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“Ehh?? What kind of shitty training camp doesn’t even have enough beds for all of us?”
Ibuki blurted out as they all entered the supposed boardhouse of said training camp. Luckily, Shindou wasn’t present to punish him for his language. In perhaps the most awkward layout ever, there were 5 double beds spread out across the large room, the decor of which seeming oddly… blue. Too blue. Nozaki and Morimura looked worriedly between each other at the situation - it was already quite late when they had arrived, and nothing seemed better than a nice bed to rest in.
Tsurugi let out a quiet chuckle at Ibuki’s reaction, earning him a quick glare, and Tenma took it upon himself to try and defuse the situation before a fight broke out (which was a very likely possibility regarding their hot-headed goalkeeper). But before he could get a word out, Aoi appeared suddenly in the doorway behind the team, beckoning all of their attention toward her with the uttering of one phrase:
“This is the boys’ room!”
A wave of confusion washed over them before Nozaki and Morimura lit up, as that obviously implied that there was a girls’ room in addition. Well, that would probably explain the other door right across the hallway. Shoving past Aoi, Nozaki uttered a profound ‘oh thank god’ and pushed the other door open, revealing a similarly shittily designed room, albeit furnished in pastel pink. That solved one issue.
The other issue still present was the distinct fact that there were still not enough beds for the boys to sleep in one each. With the girls claiming beds for themselves across the hall, Ibuki gently placed his face in his palms and sunk to the floor, letting out a small whine as he did so. In contrast, Tenma smiled gleefully, which meant there was a 50% chance of a decent idea leaving his mouth. Or a horrible one.
“Everyone! We can just share the beds between us!”
Matatagi mimicked Ibuki’s prior actions, joining him on the floor.
“If there’s 5 beds, then…” he slowly trailed off in order to do the math before Manabe interrupted him, pushing up his glasses as he began speaking. “One of us would be able to sleep by themselves, and the rest of us would have to share.”
“Y-yeah, that… so... who should get one to themself?”
Everyone eyed each other warily, trying their best to ignore Ibuki and Matatagi having breakdowns on the floor. Just before any arguing could slip out, Kusaka raised his hand and simply said, “I think I’m too big to share a bed properly with anyone, so, um…”
Ibuki straightened up remarkably quickly, taking Matatagi by the shoulders and staring straight into his eyes. “Matatagi. You have to sleep with me. I don’t think I could handle being near Shindou for longer than 5 minutes, and everyone else is already pairing up.”
Ignoring how that demand was phrased, Matatagi looked around for confirmation, and yes, two other pairs had already been formed: Tenma was talking animatedly to Tsurugi, as per usual, whereas Manabe and Minaho were already seated on a bed together, having a somewhat civil discussion about nerd shit, probably. Tetsukado was leaning against a wall, and Shindou was mysteriously absent.
“Fine. But you owe me for this, Ibuki.”
The goalkeeper clicked his tongue but promptly agreed. He knew how Matatagi was about favours, and it was unlikely that he would ever forget about it. God knows what random bullshit Matatagi would have him do, but… it was probably better than whatever torture Shindou would put him through tonight. Probably. He sighed in relief, and collapsed forward onto the closest bed.
-----
As time dragged on and conversation died down, everyone began getting ready to sleep. Matatagi already laid down with the covers pooled at his feet, wearing a threadbare t-shirt and whatever random pair of shorts he had shoved in his bag before they left for this god-forsaken place. He felt the bed dip and he shifted his gaze to the side, eyeing Ibuki. But then he saw. And he spluttered.
“Dude, go put some fucking clothes on! You are not sleeping in here wearing just… just… that.”
And Ibuki had the gall to look offended. Like Matatagi was stopping him from doing something nice. He was clad in just his underwear, which let Matatagi see a lot more of Ibuki’s body than he wanted to.
“Hey, I’m doing extra for you, okay?! I normally sleep buck naked but I’m pretty sure you don’t wanna be subjected to that all night.”
“B-but..!”
And as if to silence him, Ibuki pulled the sheets over the both of them, effectively ending the discussion. Matatagi pouted uncharacteristically, then sighed and at least tried to make himself comfortable.
“If you touch me even once, I’m shoving you out of here.”
Ibuki grunted in affirmation. He was probably more tired than he let on given how easily he let the argument slip, and for that, Matatagi was glad. It wasn’t long before they both drifted off into sleep, with a sliver of empty space separating them…
-----
Warmth. That was what he was feeling right now. Not an overbearing warmth, or a slightly-too-hot warmth, but one of comfort, and of familiarity. Matatagi felt secure right now, and was reluctant to open his eyes, even as the early morning sunlight filtered through the curtains and urged him to wake up. He was curious as to where this extra warmth was coming from, though. There was a weight surrounding him, and it reminded him of when he would sleep at home, with his younger brothers flanking him at each side... so he decided against waking up. This was a feeling he wouldn’t give up voluntarily.
-----
The sound of a camera click stirred Ibuki awake. He blearily opened his eyes. He had no idea what time it was, or where he was, or why his arms were securely wrapped around Matatagi. He tried to locate the source of the noise, only to see Tsurugi pocketing his phone, directing him a smug grin. Tenma looked vaguely worriedly between the two, sitting on the neighbouring bed. Ibuki didn’t think he could formulate a proper sentence right now, but he didn’t need to. A couple words would do the trick.
“Fuck you Tsurugi… delete...that…” and he trailed off into a yawn, which seemed to rouse the other player within his grasp.
“No.” And then he had the fucking audacity to laugh at his feeble threat. Fuck you, Tsurugi. Tenma thought it was best to try and intervene, evidently, as he got between Tsurugi and the bed, and faced the two drowsy boys.
“I’ll try to get him to delete that picture, but first, uh… I think you two should start getting ready really soon. Everyone else is already awake and we have morning practice to do. Shindou spent all night scouting out the equipment here so I think you should repay his hard work with um… you know… actually being there…”
Without waiting for a response, Tenma began ushering Tsurugi toward the door, leaving them to get up and. Y’know. Function.
At this point, Matatagi had fully awoken. As soon as the door clicked shut, he frantically escaped the other’s grasp, his cheeks heating up to a very visible level. It was still very apparent that Ibuki was only wearing his underwear. On some level he knew it wasn’t that weird, considering how they changed for practice in the same room twice every day, but… This was different. And weird. God, why hadn’t Ibuki said anything yet?! He quickly planted his face in his hands. Ibuki laughed.
“Looks like your shoving plan didn’t pan out then, huh?”
“I hate you.”
Ibuki laughed again. Asshole. And then Ibuki hugged him again. He felt the warmth slowly return. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.