Happy Spring Everyone!
Title: Sweet the Sting
Recipient's name: For the lovers, the dreamers and me.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Momoshiro/Kaidoh
Summary: Momo decides it's Kaidoh's fault; after all, he started it.
Word Count: ~3850
Author's notes: You have no idea how thrilled I was to get your request. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you so much to L for unwittingly giving me the idea, and to my beta-reader for putting up with my nonsense.
"I don't want to," Momo groans. "I don't."
The groaning would probably be more convincing if it weren't the fourth time in the past hour that Momo had complained about having to sleep next to Kaidoh in the Rokkaku dormitory.
It's Kaidoh's fault, though. He'd punched Momo on the beach and Momo of course had no choice but to punch back and soon they were in a full-out fistfight while their teammates packed up their training gear and headed back to the dormitory to shower and get ready for bed.
No matter that Kaidoh only punched Momo because Momo stole and broke the shell Kaidoh found. It had been an ugly shell anyway, Momo thinks, and besides, only girls do stupid things like collect shells.
He groans again and rolls over on the mattress to look at Kaidoh. What he ends up looking at though is Kaidoh's blanket, which is pulled up and over his head, concealing him entirely.
"Kaidoh?" Momo asks. The blanket moves lumpily.
"Kaidoh!" Momo says, louder this time, but not loud enough to wake up Ryuzaki-sensei and Ojii who are asleep at the other end of the hall. The blanket shifts again and a bee starts to circle Momo's head. Momo sits up. It buzzes near his ear and Momo gets an idea.
"Are you scared, mamushi?" Momo's voice is down to a whisper again now. He smirks to himself.
"No," comes the muffled reply.
"Then why are you hiding under your blanket?" There's a second bee now, dancing around with the first. Momo wonders if there are this many bees in Tokyo and he's just never paid attention. "It's really hot tonight."
"I'm tired, moron. Shut up and let me sleep."
"Are you..." Momo inches closer "...afraid of bees, Kaidoh?"
Kaidoh's head pops up from under the blanket and he grabs Momo by the collar. "Asshole! I'm not afraid!" Then he lets go and his voice lowers. "I have an allergy, okay?"
Momo laughs. "To bees?"
"What, like it's impossible or something?" Kaidoh rolls his eyes and lets out a slow hiss. "Read more books, Momoshiro. Maybe you'd learn something." Then Kaidoh disappears under the covers again and Momo hears him shifting as he rolls onto his side, away from Momo.
Momo wonders what a bee allergy means, how serious it is. He ate his lunch during a lesson about allergies once, and his sister is lactose intolerant. But bees? He wonders if Kaidoh would die if he got stung and thinks maybe he'll ask Inui-senpai about it tomorrow, that is, if Inui-senpai is feeling talkative and has recovered from the "silver seat". Davide kept saying that his silence seemed fishy.
Momo watches the Kaidoh-shaped blanket lump for a few more minutes before leaning on his back and waiting to fall asleep.
*
There are still bees buzzing around the dormitory in the morning and Momo can hear them, but he doesn't mind because he's still hovering in that haze between sleep and wakefulness and he's having a good dream. His toes curl.
It's that same one, the one where the cute Rikkaidai cheerleader is working at McDonald's and brings him a whole pile of burgers and fries, all free of charge.
"Mmm," he hums, feeling his mouth water. He grips the corner of his pillow as the cheerleader walks closer, the pile of hamburgers shaking with each step, tempting him, threatening to topple off the tray and scatter on the floor all around him. Momo hums again and licks his lips and the cheerleader giggles, a sweet, buttery kind of laughter that only makes Momo hungrier. He tries to climb to stand up and move closer to her, to the burgers, but his feet are tangled in his blanket.
His stomach growls.
The bees are still buzzing and the girl is still laughing and the burgers are still sizzling deliciously and Momo's stomach is growling in anticipation and-
"Fsshuu."
Momo's eyes snap open.
Kaidoh is hovering over him with a really confused expression, his eyes wider than ever.
"Kaidoh," Momo grumbles, as the hamburgers disappear one by one.
Kaidoh hisses again. "You are so disgusting."
Momo kicks him in the shin, but not as hard as he would've liked. He's still just waking up, after all.
*
Momo decides that he kind of likes Rokkaku. They're not uptight and stupid like Kaidoh, for one thing, and they're all laidback and fun and really seem to appreciate the value of a tasty snack or good prank or, Momo's most favorite hobby, bothering Echizen.
That night after both teams had finished running, Kentarou invited everyone down to the pier to swim. The swimming, of course, turned into a full-scale water war, with Eiji and Momo teaming up and dunking everyone in sight, including an ever-spluttering Oishi.
Now, an hour later, they all sit on the pier with their feet dangling in the water, and one by one they get up, collect their towels, and walk back up to the dormitory. Momo leans back and looks at the sky which is clearer here than in Tokyo and he feels really good, in spite of the bees and bugs and sand scratching between his toes and Kaidoh's breathing.
That's when Momo realizes that everyone else has already gone back except for the two of them. Momo contemplates shoving Kaidoh off the pier and making a run for it. But then he decides that sticking around and taunting him might be even more fun.
He gets to his feet and looks down at Kaidoh. "If you stay out here too long, a bee might get you," he says. "That wouldn't be good, wouldn't at all. You'd probably turn bright red and puffy and even uglier than you are already."
That gets Kaidoh to his feet and he charges at Momo, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and jabbing his other hand into Momo's chest.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Momo grins and shoves Kaidoh back, feeling a little lost without Kaidoh wearing a shirt to grab onto. Kaidoh punches Momo in the face, right in the jaw and it stings, and so Momo does the only thing he can think to and punches Kaidoh in the arm and then throws him off the pier.
Then he jumps off the pier after him.
Fighting in water is harder than fighting on land and they both abandon the idea of trying to drown each other and return to something simpler. Momo's out of the water first and he waves to Kaidoh. "Come and get me, you stupid snake!" he calls.
Kaidoh hisses and Momo braces himself as Kaidoh tackles him to the ground. "You wanna go at it?" Kaidoh asks, as he shoves sand down the front of Momo's shirt, a dangerous tone to his voice. Kaidoh's shorts feel like dead fish wriggling all over Momo's skin and he pushes back until he can feel himself getting the upper hand. As soon as he has Kaidoh rolled over and pinned to the ground, he picks up a handful of wet sand and cakes it into Kaidoh's hair.
Kaidoh writhes and growls and then he does the same thing back to Momo. He punches Kaidoh in the chin and Momo punches back, responding to every challenge point for taken point. When they get back onto their feet again, Kaidoh slams Momo up against one of the posts under the pier and that's when the fight changes. Momo can feel splinters digging into his back through the shirt and Kaidoh stares at him for a short, scared moment, and then he kisses Momo hard on the mouth and doesn't pull back.
There's a split-second where Momo is confused, but then he realizes what Kaidoh is doing. He's just trying to turn the tables, to catch Momo off-guard. Momo grabs the back of Kaidoh's neck and kisses him back, doing it properly - eyes closed and all, and thinks this is no different from all of their other fights, thinks simply, I won't lose to you. The whole time it's happening, Kaidoh doesn't think about how Kaidoh kisses differently from the way a girl would, or the way his tongue is inside Kaidoh's mouth, or the way Kaidoh's hands are under Momo's shirt and aren't punching but grabbing, touching everywhere, holding.
It feels exhilarating, just like everything they do together.
Momo fights Kaidoh for control of the kiss, for the speed and angle, and he doesn't really realize that he's enjoying it until he hears himself groan into Kaidoh's mouth, a rumbling vibration around his tongue, around Kaidoh's tongue, and then his eyes open and he actually looks at Kaidoh. Kaidoh's eyes are shut tightly like he's concentrating overmuch or just doesn't want to risk looking at Momo from this close up. And it's true, the angle is a little strange so Momo closes his eyes again and tries to concentrate too.
He wonders how long it will take for him to be declared the winner.
Kaidoh presses up against him and Momo feels, well, he feels Kaidoh against him. And Momo gets an idea and that's when it happens. Momo's fingers find the front of Kaidoh's swimming trunks and he reaches down the front and grabs and Kaidoh lets out this high-pitched shriek and springs away from Momo.
And Momo isn't sure what he's supposed to do next. He looks at Kaidoh, looks at the front of Kaidoh's pants, looks back up into Kaidoh's face.
Kaidoh punches Momo in the mouth and runs away.
Momo looks after him and feels like diving into the ocean and not bothering to come up for air. He wonders if it's possible to be allergic to kissing the way Kaidoh is allergic to bees because he suddenly feels like he's going to throw up.
*
When Momo gets back to the dormitories, Kaidoh is already asleep, or at least he looks like he’s asleep, and he’s facing away from Momo’s mattress, his arm curled around his pillow.
“Dumbass,” Momo whispers, but Kaidoh doesn’t budge. Momo wants to smack him in the face, but everyone else is asleep too, and waking up Kaidoh to start another fight would probably only end in punishment for both of them.
Momo lies down and rolls on his side so that his back is to Kaidoh’s, so that he’s facing the open doorway and porch. He'll probably wake up with his mouth full of sand or bugs or something, but he doesn't care. It’s better than having to look at stupid Kaidoh as he’s trying to get to sleep. It’s bad enough that he can’t stop thinking about him and the way the whole... thing seemed to happen out of nowhere and somehow Kaidoh twisted it all around to make it Momo’s fault even though Kaidoh started the whole thing in the first place. Momo still feels like he's going to throw up or die, like something's stinging at his stomach.
It really isn’t fair. Kaidoh was the one who had to get weird and yet Momo's the one feeling guilty while Kaidoh is over there fast asleep.
Momo breathes in and breathes out and tries to distract himself with thoughts of girls - the Rikkaidai cheerleaders, the girls in art club, the cute cashier at McDonald’s... but nothing seems to work. The thoughts get twisted around in his head with snake shots and bandanas and that’s no good at all. He doesn't want to think about Kaidoh as a girl, or worse, as a burger, and he doesn't want to think about Kaidoh as Kaidoh most of all.
He stays awake for a long time listening to the sounds of everyone sleeping until his mind is too tired to do any more thinking.
*
Luckily for Momo, he wakes up the next morning before Kaidoh does, and so doesn't have to explain another awkward dream. Kaidoh's blanket has slid down around his chest now but his fingers are still curled in the edges of it like a shield. Momo still thinks he must be joking about the bee thing. Only Kaidoh would be allergic to something so stupid.
And he is stupid, even if right now he looks slightly less stupid than usual. Momo wonders what Kaidoh’s dreaming about, and realizes that he didn’t dream at all the night before, which is really odd, but then he considers the alternative, which would be dreaming about Kaidoh, and it’s probably for the best. He hopes Kaidoh isn’t having weird dreams about him.
Momo sits up and leans over Kaidoh, but only just. Kaidoh doesn’t snore, doesn’t breathe loudly, and hasn’t even really moved from the position he was in when Momo got back to the dormitory after their fight. Momo wonders if maybe Kaidoh’s dead. Maybe a bee stung him and he's dead. If Kaidoh is dead, Momo would have to kill him. He can't just die after kissing Momo on the lips and then running away. That would be really stupid. Momo would hate him even more than he already does which is, he reassures himself, an awful lot.
He's about to poke Kaidoh to check when Fuji lets out what sounds like a chuckle. Momo freezes and his eyes dart across the room to Fuji’s mattress. Fuji isn’t watching them, at least, Momo doesn’t think he is. Maybe he’s asleep, but with Fuji, it’s really hard to tell, and the last thing wants is for someone to catch him watching Kaidoh in the early morning.
It's Fuji, though, so chances are he already knows what's going on anyway.
Momo lies back down against his pillow and flings his blanket back over himself. Then he pretends to sleep until he hears Inui’s wristwatch alarm go off.
He thinks today he will put sand in Kaidoh's shoes and tie the laces together until he can think of a better revenge.
*
Kaidoh is the last one to arrive, grumbling an excuse to Inui-senpai about his shoes, and he doesn't even look at Momo, just slings his bag under the bus and climbs aboard.
Momo feels that stingy feeling again only this time it's even stronger, and weirdly concentrated on the tip of his knee. He glares at Kaidoh up through the window before shoving his things under the bus as well. The stinging doesn't go away. It really hurts.
It isn't until the bee flies away that Momo realizes what just happened.
Ow. He looks at his knee. It's turning an angry red color.
He climbs on the bus and tries to ignore it, but there's Kaidoh and somehow even this is Kaidoh's fault, and Eiji's sitting next to Kaidoh and behind them are Inui and Fuji and across from them Taka is sprawled and napping and so Momo takes a seat in the back and stares angrily at stupid Kaidoh. Everyone seems to notice that there are more bruises on both Momo and Kaidoh's faces than there were yesterday but no one seems willing to mention it, which is for the best because Momo wishes he could just erase last night from his memory.
Eiji is offering to braid Kaidoh's hair: "Please, Kaoru-chan~" he whines, and Kaidoh grunts something that sounds like a protest. Sure his hair is pretty girly, Momo thinks, and so are his hands, come to think of it, but Kaidoh isn't a girl and that's the root of Momo's problem.
Momo can only just see the top of Kaidoh's bandana from where he's sitting. He wants to sit behind him and kick the back of Kaidoh's seat. He wants to sit next to him and make him explain.
He finds a rubber band in his bag and spends the rest of the bus ride aiming it at the back of Kaidoh's head and imagining the look on his face if Momo let go and sent it flying. It's strangely unfulfilling and on top of that, his knee still stings like hell.
*
Momo is almost surprised to wake up in his bed, to not roll over and see Kaidoh next to him. It feels sort of foreign. It also feels itchy, and that's when Momo remembers the bee sting. His mother said it looked like it might be infected, and gave him some lotion for it, and then asked him how the training camp was. Momo said it was fine and he was fine, and the sting was nothing, and he wasn't going to die, because he sure wasn't going to die for a bee and lose to Kaidoh when Kaidoh was the one who had the allergy to begin with.
When Momo kicks off the blanket though, his knee is covered in a rash and Momo wonders if he could be allergic to something and just not realize it.
He thinks about calling Kaidoh to ask him about it, but he can't think of anything good to say beyond, "You're so stupid," and "I hate you," neither of which would really justify the phone call.
He decides that maybe he will call up Eiji or Echizen and invite them for burgers - their treat. Echizen's number is busy, and Momo doesn't bother to leave a message. Echizen would probably just tell him, "Some other time". He's been saying that a lot lately, since Tezuka-buchou left for Kyuushuu.
Momo goes to call Eiji up next and later he will say that it was a mistake, but even later, he will say that maybe it wasn't, but at any rate, he calls Kaidoh instead.
Momo doesn't mean to call Kaidoh. He put him in his phonebook once under "moron" and gave him a stupid ring tone. Of course Kaidoh hasn't ever called him, but Momo thinks that, if he did, it would be worth it.
He means to call Eiji, but - Kaidoh is one after Eiji on Momo's speed dial. When he hears the hiss on the other line, he realizes his error, and Momo feels a strange ache, like hunger only worse, and he feels embarrassed, but frozen too, and then he finds himself saying, "Mamushi?"
"Momoshiro?" comes the gruff reply.
Momo wants to hang up but is unable to.
"I got stung," he says.
There's a pause as though Kaidoh is trying to figure out what Momo means.
"By a bee…" Momo prompts.
"Oh," Kaidoh says. "You idiot. You said you weren't allergic."
"I didn't know I was!" Momo protests. "I've never been stung before!"
Kaidoh sighs but it sounds more like a hiss. "Listen," he begins. "I have some stuff in my house if you want. It will keep it from itching."
"I don't mind the itch," Momo says, even though it's a lie. "Don't mind it at all." He can't say he minds to Kaidoh. "Why do you even care if it hurts?"
"I don't care, you idiot."
"Yes you do," Momo sing-songs. "Tell you what, if they have to amputate my leg, I'll send it to you."
"Gross."
"I'll be over soon."
"Fine."
When Momo hangs up, he wonders what he's just agreed to, and why he feels suddenly jittery rather than angry.
*
Kaidoh's mother is great. As soon as Momo shows up, she invites Momo in and asks him if he'd like any snacks and by the time Momo gets up to Kaidoh's room, he has a bowl of cookies and chips and two juice boxes and a box of pocky. Kaidoh gives him a skeptical, flat look when he opens his bedroom door, and then lets Momo in.
"You're not staying," he says simply.
Momo shrugs. "That doesn't mean I can't eat. I was hungry."
"You're always hungry." Kaidoh grabs a bottle off his desk and sitting down in the chair and offering Momo a seat on the bed. "Here, put this on your knee. It will help the rash and the itching." He looks at Momo's face. "Do those hurt much?" Momo touches his face where Kaidoh hit him. "Not any more than usual."
"Oh," Kaidoh says, sounding disappointed.
"You don't look so great either," Momo observes.
"Yeah," Kaidoh replies.
Momo tries to twist the cap on the bottle but his hands are greasy and chocolatey and he can't quite get it.
Kaidoh rolls his chair over to the edge of the bed. "Here, I can get it."
"I can do it, moron."
"You're the moron," Kaidoh says, leaning closer and covering Momo's hands with his own. "Now do you believe in allergies?" He twists and the cap comes off, but he isn't even looking at the bottle.
"Kaidoh-"
Kaidoh lets go.
Momo blinks. "I thought you were going to kiss me again," Momo says. His words sound stunned.
"Shut up."
Momo isn't sure why he still feels on edge, as though he's waiting for something to happen, for it to happen again. And then it hits him, the way he moves faster, better, when Kaidoh's there, the way his hands feel full when his fingers are clenched in Kaidoh's shirt, the way he liked it. The way he always likes any of it when he's with Kaidoh. All of it.
And suddenly whatever it was that was holding him back disappears like the wrapper off a burger.
He sets the bottle down and grabs Kaidoh by the collar and pulls until their faces are mere inches apart.
"Mamushi," Momo says, "don't punch me."
Kaidoh growls his threat and raises his hands, his fingers curled tightly into fists and Momo thinks his jaw is going to be really sore tomorrow.
But Momo does it anyway, kisses Kaidoh because he wanted to and damned if it wouldn't be worth the bruises. That's something Momo has realized. Nothing is ever easy with Kaidoh. It's all hurdles and obstacles. But the end result is worth it. He tugs Kaidoh's collar until their mouths press together, and this time there isn't a moment of hesitation. And this time it isn't about challenge or fighting or winning. Because Momo understands, and so it's already his victory. He's not fighting against Kaidoh in this. He doesn't have to.
Kaidoh pulls back and fists both hands in Momo's collar so that they're even again.
"I'm going to kill you," Kaidoh says.
Momo raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" And then his mouth is back over Kaidoh's again and this time Kaidoh is kissing back and somehow Momo knows that Kaidoh isn't going to run away this time, no matter what happens, and okay, maybe that's just because they're in Kaidoh's room and that would be sort of weird. This feels more comfortable this time, anyway, and not just because Momo's shorts aren't full of sand, and he doesn't have splinters in his spine. It feels good.
As Kaidoh slides his tongue between Momo's lips, Momo wonders where he might be able to find a hive of bees to set loose in Kaidoh's room. Fair is fair, after all.
Momo grins and pulls the bandana down over Kaidoh's eyes. Then he kisses him again.
This time, Kaidoh hits him in the face. It stings.
- fin -
Recipient's name: For the lovers, the dreamers and me.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Momoshiro/Kaidoh
Summary: Momo decides it's Kaidoh's fault; after all, he started it.
Word Count: ~3850
Author's notes: You have no idea how thrilled I was to get your request. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you so much to L for unwittingly giving me the idea, and to my beta-reader for putting up with my nonsense.
"I don't want to," Momo groans. "I don't."
The groaning would probably be more convincing if it weren't the fourth time in the past hour that Momo had complained about having to sleep next to Kaidoh in the Rokkaku dormitory.
It's Kaidoh's fault, though. He'd punched Momo on the beach and Momo of course had no choice but to punch back and soon they were in a full-out fistfight while their teammates packed up their training gear and headed back to the dormitory to shower and get ready for bed.
No matter that Kaidoh only punched Momo because Momo stole and broke the shell Kaidoh found. It had been an ugly shell anyway, Momo thinks, and besides, only girls do stupid things like collect shells.
He groans again and rolls over on the mattress to look at Kaidoh. What he ends up looking at though is Kaidoh's blanket, which is pulled up and over his head, concealing him entirely.
"Kaidoh?" Momo asks. The blanket moves lumpily.
"Kaidoh!" Momo says, louder this time, but not loud enough to wake up Ryuzaki-sensei and Ojii who are asleep at the other end of the hall. The blanket shifts again and a bee starts to circle Momo's head. Momo sits up. It buzzes near his ear and Momo gets an idea.
"Are you scared, mamushi?" Momo's voice is down to a whisper again now. He smirks to himself.
"No," comes the muffled reply.
"Then why are you hiding under your blanket?" There's a second bee now, dancing around with the first. Momo wonders if there are this many bees in Tokyo and he's just never paid attention. "It's really hot tonight."
"I'm tired, moron. Shut up and let me sleep."
"Are you..." Momo inches closer "...afraid of bees, Kaidoh?"
Kaidoh's head pops up from under the blanket and he grabs Momo by the collar. "Asshole! I'm not afraid!" Then he lets go and his voice lowers. "I have an allergy, okay?"
Momo laughs. "To bees?"
"What, like it's impossible or something?" Kaidoh rolls his eyes and lets out a slow hiss. "Read more books, Momoshiro. Maybe you'd learn something." Then Kaidoh disappears under the covers again and Momo hears him shifting as he rolls onto his side, away from Momo.
Momo wonders what a bee allergy means, how serious it is. He ate his lunch during a lesson about allergies once, and his sister is lactose intolerant. But bees? He wonders if Kaidoh would die if he got stung and thinks maybe he'll ask Inui-senpai about it tomorrow, that is, if Inui-senpai is feeling talkative and has recovered from the "silver seat". Davide kept saying that his silence seemed fishy.
Momo watches the Kaidoh-shaped blanket lump for a few more minutes before leaning on his back and waiting to fall asleep.
*
There are still bees buzzing around the dormitory in the morning and Momo can hear them, but he doesn't mind because he's still hovering in that haze between sleep and wakefulness and he's having a good dream. His toes curl.
It's that same one, the one where the cute Rikkaidai cheerleader is working at McDonald's and brings him a whole pile of burgers and fries, all free of charge.
"Mmm," he hums, feeling his mouth water. He grips the corner of his pillow as the cheerleader walks closer, the pile of hamburgers shaking with each step, tempting him, threatening to topple off the tray and scatter on the floor all around him. Momo hums again and licks his lips and the cheerleader giggles, a sweet, buttery kind of laughter that only makes Momo hungrier. He tries to climb to stand up and move closer to her, to the burgers, but his feet are tangled in his blanket.
His stomach growls.
The bees are still buzzing and the girl is still laughing and the burgers are still sizzling deliciously and Momo's stomach is growling in anticipation and-
"Fsshuu."
Momo's eyes snap open.
Kaidoh is hovering over him with a really confused expression, his eyes wider than ever.
"Kaidoh," Momo grumbles, as the hamburgers disappear one by one.
Kaidoh hisses again. "You are so disgusting."
Momo kicks him in the shin, but not as hard as he would've liked. He's still just waking up, after all.
*
Momo decides that he kind of likes Rokkaku. They're not uptight and stupid like Kaidoh, for one thing, and they're all laidback and fun and really seem to appreciate the value of a tasty snack or good prank or, Momo's most favorite hobby, bothering Echizen.
That night after both teams had finished running, Kentarou invited everyone down to the pier to swim. The swimming, of course, turned into a full-scale water war, with Eiji and Momo teaming up and dunking everyone in sight, including an ever-spluttering Oishi.
Now, an hour later, they all sit on the pier with their feet dangling in the water, and one by one they get up, collect their towels, and walk back up to the dormitory. Momo leans back and looks at the sky which is clearer here than in Tokyo and he feels really good, in spite of the bees and bugs and sand scratching between his toes and Kaidoh's breathing.
That's when Momo realizes that everyone else has already gone back except for the two of them. Momo contemplates shoving Kaidoh off the pier and making a run for it. But then he decides that sticking around and taunting him might be even more fun.
He gets to his feet and looks down at Kaidoh. "If you stay out here too long, a bee might get you," he says. "That wouldn't be good, wouldn't at all. You'd probably turn bright red and puffy and even uglier than you are already."
That gets Kaidoh to his feet and he charges at Momo, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and jabbing his other hand into Momo's chest.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Momo grins and shoves Kaidoh back, feeling a little lost without Kaidoh wearing a shirt to grab onto. Kaidoh punches Momo in the face, right in the jaw and it stings, and so Momo does the only thing he can think to and punches Kaidoh in the arm and then throws him off the pier.
Then he jumps off the pier after him.
Fighting in water is harder than fighting on land and they both abandon the idea of trying to drown each other and return to something simpler. Momo's out of the water first and he waves to Kaidoh. "Come and get me, you stupid snake!" he calls.
Kaidoh hisses and Momo braces himself as Kaidoh tackles him to the ground. "You wanna go at it?" Kaidoh asks, as he shoves sand down the front of Momo's shirt, a dangerous tone to his voice. Kaidoh's shorts feel like dead fish wriggling all over Momo's skin and he pushes back until he can feel himself getting the upper hand. As soon as he has Kaidoh rolled over and pinned to the ground, he picks up a handful of wet sand and cakes it into Kaidoh's hair.
Kaidoh writhes and growls and then he does the same thing back to Momo. He punches Kaidoh in the chin and Momo punches back, responding to every challenge point for taken point. When they get back onto their feet again, Kaidoh slams Momo up against one of the posts under the pier and that's when the fight changes. Momo can feel splinters digging into his back through the shirt and Kaidoh stares at him for a short, scared moment, and then he kisses Momo hard on the mouth and doesn't pull back.
There's a split-second where Momo is confused, but then he realizes what Kaidoh is doing. He's just trying to turn the tables, to catch Momo off-guard. Momo grabs the back of Kaidoh's neck and kisses him back, doing it properly - eyes closed and all, and thinks this is no different from all of their other fights, thinks simply, I won't lose to you. The whole time it's happening, Kaidoh doesn't think about how Kaidoh kisses differently from the way a girl would, or the way his tongue is inside Kaidoh's mouth, or the way Kaidoh's hands are under Momo's shirt and aren't punching but grabbing, touching everywhere, holding.
It feels exhilarating, just like everything they do together.
Momo fights Kaidoh for control of the kiss, for the speed and angle, and he doesn't really realize that he's enjoying it until he hears himself groan into Kaidoh's mouth, a rumbling vibration around his tongue, around Kaidoh's tongue, and then his eyes open and he actually looks at Kaidoh. Kaidoh's eyes are shut tightly like he's concentrating overmuch or just doesn't want to risk looking at Momo from this close up. And it's true, the angle is a little strange so Momo closes his eyes again and tries to concentrate too.
He wonders how long it will take for him to be declared the winner.
Kaidoh presses up against him and Momo feels, well, he feels Kaidoh against him. And Momo gets an idea and that's when it happens. Momo's fingers find the front of Kaidoh's swimming trunks and he reaches down the front and grabs and Kaidoh lets out this high-pitched shriek and springs away from Momo.
And Momo isn't sure what he's supposed to do next. He looks at Kaidoh, looks at the front of Kaidoh's pants, looks back up into Kaidoh's face.
Kaidoh punches Momo in the mouth and runs away.
Momo looks after him and feels like diving into the ocean and not bothering to come up for air. He wonders if it's possible to be allergic to kissing the way Kaidoh is allergic to bees because he suddenly feels like he's going to throw up.
*
When Momo gets back to the dormitories, Kaidoh is already asleep, or at least he looks like he’s asleep, and he’s facing away from Momo’s mattress, his arm curled around his pillow.
“Dumbass,” Momo whispers, but Kaidoh doesn’t budge. Momo wants to smack him in the face, but everyone else is asleep too, and waking up Kaidoh to start another fight would probably only end in punishment for both of them.
Momo lies down and rolls on his side so that his back is to Kaidoh’s, so that he’s facing the open doorway and porch. He'll probably wake up with his mouth full of sand or bugs or something, but he doesn't care. It’s better than having to look at stupid Kaidoh as he’s trying to get to sleep. It’s bad enough that he can’t stop thinking about him and the way the whole... thing seemed to happen out of nowhere and somehow Kaidoh twisted it all around to make it Momo’s fault even though Kaidoh started the whole thing in the first place. Momo still feels like he's going to throw up or die, like something's stinging at his stomach.
It really isn’t fair. Kaidoh was the one who had to get weird and yet Momo's the one feeling guilty while Kaidoh is over there fast asleep.
Momo breathes in and breathes out and tries to distract himself with thoughts of girls - the Rikkaidai cheerleaders, the girls in art club, the cute cashier at McDonald’s... but nothing seems to work. The thoughts get twisted around in his head with snake shots and bandanas and that’s no good at all. He doesn't want to think about Kaidoh as a girl, or worse, as a burger, and he doesn't want to think about Kaidoh as Kaidoh most of all.
He stays awake for a long time listening to the sounds of everyone sleeping until his mind is too tired to do any more thinking.
*
Luckily for Momo, he wakes up the next morning before Kaidoh does, and so doesn't have to explain another awkward dream. Kaidoh's blanket has slid down around his chest now but his fingers are still curled in the edges of it like a shield. Momo still thinks he must be joking about the bee thing. Only Kaidoh would be allergic to something so stupid.
And he is stupid, even if right now he looks slightly less stupid than usual. Momo wonders what Kaidoh’s dreaming about, and realizes that he didn’t dream at all the night before, which is really odd, but then he considers the alternative, which would be dreaming about Kaidoh, and it’s probably for the best. He hopes Kaidoh isn’t having weird dreams about him.
Momo sits up and leans over Kaidoh, but only just. Kaidoh doesn’t snore, doesn’t breathe loudly, and hasn’t even really moved from the position he was in when Momo got back to the dormitory after their fight. Momo wonders if maybe Kaidoh’s dead. Maybe a bee stung him and he's dead. If Kaidoh is dead, Momo would have to kill him. He can't just die after kissing Momo on the lips and then running away. That would be really stupid. Momo would hate him even more than he already does which is, he reassures himself, an awful lot.
He's about to poke Kaidoh to check when Fuji lets out what sounds like a chuckle. Momo freezes and his eyes dart across the room to Fuji’s mattress. Fuji isn’t watching them, at least, Momo doesn’t think he is. Maybe he’s asleep, but with Fuji, it’s really hard to tell, and the last thing wants is for someone to catch him watching Kaidoh in the early morning.
It's Fuji, though, so chances are he already knows what's going on anyway.
Momo lies back down against his pillow and flings his blanket back over himself. Then he pretends to sleep until he hears Inui’s wristwatch alarm go off.
He thinks today he will put sand in Kaidoh's shoes and tie the laces together until he can think of a better revenge.
*
Kaidoh is the last one to arrive, grumbling an excuse to Inui-senpai about his shoes, and he doesn't even look at Momo, just slings his bag under the bus and climbs aboard.
Momo feels that stingy feeling again only this time it's even stronger, and weirdly concentrated on the tip of his knee. He glares at Kaidoh up through the window before shoving his things under the bus as well. The stinging doesn't go away. It really hurts.
It isn't until the bee flies away that Momo realizes what just happened.
Ow. He looks at his knee. It's turning an angry red color.
He climbs on the bus and tries to ignore it, but there's Kaidoh and somehow even this is Kaidoh's fault, and Eiji's sitting next to Kaidoh and behind them are Inui and Fuji and across from them Taka is sprawled and napping and so Momo takes a seat in the back and stares angrily at stupid Kaidoh. Everyone seems to notice that there are more bruises on both Momo and Kaidoh's faces than there were yesterday but no one seems willing to mention it, which is for the best because Momo wishes he could just erase last night from his memory.
Eiji is offering to braid Kaidoh's hair: "Please, Kaoru-chan~" he whines, and Kaidoh grunts something that sounds like a protest. Sure his hair is pretty girly, Momo thinks, and so are his hands, come to think of it, but Kaidoh isn't a girl and that's the root of Momo's problem.
Momo can only just see the top of Kaidoh's bandana from where he's sitting. He wants to sit behind him and kick the back of Kaidoh's seat. He wants to sit next to him and make him explain.
He finds a rubber band in his bag and spends the rest of the bus ride aiming it at the back of Kaidoh's head and imagining the look on his face if Momo let go and sent it flying. It's strangely unfulfilling and on top of that, his knee still stings like hell.
*
Momo is almost surprised to wake up in his bed, to not roll over and see Kaidoh next to him. It feels sort of foreign. It also feels itchy, and that's when Momo remembers the bee sting. His mother said it looked like it might be infected, and gave him some lotion for it, and then asked him how the training camp was. Momo said it was fine and he was fine, and the sting was nothing, and he wasn't going to die, because he sure wasn't going to die for a bee and lose to Kaidoh when Kaidoh was the one who had the allergy to begin with.
When Momo kicks off the blanket though, his knee is covered in a rash and Momo wonders if he could be allergic to something and just not realize it.
He thinks about calling Kaidoh to ask him about it, but he can't think of anything good to say beyond, "You're so stupid," and "I hate you," neither of which would really justify the phone call.
He decides that maybe he will call up Eiji or Echizen and invite them for burgers - their treat. Echizen's number is busy, and Momo doesn't bother to leave a message. Echizen would probably just tell him, "Some other time". He's been saying that a lot lately, since Tezuka-buchou left for Kyuushuu.
Momo goes to call Eiji up next and later he will say that it was a mistake, but even later, he will say that maybe it wasn't, but at any rate, he calls Kaidoh instead.
Momo doesn't mean to call Kaidoh. He put him in his phonebook once under "moron" and gave him a stupid ring tone. Of course Kaidoh hasn't ever called him, but Momo thinks that, if he did, it would be worth it.
He means to call Eiji, but - Kaidoh is one after Eiji on Momo's speed dial. When he hears the hiss on the other line, he realizes his error, and Momo feels a strange ache, like hunger only worse, and he feels embarrassed, but frozen too, and then he finds himself saying, "Mamushi?"
"Momoshiro?" comes the gruff reply.
Momo wants to hang up but is unable to.
"I got stung," he says.
There's a pause as though Kaidoh is trying to figure out what Momo means.
"By a bee…" Momo prompts.
"Oh," Kaidoh says. "You idiot. You said you weren't allergic."
"I didn't know I was!" Momo protests. "I've never been stung before!"
Kaidoh sighs but it sounds more like a hiss. "Listen," he begins. "I have some stuff in my house if you want. It will keep it from itching."
"I don't mind the itch," Momo says, even though it's a lie. "Don't mind it at all." He can't say he minds to Kaidoh. "Why do you even care if it hurts?"
"I don't care, you idiot."
"Yes you do," Momo sing-songs. "Tell you what, if they have to amputate my leg, I'll send it to you."
"Gross."
"I'll be over soon."
"Fine."
When Momo hangs up, he wonders what he's just agreed to, and why he feels suddenly jittery rather than angry.
*
Kaidoh's mother is great. As soon as Momo shows up, she invites Momo in and asks him if he'd like any snacks and by the time Momo gets up to Kaidoh's room, he has a bowl of cookies and chips and two juice boxes and a box of pocky. Kaidoh gives him a skeptical, flat look when he opens his bedroom door, and then lets Momo in.
"You're not staying," he says simply.
Momo shrugs. "That doesn't mean I can't eat. I was hungry."
"You're always hungry." Kaidoh grabs a bottle off his desk and sitting down in the chair and offering Momo a seat on the bed. "Here, put this on your knee. It will help the rash and the itching." He looks at Momo's face. "Do those hurt much?" Momo touches his face where Kaidoh hit him. "Not any more than usual."
"Oh," Kaidoh says, sounding disappointed.
"You don't look so great either," Momo observes.
"Yeah," Kaidoh replies.
Momo tries to twist the cap on the bottle but his hands are greasy and chocolatey and he can't quite get it.
Kaidoh rolls his chair over to the edge of the bed. "Here, I can get it."
"I can do it, moron."
"You're the moron," Kaidoh says, leaning closer and covering Momo's hands with his own. "Now do you believe in allergies?" He twists and the cap comes off, but he isn't even looking at the bottle.
"Kaidoh-"
Kaidoh lets go.
Momo blinks. "I thought you were going to kiss me again," Momo says. His words sound stunned.
"Shut up."
Momo isn't sure why he still feels on edge, as though he's waiting for something to happen, for it to happen again. And then it hits him, the way he moves faster, better, when Kaidoh's there, the way his hands feel full when his fingers are clenched in Kaidoh's shirt, the way he liked it. The way he always likes any of it when he's with Kaidoh. All of it.
And suddenly whatever it was that was holding him back disappears like the wrapper off a burger.
He sets the bottle down and grabs Kaidoh by the collar and pulls until their faces are mere inches apart.
"Mamushi," Momo says, "don't punch me."
Kaidoh growls his threat and raises his hands, his fingers curled tightly into fists and Momo thinks his jaw is going to be really sore tomorrow.
But Momo does it anyway, kisses Kaidoh because he wanted to and damned if it wouldn't be worth the bruises. That's something Momo has realized. Nothing is ever easy with Kaidoh. It's all hurdles and obstacles. But the end result is worth it. He tugs Kaidoh's collar until their mouths press together, and this time there isn't a moment of hesitation. And this time it isn't about challenge or fighting or winning. Because Momo understands, and so it's already his victory. He's not fighting against Kaidoh in this. He doesn't have to.
Kaidoh pulls back and fists both hands in Momo's collar so that they're even again.
"I'm going to kill you," Kaidoh says.
Momo raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" And then his mouth is back over Kaidoh's again and this time Kaidoh is kissing back and somehow Momo knows that Kaidoh isn't going to run away this time, no matter what happens, and okay, maybe that's just because they're in Kaidoh's room and that would be sort of weird. This feels more comfortable this time, anyway, and not just because Momo's shorts aren't full of sand, and he doesn't have splinters in his spine. It feels good.
As Kaidoh slides his tongue between Momo's lips, Momo wonders where he might be able to find a hive of bees to set loose in Kaidoh's room. Fair is fair, after all.
Momo grins and pulls the bandana down over Kaidoh's eyes. Then he kisses him again.
This time, Kaidoh hits him in the face. It stings.
- fin -