Title: Always Wear the Safety Straps
Pairing: Break Trio (could be read as platonic).
Rating: G
Warning: They cannot play Wii for the life of them.
Length: 3,959 words
Endou rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling contemplatively. He huffed and crossed his arms, tapping a finger restlessly on the curve of his elbow. The silence of the room echoed interminably in his ears, causing discomfort to seep into Endou's bones. He wasn't used to the silence, and everything about it pushed him off balance. He wanted to do something, to be active in any way possible.
Endou rolled onto his stomach, stretching his arms in front of him and sighing. His head lulled slightly off the front end of the bed, his toes barely touching the backboard. "We should do something," he mumbled.
Neither of his two guests spoke, and the silence slowly began to creep back into the atmosphere. Endou glanced down at his guests, Gouenji and Kidou, scrunching his eyebrows.
Gouenji was leaning leisurely against the wall closest to Endou's feet, flipping through the latest edition of World Soccer he found lying around Endou's messy desk. Occasionally he'd show interest in something and smile lightly, pausing to skim the words on the page. However, he admiring the beautifully captured action shots of the strikers for the most part.
Kidou was hunched forward across from Gouenji messing around with Endou's Rubik's cube that his mother had gotten for him. Endou still wasn't too sure why she bought it for him, but after nearly three months of intensely studying the cube, Endou was able to solve it. He never did succeed again after the first time. Kidou was fumbling with the multi-colored, scrambled little cubes, his fingers working diligently to solve it. Endou had lost track of how many times Kidou grinned and put down the solved cube just to pick it up a few seconds later and solve it again.
Endou frowned at them, making a sound of disapproval. He nudged Gouenji's shoulder with his foot, poking incessantly until Gouenji finally looked up from his magazine.
"What?" Gouenji said, holding back his bite.
Endou groaned and quickly sat up, crossing and clutching his legs. "I want to do something! We haven't done anything besides eating dinner."
"Do you have any suggestions?" Kidou spoke up, placing the now solved cube in front of him.
Endou scratched his head, thinking. He moved from scratching his head to placing a finger on his chin. Then he was putting both hands on his knees. Suddenly, his hand was back to his head. Endless sounds of contemplation poured out of his mouth and eventually his eyes shut in concentration.
"I don't know!" Endou finally said, grinning sheepishly. Kidou shook his head, letting out a quiet snort. Endou sighed and propped his head up on his fist.
"We should probably stray from anything soccer-related." Kidou remarked.
"I know, I know. Coach Hibiki said he wanted us to rest after the FFI." Endou pouted.
"There's always going out?" Gouenji suggested.
Endou was about to jump up in excitement before he suddenly deflated and returned to a slouching position. "It's almost eleven though. My mom won't let us go out this late."
"Ah, right," Gouenji said understandingly. His lack of experience with extremely caring parents often made him forget that there were rules and regulations besides determining your future. Oftentimes he was out this late playing soccer without any parents calling him and nagging about coming home.
Endou chuckled, relaxing into a slouched position; his elbows propped up on his knees and his head in his hands. He looked around his room for something to do, jumping over everything soccer-related in an attempt to change up their usual sleepovers and to abide by the coach's order. There were soccer posters and various merchandises he bought from the FFI scattered sporadically around his room. Nothing particularly non-soccer related caught his eye. Gouenji placed his elbow on the bed beside Endou's leg, leaning into his palm. Kidou leaned back onto his hands and observed Endou as he sought some entertainment.
"How about watch a television show?" Kidou suggested.
Endou shook his head soundlessly, another soft noise of contemplating gliding out his lips.
"Maybe we can watch the new rap show that just started?" Gouenji mumbled quickly. Besides a side-eye from Kidou, no response came.
"I got it!" Endou suddenly shot up on his bed, his fist flying into the air.
Kidou and Gouenji looked at him expectantly, Endou's eyes darting between the two. He grinned and hopped off his bed, landing with a plunk onto the sleeping bags neatly place next to one another. He dashed over towards his desk and rummaged around. Endou's constant need to play soccer over everything else left his desk a mess nearly all the time. Kidou would try and straighten things out whenever he came over, but even he eventually gave up after the mess continuously returned.
Endou reached into the back of his bottom drawer and produced a small video game case and three remotes. He grinned and held them up for Gouenji and Kidou to see.
"Wii Sports Resort?" Kidou raised a questioning eyebrow.
Endou deflated, "It's a really fun game. Don't you want to try it?"
"Why not? Sounds like fun, right Kidou?" Gouenji quickly responded.
Kidou shook his head, but smiled and nodded anyway. Endou's famous grin returned and he pranced towards the television to set up the console. Gouenji shot a look towards Kidou, thanking him for agreeing for the time being. Kidou shrugged and pointed at Endou, mouthing, "If it makes him happy."
Endou struggled with the cords, searching for where exactly they went, if they went anywhere at all. He finally got the Wii to power up, the whirring and buzzing sounds causing a grin to spread across his face. Kidou smiled softly and exchanged a look with Gouenji. Endou pressed the button on the disc slot, bouncing on his feet excitedly. He quickly inserted the game and powered on all the remotes, handing them to Gouenji and Kidou. The two stood up and attached the Nunchuck to the bottom of the remote.
"Don't forget about the strap," Kidou mentioned, fastening his strap around his wrist.
"It'll be fine," Endou grinned, "I never use that thing!"
Kidou doubted it would be fine, but the unmistakable joy Endou was radiating was far too great for him to crush it with petty regulations. They all stood in front of the sensor, Gouenji testing out how quickly it would react to his movements. He made random jabs to the side and up and down. Endou clicked all the starting buttons and had them pick out their characters.
"Gouenji, it's a sensor, not a punching bag," Endou laughed, "Don't worry about it!"
Gouenji stood up straight, tugging at the collar of his t-shirt. "Just making sure it's not going to be slow."
"Hey, I play this all the time! Trust me, it's pretty fast." Endou grinned. He scanned through the buttons and directions, quickly mumbling them to Gouenji and Kidou.
"Which sport are we going to do first?" Endou asked while moving his cursor up and down the list of sports.
"Something different from soccer…" Kidou scanned the list of spots, juggling between which ones he'd be best at and which ones he'd lack in.
"Let's do swordplay." Gouenji grinned, moving his cursor to hover over the option.
Endou nodded and quickly clicked the button, bouncing up and down on his heels. "This is going to be great!"
The screen darkened momentarily before popping up on the little animated characters with padding on. Suddenly, the game began and the rivals were coming at them at full speed. Endou jumped back in shock and started whacking the remote to whichever side seemed right. Gouenji stood there baffled for not even a second before harshly thrusting the remote into the air to attack the people that were surrounding him. Kidou knew the game was going to start and had begun lightly jutting the remote in the correct direction.
Endou tripped over his own feet and stumbled, swinging the remote backwards and nearly hitting Gouenji in the face. He picked himself up before he fell on the ground, stabbing his control out to block an attack. He let out a loud "yes!" before walking back into place while simultaneously taking stabs at the other characters.
"Be careful, Endou!" Gouenji grunted, swinging the remote with full force to stop the oncoming attacks.
"Sorry!" Endou cried and continued thrusting the remote left and right.
"You guys are ridiculous," Kidou rolled his eyes.
They played the match with a noticeable difference in tactics. Kidou was containing himself to minimal movements, occasionally ducking down or jabbing quickly if he missed someone. Endou just seemed to be hitting things at random, tripping over his own feet as he moved with the character. Gouenji was harsh with his remote, stabbing and striking at random places in the air. None of them seemed to register it was solely a game.
"Winner: Shuuya!" The voice from the game proclaimed as the end game screen came up. Gouenji grinned, crossing his arms loosely and shooting a look towards Kidou and Endou.
"You may have won this time, but we're doing archery next." Kidou placed his cursor over the archery button and Endou moved to press it.
The game blacked out again before starting up much slower this time. It zoomed in and out of beautiful scenery before panning in on their characters. Kidou was already adjusting himself by scooting closer to the bed to gain more space for movement. Endou stared aimlessly at the television and glanced over towards Kidou, preparing for the worst. Gouenji moved slightly back and towards Endou's desk to avoid anymore near-collisions.
"This can't be too hard, right?" Endou chuckled nervously.
"Please make sure the strap is secured on your wrist," The announcer said before the counter came up.
Kidou shot a look towards Endou, but he just snorted and got himself in position. The screen indicated that Endou was to start first. He pulled back the remote, letting go of the button prematurely and shooting the arrow directly into the ground.
"Wait no! I wasn't ready!" Endou exclaimed.
"Then hold onto the button," Gouenji said, trying to contain his laughter.
Endou furrowed his brows in concentration and tried again, pulling the remote back with full force on the button. Kidou and Gouenji chuckled behind his back at how much he was concentrating and putting force on the button. Aiming carefully, he let it go, the arrow hurdling towards the target, but still missing the center.
Endou frowned and looked at Kidou, "Why didn't it hit the center?"
"You weren't accounting for the wind speed indicated on the side." Kidou said. He pointed his remote towards the upper left corner of the screen that had an arrow pointing southeast with the wind speed indicated below.
"How do you know where to aim then?" He exclaimed.
"Try aiming a little bit off from the center?" Gouenji suggested.
"That's ridiculous, Gouenji. You need to quickly calculate how the wind movement will affect the throw." Kidou said.
"That's too much work!" Endou whined.
Endou pouted, upset, but making his last shot count nonetheless. He took Gouenji's advice and aimed a bit off from the center. It flew easier this time, although he was stiff and concentrating too hard. The arrow landed more inward, but the wind still made it go off-track.
The screen switched over to Gouenji's character, zooming in and then back out to allow a better shot. Gouenji concentrated, pulling the remote back, his finger locked on the button. He aimed around quickly, locking on to an area a little off from the middle and letting it go.
"Watch the wind or you're going to miss like Endou." Kidou warned with a hint of humor in laced in his voice.
Gouenji grinned, releasing the button and letting the arrow fly fast. It collided with the board nearly inches away from missing. It was in the outermost ring, the announcer proclaiming that it was nearly a foul. Gouenji grit his teeth and quickly pressed the next button, starting his second round.
"See! Gouenji almost missed too!" Endou exclaimed, pointing at the screen.
"I won't miss the second time though," Gouenji smirked at the screen.
Gouenji pulled back, aiming much more carefully this time, his fingers wrapping around the remote in a solid grip. When he let go, the arrow onscreen flew towards the center, missing by just a few centimeters.
"Woah," Endou looked at Gouenji with bright eyes, "You did make it! That was amazing!"
"Nice job." Kidou admitted.
"It isn't as hard as it looks." Gouenji said. Endou frowned and shoved him lightly, Gouenji laughing in response.
Gouenji made his last shot in the middle ring, receiving a light pat on the back from Kidou. The screen shot over to Kidou's character, zooming out, and the stats popping up on the sides. Kidou observed the wind speed and positioned himself closer to the sensor. He angled his body, watching as the character moved with him and the arrow pointed out of range. Crossing over to the other side of the sleeping bags, he tapped his chin in contemplation.
"Kidou…" Gouenji sighed.
"Kidou we're just having some fun! No need to get really statistical." Endou smiled brightly.
Kidou shook his head and pulled the remote back, aiming carefully. He let the button go the second his arm was as far back as it could get, the arrow flinging itself straight towards the center. They all leaned forward slightly, anticipating the bullseye. However, the wind blew in and the arrow was pushed slightly off course. It impaled itself in the second ring out, nearly dead center.
"Woah! Kidou you almost hit the middle!" Endou exclaimed, tugging on Kidou's sleeve.
Kidou nodded slightly smugly, "This time I will make the center."
Endou stared bright-eyed as Kidou repositioned himself for the next shot, adjusting the strap on his wrist. Gouenji crossed his arms and stared slightly peeved at the screen.
Indeed, Kidou wasn't one to lie. The next two shot he made hit the center perfectly, the virtual crowd cheering. Endou clinged to his neck and exclaimed happily while Gouenji smiled and patted him on the back. Kidou smirked and motioned for the game to continue.
They played the next few archery matches with far too much commotion. Endou was tripping over himself and trying his best to stay within the target, but the wind speed kept messing him up. Kidou finally came over and guided his hands into the right position so that the arrow would at least stay on the target. Gouenji was able to make a few center shots, his force being a bit too much for the strategy involved in archery. Kidou was masterful, however, and made the red center nearly every time. At one point, Gouenji and Endou made a secret pact to sabotage Kidou's shots. Gouenji would start obviously bumping into Kidou whenever he was about to shoot, and Endou started tickling him under the arm that was holding the remote. They were fruitless attempts at stopping Kidou's winning streak, because by the time the final bell had rung, they all knew which name would be called.
"Winner: Yuuto!" The announcer proclaimed. Kidou plopped down on the edge of Endou's bed and grinned, panting from all the dodging he had to do while aiming for the center. Endou was bouncing on his toes and scanning the other games.
"That game was really confusing," Endou mumbled as he searched through the other options.
"It was just about strategy. It's very easy once you get the basic movements down." Kidou pointed out. "Besides, you weren't the one being sabotaged mid-game."
Gouenji chuckled, "You were making the center too many times. How do we know you weren't cheating?"
"I don't need to cheat to win." Kidou smirked.
Endou frowned and squinted at the screen, "Let's do the canoeing!"
The game started fading out once more. Kidou stood up quickly and adjusted the strap around his wrist. Gouenji looked at the screen questioningly and leaned forward slightly.
"Canoeing doesn't sound remotely fun, Endou." Gouenji mumbled.
"It's just," Endou began moving his arms around franticly, making large spiral and in the air, "moving your hands like this! How hard can it be?"
Kidou mulled over the thought for a moment, "He's right, it doesn't seem too hard."
Gouenji, not entirely convinced, simply shrugged and stood with his hands on his hips.
The screen panned over a large body of water, the little characters already stationed in their designated canoes. Kidou's character was next to Endou's, who in turn, was next to Gouenji's. The three prepared for the game to begin, the timer counting down from three. The second it shouted "Go!" they all began paddling, moving their arms in awkward spinning motions.
Gouenji's character immediately began running into the sides, bumping into the buoys relentlessly. Endou let out a loud noise and tried paddling faster, his elbows getting dangerously near Gouenji's face. Kidou wasn't all too sure what to do either and just resorted to small strokes. None of them were getting much further than the first few lines, and Gouenji was still stuck in the buoys in the corner.
"How are you supposed to do this?" Kidou looked over towards Endou and Gouenji.
"I don't know!" Endou shouted, his arms moving faster and faster.
Gouenji ducked just in time to miss Endou's elbows flinging back towards him. "Be careful, Endou!"
"I'm trying, but this game is hard!" Endou cried.
"You're not the one stuck in buoys." Kidou said while testing out a new paddling method.
"I just need a moment!" Gouenji exclaimed.
They all moved around the room frantically, the remotes clashing into one another. Gouenji finally was able to remove himself from the buoy, and began moving very slowly towards the finish line. Endou would shout whenever he seemed to be moving a bit faster, but it always ended with him running into the buoys. Neither Gouenji nor Kidou were safe from Endou's large strokes and kicks. Eventually, Gouenji tripped over Endou's outstretched leg in an attempt to dodge his elbow coming from above, and he fell butt-first onto the ground.
"Sorry, Gouenji!" Endou shouted, turning quickly to look at Gouenji.
Kidou tried to change his paddling, moving from side-to-side instead of wide circles. Suddenly, he was moving forward at a decent speed, passing Endou and Gouenji with ease. The canoe was finally moving forward and the little character seemed to be making regular paddling motions.
"Kidou you got it!" Endou stopped paddling and looked over towards Kidou.
"You have to try moving from side-to-side instead of in circles." Kidou proclaimed, his attention now fully locked on the game.
Gouenji stood on his knees, moving over slightly so that he was centered in front of the sensor. Endou started changing his paddling, but his arms still shot backwards like crazy. Gouenji tried to slap at his arm so that it would stop coming near his face, but it was a fruitless attempt. The little characters on screen finally began moving towards the finish line quickly, their virtual canoes going on the right course. Endou began leaning forward with excitement, his little character finally passing Kidou's.
"Winner: Mamoru!" Endou's little character was given a crown and the first place symbol popped up next to it.
Endou jumped into the air, yelping with an excited fervor. He turned around and hugged Gouenji by the neck, forgetting that he was kneeling on the floor. They both went tumbling backwards, tangling themselves on the sleeping bags. Kidou laughed at the two fumbling to get up. Gouenji finally was able to untangle himself and sit down, Endou plopping down next to him.
"You did great, Endou." Kidou smiled.
"With those arm motions, I would have been surprised if you didn't win." Gouenji snickered. Endou stuck his tongue out and kicked Gouenji lightly in the leg.
Endou suddenly looked at them seriously, his arms crossing tightly. He looked between Gouenji and Kidou, quietly saying, "Canoeing is…not a good game. Let's never play that again."
Kidou snorted and nodded in agreement, "It was definitely just about flailing your arms. No strategy or anything."
"I'd rather keep my head attached to my body, so let's definitely not play that again." Gouenji said while shooting a glance at Endou.
"Sorry about that." Endou rubbed his neck awkwardly, leaning on Gouenji's shoulder.
None of them moved to pick the next game, their arms pulsing from all the frantic movements. Endou sighed and fell back onto the sleeping bags, one of his feet resting on Gouenji's knee. Gouenji loosened the strap around his wrist and massaged his upper arms. They were all exhausted from attempting the new sports, even if only three were managed to be played and they were virtual nonetheless. The announcer made a quick remark to select the next game, but nobody moved to pick it.
"Alright! What next?" Endou suddenly shot up, his arms shooting outwards as well. The sudden movement caused the remote to go flying out of his hand. Endou reached for the strap, but he forgot that he didn't listen to Kidou and the strap was unfortunately not around his wrist. The white remote collided with the wall, just barely missing the console. The backside flung off in the opposite direction, and the remote made a startling crash into the floor.
The three friends stared in shock at the remote as it slid to the ground, batteries rolling out from the now broken back. Endou gulped and looked between Gouenji and Kidou.
"Maybe we should…go to sleep now?" He grinned sheepishly. Gouenji and Kidou simply nodded in a silent agreement.
They put the remotes away, Endou crawling on his stomach to grab the battery that rolled under the television station. Gouenji turned off the Wii and put the game back in its case, returning it to the back of Endou's desk. Kidou skimmed his hand over the various papers lying on the desk, tempted to organize and clean up the mess.
"You should take better care of your desk," he mumbled, "It's a mess again."
"I'll clean it up…eventually." Endou chuckled.
Kidou and Gouenji finally plopped down on their individual sleeping bags, letting out a long breath. Endou scanned his room once more for anything else out of place. Once he finished his sweep, he clicked off the light and crawled under the sheets.
A few minutes went by before Endou was shifting uncomfortably on his bed, rolling between his side and back and front. He mumbled quietly to himself, shifting his arms to be above or below his body. Kidou opened one eye and looked over towards Gouenji who was already staring back at him.
"Endou?" Kidou called.
Endou shifted to his side and looked at the two on the ground, a frown on his face that reminded them of a lost puppy.
"Would you like to come lay down with us?" Gouenji offered.
"Sure!" Endou jumped out of bed, throwing his covers behind himself and hopping over Gouenji's body. He snuggled himself down in between the two, smiling contently. Gouenji and Kidou exchanged a small, soundless snicker, both of them moving a bit closer to Endou.
"Goodnight guys!" Endou said loudly, rolling onto his back and letting his arms spread until the tips of his fingers poked Gouenji's ribs and Kidou's spine.
The other two mumbled out a quiet goodnight, Kidou reaching behind to push Endou's hand away slightly. Gouenji, eyes drooping and breath slowing to a quiet in and out, grabbed Endou's hand and brought it up and away from his ribs. The trio fell asleep only minutes later, Endou mumbling quietly in his sleep about canoeing.