[Log] Old friends and Turtles
Characters: Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri
Location: Beach
Time: July 7th- Late Afternoon/Early Evening
Rating: PG for some touchy-feeliness
Summary: Tachibana and Chitose reunite and it's as if they never separated. Also, turtles.
Upon telling Chitose that he would come find him, Tachibana immediately got up and abandoned what he was doing. He was already on the beach, so he headed closer to the caves. If Chitose was really there, walking turtles, he should have been easy to spot, right? He wasn't sure why his heart was beating so fast just at the thought of seeing Chitose again, and he willed it to stop. After all, he was still pretty banged up. He stopped and looked around, attempting to spot his old friend.
Chitose was unmistakeable despite having been a castaway for the last five months. The wild tangle of his dark hair might've been a little longer, and the honeyed hue of his skin was more sun-kissed than ever; but he was still in possession of the same languid gait. Whatever he'd been wearing when he washed ashore had been replaced by a thin sarong, which clung to the wicked angles of his hips. Paired only with a pair of worn out geta, and a typically dorky grin he strolled towards Kippei as if they'd only been apart for a matter of hours,
"Oi, Kippei!"
Tachibana took in the sight of his old friend. Island life had only managed to make Chitose look ever more attractive. Tachibana scratched at his ragged blonde hair, suddenly feeling awkward.
“Hey…” He looked behind Chitose to see if there really were turtles there.
True to his words, Chitose was flanked by a parade of turtles tromping through the sand. All the way down to some tiny babies who scrambled to keep pace with their elders. When the distance between them was expended Chitose paused. His features alight with another shameless grin,
"Missed me, Kippei?"
Tachibana's eyebrows furrowed. "I told you before, you have no idea how much I've missed you." Tachibana said, his voice sounding heavier than he intended. When Chitose was just a postcard every now and then, it was easy to push back how much he missed him. It wasn't so easy with the man standing right in front of him.
"Hmm, figured you were up to your elbows in cakes and stuff." Unlike many of his peers, Chitose had never lived under the delusion that tennis was all his future held. Infact, he'd appeared less interested in it than ever once Tachibana branched off into the culinary arts. It was little wonder his meanderings had led him somewhere as far flung as this lost island. There was narry a hint of resentment residing in his voice. Just a fond acceptance that Kippei had been as busy as he had been absent.
“Just because I was busy… that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you.” Tachibana said. “I mean…I know what you’re like, so I’m not mad about you wandering off. But it didn’t stop me from missing you.” Tachibana sighed. It was a lie. He had been angry for quite a long time. But as time dragged on, he reluctantly accepted that he might never see Chitose again. “I gave up the idea of ever seeing you again, though.”
The burden weighing as heavily upon Tachibana's expression, as it did upon his voice didn't visibly surprise Chitose. After all, as daft as he could be - Kippei had always possessed an intensity which allowed him to take to anything with all his might, "Funny how these things work out, hm?" Instead of waiting, Chitose padded through the warm sand to the water's edge - safe in the knowledge that Kippei would follow him. He flopped down, toed off his sandals, and dipped his feet into the blissful embrace of the water.
Tachibana followed him, settling down next to him. “I guess it’s funny. I was wandering around, with no real destination when I crashed here. I guess wandering around aimlessly, looking for something that might not exist, made me feel closer to you. And look where it brought me.” Tachibana chuckled softly. “But maybe this is all a dream…”
Chitose's first thought had been to pinch his old friend. There was a time when nothing caused him more amusement, than seeing Kippei's red-cheeked indignance in the face of being teased. However, as blase as he appeared to be regarding their unexpected reunion there was a part of him that also needed to that Kippei's arrival wasn't another fever-dream. It overwhelmed his desire to torment, and led to the warmth of his arm draping itself across Kippei's broad shoulders. Their heads tipped together for a spell, whilst he admired the gentle tumble of the waves.
"Does this feel like a dream, Kippei?"
Normally, Tachibana would have pushed Chitose away playfully, followed by teasingly berating his friend for being weird. But he couldn’t do that today. Instead, he relaxed, letting himself lean against Chitose. “You feel real enough to me.” Tachibana figured with everything that had happened to him lately, it was okay to be a little soft.
The term 'weird' had come to be something of an endearment between them. It would've been utterly hypocritical for someone as laid back (and kooky) as Chitose to deny that he was anything else. Whilst Kippei stole the majority of his attention, the turtles wandered off in search of more interesting things. Turning his head just enough to let the soft warmth of his breath whisper against Kippei's cheek, Chitose murmured, "I was hoping you'd need a little more convincing."
Tachibana instinctively brought his hand to cover his cheek as his face reddened. “And just how would you do that?” Despite how annoyed Tachibana looked, he felt at ease. It was like nothing had changed between the two of them, and that made him feel better than he had felt in months.
It never ceased to make Chitose chuckle when he remembered how easily he could cause explosions of color and heat to make themselves known upon Kippei's cheeks. There had been a resounding tension in the way his friend sat at first, but Chitose could feel it slowly seeping away into the sand. That they could step back into the same comfortable arrangement of friendship they'd known on and off since they were kids only cemented the strength of their bond. Chitose was still laughing as he nuzzled briefly at Kippei's neck, and dropped a tiny smooch onto the skin he found there. After all, those kinds of casual endearments had always garnered the most amusing reactions in his experience, "Same way as always."
Tachibana managed to turn even redder as his body jumped to the sensation. He emitted a playful growl and gently pushed Chitose. “Likewise! You’re still so weird!’ There was no anger in Tachibana’s voice. He even leaned back in once his color had gone back down.
The animalistic little noise earned him a quirked brow, and another kiss - this time dotted without any semblance of shame, against the color staining his cheek. Chitose settled back against the sand, lying with his long arms folded as a cushion behind the untameable mess that was his hair. If Tachibana was thrown off guard by being jostled out of leaning against him, then all the better. It looked as if he needed someone to shake things up a bit more than they already had been. With a dark flutter of lashes brushing his cheeks, Chitose let the sun prickle patterns against bare skin, "And you're grouchy...but it's still cute."
Tachibana stared at Chitose, and suddenly, he felt fifteen again, with the weird feelings to match. “And you’re still shameless.” And insanely attractive. But he didn’t let himself say that second part. Tachibana took a deep breath and laid back next to Chitose, looking at the clouds drift past.
“…Senri. I am really glad you’re here.”
Another compliment, Chitose was beginning to feel positively spoilt by Kippei's generous mood. When he opened his eyes again, squinting against the glare of the sun, it was to quietly regard Tachibana's noble profile (and the odd conflict residing there), "Hmm, it was you who wandered back to me for once..."
Tachibana turned his head to look at Chitose, smiling softly. “I guess so, huh? Life just wasn’t the same without you, I guess.” It was hard for Tachibana himself to tell whether he was being serious or teasing.
"Heh, of course not." After they'd parted ways at the U-17 training camp, Chitose had made a habit of randomly strolling back into Tachibana's life, inadvertantly causing all manner of chaos, and then vanishing just as swiftly as he'd appeared. Whilst he never left behind the remnants of permanent damage, those infrequent visits had been more than enough to turn Kippei's life upside down whenever they happened. And he knew it.
Chitose's hand stole out, just letting itself rest lightly over Kippei's wrist; feeling the uneven shudder of his pulse beneath a thin veil of skin, "It's been what...a year?" A whole three hundred and something days since they parted on unsteady terms.
Tachibana’s breath hitched at the contact. “It felt final this time. I was so sure…” He pulled his hand away and sat up, closing in on himself. “I was so sure you were gone for good this time, and you don’t know…” Words were hard. He hated trying to explain what he had felt for the last year.
Since he wasn't the type of person to take offense (at least not easily), Chitose merely reclined upon the warm bed of sand, observing Kippei in silence for a while. Living life upon a whim wasn't for everyone, and it certainly didn't suit someone as driven as Tachibana. However, Chitose seemed oblivious to the damage his fleeting appearances could cause. Either that or he'd never quite believed he meant so much to Kippei, "....as if I would." His smile directed itself at the vast canvas of unspoilt cyan above them.
"....Kippei is the only person I could always find my way back to."
…Every time you left, all I could think about was how I could convince you to stay.” Tachibana always managed to wear what he felt on his face, and right now it reflected how lonely he had been. “But that’s not you, and I could never ask it of you, no matter how badly I wanted it.” Tachibana shook his head. Tachibana wasn’t aware his voice had gotten soft, and he wasn’t aware how utterly pathetic his expression was.
Had they still been in middle school, Chitose might've slapped him on the back and jokingly asked if Tachibana was going to cry (again.) Yet, despite his continued apathy towards holding down a steady job, or even living upon the same continent for more than a few months at a time, Chitose respected certain things. One of those being, Kippei's feelings. A lot had been left unsaid the last time they saw each other. It still remained that way, but the honesty captured in what Kippei was saying now at least caused Chitose to pause for once, "I might've listened if you were the one asking me."
Tachibana shook his head and laid back down. “…After traveling this past year, I know now I would rather be taken away by your whims than force you to stay.” Tachibana closed his eyes. “I just didn’t know what I was going to do if I had to deal with you disappearing again. I still don’t know…”
"I'm not going anywhere now." The contented nature of Chitose's response implied that even if a fleet of ships turned up the next morning he'd be remaining upon the island for quite some time yet. Island life seemed to suit him; if the glow of health and ease which surrounded the former tennis ace was anything to go by. Whilst Kippei's eyes were closed, Chitose took advantage of their position to roll over onto his side. It was without hesitation that he let his arm slide across the flat of his friend's stomach, leaving them close enough to feel the burden of shared heat, "....Kippei."
Tachibana relaxed at the contact and looked at Chitose. “Yeah?” It was the only response he could think of at the moment, but he made no move to get away from the other man.
Devoid of self-consciousness, as usual, Chitose capitalised upon their position once again. His gaze was firm as it tethered itself to Kippei's own, and lacked the gentle wit which usually sparkled within it, "It was a good thing I left when I did." His lips quirked, falling just shy of forming a smile, "...you weren't ready to hear what I've wanted to tell you for years." Ever obtuse, he then let his eyes slide shut so he could listen to the sound of the water licking at their bare feet.
Tachibana wasn’t use to the intense look in Chitose’s eyes, and was glad when he closed them. He could feel anxiety and anticipation pooling at the bottom of his stomach. “What are you talking about…?”
"Hmm...lets sleep out here tonight." Like a switch flickering off, Chitose was back to his usual puppy-dog self. A world away from the temperament he only seemed capable of producing during a match. Now he was cuddling up to Tachibana's side atop a bed of sand, and wriggling his toes each time the surf tickled them.
‘Senri…” Tachibana instinctively wrapped an arm around him. “Does that mean I’m still not ready to hear it?” It didn’t matter. He was here with Senri now, and for a long time, this is all he really wanted. And yet, it still felt like it wasn’t enough. “And I’ve been sleeping out here anyway.”
"You have?" The voice which answered him was already hazy around the edges. Chitose was a little similar to Hyoutei's Akutagawa in that respect; he was inherently capable of falling asleep just about anywhere. The arm curled around his shoulders, the scent of hardwork which belonged to Kippei alone, it all colluded to lure him into a sleepy state, "...I'll make you a hammock like mine...but tomorrow..."
Tachibana smiled softly, letting himself get comfortable. “Yeah. Tomorrow works.” He closed his eyes, lying as close as he could to Chitose without actively being on top of him. He continued to lay there, just listening to Chitose breath, wondering how bad it would be to just stay like this forever. He decided it wouldn’t be bad at all. Not one bit.
(ooc: The formatting went wonky on me, but I think I got it to be readable >>;;)