persistence

[crowxnurturer]

“Blame, huh…” He was no genius, but that certainly felt like a buzzword for someone who wasn’t interested. Welp. That was it, then. Fantastic. How long would the awkwardness last between them from here on out and how long would it take the kids to notice that something had gone down between them? Ukai drinks again. “Just makes me wanna apologize even more…”

[ittakeda-blog]

“P-please don’t apologize, Ukai-kun...” Takeda swallows, running one hand through his hair. “Please... I -- I don’t have any regrets. I’m just very unused to acting impulsively like this...” Clearly he wasn’t quite drunk enough to handle this. “Just because we have equal responsibility doesn’t mean, well -- that I’m at all opposed to it. In -- in fact, I -- I might actually have been the opposite of opposed. I mean -- who in their right mind would be opposed, considering you’re -- that is -- I mean, look at yourself.” Scratch that -- he was more than drunk enough. With a slight sigh, he leans over to Ukai so that their faces are hovering inches apart yet again. “I’m talking too much again... please shut me up.”

[crowxnurturer]

Ukai’s heart is thundering in his chest – he definitely shouldn’t have done that. He’d already known that egging Takeda on like that would result in this, but he’d been selfish. He wanted to make sure that he wasn’t the only who wanted this. After one more kiss, he pulls away, the sound of his name on the other’s lips bringing him back to focus. “Ah – sensei… Sorry about that… Probably went a little too far, huh?”

[ittakeda-blog]

It takes a long moment for him to focus on Ukai’s words -- and even then, he’s hardly focused, still barely registering what just happened. “W-well.” His face is red all the way to the tips of his ears. “I -- there’s no need to apologize, Ukai-kun. We’re both equally to blame...” Blame. That made it sound so very negative. Irresponsible, maybe, but it certainly hadn’t been bad -- at least Takeda thought so, anyway. “It was just... unexpected.” That I want to do it again.

[crowxnurturer]

He’d been expecting some kind of rebuttal, or even just a bit of the rambling that he’s come to find endearing. The last thing he’d expected was Takeda taking the provoked initiative – without even giving a verbal response – and kiss him. Not that he’s in any way complaining… Just mildly surprised. With one hand already in Takeda’s hair, Ukai’s other slides up the adviser’s thigh to rest on his waist as he returns the kiss. They’ve only just started, but he’s in no place to resist what could possibly be a bad idea.

[ittakeda-blog]

He shivers slightly as Ukai’s hands move across his body,  but makes no move to stop him. The implications of what they’re doing, the questions he would be asking -- none of that is present in his mind as he sighs against Ukai’s lips.  “Ukai-kun...” Takeda’s own hand slips around the other’s waist, fingers lightly clutching the fabric of his shirt. Between the lack of air and Ukai’s scent of smoke and alcohol filling his senses, he feels more than a little dizzy, but not at all regretful.

[ittakeda-blog]

[crowxnurturer]

Ukai’s not thinking much about it when he leans forward and presses his forehead to Takeda’s. “You’re so warm,” he murmurs lazily. He faintly reminds himself that his breath probably carries the scent of his cigarettes, but Takeda’s not complaining so he won’t say anything either.  “Try new things, you say… Maybe you should take your own advice.” He keeps his forehead pressed to Takeda’s without moving any further than that. “Take a risk.”

[ittakeda-blog]

Maybe if he was in a fully aware state of mind, he’d stop to consider the consequences of his actions, to pull back and remember that Ukai is his colleague and friend and that even as adults, the consequence of impulsive drunken mistakes is just as great. But right now he’s hardly warning himself away from the situation, especially when Ukai’s face is so close and his invitation so tempting. With one hand Takeda’s face cups the other’s jaw as he leans forward to press his lips to the coach’s, feeling strangely more relaxed than he has all night as his chest constricts with adrenaline and warmth. Right now his drunken mistake hardly feels like a mistake at all.

[crowxnurturer]

“Sensei – don’t dye it. It’s perfect how it is.” As if to emphasize the point, he lets his fingers curl and stay stationary for a moment while he stares down at the shorter man. Too late he realizes that Takeda’s called him attractive. More than once, at that. “Hey, listen – I’ve got this crazy idea that I should kiss you right now…”

[ittakeda-blog]

There’s no way he heard Ukai right. Even with the other’s fingers carding through his hair, and his arm around Takeda, there’s no way that the words that he just uttered were actually uttered. And even if he did say them, it was just because  he was slightly drunk, wasn’t it? Takeda opens  his mouth to refuse him gently, but his gaze lands on Ukai’s face, on his lips, and he shivers. “Ukai-kun...” His face has never been warmer than at this moment. “I -- well -- you know what I always say, it’s always good to take initiative, um...! Try new things, go  outside your comfort zone... take risks...” He trails  off, still staring at Ukai a bit too intently.

[ittakeda-blog]

I HAVE THIS REALLY STRANGE HC THAT TADEKA WAS THE LITTLE GIANT?!! LIKE I DON'T KNOW WHY I THINK THIS BUT I CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD

//Yeah, I’ve heard that one. Do I buy it though? Eh. I dunno.

[crowxnurturer]

“Well… Yeah… Thanks, I mean. I mean – I didn’t like the color I had – it’s dark brown… when it’s not…” He shakes his head. Yeah, he was definitely losing it when he couldn’t even get out a clear sentence. One compliment shouldn’t work him up so much. His fingers are itching to get back into Takeda’s curls though, so he obliges them and runs them through with more purpose now, moving his arm back so that it’s more on the back of the coach than on Takeda’s shoulders. “But if I had hair like this… I probably wouldn’t change it at all.”

[ittakeda-blog]

“I’m sure you’d look good with dark brown hair, too. Either way, no matter what you did to your hair, you’d -- you’d look good...” He continues  to spiral into this death trap of emotions despite repeatedly telling himself to back off. When Ukai slips his fingers back into his hair, he can’t help but inhale sharply. “Mm -- it’s pretty -- it’s pretty  average... I’m just not brave enough to dye it, like you are...!”

[crowxnurturer]

That reels him back pretty easily, even if it is a relatively tame compliment. Any kind of compliment coming from Takeda at all is enough to majorly grab his attention. In his leaning back and away to look at the other, he realizes just how close he’d gotten – but it’s not like he hadn’t wanted to be that close in the first place. “Eh – uh, thanks, sensei. I… heh.” Now he couldn’t talk… Was he an idiot?

[ittakeda-blog]

Takeda feels regret when Ukai leans away, which in  turn is enough to make him bite his lip. Ukai is just getting familiar because he’s a little drunk, that’s all. There’s no reason to read any more into it than that. He’s going to get hurt if he does, most definitely. After all, he’s one way, and Ukai’s... well... it’s just a bad idea to even think about it. And the more he tries not to think of it, the more he does. Speaking of overthinking, he hasn’t spoken for an uncomfortable length of time. “I -- Ukai-kun. I -- I mean it, really.”

[crowxnurturer]

He grunts, leaning over so that his nose is just an inch away. “Smells good too…” Whether it’s because there’s a lull in his bones or because the smell is that tantalizing, he leans even further and presses his nose into the softness. “So soft…”

[ittakeda-blog]

There’s absolutely no way Takeda can mistake this for anything less than Ukai coming on to him, and his mind is starting to betray him. “You have nice hair, Ukai-kun,” he wheezes out. “You -- you look good blonde...”

[crowxnurturer]

“In that case, I guess we can just chill out and – I dunno – talk or somethin’.” He shrugs, causing his arm to move a little further over Takeda’s shoulder. He’s not drunk by any means, just a bit tipsy, but his body’s still overly relaxed. No use in shying away from it now, as far he’s concerned. Idly, his wrist bends back from Takeda’s shoulder and his fingers push through Takeda’s short, black curls. He grunts in mild surprise. “Soft hair, sensei.”

[ittakeda-blog]

He freezes when he feels Ukai’s fingers running through his hair, his body unmoving but his heart beating ridiculously fast. “Ukai-kun,” Takeda squeaks weakly, his gaze dropping to the ground. Part of him feels as though he should be  protesting to Ukai’s touch, but he can’t bring himself to. If anything, he finds himself leaning in even more, his cheeks tinged red. “I -- th-thank you, Ukai-kun, um... I try...?”

[crowxnurturer]

“…. Eh –” There’s a few ways he can take that statement and he’s not in the right state of mind to analyze like he wants to. But here they are, sitting thigh to thigh with his arm around him… And for some reason his heart’s beating a little faster. “Well… Is there anything you wanna do other than drink.”

[ittakeda-blog]

“...Do?” Takeda echoes. If he wasn’t a little bit drunk, he probably would stand up and bolt out the door  at a question like that. For some reason, in their  current positions, it doesn’t seem fully harmless. Though why is he even letting his mind go to a place like that? “Um -- ah. Hmm. I -- I didn’t think ahead. What about you...?”

[crowxnurturer]

That’s not what he’d meant at all… But of course, Takeda was the kind of guy to take that kind of question the wrong way. “Eh, well thanks… Wait, though – whaddya mean  ‘surprisingly’?!” Leaning forward he grabs the remote and turns off the match – they hadn’t been paying much attention to it anyway. “I gotta admit though, sensei, I’m a pretty shit host. If Shimada or Takinoue come by, we normally just sit around and drink and talk about–” their conquests… But he’s not going to say that to Takeda. “Stuff. So I dunno how exactly to entertain you.”

[ittakeda-blog]

“No, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s really -- it’s me, I didn’t think I’d be comfortable around someone like you, because, um, I dunno, I guess I thought you  were more intimidating than you were...” He’s got to stop himself from rambling somehow. “No, no -- you’re fine! You’re not -- you’re a fine host -- just being with you is enough...!” As soon as the words leave his  lips, he wishes he could take them back.

[crowxnurturer]

Ukai takes another drink, looking over at Takeda.  “Sensei.” He drinks again. “Are you sayin’ you want to hang out with me more?” He’s relaxed enough to smirk a little wider, tauntingly even. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you like me.”

[ittakeda-blog]

“Y-yes, we should hang out more, Ukai-kun!” And now he’s nodding frantically again. “And -- yes, yes, of course I do. I wouldn’t be here if I disliked you. Really, you’re surprisingly very likable.”  Takeda’s not sure that’s what the other meant, but wasn’t that a safe answer? And besides, he does like Ukai, so it’s not a lie.

[crowxnurturer]

Ukai’s a little more buzzed by now … buzzed enough that he’s far more relaxed about Takeda’s words than he normally would be. He gives the other man a smirk, his eyes moving from the TV to meet Takeda’s. “Have you, now? You should’ve told me sooner, sensei – we could have spent more time together outside of practices and games.” He means watching games and collecting date – like they’re supposed to be doing now with this match on – but he doesn’t rush to correct what his own words could comply. Something in him realizes that the implication isn’t really that far off the mark.

[ittakeda-blog]

It always takes longer for him to relax when drinking than he’d like. Maybe it’s because he’s a bit high strung naturally anyway. Even now he finds his heart beating a bit too fast at Ukai’s words, and he  takes another sip of his drink, hoping his inexplicable nerves will go away sooner than later. “Ah -- well. I mean, I’ve been busy, and you’ve been busy, and  it’d be embarrassing to say something like that if you don’t feel the same way -- I mean, about you being interesting. But I -- er --  I mean, we can still spend  more time together now. Better late than never?”

[mawaruu]

Takeda Ittetsu || Faculty Adviser || Episode 5

[briightestsmile-blog]

‹ 2 › – “Ah, thank you, Sensei. I still have a lot to practice.” Sugawara thought of how much the teacher seemed to have learnt during the short time he’d been with the club, and how motivated he looked despite the fact of his initial lack of knowledge. He had been working on his receives and his blocks, trying to not become a burden for the team, he knew he wasn’t indispensable like Kageyama, so he had to try even harder to compensate. “I think you already know this, but I want the team to work properly when we’re not here anymore – So we will need someone to guide them at the beginning…”

[ittakeda-blog]

Takeda nods. “The first years are lucky to have a reliable upperclassman guiding them, even if they don’t fully realize it. I know that they, especially Kageyama-kun and Hinata-kun, can be a bit... dense. But I can tell that just by helping them with your style, you’ve aided their growth more than they know. And your own, for that matter.” He smiles in a way he hopes is reassuring. “You’ve already influenced them for the better quite a bit.”