Consequential Rapport

Pairing: Imayoshi Shouichi/Hyuuga Junpei (Captainshipping)

Rating: T

"What the hell?"

Contrary to what any passerby might have seen in the disapproving scowl that was as plain as day on Hyuuga's face, his words were devoid of any sort of malice or disgust, but rather, filled with complete surprise, and a small amount of disbelief.

Not five minutes ago, he had been sound asleep under a warm comforter, cozy and off in a blissful dream land. In fact, part of him insisted that this too, was just a dream. However, he knew that wasn't the case. He knew all-too-well that he did not imagine the very much unwelcomed sound of the repeated dinging of a doorbell, nor did his now fully awake mind fabricate the sensation of his body dragging itself out of bed and trudging down the stairs and making its way to the door. In fact, the only part of this entire situation that made him feel delusional was the person he had opened the door for, which happened to be his boyfriend of nearly six months, Imayoshi Shouichi.

"Good mornin' to you too, Jun-chan," Imayoshi replied cheerfully, as if his presence had not only been expected, but was perfectly natural.

Hyuuga had always hated that stupid little nickname from the very beginning; to his dismay, Imayoshi had refused to give in with the silly pet name, but at least now (as long as Imayoshi only used it in private) he tolerated it, sort of. He still grumbled about it whenever Imayoshi called him by that ridiculous name, but then again, knowing Imayoshi, he could have come up with much worse.

But this time, the name 'Jun-chan', went completely unnoticed. If Hyuuga were to be completely honest, at that moment, Imayoshi could have said anything, he could badmouthed Riko or spouted off any number of snarky comments about Kiyoshi's injuries, and yet each word would still not have registered with him. Somehow, from his presence alone, Imayoshi had managed to stun him to the point beyond rational and coherent thinking.

It wasn't the fact that Imayoshi had come to his home completely unannounced (he'd always had a horrendous habit of doing so), nor was it the knowledge that it was barely eight o'clock in the morning that had Hyuuga in a total state of shock-which left him in a rigid posture, with his eyes wide open and his jaw hanging agape.

No, simply put, the reason Hyuuga found himself speechless was Imayoshi's inadequately put together, yet overall historically accurate and in Hyuuga's opinion, 'cool' attire, that made the overly-enthused warlord fanatic part that Hyuuga often kept hidden away want to gush uncontrollably. He never thought he'd see Imayoshi of all people, dressed up in warlord cosplay, and aside from the less than stellar sewing job, it wasn't a half-bad get up. From the armor, all the way to vibrantly colored adornments, Imayoshi's outfit was a beautiful representation of the classic warlord. Unfortunately, Imayoshi's appearance didn't set as well with Hyuuga as he might have liked.

Hyuuga had known even before dating him that Imayoshi was a schemer. Imayoshi was known for his conniving ways and his well-executed plans both on and off the basketball court. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, Hyuuga had fallen for him, the basketball player that probably had the worstpersonality in all of Tokyo. Seeing Imayoshi like this, however, gave some sort of explanation for such an otherwise, unlikely relationship.

"We're goin' to be late if you don't quit with the gawking," Imayoshi said, his voice was full of amusement, indicating that he probably didn't mind if Hyuuga stared a bit longer.

"Late for what?"

The question was automatic, and said before Hyuuga had the chance to actually think about what he was asking. In the back of his mind, Hyuuga had a feeling that he knew exactly what Imayoshi was talking about, but despite the bout of guarded anticipation mixed with a hint of giddy excitement that was steadily rising in his chest, Hyuuga truly hoped that he was wrong.

"The warlord and anime convention, of course."

The bright, too-cheery tone that Imayoshi used seemed to amplify his innocent reply in Hyuuga's mind. He could have sworn that he heard the word 'convention' echo over and over again in his indecisive mind.

"I didn't tell you there was a convention in town today," Hyuuga responded, desperately trying to play it cool.

The permanent grin that graced Imayoshi's fair features grew ever so slightly.

"Doesn't mean I didn't find out."

"But how-" This time, Hyuuga was able to save himself from asking a question that either had an answer that was too obvious, or because this was Imayoshi, an answer that he would rather remain blissfully ignorant to. "Nevermind, I don't want to know."

Imayoshi glanced down at his wrist, as if he wanted to check the time on a watch that wasn't where it was supposed to be. Hyuuga noticed his eyes narrow into the slightest of scowls before donning his usual pleasant demeanor and looking back up at him. He smiled at Hyuuga.

"Hmmm, remind me again, which famous warlord was it that frequently went around in nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of boxers?"

Hyuuga knew that Imayoshi was telling him to 'hurry up' in a polite manner, but Hyuuga could only look at him with an expression of pure unamusement.

"I didn't even tell you that I wanted to go," Hyuuga said, still trying to keep every last hint of enthusiasm from his voice, but to his chagrin, keeping his inner nerd at bay was becoming increasingly more difficult.

"But you do, right?" Imayoshi asked; Hyuuga could have sworn that there was a knowing look hidden just beneath the surface of those gray, fox-like eyes.

He didn't want to admit it, but Imayoshi was right; Hyuuga couldn't deny the fact that he really did want to go. Up until last night when Imayoshi had called him to talk about their week, Hyuuga had been in a rather melancholic mood because he couldn't get anyone to go with him. Riko, Kiyoshi, and Izuki had all given him one excuse after another for not being able to make it to the convention. Hyuuga knew in his heart that those so-called excuses were all perfectly valid reasons; after all, Riko, Kiyoshi, and Izuki were his best friends, and he knew that they wouldn't lie to him. But even so, deep down, he was still bitter about it.

A small, tiny part of him was thrilled beyond reason that Imayoshi was surprising him like this; he was so tempted to run upstairs, grab his own warlord costume that he had perfected from last year, and run off with Imayoshi to the convention without a second thought. However, the reasonable side of Hyuuga, the one that always questioned the motives behind all of Imayoshi's actions, the part of him that could never shake the unsettling spell of paranoia that lingered in the back of his mind whenever he thought Imayoshi might be up to something, held him back. Geeking-out at a convention in front of his friends was one thing, gushing over various warlord figurines and ridiculous amounts of anime in front of a boyfriend he really wanted to impress was another.

Up until know, he'd done a fairly good job of keeping the warlord and otaku part of himself away from Imayoshi. Of course, he hadn't managed to keep everything hidden. Imayoshi had seen his extensive figurine collection, the bookshelves that were filled to maximum capacity with anime DVDs and manga, and the poster-covered walls of his room several times before, but he had never commented on anything, and Hyuuga had never tried to explain. In Hyuuga's opinion, the lack of commentary either meant that Imayoshi was completely disinterested in the topic, or was taking his sweet time in planning just how he was going to make fun of him.

Hyuuga couldn't deny it, he loved seeing Imayoshi like this, and he was ecstatic with the prospect of having a boyfriend who was willing to be exposed to things nerdy and glorious, but a small, yet quickly growing insecure part of him felt like this was a trap. Before Imayoshi could say another word and dash all of Hyuuga's hopes being able to reveal this side of him to Imayoshi, Hyuuga decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Alright. Let's hear it."

"Hear what?" Imayoshi's voice was as sweet and innocent as ever, which only sent off more warning signals for Hyuuga.

"Don't play around," he all but snapped. In all honestly, Hyuuga didn't mean to sound as harsh as he did, and although he was used to the teasing and numerous geek-related references by now, he wasn't up for hearing any snide remarks while he tried to defend the hobbies and figurines that brought him so much joy in life. He especially wasn't about stand around and let himself be pummeled by those nasty comments from the person he was supposed to be in a romantic relationship with.

"Look," Hyuuga continued, trying to calm down, but failing miserably. "I know you're only here to tease me about my hobbies, and while it's annoying, it's even more irritating that you're going to absurd lengths to pretend like you don't have something planned. Now cut it out already!"

During the course of their relationship, Hyuuga had seen the grin that seemed to be eternally present on Imayoshi's face falter occasionally for various reasons, including the few times he managed to best Imayoshi in a game of wordplay, but he had never once seen that calm, yet confident smile fade away completely, until now, that is.

"Hyuuga, I walked from my house to yours in this get up. Do you really think I'm in any position to mock you?" Imayoshi asked. His voice was soft, and held a somber note to it that Hyuuga didn't want to believe was real. He would even dare to say that at that point, Imayoshi was frowning, but regardless, the unease that plagued his psyche whenever he thought that Imayoshi was up to no good wouldn't let him be.

"Surely you've got something up your sleeve," Hyuuga tried again, hoping that Imayoshi would finally give up on whatever prank he was trying to pull.

And just like that, the grin that Imayoshi was known for was back. Granted, the small smile was nowhere near the wicked smirk that he usually wore, but nonetheless it was a clear display of how easily Imayoshi had perked up.

"You mean these?" He reached into his left sleeve and seamlessly pulled out two, colorful pieces of cardboard paper that caused Hyuuga to doubletake.

"I bought our tickets early so we won't have to wait in line."

Hyuuga could hardly believe his eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off of the hand that held the convention tickets; he feared that they might spontaneously burst into flames right in the palm of Imayoshi's hand at any moment. However, as he stared, the urgent feeling that he'd reluctantly be giving first aid to his infuriating boyfriend in the very near future slowly dwindled away, only to be replaced with the realization that Imayoshi had spent a lot of money on those tickets. While he usually wouldn't put anything past Imayoshi's devious mind, he refused to believe that Imayoshi would waste that much money on some ridiculous joke.

"Why are you doing this?" Hyuuga asked suddenly.

"So is there really a warlord that famous for running around in pjs?" Imayoshi asked.

"Imayoshi."

"Fine," Imayoshi said as he slipped the tickets back up his sleeve. An audible sigh of defeat left his lips before he finally relented, and spoke what Hyuuga genuinely hoped to be the truth.

"I wanna meet this side of you," he answered in a sincere voice that Hyuuga had not heard from him before.

"Excuse me?" He had heard Imayoshi, of course, yet those words had completely blindsided him.

"You've been keeping the part of you that goes crazy for this sort of thing from me, and I want that to stop," Imayoshi replied simply, as if it was the most obvious explanation on the entire planet.

He knew that this entire situation was incredibly stupid. Imayoshi was his boyfriend after all, and logically speaking, he should be able to discuss each and every one of his nerd-related topics with Imayoshi, without the fear of being made fun of hanging around in the back of his mind. But it was hard; the thought of being teased mercilessly by the guy he really liked over this was bad enough, but Hyuuga soon realized that that wasn't his only reason from wanting to keep his geeky side from Imayoshi.

"Only 'cause I don't want to bore you!" Hyuuga exclaimed without thinking. When his brain caught up with his mouth, he immediately became utterly mortified with himself. Deep, deep down, he knew that if his relationship with Imayoshi was ever going to progress and actually go somewhere, he knew that they would eventually have to have a conversation similar to the one they were having now, or at the very least, he would have to find some way to conceal his nerdy side away from Imayoshi for the rest of forever. While it would be nearly impossible, Hyuuga thought that he would have preferred to keep this secret to himself.

"I don't think you're boring, Hyuuga." Again, his voice was serious, and devoid of any indication that he was lying.

"But you might," Hyuuga replied sheepishly. To his supreme dismay, he could feel his cheeks start to burn up with pure embarrassment.

Imayoshi hummed softly for a moment before replying. "Last night you let me talk your ear off for hours about my love for Victorian literature. Did you think that was boring?"

"No!" Hyuuga said quickly. "I like hearing about your interests and learning more about you. I mean, you're my boyfriend, right? It's perfectly normal for me to want to know about the things that fascinate you." He paused for moment before adding, "I still want to borrow that book you told me about."

Imayoshi only smiled. "Of course."

And suddenly it hit Hyuuga like taking an ignite pass kai straight to the face.

"Oh," was the most intelligible thought he could manage to verbalize.

"Listen," Imayoshi sighed. Whether it was because he was becoming increasingly frustrated with him, or because he too wasn't sure of what to say, Hyuuga wasn't certain, but he truly hoped it was the latter.

"The Seirin captain I met on the court is what got me interested, but I signed up to date all of you, the nerdy parts included."

"I guess," Hyuuga replied, hesitantly nodding in agreement. "Are you sure that you want to dive in head-first though? Going to a convention's kind of a lot for a newbie." As he spoke, the tone of his voice turned from uncertain to half-heartedly making an attempt to appeal to Imayoshi's pride. After all, if Imayoshi was serious now, he didn't want him to become overwhelmed and flake out halfway through.

And suddenly that signature smirk of Imayoshi's was back in full, proving that not only did he recognize Hyuuga's challenge, but that he was also prepared to rise for it.

"Bring it on."

Hyuuga couldn't help but return Imayoshi's grin with a somewhat mischievous smile of his own. A lingering shadow of doubt stayed with him, and before he could let himself truly believe that Imayoshi was really doing this for him, he had to ask one last, pertinent question.

"What's in it for you?" Hyuuga asked before finally stepping aside to let Imayoshi inside the house.

Imayoshi nodded in appreciation as he stepped inside. "Whatever do you mean?" Imayoshi asked as he turned back towards Hyuuga.

"C'mon," Hyuuga prompted. "I'm buying the idea that you're actually doing this for me, which I really appreciate, but the least you could do is divulge your ulterior motives."

"I'm hurt that you would say such a thing," Imayoshi replied; despite the statement, it was abundantly obvious that he anything but bothered by Hyuuga's blunt accusation. "But since you did…"

Taking a step forward, Imayoshi leaned in and began to whisper just what it was that he had planned to get out of this endeavor. His answer, while not surprising to Hyuuga in the least, still managed to excite him in ways that only Imayoshi could. Soft lips grazed the delicate flesh of his earlobe as Imayoshi's sultry voice murmured every last detail of the intimate activities he had planned for both of them later that night.

Hyuuga tried to remain passive as Imayoshi worked his devilish charms and wove together the most intricate and sensual word painting that Hyuuga had ever had the privilege of imagining, and to his credit, he nearly succeeded. Imayoshi paused for a moment, allowing Hyuuga to take a deep, calming, breath. He thought he was in the clear, but then Imayoshi decided to continue.

This time, blunt teeth teased and gently nibbled Hyuuga's skin while he listened to that same unbelievably sexy voice start to talk about all of the kinky activities they could do in costume. Hyuuga's fingers began to idly play with the sash that was loosely wrapped around Imayoshi's waist; Imayoshi's ministrations, coupled with a string of well-chosen words all but begged him to give into that sweet, sweet temptation. He had to use every ounce of willpower he possessed in order to pry himself away from Imayoshi; he finally managed to take a step back, but not before letting Imayoshi landing a tender kiss on his upper jaw line.

It took a few moments to collect himself; Imayoshi was good, sometimes a little too good for Hyuuga's self-control. After taking a couple deep breaths, Hyuuga was able to look up at Imayoshi again.

"I know you pride yourself on coming up with ridiculously grandiose schemes to get me in bed with you," Hyuuga started.

"You can't deny that it's more interesting than the straightforward approach," Imayoshi responded; his grin grew more playful with each word he said.

"That aside," Hyuuga continued in a deadpan voice, "isn't this a bit too excessive? You don't actually think that getting laid is worth all the trouble, do you?"

"I think you're worth it," Imayoshi replied flawlessly and automatically, as if he had had that line planned all along.

He had to hand it to him, even when he was dressed in a haphazardly-sewn outfit that most might consider to be 'sex-repellent', Imayoshi could still be one suave bastard.

"Well played," Hyuuga said as he took ahold of Imayoshi's hand and started to lead him upstairs to his bedroom. "C'mon. My cosplay outfit is ready in my closet, but yours," Hyuuga paused, trying to decide on what to say, without sound too harsh, "needs work."

"It's not that bad," Imayoshi tried.

"Please, your costume looks authentic enough, but it's going to fall off before I get the chance to take it off." Hyuuga wiggled his eyebrows and gave Imayoshi a sly grin, which was not unlike the wily smiles that Hyuuga often received from him. "I can tell."

Before Imayoshi counter with some equally suggestive quip of his own, Hyuuga stopped suddenly and pushed Imayoshi against the wall as carefully as he could in an attempt to not ruin the warlord attire. The scarcely seen look of surprise on Imayoshi's face was priceless, but Hyuuga didn't give himself time to focus on that aspect before leaning and firmly pressing his lips to Imayoshi's, igniting a kiss that was much more fiery than Imayoshi's earlier ministrations. His lips molded perfectly against Imayoshi's slightly parted ones and with a practiced gentleness, he used his tongue to trace Imayoshi's bottom lip with an acute precision that drove them both mad.

Just as Hyuuga predicted, Imayoshi seemed eager to comply with his silent request. Upon Imayoshi's immediate invitation, Hyuuga found himself fervently exploring the familiar curvatures of Imayoshi's mouth. Just when Hyuuga mused that Imayoshi was being surprisingly compliant this morning, Imayoshi's tongue became intertwined with his own. The interactions between them took on a more playful pace as the kiss deepened, and he could feel the excitement that was growing between them from mere kissing. He knew then that if he wanted to get to the convention in time, he had to end this now.

Hyuuga broke the kiss suddenly, yet tactfully by giving Imayoshi one last soft kiss before pulling back.

"Consider this a taste of what's gonna come later," he whispered to Imayoshi before again, taking Imayoshi's hands into his own and leading him up the stairs.

Hyuuga could almost feel the sly smirk growing across Imayoshi's face.

"Deal's off if you try anything before we get home," Hyuuga quickly added, knowing that setting the boundaries with Imayoshi now was an absolute requirement.

"That's cruel," Imayoshi pouted, but nevertheless, his voice was as pleasant as ever, and held the slightest hint of sinister intent, which did not go unnoticed by Hyuuga.

"Challenge accepted."

Silently, Hyuuga brought Imayoshi into this room, and he wasted no time in pulling out his sewing kit for Imayoshi's outfit. While he didn't reply, a genuinely happy smile spread across his face. As aggravating and crafty as Imayoshi could be at times, Imayoshi was still good to him, and in his mind, that's what really mattered. Thanks to Imayoshi, he knew that this was going to be the best convention yet, and if he played his cards right, the beginning of an annual tradition for both of them.

Thank you for reading!