Archive of Our Own

It started innocently enough; Kiyohiro was going about his day otherwise unbothered, and then during a meeting of the Sixth he slipped on nothing and fell into Shouta's lap. The two of them blinked and sputtered for a second as Kiyohiro got his bearings back and everyone else had a good chuckle at their expense.

Then Tesshou, presumably to tease him further, fake-pouted and lamented about how he wanted to sweep Kiyohiro off his feet. Shouta laughed and Kiyohiro's cheeks heated with embarrassment, but only a few seconds later he levered himself up to stand and they carried on with the rest of the meeting.

He forgot about it by the next day, but apparently that little exchange unlocked some sort of horrid competitive spirit in the gang -one that Kiyohiro himself was unfortunately the focus of.

A week after that, he was pacing in the office while waiting on a phone call. Tesshou was gathering his things so he could head home, and they were both distracted, Kiyohiro more frustrated, whatever the reason, he wasn't paying attention to anything but grumbling to himself and listening for the ringer so he could answer and give his shithead friend in Kyouya a piece of his mind.

Apparently Kouji had been napping on the couch in the back the whole time. He poked his head out into the main room, bleary-eyed, and Kiyohiro huffed but nodded at him and got a bemused nod in return.

Kouji looked about ready to go right back to it, but then Tesshou abruptly spun, waving his hands around and saying he couldn't find his keys.

He didn't see Kiyohiro, and Kiyohiro hadn't been looking his way, so they slammed into each other. Tesshou squawked and grabbed his own nose after it collided with Kiyohiro's head, and Kiyohiro flailed, off balance, sure that he was going to topple over.

Hands caught him from behind right before he hit the floor. Kouji looked down at him like the guy in a shojo manga who caught the lead, like he should have sparkles and roses in the air behind him, and Kiyohiro let himself be held even in his abject confusion. He heard Tesshou ask what the fuck just happened, and Kouji snorted.

"I saved our vice-head, boss," he said, and gently pulled Kiyohiro back onto his feet. Kouji smiled in the face of Tesshou's blank reaction and pat Kiyohiro's shoulder. "You oughta be quicker next time."

"What," Kiyohiro said, short, but Kouji shook his head and waved it off. He paused next to Tesshou in the door and mentioned that his keys were on the table by the couch, and then he left.

"Ow, you've got a hard head," Tesshou sniffed and wiped a bit of blood off with his wrist, and Kiyohiro drew in a big breath to start telling him off for not watching where he was going -but then the phone started ringing.

"Fucking hell, this idiot..." he hissed, instantly redirecting his ire, and he was so preoccupied with answering he barely even noticed Tesshou grabbing his stuff and sneaking out a minute later.

It wasn't exactly subtle, was the thing.

Maybe a few days after that Kiyohiro was coming back from his job when it started raining. Not uncommon for the time of year even if it sucked to get caught in, but luckily he was close enough to the yard that he risked the wet asphalt and just kept going, stowing his ride under the nearest overhang as soon as he could. He ran over to the office, head ducked, and reached the door right as the wind picked up and nearly blew him right over.

"Shit!" he slapped his hand onto the nearest wall to try and steady himself and then felt the rain get even worse, a fucking deluge of water that hit him on the back of his neck from the way he was standing. Kiyohiro cursed again.

"You okay?!" he heard faintly, and out of the rain came Shouhei, jogging with his jacket over his head -though it did him little good with how strong the wind was.

Kiyohiro braced and moved toward the door, and Shouhei held it open for him so he could get inside. They both paused to pant through the adrenaline once they were shut into the office, listening to the pounding of the rain on the roof and the hiss of water coming in through the-

"The fucking windows!" Kiyohiro yelled, and Shouhei jumped to get the nearest one, cranking it shut and then smacking the locks down for good measure. Kiyohiro was already on his second by the time Shouhei brushed by him to get to the ones in the back room, calling out that he would check the back door while he was at it.

They worked fast and thankfully kept the amount of water getting in to a minimum. Kiyohiro moved the books on top of the nearest shelf over to the desk to start drying while Shouhei attacked the windowsills and surrounding areas with paper towels. Kiyohiro dug around in the bathroom for a minute before he found some towels that hadn't yet been used for oil spills, and he started scrunching his hair with one so he wouldn't drip everywhere.

Shouhei's hedgehog hairstyle was drooping with water, and he thanked Kiyohiro when he handed him a dry towel. Luckily their shoes and pants weren't soaked, so when Kiyohiro shed his jacket to hang it above the radiator there wasn't much else to wipe up around the place.

Outside, the rain was still pouring down in buckets, hammering against the tin roof of this little building, and the wind wasn't much better. It howled through what few gaps in the weather-stripping there were around the place. Kiyohiro shivered.

"That came on like a damn tsunami," he grumbled, ringing his hair out a bit more. The pomp in the front was a lost cause, so he combed it back from his face with his fingers if only to keep it tidy. "Thanks, Shouhei, good timing."

Shouhei let out a burst of amused air, and Kiyohiro glanced his way to see he wasn't looking back at him, but watching something out of the window.

"Make way!"

The door rattled with the shout and then flew open, both from the wind and from the strength used to get past it -like a rampant bull, Tesshou was suddenly invading the office, completely soaked all the way through and flinging water everywhere. Kiyohiro quickly moved back to give him room and that's when he slipped on the wet floor.

Shouhei was right next to him, eyes wide -he steadied him by the shoulders and they both paused to reorient, making sure he had his footing before he pushed himself back up straight.

"Geez, I'm all heels lately," he grumbled, shaking his head. When he noticed Tesshou was standing there staring and hadn't yet shut the door he barked at him to close it and not let all the cold air in. Tesshou didn't argue back, but what he did do afterwards was get up close to Kiyohiro and then shake his hair in his face like a wet dog.

"Ugh, must you?" Kiyohiro slapped him on the shoulder and got a laugh in response. "Childish."

"Hah, and you're an old fart," Tesshou grinned, shaking his shoes to try and get some water off. He gave up after a second and went to stand near the radiator, sighing at the warmth as he draped his jacket over a chair to dry.

"Get your hair, fool," Kiyohiro threw a dry towel at him and hit Tesshou in the chest, and to his credit he listened once more -though, Tesshou did also stick his tongue out at him. Honestly.

"What were you saying, Kiyohiro?" Shouhei piped up, an odd inflection to it, and Kiyohiro jumped, and blushed. He'd gotten completely distracted by Tesshou's arrival.

"Thanks. I would've been soaked and flat on my face if you hadn't jumped in," he repeated, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Tesshou's head swivel over lightning quick. Shouhei's face turned satisfied and he shrugged.

"Not a problem. Glad I caught you."

Kiyohiri grunted in agreement. Off to the side, Tesshou was squinting at them like he was trying to figure something out.

"Got something to say?" Kiyohiro asked, and Tesshou scowled and waved him off. When Kiyohiro rolled his eyes and turned to check on the books on the desk, he almost thought Shouhei was laughing at him. But one glare in the other man's direction made him subside and he put it out of his mind.

Then he started noticing small incidents that wouldn't have even piqued his interest on any other day, but as more piled up he couldn't help but start tracking them -even if he had no idea what it was he was tracking.

Apparently he was taking too long to finish his smoke break during a meeting, so Katsuya roped Tomonori into grabbing him under his arms and lifting him back inside despite his protests, both of them laughing at him as they passed Tesshou's seat. In the warehouse, Tesshou tossed him a wrench he needed for his bike and when he overshot his footing trying to catch it Atsushi managed to grab him by the back of his jacket so he didn't hit his head on a hanging engine. Wataru was there to steady him when he couldn't walk straight after they were out drinking by the river and Kiyohiro was pretty sure he'd heard Tesshou drunkenly grouch about it as he stumbled after them.

He didn't even notice when Mamoru did it, not until later that evening when he was brushing his teeth.

He'd been on the phone outside Cafe Brian, pacing, waiting around for Tesshou to show himself so they could actually plan out where they needed to be to head off this latest Shikabane bullshit starting up. It was fucking cold out but he didn't like to smoke inside so he made do, a pair of gloves on and a scarf doing a lot to keep him going. It wasn't raining or anything though, thank god.

He heard the bikes a full minute before he saw them, long enough to finish his conversation and hang up so he could stand and wait with his arms crossed. Not that Tesshou would need any extra reminders he was disappointed, the asshole loved to keep him waiting.

Mamoru was on the other bike pulling in next to the Sixth boss, and he waved at Kiyohiro easily after he got his helmet off. Kiyohiro scowled and only really had eyes for Tesshou.

"Late again, huh? You really need me to call you like I'm your fucking mother?" he demanded, and Tesshou grinned wide.

"You already nag me more like a wife."

"Moron."

"Damn, honeymoon's over already," Tesshou started disembarking his bike after that stupid-ass comment, way too dismissive for Kiyohiro's liking. Mamoru rolled his eyes at both of them.

"Geez, guys, give it a rest?" he pulled out a pack of cigs and circled around them, vaguely heading towards the cafe door. Kiyohiro pinched his nose.

Great, now even the guys were getting annoyed with them. Kiyohiro eyed Tesshou as the blonde adjusted his gloves and tugged his jacket back into place, apparently already moving past their little exchange in favour of staying warm.

"Here," Tesshou said, tossing him something. Kiyohiro caught it and raised a brow when he saw that it was a pair of ear muffs, the type that went over the whole thing, and they were bright fucking pink.

"Uh, thanks?"

Tesshou bumped into him and grinned, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, "You were complaining about your ears, man. And it matches that one shirt."

Kiyohiro paused, caught by surprise. He'd been saying that to Shouhei after the rain they got hit by, and he hadn't realized that Tesshou was paying any attention. He turned to follow his boss into the cafe, staring at the pink little thing -as if to remind him why he'd wanted it, one of the newer piercings in his left ear twinged from the cold and made him wince.

He paused to throw out his cigarette butt before he entered the cafe, intending to thank Tesshou -Kiyohiro did actually have manners, unlike some people -but as soon as he got inside he got distracted looking around, seeking Tesshou out among the other members of the sixth, and that was when he knocked his legs into something.

Inwardly he groaned, getting a little tired of how clumsy he was being lately, and he did his best to flail his arms around to grab onto something. He hit someone's shoulder and they put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Whoa, you good?" Mamoru asked, grinning and obviously amused. Some of the guys nearest to them were smiling too, though everyone had the good grace to refrain from teasing him and earning themselves an ass-kicking.

"Yeah, thanks," Kiyohiro shook his head.

Kiyohiro brushed himself off and dearly wished for another cigarette but people were already starting to sit and order coffee. He wasn't going to give anyone the excuse to carry him inside again. So instead he walked over to the counter and asked Natsuo to make him a decaf latte, and tried to make sense of things by listening in on what Shungo and Kagaya were talking with Mamoru about just behind him.

"That was cheating."

"No," Mamoru shrugged, "It's called innovation."

"You'll get your ass kicked for sure," Kagaya laughed.

"If no one else has yet, I'm safe. I might even win the bet."

Kiyohiro's eye twitched at the mention of a bet. Nothing good came from letting their guys indulge in stupid competitive shit like that, and if Mamoru was saying 'no one else' then that meant it was probably widespread.

"Like hell you're winning," Shungo said.

"You haven't even tried yet," was the rebuttal, and Kiyohiro heard a smack, then another, and it quickly evolved into a childish slap fight -he sighed, sharing a commiserating look with Natsuo, who set his latte down on the counter with a friendly nod. He really ought to ask the kid if he wanted to join come Shougo's generation, lord knew he was getting enough exposure to these hot heads already.

"Alright gents, chill out," Tesshou butted in, and Kiyohiro rotated his head to see the trio subsiding, their boss smacking Mamoru on the back companionably before he winked in Kiyohiro's direction and tipped his head over to the table.

Kiyohiro picked up his drink and went over. Might as well figure out how many of the guys were in on whatever this 'bet' was before he went around bothering to try and nip in the bud.

Of course, later, it clicked what exactly had made him stumble when he was thinking over the meeting details, as said, while getting ready for bed.

"He fucking tripped me!" Kiyohiro realized as soon as he spat out his toothpaste, and in the next room over his father knocked on the wall with his cane.

"Yoshimi, don't yell this late at night!"

"...sorry," he called back, and seethed more quietly as he flossed his teeth.

He knew something was weird about it. Mamoru was going to have to watch his ass because Kiyohiro was going to kick it the next time he saw him.

He paid attention after that, and managed to avoid another three attempted trippings. But he still had no clue why everyone was doing such a stupid thing.

Shungo tried it, badly, and when Kiyohiro just kept walking without even acknowledging it he heard both Mamoru and Kagaya burst into laughter and immediately start heckling at the poor showing. Yamaoka was a bit more subtle, pointing out that Tesshou was waving to get their attention and then sticking his foot out like a comedy skit -Kiyohiro stuck it to him by grabbing him by the back of his shirt and dragging him down with him.

And Shin he was most disappointed by, because usually he was one of the ones Kiyohiro could count on to have a level head. Then again, the so-called 'trip' was a very obviously hammed up and fake attempt to roll a loose wheel into Kiyohiro's path, with an even more obviously faked lament about his failure that followed. Maybe he was just doing it to say he tried.

Even Tesshou seemed too glean that something was afoot. It would be pretty pathetic if he hadn't, considering he was always nearby when this bullshit went on.

Either way, each time it happened his head would swivel to find Kiyohiro in the aftermath, a confused, suspicious look on his face.

Not that he ever did anything, Kiyohiro couldn't help but think, irritated for some reason as he surveyed everybody recovering now that their brawl with Kyouya was over. Tesshou was in good spirits a few feet to his right, chatting with Nanba as he stretched out his shoulder, and then the other direction their young ones were practically buzzing with adrenaline.

Even Shougo, which was a nice sight. Kid had to loosen up sometimes.

Kiyohiro didn't care what the Kyouya idiots chose to do, as long as they left his people be now that they'd been trounced. Like clockwork; you could count on idiots being idiots.

"Hey, Kiyohiro," Shouta came up behind him and patted him on the back, "I'm gonna head out soon, I got a shift tomorrow."

"Sure, do you need me to take Kagaya back for you?" he fell into step with him, checking on the exit to the street as he did -nobody wanted the fucking cops to drop on them all of a sudden.

"Nah, he's taking the train," Shouta was obviously hopped up on adrenaline too -he kept stepping too close and then redirecting, his hands jittery at his sides. They got closer to Tesshou and Nanba, the latter of whom inclined his head but didn't say anything, as usual. The big guy was Kiyohiro's one true ally, it seemed, given that he never purposefully caused any trouble by virtue of the fact he just wasn't around half the time.

"Great. I'm tired as hell," he cracked his neck and grunted at the relief. "And you know I've got a shitty pillion my ride, I really need to replace it one of-"

He saw it happen but didn't react fast enough to stop it. Shouta had done another of his steps too close, his shoulder even bumping into Kiyohiro's, but instead of veering away he moved further in. His boot came up, purposeful, and hit Kiyohiro in the shin, and with an exaggerated choreography Shouta's other hand came around and pushed him right in his side.

Pushed him in Tesshou's direction, actually -or, it should've been. Kiyohiro got so angry in that instant that his arms swung him off course just so he could try to give Shouta a piece of his mind, which ended up sending him towards Nanba instead.

Shouta groaned out what sounded like, "Oh, come on," and Tesshou's arms started to rise like he was thinking of catching him, but it didn't happen. Kiyohiro's shoulders thudded into Nanba's stomach and he slid down, and then was grabbed under his armpits and stopped in full.

He hung there blinking for a second, before Shouta's guilty face entered into his vision and he saw red.

"What the fuck was that, you asshole?!" he exploded, and would've shot to his feet to go and wring some answers out of Shouta's neck, but Nanba's grip tightened and he pulled him backward, making his heels drag in the dirt. Kiyohiro thrashed, to no avail, "Nanbaaaa! Let me go! I need to go kill him!"

"...No," Nanba said after a deliberate second of thought, and just to his right he heard Tesshou bray a loud laugh.

Kiyohiro sputtered, and in his distraction Shouta started backing away -he tried to stand up again but got yanked back down, so he settled for yelling.

"Shouta! I'll kick your ass for this!" he promised, and some of the guys nearest to them started visibly smiling in amusement, so Kiyohiro turned his ire onto them as well. Stupid assholes. "I don't know what the hell you're all thinking, but I'm done with it! Whatever bet's going on, it better stop or your ass is grass!"

"Bet?" Nanba asked quietly, confused, regardless that he still wouldn't release him. Shouta cringed and backed away faster.

"Sorry, sorry! It wasn't for me!" he made an apology with his hands, but wasn't stopping, "Okay, I really do have a shift! I'll take a rain check on that ass kicking, sorry man!"

"I will be collecting on that!" Kiyohiro shouted at Shouta's retreating back, before he slumped in Nanba's hold. Around them most of the other assholes he called brothers were starting to head out themselves, so it was just him, Nanba and Tesshou hanging around in the middle of the parking lot.

"Alright, let him go," Tesshou told Nanba, something firm clear as day in his voice. Nanba pulled him up and plopped him on his feet like he weighed nothing at all.

"Thanks," Kiyohiro grumbled, sarcastic, and Tesshou clapped him on the back, though he left his hand lingering there when he didn't shrug him off. Against his will, the slight pressure mollified him.

"Take it from me, they're only going to get worse if you keep exploding," Tesshou told him, but when he looked Kiyohiro in the face he didn't seem amused anymore. Now he looked annoyed. "I feel like they're making fun of us, somehow."

Briefly, Kiyohiro wondered if he should mention the conversation he overheard about winning whatever bet this was. But given neither Tesshou nor Nanba seemed to have any idea about it, it was probably futile even if he did.

"It's 'cause they have an idiot setting an example for them," he said instead, poking Tesshou in the temple.

"Oi," Tesshou protested.

"...I'm going," Nanba told them after a moment, looking either bored now that everyone was gone or just fed up with acting like he really cared about whatever drama was going on at all. Tesshou waved him off, and then quirked a grin Kiyohiro's way.

"Wanna go get food? My treat," he asked, tempting, and after pretending to debate the question, Kiyohiro fully deflated out of his previous irritation. He was right -it was probably best if he just let it go and hopefully everyone would get bored with it sooner rather than later.

"Yeah," he said, and Tesshou touched his back again, using it to steer him over to their bikes.

One last time, it happened after that one. He couldn't even be mad at Shougo for it. Later, he'd probably thank him.

Or, well, at the very least give him a break if he pissed him off.

There hadn't been any 'bet' bullshit for a few days -not long enough for Kiyohiro to let his guard down, but enough that he had doled out however many ass-kickings he'd needed to and threatened more if people kept messing with him. The message seemed to be sinking in.

With winter fully upon them now, it was just in time, too. Kiyohiro had no desire to be 'tripping' into slush piles when he was already dealing with patches of ice around every corner. It never quite got so bad he couldn't travel on his bike, but there were definitely a few days he had to take it slow.

That was actually the worst part of winter for everyone -not being able to bleed off their excess energy by going for a fast ride. It was why he was still a little on edge. Tesshou, though, was actually pretty well practised at mitigating that shit and today he had taken the initiative.

"Smoke?" Shouta asked from the chair next to him, still taking extra care to be nice lest Kiyohiro snap at him again. He sighed and held his hand out, accepting the cig and lighter gratefully.

At least with this fire pit Tesshou set up his boots were warm despite the chill of sitting outdoors. Sitting and relaxing while people chatted or played cards around him was nice.

And Tesshou was at the centre of it all, the only one standing that close to the fire, regaling a seated Koushi and Atsushi with some grand fight he was involved in before he moved here. Kiyohiro was sure he'd heard about it before, but the details escaped him.

"Heard it's gonna ice over tomorrow," Shouta went on, "Might have to keep off the roads a few days."

"So what you're saying is, there's about twenty guys I oughta be expecting to get into stupid fights around town over the next few days," Kiyohiro asked, and Shouta winced.

"Uh, well..."

He waved it off, "Occupational hazard. As long as nobody drags us into some big beef, I don't care."

Shouta hummed, uncertain, but dropped it.

Kiyohiro flicked his cigarette butt into the fire pit once he was done and stood up to stretch and warm his hands a little. On the other side of the circle Akira, Shougo and Kim were all clustered together and hotly debating something, and to Shouta's left Wataru had gathered a few of the empty beer cans and started cutting them into wind chimes. How he could stand it with the cold only god knew. Mamoru was the only one still over in the garage, trying to fix the brakes on his bike that had crapped out just the day before.

"Kiyohiro!" Tesshou called, and he turned to look quick. The boss was waving a can at him, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah?"

"I'm getting more, come help me."

Another sigh, but he obliged -he wandered over from the opposite direction to avoid the crafting corner and the table with cards, which put him moving around the younger ones.

Not a good idea to get near to Akira when he was worked up, though. It happened fast.

One second Shougo was insisting about some innocuous thing -a band, maybe, whatever it was, it was equally as stupid -and then the next Akira was blowing his top. Shougo laughed in the face of it, too confident by spades, and Kiyohiro had to come just a little too close, and when Akira went and shoved Shougo with too much strength, he went and toppled right into him.

Somehow, whether it was the slush or the surprise or just being fed up with resisting anymore, he lost his footing yet again. Joy, once more he looked the idiot. Shougo, though, bless him, pulled off some insane maneuver and practically spun around in mid air, an alarmed look on his face as he planted his feet, braced, and caught Kiyohiro only seconds before his head hit the pavement.

Everyone froze for a second, and then Shougo opened his mouth.

"Damn, I -I'm so sorry, Kiyohiro-san," he was uncharacteristically flustered, hauling Kiyohiro up with surprising strength and seeming a half second away from patting him down for injuries. "I didn't mean -I mean, are you okay? I didn't even see you-"

Kiyohiro grunted and dusted himself off, and when he cut a severe look around the fire, it was to see that everyone else was pointedly not looking at them or acknowledging what had just happened whatsoever. Cowards.

Well, Tesshou was watching, but whatever that expression on his face meant, Kiyohiro was too tired to parse it.

He dropped a hand on Shougo's shoulder, "It's fine," he said, firm, which made the kid nod and quit stumbling to apologize. "I saw it was an accident. Thanks for catching me."

Shougo nodded, subdued.

"I'll be back with beers in a minute," Kiyohiro said, flippant, and left the circle to head to the office. He only remembered that it was Tesshou who prompted him to help fetch the drinks when he heard footsteps crunching in the snow behind him.

He definitely wasn't in the mood to be teased, not now, so he ignored him until they were at the door.

"You put them inside? It's cold enough we could've just left them on the stoop," he groused, fiddling with the handle. When he got in, he breathed out in relief that it was warm enough to remove his hands from his pockets.

The door shut behind him, silent, so he sent a scowl over his shoulder, weirdly annoyed that Tesshou hadn't said anything. He found him with his arms crossed and a pissy look on his face.

"What's stuck in your craw?" Kiyohiro asked, and if anything the boss's expression got even more sour.

"You don't even give a shit anymore?" Tesshou asked, and Kiyohiro pulled a face.

"What the hell are you talking about? It was an accident," he gestured at the door, "You really think Shougo would've pulled that on purpose? Shougo? Be serious here."

"I don't! But you didn't even -you just...!" Tesshou stopped and ground his teeth, struggling to wrangle what he was saying into a coherent argument. Kiyohiro wasn't sure he was going to succeed with that.

So he squinted at him, hands on his hips, "You're the one who said not to blow up about it. Are you about to turn this shit on me, man? Because I've got a fist with your name on it if that's how it is."

"Stop putting words in my mouth!" Tesshou said, getting up close and personal with him. The office was already small and suddenly it shrunk even further.

Kiyohiro smirked at him, "I've gotta, otherwise you'd never get any of them across, idiot."

Tesshou's cheeks turned red. Kiyohiro just loved poking at him like this.

"You're the idiot," Tesshou grumbled petulantly.

Kiyohiro snorted, and then when Tesshou still looked mad he started to laugh in earnest. He covered his mouth to try and rein it in, but evidently some sort of release valve had been loosened and so he couldn't make himself stop -he kept laughing even as Tesshou's face went from scowl to frown to amusement of his own.

"You're so fucking stupid," Kiyohiro chuckled, pushing him in the shoulder. Tesshou scoffed and pushed him back.

"You're stupid. You can't even see what they're doing, can you?" Tesshou asked, jabbing his thumb at the door and all of their brothers beyond it. Kiyohiro paused, wary at the idea he'd missed something Tesshou hadn't.

"They're... doing some sort of weird bet about tripping me...?" he hedged, and Tesshou threw up his hands.

"Yeah, no shit! But why?" he didn't give him any time to answer, just steamrolled on, "To fuck with me! This is all a stupid scheme to make fun of me!"

Kiyohiro stared, silent, and then, "Okay, you lost me."

Tesshou pinched his nose, long-suffering. Kiyohiro wasn't sure he'd ever seen him quite like this before -exasperated.

"When you fell onto Shouta, I made some comment about it, I can't even remember," he said, and... yeah, that rang a familiar bell. He couldn't quite remember it either, though. "Shouta, the little shit, started a bet with Kouji that he couldn't do the same thing -he phrased it like, take you off your feet or whatever."

"Sweep me," Kiyohiro realized, abrupt, meeting Tesshou's irritated eyes. "You said you wanted to 'sweep me' off my feet."

"Yeah. And when Kouji did it and in front of me again, it fucking spread," Tesshou rolled his eyes. "I didn't even find out until after last time. Shouta felt bad because everyone going stir crazy was making it worse and he tried to end it by pushing you into me, but Takeshi got in the way."

Kiyohiro thought back on all the weirdness with that extra layer of it being a fun game against Tesshou and, yeah, sure, he could see it. It wasn't like there hadn't been stupider bets or more esoteric challenges before.

Good thing he'd already kicked Shouta's ass, or he might've had to go out there right now and do it just on principle.

"That's so fucking stupid," Kiyohiro concluded. "To think any of the other gangs in this town are scared of us. We're a joke."

"If it's any consolation I heard Suzuran and Kurotaki used to be worse."

"Considering Suzuran is called the den of idiots and Kurotaki disbanded, no, it's not," Kiyohiro groaned, scrubbing his face. He heard Tesshou shuffle on his feet. "This needs to stop."

"You're telling me," he mumbled, and Kiyohiro cut him a narrow look.

"Oi, you're still on thin ice. You were around for most of this shit and didn't catch me even once," he scowled just thinking about it. "No wonder it caught on so quick. Everyone could have a good time showing you up."

"Kiyohiro..." Tesshou started, but he waved him off.

"Whatever, it's not like if you sweep me off my feet, game's over, right?" he wandered over to the desk where they'd stuck the fridge behind, intent on getting those beers now they'd cleared up the idiocy he'd been subjected to lately. "You'd actually have to want to in that ca-"

Tesshou grabbed his arm and yanked him around, hard, and Kiyohiro readied to retaliate against a hit, a fight, something, even though that wasn't really their thing anymore since taking over from Kousei, even though he was still feeling stung, maybe, and the idea of getting socked for mouthing off wasn't a good one. He was spun, the force of it sending him moving backwards a little and hitting the edge of the desk with his lower back, and Tesshou pressed his advantage, getting in his face again, one hand fisting his lapel to keep him in place.

But the other settled on his hip, which made Kiyohiro freeze.

"See if I don't," Tesshou grit out, eyes on him. His breath was warm in the space between them and heat was bleeding off of his hands too, Tesshou always hot-blooded, always moving and energized and alive.

Kiyohiro's reflexes, usually quite good, had stalled as soon as he registered he wasn't getting attacked.

"What?" he asked, equally as slow on the uptake because Tesshou's words didn't make sense.

He saw the grin first, and then felt those burning hands leave him. He had just a moment to think that he wasn't sure what was happening.

Then Tesshou was grabbing him under his thighs, almost up near his ass, and lifting him clean off his feet, towards him, closer than maybe they'd yet been before as Kiyohiro's legs snapped around his middle for purchase, as he instinctively grabbed Tesshou's shoulders to keep himself upright. He gasped in surprise as he was moved back with force and then dropped on the desk, his legs spread apart by Tesshou's bulk crowding into him until he got a hand on the centre of Kiyohiro's chest and shoved him down.

His back hit the hardwood, sending a few books and papers falling to the floor. His one knee was seized and used as an anchor, or maybe a tether, as Tesshou's grip pulled him into him and the other kept him pinned.

He stared up, dazed, as Tesshou loomed over him. He had a vicious smirk on his face now.

"I said," he emphasized, pushing down with his weight. Kiyohiro's heart was hammering with surprise and adrenaline, and he was sure Tesshou was relishing seeing him out of sorts, "See if I don't-" he slipped his hand up, pushed aside his scarf, and set it at the base of his throat. It was so hot it felt like a brand, "-end this game. Just like that."

"...end it?" Kiyohiro checked, and when two fingers tapped lightly on his adam's apple, he twitched. After a long second contemplating his options, he tilted his head back.

It was intense being watched like this. Like he was some sort of... fucking prey animal caught under the tiger's paw.

"Nobody else messing with you,"' he promised. "Just me."

Ah. Kiyohiro swallowed at the possessive lilt in that statement. That was why he was so irked earlier.

"You're being a brute," he said, frowning, but he didn't try to get up. Tesshou was smoothing a thumb over his neck, slow and careful, and if he was being honest then he had hopes for where this was headed.

"You like it," Tesshou said.

He leaned in, face gone a bit smug. Kiyohiro knew exactly what he must be thinking right about now. And despite his hopes, it definitely irked him.

So, he lifted up his foot and slammed it into the middle of Tesshou's back.

"Fuck!" he spat, falling -barely catching himself before his nose smashed into Kiyohiro's chin. Kiyohiro didn't waste any time and twisted, wrapping his legs tight around Tesshou's middle to keep him squished down and then fisting a hand in his hair to pull his head up, grinning in the face of his surprise.

"See how it feels?" he snarked back, shaking him. "Do you like it, huh? Don't tell me you can dish it out but you can't take it?"

"Jesus, I can't fucking stand you sometimes," Tesshou's elbows pushed him up a bit so he could better see him. From the chest down he was still laying all his weight on him. "You know that?"

"I do," it was Kiyohiro's turn to be smug. He gave as good as he got and now...

...he could smooth his hands out into the rest of Tesshou's hair, down by the roots where it was coarse and a bit sweaty. He scratched at the scalp, watching as Tesshou's eyes fluttered at the feeling, a clear sign that he was amenable to this. That the direction they were headed in was mutual.

"Can't stand you either," he said, using his softer hold to tilt their faces closer together. Tesshou met his eyes and realized what was happening, a light going on in a quick flash, and just before they closed the distance Kiyohiro felt a gentle touch on his cheek. A thumb brushing there like it had on his neck.

"Could've fooled me," he just had to have the last word, but he followed when Kiyohiro pulled him in.

As soon as he relaxed into it, something settled. A persistent agitation he'd felt since the moment they laid eyes on one another as younger men, and with one kiss it was gone. Kiyohiro let out a low moan as Tesshou's lips pressed into his, the stubble on his chin catching at his beard ever so slightly -every sense was heightened now that he was no longer occupied with irritation.

Warmth and weight and a slow, slipping kiss, the man above him taking perfect care to mould his mouth in sync against his. To breathe with him, sips of air so Kiyohiro's lungs didn't start to protest, but never breaking their connection for longer than split seconds at a time. Tesshou was a surprisingly good kisser.

Kiyohiro shivered and made a quiet noise when he felt Tesshou's teeth catch on his lip, his tongue soothing into it not long after. Tesshou hummed into him, satisfied, a tone very close to happy that rattled all the way down Kiyohiro's spine.

"Fuck," he sighed when Tesshou released him, cracking his eyes open to lazily look up at him.

"Yeah," Tesshou agreed, with feeling, and brought them together once more.

Time slipped past them without their notice while they got to know this new aspect of their dynamic, seconds turning to minutes only tracked by the shift of Tesshou's elbows on either side of Kiyohiro's head or the adjusting of his legs from Tesshou's waist to around his hips. The office could've been cut off from the entirety of Toarushi for all Kiyohiro could focus on anything except keeping Tesshou as close as humanly possible right then.

He barely even registered the sound of the door opening in the background, because Tesshou had decided to coax his mouth open enough to accept his tongue inside of it and that was a much more compelling development than someone getting an eyeful while in pursuit of some alcohol.

The door was shut again almost instantly anyway, so Kiyohiro didn't have to care.

But sooner or later reality was bound to creep back in -unlike the loft in the warehouse, the office heater was pretty shit, and in the end it was the cold that broke them apart. Tesshou all at once shivered and flinched away from him with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"Geez, it's too cold for me to be getting hard," he said, shivering again, and with the fresh air coming in between them Kiyohiro grimaced too at the harsh temperature. Damn, he really hated winter sometimes.

"...let me up," he said reluctantly, pushing himself up to sit as Tesshou pulled away. They both adjusted themselves and took a moment to calm down -still, Kiyohiro snuck a glance Tesshou's way and found him doing the same, which made them both flush.

Embarrassing, maybe, to be essentially slap-stick-comedied into giving in to this tension between them. But Kiyohiro had the thought that at the very least he didn't regret it.

"Face the music?" Tesshou asked, jabbing a thumb at the office door, beyond which there was likely a tidal wave's worth of heckling waiting for the both of them if any one of the guys had even an ounce of observational skills. Kiyohiro would put his money on Kim, personally.

Kiyohiro braced himself, "Might as well."

Tesshou was already closer to the door. Kiyohiro was quick to notice that when he moved to join him, he visibly hesitated.

Hm. Maybe he ought to be crystal clear, here.

"Hey," he got his attention, and used one finger to turn Tesshou's jaw over to him. When he followed the direction unquestioningly, Kiyohiro met him in a soft kiss, giving him a confident smile when they parted, "All our boys are good, 'kay? And we don't owe anybody else anything."

Tesshou stared at him, and then he huffed, dropping his forehead against Kiyohiro's shoulder, "I'm that damned obvious, huh?"

"Only to me," Kiyohiro patted his head. "I've been your man since you beat me. Ready to be mine?"

Tesshou shivered again.

"God damn," he sighed. "Actually, can we just stay in here so I can kiss you some more?

Rolling his eyes, Kiyohiro pushed him away and towards the door. He didn't get any complaints.

When they walked out -Tesshou insisting on keeping one hand on his waist under his shirt for 'warmth', the corny idiot -it was to find that the only one left hanging around was Mamoru. In fact, he was right where he'd been before, cursing up a storm in the garage and messing with his brakes.

"Huh? Oh, everybody left awhile ago," he told them when they walked over, wiping his hands on his overalls. "Shouta said something about the beers being in a tough spot? I dunno, I wasn't really listening."

Kiyohiro felt his face turn red and Tesshou snickered, squeezing his hand around his middle. Mamoru said he was probably just going to crash here for the night and waved when they turned to go.

"Aw, that's a pity," Tesshou whispered. "I was gonna say we should stay instead."

"Gross, other people use that bed," Kiyohiro tolerated the laughing kiss pressed to his cheek in response. Just this once, though -he didn't want to make a habit of getting derailed by PDA. "Besides, you're coming to mine tonight."

Tesshou blinked at him, "I am?"

"Yup," he slung his arm around his shoulders and squeezed. "Don't think I didn't notice you showing up today without a fucking helmet."

Tesshou had the good grace to appear chastised.

"I wasn't going to let you drive out regardless, but now," Kiyohiro narrowed his eyes. "When it comes to dating I've got standards, and one of 'em's not acting like a damn fool while riding. You either get on board with that," Kiyohiro put his lips real close to Tesshou's jaw, "Or we can forget about this."

Tesshou was nodding before he even fully finished speaking. Kiyohiro decided to give him a little something nice in reward.

He cupped his hand over Tesshou's ear and whispered a few incentives into it. He heard him swallow and curse under his breath.

"Shit, if you insist," he said, and they walked together over to Kiyohiro's bike, still with their hands upon one another.

*