The next day, Itsuki was sitting in his apartment trying not to think about his stupidity the day before. He had gotten so caught up in the elation of the win, relief that the bat didn't kill Toa, and amazement at seeing Tokuchi in action that he had acted impulsively. To be fair, Tokuchi hadn't stopped him. At least not after he almost broke his nose. He had to admit to himself though, it was kind of hot that he would just try to fight him acting on reflex alone. Itsuki sighed to himself. He really did need to stop this thing with Tokuchi. They hung out too much, and they had already made out twice. This wasn't going anywhere good. Just then, he got a text. Tokuchi, of course, saying they needed to talk.

That was it then. Nothing ever went well when someone vaguely texts you, telling you that you need to talk. Itsuki heaved another sigh, and texted Tokuchi back, asking for a time and place. Tokuchi of course, requested neutral ground. The coffee shop they had gone to on his first day with the team. Itsuki grabbed his keys and wallet, gave his apartment a once over, then walked out the door.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting in the coffee shop, waiting for Tokuchi to show up. Of course the bastard would set up a time, make him anxious, and keep him waiting. He was probably going to tell him to stay the hell away from him from now on. For one reason or another, that hurt. While he definitely had come to terms with the fact that he was attracted to Tokuchi, he had also come to like him. He was intelligent, had a sense of humor, and was overall really interesting. He had his flaws, and a lot of them, but Itsuki honestly considered him a friend at this point. The events of the past season seemed so far away now, and any lingering animosity had taken a backseat sometime since the beginning of the season.

Before Itsuki could ruminate more, he heard the chime of the bell on the door ring. It took every ounce of his self-control to not turn around while Tokuchi ordered. Before too long, Tokuchi sat himself beside Itsuki. Itsuki did his best to not look anxious, but it became apparent that he was doing a piss poor job. Tokuchi sat his drink down beside himself and leaned back on his chair, crossing his legs.

"I'm guessing you know why I texted you, right?" he asked.

"I'm not stupid," Itsuki responded, trying not to cringe at how rude he sounded.

"Thankfully." Tokuchi responded. Itsuki made to interrupt, but Tokuchi held up a hand, silencing him. "Listen," he said. "I don't mind being around you, and that's a lot for me. You aren't all that annoying, and you're able to hold your own against me. I don't find many people that can do that. I don't want whatever went on last night to mess with that."

Itsuki quickly interrupted. "Neither do I," he managed to say before Tokuchi interrupted him.

"Good. So how about this: we stay friends, because that's what we are at this point," he said. "For now at least," he amended. Itsuki sat quietly in relief. So Tokuchi really wasn't interested after all. Not surprising. But it was a relief that he thought they were friends. He honestly felt a bit warmer when he heard that. Tokuchi wasn't done talking yet, as he cleared his throat to get Itsuki's attention and continued. "I wouldn't be opposed to continuing a physical relationship though. I've done it before. It's easier and less messy than a relationship, so everybody will be happy," he finished. Itsuki sat there for a minute staring at Tokuchi. He wanted to get physical with him. He felt a bit of a tingle in the pit of his stomach when he heard that.

Toa let his offer absorb for a second. Takami looked a bit shocked at his suggestion, and he didn't blame him. Had it been the other way around, he would probably feel the same way. Before long, the other man seemed to snap out of it, as he took a deep breath and let it out. "I'd be fine with that," he finally said. Toa half smiled then stood up.

"Good. I'm glad that's resolved then," he said, then walked over towards the door. As expected, Takami followed after him, managing to hit his shin against the corner of a low table on his way. Toa ignored the cursing from the other man, then paused at the door. "You should probably get to practice," he said, looking Takami up and down. "You wouldn't want Imawano to get on your ass, would you?"

Takami snorted then spoke up. "So you're going to basically become my friend with benefits, then ditch me?" he asked.

Toa tilted his head to the side a bit, and raised an eyebrow at the other man. "You really want to do something here? In front of a city street full of people?"

Tamaki looked around reluctantly, and then shook his head. "Ah, probably not. I doubt you need the media attention right now,"

Toa blinked at him slowly. "I probably don't. They're lambasting me enough for going turncoat. I really don't need any more ammunition against me,"

"As if you care about that," Takami said, smiling wryly at him.

"I really don't," Tokuchi said before walking past Takami. "But you probably should," he said quietly as he walked away, leaving Itsuki to wonder what he meant by that.

Itsuki couldn't concentrate. For as long as he could remember, he was able to clear his mind of whatever was distracting him when he was playing baseball, but today, he was just out of it. The other players were starting to notice. The batting coach looked worried. Itsuki quickly brushed him off, saying something about how his shoulder felt stiff. That was the wrong thing to say in that moment, however, as he was promptly sent inside for a massage. Just one of the many amenities that made being a pro worth it. Usually. Today however, he just couldn't wait to leave.

Finally, the massage therapist was done with him. Apparently his shoulder was full of knots. Not surprising, considering the stress he was putting his body under. On his way out, he stopped. He probably had time to swing by Tokuchi's office. He thought about that for a second. Should he keep calling him Tokuchi? Or were they on a first name basis? That would probably need to be figured out. Before he got close to his destination, he ducked into a bathroom to check his appearance. Goddammit, he was acting like a teenager. He would still primp a bit anyway. Once inside, he combed his fingers through his hair. It was getting a bit long. It was slightly past his shoulders now. Next, he straightened his button up shirt and adjusted his slacks. He adjusted his piercings briefly, then headed out, intending to stop getting distracted.

A few minutes later, he was standing in the doorway of Tokuchi's office. Tokuchi seemed content to ignore him as he filled out some papers on his desk. Itsuki quickly ran out of patience, and cleared his throat, forcing Tokuchi to acknowledge him. "What are you up to?" he asked once Tokuchi finally looked up.

"Not much. Just filling out an incident report for the game the other day," he stated. Oh yeah. That was still a thing that happened. "I'm just about done," Tokuchi said, nodding his head over at the folding chair Itsuki had used when he was helping Tokuchi with his database. That felt like years ago now. After about ten minutes of watching Tokuchi fill out paperwork, Itsuki was startled out of the trance he's worked himself into when Tokuchi stood up.

"I'm leaving now," Tokuchi said. When he saw Itsuki look up at him hopefully, he gave him a little half smile. "You're welcome to join me if you so choose," he offered. Itsuki stood up and followed Tokuchi out of the room. "So how do you want to do this?" Tokuchi asked as they walked.

Itsuki was thrown for a loop. He knew Tokuchi knew what he was there for, but he didn't think they'd get right to it. The newness of the situation didn't help. Tokuchi took his silence for hesitation, and stopped walking. "We can wait if you want," he said. "We don't have to start right away."

Itsuki brushed a long strand of hair behind his ear and nodded out towards the parking lot. "I'm down for anything," he said, bracing himself. He'd been with both men and women before. He knew what to expect. Tokuchi glanced over at him skeptically.

"Whatever you say," he said. Once they were outside, Tokuchi stopped him. "How do you want to do this?" he asked. "My place, your place, or..." Tokuchi began before he faded off. By "or" he probably meant a hotel. That was a bit too impersonal.

"My place is fine," Itsuki said. "Do you want to go together or separate?"

"Separate," Tokuchi said. "I have some things I need to take care of later on."

"Gambling?" Itsuki asked, unsurprised.

"Mhm," Tokuchi confirmed. With that, they went their separate ways, and soon they met up again in front of Itsuki's building. They silently rode the elevator up to his floor and walked over to his door. "Sorry for the mess," Itsuki said before opening the door and stepping in, knowing full well his apartment looked fine. Tokuchi followed him closely, and shut the door behind him. They stood there for a minute, Tokuchi absentmindedly looking around, probably looking down on his plain but cozy living room. Itsuki on the other hand, was starting to feel it. He could practically hear his pulse, and he already felt the heat in his chest.

Itsuki finally tired of standing there, and stepped closer to Toa, who placed his hands on Itsuki's shoulders, looking him right in the eyes. They were the exact same height. He hadn't really thought of that before. Before he could over think things more, Tokuchi closed the distance between them and kissed him softly. Itsuki inhaled slowly as he let himself be kissed. He was a bit surprised. He had expected Tokuchi to be a bit more aggressive. Itsuki quickly cleared his mind, and slowly kissed Tokuchi back, wrapping his arms around Tokuchi's waist. They stood like that for a minute. Itsuki let himself enjoy the warmth of their closeness, along with the slowly rising heat from his core. Before he could deepen the kiss further, Tokuchi leaned back and wiped his mouth off on his hand. Itsuki should have been offended, but he was still so absorbed in the heat of the moment that he didn't care.

Tokuchi glanced around the apartment for a couple of seconds before Itsuki realized what he was doing. He was looking for the bedroom. He inhaled sharply at the implication, made a decision, and went towards his bedroom, Tokuchi following closely behind him. He opened the door, but didn't have time to stand there like a fool, as Tokuchi was right on him, his hands roaming over his chest, up into his hair, and back down again. He must have liked what he felt, as he quickly started to unbutton Itsuki's shirt and pull it off his shoulders. Itsuki quickly got with the program, too, and began unbuttoning Tokuchi's shirt as well, slowly exposing his chest. He didn't look nearly as strong as he was. He pushed the thought from his mind as he began to run his hands over Tokuchi, before sliding them down to his belt. Tokuchi fisted one hand in his hair, when he yanked his head over to the side before nipping and sucking at his neck.

"Don't leave any marks," Itsuki managed to gasp out as Tokuchi ran his nails lightly down his back.

Finally, Itsuki pushed Tokuchi away so he could concentrate on getting his pants and shoes off. Like a fool, he'd worn his shoes into his bedroom. Then again, it wasn't like he was in his right mind at the moment. Looking over, he confirmed that Tokuchi was doing the same. After a few seconds, they were both standing there in their underwear, wondering how to proceed.

Toa was a bit thrown. He's had male lovers of course, but they had never done anything like this to him before. He could feel a flush creeping up his chest, and his mind was in disarray. He couldn't concentrate on schooling his expression, and he was breathing heavily. All he wanted to do was get closer to Itsuki Takami. He had no ulterior motive, and he wasn't rushing to get this over with so he could gamble. Any other time, this probably would have been concerning to him. But for now, he was fine with losing a bit of control over himself.

Toa approached Takami slowly. The other man had seated himself on the bed, leaning back a bit to brace himself on his elbows, legs partially spread just enough so he could lean down and kiss him. It didn't last long however, as Takami quickly laid down, bringing Toa with him, then rolled them over so that Toa was on bottom with Takami pinning his wrists. That wouldn't do. Toa quickly jerked his arms up over his head, destabilizing Takami, and then jerked his hips to the side, using the momentum to roll them over, reversing their positions. Toa sat there, straddling him with his hands braced on either side of his head.

"Seriously?" Takami asked.

Toa tilted his head a bit, smirked, and slid his hand down the front of Takami's briefs, lightly grazing his length. Takami stifled a gasp, and grabbed Toa's hand. He had no intention of turning this into a quickie hand job scenario.

"Let's speed this up a bit," he murmured, then grabbed Toa, kissing him soundly. He briefly dipped his fingers into the waistband of Toa's underwear, making him tense up, but quickly withdrew them. Takami then shoved Toa off to the side, surprising him, so he could dig around in the drawer of his bedside table until he evidently found what he was looking for. Before long, Takami had brought out a condom and lubricant. He looked at Toa with smoldering eyes, and with all the dignity he could muster said "Whoever gets the condom first gets to top," then threw it over his shoulder.

The ensuing scramble off the bed left Toa with a bruised knee and Takami with sore ribs, by the look of it. Toa lunged into the corner of the room, only to have Takami grab him by the ankle and drag him back, giving him a small rug burn. Toa retaliated by kicking Takami firmly in the gut, momentarily winding him while he threw his dignity to the wind and searched for the missing condom. Takami may be stronger, but he was more agile. Finally, he saw the telltale shine of the wrapper. Just as he was about to grab it, strong arms wrapped around his waist, and tossed him aside. Toa took the brunt of the fall on his right elbow. He was sore, rapidly tiring, and having the time of his life. He got to fight someone and have sex in the same evening. He would probably cap it off later by winning several hundred thousand yen from some hapless loser while enjoying a nice drink. God, but if he didn't live a good life.

Toa quickly caught up to Takami, darting past him, and grabbed the condom, grinning up at Takami. Takami looked down at him with dull eyes, as if accepting his fate. "Well then," he said.

A while later, they both laid there, staring at the ceiling. This was always the awkward part. Toa was never sure of whether to stay for a bit and cuddle, or leave right away. He honestly couldn't see himself cuddling with Takami just yet. Luckily, he didn't have to worry. They both lay there for a couple of minutes before Takami broke the silence.

"You alright?" he asked, looking over at him slowly.

"Yeah. You?" Toa asked.

"Yeah," Takami replied.

After a few more minutes, Takami seemed to come back to himself. "You can go ahead if you want" Takami said. "I know you've got other plans tonight".

Toa felt a bit of relief. He'd worried that Takami would have asked him to stay the night. That would have made things weird. Or at least weirder than they already were. "Thanks," he said. "We should do that again soon." After he dressed, Takami grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him one last time before seeing him out. On his way to his favorite seedy little casino, Toa couldn't help but notice that his feeling of satisfaction had quickly been replaced by a sense of confusion. That threw Toa for a loop. Confusion was one sensation he could comfortably say he was unfamiliar with.

Hello everybody! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just to let you know, I do have a full version on AO3. If you're above 18, feel free to check it out!