Happy Santa_Smex, Kat8cha!
To: kat8cha
From: illuminations
Title: For Love of the Game
Recipient's name: kat8cha
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Niou/Yanagi
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: kat8cha, this was a pretty tricky pairing to tackle, and I didn't hit as many of your kinks as I wanted, but I do hope you enjoy it regardless. :) Thank you to L for the quick beta-ing!
Yanagi is the one that approaches Niou first.
After showering post-practice, Niou finds that the combination lock on his locker has been jammed and no amount of hitting, kicking, or shoulder-slamming is able to undo it. Trifling through Yagyuu's locker means nothing because Yagyuu's already left and he takes everything home to wash daily. Sanada ignores his problem while Yukimura and Kirihara laugh at him. After they leave, Niou is still sitting on the bench in only his towel, sulking with his head in his hands.
He's wondering how long it would take to run home and how many people would see him near stark-naked when a set of clothes gets tossed next to him. And not just any, but his.
"You won't defeat anyone in Seigaku like this."
Niou takes his clothes and starts putting them on haphazardly. His shirt is still rucked halfway up his chest when he peels away the towel and tugs on his boxers and pants. "Had to get me naked and willing to tell me that?" he mutters.
"Naked, wet, and willing." Yanagi sits down beside him and opens his notebook. It's the first time Niou has seen one this close up. The opportunity neither excites nor bores him as he knows Yanagi never writes down the juicy stuff anyway. He is, however, a little disturbed by Yanagi's sense of humor. "Seiichi isn't going to accept defeat." Niou knows what Yanagi is really saying; Yukimura isn't talking about himself at all.
"Yeah, thanks," he says flatly, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he slouches. "Definitely wasn't going to figure that one out on my own."
Yanagi continues as if he hadn't heard Niou at all. "Seishun Gakuen," he says, running a slender finger over the open page. Niou has always thought Yanagi possesses a secret flair for dramatics. "Your cheap tricks will get you laughed off the court."
Niou's back straightens just a little. "Cheap?" he repeats, keeping his tone casual. He sees the corner of Yanagi's mouth twitch slightly.
Snapping the notebook closed, Yanagi presses it to Niou's lap. "Memorize everything and then memorize it again backwards."
Niou takes it, flips it open, and doesn't know whether to laugh or be offended. He chooses both. "You're kidding me, right?" he says, snorting. When Yanagi just stares blankly back at him, he rolls his eyes and thrusts the notebook back into Yanagi's hands. "Is this like charity to you or something? Except instead of money, you give out your stupid data?"
Yanagi stands up and sets the notebook down on the bench in his stead. "No one's asking you to stop pretending," he says, and turns to Niou's locker. He takes a piece of folded up paper from his pocket and slips it between the latch and the locker's frame, pushing it back and forth. A paper clip falls out. "You just need to do it better," he finishes, then shoulders his bag and leaves.
Niou's left fuming, half because he knows it's stupid to be angry in the first place. He slams his locker open and grabs the rest of his things, then slams it shut again. When he turns around, the notebook is still there, placed perfectly parallel to the edges of the bench. He considers ditching the stupid thing, of course, but he knows Yanagi already expects him to do that and it makes him even more irritated. In the end, before he can change his mind, Niou snatches up the book and shoves it into his bag, finding at least some satisfaction when he feels the cover get crushed and folded in half.
Bastard can kiss my ass, he thinks.
---
The next day at practice, Yanagi smiles serenely at him. "By the weekend, Niou."
It dawns on Niou that of course his assumption was wrong. Of course Yanagi knew from the beginning that he would take the bait.
Even Kirihara looks a little terrified of Niou after their practice match.
---
When Friday afternoon rolls around, the notebook in Niou's bag bears almost no resemblance to the condition it was in when Yanagi gave it to him. Both covers have creases on them and all the pages are wrinkled. A few have been torn and then haphazardly taped back together.
Yanagi says nothing about it. He just starts quizzing right away.
"Rokkaku third year: Itsuki Marehiko."
Niou glowers at Yanagi as he leans against the locker room wall. "Irritating, dull, blows fucking steam out of his nose, and I hear he's screwing the pretty one."
"Do you think Seiichi would enjoy you quitting by yourself or kicking you off more?" Yanagi says casually, flipping through a few pages to the next team. "He has enjoyed venting his irritation physically as of late."
"Which would you prefer?" Niou says sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.
Yanagi raises his head and gives Niou the smile that's been annoying him all week. "Genichirou is fukubuchou because I don't need to be kept on a leash. Did you know?"
Niou blinks, caught off guard for once. That Yanagi can say that without batting an eye makes him realize just how sadistic Yanagi has the potential to be. It both scares and thrills him, and he finally gets why he has never bothered to harass Yanagi and Yukimura like he does the rest of the team. Yukimura makes a show of how terrifying he is and it works, but what Yanagi has just shown Niou is how much he hides that part of him. It might work even better.
"Remind me never to stay in a room alone with you and Yukimura."
Yanagi's shoulders jerk once and Niou wonders if that was actually a real laugh. "We should try it once to see if you'd really hate it as much as you think."
Niou's face twists up. "Is that a come on?"
"Yagyuu is already the team slut," Yanagi says. "I wouldn't dream of taking that away from him."
Niou doesn't really remember the last time he's laughed that hard.
---
Three weeks later, Niou is showing up at Yanagi's house to go over more teams, perfecting shots even though Niou knows he'll never use most of them. Though it's a hundred times less chaotic than his own home, he finds it intimidating still when Yanagi's mother opens the door and welcomes him in. It's almost as if he expects to be denied entrance every time.
"It is probable that you will be playing singles against Fuji Syuusuke," Yanagi tells him after his mother brings them tea.
Niou crosses his legs uncomfortably underneath the tea table. He doesn't understand why tea has to be served ten centimeters above the floor. "Okay. And?"
"Pretending won't do."
"What do you suggest then, smarty pants?"
When Yanagi tells him, it sounds so crazy that even he thinks quitting would be the better option.
He stays, though.
---
The first day Niou is able to pull off Muga no Kyouchi without problems is the day before the match against Seigaku.
Yukimura also yells at him that day in the middle of practice about how he has nothing and is nothing to the group but a liability.
It doesn't escape Niou's notice that Yanagi just stands there silently.
---
"Is the only thing you know how to be an asshole?" Niou spits at him when everyone's gone. "Come on, how much did you like watching Yukimura rip me apart?"
Yanagi closes his locker and sets the dial to zero. Niou wonders why they always end up here. "Are you my liability, too, now?"
"Fuck you."
Yanagi turns around and stares at him. "You didn't say anything either. Why not?"
Niou scowls and turns his head to the side. He knows taking his anger out on Yanagi is uncalled for when the other was under no obligation to defend him.
"You want the satisfaction of deceiving even him, don't you?" Yanagi says. Niou doesn't confirm nor reject his claim. Yanagi approaches him and Niou looks up again. "If you say yes, I'll apologize for making you endure Seiichi's wrath."
Niou scoffs. "You really love doing this to people."
Yanagi smiles. "Love is a strong word," he says, and then he kisses Niou.
It lasts for about a two seconds until Niou shoves him off. "What the fuck!" he says, but Yanagi's mouth just moves down to his throat, sucking and biting, hands on Niou's waist pushing him against the wall.
"You would love to toy with Seiichi, wouldn't you?" Yanagi says, clearly not a real question at all, as one hand slides over to work deftly at Niou's pants. Niou closes his eyes, thinking how stupid it is that Yanagi's right. How stupid he is for being so transparent.
Even though Niou's sure that Yanagi would never be on his top ten list of people to mess around with, he still somehow can't bring himself to push Yanagi away a second time. He wonders if it's because he really doesn't mind this or Yanagi's just that good at manipulating. His brain decides it doesn't matter when Yanagi's hand delves into his pants and fingers wrap around him tightly.
They stay like that, Niou fisting the back of Yanagi's shirt as Yanagi strokes him to hardness while sucking on his throat firmly. It doesn't take long before he's coming into Yanagi's palm, hissing softly as Yanagi bites down on the bruise he's just made.
Yanagi detaches himself and goes to the sink area, leaving Niou slouched against the wall and out of breath. "I thought you were going to apologize," he calls, once the sound of running water stops.
"Didn't I?" Yanagi comes back, nothing about him out of place.
Niou snorts. "Didn't know sexual favors were a thing for you." Yanagi smiles and it might be because Niou still doesn't have his bearings, but it looks genuine for once.
"If you really annoy Seiichi tomorrow, I may agree to a repeat."
---
Niou watches Yanagi and Kirihara's doubles match with almost a childlike glee, paying more attention than ever to the way Yanagi plays, how he manipulates the other team and even his own doubles partner.
It makes Niou's skin itch with the need to be out there doing the same.
When it is finally his turn, Niou passes Yanagi as he steps onto the court. "I'm getting more than a handjob this time," he says, spinning his racket in his hand.
Yanagi glances over at Seiichi on the bench, then over to Seigaku's side as Fuji enters the court. He smiles.
"Have fun, Niou."
Art by Tara?- if you happen to know, please drop a line so the artist can be properly credited.