[log]
Subject: Seiichi needs a friend (and a kick in the ass ♥)
Characters: Sengoku Kiyosumi, Yukimura Seiichi
Location: Sengoku's bathroom
Time: Set after this post in Seiichi's journal
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Seiichi goes to have a chat with Sengoku about what happened with the match with Atobe, and it turns into... a few wires crossing. Note: if you're not familiar with them, this is what you'll find on the inside of the fly of Lucky brand jeans. :)
Niou’s words and the condition of Seiichi’s win weighed heavy on his mind as he approached Sengoku’s room. It was no use talking to any of his former teammates about it - especially after they had just witnessed such a grand victory at his hands. He paused at the door for a moment before knocking lightly and leaning in the doorframe. He really should have known better than going to Sengoku, anyway - this was probably going to land him a starring role in Sengoku’s first great novel.
There was no response, so Seiichi tested the doorknob - it was not locked. He ventured into the room, closing the door behind him, and called out, “Lucky? You here?”
Sengoku had responded to Seiichi’s Livejournal post right before he was hopping into the shower, and he figured that he’d have just enough time to do so and get dressed before Seiichi came. Unfortunately it seemed like he had just barely miscalculated the time it would take for Seiichi to come to his room, and he was able to at the very least slip on a pair of jeans before opening the door of the bathroom. “Hey,” he greeted with a smile and a slight wave. “You might as well come in - I just got out of the shower.” He disappeared into the bathroom, using a small hand towel to wring out some of the water from his hair. The jeans were sticking uncomfortably to his legs, but that’s what he got for not drying off properly before putting on clothing.
Seiichi’s eyes followed Sengoku’s back... and backside... through the bathroom door. Okay, how long has it actually been? He started counting back in his mind how many months... years it had been since he was with someone. Yes, Sengoku was his type, sure, but given how things were with Genichirou it was completely not appropriate for him to be...
Okay. No. This was stupid.
Squaring his shoulders, Seiichi followed Sengoku into the bathroom, leaning on the counter once inside. “I’m sorry - I came straight over... I didn’t think to give you a little bit of time.”
Turning his head to look at Seiichi, Sengoku gave him a small smile, rubbing the towel over his hair. “Nah, it’s alright - I should’ve specified that I would be a minute. I misjudged how long it would take me to shower.” Which, really, wasn’t that long at all considering; he at least had come out of the shower by the time Seiichi came to his room, even if he didn’t really make it into much clothing before he had the other in the bathroom with him. “It sounds like you have a bit on your mind,” he said after a moment, looking at Seiichi in the mirror.
Seiichi met Sengoku’s eyes in the mirror, nodding once. “I do and I don’t know who to talk to about it - so you’re the lucky one that gets to hear all my problems.” The pun was not intended, but it made Seiichi chuckle to himself all the same. “You know, I pulled off that win by the skin of my teeth. It’s almost frustrating that everyone was excited to see it. I was a few inches away from losing.” He motioned with his hands the approximate distance of where the last ball Atobe hit impacted with the net and the top of the net itself.
A chuckle made its way out of Sengoku’s lips at the horrible pun - despite clinging quite desperately to his “lucky” tag line, sometimes he wondered if he dug himself a hole of which he’d never dig himself out of thanks go it. He nodded once as Seiichi spoke, hanging the hand towel back on the rack beside the shower, and watched himself in the mirror as he ran his fingers through his hair to settle it nicely on his head. No matter how hard he tried, the cowlick would always persist. “I think you still had the leg up over him,” the redhead responded, turning around to settle his butt against the counter instead. His expression turned thoughtful. “His attitude was enough to make him lose, even if he wasn’t playing one of the best tennis players we have on board.”
“One of?” Seiichi tossed his head, resettling his hair. “Ore-sama is superior to all of you!” He made a motion that was meant to be Atobe’s insight - a clawed hand over his face. He doubted it was effective, like how his impression of Atobe was completely ineffective. Attitude was definitely a problem with Atobe, though, just as it was with Genichirou... and really all of them who had once competed together on the tennis circuit. It was only a select few of them that got out of the situation with a healthy relationship with tennis, and even then...
That was quite possibly one of the worse impressions of Atobe Sengoku had ever seen. Not that he could do much better - Sengoku wasn’t a big enough asshole to appropriately give character to Atobe. It didn’t stop him from laughing, though, and he shook his head. “He’s a jackass. Don’t let him get to you.” Sengoku smiled warmly, loosely folding his arms over his chest. “You played a really good game - it was a lot of fun to watch.”
With a half-hearted smile, Seiichi folded his arms loosely over his stomach. “What if I didn’t get that last return, though?” All the people whom he had rallied to come support him, they would all be let down. Once upon a time, he had a group of people who would follow him through the gates of hell itself... but would those people still be there when they got off the boat? Would they leave him the moment he dropped a point? As Niou had said, you did not know what you had until it was gone... until you realized how long it had been since the crowd was chanting your name, holding their breath for your rally, cheering wildly at your point.
Sengoku tilted his a head just a touch, quietly regarding Seiichi for a moment. It didn’t seem in his nature to be caught up in “what if”s... what was it about this particular situation that had him filled with doubt? Was it the fact he was playing a match against Atobe? Maybe Atobe didn’t have anything to do with it at all. He tossed ideas around in his head before he reached out to put a hand to Seiichi’s arm. “It’s silly to get caught up in ‘what if’s,” he said quietly with a smile. “You’ll run yourself around in circles if you let yourself.”
Naturally, Sengoku was right about that. Seiichi looked at him with a little smile, leaning a little closer so he could shove Sengoku’s shoulder with his own. It was hard to be upset about much of anything when that was thrown in your face; focus on what is rather than on what could be. “I come to you with this complex problem that I want to talk out and you just... resolve it like that. Now what am I supposed to do with my afternoon?”
With a warm chuckle, Sengoku bumped Seiichi’s shoulder in return. The friendship he was developing with Seiichi reminded him very much of the relationship between he and Minami - making small jabs at one another in a teasing manner, making light of a situation that was obviously bothering the other to want to talk about it in the first place. “That’s what I’m here for - to burst bubbles, and make it seem as though your problems really aren’t as bad as they seem.” He laughed a little, unfolding his arms, and pressing the heel of his palms on the countertop to hold his weight. “But I do understand the feeling - it was something similar I experienced that made me rehaul the way I approached tennis.”
“And then you dropped the sport like a sack of potatoes,” Seiichi pointed out helpfully, motioning with one hand that had been rested on his bicep. “Just like how I’m going to leave here and not give a crap about playing at that level anymore and be one of those sad retired teaching pros that teaches the beginning tennis players how to hit a groundstroke and wastes away slowly for lack of any good competition.” Which, of course, was a run-on sentence. Sometimes Seiichi spoke in run-on sentences.
Similarly, Sengoku lifted a hand off the counter to flourish in the air before resting it on the counter once more; he laughed and grinned wildly. “Hey, not all of us can have it together like some people, Tezuka - maybe Sanada.” Which wasn’t to say that Tezuka and Sanada didn’t have their share of problems, too - just outwardly, they were perhaps the most perfect people Sengoku had ever crossed paths with. He tilted his head to the side, resting his ear on his shoulder as he regarded Seiichi.
“Genichirou? Have it together?” Seiichi laughed lightly. “He doesn’t even understand what’s happening when I’m flirting with him. I mean, you saw what happened the other day when I kissed him, and I thought that was pretty blatant.” He made a larger motion with his hand, moving his fingers in a circle. “I mean, if I kissed you - that would get the point across to you, right? You would know what that meant without having to be prodded and ultimately tossed in the pool.”
A small laugh bubbled out of Sengoku. That day at the pool... not that Seiichi could talk. There was only so much googly eyes and suggestive words that Sengoku could take before he wanted to throw the both of them into the pool - just like what ultimately had happened. But he could understand the situation at the very least - he himself had experienced situations like that, though he had been much younger when they first arose. He remembered what it was like to develop feelings for someone, and not really knowing how to respond to them. “That... would get the point across, yes. I’d never say no to a kiss...~”
“Don’t start with that, now,” Seiichi teased. “It’s bad enough that you’re half naked and dripping wet.” Given the situation with the jeans and how snugly they were fitting Sengoku at the moment due to his inability to dry himself before getting dressed, evidently, “half-naked” may have been a loose estimate. “How does a starving writer afford Lucky brand jeans, anyway? Sugar momma?”
The story behind the Lucky brand jeans was interesting... but the long and short of it was that Minami bought them for him because he got a kick out of them. Simple as that. Sengoku laughed lightly. “Ah, I wish I could afford them on my own. They were a gift.” He would never wear another brand of jeans if he could get away with it - they fit him in all the right places, and the wash lightly accented the definition of the strong muscle in his legs. It was unfortunate that they were so expensive or else he would have pairs in every fit and wash.
The jeans certainly suited Sengoku, even if Seiichi wondered how he managed into them with wet skin. “It doesn’t look like there’s much room in there for you,” he said jokingly. The cut, the wash... they both brought out the definition in his legs. Seiichi would absolutely kill to get Genichirou into a pair of jeans that were cut as well as those.
Seiichi didn’t even know the best part. Sengoku’s smile turned into something more akin to a grin - perhaps a grin that was slightly suggestive, but still with the tone of harmless flirting. This was the true reason why he loved Lucky brand jeans. “That’s not even the best part, really. There’s a secret message hidden somewhere in the seams.”
“In the seams?” Now Seiichi was curious - how did one hide a secret message in the seams of clothing? “And how would I, a layman, find this secret message?”
“He~eh,” he drew out the noise, putting his palms flat against the cool surface of the counter, and once more letting his ear fall to his shoulder. He gave Seiichi a tiny quirk of a smile. “Well, it’s easily accessible so long as you know where to look...~”
Seiichi made a show of trying to get a look at Sengoku’s butt, though it was mostly obscured by the counter. He looked down, eyes scanning the inside seam of the leg until he reached the fly, glancing back at Sengoku through his lashes. “Maybe I’m not looking right,” he suggested softly.
As much as Sengoku hated to admit it to himself, it had been a really, really long time since he had shared physical intimacy with someone. He had a steady girlfriend for a few semesters in college, but that hadn’t really gone anywhere serious. Since then... there really had been no one. But Seiichi looking up at him through his lashes with such a soft tone... it was going to wreck havoc on him. That didn’t stop Sengoku from giving him a heavy lidded, lazy look in return - one that he knew made knees weak. Brown doe eyes were difficult to turn down. “You’re definitely on the right track,” he said quietly, the same quirk of a smile tugging at his lips.
Unfolding his arms, Seiichi hooked one finger into the front pocket of the jeans, tugging slightly. Nothing special about the pocket. “Mm... it doesn’t seem to be here, either,” he commented, shifting just a little bit closer to the other man. Things like smell - the smell of man and the smell of soap - and heat started to register. It had also been too long for that; the heat and the freshly showered man smell. Of course, no matter how pretty the eyes or how sweet the face, Seiichi’s mind was still on someone else.
Sengoku’s eyes wandered downward to where Seiichi’s finger was holding onto a pocket, remaining quiet as the other tugged. It was difficult to deny the warm feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach... the one that he knew was going to drag his mind completely down into the gutter were he not careful. Even knowing that, however, did not stop him from letting out another low sound from his throat in amusement. “You’re very close.”
It registered in Seiichi’s mind where Sengoku was going with all of this, and where he was going was certainly very inviting and might have even been welcome a few weeks ago. But it didn’t feel right flirting with him, bantering like this, teasing... not when it wouldn’t go anywhere and when Seiichi’s mind was elsewhere. He withdrew his hand, pushing off the counter and stepping away a pace. “I’m sorry - it’s not that you’re not very attractive, you are...” He started to say, trailing off mid thought.
And the moment was broken. Sengoku laughed a little, running a hand through his hair, and looking somewhat sheepish. “No - no, it’s okay, I understand entirely. Your mind is elsewhere.” It wouldn’t take a genius to know with whom Seiichi’s mind was - the tension between both Seiichi and Sanada had been so very obvious from the get go. The territory shouldn’t have really been crossed in the first place - Sengoku knew better. “Don’t worry about it. I’m... I was inviting it and shouldn’t have been.”
Seiichi leaned his back against the opposite wall, looking at Sengoku again. Why was it that he was perfectly capable of flirting with Sengoku but couldn’t get anywhere with Genichirou? He felt his heart beating in his throat and he had to look down as though his shoes were the most interesting thing in the world. “It’s not just my mind that’s elsewhere.” His voice was small - he was scared to say it aloud, lest he, himself hear his words. “I have feelings.” A pause. “For him,” to clarify.
Sengoku remained quiet for a long pause, watching Seiichi even as the gaze between them was broken. Seiichi’s demeanor was enough to tell Sengoku that the other had never truly admitted those words out loud, even if he presumed that Seiichi had at the very least done so internally. Finally, a smile graced his lips, and he moved a little closer to put a hand to Seiichi’s shoulder - this time for comfort. “Have you told him?”
No. Well, yes, sort of. No, not really. Seiichi frowned a little and looked at Sengoku. “Maybe.” He answered seriously, knowing exactly the reaction to expect from Sengoku - this was not a question that had room for anything other than a “yes” or “no” answer. He sighed. “No,” he admitted. “I mean, a thousand times yes, but no, never in a way he would understand.” Whatever that might be - this was the same man who thought giraffes were vicious, killer creatures. “I will tonight.”
It was just as Sengoku had suspected. Seiichi and Sanada - they were far from being the brightest bulbs in the box as far as romance went; at least toward one another. He wondered just how their partnership as captain and vice-captain would’ve fared - he felt bad for the Rikkai tennis club back then. “Good,” he said simply with a smile. “I think you’ll both be much happier if you do.” It didn’t solve his own plight, but if he could at least help with Seiichi’s... then all was right in the world for now.
“And I’m sorry for, ah...” Seiichi made a motion in the general direction of Sengoku’s crotch. “I mean...” He sighed. “Good luck with that. I am going to walk out of here before I embarrass myself any more than I already have, if that’s alright with you.”
With a laugh, Sengoku waved a hand. “Really, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.” I can handle it myself, he added inwardly with a bit of a long, suffering sigh. It was his own fault, really - but he could at the very least place some of the blame on Seiichi and his curiosity for Sengoku’s jeans.
“...Thanks, Lucky,” Seiichi said with a small smile. Now... now he had to get up the nerve to see Genichirou and to say what had been on his mind. That was no small feat, of course. Especially when he was also going to be asking Genichirou to pose nude. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best night for it, after all. Then again, if he waited any longer, they would be off the boat and Genichirou would go back to his job and his life and Seiichi wouldn’t have the opportunity again. Or... something. His expression reflected the troubled nature of his thoughts, but he went to the door of the bathroom. “I’ll see you around.”
Sengoku put a hand up as though to wave, though his expression turned a little coy... there was no reason why he couldn’t continue to at the very least flirt, right? “Of course - go get him, tiger.”
Seiichi clawed his hand again, offering a, “rawr,” over his shoulder before exiting the room.
Characters: Sengoku Kiyosumi, Yukimura Seiichi
Location: Sengoku's bathroom
Time: Set after this post in Seiichi's journal
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Seiichi goes to have a chat with Sengoku about what happened with the match with Atobe, and it turns into... a few wires crossing. Note: if you're not familiar with them, this is what you'll find on the inside of the fly of Lucky brand jeans. :)
Niou’s words and the condition of Seiichi’s win weighed heavy on his mind as he approached Sengoku’s room. It was no use talking to any of his former teammates about it - especially after they had just witnessed such a grand victory at his hands. He paused at the door for a moment before knocking lightly and leaning in the doorframe. He really should have known better than going to Sengoku, anyway - this was probably going to land him a starring role in Sengoku’s first great novel.
There was no response, so Seiichi tested the doorknob - it was not locked. He ventured into the room, closing the door behind him, and called out, “Lucky? You here?”
Sengoku had responded to Seiichi’s Livejournal post right before he was hopping into the shower, and he figured that he’d have just enough time to do so and get dressed before Seiichi came. Unfortunately it seemed like he had just barely miscalculated the time it would take for Seiichi to come to his room, and he was able to at the very least slip on a pair of jeans before opening the door of the bathroom. “Hey,” he greeted with a smile and a slight wave. “You might as well come in - I just got out of the shower.” He disappeared into the bathroom, using a small hand towel to wring out some of the water from his hair. The jeans were sticking uncomfortably to his legs, but that’s what he got for not drying off properly before putting on clothing.
Seiichi’s eyes followed Sengoku’s back... and backside... through the bathroom door. Okay, how long has it actually been? He started counting back in his mind how many months... years it had been since he was with someone. Yes, Sengoku was his type, sure, but given how things were with Genichirou it was completely not appropriate for him to be...
Okay. No. This was stupid.
Squaring his shoulders, Seiichi followed Sengoku into the bathroom, leaning on the counter once inside. “I’m sorry - I came straight over... I didn’t think to give you a little bit of time.”
Turning his head to look at Seiichi, Sengoku gave him a small smile, rubbing the towel over his hair. “Nah, it’s alright - I should’ve specified that I would be a minute. I misjudged how long it would take me to shower.” Which, really, wasn’t that long at all considering; he at least had come out of the shower by the time Seiichi came to his room, even if he didn’t really make it into much clothing before he had the other in the bathroom with him. “It sounds like you have a bit on your mind,” he said after a moment, looking at Seiichi in the mirror.
Seiichi met Sengoku’s eyes in the mirror, nodding once. “I do and I don’t know who to talk to about it - so you’re the lucky one that gets to hear all my problems.” The pun was not intended, but it made Seiichi chuckle to himself all the same. “You know, I pulled off that win by the skin of my teeth. It’s almost frustrating that everyone was excited to see it. I was a few inches away from losing.” He motioned with his hands the approximate distance of where the last ball Atobe hit impacted with the net and the top of the net itself.
A chuckle made its way out of Sengoku’s lips at the horrible pun - despite clinging quite desperately to his “lucky” tag line, sometimes he wondered if he dug himself a hole of which he’d never dig himself out of thanks go it. He nodded once as Seiichi spoke, hanging the hand towel back on the rack beside the shower, and watched himself in the mirror as he ran his fingers through his hair to settle it nicely on his head. No matter how hard he tried, the cowlick would always persist. “I think you still had the leg up over him,” the redhead responded, turning around to settle his butt against the counter instead. His expression turned thoughtful. “His attitude was enough to make him lose, even if he wasn’t playing one of the best tennis players we have on board.”
“One of?” Seiichi tossed his head, resettling his hair. “Ore-sama is superior to all of you!” He made a motion that was meant to be Atobe’s insight - a clawed hand over his face. He doubted it was effective, like how his impression of Atobe was completely ineffective. Attitude was definitely a problem with Atobe, though, just as it was with Genichirou... and really all of them who had once competed together on the tennis circuit. It was only a select few of them that got out of the situation with a healthy relationship with tennis, and even then...
That was quite possibly one of the worse impressions of Atobe Sengoku had ever seen. Not that he could do much better - Sengoku wasn’t a big enough asshole to appropriately give character to Atobe. It didn’t stop him from laughing, though, and he shook his head. “He’s a jackass. Don’t let him get to you.” Sengoku smiled warmly, loosely folding his arms over his chest. “You played a really good game - it was a lot of fun to watch.”
With a half-hearted smile, Seiichi folded his arms loosely over his stomach. “What if I didn’t get that last return, though?” All the people whom he had rallied to come support him, they would all be let down. Once upon a time, he had a group of people who would follow him through the gates of hell itself... but would those people still be there when they got off the boat? Would they leave him the moment he dropped a point? As Niou had said, you did not know what you had until it was gone... until you realized how long it had been since the crowd was chanting your name, holding their breath for your rally, cheering wildly at your point.
Sengoku tilted his a head just a touch, quietly regarding Seiichi for a moment. It didn’t seem in his nature to be caught up in “what if”s... what was it about this particular situation that had him filled with doubt? Was it the fact he was playing a match against Atobe? Maybe Atobe didn’t have anything to do with it at all. He tossed ideas around in his head before he reached out to put a hand to Seiichi’s arm. “It’s silly to get caught up in ‘what if’s,” he said quietly with a smile. “You’ll run yourself around in circles if you let yourself.”
Naturally, Sengoku was right about that. Seiichi looked at him with a little smile, leaning a little closer so he could shove Sengoku’s shoulder with his own. It was hard to be upset about much of anything when that was thrown in your face; focus on what is rather than on what could be. “I come to you with this complex problem that I want to talk out and you just... resolve it like that. Now what am I supposed to do with my afternoon?”
With a warm chuckle, Sengoku bumped Seiichi’s shoulder in return. The friendship he was developing with Seiichi reminded him very much of the relationship between he and Minami - making small jabs at one another in a teasing manner, making light of a situation that was obviously bothering the other to want to talk about it in the first place. “That’s what I’m here for - to burst bubbles, and make it seem as though your problems really aren’t as bad as they seem.” He laughed a little, unfolding his arms, and pressing the heel of his palms on the countertop to hold his weight. “But I do understand the feeling - it was something similar I experienced that made me rehaul the way I approached tennis.”
“And then you dropped the sport like a sack of potatoes,” Seiichi pointed out helpfully, motioning with one hand that had been rested on his bicep. “Just like how I’m going to leave here and not give a crap about playing at that level anymore and be one of those sad retired teaching pros that teaches the beginning tennis players how to hit a groundstroke and wastes away slowly for lack of any good competition.” Which, of course, was a run-on sentence. Sometimes Seiichi spoke in run-on sentences.
Similarly, Sengoku lifted a hand off the counter to flourish in the air before resting it on the counter once more; he laughed and grinned wildly. “Hey, not all of us can have it together like some people, Tezuka - maybe Sanada.” Which wasn’t to say that Tezuka and Sanada didn’t have their share of problems, too - just outwardly, they were perhaps the most perfect people Sengoku had ever crossed paths with. He tilted his head to the side, resting his ear on his shoulder as he regarded Seiichi.
“Genichirou? Have it together?” Seiichi laughed lightly. “He doesn’t even understand what’s happening when I’m flirting with him. I mean, you saw what happened the other day when I kissed him, and I thought that was pretty blatant.” He made a larger motion with his hand, moving his fingers in a circle. “I mean, if I kissed you - that would get the point across to you, right? You would know what that meant without having to be prodded and ultimately tossed in the pool.”
A small laugh bubbled out of Sengoku. That day at the pool... not that Seiichi could talk. There was only so much googly eyes and suggestive words that Sengoku could take before he wanted to throw the both of them into the pool - just like what ultimately had happened. But he could understand the situation at the very least - he himself had experienced situations like that, though he had been much younger when they first arose. He remembered what it was like to develop feelings for someone, and not really knowing how to respond to them. “That... would get the point across, yes. I’d never say no to a kiss...~”
“Don’t start with that, now,” Seiichi teased. “It’s bad enough that you’re half naked and dripping wet.” Given the situation with the jeans and how snugly they were fitting Sengoku at the moment due to his inability to dry himself before getting dressed, evidently, “half-naked” may have been a loose estimate. “How does a starving writer afford Lucky brand jeans, anyway? Sugar momma?”
The story behind the Lucky brand jeans was interesting... but the long and short of it was that Minami bought them for him because he got a kick out of them. Simple as that. Sengoku laughed lightly. “Ah, I wish I could afford them on my own. They were a gift.” He would never wear another brand of jeans if he could get away with it - they fit him in all the right places, and the wash lightly accented the definition of the strong muscle in his legs. It was unfortunate that they were so expensive or else he would have pairs in every fit and wash.
The jeans certainly suited Sengoku, even if Seiichi wondered how he managed into them with wet skin. “It doesn’t look like there’s much room in there for you,” he said jokingly. The cut, the wash... they both brought out the definition in his legs. Seiichi would absolutely kill to get Genichirou into a pair of jeans that were cut as well as those.
Seiichi didn’t even know the best part. Sengoku’s smile turned into something more akin to a grin - perhaps a grin that was slightly suggestive, but still with the tone of harmless flirting. This was the true reason why he loved Lucky brand jeans. “That’s not even the best part, really. There’s a secret message hidden somewhere in the seams.”
“In the seams?” Now Seiichi was curious - how did one hide a secret message in the seams of clothing? “And how would I, a layman, find this secret message?”
“He~eh,” he drew out the noise, putting his palms flat against the cool surface of the counter, and once more letting his ear fall to his shoulder. He gave Seiichi a tiny quirk of a smile. “Well, it’s easily accessible so long as you know where to look...~”
Seiichi made a show of trying to get a look at Sengoku’s butt, though it was mostly obscured by the counter. He looked down, eyes scanning the inside seam of the leg until he reached the fly, glancing back at Sengoku through his lashes. “Maybe I’m not looking right,” he suggested softly.
As much as Sengoku hated to admit it to himself, it had been a really, really long time since he had shared physical intimacy with someone. He had a steady girlfriend for a few semesters in college, but that hadn’t really gone anywhere serious. Since then... there really had been no one. But Seiichi looking up at him through his lashes with such a soft tone... it was going to wreck havoc on him. That didn’t stop Sengoku from giving him a heavy lidded, lazy look in return - one that he knew made knees weak. Brown doe eyes were difficult to turn down. “You’re definitely on the right track,” he said quietly, the same quirk of a smile tugging at his lips.
Unfolding his arms, Seiichi hooked one finger into the front pocket of the jeans, tugging slightly. Nothing special about the pocket. “Mm... it doesn’t seem to be here, either,” he commented, shifting just a little bit closer to the other man. Things like smell - the smell of man and the smell of soap - and heat started to register. It had also been too long for that; the heat and the freshly showered man smell. Of course, no matter how pretty the eyes or how sweet the face, Seiichi’s mind was still on someone else.
Sengoku’s eyes wandered downward to where Seiichi’s finger was holding onto a pocket, remaining quiet as the other tugged. It was difficult to deny the warm feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach... the one that he knew was going to drag his mind completely down into the gutter were he not careful. Even knowing that, however, did not stop him from letting out another low sound from his throat in amusement. “You’re very close.”
It registered in Seiichi’s mind where Sengoku was going with all of this, and where he was going was certainly very inviting and might have even been welcome a few weeks ago. But it didn’t feel right flirting with him, bantering like this, teasing... not when it wouldn’t go anywhere and when Seiichi’s mind was elsewhere. He withdrew his hand, pushing off the counter and stepping away a pace. “I’m sorry - it’s not that you’re not very attractive, you are...” He started to say, trailing off mid thought.
And the moment was broken. Sengoku laughed a little, running a hand through his hair, and looking somewhat sheepish. “No - no, it’s okay, I understand entirely. Your mind is elsewhere.” It wouldn’t take a genius to know with whom Seiichi’s mind was - the tension between both Seiichi and Sanada had been so very obvious from the get go. The territory shouldn’t have really been crossed in the first place - Sengoku knew better. “Don’t worry about it. I’m... I was inviting it and shouldn’t have been.”
Seiichi leaned his back against the opposite wall, looking at Sengoku again. Why was it that he was perfectly capable of flirting with Sengoku but couldn’t get anywhere with Genichirou? He felt his heart beating in his throat and he had to look down as though his shoes were the most interesting thing in the world. “It’s not just my mind that’s elsewhere.” His voice was small - he was scared to say it aloud, lest he, himself hear his words. “I have feelings.” A pause. “For him,” to clarify.
Sengoku remained quiet for a long pause, watching Seiichi even as the gaze between them was broken. Seiichi’s demeanor was enough to tell Sengoku that the other had never truly admitted those words out loud, even if he presumed that Seiichi had at the very least done so internally. Finally, a smile graced his lips, and he moved a little closer to put a hand to Seiichi’s shoulder - this time for comfort. “Have you told him?”
No. Well, yes, sort of. No, not really. Seiichi frowned a little and looked at Sengoku. “Maybe.” He answered seriously, knowing exactly the reaction to expect from Sengoku - this was not a question that had room for anything other than a “yes” or “no” answer. He sighed. “No,” he admitted. “I mean, a thousand times yes, but no, never in a way he would understand.” Whatever that might be - this was the same man who thought giraffes were vicious, killer creatures. “I will tonight.”
It was just as Sengoku had suspected. Seiichi and Sanada - they were far from being the brightest bulbs in the box as far as romance went; at least toward one another. He wondered just how their partnership as captain and vice-captain would’ve fared - he felt bad for the Rikkai tennis club back then. “Good,” he said simply with a smile. “I think you’ll both be much happier if you do.” It didn’t solve his own plight, but if he could at least help with Seiichi’s... then all was right in the world for now.
“And I’m sorry for, ah...” Seiichi made a motion in the general direction of Sengoku’s crotch. “I mean...” He sighed. “Good luck with that. I am going to walk out of here before I embarrass myself any more than I already have, if that’s alright with you.”
With a laugh, Sengoku waved a hand. “Really, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.” I can handle it myself, he added inwardly with a bit of a long, suffering sigh. It was his own fault, really - but he could at the very least place some of the blame on Seiichi and his curiosity for Sengoku’s jeans.
“...Thanks, Lucky,” Seiichi said with a small smile. Now... now he had to get up the nerve to see Genichirou and to say what had been on his mind. That was no small feat, of course. Especially when he was also going to be asking Genichirou to pose nude. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best night for it, after all. Then again, if he waited any longer, they would be off the boat and Genichirou would go back to his job and his life and Seiichi wouldn’t have the opportunity again. Or... something. His expression reflected the troubled nature of his thoughts, but he went to the door of the bathroom. “I’ll see you around.”
Sengoku put a hand up as though to wave, though his expression turned a little coy... there was no reason why he couldn’t continue to at the very least flirt, right? “Of course - go get him, tiger.”
Seiichi clawed his hand again, offering a, “rawr,” over his shoulder before exiting the room.