Fuck.
Yuken is fucked.
It is a sunny day, perfect to go out with friends, go fishing and buy ice cream. Walk around town and chat until dusk arrives. Maybe punch some random delinquents that follow and rile him up because he wears his Housen, reputable, uniform everywhere.
Well, there aren't any punks around trying to fight him. The busy yet familiar sound of the town's life becomes a calming background noise. Everything is well, just how it is supposed to be.
Yet, he feels like everything around him is crashing down. A not so familiar feeling in his stomach that he can only describe as similar to getting kicked by Todoroki appears out of nowhere. He can feel his heartbeat going haywire, as if he is in the middle of a battlefield.
He knows he is fucked.
This is the first time that Yuken ever regrets winning a bet.
The bet started with a conversation about their respective leaders’ relationship with one another.
“Fujio is not my leader.”
“Yeah whatever.” Yuken waved his hand to dismiss Todoroki’s displeased statement. He threw a can of soda to Todoroki who almost missed it. They were sitting at a park near their usual fishing spot, just done fishing and not quite ready to go home just yet. “Point is I’m starting to get tired of hearing his name from Sachio’s mouth. They can’t be this oblivious, right?”
“If they start dating won’t Sachio-san mention him even more?” Yuken moved his hands wildly to express his annoyance. Todoroki chuckled, “Fujio barely has any brain cells working in his head. Between those two aren’t Sachio-san the smart one?” He opened the can and lifted it to his mouth, then grimaced as the flavor hit his tongue. “How the hell do you drink this stuff?”
“If you don’t like it then give it back to me, you ungrateful bastard.” Yuken tried to grab the can from his hand, but Todoroki moved it away before he could touch it. “I don’t think Sachio’s brain works with shits about love, though. He doesn’t seem to realize how often he mentions Fujio everytime I ask about his day.” Yuken opened his own can of soda. “He always keeps his thoughts to himself.”
“Are you certain that they like each other romantically?”
“A hundred percent. Well, at least I know Sachio does. How ‘bout Fujio?”
“He’s a social butterfly, he likes everyone.” Todoroki received a barked laugh and a muttered agreement. "Well, I did hear from Shibaman that Sachio-san visits Oya often just to see him, which he always welcomes with open arms." Todoroki chuckled, “Though if he does have a crush on Sachio-san, with how much he opens his mouth, Fujio would probably confess without meaning to."
“That’s only if he realizes his own feeling first.” Yuken changed his position to sitting cross-legged on the bench. "Sachio can be upfront if he really wants to, though." An idea (which at that time he thought was a great idea, how silly of him) popped into his mind. "Wanna bet on it? See who will confess first?"
Todoroki rolled his eyes. “If they are as oblivious as you said, this bet will last for eternity. It would be useless.”
Yuken sensed Todoroki’s refusal, so he did what he knew best, provocation. With the nicest (teasing) smile he could show he said, “If you’re scared of losing you can just say that, Doroki-chan.”
One eyebrow raised and Yuken knew the bait was bitten.
Todoroki sighed, “As I said before, Fujio would confess on accident. Two thousand yen on him.”
Yuken pouted, “Aww, we’re betting on money? Let’s spice it up, bet on something else.”
Todoroki clicked his tongue. "You're the one who came up with this. What do you want then?"
Yuken hummed, eyes roaming around while looking for inspiration for the bet. "I can't think of anything right now. Let's just bet on a favor, the winner gets to force the other to do one thing."
Todoroki was quiet for a moment to consider the suggestion. "Sure, I'm still betting on Fujio’s loudmouth." Todoroki offered his hand.
Yuken took his hand. "Deal."
Surprisingly, the bet ended only a little over a week after they started. Apparently Yui was fed up with how oblivious her brother was of his own (obvious to everyone else) crush. She confided about this to Sawamura and managed to convince him to talk some sense to Sachio. The conversation led to Sachio confessing to Fujio (in the temple where they first met, how romantic of him) and Fujio immediately bragging about his new boyfriend to everyone in Oya High the very next day.
Immediately after the news reached Yuken, he called Todoroki to meet him at the park where they made their deal. As soon as he spotted Todoroki entering the park, Yuken saw the dejected look that painted Todoroki’s face and laughed out loud.
Todoroki sat beside him and threw his head back. “Yeah yeah, congratulations. Now what do you want me to do?”
Yuken hummed, resting his head on his hand and tapping his chin. “I haven’t thought about it at all actually.” To be honest, even though he suggested the bet, he wasn’t expecting to win at all, or at least not win this soon. Having someone else intervene to make either of them confess was not a factor that crossed his mind.
Yuken turned his head to look at the man beside him. Todoroki still wore an annoyed look on his face, arms crossed on his chest and feet tapping the ground repeatedly. He was wearing the Oya High uniform with his usual middle part hairstyle, proper and neat as usual.
The idea (that he thought was) so brilliant crossed Yuken’s mind. A smirk appeared on his face and he snapped his finger. “Dye your hair blond.”
Todoroki turned his head to look at him and shouted, “Ha? Absolutely not.”
Yuken groaned, “C’mon, you are a delinquent for fuck sake. You punch and kick people everyday yet you draw the line at bleaching your hair?”
“I don’t want to ruin my hair! What if they disintegrated because of it?!”
“That one underling of yours changes hair color like weekly yet his hair still looks great. Just ask him how to take care of it.”
“Why would you even want to see me blond?”
“Because I’m curious! And maybe I want to ridicule you a lil bit. Also, it’s my win. So you have to obey me.” The groan coming from Todoroki made Yuken’s smile widened.
“... Fine I’ll do it.” Yuken threw his fist in the air in victory while Todoroki ran his hand through his hair in frustration.
“Want me to help you bleach it?”
“Absolutely not, I’ll do it myself.”
“Aw, are you gonna surprise me?”
“Shut the hell up.”
Yuken laughed, tears in his eyes. “Fine, let’s meet again in three days okay, Doroki-chan?”
“Again, shut the hell up.” Todoroki stood up and left him.
Yuken chuckled, “See ya.” Todoroki waved his hand without looking back.
Now, Yuken is once again waiting for Todoroki in the same park, on the same bench. He can’t help but be excited to see the result.
Okay, he did say that he is trying to ridicule Todoroki, but he is genuinely curious. Todoroki is, objectively, and only objectively , attractive. If he wears his frown less, Yuken bet he will be more popular with girls. Or boys, Yuken won’t judge. And maybe if he kicks less people too. And if he doesn’t carry Oya High’s violent reputation with him which makes (non-delinquent) people avoid talking to him. And if people see his smiles and laughs that Yuken sees occasionally when he catches a fish during their joint fishing session. Or when some of Yuken’s sarcastic retorts hit his dry sense of humor just right.
Fine, Yuken admits maybe he sees Todoroki’s attractiveness in a not-so-purely objective way. Maybe he enjoys the fights they share, either the ones where they fight against or beside each other. Maybe he cherishes the joint fishing sessions that start as a coincidence then slowly turn into a routine of them. Maybe he keeps riling him up to see what kinds or petty remarks he will get in return. Maybe he continues to send Todoroki pointless internet memes just to see what kind of annoyed replies he would send. Maybe he keeps replaying those moments that they spend together before he sleeps. Maybe those moments get replayed in his dreams at night.
Maybe Yuken has a tiny crush on Todoroki. Sue him.
Yuken has no problem acknowledging his own feelings. He notices from a long time ago that he prefers boys over girls and he never has a hard time accepting that fact. The problem comes with the uncertainty of having his crush reciprocated. From their conversation about Sachio and Fujio it’s clear that Todoroki, at the very least, has no problem with being friends with gay people. But being an ally and actually being queer is a completely different thing. Their conversations never stray to the topics of sexuality or relationships. Yuken never asks about relationship history and Todoroki never shares any stories either.
For now, Yuken is satisfied with being his friend. If it turns out that being friends is all they will ever be, Yuken will learn to live with it.
Crush crisis aside, Yuken has been sitting in the same spot for almost half an hour. Todoroki isn’t usually this late. He would be worried if he doesn’t know (and experienced first hand) how strong Todoroki is, so he lets his head fall and continues with his daydream.
Sounds of someone rushing reach his ears. Yuken lifted his head to see a now-blond man running towards him.
Holy shit.
Todoroki is out of breath and his newly bleached hair disheveled from running. He mutters, still breathing hard, “Sorry I’m late, some fuckers tried to ambush me for no fucking reason. I beat them up pretty easily though.”
Yuken is stunned. He completely ignores whatever Todoroki is saying. His eyes are fixed on Todoroki’s head, going back and forth between his hair and face.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Yuken is so fucked!
Isn’t he supposed to look ridiculous? With piss-like colored hair?
Why does he look so good?
Yuken said nothing. Todoroki rubs his neck awkwardly due to the lack of response and Yuken’s intense glare. “Is it okay? I asked Tsuji to help me because I don’t know what to do. If it looks bad I swear I will punch him.” He runs his hand through his hair, and Yuken has to mentally hold himself back from going down on his knees for this man right then and there.
Yuken absolutely regrets winning that bet. Because now he has to come to terms with the fact that his tiny, tiny crush has now blown into a full sized attraction.
Todoroki waves his hand in front of Yuken’s face. “Earth to Odajima?”
Yuken blinks a few times. Apparently his brain is still not working as without thinking he blurts, “Why do you look good? You’re supposed to look bad.”
Todoroki chuckles. “Do you really want to ridicule me that much? Are you mad that now I look better than you?” Todoroki tilted his head with a tiny smirk on his lips.
For a split second Yuken thinks he’s about to explode. He turns his body away from Todoroki and babbled, “No, yes! Whatever, fuck you.”
Todoroki is stunned for a second, then he barks out a laugh. “This is the first time I see you speechless.” He moves to stand in front of Yuken, then he lowers his body so his eyes are level with Yuken’s. “Are you satisfied with the result, Odajima?”
Yuken once again only stares. He can feel his heartbeat picking up again. He sighs after a few seconds and looks away again, trying to calm his heart rate and answers calmly “Yeah, yeah. You look good, you pretty boy."
“You think I’m pretty?”
Yuken clicks his tongue. “What? You’re fishing for compliments now?” He annoyedly turns his head back to look at Todoroki. But instead of a teasing smirk, he sees a smile, tiny yet genuine.
“I’m glad you think so.” Todoroki moves to sit beside Yuken. Now it’s Todoroki who averts his gaze while Yuken’s puzzled look is directed at him.
Yuken’s brain is in pandemonium.
He can’t be. There’s no way he meant it that way. Don’t you dare get your hopes up.”
He opts to act indifferent. At least he tries to. “Why does it matter what I think of it?”
Todoroki is quiet as he stares at his own hands, picking his nails for a moment before he looks up to look at Yuken straight into his eyes. “Why do you think?”
Yuken is, once again, stunned as a deer caught in headlights. He does that an awful lot today. It can’t be helped that the universe chooses today to mess with Yuken’s heart again and again and again. As he gets no response, Todoroki smiles and breaks their eye contact. “For someone who bashed Sachio for his oblivion you are surprisingly oblivious, huh.”
Dots are starting to connect in Yuken’s brain. “...You like me?” he asks in a whisper, a dumbfounded look still on his face.
Todoroki shrugged. “Why do you think I tolerate your memes in the middle of the night? I barely answer anyone’s text at daylight.”
Yuken is still in disbelief. “Why, though? I thought you hate me.”
Todoroki wears a soft smile on his face. “Why indeed," he sighs, "to be honest I also don’t know the reason. I don’t think it matters, though. But,” he turned his eyes to stare at Yuken, “it’s fine if you don’t feel the same way. I won’t be mad. We will still be friends. At least I hope that you will want to remain friends after this.”
That’s it, fuck everything else.
Yuken is an impulsive man. He often lets his limbs act without his brain agreeing to their action first. A lot of the time this leads to moments that he will regret later.
But now, he absolutely has nothing to lose.
Yuken closes the distance between the two of them, catching Todoroki completely off-guard. Their lips crash so roughly that they hurt a bit, but soon they start to move softly against one another.
The kiss lasts for a few seconds before Yuken pulls away. “You are so fucking dead if you want to stay only as friends after this,” he mutters, still a bit out of breath from the kiss.
Todoroki lets out a short laugh. He caresses Yuken’s cheek, “What do you want to be then? Boyfriends?”
Yuken smiles and runs his hand through Todoroki’s hair. He keeps his hand on Todoroki’s nape. “Shouldn’t you take me on a date first?”
“Does fishing together count? We’ve had plenty of dates, haven’t we?”
“And we’re about to have way more. Don’t get bored of me just yet, okay?”
Todoroki pecks Yuken’s lips. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”