Practice was rough as always, and Handa slouched against the clubhouse wall, water bottle in hand. He wiped the sweat off his brow and struggled to get his breathing back to normal. No matter how long he was a member of the club, he'd never quite get used to the training.

"Hey, my place after practice?"

Handa felt a hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up at the boy next to him.

"Oh, Max." Handa panted. "I have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on."

Max scoffed and grabbed the bottle from Handa's hand. "Then I can help you with it. Come on, spend some time with your pal!"

"I don't know, Max." Handa shrugged.

"Please? Just for a bit. It won't be long at all."

"Alright. But just for a little bit, like you said." Handa sighed.

"Yeah!" Max tossed the bottle back over to Handa and turned to his locker. "Gotta get changed. I'll see you in a minute, then!"

"Wow, he's persistent!" Endou chucked.

"Ah, we've been, uh, friends for a long time. He just likes having me around, I guess."

Endou laughed. "You two sure are close! I wish I had a friendship like that..."

-.-.-

Most of the other club members had left by the time Handa had left the clubhouse. Max was the only one left, lingering around outside by the door.

"Took you long enough," Max smiled. He brushed up against Handa, who promptly shoved him away.

"What are you doing?" Handa gasped. His face flushed and he looked over his shoulder and scanned the area. "What if someone saw?"

"Relax, Shinichi," Max said. "No one's around. What, are you embarrassed of me?"

"N-no! I'm just..."

"You don't have to say anything." Max grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the clubhouse. "Let's go."

The two walked down the path up to the front gates of the school, and sure enough no one was around to see them. There were the few sports teams still practicing, but no one paid any mind to the couple. Handa was still on edge, however. He shot several glances ever so often, and Max chuckled.

"I hope you loosen up by the time we get home," he nudged him.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Handa stiffened up and nearly stopped walking altogether.

"Gosh Shinichi! You really do need to settle down!" Max laughed. "I didn't mean anything bad by that, if that's what you were thinking."

"Of course not! I just want to get going. The sooner we get there the better!"

"Ah Shinichi. Pick up the pace then!" Max pulled Handa forward once again, practically dragging the other boy behind him as he ran. "I didn't know you were so eager to get your schoolwork done!"

"Max, slow down!" Handa begged. "I can't keep up!"

They slowed to a walking pace again, and Handa stopped to catch his breath.

"We're far enough from the school now, so..."

Max frowned. "Oh. So you are embarrassed of me." his voice sounded small and defeated. "Sorry I put you through all of that, then."

"Max, no-"

"You don't have to hide it, Handa!" Max raised his voice. "It's obvious that you are! I should have known that-"

"Kuusuke, stop." Handa grabbed his wrists and gently planted a kiss on the other boy's lips. It was Max's turn to tense up. He leaned into the kiss for more, but Handa pulled away nearly as fast as he started.

"I'm not embarrassed of you. I like you a lot, Kuusuke. I... I love you. But I want to introduce you properly as my boyfriend, and not have someone just find out on accident. It would mean a lot if I were able to do that."

"Do you really mean that?" Max asked.

"Of course I do! One day I'll tell the team and-"

"I mean... the 'I love you' part."

Handa smiled and brushed the hair away from Max's face. He kissed his forehead and pulled him into a hug. "Of course I do, Kuusuke. And you feel the same, I hope."

Max buried his face into Handa's chest and tightly wrapped his arms around him.

"Yes Shinichi. I love you, too."

"Good." Handa looped his arm around Max's shoulders and lead them on their way again. "Now, let's hurry home. This schoolwork isn't going to do itself!"

Max laughed and put his arm on Handa's shoulders too. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long night, eh?"

"I hope your head-strong attitude shows up again tonight, because I'm going to need it!"

"Shinichi, stop!" Max felt his cheeks go red.

Handa laughed. "Hey, what goes around comes around!"

-.-.-

AN:

It's official. I'm the worst updater ever. Hopefully I'm getting on track again, and hopefully you'll see more updates from me!

R&R!

Icee Suicune~