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Agustín knew this match was a lost cause when Bruno Lima’s serve hit him in the back of the head.
Now, he's not saying he didn’t have it coming. He's aware that he was being an asshole today. His mood wasn’t the best even before the match started, and now that the team keeps making amateur mistakes, he might or might not be acting just a tiny bit like a bitch towards his teammates. He knows he isn’t playing his best either, all the balls keep breaking his barrier like a swiss cheese, but this is a team effort, damn it, and Santiago Danani for some reason isn't saving the ball as well as he usually does.
When he turns around to glare at Bruno, the man just shrugs.
“My bad…you know how I really suck at serving.” he says, loud enough for everyone on the court to hear.
Agus can see out of the corner of his eye how Luciano Vicentín next to him is trying not to laugh, and hears his captain sigh loudly. Oh boy, he already knows he will get a good earful after this. Even the other team started to murmur among themselves, picking up on the strange tension in the argentine group.
Agus paid special attention to the one player standing right in front of him, who was snickering. He turned back and glared at him too, and only got a pair of crinkled eyes looking back at him. Yuki Ishikawa, captain of Japan’s national volleyball team, his teammate in Powervolley Milano and on top of all of that, a huge pain in his ass. Before he could snap at him like he wanted, Bruno sent the ball over the net with a powerful strike, aimed at Ran Takahashi.
The outsider was able to lift the ball, and their setter Masahiro Sekita put the ball into Yuki’s hand, who was practically on fire since the start of this 4th set, the short play ending with a powerful spike that surpassed Agus and Luciano’s block. The japanese team broke into a loud cheer while Agus supported himself on his knees and looked at the result: Japan had won two sets and were three points away from winning this one, while Argentina were stuck at 17 points. He didn’t turn to check, but he could feel coach Mendez’s burning gaze on him.
He knew he was going to get a new one ripped by his coach later, so he silently accepted his fate and focused his attention again on the one breaking their defenses. He wasn’t close to Yuki by any means, but after playing a whole season in Italy on the same team, there was no way for them to keep being strangers. By the time Agus started to play for Milano, Yuki was already settled comfortably on the team, even having some typical Italians mannerisms that made him blend with his teammates. Agus had silently admired him for a while, so now he was very excited about the opportunity to play with him, learn some tricks and even hoped to get close to him.
His hopes and dreams were crushed even before he debuted in an official match: Yuki Ishikawa ignored his existence. During the first training sessions, the rest of his new teammates were very welcoming and praised his abilities, but Yuki never directed him the word outside of the just and necessary. At first, he thought the other one was extra shy around new people, but weeks passed by and the man wouldn’t even talk to him properly during training matches. Agus started to feel really bad about it when, one time, he caught Yuki scoffing when he got paired with him to do practice passes.
No one else seemed to receive the same treatment from Yuki that Agus did. He was always trying his best to make small talk and make everyone smile. The other players were charmed by him, and, being rather short for the height spectrum of the team, he was always being used as a rest arm, being hugged and manhandled by them. And Yuki always welcomed the touch. Agus felt a pang in his heart for this, and for a while he tried his best to get on the japanese’s good side and appeal to him, even if his target wouldn't respond to his tactics.
All his efforts were wasted when their lack of communication caused them to lose three consecutive sets in a league match. When their coach screamed at them for all the little mistakes they made that could’ve been easily solved if they spoke to each other more, Agus didn’t stay silent about the issue anymore. He complained about Yuki’s behavior and put all the blame on him. The other man wouldn’t accept this either, and accused him of being the guilty one and attacked his abilities as a player. They got into a pretty heavy argument that only their coach could stop, before taking separate ways back to their dorms. Their relationship became even more unsteady since this event.
They weren’t very open about it, for they had a silent agreement on trying to not disturb the rest of his teammates or their team performance even more, but they were constantly disagreeing and snarking at each other. Since Agus snapped and showed his true hot-headed personality, Yuki didn’t hold back with the petty comments. He proved to be, to the middle blocker’s surprise, quite mouthy.
At one point, Agus stopped trying to get on his good side or try to reason with him altogether. Yuki even went to the length of avoiding him outside of training, leaving any room when it was only the two of them. They never shared a meal together unless it was a group meal, and they would never sit together during bus trips.
The thing is, even with all of that happening, he could still feel Yuki’s gaze on him a lot. He didn’t know if the japanese meant for Agus to notice it, but the burn in the back of his head was constant. Many times, he caught the man staring at him, and when he stared back, the other would take a second too long to break eye contact. He felt it when he was stretching, and when he was practicing his servers a lot, so he believed his technique was being judged in those cases.
It was harder to explain, however, those lingering stares he felt when he was lounging in the pool, refreshing himself from the italian heat. He isn’t free of fault, because when he sunbathed he would also catch himself stealing glances at Yuki and his wired naked back, golden and covered in freckles, that shined when he was fooling around in the water with his teammates. He noticed Yuki getting perms in hair salons from time to time, but they all gave in under the humidity and heat, curling his hair into small buckles.
Sometimes he couldn’t stop himself from imagining how it would be to go over to him and pat his hair the way everyone else did, or to hug him from the back and lay his own head on the shorter man’s shoulder. When Yuki laughed his eyes would turn into half-moons and all of his teeth would show unabashedly. His lips that curled around petty words and straws of colorful drinks hypnotized him. Even if Yuki hated him, and even if Agus wanted to push him into the pool and drown him, the argentine couldn’t stop thinking about his teammate in unwelcomed ways.
(He accidentally shared this fact after making the mistake of drinking too much, while meeting up for a small three-day escapade with his argentine teammates who happen to also play in Europe. They all came to Italy and rented a small place, where they were getting cozy and ready to play videogames all night, when Agus opened his big mouth.
“Dude, don’t you think you may find him…I don’t know, attractive?” observed Luciano Palonsky (or as everyone called him, Lulo), who was stuffing his face with his 3rd serve of french fries, after hearing his rant. “Like maybe you want him and that’s what bothers you.”
Agus frowned and completely denied it. He had liked plenty of people in the past and he never wanted to punch them in the face this bad.
“Well I mean he’s objectively not bad looking so there would be no shame in having a crush on him.” said Luciano Vicentín (nicknamed Luchi, damn if they had many Lucianos in the team) who was stretched all over the couch like a very big cat. “Japanese men are a bit like women, you know? Soft looking faces…small and delicate”. This made everyone in the room look at him weirdly. “What?! Oh c’mon you know what I mean!” he yelled “Like look at us, we are all big and hairy and-”
“We really don't actually.” interrupted Nicolás Zerba, in charge of connecting the PS to the TV. “You manage to be homophobic and misogynist in unexpected ways brother. Please stay safe and always watch your porn in incognito.”
This made Agus snort his drink into his nose. Luchi gasped, offended “I am not homophobic at all you fucker! I could kiss a man with tongue right now and all.” he turned his body towards Lulo “Babe, c’mon give me a kiss.”
“I would rather jump from this 5th floor naked.” deadpanned Lulo, who was now devouring a hamburger like a starved man. Agus truly didn’t know where all that food went. The boy inhaled enough food to feed a small army.
“See how you didn’t deny the misogynistic allegations.” said Nico, now walking towards the sofa and sitting between Lulo and Luchi, the second making kissy faces at the other. “But really Agus, you have to sit down with him and force him to have a proper talk with you. Maybe he has his own issues going on that you don’t know. And if it’s serious enough that it’s getting into the way of your playing, then it needs to be fixed as soon as possible.” Nico patted him on the shoulder and then turned the PS on “Anyways, who is ready for a FIFA tournament?”)
In the end, to no one's surprise, Japan won the game. Everyone was aware of how out of synch Argentina was from the start. They usually managed to fix it by the 3rd set; which they did win, but it wasn’t enough to take it to their personal’s favorite 5th set. When the time to shake hands came, Agus was ready to put this mess of a match behind forever. And then, when it was Yuki’s turn, the japanese man held his hand for a beat too long, and very quickly whispered to him: “Failed that.”, before moving to shake hands with Lulo, who was behind him. To this, Agus’ mind went blank, and finished the greeting on autopilot.
The thing is that Yuki had also said something to him before the match, when they were all stretching. He came to say a quick hello to Luciano De Cecco from captain to captain, and before going back to his team, he got close to Agus. For a second, Agus thought Yuki was going to put their quarreling aside, but instead leaned into his personal space and looking into his eyes said “Let’s see if you can prove it to me, Loser.” before walking away. The middle blocker would be lying if he said that didn’t affect him during the match, after all he did want to showcase his best performance now that Yuki was his rival, and prove to him that he was an excellent player.
Agus took the coward’s route and quickly picked his things before anyone noticed. He really didn’t want to be picked for the post-match interview, and would rather receive Mendez screams somewhere more private, so he left all his teammates behind. He also really needed some time alone to cool off on his own, frustrated and angry with himself for his poor performance today. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the things Yuki said in the past, and started to doubt himself now that he failed to prove himself in front of him.
By the time he made it to the changing room, he was so angry that he threw his bag against the floor and went to wash his face with cold water. Playing with the national team was always his favorite part and it made him the happiest- they always put a lot of faith in him and they supported him so much. And yet here he was, running away from them after letting them down in such an important tournament. His phone wouldn’t stop ringing with text notifications either, and he already knew his loved ones were sending him supporting texts. Oh god, Agus felt like he was failing everyone.
He looked at himself in the mirror and saw the unshed tears on his eyes and yeah, now he really needed to get away before his teammates could see him. He quickly washed his face in the sink and, being so caught up in his mind, failed to notice the person that had been watching him for a couple of minutes.
“Did anyone ever tell you about the mean power walk you have?” said the person behind him, making him jump off his bones. He looked in the mirror and saw Paolo Porro, italian setter and his fellow teammate in Powervolley Milano, standing close to the door of the changing room. “If volleyball stops working, you should try being a supermodel or something. Apparently, they don’t look much for handsome faces but interesting ones.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Agus scoffed “And how long have you been standing there? For an italian you are too quiet kid, we need to put a bell on you.”
“ Kid ?” Paolo scrunched his nose “I was born in 2001.”
“So, what are you, 14 years old?” questioned Agus, making his way to pick up his bag again.
“I can legally drink asshole.”
“Pretty sure 12-year-olds are already drinking alcohol where you come from, kid.” said Agus, with the bag in his hands ready to leave the room.
“And argentinians are basically italians with extra steps, so shut the fuck up.” Paolo rolled his eyes, and before Agus could make his escape, he got close to him and stood on his tippy toes so he could put a strong arm around his shoulder. “So Agus, what’s going on that silly head of yours?”
“Oh just some self-loathing you know. Did you watch me play? You would understand if you did.” said Agus avoiding eye contact. “Can I please go? My coach is probably looking for me.”
“You’re crying like this over a bad match? That doesn’t sound like you at all. This wasn’t even a life-or-death match!” the setter put all his weight on Agus so he couldn’t run away. “C’mon, now tell your good buddy Paolo what’s wrong.”
“I wasn’t crying and nothing is wrong. Not everyone wants you pestering them, Paolo.” Agus shook Paolo off and aimed for the door. But before he could make it, Paolo spoke.
“Yuki said something to you, didn’t he?” he questioned. Agus froze on the spot, and the other took the chance to keep speaking “After the match I mean, when you shook hands you two took a second too long…I don’t think anyone noticed but-”
“Do you think I’m a bad middle blocker?” interrupted Agus. He turned around, his eyes turning red again.
“W-what-?!”
“Me, a bad middle blocker.”
“Are you insane?! You are literally one of the best- where is this coming from?” Paolo pointed a finger at him “You just had a bad match and sorry, but it was your whole team’s fault, not yours alone. You all played like shit. It happens to all of us. Why would you think this over a random match?”
“Yuki said so.” Agus said.
“Yuki said so…” Paolo repeated his words “What? Like…when you were shaking hands?”
“And for the whole season of the SuperLega.” Agus walked towards the bench in the changing room and sat, letting his bag slide off his shoulder. “Since I joined the team, he had it out for me. First ignoring me and then being mean to me. Did I not deserve a spot on the team? Today sucked so much…Maybe he is right about me.” he said wetly.
Paolo winced and sat down next to Agus, but not too close, so he could give him some space. When Agus stopped shaking, Paolo offered him a water bottle that the Argentine left half empty after one swing. Then, the setter spoke softly, as if talking to a wounded animal.
“Agus…you aren’t a bad middle blocker. You really are the best! I’ve also played a whole season with you and you are amazing! Not only as a middle blocker! You can do everything so well. I love setting for you.” He then started to play with his hands. “And well I think we two are good friends…but I’ve been friends with Yuki for longer and what you said about him doesn’t sound like him.”
“Well yeah, with you guys he is a different person. He only has a problem with me. The things he says to me and how he behaves with me…there is no way you guys didn’t notice it.” Agus leaned on the bench, and supported his head against the wall “I mean I understand if he doesn’t want to be friends with me, but I thought we could be teammates. Coworkers, at least.”
“I noticed some…friction between you two, but I didn’t realize it was this bad for you? I mean, Yuki never spoke badly about you around the rest of us. Mind telling me more about how things are between you two?” Paolo asked.
So Agus started to narrate things from the start, all his efforts to make Yuki like him and all the things the other man did to create a bridge between them. Everything until today’s match. After listening to everything, Paolo spoke.
“Our Yuki had a special time adapting to life here. I know anyone would, considering everything that involves playing for a foreign country, but it took a lot of work to get him to come out of his shell. He is one of us now but at the start it was hard to interact with him. New places and new people are hard for him to accept…and when you came to us, he wasn’t in his best moment.”
“What do you mean?” Agus frowned at him.
“Well, you see,” Paolo said “I don’t think Yuki meant to treat you like that. Or well if he did, it wasn’t because he had a personal vendetta against you in particular. Anyone who joined the team as a middle blocker would’ve gotten the same treatment” At Agus' confused stare, he elaborated “During the year playing with us, Yuki got very close to Bart.”
“Bart?”
“Yeah, Barthélémy Chinenyeze. French middle blocker? Him and Yuki were very close friends, and understood each other very well inside the court. When he announced he wasn’t staying for another season Yuki took it very badly…” Paolo sighed and copied Agus' pose, resting his head on the wall “You know, during the first weeks Yuki moved to Italy, he would usually just stay in his room alone for hours. We knew he was homesick and that he cried at night. Bart was the first one to knock on his door one of those nights to offer him to have dinner together. I think Yuki got specially attached to him because Bart gave him a hand to hold on first. And then you came to take his place…”
“Okay…but none of that is my fault, I didn’t mean to replace anyone” said Agus “I mean…now that you tell me this, I guess I can empathize with Yuki a bit more. I’ve been into the same situation as him so I get it. But that still doesn’t justify his behavior. I mean okay, maybe he was bitter about his friend leaving, but doing things like complaining when he gets paired up with me during training or avoiding being alone with me at all costs? Does he not like me that much?”
“It might be the opposite actually.” Paolo mumbled to himself without thinking.
“What?” asked Agus.
“What?! Um, nothing. Haha Agus! You are a great middle blocker yeah? Good talk but I have my own match soon so-” now it was Paolo’s turn to attempt to run away, but Agus grabbed him by the arm and didn’t let go.
“What do you mean it’s the opposite? He…He doesn’t hate me?” Paolo was avoiding his eyes so he shook him “C’mon Paolo what do you mean, please tell me. This is all your fault now.”
“How’s any of this my fault? I came here because you looked like a sad puppy and-ow, okay FINE! Stop shaking me! Just ugh.” the setter massaged between his eyes “This is what I get for wanting to be a good teammate.”
Agus looked at him expectantly as Paolo rambled to himself, and then looked him directly in the eyes and said “I think this would be easier to solve if you accepted your feelings for him first.”
“Excuse me?” Agus went pale at this “What do you mean feelings? That I despise him?”
“You couldn’t hate anyone Agus, there’s not a single evil bone in your whole body.” Paolo broke the hold Agus had on him but didn’t run away. He instead crossed his arms, his face getting a bit red. “So…we all kind of realized there’s something going on between you two, but we didn’t think it was this bad. We thought you two were pulling each other's pigtails as some sort of…flirting?”
“W-what? Why would you think that?” asked Agus flustered.
“As I said, Yuki never spoke badly of you. In fact…I think he’s quite fond of you in a strange way” Paolo winced “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he is an open book when he gets drunk.”
“He…talks about me fondly?” Agus frowned “That doesn’t make sense. He always says the meanest things to me…I understand if he misses Bart but-” He then tensed, and shot at the italian “Wait what do you mean exactly with fondly?”
“I mean there’s only so much someone can do to fight off the feeling of elation you get when a tall man with a huge nose does everything he can to impress you. And don’t pretend you weren’t really trying hard to get on his good side- you just told me all about it and we all witnessed how you trailed after him like a lost puppy at first. Maybe when it stopped being like that, we should have realized something was off…”
“I didn’t mean to do it in a weird way!” Agus was red as a beet now. “I just wanted him to like me.”
“And like you he did.” Paolo agreed with him “What did I say about accepting your own feelings first? And don’t try to defend your case. I’ve seen you looking at him too, yeah? You are not subtle about it either. There’s only so much you can ogle a man before it stops being brotherly admiration.”
“But he never acted like he liked me Paolo! He took it on me that Bart left, and avoided me, and said things-”
“I think,” Paolo interrupted him, “this has very little to do with Bart. Yes, Yuki was ready to dislike however was joining the team, but then it was you who showed up, and his will to do it lasted, what? Two weeks? Anything he said after that was probably him being in denial about you- not only about your skills in the court. He…” Paolo chuckles and says “He’s a hard one to crack, as I said. You have to pay attention to what he really means with his words and actions, not whatever he says.”
Agus grabbed him by the shoulders holding himself up, with a desperate voice “But Paolo he-and I-what are you saying? Doesn’t he think I’m a bad player?”
“Agus, this has nothing to do with your playing, and I will kick his ass later for making you believe that.” Paolo softly took Agus’ hands off his shoulder and gently squeezed them “He sucks at communicating his feelings, really. Yuki doesn’t always mean what he says. Even him avoiding you probably has a deeper meaning than you think.”
Agustin felt his world being turned upside down. He went to sit back on the bench from earlier to try to make sense of the situation with this new information he had. Has Yuki been riling him up on purpose? Had today’s test been related to something else but his playing? Was he ready to admit to himself why he couldn’t stop thinking about him even if he got on his nerves? Was it that obvious to the people around him?
He thinks about what Paolo said about the whole team thinking they were flirting all along. Did they think they were chasing each other like a predator that chases their prey? As some sort of foreplay? For a second Agus allowed himself to imagine that scenario being the truth, and suddenly he feels too hot below the neck.
When his teammates started to fill the changing room, Agus could barely hear them greeting Paolo over the raging in his ears and the pounding of his heart. He felt someone touching his shoulder and when he looked up, Lulo’s concerned face was looming over him, asking something he couldn’t quite catch. The middle blocker had a strange feeling bubbling in his chest and he didn’t know what it was, but he had the sudden urge to see Yuki Ishikawa and demand an explanation out of him. To hear him say the truth, what he really means and feels. To pull the rug under his feet just like it happened to him minutes ago.
Before he could think about it twice, he got on his feet and quickly started to walk towards the locker rooms where team Japan were changing at. He could barely hear his teammates calling for him over the raging in his ears, but didn’t stop on their account. He passed by some players from other teams that were hanging around, oblivious to their greetings as he only had one person in mind. The closer he got, the faster his heart beat. He couldn’t allow Yuki to escape away from him, so when he saw some of his teammates on the corridor leaving already, he stopped one of them and asked about their captain.
“Um…he is still inside. He stayed longer taking pics with fans so he hasn’t showered yet” replied Kento Miyaura, as he tightened the grip on his bag. He could feel something strange about the mood of the argentine, and as soon as this one thanked him and went straight for the door, Kento started to walk faster to keep up with his teammates. He for sure didn’t want to stick around to find out about the sort of trouble his senior got himself into.
Agus didn’t waste any time and walked right in. The place seemed empty, but he could hear that one of the showers was on. He tried to mask the sound of his steps, and when he saw the red jersey with the number 14 among the clothes next to the stall, he knew he caught who we wanted. He wasn’t sure about his next move, but before he could think about it, Yuki spoke.
“Ran, is that you? Decided to come shower here so you could have the walk of shame from Nik’s room tonight after all?” he asked teasingly.
“I really didn’t need to know that.” lamented Agus out loud.
A silence, and then, the curtain of the stall opened and the man that plagued his mind stuck his head out. “Loser? What…?” the japanese has his eyebrows up in his forehead surprised about him being here, just to frown and scoff a second later “And now, what are you doing in here? Got a bit lost? This is the winner’s changing room. Yours is” he raised his arm up past the curtain, and pointed with his finger past Agus “around there. Now if you don’t mind-”
Before Yuki could keep pestering him, Agus got close to him and grabbed his wrist. His skin was wet and soapy, warm under his grip. His hand was big enough to easily go around it and cover it completely. He stared at how pale he was in comparison to the outside hitter, who tanned nicely and evenly, not like him who always got sunburnt instead. After long seconds he moved his attention from where they were making contact to Yuki’s face, who was staring at him with big eyes and a gaping mouth. Were his cheeks red from the heat of the shower or was it because of the sudden touch? The other suddenly pulled his wrist off his grip and closed the curtain completely.
“What do you want? I have to finish my shower and meet up with my teammates. I don’t have time for you.” Yuki says while getting under the spray of the shower again.
“Why are you always so mean to me? What did I ever do to you?” Agu asked him frustrated, pacing around the small area. “Whatever, I just came to tell you that I am tired of your bullshit. The thing you said to me after the match? Not very sportsmanship behavior from you. You don’t have to like me, but I am your fellow volleyball player and-”
“Ugh shut up. Listen I am sorry I guess if you took it to chest. I didn’t mean it like that. Is that all?” Agus couldn’t see it, but he felt Yuki’s eyeroll.
“No, that's not all! I don’t like the way you treated me since I got into Milano. I am not Bart, I get it, but I deserve a chance too!” he said angrily.
“Bart? How do you know about him?” Yuki asked carefully. When Agus replied that he spoke with Paolo, Yuki’s head appeared from behind the curtain again, making sure his body was hidden. “You spoke with him?! What did he tell you?” he bristled like an angry wet cat.
“Just about how close you were with him, and how I may or may not become your target because you are mad about him leaving” Agus didn’t mention the other part of the conversation. Yuki narrowed his eyes at him, so Agus raised his hands in defense “What? I didn’t interrogate him or something! He came on his own because he realized you said something mean to me on court. He is a good teammate and came to check on me. Not like you.”
He turned around and stared angrily at the blue tiles that covered the walls, trying to get his emotions in check. He heard Yuki getting back to his shower, and after a few minutes, the curtain opened again and his voice echoed in the bathroom.
“You need to toughen up Loser. You can’t let what others say get to you and affect you like that. You are too soft; this world will chew you up.”
“Listen you-” Agus' words got stuck in his throat when he saw the other man as he turned around to scream at him. Yuki was out of the shower, still wet, with his hair dripping and only a towel around his waist. He noticed how well defined his v-line was, and the trail of dark hair that disappeared under the towel. His throat suddenly went dry and his train of thought lost, he just closed his mouth, jaw clenched.
Yuki raised an eyebrow at him and to the argentine’s surprise, he took a couple of steps towards him. When he was close enough that he could feel the heat emitting from his body, the shorter man looked at him right into his eyes, chin up and lips pursed. Agus was still clenching his jaw, and now was also holding his breath. Pinned frozen in place by Yuki’s stare, he waited for whatever was going to happen next. However, the other one scanned his face and then shook his head, turning around to search for his things.
As he searched for something inside the bag on the bench right next to the shower stall, Agus admired his back and broad shoulders, suddenly reminiscing the hot italians days in the pool, where, occasionally, a similar scenario would present itself. His golden skin, the prolonged stares…as if he was expecting something from Agus, who only gave him silence and looked away.
The gears inside Agus’ head started to move. In his apology, Yuki added that he didn’t mean it like that. Why would he add that to his apology? Could it be that Yuki actually wanted to rile him up all along? Pay attention to what he really means with his words and actions, he heard Paolo’s voice inside his head .
“Say it again” he whispered. When Yuki looked over his shoulder, confused, Agus repeated it louder “Say it again, what you told me before the match today.”
“What?” he asked, going back to search something into his bag “To prove it to me? Do you need to hear it again for motivation?” He laughed to himself briefly before being snapped out from his search when Agustin grabbed him by the upper arms and turned him around, suddenly very close to him. “What is your problem?!”
“Look at me when you say it. C’mon, say it again.” the taller man was looming over Yuki, who swallowed with difficulty as he stared into those furious eyes, before saying slowly:
“Prove it to me, Loser.” and saw how Agus kept close attention to the other’s eyes and lips, and huffed a small breath out. And then he smirked a bit, which confused the japanese even more. “Hey! Why are you laughing?”
“Paolo was right. You don’t always say what you mean. Looking at your lips I know you aren’t talking about my blocking, are you? Or at least, it’s not your real point.”
“Oh, so because you talked with that kid you have a clue now?” Yuki huffed.
“What were your real intentions with everything you did? To make me snap?” Agus’ voice was getting lower, and his face closer to the other’s. The air between them became too hot and heavy.
“Is that what you think? If you are so intuitive then tell me what are my lips telling you now?” Yuki now was whispering too, raising his face so their noses would be aligned.
Agus dropped his eyes to his mouth, the same mouth that hours ago was sentencing him now is huffing hotly. They are begging for it .
“Yuki…” he said painfully, almost as if asking for permission.
Yuki smirked, barely any space between their faces now.
“Prove it to me, Loser.” he dared. And Agus couldn’t do anything but take the challenge.
Every bone in his body felt as if they were being liquified when their lips made the first contact. It wasn’t a gentle kiss, both of them were fighting to take control of it. Even if Yuki was the one that asked for permission with his tongue, it was Agus that licked the inside of the other’s mouth wanting to taste every molar. They were panting into each other’s mouth, neither of them willing to shield.
Separating felt like torture, but when he ran out of breath he broke apart from Yuki, who was now gripping the front of his shirt. Agus didn’t know what to do with his hands and then he realized that Yuki was only wearing a towel on his hips. He wandered down his body hungrily, and Yuki was doing the same with him, even if he was still wearing his uniform. His onyx eyes were filled with unmasked desire. The taller one of them suddenly had the urge to touch and conquer every centimeter of his skin.
He sized his hips and kissed the surprise from Yuki’s open mouth. The man starts to give up the fight, too overwhelmed by Agus’ sudden attack, and slowly puts his arms around his neck. Agus had the urge to smile into the kiss, but didn’t want to risk Yuki reacting badly to that, so instead he bit the japanese man’s lower lip and moved them away from the bench.
Agus guided Yuki backwards and pushed his body against the tiles of the shower. He was a bit taller and bigger than the other, so he could completely cage Yuki against the wall. As they kissed, the shorter man desperately crawled his back as he murmured something against his lips. “Off, take it off.” Agus realized he was trying to take his shirt off, so, with inhuman strength, he separated himself long enough to pull the jersey over his head.
As he tried to come over Yuki again, the man put a hand on his chest to stop him. He could feel himself burn as the japanese traced his chest and shoulders with his fingertips, and then fingers dipping lower into the planes of his abs. When he smirks, Agus knows he wasn’t done trying his best to get on his nerves.
“All of these muscles are just for show or do you pack any real strength on them? You couldn’t hold yourself up enough time to stop my balls not even an hour ago.”
“God you are so fucking annoying. I really want to punch your stupid face right now.” the middle blocker groaned. He couldn’t believe how the other was able to keep it going even in this situation.
“Is that so? Then…” Yuki grabbed Agus’s right hand and kissed his palm, just to put it on his cheek, cupping the side of his face. “Make sure you use that strength you say you have.”
“Oh yeah? That’s what you want?” Agus asked with a raspy voice, his chest once again touching Yuki’s, noses centimeters apart. He went cross-eyed trying to maintain eye contact. “For it to hurt?”
“Yes please,” the japanese man whispered, staring at him from under his eyelashes “Make it hurt.”
Something snapped inside of Agus and he couldn’t control himself any longer. He reclaimed the other’s mouth almost violently, and groped his wet body with intention. Yuki had no option but to accept the kiss and whimper into his mouth, his short fingernails leaving marks as they scratched his back. Their hands were exploring each other’s bodies with hunger, and Agus felt the heat pooling between his legs at the other’s eager responses.
He slowly guided his hands downwards until it reached the towel, and slowly teased his fingers on the skin there asking for permission. Yuki responded by moaning into his mouth and nodding, so Agus let the towel drop to the ground and grabbed him by the hips and grinded against him. Yuki threw his head back exposing his neck, which Agus couldn’t resist biting softly into it. He felt his shorts being pulled at, so he kicked his shoes off and did a quick work on them, along his leggings and underwear. Before Yuki could get a chance to feel him, however, Agus grabbed him roughly and manhandled him around, pressing his body against the wall but holding him at arm's length from him, so he couldn’t feel his skin anymore.
“Fuck, it’s cold.” Yuki whined, squirming under Agus’ hands- one on the back of the head and the other at his hip, digging into the muscle there. “The tiles are cold.”
“Oh, what is it? Is it a bit chilly, huh? Are your tits cold?” Agus teased.
“Don’t be a crude asshole-ow!” Yuki hissed, when Agus bit into his shoulder. He squirmed both from the pain and also trying to get some skin contact, but the argentine had a strong hold on him. He shivered again and not from the cold, but the showcase of strength. “Please…”
“Luckily for you, we are in the right place.” Agus let Yuki’s head go so he could turn on the shower to the correct setting, so warm water started to fall on them slowly. He felt thankful for it, after all he was still all sweaty from the match earlier, whereas Yuki smelled like coconut thanks to his shampoo. He moved them so the stream would hit own back, now completely slotting himself against Yuki’s back.
“Ugh. You feel...big.” Yuki said, holding back the moan that attempted to escape from his mouth, as he grinded himself against Agus, hands reaching behind them to grope his hips.
He threw his head back on the taller man’s shoulder, eyes closed. He was breathing heavily through his mouth, and Agus couldn’t help but kiss him soundly.
“Fuck, you are pretty like that.” he spitted, and Yuki opened his eyes while his cheeks were reddening even deeper. “You like when I say that? You really are pretty like this, humping me like a dog.” he said as he glided his hands on the other’s smooth chest and abdomen.
“Calling me a dog? Is that your idea of sweet talking, Loser?” Yuki replied, still glued to Agus and staring up at him, already getting desperate for what was coming next.
“I don’t need to sweet talk to you. I already have you in my hands.” Agus' hands traveled downwards until he could feel the trimmed hair growing under the other’s belly button “And you are not a dog…you are a needy bitch.”
When he cupped him with his hand, Yuki couldn’t hold back his moans anymore. He felt hot and heavy in Agus’ hand, and even if he couldn’t see it because he refused to look away from Yuki’s face, his mouth was already watering. He gave a couple of experimental strokes and the other’s knees buckled. He chuckled, and squeezed its base.
“Here, let me help you.” and he made Yuki put both of his hands on the wall in front of him for support. Then unashamedly started to touch him all over, feeling the powerful muscles twitch under his palms. He started to stroke him again with a painfully slow pace, with the goal of riling him up even more. Yuki trembled as he was attacked, still moving his torso trying to get to feel Agus behind him too. When the taller man tortured him by running his thumb over the slit a couple of times, he squirmed right into his lap.
“Loser stop teasing like that.” he snapped at Agus. He was still unashamedly stroking his ass right on Agus’ crotch “You are a lousy fuck already.”
“And you really are a mouthy bitch.” As he watched Yuki’s body twitch from the stimulation, Agus already made up his mind about what to do next.
Paolo already said it, he did stare at Yuki’s body a bit too much. And now that he was in this position, he could admit the man was carved to perfection. There wasn’t a patch of skin that Agus wanted to leave untouched. Right now, he had a plan that needed something to make the slide easier.
He looked around and saw some bottles on the floor in the corner of the shower, so he picked one. When he opened the conditioner and smelled the coconut, he knew these were Yuki’s. Still stroking him, Agus used his foot to make Yuki separate his legs a bit. When he let go of Yuki’s member to put some conditioner in his hand, Yuki looked over his shoulder with his eyebrows in a frown.
“Loser…? That’s not…?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Don’t worry.” he nudged the other’s cheek with his nose in what felt like too much of an intimate gesture “External use only, I am not an animal. Now keep those legs open for a second” and then he spreads a generous amount of the conditioner all over the top of the inside of Yuki’s thighs.
Yuki, who was still watching him over his shoulder, moaned when he realized what was going to happen next and let his head drop forward. Agus threw the bottle behind him and leaned in, giving the back of his neck a big bite that made the other shiver.
“Is this okay?” Agus asks as he skims his fingers against Yuki’s balls, which makes the man close his legs on his wrist as a reflex. Agus will never complain about extra weight training because god, the power behind these thighs and the image of them crushing him to death was making him so hard it was painful.
“What a gentleman, asking first. Just do something, Loser. You are boring me.” he said impatiently, but Agus already had too much experience being at the end of Yuki’s snappy replies.
He grinned wolfishly, before striking the back of the other’s thigh, making this one yelp. The muscles were firm and solid, barely jiggling on impact. He groped a handful of Yuki’s ass and his other hand, still with leftover conditioner, went back to stroke Yuki’s cock.
“These thighs…I swear I had a wet dream about fucking them once. I bet everyone did too. Even your little juniors that are in love with you.” he says as he settles his weight on the other’s back, thrusting his own stiff cock against the clef of Yuki’s ass.
The friction makes the shorter man whine and chomp down on his lips. The overwhelming stimulation he was receiving was making it hard to concentrate.
“You are such a p-pervert.” Yuki whines “Leave them alone.”
“I can call you captain too if you want. Does that get your rocks off?” Agus teases him as he toys faster with the head on his hand, creating white foam around it.
“Sounds like that’s something you are into, Loser. Want me to give you orders and call you a good boy when you satisfy me?” Yuki manages to retort back with a labored breath, thrusting both on the other’s groin and into his hand.
Agus bites a curse. He is so hard he is sure all the blood in his body went to his dick. He’s only human and can resist the other’s seduction tactics just for so long. So he stops jerking him off in order to grab himself in hand and a stroke a few times to take the edge off.
Then, Agus angles his cock into the gap between Yuki’s close thighs, pushing inside the slick warmth with a loud groan. His slick throbbing head shoves lower down past Yuki’s balls, and thrusts forwards sliding his dick between the trembling thighs. Drawing back, he readjusts his legs for better leverage and trusts again.
“Yeah, keep your legs closed like that. So tight for me.” he says, finally picking up speed.
Yuki tightens his legs even more and whimpers. Even if he can’t see Agus’ head peeking under the base of his own dick, he can feel it stimulating his perineum and between his balls, making him tingle all over. The idea that the taller man had thought of this before gets him even more bothered, enjoying the idea of Agus looking at him the same way he did. His hands on the wall supporting both of their weight curl into fists.
Agus feels like crying. His cock is clamped between these powerful vice-like thighs, the heat and slickness feel too good to be true. He grabs the other’s hips roughly, shoving him back into him, hoping he leaves hand shaped purple marks on the skin. Yuki is breathing heavily but bites off all of his whimpers and moans. Agus can’t have that, so one of his hands travels up Yuki’s body until it reaches his nipple and twists it.
“Ow! That hurt asshole.” cried the japanese man.
“Don’t muffle your sounds, I think I deserve to hear both your petty comments and cute little moans” he whispered into his ear. Now he is softly teasing both of his nipples, making them perk up.
“Ugh don’t do that.” Yuki tries to shake him off, but Agus doesn’t stop pulling at them.
“You like that don’t you, Ishikawa?” he licks the shell of his ears “Your chest is so sensitive. Your nipples are so cute I can’t help myself. Your tits are the perfect size.” and cups one of Yuki’s pecs.
“You have so many unresolved issues.” Yuki pants, and after a few seconds he asks “And what’s with you calling me that?”
“I think it’s only fair to do so if you keep calling me Loser” and now teases one of the other nipples between two of his fingers and grabs his neglected dick. When he notices how wet the tip is, he whistles “Looks like someone is close already. Aren’t you, Ishikawa?”
How could he not, Yuki thinks. Between his nipples being played on, the even strokes on his sensitive dick, and Agus’ hot and heavy between his legs, he was so close to losing his mind. He couldn’t hold his whimpers anymore, as he ached for release. But it wasn’t enough, he needed the man behind him to go faster. He feels the other leaving bite marks under his ear, so he turns to face him over his shoulder.
Agus is panting as he moves his hips, his nose bumping with Yuki’s when he turns. He thinks he may be delirious because suddenly he feels like waxing poetic about Yuki’s cute button nose and the constellation of beauty marks on his face. This line of thought stops when he catches the other biting his lips, as if he wants to say something. He raises an eyebrow, waiting for it.
“Please…I wanna cum.” Yuki pants and, to Agus’ surprise, gets even more red in the face “…Agu.”
Agustin Loser must have saved a whole continent from demise in his past life. There was no other way he deserved to have Yuki Ishikawa under him, whimpering his name like that -cutely swallowing the S at the end- and begging him to cum.
Yuki yelps as Agus pushes him up towards his chest, now both of them standing to their full heights. The knees of the shorter one are shaking slightly now that he can’t hold himself on the wall. Letting him lean his whole body weight on him, Agus goes back to teasing the dark nipples with both of his hands.
“C’mon baby, finish yourself up.” Agus commanded him.
Yuki couldn’t help the way his eyes widened at the pet name, quickly hiding his face from the other. He starts to stroke himself quickly and with intention, his other hand clamping on his lower abdomen. Lost in the sensation, he didn’t notice how Agus’s hands started to migrate downwards until he felt him grab both of his ass cheeks.
Agus squeezed the solid muscle under his hands before spreading them. Yuki’s back was glued to his chest, so from this angle he couldn’t really see anything, but he could feel everything. He adjusted his grip, and with hands as big as the ones he had, his middle finger could tease his hole easily.
“A-ah don’t-” said Yuki, jumping at the sensation and the rhythm of his strokers faltering.
“Don’t what? Touch here?” he mocked as he massaged his hole with his finger. “But it looks like it wants me to do it. Look at how it twitches…”
“You are crazy. God you are sick in the head” Yuki gasped as he shook his head in shame.
Sliding his own cock out from the hot cave between his thighs, red and hot from all the trusting, Agus spreads Yuki’s cheeks more. He feels under his finger how the twitching doesn’t stop, the wrinkly opening searching his fingertip and curses.
“Fuck. Look at how it’s begging for something inside. What a slutty little hole.”
Yuki muttered a curse under his breath, squeezing the base of his dick to stop himself from doing something so embarrassing like cumming just from Agus’ words. His attempt was going to be futile, as he felt the wet tip of the Argentine’s cock sliding up and over his hole.
“Don’t worry baby. Soon I will give you what you want. I’ll fill you up and give it to you, hard and deep.” Agus promises darkly, trusting his cock against Yuki’s hole, smearing precum on it.
“Y-you are so- fuck, I fucking hate you Loser.” Yuki hisses between his teeth, furiously stroking his dick.
Yuki’s body was singing under Agus' touches. His words were working him up, and his hands touched him in all the right ways. He didn’t even make Yuki do it, but his teammate -and rival- was arching his back slightly, trying to get his hole more exposed so the cock behind it could kiss it. Agus was obsessed with the twist of his body.
“I will bruise this hole up, yeah? Want me to make it hurt like you said earlier?” he says.
Yuki couldn’t stop the string of moans escaping him now. He just wanted to get off, and gave up all pretenses of not loving Agus’ attention. He was aware of how embarrassing he was being, but he was so caught up on his own release he didn’t realize his moans were getting really loud. Not until Agus grabbed him by the jaw, fingers digging into his cheeks, and forcefully turning him to face him.
“Did you forget that we are in a public space? What if someone comes in and hears you moan like a slut?” Agus hissed into his mouth.
When he sees the way Yuki’s eyes glaze over, he knows he hit the jackpot. He smirks and bites the other’s lips as he taunts him.
“You would like that, wouldn't you? One of your teammates coming back, seeing his beloved captain being dirtier by his rival and loving it. Behaving like a good bitch for me” Agus’ own words were fogging his own mind too.
Yuki whines a loud and long no to what Agus replies by sticking two of his fingers in his mouth to shut him up. He puts pressure on the tongue, feeling the wet muscle fight against him. Lips close around the digits, sucking them eagerly, making little sinful noises and coating his fingers with saliva.
“Did any of them have a taste of you already? Is this why this hole is so slutty?” and he puts just enough pressure on his hole so the fingertip of his finger breaches his insides.
With his face scrunched up in pleasure and abdominal muscles flexing signaling the upcoming orgasm, Yuki crawled the other’s arm for support.
“Agu I’m-” he managed to say around Agu’s fingers before getting breathless.
“Come for me, Yuk.i” he says sweetly. And he lets his face go, in order to stimulate his nipples again, giving him a final push.
As Yuki shoots his load against the tiles of the shower, Agus realizes he developed an addiction for Yuki’s skin after just one taste. As he kept his eyes focused on the hairline in the back of his neck and felt the up and down of his chest under his hand, he decided that this wasn’t going to be a one-time thing. He would make sure to have this, and more, again. The only way Yuki was ever going to get rid of him was with a restriction order.
He gave Yuki support while he came down from his high, softly massaging his hips with his thumbs. He was going to move them to the wall for support, but Yuki’s hand suddenly shot and grabbed the back of his head. For a second he was confused, thinking the japanese was going to fall over, but then Yuki spoke.
“None…” he pants, breathing still jagged.
“What?” he asked.
And then Yuki’s other hand searched under his own softening dick for Agu’s cock, guiding it under his body and closing his thighs around it. Agus closed his eyes and hissed at this feeling, having forgotten about his own pleasure for a second. He opened them again when he felt Yuki throw his head back to rest on his shoulder and the caressing of the hair in the back on his head.
Yuki had a look of determination on his hazy eyes. Alarms started to ring inside Agus’s head, eyes widening as Yuki smirked. Before he could escape, Yuki grabbed firmly by the hair, making sure he couldn’t look away from his face and neck full of bite marks. When he spoke, his words came out breathy and sugary.
“None of them had me…This hole belongs to you.”
Then, as if he let all of his shame go, Yuki licked his puffy lips and moved his hips back and forth, squeezing the cock under him. He was a bit weak and unsteady, but still started to work on him and purposely moaned just for him. Agus didn’t have time to do anything but think holy shit before Yuki started to sing.
“Agu, you make me feel so good. I love your cock.” he moaned with intent “I wish you were inside of me”
Agus could only curse and grope the other’s hips as he started to push into the heat. He set a brutal pace, making Yuki whine from the overstimulation.
“Yeah baby? I want to be inside you too. I would fuck you so well.” Agus says as stares right into his eyes.
“But Agu, you are so big. I don’t think it will fit.” the japanese pouts, exaggerating the whining in his voice.
“I would make it fit. I-I will make you take it- fucking shit.” Agus grunts. Yuki’s mouth was really getting to him. He was really mouthy when he wanted to be, even during sex. Agus couldn’t be more pleased.
“Fuck yeah Agu, I want you to do it. Make me take it, please.”
“I will, baby. I would make this hole mine. I am going to make you mine.” he promises to Yuki.
“I want that. Please make me your bitch Agu. Fuck your bitch, c’mon.”
Agus didn’t need any of this; he has been close since the first five seconds he kissed Yuki, if he was completely honest. But damn if he didn’t feel like Yuki was being the one toying with him now, making sure he couldn’t look away from him, intoxicating him with his own touch and bewitching him with his tongue.
“Let me cum all over you, please?” he asked, because he is a gentleman even after saying all of those things.
Yuki smiled and cupped his jaw with his free shaky hand in a sweet gesture. Then kissed him and against his lips purred:
“Mark me up, Agu.”
Agus kissed those tempting lips as he felt himself release on the inside of Yuki’s thighs. He grunted into the other’s mouth, who didn’t stop caressing him and squeezing his thighs. It was too much and he felt like he couldn’t breathe, so he broke the kiss and buried his face on the neck full of his bite marks. He stayed like that until his dick started to soften again.
When he came back from the initial high, Agus could barely stand on his feet. Without raising his head, he nudged Yuki to move to the wall. With careful steps, they made it to the wall. Yuki turned them around so Agus’ back was touching the tiles and then tried to escape from the embrace. Agus tightened his grip on his torso and whined, causing Yuki to smile softly and pet his wet hair.
After a few minutes, and what Agus swears was a kiss to the top of his head, Yuki taps his arm with his fingers. The Argentine huffs but lets him go, not without squeezing his wrist first. He watches as Yuki walks under the spray of the shower and starts rinsing himself. Agus couldn’t resist the pouting as the water washes away his release from those beautiful thighs. He wished he had more time to admire it.
Agus felt like he should say something by now, but he didn’t want to break the spell casted between them, in that shower. The hot water running for so long caused the change room to be completely foggy, so it felt like Yuki was surrounded by some kind of halo. His skin was all blushed, and his face looked peaceful as he let the water hit his face. Agus felt something stirring inside of him, but instead of the desire in his groin he experimented earlier, this was happening on the left side of his chest.
“Did you know that the rest of Milano thought we were fucking all along?” Agus asked finally.
Yuki snorts and smiles just a bit.
“Those are very dirty minded men. That’s why they are so hairy. It wouldn’t surprise me if they came up with that.” he rolls his eyes.
“They thought our fights were foreplay.” Agus mumbles.
To this, Yuki’s body doubles and laughs loudly. Agus can see by the curve of his eyes that he is being honest about his amusement. He can’t help but smile too. When Yuki can breathe again, he looks at Agus and hesitates to speak.
“Loser…” he starts shyly, but before he can say anything else, he is interrupted by a scream.
“AGUSTÍN LOSER! SOME JAPANESE PLAYERS TOLD ME YOU ARE IN THERE AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, BUT IF YOU AREN’T ON THE BUS IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR STUPID FAT HEAD BECAUSE COACH MENDEZ IS LOOKING FOR YOU!” Luchi’s voice rumbles across the room.
Agus pales at this and starts to panic, and Yuki snickers at him. As he plans a route of escape, Agus realizes he came into the changing room only with his uniform, which now laid on the floor all wet. His distress must really show in his face, because Yuki grabs his hand and guides him under the spray.
“Here, rinse yourself. I have a spare change of clothes in my bag; pick something. It may fit you a bit tight but it’ll do until you get to the hotel.” says Yuki.
“Yuki I wish-” Agus stops when Yuki’s finger touches his lip.
“Shhh! Get changed. You need to go and be screamed by your coach. You deserve it after playing so bad.” he teases him.
“Hey now.” he grumbles annoyed, but he grabs Yuki’s wrist and kisses the palm of his hand.
Then runs out of the shower and searches for a towel and clothes inside the bag. Agus finds comfy, soft smelling, training clothes. As he dresses himself, he sees team Japan’s hoodie and without thinking too much about it, picks it up. He kicked his shoes out of the shower thank god, so he ties them up quickly.
When he looks up, Yuki has already turned the shower off and is standing just looking intensely. He looks pleased with him wearing the hoodie. Agus is also looking at him, but because he is still very much naked, and now he can properly see his whole well defined, tan, gorgeous body. The big line of his shoulders and the small of his waist, and the dark hair under his belly button and his soft d-
“AGUSTIN! I’M NOT COVERING YOUR ASS ANYMORE!” Luchi screamed, and Agus could hear his steps getting away.
“Oh for fucks sake-WAIT FOR ME, IDIOT!” he screamed, and goes for the door.
“Loser, hey!” Yuki yells, and when Agus looks back, he can see how red his ears are. “I’m sorry.”
Agus crosses his arms and supports himself on the door frame.
“That’s what you say, but you don’t really mean it. I can read your lips now, remember?” he says playfully.
“Is that so? And what are they telling you, then?” and he sticks his tongue out at him.
Prove it to me, again and again. And Agus will happily do so.
“Agustín?” and that’s Luciano De Cecco’s voice. Yeah, Agustín Loser’ career ends tonight. At least he made Yuki Ishikawa cum before the eternal sleep took him.
“Um, text me? If I am alive, that is. BYE!” and he runs, Yuki’s laugh ringing in his ears.
Agus was sitting on the sofa of the common area that joined their hotel rooms, phone in his hands, feeling giddy like a highschooler texting their crush. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since his encounter with Yuki, but he was already completely enchanted with the man. They couldn’t meet because coach Mendez, after a very long and loud lecture, gave him extra individual training early in the morning. And Yuki was going to be busy with interviews for the rest of the day- apparently his team was famous everywhere they went.
Yuki turned out to be very different in texts. He was, honestly, very cute. He divided all his sentences in separate texts, and used a lot of exclamation points and sent a lot of emoticons. Agus was thrilled. So much that he didn’t notice people starting to sit around him until someone cleared his throat. When he tore his eyes apart from the phone screen, he saw Lulo sitting across him with his mate kit, looking at him with one raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, fine. I’m sorry. You were right” Agus mumbled. He never explained to him what happened to him last night, and felt bad because his friend showed concern for him.
“Well yeah, I usually am.” Lulo said and started to prepare the mate to share. “About what, though?”
“About Agus stealing the heart of Japan’s most wanted athlete bachelor” said Nico, as he sat on the floor with a card set and shuffled them. “Beware, they don’t play about him. Be ready to receive death threats daily.”
“God I can’t believe you actually like him, Agus.” said Luchi, throwing himself on the sofa face down, occupying the whole space with his limbs “As I said, he is not ugly but really? I thought you liked them tall, brother!”
“Ishikawa is like, 1.90 meters tall. Not exactly petite, you know.” said Lulo, as he brews the first drink and passes it to Nico. Luchi started to name volleyball players that were taller than 2 meters, suggesting them as possible partners. Agus missed the part where he explained why height mattered to him.
Bruno, who had a very mature talk with Agus last night (he came to him sobbing, feeling bad about being mean during the match, and begging for forgiveness) greeted them good morning and sat next to him, squeezing him on the knee.
“What are you kids talking about?” he asked, with his soft voice.
“Nothing.” said Agus, throwing a warning look to the rest of the circle. Everyone rolled their eyes at him.
“Does it have anything to do with the hoodie I saw you trying to squeeze past me in our room last night?” Bruno teased him and threw an arm around his shoulder when Agus groaned.
However, before Bruno could say anything else, Facundo Conte walked in and hit Agus in the back of his head as he passed them by.
“Heard you got a brand-new boyfriend, you dog. We come here to compete not to find a date.”
“This IS somehow the perfect place to get a date, actually” said Nico under his breath.
“That hurt! Now, how do you know that? You weren’t even here last night; this is the first time I see you since the actual match! And he is not my boyfriend” he mumbled the last part, a bit sadly.
“Got that fresh info right from the slovenian’s channels” said Facu as he sat on the arm of the sofa.
“What were you even doing with them?” asked Lulo, frowning, brewing him a drink.
“You know Tine Urnaut? Outside hitter from Slovenia? We used to play together like 15 years ago for Umbria Volley. Ran into him yesterday and invited me and other old hangs to have a drink. Long story short, I passed out in their living room. Don’t tell the coach, I know it wasn’t smart but I was feeling the moment. I just had breakfast with them.” Facu explained.
“Okay…good for you? That still doesn’t tell me how you know about Yuki.” Agus frowned.
Bruno jumped on his seat and turned to face Agus.
“You are a thing with Japan’s captain?” his eyebrow raised so high up his forehead they disappeared under his fringe.
“Oh! Ran told me!” Facu said cheerfully, as he accepted the drink from Lulo.
Silence.
“Ran…Takahashi?” asked Luchi, raising his head from the sofa. “Now what does he have to do with any of this?”
“Well, when I woke up he was already there having breakfast already. Good kid, he bowed to me real low and all. Then he asked me about Agus and I was like why are you asking about that punk? And he told me spoke with his captain last night and stuff…so yeah, great catch dog! That’s how I taught my little chicken to catch babes!” Facu winked at Agus and raised the mate in his honor.
“Why would Ran be at Slovenia’s rooms that early?” Nico questioned.
Agus groaned and rubbed his eyes hard. He really didn’t need to know about this.
His phone rang with a new text, distracting him from everything else. Yuki asked him if he was free this afternoon because his schedule got freed at the last minute. Agus smiled, and started to think about the upcoming new Superlega season and how the two of them would have all the time to have each other. No longer he would find himself being avoided or ignored, because now he was going to be proudly chasing after the man like a lovesick puppy. He was going to make sure everyone knew that the italian sun wasn’t the only one who could kiss Yuki’s skin.