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It was Hanamichi's thirty rejection, or something like that.
Tears rolled down his face, his eyes red, his fists tight. They were probably thirteen at the time and Hanamichi was growing tired of being rejected all the time, even if he didn't give up, and he had been working up the courage to tell the cute girl on their class that he liked her for two weeks now.
Yohei felt so jealous about it his friends tried to convince him that Hanamichi wouldn't stop being his friend if he got a girlfriend. It didn't do much, so they asked him if they liked the same girl. As if.
He found Hanamichi crying his heart out under a tree and sitted next to him. Hanamichi instantly hugged his arm, always physical around Yohei.
"It's okay, you know? It doesn't make you a bad person when you're rejected", Yohei tried to reason.
"I know that", Hanamichi mumbled. He stays quiet for so long that Yohei thinks he might've fallen asleep before he speaks again.
"I just wanted to have my first kiss".
"Oh", Yohei says, no sure about what he should tell him. He knew by then that Hanamichi was touch starved, but he really thought that this time he was actually in love.
"Aren't you curious about it, Yohei?", he turns to face him, his right cheek smashed against Yohei's shoulder.
"Ah, yeah, but I'm not in a hurry to find out", he says, not sure if he was lying or not.
"Maybe we should try", Hanamichi says, a strange fire in his eyes.
"What?".
"You know, just do it to find out how it feels like. Get rid of that thought", Hanamichi explains, unusually chill.
What?
"Sure", his mouth betrays him, already used to agree to whatever Hanamichi says.
Hanamichi looks just as surprised as him. It takes a second before he's pressing his lips against Yohei's, who flinches, but doesn't pull away.
Yohei fell on that very first kiss. Sloppy and ofcentered, excited.
To know that he would probably be the only one to experience that made him feel satisfaction blooming on his chest. For the first time the rage of his jealousy died down. He knew by then that the way he felt towards Hanamichi wasn't the same as their other friends did, but he's always been a bit possessive over their shared experiences. He's always been there, after all, and a dark part of him told him it was his right to be the one to experience these intimate things with Hanamichi, but he never indulged such thought, afraid of where it might lead him.
Hanamichi pulled away briefly and sitted there as if nothing hapenned.
“Nice, now I won’t be completely inexperienced anymore”.
“Yeah”.
But that kiss was way too short, Yohei thought, how could they practice for the girls like that?
***
Basketball changed Hanamichi in ways he never could. He was jealous about it at first, then learned that it was better for Hanamichi to have something to focus on, somewhere where his passionate self would be loved and needed, even if he didn’t spend as much time with Yohei anymore. And basketball was good for Yohei too. He really enjoyned the matches, the team was nice, Hanamichi always got excited and physical, giving Yohei those bear hugs he loved but was too afraid to ask for.
And, one day, he came to Yohei, behind the sports gym, after a big match, his body vibrating with energy, and asked for a kiss to celebrate. Yohei never forgot the first one, but it had been a while since Hanamichi asked for it, years. He felt his face change with surprise, but quickly hid it, afraid that Hanamichi might dismiss what he asked for.
"Sure", he said simply, and the next thing he knew, Hanamichi's lips were lightly touching his, his brows furrowed in concentration. His chest felt warm when he realized Hanamichi probably haven't kissed anyone else since that first time. He smiles a bit at the thought and Hanamichi pulls away, only to come back for a firmer, second kiss. His body was still hot from the court, his energy powering out of his body in waves as he relaxed.
Yohei was about to give into his wants and open his mouth when they heard a noise nearby. Hanamichi quickly stepped back, giving Yohei a reassuring smile before heading back for the court, a nervous look in his face. Yohei supposed it was only natural for him to want to hide it from the others. He wasn't in love with Yohei, he didn't like men, it could spoil his chances with Haruko...
Yohei asked himself if having half of his affections was any better than having nothing at all.
***
It becomes a habit. After playing a game Shohoku looses, Hanamichi asks for a kiss to make him feel better. After playing a game that Shohoku wins, Hanamichi asks for a kiss to celebrate. Yohei doesn’t give it much thought, Hanamichi has always been very physical and touch starved. He really doesn’t think there are romantic feelings involved, even if his heart tries to convince him otherwise.
The turning point after a whole mouth into this arrengement happens when Yohei stays after class to help the team with practice. It’s noon and practice is over, most guys heading for the showers. Yohei goes for the sink outside the court to wash his face and drink a bit of water, his throat burning after shouting instructions to Hanamichi over and over.
He hears the squeak of basketball shoes before he sees him. Yohei dries his mouth with the back of his hand and turns to face him. Hanamichi is smiling wide. It’s been like that most of the time since he’s joined the team. It’s a nice look on his face.
"The slam dunk I did today was really cool, wasn’t it?".
Yohei agrees with his head. "Sure was".
There's a few seconds of exhausted silence before Hanamichi takes another step towards Yohei.
"So. Hm... I know we've only been doing it after official games and all, but..." he scratches the back of his neck, sheepishly.
Yohei is so weirded out by seeing Hanammichi look so shy, with him of all people, that he feels the urge to laugh, but he holds himself back. Upsetting Hanamichi’s always bothered him.
"Doing what?", he asks instead.
"The... kissing thing" he says "kissing" so quietly that Yohei almost misses it.
"Oh".
"Yeah, I... kinda wanted that to happen more often? Cuz, you’re gonna laugh, but... it... it sort of makes me wanna do better. Like a reward or something".
Yohei is shocked speechless. What sort of bizarre events happened on Earth for Yohei to hear, with the exact words, that his kisses were a reward for when Hanamichi did good at basketball? As if getting better in itself wasn’t enough to boost his ego and make him feel good. The urge to laugh is back, but this time it’s not related to Hanamichi’s weird behaviour, but to the panic he is feeling at this sudden wave of happiness. He has to make the most of it.
"If it’s like that, it can’t happen all the time, or your brain will get the wrong message, you have to earn it", it hurts to say that, but he can’t have Hanamichi growing tired of his kisses yet. Not When he’s finally getting closer to have what he always wanted.
Hanamichi looks surprised at that, almost confused.
"If you do good at basketball,", Yohei takes a step foward, feeling bold, "I'll kiss you".
"What if i loose?", he sounds worried, poor thing. Yohei pretends to think about it.
"Then i'll give you a peck on the cheek, so you won’t feel so bad. But the REAL kisses will only happen when you win".
Hanamichi kicks a tiny rock on the ground and doesn’t meet his eyes. "...What about practice?".
Yohei feels his face getting warm, why is Hanamichi so worried that he won’t be kissed? Yohei crosses his arms over his chest, maybe he'll just let him say whatever he wants instead of giving him what he thinks is adequate for once.
"What do you want for practice?".
Hanamichi isn’t embaressed anymore, or at least not as shy, as he confidently says. "I want a kiss on the mouth".
"Isn’t that going to sabotage your progress?" Yohei asks, genuinely curious. Hanamichi takes a moment to think about it.
"...Maybe. Just a quick peck then? For when I do something cool".
“Sure”, he feels compelled to say, the corner of his lips curling upwards.
Hanamichi smiles wide. “It’s on, then!”, a competitive fire in his eyes that Yohei knows all too well.
Then Hanamichi takes a hesitant step closer. "So... was my slam dunk cool before?".
Yohei can’t countain the short, incredulous laugh that escapes him and Hanamichi fidgets, embaressed, but he’s still smiling.
"Yeah, it was". Yohei quickly looks around before pulling him down by his nape and giving him a short but firm kiss, his lips smashed against Hanamichi's.
He quickly pulls back and sees Hanamichi bright smile getting bigger. “There you go, starboy”.
"Thanks, Yohei", he says, messing Yohei's hair, and then he’s gone.
***
The bizarre events continue to occur in Yohei's life. For the past 2 months, he’s been more focused on studying, not only so he can help Hanamichi with his grades and spend more time with him, but to actually have some options of college to choose from. But that’s not what shocks him, even if it’s weird.
Its thursday, they’ve just received their scores for the english test, and Yohei is astonished to find himself between the top 10 grades. He can hear some people whispering behind his back about how he probably cheated. It doesn’t bother him at all, he’d rather stick to the fact that he did good and that it made him feel good.
Still, that’s not the most bizarre thing. He really did study hard, so he was supposed to do good. What he wasn’t hoping for was for Hanamichi to congratulate him.
He and the Sakuragi Gang had lunch on the roof, the guys obviously teasing him about becoming a nerd. The usual.
When the bell rang, Hanamichi lingered behind the group, saying he was tired and all. None of them thought it strange and proceeded to walk to class. But the moment they made a turn to the main corridor, Hanamichi pulled Yohei back.
He was about to ask him why he did that when Hanamichi suddenly grabbed his cheeks with his big hands and planted a firm kiss in his mouth.
Since THAT wasn’t part of the plan, and therefore Yohei didn’t mentally prepare himself for it, his breath catched and one of his legs almost gave out, leaving him no choice but to pull on Hanamichi’s school jacket. Damn Hanamichi for surprising him like that!
Hanamichi quickly pulled away, putting his hands on his pockets. It took two more seconds before Yohei realized it was over, his face burning.
"I don’t now if it’s the same for you, but keep up the good work".
Then he leaves him, his laugh boasting in the corridor at something Nozomi said.
WHAT THE FUCK
***
It kinda works the same way.
Yohei’s masochist brain wants him to get good grades, just to see if Hanamichi will kiss him again. But it’s that exact thought of Hanamichi’s lips on his that distracts him from class.
He’s not even sure if he can trust his memory is real. It’s been three days and it looks like everytime he goes back to that kiss, his imagination gets dirtier. Yesterday, he almost believed that Hanamichi placed one of his legs between his own and felt just how hard Yohei got.
He didn’t get hard, he’s sure of it. But now that the shock isn’t there anymore, he can’t be trusted to be left alone with Hanamichi again. Even now he’s fighting off a boner. He has to do something.
When the bell rings signaling the break, he disappears into a mostly empty bathroom and lets his mind wander.
Maybe he doesn’t have to tell Hanamichi to stop if he just takes better care of himself, he thinks. Maybe there’s no reason for panic.
***
THERE IS REASON FOR PANIC.
He’s late for practice, having too much fun in the bathroom cabin, and he doesn’t think Hanamichi notices his absence.
A few hours go by in which he helps Haruko with her tasks, just so he can get his mind off of Hanamichi’s abs, or his smile, or his scent, or anything related to him at this point.
When practice is finally over and he’s tapping himself in the back for surviving it without any boner-related insidents, Hanamichi ambushes him nearby the sink again.
Well, Yohei should’ve predicted this.
This time, however, Hanamichi doesn’t utter a single word, he just gives him a quick smile and next thing, Yohei’s being pulled by his waist, tripping on his own feet. He has the time to support himself with a hand on Hanamichi’s chest before Hanamichi grabs his chin and kisses him, slowly.
Yohei can’t hold back the little “hmmf” that vibrates in his throat as he clenches Hanamichi’s uniform. It’s almost funny how he has to steady himself everytime. It’s also weird how Hanamichi doesn’t pull away immediatly after that. But even weirder is that, when he does pull back, he comes back for seconds.
Yohei’s heart hammers inside his chest, he could never have predicted this. Hyperaware of Hanamichi’s big hands on his waist, he pushes him away with enough force that Hanamichi takes a step back, confused.
“Shit. Did I hurt you?”.
“No, it’s...”, Yohei regains his breath, “I thought I heard a noise”. He supports himself on the sink, not quite trusting his legs yet.
“Oh. Okay”.
“What was this kiss for, anyway?”.
“Oh, I got the fadeaway right somehow, but I guess you didn’t see it, since you were late”, Hanamichi answered quietly.
Great, not only Hanamichi’s counting the moves Yohei didn’t even see, he’s also stopped asking for the kisses. Absolutely great. Yohei takes a deep breath.
“Sorry, Hanamichi, I... I don’t think we can keep doing this”, he finally says, his eyes locked on the floor.
It takes a good ten seconds before Hanamichi whispers a quiet “what?”. Yohei’s heart sinks and he reasons that it’ll be weird if he suddenly refuses to kiss Hanamichi, he’ll probably question him. So he tries to convince him to go back to their original arrengment, the one Yohei can prepare himself for, and go from there until they aren’t kissing anymore.
“These kisses after practice, they just... I don’t think they’re good for you”, or for me. “I think we should go back to keeping it for the official games”, he takes a quick look at Hanamichi, who stares back, worried. “It’s getting too easy for you to kiss me”.
Hanamichi opens his mouth and closes it again, swalloing, “Okay”.
“Great”, Yohei says. He pushes himself from the sink. “See you tomorrow, Hanamichi”.
He doesn’t wait for a reply.
***
It’s 7AM on a friday and Yohei’s already smoked half of his cigarettes. He’s not sure how to act around Hanamichi now that he’s pushed him away, it’s never hapenned before when they were friends that didn’t kiss each other.
Maybe if they interact with the gang around them, it’ll be easier... or they might pick up on the weird vibes. Shit.
He decides he’ll be late for class and figure it out on lunch time. His grades progress be danmed.
***
Lunch break arrives way too soon and he pratically forces himself to walk to the roof, or else the others will know for sure that something’s wrong.
As he climbs the stairs, slowly, he can make out Yuji teasing Hanamichi about the upcoming match against Shoyo. It’s a big game and Yohei is surprised he forgot about it given the anxious energy that fell upon the team lately.
“Also, Hanamichi”, Chuichirou says cautiously, as if testing the waters, “you should stop teasing Yohei so much”. This makes him stop. “He isn’t very open about himself, but it doesn’t take a genius to know how he feels”. A beat of silence.
“I know. After Shoyo’s match…”, Hanamichi speaks quietly, then sighs. “Shoyo’s match will be the last time”.
Yohei’s stomach sinks, he feels sick. Do they know he likes Hanamichi? Did Hanamichi tell them about their kisses? It couldn’t be. They probably saw them, Hanamichi hasn’t been very careful after all. Do they think Yohei is only doing it to ‘be a good friend’ or did he make a terrible job at hiding his feelings? Just what exactly do they know?
He throws his lunch in the trash, the smell of it suddenly unberable. He walks through the corridors by muscle memory, not really seeing anything.
“Mito-kun?”.
Do they know Yohei likes men? Do they know it’s always been Hanamichi? Do they think it’s temporary? Do they think he’s disgusting?
He passes people to get to the school gates and hears someone shouting, probably a teacher that finally sees him for what he is. Not a top student. Not a good friend. He’s not even out of campus yet when he lights a cigarette.
Have Hanamichi only been teasing him because he knows how he feels? Did those kisses mean nothing at all to him?
He gets on his moped, his eyes stinging. No, he knew they didn’t mean anything from the start. It was idiotic of him to hope for something else.
He heads home, sure that no one’s gonna be there anyway. The smoke of his cigarette against his stinging eyes finally makes him drop a tear, the first of many that follow.
Happiness must feel good, he thinks, but somewhere inside him, he knows the catharsis he needs is crying his fucking heart out for once.
***
He wakes up to someone banging on his front door. His face is smash against his pillow, which’s still a bit damp. His room smells like cigarettes and his head hurts like hell, but he gets up to answer the door.
His mom forgot her keys, that’s all. She pushes his hair out of his eyes and he smiles just enough for her to believe it. She doesn’t ask, she neves does. Even when he looks like shit, even when his face is black and blue, even when his school uniform is torn to pieces, even when he smells like a bonfire. They eat in silence and after he’s done he takes a long shower.
He doesn’t want to go to the match tomorrow knowing that all the guys know about his secrets. But at the same time, if that’s gonna be his last kiss before this arrengment ends, or his friendship with Hanamichi ends, or his sense of privacy does, he might as well kiss Hanamichi goodbye.
***
The game is chaos itself. When it looks like Shohoku is in advantage, Shoyo scores double the points, when he thinks he should give up hope, Rukawa, Mitsui, or Hanamichi himself score as if their lives depended on it.
He’s so tense about the match that he almost forgets about his goodbye kiss. The voice in his head is quieted down by all the noise of the court, but the weight on his chest remains the same.
***
They win!
Shohoku is a mess of limbs, sweat, tears. Hanamichi, ever so physical, hugs anyone that comes close enough to him. Yohei claps and cheers from a distance and Hanamichi leaves him be, only flashing him a confident smile before greeting the other team again.
They head for the lockeroom, exhausted. Hanamichi asks him to help put the tapes on his back, which seems to be hurting more often now. He goes, trying to steel himself for what’s about to come. His stomach flips and double-flips inside him.
Hanamichi picks the last cabin, away from most of the team, and gets in, still fully clothed. Yohei is about to turn around and give him some privacy, when Hanamichi pulls him by his shirt. He trips into the cabin, whose shower’s still turned off.
Hanamichi’s lips are on his within seconds. It feels good, it always does, but it’s bittersweet at the same time. He decides he’ll listen to that voice inside his head telling him to follow through with his desires just this once.
He angles his head so he can kiss Hanamichi deeper, a firm hand on his nape. Hanamichi allows him to kiss him slowly, his thumb caressing his skin in steady circles. One of Hanamichi’s hands end up on his waist, probably for balance. The other cups Yohei’s cheek carefully and it hurts Yohei more than anything else. He’s so tired of pretending it isn’t there.
He licks Hanamichi’s lips until he lets his tongue in. When he finally does, Yohei hugs his neck with both arms, on his tip toes, and kisses him like he needs it to breath. It’s selfish, but he really needs it. Hanamichi follows through, hugging his waist and combing his hair back. Yohei doesn’t know what’s on his mind, but it looks like he doesn’t want to waste this last kiss too.
It’s a blessing that the other team members won’t stop talking, the running water and Mitsui’s and Ryota’s teasing make good cover for the sounds Yohei is letting out. Hanamichi angles his head and Yohei’s heart tightens when he realizes that Hanamichi is actually getting good at kissing. Or, more precisely, kissing Yohei. Yohei’s still his first kiss, still his only kiss.
He’s not really ready to let that go yet.
“Yohei”, Hanamichi breaths out, but he’s not having any of it. He pulls Hanamichi back to him, his lips kissing any patch of skin until he can reach his mouth again. He’s almost sure Hanamichi shivers after that, and then he’s back at devouring Yohei, as if in a trance.
The match was really great, Hanamichi got to shine a bit, showing everyone his inspiring slam dunks, and maybe finally realizing that he was born for it, as Yohei started to suspect. Maybe it’s the post-basketball high that makes him this physical, maybe he thinks Yohei’s showing appreciation for his actions, maybe he just wants to be held. Yohei hopes that, whatever it is, he’s providing it somehow. He doesn’t want it to end.
A strong hand tentatively squeezing his ass brings him back to reality. He can feel the heat of it even through his denim pants. Hanamichi’s other arm hugs Yohei close, Yohei’s head trapped inside his elbow. Yohei can’t help it, he harshy squeezes strong biceps and lets his hands wander the broad back that hides beneath the jersey. If he’s gonna scare Hanamichi away with a boner, it better be worth it.
Hanamichi presses him against the wall, making it impossible for him to escape, which only turns he on more. Ever since Hanamichi got taller than him, he’s appreciated feeling small, ever since he got strong too, Yohei’s fantasized of being completely at his mercy.
Hanamichi shivers under his heated touchs and stops kissing him only to attack his exposed neck, giving it open mouthed kisses. A wave of heat passes through Yohei and he feels that his imaginary boner is no longer imaginary. He enjoys the pretty blush on Hanamichis ears when his breath catches near them.
The hands are back in his ass and this time they take longer, explore more, until Hanamichi picks him up and presses even harder against him. Yohei’s legs wrap around him in reflex and Hanamichi comes back to his mouth, licking, biting, gently kissing. Yohei is holding onto his back for dear life, even if Hanamichi doesn’t seem to be dropping him anytime soon. From this position he’s sure Hanamichi knows he’s hard. Isn’t him weirded out?
Yohei’s hands never stop moving, pulling him in by his neck, grabing his shoulders, squeezing his strong chest. Still, Hanamichi only stops for a brief second to inhale before he goes for Yohei’s throat again.
Yohei relaxes into him and Hanamichi lets him slip away for a second long enough for him to feel something poking at his inner thigh. His own cock twitches inside his pants, knowing that Hanamichi’s hard too, and because of him.
Hanamichi sighs against his ear before bringing him down until their cocks align. One of Yohei’s feet touch the ground while the other is still up in the air, with Hanamichi’s strong arm under his tigh. Both of his big hands squeeze Yohei’s ass as he all but dry humps against him. Yohei bites Hanamichi’s shoulder to stiffle a moan, pleasure building too fast inside of him. Hanamichi keeps the friction going, as if the match didn’t rob him of all his energy.
It’s hard to keep it down when he’s finally getting everything he’s ever wanted for years, so he allows himself to breath harshly against Hanamichi’s muscular neck.
Yohei thinks he might've heard someone approaching, but they’re so lost in pleasure with each other that Hanamichi simply ignores it, as if what they’re doing is more important. As if he cannot let Yohei go yet. It’s that thought the sends him over the edge. He trembles, holding onto Hanamichi, face buried in his collarbones. Hanamichi holds him through his orgasm, never ceasing his movements, but growing tired by the minute.
As soon as he feels himself coming back from the high, he immediatly grabs Hanamichi’s clothed erection, his jersey shorts soft. Hanamichi hisses at him and stops moving, dropping Yohei’s leg and using both of his hands to steady himself on the wall. Yohei’s touch is featherlike, only a promise. He teases Hanamichi a bit until one of his strong hands grabs his nape in a threatening way.
“If you don’t stop teasing me, we’re gonna get caught”, he whispers against his cheek. “I still have to shower”.
As soon as he lets go of Yohei’s nape, Yohei grabs his face and makes him look at him. Keeping eye contact, Yohei slides his hand inside his shorts and grabs his cock, immediately earning him a shiver and a quiet curse. He speeds up, roughly pumping him, and tries to record on his brain every small change in Hanamichi’s expression. He’s almost as red as his hair and his eyes are tighly closed as he gets closer and closer.
“Come on, starboy”, Yohei teases, his voice hoarse, “show me what you’ve got”.
Hanamichi spills on his hand, thrusting against his fist, and bites his trembling lower lip. The sight alone is enough to make Yohei’s soft dick twitch in interest, which makes him realize that he’s still wearing pants. Damp, dirty and naughty pants. Shit.
Hanamichi recovers from his high and, instead of saying something, he just turns on the shower, soaking both of them.
“What the hell, Hanamichi??”.
“If we don’t come out of this cabin anytime soon, they’re gonna start looking for us”. It’s true, he can’t hear their voices anymore. He smiles as he grabs Yohei’s dirty hand and starts cleaning it under the water. “At least, I wanna be clean when it happens”.
His serious tone takes Yohei off guard and he laughs loudly.
“Shh!!”, Hanamichi urges him, rubbing Yohei’s hand faster.
“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that”. He takes his wet shirt off, tossing it to the side. Hanamichi’s gaze immediatly falls on his abs, then his eyes widen, scandalized, which almost sends Yohei through a fit. “You know you gotta take your clothes off if you wanna shower, right?”.
“I-I know, but you can’t just do it in front of me like that!”, Hanamichi looks away, his face red. Yohei pulls at the tip of his jersey shirt.
“You should do it too”. Hanamichi’s eyes get so wide they might jump out of his face.
“We don’t have time to do it again, Yohei!”. He grabs Yohei by the shoulders and makes him face the wall. “You shower here, quickly, I’ll use the other cabin next to you”.
They do everything in a haste, putting on clean clothes (thank God Hanamichi had extra ones) while trying not to look at each other’s naked bodies. They still manage to get late, of course, but coach Anzai’s reprimand is as light as ever and Akagi’s fast asleep inside the bus when they get in.
Hanamichi sighs, tired. Yohei’s not sure how to act around him after what they just did. This should have been their last kiss, but, given everything that happened, maybe he managed to postpone it. Maybe they’ll kiss twice more before Hanamichi tells him it’s all a big joke.
Hanamichi kisses his cheek, startling him.
“Turn your brain off”, he says simply. He grabs Yohei’s hand, rests his head on the bus seat and immediatly falls asleep. Yohei wants to laugh, what the hell’s been his life lately, honestly?
He rests his head on Hanamichi’s shoulder, feeling sleepy too. His last thought’s that Hanamichi’s still holding his hand. He falls sleep still smiling.
***
“Shh, you’re gonna wake them up!”.
Yohei wakes up slowly. His neck hurts a little and his mouth feels dry. The first thing he sees as he opens his eyes is a camera, very close to his face.
He startles and Hanamichi wakes up, still a bit groggy.
Haruko, Mitsui and Ryota are standing in front of them, Haruko holding the camera.
“What are you morons doing while this genius’s asleep?”, Hanamichi demands. Ryota smiles.
“Haruko’s trying to take a picture, Mitsui’s being a nuisance—"
“No, I’m not!”.
“And I’m here to tell mister Mito here that his boyfriend privileges are over. No more sneaking into the lockeroom for make out sessions!”.
Yohei’s not sure if he heard that right.
“That’s not fair! If Mitsui can do it, why can’t I?”, Hanamichi counters. Yohei cannot believe that’s what he’s worried about, and not the fact that Ryota just called Yohei his boyfriend.
“Mitsui-san is your senpai! Therefore, you can’t question his ways. Also, he’s not as obvious about it as you two are. Try to learn something from you senpais every once in a while, jeez”. Ryota looks disappointed.
“Mitsui-san’s dating someone?”, Yohei asks.
“See?”, Ryota turns to Hanamichi.
“You guys should pick your stuff up, everyone’s leaving”, Mitsui says, picking up his bag and walking away.
Hanamichi grabs his sports bag and Yohei follows after him, still very much shocked at Ryota’s accusations. Hanamichi won’t stand to be the butt of the joke like that, he’ll probably never touch Yohei again. God, can Yohei live without grabing his chest after doing it?
“I’m glad you two have figured it out”, Haruko says. They walk away from the bus, towards the school buildings. “I was worried after seeing Mito-kun so upset the other day. You didn’t ever hear me when I called you”.
Did that happen? He’s not sure, he left in a trance after hearing that today was supposed to be the last time he’d kiss Hanamichi.
“What got you so stressed out? You’re not like that”, Hanamichi turns to him, analytical.
“Nothing, I just... heard you guys talking about me”, Hanamichi’s eyebrows go up, “and didn’t quite like it”.
Haruko and Hanamichi exchange a look and then she’s off, running towards Ayako-san. Weird, when did Hanamichi learn to communicate like that?
“What did you hear?”.
This is it. Yohei steels himself.
“Chuichirou said you should stop teasing me. You said today would be the last time”, he says, more quietly than he intended. He doesn’t want Hanamichi worried just because he got his hopes up.
“Yeah, I said that”.
Yohei’s eyes sting, despite his efforts. “I see”.
At least Hanamichi’s being nice about it. It’s a blessing, Yohei’s not used to expect good things to happen to him.
Hanamichi lifts up his chin and looks at his face. He knows his eyes are getting redder every second. Hanamichi looks... sad. He lets go of his face and stands right in front of him, blocking their path.
“I’m Sakuragi Hanamichi, first year and basketball genius. And I...”, his cheeks are getting red, but he keeps his confident stance. “I really like Yohei-kun. It took too long for me to realize it, so sorry about that”. He suddenly bows, “Please be my boyfriend!”.
“Hana... you don’t like me like that. There’s no need to comfort me”, he says, his vision getting blurred, “I know you just see me as a friend”. Shit, his head hurts from the effort of keeping his tears in.
“Do you have sex with all your friends?”, Hanamichi takes a step closer, towering over him. “’Cause I don’t”.
Yohei tries to counter that, but fails. He looks away. Hanamichi kisses his cheek and lingers.
“Please, be my boyfriend?”. Yohei closes his eyes, trying to remove the walls he’s built around his heart so he accept that this is actually happening. “Please? I know Yohei feels the same way too. His eyes crinckle when he sees me, just like they do when there’s fireworks”.
That goes straight through his heart, walls completely useless. He kisses Hanamichi. It’s just a small gesture, no tongues, no biting, but it warms him all over. He keeps their faces close, his eyes closed. “Okay”.
“Okay what?”, Hanamichi asks, petulant.
“Okay, I’ll be your boyfriend”, he whispers.
Hanamichi’s quiet, so Yohei cracks one eye open. Hanamichi’s tears fall before Yohei’s do.
***
“I can’t believe Mitsui-san and Hotta-san have been dating for months and you didn’t tell us, Hanamichi! You’re no good, keeping the tea from your so-called friends”, Chuichirou says, dramatically. Yuji shakes his head in disapproval at his side.
They’re lunching on the rooftop, as always. Hanamichi told the whole world Yohei was his boyfriend, after asking him if he was okay with it. Yohei didn’t mind the whole school knowing, as long as their friends didn’t be weird about it. Hanamichi said he’d punch anyone that ever made him feel bad about his sexuality. Yohei kissed him senseless after that.
“And you, Mito-kun!”, Chiuchirou teased, “Not trusting your own friends to support you in the search of true love! Unbelievable”.
“Yohei’s a true gangster. Trusts no one”, Yuji shook his head. “What a moron”.
That earns both of them Hanamichi’s famous headbutts. Nozomi laughs as they both groan in pain.
“If you’re gonna talk shit about my boyfriend, do it somewhere I can’t hear you”, Hanamichi scolds.
Yohei’s heart melts. He doesn’t really need Hanamichi to beat people up, he can do it on his own. But it feels so good to have someone else looking over him, so he doesn’t complain.
The classes fly by as Yohei tries to concentrate, his determination to get good grades coming back after things with Hanamichi settled down.
When they part for practice, Yohei grabs him by his nape, smooching his lips.
Hanamichi smiles in a daze, “What’s that for?”.
“Good luck”.
Hanamichi laughs. “Nice, I didn’t know I could ask for these too”.
He then kisses Yohei’s forehead.
“What’s that for?”.
“For the slam dunk I’m about to do”.
He does. Twice.