HIATUS チーム2人

Teshima fought against the pain, swallowing his dignity as he tried to hoist himself up, only to fall back down to his knees. He glanced at the person who saw him fall, though avoided meeting their gaze.

"...Junta."

He was too caught off guard by the sudden rush of excitement and acceptance to initially notice the gravity of Aoyagi’s words. But they soon sunk in, and Teshima’s eyes widened. First kiss…? That was his first kiss?

Teshima was about to blurt out a half-hearted apology when he realized: it was his first kiss, too. 

His fingers jumped to his lips, mirroring Aoyagi. His nerves began to rev again, but instead of nervousness, he felt relieved. There would be no one more fitting for his first kiss than Aoyagi. They’ve shared so much  of their lives with each other, it seemed natural that their relationship would progress to something like a kiss. The more he thought about it, the more pleased he was with his choice. 

Teshima laughed, his hand falling away.

"You're surprisingly bold, Junta..." That was more like the Teshima he knew. Laughing, and smiling like that. It was a sight familiar enough to dissolve the last of his last nerves, and the corners of his mouth curved to form a tender smile, containing just the slightest hint of mischief as he added, "Who knew." 

It couldn't hurt to return the gesture, right? That was his first kiss, after all! His one and only, and although he knew somewhere in his mind he would've ended up sharing it with him anyway, he couldn't just let him get away with it. He moved to cup Teshima's face within his palms as he leaned forward, first to give the boy's heated cheek a light nip, and then to peck it. 

Mh, there.

He parted his lips, and his fingers continued to message the soft skin underneath his tips. Teshima could have laughed, a blanket of selfishness resting on his shoulders. How lucky he was to be the target of Aoyagi’s worries, his words, his touch. Teshima didn’t take his privilege lightly. After races, Teshima listened for the awestruck whispers exclaiming how impressive their brand of teamwork was. He ravished the glances others, laced with confusion and awe as he deciphered Aoyagi’s curt nods, his subtle gestures.  

“I’m okay.” Teshima beamed softy. “I’m great.” The kneading of his fingers grew more languid, the heel of his palm beginning to rub an even greater expanse of Aoyagi’s thigh. Teshima wanted to dispel Aoyagi’s apprehensions just like he alleviated his, though he couldn’t help himself from taking an even greater measure of action than affirming words and reassuring touches.

He tilted his head, catching Aoyagi’s lips with his own. He noted the softness, the small hint of saltiness left by sweat from their ride. Once again he felt a ripple of lightness, a rush of pure sensation as he added more pressure before hesitating and  pulling back.

Over the years, he'd come to see many different sides of Teshima. He could even confidently say he saw some most would never see in their lifetime; But the image of the curly-haired rider that he knew best was the one that carried himself with a charisma unique only to him. Coupled with the skill to initiate and change the atmosphere around him to his liking, it was thanks to these characteristics that even Aoyagi, who never exactly prided himself in his conversational abilities, could feel so included without even having to open his mouth. 

--Yet here he was now, hesitant, undeniably flustered, and growing redder by the second. 

"My first kiss..." Retracting his arm as he spoke, he pulled a hand back to touch the tips of his digits to his mouth. Moments had passed since Teshima's left it, but the feeling it left behind had yet to fade. 

...

It...It was stolen by Junta!!

One-two, one-two. When Kawasumi ran, he never got off-beat with his pace. Unless, of course, something came around and changed his plans. He didn’t expect anything to, especially since this pathway was just a leisurely walk path. This was part of his training, so if something wanted to stop him, it’d have to be something important, like…

that bike up ahead… what was that guy doing to it? They looked like they just broke the padlock… ah. And there they go, hopping on top of it. This wasn’t going to be pretty, especially since the owner of the bike just saw their bike being stolen. Being a witness and all, Kawasumi knew he should probably do something about it. And he had an advantage…the bike thief was heading his way.

Soon as they came close enough, he shoved them as hard as he could, in hopes to retrieve the bike to safety. When the thief was on the ground along with the bike, he picked up the two-wheel object and wheeled it on over to the owner.

Luckily for him, though, while he was frozen in his place with his thoughts, someone who'd been passing by came to his rescue. Before the thief even had a chance to move any further, they were already being shoved and knocked over. The situation was turned around in an instant.

When they approached, it took a moment to register that they'd spoken to him. All his attention was placed almost immediately on the bike in their hands, checking it over mentally. It didn't look damaged, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"..." 

Teshima breathed slowly as Aoyagi drew near. He kneaded his fingers into the other boy’s skin, half reflexive, half intentional, his heart racing at their close proximity. Even when they were on their bikes, glued together, Teshima was comfortable, yes, but never truly calm. When their tires touched, something would stir in Teshima, flow through his veins. He felt that same wave of emotion as Aoyagi broke through personal space and entered them into their own world.

This is it. This is what life’s about. Forget the individual fame he sought out before high school, chasing Imaizumi’s coattails. No amount of broken personal records could compare to the feeling of genuinely connecting with someone, syncing up with their mind, body, heart, and soul.

Teshima could feel the heat radiating onto his cheeks from Aoyagi’s, and he grounded himself on the sensation of their foreheads resting on each other’s, skin against skin. He smiled at the way their hair fell together, the tickle of Aoyagi’s brown locks most likely mirrored with his own black waves.

That's right. During the days he spent in despair over his seemingly never-changing record of losses, it was as if time had froze for him; never improving, never moving forward. Back then, it had been Teshima to bring light back into his world. Together, they, a pair of completely average cyclists, rode their way through effort and perseverance to the winners podium. Teshima was his first and most precious friend, and the first person to believe in his cycling. This sort of position, this sort of closeness-- When you shared as deep as the one they did, it felt like almost the most natural thing in the world to be doing. 

"...! You, rode too..." He stumbled over his words, for more reasons than one. Visibly quite flustered at that, he removed his forehead and pushed his face lower, replacing the lost contact with a nudging of his nose into the other's cheek in order to hide it. 

"Are you okay, Teshima?" 

He broke his gaze away from Onoda’s room to follow Aoyagi to the empty one waiting for him. With one peek into his new room, Teshima knew he was going to have a good time. Blank canvases like this were a world of opportunity, varying possibilities laid out before him.  

"It’s perfect."

He set his speaker and iPod on the floor, plugging them in before scrolling for a song. Once the tune started up, Teshima bopped his head lightly to the beat. He stepped further into the room, arms akimbo.

He'll come. 

Aoyagi moved past Teshima to place himself down at the edge of his bed, making himself comfortable while the other went to work on setting up the music. Because he's Tadokoro-san, he'll come for sure. He'll probably have a big, Tadokoro-sized entrance too.

Well, the man was his idol, after all. It didn't hurt to dream. 

Pulling his legs to sit cross-legged, he eyed Teshima carefully.

"!" 

My taste isn't anything special...  

9. Thighs

Teshima knelt next to Aoyagi, who was settled on the couch. He placed a gentle hand on his thigh and strewn his brows together. 

Nothing’s been pulled, everything’s working the way it should. See? It’s fine, Teshima, really. 

The blond hesitated for a moment, but then moved forward to slide his arms smoothly, carefully around the slope of his friend’s shoulders, while pressing his forehead until it met gently with another. 

He’d never been good with words, and they both knew it; but if there was anything thing he could do, even the smallest of gestures, to dispel some of those feelings Teshima felt, he’d do anything.