Fic: Midway (for fic_faery)
Author/Artist: tokyocentricity
For: Crys (fic_faery)
Title: Midway
Characters: Atobe Keigo, Oshitari Yuushi, Shishido Ryou
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this story do not belong to the author and are not being used for profit. ♥
Warnings: Rated for very light language, mild innuendo and kissing.
Summary: Atobe and Oshitari cut their baby a break after exam week. The three of them proceed to be boys. ♥
Notes: Set March of canon year. I owe my beta for the title and all of her assistance. ♥
In hindsight, Shishido figured he must have looked pretty damn stupid. Atobe and Oshitari had been dropping hints, whether deliberately or not, all through the last two weeks.
Like Tuesday afternoon at practice. "We can't be making it easy on you," Atobe had observed, smiling ruefully. (It was that half-smirk that Shishido knew he ought to sneer at, but he never quite could, anymore. It wasn't Atobe's fault that he couldn't smile properly, after all.)
"Did I say I wanted you to make it easy on me?" Shishido retorted. Of course, it might be nice if they'd stop making stupid snide comments to each other about who would score top this year (as if it was ever anyone but Atobe, no matter how hard Oshitari tried - Shishido didn't know who Oshitari thought he was fooling).
Atobe had just laughed, touching Shishido's back as he walked past, and somehow, sulking over his literature text, Shishido had missed the miniature rendezvous his boyfriends had across the courtyard.
Just last weekend, Oshitari had found Shishido out in the poolhouse one morning and surprised the hell out of him with a shoulder massage. Standing behind him, he'd murmured, "You're really stressed out about these exams, hmm? Up at this hour on a Saturday."
Shishido hadn't answered him; he was half-asleep on the table. It was way too early, that was for sure, and Shishido didn't even end up getting much studying done. He was just fast enough asleep to dismiss the sound of Oshitari dialing his cell phone and the quiet 'Keigo' that followed as Oshitari slipped out of the room.
Worse still was the time the week before, when Shishido had walked right into the middle of what he now realized was a covert conversation. Atobe had been saying, "Well, it's not as if he's going to fail the exams; we should just take him after-" and Oshitari had cut him off, smiling a warm greeting at Shishido.
"Take who after what?" Shishido wanted to know, but the question was shortly lost, as Atobe and Oshitari suddenly had many questions of their own.
Yes, in hindsight, Shishido was a complete idiot. He decided he'd chalk it up to stress from exams. It was hard, dating the two top scorers in the school, especially when neither of them showed any remote signs of concern for the upcoming highschool entrance exams. But none of that really mattered now - the sun was just climbing to the top of the sky, and Shishido was standing at the gates of Fujikyu Highland.
"Are you guys serious?" he finally managed, turning to face his boyfriends with what he was sure was the biggest, stupidest grin in the universe.
Atobe rolled his eyes, and Oshitari was wearing that look that normally sent Shishido into fits, the 'I feel the need to be condescending in my (unnecessary) amusement' look, but Atobe was smiling, and Oshitari said, "We didn't buy three all-day passes just for you."
Shishido would have hugged them, but that was girly, and besides, there were people all over. Instead, he settled for grinning some more (stupidly), and said, "I totally owe you guys. This is awesome."
"I feel it's only right that you know, though," Oshitari piped up, much to Atobe's apparent dismay, "that Keigo has never been to an amusement park."
"Honestly, Yuushi, does that matter?" Atobe protested, exasperated, but Shishido's mouth was slightly ajar.
"Never?" he echoed. "Well, why the hell not?"
Oshitari was chuckling, a low, sinister sound that Shishido was naturally wary of. "And he has no plans to ride anything that goes upside down, around in circles, or over one hundred kilometers per hour."
Shishido just snorted. "That leaves out all the good ones. C'mon, Keigo, we'll show you what you're missing."
As Shishido dragged Atobe further into the park by his scarf (to the tune of Atobe's objections - Shishido was counting on it being a familiar melody by the end of the day), Oshitari trailed behind, and was far enough behind, consequently, so as to not overhear Atobe's next comment.
"By 'we,' you mean yourself, right? Because Yuushi left out the part where we made those plans together."
First on the list, at Shishido's insistence, was the Pirate Ship. It was a warm-up, he said.
"'Warm-up?'" Atobe echoed skeptically, staring up at the people boarding the ride.
"Yeah!" Shishido was unfazed by Atobe's lack of enthusiasm. "For the bigger rides. C'mon!" He grabbed Atobe by his scarf again, pulling him along.
As soon as Atobe realized that Oshitari had no intention of following, he caught Oshitari's hand, in turn. Oshitari's sigh was only met with a knowing look. "If I'm not getting out of this, you aren't, either."
Waiting for the ride to start up was the worst part for all of them. Oshitari was covering reluctance with boredom, Atobe was covering nerves with exasperation, and Shishido was covering impatience with more impatience.
"That girl looks like a screamer," he remarked at some point, indicating a tiny girl, probably highschool-aged, attached to her boyfriend's hand.
Oshitari glanced over, then away, rolling his eyes. "Probably more like a talker," he replied dryly. Atobe snorted.
"Yuushi, please."
"Your sister looks like a talker," Shishido rebuffed absently. It was true, anyway, though Oshitari still managed to look ruffled.
The ride jerked to life, too soon for Atobe and too slowly for Shishido. The first few swings saw Atobe's grip growing tighter, until Oshitari retrieved one of his hands from the bar and twined it with his own.
"We're not going to die."
"This is a deathtrap," Atobe said tersely, looking up at the sky. "Maybe we should have sent Mukahi and Jirou with him."
"Jirou is a screamer," Shishido laughed. "And so is Mukahi. At least you won't be screaming, right, Keigo?"
Before Atobe could manage a derisive 'of course not,' there came the first swing to take them vertical. Instead of saying anything, Atobe yelped.
The Waikiki Wave was a similar experience, with fewer sound effects from Atobe. It wasn't until after the Red Tower that Shishido thought to feel sorry for him.
Walking away from the ride, Atobe had the back of his hand to his mouth, brow knit uneasily. Slowing his pace upon noticing, Shishido asked, a little reluctantly, "D'you wanna sit down somewhere, Keigo?" He didn't really want to take a break, himself, but they couldn't have Atobe throwing up on them or something. (Besides, Shishido felt bad - this whole outing was likely Atobe's idea, and all for Shishido, and now Atobe wasn't feeling well.)
For a moment, Atobe looked like he might say no, but he eventually nodded. Oshitari had already broken away and was headed in what Shishido assumed was the general direction of the nearest restaurant.
The Café du Blanchet was, in fact, not far off, and Shishido was glad someone had been paying attention to what was where, because he'd been too busy and Atobe had probably been too nerve-wracked.
After settling Atobe down with a cup of green tea, which he nursed a bit poutily, Oshitari turned his attention to Shishido, expression mild.
"The things we do for you, Ryou."
"Hey, I didn't ask you to!" Shishido was instantly defensive. Oshitari was probably just pressing his buttons, but Shishido already felt a little guilty; he didn't need Oshitari making it worse.
Oshitari chuckled, confirming Shishido's suspicions. "No, no. And to be fair, it was Keigo's idea." He cast a sidelong glance at the halfheartedly-sulking Atobe.
"Next time, we will definitely be sending Mukahi and Jirou along," Atobe reaffirmed, but he sat up straighter, already looking more at ease. "Mukahi likes deathtraps; the faster the better, and Jirou could probably sleep through the Red Tower." He snorted.
"Probably," Shishido agreed, but his eyes were fixed on the red tracks in the slight distance. "Bet he couldn't sleep through Eejanaika, though."
It took some serious haggling to get Atobe to even think about getting on board, especially after Oshitari uttered the words 'fourteen complete inversions,' which Shishido was sure he said out of malice. The promise of a 'proper outing' (meaning a play, classical or Latin music concert, or a Broadway musical on Broadway) 'in the near future' (meaning before April was out) eventually won him over.
Shishido was delighted to find that it wasn't Atobe, but Oshitari who had his eyes squeezed shut when the coaster came to jolting stop. The applause around them made him open them again, though, and when he caught Shishido smirking at him, he only offered a withering look.
Oshitari refused to stop for food until Shishido was 'quite sure' he was finished with the 'deathtraps,' as Atobe so fondly called them. When Shishido grudgingly admitted being ready for a break after Dodonpa, Fujiyama and Dodonpa again, they returned to the Café du Blanchet.
"I'm still amazed you didn't throw up," Shishido remarked, eyeing Atobe.
Atobe's eyes rolled exaggeratedly, as they tended to. "I don't," he said simply, earning a derisive sound from both of his boyfriends. A beat of silence passed, then he confessed, "I'd have been more likely to pass out, honestly. The roller coasters make my head spin."
Shishido reached out to muss Atobe's hair, but his hand was knocked away not halfway there. He laughed, anyway, snatching a bite of food from Atobe in rebuttal.
Studying the nearby ride, Oshitari mused, "Gakuto would love the Red Tower. Maybe we should take a team trip this summer."
"And let the rest of them make fun of me?" Atobe gave an ungraceful, reproachful snort. "You're welcome to bring Mukahi here this summer, if you'd like."
"He'd want to bring Jirou, too," Shishido pointed out. "And Wakashi wouldn't want to be left behind, Choutarou might enjoy it, and I'd like to go again... we might as well make it a team trip, and just dump Atobe off at the teacup ride."
Atobe managed to look utterly indignant, and Shishido found himself ducking a balled-up napkin in short order.
"Hey, at least I didn't say the merry-go-round!"
In the end, it wasn't the day at the amusement park that was memorable, but the night.
It was Oshitari's idea - who else? The three of them were sharing a gondola on the ferris wheel, and as it was going up (far too slowly, in Shishido's opinion), Shishido was carrying on about Fujiyama and how awesome it was, and how he could ride Eejanaika all day, and damn, Keigo, why don't you like roller coasters?
Until he posed an actual question, Shishido didn't realize the other two weren't listening, but after a moment of silence, he caught on. The frown he aimed in their direction froze on his face, accented by a furrowed brow.
On their side of the gondola, Atobe and Oshitari were entwined, faces close, Atobe's gaze fixed on the lights scattered down below. Oshitari was watching Atobe, clearly just as transfixed. Their lips were nearly touching.
No sooner than Shishido decided to be annoyed did Oshitari glance over, their eyes locking, and smile a secretive smile, one eyebrow arching infuriatingly over the frames of his glasses. Are you just going to watch?, the look asked. Shishido's scowl deepened. If they wanted to make out without him, that was fine, and Oshitari could be as snarky and irritating as he wanted to be about it, too.
Before long, Atobe had pulled away from Oshitari by a scant few inches. "Ryou, why are you still sitting over there?" he wanted to know, as if Shishido should have teleported to join them by now.
"I'd hate to interrupt," Shishido answered shortly. Then he was the one to look out at all the lights, his initial exasperation giving way to genuine frustration. They really didn't make it easy on him - it was so easy to feel stupid next to a pair like Atobe and Oshitari, and neither of them were really the type to go out of their way to prevent it. When they were all just friends, it wasn't a problem; they teased him, he sulked and they went on their way. This last year had seen everything grow so much more complicated, though....
Atobe sighed. "Don't be ridiculous. Come here."
Shishido glowered at the rollercoasters from earlier, but didn't answer. They could have their snuggling and their sickeningly sweet romance; he didn't want it. That didn't change the fact that he suddenly felt like a child. Here he was, raving on about rollercoasters while the two of them murmured sweet nothings to each other on the other side of the gondola. Not that he wanted to be an adult, if that's what it took.
Several moments passed in silence, and Shishido heard Atobe and Oshitari stand up. They were coming over there, weren't they? The jerks.
Sure enough, they each settled down on one side of him, hemming him in and wrapping him up, stealing his hands from his pockets. They were such girls, he thought, but his sullen expression was already easing. It didn't seem so cold at the top of the ferris wheel, all of a sudden - there was no one up there to see them; no one to say anything. Shishido hummed softly as he sank lower on the seat between them.
"Thanks," he eventually said into the hush that followed. "You guys are the best."
"Exactly," Atobe replied, not missing a beat. "That's why we thought we had to make up for it."
Shishido paused, confused. "Make up for what?"
"Being better than you."
"Hey!" Sitting up, laughing and indignant, Shishido grabbed Atobe up in a headlock to thoroughly muss his hair. As Atobe began squawking dissent, Oshitari stood, clearly intending to escape the havoc.
Kicking in Oshitari's direction, Atobe called out, "You're not supposed to stand when the ride is moving, Yuushi!" Flailing quite deliberately, he stretched out an arm and caught the hem of Oshitari's shirt, pulling hard. Oshitari came tripping back to the other two, nearly sprawling over both of them before catching himself on the back of the gondola with one hand.
"Think anyone's noticed the gondola rocking yet?" he asked, eyes aglimmer in the coloured lights. Shishido's breath caught in the stupid way it always did when his boyfriends were this close. Atobe had gone still, hands wrapped around Shishido's arm, content for the moment to be pulled tight against Shishido without being choked.
When Shishido didn't answer, Oshitari closed the gap between them with a simple kiss, yielding and tasting faintly of the black tea he'd had earlier. Shishido just let his eyes drift closed and his mouth open, eager, but Oshitari pulled away all too soon. Opening his eyes again, Shishido found Oshitari administering the same treatment to Atobe, who had removed one hand from Shishido's arm to curl fingers in the collar of Oshitari's shirt.
Not to be left out, Shishido loosened his grip on Atobe still further and leaned in to drop an awkward kiss to the corner of his mouth. With Oshitari so close that Shishido could feel his breath on his cheek, Atobe broke away and turned to kiss Shishido properly, taking him by surprise. Just as Shishido was remembering how to kiss back, Oshitari found his ear with kisses so soft, Shishido could barely stand it.
It shouldn't have surprised any of them that they didn't have the presence of mind between them to mind when the ferris wheel brought them back to the bottom. The attendant's awkward throat-clearing sent Oshitari jerking away and Atobe and Shishido scrambling to their feet.
They fled the gondola, escaping into the thinning crowds of people on the fairgrounds. For Shishido, the mortification of being caught was quick to fade, and he started laughing, though still red-faced. "I wish I'd stopped long enough to catch the look on that guy's face," he said, rubbing at his cheek.
"I'm just glad we didn't stop long enough for him to get a look at my face," Atobe replied, embarrassment still hot in his voice. "That was entirely your fault, Yuushi."
Oshitari cleared his own throat as if to help regain his composure. "I'm sure he would have looked at us strangely, anyway, the way you two were throwing people around up there."
"No one was throwing anyone!" Shishido was still laughing. No stupid ride attendant was going to ruin his mood, not tonight. "Atobe just wanted me to mess up your hair, too."
Abruptly reminded of himself, Atobe's right hand flew to his head to repair the earlier damage, only to be caught by Shishido.
"Give it a rest." Oshitari spoke Shishido's thoughts dryly, ensnaring Atobe's other hand preemptively. "No one can see you well enough to tell." The lights from the surrounding attractions were bright, but variegated and distorted. Most likely, no one could see them well enough to tell they were holding hands, either. Shishido laced his fingers with Atobe's, grinning that stupid grin all over again. Exam results would be in tomorrow, and this day had been the perfect beginning to his life in highschool.
For: Crys (fic_faery)
Title: Midway
Characters: Atobe Keigo, Oshitari Yuushi, Shishido Ryou
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this story do not belong to the author and are not being used for profit. ♥
Warnings: Rated for very light language, mild innuendo and kissing.
Summary: Atobe and Oshitari cut their baby a break after exam week. The three of them proceed to be boys. ♥
Notes: Set March of canon year. I owe my beta for the title and all of her assistance. ♥
In hindsight, Shishido figured he must have looked pretty damn stupid. Atobe and Oshitari had been dropping hints, whether deliberately or not, all through the last two weeks.
Like Tuesday afternoon at practice. "We can't be making it easy on you," Atobe had observed, smiling ruefully. (It was that half-smirk that Shishido knew he ought to sneer at, but he never quite could, anymore. It wasn't Atobe's fault that he couldn't smile properly, after all.)
"Did I say I wanted you to make it easy on me?" Shishido retorted. Of course, it might be nice if they'd stop making stupid snide comments to each other about who would score top this year (as if it was ever anyone but Atobe, no matter how hard Oshitari tried - Shishido didn't know who Oshitari thought he was fooling).
Atobe had just laughed, touching Shishido's back as he walked past, and somehow, sulking over his literature text, Shishido had missed the miniature rendezvous his boyfriends had across the courtyard.
Just last weekend, Oshitari had found Shishido out in the poolhouse one morning and surprised the hell out of him with a shoulder massage. Standing behind him, he'd murmured, "You're really stressed out about these exams, hmm? Up at this hour on a Saturday."
Shishido hadn't answered him; he was half-asleep on the table. It was way too early, that was for sure, and Shishido didn't even end up getting much studying done. He was just fast enough asleep to dismiss the sound of Oshitari dialing his cell phone and the quiet 'Keigo' that followed as Oshitari slipped out of the room.
Worse still was the time the week before, when Shishido had walked right into the middle of what he now realized was a covert conversation. Atobe had been saying, "Well, it's not as if he's going to fail the exams; we should just take him after-" and Oshitari had cut him off, smiling a warm greeting at Shishido.
"Take who after what?" Shishido wanted to know, but the question was shortly lost, as Atobe and Oshitari suddenly had many questions of their own.
Yes, in hindsight, Shishido was a complete idiot. He decided he'd chalk it up to stress from exams. It was hard, dating the two top scorers in the school, especially when neither of them showed any remote signs of concern for the upcoming highschool entrance exams. But none of that really mattered now - the sun was just climbing to the top of the sky, and Shishido was standing at the gates of Fujikyu Highland.
"Are you guys serious?" he finally managed, turning to face his boyfriends with what he was sure was the biggest, stupidest grin in the universe.
Atobe rolled his eyes, and Oshitari was wearing that look that normally sent Shishido into fits, the 'I feel the need to be condescending in my (unnecessary) amusement' look, but Atobe was smiling, and Oshitari said, "We didn't buy three all-day passes just for you."
Shishido would have hugged them, but that was girly, and besides, there were people all over. Instead, he settled for grinning some more (stupidly), and said, "I totally owe you guys. This is awesome."
"I feel it's only right that you know, though," Oshitari piped up, much to Atobe's apparent dismay, "that Keigo has never been to an amusement park."
"Honestly, Yuushi, does that matter?" Atobe protested, exasperated, but Shishido's mouth was slightly ajar.
"Never?" he echoed. "Well, why the hell not?"
Oshitari was chuckling, a low, sinister sound that Shishido was naturally wary of. "And he has no plans to ride anything that goes upside down, around in circles, or over one hundred kilometers per hour."
Shishido just snorted. "That leaves out all the good ones. C'mon, Keigo, we'll show you what you're missing."
As Shishido dragged Atobe further into the park by his scarf (to the tune of Atobe's objections - Shishido was counting on it being a familiar melody by the end of the day), Oshitari trailed behind, and was far enough behind, consequently, so as to not overhear Atobe's next comment.
"By 'we,' you mean yourself, right? Because Yuushi left out the part where we made those plans together."
First on the list, at Shishido's insistence, was the Pirate Ship. It was a warm-up, he said.
"'Warm-up?'" Atobe echoed skeptically, staring up at the people boarding the ride.
"Yeah!" Shishido was unfazed by Atobe's lack of enthusiasm. "For the bigger rides. C'mon!" He grabbed Atobe by his scarf again, pulling him along.
As soon as Atobe realized that Oshitari had no intention of following, he caught Oshitari's hand, in turn. Oshitari's sigh was only met with a knowing look. "If I'm not getting out of this, you aren't, either."
Waiting for the ride to start up was the worst part for all of them. Oshitari was covering reluctance with boredom, Atobe was covering nerves with exasperation, and Shishido was covering impatience with more impatience.
"That girl looks like a screamer," he remarked at some point, indicating a tiny girl, probably highschool-aged, attached to her boyfriend's hand.
Oshitari glanced over, then away, rolling his eyes. "Probably more like a talker," he replied dryly. Atobe snorted.
"Yuushi, please."
"Your sister looks like a talker," Shishido rebuffed absently. It was true, anyway, though Oshitari still managed to look ruffled.
The ride jerked to life, too soon for Atobe and too slowly for Shishido. The first few swings saw Atobe's grip growing tighter, until Oshitari retrieved one of his hands from the bar and twined it with his own.
"We're not going to die."
"This is a deathtrap," Atobe said tersely, looking up at the sky. "Maybe we should have sent Mukahi and Jirou with him."
"Jirou is a screamer," Shishido laughed. "And so is Mukahi. At least you won't be screaming, right, Keigo?"
Before Atobe could manage a derisive 'of course not,' there came the first swing to take them vertical. Instead of saying anything, Atobe yelped.
The Waikiki Wave was a similar experience, with fewer sound effects from Atobe. It wasn't until after the Red Tower that Shishido thought to feel sorry for him.
Walking away from the ride, Atobe had the back of his hand to his mouth, brow knit uneasily. Slowing his pace upon noticing, Shishido asked, a little reluctantly, "D'you wanna sit down somewhere, Keigo?" He didn't really want to take a break, himself, but they couldn't have Atobe throwing up on them or something. (Besides, Shishido felt bad - this whole outing was likely Atobe's idea, and all for Shishido, and now Atobe wasn't feeling well.)
For a moment, Atobe looked like he might say no, but he eventually nodded. Oshitari had already broken away and was headed in what Shishido assumed was the general direction of the nearest restaurant.
The Café du Blanchet was, in fact, not far off, and Shishido was glad someone had been paying attention to what was where, because he'd been too busy and Atobe had probably been too nerve-wracked.
After settling Atobe down with a cup of green tea, which he nursed a bit poutily, Oshitari turned his attention to Shishido, expression mild.
"The things we do for you, Ryou."
"Hey, I didn't ask you to!" Shishido was instantly defensive. Oshitari was probably just pressing his buttons, but Shishido already felt a little guilty; he didn't need Oshitari making it worse.
Oshitari chuckled, confirming Shishido's suspicions. "No, no. And to be fair, it was Keigo's idea." He cast a sidelong glance at the halfheartedly-sulking Atobe.
"Next time, we will definitely be sending Mukahi and Jirou along," Atobe reaffirmed, but he sat up straighter, already looking more at ease. "Mukahi likes deathtraps; the faster the better, and Jirou could probably sleep through the Red Tower." He snorted.
"Probably," Shishido agreed, but his eyes were fixed on the red tracks in the slight distance. "Bet he couldn't sleep through Eejanaika, though."
It took some serious haggling to get Atobe to even think about getting on board, especially after Oshitari uttered the words 'fourteen complete inversions,' which Shishido was sure he said out of malice. The promise of a 'proper outing' (meaning a play, classical or Latin music concert, or a Broadway musical on Broadway) 'in the near future' (meaning before April was out) eventually won him over.
Shishido was delighted to find that it wasn't Atobe, but Oshitari who had his eyes squeezed shut when the coaster came to jolting stop. The applause around them made him open them again, though, and when he caught Shishido smirking at him, he only offered a withering look.
Oshitari refused to stop for food until Shishido was 'quite sure' he was finished with the 'deathtraps,' as Atobe so fondly called them. When Shishido grudgingly admitted being ready for a break after Dodonpa, Fujiyama and Dodonpa again, they returned to the Café du Blanchet.
"I'm still amazed you didn't throw up," Shishido remarked, eyeing Atobe.
Atobe's eyes rolled exaggeratedly, as they tended to. "I don't," he said simply, earning a derisive sound from both of his boyfriends. A beat of silence passed, then he confessed, "I'd have been more likely to pass out, honestly. The roller coasters make my head spin."
Shishido reached out to muss Atobe's hair, but his hand was knocked away not halfway there. He laughed, anyway, snatching a bite of food from Atobe in rebuttal.
Studying the nearby ride, Oshitari mused, "Gakuto would love the Red Tower. Maybe we should take a team trip this summer."
"And let the rest of them make fun of me?" Atobe gave an ungraceful, reproachful snort. "You're welcome to bring Mukahi here this summer, if you'd like."
"He'd want to bring Jirou, too," Shishido pointed out. "And Wakashi wouldn't want to be left behind, Choutarou might enjoy it, and I'd like to go again... we might as well make it a team trip, and just dump Atobe off at the teacup ride."
Atobe managed to look utterly indignant, and Shishido found himself ducking a balled-up napkin in short order.
"Hey, at least I didn't say the merry-go-round!"
In the end, it wasn't the day at the amusement park that was memorable, but the night.
It was Oshitari's idea - who else? The three of them were sharing a gondola on the ferris wheel, and as it was going up (far too slowly, in Shishido's opinion), Shishido was carrying on about Fujiyama and how awesome it was, and how he could ride Eejanaika all day, and damn, Keigo, why don't you like roller coasters?
Until he posed an actual question, Shishido didn't realize the other two weren't listening, but after a moment of silence, he caught on. The frown he aimed in their direction froze on his face, accented by a furrowed brow.
On their side of the gondola, Atobe and Oshitari were entwined, faces close, Atobe's gaze fixed on the lights scattered down below. Oshitari was watching Atobe, clearly just as transfixed. Their lips were nearly touching.
No sooner than Shishido decided to be annoyed did Oshitari glance over, their eyes locking, and smile a secretive smile, one eyebrow arching infuriatingly over the frames of his glasses. Are you just going to watch?, the look asked. Shishido's scowl deepened. If they wanted to make out without him, that was fine, and Oshitari could be as snarky and irritating as he wanted to be about it, too.
Before long, Atobe had pulled away from Oshitari by a scant few inches. "Ryou, why are you still sitting over there?" he wanted to know, as if Shishido should have teleported to join them by now.
"I'd hate to interrupt," Shishido answered shortly. Then he was the one to look out at all the lights, his initial exasperation giving way to genuine frustration. They really didn't make it easy on him - it was so easy to feel stupid next to a pair like Atobe and Oshitari, and neither of them were really the type to go out of their way to prevent it. When they were all just friends, it wasn't a problem; they teased him, he sulked and they went on their way. This last year had seen everything grow so much more complicated, though....
Atobe sighed. "Don't be ridiculous. Come here."
Shishido glowered at the rollercoasters from earlier, but didn't answer. They could have their snuggling and their sickeningly sweet romance; he didn't want it. That didn't change the fact that he suddenly felt like a child. Here he was, raving on about rollercoasters while the two of them murmured sweet nothings to each other on the other side of the gondola. Not that he wanted to be an adult, if that's what it took.
Several moments passed in silence, and Shishido heard Atobe and Oshitari stand up. They were coming over there, weren't they? The jerks.
Sure enough, they each settled down on one side of him, hemming him in and wrapping him up, stealing his hands from his pockets. They were such girls, he thought, but his sullen expression was already easing. It didn't seem so cold at the top of the ferris wheel, all of a sudden - there was no one up there to see them; no one to say anything. Shishido hummed softly as he sank lower on the seat between them.
"Thanks," he eventually said into the hush that followed. "You guys are the best."
"Exactly," Atobe replied, not missing a beat. "That's why we thought we had to make up for it."
Shishido paused, confused. "Make up for what?"
"Being better than you."
"Hey!" Sitting up, laughing and indignant, Shishido grabbed Atobe up in a headlock to thoroughly muss his hair. As Atobe began squawking dissent, Oshitari stood, clearly intending to escape the havoc.
Kicking in Oshitari's direction, Atobe called out, "You're not supposed to stand when the ride is moving, Yuushi!" Flailing quite deliberately, he stretched out an arm and caught the hem of Oshitari's shirt, pulling hard. Oshitari came tripping back to the other two, nearly sprawling over both of them before catching himself on the back of the gondola with one hand.
"Think anyone's noticed the gondola rocking yet?" he asked, eyes aglimmer in the coloured lights. Shishido's breath caught in the stupid way it always did when his boyfriends were this close. Atobe had gone still, hands wrapped around Shishido's arm, content for the moment to be pulled tight against Shishido without being choked.
When Shishido didn't answer, Oshitari closed the gap between them with a simple kiss, yielding and tasting faintly of the black tea he'd had earlier. Shishido just let his eyes drift closed and his mouth open, eager, but Oshitari pulled away all too soon. Opening his eyes again, Shishido found Oshitari administering the same treatment to Atobe, who had removed one hand from Shishido's arm to curl fingers in the collar of Oshitari's shirt.
Not to be left out, Shishido loosened his grip on Atobe still further and leaned in to drop an awkward kiss to the corner of his mouth. With Oshitari so close that Shishido could feel his breath on his cheek, Atobe broke away and turned to kiss Shishido properly, taking him by surprise. Just as Shishido was remembering how to kiss back, Oshitari found his ear with kisses so soft, Shishido could barely stand it.
It shouldn't have surprised any of them that they didn't have the presence of mind between them to mind when the ferris wheel brought them back to the bottom. The attendant's awkward throat-clearing sent Oshitari jerking away and Atobe and Shishido scrambling to their feet.
They fled the gondola, escaping into the thinning crowds of people on the fairgrounds. For Shishido, the mortification of being caught was quick to fade, and he started laughing, though still red-faced. "I wish I'd stopped long enough to catch the look on that guy's face," he said, rubbing at his cheek.
"I'm just glad we didn't stop long enough for him to get a look at my face," Atobe replied, embarrassment still hot in his voice. "That was entirely your fault, Yuushi."
Oshitari cleared his own throat as if to help regain his composure. "I'm sure he would have looked at us strangely, anyway, the way you two were throwing people around up there."
"No one was throwing anyone!" Shishido was still laughing. No stupid ride attendant was going to ruin his mood, not tonight. "Atobe just wanted me to mess up your hair, too."
Abruptly reminded of himself, Atobe's right hand flew to his head to repair the earlier damage, only to be caught by Shishido.
"Give it a rest." Oshitari spoke Shishido's thoughts dryly, ensnaring Atobe's other hand preemptively. "No one can see you well enough to tell." The lights from the surrounding attractions were bright, but variegated and distorted. Most likely, no one could see them well enough to tell they were holding hands, either. Shishido laced his fingers with Atobe's, grinning that stupid grin all over again. Exam results would be in tomorrow, and this day had been the perfect beginning to his life in highschool.