Youngblood

Seijuro had never felt the thrill like tonight, a rare surge of something coursing through his veins, making his movements quicker and sharper. He felt his fangs start biting at his lower lip.

He'd found his victim for tonight. A small dark haired nobody, pale and alone. But his blood beckoned, and his innocent face smiled back at him without a worry.

Seijuro felt a twinge of regret.

26

It was stupid oath that they had made at three in the morning during a sleepover in their early teens. Seijuro wouldn't have dared ask something so embarrassing at any other time. Sena was playing video games and crushing Seijuro at them. Seijuro was awful at video games and couldn't press the right buttons half the time, but he had fun anyway.

Sena rolled over, laughing at Seijuro's technologic incompetence, and Seijuro was struck by the thought that 'this is nice.'

"If we haven't married by the time we're twenty-six, would you want to marry me?" Seijuro asked. They were only twelve and thirteen, and that number seemed so far off.

"What?" Sena looked at him shrewdly as if it were a joke. "Are you serious?"

"I'm always serious." Seijuro's heart was beating fast, and he was thankful the room was dark. He thought he was blushing. He didn't usually blurt things out like that.

"Well, okay then," Sena said, resuming their game. That was another thing Seijuro liked about Sena. He could more or less roll with the punches in his own way.

Eventually Sena moved away, as life happened. They still kept up a correspondence through letters and emails, but Seijuro ended up forgetting about their promise anyway. Until years later, he opened his door one late December evening. Standing in the snow was Sena.

"Uh, hey Seijuro," Sena grinned bashfully. "Today's my birthday."

"I sent you a card in the mail," Seijuro said, stunned. "I didn't know you'd be stopping by."

"It was kind of a sudden thing. I don't know if you remember… all those years ago, what we said? I'm twenty-six today."

The memories all came rushing back, and Seijuro again felt that thrill of asking, and the contentment of Sena saying yes, and then he was brought back to the current moment as Sena stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Seijuro.

"Do you want to get married?" Sena asked. It was like they had picked right back up from where they left off.

"Yes," Seijuro said.

Goosebumps

Shin was always so stoic, but his gaze wasn't void – it was intense and dark and probing. On the field, Sena could always make out Shin's deep-set eyes looking intently at him over the other players. The first time, Sena had been terrified – knowing that Shin's tackles would hurt immensely. He was still partially scared. That was normal. It was self-preservation.

What was new, was the excitement of facing off against him. He'd feel goosebumps climb his arms and his neck hairs stand on end when he caught Shin's gaze. That was… less normal. Sena couldn't place it, but Shin's gaze made him feel flustered, almost cornered. Like he was prey, and Shin was a predator.

Like he was about to be eaten.

He kept that last thought to himself, because although it wasn't strictly 'normal' to feel that way, it wasn't entirely unwelcome.

Sober Up

Life was difficult after university… Shin's name wasn't drawn for the NFL draft. Not even as a second string. He fell into a sort of daze. His whole schooling career was spent on trying to land a team. He was aware of his abilities. He was fairly confident that he would have been recruited, and yet…

Others were also shocked.

'Did you hear? Oujou's Shin… of all the athletes you would have thought…'

He fell into a funk. A stupor of sorts, and it lasted much longer than it should have. Years.

"Shin-san," the voice was familiar enough, though Shin hadn't heard it in a long time. "Shin-san is that you?"

It was Sena.

Shin blinked, and he saw in color again.

Please Don't Leave

It was on the tip of Seijuro's tongue, what he wanted to say, as he watched Sena board his flight.

Sena gave one final wave to all the other football players that had gathered to see him off to America for the student exchange program. No doubt Notre Dame would be happy to have such talent for a while.

But Shin didn't like it. In his belly, he felt a sour heat. 'It's jealousy,' his brain supplied logically. That would be the logical thing to feel, right? But he knew deep down it wasn't that.

It was longing. Not to go in place of Sena, but to go with Sena.

The Thoughts that Give Me the Creeps

If Sena had chosen another school, if he had taken longer to leave his house, if he had never met Mamori, if he had never ran past Hiruma. All these what ifs, everything had conspired to where Sena was now. He clasped his football helmet tightly and got into position.

It was his last Christmas Bowl before flying off to the US, and fittingly, Deimon was in the finals against Oujou. Some said it was a vengeance game for last year, but if anything, this match up was a bittersweet remembrance. And so much had depended on so little to get where they were. All the previous choices Sena and the others had made had brought them all here.

And if things had been different…

'My god, that thought's insane.' He didn't want to psyche himself out. He focused on the play at hand, locking eyes briefly with Seijuro across him, and readied himself.

Sweetner

Seijuro didn't usually have time to contemplate things too deeply. He was a busy person, and more than that, he liked keeping himself busy. But sometimes, as even the most focused people are wont to do, he thought about his life in retrospect. It was kind of… dull. Routines were good, but his left little room for anything new or enjoyable.

"Shin-san!" Sena called out. His voice was always cheery.

"Hello, Sena," Seijuro replied, stretching out his quads. They were meeting up for their daily run.

"I got you something," Sena held out an energy drink. "It's sweetened with fruit, so it's healthier. Since I know that's really important to you."

"Thank you," Seijuro said, accepting the drink. Strawberry flavored. He took a sip. It was good. He smiled at Sena slightly, and Sena beamed back at him. "I like it."

Cold Comfort

Seijuro hadn't been expecting this answer when he had confessed to Sena. He'd talked with his friends, sought advice from his sister, even read some magazine articles. It all seemed so straightforward.

"I'm sorry Shin-san, I don't think that would be a good idea," Sena says after a long pause, hands clasped tightly on his lap as they sit next to each other at the park. "I'm going to be moving away in a few months to America, and if I start something here… I think it would just end up hurting us both, neh?"

Seijuro could only nod stiffly. "I understand. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable." He'd known about Sena moving, and had used that to motivate his confession. His stomach feels the icy stab of being rejected, but it's also mixed with jealousy. "Is there someone else?"

"N-No it's not that at all! I do… I also…" Sena takes in a deep breath. "I wish I had the courage to have told you how I felt last year… maybe things could have been different that way. I'm just not in a place to have a relationship with anyone now."

"Of course," Seijuro says. His mouth tastes bitter with relief.

Mind Over Matter

Seijuro was wary of airplanes. There was a lot to be delicate with, a lot that he could break. He gripped Sena's letter tighter as he boarded, cautious of anything and everything. But, he reminded himself, he just needed to relax and focus on what was waiting for him on the other side of the coast.

Shin,

I'm really excited to hear that you'll be visiting! It's such a great coincidence that the football conference will be near Notre Dame. I talked with my room advisor, and they said you could spend your nights here so you don't have to spend so much on hotels. We can also carpool together :)

Here's the address, and you already have my number :)

Sena

Winnebago

Before Sena's first at Enma, in a fit of almost a twenty-something anxiety, he sent out a group text about a road trip. A few of his friends were soundly in and already taking charge in planning – Marco, Yamato, and Hiruma acquiring all the funds through questionable means – while others were already planning all the locations to visit. (Julie was genuinely impressive with how many places she knew to visit.)

The most surprising RSVP, however, was Shin. Sena had questioned if it was even a good idea to invite him, knowing how strict he was, but had taken a shot anyway, and couldn't help the surge of adrenaline when he saw Shin at the meetup with his luggage.

Mizumachi was pumping everyone up while Kakei (the only with any experience driving) suffered next to him at the wheel.

"Boarding?" Shin asked Sena.

Sena blinked out of his stupor, his blood filled with excitement and something else. There was already shrieking coming from inside the bus.

"You bet!" This would either be the best or worst decision Sena ever made, but he was ready for it.

My Favorite Book

After all these year of playing against each other, Sena had a baseline read on Shin. It should have made playing him easier, but Shin always came out with improved speed and strength. Instead, it helped Sena outside of the field.

Shin and Sena ran into each other a lot, too, so Sena gradually started picking more things up about Shin. They used the same spaces to train, the same routes to run, the same shops to buy protein powder. Seijuro didn't mind running in the rain, but preferred cold weather and early morning training. He looked four ways before crossing the street. Seijuro liked blueberries and metal water bottles. He used a spearmint-scented aftershave. He rarely smiled, but he was actually a fairly positive person.

They would fall into step when running their morning route on the weekends. Sometimes, when Shin was content with the outcome of a workout, he'd look up at the sky.

Sena knew the way Shin moved, the things he said, the shift in his eyes.

One day, after a particularly good workout, Shin looked at Sena the same way he looked at the sky.