cadereagratia | PSL/Meme Continuation

Shiratorizawa's got stables. Who needs to do horseback riding in high school? [Apparently almost three years hasn't been enough to blunt Kunimi's resentment toward his old rival school.] And most teams have a couple of decent guys but they're always assholes all the w -

[Oh, right. He hasn't really said much about the sport that devoured most of his life in junior and senior high, has he? There's an odd change in Kunimi's energy as the topic shifts to volleyball; he shrinks into the couch, shoulders rolling forward, and there's an edge of defensiveness to his voice even as he tries to double down on his usual disinterested tone.

Kunimi enjoyed volleyball. Even loved it, at times. He liked his teammates and got whipped up into the drama of wins and losses as much as everyone. But while Oikawa eventually figured out how to "use" his low energy style of play, he never fully belonged in such a fiercely competitive and driven world, and he mostly stayed because it was easier than building up a whole new circle of friends around some other interest. People who criticized him for taking up room on an elite team without ever giving his all - only now does he see that all of them, even Kageyama, were right.

It all makes deep dives into that part of his life a bit galling.]

Volleyball. I was a wing spiker... if you even know the positions, I don't know how popular volleyball is here. Had a rep for being the laziest guy ever to make an elite team, heh.

[Whelk's smile is wry at Kunimi's first statement.]

Aglionby has a polo team. Half the horses the students own themselves. [But that's neither here nor there, he realizes, when he notices the subtle change in Kunimi's demeanor when he talks about his sport of choice(?).

[Maybe it's time for Whelk to do a bit of placating, but he half means it when he says:]

If you were on an elite team, you must have been somewhat worth your salt.

Did you like it?

And I don't, by the way. Know the positions, I mean. We have a volleyball team at Aglionby [They have a team for goddamned everything at Aglionby.], but I haven't attended any games.

[Now, or when he was a student, he refrains from saying.]

[Kunimi registers everything that Whelk says and files some of it away for later like he often does, but that question - did you like it? - shakes his foundations more deeply than it probably should.

Because the thing is, he doesn't think he does like volleyball, or ever did. He liked everything that came with being on the volleyball team but if he'd gotten it by... playing chess, or making a school newspaper, or even being in a band or choral group, he doesn't think he would've missed out on anything. When he looks back on his high school years with that understanding, the slow (and still ongoing) dissolution of all his friendships post-graduation makes a lot more sense.]

... no. I didn't like it.

[Whelk might not understand why this is such a revelation for him, so he doesn't really offer any more details for the time being. This new truth is just rather painful to stare down: he spent a huge portion of his life not bothering to do better, demand better, or seek out better in any way. Good enough was always enough. Why?

That might be too deep of a rabbit hole for tonight.]

Hey, wanna see some pictures? [He grabs his phone from the coffee table in a desperate attempt to bring some levity back to the evening.] I did look cute in our uniforms, at least.

[Whelk isn't the most empathetic person in the world, but being a naturally manipulative person lends itself to picking up on emotions as well. Kunimi looks thoroughly disturbed at his own answer, which tells Whelk that there's something deeper than volleyball going through his mind - unless he really is an athlete, and sports affect him that much. Whelk can't say he particularly cares to press, but he can't deny his curiosity being piqued. Pictures make for a good middle ground, as Kunimi has suggested, so Whelk simply adjusts himself on the couch to sit a little closer. As he takes a drink, he tosses a quick arm around Kunimi without thinking too deeply about it. His mind is hazy, and he's tired of the tickle of socks against him being the only contact between them.]

Go on, then.

[G'on, then. Whelk's so cute. Kunimi shifts around to sit properly on the couch and presses in close since Whelk's arm makes it so easy to invade his space; he still feels nothing but pleasant, comfortable warmth at such close proximity with him, but the warmth is definitely escalating.

After slamming the last of his drink, he pulls up a file of high school pictures and opens it to this, which makes him let out a loud snort of laughter.]

Oh god. Kunimi the 15-year-old thirst trap.

[It occurs to Whelk belatedly that this perhaps ranks among some of the more intimate activities that have taken place between them. Kunimi is as much as showing him his baby pictures right now. Whelk can't help but smile though, perhaps at the one-sided knowledge that they both know what it's like to have to wear a stuffy school uniform.

[Whelk probably wouldn't have gone for him when he was fifteen, but the picture does make him remember once again that Kunimi is awfully cute.]

I didn't realize you actually smiled like that. [Strange thing to comment on. Why did he choose to comment on that? He finishes his drink, sets his glass on the arm of the couch, and settles in more deeply against Kunimi. His body feels heavy and warm, and it's tempting to lie his head down somewhere, but he keeps it upright for now.]

Japanese uniforms don't look all that different from those of American private schools.

[It may have been a strange comment, but it gets under Kunimi's skin in exactly the right way.]

I don't, much. It takes a lot to bring that out. [Kunimi meets Whelk's gaze and holds it for a long moment, letting that implied challenge hover on the air around them and turn up the pleasant tension another notch, then goes back to the pictures.] That's just one style, there are some with high collared blazers that look kind of like priest habits, and... uh...

[Teenage Kunimi took a lot of pictures of Oikawa. A lot. He swipes faster and faster, clearly getting embarrassed when no other faces show up, until he finally finds something less incriminating.]

Okay, anyway, this is the... uh, seniors? I think you call them seniors. They were in their last year of high school when I got there. Oikawa - he was captain of the team - and then Matsukawa and Hanamaki, and Iwaizumi was vice captain.

Edited 2021-03-14 23:45 (UTC)

[That's a lot of pictures of just one person. Whelk's mind goes down a strange pathway of thought - Kunimi's phone repeatedly buzzing all night long while he slept, the phone call the next morning, Kunimi's apparent bitterness toward volleyball, the fact that it takes a lot to make Kunimi smile, Kunimi's smile in a picture taken by someone else. Whelk's arm tightens around him, subtly pulling him a bit closer - it's going to be hard to get any closer if he doesn't stop saddling up to him soon, but he can't help it. He's feeling...oddly possessive all of a sudden.]

Old boyfriend, was he? [He makes his expression look only vaguely interested, but it's probably pretty telling that he didn't ask anything about the group picture. His mind has zeroed in on being jealous.

[He probably should at least acknowledge the last photo.] Seniors, yes. [Nailed it.]

Eh?

[Oh jeez. Oh jeez. Kunimi thought it'd be obvious that he spent the better part of a year pining for his captain and senpai despite the two of them being in wildly different leagues, but - oh jeez.

He tells himself not to laugh, that Whelk might take it the wrong way if he laughs, he can't laugh, but a breathy little giggle sneaks out anyway. Everything about that assumption, up to and including Whelk's jealousy-soured reaction, is weirdly flattering.]

No way, Oikawa was never my boyfriend. Nowhere near. He was captain of my junior high team for a year too, it was just hero worship. [Okay, now he's just being dishonest.] ... horny hero worship.

[ANYWAY. He's just gonna keep looking for more interesting pictures.]

[Why does that make it worse? That kind of makes it worse. Maybe because Whelk, although muted as an adult, is still the narcissistic hedonist that he always was at his core. Worship for someone other than himself? Bad taste. But he can't sit here and act like a total asshole over it, or he'll definitely ruin this date. Still, the air around him is tense.

[He decides he doesn't much like that Oikawa guy. Too pretty. He looks annoying.]

Can't say I relate. [Whelk never had any heroes, nor anyone he felt like worshipping. He leaves the lightly bitter comment at that. And then his nose wrinkles a little, but his lips twist with it, his drunken brain graciously allowing him to shift back into being amused. The pictures Kunimi is flipping through now keep landing on random candids of some asshole making an idiot out of himself.]

Why do I feel like you went about gathering those dishonestly?

[Mm, that's... not the worst possible reaction, but Kunimi can tell he should drop the topic of Oikawa right there. Luckily the next string of pictures proves to be his Yahaba blackmail reel, which stretches across two years and features some truly mortifying moments.

Whelk immediately calls him out with no context needed and he laughs again, that same quiet giggle.]

Don't doubt my dedication, Whelk-san. I took them all myself. I've never known anyone else so far up their own ass, showing him one of these was a guaranteed good mood for me. [Speaking of jealousy, Yahaba also happened to form a fast friendship with Kindaichi almost the moment he and Kunimi joined the team. Any time someone saw Kunimi without Kindaichi, they knew Kindaichi was guaranteed to be hanging out with Yahaba. Not that Kunimi's distaste for him was related.

Kindaichi is all over these pictures, though, so Kunimi finds one where he dominates the frame to point him out properly.]

That's Kindaichi. We were best friends for... eight years? Around eight years. He's a cool guy, we just don't have a lot in common anymore.

[Delightfully sadistic, Whelk thinks. Not unlike something he would have pulled as a teenager for someone he couldn't stand. Or for Czerny - in fact, he had for Czerny, plenty of times, but that had more made the other boy laugh than anything else. Idiot. That thought mixes with Kunimi's next statement - mention of a "best friend". The expression "tight as ticks" comes to mind, and Whelk realizes suddenly that his drink is empty.

[He idly wonders what it would be like to simply grow apart from someone rather than--

[He sits up a little, removing his arm from around Kunimi just long enough to pour another drink.]

Do you want one? Probably so, having to sit around and talk about high school that much.

[Kunimi's lost in his own reverie for a moment or two, the true memory of what happened with Kindaichi trying to burst free of its containment unit and ruin the wonderful day he's had with Whelk, until -]

Hm? Oh - yeah, thanks.

[He sets his phone back down with a twinge of embarrassment. One or two pictures would've done the trick, he thinks - that whole folder obviously bored Whelk to tears after the little flare of jealousy over Oikawa had passed.]

I don't know why I thought that would make good entertainment, considering I actually lived through it.

Hm? [Whelk's still only half there for a moment, pouring a drink for Kunimi after the one he'd poured for himself. When he turns back to hand it to him, he tries to force himself to be more present.

[Just think about Kunimi - Kunimi Akira, he tells himself, and he takes a moment to look at the man in front of him. Pretty, a bit self-conscious looking. He's turned his phone over. That adorably large hoodie is still intent on swallowing him up.

[Kunimi Akira, Barrington Whelk, no one else. Whelk's lips are just barely the ghost of a smile.]

I think you want me to know more about you. [The feeling of slightly tense teasing between the two men is becoming more and more familiar. It's easier to focus on than any actual emotion - though, that statement is becoming less and less true the more Kunimi is around.

[Whelk finds that--]

And I'd like to. Truly.

[All at once, Whelk feels as if he'd like to know everything about him. Simultaneously, he begins grandly craving a cigarette. So he stands with his drink and reaches down for Kunimi's free hand.]

Step outside with me a minute. Let's continue there.

[Every now and then Whelk manages to be at once genuine and intensely charming, and every time it sweeps Kunimi all the way off his feet. He's thoroughly disarmed as he lets himself be pulled up off the couch and outside, where he's struck with the memory of Whelk whispering in his ear and making such long, smouldering eye contact that Kunimi thought they were about to kiss right in his backyard.

He wants to kiss Whelk, suddenly, but more than that he wants to be kissed by Whelk so he decides not to make that move for as long as he can hold out.]

Can I stay again? [Ack. Needy. To dial it back a bit, he adds:] You know - on purpose this time.

[Whelk is lighting up his cigarette when Kunimi asks, glass set temporarily down on the shitty folding table between the two shitty folding chairs. A look of dry amusement comes over his face at the question, but beneath it, his stomach does that odd twist again. He hadn't quite realized until Kunimi said something that he'd been assuming that would happen all along, and now it's difficult not to think about why he was assuming that. But he plays it finely cool, taking a drag on his cigarette. It's a bit chillier outside than it was last weekend, so he takes advantage of that as well by snaking his arm around Kunimi again while he takes another puff.]

You seemed a bit eager to leave last time around - at least, [Whelk levies a pointed glance his way, the smile on his lips more a smirk now.] at first you did.

Has something changed?

[And now, Whelk gets to experience a Kunimi Classic for the very first time:

Pouting.]

You're not supposed to just fall asleep at a guy's house and then act like you were invited the next day. It looks weird and clingy.

[And surely Whelk knows that and is just poking his exposed, vulnerable emotional underbelly for fun, which - doesn't genuinely hurt his feelings, but does earn him a stupendous pout.]

[Oh dear. That is a terribly compromising expression. Kunimi's lips fall into that pout, and Whelk's wry expression all but melts into something much more genuinely amused. It's enough to make him laugh again, and not defensive like he had at the mention of students back at Harry's. He's thoroughly entertained-- no, throughouly charmed, and with his arm already around Kunimi, it's very difficult not to kiss the pout right off his lips.

[He shouldn't. He wants to. He's drunk, and his brain his delightfully foggy, and his body is delightfully warm, and Kunimi's is delightfully more so, and he just looks so damn cute that--

[Whelk shakes his head. It's kryptonite. He's incapable of hiding the smile on his face as he turns to face Kunimi head on, both arms snaking around him now, heads together, and lips dangerously close.

[It's a wonderfully warm feeling to be this close. And he's still smiling. He can't help it. He wants to see Kunimi smile again to. He wants to cause that smile.]

Kunimi, [His name does sound rather nice on Whelk's voice, he thinks, so he should probably start saying it more.] I would be grandly disappointed to send you home at the end of the night.

[Turns out, all it takes to get a big, glowing smile from Kunimi is seeing the same on Whelk's face. They're smiling at each other like a couple of simpletons and Kunimi doesn't even care, he's completely devoid of self-consciousness for once.

He's smitten. And now he knows that Whelk is too. It would be a shame to let his pride spoil such a momentous and perfect chance, so instead of sticking to his determination to wait for Whelk to make the move, Kunimi tips his head and ducks in to claim the kiss Whelk has all but given him.]

[A kiss - half-expected, but not to come from Kunimi. Whelk feels his eyes try to widen as instead they fall closed. And he returns the kiss. And he all at once feels more intoxicated than he’s felt all night - possibly in years. And it’s a very warm feeling, and his arms wrap very snugly around Kunimi and pull him closer, and it’s a slow, shockingly gentle, fanciful feeling thing.

[And Whelk doesn’t think for a moment about how it last felt to kiss someone this way. And all there is is Kunimi Akira and himself. And he kisses him again before they can even pull apart from the first one.

[And he very much wants Kunimi to stay for as long as possible. And he relishes in how it feels not to be alone. And the feeling that swells up and consumes him is so unlike anything he’s felt in seven years that it’s overwhelming to the point that his face contorts with emotion on a third slow kiss.

[And he feels all at once like he finally has something. He’ll sleep well tonight, he thinks.]

[Kissing someone has never felt like this before. Never ever.

Kunimi melts into Whelk's arms, wraps his own arms around Whelk's shoulders and plays with his soft, curly hair. For a moment he just looks into Whelk's eyes between kisses, letting himself sink into the emotional intensity of the moment for once, and he winds up murmuring something against Whelk's lips that he's also never said to anyone before.]

Daisuki da yo.

[No way is he translating that on the spot. It'll have to be another translation project. To keep Whelk from asking, he just kisses him again.]

[Whelk doesn’t understand what Kunimi has said, but he does hear it, and whatever it is, it causes his arms to erupt with goosebumps. It would be embarrassing if he could even think to be embarrassed right now, but his brain thoroughly shuts off again with another kiss. All he can think is to burn the words into his brain as much as he can so he can research them later. He’s not sure he’d want Kunimi to translate them anyway, when they sounded so pleasing in his native language.

[He doesn’t stop to think that the implications of them could be much larger than he’d told himself he ever wanted. He’s kissing Kunimi again, and again, Kunimi becomes all that exists. There is a divine comfort in forgetting that there’s anything else to worry about. If he could keep suspending himself in Kunimi’s kissing like this forever, he would. He would, he would, he would.]

PSL/Meme Continuation

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