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#I watched a few episodes of naruto while eating lunch and that’s it like.
neighbours-kid · 5 years
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Twelve's March
March was….a chaotic cluster-fuck of something that felt like two weeks tops. March went by fast. And also—wasn’t it just the beginning of the year? Wasn’t it just Christmas? Where’s all this time going?
Anyway, March was really weird. Full month of university, relatively full weekends I think, it just all felt weird and fast and I don’t even know what exactly I did all month. Well, except watch TV shows. Well, I say TV shows…I mean Doctor Who. And with that, I mean Matt’s arc with Clara, and all of Peter’s arc. Which you already know because I wrote a massive blog post about it, yelling incoherently about all sorts of things and not remotely making sense, I feel.
March was definitely a month defined by Doctor Who and specifically Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, who I have come to love so much, I still don’t know how to wrap my head around it. I think I’m just gonna have to buy all the DVDs finally and just—watch it again. Because I have emotions and thoughts and ideas and these little bits of je ne sais quoi about so many things in relation to Peter’s wonderful wonderful performance. But I don’t want to spend too much time rambling on about him (again) and waste your time with that.
As I said, March was a full month of university. And honestly, it has sort of started to overwhelm me right now. With me being me and having extended one paper deadline to the end of February, and also fucking up one exam of the last term and having to retake that, I completely fell behind on all my actual work that I had to do for this term. There’s one class that I can’t attend but have to take, so I’m working through a book by myself, there’s another book for another course that I ordered way too late, and there’s so much reading that I should be doing and am not actually doing. So I’m totally behind on all things and I often find myself with books open and texts on my kitchen table, throwing highlighters around and post-it’s, trying to get it together, and just ultimately making more of a mess.
I am very glad Easter holidays are coming up soon so I have time to catch up with that (of course only if I don’t have to work during that week, which somehow might actually happen).
I also started a new minor this term—theology—(and finally finished art history—never have to do art history ever again!!!!), so that is also a bit of a challenge, though I do feel a lot better about it than I did about art history. It’s really interesting and I’m learning a lot of cool stuff, and I’m actually pretty good at being present in class and taking notes, so at least there’s that. Funny thing is: my theology courses are incredibly affirming of my gender identity and my plans for the future, and a lot of the things I learn support my own views, which is really great.
Another thing that’s really cool this term, is that I’m trying to hang out in our English department’s tea corner more often, eating lunch there (now that I actually have time to eat lunch on some days), and just trying to socialise more with people. And it’s great! I’m having a lot of lovely conversations with a lot of lovely people, and I think it’s really good for me to do that and just to try and be more open.
And honestly, I really like being at university currently? I have a cool group of friends, I’m having a really great time and learning a lot of cool and interesting things (mostly. There’s some rubbish introduction courses that I have to take now). But my problem is, that as soon as I sit in my tram home, as soon as I enter my apartment, I am just flat out exhausted. I am so done. Which is also why I rarely actually get any work done at home currently, because all I really do is maybe eat something small and then fall into bed to maybe watch an episode or two of something and then go to sleep.
On that note: Daylight savings time was just last weekend here, and it completely fucked over my internal clock. Like, the day before that, I went to bed at like 1.30AM because I was reading fanfiction (later more on that), and got up very easily the next day even before 10AM. Daylight savings? I went to bed, I think, only a bit after 11PM and had to get up at 7.30AM, and I was absolutely knackered. I immediately dozed off again as soon as I turned off the alarm and it nearly cost me my entire day because I had to catch a train. And it’s still not back to normal, I still have issues every morning getting up. I hope it gets better soon, once I have a day to just sleep in without an alarm and get up whenever I actually wake up. I have hope that this is gonna work.
But now: fanfiction! I’m not sure if I’ve talked about this on here before, but I was big on fanfiction a few years back, mostly in my BBC Sherlock time. And before that too, I think, way back when I first started really getting into Naruto in a more intellectual way than just watching it on TV. But that was when I was like….in sixth grade, or something like that. But I was huge on fanfiction for a long time, and I think together with falling off of the Sherlock train after that last season, I also stopped really engaging with that part of fandom. But now, thanks to my binging of Doctor Who I have absolutely fallen down that rabbit hole again. It’s just such a great thing, isn’t it? People creating massive, massive amounts of, essentially free work. Just to express this joy and this love for a thing and to share it with others. It’s amazing.
(Short side-note here: Did you know, Archive of Our Own, one of the biggest fanfiction sites, was nominated for a fucking Hugo Award? In its entirety? Making, effectively, over 4.5 MILLION pieces of fanfiction Hugo Award-nominated literature, and, with over 1.8 MILLION users, making many of those Hugo Award-nominated authors? It’s fucking brilliant. What a time to be alive!)
What else did I do in March? I’m sort of blanking, because this month went by so fast. Lemme think….
I went to see Captain Marvel opening night (which was, officially, Men’s Night, which we crashed, because we wouldn’t usually support such sexist events, but it was Captain Marvel), and then again a bit later one more time, and it was great, just really fantastic. Carol is right up there as one of faves now. Also, Jude Law was hot.
On that film note, I obviously watched some stuff this month again and tried to make notes of it. Six movies (well five, but one twice), 64 episodes of TV (50 of which being Doctor Who), and a bunch of shorts starring David Tennant. Aside from Captain Marvel I think the movies I liked best this month were Bad Samaritan (2018) and Fright Night (2011), both also starring David Tennant, which is why I watched them. Fright Night was great fun, Colin Farrell was a fantastic, sexy vampire, and David’s vampire hunter/Las Vegas magician act was just hilarious. I love how much of a coward he was, ultimately. What a fantastic vampire movie, really funny. Also, Anton Yelchin was in it, and I just realised how much I miss him and what a shame it is that he died so young. He was a great kid and a fantastic actor.
Bad Samaritan was also really cool. I had wanted to watch it for a while, since it came out actually, because David was in it, and because Dean Devlin directed and produced it, and I really adore his work (Leverage and The Librarians, anyone?) I was always a bit hesitant though, because I’m not very big on films that are too horror-y and gory, so I always pushed it off. But I’m very glad I finally saw it, because it was truly more of a thriller and not a horror movie. Fantastic story, the acting was brilliant (DT as a villain? Come on! So good.), the tension and suspense was absolutely incredible. Really a great movie, you should all watch it.
I’m sure there’s other things that I did in March that would be worthwhile to mention (was at my dad’s, visited my mom, went shopping with a friend), but I’m really sort of hazy about all the details and I honestly can’t be bothered to write more right now.
Anyway, I’m having a bit of a break soon—going to Lugano for four days with a friend—so I can hopefully relax a little and recharge my batteries for April.
Talk to you guys soon! Bye.
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jouissezduprintemps · 7 years
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Something to Prove, Chapter Seven: The Talk
Rating: T Warnings: Swearing Words: 2698 Fandom: Naruto Summary: As Suna prepares for its first independently-held chunin exam since Gaara became kazekage, the sand siblings must make sure that everything goes off without a hitch.
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Temari and Shikamaru sat on either side of the coffee table in the living room, stacks of papers surrounding them. Scores needed to be calculated, teams assigned, and reports written up for all five kage on each genin. This wasn’t their first time, but that didn’t make the process any less odious. Temari swore as the lead of her pencil snapped. They’d been at this for two hours, and it didn’t feel like they had made a dent.
Shikamaru set a leaf of paper to the side before falling onto the floor, lying on his back. Temari’s broken pencil clattered to the ground beside his head.
“No breaks,” she scolded. “If we don’t get this done before tomorrow, we’re going to hate ourselves.”
“We haven’t eaten today, Tema. We can afford to walk away for a bit.”
Temari was exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than to take a long nap. No sooner had they returned from the first exam than they sat down and set to work once more. He was right, and she knew it. Yet, she was afraid that, if she stopped, she wouldn’t be able to start again.
“The second exam starts at dawn. There’s not going to be any time to write reports when we’re judging genin in the demon desert,” she protested, fumbling around for a fresh writing utensil.
“How goes it?” Kankuro asked as he walked into the room, glancing over at the table. Both Temari and Shikamaru answered him with disdainful groans.
“Kankuro,” Temari looked up at her brother, putting on her most pathetic face. “I’ll pay you to get us food.”
“How much?”
“How-” Temari stammered in disbelief. Was he really planning to exploit her desperation?
“Lunch and two thousand.” Kankuro demanded.
“Fine.” Shikamaru pulled his wallet out of his pocket, still lying on his back. He extended his arm into the air, holding a handful of yen aloft.
“Sweet!” Kankuro grabbed the bills before Temari could talk sense into Shikamaru.
Temari watched as her brother rushed out of the room, not bothering to ask them what they wanted for lunch. “How much did you give him?”
“I don’t know. Five, six?” Shikamaru speculated.
“You’re an idiot.”
Shikamaru sat back up and held up an index finger. He waited a second before shouting “Kankuro!”
There was no response. He gestured at her, as though he’d proved something.
“You were just robbed,” she informed him.
“Or he’s buying food.”
Temari shook her head. “Right. Sure.” She turned her attention back to the endless pile of papers. “Why do we do this to ourselves?”
“Because the kage know we’re good at it,” he countered. After they ran their first exam, it seemed to fall into their laps twice a year like clockwork.
“Damn them.”
“Don’t let them hear you say that.”
“Please, like I haven’t said worse to Gaara.”
Shikamaru drummed the end of his pen against a blank report. “Come on, a five minute break.”
“Fine. Five minutes.” Temari shifted herself to the other side of the coffee table so that she could rest her back against the couch. Her head fell back against the seat cushion, and she let her eyes shut. They were dry and itchy from lack of sleep. “Watch the time.”
She felt something tapping the arch of her foot, and she shifted away. When it didn’t let up, she opened her eyes. Kankuro stood on the other side of the coffee table, a large, brown bag in his arm. “Up and at ‘em,” he roused before setting the bag down.
Temari lifted her head, which she realized, to her embarrassment, had been resting on Shikamaru’s shoulder. “You actually got food.”
“What do you think I am, a monster?” her brother countered, offended. “I bought enough curry to feed a small army. So, just enough to feed the four of us.” He turned his attention to Shikamaru, kicking the sole of his foot as he’d done his sister’s. “Wake up, deer boy.”
Shikamaru made a rude gesture in his direction, much to Temari’s amusement. Kankuro countered by roughly shaking his shoulder, jarring him into a waking state.
“Gaara!” Kankuro called his brother. “Food!”
“Do you just shout at one another like that?” Shikamaru asked incredulously.
“It’s effective,” Temari pointed out. She lifted herself up onto the couch and gathered the papers strewn about the coffee table, making room for the four of them to eat. Kankuro removed the containers from the bag and spread them around, and Gaara joined them, lowering himself down to sit on the floor.
They didn’t normally eat as a family, but the awkwardness passed quickly. A laugh was had at Shikamaru’s expense concerning the drawing pinned to the fridge, and he took it in stride.
Temari tried to stile a yawn, but she didn’t succeed. Gaara looked at her in concern. She’d been working non-stop for ten hours, as had Shikamaru. Despite their poor decision with the sake the night before, they’d steeled themselves and done everything they’d needed to do. They’d done well. He had to admit that they made an efficient team.
All the same, his thoughts rested on the conversation he’d tried to have with Kankuro just a few hours before. He didn’t have anything against Shikamaru as a person, but there was a lot to consider if he was correct.
Gaara looked at his sister. “I’m going to be blunt, but don’t take offense.” Behind his words, Temari knew that he was saying he didn’t know how to word what he wanted to say in a more polite way. There were times that he couldn’t help but be brazen simply because he was walking into uncharted territory. He waited for his sister to nod before continuing. “Don’t misunderstand, Shikamaru. I like you. But we need to talk if the two of you are sleeping together, no matter how serious it is.”
“DUDE!” Kankuro exclaimed, slapping his chopsticks down on the coffee table. “The fuck did I just tell you?!”
Shikamaru coughed once, then twice, eyes wide. His hand went to his throat in a motion that signified that he was choking. Temari shifted her position from sitting to kneeling, and she delivered several sharp blows to his back, trying to help him.
“Are you trying to kill him?!” Kankuro shouted at his brother, gesturing at the chaos in front of him.
Temari struck Shikamaru one more time, and he drew in a gasping breath. His eyes were watering. “Oh, god, it burns,” he complained as the spices from the curry rested in his airway. He coughed several more times into a napkin, turning away from the coffee table. He waved away Temari’s helping hand. He just had to cough it out.
The three siblings sat in awkward silence as Shikamaru overcame his coughing fit. The leaf ninja turned back to the table and drained his glass of water. When that wasn’t enough, he helped himself to Temari’s. After the episode had passed, he placed his elbows on the coffee table and rested his head in his hands.
No longer feeling the need to be concerned about Shikamaru, Temari turned her attention to her baby brother. “What the hell, Gaara? Even if we were sleeping together – which we’re not – that’s none of your business!”
“Like it or not, Temari, we’re royal, and I’m the kazekage.” Gaara pointed out. “I don’t want to have to pry into this, but it isn’t that simple.”
“You know, I don’t really need to be here for this…” Kankuro tried to excuse himself, but the glare he received from Gaara kept him in his seat.
“There’s nothing to pry into!” Temari protested, her cheeks bright red.
Gaara looked over at Shikamaru, determining him to be the weaker link at the moment. He said nothing, actively avoiding eye contact with the kazekage.
Temari slammed her hands down on the table as she stood up. “I’m going for a walk.”
Shikamaru hesitated, not sure whether or not he was supposed to follow. He suddenly became very aware that Gaara and Kankuro were watching his reaction, and he decided that he didn’t want to hang around for ‘guy time.’ He muttered something about being back before excusing himself, feeling as though he’d dodged a bullet.
Kankuro looked over at his brother, his face full of disappointment. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to listen to your older brother every once in a while.”
The afternoon sun in Suna was almost unbearable. Shikamaru wished that he’d left his vest behind, but he wasn’t about to turn back. How Temari and Kankuro could walk around dressed in black was beyond him. To his displeasure, as they walked, they kicked up sand, which found its new home inside his sandals.
He wasn’t sure where Temari was headed. It seemed like they were walking to the edge of the village. He felt too awkward to ask.
The next conversation they had was sure to be a tense one, and he wasn’t in a hurry to start it.
Temari led the way beyond the walls of the village, and the horizon opened up into a uniform sea of gold. She seemed to know where she was going, so he didn’t bother to ask. The next few miles were walked in silence, a time which both ninja used to busy themselves with their own thoughts.
In the distance rose a fortress wall, which cast a long shadow across the sand. Shikamaru finally understood what was going on. By heading to the edge of the demon desert, Temari was leading them further away from the village than her brothers would pursue them. If they were seen, it was only natural for two exam proctors to survey the terrain of the next portion of the test.
When they reached the shadow of the wall, Temari finally stopped. She unclasped the fan from her back and sat down in the sand, allowing it to rest beside her.
Shikamaru followed her lead even though she hadn’t seemed to acknowledge his presence. The shadow had stretched a few centimeters forward before she broke the silence.
“I can’t believe them.” Her voice betrayed how mortified she was at the entire debacle. She’d never been more embarrassed in her life. Mentally, she cursed her brothers. That wasn’t a conversation she’d wanted to have. Before she could even have it, there was a much more private one that needed to occur between her and Shikamaru. They’d managed to tiptoe around it, and it had been working for them. It was comfortable that way. Every few months, she could arrive in Konoha and enjoy his company for a few days before they both went back to their daily lives. Twice a year, the exams would extend their visits. It was easy to get used to.
Shikamaru wasn’t sure what he should say. If they were in the Leaf, he could have bailed and asked Ino for advice. She was good with things like this. He never thought he’d see the day where he’d trust her judgement more than his own, but here it was.
“I’m sorry.” Temari caught him off guard. Her words were carefully measured, and she refused to look at him. She watched the breeze carry grains of sand in small tornadoes, her eyes following their path.
Shikamaru cracked the knuckles on his right hand, preoccupied. “It’s a drag, but…” he sighed, “you know we have to talk about it.”
“Hm,” she affirmed. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but there was no way to move forward until they did. Their days of avoidance were over. She knew it couldn’t last forever. The stakes were too high for both of them. Gaara was right; she just didn’t want to admit it to herself. She wondered if Shikamaru felt as sick to his stomach as she did in that moment.
Neither of them was keen to start the conversation. Buying himself some time, Shikamaru lay back in the sand, fixing his eyes on the clouds. “I guess we need to put our cards on the table.”
To his surprise, Temari reclined as well. She sighed, her chest rising and falling with the volume of her breath. In the uncertainty, nothing had been at risk. As soon as they spoke, there would be no going back to the way things have been. For better or worse, their old dynamic had died. She swallowed her pride and fear long enough to speak three words. “Yes or no?”
Shikamaru placed his hands behind his head, deciding to be direct for once. Asuma would be proud. “Yes.” After a moment, he repeated her question. “Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
He sighed in relief. That had been the hardest part. Everything after this point would be logistics. He let his fingers run through the cold sand until they found hers, where he allowed them to rest. The muscles in her hand relaxed at his touch. They lay in the shade, staring up at the sky and enjoying the brief moment of solitude they had won. As soon as they returned, they would have to face Gaara and Kankuro again.
It was a merit to them both that, while anyone else would have needed a drawn-out conversation to come to a conclusion, they had been able to reach that same point with eight words between them. Temari sat up and brushed the sand from her back, too restless to stay lying down.
Assuming that she wanted to leave, Shikamaru did the same. He turned to face her, amused at the color in her cheeks. She tried to turn away from him, but he took her chin between his thumb and index finger, guiding her face back. Temari froze, but Shikamaru acted with more confidence. Impulsively, he captured her lips with his own. To his surprise and relief, it took but a second for her to kiss him back.
Her fingers laced themselves in the hair on the back of his head, and he placed his palm on her lower back to draw her in closer. Every action was steeped in desperation. He didn’t realize that he had pulled her onto his lap until she was already there. His hands wandered down to her hips, and she pressed her body against him.
When she broke away, panting for air, their senses started to come back to them. The pent-up sexual tension had almost won, but they were able to maintain enough rationality to realize that this was not the time or the place for this. Aware of their surroundings once more, Shikamaru looked around, relieved to see that they were still alone. Temari took it upon herself to move off of him. Red-faced and breathless, they both took a minute to compose themselves.
Shikamaru fumbled with the flint on his lighter, taking more than a few attempts to light the cigarette he had pulled out to calm his nerves. He had never had such a test of self-control. He was surprised when he saw his hand shake.
After taking a deep breath, Temari looked straight ahead and declared, “We should get back.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of them moved.
“Let’s wait to tell Gaara.” Temari suggested, finally standing. With a click, she secured her fan to her back.
“Good idea.” Shikamaru agreed. For both their sakes, they kept a safe distance between them. He lamented that they were in Suna rather than Konoha, where he could visit her without having to worry about anyone else.
He fought to pull his mind out of the gutter, trying to focus on the task at hand. It made no sense for them to hide in the desert. Kankuro had probably fought with Gaara after they left, and, if they were lucky, the two brothers wouldn’t want anything to do with one another for the rest of the night. If he wasn’t mistaken, Gaara had to make another appearance that evening as kazekage to congratulate the genin who had made it through the first stage. That would put Kankuro with him as his security detail. If they were lucky, they might have an hour to continue what their rationality had interrupted.
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randomprose · 7 years
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tsukishima brothers being typical boys and bonding over poor lunch food choices. with Akiteru being the best big brother and Kei being a brat.
a/n: I’m unsure whether Akiteru works on Sendai or Tokyo but for this story, I settled for Sendai.
here. have a short drabble of tsukishima bros being normal and comfortable around each other because I am honestly so tired of reading fics about them where Akiteru is always walking on eggshells around Kei. give me cute tsukishima bros bonding or give me death!!!
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Lately, Akiteru has taken to coming home on the weekends as often as he could.
He’d be home by Friday night just in time for dinner. Straight from work and a quick practice with his current volleyball team. He’d greet their parents, a few words with their father about work and the mundane before he detours to the kitchen to give their mother a kiss on the cheek. Then, at her request, he goes up to knock on Kei’s door to call him for dinner. He stays until Sunday afternoon when he has to drive back to Sendai to prepare for work the next day.
And lately, for his part, Kei has taken to wandering out of his room and not locking himself in for as long as he’s in the house other than to eat.
It’s a nice change from the usual and it makes their mother happy to see them complete and the house fuller even if it’s just on the weekends.
Saturdays are for the weekly trips to the grocery store. Akiteru begs off this time opting to laze around the living room to watch a rerun of his favorite anime instead. Mother shakes her head as father calls for her to hurry up. She leaves him the usual instructions: don’t open doors for strangers, unplug the TV if you’re going to take a nap or go outside, take the dishes out of the dishwasher when they’re done, and make sure Kei eats lunch. They’ll be out long since their father wants to catch a movie and they’ll be lunching out so Akiteru is in charge of his and Kei’s lunch. Again, make sure he eats. Lord knows that boy needs it.
Akiteru makes a face at her because, “I’m an adult, mom. I already know all that. Geez.”
“Of course you are, honey. An adult who opts to stay at home to watch a Naruto rerun instead of helping with the groceries.” She ruffles his hair and Akiteru groans. “Be good. I’ll bring back a box of that strawberry pop tarts you boys like so much.”
“And a box of the cinnamon ones, too, please. The strawberry ones are for Kei and you know how he gets with them.” Akiteru calls after her. And just before she exits the house he adds, “Oh, and a box of mint chocolate chip Klondike too!”
He hears their car pulling out of their driveway and five minutes later Kei comes wandering down, blonde locks curling in his familiar bed head, stifling a yawn and still in his pajamas. Akiteru looks up from his sprawled position on the couch and couldn’t help the fond smile that tugged on his lips, especially on the stegosaurus printed pajama bottoms.
“Did mom and dad left?”
“Yeah. Just about. Don’t you have practice?”
“Moved in the afternoon. Ukai-san had some errands this morning.”
Kei moves to the living room, still stretching his limbs, arms high up over his shoulders making his sleeping shirt ride up. Akiteru watches him with a lazy stare and notes why their mother worries. Kei really does need to eat more.
His legs are unceremoniously swiped to the floor so he’s now only half lying on the couch at an awkwardly bent angle. Kei drops at the vacated space with a yawn and Akiteru rolls his eyes before sitting up properly in a grunt. Rude brat.
They stay like that for a while. Akiteru’s eyes glued to the screen while Kei only half watches and half fiddles with his phone. When 11 rolled in Akiteru lowers the volume as he turns to his brother.
“Pizza okay for lunch?”
Kei looks up from his phone. “Mom and dad not gonna eat here?”
“Lunch out. Dad wants to see a movie.” They’ll probably be out until dinner time. Their father has a habit of putting off doing the groceries until it’s time to go home. “So, pizza? And some chicken wings, maybe? I feel like eating chicken.”
“As long as I’m not paying anything.” Kei’s attention is already back to his phone, one hand under his shirt scratching his torso while the other lazily thumbs through his phone.
Akiteru scoffs. What does this boy think of him, really. As if he’d let his high schooler brother pay.
“As long as you don’t tell mom I didn’t fix you something nutritious or whatever.” He reaches for his phone to place an order. “And as if you could pay anyway.”
“I have an allowance, you know.”
“Ah, save it.” He waves a dismissive hand towards Kei. “I’ll collect your debts when you’re part of the working force.”
“Ehh. Aren’t older siblings always supposed to treat the younger ones? How cruel, nii-chan.”
“Heh. Who even said that?”
“I don’t know. It’s the natural order of things. Sorry. I don’t make the rules.”
Akiteru smirks, tongue pressed against his cheek as he punches in their orders, thoroughly enjoying their rare banter. Beside him, Kei has an identical smirk, amused even when he just read something stupid again by Hinata in their group chat.
When the pizza arrives, Akiteru nudges Kei with his foot to get it. The younger Tsukishima makes a face at him in protest before Akiteru nudges him again and waves a wad of bills on his face.
“I’m the one paying. Do you part, ototou.”
Kei sneers as he swipes the cash before begrudgingly standing up to get their pizza.
They both do the clean up afterwards with Akiteru smashing the pizza box small enough to get rid of the evidence, throwing everything in a garbage bag before handing it to Kei to stuff it in the trash can. They did it in all seriousness and an unspoken agreement that if mom asks what they had for lunch the answer would be anything but pizza and wings.
It didn’t occur to them how ridiculous it all is until almost half an hour later, when the opening theme for a new episode is playing, and Akiteru burst out in snickers.
“Nii-chan, what the heck.”
“It’s just…you’d think we were committing a crime when we were disposing that pizza box.”
God they must have looked suspicious. If Nakamura-san from next door poked her head earlier he wonders what the old lady would think of an image of the Tsukishima children unsmiling  and eerily serious hurriedly stuffing a garbage bag in a trash can.
“Like hiding a body.”
Kei quips with a snicker of his own and Akiteru just loses it. Kei’s snickers graduating to soft chuckles echoing Akiteru’s louder ones.
“If mom asks, we’ll tell her we had fish, miso and pickled vegetables for lunch. That sounds healthy enough. And tell her you ate two servings of rice.”
“Deal.”
Later, after Kei has taken a shower, he comes bounding back to the living room dressed in his practice clothes and clutching a roll of finger tape. Akiteru beckons him over to sit beside him with the intention to tape his fingers for him. Kei sits facing him sideways with his legs crossed.
“I can do it by myself you know.”
“Of course you can.” Akiteru mildly agrees taking the roll of tape from him and starting on Kei’s left hand. “But it’s better when I do it, see? I’ve had more practice than you. Give me your other hand. Does it still hurt?” He flexes Kei’s ring finger and pinky gently, remembering the match against Shiratorizawa, before starting on taping them.
“It’s fine. It healed quite nicely.”
“Good. That was a great block, you know? Have I told you that?”
“At least eight times, nii-chan.”
“Well, it really was.” He finishes and Kei inspects his work. “Can’t wait to see you block more spikes like that at Nationals.” He grins because even if it’s been weeks, almost a month, he is still so, so, so proud of Kei.
“You’re not planning on watching all our games at Nationals are you?”
Akiteru laughs because Kei said games, as in plural. His little brother intends to play beyond the first match and he sounds so sure and determined.
“What? Scared you’ll embarrass yourself in front of nii-chan?”
Kei scoffs as he rolls his eyes. “As if.”
The smile Akiteru sends him is fond and it only grows wide when Kei looks away with a pout. But Akiteru could see the slight upturn of his lips and he thinks ‘cute’.
“Come on,” he turns off the TV as he stands up. “It’s almost time for your practice, right? I’ll drive you.”
“What—you don’t have to. I’m meeting Yamaguchi and we’ll walk there.”
“Nah. It’s hot out. Text Tadashi and tell him we’ll pick him up on the way over.”
“You’re not gonna stay the whole of practice are you?”
Kei regards him suspiciously as he picks his bag beside the couch where he dropped it earlier. Akiteru rolls his eyes at him as he swipes his car keys and waits for him by the genkan because really.
“Don’t worry. I won’t. I have better things to do anyway.”
“What, like watching Naruto reruns? Seriously, nii-chan. Are you really an adult?”
“You and mom are so judging. Just what is so wrong about watching a childhood favorite?”
“It’s childish.”
“Hey, I just fed you. Shut up before I decide to make you walk instead.”
“It’s not like I asked you to drive me to practice.”
“Why can’t you just be grateful to your nii-chan for once in your life, Kei? You are so uncute.”
Kei sticks his tongue out at him and Akiteru tries to sneer in response but it morphed into a laugh instead at the rare display of childishness from his normally somber little brother.
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“Oh, shit.” Akiteru mutters on the way to Yamaguchi’s house. “Did I unplug the TV?”
“Relax. I knew you’d forget so I did.”
“Oh, great. Thanks, Kei you’re the—oh, shit.”
“What now?”
“…I forgot to take the dishes out the dishwasher.”
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