#ibanatsu

Ibara and him bickered often, very often. He would never admit it, but he loved their fights. Ibara, although annoying and stuck up and infuriatingly pretty, was very nice to talk to. He made good points, was good at arguing, and was so easy to annoy. He wouldn't admit how much he loved it.

But they usually didn't come out with a clear winner. So Natsume was going to show that he was better once and for all. (For the next hour or so.)

Mario Kart.

What could go wrong.

Natsume and Ibara regularly blocked and unblocked each other on Hold-Hands. Well, Natsume did. He had done it earlier that day... he didn't recall why. It was probably deserved, though.

He unblocked him and sent a message telling Ibara to come to his dorm. Leo and Nazuna were currently out, so he didn't need to worry about them.

Ibara asked why. Natsume said he was going to beat him in a game. Ibara said he was on his way.

Ibara was oddly willing to drop things to argue or fight with Natsume. He didn't know why his chest felt light at the thought.

He made sure the game was set up and there was a knock on the door.

"Come iN, Ibara-kun. I've been expecting yoU," Natsume grinned, barely able to wait. He wanted to slaughter this twink in Mario Kart.

Ibara stepped in. He was in a simple button up and black pants. His clothes were simple but fitting, and they matched his hair which was laying down smoothly.

"Natsume-kun, how unexpected! I didn't realize you were so desperate to engage in battle once more!" he smiled, approaching Natsume.

"I came up with a plan that will prove my superioriTY, and now is a good time to launch my atTACK." he replied smoothly. He patted the spot next to him, signaling for Ibara to sit down.

As he did, he was handed a controller.

"Are you familiar with Mario KarT?" he asked. Although he wanted to crush him, he wasn't totally unfair.

"Jun has had me play with him before." Ibara confirmed. "If your goal was to beat me in this, I wouldn't be so sure you're going to win." he looked smug.

Ibara returned the smug look and got them ready to play. They picked characters and customized their game.

And so it began.

As the first race started, Ibara and Natsume were composed. Backhanded compliments were passed back and forth, or direct insults.

Natsume was clearly more experienced. He was the president of the Game Research Club, and him and Sora had figured out all the best ways to play. Shortcuts, using items, everything.

Natsume won the first round. He looked horribly smug as he pulled out a paper and made a little mark on one side. Ibara side-eyed the paper and his smile looked strained.

"Round twO, Ibara-kun?" Natsume was smiling, loving the look on his face.

"Start the game, Natsume-kun." his smile was fake.

_____________

It had been almost two hours. The two had barely moved. They were hunched over, and the tension between the two could be cut with a knife.

They had started to push each other to distract them so they would mess up in-game.

The paper had long been forgotten, replaced with simply thriving off the sheer euphoria of winning a round, met with the rage that demanded another.

As the two got ready for another round, the door opened. Not a glance was spared.

"Uchuu!~ I'm back!" Leo happily cried out as he entered the room. "Oh! The Viper is here!" he smiled.

The two didn't even glance at him.

Leo pouted, skipping over and sitting right behind them. "What are you playing?"

The two were focused, and it was only when Ibara hit Natsume with a blue shell, that he snapped.

"You cheaTER!" he cried out, dropping his controller and lunging for Ibara. Leo leaned back so he wasn't hit, and watched as the two wrestled.

"I didn't cheat! You're the one who knows every single trick to the game, if anyone is a cheater, it's YOU!" Ibara argued as he kicked at Natsume. Although Natsume made a show of hitting and punching Tsumugi, he really wasn't that good in physical combat.

And Ibara grew up in a military camp.

As Ibara rolled to the side to pin Natsume down, Leo was loudly cheering and encouraging the fight.

Natsume seemed to almost contort to bite at Ibara, flailing around in order to get him off.

It was only successful because Ibara was going easy on him. Everyone in the room knew it, but no one said anything. Leo certainly had a knowing smile though.

"I'm not a cheaTER, you just suck at Mario KarT!" Natsume managed to knock Ibara onto his side. He tried to mimic what Ibara had done by straddling his torso, but Ibara quickly swapped them back.

"I won plenty of times!" Ibara would usually be more behaved, but after two hours of Mario Kart, he was about as kind as a starving honey badger. And he didn't feel like pretending otherwise. "You would know that if you hadn't burned the paper and nearly your dorm as well!"

"The paper was meaningLESS! I didn't need it to know that I was winning more than yoU!" Natsume fought more but he was getting tired, and Ibara was bound to win any hand to hand combat.

"Come on Nacchan! Fight, fight, fight!! Bite him!" Leo cheered, almost screaming.

Natsume's hands were pinned above his head by Ibara, so he just tried to jerk them down. He only slid down both of their hands, but that was enough.

You know what they say. If you can't beat them, eat them.

Natsume leaned up as much as he could and strained his neck to bite down on Ibara's forearm.

"YEAHHHHHHHH NACCHAN!!" Leo yelled.

Ibara pulled his arm back a bit and Natsume used this chance to sit up as fast as he could and headbutt him.

Both of them leaned back with a groan, holding their heads.

Leo cried out, something about inspiration, and ran to his bed to write on the papers he had everywhere.

"You could have broken my glasses, you moron.." Ibara grumbled as he rubbed his cheekbone where it had been hit.

"You had it comING, Ibara-kun." Natsume replied, muttering as well. He was rubbing his forehead.

The two sat in pain for a few moments more before realizing the odd position they were in. Ibara was sitting on Natsume's lap, basically straddling him.

Ibara quickly got off and tried to compose himself. Natsume was trying to hide that he was almost as red as his hair.

Natsume attempted to glare at Ibara, but he was more or less pouting.

Ibara gave another fake smile, his tone mocking. "What, do you want me to kiss your booboo better?"

Natsume turned his head away, but Ibara caught the blush that had gotten stronger.

Natsume turned back, still red, but determined to not lose. "I didn't realize your first instinct was to kiss mE." he smiled smugly.

The two stared at each other in tense silence for a bit before Leo spoke up once more.

"Ughhhhhhh... you guys are sooooo lame! Just kiss each other already!" he laughed at his own comment, and the two redheads quickly discovered that the floor was simply fascinating.

"Love heals all wounds, ahahaha!" Leo quickly went back to scribbling down notes.

Natsume and Ibara glanced at each other a few times, both unsure of what to do. Finally, after a few painfully long moments, Natsume did something.

He took a deep breath and stood up. He slowly walked to Ibara and kneeled right in front of him. Blue looked into amber, and it almost seemed like Natsume would back out. But he didn't.

It was a stiff kiss, just a small peck. But it solidified what both of them had known but refused to admit.

Natsume seemed almost stunned after the kiss, but it only took a second longer for him to stand up and run out of the room, blushing furiously.

Ibara left once his blush had gone down and he had made sure Leo wouldn't tell. Of course, he can't exactly trust him even with him promising silence. Leo had a habit of speaking without thinking.

_____________

"Ibara, are you wearing lipgloss?" Hiyori asked. The two had met up that night so Hiyori could drag someone around while shopping. Jun had been busy.

Ibara raised an eyebrow. "No. I use chapstick."

Hiyori shook his head and leaned close to his face. "Your lips are shimmery. It's really uneven, though."

Ibara leaned away and lightly rubbed his lips, and then examining the slight shimmer left on them. They had a slightly red tint, and when he licked his lips, it tasted faintly sweet.

Oh.

Ibara didn't wear lipgloss.

Apparently Natsume did.