Bakaleya fic!
I wasn't kidding when I said I had time for writing at this job! Basically, I only have so many papers to grade as an assistant, since in middle school my main job is to provide good pronunciation and examples of fluent English speaking and in elementary school, English is supposed to be fun and encouraging, so there's no written work. Therefore, when I have periods off, I have time to work on my own projects... aka writing fic XD;
Also, though I don't know how much I've mentioned it here before, but the drama that came out two seasons ago, Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou, is seriously amazing. For what it is-- a stupid school drama with twelve half-hour episodes-- it goes above and beyond my expectations in almost every way. I would highly recommend it! Also, if you watch it, then you can read this fic~
title: do not disturb
rating: pg-13
pairings: Yuuki/Makoto (Jesse Lewis and Kouchi Yugo's characters in Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou)
word count: 3,213
beta: yomimashou
author's note: Yuuki and Makoto were by far my favourite part of Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou ♥
summary: On Monday, Yuuki and Makoto disappear to the bathroom before third period.
On Monday, Yuuki and Makoto disappear to the bathroom before third period. The second period instructor, a feisty history teacher in her sixties, had been making an active attempt to keep the students in line recently, and as a result, had taken to smacking students making too much noise in the head with a rolled up textbook throughout the class period. Their classmates had thought this routine would pass, but after several of them had enduring a surprisingly painful beating, given their teacher's age, they had reluctantly quieted their games and chatter through the course of the class. Which sucked, but Tatsuya supposed spending one period of the day silently flipping through Satoshi's magazine about cars wouldn't kill him, if only barely.
Apparently the boredom was too much for Yuuki and Makoto, however. From his seat behind them, Tatsuya watched them every so often through the course class period, saw them kicking one another beneath their desks and flicking paper balls at one another and making increasingly pouty faces back and forth until finally, as soon as the bell chimed, they were off. A class period later, Tatsuya is still puzzling as to how they managed to move their desks beside one another despite the fact that their last names aren't alphabetically anywhere close when Shouhei-san suggests that maybe they ought to go look for them-- after all, it's lunch time, and if there's ever a good time of the day to be in class, this is probably it.
And so Tatsuya, good natured person that he is, finds himself traipsing after Shouhei-san down the hall to the bathroom despite the fact that Satoshi is probably going to steal the soba bread he bought at the conbini on the way to school for lunch while he's gone. Honestly, more baffling than his own decision to relinquish his own lunch time for the sake of his friends is the way Shouhei-san rambles the whole way about some girl or another that he's fallen head-over-heels for, but then again, Tatsuya has never really understood girls in the slightest, and luckily, Shouhei-san's ongoing tale of how the girl smiled at him last weekend drops off when he opens the bathroom door.
Yuuki and Makoto are there all right, sitting on the sinks side by side with their feet propped against the basins and their backs against the wall, but somehow, what Tatsuya wasn't expecting is the Nintendo DS that they have between them, Yuuki's broad hand clasping the right side of the console, thumb over the arrow keys, while Makoto's slender fingers are poised above the A and B buttons on the left side of the game. They both seem highly engaged in the game, commenting back and forth to one another in an excited stream of barely-intelligible (to Tatsuya, at least) jumbled English and Japanese. It's amazing to Tatsuya that they can manage to play that way; he can't imagine being able to coordinate between two people as one would normally coordinate between his own two hands, but clearly, they have more than marginal success, judging from the grins and pleased exclamations that make an appearance every few moments. They're such a mystery, he thinks, they've always been such a mystery to him, but yet, there's something just a little bit enthralling about watching the pair of them together this way, reacting in unison as if they're not a pair at all, but one person.
"Oi!" Shouhei-san calls to them, waving his hands in front of their faces to get their attention, but it's to no avail; the two of them seem too involved in their game (or else in each other) to notice, too wrapped up in their own little world to be disturbed. Eventually, Tatsuya is forced to return to, sure enough, his lack of soba bread, but even then, for some inexplicable reason, the strangely pleasant thought of his friends from earlier is enough to distract him from his growling stomach for most of the rest of the day… but that doesn't mean that he isn't going to make Yuuki and Makoto pay for snacks later when their group goes out after school.
…
On Tuesday, Yuuki and Makoto go missing during fifth period. For whatever reason a few of the other kids in their class had gotten onto the topic of Americans and how they were all cowards with guns, or something like that; Tatsuya wasn't really paying attention and frankly couldn't care less what his classmates' opinions of Americans were. But all of a sudden, Yuuki had stood up with such violence that his chair had overturned, glaring silently at the other kids for a moment before turning on his heel and leaving the room, Makoto at his heels. Tatsuya, always eager for a fight (or perhaps, as Tetsuya might say, too empathetic for his friends, whatever that means), had made a mental note to give the other kids what they had coming after school was over, but for now, he's left to wonder what exactly has become of Yuuki and Makoto.
When they don't reappear by the end of fifth period, Tatsuya furrows his brow in concern, which, he thinks, isn't that strange of a facial expression for him, but something must be off, because just before sixth period starts, Maya puts a hand on his shoulder, catching his eye and asking if he's worried about his friends. Tatsuya purses his lips, hating the mere thought of talking about feelings, and shrugs offhandedly, looking off to the side, somewhere beyond Maya's left ear, but this fails at dissuading Maya, who takes hold of his sleeve and drags him towards the door without another word.
As the bell to signal the beginning of sixth period chimes, the hallways are still full of students meandering between classrooms, returning from smoking on the roof, debating whether or not to cut out of school early, but even as the crowd begins to dissipate, Yuuki and Makoto are nowhere in sight. When the corridors empty completely, Tatsuya, feeling contrary in the face of being called out on his concern for his friends, mumbles that they probably ought to go back to class, but Maya rolls his eyes and responds that they haven't checked the bathroom yet.
Tatsuya groans out some argument or another, but he knows Maya is right, and so he traipses along. When they first peer inside, the bathroom seems empty, which i good enough for Tatsuya, but Maya drags him further inside to discover that sure enough, Yuuki and Makoto are in the bathroom as usual, sitting side by side on the edge of the sink in the storage area. Somehow, after what had happened in class, Tatsuya had expected there to be ranting or yelling or punching of some sort (because really, when aren't problems resolved with punching of some sort?) but instead, the pair are silent, pressed up side by side, slouching into one another. Between them are Yuuki's headphones, turned upside-down and with the earpieces rotated, each of them holding one earpiece against his own ear. Makoto holds the music player (Tatsuya had thought it was Yuuki's music player, but he guesses he must have been wrong…), occasionally pressing a button to change the song or alter the volume, but besides that, the two are motionless, quiet. It seems odd for a pair of people with whom Tatsuya spends most of his time laughing or yelling or fighting, but yet somehow, the sight is also calming, somehow, serene.
He isn't really sure how long he stares for, but all of a sudden, Maya's taking his sleeve again and dragging him back out of the bathroom and towards class. "What was the point of that if we were just going to leave again?" Tatsuya gripes, but somehow, for some reason, some part of him is glad that they went.
…
On Wednesday, Yuuki and Makoto sneak out sometime at the end of lunch. No one really notices at first; everyone is too busy with his own food or games or conversation, but as the time for fifth period to begin draws nearer and nearer, Tatsuya suddenly notices that their group has decreased from seven to five, and that Yuuki and Makoto, who had earlier been eating lunch off to the side together, feet entangled beneath their desks, are nowhere to be seen. Tatsuya frowns and wonders if they skipped out early; the seven of them were supposed to be going to yakiniku after school, and it won't be nearly as fun without all of them.
Satoshi clearly has the same concern-- Yuuki is his main competition in eating contests, after all-- and so, as lunch time is drawing to a close, he catches Tatsuya's eye and nods to the door. Tatsuya is relieved; he doesn't want to be made fun of for worrying too much about his friends, so when Satoshi explains, "It would suck if they skipped out on us, right?" he nods along eagerly, trying to pick out any glimpse of yellow headphones or leopard print amongst the other students in the hallway.
When they can find none, however, Tatsuya knows where to turn, and so they make their way to the bathrooms perhaps slower than strictly necessary (because why should they rush when they can miss some of fifth period as a bonus to this little outing?) and peek inside. No one is in sight, though one of the stall doors is closed, and Tatsuya is about to turn and go when he becomes aware of a low thumping sound, and then belatedly realizes that the closed door is shaking in its hinges, as if something is being pushed up against it repeatedly and with some force. It's almost loud enough to cover the second noise Tatsuya suddenly realizes he's hearing, the sound of heavy breathing.
"What the…" Satoshi starts, and Tatsuya can practically see him thinking, can practically feel his own brain working as the pieces come together. But before either of them can come to the answer on their own, a loud cry of "Yuuki--!" comes from within, Makoto's voice tight and high pitched but undeniably recognizable all the same. Tatsuya feels the blood rushing to his own face as Satoshi turns bright red next to him, and before he even finds words, Satoshi is yelling, "Get a fucking room!" before turning and bolting from the bathroom while all Tatsuya finds himself thinking is that, effectively, they already have.
It takes Tatsuya a moment to find his feet, but when he does, he follows suit, not stopping until they're outside their classroom door again. "What the fuck--" Satoshi gripes, frowning through his lingering flush, "Why would they-- It's not like-- No one wants to walk into the bathroom and have a fucking porno going on in there!" Tatsuya nods along, feeling entirely ineloquent, but some part of him can't help but thing that something about Makoto's voice sounded an awful lot more like a romance movie than a porno. Still, it's the last thing he wants to think about, so he shakes the thought from his head and tries his hardest not to blush every time he looks at Yuuki or Makoto for the rest of the day.
…
On Thursday, Yuuki and Makoto don't show up to class in the morning. Tatsuya assumes that they're skipping until, halfway through the period, Maya mentions he saw Makoto on his way out of school as Maya was on his way in, saying he was running to the conbini and would be right back. It's a little odd, but Tatsuya doesn't think much of it-- maybe Makoto decided to skip after all, maybe Yuuki ran into him on the way, maybe the two of them ran into some of the assholes who are always trying to pick a fight with them, always bringing tons of guys who are so weak that even in a six-against-thirty fight, they still lose…
The last thought, though, is slightly souring, when Tatsuya really thinks about it, because though Yuuki and Makoto are strong, just as strong as any of the rest of them, Tatsuya doesn't know how many guys they can take between the two of them. Thirty is all fine and well when each of them can take on five, but Tatsuya can't quite give Yuuki and Makoto the benefit of the doubt at the prospect of taking down fifteen guys at once. He tries to push the thought from his mind; Yuuki and Makoto are street-smart, and even if they were outnumbered, Tatsuya knows they'd find a way to cover their asses and get away, at the very least. Still, for whatever reason, he's not entirely comforted, and as first period drags on, Tatsuya finds himself worrying about his friends, as much as he'd like to deny it.
He tries his best to hide it-- god only knows how much the others would tease him if they knew he was worrying about his friends, because that's stupid, that's for girls and wimps-- but he's never been good at keeping his emotions from his face, and so, at the end of first period, he makes an escape. Besides, he tells himself, it's no big deal, and he'll feel better if he finds Yuuki and Makoto napping on the roof or smoking on the stairs, or something. Which is probably what they're doing, not getting beat up… he tells himself.
But after a walk around the school grounds, kicking up dust and scuffing his dirty shoes along the sidewalk out of anxiety and frustration, Yuuki and Makoto are still nowhere to be found. With a sigh, Tatsuya is forced to return to the school; after all, he has nothing better to be doing, and since he's here, he might as well get the credit for being in class. As he sulks back into the building, however, lips pursed in a pout, he realizes there's one place he hasn't checked, and so, on the way back to the classroom, he ducks inside the bathroom.
And sure enough, there they are. He tries hard not to breathe an audible sigh of relief; he doesn't want them to know that he's been looking for them, that he's been worrying about them. But luckily, they don't even seem to have noticed his presence in the doorway from where they're seated on the floor of the bathroom, a conbini bag between them, various breads and onigiri peeking out from within. At the moment, Yuuki seems to be halfway through a melon bread, if the half a roll sticking out of his face is any indication, but Makoto isn't eating, instead slouching against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Next time," he says, cocking an eyebrow, "at least mail me and let me know you haven't had breakfast before I get to school," and though Yuuki's reply is muffled by the bread in his mouth, Tatsuya can't help but smile to himself as he slips out of the bathroom again thinking that there was no need for him to worry, after all.
…
On Friday, Yuuki and Makoto never return from the hallway after first period. Tatsuya had thought they were only ducking out for a few minutes, to go to the sinks to get a drink or grab something to eat or something, but when the bell rings and everyone returns for the start of second period, Yuuki and Makoto are nowhere to be seen. Normally, Tatsuya wouldn't think it was much of a big deal; they all cut class from time to time, and Yuuki and Makoto are perhaps some of the worst offenders, but that morning, Makoto had been looking on the pale side. They're tough, all of them, Tatsuya knows, but they also all get sick from time to time. They're only human, and as Bakada's head, Tatsuya feels like it's his responsibility to make sure that his friends stay in good shape. You know, in case there's a fight.
Clearly, Tetsuya is thinking the same thing-- he may be number two, but Tatsuya sometimes thinks Tetsuya's the smarter and more responsible of the two of them-- because halfway through second period, he catches Tatsuya's eye and nods towards the hallway, and Tatsuya understands. Tetsuya silently rises and leave the room, and despite the fact that Tatsuya manages to topple his chair and create a huge scene on his way out, he follows, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as Tetsuya raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing.
Tatsuya isn't exactly sure what Tetsuya is thinking; he's silent as he walks through the hall, and so Tatsuya follows wordlessly, hoping that somehow, Tetsuya's intent will become clear. Tatsuya isn't sure if he knows where Yuuki and Makoto are; the pair said nothing before leaving, after all, so Tatsuya doesn't really know how Tetsuya could know, but yet, he walks through the halls with confidence, the sound of his his shoes against the floor echoing in the empty hallways.
Their destination, it turns out, is anticlimactic; Tatsuya should have known that the first place to check would be the bathroom. Clearly, Tetsuya was a whole step ahead of him, because he walks inside without a word, Tatsuya tripping along at his heels. As they make it through the doorway, Tatsuya is already scanning the room for his friends and almost runs smack into Tetsuya, who halts suddenly a few steps inside the entry. "Hey, what the--" Tatsuya starts, but Tetsuya simply nods into the room and Tatsuya falls silent as he realizes what Tetsuya has already seen.
Across from them, leaning against the wall, are Yuuki and Makoto. Their eyes are closed, and Tatsuya wonders briefly how they've managed to learn to sleep standing up, if that's what they're really doing. But before he wonder for too long on that subject, the subtleties of their position begin to sink in, from the way most of Makoto's weight is supported by Yuuki's larger form to the way Yuuki's arm is wrapped just so around the curve of Makoto's waist to the strangely natural-seeming position of Makoto's head, tucked neatly into the crook of Yuuki's neck. They look… peaceful, really, Tatsuya thinks, which is odd considering what they spend most of their day doing, and something about the hints of a smile lingering on their lips makes something inside Tatsuya's chest feel warm in a way with which he's not entirely comfortable.
He opens his mouth to speak-- Tatsuya's first reaction when he's uncomfortable is to speak-- but before any words come, he feels Tetsuya's hand on his shoulder and is quieted. He gives Tetsuya an inquisitive look, but Tetsuya only smiles back, vague and enigmatic as always, more of a hint of an expression than anything. "Let them be," Tetsuya says quietly, turning on his heel and looking back expectantly at Tatsuya as he walks back out the doorway.
Tatsuya glances back at them for a moment, taking one last look at their peace in an unexpected place, before he shrugs, turning and following Tetsuya from the room. Maybe he doesn't understand, maybe he never will, but whatever they have going on, whatever they've found in their bathroom-refuge, Tatsuya certainly doesn't want to disturb it.
Also, though I don't know how much I've mentioned it here before, but the drama that came out two seasons ago, Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou, is seriously amazing. For what it is-- a stupid school drama with twelve half-hour episodes-- it goes above and beyond my expectations in almost every way. I would highly recommend it! Also, if you watch it, then you can read this fic~
title: do not disturb
rating: pg-13
pairings: Yuuki/Makoto (Jesse Lewis and Kouchi Yugo's characters in Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou)
word count: 3,213
beta: yomimashou
author's note: Yuuki and Makoto were by far my favourite part of Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou ♥
summary: On Monday, Yuuki and Makoto disappear to the bathroom before third period.
On Monday, Yuuki and Makoto disappear to the bathroom before third period. The second period instructor, a feisty history teacher in her sixties, had been making an active attempt to keep the students in line recently, and as a result, had taken to smacking students making too much noise in the head with a rolled up textbook throughout the class period. Their classmates had thought this routine would pass, but after several of them had enduring a surprisingly painful beating, given their teacher's age, they had reluctantly quieted their games and chatter through the course of the class. Which sucked, but Tatsuya supposed spending one period of the day silently flipping through Satoshi's magazine about cars wouldn't kill him, if only barely.
Apparently the boredom was too much for Yuuki and Makoto, however. From his seat behind them, Tatsuya watched them every so often through the course class period, saw them kicking one another beneath their desks and flicking paper balls at one another and making increasingly pouty faces back and forth until finally, as soon as the bell chimed, they were off. A class period later, Tatsuya is still puzzling as to how they managed to move their desks beside one another despite the fact that their last names aren't alphabetically anywhere close when Shouhei-san suggests that maybe they ought to go look for them-- after all, it's lunch time, and if there's ever a good time of the day to be in class, this is probably it.
And so Tatsuya, good natured person that he is, finds himself traipsing after Shouhei-san down the hall to the bathroom despite the fact that Satoshi is probably going to steal the soba bread he bought at the conbini on the way to school for lunch while he's gone. Honestly, more baffling than his own decision to relinquish his own lunch time for the sake of his friends is the way Shouhei-san rambles the whole way about some girl or another that he's fallen head-over-heels for, but then again, Tatsuya has never really understood girls in the slightest, and luckily, Shouhei-san's ongoing tale of how the girl smiled at him last weekend drops off when he opens the bathroom door.
Yuuki and Makoto are there all right, sitting on the sinks side by side with their feet propped against the basins and their backs against the wall, but somehow, what Tatsuya wasn't expecting is the Nintendo DS that they have between them, Yuuki's broad hand clasping the right side of the console, thumb over the arrow keys, while Makoto's slender fingers are poised above the A and B buttons on the left side of the game. They both seem highly engaged in the game, commenting back and forth to one another in an excited stream of barely-intelligible (to Tatsuya, at least) jumbled English and Japanese. It's amazing to Tatsuya that they can manage to play that way; he can't imagine being able to coordinate between two people as one would normally coordinate between his own two hands, but clearly, they have more than marginal success, judging from the grins and pleased exclamations that make an appearance every few moments. They're such a mystery, he thinks, they've always been such a mystery to him, but yet, there's something just a little bit enthralling about watching the pair of them together this way, reacting in unison as if they're not a pair at all, but one person.
"Oi!" Shouhei-san calls to them, waving his hands in front of their faces to get their attention, but it's to no avail; the two of them seem too involved in their game (or else in each other) to notice, too wrapped up in their own little world to be disturbed. Eventually, Tatsuya is forced to return to, sure enough, his lack of soba bread, but even then, for some inexplicable reason, the strangely pleasant thought of his friends from earlier is enough to distract him from his growling stomach for most of the rest of the day… but that doesn't mean that he isn't going to make Yuuki and Makoto pay for snacks later when their group goes out after school.
…
On Tuesday, Yuuki and Makoto go missing during fifth period. For whatever reason a few of the other kids in their class had gotten onto the topic of Americans and how they were all cowards with guns, or something like that; Tatsuya wasn't really paying attention and frankly couldn't care less what his classmates' opinions of Americans were. But all of a sudden, Yuuki had stood up with such violence that his chair had overturned, glaring silently at the other kids for a moment before turning on his heel and leaving the room, Makoto at his heels. Tatsuya, always eager for a fight (or perhaps, as Tetsuya might say, too empathetic for his friends, whatever that means), had made a mental note to give the other kids what they had coming after school was over, but for now, he's left to wonder what exactly has become of Yuuki and Makoto.
When they don't reappear by the end of fifth period, Tatsuya furrows his brow in concern, which, he thinks, isn't that strange of a facial expression for him, but something must be off, because just before sixth period starts, Maya puts a hand on his shoulder, catching his eye and asking if he's worried about his friends. Tatsuya purses his lips, hating the mere thought of talking about feelings, and shrugs offhandedly, looking off to the side, somewhere beyond Maya's left ear, but this fails at dissuading Maya, who takes hold of his sleeve and drags him towards the door without another word.
As the bell to signal the beginning of sixth period chimes, the hallways are still full of students meandering between classrooms, returning from smoking on the roof, debating whether or not to cut out of school early, but even as the crowd begins to dissipate, Yuuki and Makoto are nowhere in sight. When the corridors empty completely, Tatsuya, feeling contrary in the face of being called out on his concern for his friends, mumbles that they probably ought to go back to class, but Maya rolls his eyes and responds that they haven't checked the bathroom yet.
Tatsuya groans out some argument or another, but he knows Maya is right, and so he traipses along. When they first peer inside, the bathroom seems empty, which i good enough for Tatsuya, but Maya drags him further inside to discover that sure enough, Yuuki and Makoto are in the bathroom as usual, sitting side by side on the edge of the sink in the storage area. Somehow, after what had happened in class, Tatsuya had expected there to be ranting or yelling or punching of some sort (because really, when aren't problems resolved with punching of some sort?) but instead, the pair are silent, pressed up side by side, slouching into one another. Between them are Yuuki's headphones, turned upside-down and with the earpieces rotated, each of them holding one earpiece against his own ear. Makoto holds the music player (Tatsuya had thought it was Yuuki's music player, but he guesses he must have been wrong…), occasionally pressing a button to change the song or alter the volume, but besides that, the two are motionless, quiet. It seems odd for a pair of people with whom Tatsuya spends most of his time laughing or yelling or fighting, but yet somehow, the sight is also calming, somehow, serene.
He isn't really sure how long he stares for, but all of a sudden, Maya's taking his sleeve again and dragging him back out of the bathroom and towards class. "What was the point of that if we were just going to leave again?" Tatsuya gripes, but somehow, for some reason, some part of him is glad that they went.
…
On Wednesday, Yuuki and Makoto sneak out sometime at the end of lunch. No one really notices at first; everyone is too busy with his own food or games or conversation, but as the time for fifth period to begin draws nearer and nearer, Tatsuya suddenly notices that their group has decreased from seven to five, and that Yuuki and Makoto, who had earlier been eating lunch off to the side together, feet entangled beneath their desks, are nowhere to be seen. Tatsuya frowns and wonders if they skipped out early; the seven of them were supposed to be going to yakiniku after school, and it won't be nearly as fun without all of them.
Satoshi clearly has the same concern-- Yuuki is his main competition in eating contests, after all-- and so, as lunch time is drawing to a close, he catches Tatsuya's eye and nods to the door. Tatsuya is relieved; he doesn't want to be made fun of for worrying too much about his friends, so when Satoshi explains, "It would suck if they skipped out on us, right?" he nods along eagerly, trying to pick out any glimpse of yellow headphones or leopard print amongst the other students in the hallway.
When they can find none, however, Tatsuya knows where to turn, and so they make their way to the bathrooms perhaps slower than strictly necessary (because why should they rush when they can miss some of fifth period as a bonus to this little outing?) and peek inside. No one is in sight, though one of the stall doors is closed, and Tatsuya is about to turn and go when he becomes aware of a low thumping sound, and then belatedly realizes that the closed door is shaking in its hinges, as if something is being pushed up against it repeatedly and with some force. It's almost loud enough to cover the second noise Tatsuya suddenly realizes he's hearing, the sound of heavy breathing.
"What the…" Satoshi starts, and Tatsuya can practically see him thinking, can practically feel his own brain working as the pieces come together. But before either of them can come to the answer on their own, a loud cry of "Yuuki--!" comes from within, Makoto's voice tight and high pitched but undeniably recognizable all the same. Tatsuya feels the blood rushing to his own face as Satoshi turns bright red next to him, and before he even finds words, Satoshi is yelling, "Get a fucking room!" before turning and bolting from the bathroom while all Tatsuya finds himself thinking is that, effectively, they already have.
It takes Tatsuya a moment to find his feet, but when he does, he follows suit, not stopping until they're outside their classroom door again. "What the fuck--" Satoshi gripes, frowning through his lingering flush, "Why would they-- It's not like-- No one wants to walk into the bathroom and have a fucking porno going on in there!" Tatsuya nods along, feeling entirely ineloquent, but some part of him can't help but thing that something about Makoto's voice sounded an awful lot more like a romance movie than a porno. Still, it's the last thing he wants to think about, so he shakes the thought from his head and tries his hardest not to blush every time he looks at Yuuki or Makoto for the rest of the day.
…
On Thursday, Yuuki and Makoto don't show up to class in the morning. Tatsuya assumes that they're skipping until, halfway through the period, Maya mentions he saw Makoto on his way out of school as Maya was on his way in, saying he was running to the conbini and would be right back. It's a little odd, but Tatsuya doesn't think much of it-- maybe Makoto decided to skip after all, maybe Yuuki ran into him on the way, maybe the two of them ran into some of the assholes who are always trying to pick a fight with them, always bringing tons of guys who are so weak that even in a six-against-thirty fight, they still lose…
The last thought, though, is slightly souring, when Tatsuya really thinks about it, because though Yuuki and Makoto are strong, just as strong as any of the rest of them, Tatsuya doesn't know how many guys they can take between the two of them. Thirty is all fine and well when each of them can take on five, but Tatsuya can't quite give Yuuki and Makoto the benefit of the doubt at the prospect of taking down fifteen guys at once. He tries to push the thought from his mind; Yuuki and Makoto are street-smart, and even if they were outnumbered, Tatsuya knows they'd find a way to cover their asses and get away, at the very least. Still, for whatever reason, he's not entirely comforted, and as first period drags on, Tatsuya finds himself worrying about his friends, as much as he'd like to deny it.
He tries his best to hide it-- god only knows how much the others would tease him if they knew he was worrying about his friends, because that's stupid, that's for girls and wimps-- but he's never been good at keeping his emotions from his face, and so, at the end of first period, he makes an escape. Besides, he tells himself, it's no big deal, and he'll feel better if he finds Yuuki and Makoto napping on the roof or smoking on the stairs, or something. Which is probably what they're doing, not getting beat up… he tells himself.
But after a walk around the school grounds, kicking up dust and scuffing his dirty shoes along the sidewalk out of anxiety and frustration, Yuuki and Makoto are still nowhere to be found. With a sigh, Tatsuya is forced to return to the school; after all, he has nothing better to be doing, and since he's here, he might as well get the credit for being in class. As he sulks back into the building, however, lips pursed in a pout, he realizes there's one place he hasn't checked, and so, on the way back to the classroom, he ducks inside the bathroom.
And sure enough, there they are. He tries hard not to breathe an audible sigh of relief; he doesn't want them to know that he's been looking for them, that he's been worrying about them. But luckily, they don't even seem to have noticed his presence in the doorway from where they're seated on the floor of the bathroom, a conbini bag between them, various breads and onigiri peeking out from within. At the moment, Yuuki seems to be halfway through a melon bread, if the half a roll sticking out of his face is any indication, but Makoto isn't eating, instead slouching against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Next time," he says, cocking an eyebrow, "at least mail me and let me know you haven't had breakfast before I get to school," and though Yuuki's reply is muffled by the bread in his mouth, Tatsuya can't help but smile to himself as he slips out of the bathroom again thinking that there was no need for him to worry, after all.
…
On Friday, Yuuki and Makoto never return from the hallway after first period. Tatsuya had thought they were only ducking out for a few minutes, to go to the sinks to get a drink or grab something to eat or something, but when the bell rings and everyone returns for the start of second period, Yuuki and Makoto are nowhere to be seen. Normally, Tatsuya wouldn't think it was much of a big deal; they all cut class from time to time, and Yuuki and Makoto are perhaps some of the worst offenders, but that morning, Makoto had been looking on the pale side. They're tough, all of them, Tatsuya knows, but they also all get sick from time to time. They're only human, and as Bakada's head, Tatsuya feels like it's his responsibility to make sure that his friends stay in good shape. You know, in case there's a fight.
Clearly, Tetsuya is thinking the same thing-- he may be number two, but Tatsuya sometimes thinks Tetsuya's the smarter and more responsible of the two of them-- because halfway through second period, he catches Tatsuya's eye and nods towards the hallway, and Tatsuya understands. Tetsuya silently rises and leave the room, and despite the fact that Tatsuya manages to topple his chair and create a huge scene on his way out, he follows, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as Tetsuya raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing.
Tatsuya isn't exactly sure what Tetsuya is thinking; he's silent as he walks through the hall, and so Tatsuya follows wordlessly, hoping that somehow, Tetsuya's intent will become clear. Tatsuya isn't sure if he knows where Yuuki and Makoto are; the pair said nothing before leaving, after all, so Tatsuya doesn't really know how Tetsuya could know, but yet, he walks through the halls with confidence, the sound of his his shoes against the floor echoing in the empty hallways.
Their destination, it turns out, is anticlimactic; Tatsuya should have known that the first place to check would be the bathroom. Clearly, Tetsuya was a whole step ahead of him, because he walks inside without a word, Tatsuya tripping along at his heels. As they make it through the doorway, Tatsuya is already scanning the room for his friends and almost runs smack into Tetsuya, who halts suddenly a few steps inside the entry. "Hey, what the--" Tatsuya starts, but Tetsuya simply nods into the room and Tatsuya falls silent as he realizes what Tetsuya has already seen.
Across from them, leaning against the wall, are Yuuki and Makoto. Their eyes are closed, and Tatsuya wonders briefly how they've managed to learn to sleep standing up, if that's what they're really doing. But before he wonder for too long on that subject, the subtleties of their position begin to sink in, from the way most of Makoto's weight is supported by Yuuki's larger form to the way Yuuki's arm is wrapped just so around the curve of Makoto's waist to the strangely natural-seeming position of Makoto's head, tucked neatly into the crook of Yuuki's neck. They look… peaceful, really, Tatsuya thinks, which is odd considering what they spend most of their day doing, and something about the hints of a smile lingering on their lips makes something inside Tatsuya's chest feel warm in a way with which he's not entirely comfortable.
He opens his mouth to speak-- Tatsuya's first reaction when he's uncomfortable is to speak-- but before any words come, he feels Tetsuya's hand on his shoulder and is quieted. He gives Tetsuya an inquisitive look, but Tetsuya only smiles back, vague and enigmatic as always, more of a hint of an expression than anything. "Let them be," Tetsuya says quietly, turning on his heel and looking back expectantly at Tatsuya as he walks back out the doorway.
Tatsuya glances back at them for a moment, taking one last look at their peace in an unexpected place, before he shrugs, turning and following Tetsuya from the room. Maybe he doesn't understand, maybe he never will, but whatever they have going on, whatever they've found in their bathroom-refuge, Tatsuya certainly doesn't want to disturb it.