Aka Shin has no shame, Sena is embarrassed, and Sakuraba and Suzuna ship it

So there was a request for Shin/Sena and a victory kiss! Except I see these two nerds taking years to get together, and so this takes place after the end of the series. So there are some really light spoilers (really only for the schools that these guys are attending for college)

This is also my first eyeshield 21 ficlet so /double finger pistols/

Sena stood outside of the Oujou changing rooms with hands that were still shaking from excitement. He could hear the distant sound of the other American football fans as they left the building, and he knew that Suzuna and Monta were around somewhere, but he couldn't focus on them right now. Instead he just kept thinking about the fact that Oujou had now secured a place in the Rice bowl Semifinals with their win over Shuuei University. It was amazing! Something to be expected from Oujou University, but amazing all the same! Which meant that if Enma University won their next game against Saikyoudai- not if, when, he reminded himself- then their teams would meet up in the Rice bowl Semifinals to fight for that spot in the finals.

And then he'd face Shin-san on the field again.

Sena felt a small smile bloom on his face as he thought of his rival turned boyfriend. Oh man, even just thinking the word 'boyfriend' made his ears turn pink. It was an embarrassing reaction that Suzuna abused to no end, but that she claimed was endearing. Honestly, he just wished that it would stop.

But this change in their relationship was still relatively new to both of them. They had only been dating for about 3 months now, but they had been friendly rivals all throughout high school and Sena could admit that he might have developed some muddled feelings for Shin after a while. Shin was his rival- would probably always be his rival- but at some point he'd started looking at more than just his skills; like the sharp slope of his nose, or his strong jaw, or the way he'd lift his shirt to wipe at his face after a long run.

And of course he'd suppressed these feels! It had been too embarrassing to even think about, much less seriously considering doing something about it. Besides, despite the fact that he'd been confessed to a few times- mostly by groups of girls after big games- he wasn't the type who'd be able to work up the nerve to confess himself.

So, he'd bottled up those feelings, kept treating Shin like a rival, and then he'd gone to America to play for a while; and that had been scary for a whole list of other reasons. He'd assumed the entire time that Shin had only seen him as a rival as well, but a few weeks after he'd come back, Shin had confessed to him in his usual intimidating manner that had left Sena wondering if Shin was actually confessing to him or challenging him. He had almost expected the confession to come with a Trident tackle as well, but somehow, it had worked out in the end and now Sena had a... well, boyfriend.

It was still strange for him to acknowledge that sometimes but he was happy. Although his parents hadn't been too pleased that their son was dating a man at first, they had come to accept it as well- his mother especially liked Shin despite how intimidating Shin could often be. She'd compared him a few times to the brooding lead in the romance drama that she liked. His father had approved when he'd seen how happy Sena had been with his new relationship. As for their friends, no one had seemed to take issue with it yet, and some, like Monta and Suzuna and Mizumachi gave him advice when he needed it; and he needed it a lot.

Despite the fact that both of them were more or less clueless when it came to romance, he could still understand Shin perfectly when it came to football. Even though they were dating now, they were still football rivals. Shin, it seemed, had only gotten stronger since entering Oujou University and Sena was confident that Shin wouldn't hold back the next time that they met. It wasn't in Shin's nature, after all, to hold back on anyone.

Sena himself wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Sena jumped when he heard the door open next to him and he turned his head to see a familiar blond poke his head out and look around the hallway. "Ah! Sakuraba-san." he said with a slight bow.

"Hey Sena!" Sakuraba grinned down at him, as several other Oujou players started filing out behind him. It seemed like the postgame meeting had finally come to an end. "Waiting for Shin?" he asked and Sena nodded quickly, his ears turning pink again. Usually he didn't have the chance to talk to Shin right after their games since he was usually so pumped up that he had to start training right away, but for once he didn't feel the need to run off immediately. "Well come in then." Sakuraba inclined his head before slipping back into the locker room. Sena waited a moment before following him, squeaking slightly as he passed a few of Oujou's huge linemen. He might have to face some of them soon and there were a few that were Kurita-senpai's size or larger. A one on one match with these guys definitely wouldn't be fun for him.

A few players noticed him as well as he trailed Sakuraba, which was to be expected. Even as mousy as he was off the field, he was still Eyeshield 21, and most people recognized him, even if they were caught off guard by his real personality. He felt a few eyes follow him and he hunched down a little further in his scarf, just holding back barely from just bolting. Although it seemed funny to most of his teammates, he hadn't managed to shake his nervous personality, even after all of this time. He really didn't know if he'd ever be able to get rid of it, if he was being honest. Sakuraba seemed to notice his nervousness and he laughed.

"Don't worry about any of these guys Sena-kun." he teased. "Unless you beat Saikyoudai. Then you should be really worried about us." he gave him a good natured grin that turned a bit sharp, and Sena belated thought back on how many incredible catches the other man had made tonight. He nodded and stammered something out but those noises died down when he spotted Shin, talking with the quarterback a little ways away. Shin was still in his jersey- with that familiar number '40'- and all of his focus was on the clipboard in his Captain's hands.

"Hey Shin! I found someone waiting for you!" Sakuraba called out and Sena wanted to die a little from all of the attention that Sakuraba called to them. That feeling abated a little bit when he met Shin's steady gaze.

Shin had his usual serious expression, but there was a hint of softness in his gaze that had Sena's breath catching and a shy smile making its way to his face.

"Hello Shin-san." he said, ignoring Sakuraba's soft,

"Is it still just 'Shin-san?'".

"Sena." Shin said with a slight nod. Oujou's quarterback patted Shin on the back before moving on. He nodded at Sakuraba and cast a wary eye at Sena as he passed, but didn't say anything. Sena was a little too distracted to notice, although he probably would have been a bit wary too of non-Enma players showing up in the Enma changing rooms- whether they were dating one of the stars of the team or not.

Sena stopped a few steps away from Shin and laced his fingers together nervously. It had often been difficult talking to Shin before they had started dating, partially because of how intense he could be- which wasn't a problem, per say, but it sometimes difficult for someone as weak hearted as Sena. Now that he had Shin's full attention, it was hard to just stammer out some sentences about the game. Shin's playing had been as amazing as always, and he'd had second hand pain from just watching how hard those other players had gone down. It was a playing style that he both feared and wanted to go up against again.

Shin, however, didn't seem to be put off by his nervousness. Instead he just nodded before sharing a look with Sakuraba. Since Shin wasn't anything close to subtle, Sena noticed and he looked between the two with some confusion. His attention was drawn back to Shin when Shin stepped forward, clearing the distance between the two with ease.

"Sena," he said, "Oujou's advancing to the Semifinals." he had his usual serious expression in his eyes- or maybe it was a bit more intense than normal.

"Yes. Congratulations!" Sena stammered out, confused as to the sudden topic. Would he tell Sena that he expected to meet them in the Semifinals? Or-

Sena's thoughts ground to a halt as Shin grabbed his shoulders, his hands engulfing Sena's shoulders and making it impossible for Sena to move- not that he would have. "Shin-sa-"

And then he was being kissed. Like usual, it was to the point and a bit forceful. Sena didn't have any real experience kissing others- besides Mamori's motherly pecks on the cheek or some more joking kisses from some of his more handsy American friends- and he didn't have anything to really compare it to, but he usually liked Shin's style of kissing, even if it was a bit forceful. It was intense and sure; just like Shin. The kiss remained chaste, with no hint of tongue, and Sena noted idly the slight chill of Shin's mouth.

Sena was too surprised to participate much and his head swam from the sudden contact. He hadn't even noticed when Shin pulled back, although he'd whined slightly from the loss of contact.

It wasn't until he'd heard a whistle that he remembered that they were in public- in front of, like, a third of Shin's team, in fact. His face immediately burst into a bright red color and he immediately began stammering. "Wha-what was that Shin-san?!" his voice tapered off into something a bit more high pitched at the end, but Shin didn't seem bothered by the pitch change, or Sena's obvious shock. In fact he didn't look bothered at all.

Sena's head, meanwhile, was spinning. Fighting for dominance with the embarrassment or being kissed in public was a bit of confusion since Shin wasn't normally one for PDA. Or maybe he really was? Neither of them ever really tried to kiss or even hold hands in public so Sena supposed that he didn't really know Shin's true feelings for sure.

"Sakuraba suggested that I try that." Shin explained without preamble. "He told me that kissing someone after winning a game was considered romantic." And Sena's face, somehow, turned even redder as he shot a baffled look at Sakuraba, who just held up both hands and played innocent. What was he even teaching Shin?!

"Was it wrong of me?" Shin asked and Sena hesitated and averted his eyes, wanting nothing more to just hide his face in Shin's chest, even if he was still wearing his uniform and it was still covered in sweat and dirt. Finally he shook his head slightly. It was barely noticeable, but Shin had sharp eyes.

"M-maybe? I don't really know." Sena stuttered out, his ears burning. "I didn't really dislike it but it caught me off guard..." The end of the sentence trailed off into silence.

He heard Sakuraba's snickering off to the side followed by a door opening and the last person that he wanted to hear call out, "Oh! There you are Sena!" He heard the click of Suzuna's rollerblades as he finally gave into the urge to bury his face against Shin's chest. Suzuna saw the red of his ears anyway. "Yo! Seiji!" she called out to Shin so casually. "And Sena! What's this? Your ears are so red Sena!" she teased and Sena could just imagine that antenna like hair of hers just zooming in on him.

"It's because he's just been charmed by Shin." Sakuraba added, his tone just as teasing as hers. Sena internally groaned at the two of them ganging up on him- especially Sakuraba-san! Even since shedding most of his insecurities in high school, Sena had been able to see a more carefree, playful side of the man. He wasn't sure how much he actually appreciated it.

"Oh? How cute!" he heard Suzuna's laugh. "Good job Seiji!" Shin didn't respond but Sena could feel his nod and he just wanted to die all the more.

Truthfully he hadn't disliked the gesture- although he would have appreciated it a lot more behind more closed doors- but now he was worried. If Sakuraba had taught Shin something like that, then Sena was afraid of what Suzuna would teach him. Drawing a steadying breath, Sena pulled back and grabbed Suzuna's arm. "We-we'll be waiting outside Shin-san!" he called before making a dash for the door. He might have abused a bit of his speed to get there faster, but the more distance he could put between Shin and Suzuna the better. Suzuna just laughed as she was pulled along.

With a quiet whine, Sena let go of Suzuna once they were back in the hallway and slid down the wall with his head in his hands. His ears were still red, but hopefully he could blame that on the chilly weather. He could practically feel Suzuna's sharp gaze on him.

"So," she drew out the word and Sena flinched. "What exactly did Seiji do to make you so red?"

"Nothing!" Sena said quickly before fumbling for any excuse that might make her drop the subject. "Sakuraba-san just taught him something weird. That's all!" he gave her a pleading look to just drop it and let him wallow in his own embarrassment, but Suzuna, the awful friend that she was, just grinned at him.

"Oh? So Haruicchi did something then? Should I teach Seiji something too?"

"Suzuna!"