1A/N: A big happy birthday to Spring Zephyr, who unintentionally gave me only two days to write this. Luckily, the hero always has a plan!
And that plan is!... Wing it.
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To say that he didn't expect this was, honestly, an understatement.
Because he did not expect to open the club room door, only to find his little brother attempting to fight off their coach's daughter, who held a white bunny suit in her hands, with only the bench between them as a barrier.
It wasn't hard to guess what was going on, from the ecstatic look on Nae's face and the mixture of annoyance and fear on Atsuya's.
The moment the door opened, Atsuya looked at him. They didn't lock eyes, because in the split second it took Shiro to register the scene, he proceeded to turn away and head to the little desk in the corner, where he would work on the team's training menu, strategy ideas, formations, and anything else that would distract him from the mess going on in the background.
"Hey! Don't just pretend you didn't see anything! Bro!"
Atsuya's indignant shouts turned into a yelp when – he assumed – Nae used his distracted state to jump over the bench and onto his back, grabbing on with one arm around his neck.
"Just–just a few minutes! Just put it on for a few minutes, pleeeaaase!" She whined, hand tugging at his uniform in an attempt to force him to comply. He jumped at the action, nearly toppling backwards from the loss of balance.
"You creep, don't start stripping me! Bro, do something!"
Two minutes. He'd been in the room two minutes and he already felt like standing up and walking back out. He fought the urge to stab himself with his pen and get sent home early, if only because it meant he might not be able to play in the next practice match. They may have lost to Raimon and, in turn, their place in the Football Frontier, but that didn't mean their work was done. He only had the rest of the school year to make sure he left the team in fighting shape.
Because, while he loved his brother to death, he doubted Atsuya would be able to handle it himself when it was his turn. He needed all the help he could get.
But at the moment, his dear brother's calls for help were little more than an addition to the headache he was starting to develop. The mix of the school's heater being higher than usual, their warm uniform, and the screaming going on behind him was not helping.
"Heeeey," He said, drawing out the single word and putting on his most serene smile while he tugged on the fuzzy cuffs of his uniform coat, already dreading the amount of sweat on his wrists. "Did you two know we have fifteen inches of snow right now?"
Nae looked at him confused, wondering why he was bringing it up now – everyone generally ignored the level of snow, since it was the norm here. Atsuya, on the other hand, noticed the darker tone to his brother's words, and his shoulders slumped slightly. Shiro's smile widened.
"Do it for the team, Atsuya."
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An hour later, Atsuya almost wished he'd risked standing barefoot in fifteen– now twenty– inches of snow, because he did not appreciate the rest of the team walking in to see him in this pitiful state.
If he had to be honest, the costume was comfortable, just like Nae said it would be. But that didn't change the fact that whenever someone so much as glanced at him, they laughed, either subtly(he could still hear them, the bastards) or openly.
He'd stab Mabuka with a pen if he could.
His only solace was that Someoka had just given him a confused look when he arrived, before taking his place at Shiro's desk to help with paperwork. Shiro, thankfully, had gone to ignoring them after snapping a few pictures. Once he'd gone back to work, Nae had cheerfully stuck a sign that said "Bad Mood" on the back of his chair, so everyone had steered clear of his corner.
And, unfortunately, focused their attention on Atsuya, sitting in front of his locker and glaring at the wall, cheeks pink with both embarrassment and anger.
"Oh come on, you look adorable!" Nae chirped, bouncing from foot to foot in front of him. He fixed her with the most disgusted look he could manage.
"I feel like a goddamn marshmallow." He deadpanned. Nae giggled.
"Look like one too, bet you're as squishy!"
He suppressed a growl. She huffed.
"C'mon, don't be so grumpy. Would a hug make it better?"
"Gross. Don't come near me."
At that, a mischievous smile flashed on Nae's face, and she pounced. Atsuya attempted to slide to the left, but the suit's fur caught on the splintering wood bench, and he ended up toppling over instead. Nae ended up landing on his side, giggling while he flailed.
"Ugh, get a room, you two."
Atsuya sputtered, looking around to see who'd said it, while Nae lifted her head from were she'd buried it in his back.
"We are in a room though?" She said, and Atsuya gawked at her before finally shoving her off, tearing the caught fur off the bench and scrambling for the zipper on the back.
"Alright, I'm done playing along, get me out of this dumb–" He said, futily reaching behind him. He sighed gratefully when someone finally got it for him, mumbling a "thanks". He'd kept his uniform on under, and sighed in relief when the cool air met what little skin was exposed. The suit had been comfortable, yes, but it was hot.
He jumped when there was what sounded like a clapping sound, and looked to the corner of the room, where Shiro had snapped his notebook shut. Someoka sighed and motioned for the door.
"Yeah, we're gonna be a while, everyone go warm up and we'll meet you on the field." He said. The question of What's taking so long? hung in the air, but no one wanted to risk triggering their captain's poor mood, so they shuffled out of the room.
Atsuya glanced back at the two before following, grimacing when Nae looped her arm through his.
"Admit it, you had a little fun." She said, grinning. Atsuya snorted and kept walking.
"Next time you wear that suit and tell me it's 'fun'."
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A/N: Shiro undoubtedly sent those pictures to the rest of the team. But this is basically what my brain came up with after staring at a blank document for two days and seven hours. Time to charge it.
On another note, happy birthday again, Zephyr!
