Happy Santa_Smex, Alice_and_lain!

[reposoir]

To: alice_and_lain
From: longleggedgit

Title: The Pirate King and I
Recipient's name: alice_and_lain
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Inui/Kaidoh
Warnings: I think Kaidoh being in a play almost counts as AU, but other than that, nothing really!
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's notes: It's not exactly a pirate AU, alice_and_lain, but maybe the next best thing? I hope you like Pirates of Penzance (or at least, I hope you like it better than Kaidoh does). And I hope this is something like the fic you were wanting! I tried to put in as much silly humor and tennis as I could. :)

Many thanks to my betas, as usual. ♥



Kaidoh plays tennis because it comes naturally to him. It feels comfortable. He doesn't play basketball because it's clumsy and the ball feels strange in his hands. He hates baseball because it involves too much waiting and the rules are too complicated. Soccer he likes fine, but he doesn't have any particular skill for it. Tennis is what feels right. Standing on the court is what makes his blood pulse in his temples; holding the racket is what keeps him pushing himself to run one more mile when he's sure he can't take another step. Doing anything else just seems stupid and pointless. Kaidoh doesn't like to waste time working at something he can't perfect.

"Kaidoh," Inui had said, in that tone of voice that always lures Kaidoh into a state of vulnerability. "Have you ever thought about trying out for a play?"

"A play, Senpai?" They had been working on homework in silence for so long that Kaidoh's own voice sounded strange to him.

Inui smiled and stood up from his desk, pulling a sheet of paper out of his backpack. It was a flyer, Kaidoh realized as Inui leaned over and handed it to him. It was advertising the student-directed play at Seigaku - something English, called Pirates of Penzance.

"It looks like fun," Inui said. "I might try out." When Kaidoh didn't say anything, Inui leaned closer. "I think you'd be good at it."

Kaidoh felt his stomach twist up. He handed the flyer back. "I don't know, Senpai."

A week later, Kaidoh is waiting outside the auditorium for tryouts with a photocopied script in his hands and a growing headache. He reads the part he's supposed to be auditioning for over and over, frowning and rubbing his forehead between lines. The script is weird and doesn't make any sense. Inui gave him a run-down of the synopsis the night before, but Kaidoh hadn't really been able to focus on the words.

The door opens suddenly and a bright-faced, cheerful boy Kaidoh vaguely recognizes from gym class pokes his head out.

"Kaidoh Kaoru?" the boy says. "We're ready for you now!"

Kaidoh stands up and tries not to look as nervous as he feels. For some reason, even though he doesn't care about being in a play or acting at all, he’s more nervous right now than he usually gets before a big tennis match. Kaidoh follows the boy through the doorway, almost running into him when he stops and turns around without warning.

"I'm Megumi Satoru." Megumi beams and extends a hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Kaidoh mutters. He doesn't see any point in introducing himself when Megumi already knows his name.

Megumi keeps right on beaming as he pulls out a rolled-up sheet of paper from his back pocket - some sort of schedule or checklist, it looks like - and makes a note on it. "You came in costume!" he says, eyes traveling from Kaidoh's bandana to his sleeveless shirt. "Cute."

"What?" Kaidoh growls. Megumi's smile vanishes.

"Oh. Nothing." Megumi clears his throat and appears suddenly very invested in his checklist. "Go ahead and take your place onstage," he says, gesturing to the right. "You'll be reading for the part of Frederic."

Kaidoh crosses to the middle of the stage and looks into the audience, where Megumi has seated himself among a handful of other students, mostly girls.

"Whenever you're ready, we can start, Kaidoh-kun!" Megumi says. Kaidoh grimaces. "I'll be reading for the Pirate King here."

Kaidoh nods. Megumi, taking this as his cue, begins.

"Well, it's top of the tide, and we must be off. Farewell, Frederic. When your process of extermination begins, let our deaths be as swift and painless as you can conveniently make them!"

Doing his best to keep his voice from wavering, Kaidoh stares down at his script and recites his lines with barely a break between words. "I will. By the love I have for you I swear it. Would that you could render this extermination unnecessary by accompanying me back to civilization."

Megumi stops reading and exchanges glances with the girl next to him. "Can you speak a little louder, please?" he asks.

Kaidoh feels his cheeks get hot, but he sucks in a breath and reads again anyway, this time at almost a yell.

"BY THE LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU I SWEAR IT. WOULD THAT YOU COULD RENDER THIS EXTERMINATION -"

"Great!" Megumi says. He clears his throat and reads the next line without transition. They go back and forth like this for a while, Kaidoh returning to quiet muttering within a few lines. Megumi cuts him off before they reach the end of the scene.

"Very good. Thank you, Kaidoh." He straightens out the papers in his lap and runs a hand through his hair. "Did you have a song prepared for us?"

The silence that fills the room seems to make Megumi and the other members of the drama club even more on edge than Kaidoh. They squirm and fidget in their seats.

"What?" he says icily.

"A song," he repeats. He exchanges looks with the girl next to him again, and Kaidoh's insides burn with the almost irresistible urge to jump down and wipe those expressions off their faces.

"I don't sing."

Megumi laughs. "This is a musical, Kaidoh-kun. No matter what, you have to sing."

"I don't. Sing." Kaidoh doesn't wait for them to try and argue. He folds up his script, stuffs it into his back pocket, and jumps off the edge of the stage. Megumi, he notices with a twinge of satisfaction, leaps halfway out of his seat.

"Is that all?" he growls.

"That's it!" Megumi says. "Thanks!"

Kaidoh gives him a curt nod before he storms down the aisle, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants and nearly letting out a sigh of relief when he reaches the door. Inui-senpai can't be disappointed in him for not getting in as long as he tried out. The pressure is off.

"Don't forget!" one of the girls calls after him. "The cast list will be posted Monday!"

"Whatever," Kaidoh says, and he lets the door slam behind him.

Kaidoh's phone rings Monday evening, while he's in the middle of a jog. Normally he wouldn't bother answering, but when he wrestles it out of his pocket and sees Inui's name on the display, he slows to a walk and takes a second to catch his breath.

"Congratulations!" Inui says the instant Kaidoh gets the phone to his ear.

"Senpai?"

Inui is grinning from the other end; Kaidoh can feel it. "Did you forget to check the cast list before you left school, Kaidoh?"

Kaidoh can't fathom what Inui is getting at. "I didn't bother."

"But you got in!" Inui says. Kaidoh nearly drops his phone. "We both did!"

"I -" Kaidoh says. He's mostly relieved when Inui cuts him off.

"We don't have our first rehearsal until Friday, but I got a hold of a translation of the script online. If you want to come over and look at it -"

"What part?" Kaidoh says urgently.

Judging by the warmth in Inui's voice, he mistakes Kaidoh's interjection for enthusiasm. "You're Pirate Number Three," he says, as if the role were the highest honor imaginable.

Kaidoh doesn't feel honored at all. Just numb and a little sick. "Oh," he says. "Who are you?"

Inui's chuckle, Kaidoh thinks nervously, sounds a little like it sometimes does before he reveals a new juice recipe. "I'm the Pirate King," he says. "Do you want to come over?"

"Maybe later, Senpai." Kaidoh stammers his words. "Tonight I'm busy." He snaps his phone shut without saying goodbye and feels guilty immediately after.

As soon as he can make his legs work, he tries to resume jogging, but it just feels like dragging his feet through mud.

Kaidoh feels awkward when he and Inui talk to Ryuuzaki-sensei about working tennis practice around play practice, but Inui mostly just seems excited.

"I've spoken to the director and assistant director already," Inui says, "and there shouldn't end up ever being more than a half hour overlap between activities. Excluding, of course, the week leading up to opening night, during which we will be running dress rehearsal."

Ryuuzaki, to Kaidoh's surprise, doesn't seem annoyed at all. "Well, well," she keeps saying over and over again, shaking her head. "I never would have fingered you two for actors." Kaidoh blushes and bows his head when she adds, "Especially you, Kaidoh!"

"We won't neglect our tennis club duties," Inui says, smiling even more widely and clapping a hand on Kaidoh's back. Kaidoh's shoulders go rigid.

"I'm sure you won't." Ryuuzaki keeps her eyes fixed on Kaidoh for a second longer than strictly necessary before she shakes her head again and plants her hands on her hips. "Well, I have no objections! Just be sure to let me know when the play is, so I can see it."

She winks before turning around and heading onto the nearest court to yell at some slacking freshman. For some reason, Kaidoh feels worse than he did before talking with her.

"Better start warming up, Kaidoh!" Inui says.

As Inui heads toward the benches to grab his tennis racket, Momoshiro appears from out of nowhere and snatches Kaidoh's bandana off his head.

"So, a play, eh, Mamushi?" Momo says. "What did they cast you as, the parrot?"

Kaidoh has to admit he feels slightly better when he sends Momoshiro to the nurse's office with a bloody nose, even if it does result in running extra laps.

"The trick to memorizing lines is working with a partner," Inui tells him the next day when Kaidoh finally agrees to meet at Inui's house.

"I don't have any lines," Kaidoh says.

Inui furrows his brow. "Yes, that does complicate things. Still, I'm sure we'll work around it." His carefree smile returns when he adds, "And I'll need plenty of help with mine."

Kaidoh has to admit Inui's enthusiasm is somewhat infectious. "Okay," he says with a faint smile.

"Shall we start, then?" Inui asks.

"Sure." Kaidoh picks up his copy of the script and begins to shuffle through.

"Wait," Inui says, plucking the script out of Kaidoh's hands. "We have to do warm-ups first."

"Warm-ups." Kaidoh repeats the phrase skeptically. "Like tennis?"

"Kind of," Inui says, "but these are for acting. I'll show you."

He offers Kaidoh a hand, and Kaidoh reluctantly allows himself to be helped up from the bed. "How do you know acting warm-ups?"

"Research." Inui doesn't elaborate further, just reaches down to the floor and begins to stretch out his hamstrings.

Stretching isn't so bad, Kaidoh thinks, so he follows suit, stretching exactly as Inui does for exactly the same amount of time. When Inui finally returns to a relaxed standing position, Kaidoh is starting to feel a little better about this whole acting thing. If it's at all like tennis, he can at least survive the next few weeks.

"Kaidoh," Inui says, frowning at him suddenly. "Your breathing is all wrong."

"My what?"

"Your breathing." Inui crosses behind Kaidoh and lays a hand flat on his sternum. Kaidoh freezes.

"You shouldn't breathe with your chest," he scolds. Before Kaidoh can respond, Inui's hand slides down to his stomach. "Breathe down here," he says. "It's much healthier, and it allows you to experience an extended vocal range."

Kaidoh can't breathe with his stomach. At the moment, he doesn't think he can breathe at all. He clenches his eyes tightly closed and curls his hands into fists and wills himself to calm down.

"Kaidoh?" Inui says next to his ear.

The voice jars him into action. Kaidoh sucks in a deep breath, feeling his stomach rise under Inui's palm.

"Very good," Inui says, and just as suddenly as it was there, his hand is gone and his presence against Kaidoh's back has disappeared. "Try to keep that up all the time, especially when you're singing."

His legs are still trembling and threatening to give out beneath him, so Kaidoh sits back heavily on the bed. "I don't sing," he says. He's going for stern, but he's still too breathless to really make it convincing.

Inui raises his eyebrows. "That's not true," he says. "I've heard you singing in the showers before."

Kaidoh makes a hasty excuse and leaves as quickly as he can get his shoes on.

Actors are even more annoying than Momoshiro. Kaidoh hadn't thought it was possible, but somehow, it is. Just about everyone in the play aggravates him so much he can only make it through introductions by gritting his teeth and staring at the floor the whole time. They're all noisy and obnoxious and constantly fighting for attention. If it weren't for the fact that Inui is sitting next to him, Kaidoh is fairly certain he would walk out and never come back.

"Okay, warm-up time!" Megumi calls, clapping his hands.

Megumi, as it turns out, is the director. He's also playing the Pirate King's Lieutenant. Kaidoh wonders if anyone else thinks this seems a little unfair. He hisses quietly and glares at the other cast members while they bound into the center of the stage and circle up. His glare softens when Inui steps into place beside him and smiles.

"Let's start out with the trust exercise," Megumi suggests. "I'm sure everyone here has done this before -" Megumi catches sight of Kaidoh's narrowed eyes and clears his throat. "But just in case, we'll do a demonstration." He scans the circle for a moment. "Inui! Could you stand behind me, please?"

Inui steps forward and takes his place behind Megumi.

"Back up just a little more," Megumi says, and Inui obeys. "Good," Megumi says. "Now I'm going to fall back, and Inui's going to catch me."

Kaidoh crosses his arms in front of his chest and shifts on his feet. For some reason, he wants to grab Megumi by the arm and yank him away from Inui. Instead, he stays still and watches along with everybody else as Megumi falls back gracefully and, just when it looks like he's going to hit the floor, Inui catches him under the armpits. Everyone except Kaidoh starts to clap.

"Make sure you keep your back straight, and don't jerk away at the last minute," Megumi advises after Inui has set him upright again. "That increases the burden on your partner, and makes it harder to catch you. Okay, everyone pair up!"

Inui, on the other side of the circle now, pairs up with the boy playing Sergeant of Police. Several of the girls who were sitting in the audience during Kaidoh's audition pair up with each other, and Kaidoh glances to his left and suddenly realizes Megumi is watching him expectantly.

"Do you want to go first?" he asks with a cautious smile. Kaidoh rubs the back of his neck and wonders for the hundredth time why Megumi decided to cast him. He figures it probably has more to do with Megumi being scared of him than thinking he has talent.

"No," he says. Megumi's smile wavers a little, but Kaidoh just steps behind him and puts his arms out. If he has to do this, he's definitely not going to be the one looking like an idiot and hitting the floor because some skinny guy couldn't catch him.

Megumi adjusts his stance, nods over his shoulder to make sure Kaidoh's ready, and then falls back. He doesn't even hesitate, Kaidoh notices, reluctantly impressed. He catches Megumi easily.

"Okay!" Megumi says, jumping upright and beaming at him. "Your turn!"

"I can just keep catching you," Kaidoh mutters.

Megumi laughs. "It doesn't exactly work that way," he says, stepping in place behind him. "Don't worry. I'm small, but I've done this a million times before. I'll catch you."

They try and fail four times - Kaidoh tensing up and jerking away too soon with every attempt - before he stuffs his hands in his pockets and refuses to participate any more.

"You need to trust that I'll catch you," Megumi says. Everyone else, Kaidoh realizes with a glance around the room, has finished. They all appear to be waiting for the two of them.

"I don't even know you," Kaidoh snaps. He hates that everyone is staring and he hates that Inui is frowning at him like that. "It's a stupid activity anyway."

For the first time, Megumi looks a little offended. "It's not stupid! It's -"

"Can I help?" Inui crosses to their side of the circle. "Would you try with me, Kaidoh?"

Kaidoh stalls for time adjusting his bandana, wishing he could will his blush away and wishing everyone would mind their own business and go back to their stupid drama games. "Fine," he says. "Let's just get this over with." Megumi frowns but steps aside.

When Inui gets behind him, he doesn't step back right away. First, he puts both hands on Kaidoh's shoulders and leans forward to talk to him, quietly, so no one else can hear.

"It's fine," he says, hands tightening slightly. "It's just like doubles. Just trust I'll be there to cover you when you can't get to the ball in time." He gives Kaidoh's shoulders one last squeeze and steps back.

Kaidoh's heart is beating fast, but he closes his eyes and wills his back straight and tries to think about doubles as he falls. It seems like time freezes. Everything is silent and still and even though he's moving incredibly slowly, he doesn't tense up.

Inui catches him on the first try.

"Nice work," Inui murmurs into his ear before helping Kaidoh to his feet again.

Everyone starts applauding, and for the first time, Kaidoh doesn't feel like hitting any of them.

Play practice starts to get a little easier, although Kaidoh still doesn't like that he has to miss half an hour of tennis practice three days a week. The only part of the play he really enjoys is going to Inui's house to help him learn his lines.

"And so," Inui recites, "by a simple arithmetical process, you'll easily discover that though you've lived twenty-one years, if we go by birthdays, you're only five!"

"Five and a little bit over," Kaidoh corrects him, reading off the script. "But you got the birthday part right this time."

"Shoot," Inui says. He takes the script out of Kaidoh's hands and scribbles a new note on it. There are already so many notes Kaidoh sometimes has a hard time following along.

"It sounds good," Kaidoh reassures him, and he means it. He wouldn't have expected it, but Inui is a good actor. He's better than anyone else in the play, Kaidoh thinks, and most of them are in the drama club. "I like the part where you pretend you're really doing the math," he adds with a smile.

Inui looks pleased, even a little flushed. "Thank you, Kaidoh," he says. "Shall we take a break?"

"Okay." Kaidoh sets the script down and Inui sits heavily on the bed next to him.

"You have a lot of lines," Kaidoh says.

Inui nods. "It's fun, though." Kaidoh looks sideways at him and Inui beams. "Don't you think it's fun?"

Kaidoh turns his head away hastily. "It's fine," he says. Inui's eyebrows knit together in the way they always do when he's confused or disappointed, so Kaidoh is quick to elaborate, "It's not tennis." He's relieved when Inui laughs.

"No," he agrees, "it's not tennis."

On a Sunday afternoon a couple weeks in, Kaidoh goes for a jog. Usually he doesn't run much farther than through the park and back, but because of play practice cutting into tennis time he's starting to feel out of shape. He makes it all the way to Inui's neighborhood without even thinking about the distance, and when he sees the front of Inui's house, he slows to a stop and hesitates. A gust of cold wind is what finally spurs him into action. He marches up the front steps and knocks on the door, waiting with his hands in his pockets until Inui's mother answers.

"Kaidoh-kun!" she says pleasantly. "Come in, please!"

Kaidoh gives his quiet thanks, stepping in to slip off his shoes and line them up on the mat next to the door.

"Sadaharu didn't tell us you were coming today, too," she says with a warm smile. "You can go on up to his room."

He doesn't ask what she means by "too," just thanks her again and frowns to himself as he makes his way up the stairs. He barely waits for Inui's "Come in!" before pulling open the bedroom door.

"Kaidoh!" Inui says. Kaidoh would take the time to look at his face and see if he's angry or just surprised, but he's too busy staring at Megumi, standing in the center of the room with a copy of Pirates of Penzance clutched in his hands. Megumi, pale-faced and wide-eyed, stares right back.

"Kaidoh," Megumi repeats with far less enthusiasm. He looks at Inui, obviously perplexed. "Are you two - friends?"

"Teammates," Inui says. Kaidoh's face goes instantly hot and he digs his nails into his palms.

"What's he doing here?" Kaidoh snaps.

Inui raises his eyebrows and blinks. "He - we were just practicing our lines, Kaidoh," he says. "I didn't know you were planning on coming over, but if you want to rehearse with us -"

"I don't want to rehearse." Kaidoh can't control the trembling in his voice any more than he can control the trembling in his hands. He wants to grab Megumi by the shoulders and throw him down the stairs. He wants him to run out the door and never come back here again. And for the first time since he was a second-year and Inui started showing an inexplicable interest in everything he did, Kaidoh wants to hit Inui.

"Ah." Inui appears to be at a rare loss for words. "Well. I -"

"Sorry," Kaidoh grates out. "I didn't know I was interrupting. I'll go."

"You don't have to -" Inui begins, taking a step forward, but Kaidoh doesn't wait for him to finish. He turns away from Inui's cluelessness and Megumi's horror and storms down the stairs.

"Kaidoh!" Inui appears at the top of the stairs while Kaidoh struggles to pull on his shoes, gripping the railing like he doesn't know if he's safer up there or not.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Senpai," Kaidoh says, and then he's out the door.

Kaidoh avoids Inui at tennis practice the next day and he goes home the second it's over instead of going to rehearsal like usual. He's just finished changing into his exercise clothes and is about to go out for a jog when he opens the front door to his house and finds Inui coming up the front steps.

"Kaidoh." Inui freezes in place. "Why aren't you at rehearsal?"

"Why aren't you?" Kaidoh shoulders past him on the steps and starts walking at a brisk pace.

Inui turns around and hurries after him. "I came to get you," he says. "I saw you leaving, and I tried to call -"

Kaidoh starts to jog, not surprised when Inui follows suit and keeps in pace next to him. "I'm quitting the play," he says after a short silence.

"What?" Inui stumbles and Kaidoh has to remind himself not to slow down and wait for him as he regains his footing. "Why?"

It pisses Kaidoh off that Inui even has to ask. He doesn't answer, just quickens his pace slightly and abandons his normal route, slipping down an unfamiliar alleyway and following wherever its narrow turns take him. Inui falters for a moment, but then he's back at Kaidoh's side and keeping up step for step.

"I thought you liked play practice?" Inui says, a little breathlessly.

Kaidoh's frown tightens and he weaves around an overturned garbage can.

"I thought you were having fun?"

They turn a corner and come to a sudden halt, faced with a brick wall overgrown with weeds that marks the alley's dead end. Kaidoh turns around and is about to start jogging right back in the direction from they came from when Inui grabs hold of both his shoulders.

"Kaidoh," he says, holding him firmly in place. "I don't understand."

What makes everything worse, Kaidoh thinks, is that he doesn't really understand, either. "Why don't you just go ask Megumi?" he suggests.

"Megumi?" Inui appears entirely bewildered. "Why would I -"

"He's your friend, right?" Kaidoh growls. "I'm just your teammate. What do I know."

Inui's hands drop to his sides, and the motion makes Kaidoh jump involuntarily. "Kaidoh," he says. "Is that what this is about?"

"No. Never mind." Kaidoh wishes there wasn't a brick wall blocking his escape, wishes he could shove Inui aside and run all the way home and lock himself in his bedroom for the rest of his life. Inui takes a step closer and Kaidoh steps back, feeling for the wall behind him. "Don't," he warns.

"I'm sorry," Inui says, and he pushes Kaidoh against the brick and kisses him.

At first, Kaidoh can't do anything but close his eyes and go completely still. The kiss isn't much, really - Inui doesn't seem to know what to do with his hands, and after a second of hovering uncertainly, he brings them to rest on either side of Kaidoh's neck. His lips are flat and dry against Kaidoh's. For a handful of seconds, neither of them move an inch. Then Inui pulls away, just enough so that their mouths are no longer touching.

"Kaidoh -" he says.

"Shit," Kaidoh gasps, and he pushes away from the wall and stumbles forward, knocking Inui aside in the process. Inui looks so startled and hurt that Kaidoh hesitates, clenching and unclenching his hands, trying to figure out something to say.

"I have to go," he finally manages, just before he turns around and takes off running.

He makes it home without stopping once to look back. When he gets to his bedroom, he's dripping sweat and out of breath and so on edge he can only pace back and forth on the carpet, running his hands through his hair and cursing to himself. Taking a shower turns out to be the wrong solution. He strips off his clothes and turns on the water and tries to clear his head, but in as much time as it takes for the water to get hot he has a hard-on that's impossible to ignore. He jerks off in the steam, thinking about the kiss and hating himself for it.

"Play a game with me, Kaidoh," Inui says at practice the next day. Kaidoh doesn't know how to refuse him, so he picks up his racket and moves toward the opposite court.

"Let's play doubles!" Eiji turns up out of nowhere, and Kaidoh is at least reassured that Inui looks equally nonplussed when he and Kaidoh are shuffled onto the same court and Eiji and Fuji take the other.

Fuji smiles at them. "You don't mind, do you?"

Kaidoh and Inui don't look at each other when they say, "No."

"Our serve!" Eiji calls. He doesn't wait for Inui and Kaidoh to get into position before the ball is sailing over the net and into their court. Kaidoh starts for it, but he sees Inui move out of the corner of his eye and stops short. The ball lands directly between them.

"Too easy!" Eiji says with a laugh.

Eiji serves three times more and scores just as easily with each ball. "What happened?" he shouts. "Didn't you two used to be good at doubles?"

Kaidoh tightens his grip on his racket. Beside him, Inui clears his throat.

"Don't tease, Eiji," Fuji says. Kaidoh doesn't look up, but he gets the impression Fuji is smiling anyway.

Eiji and Fuji take the first game and Kaidoh starts the next. It's over almost as quickly as it begins.

"Do you two need a break?" Fuji asks at 5-0.

"No," Kaidoh says at the same time Inui says, "Yes."

Fuji chuckles. "We'll take a break." He and Eiji head toward the water fountain and Inui grabs Kaidoh's wrist before he can follow them.

"Kaidoh."

"What?" Kaidoh speaks a little too fast, and his voice sounds a little too sharp.

"I'm sorry." Inui pushes his glasses up on his nose and frowns. He looks so miserable that Kaidoh can't help but let some of the tension drain from his body. He wants to touch Inui on the shoulder and tell him it's alright, but the words get caught in his throat.

"It's fine," is the best he can manage. "Let's just finish the game."

Inui's hold on his wrist tightens. "Are you going to quit the play?"

Kaidoh bites the inside of his cheek and is still trying to come up with an answer when Eiji launches onto his back and pulls the bandana off his head. In the same motion, Inui lets go of his wrist.

"Are you ready?" Eiji asks, dropping down from Kaidoh's back and laughing as Kaidoh glowers and bends over to pick up his bandana.

"Get on your own side of the court," Kaidoh says.

Eiji does as he's told, and Inui and Kaidoh proceed to lose the match without exchanging so much as another word.

"Have fun at play practice," Fuji says, approaching the net and leaning over it to smile at them. "How's it going, by the way?"

"Fine," Kaidoh mutters. Inui doesn't say anything.

"You open next week, right?"

Kaidoh nods.

"I'm excited to see it." Fuji gives them a little wave before heading off the court with a triumphant Eiji in tow. Inui glances at his watch and Kaidoh realizes it must be about time for practice to start.

"Let's go," Kaidoh says, trying to quell the panic he feels rising in his stomach at the mere thought of being in the same room as Inui and Megumi again.

From beside him, Inui nods, but he doesn't look very reassured.

On opening night, Kaidoh feels worse than he's ever felt in his life. His head aches and he's nauseated. He doesn't even have any solo lines, and his voice is easily drowned out during musical numbers by the rest of the pirates, but it doesn't matter. For whatever reason, he's terrified.

What makes it worse is that he can't talk to Inui about it.

Megumi sticks his head through the door to the cast room. "Ten minutes to top of show!"

Everyone begins to whisper excitedly. Out the corner of his eye, Kaidoh spots Inui seated in front of one of the make-up mirrors, already in costume. His top is a v-neck blouse, rather distractingly low-cut, along with a pair of equally distracting snug trousers, a long white bandana, black slouchy boots, and a scabbard and sword.

While everyone else is buzzing with excitement and energy, Inui just looks slouched and unhappy. He's toying idly with his scabbard and frowning into his lap. The sight makes Kaidoh feel even more anxious and sick. He turns away quickly when Inui looks up and their eyes meet.

"Are you nervous?"

Kaidoh had somehow missed Inui getting up and crossing to his side of the room. He lowers his head and shrugs, trying to sink into the ugly orange couch he chose because most of the other actors avoid it. After a short silence, Inui takes a seat next to him. The couch shifts under the added weight.

"I'm nervous," Inui admits. Despite himself, Kaidoh looks up. Inui is watching him evenly.

"I've never been in a play before," he says. "It's new and unfamiliar. Not at all like science or tennis. I don't know if I'll mess up, or if I'll even be any good." Kaidoh thinks he sounds rambly and a little breathless. He can't help but notice the way his chest is rising up and down under his v-neck.

"You should breathe with your stomach," Kaidoh says, surprising them both when he touches his fingertips to Inui's abdomen. Aware of his growing blush, he pullss his hand away and quietly adds, "I hear that helps."

Inui doesn't appear to breathe at all for a few seconds. Then there's a rush of air, like he lets it all out at once, and he grabs Kaidoh's hand and leans forward earnestly. Kaidoh feels like they're both going to sink into the couch and disappear.

"Kaidoh -" Inui says.

"Five minutes!" Megumi announces from the doorway. "Places, everyone!"

Judging by the look on Inui's face, he hates Megumi in that instant almost as much as Kaidoh does. The actors begin filing out toward the stage, and Kaidoh waits for Inui to let go of his hand and stand up first.

"Good luck," Inui says softly.

Kaidoh watches Inui trail out after the other actors and twists his hands in the hem of his baggy shirt until he realizes the only thing that makes sense is to run after Inui and drag him right back.

"Senpai," he says, rushing into the hall only to find it deserted. He turns the corner and opens the door to the dark backstage. The actors are clustered near their respective entrances, Inui at stage left and everyone else stage right.

"Senpai," Kaidoh says again, lowering his voice when he notices a few of the actors on the other side of the stage glance over. The audience is getting quiet and the lights have gone down. Within a minute, they're both supposed to be onstage.

"Kaidoh?" Inui is watching him with utter bewilderment written across his face. Kaidoh inhales sharply, making sure to breathe with his stomach, and he grabs Inui by the collar of his shirt and pulls him behind the nearest curtain.

This time, when they kiss, it's the exact opposite of their kiss in the alley. Kaidoh slides a hand around the back of Inui's neck and pulls him close, pressing their bodies flush together and finding the right angle to suck Inui's bottom lip into his mouth. Inui makes a tiny little surprised noise and Kaidoh's fingers on his neck curl, tangling in his bandana, tugging it off without really meaning to but without much concern either when Inui finally drops his hands to Kaidoh's waist and starts kissing back.

"Kaidoh," Inui groans against his mouth. "We have to go -"

Distantly, Kaidoh hears the sound of Megumi's voice delivering his opening lines. Instead of stepping back and letting Inui go, he starts to suck on his neck.

"Kaidoh." Inui's fingers flex against Kaidoh's waist and he groans again at the same time they hear Pirate Number Two announcing loudly, "Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry!"

"Shit," Inui says, and he tears aside the curtain and rushes onstage, forgetting his bandana in a heap on the floor. Kaidoh picks it up and sets it on the nearby prop table. He makes his entrance shortly thereafter, only realizing belatedly that he's come in from the wrong side.

"If you conscientiously feel that it is your duty to destroy us," Inui says, brandishing his sword, "we cannot blame you for acting on that conviction."

Kaidoh has to pass close by Inui to get to the side of the stage where he's supposed to be, next to Pirates One and Two. Inui glances at him, fumbles his line and seems to forget his place.

"Always - always act in accordance with the dictates of your conscience," he finally recovers, "and chance the consequences." Kaidoh wonders if anyone else can tell that his voice is a little higher than usual.

The scene seems to drag on forever. Kaidoh has a hard time trying not to fidget too much or make it too obvious that he can't tear his eyes away from Inui, and he forgets to join in the chorus of pirates when they shout, "Hear, hear!", even though it's one of his only lines in the whole play.

"Good job," Kaidoh says a little breathlessly once they're backstage again. Inui doesn't even bother answering, just grabs Kaidoh's hand and leads him back behind the curtain.

"I think they saw us," Kaidoh says. Inui gives him a look that clearly says he doesn't care, and then they're kissing again and Inui's hand is hot against Kaidoh's stomach and it feels like all the anxiety he's been carrying around for weeks has been completely replaced by something still a little fluttery but much, much better.

It gets harder to pull apart and go onstage with every scene. By the end of the play, Kaidoh's nerves are so on fire he can barely restrain himself while everyone claps Inui on the back and tells him congratulations on their way to the cast room.

"I should change," Inui says without much enthusiasm. Kaidoh takes in the now slightly disheveled v-neck and trousers and looks over his shoulder to make sure the rest of the cast is gone.

"It's fine," he says, feeling the now-familiar flush creep back into his cheeks.

"Oh?" Inui starts to smirk.

"Shut up," Kaidoh says, and when he closes the space between them and Inui's back hits the wall, Inui does.

Kaidoh knows they should probably be worried about someone coming back and seeing them, but he can't make himself care. Inui slides his hand up Kaidoh's shirt and Kaidoh arches into his touch and he doesn't even know how it happens, but soon they're kissing and their hips are grinding together and Inui's leg is between Kaidoh's and Kaidoh should be embarrassed because it's pressing up against his hard-on but he's not because Inui has one too.

"Senpai," Kaidoh says, a little urgently. Inui's only response is to unbuckle his scabbard, throw it on the floor, and tighten his grip on Kaidoh's waist. Kaidoh moans and buries his face against Inui's chest and starts sucking on the exposed skin there.

"Oh, God," Inui chokes out. He kisses Kaidoh again, biting down on his lip in a way that makes Kaidoh's hips jerk forward and his eyes snap shut. He's starting to feel like if they draw this out anymore he'll die, so he finally wraps his arms tight around Inui's neck and meets his thrusts with equal fervor until they're both tensing and gasping and shuddering and Kaidoh is wondering what they're going to do about washing their trousers before tomorrow's performance.

"Senpai," Kaidoh says. Inui makes a small noise to show he's listening but doesn't lift his head from Kaidoh's shoulder. "After this, no more plays."

Inui's laugh makes his breath gust out across Kaidoh's neck and gives him shivers. "Okay," he says. "As long as we can still do this sometimes."

"Okay," Kaidoh agrees with feigned reluctance, as if Inui couldn't tell he was thinking the same thing.

"I saw Megumi today," Inui says by way of greeting, closing the bedroom door behind him and taking a seat next to Kaidoh on his bed.

Kaidoh frowns. "So?"

"He asked me to say hi." Inui's smile looks a little dangerous when he shrugs his backpack off his shoulder and starts to rummage through it. He finally pulls out a bright orange sheet of paper and hands it to Kaidoh.

Try out for the winter play! it reads in large bold print. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens! Experienced and inexperienced actors both welcome!

"He also asked if we were going to audition," Inui says.

Kaidoh looks up at him in horror before crumpling the flyer into a ball. "You can try out," he says, throwing it in the trash. Inui looks momentarily crestfallen, but then Kaidoh pushes him down on the bed and straddles his hips and his expression changes.

"I do think you'd make a great Fred," Inui says wistfully.

"No, Senpai," Kaidoh says. Inui's glasses flash when he laughs.

"We'll stick to tennis, then," he says, and Kaidoh smiles and kisses him.