[Yongda]
by issen4
181 reasons
"I think I'm in love with you," Touya said.
Shindou stopped chewing as his jaw dropped open (and, had he but known it, offered Touya a view of his masticated riceball, causing his rival to briefly regret the declaration). He closed his mouth after several seconds and managed, "Say what?" except the words came out garbled and would have been impossible to understand for anyone who had not spent years in yelling matches over a goban with him.
"I said, 'I think I'm in love with you'. But-" Touya paused.
Shindou grabbed his glass of ice water and drained it, swallowing the mouthful of riceball at the same time.
"-it seems to have come as a surprise," Touya said.
"Damn," Shindou finally said when he was finally able to speak clearly again.
Touya leant back slightly, the slightest hint of a frown on his brow. "So today isn't supposed to be a day for inclement declarations."
"Who on earth even says 'inclement declarations'?" Shindou asked, then apparently deciding that it was a rhetorical question--or fearing that Touya would not take it as such, waved his fingers. "Never mind. Touya, you can't say that--here!" He looked around wildly, but they were in a private dining room and there were no curious diners to overhear them.
To think that he had gone to the trouble of making a reservation at the very expensive and traditional Kuriya, which had always comforted Shindou with its Heian-styled furnishings. It was the kind of place politicians and businessmen patronised to close deals (one could arrange for geishas to entertain) and for society matrons to arrange for omiai sessions. Oh wait...
"It's not that I intend you to reciprocate," Touya went on, his mini-frown smoothing out.
"Ah, thanks?" Shindou said, finally realising that his accelerated heartbeat, the curious lack of air, and his wide-opened eyes
were indicative of shock, and really, as a player of Go, he ought to manage his reactions better...
"I just thought you might like to know."
"Um, yeah," Shindou mumbled, swallowing. "I guess so, but h-how did you know?"
Touya sounded as though he were ticking items off his fingers, though of course Touya prided himself on counting off broad spectrum strategies as easily as normal people jotted down grocery lists. "First of all, it was the dreams. I found that I was starting to imagine you and I in the most incongruous situations involving nudity. And other, ah, activities."
"Other activities--right, got it," Shindou said, amazed at the steadiness of his response, and tried valiantly to not think of pink elephants, all the better to distract himself. He had heard that the more one tried not to think of them, the more--
Touya drained his sake. "Second, I was starting to be self-conscious--"
Damn. Despite himself, Shindou found himself unable to help himself from paying attention.
"--of my clothes, especially what I wore around you."
As you should be, Shindou thought, catching a glimpse of the silver-and-florescent green tie beneath a brown argyle sweater.
He found himself suddenly self-conscious about his own shirt--it was ripped in places for fashion's sake, and ordinarily would have been the kind of shirt that got one disbarred from Kuriya, but (1) he was Shindou Ouza and (2) he had worn a jacket over it when he came in--and wanting to tug some of the larger rips close. "Y-yeah?" he said, surreptitiously going for his jacket. To hide the movement, he topped up Touya's cup.
Touya drained it without looking at him. "Third, I was behaving in a way wholly unlike myself."
That surprised Shindou into saying, "Such as?"
"I found myself wanting to defeat your opponents on your behalf, so that you wouldn't lose any games."
That was truly ludicrous. "Eh?"
"Fourth, I kept wanting to chase after you, and asking you to play with--"
"But you do that all the time," Shindou said, and then raised his hands in surrender at Touya's sudden glare at being interrupted. "I'm sorry. Please go on," he said, wondering at the inanity of his words.
Touya gave a huff, and his brow furrowed. "With me," he said. "I wanted you to play with me instead. Fifth, I found myself obsessing about your friendship with Fujisaki-san--"
"But there's nothing between Akari and me!" Shindou said, rolling his eyes. He had been saying that ever since Waya and the others had met her at a Go event. Kadowaki, the pervert who still looked up women's skirts, had sent flowers the very next day.
Touya nodded. "I know that." He paused for a moment, and said, "Sixth--"
Shindou shook his head. "Touya, how many reasons are there in that list of yours, anyway?" If Touya was going to sit here and describe them all, more alcohol was in order. Or perhaps he just had to kiss Touya till he stopped talking.
"One hundred and eighty-one."
"What?"
"One for each black stone. Because you like playing black."
On the goban, Shindou realised, and frowned as he tried to think through that. Did it mean that Touya was just alluding to the connection of Go between them, which was sweet, or did it mean that Touya could think no further than the goban, which was just sick?
"What--what's the last reason?" he asked, a bit disbelieving that the list could be that long.
"What?" Touya now looked up from his silent communion with the sake cup, and Shindou noticed, affection welling up from somewhere in the vicinity of his chest, that Touya's nose was bright-red from the sake.
"Reason number one hundred and eighty-one."
Touya blinked. "Reason number one hundred and eighty-one," he said. "Because you're Hikaru."
/end
181 reasons
"I think I'm in love with you," Touya said.
Shindou stopped chewing as his jaw dropped open (and, had he but known it, offered Touya a view of his masticated riceball, causing his rival to briefly regret the declaration). He closed his mouth after several seconds and managed, "Say what?" except the words came out garbled and would have been impossible to understand for anyone who had not spent years in yelling matches over a goban with him.
"I said, 'I think I'm in love with you'. But-" Touya paused.
Shindou grabbed his glass of ice water and drained it, swallowing the mouthful of riceball at the same time.
"-it seems to have come as a surprise," Touya said.
"Damn," Shindou finally said when he was finally able to speak clearly again.
Touya leant back slightly, the slightest hint of a frown on his brow. "So today isn't supposed to be a day for inclement declarations."
"Who on earth even says 'inclement declarations'?" Shindou asked, then apparently deciding that it was a rhetorical question--or fearing that Touya would not take it as such, waved his fingers. "Never mind. Touya, you can't say that--here!" He looked around wildly, but they were in a private dining room and there were no curious diners to overhear them.
To think that he had gone to the trouble of making a reservation at the very expensive and traditional Kuriya, which had always comforted Shindou with its Heian-styled furnishings. It was the kind of place politicians and businessmen patronised to close deals (one could arrange for geishas to entertain) and for society matrons to arrange for omiai sessions. Oh wait...
"It's not that I intend you to reciprocate," Touya went on, his mini-frown smoothing out.
"Ah, thanks?" Shindou said, finally realising that his accelerated heartbeat, the curious lack of air, and his wide-opened eyes
were indicative of shock, and really, as a player of Go, he ought to manage his reactions better...
"I just thought you might like to know."
"Um, yeah," Shindou mumbled, swallowing. "I guess so, but h-how did you know?"
Touya sounded as though he were ticking items off his fingers, though of course Touya prided himself on counting off broad spectrum strategies as easily as normal people jotted down grocery lists. "First of all, it was the dreams. I found that I was starting to imagine you and I in the most incongruous situations involving nudity. And other, ah, activities."
"Other activities--right, got it," Shindou said, amazed at the steadiness of his response, and tried valiantly to not think of pink elephants, all the better to distract himself. He had heard that the more one tried not to think of them, the more--
Touya drained his sake. "Second, I was starting to be self-conscious--"
Damn. Despite himself, Shindou found himself unable to help himself from paying attention.
"--of my clothes, especially what I wore around you."
As you should be, Shindou thought, catching a glimpse of the silver-and-florescent green tie beneath a brown argyle sweater.
He found himself suddenly self-conscious about his own shirt--it was ripped in places for fashion's sake, and ordinarily would have been the kind of shirt that got one disbarred from Kuriya, but (1) he was Shindou Ouza and (2) he had worn a jacket over it when he came in--and wanting to tug some of the larger rips close. "Y-yeah?" he said, surreptitiously going for his jacket. To hide the movement, he topped up Touya's cup.
Touya drained it without looking at him. "Third, I was behaving in a way wholly unlike myself."
That surprised Shindou into saying, "Such as?"
"I found myself wanting to defeat your opponents on your behalf, so that you wouldn't lose any games."
That was truly ludicrous. "Eh?"
"Fourth, I kept wanting to chase after you, and asking you to play with--"
"But you do that all the time," Shindou said, and then raised his hands in surrender at Touya's sudden glare at being interrupted. "I'm sorry. Please go on," he said, wondering at the inanity of his words.
Touya gave a huff, and his brow furrowed. "With me," he said. "I wanted you to play with me instead. Fifth, I found myself obsessing about your friendship with Fujisaki-san--"
"But there's nothing between Akari and me!" Shindou said, rolling his eyes. He had been saying that ever since Waya and the others had met her at a Go event. Kadowaki, the pervert who still looked up women's skirts, had sent flowers the very next day.
Touya nodded. "I know that." He paused for a moment, and said, "Sixth--"
Shindou shook his head. "Touya, how many reasons are there in that list of yours, anyway?" If Touya was going to sit here and describe them all, more alcohol was in order. Or perhaps he just had to kiss Touya till he stopped talking.
"One hundred and eighty-one."
"What?"
"One for each black stone. Because you like playing black."
On the goban, Shindou realised, and frowned as he tried to think through that. Did it mean that Touya was just alluding to the connection of Go between them, which was sweet, or did it mean that Touya could think no further than the goban, which was just sick?
"What--what's the last reason?" he asked, a bit disbelieving that the list could be that long.
"What?" Touya now looked up from his silent communion with the sake cup, and Shindou noticed, affection welling up from somewhere in the vicinity of his chest, that Touya's nose was bright-red from the sake.
"Reason number one hundred and eighty-one."
Touya blinked. "Reason number one hundred and eighty-one," he said. "Because you're Hikaru."
/end