Bonus Round 4: Quotes

[referees]

A shipping olympics favorite, this round uses quotes of all sorts to fuel your creative endeavors.


This round is CLOSED as of 7PM on July 21 EDT. Late fills may be posted, but they will not receive points.

RULES

• Submit prompts by commenting to this post with a quote attributed to a specific person or character, along with any ship/ot3/etc. from one of our nominated fandoms.
  • Example: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - M. Gandhi
  • The quote can come from anywhere. Famous people, poetry, songs, books, movies, your neighbor, etc.
  • Your prompt MUST include some kind of relationship. (This is not the sports anime gen olympics.) Platonic relationships are indicated by an "&" between the names (e.g., Makoto & Rin). Non-platonic relationships use "/" (e.g., Makoto/Rin). Please don't say "Any pairing," either!
• Fill prompts by replying to the prompt with your quote-inspired fanwork.
• Remember to follow the general bonus round rules, outlined here.

FORMAT

Bonus round shenanigans all happen in the comments below. Brand-new works only, please.

Required Work Minimums:

• 400 words (prose)
• 400px by 400px (art)
• 14 lines (poetry)

There is no max work cap.

Format your comment in one of the following ways:

If PROMPTING:	If FILLING:	If FILLING as a TEAM GRANDSTAND participant:
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to, including Grandstand or Sports Teams Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Place the prompt's relationship in the first bolded line of the comment. Including the canon isn't required, but it's nice. Below that, place applicable major content tags (when applicable; otherwise write "no tags" or "none") Visual example	FILL: TEAM [YOUR SHIP], [RATING] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Replace RATING with the rating of your fill (G - E) Place applicable major content tags and word count before your fill (when applicable) NSFW FILLS: Please cross-link these fills and use clear tags in your comment. Written/text fills should be hosted at AO3 ONLY as a new, unchaptered work. Art/visual fills can be hosted anywhere. You may include a small safe-for-work preview of the fill in your comment. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" alt="DESCRIPTION OF YOUR IMAGE"/> Visual example	FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, [RATING] Replace RATING with the rating of your fill, G - E, as explained in the rules Place applicable major content tags and word count before the fill, where applicable NSFW FILLS: Please cross-link these fills and use clear tags in your comment. Written/text fills should be hosted at AO3 ONLY as a new, unchaptered work. Art/visual fills can be hosted anywhere. You may include a small safe-for-work preview of your work in your comment. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example

Posts not using this format will be understood to be unofficial discussion posts, regardless of what they contain. They, like all comments in this community, are subject to the code of conduct.

SCORING

These numbers apply to your team as a whole, not each individual teammate. Make as many prompts/fills as you want!

For prompts: 5 points each (maximum of 50 prompt points per team per round)

For fills:

First 3 fills by any member of your team: 20 points each
Fills 4-10: 10 points each
Fills 11-20: 5 points each
Fills 21+: 2 points each

All scored content must be created new for this round.

Etc.

If you're hunting through the prompts looking for what to fill, a good trick is to view top-level comments only.

Have a question? Check The FAQ first. If you still need help, feel free to contact the mods. Happy fanworking!

Comments

Fill: Team Furuya Satoru/Miyuki Kazuya, E

[kazuyaloveseijun]

words: 941
tags: sexual content, rough sex

Read on AO3

FILL: TEAM azumane asahi/nishinoya yuu, G

[onewiththestarcult]

Poem; 33 lines; Haikyuu
(sorry if this is a horrible poem, but here you go)

The rage
The fires are doused with snow
Regret
Loss

Last year
We tried so hard

Only the strong survive
That’s the way the world works

Waste of talent
You tell me

I say
Your words are a waste of breath

My talent bloomed
I fought till the end

We’re finished
We’re done
Our last
And our best

We take
Another step towards the future
Our future
Together

Like rocks we fight against the tide
Against all odds we will survive
This cold
It seeps
Into
Our
Bones

We tried
Our best
And that is the best
We can ask for

Re: FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G

[sotongsotong]

I am so very,very fond of this ;;;; the quiet yearning is palpable, and using a house as an imagery for their relationship is so apt too, because a house might look solid and grand at first glance but it'll have its own hidden nooks and corners as well.Also, that tiny leap of faith at the end!!! *is torn between lying down in pain, or standing up to Tiger-mom-cheer Hajime on lmao*

Thanks again!! All the fills I've gotten from u have so much thought put into em, I'm being spoilt ;;u;; ♡

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[redamaranth]

tags: slight nsfw: small mention of a wet dream
word count: 877

Isashiki Jun had a problem. It was a problem that had been festering since his first year at Seidou, though he always did his best at ignoring it. But over the last two years it had become so great a problem that ignoring it just wasn't cutting it anymore.

The problem? Captain of the Seidou baseball team, Yuki Tetsuya. It wasn't a problem of getting along or working well on the field. They were always in sync with each other and were the best of friends. This is where Jun's problem begins.

He'd always known, deep down, that his feelings for Tetsu were more than that of a good friend, more than a close friend. He could just never bring himself to admitting as much to himself. He'd brush off the butterflies in his stomach when his phone would buzz with a early morning text. Screen shining so bright in the darkness of his room he had to squint, the illuminated name Tetsu never failed to make him smile.

He tried to tell himself it was because he'd never had a friend like Tetsu before. He'd never been able to confide in or laugh with someone like Tetsu before. (he'd never had such a hard time keeping his eyes off someone) Tetsu, who was the most attentive listener Jun had ever encountered. He would talk Tetsu's ear off and Tetsu always remained engaged and fully immersed in the conversations. (this constantly made Jun feel guilty when he daydreamed during some of Tetsu's longer stories)

Tetsu who always remembered Jun's birthday and knew exactly what to get him. (that perfect smile on his face when Jun opened up his gift) From a distance he didn't seem like the type who would be a good gift giver, but Jun was convinced he was one of the best.

Tetsu had once stayed behind at Seidou during holiday break over Christmas and New Years when Jun's family plans fell through and he wasn't able to go home. They'd somehow gotten their hands on some alcohol and spent half their break buzzed, laughing late into the night. Their shoulders had bumped more than usual and Jun was positive they were both trying to get away with 'accidental' touches. Blaming it on the alcohol, of course. Jun is pretty sure that's when he lost control of his little Problem.

He knew he lost control of his Problem when he woke up one night, hair matted to his forehead with sweat and finding himself in need of a change of underwear. Racking his brain, it wasn't long before he remembered what exactly made his pants so sticky. (Tetsu's body on his, eyes dark, muscles tense and lips soft...) His face grew hotter as he made his way to the bathroom to clean up, embarrassed, but still strangely turned on.

As weeks rolled into months, he couldn't take the torment any longer. He needed to admit his feelings to someone other then himself. (and especially other than Tetsu) Then he would know if they were real or not. He thought if he said them aloud (or over text) to a trusted friend, the conflict in him would end and he would be free, one way or another.

That is the thought that drove him to opening his phone and sending a new text message to a fellow third year. A trusted friend and teammate. It was a risk, but one he knew was necessary. The red-hot ache for his captain had grown too strong and threatened to burn out of control.

[18:46:] Jun: yo ryousuke got a sec

[18:52] Ryou: depends

[18:52] Jun: its important

[18:54] Ryou: . . . .

[18:55] Jun: i keep having weird dreams. you know the kind right?

[18:55] Jun: and the dreams are about a . . . guy right. i can't stop thinking about him & i dont know wat it means

[18:57] Jun: everything about him is perfect & i just want to alwys be with him ya know? he's hott but theres more to it than that

[18:57] Ryou: so you're gay?

[19:04] Jun: I'm not really sure actually. until I fell in love with a boy (which was just a few weeks ago) I thought my attraction to men was purely physical

[19:05] Ryou: so you were gay...and then you realized you were EVEN MORE gay


Jun had to set his phone down and process what had just happened. Not only had he admitted to Ryousuke that he'd been attracted to men before, he admitted to being in love. He'd thrown in the part about it only being a few weeks because he was too terrified to admit it had been even longer.

Had he been wasting time by not allowing himself to admit that he loved Tetsu? Or even worse, now that he could clearly define his own feelings, would Tetsu return them? He thought back to those few nights over holiday break and he was certain Tetsu felt the same.

But there was only one way to find out for good. He needed to pour his feelings out into the open and confess to Tetsu as soon as the season ended.

[19:38] Jun: thx ryou i owe you

[19:44] Ryou: anytime lover boy


~ first time writing this pair (i adore them btw) so i hope you enjoyed !

Re: FILL: Team Aldini Takumi/Yukihira Souma,G

[sotongsotong]

BANGS INTO THE ROOM WITH ALL THE FIRE EMOJIS!! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH?? ALSO HOLY SHIT I GOT A FILL FROM U ((meeps,, hello!! i've been admiring ur works frm afar)) AND ITS KAGEKUNI!!! SPIRITED ROARING!!!!!

ok, breathes in. I super love the red accents in Kunimi's hair as well as the contrasting purple/indigo in Kageyama's, also how Kunimi's in such a soft white while Kageyama's dressed in dark, ALSO HOW OPPOSITE THE TWO DRESSES ARE TO EACH OTHER-- ok i may be reading in too much but screw it, I'm a sucker fr symbolism.

And they're such beautiful girls, my heart feels so full ;;; Thank you so much!!

Fill: Team Grandstand, T

[yusukesjeans]

Re: FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G

[shamelesscooper]

I AM YELLING THIS IS SO PERFECT OH MY GOD

Edit: I FORGOT TO SAY THANKYOU SO, DEFINITELY DEFINITELY THANK YOU ;3;
This is the cutest thing ever and I'm so delighted to see my prompt filled ;3;

PROMPT: team kominato ryousuke/kuramochi youichi

[kuramochi]

miyuki kazuya/yoh shunshin, daiya no ace
no tags

I hear the clockwork in your core
Time strips the gears till you forget what they were for
I push the numbers through your pores
I crack the codes, I crack the codes that end the war

— andrew bird, not a robot, but a ghost

FILL: TEAM CHIHAYAFURU, T

[psiten]

sexual innuendo, some profanity

Audio fill: song parody (click picture to listen on YouTube). And I feel like I should apologize for my throat being raw and stuff but my housemate says it sounds okay??? So. ENJOY!

Re: FILL: Team Aldini Takumi/Yukihira Souma,G

[nyatsuuuu]

fjlkdsajfkdslfjsd I'm glad you like it (/ n\) cause I really don't know what the heck I'm doing anymore ((and ahfkjsahfskjdfds Hi!?!? afkjsahfds I'm blushing))

It's a pajama party xxxxxx Also Kunimi is like one of the most beautiful characters in the entire series so I really hope I did him(her) justice

FILL: Team Kominato Ryousuke/Kuramochi Youichi, G

[sky_rose]

word count: 605
no tags

“Kenma,” Hinata whispers.

Kenma only realises Hinata is trying to get his attention when he nudges him. “Kenma!”

He sounds like he’s still trying to whisper, even though they’re alone in Hinata’s house and there’s no reason to keep it down other than the fact that it’s night time and they’re lying in the dark in Hinata’s room, making it atmospherically appropriate. Kenma removes his earphones. “Hm?”

“Power’s out,” Hinata says, still stage-whispering. His eyes are wide, and he’s snuggled up close enough for his eyes to sparkle in the light of Kenma’s phone. “The nightlight went off.”

Kenma blinks, and realises that he’s right – the sun-shaped lamp by the bed is no longer glowing and they’re sitting in complete darkness. Outside he can hear the pattering of rain, and a low rumble of thunder echoes in the heavens overhead. He supposes the storm must’ve cut power for the neighbourhood, but these things generally didn’t take long to fix.

“So it is,” he agreed. Hinata sits up next to him. Kenma had thought he was asleep until he’d nudged him – before he’d been curled up silently against Kenma’s side.

“Kenma, are you scared of the dark?” he asks.

“Not really,” Kenma says, but Hinata is already up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and swiftly exiting the room. He watches him go, somewhat confused, but this behaviour is normal for Hinata, dashing off somewhere with no explanation. He’s grown surprisingly used to it over the past few months.

Kenma isn’t scared of the dark – on the contrary, he rather likes it. He tends to turn out the lights and get into bed with his phone or his 3DS before actually intending to sleep – just relaxing in the quiet atmosphere. Kuroo has made multiple jokes about him being nocturnal or hissing at sunlight, usually followed by a glare.

Soft footsteps mean Hinata is returning, and in a few moments he’s by Kenma’s side, kneeling down by the bedside table and carefully placing a softly glowing candle on the wooden surface. His tongue peeks out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrates on setting the light down without knocking it, and then he turns to Kenma and grins. Coupled with the warm candlelight flickering on his cheeks, the sight makes Kenma’s heart do a little flip.

“That’s what people do when the power goes out, right?” Hinata asks excitedly. “They use candles for light instead. I dunno where the others are, but one is fine for now, right?”

You’re more than enough, Kenma thinks. He nods, feeling his lips curve into a small smile. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Great! Hey, scoot over.” Hinata climbs back into the bed, pressing close to Kenma, who reaches over his shoulders and carefully pushes the candle a little further away from the bed as a precaution – he knows how much Hinata can move during his sleep and doesn’t want to risk the house going up in flames.

Hinata snuggles down into the blankets, and Kenma figures this would be a good time to turn off his phone. When he does they’re left with only the orange glow of the candle, and the soft chatter of Hinata under the covers – talkative even when about to sleep.

“I thought we should have some light in case one of us needs the bathroom, or something,” he says, yawning. Kenma squeezes his hand. “You should sleep.”

“So should you.”

“We should sleep.”

“That’s fair.”

They fall silent. Unsurprisingly Hinata starts mumbling again not long after, and Kenma just links their fingers and listens until the two of them finally fall asleep.

FILL: TEAM FURUYA SATORU/MIYUKI KAZUYA, E

[tsunderekita]

tags: NSFW, oviposition, threesome
words: 579

Goddammit Mels

Re: Fill: Team Grandstand, T

[elucidatedlucy]

THE JAMSSSSSSSSSSSSS
THE ABSOLUTE KICKIN' KILLER JAMS I'M ROLLING IN THIS RIGHT NOW I LOVE IT

komakoga is my tiny soft ship for komari and im really
weirdly fond of
allowed closeness, especially in situations of people thrown to the worst and i love the imagery and the sensibilities here between them. the body language being so intimate, but distant and awkward, due to how komari parses people and bodies - koga's own removed nature and self, even if he can't look away and watches komari's hands. it's just really. strangely terribly nice, as an image, as a tone.

i especially didn't expect this ship with /this/ prompt to get filled, despite how much i Adore the imagery of those lines, so i'm incredibly happy, i'm so glad to see this!!!

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G

[tripsh]

no tags
poetry, 31 lines

our first meeting,
the beginning of our whole lives together
was like opening a door.
a start to something irreplaceable.

we grew to know each other, then
friends to best friends
childhood days and bright summers
shared interests and matching smiles.

as we grew up,
taller and stronger (and a little wiser)
we stayed close,
but still grew closer.

separate space blurred
into one.
and we wouldn't change
any of it.

i knew you as a child, as a first best friend.
i know you as a partner, a constant in my life.

and now,
as you stand at a train station
ready,
separate schools and separate paths we'll take.

i still know you
(better than anyone else.)
i still love you
(more than i do anyone.)

and when we reunite again,
after this short journey apart.
i'll still know you like i do now:
as my best friend and partner.

irreplaceable.

FILL: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI, G

[dynamite]

trio, graphics fill
no tags

kageyama = dynamite
kunimi & kindaichi = chiharu

FILL: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI, G

[dynamite]

kiyoyachi, graphics fill
no tags

kiyoko = dynamite
yachi = chiharu

What does forever mean....?

Re: FILL: TEAM CHIHAYAFURU, G

[winterstuck]

this is so cute! i love that karupin thinks that it's ryoma (ryoma probably attempted to teach karupin to fetch w/ tennis balls once upon a time lol)

i approve of kaidou's plan 100%, thank you so much for this <3

FILL: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G

[catlarks]

tags: none
Word Count: 1,145

Here, take it, a first meeting in some kind of nebulous business AU.

-

It is 6:53 in the morning.

On a train platform several stops outside Tokyo, morning has already dawned clear and bright. The station is crowded with bodies waiting for the express train that will take them into the city, bodies in suits or skirts and with their heads ducked down, many of them staring at the screen of a phone held in their hand. Most are standing. One man sits alone toward one side of the platform. He's reading a newspaper.

Miyuki Kazuya weaves his way through the crowd, pushing out into the thin breath of space surrounding the bench and its occupant. The seat beside the man is empty; Miyuki drops himself onto the bench and takes it.

He cranes his neck, peering over the man's shoulder with no attempt at subtlety. The newspaper is held open to the business section; Miyuki skims half a headline, then rolls his eyes.

"Business news is always the same," he says, "don't you think?"

For a moment there's no response from his seatmate, nothing save the slow motion of his eyes moving back and forth, back and forth, scanning down the page as he reads. But then the eyes lift, pinning Miyuki with their steady, amber gaze.

"I read it for the nuances," the man says.

Of course Takigawa Chris Yuu would say something like that. Two out of the three articles on the page are about him — or they are when a body knows how to read between the lines. His company is doing well. Miyuki had read that in the news himself, gulped down along with his breakfast in isolated bites, bits and pieces he gets from the internet. Miyuki prefers to read his news online; it's more dynamic, less stuck in the past. But someone like Takigawa, head of a company in the fortune 500, someone like that would like the trappings of news, the paper, the ink, the newsprint. Someone like that appreciates something he can hold.

Miyuki also appreciates things he can hold in his hands, concrete and substantive and real. He likes them to be things more weighty than newspapers.

"Flip to the sports section," Miyuki suggests. "I'd like to know how the Giants did in their last game."

When Chris turns the page, Miyuki is forced to hide the surprise that threatens to blossom across his face. He wasn't expecting his demand to be catered to; he was asking simply to hear the refusal, to navigate the conversation he's initiating through the negatives, as if in silhouette. Chris allows him no such chance.

"Not well," Chris says. "They lost, by four runs."

"Did they," Miyuki says. It isn't quite a question.

Chris' eyes lift again, looking at Miyuki from over top of his paper. Miyuki stares back, stares into the face of one of the most important men in their country — when it comes to matters of finance — and weighs what he sees. If he hadn't recognized Chris from those photos on the internet, from the news articles he's been chewing through and digesting for weeks, he never would have known Chris was anything more than the typical salaryman, headed into Tokyo on his morning commute.

The moment passes, and Chris looks down at the paper in his hands. "They bit off more than they could chew, from the sound of it," he says. "They played well in the early game, and took whatever opportunities were there to score. But their defense fell apart in the sixth inning. And in the eighth, that was when they made their game-ending mistake."

The way Chris says that, mistake, gives Miyuki a moment of pause. He's walking a similar line to the one between victory and loss, toeing the division between what's believable as a chance meeting, and what's giving himself away. Chris doesn't usually take the train into the city. Miyuki knows this, because someone close to Chris knows this. But today, today Chris did. Today, Miyuki was here to meet him.

"You wear it well," Miyuki says. His hand waves at Chris, a loose gesture that takes in all of him, from the slicked-back hair to the smart cut of his suit to the particular lines and angles of his face. "Being a millionaire, I mean."

The pause that draws out then is a lengthy one, heavy with a discomfort that wasn't present before.

"You say 'millionaire' so that it sounds like a dirty word," Chris finally says. "But not, I would hazard, as if you begrudge me for it."

"Of course not," Miyuki says. "I would never begrudge a man the wealth that he's earned."

He sticks out his hand, presenting it to Chris for a shake. Chris stares at it a moment, as if he's the one weighing some line he hasn't yet decided whether or not to cross. Then he takes it, fingers closing around Miyuki's and giving a firm squeeze.

"Miyuki Kazuya," he says, by way of introduction. "Entrepreneur."

"Are you about to make me a business proposition?" Chris asks. He doesn't offer his name in return; he doesn't need to. They are both well aware Miyuki knows who he is.

"Nah," Miyuki says. He crosses his arms behind his head, leans back against the bench. "Just wanted to introduce myself."

"And ask about the baseball scores?"

"And pay you a compliment! The suit looks good on you. Very befitting of someone in your position."

"Have you ever paid someone a compliment that wasn't a backhanded insult?" Chris asks. "I suspect I felt the sting in that one firsthand."

"Not if I can help it," Miyuki says. He's grinning, just a little bit. For an uptight businessman with piles of money, Chris has a better sense of humor than he'd thought to expect. It's buried, beneath the corporate business image. But it's there, under the surface like a heartbeat thrumming beneath the skin.

Chris is looking at him again, that appraising, weighing stare like he's wondering whether Miyuki really only spoke to him to ask about the baseball scores, to introduce himself, to insert himself into Chris' field of vision without asking for anything more. He's thinking it, that much Miyuki is sure of. But he never asks the question.

"I think your train is here," Miyuki says, as other people begin milling around the platform, moving restlessly in anticipation of the train pulling into the station.

"My train?" Chris asks. "But not yours?"

"Nah," Miyuki says, continuing to lean back against the bench, continuing to look over at Chris even as he stands and Miyuki must tip his head back. "I'm not going to Tokyo."

He can feel the weight of Chris' gaze pressing down on him, heavy with a new question he won't have time to ask. The doors of the train swish open behind Chris, and Miyuki gives him a little wave.

"It has been interesting to meet you, Miyuki Kazuya," Chris says. "I won't be surprised if we meet again."

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G

[tripsh]

no tags
poetry, 24 lines

it's dark.
a lonely path to greatness
there're no second chances,
no restarts.

not here.
not now.

we have to make everything count
i have to make this count.

no, you say,
firm grip on my shirt,
yanking me back to reality
again.

you're not alone, you remind me,
you're enough.
you have all of us behind you,
ready to fight with you.

then, now, always, you pull me out
whenever i'm lost
whenever i think i can't be found.
there you are.

you light up the way,
when you say my name
and i know, with you by my side
i have nothing to be afraid of anymore.

Re: FILL: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI, G

[onewiththestarcult]

Yeeesssss omg <3

FILL: Team Miyuki Kazuya/Narumiya Mei, G

[windflicker]

sci-fi au
1585 words, ao3

“Today’s the day,” Mei says with a smile, grabbing Kazuya’s hand and pulling him toward the edge of the universe.

Not that either of them had ever thought of it that way, not really. Not since the days when Kazuya questioned everything that came out of a teacher’s mouth, when Mei stomped his way to the head of the playground, all its synthetic steel and fiberglass encased delicately, delicately inside a cocoon, and always believed he would be chosen, that they would be chosen. There had never been any doubt about the they in Mei’s imagination.

They race past the plants in their membranes, different shapes and sizes like bubbles flowing their way up and slowly spooling their way apart. Plants that will never breathe real air, not the way that they will. Mei’s hand drifts apart from Kazuya’s, as if lamenting a lost gravity of its own.

“Watch where you’re going, Mei-chan,” one of the gardeners calls out. Mei giggles, burbles something back to her in his falsetto, the one Kazuya knows he uses with adults when he wants to get away with his round cheeks, his bluebell eyes, and doesn’t mean a word he says.

No one will tell them to watch out for anything ever again, when they’re free and out there, Released, the chosen ones. Kazuya’s not really as excited about it as Mei, if he’s honest, but he’d be lying if there wasn’t a part inside him that sharpened and unfolded at the call, metal plating that yearned to test its mettle against the wide black world of the Open.

“It’s funny that you’re the responsible one out of the two of you, Kazuya-kun,” the teachers always joked. Kazuya had to agree, biting his cheek; there was a certain irony to it, when he knew, despite his scores in everything, that he had the makings of a practical joker inside him.

“Come on! I wanna get one more look at it before we go,” Mei chatters excitedly, one corner of his uniform coming untucked. Kazuya’s eye flicks toward the patch of pale skin there, before rejoining the particular slope of Mei’s nose, the curve of his smile.

Kazuya quirks an eyebrow at him. “Why? We’ll be in it.”

“That’s exactly why! Beauty from a distance and all—ugh, did you even pay attention in literature class, Kazuya?”

“Did you?” Kazuya snorts, but he follows along anyway, because Mei’s in too good a mood to take any bait he dangles in front of him.

They navigate their way through the corridors, steel weaving a vaguely hexagonal web around them that they’ve traversed countless times since birth, and then together since they met in the training arena. Finally, the viewing deck is to the right, up a set of stairs that rattle beneath their running feet.

The Open lies beyond a window, wrapping around the entire deck so that all around them, all they can see is black with the little pinpoints of stars. It’s a short journey, the teachers tell them, a snooze and cruise in the pod and then they’ll be there. The new planet. The hope for the future generations, and them as two of its pioneers. It’s hard to feel awe at the magnitude of it all, hard to take it in, but Mei is talking, voice rapid-fire in his ear.

“I can’t wait to feel the ground beneath my feet. And grass—I think I’ll like grass, grass that’s everywhere, not just in the arboretums. We could run around, and play games on it, and—hey, Kazuya, we could even invent new games ourselves! Let’s do that.” Mei turns toward him, beaming. “What about you? What are you excited for?”

Kazuya thinks for a moment, eyes sliding toward the glass, the darkness beyond it. There’s all the sheer space to explore, of course, and the unknowns, and screened thinly behind them the why and how that he’ll reach forward and peel back with his own fingers.

But, “I’m excited,” he says after a moment, “to see the Sun.”

They’ve learned about the Sun, of course, with its entourage of planets, and now they’ll be able to see it from the ground. It’s always dark here on the station, of course, but secretly, peering at Mei from the side when he’s chewing a pencil in frustration or just talking, eyes aglow, Kazuya imagines it would look something like Mei, who shines brighter than the electricity that lights their surroundings anywhere inside the station. Mei could probably have an entourage, he thinks, but mostly he just hangs around Kazuya. Then again, Mei says the same about him sometimes.

“Me too,” Mei agrees, making a face. “I’m always cold.”

But your skin is warm, Kazuya doesn’t say, a tidbit of knowledge he gleaned one time when they were hiding in the art room long after they were supposed to go back to their chambers, pressed against each other behind the desk when one of the cleaners came.

“Can you imagine?” Mei asks, and now he’s looking at him, eyes so bright and piercing they look a little quizzical. “There’ll be so many firsts.”

Kazuya grins.

“Yeah, like the first time I step on solid ground before you.”

“Wha—! Shut up, don’t you dare! I’m gonna be the first, me!”

“Haha, sorry. You should’ve called dibs.”

“It’s not fair! That doesn’t count!”

“A law is a law is a law,” Kazuya teases, watches Mei turn red like Betelgeuse.

“I’ll fight you for it.”

“Mm, try me.”

“I will.”

Kazuya recognizes that determination. He smiles, nice and easy, not even knowing whether or not he’s telling the truth about taking that from Mei, just knows that he’d like to see him try, like to see him get worked up over it so he can watch. Probably not; lying’s always come easy to him. Not Mei, though. It’s the same determination he had shown when Kazuya had at first considered staying at the station, becoming a teacher or maybe an official and rising through the ranks.

You know we were meant for this, it said, and Kazuya couldn’t bring himself to disagree.

A pause stretches between them, both of them facing forward again. Kazuya can feel rather than see Mei’s eyes dart toward him, licking toward the corners. He can feel it on the side of his neck, the warmth that settles in his belly like a simmering, a stewing, between anticipation and knowledge.

“There’s something else I’ve wanted to do,” Mei says, “for the first time.”

His voice has quieted, slower and deeper than its usual chirp, like the way it did when he first got his voice change. But Kazuya’s known far longer than that how serious Mei can be, just like he’s probably known for longer than he would care to admit what’s going to happen next.

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“Don’t talk,” Mei warns him, because Mei has to have the last word, and reaches forward to cup his cheek.

It’s almost laughably predictable, and so Mei, that he had saved it for this moment, the last day before their Release. Kazuya has to bite back a smile as their lips meet, soft as the petals he’s seen in the arboretum in their glass shells. He’s never touched a plant; maybe he will soon, and he can answer for himself whether it’s anything like this, like Mei’s fingers spidering on his cheek, soft and insistent at once. He has to bite back a noise in his throat when he feels a tongue pressing against his lips, opening his mouth instinctively in response, tangling himself in the gentle push and pull. He feels a shiver go through him at the wet sound it makes when Mei pulls back.

“Wow,” Kazuya says with a smirk. “I think you covered several firsts right there.”

“Shut up,” Mei says, holding the back of his hand to his blushing face. He’s a little breathless, and it occurs to Kazuya that however long he’s been waiting, Mei’s probably been waiting longer.

He turns forward again, realizing for the first time how new the territory they’re embarking on is, how fresh. “Well, there’s no need to rush. Plenty of time for that later, right?”

He can’t resist the urge to fling a smile over his shoulder, maybe more teasing than it needs to be. But since Kazuya is, in fact, the responsible one between them, he adds in a serious voice of his own,

“Remember, though, it’s not just fun and games out there. It’s really just us. No teachers or officials or anyone to help us out if we need it. We’re on our own.”

He hears Mei sigh as he drops his arm to his side. “Yeah, yeah, don’t be dramatic. We’ll have each other, right?”

“I’m not. We have to make it out there ourselves, Mei.”

He feels an arm settle around his shoulders, and can’t help twisting in surprise. Mei’s face is right next to his own, equal measures of petulance and hesitation cinching his mouth, a leftover flush still coloring his cheeks. From this angle, his hair is a halation bright and golden around his face, and it occurs to Kazuya that this is their send-off, their goodbye.

It’s all too easy to turn his head and open his mouth against Mei’s, barely a stretch between them. “We’ve always had ourselves,” Mei murmurs against him, and Kazuya’s left teetering on the edge of this, a last dance and a first.

PROMPT: Team Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

[underscored]

Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
no tags

"When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."

FILL: Team Chihayafuru, T

[outstretched]

no major tags. additional warnings for internalized homophobia, broken relationship, alcohol use, angst, lapslock
~400 words

(sorry I had to repost for formatting issues)



iwachan, he says, and his voice is slurred.

oikawa clears his throat into the phone, a sharp burst of noise, before trying again. his tongue works around the syllables, distinct and clear this time, the effort obvious. i-wa-chan.

what is it, iwaizumi answers.

not hello, not oh, it's you. it's the same way iwaizumi has answered him for years, since they became teenagers and oikawa learned how to lie, since volleyball stopped being a pastime and started being the only method of communication they had left.

i'm sorry, oikawa says. his voice is faint on the other end of the line. there's rustling noise behind him somewhere. i've been meaning to call you for years.

iwaizumi remains silent, waiting.

you always knew, didn't you? oikawa says. you always knew that i liked men.

iwaizumi doesn't answer for another beat. then he snorts softly, a little puff of air, and says,

of course.

the end of the sentence feels empty. there should be something after it—idiot, stupid—some endearment. iwaizumi lets the sentence hang.

iwaizumi was always observant when it came to oikawa. he started looking at girls and oikawa started looking at boys. he started looking at girls and oikawa started looking at him. oikawa never said anything, just bit his tongue or his lips or his fingers sometimes when he thought iwaizumi wasn't looking, a coping mechanism, a nervous tic. iwaizumi should have called him on it, but he didn't. part of him never forgave himself for that. a larger part of him was angry at oikawa, always, for not trusting him with this essential fact when he had once trusted iwaizumi with everything.

it wasn't the reason they stopped talking but it was a turning point, bricked up inside the foundation of every argument.

but still, iwaizumi asked him what is it, not who is this. he is still waiting for the answer.

how are you doing? iwaizumi asks.

oikawa's answering laugh is a soft tired bark. you're kind, iwachan, he says. iwa-chan. i miss you.

you shouldn't call again, iwaizumi says, but his voice is gentler. it's a tone that would slip out of him whenever oikawa was on the verge of crying. he shouldn't use it.

it's a bad habit. he's always had a problem unlearning those.

i miss you, oikawa repeats, louder. perhaps he's spurred on by iwaizumi's tone. perhaps it's the alcohol. perhaps oikawa, even ten years later, does not cope well with the prospect of permanent defeat.

we were both terrible, he says. can we just be friends again?

iwaizumi closes his eyes. he can't talk about the first half of his life without mentioning oikawa. he can't be proud of the person he's become without acknowledging oikawa's presence. oikawa is a fact of his life, a love of his life.

oikawa is also a past tense. some things cannot be mended.

no, iwaizumi says, do not call me again, and he hangs up the phone.

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G

[tripsh]

no tags
poetry, 30 lines

i miss you.
i miss you so damn much.
miles of distance stretches between us
i wish i could reach out and touch you, hold you.

before,
before i could.
we lived in each other's spaces for so long
saw the same sights, experienced the same things.

we grew together,
roots intertwined, side by side.

now,
now we're still intertwined,
despite the physical distance between us,
we are.

and one day,
one day i know we'll reunite,
side by side,
again.

no matter how far apart we are,
i know we'll be back together again.
for good,
one day.

but for now,
for now i'll accept short bursts of gratification.
quick texts and low quality pics from your phone.
phone calls we carry for so long we fall asleep to each other's voices.

one day,
one day our hearts
will meet again, will grow into one.
jagged pieces fitting together, whole again.

Re: FILL: Team Chihayafuru, T

[outstretched]

listen I warned you okay, and you decided to read it anyway, why did you read it anyway :(