A/N: Story title stolen from a Matthew Good Band song. I had a hard time thinking of a title for this story and noticed the song on my playlist so I decided to use it. Please forgive me, but I haven't written anything in almost 2 years so I'm more than a bit rusty and probably crappy, too. -.-
Warning: This is shonen-ai, as in, boy-love.
Pa-chi. The sound of a stone being placed onto the goban, followed by a streching silence.
Why can't I ... ?
Touya Akira, green-haired Go genius with a pretty face, found that for the first time in his life he was unable to concentrate properly on the game before him. Try as he may, Touya couldn't help but be perpetually distracted by a strong desire to gaze into his opponent's eyes. Those big, green, eyes that once held an innocence so pure Touya couldn't help but be drawn in to them. Years have passed since he first looked into those eyes, and they now held experiences of the harsh world they both lived in, yet Akira still found himself amazed at their depths and the hidden truths within them.
His own eyes followed an invisible line from the other's eyes to their lips. Such soft lips. How would they feel against mine? How would they taste? What would I ... Touya mentally slapped himself to keep the uninvited but not entirely unpleasant thoughts away. No more of that
Shindo Hikaru, Touya's confused rival, had noticed the wide-eyed staring of his opponent and was starting to get disturbed. Fidgeting with the sleeves of his long shirt, a bratty grin suddenly spreads across Hikaru's face.
"Eh? So you're that impressed by my amazing skills at Go, Touya?"
Shindo's insult had the desired effect: Touya flashed an angry glare and stuck his hand into the gose, pulling out a black stone. He paused briefly before placing it on the board.
It's so quiet ... Touya exhaled and noticed it was chilly enough for him to see his own breath. He adjusts his emerald green mittens before tucking his hands into his coat pockets. A mysterious smile spread across Touya's face as he stared up at the darkening sky. Shindo ... what is is about you that can make me play so beautifully? Only with you on the opposide side of the goban can I even hope to create such lovely games as we do ... Mine and your formations ... are perfect together. So perfect it almost feels like we were meant to find eachother for just this one reason, and yet at the same time it feels like there's something even more waiting for me. I think ... I think I want to know you more, Shindo. I --
"-ya! Touya!"
Blinking, Touya looked around for whoever had called his name. Oh. Shindo. The shorter boy was walking towards Touya with a big grin on his face.
"Yes?"
"Fun game, huh? Too bad you had to lose!"
Touya merely stared at the boy he knows only as a mystery and as his eternal rival. Shindo's round face was lit up with one of the goofiest grins Touya had ever seen. He couldn't help but smile at the other boy's eagerness to prove his worth.
Speaking gently, Touya replied: "So that's what you call a loss, Shindo? I pulled ahead by 27 moku and to top it all of you walked straight into my trap, not ever realizing that you had untill it was much too late."
"I ... that was ... " Shindo paused and seemed to be considering something very carefully. "All right. I concede. You played vastly and stupendously superior to me and I lost dreadfully, Touya-sama." Very dramatically and with great exaggeration, Hikaru bowed deeply before Touya King.
Holding his chin in thumb and forefinger, Touya couldn't help but laugh at Shindo's silliness. "That's a position very becoming of you, Shindo."
"Eh?" Shindo stood up normally and looked at Touya with a blank face. "Ohhhhh. I see. You think I'm cute!"
Blushing furiously, Touya managed to squeek out a very unconvincing no.
"By the way, what you doing out here? It's cold!" As though to prove his point, Hikaru yanked his sky blue toque farther down onto his head.
"I was waiting for you, Shindo."
Hikaru pointed at himself questioningly with wide eyes, as though to ask: me?
"Yes, you."
"Oh."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Er? What did you wanna say to me?"
"I just wanted to ... I want to ask you something. Are you busy this weekend?"
Scratching the back of his neck, Hikaru scrunched up his face and stared intently at the ground, apparently needing a lot of concentration to figure out something so simple. "Nope. I was planning on recreating some old games with Waya and Isumi-kun but I think I'd rather go out and be with you."
"... really? You don't even know what I was going to ask."
"Of course! We never get to act like real friends and I've always been trying but you never wanted to do anything. So what is it?"
The younger boy was grinning excitedly now and Touya was shocked but also pleased that Shindo would say yes so quickly. Hands clutching his chest protectively, Touya briefly glanced around the street. Empty. Sighing softly, his eyes met Shindo's. "Would you like to spend the weekend at my house? My parents are in China again and I thought that maybe we could do stuff and uh ... stuff. O-of course, we could play Go if you want to but ..."
"Your house? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes I wanna go! Your place is really cool and I wanna blah blah blah"
Touya cut off Shindo's joyous rambling, asking in a serious tone, "Will you get lost again?"
"No! I practically know the way there by heart."
Akira's eyebrows raise at Hikaru's statement. "Heh. Alright. You can come over whenever you like, but I'd like it more if you arrived before supper on Friday."
"Yes!" Hikaru mock-saluted Akira and said his goodbyes before turning in the opposite direction and walking home, leaving Touya to his thoughts. When did he get to be so silly? Then he, too, walked away, his mind racing with possibilites.
Friday, 6PM: the Mortifyingly Marvelous Monster Movie Marathon
"Mou ... what to wear ... "
Touya held up a long-sleeved violet tunic against his chest and peered into the tall mirror before him. Oh, this is ridiculous! Casting aside the horrendous shirt, Touya sighed and stared hopelessly at the mess known as his room. Possible clothing choices were strewn across furniture and the rejects were thrown haphazardly into a heaping mound of clothing that practically covered half the floor. A frown darkened the pretty features of his face as he kicked aside a blue suede vest to better gain access to his almost empty closet. He then proceeded to tear through it in hopes of finding something vaguely acceptable that had somehow gone unnoticed the first two times around.
After a moment of searching, Touya had finally come up with two choices for a top: a magenta v-neck sweater with gold diamond shapes sewn on the chest, and a black T emblazened with a dragon design. Which better accents my eyes? He held them both up against his chest and studied each thoroughly before giving in to frustration and choosing the v-neck on a whim. Touya pulled the sweater over his head and was zipping up a casual-yet-elegant pair of cargoes (elegant ... cargo pants?) he'd already decided on ages ago when he heard a loud knock at the front door. "Already!"
Touya hurriedly dumped all of the clothes into the closet before he slammed it shut and ran to the staircase. He had just reached the bottom of the stairs and was almost at the door was another knock. "Coming!" Panting slightly from the rush, Touya paused in front of the door to primp his hair and regain his composure. Finally ready for Shindo's arrival, Touya opened the door with great dignity and non-chalance, prepared to greet his rival in proper fashion.
"Welco- ... S-Shindo? Is that you? I can't see your face."
Shindo Hikaru had arrived wearing a sky-blue ski mask paired along with the same bright green toque as the other day and a big,fat peach-coloured scarf that was wrapped several times around his neck and face before being tucked into his overly large winter jacket.
"Mmf. Lemme in."
Touya moved aside, all the while gawking shamelessly at the tubby pile of winter clothing before him. "Shindo?"
At the moment, Hikaru was too busy attempting to remove his excess clothing to say anything else to his gaping host. He struggled for a moment then shrugged off his jacket and was started to yank off his gum boots. Finally ridding himself of the heavy clothing, Hikaru turned to Touya and grinned sheepishly. "Touya! My mom wouldn't let me leave the house without wearing all this because she was scared I'd freeze to death or something." He averted his eyes, feeling slightly embarassed about his mother's hen-pecking. "Eheh. You have anywhere I could put these?"
After calling in for an order of ramen from a nearby restaurant and a bit of difficulty getting Hikaru settled in (they wasted five minutes trying to stuff Hikaru's clothes into Akira's closet but couldn't even close the door due to the sheer mass of their combined clothing, so they finally gave up and chucked everything into Touya's parents' room), the two boys were sitting on a couch in the living, an uncomfortable silence hanging over their heads.
"What would you like to do while we wait for the food to arrive?"
Shindo considered these words briefly before replying somewhat unsuredly. "Play some Go?"
Touya shook his head. "I just want to have you here with me, it doesn't matter what we do ... " His voice faltered at this last part.
"Okay! Wanna just watch some tv?"
Touya answered by flicking on the tv with a remote. "Mou ... nothing interesting." He turned his head to ask Hikaru a question, only to be surprised by the other boy staring at him. "Er, yes?"
"Do you like horror movies?"
"Horror ... ?"
"Yes! You know, the scary kind that send shivers up your spine and keep you from sleeping at night because you're terrified that a great, big monster with 8 squishy eyeballs and a hairy body covered in mud might be hiding in your closet waiting for the right moment to burst out and eat you up!"
"... I doubt a monster could fit in my closet."
Laughing, Hikaru replied, "Even if it could, it'd probably be lost forever!"
Touya giggled at this and smiled coyly at his guest, eyeing him appreciatively. "Do you believe in those kinds of things?"
"What? Monsters? Of course not!"
"Oh really now? Your description of one was a bit too detailed to be anything but casual."
"Pft. It was just that one time." Hikaru wriggled in his seat, glancing nervously around the room as if he thought a monster might pop out at any second.
"Don't worry, my house is positively monster-free." Touya said teasingly. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh. Right. There's a Mortifyingly Marvelous Monster Movie Marathon on channel 41. Wanna watch it?"
"Mortifyingly Marv- ... " Touya rolled his eyes at the cheesy title and selected channel 41 on the tv's channel guide, apparently just in time as the current movie's opening credits had just finished rolling. They were just getting into the plot when there was a knock on the door followed by an un-enthusiastic "Tanaka Sushi delivery!"
Sighing at the interruption, Touya stood up to answer the door, but was beaten to it by a hungry Shindo zipping past to claim the food. "I'll get it!"
"There's money on the end table by the door!"
Rather rude ... Touya relaxed into the couch again and waited for Hikaru, who could be heard babbling with the deliveryman. I can't believe this is actually happening ... what if he gets bored? Can we watch movies all night? Do people do that? Even if they don't, even if we can't watch movies all night, I'm glad he's here. I feel kind of silly now for worrying about what to wear ... A soft laugh escaped his lips and he smiled gently at his own foolishness.
A split second later Shindo came stomping back into the living room bearing food and drinks, the latter of which he almost spilt on Touya because he was moving too fast. Apologizing, Shindo set the food tray onto a table they had already set out and both boys sat down to eat. Between stuffing his face with ramen and gulping down large amounts of pepsi, Hikaru had no time to talk, which made Touya both annoyed, disgusted and amused all at the same time. By the time Akira had finally finished eating, Hikaru had already been done five minutes earlier and was currently talking non-stop to Akira, who just nodded his head every once in awhile.
"Heh. You shoulda seen your face when I almost spilt those drinks on you. Your eyes popped out of your head like a frog's!"
"H-how dare you compare me to a frog! I'm nothing like a frog!"
Hikaru just laughed and pat his belly contentedly. "Thanks for the food, Touya! I was going to bring some snacks over but I couldn't fit them anywhere in my jacket and my bag wa-... my bag! I forgot my bag! Oh noooo..." He collapsed heavily onto the floor and plopped over onto his back, peeking at Touya, who in turn was peering at him curiously over the table.
"How could you forget your bag?"
"I was too distracted with trying to breathe inside that get-up!"
"Baka. I suppose you could wear a pair of my pajamas tonight but they might be a bit too long ... "
Blinking, Hikaru continued peeking up at Touya. "Really? Thanks!"
"It's nothing" Touya sat up and stare in the opposite direction, fingering his bare collar bone. He looked back at Shindo. "Are we going to finish watching that movie now?"
"Nah, we've already missed the first half of it." Shindo poked the other boy's knee with his foot, causing Touya's entire body to shiver unvoluntarily. "Wanna play a game?"
Good thing he can't see my face, I can't stop blushing ... Why is he still on the floor? Akira edged over a bit. "My goban is upstairs."
"Not that! A different game." Hikaru's head popped up from underneath the table. "Something much more interesting."
Trying to avoid Shindo's gaze, Touya knelt his head down enough for his bangs to cover his face. "Wh-what kind of game?"
A big, boyish grin spread across Shindo's cute, round face. "Hide and seek!"
"What? Hide and seek?" Touya could suddenly breathe again, he hadn't even realized he was holding in his breath. Well, I don't know what I was expecting, but ... hide and seek?
"Yes! It'd be tons of fun! You're house is so big either one of us could easily find a great hiding spot! Come on, it'll be fun!"
Touya couldn't possibly deny Shindo when his was face lit up so brilliantly ... "All right."
"Stick out your fist, Touya."
"M-my fist?" He did as asked and instantly regretted it when Shindo put out his own hand and mock-covered Touya's 'rock' fist with his own 'paper' hand.
"Hah! Can't believe you fell for it! I get to hide and you have to count to 30!" He promptly dissappeared. Dumbfounded, Touya simply sat there for a split-second before realizing what just took place.
...28...why am I playing this? ... 29 ... what if he went home instead?...30...I may as well try and find him ...
Akira calmly and methodically walked around the first floor of the house, pausing at every other door before moving on to the next ... Just as he passed by a supposedly empty closet, Touya heard a little crinkling noise that made him raise an eyebrow. He tip-toed silently to where he suspected the noice originated from ... and there it was again. A barely perceptible noise that sounded suspiciously like something being opened. Akira smiled and opened the closet door, only to reveal a surprised boy crouching in the corner of the pocket and grasping something in his hand. Shindo blinked stupidly before hurriedly stuffing whatever he was holding into his jean pocket.
"I found you."
"How'd you do that?" Hikaru's voice was high-pitched in amazement.
"Just luck I guess."
"Hmph. I don't believe you. Now it's your turn! Hurry and hide! 1,2,3,4,5..."
Touya stared curiously at Shindo, who was covering his eyes with both hands and currently sported a ridiculously childish grin on his face, before turning around and hiding in the closet opposite Shindo's. "... 29, 30! Ready or not, here I come!" And just as Touya expected he would, Hikaru leaped out of his own closet and immediately started running excitedly to the other side of the house. It never occured to him for even a split second that Akira might be right across the hall from him ...
The closet door poked open and Touya's eyes could be seen peeking from within. How ridiculously adorable of him. He sighed and rolled his eyes, before setting off to find Shindo. Akira's plan was simple: just follow the Shindo around the house and hope that the other boy didn't suddenly turn around only to see Akira 10 feet behind him. Apparently his plan worked, as Hikaru gave up 15 minutes later and was sorely disappointed to find that Akira hadn't been playing hide and seek 'properly'.
"But you cheated, Touya!"
"I hadn't realized it was against the rules to change hiding places in the middle of the game."
"It's not! But you were following me so that means it's against the rules! Cheater!" Hikaru promptly threw a pillow at Akira before plopping down onto his host's bed. "How did you find me so easily the first time around?"
"Like I said, just luck."
"No, seriously. How did you find me so fast?"
Touya smirked. "I could hear you stuffing your face."
"Oh. I guess I shouldn't have been eating all that candy while I was hiding ... "
"I thought you weren't able to bring over any snacks?"
"Details, details. Want some pocky?"
"No thank you."
Shindo crawled into one of the two futons Touya had rolled out for the night (it'd be rude to sleep on a bed and make his guest sleep on the floor, right?), and propped his elbow up so he could comfortably lay down with head in hand. He watched silently as Akira pulled out and lit a small candle that he set on the floor before turning out the main lights. Akira opened a drawer, pulling out two pairs of pajamas. Chucking the emerald green jammies at Shindo's head, Touya left to another room to change before waiting silently outside his bedroom door for Hikaru to finish getting dressed.
"I'm done."
After a considerable amount of time filled with empty silence passes by, the two boys had already resumed talking again. They lay in their futons facing eachother, falling asleep with each passing moment.
"Touya?"
"Yes ... ?" Came the sleepy reply.
"Did you have fun?"
Touya covered his mouth as he yawned, then smiled dreamily at Hikaru. "Lots. I've never had a friend sleep over before."
"Really? It's lots of fun, huh?"
They were both whispering now. "Yah .. " Touya tried to keep his eyes open but they just felt so heavy.
"Touya. I like having you as a friend."
"Me too ... " And he surrendered to Mr. Sandman.
I suppose I'll write another chapter soon. Were the characters a bit OOC? >>?