New fandoms are terrifying! You're not allowed to judge! Shut up, STOP LOOKING AT ME!!
Title: Mating Rituals of the Crazy Moon People
Fandom: Kamen Rider Kabuto
Pairings: Kagami/Tendou
Rating: PG at most.
Warnings/spoilers: Post-series, a fair amount of spoilers for at least up through the 30s.
Author's Notes: It's my first fic in the fandom, so I'm cutting myself a lot of slack, okay? Anyway, so Meg's fic turned out to be long and she wanted a drabble in return. I didn't use the prompt she specified for that, but another one that she threw at me. It was supposed to be just a short little thing, maybe a thousand words if it went long.
Over five thousand words later, I feel I should get a lot of pettings. And KRK makeouts. .__.
This isn't precisely the way I usually view the relationship between Kagami and Tendou, but it's what worked for the fic. I've probably been influenced by certain people in the fandom (I'm stealing Tammaiya's address from Hiyori to Tendou because it made a lot of sense to me) but I also see a handful of other things differently.
Oh, and I mentioned that it's my first fic in the fandom? Seriously. I'm cutting myself a lot of slack here. Thank you to tammaiya for helping make this fic a lot better than it was, even if she can only do so much. ^_~
Tendou shows up at his apartment one day and Kagami is really unsure what to make of it.
Well. That's not precisely how it goes.
*
Kagami returns to his apartment one night, tired and wanting nothing more than a hot shower, maybe a light snack, and then a very long reaquaintance meeting with his bed. It's been a seemingly endless day of chasing after would-be thiefs snatches purses and escorting dawdling children across the road and the Gatack zecter angrily buzzing about Kagami's head in a demand for attention. He thinks maybe he'll have to set aside a special day for the zecter; it can be a little... well, demanding, yes.
He doesn't really mind most of the time, he's used to that sort of attitude, but some days are longer than others, so he just wants to go home and sleep before he has to get up and do it again tomorrow.
In fact, he's so tired that he almost misses the new addition to his apartment, except that it's a little difficult to ignore Tendou doing anything at all much less when he's lounging on your bed, with his hands laced neatly behind his head as he lays back, watching you with half-lidded eyes.
Tendou is also wearing those black jeans that Kagami really, really hates. The ones that aren't quite tight enough to be like a second skin, but Tendou looks way too good in them and if he doesn't stop wearing them, someday Kagami's going to do something really stupid.
So he very carefully does not look directly at Tendou, muttering a greeting, as he puts his things away and shuffles towards the kitchen with a resigned sigh. (Even if he'd been looking at Tendou, he probably would have missed the brief flash of irritation on Tendou's face directed at his back, but it was probably better that he hadn't.) If he doesn't at least offer Tendou tea, he's pretty sure he's going to hear about how Obaa-chan said it was the worst sin a person could commit to be a poor host and just taking the time to do it already seemed like the lesser of two evils. He pulls one out at random, too tired to even try to hazard at guess at what Tendou's in the mood for, and starts the water to heat.
Tendou is suddenly very close behind him and Kagami hadn't even heard him move but he thinks he does a decent job of not startling when Tendou speaks almost against the back of his neck in a strange tone Kagami can't quite parse.
"Hiyori said you didn't show up at La Salle at all today."
Kagami nods shortly and stares at the water he wishes would just almost boil already, definitely not thinking about Tendou being really a lot closer than he's used to. Definitely not. "Yeah, I had to work a double shift today, so I didn't have time." He hadn't seen Tendou at all today, either, so he had no idea what might be causing this weird mood of his. Not that he usually had any idea anyway. "Besides, she's usually way too busy to have any time to talk, so I doubt she really noticed."
"You should get her something for tomorrow then," Tendou says in a strange voice that sounds almost too calm, except that doesn't really make sense to Kagami's sleep-deprived brain and so he just mutters an agreement and starts to pour the water for the tea and it's only when he moves to get the leaves that he notices that he's not running directly into Tendou.
Kagami eyes the rest of his apartment warily, but it's definitely empty; Tendou's completely gone.
Well. That was weird. He scratches his head in confusion and then decides that it's not worth losing sleep over.
*
The next day Kagami still thinks it's pointless to bring a gift for Hiyori when she didn't care if he didn't show up at La Salle every day, but he also didn't want to be the one to go against Tendou when it came to his little sister. So, he settled for a simple gift of wallflowers in a nice dark green dish to set off the little purple and white flowers, since they'd been in season, hoping that would be enough for whatever crazy sleight he'd committed that Tendou had lodged in his head.
Hiyori smiles softly at him when he walks through the doors and he can't help smiling back; she's opened up so much since he first met her and it's nice to see. He sets the flower pot down on the counter between them and jerks his head in Tendou's direction, who has rolled up his sleeves to join Hiyori in the kitchen, deftly dicing up a pile of daikon next to a sizzling pan. Hiyori's soft smile turns understanding as Kagami says very seriously and not at all mocking, "Sorry for not showing up yesterday. I had to work late, it won't happen again."
"Understood. See that it doesn't," Hiyori answers firmly. She nods once and if Tendou senses that they're teasing him, he doesn't show it. "You should stay for lunch, though, it's almost time."
Kagami shifts his uniform cap under his arm and looks at his watch. He came here on his way to work because it was the most convenient time and it's not that he doesn't like visiting Hiyori... but he'd wanted a viable excuse to leave, just knowing Tendou would be there and probably still in a weird mood. "I can't, I have a shift in fifteen mi--"
Tendou's hand is suddenly heavy on his shoulder and spins him around to shove him into the nearest chair and Kagami hadn't even seen him move, despite that he'd sworn he'd been keeping half an eye on Tendou the whole time. And it's a bit of a miracle that the glass Tendou thumps down onto the table doesn't spill a single drop or that the silverware isn't embedded in the table, Kagami thinks as Tendou sets the table. He's really not sure why Tendou seems to be mad at him, but he knows better than to ask.
"Your food will be ready in just a few minutes," Tendou says with perfect politeness. He's wearing a different pair of jeans today, dark blue this time and even tighter than before and a gold belt with three neat rows of small spikes on it that draws Kagami's attention right to where it least needs to be and he really doesn't need to be thinking about that right before work. He can feel the weight of Tendou's stare on him even as he focuses intently on the tabletop in front of him and all he can figure is that Tendou somehow knows and is torturing him for it.
"I guess I can stay long enough for lunch," he mutters, both relieved and disappointed when Tendou and his jeans (the ones with the matching gold designs on the back pockets, he thinks plaintively) return to the kitchen.
But at least Tendou's going to feed him, so it's not a total loss.
*
Two days later, Kagami comes home to his apartment and finds Tendou lounging in his bed again in a similar position. His hands are tucked behind his head again as he leans back against Kagami's pillow with heavy lidded eyes, one knee is propped up with the other loosely stretched out in front of him. He's wearing a pair of white drawstring pants and a matching light, long-sleeved shirt and Kagami only notices because it highlights how very, very long Tendou's limbs are. Tendou has apparently used this shower recently as well, the ends of his hair are still in damp curls around the nape of his neck and Kagami thinks he's probably staring a little too much, but he can't help it.
The grocery bags crinkle loudly in his hands a moment later, startling Kagami out of his stupor, and he tears his eyes away from a still-damp and basically half-dressed Tendou in his bed, barely muttering that he was home before retreating into the kitchen.
He only has half a minute to collect himself before he hears Tendou's soft footsteps following him, but it's time enough.
"Tendou." He wants to ask why Tendou's here again, ask him why he's doing this to Kagami. Still, he's polite enough to set the tea on first, despite how that turned out last time, grabbing one of those he'd just bought tonight. "What are you doing here? How do you even keep getting into my apartment?"
Kagami can only half-see Tendou's hand rising to point skyward in his usual pose, but it's not as if he can't picture it easily enough. "For the one that walks the path to heaven, the barriers of this world are nothing."
"Aa, right." Kagami nods like this makes sense, because it's not like he'll get any other answer. He's almost sort of used to it now. (He's pretty sure he couldn't entirely hold back an annoyed face, though, and he's glad he stocked up on aspirin today.) And Tendou will tell him whatever he's trying to say when he feels like it (or just let Kagami stew until he finally gets it, knowing Tendou), he just has to be patient.
Not that it's easy when Tendou is going through the bags of groceries Kagami has set on the counter and is close enough that he can smell his own soap on Tendou's skin. Which is kind of weird--why the hell would Tendou use his shower instead of his own at home, which is much nicer than Kagami's apartment anyway? Unless it's broken, but he'd have thought there would be a dozen places Tendou would go before coming here--but it's also kind of shorting out Kagami's brain. Thinking of Tendou in his shower, Tendou using his shampoo, even if it's just some generic brand because Kagami doesn't care about things like that, somehow it smells amazing on Tendou, and Kagami dizzily thinks that maybe, just possibly he has it really, really bad for Tendou. Just imagining Tendou in his shower, that sleek body dripping wet and the soap bubbles sliding down--
Oh, god, he's going to do something stupid any minute now. Tendou is a bastard to torture him this way, he thinks sullenly.
Thankfully (well, sort of) Tendou is sorting out his groceries, seperating the non-perishables from the refridgerated foods, and he's holding up a package of non-expensive yellowtail that Kagami likes. "You bought this deliberately?" Tendou asks with a horrified look.
"Shut up," Kagami mutters and grabs the package, trying to fight down embarrassment. He hopes Tendou thinks it's just about the food. "I like it."
Tendou lets it go with a resigned sigh. "I guess it can't be helped then. Tomorrow you'll come over for dinner."
And, well, he would think about objecting to that, but Tendou is offering to feed him and no matter how aggravating Tendou is sometimes, that makes up for a lot.
"All right. Thanks."
Tendou's face lightens a bit and it's a little more comfortable when Kagami starts loading the perishables into his fridge, but Tendou is still kind of staring at him like he's waiting for something more and Kagami still really doesn't have any idea what it is. (He also dearly wishes that he didn't find Tendou so attractive in casual clothes that made him think about things that there was no way Tendou would ever let him get away with. Or that he didn't find that half-impatient, half-superior look on Tendou's face to be kind of hot, too.)
The fridge is blessedly cool on Kagami's face as he focuses rapidly and intently on the contents of it, and something suddenly dawns on him.
"Tendou, you...." Kagami starts slowly and Tendou's expression is that same one he had when Kagami first came home, like he's politely waiting for Kagami to tip over the edge of enlightenment, even if it's taken him longer to get there than a grade-schooler would have. Something that Tendou probably thinks Kagami should be honored by, but heaven forbid that he actually say anything directly. "You... rearranged my refrigerator?" Kagami glances around the rest of his apartment in sudden realizing horror. "And you... cleaned my apartment?"
Tendou's stare turned cold, suddenly deadly still in his lounge against the counter. "It's better this way. You should do a proper job of cleaning the place you live in, so your guests will feel more welcome." He pauses for a moment and his gaze sharpens on Kagami, still in shock. "I washed your laundry and sheets for you, too."
There's a heavy moment that hangs between them, stretching on towards infinity, and then Kagami's headache explodes in his brain all over again. He scrubs a hard hand through his hair and makes a long frustrated noise. The thought of Tendou in his apartment, going through his things, arranging them to whatever crazy standards he has is really kind of killing Kagami's last shreds of sanity.
"Tendou, what the hell?" Kagami asks desperately, hoping that something Tendou will say can make this situation finally start making sense. "I'm sure you have a reason for all of this, maybe it's your crazy way of trying to show your friendship, but why all of a sudden? And this is just--"
"You're missing the point," Tendou interrupts sharply and Kagami thinks, just for one surreal moment, that Tendou looks just as confused and frustrated at him, too.
He stares at Tendou for a long moment, all the frustration and aggravation suddenly draining away to leave him exhausted and not really even sure where to begin anymore. Kagami suspects he looks rather in need of a good wall to beat his head against. "Tendou, don't be so vague, just say what you mean."
"You should go shower, too," Tendou states firmly, staring at him again, like he's stating the obvious to a particularly slow puppy. But, well. It's not a bad idea, Kagami supposes tiredly; a cold shower might do him good.
"Yeah, okay," he mutters, rubbing a hand over his eyes and drifting towards the hallway. Behind him he can hear Tendou moving around the kitchen again, but he can't be bothered with it.
There's a towel and a fresh change of sleepwear set out for him, which he thinks is kind of strange, but Kagami's mostly on autopilot right now, so he just turns the water to cold and hopes it will help clear his head. He's swung from one extreme to another over Tendou so many times tonight that his headache has turned into a monster and he's hardly any closer to understanding what Tendou's getting at than when he started.
He doesn't think he's gone that long, but by the time he finishes and wanders back out, still cold and shivering a little, Tendou is no longer anywhere in the apartment. The groceries have all been put away and he has to admit, things do look nicer in here.
Still.
He has no idea what's going on in Tendou's crazy, crazy head.
*
Dinner goes about as well as Kagami expects; Hiyori and Juka are doing well and it's nice to spend time with them, while Tendou is... Tendou. Tonight he's wearing a pair of thin dark gray pants that don't leave a lot to the imagination (or maybe they leave too much to Kagami's imagination, he's not really sure), a soft pink tank top, and a short black jacket. He really wonders when he began noticing this sort of thing.
It's not as bad as yesterday, but Kagami spends a little too much time glancing up at Tendou--who seems to be either getting up to go to the kitchen or coming back to serve the next dish every single time Kagami's not staring resolutely at his plate--and the few times he's not looking at Tendou, it's because he can't help noticing the odd looks Hiyori is giving him. By the end of the night, he doesn't really even remember what they were eating.
He just remembers that it was some sort of pasta dish with octopus or something like it and it was really good, but that Tendou shouldn't be allowed to wear shiny silver belts like the one he had on tonight because they are really, really distracting. He blames Tendou both for the fashion choice and for getting him all spun around so that he can't concentrate anymore, which has made him look like an idiot far too often lately.
As soon as he can leave without being rude, Kagami makes his escape, saying that he has work again early in the morning. He promises himself that he'll stop by again later to make up for being so out of things tonight, especially to Juka and Hiyori, but right now it's just better to get home. He leaves in such a distracted state that it's not until he's halfway down the front steps that he hears Hiyori running after him and calling his name.
When he turns around, she's holding his jacket out to him with an impatient, but reasonably fond look. "Here. You forgot this."
"Ah, thanks, Hiyori. I guess I'm a little out of it tonight, huh?"
He's not quite looking at her, but he can see her settle onto the top step, tucking her skirt under her knees and leaning forward onto her elbows. She's not looking at him either, she's staring straight ahead, but she's left plenty of room for another person beside her on the steps.
"You've been like that all evening."
It's hard to resist her when she's trying to open up to the people around her and show concern, which Kagami knows that this is. He's not really sure how to explain anything, if he should at all--what would she think? would she be okay with him if she knew? would it hurt their friendship?--but he sits down beside her anyway.
"Sorry, I just... have a lot on my mind. It's been a... crazy week," he mutters the last part and he thinks he catches a quirk of her lips out of the corner of his eye and wonders how much she's already guessed. Hiyori was always quiet and extremely blunt when she did say more than just a few words to someone, but after the last year, she's become even better at understanding people. He supposes--each in their own special way--that runs in the Tendou family.
"Mmn." She folds her arms in against her chest, sheltering them between herself and her legs, shivering a little at the cold night air in her short sleeved-shirt. "Souji has been the same way lately. Not exactly the same, but...."
Kagami frowns at her and drapes his jacket over her shoulders, making her stiffen in surprise for a moment, but she doesn't refuse it when he turns back to stare out at the Tendou front lawn. And, well, it's not that he hadn't known Tendou was being weirder than usual this week, but....
"I just don't know what's going through his head or what he's trying to say," Kagami grouses. "Just when I think I understand what he's thinking...."
Hiyori hunches into his jacket a little as a cold gust of wind blows through the yard and pushes her hair out of her eyes. "Juka-chan says that Souji didn't have a lot of people to talk to growing up," she says quietly and slowly, long pauses between her words, so Kagami waits patiently for her to finish. "That he was always training and looking out for her, so he wasn't close to anyone before."
It's not surprising, he's figured as much. Tendou is really smart when it comes to reading other people and most of the time he doesn't care if he irritates them or insults them, he knows a lot about what makes them tick and knows just where to hit them so it hurt. He's really good at being charming when he wants to be, too, Kagami thinks with less annoyance than he expects.
"So, maybe it's a little hard for him to say when he likes someone," Hiyori says softly. "Those kinds of words are hard to say."
The idea of Tendou liking someone sends Kagami into a little bit of a tailspin, it's not something he'd spent too much time considering before. Tendou always seems like it's the furthest thing from his mind, that he's busy taking care of his little sisters and never has time for anything else, and it's not like Kagami has noticed him being all that different up until this past week and he thought he knew Tendou better than that. He thought he would notice if Tendou had-- Well. Really, he... he just doesn't want Tendou to like someone. He knows what he wants is impossible, that he's lucky Tendou is his friend and he doesn't want to ruin that, but he's not sure how to deal with this, if Hiyori's right.
"Maybe that's why he's been acting so strange then," Kagami says, a knot forming in his stomach, because he wants to be a better friend than that, but he's not sure if he's that good of a person. "If he was trying to talk about it and I didn't get it.... I don't even have any idea who he likes, if it cou--OW!"
Hiyori pinches him a second time and Kagami tries to scoot away from her, cradling his wounded arm close and giving her a shocked look. "What was that for!?"
She points an annoyed finger directly in his face and looks really, really irritated with him.
"Eh? Me? What did I do?" Their whole family is crazy, Kagami thinks. He never knows what is going to set them off!
"Souji." Hiyori says flatly, pointing at him one more time, and he's a little afraid she's going to start pinching him again. So it takes a moment to dawn on him what she means.
"....HAA!? Me? Tendou... likes me?" Kagami's sure he's misunderstanding her somehow, that he's going to be proven a tremendous idiot in the next few seconds, because someone like Tendou wouldn't-- Not with--
But Hiyori nods sharply and narrows her eyes at him. "It's really obvious. And really annoying to see all the time."
"But Tendou wouldn't... not with... not someone like me--" Kagami flails weakly, because he really likes Hiyori, but the idea is threatening to shut his brain down all over again, and he's still not getting any better at handling that.
She pinches him again, harder this time, and her look turns into a harsh glare that stuns him a little. "You don't think enough of yourself."
"Eh, what?" Kagami stares wildly at her, trying to force his thoughts into reasonable patterns again, with limited success. "No, it's not that. Really!" He scrambles as far to the side of the steps as he can without actually falling off when her hand comes up again and threatens to go for the same spot on his arm. "I... I like myself the way I am, I don't want to change anything about myself. After everything with the Worms and Gatack...." Kagami looks down at his hands, half seeing the battle armor still there, almost missing it just a little bit. He's glad Gatack zecter hasn't disappeared completely, no matter how crazy he thinks the little bug-shaped robot is. "I'm happy the way I am."
Hiyori softens a little, but it's still plainly written on her face that she's annoyed by this whole situation. "So there isn't any problem then."
And, if nothing else, it's nice that she doesn't seem to mind this. Aside from having to watch while they all misunderstood each other constantly, that is.
"It's just... the person Tendou likes... I always thought that person would be...." Kagami leans back to look up at the stars only faintly visible against the dark night sky, like the answers might be written there. Truthfully, he's never really thought about it too hard either, but he's always had this vague image in his head. Just... someday in the future, maybe when Kagami has had time to sort himself out a little more. "Someone as perfect as Tendou. You know?"
Hiyori scoffs at him in her own way and kicks his ankle in irritation, but it doesn't really hurt that much. "So you like someone exactly like yourself, too?"
"Well, no..." he frowns.
"Besides," she says firmly, standing up to brush the dust off her skirt, and drops Kagami's jacket back over his head before heading back to the house. "No one is perfect, not even that person. You've said so yourself."
He turns to watch her go and is surprised to see Tendou in the doorway, staring hard at the two of them. "You were gone a long time," he says to Hiyori and it's not suspicious or angry, but there's something uncomfortable in his tone anyway. "I came to check, what were you doing?"
Kagami scrambles to his feet and Tendou's piercing stare is on him now and he wonders if Hiyori is really right and he wants to make some excuse to leave before he makes a fool of himself asking, but he's not really that kind of person. He has to know.
"We were talking about something," Hiyori says simply, giving Kagami a pointed look before she brushes past Tendou with a twist of her expression. "Anyway, I'm tired of this, I'm going now."
The door shuts loudly behind her while they watch each other with guarded expressions and it's a long time before Kagami finally jams his fists into his pockets just for something to do with his hands and finally speaks up. "Tendou, about the times you came over this week, I--"
"Forget about it," Tendou says, almost cold, and he turns to go back into the house as well. "It's not important now."
Kagami scrambles across the few feet seperating them to grab Tendou's arm, shouting for him to wait. Even if he does make a fool of himself, he has to know. "It is important! I know you're trying to tell me something, but..." Tendou looks back at him, his face is unreadable and his muscles are tensed, but he's not pulling away. "Sometimes you're not very clear about things."
"I was perfectly clear," Tendou responds and Kagami feels the temperature drop a few more degrees. He looks like he's going to yank his arm free any moment, so Kagami holds on tighter.
"Well... yes and no." He doesn't know how to put this so Tendou isn't offended--not that he usually cares so much, but this is really important, he needs to be careful. Kagami takes another step closer to Tendou, relieved when he doesn't back down either. "When you try to tell me something important, you're usually not very direct, so I look for what I'm missing. And sometimes...."
Another step closer and Tendou's still not moving away and Kagami's stomach turns over once or twice, but this is easier than he thought. Not much, but. He might just live through it, anyway. Tendou is watching him carefully now, which makes Kagami even bolder.
Bold enough to stand next to Tendou, close enough that they're almost touching. "Sometimes maybe I miss what's plainly in front of me." His other hand ghosts along Tendou's other side, downwards until he's centimeters away from joining hands with him. "If you're going to be direct for once, you should be a little clearer."
"How much clearer did you need?" Tendou asks quietly and Kagami can tell his breathing isn't quite even anymore and all of a sudden the last week makes so much more sense to Kagami. He really is a little bit of an idiot. But Tendou is, too, so it's all right.
Kagami gently touches the side of Tendou's face, tracing the lines of his cheekbones and the side of his jaw, sliding down to the long column of his throat, his fingers curling around the back Tendou's neck to pull him forward. "This clear," he says and kisses Tendou.
There's one stomach-dropping moment where Tendou is frozen solid against him and Kagami is pretty certain he hasn't made a mistake, but a wild flare of doubt still goes through him, even as he presses closer to Tendou; what if he really has made a horrifying mistake? But then Tendou relaxes into the kiss, his mouth slowly opening up against Kagami's, and he tastes like dinner still and something sweeter than that.
It's the best moment of Kagami's life when Tendou makes a faint sound of need against him and there's a hand fisted in the back of his shirt to drag him in closer.
It's all too soon when Tendou finally pulls away, Kagami trying to follow him, but Tendou's hands on his shoulders are immovable, and everything feels very distant and fuzzy to Kagami right now, everything except the need to taste Tendou again. Even Tendou's smug smile doesn't bother him, it just makes Kagami want to kiss him all the more.
"Enough for now," Tendou says firmly and Kagami thinks he's trying to be stern to shoo Kagami off him, but it's not really working very well, he looks just as pleased as Kagami feels. "This isn't the place for that."
Tendou glances towards the house and Kagami remembers, oh, right, they're not the only people in the world, maybe not even the only people right here in this moment. He doesn't think Hiyori would secretly spy on them, but he wouldn't put it past Juka and he really doesn't want to be there if Tendou finds out if his precious baby sister saw them. Not the least because it would probably never happen again for months. (If he was lucky.)
"Yeah, you're right. But..." Ah, the thinks, Tendou really is a genius. "You should come to my place for dinner sometime." He has to laugh at the look on Tendou's face, tonight it's fine if Tendou is giving him that disgusted expression. "But I'm not as good of a chef as you or Hiyori are, so maybe you could help me. You could teach me a little bit about it."
Tendou's face clears into a beautiful smile and Kagami gets an amazing thrill knowing that Tendou is smiling because of him. For him.
"You might have a little potential," Tendou says and Kagami really wants to kiss him again. "It will take a lot of time, though."
"Yeah. A lot of time," Kagami agrees.
All the time in the world.
Fandom: Kamen Rider Kabuto
Pairings: Kagami/Tendou
Rating: PG at most.
Warnings/spoilers: Post-series, a fair amount of spoilers for at least up through the 30s.
Author's Notes: It's my first fic in the fandom, so I'm cutting myself a lot of slack, okay? Anyway, so Meg's fic turned out to be long and she wanted a drabble in return. I didn't use the prompt she specified for that, but another one that she threw at me. It was supposed to be just a short little thing, maybe a thousand words if it went long.
Over five thousand words later, I feel I should get a lot of pettings. And KRK makeouts. .__.
This isn't precisely the way I usually view the relationship between Kagami and Tendou, but it's what worked for the fic. I've probably been influenced by certain people in the fandom (I'm stealing Tammaiya's address from Hiyori to Tendou because it made a lot of sense to me) but I also see a handful of other things differently.
Oh, and I mentioned that it's my first fic in the fandom? Seriously. I'm cutting myself a lot of slack here. Thank you to tammaiya for helping make this fic a lot better than it was, even if she can only do so much. ^_~
Tendou shows up at his apartment one day and Kagami is really unsure what to make of it.
Well. That's not precisely how it goes.
*
Kagami returns to his apartment one night, tired and wanting nothing more than a hot shower, maybe a light snack, and then a very long reaquaintance meeting with his bed. It's been a seemingly endless day of chasing after would-be thiefs snatches purses and escorting dawdling children across the road and the Gatack zecter angrily buzzing about Kagami's head in a demand for attention. He thinks maybe he'll have to set aside a special day for the zecter; it can be a little... well, demanding, yes.
He doesn't really mind most of the time, he's used to that sort of attitude, but some days are longer than others, so he just wants to go home and sleep before he has to get up and do it again tomorrow.
In fact, he's so tired that he almost misses the new addition to his apartment, except that it's a little difficult to ignore Tendou doing anything at all much less when he's lounging on your bed, with his hands laced neatly behind his head as he lays back, watching you with half-lidded eyes.
Tendou is also wearing those black jeans that Kagami really, really hates. The ones that aren't quite tight enough to be like a second skin, but Tendou looks way too good in them and if he doesn't stop wearing them, someday Kagami's going to do something really stupid.
So he very carefully does not look directly at Tendou, muttering a greeting, as he puts his things away and shuffles towards the kitchen with a resigned sigh. (Even if he'd been looking at Tendou, he probably would have missed the brief flash of irritation on Tendou's face directed at his back, but it was probably better that he hadn't.) If he doesn't at least offer Tendou tea, he's pretty sure he's going to hear about how Obaa-chan said it was the worst sin a person could commit to be a poor host and just taking the time to do it already seemed like the lesser of two evils. He pulls one out at random, too tired to even try to hazard at guess at what Tendou's in the mood for, and starts the water to heat.
Tendou is suddenly very close behind him and Kagami hadn't even heard him move but he thinks he does a decent job of not startling when Tendou speaks almost against the back of his neck in a strange tone Kagami can't quite parse.
"Hiyori said you didn't show up at La Salle at all today."
Kagami nods shortly and stares at the water he wishes would just almost boil already, definitely not thinking about Tendou being really a lot closer than he's used to. Definitely not. "Yeah, I had to work a double shift today, so I didn't have time." He hadn't seen Tendou at all today, either, so he had no idea what might be causing this weird mood of his. Not that he usually had any idea anyway. "Besides, she's usually way too busy to have any time to talk, so I doubt she really noticed."
"You should get her something for tomorrow then," Tendou says in a strange voice that sounds almost too calm, except that doesn't really make sense to Kagami's sleep-deprived brain and so he just mutters an agreement and starts to pour the water for the tea and it's only when he moves to get the leaves that he notices that he's not running directly into Tendou.
Kagami eyes the rest of his apartment warily, but it's definitely empty; Tendou's completely gone.
Well. That was weird. He scratches his head in confusion and then decides that it's not worth losing sleep over.
*
The next day Kagami still thinks it's pointless to bring a gift for Hiyori when she didn't care if he didn't show up at La Salle every day, but he also didn't want to be the one to go against Tendou when it came to his little sister. So, he settled for a simple gift of wallflowers in a nice dark green dish to set off the little purple and white flowers, since they'd been in season, hoping that would be enough for whatever crazy sleight he'd committed that Tendou had lodged in his head.
Hiyori smiles softly at him when he walks through the doors and he can't help smiling back; she's opened up so much since he first met her and it's nice to see. He sets the flower pot down on the counter between them and jerks his head in Tendou's direction, who has rolled up his sleeves to join Hiyori in the kitchen, deftly dicing up a pile of daikon next to a sizzling pan. Hiyori's soft smile turns understanding as Kagami says very seriously and not at all mocking, "Sorry for not showing up yesterday. I had to work late, it won't happen again."
"Understood. See that it doesn't," Hiyori answers firmly. She nods once and if Tendou senses that they're teasing him, he doesn't show it. "You should stay for lunch, though, it's almost time."
Kagami shifts his uniform cap under his arm and looks at his watch. He came here on his way to work because it was the most convenient time and it's not that he doesn't like visiting Hiyori... but he'd wanted a viable excuse to leave, just knowing Tendou would be there and probably still in a weird mood. "I can't, I have a shift in fifteen mi--"
Tendou's hand is suddenly heavy on his shoulder and spins him around to shove him into the nearest chair and Kagami hadn't even seen him move, despite that he'd sworn he'd been keeping half an eye on Tendou the whole time. And it's a bit of a miracle that the glass Tendou thumps down onto the table doesn't spill a single drop or that the silverware isn't embedded in the table, Kagami thinks as Tendou sets the table. He's really not sure why Tendou seems to be mad at him, but he knows better than to ask.
"Your food will be ready in just a few minutes," Tendou says with perfect politeness. He's wearing a different pair of jeans today, dark blue this time and even tighter than before and a gold belt with three neat rows of small spikes on it that draws Kagami's attention right to where it least needs to be and he really doesn't need to be thinking about that right before work. He can feel the weight of Tendou's stare on him even as he focuses intently on the tabletop in front of him and all he can figure is that Tendou somehow knows and is torturing him for it.
"I guess I can stay long enough for lunch," he mutters, both relieved and disappointed when Tendou and his jeans (the ones with the matching gold designs on the back pockets, he thinks plaintively) return to the kitchen.
But at least Tendou's going to feed him, so it's not a total loss.
*
Two days later, Kagami comes home to his apartment and finds Tendou lounging in his bed again in a similar position. His hands are tucked behind his head again as he leans back against Kagami's pillow with heavy lidded eyes, one knee is propped up with the other loosely stretched out in front of him. He's wearing a pair of white drawstring pants and a matching light, long-sleeved shirt and Kagami only notices because it highlights how very, very long Tendou's limbs are. Tendou has apparently used this shower recently as well, the ends of his hair are still in damp curls around the nape of his neck and Kagami thinks he's probably staring a little too much, but he can't help it.
The grocery bags crinkle loudly in his hands a moment later, startling Kagami out of his stupor, and he tears his eyes away from a still-damp and basically half-dressed Tendou in his bed, barely muttering that he was home before retreating into the kitchen.
He only has half a minute to collect himself before he hears Tendou's soft footsteps following him, but it's time enough.
"Tendou." He wants to ask why Tendou's here again, ask him why he's doing this to Kagami. Still, he's polite enough to set the tea on first, despite how that turned out last time, grabbing one of those he'd just bought tonight. "What are you doing here? How do you even keep getting into my apartment?"
Kagami can only half-see Tendou's hand rising to point skyward in his usual pose, but it's not as if he can't picture it easily enough. "For the one that walks the path to heaven, the barriers of this world are nothing."
"Aa, right." Kagami nods like this makes sense, because it's not like he'll get any other answer. He's almost sort of used to it now. (He's pretty sure he couldn't entirely hold back an annoyed face, though, and he's glad he stocked up on aspirin today.) And Tendou will tell him whatever he's trying to say when he feels like it (or just let Kagami stew until he finally gets it, knowing Tendou), he just has to be patient.
Not that it's easy when Tendou is going through the bags of groceries Kagami has set on the counter and is close enough that he can smell his own soap on Tendou's skin. Which is kind of weird--why the hell would Tendou use his shower instead of his own at home, which is much nicer than Kagami's apartment anyway? Unless it's broken, but he'd have thought there would be a dozen places Tendou would go before coming here--but it's also kind of shorting out Kagami's brain. Thinking of Tendou in his shower, Tendou using his shampoo, even if it's just some generic brand because Kagami doesn't care about things like that, somehow it smells amazing on Tendou, and Kagami dizzily thinks that maybe, just possibly he has it really, really bad for Tendou. Just imagining Tendou in his shower, that sleek body dripping wet and the soap bubbles sliding down--
Oh, god, he's going to do something stupid any minute now. Tendou is a bastard to torture him this way, he thinks sullenly.
Thankfully (well, sort of) Tendou is sorting out his groceries, seperating the non-perishables from the refridgerated foods, and he's holding up a package of non-expensive yellowtail that Kagami likes. "You bought this deliberately?" Tendou asks with a horrified look.
"Shut up," Kagami mutters and grabs the package, trying to fight down embarrassment. He hopes Tendou thinks it's just about the food. "I like it."
Tendou lets it go with a resigned sigh. "I guess it can't be helped then. Tomorrow you'll come over for dinner."
And, well, he would think about objecting to that, but Tendou is offering to feed him and no matter how aggravating Tendou is sometimes, that makes up for a lot.
"All right. Thanks."
Tendou's face lightens a bit and it's a little more comfortable when Kagami starts loading the perishables into his fridge, but Tendou is still kind of staring at him like he's waiting for something more and Kagami still really doesn't have any idea what it is. (He also dearly wishes that he didn't find Tendou so attractive in casual clothes that made him think about things that there was no way Tendou would ever let him get away with. Or that he didn't find that half-impatient, half-superior look on Tendou's face to be kind of hot, too.)
The fridge is blessedly cool on Kagami's face as he focuses rapidly and intently on the contents of it, and something suddenly dawns on him.
"Tendou, you...." Kagami starts slowly and Tendou's expression is that same one he had when Kagami first came home, like he's politely waiting for Kagami to tip over the edge of enlightenment, even if it's taken him longer to get there than a grade-schooler would have. Something that Tendou probably thinks Kagami should be honored by, but heaven forbid that he actually say anything directly. "You... rearranged my refrigerator?" Kagami glances around the rest of his apartment in sudden realizing horror. "And you... cleaned my apartment?"
Tendou's stare turned cold, suddenly deadly still in his lounge against the counter. "It's better this way. You should do a proper job of cleaning the place you live in, so your guests will feel more welcome." He pauses for a moment and his gaze sharpens on Kagami, still in shock. "I washed your laundry and sheets for you, too."
There's a heavy moment that hangs between them, stretching on towards infinity, and then Kagami's headache explodes in his brain all over again. He scrubs a hard hand through his hair and makes a long frustrated noise. The thought of Tendou in his apartment, going through his things, arranging them to whatever crazy standards he has is really kind of killing Kagami's last shreds of sanity.
"Tendou, what the hell?" Kagami asks desperately, hoping that something Tendou will say can make this situation finally start making sense. "I'm sure you have a reason for all of this, maybe it's your crazy way of trying to show your friendship, but why all of a sudden? And this is just--"
"You're missing the point," Tendou interrupts sharply and Kagami thinks, just for one surreal moment, that Tendou looks just as confused and frustrated at him, too.
He stares at Tendou for a long moment, all the frustration and aggravation suddenly draining away to leave him exhausted and not really even sure where to begin anymore. Kagami suspects he looks rather in need of a good wall to beat his head against. "Tendou, don't be so vague, just say what you mean."
"You should go shower, too," Tendou states firmly, staring at him again, like he's stating the obvious to a particularly slow puppy. But, well. It's not a bad idea, Kagami supposes tiredly; a cold shower might do him good.
"Yeah, okay," he mutters, rubbing a hand over his eyes and drifting towards the hallway. Behind him he can hear Tendou moving around the kitchen again, but he can't be bothered with it.
There's a towel and a fresh change of sleepwear set out for him, which he thinks is kind of strange, but Kagami's mostly on autopilot right now, so he just turns the water to cold and hopes it will help clear his head. He's swung from one extreme to another over Tendou so many times tonight that his headache has turned into a monster and he's hardly any closer to understanding what Tendou's getting at than when he started.
He doesn't think he's gone that long, but by the time he finishes and wanders back out, still cold and shivering a little, Tendou is no longer anywhere in the apartment. The groceries have all been put away and he has to admit, things do look nicer in here.
Still.
He has no idea what's going on in Tendou's crazy, crazy head.
*
Dinner goes about as well as Kagami expects; Hiyori and Juka are doing well and it's nice to spend time with them, while Tendou is... Tendou. Tonight he's wearing a pair of thin dark gray pants that don't leave a lot to the imagination (or maybe they leave too much to Kagami's imagination, he's not really sure), a soft pink tank top, and a short black jacket. He really wonders when he began noticing this sort of thing.
It's not as bad as yesterday, but Kagami spends a little too much time glancing up at Tendou--who seems to be either getting up to go to the kitchen or coming back to serve the next dish every single time Kagami's not staring resolutely at his plate--and the few times he's not looking at Tendou, it's because he can't help noticing the odd looks Hiyori is giving him. By the end of the night, he doesn't really even remember what they were eating.
He just remembers that it was some sort of pasta dish with octopus or something like it and it was really good, but that Tendou shouldn't be allowed to wear shiny silver belts like the one he had on tonight because they are really, really distracting. He blames Tendou both for the fashion choice and for getting him all spun around so that he can't concentrate anymore, which has made him look like an idiot far too often lately.
As soon as he can leave without being rude, Kagami makes his escape, saying that he has work again early in the morning. He promises himself that he'll stop by again later to make up for being so out of things tonight, especially to Juka and Hiyori, but right now it's just better to get home. He leaves in such a distracted state that it's not until he's halfway down the front steps that he hears Hiyori running after him and calling his name.
When he turns around, she's holding his jacket out to him with an impatient, but reasonably fond look. "Here. You forgot this."
"Ah, thanks, Hiyori. I guess I'm a little out of it tonight, huh?"
He's not quite looking at her, but he can see her settle onto the top step, tucking her skirt under her knees and leaning forward onto her elbows. She's not looking at him either, she's staring straight ahead, but she's left plenty of room for another person beside her on the steps.
"You've been like that all evening."
It's hard to resist her when she's trying to open up to the people around her and show concern, which Kagami knows that this is. He's not really sure how to explain anything, if he should at all--what would she think? would she be okay with him if she knew? would it hurt their friendship?--but he sits down beside her anyway.
"Sorry, I just... have a lot on my mind. It's been a... crazy week," he mutters the last part and he thinks he catches a quirk of her lips out of the corner of his eye and wonders how much she's already guessed. Hiyori was always quiet and extremely blunt when she did say more than just a few words to someone, but after the last year, she's become even better at understanding people. He supposes--each in their own special way--that runs in the Tendou family.
"Mmn." She folds her arms in against her chest, sheltering them between herself and her legs, shivering a little at the cold night air in her short sleeved-shirt. "Souji has been the same way lately. Not exactly the same, but...."
Kagami frowns at her and drapes his jacket over her shoulders, making her stiffen in surprise for a moment, but she doesn't refuse it when he turns back to stare out at the Tendou front lawn. And, well, it's not that he hadn't known Tendou was being weirder than usual this week, but....
"I just don't know what's going through his head or what he's trying to say," Kagami grouses. "Just when I think I understand what he's thinking...."
Hiyori hunches into his jacket a little as a cold gust of wind blows through the yard and pushes her hair out of her eyes. "Juka-chan says that Souji didn't have a lot of people to talk to growing up," she says quietly and slowly, long pauses between her words, so Kagami waits patiently for her to finish. "That he was always training and looking out for her, so he wasn't close to anyone before."
It's not surprising, he's figured as much. Tendou is really smart when it comes to reading other people and most of the time he doesn't care if he irritates them or insults them, he knows a lot about what makes them tick and knows just where to hit them so it hurt. He's really good at being charming when he wants to be, too, Kagami thinks with less annoyance than he expects.
"So, maybe it's a little hard for him to say when he likes someone," Hiyori says softly. "Those kinds of words are hard to say."
The idea of Tendou liking someone sends Kagami into a little bit of a tailspin, it's not something he'd spent too much time considering before. Tendou always seems like it's the furthest thing from his mind, that he's busy taking care of his little sisters and never has time for anything else, and it's not like Kagami has noticed him being all that different up until this past week and he thought he knew Tendou better than that. He thought he would notice if Tendou had-- Well. Really, he... he just doesn't want Tendou to like someone. He knows what he wants is impossible, that he's lucky Tendou is his friend and he doesn't want to ruin that, but he's not sure how to deal with this, if Hiyori's right.
"Maybe that's why he's been acting so strange then," Kagami says, a knot forming in his stomach, because he wants to be a better friend than that, but he's not sure if he's that good of a person. "If he was trying to talk about it and I didn't get it.... I don't even have any idea who he likes, if it cou--OW!"
Hiyori pinches him a second time and Kagami tries to scoot away from her, cradling his wounded arm close and giving her a shocked look. "What was that for!?"
She points an annoyed finger directly in his face and looks really, really irritated with him.
"Eh? Me? What did I do?" Their whole family is crazy, Kagami thinks. He never knows what is going to set them off!
"Souji." Hiyori says flatly, pointing at him one more time, and he's a little afraid she's going to start pinching him again. So it takes a moment to dawn on him what she means.
"....HAA!? Me? Tendou... likes me?" Kagami's sure he's misunderstanding her somehow, that he's going to be proven a tremendous idiot in the next few seconds, because someone like Tendou wouldn't-- Not with--
But Hiyori nods sharply and narrows her eyes at him. "It's really obvious. And really annoying to see all the time."
"But Tendou wouldn't... not with... not someone like me--" Kagami flails weakly, because he really likes Hiyori, but the idea is threatening to shut his brain down all over again, and he's still not getting any better at handling that.
She pinches him again, harder this time, and her look turns into a harsh glare that stuns him a little. "You don't think enough of yourself."
"Eh, what?" Kagami stares wildly at her, trying to force his thoughts into reasonable patterns again, with limited success. "No, it's not that. Really!" He scrambles as far to the side of the steps as he can without actually falling off when her hand comes up again and threatens to go for the same spot on his arm. "I... I like myself the way I am, I don't want to change anything about myself. After everything with the Worms and Gatack...." Kagami looks down at his hands, half seeing the battle armor still there, almost missing it just a little bit. He's glad Gatack zecter hasn't disappeared completely, no matter how crazy he thinks the little bug-shaped robot is. "I'm happy the way I am."
Hiyori softens a little, but it's still plainly written on her face that she's annoyed by this whole situation. "So there isn't any problem then."
And, if nothing else, it's nice that she doesn't seem to mind this. Aside from having to watch while they all misunderstood each other constantly, that is.
"It's just... the person Tendou likes... I always thought that person would be...." Kagami leans back to look up at the stars only faintly visible against the dark night sky, like the answers might be written there. Truthfully, he's never really thought about it too hard either, but he's always had this vague image in his head. Just... someday in the future, maybe when Kagami has had time to sort himself out a little more. "Someone as perfect as Tendou. You know?"
Hiyori scoffs at him in her own way and kicks his ankle in irritation, but it doesn't really hurt that much. "So you like someone exactly like yourself, too?"
"Well, no..." he frowns.
"Besides," she says firmly, standing up to brush the dust off her skirt, and drops Kagami's jacket back over his head before heading back to the house. "No one is perfect, not even that person. You've said so yourself."
He turns to watch her go and is surprised to see Tendou in the doorway, staring hard at the two of them. "You were gone a long time," he says to Hiyori and it's not suspicious or angry, but there's something uncomfortable in his tone anyway. "I came to check, what were you doing?"
Kagami scrambles to his feet and Tendou's piercing stare is on him now and he wonders if Hiyori is really right and he wants to make some excuse to leave before he makes a fool of himself asking, but he's not really that kind of person. He has to know.
"We were talking about something," Hiyori says simply, giving Kagami a pointed look before she brushes past Tendou with a twist of her expression. "Anyway, I'm tired of this, I'm going now."
The door shuts loudly behind her while they watch each other with guarded expressions and it's a long time before Kagami finally jams his fists into his pockets just for something to do with his hands and finally speaks up. "Tendou, about the times you came over this week, I--"
"Forget about it," Tendou says, almost cold, and he turns to go back into the house as well. "It's not important now."
Kagami scrambles across the few feet seperating them to grab Tendou's arm, shouting for him to wait. Even if he does make a fool of himself, he has to know. "It is important! I know you're trying to tell me something, but..." Tendou looks back at him, his face is unreadable and his muscles are tensed, but he's not pulling away. "Sometimes you're not very clear about things."
"I was perfectly clear," Tendou responds and Kagami feels the temperature drop a few more degrees. He looks like he's going to yank his arm free any moment, so Kagami holds on tighter.
"Well... yes and no." He doesn't know how to put this so Tendou isn't offended--not that he usually cares so much, but this is really important, he needs to be careful. Kagami takes another step closer to Tendou, relieved when he doesn't back down either. "When you try to tell me something important, you're usually not very direct, so I look for what I'm missing. And sometimes...."
Another step closer and Tendou's still not moving away and Kagami's stomach turns over once or twice, but this is easier than he thought. Not much, but. He might just live through it, anyway. Tendou is watching him carefully now, which makes Kagami even bolder.
Bold enough to stand next to Tendou, close enough that they're almost touching. "Sometimes maybe I miss what's plainly in front of me." His other hand ghosts along Tendou's other side, downwards until he's centimeters away from joining hands with him. "If you're going to be direct for once, you should be a little clearer."
"How much clearer did you need?" Tendou asks quietly and Kagami can tell his breathing isn't quite even anymore and all of a sudden the last week makes so much more sense to Kagami. He really is a little bit of an idiot. But Tendou is, too, so it's all right.
Kagami gently touches the side of Tendou's face, tracing the lines of his cheekbones and the side of his jaw, sliding down to the long column of his throat, his fingers curling around the back Tendou's neck to pull him forward. "This clear," he says and kisses Tendou.
There's one stomach-dropping moment where Tendou is frozen solid against him and Kagami is pretty certain he hasn't made a mistake, but a wild flare of doubt still goes through him, even as he presses closer to Tendou; what if he really has made a horrifying mistake? But then Tendou relaxes into the kiss, his mouth slowly opening up against Kagami's, and he tastes like dinner still and something sweeter than that.
It's the best moment of Kagami's life when Tendou makes a faint sound of need against him and there's a hand fisted in the back of his shirt to drag him in closer.
It's all too soon when Tendou finally pulls away, Kagami trying to follow him, but Tendou's hands on his shoulders are immovable, and everything feels very distant and fuzzy to Kagami right now, everything except the need to taste Tendou again. Even Tendou's smug smile doesn't bother him, it just makes Kagami want to kiss him all the more.
"Enough for now," Tendou says firmly and Kagami thinks he's trying to be stern to shoo Kagami off him, but it's not really working very well, he looks just as pleased as Kagami feels. "This isn't the place for that."
Tendou glances towards the house and Kagami remembers, oh, right, they're not the only people in the world, maybe not even the only people right here in this moment. He doesn't think Hiyori would secretly spy on them, but he wouldn't put it past Juka and he really doesn't want to be there if Tendou finds out if his precious baby sister saw them. Not the least because it would probably never happen again for months. (If he was lucky.)
"Yeah, you're right. But..." Ah, the thinks, Tendou really is a genius. "You should come to my place for dinner sometime." He has to laugh at the look on Tendou's face, tonight it's fine if Tendou is giving him that disgusted expression. "But I'm not as good of a chef as you or Hiyori are, so maybe you could help me. You could teach me a little bit about it."
Tendou's face clears into a beautiful smile and Kagami gets an amazing thrill knowing that Tendou is smiling because of him. For him.
"You might have a little potential," Tendou says and Kagami really wants to kiss him again. "It will take a lot of time, though."
"Yeah. A lot of time," Kagami agrees.
All the time in the world.