Ahochin

He could hardly remember what his partner’s face looked like without the grain of the computer screen occasionally flickering across it, without the borders of the screen and thousands of miles between them. He could hardly remember what Tetsuya felt like in his arms, his smaller frame gripping him tightly before he’d left through the security gate years ago. It physically hurt, being away from him for so long, which was why he had applied for graduate school back in Japan, why he was coming home.

They’d made it work, somehow, in those years apart, but Taiga had to come back. He’d go insane if he stayed away any longer.

The popping in his ears brought him back to the present, and he didn’t need to look out the window or listen to the flight attendant’s voice to know the plane was descending. His heart picked up, knowing Tetsuya was somewhere below him, picking up the tempo in a rush of excitement.

When the seatbelt sign flicked off and the older couple next to him started to stand up, he was already ready, walking over the seats and into the aisle. As he retrieved his carry-on from the overhead bin, he eyed the long line of people slowly filing out in front of him and decided that wouldn’t do. So he shouldered his suitcase and edged along the aisle by walking over the armrests, apologizing profusely as his bag accidentally bumped into people. A flight attendant came over to admonish him, but he could already see the exit, and yelled an apology behind him as he bolted through the jet bridge and burst into the terminal.

He must have looked crazy to the passersby in the waiting area, but he honestly didn’t care, sprinting past them all toward the baggage claim. Hurtling to a stop before the conveyor belt, he scanned the area for the familiar blue hair.

Tetsuya had been trying to work, really. He also just kept happening to glance at the clock. Were the hands even moving? Maybe he should check if the clock was broken.

To his disappointment, it was not in fact broken, and he wasn’t getting anything done anyway, so he stood and stretched, wandering over to grab his keys. Surely it would be alright if he was a couple hours early.

Taking a breath, he took the keys from the hook on the wall, stopping for a moment to look at the picture of them that hung over it. In the picture, their faces were squished against each other, both smiling, and Tetsuya was holding up a peace sign. He touched it for a moment, as he had every morning for months now, and let a small smile spread. After today, they’d get so many more chances to take more pictures, make more memories.

The thought spurred him to hurry towards the car, drum his fingers impatiently against the wheel every time he had to stop at a light, hurry out the door and barely remember to lock it after he’d parked. It seemed Taiga’s name ran through his head with every step he took, and before he knew it, he was running as he hadn’t in all those years of basketball, all the way until the baggage claim. Panting slightly, he looked up at the clock. Half an hour.

He tried to pass the time by treating himself to a milkshake, but even that was gone with at least ten minutes to spare, and the hands on the clock weren’t speeding up any time soon.

At long last, the screen with departures and arrivals showed that the flight from Los Angeles had come in, and he immediately stood, scanning the crowd coming through the doors to the terminal for the redhead.

There.

He’d video chatted with Taiga only yesterday, but it was only seeing him in person that made him realize that that had never been enough encapsulate everything that his partner was. There was the familiar slope of his jawline, the fringe of his hairline, even the ridiculous eyebrows. Tetsuya had to compel his feet to walk forward, and stopped only a few feet away.

“Taiga…”

His partner immediately turned, and when he noticed him, stood still for a few moments.

Then he found himself in his arms, which were squeezing hard enough to lift him off the ground. Immediately he squeezed back, letting the tight grip do the talking for him. It was so much better than he'd hoped for, and he marveled at it; Taiga had always, always went beyond his expectations, and even having been together as long as they had in both friendship and romance, he couldn't stop the gratitude from welling in his chest every single time. He knew that the tears in his eyes matched Taiga’s, from the way the other was bending to bury his face in his shoulder, and he let them stay like that for a long moment, content to just feel, in more ways than one.

Reluctantly, he pulled back slightly to study the taller man’s face for a moment, taking it in before lifting a hand to wipe at his own eyes. Taiga captured the hand gently, however, and let it drop gently to wipe Tetsuya’s tears himself.

Neither of them said that they missed the other. Neither of them said “I love you.”

Instead, Taiga took a deep breath, and said, “Home.” It meant so many things to both of them - for both of them - something that was theirs and theirs alone.

But his eyes caught onto the gathering clouds all around them. Judging by the size and shape, as well as the wind picking up around them, they either had very little or no time at all to get safely to shore. Calling to his men, he instructed them to secure the ship and ran for the wheel, tying it in the position that would point them straight toward the shore.

In the space of a few minutes, the wind rose to a howling, swirling around them and ripping seamlessly through clothing, biting cold and furious. The first raindrops began to fall, seemingly hurled from the heavens and quickly slicking the deck. The rest of the crew set about tying themselves to the sturdier parts of the ship, but Kagami was trying to roll up the sails, and didn’t notice as the rope he’d been handed was sucked into an enormous wave that crashed over the deck. The sea only continued to swell, reaching peaks higher than the masts and even blocking out the lightning on a few occasions. The ship listed heavily to the side, and suddenly he couldn’t find friction anywhere. As he scrabbled against the deck for a handhold, he continued to slip away, shouts lost amidst the deafening rain and thunder.

The helping hands that grasped for his were too late.

**********

Kuroko wished he could change his people.

No matter what he said to them, it was like he was just the ghost that only had a presence when something was wanted of him, and even that was diminishing. What he really wanted was to be seen, and not just physically.

Maybe that was why he was always so close to the shore. It was an unspoken rule among the merpeople that interaction with humans was unnecessary, even dangerous, but really, they were simply a mystery. They could be much more observant or caring than everyone down here - who knew?

This time though, he had simply come up to the surface to experience the storm. Only his eyes peeked above the water as he became aware of the strange vessel coming toward him, and he skirted around the bow to observe what was going on above the deck. What he hadn’t expected, though, was the body to come out of nowhere, crashing into him and pulling the both of them under. It wasn’t as big of a problem for Kuroko, since he could breathe just fine and only briefly felt the pain of a grown man slamming into him, but as for the human…

The human.

Kuroko twisted as fast as he could, trying to get a good hold on the thrashing body. He was helped by the fact that the body started to go limp, but that made him more alarmed, and he used what little strength he had to pull the human in the direction of land.

It wasn’t easy or dignified, but he managed to heave the human onto the sand, struggling a little to breathe himself from the exertion. Once he’d gotten him far enough up the beach that he wouldn’t be carried back out to sea, he collapsed next to the body, allowing himself to catch his breath. It didn’t seem as though the human would be conscious anytime soon, so he watched the sky instead, feeling the raindrops on his face and watching for signs of the storm abating.

After a while though, he turned instead to study the face of the unconscious man next to him. By tucking his tail under him somewhat, he was able to keep himself upright enough to lean over the redhead and take a good look at his face. Even the thought that his species would shun him should they find out wasn’t enough to deter him.

A well defined jaw, the beginnings of stubble, red hair plastered to his forehead - the human was not bad-looking. He found himself reaching out to brush the wet strands away, but his fingers continued on their own, tracing around his cheek and down to his chin. But he remembered himself, and drew the hand away quickly. Even if he was drawn to this face, this person, it was wrong to take advantage like this. It finally felt wrong, and he edged backward, on the verge of panic.

He’d just made it into the water when he heard a voice say, “Hey, wait!”

**********

It took a moment for Kagami to register the raindrops still pelting his face, and the hand that followed them. The last thing he could remember was struggling to breathe, water crushing him on all sides…

Wait.

There had also been arms around him, tugging him somewhere in the water. His men? Unlikely - they’d all been tied down. Then who…?

He scrunched his eyes shut and slowly blinked them open. Using his hands, he was able to pull himself into a sitting position and caught the flash of something as it slipped into the sea. His voice was raspy from the seawater he’d consumed, but he managed to call out.

“Hey, wait!”

It wasn’t long before he could see a lighter shade of blue pop up among the waves, along with equally blue eyes. The creature didn’t say anything, but it didn’t move either, which Kagami took to be a good sign.

“I just… wanted to thank you,” he said, slowly putting up his hands to show he meant no harm. “You saved my life.”

The head slowly lifted itself above the water, moving slowly toward shore, and the entirety of the blue hair and equally blue eyes was finally rounded out with a face, a bare chest, a tail. But there was something almost strange about the creature. He almost wasn’t there, as if he would disappear if Kagami tried to look at him out of the corner of his eye. He was almost tempted to test that theory out when the merman spoke.

“You’re not put off?”

He blinked, confused. “What?”

The expression on the creature’s face was unchanging, blank. Maybe Kagami had imagined the brief flicker of uncertainty in the eyes.

The merman pulled himself further onto shore and inched his way up the sand, dragging his tail behind him. Acting on impulse, Kagami scrambled forward himself, holding out a hand to help him in some way.

He seemed to hesitate, but finally reached out as well. Kagami awkwardly pulled his arm around his own shoulders and picked him up as best he could, carrying him haphazardly until they could reach a rock for the creature to sit on comfortably. It seemed as if they already knew how to respond to each other’s movements, syncing without having to talk. Once the merman was seat, Kagami ventured another question.

“Why would I be put off by you?”

It took a moment for the other to respond, but he blinked slowly and said, “I was under the assumption that humans did not take kindly to us.”

“Ehh?” Kagami frowned. “Who told you that?”

“My fellow mermen.” There was just the slightest change in his expression, his brows drawing together a fraction. “I suppose they were wrong. Or perhaps giving in to their holier-than-thou instincts.”

It was Kagami’s turn to blink slowly, but in confusion. “Uh… Alright?” Since he didn’t know how to respond to that statement, he tried a different tack. “Well uh, I’m kind of in your debt, so I could treat you to a day out, I suppose. It wouldn’t be nearly enough but it would at least be something.”

The merman’s face was completely passive. “You mean a date.”

“Gah!” He flailed a moment, tripping over himself backward. “You don’t have to be so nonchalant about it!”

“But I am right, aren’t I?” The blue-haired creature raised an eyebrow. “Before we go on this date, there is something I must take care of.” He started sliding toward the edge of the water, much to Kagami’s consternation.

“Wait! I don’t even know your name!”

The merman stopped for a moment, inclining his head toward him. “You are right. Kuroko Tetsuya.”

He scratched the back of his head. “Er… Kagami Taiga…”

Kuroko nodded once briefly, and slipped into the water. “I will be back shortly, Kagami-kun.” With that, the end of his tail disappeared beneath the surface.

Kagami looked out over the water until it settled once more, and sat down again to watch the waves and wait for his return.

She shook her head to dispel her thoughts as she padded over and settled comfortable against his chest on the window seat. His legs curled naturally around her while she felt the weight of his chin settle on top of her head. Satsuki could feel the shift of his head as it turned to look back out the window. She didn’t really mind the silence; it gave her a chance to just feel content, focusing on the little things like the smell of cocoa, the feel of his arms around her stomach.

“What are you thinking about?” she murmured. “Don’t overexert yourself,” she added lightly.

Instead of responding, he made a noise of disapproval and stole her half-empty mug.

“Dai-chan!” she protested. She didn’t actually mind that he’d taken it, but even though she knew he knew that, she twisted around to glare at him. He just leaned in for a kiss.

Those still caught Satsuki off guard. She hadn’t actually been in a legitimate relationship before now, and the ease with which he could do something like that made her fluttery all over again, making each kiss like a new first. They parted after a moment, but his face was still centimeters away.

“I’ll probably never get used to that,” she admitted.

He chuckled. “It’s okay. Just means you’ll get more practice.”

Daiki kissed her again, and didn’t let go for a while, setting the mug down and letting his hands glide easily down to her hips. In turn, she let herself inch close enough to straddle his lap, and her arms naturally wound their way around his neck. He wasn’t gentle this time, but she appreciated that in a way. It was just his way of showing that he knew she could handle him, that she deserved him, unbridled and unrestrained. Even amidst all this uncertainty there was a certain familiarity, one that she could only find with him.

It was only when his hand started to slip under her shirt that her eyes fluttered open. “Not…” Her breath hitched as his teeth found the skin above her collarbone to make a fresh mark.

“Can’t stop now,” he nearly growled against her skin. His voice was pitched low and rumbled through Satsuki’s chest. But she held her resolve, raising her eyebrows at him.

“Not now,” she said, more firmly this time.

“No fun,” he grumbled in return, but she was grateful to note that he hadn’t used that voice on her again. “The hell am I supposed to do with this half-boner now?”

She looked straight into his eyes unblinkingly. “Think about dead puppies.”

He stared at her for a full ten seconds, then clicked his tongue. “Tch. No fucking mercy, Satsuki…”

She only responded with a smirk and picked up her mug again. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“I can’t even say fuck you,” he muttered, earning a laugh from her.

“Better accept your fate now,” she said, relenting enough to leave a lingering kiss on the cheek. “You chose this.”

As Satsuki turned to once more settle against him, she felt his chin on her shoulder this time and his voice at her ear.

“Yeah.” It was barely audible over the steady patter of the rain, but no less reassuring. “I did.” She could hear the unspoken And I don’t regret it.

The girl this time was seriously getting on his nerves. It was almost pathetic how pushy and not-so-subtle she was, smoothing down her skirt, fluttering lashes, even squeezing her arms slightly together to accentuate her breasts. If only she knew how sickening it was to him.

“But…” Her eyes blinked, starting to well up with tears. “Are you sure…? I thought we had a moment there in math class when you picked up my papers for me.”

And suddenly he was done. He’d never asked for this, and to hell with societal norms. “Look. I said I’m not interested, and I never will be. If you must know, I’m seeing a guy.” There, it was out. She could judge him as she willed, shun him maybe, but he didn’t care at this point. “Good day,” he continued, and turned, briskly walking around the building and off campus. It was only when he’d cleared the gates that he broke into a run.

There was really only one place to go, one person to talk to, if he wanted an end to it all.

Finding Atsushi in his house was more than normal at this point; it was expected. He noted the abnormally large pair of shoes in the entryway and let out a breath of relief as he hung up his scarf and coat.

“Atsushi?” he called into the house. His parents wouldn’t be home until late, as usual, so he didn’t bother keeping his voice down, especially since he needed to talk to Atsushi urgently.

He was rewarded with the sight of Atsushi slumped over the coffee table, working through some sort of homework. Hurrying over, he put both hands on the table in front of him, forcing him to look up. Himuro didn’t know what he looked like in that moment, but it was enough to make Atsushi’s eyes widen a little.

There was no beating around the bush to be had. He knew Atsushi hated it when he did that anyway. “Atsushi, I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

He didn’t know what he expected - a flat out refusal, a discomfited, strange look maybe, but he was immensely relieved when he didn’t get much other than just a question.

“Why?”

“This is why,” he said, reaching behind him for the bags of chocolate. He set them down on the table and continued, “If I get another of these, I will probably go crazy. And today I told the girl - I told her I was seeing a guy.”

The taller one’s face relaxed a little, and suddenly Himuro couldn’t read it. It startled him - he was so used to being able to read Atsushi, but this time there was nothing. Had he said something wrong?

But after a moment, Atsushi shrugged and turned back to his homework. “Sure,” was all he said, penciling in an answer.

Himuro breathed another sigh of relief and opened his backpack, pulling out his own study materials. He situated himself as he normally did, next to Atsushi with his homework and textbooks in neat stacks around him.

“I’m sorry,” he went on. “You were the first person I thought of, and we spend so much time together anyway… Well, I’ll figure it out. Thanks, Atsushi.”

Atsushi glanced up and nodded, pulling over one of the chocolate packages. It was a familiar routine, and Himuro settled into it, relaxing and basking in the comfortable silence and welcome company. Maybe he should have done this much earlier.

At first, the gossip stayed at the edges of his vision, words whispered behind hands that quickly stopped when he looked their way, and no one bothered him for at least a week. It was blissfully peaceful, and he hadn’t even had to do anything that he knew would make Atsushi uncomfortable.

But he couldn’t deny that sometimes… Sometimes he wanted to take advantage of the fact that they had to appear to be in a relationship. He caught himself on more than a few occasions wanting to reach over and take his hand, or hug his arm or waist, maybe rise onto his tiptoes to press a small and easy kiss to his cheek. Of course, there were other things too, but he didn’t think Atsushi would appreciate them.

But maybe he’d restrained himself too much, because it didn’t take nearly as long as he’d hoped for some girl to come up to them during lunch.

“I don’t think you’re actually dating,” she said. She raised an eyebrow at the both of them, and honed in on Himuro expectantly.

“Oh?” He frowned slightly for emphasis. “I was under the impression that we could have our own opinion about whether we were dating or not.” Atsushi slowly looked up at the girl warily, and Himuro made a mental note to diffuse the situation before Atsushi had to step in.

“Alright, but even though you spend a lot of time together, no one has seen you two ever kiss or hold hands or anything.”

“Do we need to? It’s not your place--”

His voice faltered when he felt a pair of lips brush against his cheek.

“Is that enough for you?”

Himuro turned in amazement to see Atsushi stand up and stare the girl down, and with his height it was enough to make her slowly back away and turn, briskly walking down the hall. He stayed standing for a few moments after she’d left, and then sat down again, going back to eating. He must have felt Himuro’s stare on him, however, since he looked up a minute later.

“What?” His voice came out muffled around the onigiri he was currently consuming. “We’re supposed to be dating.”

At a loss for words, Himuro swallowed and nodded. It took him a while, but he managed a “Thanks, Atsushi.”

He was all the more confused now.

The gestures of affection increased after that, and Himuro was torn between confronting him about it and possibly ending everything or continuing to let things be as they were.

The first was as they were walking down the hallway, and Himuro felt a nudging at his hand. Looking up, he saw that Atsushi’s gaze wasn’t even pointed in his direction, but his pinky finger had curled itself around his. Needless to say, he had to try a little extra hard to keep his face neutral.

In another instance, they were eating lunch, and under the table, Himuro felt his foot become ensconced between two others, but Atsushi seemed to be intent on devouring an umaibo. Himuro was honestly too comfortable to move his foot, even if it had been an accident, so he left it there, and if he ate his own lunch with a little more force than usual, no one had to know.

All throughout the week, it seemed like Atsushi was always letting him know with small touches here and there that he was very much present, and if his aim had been to not let Himuro forget that he was there, it was very much working.

But now he couldn’t take it anymore.

Obviously, Atsushi was trying to tell him something, and dare he hope…? The signs clearly pointed in the direction he wanted them to go in, but he had to find out, one way or another.

So here he was, at the park half an hour too early to leave for school, shivering as he kept his hands jammed in his pockets. He just hoped that Atsushi had gotten his message, since he’d left early the previous day.

Himuro was rewarded for his efforts as his unmistakably tall teammate appeared at the end of the path and drew closer to stop in front of him. He looked up at Atsushi’s face, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but the taller boy’s face was relaxed, normal.

“Sorry to call you out so early,” he started, suddenly unsure. “I just… needed to talk to you.”

“I know.”

His eyes flicked upward, taken aback. “You… do?” When he got a nod, he continued, “So you know what this is about?”

Atsushi didn’t speak at first, and walked over to sit down on a nearby bench, waiting until Himuro slowly joined him to open his mouth. It seemed as if the entire world was holding its breath.

“You like me.” It wasn’t a question, and Himuro was now gaping.

“What? I…” Well, he couldn’t deny it now, could he? There was no point if Atsushi already knew. So he took a deep breath and met his eyes. “Do… do you feel the same way?”

It took Atsushi a moment, but he slowly asked, “Does it mean you like someone when you constantly want to hold their hand, or give them a hug just because, or maybe…” At this he tilted his head slightly, studying Himuro. “Kiss them?”

It was all Himuro could do not to collapse against him right then and there out of sheer relief. Instead he let out a breath, and let the corners of his mouth pull upward. “Yes, Atsushi. I believe it does.”

The answer was immediate. “Then yes, I do.”

“Would you perhaps like to date - for real, I mean?” Himuro swallowed, reaching for the closest thing, which happened to be Atsushi’s hands, to grip tightly, and took comfort in the fact that he squeezed back.

“I’d assumed we were dating already?” The taller one’s face scrunched slightly in confusion. “Didn’t you…”

It dawned on Himuro that all those gestures that Atsushi had given him throughout their tenure as fake boyfriends had been genuine. He’d been a fool - an utter, complete fool. Didn’t he know that Atsushi didn’t give out even his approval lightly? If the other had thought him important enough to instigate tokens of affection without being prompted, that alone should have been clear enough that he was indeed special to Atsushi.

But it was also funny.

“Why are you laughing, Murochin…?”

He hadn’t realized that he was laughing out loud, but he suddenly needed to kiss Atsushi, show him that his efforts hadn’t gone to waste. So he cupped his cheeks and brought his face down toward him, planting a lingering kiss on his lips right there. When they parted, he could see an extra tint in his boyfriend’s cheeks, not just from the cold.