"You got better during that last set of tosses," Ukai tells Kageyama, catching one of the stray volleyballs the other throws to him to drop in the storage basket. "Did the visualization help?"

"Yeah," Kageyama says, jogging a few steps to one of the other volleyballs scattered around the gym. "It's easier to think about a spiker instead of the bottle."

"I'm glad." Ukai catches another of Kageyama's tosses before dragging the basket towards another loose volleyball. "Just keep trying the toss with that in mind."

"Ukai-kun!"

Ukai isn't looking at the gym door. He's actually in the middle of picking up a volleyball, halfway through the easy motion to drop it in the basket when the sound of his name in that voice stalls him to stillness, turns all his blood to heat and drags his attention up to the doorway, where a breathless Takeda is just stepping into the brightly lit space.

"You're still here," Takeda says, sounding as delighted as if there's much of anywhere else for Ukai to be. "I'm glad I caught you! The rest of the coaches were wondering where you were."

"He was helping me practice," Kageyama volunteers. "I'm sorry for keeping him so late."

Takeda waves a hand, smiling so brightly he's all but bouncing on his toes, glowing like it's the first hours of the morning and not well past sundown. "It's not a problem at all! I hope I'm not interrupting."

"We were just finishing," Kageyama says. "I can finish cleaning up on my own."

"No, no," Takeda says, so immediately Ukai can feel his cheeks heat with self-consciousness at the lack of subtlety. "You've been practicing all day, you really should get some rest!" He reaches out to take the volleyball in Kageyama's hands from him, cradling the weight of it against his chest with none of the familiar grace the volleyball players show. "I can help Ukai-kun, it's no problem."

"I couldn't-" Kageyama starts, and Ukai clears his throat with a little more force than he ought.

"It's fine," he says when Kageyama turns to look at him. "Recovery is as important as training. You should go get something to eat."

"Yes, Coach," Kageyama says, and turns for the door. Ukai stays where he is by the storage basket, bracing his hands on the edge and leaning against the weight of it while Takeda waves Kageyama off before turning to cross the distance of the gym to him.

"I thought you said we were supposed to be subtle," he says, trying to sound gruff and finding the words turn to a purr around the smile he can't fight back as Takeda comes closer.

"It's fine," Takeda informs him, dropping the volleyball into the basket without looking away from Ukai's face, without a flicker in the all-over glow of happiness across his expression. "I'm just helping you tidy the gym, there's nothing indecent about that."

"Yeah?" Ukai asks. Takeda still hasn't moved from the far edge of the storage basket; when Ukai shifts to reach out across the distance he can hear the tiny inhale of anticipation Takeda takes, can see the way he leans in closer even before Ukai's fingertips have landed at the shoulder of his shirt. "I could make it indecent real quickly."

Takeda's eyelashes flutter, his breathing rushing into a sigh as Ukai works his fingers up the collar of his shirt to skim just along the dark curls behind his ear. "Could you?"

"Yeah," Ukai says, and this is a bad idea, he knows, the lights are still on and anyone could come through the gym doors at any moment, but Takeda is melting into his touch and his mouth is coming open on the heat of his breathing and Ukai hasn't been able to really touch him all day. "Come here, sensei."

Takeda sighs, a shaky little sound of appreciation, and leans in over the basket as Ukai's fingers settle against the back of his neck, spreading wide to brace him in place and steady his ever-precarious balance as Ukai ducks in himself to cross the remainder of the gap. Takeda's mouth is soft against his, his breathing hot against Ukai's lips; when Ukai presses in closer Takeda parts his lips in easy capitulation, abandoning his hold on the basket completely to reach out for Ukai's shoulder instead. He tastes sweet, clean like rainwater and warm like sunlight, and when he makes a tiny sound of satisfaction Ukai can feel the noise hum all across his tongue and purr down his throat like he's swallowing happiness itself.

"What did they want?" Ukai thinks to ask when he pulls back for a moment to catch his breath, to blink hazy attention to the way Takeda's hair is rumpled across his forehead and how dark his eyelashes look in the dazed-slow movement as he blinks. "The other coaches."

"Right," Takeda says, blinking harder as if to steady his thoughts. His hand is fisted in the sleeve of Ukai's shirt; his fingers work over the fabric, now, smoothing and then wrinkling it again in a vague, involuntary motion. "Nekomata says he has more sake for us tonight."

Ukai groans. "Not again. I still haven't gotten rid of my headache from yesterday."

"Just for a little while," Takeda pleads, and he has his other hand up at Ukai's shoulder, now, is sliding his fingers up into the other's hair and Ukai is very sure this is cheating, this is in no way playing fair. "An hour. Thirty minutes, and then we can go."

"I don't want to," Ukai grumbles. He reaches for Takeda with his free hand, gets his fingers in against the soft of the other's shirt to push him sideways and guide him around the edge of the basket. "Why don't you tell them I'm not feeling well?" A step sideways, a stumbling movement from Takeda, and then Ukai's stepping in close, closing the gap between them so the toes of his sneakers bump Takeda's. "We could go back to the room for the night instead."

"Ukai-kun," Takeda protests, but it's weak, Ukai can hear his resolve giving way as Ukai fits his hand in around the other's waist, slides his hold up to press flush against the curve of Takeda's spine. Takeda's watching his mouth, staring hazy at Ukai's lips like he's forgotten how to look anywhere else; it makes Ukai grin, makes him go hot with anticipation of victory as he leans in closer.

"We'd have the room to ourselves," he suggests, ducking in to press a kiss against Takeda's mouth, to leave the other man gasping a startled inhale while Ukai kisses against his jawline, following the edge of it back to Takeda's ear. "For an hour at least." He breathes against the curve of Takeda's ear, listens to the way the other's inhales go shaky as his arm comes up to loop around Ukai's shoulders. "We could do a lot in an hour, sensei."

"Ukai-kun," Takeda says again, his voice shaking on heat as his head goes sideways. Ukai kisses against his jaw, against his throat, down to the curve of his neck into his shoulder; the collar of his shirt is loose, open enough that Ukai can exhale heat against the neckline and see the very edge of Takeda's collarbone past the undone top button. "We-we need to be social."

"Why?" Ukai asks. Takeda's quivering against him, his skin flushed pink with heat; Ukai feels a little dizzy with it, like he's drunk already on the warm clean of Takeda's skin under his lips. "We've been being social for days."

"It's for the team," Takeda says, his fingers winding into Ukai's hair to hold him closer. "For the-connections, with other schools."

"Damn," Ukai groans against Takeda's shoulder, because this is true, because Takeda is right, because Ukai can't let his immediate desires win out over the good to the team. He presses his mouth to Takeda's skin once more, hard, like that will make the contact last longer, and then he pulls away, straightening while Takeda is still shuddering with the friction of it. "Why are you always so responsible, sensei?"

Takeda blinks up at him, his eyes glazed to shadows with heat, his lips still parted on his breathing. "I have to be," he says, sounding only a little bit focused and mostly overheated and breathless in a way that makes Ukai groan. "It's the only thing I'm good at."

"Liar," Ukai drawls, and kisses him again, because it's the only reasonable response to the damp invitation of the other's mouth. Takeda hums at the pressure, is still leaning in when Ukai pulls away. "You're good at a lot more than that."

Takeda's smile dimples at his cheeks. "Am I?"

Ukai raises an eyebrow. "You're a tease," he informs Takeda, kissing him again to knock the focus back out of the hazel-gold of his eyes. "Let's go be social for an hour and then I'm taking you back to the bedroom and making you take responsibility for being a flirt."

Takeda's eyelashes flutter, his gaze visibly dropping to catch at Ukai's mouth. "Okay," he says, sounding a lot less concerned and a lot more warm than he should at Ukai's threat, and rocks up on his toes to catch Ukai's lips into another kiss.

Ukai has the sneaking suspicion he has just agreed to exactly what Takeda wanted him to do all along. With Takeda's fingers winding into his hair and Takeda humming distraction into his mouth, he finds he doesn't mind at all.