The coaching staff decided it best to ignore the events of the previous day, and make a fresh start. Today,Toa met a few players at a time on the actual field, as the coach felt he just inspired confrontation in the meeting room. Coach Imawano was usually nearby, keeping an eye on him. Currently, Toa was meeting with Amami, Takami, Brooklyn, and Kawanaka. He had just explained how to verify orders from the bench using signals, so they wouldn't misinterpret orders. As he spoke, he noticed that Amami and Kawanaka had averted their eyes from his bruised face, which he appreciated. Takami(,) on the other hand, refused to break eye contact. He did not appreciate that. Brooklyn was just looking at a point over his left shoulder, most likely making an effort not to stare. After he had finished explaining, he decided to let them try the new signs he and the other members of the coaching staff had come up with. Kawanaka looked a bit discontented with his instructions.
"Is there a problem Kawanaka?" he asked carefully. No need to antagonize him and get a repeat of yesterday's performance.
"No" Kawanaka said. "I just don't see how this is your job. Any other coach could have taught us these signs. I thought you were just here to teach us teamwork," he said with a bit of detectable sarcasm.
"You're right" Toa said. "I should be helping you with teamwork". At this point, he felt safe enough to mess with them a bit. "We'll start with teambuilding exercises". At this, Kawanaka started to look a bit horrified. "Let's start with some trust falls. Amami with Brooklyn, and Takami with Kawanaka". Amami looked like he would rather fall backwards into a wood chipper. After gauging the varied looks of disgust on their faces, Toa continued, "Or we could practice signs. I will be so kind as to let you choose the activity you would prefer".
After they had unanimously decided to practice signs, Toa decided to give them some space, and retired to the dugout to sit down for a minute. Just as he sat down, he heard someone else join him. "What do you want, Takami?" he asked.
"I just wanted to know how you were holding up" he answered, glancing over his face again.
Toa had had just about enough of that. "Anything you find interesting?" He asked, challengingly. Takami refused to take the bait.
"That looks painful" he said simply. Toa didn't respond. He didn't want to get into this again. The confrontation was over, the coach had made Thomas apologize, he had taken some painkillers, and put the whole thing behind him. In his books, that was history. It was time to move on.
Beside him, Takami sighed. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to(,)" he said "But just know that nobody thinks anything less of you because of it". At this Toa glanced over to Takami, and maintained eye contact. "Most of us realize that you can't go ten minutes without insulting anyone, and that it isn't personal" he continued, keeping eye contact. "We'll be breaking for winter next week, and you won't see much of anyone until spring practice begins. It would be nice if you could at least make nice with a few people before we all go our separate ways".
Toa rested his head against the back of the bench, staring up at the ceiling. He really didn't want to be having this conversation. He gave a noncommittal grunt, which seemed to satisfy Takami, as he got up and left without another word.
Over the next week, Toa made a bit of progress with the team. Progress meaning he didn't antagonize anyone into resorting to violence again. A few of the batters left from (from?)Brooklyn's old group still held out, but for the most part, he had the team's grudging cooperation. Nobody tried to talk to him, nicely or otherwise, which was perfectly fine with Toa. He intended to get the next ten months over with so he could move on.
On the last day before the break?, the coaching staff had planned one last meeting. The remaining team members who hadn't bothered to stick around for postseason practice were required to show up, so the meeting room was more packed than Toa was used to. As Coach Imawano thanked the team for all of their hard work, he felt a presence next to him. Glancing over, he was unsurprised to find Takami invading his personal space.
"What are you doing over the break?" he asked softly, completely ignoring the coach.
"Getting settled, mostly" Toa muttered. He hadn't had much time to get moved in due to his tight work schedule.
"You don't know too many people around here, do you?" Takami asked. Toa's only reply was an eye roll and a sigh. At this, Takami spoke again "If you want, you can come over to my place for New Year's Eve. If you don't have any plans, that is" he offered.
Toa shrugged. "I'm not sure what I'll be doing then." He was going to flat out decline the invitation, but when faced with Takami's perky expression, he merely stated "I'll think about it". Takami seemed satisfied with that answer, and went back to pretending to listen to the coach's speech. He stood by Toa with their shoulders touching for the rest of the meeting.
Over the next few weeks, Toa didn't really hear from anyone on the team. Every once in awhile, he would receive a request from the coach to complete some minor task, but none of them took longer than a day to complete. He mostly filled his time with gambling. He always took awhile to find new places to gamble, usually illegally. Gambling in legal establishments never quite gave him the thrill that gambling in seedy little illegal casinos did. He never really gave Takami's invitation any thought until evening on New Year's Eve.
He had been lounging around his apartment for the past few days, and needed to get out. He didn't feel like trudging through the snow to go out, but he had a serious case of cabin fever. Just when he was considering calling Big Mama, he remembered Takami's invitation. That might not be too bad of an idea. Takami wasn't unbearable to be around, and there would most likely be a few other people at his apartment to serve as a buffer between the two of them. Making up his mind, he he flipped his phone open, and scrolled to Takami's contact number. Pushing the doubts out of his mind, he pressed the dial button. After a few rings he picked up.
"Hello?" The other man answered.
"Is the invitation still open?" Toa asked, not bothering to declare himself.
"Sure" Takami said. "Come over around seven?".
Conversation over, Toa hung up first. Glancing at the clock, he decided to start getting ready. He pulled on a button up shirt and nice pants that may have been a bit too tight for good taste. But they were warm, and they may go to a shrine that evening. With that in mind, he tucked a scarf into his coat pocket, and headed out.
Toa decided it was a good thing he left when he did. Traffic was a nightmare. He got to Takami's building just as the clock struck seven. When he got up to the front doors, he pressed the call button on Takami's floor. Without even answering, Takami buzzed him up. He must have company, then. That was a relief.
Ignoring the stairs, Toa got on the elevator, and shifted on his way up to Takami's floor. After knocking on his door, he only had to wait all of fifteen seconds before the door swung open, and Takami filled the doorway.
"Come on in" he said a bit breathlessly, ushering Toa into his apartment. After handing his coat over to Takami, Toa looked around. There was nobody else there. Toa suddenly felt very stupid. He would be spending New Year's Eve alone with Takami Itsuki. May god have mercy on his soul.
Itsuki stood there dumbly for a minute. He hadn't really thought that Tokuchi would come. He wasn't quite sure what to do at this point. Tokuchi looked just as lost as he did. Suddenly, he got an idea. "Want to watch a movie, and then go to the shrine?" he asked.
"What kind of movie?" Tokuchi asked, seeming as indifferent as ever.
"Come over and we'll pick one" he retorted, leading them over to his VHS collection. After a few minutes of perusing his collection, they settled on Die Hard. Christmas had come and gone, but it still fit the holiday mood. Takami felt generous, so he got a bottle of his favorite whiskey, and sat it next to the pizza he had heated up. This was shaping up to be an uneventful evening.
About half an hour into the movie, they were a quarter of the way through the bottle. Neither of them spoke to the other. They were both comfortable sitting on Itsuki's tiny couch. After a while, Tokuchi stopped cramming himself against the arm of the sofa in an attempt to avoid contact with Itsuki. After another half hour and another quarter of the bottle, Tokuchi let himself lean against him ever so slightly. While Itsuki could appreciate the physical contact, he was starting to feel a bit too warm. He needed to move away from Tokuchi, bit that would mean breaking contact. Just as he was about to get up and turn down the thermostat, Tokuchi looked over and caught his eyes.
Before Takami could open his mouth to say anything, Tokuchi slowly approached him before pressing their mouths together. Takami sat there in shock for a heartbeat, then let his eyes slip shut as he melted against Tokuchi. Tokuchi moved closer, curled his legs under himself, and wrapped one arm around Itsuki's neck and the other around his waist, holding their bodies together. Itsuki slipped his hands around Tokuchi's waist, and opened his mouth, trying to deepen the kiss. Tokuchi responded well, flicking his tongue against his own. After another minute, Tokuchi broke the kiss, looking somewhat shocked at his own actions. Itsuki stared right back at him, not quite sure what to say. Slowly, Tokuchi, turned towards the television, and broke eye contact. They sat there quietly watching the last half of the movie while staying close.
ooooooooooooo
I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. School and work have finally caught up with me, so updates may be a bit more sporadic for a while. I will do my best to keep updating as regularly as possible.