Archive of Our Own

Not that Shouyou was dumb. Or an ass. He was actually kind of smart. At least as smart as me, Tobio thought, and ignored the voice that replied that that wasn't very smart at all.

Tobio was in good shape. He’d had a gym membership since he was 16, and he was no slouch in the cardio or weightlifting department. You can do this, he thought, pumping himself up mentally.

He was nervous for some reason. He told himself it was because of the hike. It was definitely not because he was going to leave the boat for the first time since he'd been on the cruise. And it was definitely not because he was spending his day with Shouyou.

They'd already spent the day together, well, at least half the day, yesterday, after lunch. They'd gone and done a few activities, too. Bingo in the main hall, which was strangely difficult to concentrate on. There was also a trivia game they'd decided to team up for.  And they had even checked out a towel folding demonstration.

And through it all, Shouyou had filled his spaces, had colored in his pages, had made the formerly lonely hours blink by in seconds.

Shoyou entertained Tobio with stories and pictures of his sister, his cat, and his hometown, San Diego, which wasn't too far from where Tobio lived in LA.

Tobio had been thisclose to inviting Shouyou to dinner, before he'd realized that meeting someone's parents actually meant something to most people, and Tobio didn't want to give Shouyou the wrong idea. Besides, it's not like they were boyfriends. Or even friends! Shouyou was like an acquaintance from Summer Camp, that you were buddies with until your two weeks were up and your parents came and got you. That was all Shouyou was. A cruise buddy.

"Hey buddy!" Shouyou called, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs. "You, uh...really gonna wear that?"

Tobio looked down at his outfit with a small frown. He was wearing a green hoodie, coverered with a black down vest, over jeans. The jeans were tight because he was wearing a pair of long johns  underneath. He was also wearing a couple of shirts. But Shouyou couldn't see those. The ensemble was topped off with a pair of all-terrain hiking boots and a grey knit beanie.

"It's Alaska," Tobio replied with a scowl, looking over at Shouyou, who was dressed in a white, form-fitting tech shirt, which he had paired with form fitting black leggings and trail running shoes. He had on a white ballcap to match his shirt, and carried a backpack. "What's in the bag?"

"Hiking stuff, " Shouyou said, still looking Tobio up and down and laughing softly. "You don't have one?"

Tobio had only brought the one suitcase. "No."

Shouyou hummed and was still smiling, like Tobio was making a joke. "Okie doke!" he declared. "Let's go!"

They exited the gangway and made their way into downtown Juneau. The city was nice, Tobio supposed. It was nicer than the downtown he was used to, back in dirty Los Angeles. But it might have been as nice as Santa Monica. He had a fleeting thought that it would be nice to go to either one of those downtowns with Shouyou, who was looking at everything they walked past with /oohs/ and wide eyes.

Look at those shirts, they're so cool!" Shouyou said. Tobio looked at the window display, but they just looked like regular shirts to him.

On the other hand, there was nothing regular about his face's expression, caught in the reflection of the glass. 

It was looking over at Shouyou's excitement, with a smile. And were his eyes crinkled in fond amusement? What the actual fuck? Tobio scoffed, schooling his features back into his usual RBF.

He followed Shouyou out of town, and now Juneau was reminding him more of San Francisco, with the intense angle of the street. His thighs were already feeling the workout, and his hair was getting drenched in sweat. He ripped off his beanie and stuffed it into one of the pockets of his jeans. The crisp air felt good on his head and he inhaled deeply, letting the mountain atmosphere permeate his chest. Which was also sweating uncomfortably.

"Seventh Street is a set of stairs, isn't that awesome?" Shouyou asked, not panting in the slightest. He wasn't sweating, either, not even a misty glow. He looked like he hadn't even gotten started. Which made sense, they hadn't even arrived to the trailhead yet.

Tobio didn't think stairs were awesome. He tried to answer as much, but he was breathing so heavily it came out as more of a grunt. An explosion of giggles erupted through Shouyou's happy smile like a cloud of iridescent bubbles.

Tobio took off his down vest on the first landing. Who knew Alaska was so hot? He'd heard of Baked Alaska the dessert, but he never thought it would be an appropriate description of the weather, too.

At the top of the staircase was some more steep street, and at the top of the neighborhood, Shouyou stopped to take a few pictures of the town laid out underneath them, their cruise ship shrunk down to a doll's accessory, instead of looking like it was capable of carrying five thousand people.

The terrain evened out as they got to a narrow bridge, which they had to share with cars. And finally, forty minutes after leaving town, they were at the trailhead.

"It's called Perseverance Trail," Shouyou said, snapping a picture of the map encased in Plexiglas. It also contained some facts about the abandoned mining operations in the area, and a picture of a waterfall. "Ooh, I wanna see that," he said, tapping the photo of Granite Creek Falls.

"Perseverance Trail doesn't sound...easy," Tobio hazarded. "If you have to persevere."

Shouyou laughed and nearly skipped down the beginning of the trail. Tobio sighed and shrugged off his dripping hoodie, tying it around his waist, where it hung over his thighs, also covered in sweat. He started to understand why Shouyou had laughed at his outfit.

The trail was rocky, but not uneven, and they kept a good pace, even though it was uphill. Every so often there was an information post, and Tobio found himself learning about gold mining and hydraulic power, thanks to Shouyou's excited reading aloud. The man's enthusiasm was just as refreshing as the cool air that came off the mountains.

Which Tobio needed, after his walking sauna. He tried to distract himself from his sweatiness by looking at the scenery.

And the scenery made it easy, because it was EPIC. 

It looked fake, mountaintops wearing  puddles of snow that became streams running down their craggy sides. The trees surrounded them, and they seemed to be the only people for miles, even though Tobio had seen others looking at the maps at the trailhead.

They heard the first waterfall before they saw it, a rush of non-electronic static that told the forest to hush. They rounded the corner and saw Ebner Falls pouring down the rocks in levels, before swirling into the river.

Tobio had never seen the appeal of water falling from a height before, but he was mesmerized as he heard the soothing shush of the water. He found himself swaying onto the balls of his feet, before rocking back onto his heels.

"You still feel like you're on the ship, don't you?" Shouyou said softly. "I feel it too."

Tobio tore his gaze from the waterfall and looked over at Shouyou, who was also gently moving, as he watched the water. Tobio allowed himself to drink in the sight. Shouyou's firm chest, where it moved with his breaths beneath the tight shirt. Shouyou's bright hair, poking from the back of his cap and darkened with sweat. Shouyou's pink tongue, as it emerged from his mouth to lick at his lips.

Shouyou's amber eyes, staring at him in amusement. Catching Tobio in the act. Watching Tobio watch him.

Tobio would have choked, if he had any way to, but his mouth was so dry. All his moisture had been sweated out, it seemed.

"Have some water,  Dummy-yama," Shouyou said, holding out a bottle Tobio hadn't even noticed him getting out of his backpack. "Since you seem so thirsty."

Tobio took the bottle without a word, as he felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. He drank deeply, realizing that a backpack full of "stuff" was probably going to be useful. Definitely more useful than the closet's worth of clothes he was carrying around.

Tobio went to give the bottle back, but Shouyou waved him off. "Hold onto it, you're kind of sweating a lot," he laughed. He nearly skipped back onto the trail, even as it took a pretty steep incline.

An hour later, Tobio had nearly drunk half of the bottle, and they were at a crossroads.

"Still no Granite Creek Falls," Shouyou said, looking at the picture he had taken of the map. "Maybe we should take the Granite Creek trail?" He pointed up at the hillside, where a faint dirt path had been cut into the dirt. Tobio looked up at the trail, counting the switchbacks as the hillside turned into a true mountain.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. He put his bottle on the ground and untied his jacket from around his waist. He put it on the ground with his vest and beanie. He peeled his shirt off, to take off the long-sleeved undershirt he was wearing underneath his tee. He threw the thermal on the ground and stood up to redress himself. He glanced over at Shouyou, and the last thing he saw as his eyes went under the fabric of the collar was the redhead's shocked expression.

Now who's been caught staring? Tobio thought, followed by, then why am I the one blushing?

He turned around so he didn't have to watch Shouyou's face as he took off his shoes and  pulled off his jeans.

"Whoa, Tobio, what are you--" Shouyou asked, before he saw the long johns and nearly fell over in laughter. "What are THOOOOOOSE?" he asked with a snort.

"Thought I was going to fucking Alaska," Tobio said through gritted teeth, as he peeled the wet thermal underwear off. He was glad he had put on boxer briefs underneath, because it took a good few moments to disentangle his pants. He could feel the many mosquitoes he'd been batting away suddenly attack his exposed legs.

"It's summer still! Until Thursday!" Shouyou laughed.

Finally, the jeans were free, and Tobio shimmied them back on, to Shouyou's disappointment.

"Man, I was hoping you were just going to hike in your undies," he said with a grin. Tobio gave him a tch in reply. He looked down at the pile of clothes at his feet.

Shouyou opened his bag again, and pulled out some sunblock. "I think I have an idea," he said. "While I figure it out, put some sunblock on your arms, since they're out."

Sunblock? Tobio hadn't put on any sunblock this morning. Had he even packed it for the trip at all? "He had never planned on being in the sun.

He took the tube, and lathered his arms in it, before adding some to his face. By the time he was done, Shouyou had made an X with his long johns and undershirt, and wrapped the coat, vest, and beanie up in the contraption. "Come here," he ordered, and made Tobio stand in front of him. He put the makeshift backpack on Tobio, knotting each sleeve with a pant leg across his chest. "That oughta do it," Shouyou said proudly, clapping his hands together, as he stepped back to examine his hard work.

Tobio felt like an idiot, but at least he didn't feel sweaty. The mountain breeze rolled down the trail and onto his skin, cooling him down and helping him feel relaxed for the first time all day.

Not that he could completely relax. He was with Shouyou, after all, and something about the man always had him breathless in anticipation.

Climbing up the side of a mountain was also not helping. This trail was much more difficult than Perseverance Trail, and after a while even Shouyou had stopped his chattering, unable to keep talking while he was under such physical taxation.

There were creeks and rivers running down the side of the mountain,  and in some places they were the trail itself. There were boards set up for hikers to walk upon, so they were able to keep their feet dry as they followed the creek.

Even though he'd given up on conversation, Shouyou clapped his hands, three times in a row, before taking a break and a few steps. Then the clapping would repeat.

After about thirty times, Tobio had to ask what the hell Shouyou was doing. The man seemed embarrassed, but he didn't stop.

"Bears," he nearly whispered.

"Are you applauding them?" Tobio panted.

"No!" Shouyou squawked. "You're supposed to be loud, and then they don't come near you."

Ah, so that's why the guy they'd passed on the trail, walking his dog, had had a bell on his collar, Tobio thought. He wanted to keep making fun of Shouyou, but the sunbeam was strangely muted.

"What's wrong?" Tobio asked.

"Nothing," Shouyou said, in a voice that made it even more clear something was wrong.

"Shou."

"Tobi."

"Um," Tobio began. He was really bad at talking to people, and felt his lack of social skills even more keenly as he attempted to find out what was upsetting Shouyou. He took a deep breath. It was his only option, truly. Hiking was fucking difficult.

"You can talk to me," Tobio continued. "I won't make fun of you, or anything."

Shouyou looked over his shoulder to regard Tobio with an arched eyebrow. "Ever since we've met, all we've done is make fun of each other!"

It was true, but Tobio didn't want Shouyou to keep things from him, or, even worse, think Tobio didn't care. He did care! As much as anyone else would. Any other friend. Or acquaintance. Or cruise buddy.

"I mean, I won't try to make you feel bad, on purpose," Tobio explained. Shouyou's other eyebrow joined the first in traveling up his forehead. "Dumbass," Tobio added hurriedly, as to not ruin whatever casual friend-type-thing they had going on.

Shouyou looked at him intently, and /really,/ Tobio thought, they should both be looking at the trail, instead of each other, because it was fairly narrow, and, you know, carved into the side of a mountain.

Shouyou turned away before he answered, but it was so quiet Tobio could still hear him clearly.

"I'm scared of bears," he admitted. "And I'm pretty sure they can smell fear, so I'm probably putting out tasty dinner vibes for them right now."

"More like a snack," Tobio scoffed, before he could stop himself.

"Short joke, of course," Shouyou sighed. He looked over his shoulder again. "Good to know you think I'm a snack, though." He finished the statement with a wink that should have been dorky but all Tobio could think was, hot.

And then he wondered who he was and what had happened to Tobio Kageyama, because this was not who he was. Joking? Flirting? Hiking? These were all verbs previously thought impossible.

Once again, they heard the waterfall before they saw it, and it was nearly deafening. Tobio could tell it was much bigger than the other one.

But as they reached the summit, nowhere else left to climb, it wasn't the waterfall that took his breath away.

No, it was Shouyou, his eyes glittering with happy tears, as he looked out at the sight, clapping his hands, but not out of fear of bears. No, this was pure, unadulterated joy. He was beautiful.

"We did it, Tobi--" Shouyou said, but his words were cut off as Tobio leaned down and took his lips in a kiss.

Kissing? Add it to the list of WTAF, I guess, Tobio thought giddily, and his excitement only increased as Shouyou started kissing him back.

Kissing Shouyou wasn't like kissing anyone else. Shouyou kissed him like he wanted to devour him, like Tobio was his favorite food. His lips and tongue and mouth felt like they were everywhere, too much to handle in the best possible way.

Even over the sound of the rushing water, Shouyou's pants and moans were audible, and as Tobio ran his fingers through Shouyou's hair, he felt Shouyou's body shiver.

Tobio moved his kisses to Shouyou's neck, and listened to the keen that was his reply.

"Tobio, ngh, fuck you're so good, so good, God I want you so bad," Shouyou whined, and Tobio bit his pulse point in response.

"You taste like sunblock," he purred into Shouyou's ear.

This was not the sexy talk that Tobio had had in mind. Nope, not even a little.

His terrible choice was confirmed as Shouyou nearly fell over laughing. "Tobio!" he yelled, and Tobio was sure there were no bears around for miles at that point. His cheeks flushed as he closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. Maybe he'd messed this up already, whatever "this" was, whatever this thing they had going was called.

"Hey, don't be that way," Shouyou said, getting up on his tiptoes so he could press their foreheads together. "I want you to taste me, I promise."

Tobio opened his eyes in hope, and found Shouyou looking at him with fondness, and desire. "Let's get off this mountain, and into a shower first, though."

Tobio thought that sounded like a great idea. "Race you to the bottom."

Shouyou's eyes gleamed with a competitive fire. "Game on."