Weekends
A Haikyuu! oneshot
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. For the prompts "childhood friends," "rivals," and "roommates." D8 Read, review, and enjoy! *Done for ennotana week on tumblr.*
- ^-^3
Ennoshita gets weekends. That's the deal.
No, "arrangement" would be a better word. "Deal" sounds so…shallow, so crass, so detached. "Arrangement" has some meaning and shows the careful consideration of everyone involved.
And there are people involved. Three, to be exact. There's him, of course. And Tanaka. Amanai, too.
Sometimes Ennoshita muses that it's funny, being involved with the two of them. For someone as practical as him, a threesome never seemed quite right. There's completion in even numbers, safety. Three's a lot to handle, but two isn't so bad.
That's probably why Ennoshita gets weekends, he thinks as he finishes tidying up his new apartment and waits with his eyes trained on the front door. He doesn't mind it—he rather enjoys it—when the three of them are together, but it's better this way, easier this way, to have his own place now that he's out of university. It's important to have his own, private, little bubble of life away from the others, away from everyone else, especially when he gets lost in thought…
He blinks, the angry buzzing of his doorbell yanking him from his mind as he realizes he'd just wandered off mentally. Not a problem, though. If anything, it's good timing, and that's something Tanaka has always had.
Ennoshita takes four quick steps from the middle of his new living room/sleeping area to the front door, and he leans on the door handle as he opens it, so he tilts his head up slightly to see Tanaka's brilliantly shining smile.
"Heya," the charmer says, not one for formal "hellos."
Even now, Ennoshita blinks, enjoying the sound of Tanaka's sweet and simple and very characteristic word choice as he reaches for him and draws the shaven-haired guy to him. "Hey," Ennoshita says against Tanaka's lips, equally as eloquent.
Tanaka's smile is warm on Ennoshita's mouth, but Tanaka is mindful not to let the kiss drag out too long with him still halfway in the corridor. He breaks the kiss, raises his eyebrows in a playfully reproachful manner, and scoots inside the rest of the way, pulling the door shut behind him. Then, with the back at his door for support, he slouches and places his hands on Ennoshita's waist, drawing the other man closer, close enough for their legs to become entangled. "This isn't all I'm here for, I hope."
"Of course not. But—" Ennoshita pouts, searching for the right words. He is not the type to make booty calls or to demand them. But somehow it doesn't sound quite right, voicing aloud his anticipation for Tanaka's weekend stay.
Tanaka doesn't need him to fumble for the right words. He doesn't mind it. So, instead, he turns Ennoshita around in his arms and snuggles him while they take in the tiny apartment together. "Wow. So. Your first place. Not bad."
Ennoshita settles in to the embrace, resting his arms and hands on Tanaka's. "'Not bad'? You're joking, right? I've got living and working and eating and sleeping space all in one. The 'kitchenette' is nothing more than a burner and a microwave, and there's a real micro fridge—so small it's a wonder I can find it. There're toilets at the end of the hall on this floor, and there's a dorm bathhouse on the first floor, past the lobby."
"I saw the signs when I signed the guestbook downstairs."
"Then there's that, too." Ennoshita frowns and glances sideways to the right at his boyfriend. "You realize we won't have any real privacy while I'm here, you know."
Tanaka lifts one eyebrow. "I know. You told me that. Like, ten times already." He straightens up, pulling Ennoshita with him, relishing the feel of one of Ennoshita's favorite knitted sweaters against his cheek. "But you didn't exactly bum it at your uni's dorm, and, even if this is another dorm, you're getting to do what you want to the most. That counts for something, doesn't it?"
Ennoshita twists his lips around, one muscle twitch away from frowning again. Tanaka's right. He gets to chase his dream job in the film industry…but that means slumming it with the other people low on the totem pole at the production company in company housing.
Still…this is his place. Not some dorm room shared with Narita, which was just like sharing his childhood room at home with Narita when he and Kinoshita would sleep over. It's his space…his private, little bubble, he muses as his thoughts from five minutes ago return for a cameo.
But he shakes those thoughts away and detaches Tanaka from him. He attempts to be more cheerful as they walk around the room and Ennoshita gestures with flourishes as if this were some four-star condo he owned. "Well, on the plus side, it's a tight fit and the air-conditioning works a little too well."
Tanaka laughs. "Guess it's a good thing I'll be around to warm you up, then," he announces, and he laughs again as he catches Ennoshita and reels him in for another kiss, a deep one this time, a proper one this time, the kind where Tanaka's rough hands lock his face in place and Tanaka's tongue decides to take up residence in Ennoshita's mouth and their lower halves have minds of their own as their legs get tangled together again.
Gods, yes. Three's a lot to handle. But two isn't so bad, not at all.
- ^-^3
In the morning, Ennoshita wakes to thoughts of needing to tidy his tiny apartment again and of feeling utterly comfortable waking up in Tanaka's arms. The best blankets and pillows in the world have nothing on the reliability in which Ennoshita takes comfort from the strong, playful man beside him. He squints, knocking sleep dust from his eyes as he peeks at Tanaka.
Tanaka's mouth hangs open—not very attractively—but then he smacks his lips, and he's awake. He blinks groggily at Ennoshita and gives him a slow smile. "'Mornin'."
"'Morning."
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah." Ennoshita exhales and rests his head under Tanaka's chin. "You? You didn't end up kicking the far wall in the middle of the night, right?"
"I didn't kick it. And what 'far' wall? It's more near than far; if I lie down across the room, I think my head would touch one wall and my feet, the other. You were right to warn me during dinner."
Ennoshita shrugs. "The last thing I need is for my new neighbors to start circulating weird rumors about me."
Tanaka snorts and cranes his head to make eye contact. "Babe, if you didn't want that, then I should never be allowed over." To punctuate his point, he gives Ennoshita's backside a quick squeeze beneath the covers.
But Ennoshita rolls his eyes, pinches him back, and sits up, reaching for his shirt nearby. "I don't think we were that loud last night, so I should be fine."
"Poo on that. You held back your voice so much, I thought your lungs might explode." He even makes a face, scrunching up his nose at Ennoshita, but he gives up when Ennoshita finishes dressing and tweaks that nose. Then he, too, gets dressed. "So what did you have in mind for today? It's Saturday, so I'm all yours."
Ennoshita's glad his back is to Tanaka while he's at the fridge, getting some iced tea to drink, because that phrase makes his heart skip a beat, and he's not certain his reaction doesn't show on his face. "I need some proper cookware, so I thought we could go shopping together," he calls over his shoulder. One, two, three, four, five—there. That should do it. His pulse is steadier now.
"That all?" Tanaka's voice is closer now—unsurprising in a small home like this, closing the gap in a handful of steps. He takes Ennoshita's tea when the brunet doesn't stop him, and he finishes it as Ennoshita pours himself another glass. "I mean, I'm nearby. So's Kanoka's school. It's been a while since the three of us did anything together."
"No, I don't want to bother her. She's still putting in extra hours at her internship, isn't she? Let her be."
Tanaka scratches his cheek. "I guess… Been a while since the three of us could do something proper together, but it's been even longer since it was really just you and me." He grins. "Well, that's not a bad thing. I'm glad."
"You are?"
"Yep. So let's get going! Unless you actually have more food in this place…?" Tanaka eyes the fridge skeptically, but he's not wrong. Aside from the mix of convenience store leftovers Ennoshita used to whip up a quick meal last night, he's got nothing. Nada. The last time he visited a proper supermarket, it was the week before last, maybe. Before his move out of Azumane and Shimizu's living room, where he'd been living in the two months after graduation since no one else has the space.
…well, Tanaka has the space. But he and Ennoshita and Amanai have never discussed living together before, and Ennoshita thinks their balance might be ruined if they ever do.
"Earth to Ennoshita," Tanaka pokes, and he sticks his face in front of the brunet's. In the apartment's mediocre lighting, his brown–gray eyes are darker than normal; it gives them a deep, contemplative vibe. Ennoshita likes it and finds it unsettling all at once.
"Yeah, no, you're right. We should eat out." He pecks Tanaka's lips. "Let's go."
- ^-^3
Shopping is something which Ennoshita considers a bore, a chore. But it's twice as fun when Tanaka and Amanai are along.
He finds all he needs and then some. As he doesn't do heavy-duty fine dining when he cooks at home—no, that's a specialty of Tanaka's, in which Amanai and Ennoshita are more than happy to partake—he just needs the one pot, the one pan, and so on. But certain things he buys in threes: silverware, chopsticks, plates, bowls, cups, and mugs. Or, he tries to buy them in threes. He spies a pair of cups with a silly comic motif, a "POW!" on one and a matching "WHAM!" on the other, and it makes him think of old shows and movies, the ones where everything is exaggerated. The cups make him smile.
The next thing he knows, Tanaka puts them in his basket, because he knows Ennoshita well.
"Wait! Don't…"
"Why not? You like them. I can tell by that little lift on the right side of your mouth." The thuggish guy pantomimes, but the look doesn't work for him.
"There are only two, Tanaka," he points out lamely.
Tanaka turns away, so calm about it. "I know" is all he says.
But it's enough. Enough to give Ennoshita hope he really shouldn't have.
He follows Tanaka to the register, and he lets Tanaka put everything up on the belt. He makes a fuss when Tanaka pays for everything, too, but Tanaka merely grins and unabashedly proclaims in front of the female clerk, "Let me spoil ya every once in a while, okay?" And it really is just spoiling. Though Tanaka makes good money working most nights and some mornings at a construction company and Ennoshita is just starting out as a gofer at a production company, Tanaka is not one to cover the check when someone else can't afford their share. He's more of a "just pay me back" type of guy, because Ennoshita feels that's better than having someone else simply take care of him. Owning his own debts is a part of making it on his own, too…but even Ennoshita can't argue when Tanaka infrequently and randomly uses the spoiling argument.
Outside the store, on the way home, two bags each carried by them, they take a roundabout route home, which Ennoshita enjoys but also debates. His eyes skim over other couples, other families they pass by, and he envies them their comfort.
It takes him a moment to sense Tanaka's eyes boring holes in him, and he breaks his concentration too late, knowing he's been found out. But Tanaka doesn't stop and kiss him and make everything better. No, not in public.
…and, yet, Ennoshita feels a warm hand at the small of his back, a comfort for him, others be damned.
Ennoshita doesn't turn to show Tanaka a grateful, relieved smile. But he smiles nevertheless.
- ^-^3
Parting with Tanaka on Sunday evenings is never easy, but Ennoshita has built up a sort of tolerance for it over the years. That's why, despite the hemming and hawing and dragged feet the night before, Ennoshita is fine on set come Monday morning, and he rather smiles comfortably when his phone vibrates with a text during his first morning break. He knows who it is, too.
-Good morning, Chikara-chan! I hope Ryuu-chan didn't eat you out of house and home already! （＞‿＜）ノ I want to see your new place soon, too!
He chuckles at Amanai's words. There are times when he really enjoys being a part of this trio, at least when it comes to having someone around who completely understands and empathizes with him on what it's like to love Tanaka Ryuunosuke. He sends her a quick reply right before the coffee and snack break ends:
-Good morning to you, too, Kanoka. Tanaka was well-behaved, but he bought my dinnerware, because he's in a spoiling mood. Just mention any new makeup sets you "need" for school, and I'll bet you'll have them by the end of the day.
-(･/‿＼･) LOL Chikara-chan! That's so sly of you! …but thx for the head's up. \(･‿･*)
He goes to pocket his phone, but one more text comes through:
-And are you free sometime Weds or Thurs evening? I want to see my boysss…! 。ﾟヽ(´Д｀。)ﾉﾟ｡
Ennoshita tenses. And he leaves it unanswered for now.
As he works, fetching this prop and that, stopping to lend anyone a hand who needs it on the set of this mini mockumentary about the possible return of the dinosaurs (and, ah, he really should text Yachi and Yamaguchi about it so they can cajole their boyfriend to see the premiere when everything's done), his mind mentally flips through a scrapbook of what life's been like the last several years, because his recent anxiousness causes him concern, but he thinks he knows the root cause.
Last year was okay. He was finishing up his film studies degree, and he had time for so little else outside of his thesis project film. So much time, planning, and work put into an eight-minute short about a young widow mourning her late husband (played by a mildly unwilling Amanai and a very exuberant Tanaka, of course), but, hey, he'd gotten the top mark in that class and he'd gotten that diploma, so time well spent, no? Thank gods Tanaka had gotten them permission to shoot at a housing complex his company had renovated and that Amanai could take care of makeup and hair in a flash.
The year before that was a bit more fun. Like the two years before it, Ennoshita had been all about classes, volleyball club, and Tanaka and Amanai. Sure, at the end he'd had to drop volleyball because his major had to become his only focus, but everything was fun, nevertheless. From having Amanai surprise him and Narita on campus for lunch to Tanaka trying to be his loudest fan when he and Amanai would come cheer him on during games to Tanaka sneaking into his dorm in the middle of the night much to Narita's chagrin (placated only when Tanaka would offer the key to his place and propose Narita go grab Kinoshita and have a stay at Chez Tanaka as compensation), Ennoshita had enjoyed his university life. He'd had time to adjust, so…
…really, it was only the last year of high school that had been the big step. Ennoshita had fallen for Tanaka in his first year, during his time away from the club and Ukai Sr.'s iron fist. All it'd taken was one angry, heated gaze aimed at him that had gone straight to his heart when Tanaka had told him outright that he would not give up on Ennoshita. Nishinoya had been wearing Narita and Kinoshita down, but he'd begun to wonder if maybe Ennoshita truly was as stubborn as they came, so he'd left Ennoshita to Tanaka. And that faith in Ennoshita from Tanaka, plus a bit of nagging that Ennoshita had confused a couple of times as flirting, had done the trick. He, Kinoshita, and Narita met at Kinoshita's to discuss their return, and then they bowed their heads the next day. Ukai and Kurokawa then demanded a hundred times more effort from them as a result, but the other members were delighted to see them back, Nishinoya, ecstatic. Tanaka had been happy, too, and he tried to play it off as his powers of persuasion bringing Ennoshita and, in turn, the other two back. But Ennoshita did the first bold thing in his life and said yeah, he'd returned because of Tanaka. The dumbfounded expression Tanaka wore at his bluntness was too adorable to forget, and that had cemented for Ennoshita that he really did like Tanaka.
That, Ennoshita muses as the stage is quiet and the camera rolls, was what had made second year so hard. He dealt with Tanaka's nearly daily praise of Shimizu, because he knew nothing would come of it. But when Amanai and Tanaka reconnected in winter, during the Spring High, Ennoshita had felt despair. Even as he brazenly encouraged Tanaka to go for it, not taking into account that Tanaka had not thought of her that way (at that time), he, on the other hand, hyperventilated and wanted nothing more than to rest on his haunches and clamp his head between his knees and hold back ugly tears while Narita and Kinoshita rubbed his back and assured him that Tanaka had only Shimizu in his heart (which wasn't much better, but, hey, he could deal with that).
But when Tanaka had come back from meeting Amanai one night and explained it'd all been one big misunderstanding, Ennoshita knew. He knew Amanai had messed up her confession, so this beloved bald dummy hadn't gotten the message loud and clear. So Ennoshita did the second bold thing in his life and didn't waste any time in telling Tanaka that it was no misunderstanding that he liked Tanaka. It was probably unfair to Amanai, who'd messed up badly, but Ennoshita had thought at the time "hey, she had her chance," so it felt sneaky and sly to confess to Tanaka when the up-and-coming ace was emotionally befuddled…but Ennoshita didn't feel that way for long. He waited throughout the Spring High for Tanaka to come around. He waited for the year's end for Tanaka to have an answer.
Before the year was over, Tanaka was looking forward to being both Ennoshita's vice-captain and boyfriend.
But that's the part that makes Ennoshita's stomach now twist in funny ways. Tanaka had been his first. Yes, Amanai had been Tanaka's childhood friend, and then she'd been Ennoshita's rival for a hot minute, but Tanaka had chosen him. It was lovely, all sneaky kisses during practice and going out on weekends on all kinds of dates and feeling each other up at either's house when family was absent.
Yet, since they'd reconnected, Amanai—in some ways like Tanaka—refused to give up. She worked first to get their friendship going again, and, perhaps realizing she'd lost before the game really had begun, she befriended Ennoshita, too. They had a lot in common, too: the books they read, their approach to volleyball, their interest in show business (him wanting to be behind the camera, her wanting to work behind the scenes doing makeup), and…their fondness for Tanaka. Like Ennoshita, Amanai was intelligent and kind, but she also found herself swept away sometimes by Tanaka's natural charms. Sharing so much, becoming so close, Ennoshita could understand the appeal of Amanai, and eventually he felt glad the childhood friends had met so that he may know her, too, in later life.
With that friendship forged and his relationship with Tanaka going so well, he hadn't expected the turn of events by summer's end which had resulted in their life together now. But…it had. Amanai had given him a warning that she still liked Tanaka and wanted to tell him, but Ennoshita had misread her wavering voice and averted eyes as her feeling guilt over her feelings. He had not expected to be invited along to Tanaka's house to hear her confession—and hear that she now liked Ennoshita, too.
Ennoshita still finds it mystifying, that he had someone like him. Of course there was Tanaka, but Ennoshita had had to do the "chasing." To be the one chased… What was more was that Tanaka admitted after that to his boyfriend that he cared for both of them. So, really, two people liked him and wanted to hang on to him. Two people liked Tanaka and wanted to hang on to him. And…frankly, Ennoshita had realized with a surreptitious glance at Amanai's sweet and beautiful profile, two boys liked her and wanted to hang on to her.
It'd been just a thought in Ennoshita's mind, a thought Amanai knew in a glance, a thought only someone as brave as Tanaka could voice: "Why don't the three of us date?"
It's that bravery that surprised them then and shakes Ennoshita now…because he's not sure he wants to carry on like this anymore. Three's a lot to handle.
However…there's a lightheartedness with Amanai that's different from the one with Tanaka, and Ennoshita is reminded that she, too, puts a smile on his face when she texts him again at lunchtime:
-Chikara-chan? Maybe just you and me then? (/ω＼)
Ah. She knows him well. She took his lack of a response as his aversion for forcing their schedules to match. But he gives it some thought, recalls Tanaka's words, and agrees they need to indulge her:
-No, all of us is fine. Wednesday is better. See you at Tanaka's place?
-Yep! Sounds good! （´ ω｀）
He chuckles to himself, earning some envious glances from the other gofers. He loves Tanaka a lot, but he also loves Amanai. Two isn't so bad.
- ^-^3
He enjoys her company as they meet up outside her dorm at the beautician's school—a last-minute request from a bashful and rarely demanding Amanai—and head for the train station to ride to Tanaka's. He's used to the looks he gets when out with her, because she's taller than he is, but at least he knows Tanaka faces the same dilemma when the childhood friends go out during the week since Amanai gets weekdays. And, even though she gets weekdays with Tanaka and he gets weekends with Tanaka, there's an unspoken agreement that any time Amanai and Ennoshita spend together is theirs and theirs alone and can happen whenever, just as the three of them can happen whenever.
It being just the two of them is quite nice, as well. As with Tanaka, there's no need to fill silences with idle chatter with Amanai. Different from Tanaka, Ennoshita can walk around with her hand in his, can walk with her cheek resting against his head in these early summer days without receiving a second look from passersby.
On the train, Ennoshita hangs on to the overhead strap, and Amanai wraps her arms around him, leaving her cheek by his temple as she leans on him and holds on. Ennoshita and Tanaka have never made a fuss about her height, so she greedily seizes upon chances like these to act like a normal girl out with her boyfriend.
Ennoshita rolls his eyes to himself as he rests a hand on her slim waist. She's no longer a girl, and they're no longer boys. They're two men and a woman, and there's nothing normal about them.
Sometimes he gets the sense that this, too, occurs to Amanai, sharp as she is. Or maybe she just reads it in his eyes. But, again, it's nice to know he has an empathizer.
Tanaka's apartment is a medium-sized residence in the noisy part of the neighborhood. He's about a five-minute ride from Ennoshita's new place and Amanai's school each, and it isn't lost on Ennoshita that the equidistant trips, since he's about five minutes from Amanai, too, form the perimeter of an equilateral triangle. A triangle for a trio. Hmm.
The duo climbs the stairs to Tanaka's place. The closer they get to the off-white door, the more they separate. Her cheek leaves his head, her arm loosens around his, and her fingers are like loose, flimsy ribbons slipping between his.
Ah. Maybe since she and Ennoshita are on the same wavelength, she feels it, too, that this threesome can't last. He's surprised to feel a twinge of regret at the idea…then again, he's not. He loves them both. Losing them would be hard to bear.
They ring the bell, calling "Delivery~!" as they always do over the intercom, and then Tanaka lets them in. He pulls them in for a giant group hug, showering them in little kisses as they laugh and attempt to kick their shoes off. Once in slippers, Amanai removes her messenger bag and scurries to his kitchen table. "Makeover time!" she announces over her shoulder as she sets up and spreads her supplies out.
The guys shake their heads at her. "We just got here, Kanoka," Ennoshita reminds her.
She puffs her cheeks out at him and pouts. "Come on, Chikara-chan…!"
Ennoshita tries to refuse, but Tanaka clamps a hand on his nearer shoulder. "Give up, Ennoshita. I bought her new school supplies, so it's gonna happen at some point tonight."
And so their evening commences. Amanai tests out special effect makeup on Tanaka, the only kind he allows on himself, so she turns him from the neck up into a gargoyle. He tests the makeup's limits by cooking over a hot stove to make a sensible summer dinner—stir fry, to be paired with cold beer—and it mostly holds. Tanaka makes a handsome gargoyle chef. Or an ugly one. Whichever is the better compliment on Amanai's skills.
As per usual, Ennoshita's turn is next, and he's been asking for years that he be turned into some otherworldly creature, too. But Amanai refuses, because she and Tanaka agree Ennoshita's too pretty for such a thing. So, instead, she practices her beauty makeup skills on him. His fringe gets pinned up out of the way, and she goes to town.
"You are too pretty to hide behind glued-on prosthetics, Chikara-chan," she says in front of him while she works, referring to the silicone ridges stuck on Tanaka's cheekbones and forehead to give him a stone-cut impression.
"Same goes for you, hon," Tanaka calls to her over his shoulder, and she giggles, a sight which Ennoshita gets to behold with them sitting face-to-face.
Frankly, Ennoshita agrees with Tanaka. Amanai Kanoka is a gorgeous woman with subtle beauty, playing up only one of her features at a time. Her brown–black bob is bouncy and neat at her chin today as it always is, but her eyes are very striking in this moment. Her irises are a deep sepia, darker than his own drab, brown ones, and they pop tonight because she used navy mascara, he realizes. Then he blinks when he notices he's stared for too long, and he tries to duck his eyes as she brushes blush on his cheeks. His eyes dip down, racing along the fine line of her nose, hopping over the cute bump at the tip, darting over her apricot-painted lips to her chin—
But the hand with the brush stops, and Amanai lifts his chin with the other. She smiles before she kisses him, and it takes a moment to register with him that. Oh. This. Is Amanai. Kissing him. Not Tanaka. This is Amanai's kiss.
He's never kissed Amanai before, not like this. Usually it's been the chaste kind, the affectionate kind, on the cheek or on the forehead, on the back of the hand or on the fingers. He loves Amanai, he does, but they've never done anything remotely sexual. The love between them is genuine love, but it's always been that meeting-of-like-souls kind of love. He's stunned and scared and excited, and he feels those loose, soft ribbons for fingers entwining with his, holding on tighter than they had before.
"Oi! No fair," Tanaka whines from above Ennoshita, and Amanai giggles again, against Ennoshita's lips as she breaks the kiss. Seizing the opportunity, Tanaka tilts Ennoshita's head up to look at him, and he manages a deep French kiss from this position since he grazes his fingertips along Ennoshita's Adam's apple, eliciting a yelp of stimulated surprise from the dark-haired man.
The shock from the sudden attention from both of them wakes his lower half up fully, but he crosses his legs before the other two notice. He thinks of abandoned puppies and car accidents and other horrible things until he calms down, and then he's able to get through the rest of the evening with little glares to either of them for trying to jump him when, really, deep down inside, he doesn't know what to think.
After dinner and Tanaka and Amanai make out a little, it's time to head home. Ennoshita scrubs his face real well first while the others joke about the lip-gloss Amanai used on him not being kiss-proof after all, and then Ennoshita settles them each with one more glare, but what's the use when they keep calling him cute and chuckling?
"I'm sorry, Chikara-chan," Amanai apologizes for the umpteenth time on their walk to the station. But the happy smile on her reapplied apricot lips tells him that maybe Tanaka's rubbed off on her a little too much. "Honestly, though… I've wanted to kiss you properly for a long time."
Now that. That is proper Amanai Kanoka behavior, the gentle way she voices her desires, the averted gaze, the tomato-red cheeks popping on her fair skin, skin like his but nicer.
She reaches timidly for his hand and, when not shrugged off, swings their hands together. "Thanks for not staying mad with me," she whispers, and it's cute how humbled and more herself she is.
He quirks an eyebrow, but eventually his lips curve up, too. He wasn't even really mad to begin with.
At the station, they wait for the train to come, and he gives it some thought, being more involved with her. With a side glance, he knows most men would consider her a knockout, because she still plays volleyball on the weekends, and he can suppose she looks as good at home behind closed doors as she does when out and about. But then he checks himself, because one really ought not to think of such things out in public. But, at home, he could consider it…
Ennoshita instinctively pats his right pocket—and does not find his key. "Shit."
Amanai blinks at his expletive. "What's wrong?"
"My key. I don't have it."
Her eyes widen. "Did you lose it on the way to or from Ryuu-chan's?"
He stops to think…ah. "No, he grouses, "I'm willing to bet it fell out at his place."
"How—?"
Ennoshita shakes his head as he thinks about how Tanaka made him jolt earlier with that touch. "It's fine. I'll give him a call, but you go on home, Kanoka."
She tugs on the hem of his lightweight, mint-colored sweater. "Are you sure you don't want a second pair of eyes to search the paths?"
"I'm good, promise." He pecks her cheek without thinking, but then their eyes meet for a split second as they obviously recall earlier, so Ennoshita saves them from needing to say anything else by turning on his heel. Along the way, he keeps his eyes peeled for the damned missing object, and he rings Tanaka. "Hey. I know I just left, but did you happen to find—"
"—your key?" Tanaka finishes.
Ennoshita groans. So it had fallen out of his pocket there. "Yeah. I'll be there in a minute, two, tops."
There's a pause. "Just you?"
"Yeah. I sent Kanoka home. See you shortly."
Only after he hangs up does he realize that pause was odd. Hmm.
By himself, he hastily takes the steps up to the second floor two at a time, because he has to hurry. There are only a few more trains for the night, and it'd be bad to miss the last one and crash at Tanaka's only to be late to work in the morning. Thankfully, Tanaka answers the door after a single knock. "Hey. Thanks for being ready at the door with my key." Ennoshita holds his hand out for a moment…and beckons for the shaven-haired man to cough up his key. "Tanaka, really. I've got to get home."
Tanaka leans on the doorjamb, his arms crossed in front of his chest, the gargoyle makeup almost gone. He picks at the remaining silicone form on his left cheek and peels it off. "You got a sec?" he asks, his eyes on the prosthetic as he picks it apart.
"Not really…all right," Ennoshita caves as Tanaka continues to stand there, gaze trained on the silicone. He follows Tanaka inside, and the latter tosses the form in the trash bin under the kitchen sink. "Something wrong?" He can't imagine what.
For a moment, Tanaka keeps his back to Ennoshita. He rubs the back of his neck, a nervous habit that crops up when he can't quite decipher what he wants to say; it's something Ennoshita knows happens most often when they're together. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. If you face me while talking to me."
His boyfriend turns shyly…no, he's not shy at all. No, Tanaka's out of sorts, his lips a squiggle, his brow furrowed. "Kanoka ambushed you earlier, didn't she?"
Ennoshita blinks, taken aback. That's all? He opens his mouth to reassure Tanaka that it's fine, but…the part of him that's always belonged to Tanaka, as teammate and captain and boyfriend, blurts out the truth instead. "Kind of." The brunet frowns. "If you're thinking of talking to her for me, don't. We already talked about it a little. I just…hadn't pictured that happening." In all honesty, he feels as if it's third year in high school all over again, and he's shocked to have two people like him, let alone this much.
Tanaka doesn't seem convinced. "Your reaction was pretty good, though," he mumbles with a glance between Ennoshita's legs.
"No! That was only because—" He stops short, catching himself. Bad enough Tanaka had noticed his earlier arousal. Worse still that he'd almost admitted to feelings that would unravel everything.
"'Because' what?" Tanaka prompts, stepping closer to Ennoshita, taking baby steps while a truly adult and knowing grin blooms on his face. "Do you want to sleep with both of us?"
Ennoshita tenses. Oh. Such a strong reaction. He already knew how he felt about Amanai's sexual advances, didn't he?
The slightly taller man comes and rests his forehead on Ennoshita's. "But," he points out softly, "you sleep with me."
Oh, no. No, no, no, he's been found out, everything's going to go to pieces, and it's all his fault—
Or not? Because, and maybe Tanaka doesn't realize it, Tanaka smiles, and it's a soft smile, a victorious smile—
A winner's smile.
But what's there to win? Is Ennoshita some prize? The notion briefly crosses his mind before his coherency evaporates with Tanaka's mouth on his throat, his teeth nipping at skin here and there, causing Ennoshita to react a second time to his touch. …ah, prize or not, who cares…?
- ^-^3
In actuality, Ennoshita does care.
He doesn't utter a word in the morning, even when Tanaka feeds him a quick meal of honey-wheat bread and marmalade and scrambled eggs. He reluctantly accepts a ride to work from Tanaka, who borrows a neighbor's car, but he stares out the window the entire time. Outside the production company, he gets out of the sedan without a word, and Tanaka finally cracks.
"Hey, Ennoshita…did I really make you mad?" he asks, leaning across the console to speak out the passenger's side window.
Ennoshita grimaces. He knows his answer, but he doesn't want to share it, and it wouldn't kill him to let Tanaka feel he fucked up for once. So he turns around, throwing an "I'll see you" over his shoulder as he disappears into the comforting arms of work.
Really, though, he knows he's fucked up. It's not Tanaka's fault, and he's not mad at Tanaka but at himself. He never should've agreed to him and Tanaka and Amanai, a purportedly happy little threesome. They've devolved into some warped love triangle, and Ennoshita can't make sense of it anymore.
Is Tanaka there for him or for Amanai? Is Amanai there for Tanaka or for him? The only thing he knows for certain is that he longs for the days when it'd been just him and Tanaka, and Amanai was relegated to the role of childhood friend. And that's why this is his fault, because he couldn't let things be as carefree as they were, because he liked to spend a bit more time and attention on Tanaka than he should.
Kinoshita and Narita have warned him of this. Several times, in fact, over the years. The idea of him and Tanaka and Amanai has never sat well with either of them, for different reasons. Narita is a strict believer in the power of the twosome, a traditional idea taken away, interestingly enough, from a traditional household that will never recognize his relationship with Kinoshita. In Kinoshita's case, he thinks it completely unfair for Ennoshita to have to give Tanaka to anyone else when loving the shaven-haired rascal had caused him so much inner turmoil. They don't want their best friend to endure any more heartache than he already has. (Too late.) So…talking to them about this is not an option.
But, then, to whom can he turn? It's not as though polyamory is that common these days. Kinoshita and Narita are out of the question, and he doubts Azumane and Shimizu can give him useful advice. Ennoshita is lucky enough to know others involved in threesomes, but there's no talking to Tsukishima about this, and Yachi and Yamaguchi have always given him the impression that maybe their trio has that rare spark that actually makes their three-way relationship work.
However, there is one person's brain to pick.
The day passes without either Tanaka or Amanai bugging him. Friday arrives, too, but he breathes a sigh of relief as the evening comes and goes without a surprise visit from his boyfriend. Good. Okay. One weekend without Tanaka won't suck too badly.
Ennoshita takes his chance to shoot a quick email. He's not sure if the phone number he has in his directory is still valid or not, so email's the best bet.
An hour later, before bed, he gets confirmation. He'll have company tomorrow, after all.
The brunet straightens things up in the morning after getting an early start. Not that he really has to—the place is so small, and he keeps after himself well— but it's been a long time since someone other than his partners or best friends or parents saw his living quarters, so might as well make things nice and neat, no?
A few hours before lunch, he wonders where his guest is. Shouldn't he be here already? Ennoshita gave him good directions…
His phone rings. "Ennoshita…! I'm here! Ish."
"Ish"? Uh-oh. Ennoshita pinches the bridge of his nose. "Suga-san…you did take the right at the beauty school, yes?"
"A right? But you said it was a left."
"Suga-san. In my email, I clearly wrote 'right.'"
There's a rustle and a pause. Sugawara must be checking his phone. "…dammit. Okay, so I'll be there in about ten minutes. I think."
Ennoshita doesn't have the chance to say anything more as his senpai hangs up. But he gives it five minutes before going outside to stand out front and wait for the ditzy fellow. He doesn't mind the wait since he's dressed appropriately in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, but he has to take cover from the oppressive June sun under the building's awning. Summer's going to be unforgiving this year, no doubt.
At first, Sugawara is a thin speck at the top of the road. Then his silhouette becomes clearer as he pulls up on the dorm. He's slimmer than he used to be and less handsome. "Pretty" is a word that suits Sugawara's shaggy hair and feminine contours, not anything about Ennoshita, despite what Amanai says. He dresses better than Ennoshita does, as well, in a loose-fitted top and nice-looking jeans rolled up at his tiny ankles. He's a gay man comfortable in his own skin and fine with accentuating—not flaunting—it, and Ennoshita envies him this. But then he sees the bags under Sugawara's eyes and wonders if maybe there's something not to envy.
"It's been a while, Suga-san," he says with a quick bow of his head.
Though his eyes are the only thing amiss about him, Sugawara acts like his same old self and ruffles Ennoshita's hair. "It's good to see you, Ennoshita! Gods, the train ride wasn't bad except for the heat. And then getting lost around here…!"
The brunet grins. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Thanks."
Sugawara signs the guestbook in the lobby, and then they head up to Ennoshita's room. Ennoshita nearly makes a comment about the space, but Sugawara's a slip of a thing and fits in fine, so he stills his tongue. "Do you want something to drink? I've got water, iced tea, cold barley tea, milk…that's it."
"Barley tea, please!" Sugawara replies from the chabudai in the middle of the room. He tilts his head back and surveys the place. "Damn… When you mentioned it was company housing, you meant it."
"It's livable," Ennoshita says, bringing the tea for Sugawara and ice water for himself. He crosses his legs as he sits adjacent to the other man. "It makes sense, when you think about it. I work a lot, so coming home to a building three minutes from the studio is a relief."
"I guess they realize you have to eat and sleep at some point."
Ennoshita smiles politely. "I guess so."
If he had an analog wall clock, it'd probably fill the room with its ticking in the ensuing silence. But he doesn't, so the silence is there with them, like a second, uninvited guest. The silence leaves only when Sugawara grips his cup and asks, "All work, no play?"
Ennoshita's eyes drop to the table.
Sugawara doesn't wave the awkwardness away. No, he faces it head-on, offering a consoling smile as he continues. "You haven't been with Tanaka or Amanai lately?"
"No, I have. I just…" He lets his words trail off.
"Something happen?"
"Kind of."
"So you reached out to me."
Ennoshita meets Sugawara's light brown eyes.
"It's all right. Better me than one of the kouhai. Yacchan and Yamaguchi and even Tsukishima are more happy-go-lucky than they realize." He sighs, cups his cheek in his palm, leans on the chabudai, and mumbles, "Lucky bastards."
Ennoshita can't fault him for the remark, not when he feels the same way.
Sugawara meets his eyes again. "I'm sure you've realized by now that what they have is unusual. They stand a great chance of making things work."
"I do. But, Suga-san, I…am not sure about my relationships. It was different when it was just Tanaka and me. Throwing Kanoka into the mix…" There. He's said it. And now he can't take those words back.
His senpai nods after a beat. "Not a threesome anymore, huh?"
"…no, I don't think so."
"Is Tanaka going to run away with his childhood girlfriend?"
An interesting way of categorizing their relationship, but— "No. In fact, I can't be certain they aren't vying for me, instead."
"So Tanaka feels the same as you?"
Ennoshita reddens. He hasn't stopped long enough to dwell on it, but…isn't that the case? And, if so, doesn't that mean Ennoshita has an easy solution?
"Goddamn you, you lucky bastard."
Ennoshita goes to laugh at Sugawara's gripe, but he catches himself, and the amusement dies down. …oh. Sugawara's willingness to meet with him, the ease with which Sugawara could meet him. His frail frame. The bags under his eyes.
Sugawara turns away from Ennoshita and gathers up his chin-length tresses, tying them with an elastic. "Yeah," he admits, his voice thick. "It doesn't always work out."
"Suga-san… I'm so sorry…"
"Don't be. Just—don't." Sugawara inhales and exhales, and he wears that old expression of his, the "Your Vice-Captain Is Not Amused" look. "I haven't said anything to Daichi or to Yui yet. But I can see it from a mile away. Daichi loves me, and so does Yui, but they want the type of life in which I'd be an unreasonable add-on." He scrutinizes Ennoshita with half-lidded eyes. "To be honest, I thought you and I were in the same boat."
Ennoshita frowns, feeling guilt without meaning to do so. "…I did, too. A part of me wondered, even, if Tanaka was just looking for two Kanokas or two Ennoshitas, since she and I look alike."
Sugawara blinks, most of his jealousy gone. "Huh. You're right. I never thought of that. But you're right. The short, dark hair… You both have very round, brown eyes… There's a softness to both of you, even. Oh! And didn't she also wear number six back in high school?"
"And number one the following year. And she's a wing spiker, too," Ennoshita grumbles, because it's a bit of a sore spot for him.
"So how do you know he's not going to be more into her, say, tomorrow or something?"
And Ennoshita tells him of the little instances lately. Sugawara's using the "POW!" cup, Ennoshita, the "WHAM!" one, even.
But Sugawara's conclusion is not what he wants to hear: "I dunno, Ennoshita. Maybe you're too hopeful, reading in to this. I had a spell like this with Daichi last year. Now I'm preparing to bow out and exit stage left."
Ennoshita's frown deepens, and his appetite disappears. He hopes his senpai's not going to stay for lunch.
And Sugawara reads the atmosphere. He finishes his barley tea, and then he claps Ennoshita on the back with a laugh. "Look at it this way, Ennoshita: The area's not so bad, and I could use a change of scenery. Hit me up if you decide to find a real place for yourself and need a roommate! I may not be Nishinoya-sized, but I'm compact enough," he finishes with another laugh. Except that one's a tad forced.
Ever a good host and kouhai, Ennoshita sees Sugawara out, but he trudges back to his room, more confused than ever.
Three's a lot to handle. And two's not looking much better. So maybe one is the only option left.
- ^-^3
The weekend passes.
No Tanaka.
The week strolls on.
Some silly, amicable texts with Amanai.
Another weekend shows up.
No Tanaka.
Another week lolls by.
Fewer texts from Amanai, since she's in full internship mode before her fifth and final year at school.
One, two, three weekends fly away, like a summer fog Ennoshita can't catch before the wind takes it.
Really…being on his own for once isn't so bad.
The mockumentary is finished and has a sweet, little premiere. Yachi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima are the only "family" that shows up without a child. They sit with Ennoshita and enjoy it. When they split from their senpai after drinks at a local bar, he can't help but watch them leave with Sugawara's comments playing on a loop in his head. Lucky bastards, indeed.
The next project is a short broadcast of a novel adaptation. Though he's still a gofer, Ennoshita is the "senior-most assistant" on this set. He feels proud, his worries pushed to the back of his brain.
Two months without real contact from his boyfriend and girlfriend are gone. Sometimes he wonders if Sugawara is right, that it was his overworked imagination believing things might work out in his favor. It's a sad thought, but who has the time to be depressed when the broadcast's director starts remembering your name?
A week and a half later, Sugawara texts him that he's broken up with Sawamura and Michimiya finally. Sugawara doesn't believe they're as distraught as they act, but he gives them credit for trying. Oh, and he's found a good apartment nearby, if Ennoshita wants to go splitsies with him.
Ennoshita can't afford that. He says no.
Sugawara says fine. What if Sugawara pays for three-quarters?
Ennoshita's answer is still no.
Sugawara gets bitchy and says he can cover the rent and utilities if Ennoshita does the housework and just agrees to be Sugawara's roommate, "you sassy little shit."
The name-calling makes Ennoshita snicker, and he considers his friend's offer. Then he wonders what on Earth Sugawara does for a living that he can be so blasé about money. Regardless, Ennoshita doesn't want anyone, lover or friend, taking care of him, so his answer is still no.
In the end, they compromise, and Ennoshita buys groceries once a week for his senpai and cooks twice a week to eat with him. He's not as good a cook as Tanaka, but Ennoshita seems like a three-star chef compared to the kitchen-inept Sugawara.
And Sugawara's isn't the only company he keeps. He touches base with Kinoshita and Narita, too, because it's been too long with only Tanaka and Amanai on his calendar, and he misses his best friends sorely. The trio hangs out several times, Kinoshita and Narita not saying a word about his relationships which have been shot to hell, but he figures they have a clue. What's the point of giving them the chance to say "I told you so"?
(But they wouldn't do that to him, not in this case, not over this matter. They're kinder than that.)
As Ennoshita reaches the halfway mark into the third month, he has a niggling feeling that he ought to do as Sugawara and end things with Tanaka and Amanai for real. Though the phrase "end things with Tanaka" makes him feel sick, he knows it's only fair, and it'd allow everyone some closure and the chance to move on.
He tells Sugawara his plan.
Sugawara replies, "Sure, go for it. But can you make oden tonight? I'm dying for oden right now."
Ennoshita rolls his eyes, but his stomach growls at the thought of oden, too.
He finds everything he needs at the supermarket and walks to Sugawara's apartment. The weather's nice, with the sun shining and a cool breeze tickling his cheeks—who'd want to take the train right now? And maybe the oden will taste better with more company, he thinks. Maybe Sugawara would be open to inviting Kinoshita and Narita over, or Azumane and Shimizu…
There's a girly knick-knack shop on the last shopping street before Sugawara's complex, and Ennoshita walks by it to take a shortcut to his senpai's place. Most days he doesn't look at it because the outside displays are rather garish, but a strong, sudden gust forces his eyes to the side, and he peeks in the store window.
His pulse chokes and stops.
Amanai and Tanaka are in there, Tanaka actually looking fine being surrounded by that much pink. Amanai picks up this and that, mostly hair accessories and jewelry, but the shaven-haired guy shakes his head at it all. He only perks up when he finds a silver ring and twirls it between his forefinger and thumb.
Her eyes brighten, and she picks one up, too. She says something to him, causing him to kiss her nose in return, and she laughs as he slips the piece of jewelry in his hand onto her ring finger.
Oh, how it hurts Ennoshita.
In his dumbfounded stupor, it takes him half a second—half a second too late—to push onward to his destination, and Amanai spies him. Her face crumples, and she shoves Tanaka aside and calls out to him (useless through the glass).
But it's not her face Ennoshita avoids when he dashes up the shortcut and disappears into Sugawara's apartment.
- ^-^3
"Well…I guess we are in the same boat."
Ennoshita is not above scowling at his senpai.
Sugawara rolls his eyes. "Just saying." And he sips his cold barley tea.
They're at Ennoshita's dorm room, because the brunet hasn't risked walking by that knick-knack shop for two weeks. It was terrible, showing up a hyperventilating mess at Sugawara's that night, but at least Sugawara understands. And he empathizes. That's why they're having their twice-weekly meals here for now, because Sugawara gets it.
And, aside from the occasional commiserating jab above, there's little poking or prodding over the situation. He's the friend Ennoshita needs right now, and he's the friend who eventually coaxes him to take his mind off things by going out with Kinoshita and Narita or eating out with Azumane and Shimizu.
But, at work, just as it once was at home, in his private, little bubble, his thoughts catch up with him.
He had to know the day would come when Tanaka and Amanai would look at this mess and realize they have a way out. He had to figure that, someday, one, if not all, of them would take a look at the other two and wonder "Who's my real better half here?"
Funny phrase, "better half." There's no relation to the number three whatsoever. What a harbinger.
After ages of nothing, both Amanai and Tanaka text him and leave voicemail, respectively:
-Chikara-chan! It's not what you think! 。ﾟ（／_＼）ﾟ｡ We love you and want to talk to you!
and
"Hey, Ennoshita. Call me back ASAP, okay, babe?"
And the messages keep coming and coming and coming.
He doesn't text Amanai back. This is too important to put in a text. But he doesn't know what to say to her, so he doesn't call her, either. They don't only look alike; they think alike, too. And, if he has nothing to say yet, she has nothing to say as well.
Ennoshita debates calling Tanaka, and he dawdles. Finally, on a Saturday morning at home at the start of September, he dials Tanaka's speed dial (number one, which seems to haunt the brunet film-lover these days) before he can second-guess himself. Tanaka might have some thoughts sorted out. If he doesn't, Ennoshita can always hang up.
The line rings. It rings. And rings. And rings.
Ennoshita sighs and hangs up. He gives Amanai a call despite his better judgment.
Voicemail.
Annoyed, he sends a group text to the two of them:
-I'm listening if anyone cares to open their mouth.
Interestingly enough, he hears a buzz, like the vibration of a text hitting someone's phone, someone who stands right outside his door. The person shuffles on their feet. Or maybe persons?
…but…no. It couldn't be.
Right?
No, no, silly him… That's not the question at all… The question is if he's willing to apologize for giving them the cold shoulder, or if he can accept whatever apology they have to give… The question is if he misses Amanai's gentle, girlish giggles when he scolds Tanaka or when she makes Ennoshita especially beautiful with her cosmetic skills… The question is if he can share Tanaka in the long run or if he'll be all right if Tanaka chooses between the two of them now or at a later date… The question is: Does he love them enough and care enough to voice all these thoughts and put all their cards on the table?
He gets up from the floor and takes three small, unsteady steps towards the door, and the shuffling feet outside still.
Three's a lot to handle.
Two isn't so bad.
But one silver ring thuds on the floor and rolls under his door, coming to a spinning stop in front of him, and he knows most of his questions will be answered by whoever stands out there in the hall, waiting…for him.
- ^-^3
What a wild ride. XD I have a lot to say about this… When Furudate debuted Kanoka in the manga, my first thought really was "She looks so much like Ennoshita, like fem!Enno—does Sensei even realize this?" which I thought was curious, so I wanted to have the comparison occur to Ennoshita, too. Plus I had his despair during that Spring High painted so clearly in my mind… Originally the idea was to have this be a straightforward triangle, but Ennotana week came around, and my ideas morphed. I've written a legitimate threesome at least once before (in the Harry Potter fandom), but I did not go this route with that one. Here, I wanted really to analyze polyamory and show the various outcomes. Obviously, Tsukkiyamayachi is a well-oiled machine (from what we see/hear), Sugadaiyui fails, and Ennotanakano…well, that's up to you. ;] I wanted to leave this open-ended on purpose. Maybe both Tanaka and Kanoka are outside Enno's door, for Enno. Maybe Tanaka's come alone to confirm what Enno seems to desire the most. Maybe Kanoka's there alone because her feelings have only really begun to deepen for him, and she wants a real chance with him. Or maybe they're both out there because they've gone the way of Daiyui and have come to let Enno down gently. The "happy" ending depends on you…but this oneshot is done, although I might be open to writing Tanaka's and Kanoka's POVs at a later date. This has been a fascinating ride for me, especially as someone who so staunchly ships Ennotana. -w- It was also fun to include mentions of the others (Asakiyo because they're cute, Kinonari because I'm weak). Actually, it was surprising to me that Suga's role was so big and Kinonari were almost nonexistent. I think the Enno&Suga might be a side-effect of Birds of a Feather? And I liked including that Kinonari actually don't support everything Enno does; they care for him and worry, which is why they told him they didn't approve of the threesome. Friends don't always agree, after all. Some other things… AH! Making Kanoka attend beauty school was random, but I thought she's super pretty and prolly nails her makeup right, so why not? Plus, makeup on her boys! XD Even my parents found that idea cute and amusing. (Plus I watch waaaay too much Face Off, *lol*.) Lastly, "chabudai"—it's that low table you see in a lot of Japanese residences, where they sit to eat or study or whatever. I recently learned the name for it, so I'mma use it, just as I use kotatsu when it's the right season. XD The More You Know~ B)
Thanks for reading, and please review! I've got more HQ! fics where this came from (and plenty less angsty, *lol*), so check 'em out and hit me up on tumblr le-amewzing for fanart, too!
-mew-tsubaki :}