simple fact, as Unsui has always had trouble actualizing that he can say that he officially leads his newfound college team.

“Oh my! I should’ve expected that; you did become our captain in our 3rd year too. I’m so proud of you!” Sanzo claps his hands happily. “You got a girlfriend, Kongo?”

It’s like the world wants to laugh at him. Tenma’s nudging him playfully, but Unsui wants to leave this bar just to breathe. “Nah. I’m not looking for a woman right now.” Or ever.  

Luckily, Sanzo doesn’t press the topic even further. Instead he and Tenma quip about how good looking he is, before talking about their own love lives for a couple minutes. Slyly shrinking himself, Unsui taps Tenma’s arm to tell him he’ll be right back. Sanzo being there kind of ruined his ‘private time’ with Tenma, so he heads to the bar to request a glass of water.

The bartender gives him a nice, cold glass of water with two cherries against the rim, which Unsui didn’t ask for, but he thinks it might just be a way to garnish the glass. Unsui thanks him with a slight bow (because he’s still a little guilty for his possessive thoughts), and saunters back to Tenma and Sanzo giggling their asses off about something on Sanzo’s phone.

At least Tenma isn’t tense again. Hopefully, Sanzo leaves before the blonde gets too tired…

At some point, Unsui had stepped out to answer a call from Coach Doburoku, regarding the next season’s lineup and the team's recent practice sessions. He did not expect to spend another forty minutes in that bar, either talking to Tenma or other strangers talking to him. Curiosity gripped his brain not too long ago and he asked Tenma if he and Agon interacted during practice yesterday, and for some reason the mere mention of his brother’s name soured his mood quite quickly. It was actually a little scary, the way Tenma’s eyes grew dark as he suddenly went ‘Don’t ruin my night’, and then proceeded to tell Unsui not to mention him with a rescinding, warm smile.

Flipping his phone closed and leaning against the funky brick walls right outside the bar, his thoughts trail off for a little while before he hears footsteps from the entrance beside him. Sanzo clinks his painted nails together as though he knew Unsui would be out here, and the quarterback isn’t surprised in the slightest.

Sanzo doesn’t even lead in with a greeting, or some small talk. He smirks and murmurs low enough for only Unsui to hear: “You like him, don’t you?”

Unsui chokes on air and nearly fumbles his phone out of his hands. Straightening up as best as he could, he glares at Sanzo. “What… What are you talking about?!”

Apparently, his behavior is so obvious that Sanzo has to chortle. “You know what I mean, Unsui. There’s a reason why barely any men approached Tenma. They must’ve thought Tenma was your boyfriend. Or that you’re crushing on him.”

“I’m don- I’m not. Quit making assumptions.” Unsui gets upset, almost to an irrational degree, even. His first instinct is to aggressively deny such claims because it only means that somebody else could know his sexual preference, and that’s… That’s not okay. At least to Unsui, that’s not okay. “What makes you think that, anyways?”

The inflection in his tone comes out harsher than need be. It makes Sanzo raise his hands in defense. “Look, some people can figure things out better than others. I’m mostly joking, but I saw how you looked at Tenma. You’re in a district where things like this are very common, so you won’t be judged for having such feelings.”

It’s now that Unsui realizes Sanzo didn’t shout his first statement. In fact, he leaned in and said it in a low tone, so that nobody but Unsui could hear him. Sanzo gave him privacy, and Unsui had an outburst about it. He feels so ashamed all of the sudden.

“Right, I…” Unsui feels at the back of his head, averting his gaze like he’s a child getting chastised. The rustling of Sanso’s robe sleeve makes him blink in the femme male’s direction; Sanzo is not mad at him for being upset. The validation he feels swells even greater, yet he feels like he doesn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry for getting aggressive.”

Sanzo shrugs, he probably sees that Unsui is taking this to heart. His nonchalance is helping calm Unsui’s nerves. “It’s alright. I just noticed how quiet you were. Well, you’ve always been quiet, but…”

Unsui only hums, still feeling a little bad, still feeling very much naked…

“You guys just met earlier this summer vacation?”

“Yeah, like… two weeks ago.” Unsui shuffles nervously, but he draws his shoulders back. Sanzo gave him the space to express something he’s been bottling in, he ought to make himself comfortable enough to let it all out. “I don’t know where it came from, but we were out one day, and I just started liking him.” And as he’s speaking, it’s making more sense. “We spend a lot of time together, at least a lot of time for me, and I haven’t… had a friend like him before. I thought that maybe it’s because he’s nice to me, and he cares about me, but it’s more than that…” It isn’t just a simple liking of Tenma’s personality. It’s only been two weeks and Unsui’s feelings have snowballed so much that he’s had a few dirty thoughts about his own friend. Not that Unsui ever acted off of those thoughts, but he can’t doubt that he’s very sexually attracted to Tenma now.

Sanzo blinks twice, “Have you told him?”

“Wh-Why would I tell him?!” Like hell, that’s how you ruin things! “We’re friends! I can’t do that to him!”

“You’ve only been friends with him for two weeks, and you’re already wrapped around his finger, that’s why.”

Unsui’s shoulders slump. There’s no way that it’s that obvious! How the hell did people perceive him when they were at the mall? Or at the Matcha Festival? Did anybody else think the same thing, or is it solely Sanzo that can see through him because he too, is gay? 

“Maybe I’ll get over it.” Unsui decides to use rationale to keep himself afloat. “I’ve only known him for a short amount of time. It’s not like we’ve been friends for months…”

The way Sanzo looks at him makes him stop talking. He looks a little disappointed even, tilting his head with a huffed sigh. “You do realize you have good tastes right?”

That was not what Unsui expected to hear. “Wha..?”

“Tenma is a kind person, and you’re clearly not being taken advantage of.” Sanzo crosses his arms. “Unless you straight up cut him off, you’re only going to look more obvious. And I hate to break it to you but… He actually thinks he comes off too hard on you.”

“He does…?” He shouldn’t be surprised, Tenma has said so before, but he didn’t think this would be something he’d mention to Sanzo as well. Maybe he’s said the same thing to his girlfriends, too. “I know he’s touchy and stuff, but I don’t-”

“He also thinks you either secretly hate him, or secretly have a thing for him too.”

There goes Unsui’s will to ever step outside again after tonight.

“But good news, neither of those suspicions are going to stop Tenma from talking to you!” Sanzo grins and quips like he didn’t just end Unsui’s career before it even started. “He likes your company, and he generally thinks you’re good looking. And no, Tenma isn’t completely straight either. If you talk about your feelings to him- even if you guys don’t end up taking it to the next level- you’ll feel more comfortable being friends with him instead of standing in this bar looking like a tree stump.”

Unsui purses his lips and looks away; man, can’t he just be unreadable? Nobody ever truly reads him and here he is, getting read to filth by Sanzo, and potentially having Tenma questioning if he likes him. Fuck my life. Sometimes he wishes he was straight.

However, what Sanzo said isn’t flying over his head. Closure is the one thing that every healthy relationship needs, platonic or more, so even if Unsui does confess, it’s not like he’ll be let down harshly. He already knows a relationship can’t happen, Tenma has multiple girlfriends and isn’t interested in men. By logistics, he should be more concerned with maintaining this friendship they have…

His impulses get in the way, though. “Why tell me that Tenma isn’t entirely straight?”

A scoff leaves the femme male’s lips. “Gosh, do I have to spell it out for you?” He playfully swats Unsui’s arm. “You may have a chance to explore your feelings! You’re very lucky to have eyes for someone like him, because he’ll probably let you figure it out with him.”

That’s too forgiving. Unsui can't believe that. For the sake of his heart, he cannot believe that there is a chance, because that is all he will focus on. Not the fact that Sanzo is clearly stating that talking it out will make him comfortable to be around Tenma, but knowing that he possibly could be with him will overtake every thought in Unsui’s repressed, possessive mind. 

Yet… “I guess.”

“You’ll get it one day.” Sanzo tosses a hand in his direction, just as his phone starts to ring. “Ooh, I’ll have to take my leave. That’s my boyfriend.” And he so casually answers the phone and struts off making light jokes to whoever his partner is. Unsui watches him depart, wishing he could have something like that and be confident in it…

He’s not drunk by any means but he’s being a little dissonant. Tenma is currently in the bar alone, he should head back in and see if he wants to go home.

Reentering the bar, he’s not too surprised to see fewer heads now. Tenma is at the bar striking up conversation with a few girls who are already looking like they want to be hinged around his arms, and when he spots Unsui he quickly and kindly bids the girls goodbye before skipping to the quarterback and straight up hugging him.

Taken aback, Unsui chuckles at the sudden display, trying not to catch a whiff of Tenma’s cashmere body mist. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I was just talkin’ to some people while you were gone.” Tenma looks up at him, not releasing him either. “You can take me home now.”

Good. That’s what he planned on, because his social battery isn’t that high to begin with. “Alright, we’ll head back. You wanna stop for any food, though?”

“Nah, I’m not hungry.” Tenma slings his arm around Unsui’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

He’s lucky that Tenma has an extremely high tolerance, and doesn't get stupid when he's drunk. Unsui’s dealt with a stupid drunk before, that being his damned brother, who’s more likely to start stripping at random or pass out going up some stairs. The man can more than handle his liquor, because despite being clearly drunk he’s still very coherent. 

Tenma’s usually bubbly persona is amped up even more when he’s drunk, Unsui realizes, and the ‘hetero barrier’ that he already barely clings onto while sober falls apart completely. While they were in the car, Tenma was mostly talking and Unsui listening, though the blond would be touching his arm or even poking him, and giggling in his face.

The quarterback would be a damned liar if he said he didn’t like the attention Tenma is giving him.

“You want me to stay for the night?” Unsui turns around, now exiting the kitchen with a glass of water. He hands it to Tenma, his eyes lingering longer than usual.

Those smoky hazel eyes are piercing to look at, and to be honest, the makeup he has on makes him look pretty. Very pretty, to Unsui’s liking. “Of course! It’s too late to be driving.” Tenma drinks his water like he has absolutely no alcohol in his system. He’s not sure if he heard correctly, but Tenma had said he’s had five drinks in total. Unsui’s surprised he can down that much alcohol in the two-something hours they spent at that bar.

“I don’t wanna sober up alone…” Tenma pouts at him suddenly, and god did his slightly glossy red lips make his expression extremely cute. “You wanna come upstairs?”

Unsui doesn’t give it any thought. He nods, “I wouldn’t mind.” He watches Tenma skip over just to hug him again, his palms smoothing against the broad muscles on Unsui’s back. Call him crazy but… is Tenma feeling him up? 

Tenma releases him, the combination of his smoky eyeliner and his glossy lips making it harder for Unsui to maintain eye contact. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll put something on for us.”

Again, Unsui gives this suggestion absolutely no thought. He follows without hesitation. “Sure.”

Temptation is getting to him. Again, Unsui isn’t drunk, but he’s feeling a little dissonant. Whimsical at worst, with the current thoughts swirling through his head.

As the blonde puts away all his accessories, Unsui sits at the foot of his bed, feeling his chin between his thumb and index finger. He turns away as Tenma mentions putting on a pair of shorts, and continues to think. Since this blonde is fake-dating his brother, he wonders if the universe is secretly blessing him with opportunities through some kind of odd situational-segwaying. Learning about Hiruma’s scheme made Tenma talk to him more, and at first it was about his twin brother, of course, but after a while Tenma started genuinely hanging out with him.

And blessing is the correct word for this. His feelings aside, Unsui has always found himself strangely intrigued by Tenma as a person. His happy-go-lucky, simplistic personality is beautiful in itself, but he knows there’s more behind that…

The quarterback strikes a match with his thoughts; “You know how you have multiple girlfriends?”

Tenma answers rather fluidly. “Uh-huh…”

He may punch himself later for being so indulgent, but Unsui can’t help but ask: “Have you ever been attracted to guys before?”

There's notable silence behind him, which prompts Unsui to turn around. Having slid on a pair of lounge shorts while keeping the cropped sweater on (Tenma’s choice of clothing will be the death of him), Tenma stands with surprisingly perfect posture as he looks up and pouts in thought. Unsui purses his lips; even his thinking face is so cute. “Sometimes.”

The quarterback narrows his eyes, “Sometimes?”

“Yeah…” Tenma reaches up to scratch the back of his head with an odd look. “It’s complicated…”

“Really? That’s new.” Unsui looks to his sides, his need for indulgence growing way too fast, way too quickly. “Would you kiss or date a guy?”

Tenma’s head is still tilted, some strands of his falling over his forehead. “...Probably?” Those smoky-lined eyes narrow a bit before he shrugs. “It can’t be that different from being with a girl, no?”

“Probably not...” Unsui shrugs too, suddenly feeling like he has to detract from himself. Unlike Tenma, who’s got five glasses of cocktails in his system and is somehow unaffected, he can’t just be that honest. “I’m only asking you because you seem so comfortable playing the role of a girlfriend. I myself, uhh…” He stops and inhales realizing Tenma is listening to him, and wishes that the blonde was actually hammered. “I’ve never kissed anyone in my life.”

“Really?” Tenma actually looks shocked, he goes to sit next to Unsui. “I know you said you never dated but… not even a kiss? With how handsome you look?”

“Uh-” Unsui chuckles, anxiety building in his gut. “It just never… I never experienced it.”

“Well, it’s… It’s a nice feeling.” Tenma shrugs, “I don’t really ‘ kiss’ kiss a lot, I cuddle more than I kiss. I dunno, like apparently some of my girlfriends have told me that the guys they dated ALWAYS wanted to kiss, but too much doesn’t go a long way when it comes to that, in my opinion…” There’s a pause again, then he bumps against Unsui’s side. “You seriously never kissed a girl?”

“I don’t-” Unsui changes his statement. “Like I said, I never thought to try kissing a girl.”

“Mmmm…” Tenma narrows his eyes and runs a hand through his hair loosely. The action had no business looking so sexy to Unsui, though. “Have you thought about kissing a guy?”

Somebody better call an ambulance, with the way Unsui’s heart is about to fall out of his ass. “Th-That’s… That’s not something I can think about.” Because he’s gay, and he can’t think about that because he’ll want that.

Tenma gives him a look. Then he half-smirks. “You know, straight men don’t ask the kind of questions you just asked.”

Unsui immediately gets defensive. “I only asked two questions.”

“Both pertaining to me liking men. I’ve never met a guy as transparent as you, for that matter.”

It really sounds like Unsui is being pressured, not to admit that he is gay, but to admit that he’s trying to persuade Tenma into kissing him, because that’s lowkey what he’s trying to do. Yet the blonde, as buzzed as he is, has enough knowledge in romanticism to see right through Unsui’s tactics, all without pushing the quarterback away. In fact, his body language is completely open.

“I’m just… I was wondering.” Unsui tries not to swallow. “I never experienced that stuff at all.”

Tenma suddenly smiles, a finger coming up to his lips. “We can change that.”

The quarterback couldn’t prepare for the jolt in his gut when Tenma both lightly bites his bottom lip, and when his eyes do that thing; he can’t explain what it is, but Tenma’s eyes switch from ‘let’s watch a movie together’ to ‘pin me against the wall and rail me’.  

Unsui’s lips feel dry all of the sudden. Matter of fact, his whole mouth feels dry. Maybe he needs some water. “Wh-What?”

“See how easily you reacted to that?” Tenma’s finger moves from his lips and he shrugs, as though he didn’t wreck Unsui just now. “You seem to wanna find that out. Maybe we could try…” He has the nerve to wink after that, then cascade into laughing.

Whether he’s laughing at the thought of kissing Unsui, or just laughing to laugh, Unsui doesn’t know. For the sake of his need to resist disclosure, he’d like to imagine it’s the former, as self-deprecating as that is. “I don’t- I… You wouldn’t wanna kiss me. I don’t think we can-”

“Maybe I would.”

Unsui swallows audibly. He can feel sweat starting to form in his palms.

“I dunno if you were trying, Unsui…” Tenma draws his name out in a low voice, and moves to stand in front of Unsui, both knees between his thighs. He puts a hand on the quarterback's shoulder. “You’ve been staring at me all night. I think something like that has been on your mind for a while.”

The quarterback’s eyes could fall out of their sockets right now. How the fuck did drunk Tenma notice that?!

“But that’s fine, I didn’t mind you staring at me.” Tenma’s gaze goes from Unsui’s face to his upper body and back with raised brows, that very hand going to rub circles across his chest. “I wouldn’t mind if we kissed, either.”

Unsui comically blinks like a deer caught in headlights and looks behind him as if Tenma’s talking to someone else. Voice stuck in his throat, all he can do is silently stammer because if he dares to actually speak…

“Don’t just sit there and stare…” Tenma leans even closer so that he can stare in Unsui’s eyes, in his damn soul practically with those pretty, doe irises that have him caving in by the second. “You wouldn’t even notice a thing…”

Before Unsui can say anything, if he even wanted to say anything, Tenma’s lips make contact with his. Unsui decides maybe, for a moment, to give in, but his chaste movements are nothing compared to the grip and the grasp of Tenma’s. The surprising expertise in his maneuvers has Unsui’s cheeks heating up so quickly, he has to pull away to gape at the blonde in shock.

Tenma doesn’t even push against him. “What?”

“That’s-” Unsui, cheeks now bright red, looks at Tenma's lips, then his eyes. “That’s how you kiss?”

“Mm-hmm. What, were you not pecking me just now?” Tenma jabs playfully, giggling at Unsui’s shock. “What you did wasn’t kissing at all. Come ‘ere…” He smoothly situates himself on Unsui's lap and gently cups his face, this time kissing deep enough to make the whole of their lips touch and Unsui, unable to move because he’s so amazed at the feeling, starts to give in to the advances and tries to reciprocate on Tenma’s level.

He can taste the Midori Sour on Tenma’s lips, and he feels a drunken rush greater than that of the strongest of beers. Completely overtaken by both the warmth of the smaller man’s body and Tenma’s skilled mouth, Unsui pivots them both back so that he’s on top of the blonde. As though he too is drunk, Unsui completely caves when Tenma’s hands lightly grasp his biceps, his inhibitions slowly being stripped away like they always are whenever they hang out, and that’s saying a lot given they spent two weeks getting to know each other.

That mouth, innocent by nature but wicked in practice, pulls away and Tenma starts lightly sucking on Unsui’s bottom lip, kissing along his cheeks and his neck, the very sound of the action making the quarterback groan. Tenma’s hands trail to his chest and Unsui in turn pulls Tenma’s right knee up so that his waist is between Tenma’s legs. Their making out became so unexpectedly heated and passionate; Tenma’s hands roaming nowhere near as raunchily as his mouth is, his fingers tracing and exploring Unsui’s pecs, and his legs swing up to cross over Unsui’s lower back. Another groan, and a further push from him has Unsui grinding softly up and down against Tenma’s body, his hands gripping the back of Tenma’s toned thighs. Small and lithe, a body type Unsui has a guilty pleasure for, the hips beneath his waist start to push against him…

Suddenly, Unsui’s reminded of the fact that Tenma’s drunk right now, and that if he dared let his body and his thoughts get the best of him, he’d be taking advantage of the upperclassman. 

The kiss breaks off softly, surprisingly by Tenma. Unsui opens his eyes to a sight he didn’t expect to get so turned on by: smiling parted lips, short blonde hair all messy against his own pillow, the junior’s hazel eyes gleam playfully despite their face being inches apart.

“How cute…” Tenma chuckles at how shaky Unsui is. The poor quarterback feels like he’s on fire right now, yet the blonde traces his fingers so delicately along his jawline. His other hand cards between Unsui’s shirt collar, fingertips caressing the taut skin beneath as he whispers; “You seem a little hot, Unsui.”

“Tenma, please-” Unsui breathes out, voice drawn in a husk. “I can’t- we can’t continue this-”

“What? You’re so nervous…” Tenma laughs lightly at the flushed look on Unsui’s face, and he goes to cup Unsui’s cheek. “It’s just an innocent kiss.”

Innocent?! Unsui was one swift move away from ripping his own clothes off, and he’s supposed to be the sober one here. “I-I mean, I didn’t think a kiss would feel like that, and I’m just-”

“Drawn?” Tenma finished for him, using a word that so perfectly describes how he’s feeling. “I guess you really do like this kinda stuff, eh?”

“I’d-uh…” Unsui forgets how to speak, still hazed from their making out, and also because Tenma looks so damn delicious beneath him. “W-yeah…”

Tenma just laughs warmly, while Unsui moves from above him to lay beside his friend. The blonde pushes strands of his hair back again, and he sits up to scoot closer to Unsui, resting his head against the quarterback’s broad chest and lord, can somebody give Unsui some strength? He is struggling so hard to concentrate his thoughts on everything else so that his dick doesn’t get hard. 

“It’s quite late, so you can sleep in. It ain’t safe to be driving if you’re tired.”

It might be safer for Unsui’s sanity to leave, but Tenma’s bed is also so comfortable. He’s getting too fucking lucky, and he doesn’t know what to do about it. “Right… I hope you sleep well.” He wants to slap himself; all he has to do is say goodnight.

Tenma says it for him, and he says it with a soft kiss to his cheek. “G’night, Unsui. Get some rest, okay?”

All forms of coherent thought left Unsui’s brain then.

Tenma actually expected to feel way worse this morning, yet he barely had a mild headache. The first thing the halfback did was immediately take a shower, but not without half questioning why there’s a belt that he doesn’t recognize on the floor. He also woke up with Unsui nowhere in sight. He knew Unsui brought him home last night, and he does know that he asked Unsui to stay. The quarterback leaving his belt here sounds like a weird tale he’d set himself up for, so the man has to still be in his house.

Once Tenma steps out of the nearest bathroom, he saunters down the hall and finds his bedroom door, which was open, now almost completely closed. He didn’t leave it that way, it must be Unsui then. So he opens the door and sees the quarterback, now with his belt on, sitting on his beanbag chair.

There’s red gloss stains scattered all over his face.

Tenma, in his luxe robe and fluffy slippers, nearly drops to his knees. “OH MY GO- WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!”

“You didn’t- I-” Unsui shakes his head, looking oddly distressed. “I should be the one apologizing, because I started it.” Before Tenma could protest by saying there’s literal evidence against that on his face and neck, he continues, “I kept asking you really intrusive questions, like if you like men or if you’ve ever kissed a man, and I enabled you to do so.”

Tenma approaches him, arms tucked against his stomach. “But you didn’t want that, and I still like, kissed you all over-”

“No, no… I did…”

Unsui’s voice trails off, as though that sentence should be longer, and Tenma blinks a few times. “Huh?”

“I…” The poor quarterback looks away from him, eyes glued to the ground. “I wanted you to kiss me.” 

The blonde visibly deflates, partially in relief, but majorly in awe. He goes to kneel beside Unsui. “Why would…”

“I… I kind of developed feelings for you.” Unsui’s breath catches in his throat, like those words left too quickly, but he closes his eyes and wills himself to continue, “I didn’t think it was anything and I thought it was just because you were friendly, but the more we talked and hung out, the more I felt like… I just felt too much. And I felt like an asshole tagging along with you and being your ride home knowing that I had the chance to act out my desires with you being drunk. It was messed up, and I didn’t want it to escalate, so I left the room afterwards.”

That explains why Tenma woke up alone. “I kinda remember us going to sleep, though.”

“Yeah I… I left because I started-” Unsui purses his lips, “I started feeling things, and I had to leave.”

Feeling things… He started getting aroused, Tenma correctly deduces. It feels like a callback to why Tenma got drunk yesterday; he wanted a breather from finding out the truth behind this scheme. Yet for some reason, unlike the revelation with Agon, this doesn’t feel as terrifying as that. Tenma somehow isn’t as surprised as he should be either, but he’s more surprised that Unsui is shying away like he doesn’t belong in this house.

And Unsui, for that matter, is repressing the urge to run. Tenma could laugh at him or curse him out for trying his luck, because how dare he manipulate Tenma into doing that? How could he think he’s worth his time, if he only believes he could get what he wants from him when he’s drunk? The quarterback crosses his arms and hunches over.

Tenma puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes lightly, tenderly… “Unsui,” He starts, and he smiles, “It’s okay.” Those amber eyes draw forward with a look of shame that makes Tenma want to bear hug him. 

Unsui blinks twice, and then frowns, “Why aren’t you mad at me?”

Tenma can’t help but sympathize. He never would’ve thought that Unsui liked him, he always figured the quarterback being more sociable with him was just a result of, like he said, Tenma being friendly. For him to reveal such a secret to him… perhaps Tenma should come clean as well. “I should tell you that… when I’m drunk… I become more honest.”

It’s that sentence that Unsui looks at him for. With Tenma kneeling in front of Unsui laying against the beanbag chair, they are at eye level with one another. He starts to connect the dots. “You said to me… that you wouldn’t mind kissing me.”

Tenma knows he said that. He vaguely remembers saying that, but he knows it came out of his mouth. He nods at Unsui.

The quarterback’s gaze softens a bit. “Was that for real…?”

There’s something in Unsui’s eyes that is pleading for the answer he wants, and Tenma can not lie to him. He nods again.

That gaze cracks apart like a golf ball to a glass wall. Unsui is in disbelief. “Why?”

“I guess it’s because I feel a connection to you. I’m very friendly, and to be honest, I’ve kissed my own friends before. Granted, they were always girls, but…” Tenma’s hand slides from Unsui’s shoulder. “I think that’s why I was so comfortable kissing you. The boundary between friendship and relationship is extremely small for me, because my friends are my girlfriends, usually.”

“I get it, you didn’t want me to get the wrong idea.”

“The wrong idea?”

“That I-” Unsui stops himself; arrogance is an alien trait to him, and being honest would require him to pathetically admit he felt entitled in some way. “That I had a chance…”

Tenma’s mouth opens, he looks waywards, and then pauses to think. It’s likely Unsui always kept reminding himself that Tenma was off limits because he wasn’t single, and that’s why he did what he did. Because Tenma is friendly, Unsui had hoped that he could experiment with him. In a way, Tenma could be upset, but the quarterback clearly didn’t do this maliciously. The poor man can barely look Tenma in the eye, for crying out loud, and Tenma knows how confrontational he can be when there’s alcohol in his system.

This situation mirrors the secrets Akaba told him. The Kongo Brothers are twins, two identical bodies with different minds, yet he sees that Unsui and Agon share a similar sentiment. Somehow, with the way Unsui feels… he can see that same anxiety, that same fear in Agon’s actions. The only difference is that with Agon, he’s acting; completely playing a part to shed the utility player’s attention off of a fellow friend. Unsui is not viewing him through a prettied lens, he likes Tenma for who he is. He is not acting with Unsui.

Unsui likes him for him, and Tenma always feels obligated to let a person express how they truly feel so that they’d be in good standing with him. He doesn’t want to break off this friendship at all.

Tenma starts, “You told me you’ve never dated anyone.” 

Unsui nods like a shy puppy hunched in a corner.

“Now that you’ve told me you feel,” Tenma searches his eyes, “Does that change anything between us?”

“Um… No…” And at this, Unsui takes a grounding breath. “I don’t want it to, but I feel that if I hid this any longer, it would’ve changed things.”

“Why hide it from me?”

“Because you like women.” Unsui answers immediately, and Tenma looks into his eyes again with a stagnant gaze. Then, to his surprise, Tenma straight up snorts.

Then he laughs. “You know, Unsui… If we’re being real here, I like anybody that I feel a connection to.” He simmers into soft chuckles, coaxing the anxiety from Unsui’s body. “I just love, as you know, and guys aren’t out of the question.”

Shock. Unsui looks shocked, “So you’re…?”

“Yeah, I could like a guy.” Tenma shrugs, and Unsui visibly relaxes. Tenma cracks up again, “Do you think I was gonna stop being your friend because you like me? C’mon now…” He stands while grabbing Unsui’s wrists, tugging him up. “Let’s go have breakfast and we’ll talk more about it if you want. You want tamagoyaki and rice?”

“Ah…” The quarterback nods, still trying to look as normal as possible. Tenma recovered from this faster than Unsui did, and while he’s grateful, he spent too long expecting to be exiled on sight. “Sure.”

Last night felt like a fever dream.

Unsui can still feel the soft pull and plight of Tenma’s lips, reminiscing the way the blonde expertly kissed him while they set up the table accordingly. Because he couldn’t let Tenma do all the work, they made breakfast together; Unsui focused on the rice, while Tenma made the tamagoyaki. He also cooked Unsui some grilled mackerel because he somehow knew that Unsui skipped a meal yesterday (he’s forever guilty of that). 

The blonde is currently grabbing his laptop upstairs, since his girlfriends wanted to chat with him via web call, so Unsui chooses to wait until he’s back. A minute later, he gets startled by the sound of his phone ringing in the living room. He goes to grab it and flip it open as he heads back to his seat in the dining room; it’s Agon calling.

“Where are you?” Not even a greeting, or anything less imperative. Agon is immediately sticking his nose in.

Unsui leans back, “I’m at a friend’s house right now.”

“All night? The fuck have you and your ‘friend’ been doing?”

It’d behoove Agon to assume Unsui’s got a partner. To be fair… he was kissing Agon’s fake girlfriend, so… In his book, he still wins. Ha ha. “We went out for a bit and I got tired, so I crashed at their place.” He pauses, hearing Agon possibly grabbing something. “Dad’s not there anymore, y’know.”

“Ah? When are you coming back then?”

“Hmm…” He doesn’t need to answer that question immediately. Unsui pretends to think about it, but before Agon can curse him out for being slow, Tenma returns with his laptop in hand, and his girlfriends are loudly applauding and cheering for some reason…

“Are you guys serious right now?!” Tenma’s voice is a bit distant, as he plops on the living room couch. Unsui can see him clearly, and the blonde turns around shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Unsui. They’re so damn extra, I swear.”

‘Oh my god, he’s here-?!’ Unsui can faintly hear before the volume on Tenma’s laptop is lowered considerably.

“...Who is that?”

Unsui sits up, hearing his twin’s voice. Agon sounds extremely serious for some reason, and it’s now Unsui realizes the man likely heard Tenma’s voice. Fuck. Time to act clueless. “Huh?”

“Who. Is there,” Agon inhales, “With you. Right now?”

He sounds… angry? Unsui can strangely hear a lot of anxiety in his timbre too. “Oh, I’m at Tenma’s house.”

Something drops quite loudly on the other hand of the call… Unsui frowns and turns back as Tenma draws closer with his laptop. The blonde stops, asks if he’s on the phone, and Unsui mouths to him ‘It’s Agon’. Tenma quickly says ‘oh’, and jogs back into the living room.

“Why are you at his house?”

“We hung out yesterday.” Unsui casually sighs, “And I-”

“Why are you friends with him?”

Why is Agon so nervous? Unsui can discern Agon’s furious tone from his anxious tone. When he's anxious, he adopts a rushed way of speaking, like he can’t wait for answers, and Unsui can imagine him physically frozen wherever he’s standing. “We just… We got cool? I don’t know what to say.”

“Why HIM?” Agon sounds like he’s a hairpin away from screaming.

“Beca- Agon,” Unsui decides to be confrontational, because his brother can’t hate this man THAT damn much, “What is your problem? I’m friends with somebody in your team, why is that an issue?”

“You could’ve been friends with anybody the FUCK else…” Agon pauses, and Unsui can literally hear him seething. “And you choose to be fucking friends with him?”

There’s no reason to shake at the tone of that voice. Agon won’t do shit to him, and Unsui knows this. He stands his ground, “Answer my question: Why is that an issue?”

Agon doesn’t answer his question. There’s silence, the sound of his phone being tossed against a couch or a bed, and it leaves Unsui extremely baffled. He turns around to see Tenma laughing on the webcall with his girlfriends, and his joy heavily contrasts whatever the fuck Agon’s feeling on the other hand.

Then the sound of the phone being picked up yanks him out of his focus, and Agon grounds out: “I won’t allow you to be friends with him, Unsui.” And he ends the call there.

Unsui blinks three times, stares down at his phone and frowns. He’s bewildered beyond belief; Agon has never taken authority upon something Unsui’s done. He knows they hate each other, but why would Agon go out of his way to disengage them two? More horrifically, why would Agon say what he said?

Agon is furious at the simple fact that they are friends. Why is that?

“You’re done?” Tenma saunters over and stops at the dining room entrance with the laptop in hand.

The quarterback shakes his head, whisking his thoughts away momentarily. “Yeah. Ready?”

“Almost, umm..” Tenma takes a couple more steps, “My girls wanna say hi to you.” And he turns up the volume for Unsui to hear them chant ‘We wanna see Tenma’s new boyfriend!’ The blonde rolls his eyes with a smile but waits for Unsui’s nod and puts the webcam towards them both. “Here he is, y’all; we’re about to have breakfast!”

Unsui agreed to say hi, yes, but he’s fucking awkward as hell by default. “Hey, Tenma’s uhh… girlfriends.” They greet him rather joyfully, happy to see what he looks like.

“Tenma-kun, he’s so handsome!” Ayame cups her face in her palms, grinning madly.

Rina is sneering crazily too. “So we heard you guys kissed, Unsui…”

“You two are so fucking messy, I swear.” Tenma groans, and he turns the laptop back to himself while sitting adjacent to Unsui. He addresses Unsui suddenly. “I had to tell them. They’re my girlfriends.”

“I figured.” Unsui huffs a chuckle, as Tenma starts closing out his conversation with his girlfriends. He waits for them to bid each other farewell, watching Tenma finally close the laptop and place it on the seat next to him. He then does the honors of uncovering and expressing gratitude for the delicious food, before picking out their servings.

Unsui doesn’t start eating yet, nor does Tenma. The halfback looks at him: “Agon wanted to know where you’ve been, eh?”

“Yeah…” Unsui shrugs, the intensity of that call still marinating in his mind. “It's nothing though. I’ll do some errands and then return home after this.” With that, the two finally start eating in peace.

It isn’t until they're finished, when a really random thought crosses the quarterback’s mind. There’s a faint memory of some prank pictures taken of Tenma one day, which he found lying by Agon’s jersey duffle bag when he went into his room to retrieve something. Tenma was in a maid outfit, and because Unsui refuses to jerk off to his own friend, he never dared to even touch those pictures. He also never questioned why Agon had them, and assumed the dreadhead was trying to find ways to bully him. Yet if he did… those photos would not have been brought home. Agon also wouldn’t have cared to hear that they’re friends either if Tenma wasn’t a threat to him in some way-

Wait… Unsui frowns, now that he’s cleaning all the dishes. Tenma… may not be the threat here. Maybe, just maybe, Unsui himself is.

Holy shit, Unsui realizes as he shuts the faucet off very slowly and gulps; he might actually have some competition.

Chapter Text

“You’re leaving this Wednesday…”

“Yeah.” Speaking as Temari, Tenma turns to his phone, which is on speaker, and is sitting on the bed. He felt inclined to text Agon, because the dreadhead has been strangely quiet this whole week. He figured this lack of communication was Agon’s way of ‘dealing’ with Temari leaving, but was quickly mistaken when the dreadhead asked to call.

So he has to ask, because it hasn’t been asked this whole time. “Are you okay, Agon?”

“I’m good.” Agon says in a marginally softer tone than normal. “I’ve just been busy, is all.”

Tenma can testify to that. The both of them have practice a few hours from now. “Hmmm…”

“What’s wrong?” Agon piques up, and then he shockingly confesses: “I’m sorry for being so quiet, I’ve just… I’ve been thinking.”

Apparently, all this thinking has Agon’s mouth knitted, because he’s also been very quiet throughout this whole call. If Tenma lacked any bit of sympathy, he’d assume Agon was calling to waste time. “I actually… I wanna show you something.”

“Yeah?” That got Agon’s attention immediately.

Tenma cocks his head back, but casts a gaze at the standalone mirror. He’s wearing the usual, brunette wig that he adorns for his disguise. He had asked his mom to get it professionally cut so that it’d be the same length as his own hair, but in a neat bob instead of the frivolous style he always has.

Of course he took Akaba’s advice. The day of reckoning is only about 72 hours away, and if he wants to let Agon down slowly he should cut his hair. Maybe Agon might take back his good guy attitude and start distancing himself from Temari, which Tenma would prefer, but it’d completely contradict all that Agon has shown lately.

“I actually…” Tenma takes the phone and opens his camera. “I got a haircut, and I didn’t know how you’d feel about it. Wanna see?” 

Agon sounds a little confused, but intrigued. “Alright, show me.” 

Tenma moves away from the mirror (because the reflection shows his football jersey, and he’d fling himself into the Sun if Agon accidentally saw that), sits on the bed with his knees tucked and takes the picture from an upwards perspective. The only makeup he has on is some pink gloss, and a bit of mascara. Aside from that, his skin is pretty much clear and barren.

It takes a moment for it to reach his pseudo boyfriend, but when it does, Agon’s reaction isn’t negative at all: “Woah…”

“It’s-” Tenma cutely giggles, feigning insecurity as best as he can. “It’s very different, I know. I kinda didn’t want to have long hair anymore…”

There’s a pause on Agon’s end because he’s evidently thinking Tenma was going to continue. “Babe, you look-” Tenma hears him audibly breathe, “I would’ve never imagined how you’d look with short hair… You look real good…”

“You like it?” Tenma vocally piques up, but he doesn’t know how to feel.

“Yeah, I really like it, Temari!” Agon makes a sound of approval, and Tenma is left shocked. Perhaps it’s ignorant to assume Agon would dislike his ‘girlfriend’ with short hair.

He’s checking all the boxes. Now it’ll be harder for Tenma to break the news to him.

The dreadhead suddenly dotes an eager tone. “So… Before you leave, can we hang at my place? We should do a movie night again.”

The odd tinge of nostalgia, despite their last movie date being about three weeks ago, hits Tenma unexpectedly. He really does miss the mystery behind the attraction, the simplicity of Agon just having eyes for him. Maybe he can rekindle that innocence if they spend quality time together. “Sure.”

“Really?”

Okay, Agon’s a little too eager now. “Yeah, I’d like to do that before we say goodbye.”

“Right…” 

And just like that, whatever excitement that was in this man’s timbre is gone. He imagines that same sad, droopy puppy eyed look Unsui had the morning after their night out, and Tenma wants to hug him. I hate how soft I am, I swear. “If you want, we can buy some snacks together too.”

“That depends, like if I'd wanna go to some store or not.” Agon hums, shifting something on the other end. “I really wanna see you.”

Tenma warmly smiles, “Me too.”

“Especially now, I wanna see your new haircut in person too.”

“You must really like me with short hair, huh?” Tenma muses, thinking it’d have Agon in a hitch, but instead:

“I think you look way better with short hair, babe.” He says in an unexpectedly low tone, one that clearly shows that it turns him on.

“Heh, why thank you…” I’m gonna backflip in front of a bullet train.

“Of course…” Agon pauses on the other end for a moment. “I gotta go. Ima eat something before practice. I’ll see you… this Sunday?”

That’s two days from now. Tenma half expected Agon to continue flirting over the phone, because it sounds like something a turned on Agon would do, but he’s a little relieved that the dreadhead is cutting his appeal short. Though, knowing that this man likes him, makes Tenma wonder if he’s accidentally fueled the fire to the latent attraction.

“See you then, hun. Bye…” Tenma shuts his phone and slowly moves it away from his ear. He drops it onto his bed and stares out the window; he’s never heard Agon speak to him like this. The most he’s done was maybe the first week of them fake-dating, but nothing Agon did back then even matches how turned on he sounded seeing Temari with short hair.  

For the time being, he has a quick call with his girlfriends before heading to Saikyou for practice. If he conflates his own discovery with the pseudo dating that he and Agon are currently in, it would fuck with his mental really bad. The most he can do is prepare to be as normal as possible on their next date, and above all else, he should focus on Agon’s change in persona when he does eventually break it to him.

Practice went by quickly, or at least it did in Tenma’s perspective. He and Taka had performed a few pass plays in place of Ikkyu, who was working on a new Dragonfly route with Agon. Banba had asked Tenma if everything’s been alright, and of course, Tenma tells him things have been peachy. Poor Banba shouldn’t know the real reason why he’s fake dating Agon.

Leaving the locker rooms, Tenma adjusts his duffel bag and saunters into the lounge area. Upon passing the couches, where he sees Ikkyu engrossed in a game on his DS, and Banba and Yamato looking over written formations, he spots Agon. Agon is not sitting in the lounge area with any of them, rather he’s in the kitchenette looking down at his phone. He appears to be typing something, and whatever it is, has to be a long winded message. Focused on his screen, completely tuning out everything around him, Agon straightens his position and seemingly finishes what he’s typing, before he flips his phone closed and smiles at the ground, a finger resting on his chin in deep thought.

Tenma can't help but stare at him. That is a genuine smile. One that’s real and filled with actual… happiness, if that even. He doesn’t know who Agon texted, but he can only presume that he was texting his ‘girlfriend’, Temari… who’s standing here, watching him in this relaxed, content state.

Who’s not an actual girl. Who’s not a real girlfriend. Just somebody playing the part to a near perfect script, and it makes Tenma feel extremely guilty.

He has to turn heel and leave, heading to his car and trying to ignore the bubbling anxiety in his gut. The very moment he drops into the driver’s seat, Tenma shuts the door and puts a hand over his face. It feels like he just watched somebody unknowingly message a deceased person, and due to them reaching a month in about three days, it’s only a matter of time before Agon has to say goodbye. This only makes Tenma sad, because that was one of those rare pockets of time where Agon isn't masking himself into some brash dickhead nor a salacious womanizer.

A part of him wants to believe that Agon may have written something damning like ‘well since you’re going away, I think we should end it now’. He wants to believe that that smile was Agon simply being happy that Temari’s leaving so that he can continue skirt chasing and being a whore, but nothing in Agon’s demeanor, and the fact that he withdrew himself from everyone else, shows that at all. What if he confessed his feelings? Tenma wishes he didn’t; even though he met his family, even though Agon has shown sides of himself that he (confirmed by Unsui) never shown to anyone else, he cannot bear seeing that.

He has to, though. If anything he’ll be heading home and probably crying into his pillow at the idea, but he has to look at that message. 

Come on, Tenma flips the phone open and takes a deep breath, brace yourself; it might not even be that serious. Maybe Agon sent a short message; maybe he has an idea of a date that would finally get them to smash. That’s a better thought, Tenma goes to his messages, it’s better if he actually feels nothing…

He is dead wrong. The messages are not short at all, but they aren’t long either, and Tenma sits up to read it all thoroughly:

Agon K.: So I know you’re gonna leave within a few days or so, right? We had a lot of dates, and I really want our last one to be special. I don’t know when I will see you again.

There is an eight minute gap between this message and the next, so it’s clear that this isn’t a manufactured statement. It’s clear that Agon was thinking this through.

Agon K.: This is all very new to me so I don’t know what to do exactly, and I don’t want things to get boring between us. I really do like you, I don’t know if it shows. I’d be afraid if you thought otherwise, since I’m not good at showing stuff like this. I never really felt anything like this before, but I do not want to disappoint you. I just want you to know that you make me feel comfortable.

Agon K.: If you don’t ever come back to Tokyo, it’s okay if you lose interest.

The halfback had to reread those messages thrice to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.

As a man, Tenma can see exactly  what he’s feeling. Agon is afraid, not necessarily of them being together, but afraid of Temari leaving. His message may not clearly say that, but him coming clean, using the word ‘feel’ way too many times for his caliber while also saying that it’s fine if Temari loses interest, is probably him mentally willing away the fact that he actually does like his ‘girlfriend’. Any man who’s dated knows that such sentiment will not vanish the moment Temari says her final goodbye to him. Agon will continue pining and liking her well after her ‘departure’.

How is Tenma supposed to break it to him when he’s this attached? If he hadn’t anticipated Agon to react this way, then he would just ‘depart’ and leave Agon in the dark. Hiruma clearly noticed that there’s a connection between Tenma and Agon wanting to change, but even he wouldn’t have anticipated Agon actually liking Temari to this extent. So what should Tenma do then?

Backing out of that message, Tenma sighs and starts up a text with Unsui. He confessed… And then he puts his phone on his lap and rests his forehead against the steering wheel. A minute later, his phone vibrates:

Bestie: He told you how he felt?

Bestie: You told me there’s three days left, right? Do you still want to tell him the truth?

Tenma: I want to be honest to him, because again, he confided in somebody he thought he had relations with. It’d kill me seeing how he’ll be once Temari ‘leaves’, yk?

Bestie: I figured…

Bestie: I think you should stick with being honest. Like I said, I don’t think Agon will be as upset as you think he is.

Tenma: I still don’t understand HOW you could say that

Bestie: You told me he hasn’t made passing comments to you, yeah? I think there are traits that you have that he might be trying to emulate. Dating Temari would help him deal with talking to you.

…Maybe it’s because they’re twins, but Tenma feels like Unsui knows something and is being cryptic. But according to him, me and Temari are different people. 

Bestie: I meant that he’s got a chance to express himself to Temari, so he won’t resort to being aggressive with you.

Tenma: That's too optimistic, Unsui… 

It’s a daring game to project what he knows of Agon onto Agon himself. Agon definitely doesn’t know that Temari and Tenma are the same people, and because of this, why wouldn’t he get violent after finding out his first ever relationship was fake? Hell, Tenma himself would throw a fit if that were the case.

Bestie: Remember when I told you that you and Temari have the same personality? Temari is just a female version of you. Agon seems attracted to that level of transparency currently, it’s only fair that you remain as honest as possible.

He definitely knows something. There’s a whole lot in that text that isn’t being said outright. Either way… I accept whatever he gives to me. If it’s him yelling or him punching me in the face, I’ll take it as it is.

Two knocks against his window blink Tenma out of his hyper focus. He hasn’t even turned his car on yet, and the summer heat seems to elude him entirely. The halfback looks to his right thinking it might be Taka or maybe Mamori who knocked at his car window, but his hazel eyes widen when he sees it’s neither of them…

It’s Agon.

Without looking down, Tenma flips his phone closed. Why is Agon here, and more importantly… Why is his face so blank?

Agon makes a motion for him to open the door and Tenma, despite his hands shaking like a leaf, opens it and inhales. The minty scent of Agon’s musk hits his nose. Tenma carefully asks, “...Why are you here?” 

Agon slightly tilts his head, that empty look in his eyes doesn’t dissipate. “I wanna talk.”

“O-okay…” Tenma accidentally stutters, because Agon is so quiet, and his eyes are unreadable. Nothing is more unpredictable than an animated person showing absolutely no emotion.

“Let me ask you something…” Agon starts, and he squares off his posture, standing with his legs slightly spread and his shoulders pulled back. “What business do you have with my brother?”

What the-? How does Agon know that he and Unsui are friends? “Business?” Tenma frowns, deciding that there’s no point in hiding that. “We met not too long ago.”

“And you two have been hanging out.” Agon remarks a little too resolutely, like this information is incriminating. “He was at your house yesterday.”

“Yeah, we went out the other night and I let him crash there.” Sudden confidence strikes the blonde as he looks Agon up and down. “There’s no… business there. Unsui is a great guy, and we vibed quite easily.”

“Is that so?” Agon’s eye twitches, something really nasty is bubbling in his tone. 

Despite that, Tenma stands his ground and tilts his head. “You really came all the way here just to ask about that?” After pouring your heart out to a girl who doesn’t exist? “Me and Unsui are really good friends. That’s all there is to it.”

Agon’s expression somehow falls into something even more empty, and Tenma crosses his arms in an attempt to hide how petrified he is. He’s literally closed-in, Agon standing right in front of him as he's seated. The man can easily assault him, given there’s nobody in this area of the parking lot present.

Then his eyes relax, and Agon slides his hands in his pockets. “Step out of the car, trash.”

Tenma tucks his hands in further, “I’m not stepping out of the car.”

“Trash…” Agon closes his eyes and literally takes a breath like he’s holding back from killing somebody. “Step. Out. Of the car.”

“Why?” Tenma shrugs, and his shrug is too shaky, but he continues, “Is there a reason why you’re asking me about your brother? I’m pretty sure if you asked him the same question he’d say the same thing.”

Agon tilts his head, his dreads falling wayside with the motion, and he sneers airly. “You know him so well, huh…” He lets out a calloused huff, “You know I don’t like you, right? What makes you think I’d allow you to be ‘friends’ with my twin brother?”

Interesting, how Agon actively acknowledges Unsui as his ‘twin’ when it pertains to something he doesn’t want Unsui doing. Is that really what their upbringing has turned them to? Tenma makes a face; he’s trying not to get angry on Unsui’s behalf. “I naturally became friends with Unsui. He’s his own person, I don’t think you have any right to say who he can and can’t hang out with.” Not to mention, both Tenma and Unsui are older than Agon.

“You tainting him with the way you are is only gonna make me wanna pummel you on the ground.”

“You wouldn’t lay a finger on me.”

“You wanna test that, trash?!”

Tenma tries not to flinch. He can’t let his rising anger get to him. Being cheeky with Agon would make the dreadhead actually attack him. So, Tenma decides to abide, at least in this instance, just because he doesn’t understand what would prompt Agon to seek him out like this. “Look,” He plants his feet on the ground and rises, propping his arm against the open car door, “Why should it bother you? Unsui is his own person. Just because you’re the genius in your family doesn’t mean you dictate anything in his life that you don’t like…” His nerves are getting worked up too quickly, making him go even further: “And what do you mean by tainting him? I’m not cool with you, so who I am friends with shouldn’t matter to you anyway.”

Agon immediately gets aggravated, clearly Tenma has finally struck a nerve. “Where the hell’d you get that from?”

“It’s written all over your face.” Tenma deeply glares at him. “If you’re going to bother me, bother me for an actual reason, and not out of whatever’s got you knocking at my car door. If you’re that upset about it, go talk to Unsui, and leave me the hell alone.”

Agon actually goes quiet for a second. He’s taken aback completely, and he has every right to be so. Tenma taps the car door quite audibly, signaling that he ought to get going, but Agon doesn’t back away.

Before Tenma can even blink, a hand is on his neck, and his back is pressed against the doorframe of his coupe. Agon’s not choking him, but his palm almost forces Tenma to crane his neck to the side.

Agon gets so close, so heatedly close, that his breath barely tickles Tenma’s ear. “I’m not gonna leave you alone, trash.” He forces him back even more, the doorframe almost digging into his back, and Tenma has the gall to push Agon’s chest, but that doesn’t do anything. “And the more you keep triggering me, the more I’m gonna end up doing unspeakable things to you.”

There’s a drawl in that voice that’s so velvety, so dangerous, Tenma feels like he might get murdered at this very moment. “Agon-” He starts, and he wiggles in his grasp. “Let go of me. Please.”

He almost spat that last word out. “Let you go? How about you stay away from Unsui, instead? Because if I catch you even mentioning his name-”

“You can’t stop me from being friends with him!” Tenma tries to turn his head to face Agon. “Threatening me isn't going to do anything. If anything, he'll just think you're being weir-”

His air supply is cut off right there, that hand closes around his neck to shut him up. 

“I don’t care if he does.” Agon’s thumb presses against the bottom of his ear, and Tenma shivers with a gasp as Agon shoves himself closer to his ear. “I better not catch you hanging out with him.” For a brief moment Tenma freezes, feeling Agon’s lips graze the ends of his ear, his voice dropping to a smooth whisper. “Got it?”

Just like that, Agon pulls away from him. Tenma’s soles hit the ground and he feels so jelly-kneed, watching Agon walk away with an aghast expression because what the… what the fuck…

Excuse his body for reacting the way it did, but the way Agon choked him was not a means to actually strangle him. The way he whispered into his ear, that thumb pressing against his neck, all of what he did made Tenma’s blood rush and his breath hitch; that was totally meant to arouse him. His cheeks grow hot; Agon didn’t have to get so close to his face to get his point across, and yet…

The sound of his phone ringing on the driver’s seat jolts him out of his thoughts so bad, Tenma nearly trips on his own foot. Clearing his throat as best as he can because his whole body is heating up unnecessarily, he bents over to flip his phone open: “Y-yeah?”

Damn, even words are lost on him. He’s not big on choking, but no doubt it gets a rise out of him if somebody does it to him. Somebody stronger, with bigger palms than him…

“You alright, Tenma?”

A sudden vision of Unsui’s face being paired with that gripping palm assaults Tenma’s mind. “I’m… I’m good.” Standing straight up, Tenma turns back to where Agon had walked off to. He’s nowhere in sight. “I was just in deep thought.”

“About what I said?” Unsui sounds quite soft on the other end. “You sound conflicted, still.”

It’s not about their conversation. It’s about the fact that Tenma’s body is doing somersaults over Agon, Agon of all men out there, having choked him. It fills him with a dirtied sense of shock to know that Agon was definitely turned on doing that to him, too. Tenma slinks back into the driver seat, shuts the door and turns the car on while feeling his hair. “Did you tell Agon about us?”

“Wh-wha-” Unsui sounds sheepish, “I actually didn’t. He overheard you yesterday morning.”

“Ugh…”

“Why? Did he confront you?” Unsui asks, and there’s a sound of ambient chatter on his end. He must be out somewhere. “I didn’t tell you about it, but he wasn’t happy that I was at your place.”

Part of Tenma would’ve asked ‘why didn’t you tell me’, just to shed himself away from the current feelings he’s having right now, but he yanks himself out of that indulgence. “Well, I now know that he knows about it, so…”

“You wanna talk about it in person?” Unsui asks, “I’m at Yotama park.”

Tenma cocks his neck back. That’s about ten minutes away from the university. “Really? What're you doing there?”

“I was meditating.”

“This late?” Tenma furrows a brow. Unsui usually meditates early in the morning. “This is new for you.”

“I got bored and didn’t want to be at home.” Unsui chuckles a little. “I finished not too long before you texted me, so I’m just here relaxing.”

“I noticed Agon took the pickup truck today.” Tenma starts driving, turning out of his parking spot and heading towards the main street. “I would drop you off but…”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll be out for quite a while just to clear my head.”

A random thought sparks up in Tenma’s mind and he suddenly asks: “You wanna come to my place for a bit?”

And luckily (or so he thinks), it doesn’t take long for Unsui to answer: “Sure.”

“So,” Unsui leans forward, sitting on the couch in Tenma’s large living room, “He came up to you while we were texting?”

Tenma had long changed into an oversized sweater and briefs. He puts his cup of homemade milk tea down and lounges on his side. “Yeah, he literally came up to me and asked what my ‘business’ was with you.”

Unsui hums, his jaw tensing a little the moment he props his chin against his index finger. “Funny you say that, because just before you came by, he actually texted me to ask where I was. Not something that he does typically.” He chuckles airly, and Tenma eyes linger on him for a bit too long. He and Agon really do look alike. 

Sharply averting his gaze, Tenma fidgets with the seam of his sweater. “So he really is bothered…”

“Hmm?”

Tenma runs a hand through his hair, heaving a deep breath in thought, before he looks back at Unsui. “He wouldn’t tell me why, but he told me not to hang with you ever again.” As expected, Unsui looks bewildered, “Or else he’ll do ‘unspeakable things’ to me.”

“That’s what he told you?” Unsui frowns, shifting to physically face Tenma more. “Agon doesn’t verbally threaten people that he hasn’t put his hands on.”

The closeness, the heat in his voice, the silence in that parking lot when it all happened marinates Tenma’s mind, and he leans back in even more thought. Crossing his ankles and bringing his knees up, he offhandedly shakes his head. “Mmm, sounds about right…”

“Huh?”

“Of course he’d say something like that to me.” Tenma feels at his arms tensely, and somehow Unsui sees something that Tenma is failing to hide. “He did make his point known and I kinda… I didn’t mean to yank you out of your own plans over this.”

“What?” Unsui stands up, frowning at the blonde, “What do you mean by that?”

He flinches. Tenma did not expect Unsui to get that animated. “Nothing… Nothing, I meant nothing-”

“Tenma.” Unsui’s eyes grow dark, and his jaw is tense. He’s mad. “Did he put his hands on you?”

That angry look on Unsui’s face is stirring up something in Tenma’s navel, and before he can compose himself, the halfback feels a blush creep up his cheeks. “N-no, I… He didn’t put his hands on me.” 

Oh, but he did. He's had his hand on Tenma’s throat, and Tenma can’t stop thinking about the way Agon choked him. He can’t stop seeing Unsui’s face in the vision either.

And Unsui’s glare is so sharp and serious, Tenma feels like cowering into the corner of his couch, and he’s the older one here! “I will not allow him to threaten your safety over this.” The quarterback sits back down, rescinding his growing fury and taking a breath. “Tell me the truth.”

That feeling of being choked shackles his train of thought. It shouldn’t be getting to him, but… Agon had an ulterior motive with the way he choked him, and now that he’s sitting in front of Unsui, who looks just like him, who’s his friend… Who actually likes him…

“Tenma?” Unsui waves his hand in front of him. “You’re… Why are you blushing?”

“I’m sorry, I just-” Tenma slides his hands up his face, fingers carding into his hair again. “I’m having a moment, ummm… He kinda did. He cornered me but it wasn’t anything major.”

“Uhh…?” Unsui furrows a brow, and then he looks away abruptly. “As long as… he’s not physically harming you, that’s all that matters.”

Imagine telling Unsui that Agon choked him, and that he can’t stop thinking about it? He absolutely doesn’t want to create tension between the two boys, because they both are attracted to Tenma in different ways. At least Unsui hasn’t touched himself to him, or rather wasn’t caught touching himself… 

Tenma clears his throat and slouches backwards; he can’t be thinking like this.

He quickly redirects the topic before Unsui can continue asking why his cheeks are still red. “So… What will you do if Agon comes up to you when you go home?”

Unsui pauses, clearly seeing that Tenma is uncomfortable, yet he scratches his chin and doesn’t pressure Tenma to explain himself. The halfback really loves this man’s thoughtfulness. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” He shrugs, “Agon can bark all he wants. I separated myself from him the moment we went to different colleges. I’m not gonna let whatever he’s got going on affect our friendship. But the moment he physically attacks you…”

Tenma gulps, seeing Unsui’s face. Eyes narrowed and simmering with anger, lips slightly pulled into a snarl, Tenma would be scared shitless if Unsui ever truly got this mad. “He won’t actually attack me. I don’t have long until this ends. I just wish he’d stop… making a scene.” With an exhale, he gets up and fluffs out his sweater. “I guess that’s something we gotta watch out for.”

Unsui once again, dials his expression back and hums, casting a gaze at the carpet beneath his feet. It’s actually quite a shock that Unsui has feelings for him; to be completely honest, Tenma wasn’t lying when he said Unsui was very attractive. He’s simple looking, but his facial structure is sharp and manly, and paired with those droopy puppy eyes? Tenma is rather surprised that he hasn’t at least had a one night stand.

Tenma slumps back down. “Can I ask you something?” 

Unsui blinks in his direction. “Yeah?”

“How do you feel… After-” Tenma gestures loosely, “After yesterday?”

They had a lengthy chat after breakfast about what Unsui had confessed, and given how Tenma had ran errands, and then went on a date with his girls since they were in town last night, the weight of that conversation simmered away quite quickly. He just feels like asking him because Agon is making a big deal about them being friends, it makes Tenma wonder if Agon somehow knows of Unsui’s sexual preference.

Which makes that ‘tainting’ comment he made even more disrespectful.

The quarterback gets it immediately, he sits up slightly. “I’m good. I… Thank you, for letting me talk it out with you. It helped me understand how I really felt.” He nods offhandedly at his own words, glancing away and then looking back at Tenma. “I still… I still have feelings for you, but it’s okay because I like our friendship and you know, you’re not single.” 

Tenma smiles at him; on one end, Unsui is clearly being honest, but Tenma can tell that these feelings he’s having won’t go away. They might get stronger, and he’s perfectly fine with that.

“Why ask me that, though?” Unsui furrows a brow, “Do you feel that what we talked about will be compromised if Agon keeps butting in?”

“Kind of…” Unsui’s sexuality is actually the very first thing that Tenma thought about when Agon confronted him. The other reason is because he feels oddly guilty that being choked like that actually turned him on. Hearing Unsui express himself seems to ease his guilt for some reason. “I know your family is a lil’ strict.”

“Heh,” Unsui shakes his head, “‘Strict’ is an understatement.”

No doubt. It’d be bad news if their father knew about Unsui’s secret. “Sometimes I wonder how Agon even got this far.”

“He hid everything.” Unsui exhales, “I took blame for most of his bad behavior.”

“You better not take up for him ever again.” The blonde jabs his finger at Unsui’s nose with a scrunched up face.

Unsui cracks up at Tenma’s expression. “Of course not.”

Tenma chuckles, “Because if you did, we wouldn’t have been friends.” And to end that off, he rubs Unsui’s buzz cut head. The quarterback immediately whines and groans, moving away with a glare only for Tenma to skip away from him, heading into the kitchen. “Are you gonna leave soon? Do you want me to drop you off?”

“Nah, I’d take the lightrail back. We don’t live that far from each other, you know.” Unsui stands up, and starts heading to the front door. “Let me know how that last date goes.”

“I will. And I’ll rejoice when it finally does end.” Tenma approaches him to properly walk him out, opening the door. “We’re gonna go on a date at my mom’s old spot the night after.”

“A-a date?” Unsui looks back at him, clearly shocked at his verbiage, and Tenma giggles at the way his cheeks flush at that. “Ah, I… I can’t wait for that.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tenma gives Unsui another look, and he evidently glosses over Tenma’s face way too long. Unsui always manages to have the most soulful stare, and due to how hard his upbringing was on him, he always looks like a sad pup to the halfback. Tenma warmly smiles at him, and then hugs him tightly.

Unsui does freeze up at first, but he quickly relaxes in the embrace, hands going to Tenma’s waist. Tenma grins; he’s warming up more, and that’s a good thing.

When Tenma pulls away, the poor man has a shy, repressed smile on his face. He’s so cute. “Catch ya later, snookums.”

The sudden cock of Unsui’s neck makes Tenma snort. “Snoo- Not again with this.” The quarterback rolls his eyes and waves him off with a shake of his head. “I’ll catch you.”

Shutting the door and going back into the kitchen to grab a small snack, he mentally thanks himself for actually bringing Unsui here. He was going to just drive home and probably overthink his encounter with Agon, but it did help to speak to Unsui about this. It’s also more reassuring to know that Unsui isn’t going to let Agon’s pressure get to him. Jogging upstairs, a newfound spike of energy has Tenma wanting to grab his speaker from his room just to dance.

His phone was ringing sometime while Unsui was here, but it laid upstairs on his dresser the whole time. When Tenma opens the device, he sees it’s a missed call from Rina, as well as some texts from his girlfriends’. Answering them quickly, his eyes then linger on Agon’s contact, where his last text remains unanswered.

The long winded message stares back at him, meddling with his current opinion on the dreadhead, and Tenma can’t help but wonder if he would dare act the way he did today on their final date. It feels like an ultimatum, like he’ll expect something out of Temari right before she’s meant to depart. Maybe it’s just him conflating what had happened with their fake dating, maybe he should respond to that message…

A part of him wants to coldly reject Agon and leave him hanging for what he did to him earlier today.

I can’t do that, Tenma fights with himself, I shouldn’t be petty and do that when he doesn’t know me and Temari are the same person. He wouldn’t want to imagine the kind of havoc Agon would reap if Temari broke his heart, but he can’t bring himself to text him without being mean or paranoid.

Tenma tosses his phone to the other side of his bed and grabs his speaker. It’s final. In two days, Agon will find out the truth, whether he likes it or not.

Chapter Text

Tenma drums his fingers against his knee, his other hand lying on the steering wheel. Instead of using the subway to get to Agon's place, he’ll opt to park about three blocks from Agon’s family home and just walk the rest of the way there. The dreadhead insisted on driving him, but Tenma used running errands as an excuse, which luckily kept Agon off of his back.

Taking the exit lane off the expressway, he glances down at his final date outfit: short, bobbed brown hair, pink palette makeup, and a fitted deep red baby tee with a black skater skirt. He chose flat sneakers and thigh high black socks this time around. Despite how pretty he looks, Tenma feels so strangely naked because his wig is now too close to his natural hair length.

He’ll get through with this date, then Temari will ‘leave’ the next day. Maybe Tenma will tell him over the phone afterwards, which will give him three whole days to prepare for whatever ass whooping Agon will lay upon him after practice.

Now that he’s near the countryside of Kanagawa, it should take about fifteen minutes to get to Agon’s house. I hope I don’t stick around for too long, Tenma lets out a sigh when he reaches a stoplight. It’s 18:50, just shy of mid evening. Unsui told him that he’ll be at Enma Fires’ clubhouse checking inventory, and their father isn’t at the house as well. He’ll be alone with Agon for the night…

No point in turning back now. So instead of wallowing in anxiety, Tenma turns his music up and jams the rest of the way there.

Ambling slower than usual up the steps to the Kongo’s front porch, Tenma rings the hanging bell and looks up at the waning sun, softly shaking his head to feel the ends of his wig brush against his jaw. This last date is another movie night, and the innocence of their previous movie date barely placates the budding anxiety in Tenma’s gut. In a strange way, despite Agon cornering him two days ago, despite knowing that man has a thing for bringing him down and a thing for him, Tenma still feels bad for the bomb he’s about to drop on him…

The door opens, whisking Tenma out of his thoughts, and he’s greeted by the sight of his pseudo-boyfriend. Agon’s dreads are pulled back in a half-up half-down fashion, and he’s wearing a much more casual outfit; polka dot orange and lime green sweatpants and a blue shirt with pineapples on it. 

Sometimes Agon has the fashion sense of a hyperactive child, and Tenma has to twitch his nose to hide his amusement. 

Those amber puppy-eyes of his soften at the sight of Temari. “Hey, babe. Long time, no see.”

…When was the last time they were together? Since that family dinner? “Yeah…” Tenma beams a warm smile as Agon ushers him in. “How’ve you been?”

“I've been good.” Agon closes the door, then he once again guides Tenma in a gentlemanly manner to the kitchen. “How’d you get here?”

“As usual. I took the train after I dropped all my stuff off at home.” Tenma feels at the seam of his shirt collar. Turns out Agon did buy some snacks, mostly Temari’s favorites; the chocolate wafer bears, a salmon bento box, and a few Taro milk tea boxes. “How’s your day? I see you did some shopping.”

“Kinda needed some groceries so I got some this morning. The wafers were at the store too, and I know you like those.” Agon leans against the countertop. “You’ve been out and about all day, I hope you at least had a full meal at home.”

Ha didn't. Tenma lacked the appetite to eat all afternoon, and now he’s a little hungry. “I did, but that was only for lunch. I think I’d only settle for light snacks for now. Thanks, hun.” He feels at his bob, sauntering past Agon to grab a taro milk box. Those amber eyes of his linger a bit more than normal.

There’s a stretch of silence, which is… odd. Usually, Agon would keep the conversation going, but the man seems to be very pensive this evening. Tenma decides to break the ice. “What’ve you been doing this whole week, by the way? I’m sure your team has been practicing more often.”

“Yeah, we have.” Agon’s shoulders fall a bit, his body language looking more relaxed. “I’ve been working out like, almost every day. Had to get some stuff out of my mind.”

Tenma hums, and thinks of something else. “Is it about that dinner I had with your family?” Surprisingly enough, Tenma actually has no idea what Agon felt like that night. He hasn’t told Agon anything either, for he put all his acting skills into that one car ride to the train station, only to tear up again when he got home. Agon hadn’t questioned him then, luckily.

“Yeah, kinda. I dunno, my dad is very uptight and I was a little upset with how he was talking to you.” Agon slides his hands in his pockets, keeping his gaze forward with a light frown. “I honestly didn't like it. He’s always like that.”

Now for Agon to even outright mention his dad, and for him to not immediately ask Temari how she felt, means that Agon noticed something and was actually very angry with what he saw.

Tenma takes two steps towards him just to pat Agon’s arm lightly. “As long as he doesn’t show up out of nowhere, we’ll be fine.”

“Oh hell no, that’d be bad. We got the whole night to ourselves.” There’s a cute, small smile on Agon’s face when they make eye contact, one that Tenma returns back. Then almost instantly, that relaxed poise of his starts losing its tenure. He shifts on his feet, inadvertently moving from Tenma’s hand, and completely changes the subject. “So you’re still down to watch Temple of Demons tonight?”

Weird… “Of course, you told me it was your childhood fave. I kinda like your karate movies.” Another thought passes, and the halfback decides it's best, at least for him, to eat before they sit at the couch. “Do you mind if I eat before we settle down?”

Agon gestures freely, already moving to leave the kitchen. “Yeah, go ahead! I'll be in the living room while you're at it.”

“Awww, you're not gonna have a snack with your girlfriend tonight?” Tenma coos playfully, and he's a little surprised to see Agon actually chuckle so sheepishly. Once again, his shy attitude reminds him of Unsui. 

“I mean yeah, I just gotta…” Agon gestures crookedly to the living room and quickly dips out, leaving Tenma to himself for a moment. It's almost adorable, how Agon looks so avoidant despite this being their last date. Tenma turns to take his bento box with a light frown, what is going through this man's head? 

A couple minutes later, Agon enters the dining room and he has somehow managed to change out of his rinky-dink blue shirt. Now he's wearing a wifebeater, fitted and ribbed to show off how muscular he is. Somewhere in Tenma’s brain, he's silently steaming in a bit of envy. 

“I’m back.” Agon breezes by with a gentle hand against Tenma’s waist to get a bottle of fruit soda out of the fridge. 

There's small talk here and there as Tenma eats, though he's a little confused as to why Agon is so quiet. When Tenma finishes his bento, he throws the plastic box out and feels at his skirt.  The blonde has to break the ice again. “So since football season's starting, what are you gonna do to pass time?”

“Probably work out…” Agon sips his drink, leaning against the counter top and unironically looking quite gorgeous with his head tipped back. Tenma wonders if he’s standing this way on purpose. “I don't really do much aside from that.”

“...Try making some friends, maybe?”

“Ahhh, it's not that easy, Temari.”

Tenma tilts his head. “What makes you think that? I think you're just shy.”

Agon shakes his head with a light laugh. “Nah, I'm just… Not into that.” He shrugs and moves his lips like he's about to say something, but then discards whatever was on his mind. “I'd rather just have my family, and my girlfriend. That's really all I need in life.”

Need. Once again, Tenma’s hit with the daunting reality that Agon's dream girl, who is the female version of him, isn't a real girl. He sucks in a breath, feigning a tiny smile if Agon's looking, but internally wanting to burst through the seams of this excellent lie. 

“You’re leaving tomorrow, right?” The dreadhead’s voice is quiet, he even isn’t making eye contact either. His gaze is on his water bottle, expression unreadable.

Tenma’s eyes fall downcast. “Yeah…” He caresses his arm, feigning reluctance. “That’s kinda why I was out and about today. I wanted some more souvenirs to take back to Kyoto.”

“That’s nice…” And Agon looks at Tenma finally. His eyes shift over different parts of Temari’s face, almost like he’s taking in a mental snapshot of his girlfriend’s appearance. Agon’s lips twitch up as though he is going to say something, but he closes his mouth and just darts his gaze at the floor. Tenma finds him doing that a lot today, and it is only now that he’s realizing Agon’s doing that so that he doesn’t say the wrong thing.

Of course, Tenma can’t help but be empathetic. He must be nervous. “Agon…” He pouts a little, “You’re so quiet.”

Agon keeps shifting his weight from one leg to another, nearly dragging his feet. He puts his hands in his pockets and blinks at Temari with a repressed smile. “I am?”

“And you’re shifty.” Tenma tries to give him a reassuring smile back. It’s much easier to imagine ditching Agon when the man isn’t in front of him. Curse him and his stupid, big heart. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I'm good.” The utility player still tucks his hands in his pocket, shoulders squeezed together making him way more shy than need be. He loosens up a bit and his face relaxes. “I just… You’re really beautiful, Temari.”

Agon looked straight into his eyes when he said that. He meant that. Tenma accidentally flinches trying to meet that gaze. “R-really? I mean I-” Take a deep breath, c’mon… Relax. Tenma exhales, and feels at his hair. “I look very different though…”

“I like your short hair, I told you that before. It really fits you, babe.” Agon is now back in his normal mode, which is a little confusing, but perhaps he needed a slight push just to say what he really wanted to say. The dreadhead gestures to their living room and walks out while keeping a gentle hand on Tenma’s back, and the moment Tenma sits on the couch, Agon starts up the movie. He sits down next to Tenma, legs spread apart with his arm over the headrest of the couch, keeping a light hand against Tenma’s left shoulder.

They watch the first half of the movie mostly in silence, Tenma gradually relaxing in the atmosphere and even slightly leaning against Agon’s open arm. This is a nice date, but since this is Temari’s last day, so to speak, the reticence is so strange to him. Shouldn’t they be talking more? Agon should be more apt to chatting with Temari, given how much he’s said through text or their previous calls, but he seems so tight-lipped. He isn’t even dropping that much commentary on the movie, despite the amazing action scenes that occur nearly every ten minutes.

“I’ve been thinking about something.”

Tenma blinks and sits up a bit hearing Agon suddenly speak. “Hmm?”

“We could’ve… done a bit more for our last date, as I usually would, but I dunno…” Agon looks up slightly, pondering. “I just felt like settling down, so I hope this isn’t boring for you.”

An echo to Tenma’s own thoughts… “It’s not boring at all, Agon. I’m just wondering if you’re feeling alright. You’re really quiet today.”

Agon hums and feels at his hairline. “I guess I just been in deep thought.” 

Tenma shifts to lounge on his side, tucking his legs back. “About?” 

“A lot of things.”

It’s like pulling teeth trying to get a specific answer out of him. Tenma narrows his eyes. “About us?”

That’s when the ambiguity disappears, and Agon lightly breathes out a chuckle. “Yeah…” And his hand that’s been loosely slung over Tenma’s arm lightly grasps the base of his shoulder. “This whole thing is kinda new to me. I dunno if it's normal to feel so strongly so soon.”

The hairs on Tenma’s neck stand a little bit. Transparency, on this level, is completely unheard of from this man. His words sound way too vulnerable for who he is. “Well… Some guys fall faster than others. You've never been in a relationship but you've been with other women. I'm surprised you'd feel so much so quickly.”

Agon cocks a brow at first, to which Tenma immediately wonders if that sounded patronizing, but the look on his face simmers into slight amusement. “I'd say it's especially rare for me, because of certain things.”

“You grew up with a strict father.” Tenma starts, and decides to provide a different point of view. “You must've had really high expectations of yourself too. I know one of my friends has really strict parents, and she tends to be really hard on herself. Maybe since you're a guy, and you've been out and about,” Tenma gestures airily with his next words, “You just never met somebody who'd get to know the real you.”

“To be fair, I don't think anybody knows who I really am. In a way, I feel like I'm still hiding a bit of myself from you.” Agon chews his bottom lip in thought, and Tenma gets a little blindsided looking at him now. Agon truly is a handsome man, in fact both of the twins are. It's a shame that he grew to be such an asshole, but in a way, it's not entirely Agon's fault. Just like Unsui, Agon was also neglected as a child.

The weight in those words reaches Tenma and the half back blinks. “We can't be an open book to each other immediately, you know.”

“Nah, it's moreso… I've been really out of my element ever since I met you.”

Tenma opens his mouth, but then shuts it and looks away. Is… Is he being paranoid, or is Agon trying to catch something out of him? He was about to say ‘Maybe it's because you're so used to being aggressive’, which isn't something Temari knows about. Perhaps it's just the nature of the conversation, or it's just Tenma’s guilty conscience. 

So he decides to act clueless, sitting upright with palms folded together to look dainty. “Is that a good thing…?”

“It's not something I'm used to, heh,” Agon tilts his head, almost reading Temari’s face; Tenma tries his hardest not to blush, “But it's not at all bad. I just never liked a woman as much as I like you.”

Agon's eyes are so deep with raw, but clearly restricted emotion. This isn't some dialogue he's used before, he truly means what he's saying. His eyes are searching way too much, and Tenma feels like he could read minds with how he's looking at him. It's not a harsh or critical gaze, however… It's one that shows adoration. Awe, even.

Tenma inhales, and softens as best as he can. He's never seen Agon look at somebody like this, it's a bit too much for him. “Maybe you're just now realizing you can connect with somebody.”

“Ah-” Agon makes a shoo-ing motion and huffs, “No way you remember that conversation we had. That's so embarrassing.”

Tenma knows he's doing that because he's uncomfortable. Agon doesn't like letting people see how alienated he is. “It's not! Everybody needs somebody to talk to, or someone they can relate to.”

“...I guess you're right.” Agon's free arm slides down to rest against his stomach. “I’m not good with that kinda stuff but talking to you helps a lot. I like when we talk about… that.” He scratches his head for a short moment, a confused sliver in his gaze. “Maybe I’m just…” He inhales, and looks at Tenma. “Maybe I like you a bit too much.”

Those amber eyes burn so deep with an unbridled passion, one that makes Tenma’s breath hitch accidentally, and for a good moment they’re both staring deep into each other's eyes. “I-I mean,” The words get caught in Tenma’s mouth, “We’re… We’re dating, no?”

The look in Agon’s eyes doesn’t relent. 

“You're supposed to like me.” Tenma chuckles to ease the tension, “Duh…”

“Well, yeah.” Agon chuckles too, before his expression falls serious again. “But even with girls from the past, I didn’t feel super attracted to them for long. I really, really like you, Temari.” That confession feels like it’s not doing Agon’s feelings justice, and Tenma can tell this isn’t ‘classic Agon’ because he’s not being physical, yet his eyes are begging for an intimate touch.

But before Tenma can even think, the dreadhead places a light kiss on Tenma’s cheek. The kiss was so soft and chaste, that it left Tenma shocked at first. “Agon…”

Agon’s hands guide him backwards until Tenma is laying on the couch, his arm sliding up the pillow beneath Tenma’s head. “Do you mind if I hold you, babe?”

Tenma shivers, “H-huh…?” He gets his answer in the form of another kiss to the cheek, and a hand easing itself against his waist.

“I kinda…” Agon doesn't kiss him anywhere else, but he continues to speak against his neck with a voice smoother than aged wine. “Would wonder what we'd be like two months, or a year in. We’ll be together long distance mostly, but for now I just wanna…” His hands ghost above Tenma’s thighs, once again not doing anything else but staying there. “Can I just stay with you like this?”

Tenma’s heart feels like it just stopped. Hiruma has said that Agon doesn't have a proper filter of his own emotions, so on the flip side of his assholery, lies a person who almost fiendishly clings to anybody that sees past his abrasive nature. It makes sense as to why Agon always keeps to himself. Maybe taking friendships and connections so personally was a flaw he wrestled with since he was young. 

“You just want to hold me?” Tenma tries to turn his head in Agon's direction. 

Agon lifts his head a bit to smile. “I mean I-” He lets out a tiny chuckle, “I'd like to kiss you too.”

“You already did so-” God, is this okay? Should Tenma let him embrace him, let him kiss his cheek? What Agon is feeling is very real, and Tenma can't just say no to him. He doesn't say anything, instead Tenma responds by resting his hands over Agon's broad back. So Agon dips back down to enshroud Tenma very gently.

It's not the kisses that have Tenma’s body reeling, it's Agon's hands. His hands aren't doing much because he's being rather modest, yet he is holding Tenma so gently by the waist that it's making the halfback shudder. He leaves butterfly kisses along Tenma’s cheek, seemingly not noticing that Tenma is barely doing anything to reciprocate, seemingly in his own world. 

At this point, Tenma’s blanked out, because what the fuck is happening and how did they even get to this point?! The half back shuts his eyes. He ought to just mentally turn off, and tap on Agon's arm if it gets too intense.

He bites his bottom lip, fighting back a sigh when Agon’s expert lips suddenly trail along the nape of his neck. That’s his damn weak spot, and with Agon’s arms keeping Tenma hinged underneath him, it’s hard not to get suckered into his light touches and kisses. “Agon-”

Oh my god. Oh my god, what is happening? What is happening what is happening what is- Tenma’s eyes shoot open and he instinctively plants his hands between their chests. He's a man, and Agon's not even two inches from his Adam's apple. This is dangerous.

The dreadhead pulls away immediately and he looks down at Tenma with a worried frown. Yet when he speaks, his voice sounds breathy. “Did… Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“It's just-” Can Tenma say yes to that? Would that give him away? How far is he allowed to take this without them getting too sexual? “I wasn’t expecting you to… do all that.” Even though Tenma technically did give him the okay, he just didn't think Agon would be so forward yet respectful at the same time. 

Agon sucks his lips in, and he looks a little addled, as though somebody just turned the lights on in his brain. “Ah… Sorry…” He sits back, both of Tenma’s legs laying on either side of his waist, softly drawing shapes along his pantyhose. “I went a little overboard.”

“It's…” Tenma takes a moment to breathe. Agon is a really good kisser. He reckons it'd be hard to snap out of it if a woman were making out with someone who kisses like that. “It's alright. I guess it was a show of how much you like me.”

“Heh… Maybe.” Agon's hands trace upwards, skipping Tenma’s skirt entirely and lightly caressing Tenma’s waist. This act is so shockingly modest considering Tenma’s legs are open, and considering this is Agon Kongo showing this much decency. “I could always go further.”

“I know you can.” Please don't. “But could we… Keep it tame for now?”

“Yeah, of course.” Agon nods, but he doesn't move. Instead he lays back down against Tenma’s chest, and looks up with those droopy puppy eyes of his, bright and refreshed. “Cuddle?”

This is almost cute. Tenma snorts and runs a hand on Agon's dreads and looks at the TV. Since when was this horny brute the little spoon? “Mm-Kay.”

They stayed like that throughout the rest of the movie. Tenma would thank Buddha for his tucking gaff, it would’ve been bad news if Agon felt any kind of bulge while they laid together. The half back sighs lightly and shifts a little, moving his hand from the back of Agon's head. Agon doesn't move. He moves around a bit more, and Agon stirs a bit, eyes blinking heavily. 

Tenma cracks a smirk. “Did you fall asleep?”

“Nah…” Agon shakes his head, even though he's yawning. Tenma gives him a look, and the dread head scratches the back of his head. “...Yeah, I kinda dozed off.”

He lightly flicks Agon’s forehead. “Silly.” Maybe he grew sleepy from Tenma rubbing the back of his head for a while. Regardless, that would mean Agon will be too tired to continue this date on. A good call for me. “Movie's over, hun.”

“Yeah…” Agon sits up and moves away from Tenma, getting up and stretching his arms and back. Once again, Tenma gets a little transfixed on his back muscles, watching the way his pats and shoulders flex with every movement. 

“Like what you see, babe?”

Tenma blinks and immediately sits up; Agon hadn't even turned around. How'd he know Tenma was staring?! “You’re so muscular…” 

“I'm an athlete, y’know.” Agon looks down and feels at his waistband, switching the TV to the channel input.

Tenma averts his gaze for a moment, fixing his skirt downwards and folding his hands on his lap. “What time is it?”

“It’s… 21:35.” Agon sighs through his nose. Tenma stands up, touching up his bobbed hair. For some reason, Agon is watching him fiddle with his hair with a tiny smile on his face. A look of appreciation. It’s a look that’s so innocent, it makes Tenma blush a little.

The dreadhead turns away abruptly. “You need to go home, yeah? I’m sure the trip back will be long. You leaving in the morning?”

“I leave in the early afternoon. Um, Agon...” Tenma saunters towards him, putting a hand on the back of Agon’s shoulder. He’s so muscular… “I… want to ask you something.”

Agon turns around with a rather handsome smirk, his eyebrows raising up in response. “Yeah?”

He takes a few more steps away, letting his hand fall from Agon’s shoulder. “You said you never felt this way for any other woman.” And he’s not facing Agon because he had to swallow and frown saying that, but his morbid curiosity is getting to him. He needs to know. “Do you truly mean that?”

Agon doesn’t immediately answer him. He was in the middle of fixing the pillows on the couch they laid on. He finishes just as Tenma turns to him. “I don’t just say these things. I really mean what I said.”

Tenma’s eyes fall a little, but he hides his empathy with a smile. “You must’ve been getting with women that weren’t like me.”

“Yeah, I’d say so myself as well.”  The dreadhead shrugs, standing straight and crossing his arms. “I’ve never met a woman like you. I feel like I have to… Fix myself up for you. Maybe that’s a good thing, it’s keeping me out of trouble.”

“Hmm…” Tenma looks away, and Agon somehow picks up something that he’s failing to hide.

“How about me?”

“Hmm?” Tenma blinks at him.

Agon smiles a bit. “How do you feel about me?”

Is Agon asking for someone else’s opinion on him?! Someone pinch him. “I like that you’re really honest with me, given your history.” Seeing Agon’s smile look a little too restricted, Tenma mistakes it for him being underwhelmed with that response. “But I think you’re an amazing boyfriend. You’re very thoughtful and sweet, and I only ever like men like that anyways.”

“Ah…” Agon laughs a little, his timber akin to relief. “I was hoping I’ve been good to you.” Again, Tenma tries not to look too surprised by Agon’s words. The dreadhead walks over to put his arm over Tenma’s shoulder, looks at his pseudo girlfriend’s face, and almost shyly looks away as they head to his front door. “I’ll walk you out. Please, don’t forget to text me.”

That’s odd. Tenma was expecting some more words between them. “Trying to call it a night?”

“I’m not trying to not keep you up too long.”

Tenma hums, walking alongside him to the entrance. It feels like there’s so much this man wants to say and do, but he’s clearly restricting himself from doing so. This date feels so oddly short and cut-off, not that that’s a bad thing on Tenma’s end, but he’s wondering what Agon’s current reticence would spell for their next team practice. Will he continue being quiet, or will he blow up on everyone because his emotional crux is gone?

“Hey.” Tenma softens his voice as best as he can. Before even opening the door, he gives Agon a hug because he really can’t bear the way Agon’s acting. It’s clear as day that he’s sad about Temari’s departure. “I’ll text you when I get home, okay?”

“Yeah…” Agon hugs him back, but it feels hollow. Empty. “Temari…”

The halfback leans back to look up at him. “Hnn?”

“I hope you come back for the winter.” Agon looks down for a moment and then back up, straight into Tenma’s eyes. He dips his head downwards so that their foreheads touch. “I have so much to say but I don’t know how to… Where to start.”

Tenma is quite literally frozen in this intimate embrace. Agon’s arms circle further, the airy feel of the hug being warmed by his next words: “It might be too early for me to ask this, but can I kiss you, Temari?”

Tenma’s face gets beet red and he leans away from their touching foreheads, anxious as fuck. “I-I-ummm… I’m…” He softly shakes his head, meeting Agon’s mellow gaze. “I’m not ready for a full on kiss yet, Agon. I don’t do that this early.”

“Ah, okay…” Agon nods and looks wayward, actually… accepting the rejection? What spirit is holding his ass at gunpoint? “Then I’d just want to hold you for a bit.”

“Ah?” Tenma smiles a bit, at least in an attempt to cool himself down. “You can hold me. Just… no kissing on the lips yet.” And the relief comes over Agon, he embraces Tenma while rubbing a hand against the small of the brunette’s back. His other hand comes up to softly tuck Tenma’s short strands aside to kiss beneath his jaw, just below his ear. A stirred breath leaves Tenma, and he shudders from the warmth of Agon’s lips again. 

“It’s hard, really…” Agon pulls away and kisses the end of his cheeks. “I can’t help it. Maybe it’s soon, but I think…” He huffs a chuckle, and Tenma can feel his smile against his cheek, “I think I might be in love with you, Temari.”

The record stops there. Agon Kongo is full on in love with somebody he’s miraculously dated for a month, and here Tenma is, at the forefront of this new development, taking advantage of the fact that things are still safe between them. Agon’s gentle embraces and soft kisses feed the blaring alarm in Tenma’s head, because he’s let this go too far, and Agon still has no idea that he is in love with a whole ass man. Quite literally, in licentious ways, as he lusts for Tenma in the same way that he loves Temari, and he has no fucking clue that one of them doesn’t exist…

This is all too much.

“I can’t- I can’t do this anymore-” Tenma shakes his head away from that warm face, those lips, backing away entirely and raising his hands like he’s shielding himself from a punch. “I can’t-”

“Huh? Temari?” Agon backs off immediately, confused. “What’s wrong?”

From Agon confessing such vulnerable things about himself, to seeing Agon struggling to hold himself back while they were together tonight, the halfback can’t handle toying with his emotions any longer. He already feels like he’s insulted Agon’s integrity by letting that man kiss his cheek and his neck. Tenma cannot live with the disrespect that an actual kiss would entail.

“Agon, I…” Tenma, still in his woman voice, sighs in exasperation. “This isn’t real, okay?!”

“What do you-” Agon’s face falls, and he doesn’t actively try to hide it. He looks legitimately upset. “What’s not real? What are you talking about?”

He still can’t see it. Agon likes Temari so much that he can't see the obvious truth. Tenma shakes his head frantically. “I’m not Temari, Agon. It’s-”  Out of pure frustration, the blonde huffs an anxious breath and with closed eyes, removes his bobbed wig. His blonde hair flicks down in its usual frivolous form, partially covering his face, and he speaks in his normal voice. “It’s me.”

Five seconds. There’s absolute silence for five whole seconds, and when Tenma opens his eyes, Agon is staring. He’s just staring at his upperclassmen with a look so incredibly muddled with emotions, that it's unreadably blank. His eyes betray the canvas; they are dissecting the very scene in front of him, the very real truth that Temari wasn’t a woman all along. That the perfect girl, in Agon’s eyes, happens to be the one guy who is his polar opposite, his known nemesis, his closeted crush. Tenma swallows, throat dry and hands shaking at his sides as Agon looks him up, and down. And up… and down again. 

Then those amber eyes meet his, and there’s torrential, blazing fury beneath that stare, so much so that his irises rapidly flick between Tenma’s eyes. Tenma steps away even further until his back hits the door, breath hitched, and hyper aware of how alone they both are. Suddenly, Agon takes one step forward with both his hands balled into fists, and they’re balled up so hard that his veins are popping out. He takes a second step, and Tenma tenses his face thinking he’s coming to pounce on him… But he doesn’t. Agon blinks, the fury in his eyes unwavering, and then he tilts his head.

And then… He laughs. 

And his laugh is completely void of fury. Hell, Agon’s laughing so hard, that he’s leaning back with a hand clutching his stomach, eyes closed in mirth.

Meanwhile, Tenma feels like his soul is going to jump out of his body at any moment. Agon, laughing?! Why is he laughing?! What’s- how’s this funny to him?!

“Ah…” Agon straightens his posture, wiping his right eye. “You know… If I were any dumber, I would’ve called you a liar.”

The confusion that Tenma felt is now blanketed with terror. Agon doesn’t look amused anymore. He’s still smiling but his eyes are angry; if anything, he looks unstable.

Then Agon takes a big step forward out of nowhere. “I really would’ve thought that with how convincing you were. I wouldn’t have batted a fucking eye, trash, given everything that you saw.” And the last step completely closes the distance between them, poor Tenma reduced to trembling and looking at his simmering face. “You got me all the way fucked up.” Agon snatches the neckline of Tenma’s shirt, and Tenma shuts his eyes, bracing himself for a vicious beating.

Yet finds himself seized like a tased convict when Agon suddenly shoves his lips against his own.

And he’s not being modest anymore. Tenma’s eyes widen as his hands slip past Agon’s biceps, Agon angling his lips so perfectly it accidentally elicits a groan out of the blonde. The dreadhead grasps the back of his thighs and hoists his legs around his waist, further pressing him against the door. Their lips noisy tangle, Tenma still partially lost in the sudden change of Agon’s action, and also (shamefully) lost in the heat of them… making out…

They’re… they’re making out. They’re making out right now.

Agon breaks the kiss before Tenma’s mind pieces itself together, and brazenly checks Tenma’s out; messy blonde hair, confused hazel doe-eyes, and smothered lipstick gaping back at him. He bites his bottom lip. “But to be honest, you look much better when you’re like this.”

“Agon-” His mouth is shut with another heated, breathy kiss. Tenma tries pushing him back by the chest, but Agon moves his hands from beneath his legs to pin his arms to the door before Tenma can even fall to the ground. He tries shaking his head away, and only sloppily breaks away. “Agon! Why’re you-!”

“You have no right to ask me questions.” Agon glares, and his lip twists into a snarl slightly as he speaks: “You spent an entire month dressing and acting like a woman. You got this close to me so casually, trash. You shouldn’t be asking me anything.”

He’s practically seething now, his breath tickling Tenma’s face. Yet, the blonde finds some courage to yell back; “So you go ahead and start fucking making out with me?! That makes no fucking sense!”

“And you think pretending to be my girlfriend makes any fucking sense?! Getting me to talk to you and having my family meet you?!” Agon slips an arm under Tenma’s thigh, gripping it with enough force to empty Tenma’s train of thought. “Consider it even. You do some nonsensical shit like this, I do nonsensical shit back, trash.”

Tenma grasps his holding arm, trying to pull that hand away from his thigh, but instead Agon yanks that leg up and pins his lower body with the side of his hip. “But… but kissing me? I thought you hated me.”

“You’re right. I do hate you.” Agon leans in further, meeting his eyes with nearly every other word. “I hate you more than any other fucking trash out I’ve ever met. Everything about you gets me hot, I can’t stand being in the same team as you, and here you are…” He looks down at Tenma’s body, then sneers in his face, “Here you are, with your cute little skirt and those red lips of yours, trying to find out more about me. Trying to ‘figure me out’, ah? Well, did I interest you enough?” He ever so softly caresses the side of Tenma’s face, his sneer growing when Tenma flinches from his gentle touch. “Or do I need to show you more?”

Tenma’s back tenses, his cheeks growing red as chills run down his spine. The angry heat in Agon’s voice is paralyzing, especially with how close he is. With how much his voice is tickling his ear, it removes that sense of danger that Tenma’s feeling, which only makes him even more anxious. There’s so much, despite his rage, that Agon still isn’t saying.

Then, just like that, the dreadhead roughly takes his hands off of Tenma’s body, and takes two steps back. Just like that, his face is calm, and even his voice has lost its ire. “Ima give you five seconds.”

Tenma has to blink back into reality. He’s flushed from being engulfed by Agon’s body heat, and him pulling away so suddenly muddles his senses so badly that Tenma might slap himself. Why is his body reacting like this?! “Five seconds…?”

“To leave.”

Tenma’s eyes go wide. Is this a trick? Agon wouldn’t let him go this easily, right? There’s no way…

“Cause I’m so mad… Like I’m some type of mad that I can’t describe right now, trash.” Agon flexes his fists forward, opening and closing them like he’s holding two stress balls. “You had me feeling so much, seeing you in that skirt, and in that pretty little makeup. I’m not gonna contain myself when you look like this in front of me, trash. You angered me so fucking much, that I might just fuck you against my door." He crosses his arms. "So, I’ma give you five…”

Tenma sputters, his knees wobbling like he’s losing the ability to stand. The adrenaline kicks in, and faster than he can probably blink, Tenma grabs his shoes, opens the door, and straight up sprints out of Agon’s house. He jumps over the front porch steps and side dashes to the gate, completely foregoing putting his shoes on and running as fast as he could down the block in his socks. If the Kongo family had any neighbors this would’ve been quite the sight, and Tenma isn’t thinking about how ridiculous he must look at the moment. He’s running for his fucking life.

Time must’ve eluded him; one moment he’s running from Agon’s family home, and the next he’s in front of his own house, fumbling the keys like Agon’s going to jump out of his bushes. Cranking his house key in, Tenma stumbles into his living room and collapses onto his couch. He’s not even exhausted. He’s not tired from the short running he did, he’s just… he’s…

He was only five seconds away from getting mercilessly hatefucked.

Not even wanting to imagine what doom that would spell for him if Agon just so happened to not give him any grace, Tenma locks his front door and heads straight upstairs to strip and shower. He does his post-shower routine completely empty headed, still mentally not here. Agon wasn’t acting like that with Temari; he was holding himself back with Temari, even choosing to end the date for her sake. He apparently couldn’t bear to hold himself back when the truth was finally revealed, and it was clear as day that he didn’t want Tenma to leave… because he wanted to fuck him.

…Well, him giving Tenma five seconds to leave at least means Agon’s actually showing self control, no? Past Agon would’ve probably ripped Tenma’s clothes off.

Instead of… probably calming down and getting his head straight, Tenma lays in bed with his arms spread out in nothing but an oversized T-shirt, staring at his ceiling with a blank gaze. It’s even worse because Tenma actually… he actually liked when Agon and he laid on the couch together. That felt like an offshooting callback to Unsui in a sense, because Tenma can see himself doing that with Unsui. Then those warm hands of his threw Tenma in for a mental loop, made him rethink his own impulses…

Then Agon kissed him against the door and it was like Tenma’s body forgot that they were sworn enemies. His body didn’t push him away, it welcomed the heated advances. Hell, even thinking about it now is making Tenma’s face feel hot.

Somewhere beside him, his phone vibrates. Tenma blinks out of his swirling thoughts, and looks to his screen, only to see Unsui’s contact name and feel his heart skip a beat. Unsui and Agon are twins; they both look the same, which means their hands must feel the same, given Agon kissed him so roughly, and choked him the other day, and-

Bestie: Hey.

Bestie: How’d it go?

Then another text, around an hour ago, from Yamabushi:

Bushi-Bushi: You home yet? I just remembered you said this will be the last night, right? I’d hope you at least confessed to him on the way home.

There’s a few more from his girlfriends as well, all unrelated to his current circumstance, but his mind keeps revolving around Unsui’s name, and Agon’s face. And what happened tonight, or what could’ve…

Tenma can’t even bear to answer his texts tonight. He tosses his phone to the other end of the bed, and turns around to scream into his damn pillow. The truth had hit him hard as well, for admitting how he felt was all too much.

Chapter Text

He made a grave mistake.

Agon never makes mistakes. He is too perfect for the very concept of human error, and yet here he is, staring up at his bedroom ceiling with a hand over his forehead, the other hand toying with the waistband of his boxers. He kissed Tenma that night, not Temari, and with his current thoughts up in the air he would've considered it a dream come true, but Agon would swear up and down that it was not his dream.

In all of his embarrassing honesty, he took a liking to Temari because she looked exactly like Tenma. Then he started really liking Temari after he subconsciously rubbed it in Tenma’s face that he ‘found’ somebody to get rid of his feelings for him. The cute damned twink trash has become a muse of his fantasies, and once again, he’d swear that they are just fantasies, that he doesn’t ever want them to come true. Meanwhile, right after Tenma had turned tail and ran off in his unveiled disguise, Agon had gone straight to the shower to jerk off because he got painfully hard.

It was not Temari that got him aroused. It was the fact that he was actually so deliciously close to that trash, having laid on top of him and kissed on his neck and cheek, right before Tenma revealed himself. The mere thought of Tenma in his adorable pastel shorts or a crop top, writhing and sighing beneath him as Agon kisses him silly was enough fuel to have him jerking off like a pathetic trashy idiot. It was then that Agon realized he was fucking finished.

With a rustled groan, he gets out of bed and goes to the bathroom to freshen up. He only chooses to wear sweatpants and a black wife beater to campus. Today’s a practice session, no point in dressing all nice when he's just going to be sweaty. Trudging down the stairs, his latent aggravation hits him full force when he sees Unsui, who's neck deep in football data, sitting in the dining room with his phone right next to his book. 

Something nasty bubbles in his gut, given Agon now knows his girlfriend was fake this whole time. He's not even super mad about that in particular. He’s more angry that Tenma had the nerve to get him good, to make him feel that way, making it obvious that Agon wants that blonde twink more than anything. And here Unsui is, casually being friends with him… 

He doesn't say a word until Unsui somehow senses his hard stare, and looks up from his paperwork with a frown. The older twin blinks twice, “Good morning?”

The dreadhead puts on the fakest smile possible. “Afternoon, Unko-chan!” Of course, that makes Unsui glance at the clock, seeing it's already 13:30. He saunters over to the dining room area, that smile of his slowly cracking away. “I got something to ask you.”

As expected, his brother looks confused. “Uh…?” He frowns, “Why'd you smile like that?”

“I smile like that sometimes when I greet you, duh.”

“Yeah, but-” Something's different. 

“It sure is different, eh? Now then…” Agon doesn't bother pulling a seat to sit on, he instead sits on the dining table with his arms crossed. “Did you know that Temari wasn't real?”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Of course I did, but-” Unsui blinks like he just got told his car will turn into a piñata. “She's not real?”

Agon's eye twitches, but he’s still smiling. He can't read Unsui for some reason. “She happened to be your beloved, pansy little blonde trash.”

“Huh?!” Unsui’s eyes go wide. He even completely ditches writing, having released his pen to stand up. “So… You've been fake dating Tenma this whole time?”

This lack of transparency is bothering him. Agon's voice drops, ditching the snarky, fake positive attitude entirely. “You knew, didn't you?”

Unsui furrows a brow at him. “Why would I know-”

“You knew, didn't you?” Agon repeats himself. Silence follows, Unsui staring at him with a befuddled expression. “Stop acting like you don't. I know you're faking it.”

Unsui inhales, but doesn't say anything. The veil is gone, now he makes it clear that he's putting up a front. 

“So you let such a lie continue? Knowing that I-” Agon bunches his fist up and sharply inhales, refusing to say what he was about to say. “What the fuck were you thinking? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Regardless of how he handled Tenma’s reveal, he was so drawn to Temari. She sparked something within him that Agon, as impulsive as he is, was holding back on for a long while. For the first time in years, Agon felt like he could speak with someone truthfully, tell them things that he'd never tell anybody. Instead of getting scorched off by rose colored glass falling apart, she chose to sympathize, something nobody has ever done. And above all else, he only really liked her because she looked just like him…

“I noticed how you started acting when you met her.” Unsui pivots to face Agon fully. “You started being more thoughtful, just because of her.”

“You're only talking about how I was with dad.”

“That's still very different from how you normally are. You knew confronting our father on how he treated Temari would make him dislike her more, and you didn't want dad to make her distance herself from you.”

Agon purses his lips. That's true.

“You've also been spending more time at home. You used to be gone nearly every night, you haven't done that in a while. I also don't have women trying to chase me down because you broke their heart over the past month.”

“Tsh…” Agon kisses his teeth, shoulders bristling in annoyance. While he has been trying to change, had this been any normal person, catfishing somebody to this extent would be so wrong. Does that… not apply to him as well? “So you did it out of patronage? You'd let a fake relationship continue just because you're seeing results that you like?”

“It's not about me. You going that route benefits you too.” Unsui puts his hands on his hips, before sitting back down. “You can't deny that you wanted somebody like her for a while.”

Again, Unsui is right. He's so painstakingly right, that Agon has to toss his gaze elsewhere with a scrunched up nose. He looks at the bamboo tiles beneath the dining rug; there's clearly nothing personal there when Unsui said that. However… 

He leers a dark gaze towards Unsui. “So what made you befriend him?”

“Hmm?” Unsui raises a brow. 

Agon smiles, and what he's about to say sounds like he's connecting dots from different multiverses. “You say that I’ve desired a woman like her for a long time… Have you ever desired a friend like that, Unko-chan?”

“Wh-” The older twin cocks his neck back. “What are you on about?”

“Have you ever wanted somebody who's got you thinking, maybe even wanting…” Agon sneers, seeing Unsui’s eyes flicker with recognition for a split second. He's hiding from him again. “Maybe that's why you and that trash got along so quickly? Have you finally found your match?”

Unsui’s eyes narrow, and he shakes his head. “Agon, you're confusing me.” He leans against his seat. “If you mean finding friends, I already have friends at Enma University. I'm not as sheltered as you think.”

There's a bite in his voice, one that makes Agon crack a smirk. His brother's been snapping back more and he wonders if Tenma’s influence has gotten to him. Instead of entertaining how Unsui took that personally, Agon decides to stop beating around the bush. “That trash does something to you, doesn't he?”

Unsui frowns at him darkly. “He doesn't do anything to me.”

Agon doubts it. He doubts it so hard that he chuckles at Unsui’s obstinacy. “You know you're not like me at all, right? You're not like most men either.” A tilt of his head, “You went and befriended somebody who could turn you on purpose, right?”

“Turn me?” Unsui shakes his head minutely, now getting upset at him where he'd normally shy away, because he clearly knows what Agon means. “Agon, Tenma and I are just friends. He's a nice person. Maybe if you put your hatred for him in the backseat you'd see-”

“Unsui.” Agon raises his left palm, “I'm not playing around right now, nor am I a fucking dumbass. You became friends with him because you like him, right?”

Just like that, the older twin's cover is blown.

“You think I'd turn a blind eye to how you've never had a girlfriend all this time, how you did so well in a school full of sock-jerking trashes? ‘I was focusing on my studies’- Sure, you were.” Agon huffs a dark chuckle, having gesticulated while mocking him. “I'm your twin, I know you like men. And I know you like cute little, pretty men like that trash Tenma.” Even saying that name is making him angry in a horny way again.

“Agon…” Unsui purses his lips. “I don't like Tenma.” And it looks like he was fighting with his own tongue to say that. Poor man can't even lie to himself the way Agon has been these past months.

“Jerk off to him all you want, I still won't allow you to be friends with that trash. And besides,” Agon backs away, grabbing his duffel bag without even looking, “That little twink waited too late to break outta his disguise, ‘cuz we kissed that night. That trash has such soft lips, Unko-chan, and I made sure to show just how much I indulged him in that skimpy skirt of his. Now, go ahead and try to put any moves on him. He'll see me and ONLY me, kukukuku…”

Agon turns on a heel and leaves the house, the silence thick and heavy but the dreadhead angrily chewing his bottom lip the moment he shuts the front door. That's not something he meant to say, but the mere thought of Unsui liking Tenma and him having the upper hand because he is friends with that trash got Agon so angry, he impulsively started boasting about kissing Tenma. How could he expose Unsui for being gay, when he did something gay himself?! 

He tosses his duffle bag on the passenger seat and jumps into the pickup truck, starting the engine immediately. He's got some things to settle. 

Anezaki M.: You got sick? 

Anezaki M.: With what? The flu, allergies, did you have a stomach bug? 

Doji-kun: Nah ToT… I've just been really out of it. I don’t have a stomach bug but my stomach hurts a lil. I’ll be fine by tomorrow maybe. Anything new with today’s practice?

Anezaki M.: It was just drills today. Hiruma had all the running backs doing blitz routes, you didn’t miss much.

“So Pretty Prince didn’t show up.” Hiruma clacks the butt end of his rifle against his office desk. He did that to get her attention, even though it was unnecessary. “It’s been three days since that ‘breakup’, and Fucking Dreads was quiet all throughout practice.”

“Tenma wasn’t feeling alright today.” Mamori shrugs, “I already told him what we did.”

Hiruma hums, tapping his nail on a portfolio with his kooky smirk. “Well now he has more to catch up on, kekekeke…”

Mamori starts tapping her finger against the back of her palm as well, her eyes slightly narrowed. Usually she and Tenma text regularly, but he’s been strangely quiet this past week. A week prior he was cracking jokes with her, but today was the only day that they had exchanged any words in the past seven days. She’s partially convinced that Tenma skipped practice today because he’s no longer pretending to be Temari, which sounds unlike him in her opinion. It only makes her wonder what exactly happened on their last date.

Hiruma gets up and slides a bowtied bag out from between the portfolio cabinets. He puts it on the desk and gestures that it’s for her, so Mamori opens it and finds an assorted box of mochi staring back at her. Her period had ended yesterday, and she had offhandedly mentioned craving it once three days ago.

Mamori takes the box out but doesn’t open it yet; that’s his form of apologizing. Clearly, the thoughtful gesture warrants another topic to discuss, one that she was very upset about for a bit. “So how do you feel?”

The captain settles back into his seat. “About?”

“Tenma.” Mamori leans back. “You know what I mean. I was asking you about it last night.”

“Given that was last night, I couldn’t remember that conversation afterwards, Anezaki.”

“Hiruma-” Mamori purses her lips, because he’s clearly poking fun at her. Sometimes Hiruma does that to irk her, knowing her chaste nature.

Instead of chiding further, Hiruma inhales and leans back as well, mirroring Mamori’s posture. “You wanna know how I feel? I feel a little miffed that I can’t see Pretty Prince in a skirt anymore. Kekeke…”

“Again Hiruma, Tenma wasn’t truly dating Agon. As far as I know, he could make room for you too.”

Hiruma deadpans, “I’m not joining his fucking harem, Manajerk.”

She shrugs with her palms up, closing her eyes and completely ignoring him. “The offer’s up for grabs.”

“Whatever.” Hiruma rolls his eyes, “But I feel… Well, I think I got my answer on that idiot Mophead.”

“And what would that be?”

Hiruma opens his mouth, then narrows his eyes, then closes his mouth. Then, he tilts his head. “Do you remember when he nearly had a heart attack over Tenma stopping him? How Fucking Red Eyes came up to him? Remember when you asked me why Fucking Dreads could never stand up to Vampiro?”

“I do…” Mamori frowns; this doesn’t feel like the answer to her question at all. “What does that have to do with what you learned?”

“Kekekeke… Fucking Red Eyes is the one who inspired me to do all of this.” Hiruma crosses his arms. “He’s been holding something over Fucking Dreads for a couple months now…”

And somewhere within the clubhouse, a bit after the couple had their debrief, Agon turns a corner while feeling at the back of his head. Tenma wasn’t at practice today, go figure, and of course the loudest person of interest isn’t just out and about. 

Speaking of, Hiruma definitely had something to do with this scheme. That was Agon’s assumption, and if said assumption is correct, then Hiruma knows. He definitely knows, because Akaba definitely told him. Agon’s rarely made mistakes, but what he did with those cursed polaroid pictures… wasn’t the brightest idea in the book, but dare he say, he couldn’t help it.

He catches sight of a red guitar in the lounge area and before his brain could process it, Agon passes by a bit faster than usual. He’s not scared of that redhead trash, it’s just… Akaba found him in a vulnerable state, and looking at the musician makes his skin crawl. Besides, that was only Akaba’s guitar that he had just seen. It’s not like-

Just as he’s turning a corner, he almost bumps into a slightly shorter male with red hair and red eyes. The damned owner of that damn guitar makes eye contact with him, and somehow, Akaba wrings that earlier anger back just by smirking in his face.

A twitch of his eye, “Where’s Fucking Trash Blondie’s girl?”

“Weren’t you pinned off key for trying to flirt with her about a month ago?”

“You and I both know this has nothing to do with me ‘flirting’ with her, trash.” He tips his chin ahead. “Where is she?”

“It didn’t occur to you that I could’ve had no idea what you’re talking about?” Akaba hums, pursing his lips and tilting his head. “I won’t forge a play right now. The coda clearly shows you’re still attached and there’s nothing wrong with that. Now how you went about it…”

Agon’s seething now; “It doesn’t matter how I went about anything. I’m not attached, trash- Who do you take me for?”

And Akaba drops his musical lingo entirely to say with a straight face: “Someone who is looking for Mamori to find a better way to cope with how he feels for her friend.”

If he were stupid, Agon would’ve sputtered and stammered, but instead he involuntarily sucked in whatever words he was about to fling at him… because that is exactly what Agon was going to do. He was just too angry to realize why he wanted to actually talk with Mamori instead, and Akaba put his actions in real words. Read him and his irritation down to the core.

He hates this redheaded fuck so damn much.

“But to answer your question, she left Hiruma’s office a minute ago.” Akaba gestures ahead of him, or to the short corridor behind Agon. And of course, because he’s admittedly a little spooked that Akaba nailed his cause without even knowing about it, he brushes past Akaba and heads in that direction.

It’d be stupid to go to Hiruma. For the first time ever, Agon is actually in need of a woman’s say in this.

“But… How did Akaba figure out that he liked Tenma…?”

“It was an observation. He stole the pictures of him out of my office.” And she remembered how hard Hiruma was smiling, not too long after she started eating her mochi. “Why else did I get Pretty Prince to dress like a woman? Fucking Dreads has been wanting to see him in a dress ever since! Kekekeke…”

Mamori slips out of the restroom, shuffling her bag against her shoulder. In hindsight, that makes no sense given how rude Agon was to Tenma, but at the same time, Agon’s never targeted a stranger as hard as he’s targeted Tenma. She saw a similar sliver of Agon’s vindictive behavior when he slammed Hiruma’s head into the astroturf, how he made it a point to show that Hiruma was beneath him even though he and Agon clearly had good relations in the past. With Tenma it’s completely different; Agon and he were never friends, Agon shouldn’t be paying attention to him.

And to know that an uber-masculine man like Agon has a thing for a man who looks the exact opposite as him… That’s a thought that Mamori will have to literally sit on, because it’s not computing right now.

“Anezaki.”

Her heart would have catapulted right out of her body, with how she stiffened at the sound of Agon’s voice. They are not too far from the restrooms, but in this area they’re the only ones here. She turns around halfway and there Agon is, leaning against the intersecting corner of a wall.

“I’m not here to get in your pants.” He snarks a bit too bitterly for her to not see he’s taken those words personally at some point. “I’ve just been thinking, if you wouldn’t mind coming with me to speak in private.”

Now knowing her boyfriend, Hiruma definitely sees that they’re both the only people in this vicinity. Either that, or he’ll come across the sight soon. “Why do you want to talk to me?”

Agon’s eye twitches, like he’s fighting the urge to start seething. “I’d rather speak to you in private.”

She can stand her ground. If anything goes wrong, Agon will get shot with one of Hiruma’s tranquilizer pellets. He’s done that before. “Alright… Then, in Coach’s office?” Which is three doors down the corridor across from them, and should be vacant. To her surprise, Agon walks faster than she does and opens the door for her to go in first.

Chivalry? From Agon? Since when?

The moment that door closes, Mamori immediately sits on the seat right before the empty desk, to which Agon suits himself against a wall mounted countertop not too far from the door. He crosses his arms: “So tell me, did that trash boyfriend of yours have something to do with Temari?”

Mamori rethinks the end of her conversation with Hiruma for some validation, where he had snickered: “I don’t care about keeping it a secret. I’d tell it directly to his face!” But how far is she allowed to go? It’d be embarrassing if Agon knew that she knows of his apparent crush. “It was his idea.”

“Do you know why?”

“Well…” She crosses her legs, inwardly noting that Agon has not broken eye contact. He hasn’t looked at her chest, nor has he even cast a leery eye at her exposed legs or her skirt. In real time, this is baffling… “He did it because you and Tenma hate each other.”

Agon hums, narrows his eyes, and raises a finger to scratch his own chin.

“Rather, since you hate Tenma, and Tenma acts nothing like you-” Ballsy statement coming from her, “Hiruma thought of ‘teaching you a lesson’ by pairing you two together.”

To her surprise, Agon starts chuckling, and it’s not at all a condescending chuckle. “Ohhh, so he’s lied to you as well?”

Lied? What would Agon know? He’s the one who asked her about this whole scheme. “What do you mean?”

He continues to laugh, and from the slight shake of his head, it seems like Mamori’s explanation disappoints him as opposed to aiding his confusion. He huffs, and then stands up straight, and says something that seemingly has nothing to do with the topic: “So that twink trash skipped practice today, ah?”

She always hates how he refers to Tenma. The ‘names’ he gives Tenma are always so suggestive. “He wasn’t feeling well.”

“I’m sure that was a lie.”

“What makes you think so?”

“I was with him three days ago, in his little disguise.” Agon leans, his back audibly bumps the wall behind him. Mamori blinks. “He seemed fine to me, but all of the sudden he just so happened to be sick today?”

“Things can happen in a span of three days.” Mamori shrugs a bit too tightly. She suddenly doesn’t like how reasonable Agon is sounding; his train of thought never seems cohesive.

“Maybe I should’ve skipped practice so that he’d feel ‘well’ enough to come.”

There it goes. Mamori remembers Tenma, in the middle of their texts, asking who was at practice. It was an odd question from him, even with that being after he told her he fell sick. So perhaps Agon’s internalized rebuttal isn’t too farfetched? “Can I ask you something?”

Agon only hums in question, annoyed that that response didn’t elicit a reaction he wanted, probably.

“What happened on your last date?” Mamori furrows her brows. “Did Tenma not tell you everything or… How did you find out?”

“He took his damn wig off, that’s how he told me.” Agon rustled in frustration. Even his arms get too jumpy, and he resorts to shuffling them into his pockets. Mamori blinks again, twice this time. “I really sat with that trash, in that skirt and makeup of his, for a whole month without knowing it was him. The more I think about it, the more I realized that trash wasn’t even acting, so why the hell was he so okay with playing as a woman around me? It was like being with a female version of him.”

Why is Agon telling her this? “I guess you see it clearly now because you now know that it’s Tenma. You seemed really into Temari-”

“I know I was into her.” Agon butts in for some reason, and Mamori’s wondering why he interjected to say that. It’s as if he’s trying to prove that he doesn’t like the man behind the disguise…

But the more Agon speaks, the more it raises questions, and the less it seems like he’s proving that. “And that trash did such a good female voice too, what straight man do you know, would be able to do that? And how could he dare to fool me for thirty fucking days? That trash had the nerve to get with my brother, too.”

“Get with?!” Surely, Agon’s exaggerating, and again… Why is he ranting to her? “Unsui and Tenma are just friends, Agon!”

“Yeah, but that fruity trash keeps spending so much time around him. He’s been faking it with me while tainting my brother with his sassy attitude. I want that trash to come see me, and to come see me for real.”

If Mamori had even a teaspoon’s worth of Agon’s arrogance, she would’ve chided him by saying ‘why don’t you go see him then’, because Agon is clearly avoiding something. He’s venting about multiple things right now, and Mamori doesn’t know what point he’s trying to get across. It seems like he’s missed the plot of this whole conversation entirely.

So, she takes a risk in asking empathetically: “So did you guys not speak to each other after he revealed himself to you?”

And for some reason, this question made Agon angry. “No, I didn’t fucking talk to that trash afterwards! I couldn’t just do that when he was clearly dressed as my girlfriend, in that damn skirt and that lip gloss...” There’s an odd trailing after that before he scoffs and shakes his head, as though the vision of Tenma in a skirt was distracting enough for him to lose his train of thought.

She knows he likes Tenma, and the fact that he’s failing to hide that is shocking. Maybe she’s getting closer to cohesion. Mamori leans forward. “So… You have his number. Why not call him?”

“Because why would I?”

“You clearly want closure. I told you what I knew from the scheme, but since you think there’s more to it, why not ask Tenma?”

Agon frowns, “Why ask that trash about something he’s not supposed to know about?” And then his jaw gets tense.

A frown, on Mamori’s end. Is that a double entendre? “I’m pretty sure he knows why he was put in place to date you.”

“I don’t care about his opinion anyways.” Agon dismisses her help entirely. Then he circles back on it. “Just because we were fake dating doesn’t mean I wanna talk to that trash now that the gig is up.”

Again, with that odd, bitter tone of his. It’s almost out of character for him to sound so obviously bitter over one thing. “But still. Tenma has confided in me about how you were, and he was surprised to see how transformative you became. How you opened up to him.” Did she shut the doors by mentioning that? Hopefully Agon’s snarl isn’t going to mean he’d storm out of this office. “He didn’t tell me anything personal, all he said was that he learned a lot about you. Disguise or not, wasn’t he a listening ear? I’m sure Tenma is really guilty of what he had to do, too. It’d help the both of you if you two just talk it out.”

“But that trash shouldn’t be talking to me, because I-” Agon stops, and starts looking visibly antsy. Shoulders jumping in frustration, his hands gesturing a bit too loosely; “I’m not gonna look that twink in the eye because he tricked me, and made me think I was with a really hot girl. I’m not gonna look like a fool, wanting his attention for some so-called ‘closure’.” He juts air quotes out.

Mamori furrows her brows. “So why did you pull me aside?” She stands up from her seat. “You came by, asking me why Hiruma made up this scheme. Why vent about all this to me?”

Agon groans out in exasperation: “Because it’s bothering me and I don’t like that that trash isn’t here to fucking face me!”

It suddenly clicks for Mamori. Was Agon’s ranting and rambling… actually just him asking for advice? Advice on how to talk to somebody he likes? What in the red hell…

What she said prior about reaching out to Tenma was real advice, but that’s clearly not what Agon is looking for. With his fixation on Unsui and Tenma’s friendship, the way his eyes kept shifting when he mentioned Tenma’s visage in a dress, he wants to get to know Tenma… without directly asking how to get to know him. It sounds crazy, but that is what Mamori is picking up from how uncharacteristically vocal he is over this issue.

“So… Why don’t you do what you do best,” Mamori shifts the sling of her bag to put a hand on her hip, “And confront him? Tenma would probably…” Or would he? Would Tenma even want to look at Agon? She doesn’t know what happened but it clearly was enough for Tenma to tell her and her specifically that he’d skip practice.

A pause, and Agon furrows a brow. “You said he’s sick.”

Wow… Not only is he asking for help, but he’s also clearly nervous about his feelings, because Agon just used that as an excuse. “I meant, you can call him, like I had said. It’s better that way if you don’t want to look at him, but want to get to the bottom of things.”

Agon stubbornly glares at her with his arms crossed. At this point, he should say something like ‘trashes like you could never understand’, but the fact that he’s just quiet means that he’s probably considering her advice. Either that, or he’s stalling again.

Mamori purses her lips, sympathy leaking out of her tone. “Unless you want this to just die down, you can always have a chat with him, Agon. It wouldn’t hurt to communicate with him when you’ve already done so while he was Temari.”

He huffs and darts his face away from her, seemingly annoyed at her kind regards. Standing off the wall, he kisses his teeth and looks away. “I’m not trying to be friends with him.”

She didn’t even say he was. “I know.” Mamori moves forward, at least physically showing that she wants to leave but not without trying to get a glimpse of his face. His dreads are obscuring his expression, though. “You can just chat with him, it doesn’t have to lead to a friendship.”

“Tsh...” Agon goes to leave before she can. “That’s not what I want, anyways.” And he widely opens the door and just briskly walks out. 

The manager is left… baffled, because what is this behavior? He came to her to vent, something she wouldn't imagine Agon ever doing. He’s already said he doesn’t want to be friends, so why be upset when Mamori parrots his statement?

Now she understands what Hiruma meant. Clearly, Agon’s feelings are bothering him way more than he’d like to admit, and perhaps it was merciful for Hiruma to go about this scheme, as crazy as that sounds. Still, she really wants to physically see her friend, because Tenma’s been oddly quiet, and she’s convinced that Agon probably said or did something that spooked him, or maybe them both, real bad.

Her phone rings, and as expected it’s Hiruma calling her. “Hiruma?”

“I’m leaving.” He starts, “And we’re going to Yokocho for the evening, Anezaki.”

He had mentioned that fancy restaurant this morning, though it's a little redundant to mention it again. Mamori smiles a bit, “You still want to go there tonight?”

And she can hear the crazy smirk he’s got on right now. “Figured it’d be best to call you just for the closure, my dear manager. I’m driving us there, so be ready. Kekekeke…”

He definitely heard our conversation, Mamori rolls her eyes but takes herself back to his office. Hiruma’s an asshole sometimes.

For the past three days, as insane as it sounds, Tenma’s abandoned all forms of social contact. He’s turned a purposeful blind eye from any communication up until this morning, remembering that there’s practice today, and seeing a message from Ayame saying she’ll drive the girls to Kanagawa just to make sure Tenma hadn’t ended up in the hospital. He apologized to all his girlfriends, as they all assumed Agon had beat him terribly on their last date, and then proceeded to tell them he just wanted some quiet time.

He gave no other context, that was all. It’s still hard to imagine that that night ended the way that it did.

He’s been angry at himself ever since, and it's mostly because he’d realized his loving nature may be a bit too queer. He’s had that conversation with Yamabushi, of how he liked him because they had a connection, but this was different. Agon is not his friend, and their ‘connection’ was fake, so there was no reason for him to be slightly aroused nor have compulsive thoughts about the aftermath of their last date. Hell, Tenma felt like his body betrayed his mind on the last two encounters he’s had with Agon. 

Practice should be well over by now, as it’s currently 17:00. He leaves the kitchen after washing the dishes and looks at his phone, seeing the kind regards from his girlfriends as well as Mamori, and Yamabushi having sent him a picture of a new mochi cafe. Plopping down on his living room couch and turning the TV on, he puts the phone down next to him, and then darts a glare when it suddenly rings at that very moment. The person calling happens to be Unsui.

Somewhere deep in his subconscious, Tenma was so certain Agon was going to find a way to harass him, so he lied and said he was sick today. He starts thinking that Agon swiped Unsui’s phone just to get to him, and the thought marinates in his head for so long that his ringtone cuts, having skipped Unsui’s call. He then gets a message:

Bestie: Hey, umm… I don’t know if you’re asleep but I just wanted to know if you’ve been doing alright. Haven’t heard from you since Tuesday.

Tenma fidgets, swallows, and tries not to let compulsive thoughts sour the way he should respond to his friend. He doesn’t immediately text him back, instead he wanes on the message until it's nighttime. It’s when he’s finally sitting in bed that he offhandedly remembers that Unsui had texted him. 

It’s weird. It’s so weird that he’s in this odd head space now that he’s no longer playing a part. Maybe it’s the combination of knowing that Agon truly had feelings for Temari, his obsessive crush on him, and the heart wrenching thought of him never finding a real woman to unearth his true self to. Now that he knows Agon’s thought process, and the underbelly of his perfect existence, he wouldn’t wish such a lonely fate on him. Yet Unsui, who is Tenma’s friend…

He finds himself asking now: Is it weird? Is it weird that he’s not bothered by a man crushing on him? Is it fair to be friends with a man who clearly likes him like that? Tenma shouldn’t be making this difficult; when girls he’s friends with end up liking him, he dates them. That same consideration can be applied to guys too, right?

Tenma: I’m alright. I just needed some alone time

As he ruminates on the previous thoughts, he gets a text back almost instantly.

Bestie: Ah. I figured. And he sees that Unsui is typing. The typing dots come and go and then stay for almost a whole minute, until they disappear, and then reappear before another message.

Bestie: Is it ok if I call you? I haven’t heard from you, you know.

Tenma: LOL it’s only been like four days

Bestie: I know, but still…

Tenma takes a deep breath and calls Unsui. He picks up within the first ring. “Hey…”

“Tenma...” Unsui lets his voice trail a bit at the end, as though he’s got a lot to say but doesn’t know where to start. “How’ve you been? I know it’s late but I just got back from practice.”

It's 22:30 right now, which is extremely late for sports training. “The Fires have practice this late?”

“We finished a few hours ago, I just… spent some time in the clubhouse.” Unsui pauses, “… So…”

Tenma leans forward, running a hand through his hair. Unsui definitely wants to know what went down. The blonde swallows, “It’s over.”

“I know.” Unsui sounds like he's about to exhale in relief, but then he blurts out, “Did you and Agon kiss?”

Tenma accidentally sucks in a breath and coughs. Clearing his throat quickly, he gets the urge to end the call then and there, but refuses to do that to the quarterback. “How do-?”

“He told me. I-” Unsui immediately sounds sheepish, and given what Tenma knows of him, slightly hurt. “I’m sorry if that’s why you’ve been away, umm…”

“Unsui-” Tenma starts, as if he just got caught cheating on his own partner, “Agon started it! I didn’t initiate it, and I didn’t want him to kiss me, but he kissed me at the very end of our date and I had to run away! I didn’t- I wasn’t-” Why is he so panicked? Tenma takes a breath, “How did he say it to you? Because I swear I didn’t pull any moves on him.”

Unsui sounds a little overwhelmed, but he can hear an audible exhale before he speaks. “Well, he… He bragged about it.” And Tenma frowns at the wall ahead. Why would Agon brag about that to his brother? “He somehow figured out that I like you too.”

Uh oh. “... Why?”

“I know Agon. When he just ‘figures’ stuff out like that about me, it’s because he’s mirroring the same sentiment.” He can hear Unsui putting something down, like a glass bottle. “And him kissing you, after telling me how mad he was that we’re friends, it all adds up…”

So he couldn’t even bear to hide it? “Ugh…” Tenma doesn’t know how to feel, or what to say. Unsui made that discovery in the worst way possible, and god… the man likes him, for crying out loud. “Are you okay, Unsui?”

Unsui huffs. “Well I am now, hearing from you and knowing that the kiss wasn’t, you know…” He still sounds a little dejected, and Tenma can’t help the strange wilt of guilt growing in his gut. 

“Well, it’s just… I was feeling weird ever since the kiss, to be honest with you. I don’t know why but I feel guilty about it, even though he pulled me into it. Umm… Maybe I… Ugh, god, this is so weird but somehow doing this fake dating thing made me realize that I’m not as impervious as I think I am.”

“Huh?”

That was all a jumbled mess, but Tenma explains: “I wear my heart on my sleeve, and there were certain moments where Agon would do something and I’d like… I’d feel a little queer, that’s the best way I can explain it. Not like I have feelings for him, but...”

“Of course not.” And Unsui sounds paramount. Rightfully so, it’d be fucked up if Tenma liked Agon while Unsui liked him.

Tenma sighs, “Does that make sense? I just, I feel too much.” He shrugs with a hand slapping against his thigh. “But that’s not gonna affect our friendship, Unsui. If he tries to harass me, I won’t let him.”

Unsui chuckles, “Heh, well you did say that you’d date people you know over strangers…”

“Yup.” Tenma smiles, and then those words hit him; he was mostly referring to Agon meddling with their friendship, not that he’d ever date that man. “Date?”

“Huh?”

Unsui sounds like a deer caught in headlights. Tenma narrows his eyes, “You said I would not date strangers.”

“I mean, I-” The quarterback starts to stutter, “Because you and Agon were fake dating, and he kissed you, I was more worried he’d try to y’know… Like, flirt with you or something. Or like he'll try to get with you.”

Agon? Flirt? With him? Tenma’s spine tingles like somebody slicked it with tar.

“That aside, umm…” Unsui cuts in again, even before Tenma can say anything. “I know you said once the whole fake dating thing is over, that we’d go out for dinner.” 

Tenma closes his eyes, puckers his lips to swallow back a laugh, but accidentally snorts. This man is not slick. “Are you asking me on a dinner date now, Unsui?”

“N-no, heh-” And there Unsui goes, with his stammering and his nervous chuckles. “You’re the one who brought that dinner thing up, though.”

It’s really cute that Unsui can’t say the phrase ‘dinner date’ like Tenma can. “I didn’t forget about it, you know. I’ve kinda been in my head, and I think going out with you would be a good fix.” 

“Ah, would it?” Unsui asks rhetorically before he laughs a little. “I'm glad that I can… Make you feel comfortable enough to unwind.”

As long as we don’t kiss again, Tenma accidentally giggles at his own thoughts. What had wracked him with absolute terror when it regarded Agon, only brings light amusement when such a thing is done by Unsui. “That's just how you are. I like hanging with you.” He can somehow imagine Unsui smiling in some kind of reprieve, maybe pride. Tenma gives it a short thought, “Can we go for next Monday night? I'll be free.”

Unsui agrees to it immediately. “Sounds good to me. I'm free that whole day too, and I was actually hoping to do it on a day where you aren't busy and stuff.”

That is preferable, Tenma always feels like setting the whole day off just to hang around this man, in the same fashion he had once done with Yamabushi. Unsui’s presence always manages to calm Tenma. As free spirited as he is, Tenma’s dating life and his general routines make his day to day living almost high strung, like there’s never truly a time for him to settle down. This sense of comfort in quietness reminds him of Yamabushi, but it’s a bit different. With Unsui the feeling is clearly mutual, because he can tell that the quarterback feels comfortable around him too.

Is it weird? Is what he had asked himself earlier, but now that Unsui is talking to him, it does not feel weird at all. So Tenma grins, and completely sheds away the cloudy feeling that was in his mind earlier. “Alright, see you then…”