A/N: Konbanwa, minna-san! This story is a collab between me and the awesometastic Elfana. This was my very first collab and it was a lot of fun, so I hope I can do it again sometime~! Enjoy the first chapter, everyone! -heart-

Tenma's school day was over, as was his one and only club activity. He was the last member of the soccer team lingering outside, as he had offered to stack away the balls they trained with today. Tenma was in no particular hurry to join the others in the changing room and prepare to go home; his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about today's practice, which had started in a rather peculiar way: with a confession.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make."

Tenma shut his eyes, recalling the memory when his captain took the pink-haired defender by the hand and looked his teammates in the eye. Kirino lowered his gaze shyly, sharing a blush with his best friend as he spoke.

"Me… Me and Kirino are officially going out!"

The reactions among the team weren't very varied. Everyone was happy for them, that's for sure. The biggest difference was that one half of the team simply smiled and congratulated them in a calm manner, apparently having seen this moment coming. The other half was more surprised, but at the same time psyched for them. Tenma's reaction was in the middle: he hadn't picked up on signs that captain and Kirino-senpai might get together and he was certainly enthused when they announced their relationship, but at the same time, there was a part of his mind, or was it his heart, that forced him to stay calm. That forced him to be envious.

Tenma didn't understand why. He had no experience with love, but he knew the most he felt for both Shindou and Kirino was a deep respect. No, this nagging feeling didn't have to do with them. It had to do with someone he respected even more, because this person possessed the strength and courage to follow his heart and escape from the darkness of the bad side.

Tenma caught himself blushing just when he thought of Tsurugi these days. Whenever they looked at each other, whenever Tsurugi spoke to him and encouraged him during practice, his heart tended to beat a little faster than usual. His cheeks went red when he focused on his face, his movements, and that charm that was always present in his deep voice. The moment Tenma noticed these phenomenons, he had tried his best to convince himself it was mere admiration he felt for Tsurugi. He had never even had a crush, and the thought of falling in love with one of his closest friends embarrassed him greatly, especially one he looked up to. He tried and tried to view Tsurugi as his friend, just a friend, until today. When he heard his seniors speak openly about their relationship and only give him one desire: to be able to do the exact same thing with the one he liked.

Tenma sighed sadly. Yeah right. Even if Tsurugi liked him on that level, he'd sink through the floor before announcing anything romantic, or even platonic. But it wasn't so much about being public with him: Tenma realized this afternoon, when Shindou spoke those seven words, that he was truly in love with Tsurugi. There was really no use denying it when his heart went crazy at the simple thought of holding Tsurugi's hand, just like his seniors did.

Tenma put away the last ball and made for the changing room, still deep in thought. What was he supposed to do? These feelings for Tsurugi only seemed to grow by the day, it was impossible to just wish them away. Should he confess? How would Tsurugi respond? He couldn't even imagine it. He valued their friendship and he knew Tsurugi did the same, but had the ex-Seed ever thought about them on more than a platonic level…? Probably not, that was just him. There was no way Tsurugi liked him the same way. But still, even when that thought hurt, Tenma longed to get closer to him, to be able to walk side by side and do fun things with him…

The brunet opened the door to the changing room and felt his face go red. Tsurugi was the only one left in the room, currently pulling his sweaty T-shirt over his head. He perked up when he noticed Tenma, unaware of what his half-naked sight was doing to the brunet's heart and mind, and calmly said: "Yo, Matsukaze. Finished stacking up the balls?"

Tenma started rambling in plain Gibberish and held up his hands as if to emphasize his non-existent words. His brain felt completely scrambled; not only did he adore Tsurugi for his personality, his looks weren't bad either. Not bad at all. Tenma never imagined himself capable of getting a nosebleed for reasons other than his body feeling like it, but the sight of Tsurugi's bare chest almost did the job.

Tenma quickly averted his gaze and finally managed to get his train of thought back in order. "Y… yeah," he replied, knowing Tsurugi was looking at him oddly. Darn it, he just made a complete fool of himself. That's what his friend was doing to him. Tenma regained eye contact and laughed awkwardly, as if to make up for his behavior, but he knew that was just making it worse. He then zipped to his locker and felt Tsurugi's eyes on his back. Tenma squeezed his own shut. Now that he had affirmed his romantic feelings to himself, he felt twice as nervous around the blue-haired boy, and he almost didn't know how to act. Act normal, act normal…!

Tenma twirled 180 degrees, a hand behind his head, and started: "S-so, that was a great shot you di—GAH!" Not just his nose, but his entire face felt like it was about to explode. Tsurugi glanced at him after he was done pulling off his shorts and raised an eyebrow, having no idea what went on in his friend's mind.

"… Matsukaze… are you okay…?"

Tenma made another one-eighty and yelled at the wall: "I-I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm sorry!" He decided he should change himself and get out of here, before Tsurugi took note of his crimson cheeks and started to question them. Keeping himself turned away from his friend, he removed his own clothes, trying to remember when he started to view Tsurugi's almost-naked state the way he did now. The two had seen each other naked many times before, but ever since Tenma started to find him attractive, he wasn't able to view him casually anymore. Tsurugi wasn't just good-looking, he was… sexy. Extremely sexy. It should be forbidden to be this sexy.

Tenma rushed out of the changing room before Tsurugi managed to finish himself, shouting a haphazard "Bye!" Seeing as Shinsuke and Aoi had gone ahead, he was going home alone today. Tenma made his way through the halls of the school and took a turn at the lockers, where he saw another surprising sight. Shindou held Kirino by the shoulders, gently keeping him pressed against the lockers as the two shared a gentle kiss. Their eyes were shut and they seemed lost in their own little world. A world Tenma once again felt envious of.

"C-captain! S-senpai! I'm sorry…!" he stammered, quickly turning his head away. He felt like it was rude to just stare at his seniors like that.

Shindou and Kirino abruptly broke the kiss when they realized someone caught them and looked at the brunet, a blush on their cheeks. Shindou pulled his hands back and Kirino went to stand straight up, having relied on Shindou's grasp.

"Tenma," Shindou spoke up, and he approached the nervous first-year with a shy smile. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I suppose you're not used to seeing us this close."

"N-no, it's okay, it was my fault for interrupting you," Tenma insisted, managing an awkward smile of his own. He suddenly remembered something and looked his captain firmly in the eye. "A-anyway, I'm so sorry if I seemed distant this afternoon! I was happy for you, and I still am! I-I wish both of you the best!"

Shindou and Kirino let out a chuckle at his stuttering and took each other by the hand, sending the brunet a smile.

"It's fine, Tenma, don't worry about it," Kirino reassured him in a gentle tone. "We don't blame you for being surprised, most of the team was."

Shindou nodded in agreement and added: "Still, I couldn't help but notice you did seem… distant. Not in a surprised way, but in a more… absent-minded way. Is something bothering you, Tenma?"

"Ah, no! Everything is fine!" Tenma said and tried smiling enthusiastically. "Don't worry about it, captain!" His eyes flicked down to the linked hands of his seniors and he felt a pang of jealousy flash through him again. "S-So… I will be going now! I hope you have a pleasant date!" Tenma said and bowed, dashing off after Kirino and Shindou had wished him a good afternoon.

The two older boys watched him go. "There is something bothering him, isn't there?" Kirino asked, his head tilted slightly.

"Well… We can't do much unless we know what exactly is bothering him." Shindou said, squeezing his boyfriend's hand. "Let's go, we have strawberry cake in the fridge."

Meanwhile, Tsurugi strutted through the hallways of school as well. He was dressed in his casual clothes instead of the school uniform. He was going home, why bother wearing the uniform when he was leaving anyway?

Tenma had acted strange today. Normally his friend would hang around him, looking him straight in the eye. Tsurugi had seen many emotions flash in those blue orbs. Sadness and worry, for example. But when they got to know each other better, he usually saw sparkles of excitement and admiration. Tenma's excitement was almost contagious. Almost.

But he seemed to avoid looking at him today. Tsurugi couldn't remember doing anything to offend or hurt his friend. The blue-haired boy was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice his feet had brought him to the hospital where his brother was staying.

"Ah, Tsurugi-kun. You're coming for your brother, aren't you?" A nurse asked. "You two have such a wonderful bond." She smiled as she passed by.

And thus, not much later, Tsurugi found himself sliding open the door to his brother's room.

"Nii-san…"

"Ah, Kyousuke!" The older Tsurugi brother was, as usual, sitting in his bed. On his lap was a book he had been reading. "How nice of you to visit me." Yuuichi smiled at his little sibling and closed the book.

"How are you doing, nii-san?" Tsurugi asked as he sat down on the chair near his brother's bed. He decided that he would ask his brother about Tenma's strange behaviour. His brother was a few years older after all, which meant he had dealt with strange behaviour of friends for a longer time.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. I gave the revalidation training my best today. I hope you're still doing your best at school too?"

"Of course!" Tsurugi's head snapped up, as if offended.

"That's good. I saw Raimon's last match on TV. I'm proud, Kyousuke." Yuuichi said and smiled.

His little brother huffed and turned his head. "It's nothing, really."

"Anyway, you look rather troubled. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Darn. His brother was always so sharp and he still hadn't figured out how he would ask his brother for his advice.

"W-Well… There is this boy in my class." Tsurugi started and coughed. "And he's friends with this other boy in my class. And lately, his friend started acting strange. So he asked me what it could be, but I'm not sure." He swallowed and avoided his brother's gaze. "A-And it's really bothering me because I want to give him some tips or something."

Yuuichi hummed. "So his friend started behaving strange?" A nod confirmed this. "He starts avoiding his friend, for example?"

"Yes. He makes sure he leaves as soon as possible, without saying anything. He just left me— I mean his friend there!" Tsurugi snapped and jumped up. "His friend!" He added once more.

"Hm… Did something happen to them? Did it happen today too?"

"Well, Matsukaze practiced with his Avatar. That one girl made photos of captain Shindou." Tsurugi muttered. "And talking about the captain, he's going out with his best friend. They made it public today. So nothing out of ordinary happened."

"Yes. I see." Yuuichi smiled. "Well, I'm sure the problem between your classmates will solve itself. And if not, perhaps they need a little push in the good direction. I think the captain of Raimon is quite wise. Perhaps you should listen to him some more."

Tsurugi raised an eyebrow. "Captain? What does he have to do with this?"

His brother flashed a sugar-sweet smile and replied: "You can't fool me for even one second that this "friend" is anyone other than yourself, Kyousuke."

Dammit. Tsurugi avoided eye contact, feeling a slight blush creep onto his cheeks when he realized he was busted. His brother would probably never change. Even when he was tied to a hospital bed, he could still see straight through him. While that element did play part in the fact that they had such an understanding bond, it was also a factor that drove him nuts when it was utilized at wrong moments. Such as this one.

Yuuichi simply uttered a soft chuckle and continued: "Shindou-san knows more about Matsukaze-kun than I do, Kyousuke. He'll be able to help you better in this situation."

Tsurugi's cheeks went even redder and he immediately regained eye contact with his brother. "I-I never said it was Matsukaze!"

"But it is, isn't it?" Again with that smile. "He's the one you talk about the most. And while you may have a good relationship with your other teammates, he's the only one you care enough for to want to give advice, isn't he?"

Tsurugi resorted to crossing his arms and grumbling something to his lap, obviously displeased with having his own feelings laid bare to him. "I guess so..."

Yuuichi sent him a meaningful glance. He had always noticed this spark his younger brother emanated whenever he mentioned Tenma, how he smiled more often while saying his name and how his eyes lit up when he told him about their interactions. There was no doubt in Yuuichi's mind that his brother felt more for the brunet than mere friendship. It seemed like Tenma possessed the ability to open a certain door in his heart, a door that allowed a special kind of affection to roam free. But seeing as something as platonic as a simple friendship was more than enough for Tsurugi to handle, Yuuichi decided not to increase the pressure with the mention of feelings he might still be a little too young and naïve to grasp. He wasn't worried; his little brother would understand in due time.

When Tsurugi got up to leave not much later, Yuuichi added: "Oh, and Kyousuke? Please congratulate Shindou-san and Kirino-kun from me."

A/N: That's it for the first chapter, expect an update soon! ;3 Please leave a review if you like!