Niou was sprawled on Renji's carpet, headphones over his ears, his eyes closed. He looked pretty relaxed, though Renji suspected rather a lot of that was faked rather than genuine comfort.
Yukimura was trying not to look at Niou, but the little sidelong glances he kept giving Renji felt pointed.
"Don't mind me," Niou'd said, on finding Yukimura there for a study session. "I just wanted to borrow that shamisen-y CD you were raving about the other day."
"Stay here and listen to it, if you want."
Niou'd peered over Renji's shoulder, at Yukimura. "You guys are studying, though, it'll distract you."
"I have headphones, and we'll be done soon."
Niou had acquiesced, and Renji would estimate that the CD was probably about halfway through by now. And Niou was listening very quietly and without much fidgeting; it should have been easy to ignore him over there.
But it wasn't. Renji was hyperaware of every tiny movement Niou made; every shift in posture, the way his breathing made his chest move, the way his eyelids would flutter open every so often. Yukimura might be sneaking glances out of curiosity, but Renji was pretty sure he was broadcasting his own urge to just stare right now. It wasn't like Niou was particularly good-looking, even. Was he?
He put down his pen, carefully. "I think I'm done with this for today."
Yukimura looked relieved. "Ah? Yes, me too." He folded up his essay, and smiled ruefully. "I can't concentrate, sorry."
Renji reached out an arm, and tapped Niou on the leg. "Hey."
Niou sat up, tugging out one earphone. "You guys done already?"
"Yes." Renji glanced over at Yukimura. "Should I go fetch some drinks for us?"
Yukimura stood, and stretched. "No, no, I'll go. I need to take a bathroom break anyway."
Niou stared at Yukimura's back as he left the room. "Uh, so, pretty good CD so far."
"You should trust my judgment." Renji started stacking up his textbooks. "Would you like to stay for dinner? Seiichi is, and my mother won't mind cooking for three of us."
"Uh, I might pass." Niou shrugged. "I kind of feel like I'm intruding already."
"I doubt Seiichi minds, and I certainly don't." Renji stood up, and put his textbooks back on the desk. "You're welcome here."
Niou tipped his head to one side, and pulled a face. "I should've sent you a text or something though. I sometimes forget other people have lives. Mostly 'cause Yagyuu's a fucking hermit if left to himself."
"Are you going to make me keep assuring you it's fine?"
"Ah, one more time, maybe." Niou grinned. "I'll stay for a bit, then. But I will pass on dinner, all the same." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Also, um, are you free after school on Saturday?"
"I... yes, probably?"
"Feel like taking a trip to Tokyo?"
"It's not a date," said Renji, that Friday.
Sanada was poking through Renji's closet. "It might be, even you admitted it."
Yukimura nodded, and caught the flimsy white shirt that Sanada tossed at him, then regarded it thoughtfully. "Even if it's not, you should still look good, right? I bet Niou'll dress up a bit."
Renji gave up. "Please at least pick things that don't make it look like I think it's a date."
Yukimura tossed the shirt back to Sanada with a sigh.
"Yo," said Niou, suddenly appearing at Renji's elbow. "You all set?"
Renji nodded, taking in Niou's appearance. His own school uniform was stowed in his bag, and he'd managed to bargain Seiichi and Genichirou into letting him wear something fairly understated; jeans and a loose shirt over a t-shirt.
Niou, on the other hand, had clearly felt no such restraint; there were tears and zips all over his t-shirt, a thin drapey cardigan-ish thing over that, chains dangling from his trousers, and a frilly scarf around his neck. It looked... expensively trashy, on the whole. He grinned at Renji's expression, as if acknowledging the impact. "Right. Then let's go."
The train was a local one, and they found seats at one end. Somewhat to Renji's surprise, Niou hauled out a notepad and started doodling in it, headphones shoved in his ears; Renji had been expecting conversation. He shrugged, and pulled out the novel he was reading instead.
They changed in Yokohama; this train was busier, and they stood at one end of a rather full carriage. Niou kept scowling over his shoulder at the blank-looking salaryman behind him, until Renji leaned in and asked in a murmur what was wrong.
"He stinks," Niou mouthed, pulling a face.
Renji suppressed a laugh, and picked up the end of Niou's scarf, holding it across Niou's mouth jokingly. He was close enough that doing so sent a waft of pleasant scent floating towards him; warm woods and some sort of spice. He blinked, surprised; Niou was wearing cologne?
Niou's eyes narrowed in a smile, and he pulled the scarf down long enough to mouth good idea before pulling it back up again, tugging it out of Renji's grip in the process.
Renji dropped his hand, rubbing his fingers together, wondering if they'd smell of wood and spice too now.
Once safely arrived, they sat in a tiny booth in a conveyor-belt sushi place near the station, and Niou pulled out a little map-book-thing. "Hm, so. Anywhere you desperately want to go while we're here? A big bookshop or stationery store or something?"
"If you wouldn't mind?"
Niou shook his head. "I dragged you here, least I can do is spot you a couple of shops." He frowned at his map, and flipped the page over. "The music store I want to go to is just round the corner, and I'd like to look at trainers."
"Sounds fine to me." Renji reached for a bowl from the belt. "I wasn't really sure what you had in mind, for today."
"Uh." Niou glanced up, and then back down at his map. "I sort of figured I could take you to places that sell gay porn, 'cause god knows you can't find it in Minami-ku without risking someone's parents seeing you."
Renji blinked. "Oh, god."
"But that, yeah, may embarrass the fuck out of us both." Niou scratched at the back of his head. "I'm not actually saying you need my help finding that stuff, here. I want some, and I hate going alone. Too many creepy old guys around."
"And you'd rather take me than Yagyuu?"
Niou laughed. "Yeah, he puts up with a lot but it's, well, he says he's going to go blind if I make him see more cock." He gave Renji an assessing look. "Otherwise I do have legit shopping to do, or we could go see a movie or hit up an arcade or something. You decide and tell me. No rush."
It took two bookstores, two sports shops, and four music stores before Renji finally tugged on Niou's sleeve and said, "Alright, let's do your other shopping."
About thirty minutes later Niou was gesturing vaguely at the entry of a shop in Shinjuku. They exchanged one mutually-embarrassed look once inside, and then Niou shrugged. "Well. Two ways we can do this. Either we giggle over everything stupidly together like kids, or we pretend we're strangers until we're back outside."
"Sorry, do I know you?"
Niou grinned. "Attaboy." He span on his heel, and strode over to a shelf full of DVDs.
Renji swallowed, and then looked around. Magazines. That seemed like the easier option. There were shelves and shelves of them, swathed in plastic; he steeled himself and approached the nearest display.
It was quickly apparent that Niou had furnished him with something at the tamer end of the market. Even with their plastic covers obscuring the details, most of them seemed oddly specific, catering for people with a far clearer grasp of their own preferences than Renji had managed so far. He found some slightly less precisely focused options towards one end, and - after hesitating for a moment - took two different magazines off the shelf. They both seemed… interesting enough. Maybe he should just buy both of them.
A movement to his left caught his eye; Niou, crouching to look at the shelves closer to the ground. Renji edged away slightly, looked around at the other options in the shop, and then concluded that films would be a significant step beyond his comfort zone for now. He took another quick glance around, and went to pay for his selections.
Niou joined him outside a few minutes later. "You okay?"
"Yes." Renji indicated his satchel. "And, uh, all set for a while."
Niou laughed, and held up a plastic bag. "Me too," he said, pulling off his rucksack and shoving the whole of the plastic bag into it unceremoniously. "Mission accomplished. What now? Arcade, movie, more shops, buying cheap alcohol and getting drunk in a park somewhere?"
"You've done that?"
"Only once. It's overrated." Niou looked around, then elbowed Renji and pointed across the road. "We can get hyped up on sugary coffee instead, that's way more fun. C'mon."
"You bought porn."
Renji nodded, pretty sure he was bright red now he'd admitted that.
Yukimura's eyes were round and amazed. "You dark horse. You went all the way to Tokyo with Niou just to buy porn."
"We were in one shop for maybe ten minutes. It wasn't the only thing we did."
"Can I see what you got?"
Renji glared at Yukimura, horrified. "No!"
"Aw. Niou gets to see what kind of porn you like, and I don't?"
"Niou didn't get to see either, thank you. We didn't buy it together."
Yukimura pouted exaggeratedly. "Well, I guess you were right that it wasn't a date. You don't buy that on a date."
"I did say it wasn't."
"Here I was having visions of you two sharing ice cream, holding hands under the table, getting pressed up against each other on the trains." Yukimura sighed. "Spoil my dreams, why don't you."
Renji thought about the smell of Niou's scarf, and smiled despite himself. "Why are you so invested in this?"
Yukimura sighed again, and leaned his head against Renji's shoulder. "It would just be neat, you know? To have you two hook up. Convenient. Then I wouldn't need to worry about either of you."
"You worry about Niou?"
"Of course." Yukimura straightened up, and winked at Renji. "He's part of my team too, after all."
Kirihara in an anxious mood was a thinly-repressed bundle of destructive energy, in Renji's opinion.
Usually that was absolutely fine - or manageable, at least - but today he kept poking around on Renji's shelves and Renji really didn't want him to stumble across those magazines, and they weren't so well hidden that he wouldn't find them if he kept pulling out random books to look at the covers.
"Akaya, I thought you wanted to talk."
"I do," said Kirihara, plucking out a volume of poetry and flicking through it idly. "I just- senpai, are these love poems?"
Renji peered over his shoulder. "Some of them, yes." He pulled the book from Kirihara's grasp, and flicked forward a few pages. "And poems about war, and Japan, and summer, and a host of other things."
Kirihara pulled out another book, apparently at random. "I don't understand the point of love poems. Saki-chan keeps pinning ones from a book up inside her desk." He opened the book, and frowned. "But they're all just fancy ways of saying you like someone. Can't girls just be happy with that?"
"Is Saki-chan your girlfriend?"
Kirihara nearly dropped the book. "No. She's just a girl in my class. I want to ask Chiyo-chan out, but she listens to Saki-chan so she probably expects all that poetry and romance stuff too."
"Okay." Renji slid the first book back into the shelf. "So, you want... girl advice."
Kirihara gave him a pleading look. "Please?"
"I'm not sure I'm going to be very good at this, but I'll try." Renji gestured to his floor mat. "Sit down, tell me about her."
"The thing is," said Kirihara, flopping himself down, "is, well, Chiyo-chan is really sweet and cute and all that, y'know? But she's really unsure of herself, so she pays way too much attention to how girls like Saki-chan tell her she should behave."
"Oh."
"She's great when she's not around them." Kirihara stared at the table. "I really like her, Yanagi-senpai."
"Does she like you?"
"I think so?" Kirihara pulled an endearingly uncertain face. "I mean, she thinks I'm funny, and she gave me her phone number. That's good, right?"
Renji nodded.
"It's just - I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Ask her to go to a movie or something? But if I just ask then Saki-chan will tell her I don't care enough and to say no."
"And you think I can help you?"
"I need to write a romantic letter asking her on a date. Please?"
Renji repressed the urge to rub at his eyebrows; there was a headache forming just above the bridge of his nose. "Right. Get a pen, then."
It took a good half-hour of drafting and re-drafting before Kirihara said, "I think that's okay. Isn't it?"
Renji frowned at it. "I... maybe?"
"If you were a girl, would it work on you? If a guy you maybe liked a bit already gave you that?"
Renji looked at the letter, trying to imagine seeing it for the first time. It was a bit abrupt and clumsy, but then Kirihara wasn't ever given to fancy words so the fact that it wasn't a blunt 'go out with me' was probably going to be impressive enough to this girl. And he'd said nice things about her eyes and her hair and her smile, and girls always seemed to like that stuff. He shrugged. "Probably?"
Kirihara tipped his head to one side. "I thought you might have written a letter like this before."
"No, never." Renji considered the letter. "I... it's obvious that you mean it, I think, and that's going to do most of the work for you. Poetry's a nice idea, but I think she'd prefer something heartfelt to something that was all words and no meaning."
"Huh." Kirihara took a sheet of new paper out, and started copying it out fresh. "You've never wanted to ask a girl out?"
"I have, but not by letter," Renji said. "It's a nice way of doing it, though. Maybe some day, when I meet the right person."
Kirihara glanced at him, and then smiled. "I hope it's soon, senpai. Even if she says no, it's kind of nice just to be around someone you like."
"I promised your brother a game tonight," said Yagyuu, putting his hand over his mouth as he yawned. "If you don't mind me abandoning you two?"
Niou shook his head, still humming vaguely under his breath. Yagyuu gave Renji a small smile, and left them to it.
"Huh, I still can't believe she's actually making us translate from man'yōgana."
"I'd have thought you'd relish this," said Renji, genuinely amused. "It's like code-breaking, I think."
"Enh. Feels like a waste of time, though; we could just look up the modern versions of the text, y'know." Niou made a face. "I am never going to need to know this after school."
"Knowledge is never a waste," said Renji. "Besides, you only have two more lines to go, you'll be fine."
Niou muttered under his breath, but struggled through the last two lines; Renji was ahead of him by a few characters. They compared their versions, and they matched closely enough that both seemed reasonable.
"Ugh, can we take a break now?" Niou flopped backwards, onto the futon behind them. "Maybe come back to this century?"
"Not for long. We do also have history to cover."
"Smartass." Niou reached up above his head, and grabbed a remote control from his desk before sitting up. "So, he wanted to try and switch on you this evening."
Renji blinked. This was definitely Niou, despite the moment of sudden doubt that hit Renji like a blow; Yagyuu's imitation was pretty good but it wasn't quite this good. "Why didn't you?"
"C'mon, you know us both too well to fall for it offcourt." Niou flicked the TV on. "Besides, I dunno, I don't really want to try and screw with your head, it'd piss you off too much."
"Thanks."
"Seriously." Niou's gaze flicked to Renji's face for a moment, then back to the TV. "You're kind of a nerd, but I like having you around."
Renji tucked away that compliment to turn over later. "Why'd he want to switch?"
"Curiosity, I think." Niou propped his elbows on the low table, and rested his chin on his hands. "You should have heard the questions about Tokyo."
"I ended up admitting we'd gone to buy porn, when Seiichi asked."
Niou's eyes went very wide, and then he laughed, sort of awkwardly. "Ah, fuck, well now I won't be able to look him in the face for a while, huh."
"He asked to see it."
"Geez, even Yagyuu's not that nosy." Niou thought for a moment. "Actually, he was at one point, but that was back when me liking guys was a big novelty for him. Now he just rolls his eyes at it."
"I'm afraid this is all still entertainingly new for Seiichi and Genichirou."
"If you ever show those magazines to Sanada, I beg you to take a video of his reaction." Niou stretched, and then made a strange, half-amused sound. "Neither of them took the whole I like guys thing badly, huh? That's good."
"We're friends."
"That's hardly a guarantee of anything. I bet you haven't told all your friends."
Renji thought about his oldest friend, who'd be far too full of questions, and felt his face flush a little at the realisation that he hadn't even considered telling Sadaharu about this. And then there was Kirihara, and the idea of explaining this to him just hurt somehow. "It's not been appropriate to tell some of them yet."
"Right, of course." Niou gave him a knowing grin, then ducked his head as if inspecting the remote control in his hand. "You tell yourself that."
Renji stared at the top of Niou's head for a moment, searching for a way to end the conversation without letting Niou get the last word. "Your roots are showing," he said, finally, suppressing a smile when Niou's head snapped back up in response.
"Yeah? I guess it's about time to go back to the bottle."
"I'm amazed your hair hasn't fallen out by now."
Niou made a long-suffering face. "You sound like Yagyuu. Actually, you wanna do it? You get a spiffy pair of rubber gloves to wear and everything."
Renji blinked. Niou was... asking him to help him colour his hair? That seemed oddly intimate. "I'm not sure I'd have the faintest clue how to help."
"Putting bleach on the black bits tends to do it." Niou shrugged. "I just can't see the back very well myself, so it helps if someone else does it. Besides, I need to stop asking Yagyuu."
That sounded like there was a story there. "Does he mind?"
"No, but... look, you've known me and him for ages. I know we're sort of weird, okay? He's probably the most important person in my world, for a whole bunch of reasons, none of which are, y'know, sexy ones. But it makes guys I date really confused."
"I can see that."
"And Yagyuu's girls get a bit unhappy about me, though that takes a bit longer. In a way it's kind of hilarious to watch them glare, but, well." Niou scratched at his nose, and then slumped onto the table. "My ex said that dating me was kinda like being a mistress; Yagyuu's taken all the boyfriend space that isn't physical."
"Does Yagyuu know you feel this way?"
"Yeah, but he thinks they - the guys, the girls, everyone - all need to readjust their expectations, not that we need to change how we act. Maybe he's right?"
Niou's tone only made it sound halfway to a question, but that was still a more direct plea for advice than Renji'd ever heard from Niou. "I don't think there's anything wrong with your friendship, as it is."
"Hm." Niou gave Renji a lopsided grin. "You're kind of scarily intense about your friends too, though."
"Perhaps." A thought struck Renji. "I think maybe you'll know you've found the right person for you if you want to make extra space for him. And if he's right for you, he'll understand that your best friend is that important to you."
Niou's eyes narrowed, then he laughed. "Ha, well, let's hope. I still think I should try and get used to not having Yagyuu around all the time. Which means you get stylist duty."
Renji hadn't ever been into a bathroom quite so feminine before. For some reason, Niou's sister's tiny personal bathroom was apparently the best place for all hair experiments. Possibly because the tiny flower stickers everywhere (apparently a relic of her younger years) meant that bleach and dye everywhere couldn't actually make it look any worse. It smelt strongly floral, which mingled with the scent of peroxide and made Renji feel vaguely light-headed.
Niou - who Renji was pretending was not in fact half-naked and shower-fresh and disturbingly close, because this was not the time to have inconvenient reactions - perched on the edge of the half-bath in just his sweatpants, his damp hair hanging loose around his face as he mixed powder and liquid together in a plastic tray. Apparently satisfied with the result after a while, he handed the tray to Renji.
"Right. Go for it."
"Are you sure you shouldn't go to a real salon for this?"
Niou's lips curved into something between amusement and disapproval. He turned to the mirror above the sink. "How about I do the front, then you take over, hmm?"
Yagyuu pursed his lips thoughtfully, and set down his stone. "I have a question."
Renji frowned. Unless he was miscalculating, he'd most likely have enough liberties for any semeai that could occur at this point. He set down his stone, trying to work out if he should begin more aggressive endgame tactics now or consolidate his position first. "I'm not promising to answer."
"I suppose that may be answer enough," Renji glanced up to see Yagyuu adjusting his glasses. "Are you ever going to act on your attraction to Niou-kun?"
"I'm not sure I can answer that."
"But it is a possibility." Yagyuu adjusted his glasses again. "Which means it is time for me to do this, I think."
He leaned forward across the table, tilted his head to one side slightly, almost apologetically, and then pressed his lips against Renji's mouth.
It wasn't a very forceful kiss, but it was definitely a kiss, and Renji was too horrified to react for a moment. Yagyuu was already settling back into his seat across the table before Renji unfroze.
"What... why?" Renji scrubbed at his lips with the back of his hand. "What prompted that?"
"My apologies, but I suspect it would be important to Niou-kun."
"You're kidding."
"No." Yagyuu directed a calm, level gaze at Renji. "Do you remember me saying that he would not wish to be an experiment? You've kissed another boy now; that bald fact will be a reassurance to him if he asks. The details of whom and where and under what circumstances should be kept vague, of course."
"Is this some sort of hazing process you put his potential partners through?"
Yagyuu smirked, and then placed another stone with unruffled calm. "No, Yanagi-kun. And in case you're wondering, you're the first boy I've ever kissed. Consider us even."
Renji woke suddenly, his dream so vivid in his memory that he lay there for a moment, feeling abruptly bereft.
Teeth nipping gently at the front of his throat. Spice and warm musks filling his nose. Hands, dry and warm and confident, pressing flat against his hips to push him back firmly against a wall, then pinching and stroking at his sides, making him squirm. Lips closing wetly around the lobe of his ear before Niou chuckled, so close the sound rumbled in Renji's ear.
Renji pressed a hand against his neck, allowed himself a moment to remember, and then turned over to try and banish the dream and sleep again.
"Pretty cool, huh?"
They were entirely alone in the planetarium; apparently the Space Centre was technically closed to visitors that day. Niou'd hauled him in through the entrance anyway, past a deliberately oblivious guard, through the corridors and up into the projection room. And now the room was darkened, and constellations swirled slowly overheard.
"I mean, we don't get the whole voice-over shebang like this." Niou sat down on the floor, and patted the space next to him. "But I kinda like it quiet."
"You... you come here a lot?" asked Renji, sitting on the floor.
Niou nodded. "Every so often. The manager used to live in the same apartment block as us, so I used to get free passes to come in, and now all the staff just let me in and out. Sometimes I'd hide out in here when I was skipping class."
Renji looked up. "Strange place to come for a delinquent."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Niou shrug. "It's just a place, really."
Renji decided to mirror Niou's posture, leaning back against a seat so he could see without craning his neck. He stared up at a galaxy, sparkling above. "I used to love my telescope as a child. I had constellation maps and charts, and used to pore over them for hours."
"You still have one on your wall. I have been to your room, you know."
Renji turned his head to see Niou grinning at him.
"Now, personally, this is still basically just pretty lights to me. I can pick out like two constellations and a handful of stars. But I bet you know tons, huh." Niou shuffled sideways, so their shoulders were touching, and Renji felt a jolt shoot through him at the contact. He decided to ignore it; it was a lot easier to point out things if you were close and Niou's grasp of personal space had always been a bit off. "So c'mon, dazzle me, data man. I know that is the cross - the swan, right? - right up there. Show me another."
Renji tried to orient himself. "Well, there's Antares, the red star. So that, there, the hook shape-" and he pointed"-is Sasori, the scorpion."
Niou nodded, and leaned against Renji. "Another. That star?"
"Uh. That's Altair. It's part of Washi, not that it looks that much like an eagle. And then those stars there, the rectangle with the tail, just next to it, that's the dolphin."
"Huh. Pretty impressive."
"You'd be able to reel these off too if you'd ever studied them. There's a lot fewer stars than there are possible games of Go, for instance."
Niou shrugged. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it." He looked down at his hands, as if thinking, but didn't shift his weight away. "Hey, did you decide to do that extra credit course?"
"Ah, yes, thanks. You were right, it's pretty straightforward." Renji felt distinctly off-balance; even for Niou, the question seemed out of nowhere.
Niou looked up again, and gestured vaguely. "What about that star?"
"Vega," Renji said - partly a guess, since Niou's gesture took in quite a chunk of the sky. Niou's weight against his side wasn't heavy, but it felt like there was a meaning behind it. He didn't dare assume it was flirtation. "Have you been graded for your extra course yet?"
"Mm. Aced it." Niou leant away, and reached into his bag. "Been looking at colleges, actually. I always kind of thought I'd end up in Kyoto, but I don't know any more. You're aiming for Todai, right?"
Todai. Being a grown man at last, and an apartment - probably with Sadaharu as his fellow academic - and losing himself in the comforting embrace of numbers and facts. "That was always my dream."
Niou leant back against him, and handed him a few pamphlets. "Yagyuu's been yammering on about studying up in Utsunomiya, fuck knows why. Everyone else I know seems to want to stay in Kantou somewhere, mostly Tokyo-ish, so I asked Kitayama-sensei for some advice."
Renji glanced down at the top leaflet, and then flipped through the stack. "Hmm. These are very prestigious."
"You don't have to sound quite so surprised."
"No, I know, you could certainly get into any of them if you wanted. But do you want to go to this kind of place?" Renji bit at his lip, trying to be careful how he phrased his immediate thought. "You could go to a less impressive place, and not have to lift a finger in effort for the whole time you're there, if you wanted."
"Hmm." Niou took the pamphlets back, and shuffled them thoughtfully. "That has a certain louche appeal. And you're right; I could go to a less challenging university, get a good enough degree for some future job, coast for the whole time, kick back and spend my student days being the campus playboy."
"But you want to be challenged."
"I like having to think." Niou glanced at him, and then stuffed the pamphlets back in his bag. "It's why I like being around clever people."
Renji nodded. "Well then, there'll be plenty in these schools. Aim high."
"I always do." Niou leaned against him again, and grinned up at the starscape. "C'mon. Show me more."
"If it were me," said Yukimura, apparently almost entirely distracted by the lower leaves of the plant he was inspecting, "I'd have kissed him."
"I didn't think you liked boys that way," said Renji, because it was probably expected, and Yukimura's immediate snort confirmed it. "and besides, it wasn't a date."
"Sounds like a date." Yukimura snipped a leaf off the plant. "All alone under the stars. Romantic."
Since the same thought had occurred to Renji, he couldn't really object. "I think he's considering the idea carefully, actually."
Yukimura looked up. "Specifically?"
"I think he knows that I'm attracted, that's not the issue. I think he wants to see if I'd be worth it, and if I think he'd be worth it."
"I don't know why it's all so complicated." Sanada finally spoke up. "If you both like each other. This dancing around each other seems like a waste of time to me."
"Niou is complicated." Renji thought about it. "And so am I. Attraction itself isn't sufficient. There's no rush."
"Is that Niou's sister?"
Renji looked up, and out of the window. Saeka - her hair a slightly less unnatural shade than Niou's, but only by a matter of degree - was standing on the other side of the road. He waved, then realised she might not even see him - but she had, and she squinted in curiosity, and then waved as she recognised him. "Yes, that's her."
Saeka approached the window, and smiled, and pointed at her wrist in an apologetic gesture before heading off towards the city center.
Marui made an appreciative noise. "Yow. She's hot."
Renji tilted his head to one side, watching her walk away, wondering if he agreed. He thought she was pretty enough, but her features were too soft to give her the same strikingness that Niou had. "She's a bit old for you."
"Hey, you know what they say about older girls." Marui grinned, half-turned in his seat and also watching Saeka. "Shame she's Niou's sister."
"Because you'd automatically stand a chance if she wasn't? Hmm." Renji pointed back at the books open between them. "Did you want me to help you or not?"
"Yeah, yeah." Marui turned back, and looked down at the book. "Damn, though, older girls are just cool."
"The translation, Marui."
"'It wasn't useful to understand'. I mean, I'm not saying her specifically, but, you know, they're all experienced and shit."
"'Necessary', I think. Not 'useful'." Renji tapped the word. "I thought you liked innocent, sweet girls?"
Marui scribbled furiously over the words he was changing. "Oh, eh. Sometimes that's nice. But a girl as hot as that, the experience is exciting. And she's got mystery."
Renji sighed. "She's pretty, but her room stinks of jasmine and when she thinks nobody's looking she chews on her hair. And she has tiny flower stickers all over her bathroom. And a big Hello Kitty poster over her bed. Don't let the glamour fool you." He tapped on the book again. "Now can we get back to this?"
Marui pulled a face, and then darted a sly glance up at Renji. "You spend a lot of time over at Niou's now, huh."
"Mmhmm. Translation?"
"'She raised her hand to the light.'" Renji nodded, and Marui continued. "'I saw the shadow against her face.'"
"I think you just mean 'on'."
Marui frowned, and then corrected his version. "But seriously, you and Niou being buds, kind of makes the rest of us a bit nervous."
"Nervous?"
"Yeah. Yagyuu's smart and all, but you... know everything. Niou with your data on all of us?" Marui shivered ostentatiously. "Brr. Creepy thought."
"You assume I'd share my data?"
"No, I assume Niou'd steal it." Marui winked, and then turned his attention back to the page. "Right, okay. 'Her breathing was slow and steady. She smiled sadly and left the room.'"
"I might go with 'calm', there." Renji steepled his fingers under his chin. "And I think I like the idea of making people nervous."
"Yeah, that's what I mean, right there," said Marui, cheerfully, drawing a line through 'slow'. "You are definitely spending too much time with Niou."
"Want to go to Tokyo this weekend?"
Renji looked up from the board between them; Niou'd consented to a game of Gomoku (and had dug out a tatty old vinyl rollout board and some cheap plastic stones; Renji would bet quite a lot of money that Niou had obtained this set just to make some kind of point). He was - predictably - defeating Renji quite handily. He frowned. Tokyo. How often did Niou need new fantasy fodder? "Already?"
Niou's eyes narrowed in confusion, and then he snorted. "Shit, I didn't mean for porn. Though we could do that too if you want. There's actually an exhibition I wanted to go see at the modern art museum."
"Oh. You like modern art?"
Niou shrugged. "A friend of the family has a few pieces in it. His stuff's usually quite funky, weird glass sculpture and metal spirals and so on." He grinned. "It's probably completely not your thing, come to think of it."
Renji put down his stone. "I'll come. You'll have to tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at, though."
"Awesome." Niou glanced at the board, and set down his stone. "If it helps, right now, you're looking at a loss."
"Kamakura."
"Yes."
"Seriously? What the fuck for, suddenly developed a need to see old temples?"
"Something like that."
"C'mon, it'll be a blast."
"Is there any specific reason why I should want to accompany you?"
"Just the pleasure of my company. Seriously, just trust me, okay?"
"Four weekends in a row, Renji." Yukimura shook his head. "People will talk."
"I've spent more weekends in a row with you before, and with Genichirou."
"And people talked about that. Did you not realise we all were in a complicated love triangle which doomed at least one of us to perpetual sadness? Tsk."
Renji sighed, and checked the tea; not quite ready yet. "Are you feeling neglected?"
"Huh? No, not especially."
"Then I don't really see why it bothers you so much."
Niou was sprawled across Renji's futon. This time, on his front, his feet kicked up behind him, his head propped up on his hands, reading Renji's geography textbook with an expression that spoke of mild disdain for the whole subject.
Renji was sitting so his back was against the wall next to the futon, determinedly trying to read anything in his literature notes. He wasn't succeeding very well. Every time he managed to focus, Niou twitched his foot or idly blew his fringe out of his eyes or shifted his weight subtly.
In the end, Renji set his notes aside and allowed himself to just watch Niou, since Niou seemed distracted enough by the book.
His dreams about Niou were less startlingly vivid now, but they occurred with alarming regularity. Parts of Renji's brain had apparently spent a lot of time quietly tabulating details Renji wasn't certain had any place being noted. Like: the curve of Niou's back, and the depth of the hollows in his collarbone, and the length of his eyelashes, and the faintly cracked-looking surface of his lips.
"Just ask, data man," said Niou after a few moments, without looking up.
Renji closed his eyes. "Can we go out somewhere tomorrow evening? I know it's a school-night."
He heard a vague rustling sound, as if Niou was shifting position. "Where do you want to go?"
Renji took a breath. "On a date."
There was silence. He opened one eye, cautiously, to see Niou now sitting cross-legged on the futon and giving him a look he couldn't actually decipher. It seemed to be a mix of amusement and wariness.
"Please?" he added, opening his other eye.
Niou's expression stayed precisely the same. "Look, if you're just wanting to fool about a bit, then we could always-"
"-no." Renji held Niou's gaze. "I want a date."
"Right. How would that be different from the times we've hung out recently, exactly?"
"Lots of ways." Renji thought for a moment. "Intent, I suppose. Romance, for lack of a better word."
Niou tipped his head back, so he was looking up at the ceiling. "Romance, huh? I guess it's worth a shot. With one condition, though."
"Which is?"
"You don't tell anyone." He snapped his head back up, his expression serious. "This isn't me being ashamed, but if we're going to do anything like that then it's between us, not our various meddling friends."
Renji nodded.
"Then, fine, a date." Niou sat back up again, and folded his hands neatly in his lap. "Where?"
"I don't know. I've only really gone on two dates before, and neither of them were especially great," Renji admitted. "We could go see a movie or something?"
A few songs into the concert - some relatively sweet-sounding girl singer that Renji didn't recognise, singing in a tiny little hall in Shin-Yokohama - Renji felt Niou's hand brush against his. When Niou repeated the gesture a few seconds later, Renji allowed their fingers to tangle together. It felt absurdly satisfying, like a jolt of confirmation.
When he glanced sideways, Niou looked like he was trying to suppress his amusement. Renji couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not.
After another song, Niou leant firmly against him, and murmured, "So after her, there's a band who are kinda shit, then another singer I don't know. I figure we can go get something to eat, come back later for the last band?"
"You're in charge." Niou was wearing his frilly scarf again, though his outfit was otherwise rather restrained. Renji wondered if that wood-spice scent was inherent in the scarf or if Niou actually wore cologne sometimes. Either way, the smell was doing pleasant things to Renji's hormones.
Niou squeezed his hand, then let go. "And you're buying dinner."
The little family restaurant they ended up in was busy and anonymous. Which meant that, after they'd eaten, Renji could reach for Niou's hand again under the table and not worry too much who might see.
"Actually," said Niou, fiddling with his straw with the hand that Renji wasn't holding. "I figured I'd be waiting until after graduation for you to do anything."
"Really?"
"Mm. University, I thought." Niou smiled faintly, looking past Renji, into mid-space. "It made sense: space and no supervision and no interfering friends around saying I think he's eminently well-suited to you and all that."
"Ah. I got why don't you just kiss him and if he makes you happy then why are you wasting time."
Niou's eyes snapped into focus. "Huh. The idea of Sanada saying either of those about me is a little odd."
"He's been pushing just as hard as Seiichi, in his own way."
"Offputting, isn't it?"
"Mm. A bit." Renji rubbed his thumb in a circle on the back of Niou's hand. "But being contrary just for its own sake is foolish."
"I suppose you have a point." Niou pursed his lips thoughtfully. "But I'd still rather we not broadcast it to them quite yet."
Renji took a sip of his tea, and then carefully let go of Niou's hand. "Should we head back?"
There was something distinctly odd about walking home with Niou and knowing that there was a fair-to-even chance that Niou would kiss him, or would let Renji kiss him. They weren't holding hands, but their arms brushed against each other as they walked, and occasionally Niou would lean against him laughingly and that scent would get in Renji's nose, making his head swim pleasantly.
Renji paused at the bus stop around the corner from his house. Niou usually caught the bus home after visiting him. "Um."
Niou glanced up at the sign, and nodded. "Mmm. I suppose that's that, then."
"I'll wait until your bus comes."
Niou grinned at him, and then leaned against the side of the stop. "So very chivalrous. You could invite me back to yours. I could call my parents, make up an excuse to stay over."
"Uh." Renji's stomach felt like it was trying to flip over from nervousness at that thought. "Wouldn't that be moving a bit fast?"
"Hey, I'm not saying I'd put out this soon." Niou held his hand out, and Renji stared at it. "But I'm at least going to get a kiss out of you before you send me chastely home."
Renji took Niou's hand, and allowed Niou to pull him close, closer, until their lips met. It was a gentle kiss, until Niou slid his tongue wickedly along Renji's lower lip. Renji nearly pulled away, but he could feel the grinning curve of Niou's mouth against his and it felt like a challenge. He wrapped his arms around Niou, and pulled him close, opening his mouth eagerly into Niou's kiss and letting the last several weeks of growing desire pour out.
When he released Niou, some minutes later, Niou was distinctly pink and very, very smug-looking. "Huh."
"Not quite that chaste, perhaps," said Renji, bringing one hand up impulsively to touch Niou's flushed cheek. "But I'm still sending you home."
"After that?" Niou pushed up against him meaningfully, and suddenly Renji could feel Niou's erection against his hip. He swallowed dryly, all the wetness in his mouth evaporating. "You're quite the tease, Yanagi."
Renji took a step back, ignoring the response his own body was having, his hand dropping to his side. "Maybe so. I'm afraid that's something you'll have to live with."
Niou opened his mouth, his expression definitely more amused than annoyed - to Renji's relief - and then shut it, peering over Renji's shoulder. "You also have great timing. That's my bus."
"I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"That you will." Niou smiled at him, and lifted a hand to brush it against Renji's mouth for a moment. "For the record, I definitely want another date."
Renji sat on his futon, back pressed against the wall, Niou's bare feet in his lap. Niou's ankles were a decent prop for his maths textbook, it turned out.
Niou was lying on his back, that Go book held in one hand, the other hand tucked behind his head.
"Why did you end up with a duplicate, anyway?" asked Renji after a while.
"M'brother bought it." Niou said, turning a page. "Then gave it to me. Not sure why. S'not like I play enough Go to even need one copy, let alone two."
"Maybe he wants to make sure you stay a worthy opponent."
"I don't have to really try to beat him, honestly. He always falls for the same kind of tricks, purported genius or no." Niou lowered the book, and smiled over the top of it. "And Yagyuu does too, even if they're sneakier tricks."
Renji bit his lip for a moment. "Is everything about tricks with you?"
"No. Not everything." Niou sat up, pushing Renji's textbook aside. "Alright. Where's your board?"
Niou beat him by a respectable margin. Renji stared at the board for a while afterwards, trying to work out if he'd done better or worse than expected.
"Problem?" asked Niou, stretching in a way Renji was entirely certain was meant to be distracting. It was; Niou's shirt was open at the collar in a way which showed far too much collarbone to not be distracting.
"Mm." Renji tilted his head, trying to focus on the board. "You said your brother falls for tricks. But I can't even work out which tricks you used."
"Ha." Niou laughed, and gestured to the board. "That's kind of the trick itself: there's not really a trick, but you kept expecting there to be. Doesn't work often, but when it does, it really does."
Yukimura frowned, and handed Renji a receipt. "Is this it?"
Renji checked his list again. "I don't think so. It should be for more than that."
Yukimura rummaged through his wallet again, and shook his head. "I'll check when I get home."
"Alright. But if you don't find it, I can't let you claim it as a club expense, you know that."
"Mm." Yukimura stuffed his wallet back in his bag. "So, are you going to tell me about you and Niou any time soon?"
Renji nearly dropped his list.
"C'mon," said Yukimura, grinning at him as he stood back up. "I can tell something's happened, in a good way. Niou's a decent actor, but I can read you and you're quietly radiating happiness."
"He doesn't want our 'meddling friends' to get involved."
Yukimura stuck his tongue out at that. "I bet he's told Yagyuu, though."
"No, I don't think he has." Renji put the list down on the bench. "Do you know what it's like? To feel like you're being pushed into something, even if it's something you want?"
Yukimura actually looked momentarily stung. "I… alright, fine, I'll back off."
"I know it's because you care." Renji put a hand on Yukimura's shoulder. "For what it's worth, yes, something happened. But it's private, for now. I'll tell you when I'm ready to."
Renji wasn't sure if Niou had genuinely forgotten to lock his door, or if he'd set the evening up so Yagyuu would catch them kissing, or even if Niou and Yagyuu had set up everything between them so that Yagyuu could 'find out'. It didn't really matter, and Renji didn't really mind; they were at least only kissing, nothing more embarrassing.
Yagyuu simply opened the door, coughed politely, and then closed the door again to allow them to compose themselves. When Niou called him in a minute later, he smirked at them both, and then asked Niou about his composition notes, and had he remembered he needed to fill in the papers for the class trip, and then he smirked again before leaving without saying a word about what he'd walked in on.
Niou sat down heavily on his futon next to Renji, and pulled a wry face. "Well. He's going to be smug for ages."
"I'd better make sure to tell Seiichi and Genichirou. If they hear it from him and not me…"
"Yeah, you better had. I kind of like you with all your parts intact."
"Oh, so it's public now," said Yukimura, smirking. "No more 'it's private and none of your business', hm?"
Renji'd invited Sanada and Yukimura outside at lunchtime, to sit under the trees and share their lunches. He really didn't think this conversation should be held anywhere that it might be overheard.
Sanada huffed out an irritated noise. "Don't be ridiculous. Telling us doesn't make it public."
Renji smiled at Sanada, a flood of relief passing through him. "My sentiments exactly. Seiichi, try not to gossip about us, please."
Yukimura's eyes went very wide. "You think I would?"
"Not on purpose." Renji helped himself to one of Sanada's tofu slices. "But you told me about Niou, if you recall."
"That's entirely different." Yukimura sniffed, and then appeared to think it over. "Alright, point taken. Can I at least be nosy about it now?"
"If you really want." Renji bit into the tofu. "I'm not going to tell you that much though."
"How far have you two gone?"
Sanada went red, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Oh, god. Sorry, but could you not ask that while I'm eating?"
"I thought you were fine with Renji liking a guy." Yukimura brandished his water at Sanada accusingly. "You said it didn't bother you."
"I don't want to picture Niou doing that sort of stuff with anyone." Sanada tipped his hat back up, and shot Renji an apologetic glance. "I'm sure you think he's cute enough and all, but… ugh."
"I'm not sure cute is the word I'd use," said Renji. "Admittedly, partly because I think he'd try to injure me if I did. But he is attractive, in his own particular way. Though perhaps I'm just biased."
Sanada shook his head. "It's no good. He's babbling about his boyfriend's good looks. We've lost him."
"I know." Yukimura heaved a dramatic sigh, and put a hand on Renji's shoulder. "It's adorable. Our boy's in love."
Renji smiled. "Don't marry me off quite yet. But… I'm quietly happy with him, thank you."
Yagyuu would not stop smirking whenever he saw Renji. That lasted about a week, and then he seemed to miraculously regain his self-control.
Renji decided he could live without the knowledge of whatever Niou had used as blackmail. There were some things that he really didn't need to know about Yagyuu.
"You're sure you want to go to Todai," said Niou, thoughtfully, as they waited in line for the school cafeteria to open.
Renji nodded, absentmindedly, his mind on the novel he was reading. About three seconds later, Niou's question actually registered, and he looked up. "Why?"
"I'm applying to Kyoto after all." Niou shrugged, hands jammed deep into his pockets. "Entrance exam's at the end of the month."
Renji swallowed, feeling a sudden stab of horror at the thought of abandonment. "Oh."
Niou dipped his head, and pulled a wry face. "Well. It's not like there's not a train."
"I suppose so." Renji closed his book. "Am I expected to suddenly panic and start thinking about going to Kyoto instead?"
"Nah," Niou glanced at him, and smiled. "You got your dreams, I got mine, that's all."
"Mm. It's a shame they're not in the same place."
Niou leant sideways, and nudged Renji gently with his elbow. "Hey. Look at it this way: It turns out I think you're worth a train journey or two every week."
"Until it gets too expensive, or too much of a hassle, I'm sure."
The cafeteria doors opened, and the line started to move. Renji shuffled forward after the line, but Niou grabbed at his arm. "Hey, you think I'd ditch on seeing you because it was a hassle?"
"Not for a while." Renji tugged his elbow free, and moved forward in the line. "But it'll get to you after a few months, I suspect."
Niou's mouth went grim for a moment, then he forced a nasty grin. "You have so much faith in me, huh."
"Masaha-"
"No, fuck you, Yanagi." Niou's voice was too loud, people were starting to take notice. "You didn't even offer to make the journey, did you?"
"I-"
"Maybe we should just drop the whole thing." Niou practically spat the words. "Actually, no maybe about it. Consider it dropped. See you around."
With that, he walked off, back held straight, a swagger to his movements, the picture of righteously indignant pride. Renji swallowed. People were watching to see what would happen. He could hardly chase after Niou now without looking like, well, like a guy chasing after his offended girlfriend. But if he didn't, then Niou might actually mean it about breaking up.
He sighed, tucked his book back into his bag, and followed Niou; to his entire lack of surprise, Niou had headed straight for the roof and the deserted corner behind the big ventilation pipes.
"Fuck off," said Niou, before Renji'd even put his head around the corner.
"No."
"-please," said Niou, and this time Renji caught the tightness in his voice. "Just leave me alone for a bit."
Renji peered around the corner; Niou was sat huddled with his back to the pipes, his arms tightly wrapped around his knees. His face was buried in his arms. Renji sat down next to him, shoulder to shoulder. "After what you said before, I was expecting you to stay in Tokyo. Or Kantou, at least."
Niou made an ugly, spluttering noise into his arms. Renji had to strain to make out his words. "It's my whole fucking future. I can't just think about you."
"No, of course not."
Niou lifted his head; his face was flushed and he was scowling, but he didn't look like he'd actually been crying, to Renji's relief. "Do you think I'm just dating you because it's easy? Because you're here?"
Renji considered that, and then - cautiously - put his arm around Niou's shoulders. "I don't really know why else you'd be dating me."
Niou rolled his eyes, but didn't shake Renji's arm off. "Spare me the humility, data man."
"I'm serious. I know you like intelligence, but I'm not really sure what else about me would-"
"Oh please." Niou rested his chin on his arms. "Don't fish for compliments when I'm angry. Just, it's not just because I thought 'hey, likes guys and convenient, why not', alright?"
"Alright." Renji squeezed Niou's shoulder. "And, likewise. You're important to me."
Niou glanced at him, and huffed out a sigh. "Not important enough for you to think about giving up Todai, though. Not that I'd ask you to; in fact, I'd be pissed if you actually did something that stupid. But still."
"Why Kyoto, anyway? You've never said."
"It's pretty simple really. Mathematics. Todai's department is pretty good, even Waseda's decent. But I want the best." Niou's shoulders were relaxing under Renji's arm. "If I want better than Kyoto, I'd have to go to America."
Renji hummed thoughtfully. "I vote for Kyoto. Flying long-haul to see you every weekend would cut into the time I'd have to spend with you."
Niou's mouth curved up, faintly. "Yeah, and you'd hate the food there too."
"Very likely." Renji glanced around; not many people around, and they likely wouldn't see. He took Niou's hand in his free one. "I'm going to have to explain to Sadaharu why I keep running off at weekends."
"The guy from Seigaku?"
"Yes. We always promised we'd live together at Todai one day."
"Wow." Niou grinned, sharply, suddenly. "Fuck, your place is going to be nerd central. You haven't told him about us?"
"I haven't told him I like guys. We don't talk about things like that, really." Renji slipped his fingers between Niou's. "I don't think he'd care really, but he'd ask a lot of questions out of academic curiosity. And he'll ask you, too."
"I can put up with questions. Tell him." Niou stared at Renji's hand. "Shit, I'm starving."
"Yeah." Renji rather wished Niou hadn't decided to bring this whole subject up on a day where he hadn't bought his own lunch. "We can see if there's anything left if you like."
Niou let go of his hand, and then stood up in a fluid movement that shook Renji's arm off his shoulders. "Mm. How much of a rebel are you, data man?"
"Enough to miss my next class, I suppose, since it's only a study period." Renji levered himself up, using the pipes as a support. "Are you going to be missing anything important?"
"Probably." Niou stretched. "I'm not planning on coming back today."
"Ah." Reji looked down at his shoes. "That's perhaps a little more delinquency than is in my nature."
Niou slung an arm around his shoulders, with deliberate casualness, and brought his mouth close to Renji's ear. "Shame. My house is empty this afternoon. Nobody to interrupt us. Sure you're not tempted?"
"Quite seriously so," admitted Renji. They had not, as yet, gone that far, but just kissing Niou could involve whole hours without Renji noticing the passing of time. "But if you actually want to go to Kyoto, you should probably let me be a good influence on you. And since we're on the subject, my house is empty this evening anyway."
Niou pulled his head away slightly, and made an amused sound that sent a puff of air straight down Renji's ear. "Hnn, I should get mad more often. My cock-tease of a boyfriend is actually inviting me over for an evening alone?"
Renji poked Niou in the ribs, making him pull away with a laugh. "Not if you keep calling me that. Now, come on, let's go try and get some food while we still have any lunchtime left."
Niou reached out, and grabbed his bag, hauling it up onto the futon next to him.
"I got the housing pre-allocation letter today, by the way. You're in luck; looks like I actually snagged a single room and the buzz is that they turn a blind eye to occasional visitors as long as we don't make too much noise." He dug out some papers and handed them to Renji.
"Hm." Renji flipped through the papers; a couple of official looking ones, a hand-drawn map, and then an actual map of Kyoto folded open with a neat red circle that presumably indicated where Niou's future home would be. He automatically scanned the map, looking for the nearest station.
"Here," said Niou, handing him a subway map, obviously anticipating his thought. "It kind of sucks for our commute; to get there from the shinkansen you have to change a couple of times. It's gonna take like three hours between your place and mine, minimum."
Renji nodded, and shifted himself up the futon to prop himself up on the pillows. "Well, I'm not sure where I'll be yet. Sadaharu knows I want our apartment to be near the shinkansen, and he respects efficiency enough that I'm half-expecting our apartment to be in Tokyo station."
Niou snorted. "Or it'll be right on campus, because he'll figure you'll save enough time daily to make up for the less frequent trip to the station."
"Hm." Renji turned that over in his head. "That sounds quite likely too."
Niou wriggled up so he was pressed against Renji's side, his arm draped across Renji's waist. "And it'd be sensible. You should be near classes."
"It's the cost that's going to be an issue." Renji set the papers down. "I still don't know if I have any scholarships yet, and without one-"
"We'll manage." Niou's hand drifted downwards a little, and he pinched Renji's hip. "Look, maybe you'll fall madly in love with someone else three minutes into your first class. Maybe you'll get hit by a car in your first week. You can't plan for everything."
"You think it's weird that I want to give us the best chance of actually making this work long-distance?"
"No. Actually, god help me, I think it's romantic." Niou frowned, looking slightly surprised at his own words. "Fuck, you have broken me, data man, seriously. I never used to give-"
Renji cut him off with a kiss. It seemed like the best option available, really.
Yukimura strung the line of lights over the rack of practise swords, and then stepped back to consider his handiwork. "How's that?"
"I think that's enough," volunteered Sanada, from his position by the edge of the low table that Renji and Niou were playing their game on. "It had better be, anyway. I think that's the last of the lights we have."
"It looks fine, Seiichi," said Renji, without looking up.
Niou snorted, and leaned sideways for a clearer view. "Geez, how do you put up with these two all the time? It needs to go up a bit on the left-higher-yeah, there."
Yukimura taped the lights down, and beamed at Niou. "You're my new favourite. Renji, I'm stealing your man."
"You're not his type," said Renji, and set down his stone.
"Yeah, you tell yourself that," said Niou, grinning at Renji. "You sure that's the move you're making?"
Renji glared at him.
"Fine, fine." Niou placed his stone. "You're going to regret it in about six moves, that's all I'm saying."
Yukimura flipped the main lights off, leaving the dojo bathed only in the twinkling from the reappropriated christmas lights.
"Thanks," said Renji dryly. "Can we finish our game before you plunge us into darkness?"
"Shush, it's romantic." Yukimura flopped down onto the mat next to Sanada, and peered at the board. He nudged Sanada, who was frowning in concentration. "Which of them is winning?"
"It's close, but I'm pretty sure Niou'll win."
Renji sighed. "I'm sure you're right." He set down his stone. "One day I'll actually feel like I'm not dreadful at this."
"Ah, you're decent," said Niou. "I'm just better, that's all." He placed his stone, and stretched. "Four moves."
"Shouldn't the others be here by now?" Yukimura asked, turning to peek through the crack between the dojo doors.
"Yagyuu's going to be late," said Niou, watching Renji set down his next stone. "Bunta's bringing the rookie, so they probably got held up while he buys all the bloody cakes in the shop. No idea about the demon child, though."
"Hm." Yukimura sighed, and then slumped against Sanada's side. "Hey, you guys don't mind being here, do you?"
"Why would we mind?" Niou's stone made a gentle click as he put it on the board. "You throw a leaving party, buchou, you think any of us are going to say no to you?"
"Well, you lovebirds might have wanted an evening alone instead." Yukimura peered at the board. "Renji, seriously, put your next stone there or he'll capture that whole cluster next move."
Renji frowned, but followed Yukimura's suggestion. "You'd have accused me of neglecting you again if I'd told you we were too busy."
"And it would be true. You neglect me terribly."
Sanada snorted, watching Niou place his next stone. "I pity any girl that actually agrees to date you. You'll be the clingiest boyfriend ever."
Niou laughed, and poked Renji - under the table - gently with his foot. "Clingy's not so bad."
Renji raised an eyebrow in mild objection to that description, but put down his stone without comment.
"You're going to lose," predicted Yukimura, and he turned to peer out of the gap between the doors again. "Actually, Niou, I kind of thought you'd make him beat you at this game before you agreed to go out with him."
"Nah, I'm not nearly that patient. It would have taken years."
Renji put his hand under the table, and tweaked Niou's toe sharply, making him yelp and yank his foot back towards himself. Niou's leg caught the underside of the table, making all the stones jump off the board with a clatter.
"Ah, shit."
Sanada burst into laughter, and Yukimura turned back from the door. "What? What did I miss?"
"Renji made Niou forfeit." Sanada grinned, and patted Renji on the shoulder. "Now there's the Renji I know, finding unexpected ways to turn a defeat into a victory."
The party was in full swing a couple of hours later.
It had been fairly emotionally heavy going, thought Renji. Kirihara had stammered out a speech about how much he was going to miss his tennis senpais, their little first year ace Akimoto had thanked them all for their advice and help, and Yukimura had made a rather sentimental speech about how much he was going to miss Rikkai.
Renji kept having to remind himself that three of the team didn't know that he and Niou were an item, and that therefore he shouldn't let himself act like they were. Niou draped an arm around his shoulders at one point, in the same casual easy way he'd always done with Yagyuu, and that gave Renji an odd mix of possessive joy and antsy concern.
Eventually Niou pulled at Renji's elbow, in a clear indication of wanting some time to talk alone. They snuck out of the dojo while Sanada and Kirihara were doing a silly kendo-ish playfight with brooms; most of the team were distracted enough not to notice.
There was a little pond further into the enclosure, just around the corner of the dojo. Renji was very aware that they'd be missed very soon. Someone might come looking for them; maybe Yukimura or Yagyuu would make an excuse that would give them a little extra time.
He took Niou's hand anyway, as they sat by the edge of the pond.
"Feeling maudlin?" asked Niou, leaning against him.
"A little." Renji looked up into the sky; the moon was low on the horizon and tinged with yellow. "It's the end of an era, so I think it's permitted."
"Mm. I suppose so."
Renji turned his head. Niou's face was especially washed-out in the moonlight, even his eyes and lips bleached so that he looked ghost-like and eerie. He lifted his free hand to Niou's cheek, relieved to find it warm to the touch.
Niou smiled at him slyly in response and Renji decided he didn't mind that much if they got caught. They kissed until they heard the dojo door slide open and the sound of footsteps clattering onto the walkway outside.
"I guess we've been missed," said Niou, with a sigh.
I guess so." Niou's hair was even more ruffled than usual, and Renji smoothed his fringe back into place gently. "It's going to be strange, living somewhere else. Not seeing these people all the time."
"Freedom. Challenge. New adventures," countered Niou, and he took Renji's hand. "You're thinking of it as an ending, aren't you?"
"As opposed to being just another phase of the game? I suppose so."
"Another phase, pfft." Niou squeezed his hand. "It's an entirely different game. All those new rules to learn, all those new strategies to internalise. All that new data for you to drink up. You're going to be too busy to be sad."
"Ha."
"C'mon, enough moping." Niou stood up, and pulled Renji to his feet. "Let's go be sentimental idiots for a bit. We can start being grown-up and responsible tomorrow."
Renji glanced up at the moon again, and Niou followed his look.
"You know it'll be the same moon in Tokyo. And in Kyoto. You don't need to memorise it, you know. It's not going anywhere."
"But we are, and I want to remember this moment. Alone, with you, with the whole world ahead of us."
Niou grinned, and tipped his head to one side. "Such a romantic."
"One of us should be. Alright, I'm done now, you win."
"Please." Niou's grin softened, and he leaned up against Renji lightly for a moment. "Our game has never been about victory. Let's call it a permanent draw, shall we?"
They walked back towards the dojo together, side-by-side, fingers brushing each other but not linked.
A permanent draw. Go discouraged draws; they were considered inelegant, and usually only came about through cycles of repeated plays. Even then, there were rules to prevent it; sometimes, it was better to pass than to risk bringing about a stalemate.
Renji weighed up the thought, and then dismissed it. A draw might be inelegant in Go, but it reflected balance and equality, not futility. Niou was right. Playing to win shouldn't be the point; it shouldn't be a relentless drive for points and territory. In fact, the important thing wasn't really the game at all. It was the opponent.
Renji grinned. It was certainly going to be a challenge. But more importantly, it was going to be fun.
