He really shouldn't be here.
Looking over at Ryuji, chatting away with Chizuro while the rest of the team warmed up, Taichi sighed. How did he get into this situation? After the show, the plan was to stay up late with Yamato, play video games, negatively influence Takeru with a beer or two and pass out on the couch. He barely remembered Ryuji's text.
Need a bro date for the girl's game 2morrow. U in?
By the time he saw his phone Takeru was puking his guts out, Yamato went full mother hen mode in the bathroom with water and aspirin and somehow Daisuke was in the living room doing flips off the couch. When did he get there? With the disastrous state of his apartment, Taichi completely forgot about Ryuji's "bro date" request. Unfortunately for him, if you don't tell Ryuji no, he assumes the answer is yes.
Fast forward to 6 am, oh god who is pounding on that door? Or was the pounding in his head? Begrudgingly crawling out of bed, Taichi rubbed his eyes and groaned. Blurred vision restoring, he nearly tripped over tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, also known as Takeru and Daisuke. They were sprawled out on the living room floor in what can only be described as the most uncomfortable positions humanly possible. Is that Daisuke's foot Takeru is cuddling with? Taichi swears they started out on the couch.
Carefully stepping over the two boys he headed toward the noise. The incessant pounding never ceased, how did it not wake Yamato up? Opening the door Taichi was ready to punch whoever was on the other side. He was met with Ryuji, a bright smile on his face and coffees in his hands.
"Woah dude, you look like hell. What happened last night?" He blurted out.
Taichi gritted his teeth. "Why are you here?"
"The game. We're going. Glad I brought these." He held up the coffee cups. "It looks like you really need it!"
"I'm not going" was Taichi's only response. He went to slam the door, but Ryuji's damn foot blocked the way.
"Nah, you're going man, I need ya! How else will I get the balls to talk to Chizuro?" Ryuji urged with his all-too-chirpy attitude.
Glaring, Taichi swiped the first cup from Ryuji. He chugged the bitter liquid down and with a sigh he reached for the second cup. "If you want me to go I'm gonna need that." He growled.
Chuckling Ryuji handed him the cup with a simple "Deal. Now go get ready!"
So here he was: nursing a terrible hangover, leaning way too much on the chain fence for support, watching Ryuji shamelessly flirt with a girl and really hoping a certain someone won't notice his presence. Thankfully, she was too busy running warm up drills to even look at the stands and if she did look over, hopefully his disguise in the form of a hoodie and sunglasses would protect his identity.
With the sound of a whistle, both teams started lining up. Ryuji and Taichi headed up the stands and sat down. Taking a sip of his third cup of coffee, this one being the equivalent of dirt due to the concession stand he bought it from, Taichi decided to ditch the sunglasses and try to enjoy the game. It is a football game after all and maybe watching both teams play could take his mind off a certain defender sporting his home jersey.
Immediately they took control of the ball, passing it back and forth in zig-zag motions, until finally reaching the goal. With a quick flick of the ankle, the striker kicked the ball in the upper right corner of the net. By halftime the score was 2-0. Taichi was amazed at how well the team moved. The guys could learn a thing or two. His eyes wandered toward where #15 was grabbing some water. She was a beast on the field. No wonder she started as defender, if the ball were to come anywhere near her she made sure it didn't pass. Taichi wasn't sure the goalie even got the chance to touch the ball this half.
A smack on his back brought Taich back to reality. He looked over at a smiling Ryuji.
"Something tells me you don't regret me dragging you out here on our only Saturday off," he said with a wink.
Rolling his eyes, in an attempt to take away from his tinted cheeks, Taichi snorted. "Football is football. As far as I'm concerned you still owe me."
Ryuji gave him a knowing look. "Whatever you say dude."
Shifting uncomfortably, Taichi turned toward the field and watched the girls line up. Taking a sip of his coffee, he scoped the players for a certain brunette. He was met with green eyes and a bright smirk. Skipping into her position, she waved, quite obnoxiously, to him. He tried to ignore the fact that he had been caught, but turning he saw Ryuji waving back. Quickly grabbing his arm, he scanned the area to see if anyone had noticed the interaction. Thankfully, being a Saturday morning game, the stands were pretty bare. Taichi decided to ignore the snickering from beside him as he focused on the field. The whistling of the referee indicated the start of the second half.
As Taichi watched the game, he thought about all the relationships in his life. First, there was the longest-standing couple of Yamato and Sora. They've had their fair share of fights, and Taichi was the expert witness to most of them, but at the end of the day they always worked it out. Then, there was the "perfect" couple of Hikari and Takeru. The older destined always knew they would end up together, so it was no surprise when they announced their relationship almost a year ago. Takeru had been so terrified of Taichi's impending doom that he was literally shaking. It made Taichi laugh. Despite being so new, he looked up to them as a couple. They had a maturity to them that even Yamato and Sora couldn't hold up to. Then there was Mimi and Koushiro. That was quite a shock. They were both complete opposites in personality, but maybe that's how they ended up together. Honestly, Taichi thinks Mimi marched into Koushiro's office and declared their relationship status before he had a chance to veto, not that he would veto. Koushiro is 99% logic and 1% feelings, but that 1% has always had a soft spot for Mimi. Taichi didn't spend time with Miyako or Ken often, but he figured their relationship mirrored Koushiro and Mimi's. Miyako and Mimi are eerily similar and no man could actually hold dominance in a relationship with them. He really couldn't form an opinion on Jou's relationship either. He never met the girl and with medical school studies, Jou was a hard guy to keep up with.
Taichi never felt alone nor was he ever jealous of the relationships in his life. Heck, he was friends with everyone and those friendships filled his heart to the brim. But now, here, watching a girl he's become uncharacteristically smitten for, he felt like he was missing out on something. Deep in his own thoughts, he barely noticed the whistle signaling the end of the game. As the teams lined up to bow, he looked up at the scoreboard. 5-1. Dang, the girl's team is not one to be messed with.
Ryuji quickly interrupted his thoughts. "C'mon bro, let's go congratulate them! I'll need some back up talking to Chizuro."
Rolling his eyes, Taichi slowly stood up from the stands and put his sunglasses back on. He was hoping the shades would conceal his utter embarrassment when Yuzuki inevitably walked over to say hello. Taichi soon learned that was wishful thinking. At the bottom of the stands stood both Yuzuki and Chizuro, gym bags in their hands and smiles on their faces. Ryuji, giddy as ever, quickly skipped the last two steps and headed right over to greet Chizuro. Taichi watched as they animatedly talked about the game. Thinking that Ryuji definitely did not need his help, Taichi made his way over to the brunette waiting patiently with a bright smile on her face.
"Your one day off and you still managed to come to a morning football game. Are you crazy?" She giggled at her own joke and leaned over the fence.
Taichi hoped the shades hid his blush. "Well I can honestly say that wasn't the plan last night, but when a Ryuji-shaped alarm woke me up this morning, I didn't have much of a choice." Feeling the start of an awkward lull in conversation he quickly replied. "Great game though. I didn't realize how talented the girl's team was. We should do a scrimmage sometime."
At his comment she looked down at her feet then whispered "We as in our teams or we as you and me?"
Taichi swears he saw a small blush on her face, which only made his own cheeks darken more. Suddenly his shoes seemed incredibly interesting. Looking down he responded "I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to just us." with a smirk he continued "I am the best striker on my team though, so you have your work cutout for you."
Giggling she playfully punched his arm "Did you watch the game I just played? Because I believe it is you who has their work cut out for them."
Holding his arm in fake pain, Taichi looked around and noticed the field had been emptied, and Ryuji was missing. He should have expected that.
With a sigh, he looked at Yuzuki. "So, by the looks of it, I've been ditched. Need me to walk you home?"
He noticed an emotion cross her face, it almost seemed like fear, but was quickly replaced by her bright smile. "That's ok. I need to go shower and then I have a few errands to run before heading home." Looking him over she commented "Plus, it looks like you could use a nap."
Giving her a playful glare he responded "Hey now! Don't be rude. I could very easily cancel our date you know!"
Looking him right in the eyes, she took his hand and leaned in. Reaching towards his ear she whispered "You wouldn't do that. Something tells me you wanna go out as much as I do."
Before Taichi could react, she quickly let go of his hand and turned to walk away. Spinning back around one more time she blew a kiss and yelled "I'll see you in a week!" before running toward the locker rooms.
Mouth hanging open, Taichi was relieved that nobody was around to witness his utter lack of composure. Turning away from the field, he gradually walked home, hoping that Yamato was awake and making breakfast.
