Mr. Ueda looked up from his book at the slight rustling sound as the two boys stepped into the doorway. He sighed as he took in their appearance, shaking his head in the familiar way that all the teachers here had developed. The inevitable fight that had been brewing between the boys for the past several years had left them both a little worse for wear, but otherwise seemingly unfazed. Their expressions were calm as they stood side by side, their body language denying that anything untoward lay between them. Ueda took a deep breath and waved them inside.

"Good afternoon, boys. I hear you couldn't restrain yourselves, hm?"

Tenpou blinked at him, utterly failing to achieve the innocence that he was straining to project, and brushed a stray noodle from his shirt. "Oh, just a minor altercation, sir," he said brightly, reaching up to remove his glasses. Bringing them down to the hem of his shirt, Tenpou frowned as he noticed the sauce smeared there. His shoulders slumped slightly, mirroring the tiny huff that escaped him as he settled them back on his face.

Ukoku merely smirked, not saying anything, not even attempting to alter his expression. He did give a slightly smug shrug as Ueda gestured to the rows of empty desks.

"Well, have a seat. I want you both up front, though. Work on whatever you have. Quietly." Ueda followed his point with a significant look at each of them.

"I don't think I'm the one you need to worry about, sir," Tenpou said pointedly, shooting Ukoku an amusingly poisonous glance. Choosing a desk at the far end of the row, he pitched his voice for Ukoku alone, "Not that I needed to worry, myself," he intoned, slamming his books onto the desk.

This earned him a smirk from Ukoku, who moved to the desk right beside Tenpou with an ill-concealed limp. He slid into the seat and placed his books carefully - quietly - on the desktop. Slouching down a bit in his seat, he favoured Tenpou with a silent grin. In turn, Tenpou let his gaze wander slowly over the bruises on Ukoku's face and grinned back, then turned to his books, choosing one and flipping through it to find his place.

Ukoku's shoulders jerked as he held back a response. He reached into his back pocket to retrieve a clean handkerchief, which he held out to Tenpou with an irrepressibly amused expression. "Glasses," he said simply, and waited.

After a moment, Tenpou snorted a laugh and took it. "I'm touched by your offer, especially considering you were the direct cause of my needing this in the first place." He removed his glasses once more, polishing the lenses with exaggerated care. Clicking his tongue, he gave Ukoku a patently false apologetic look. "I seem to have got some sauce on it."

"Perhaps," Ukoku drawled, slumping a bit further in his seat, "you should be better prepared, in future." Waving dismissively, he continued, "Go ahead. I have more."

Ueda, watching the exchange from his desk, pinched the bridge of his nose. Ukoku watched from the corner of his eye, holding back a grin. The implications might be entirely clear, but there wasn't anything that Ueda could do, based on the apparently civility of the conversation. Nothing, that was, unless he wished to teach an extra class, just to keep the two of them quiet.

Tenpou raised an eyebrow. "Contrary to your assumption," he returned evenly, "I don't indulge my baser impulses toward homicide nearly often enough to be prepared for it on such short notice."

"Who said anything about homicide?" Ukoku asked. "I was talking about basic personal tidiness." With that, he turned to his pile of books, choosing a text and opening it. He flipped the pages randomly, still holding Tenpou's gaze.

The baring of Tenpou's teeth wasn't a smile, but it looked enough like one to escape action from the teacher. "Mm," he hummed, lifting his chin a little, "I suppose the bolognese sauce on my shirt was all my fault, then?" Raking a dismissive glance over Ukoku, he finished, "Not that you fared any better."

Ukoku's smirk widened to a wicked grin. "I'm certainly not denying my part in your current state," he said, spreading his arms slightly to demonstrate his cleanliness, "Nor do I share it, however."

"Mm," Tenpou repeated, breaking into a beatific grin, "You really should get an icepack on that eye, though. It might interfere with your chances of being voted 'Most Likely to Get the Clap', three years running."

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm afraid I'm out this year, since I refuse to date your exes." Ukoku grinned back, pointing at his jaw. "You've got a little sauce, right there."

Somewhere off to their left, Ueda snapped, "Hey! That's quite enough."

Tenpou's smile widened further as he paid token deference to the teacher by lowering his voice to a murmur. "Whose exes were you dating last year, I wonder," he mused, carefully not wiping at his jaw.

Looking down at his book, Ukoku mirrored Tenpou's pitch, "Couldn't have been yours, at any rate. You'd have had to have a date in order to have an ex, hm?"

A loud snort escaped Tenpou, and his voice rose again as he answered, "You sound awfully sure of your statistics. Not that I'm not flattered, but really, one would think that the golden boy of the school would have better things to do than stalk me."

Ukoku barked out a truncated laugh. "No stalking necessary, I assure you. It's far too obvious to require investigation." He sighed heavily and fixed Tenpou with an exaggeratedly sympathetic look. "Though, I do owe you an apology for being the cause of it.”

The corner of Tenpou's mouth quirked up, along with an eyebrow. "For running through everyone but the school mascot and the janitor? Don't mention it. If anything, the speed with which you dropped them would indicate that it wasn't much of a loss."

Genuinely amused, Ukoku laughed aloud, earning him a glare from Ueda, and he crushed it quickly. A trace of it remained in his voice when he mumbled, "Not on my part, at any rate." He cleared his throat and adjusted the angle of his hips carefully. "But really, if you hadn't had to work so hard to not quite keep up with me, you might have had time for things like dates and learning to make a Windsor knot."

Tenpou cocked his head slightly. "On the other hand," he offered cheerfully, "a few less dates might have actually helped you to find the time and opportunity to learn how to throw a punch properly." Heaving a sigh, he offered, "You're going to break your thumb one of these days, leaving it at that angle."

Ukoku ignored the way his thumb twitched at Tenpou's observation, his raised eyebrow melting into a grin. "Well, as you so graciously pointed out, I'm a lover, not a fighter," he conceded. "It's an interesting point, coming from someone who topples like a domino at the slightest push, though."

Ueda took a breath, but his words disappeared beneath Tenpou's derisive snort.

"I didn't realize that I had to be a master of an art, to point out your obvious ineptitude at it. That said, the domino effect seems to have ended with you on the soda machine." Tenpou paused, watching Ukoku. "I don't suppose you're going to misquote Newton at me on that one."

"Against it," Ukoku corrected smoothly, lifting a finger, "and upright. Not sprawled on the floor, covered in pasta. The ends, Tenpou. The ultimate result determines the effectiveness of the attack."

"I would like to take a moment here to point out that I'm not the one who's limping." Tenpou's voice was steady, but rose slightly in volume. "Or the one whose face looks like he's made a largely unsuccessful attempt at a Halloween chipmunk mask."

"That's a nice evasion attempt," Ukoku retorted, "but the effectiveness of your attack does not negate the effectiveness of mine." He paused, taking a breath and giving Tenpou a frown. "Poorly done, Tenpou. You must be off-balance."

Tenpou subsided a little, getting back to his footing with a smirk. "Oh, I wasn't evading. I was merely commenting on your lamentable tendency to confuse the battle with the war."

Slightly taken aback, Ukoku gave him an appraising glance and murmured, "You think this was the war? Interesting."

The smile that settled on Tenpou's face was genuine, with none of the truly sharp edges that normally accompanied it. "I'm under no illusions that it's over. I merely referred to it on a smaller scale."

"Well begun, however," Ukoku returned, his answering smile just as real. "Though, you've just contradicted your own point."

Tenpou sighed, "Repeating patterns, Ukoku. The same thing, amplified a dozen times over, duplicating itself on every level from the tiniest to the largest aspects of life." Here his smile regained its edge, "I shouldn't have to tell you this."

Narrowing his eyes at the change in both words and expression, Ukoku snorted dismissively. "And thus ends our remedial lesson on Chaos Theory and Tenpou's inability to remain upright." Clicking his tongue quietly, he added, "Desperate, that."

"Mm, and yet true. I noticed how carefully you didn't remark on that, by the way." Tenpou beamed, adjusting his glasses as he waited for Ukoku's response.

"Charity," Ukoku stated simply.

Tenpou blinked at him, then pasted on an expression of innocence. "I didn't take you for the altruistic type, but thank you."

"Altruism," Ukoku said derisively, then sighed. "If that makes you feel better, then by all means, believe it."

Ueda, his patience finally broken, snapped through clenched teeth, "That's it! Both of you, get out."

Both of them looked at Ueda, suddenly reminded of his presence. Tenpou blinked blankly at him. "Excuse me?"

Ukoku, his face mirroring Tenpou's precisely, merely said, "Sir?"

Ueda leaned his elbows on his desk, rubbing at his temples with his fingers. "I have a headache." He waved vaguely at the door. "You can finish your detention tomorrow. With someone else."

Tenpou blinked a few more times, surprised. "...really?" He didn't wait for a reply, piling his books up and scooping them into one arm as he rose.

Trying to restrain his grin as he followed Tenpou's example, Ukoku asked, "Who should we see tomorrow, sir?"

Ueda rubbed at his eyes, mumbling, "I don't...the principal. He can decide what to do with you. Now go.

The boys looked at each other, then moved together to the door. They walked down the hall in silence, sure that anything that they said would be heard and anxious to avoid being dragged back. Ukoku pulled open the door to the stairwell and let Tenpou pass, following quickly. Once the sound of the door closing reached them, they exchanged wary grins.

"Well done," Ukoku offered.

"Thank you," Tenpou answered, inclining his head slightly, "And you."

"Thanks. They have no idea how lucky they are, have they?"

Tenpou smirked. "Not in the least."

*****

It was a slightly cruel trick of fate that Tenpou lived only a few blocks from Ukoku, but both of them took it with grace, falling into step together. Neither of them spoke, and Ukoku stole a few glances at Tenpou, wondering if it was the same strange mixture of comfort and simmering anger that kept them both silent. In all the years that he'd known Tenpou, through all the verbal battles and the keenly honed rivalry, Ukoku hadn't ever questioned the weird way in which they seemed to fit together. Like the relief of a saw blade, he thought now, sharp and dangerous but completely complementary. It was only that fit that had kept the teeth from drawing blood before today. He frowned as he considered this, couldn't help but wonder if Tenpou saw it, too.

Lost in his ruminations, Ukoku simply kept pace with Tenpou, not paying attention beyond knowing that he was still there. It took him a full three steps before he realised that Tenpou had stopped and pulled himself up short, too. Turning on his heel, he looked back to Tenpou. He was about to ask him what was wrong, when their location finally sank in. They'd reached the park that comprised a shortcut to their neighbourhood and for some reason, Tenpou was giving it a look that would strip the paint off a footlocker. Ukoku followed his gaze and came to mirror the expression in short order.

The entire park appeared to consist of thick, sloppy-looking, and probably deep mud. It was ten minutes' more walking to get home, if they went around. Ukoku became suddenly aware of the aching in his hip, which seemed to have gotten worse at the thought of extending his walk. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he considered the relative merits of either path. When he opened them again, Tenpou was making as if to turn away from the park. Ukoku watched as he hesitated, huffing in irritation.

Ukoku and Tenpou had known each other since they were children, always seeming to end up in the same classes, working toward the same goals. Being of eerily similar and competitive natures, this had naturally made them bitter rivals who nonetheless shared a deep, if grudging, respect for each other's abilities. Ukoku was well aware of the fact that this meant that no one knew him better than Tenpou did, and vice-versa. So he also knew without the shadow of a doubt that when Tenpou stepped out onto the field, he was being watched and tested.

Knowing that the challenge existed made it no less tempting, so Ukoku merely shrugged, telling himself that he'd rather get home quickly anyway and that a little mud had never hurt anyone. He stepped gamely out after Tenpou, smirking a little as he watched the mud squishing up around his companion's shoes. Oh, yeah...this was going to be interesting. Tenpou was watching from the corner of his eye as Ukoku caught up, somewhat more slowly than he should have, due to the stiffness in his hip.

"So," Tenpou said conversationally, "that was a very well-executed escape, all in all." He turned his head to grin brightly at Ukoku, a familiar, wicked glint in his eye as he continued, "Would you like to pick up our discussion where it left off when it was so abruptly terminated by reprieve? It was quite engaging, really."

Ukoku chuckled, favouring him with a grin of his own. "Engaging, was it? All right..." he frowned, looking down at his foot where the mud was attempting to remove his shoe via suction, "any time you're ready."

"Why do I have the feeling we're referring to different discussions?" Tenpou asked, tilting his head a little. He grinned again, adding, "Not that I'd mind picking up either."

Ukoku snorted quietly as Tenpou yanked a foot out of the mud with somewhat more force than necessary, nearly unbalancing himself. He shrugged, shaking his head. "I have no idea. I don't believe that we are." Ukoku took a careful step forward with his tender leg, pressing the ground tentatively before trusting his weight to it. "And either one is fine by me. You've no hope of winning, regardless."

"You know," Tenpou responded absently as he shook some of the clumps from his foot, "that's a lot of confidence coming from someone who's walking like a septuagenarian." Setting his foot down again, he turned to face Ukoku. He pulled the glasses from his face and tucked them into his coat pocket. Ukoku narrowed his eyes at the overt gesture, his guard rising even as his habitual smirk reappeared.

"Mm. But that's the kind of thing that happens, when one's opponent tags a piece of machinery into the ring."

It was Tenpou's turn to snort, stopping just short of rolling his eyes. "We didn't have a ring, Ukoku," he said, "We had a cafeteria, two tables, eight chairs, three trays of noodles and about forty hormonal teenage boys squalling at us to break bones."

Ukoku looked at Tenpou for a moment, holding in his laughter as long as he could before he broke down. "You might want to ratchet that enumeration OCD down a few notches, Tenpou," he chuckled. A particularly sloppy patch of mud pulled at his feet, forcing him to look down again. He pointed at Tenpou as he resumed, "And that doesn't change the fact that I'm limping because I ran into metal at high speed, as opposed to running into any part of you."

"Which I was directly responsible for, unless you believe in flying soda machines. And if you were clumsy enough to do that to yourself, maybe rearranging the furniture would have sufficed as an attack."

Ukoku clenched his jaw against the very real anger that was beginning to burn in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he managed to keep his voice light as he pointed out what Tenpou obviously hadn't seen. "It was that fucking Kougaiji, actually. You ought to tip him for his assistance." The dry sarcasm in Tenpou's response did nothing to calm Ukoku's fury.

"He makes soda machines fly into you? You know if he could do that you'd be dead several times over, considering all the shit you've dealt him in the past three years."

With a heavy sigh, Ukoku once more pushed the anger down, determined not to let Tenpou see the extent of it. "If you're going to insist upon perpetuating the idea that the machine went anywhere, then I will be forced to abandon any hope for you," he snapped, frowning a bit too seriously at him. "You disappoint me, Tenpou." The tiny twitch of Tenpou's lips at the last statement soothed Ukoku's ire a little. That one would have had a twinge to it.

Tenpou exhaled heavily, his mocking tone growing a touch more serious. "Well, since you seem determined to ignore the obvious and real explanation for what happened, I will be forced to take refuge in the unbelievable. That said, we're wasting time, doing this." He turned to look around, adding, "We need somewhere to drop the bags."

A low growl rose from Ukoku's chest, his anger taking on that same burning edge that it had had earlier, in the cafeteria. "That 'obvious and real' explanation being the foot that appeared suddenly behind me, just as you threw that punch." Here he paused, concentrating on his breath for a moment, to calm himself. That snivelling little prick Kou would get his later. Right here, right now, was Tenpou. And Tenpou was a satisfying opponent, at least deserving of Ukoku's full attention. "I would give you the credit for it, if it were yours to have," he sighed, "believe me, I would much prefer that."

"I see," Tenpou laughed, "the situation was taken advantage of, hmm?"

"Mm," Ukoku agreed grimly, "and there will be retribution, mark my words." Looking around as well, he spotted a picnic table, near the trees and not far from them. Pointing at it, he offered, "There?"

Tenpou looked to the table, nodding and immediately squelching his way toward it. "Hopefully, there will be a little less mud, even. Of course," he called over his shoulder, as Ukoku had fallen a little behind, "you might not be averse to it, since it's supposed to be good for the complexion..."

"You're just looking for something to cover up the sauce."

Tenpou barked a laugh. "Oh, yes, because mud is such an acceptable thing to have all over myself. You've really outdone yourself with that logic."

"I wanted to know what it felt like to think from your perspective," Ukoku responded with a shrug, "and it led me to the rather poor conclusion that saying you slipped in the mud would be preferable to admitting that I toppled you into a bunch of noodles. I admit, the experience leaves something to be desired." He grinned brightly as he slung his bag onto the table, still a few feet away.

"Yes," Tenpou replied in honeyed tones as he dropped his own bag to the table, "I imagine the stress it would put on your sadly inadequate brain cells would make it uncomfortable." He followed by placing his glasses on the table with an elaborately casual gesture.

Oh, that was a decent hit. It didn't leave Ukoku many places to go, so he took refuge in cliché. "It is difficult for Mozart to demote himself to Salieri's view." He faked a shudder every bit as over the top as Tenpou's movements had been, then gave him a sharp grin.

"And you're still stalling," Tenpou sighed, "Should I just write it off and spare you the damage?" Ukoku blinked at him a couple of times, then realised that this was Tenpou's own reaction to having been stumped. Well, well.

"Stalling? My, but you do grasp at straws," Ukoku purred, "If you're so anxious, then why are you still talking?" He adjusted his feet, making allowance for the sore hip as he shifted his centre of balance. That he was watching for the movement of Tenpou's hands was both boon and bane, as it turned out.

"I apologise," Tenpou murmured, and struck out quickly with his foot. Ukoku grunted heavily as pain exploded in his already injured hip, barely managing to retain his balance. The expectation of the punch that followed gave Ukoku just enough edge to be able to duck it, leaning in to shove his shoulder solidly into Tenpou's gut. He lifted as he pushed, hoping to be able to shove his opponent back quickly enough to topple him.

No such luck, as it turned out. Tenpou stumbled back, grabbing the edge of the picnic table for support. It wobbled threateningly but gamely stayed upright, draining Ukoku's attack of its power and providing Tenpou with leverage. He shoved himself off it hard, pushing back against Ukoku. Not expecting the assist from the table, Ukoku had moved too far forward, and now he straightened against Tenpou's body just enough to shift his balance so that he went sprawling sideways.

Ukoku put out his hand to break his fall, barely keeping his feet and pushing himself back up. He turned back to Tenpou quickly, a vicious, taunting grin on his lips. Flicking a glance to the picnic table, Ukoku made a fast calculation gauging the distance between them now. He couldn't see entirely well, but he felt comfortable enough with the margin of error to settle in, waiting for Tenpou to come to him.

Tenpou eyed Ukoku narrowly and took a deep breath. His next swing was weaker, still slightly hunched from the pain in his gut that he was obviously trying to ignore. Ukoku shouldn't have let it distract him, ducking easily once again and missing Tenpou's true intentions until a fraction of a second too late. The heel of Tenpou's hand slammed into his chest, an ankle winding around his, pushing him off-balance again. Unable to stop himself this time, Ukoku used the momentum to his advantage, hooking an arm around Tenpou's waist and twisting as he fell, landing both of them in the mud.

The grunt that escaped Tenpou echoed Ukoku's as his opponent's weight fell mostly on top of him, knocking the breath from him for a second. Ukoku gasped, barely feeling the punch that Tenpou landed on his ribs, weak from the lack of leverage behind it. Barely able to gather his scattered thoughts enough between the need for air and the strange warmth of Tenpou's body on his, Ukoku resorted to attempting a partial pin. He slipped the arm that had been around Tenpou's waist up and over his shoulder instead, earning him a snarl as he turned his upper body to exert pressure. Unexpectedly assisted by the slippery mud, Ukoku's arm tightened hard around Tenpou's as it slipped to his elbow, twisting and capturing it against his side.

Squirming, Tenpou pushed back, his elbow digging sharply into Ukoku's gut and stealing part of his breath again. Ukoku was vaguely aware of the thigh that slid up between his own as Tenpou worked to get it under himself and gain some distance. Tenpou raised his fist as he straightened, prompting Ukoku to squeeze his arm. His face twisted at the sudden pain in his elbow, losing his balance and flopping back down on top of Ukoku.

"Fucking hell...," he panted near Ukoku's ear, and Ukoku couldn't restrain the ghost of a smile as he took advantage of the moment to wrap his arms securely around Tenpou's ribs. He clasped his hands together and squeezed, grunting himself at the pain that shot through his belly, where Tenpou's elbow had done damage. Desperation and instinct took over, screaming at him to move, damn it and Ukoku did, pulling his uninjured leg up far enough to gain some purchase on the slippery ground. He shoved, just barely hard enough to roll them both over, outright grinning this time as Tenpou muttered a curse.

Using his newly freed arm, Tenpou shoved with both hands at Ukoku's shoulders and abruptly snapped his head up. The intended blow to Ukoku's nose failed, however, due to the fact that Tenpou's push had moved Ukoku down along Tenpou's body, just out of reach. While Ukoku wriggled back up, trying to regain his previous purchase, Tenpou bent one leg to get leverage from the ground. It was the hand against his injured hip - fingers gripping painfully there - that tipped Ukoku off and allowed him to resist when Tenpou's hips bucked against him in an attempt to throw him.

The effort had Tenpou's fingers digging in until the nails bit into Ukoku's skin, eliciting a sharp grunt as Ukoku twisted desperately to escape the pain. He slipped from Tenpou's grip suddenly, landing heavily against him and hissing as something in Tenpou's pocket rolled against a tender spot. Tenpou's breath rushed from him in a huff, Ukoku's weight pressing it from him, earning Ukoku another shove at his shoulders. A voice in the back of Ukoku's head reminded him that he was in a dangerous position now, with Tenpou on the verge of gaining the upper hand if he didn't do something, right now.

Struggling to release his hands from each other under the weight of Tenpou's body, Ukoku scrabbled against the ground to find purchase. The fact that Tenpou was still squirming like a trapped snake didn't make it any easier; Ukoku hissed out a few curses of his own as he wriggled to work his legs beneath and around Tenpou's, finally managing to immobilize them. Tenpou snarled as ankles hooked around his shins and Ukoku shifted against him, trying to increase his grip while Tenpou did his level best to keep him from doing just that. And whatever the hell Tenpou had in his pocket was quickly becoming the bane of Ukoku's existence, pressing again and again in to his bruised hip.

Suddenly, Ukoku stopped struggling, pushing back to look at Tenpou with narrowed eyes as something crept through the layers of his consciousness. The abrupt end of struggling sank in to Tenpou quickly, halting him as well. He glanced quickly around, then blinked up at Ukoku.

"What?" he hissed, suspicion practically rolling off him.

"Tenpou?" Ukoku replied, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head, his gaze steady. Tenpou froze beneath him, eyes sliding shut and jaw clenching as he registered why Ukoku had stopped. Ukoku watched, silently amazed, while Tenpou's cheeks reddened in a fierce blush. He took the shove to his shoulder easily, not remotely interested in moving.

"Fuck, get off me," Tenpou hissed, though he made no move to extricate himself.

Well, now. Ukoku tried, but he couldn't restrain the chuckle that rose from his chest. He smirked down at Tenpou, but it lacked the triumphant edge that it should have had, and Ukoku tucked that away for later. He bent his elbows, lowering himself fractionally to roll his hips slowly against Tenpou.

"Well, which is it?" he purred, "Fuck, or get off you? You really should make up your mind."

Tenpou's eyes narrowed abruptly, a flash of real anger in them as Ukoku spoke followed quickly by a tiny shiver as he pressed their bodies together. Tenpou pressed palms against Ukoku's ribs, pushing ineffectually at him. Ukoku wondered briefly if Tenpou couldn't dislodge him, or if there was a touch of something else there, keeping him from using all his strength. It was an interesting question, glittering sharply at the edge of his mind, right beside-

"I'm glad I amuse," Tenpou stated flatly, breaking the train of Ukoku's thought.

"Oh, come on, Tenpou," Ukoku pouted theatrically. "You can't possibly expect me to just let this pass. I could do myself serious damage, trying something like that. Besides," he murmured, lowering himself a little more, pressing their bellies together as he rocked deliberately against him again, "I don't think you're that pissed off...are you?"

Tenpou shuddered beneath him, eyes slipping shut, and Ukoku was oddly surprised to note how that pleased, how his own body responded. Curioser and curioser, as Alice would have it. He didn't have time to follow that thought down the rabbit hole, though. Tenpou's eyes suddenly snapped open, fixing Ukoku with a truly evil-looking smirk. Ukoku cursed himself for letting his guard down, even for a second, as Tenpou's hand streaked up from his ribs to close around his throat.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Ukoku wondered briefly if the fingers now squeezing lightly at his throat were a calculated guess on Tenpou's part, or simply an incredible coincidence. Then Tenpou was rocking up into him, twisting just enough to emphasize Ukoku's own arousal as he spoke.

"At the very least, I'm not alone in it," Tenpou murmured through a smile like a razor, sending a shock of pure lust through Ukoku's body. He shivered hard in its wake, every nerve coming alive in the face of Tenpou's unexpected response. Ukoku looked Tenpou steadily in the eyes, letting all pretense drop for just this one moment.

"No, you're certainly not," he breathed, then leaned down just the tiniest bit, increasing the pressure of Tenpou's palm against his throat. Ukoku grinned, his voice like the whisper of a whip in motion as he asked, "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Tenpou pulled in a shaky breath at Ukoku's words, a tremor racing through him. The tension in him lightened fractionally and Ukoku bit back a sigh, his eyes closing for a second as Tenpou rolled deliberately against him, one hand dropping to grip Ukoku's hip nearly hard enough to bruise.

"Right now, you mean?"

Ukoku licked his lips, studying Tenpou carefully for a long moment. The fingers still biting into his hip were distracting, just the kind of pleasure/pain that made him want to throw caution to the wind and just take. But this was Tenpou, and Tenpou was an entirely different kind of beast from anything Ukoku had ever experienced. Caution was wise counsel here, and that made it all the more enticing.

"Mm...right now," Ukoku agreed softly.

Releasing his hip, Tenpou curled his arm around Ukoku's back, the other hand sliding up to fist in his hair, pulling viciously as he bucked up into him. "Good," he purred, and a slow grin stretched Ukoku's mouth as Tenpou licked, then nipped sharply at his lower lip. More invitation was neither needed nor possible and without hesitation, Ukoku took it, dropping his head to return the bite. With a quiet growl of satisfaction, he crushed Tenpou's mouth beneath his own, rocking insistently into him.

Tenpou groaned softly into Ukoku's mouth, returning his kiss fervently, fingers clutching hard at his hair to hold him there. Ukoku thrilled to it, revelling in the strength of Tenpou's response, every darker instinct rising to the surface. The heat of Tenpou's hand slipped up under his shirt, leaving trails of fire where nails raked back down over his flesh.

Moaning roughly into the kiss, arching into the hard press of Tenpou's body against his, Ukoku gripped Tenpou's side. The fingers of his other hand stole up to tangle into Tenpou's hair, twisting sharply while his hips rolled in a constant rhythm. Tenpou writhed against him, his eyes sliding shut as he leaned into the touch of Ukoku's hand in his hair, biting and licking at Ukoku's mouth as they moved. Ukoku lost himself in it, sinking into the sensations of Tenpou's body below him, the heat of his mouth, the sudden press of his hand against the length of Ukoku's sex through the fabric of his clothing.

Lifting himself fractionally, he smiled at the low growl that rose in Tenpou's throat as he fumbled at the button on Ukoku's pants. Ukoku left Tenpou's mouth, nipping his way down over his chin and the underside of his jaw. Relieved to find that Tenpou's neck wasn't entirely covered in mud, Ukoku sank his teeth into the soft flesh of his throat and released a soft growl of his own when the grip in his hair tightened.

Ukoku dragged his nails across the expanse of Tenpou's abdomen, shivering pleasantly at the arching of Tenpou's body and the small sound of need it earned him. He gasped quietly, his hips hitching involuntarily as Tenpou's hand slipped inside his pants to cup his erection through the thin material of his boxers. Still covering his throat with little, rough bites and licks, Ukoku shivered with the strange touch made familiar by Tenpou's oddly known scent. Finally gaining purchase on the button beneath his fingers, he tugged Tenpou's pants open and snaked his hand inside.

The reaction was marvellous, Tenpou arching to push his head back against the ground and offering his throat more fully to Ukoku's mouth. A tremor rocked through Tenpou's body as he shoved at Ukoku's underwear, pushing them out of his way to get a better grip. Hissing low when Ukoku began to stroke him, Tenpou bucked hard against him, pulling deep moans from both of them.

Swallowing hard against the pleasure to keep something of his wits about him, Ukoku mouthed a trail up and over Tenpou's jaw, coming back to growl against his mouth, "Fuck, Tenpou..."

Then he was kissing him again, feeling as much as hearing Tenpou's groan as he returned the kiss with equal, consuming force. Fingernails tore into the skin on the side of Ukoku's neck, dragging heated lines down to his collarbone as they rocked into each other, stroking harder, faster with every sound and movement. Tenpou's fingers found their way into his collar and yanked, sending buttons flying off into the mud. Tearing away from Ukoku's mouth, he leaned up to nip sharply at the base of his throat instead. Ukoku purred encouragement, shifting his fingers from their grip on Tenpou's hair to cup the back of his head, pulling him closer in a silent request for more.

Finally allowing his eyes to slide shut, Ukoku savoured the heat of Tenpou's embrace, the waves of pleasure washing up from his grip on Ukoku's cock, the delicious counterpoint of pain where Tenpou's teeth worried his collarbone. Unable to hold back anymore, he rocked insistently against Tenpou, thrusting into his hand, stroking him with as much abandon. Tenpou moved with him, the gasps and moans that he muffled against Ukoku's skin deeply, unexpectedly satisfying.

"Ukoku," Tenpou breathed, the pleasure and the pure lust in the name breaking Ukoku's control.

Dropping his head to nip at Tenpou's ear, "Tenpou," Ukoku ground out, "I want to see you come." His lips found Tenpou's temple, placing a light kiss there as he arched beneath Ukoku, a cry choked off in his throat. Ukoku released himself to the sensations of Tenpou's strokes, the writhing of his body, and the sounds of his pleasure, echoing them with his own panting breath and broken, desperate moans.

Tenpou's fingers loosened around him, his movements losing rhythm, and Ukoku instinctively pressed on, sliding his fist over Tenpou's cock just a little faster, a little more firmly. Forcing his eyes open, Ukoku watched with a shocking amount of satisfaction as he pushed Tenpou over the edge, revelling in the sight of it. The short, rough grunts of pleasure that escaped through Tenpou's clenched teeth, the stinging bite of his fingernails in Ukoku's neck, the rush of colour to his cheeks as he came, all blended together to rob Ukoku of any other thought.

"Oh, fuck, yes," Ukoku hissed, feeling Tenpou's shudder beneath him, not caring even to try to hide the need that edged the words. He watched the corners of Tenpou's lips curve up in a slow, predatory grin and let his eyes slide shut as the thrill of anticipation fluttered in his belly.

Never one to disappoint, Tenpou curled his hand around Ukoku's cock again, settling into a quick, demanding rhythm that left Ukoku breathless even as he claimed Ukoku's mouth in an echoing kiss. His nails raked down Ukoku's neck, over the welts and deepening bruises left by Tenpou's mouth and hands; Ukoku, caught between physical pleasure and the thrill of bending to Tenpou's desire, barely had time to register one sensation before another washed over him, until Tenpou's hand wrapped firmly around his throat once more. Breathless, unbalanced, Ukoku broke under the pressure of those fingers, shuddering roughly and crying out harshly into Tenpou's mouth as he came hard against his hand and body.

Tenpou's sigh of satisfaction reached Ukoku only distantly as he trembled and pressed against him, the quick nip to his lower lip registering more clearly. The strong heat of Tenpou's hand at his throat tightened, the feel of it ripping through him, underscored by Tenpou's pleased purr against his mouth. The crest of Ukoku's climax passed, leaving him weak, trembling at the feathering tingle that rippled out from Tenpou's touch as he slipped his hand from Ukoku's throat and into his hair, pulling him close as his movements slowed.

Ukoku swallowed, fighting to bring his breath under control, to regain his senses. He pulled back slightly, licking and nipping lightly at Tenpou's lips as his pulse calmed and his body eventually came to a halt. Still, he caught up Tenpou's mouth again and again in a series of kisses, fingers curling to scratch lightly at the back of his head. Tenpou, far from recoiling - as part of Ukoku was expecting - accepted these attentions easily. Brushing over the welts left by his nails, he cupped the back of Ukoku's neck gently as he released him, slipping his hand out of Ukoku's pants and up around his back, instead. The quiet, appreciative sound that he made against Ukoku's mouth was pleasant, sending a tiny shiver down Ukoku's spine. Tenpou carefully dropped his head back to the ground after a moment, trapping Ukoku's hand between it and the mud. Ukoku was taken enough with the sound of his murmured name on Tenpou's lips, not to mind much.

Belatedly removing his hand from Tenpou's pants, he lifted it carefully behind himself as he leaned down to nuzzle Tenpou's cheek and eliciting a quiet purr of approval. Ukoku took a deep breath, exhaling slowly in an effort to slow his still racing heartbeat, still surprised and more than a little pleased that Tenpou wasn't pushing him away.

"Ukoku."

"Hmm?" Ukoku responded, not particularly interested in letting reality back in, just yet.

"There's mud," Tenpou stated flatly, though his arms tightened around Ukoku as he spoke. Ukoku nodded against his cheek, but made no effort to move, save his arm, which he brought back from behind himself. He turned to look at the handkerchief it held, frowning as he realised that though it wasn't muddy, it was most certainly soaked through. Ukoku huffed his irritation and shook the folds out of the cloth.

"It'll have to do," he mumbled.

Tenpou eyed the small, wet square with some scepticism. "That's optimistic," he opined with a huff of his own. Ukoku snorted at Tenpou's comment, but didn't answer it, turning his attention to cleaning the mess off Tenpou's stomach. Tenpou tilted his head back to look at the sky, which crushed Ukoku's fingers a little. Before Ukoku gathered himself to say something about it, Tenpou started laughing. "You know," he chuckled, "I really didn't think I could get dirtier, today."

Ukoku watched him for a long moment, the hilarity of the situation and the sound of Tenpou's laughter eventually pulling Ukoku to join him in it. With a grin, he raised an eyebrow. "You can always get dirtier with Ukoku, darling," he drawled in a terribly exaggerated accent, causing Tenpou's laughter to dissolve into giggles. After a moment, Tenpou drew a deep breath, pushing them aside.

"What's next, marmalade?" he sighed, then nudged Ukoku's shoulder. "I need to get-" Tenpou cut himself off, and Ukoku could practically hear him rearranging his thought, "stand up," he finished. "It's cold down here."

Ukoku took one last swipe at Tenpou's belly and nodded, crumpling the cloth into his fist. "Mm-hm," he agreed, then kissed him once more as he tugged the sides of Tenpou's pants together as best he could. Reluctantly, he extracted his legs from Tenpou's and pushed himself up and back to sit on his heels. Ukoku watched as Tenpou stood, noting the shiver as the wind brushed past him. Still, he was a little bit surprised when Tenpou held out his hand, offering Ukoku help up. Hastily, Ukoku adjusted his own clothing before taking the offered hand and rising to his feet, wincing slightly as his hip twinged.

"Thanks," he said, watching Tenpou surreptitiously as they each fastened their pants. Tenpou shook his shirt a bit in a mostly failed attempt to get it to settle into the right place, then shrugged and gave up. He flicked a particularly large clump of mud from his side, then fixed Ukoku with a rueful grin.

"Tell me, would this be sufficient evidence to assure the school that hostilities are unlikely to resume in the foreseeable future?" he asked brightly.

Unsure of the extent of the meaning of Tenpou's question and unwilling to take any chances on an incorrect assumption, Ukoku shrugged and looked away, forcing his tone to match. "I suppose that would depend on whether they knew how it had started," he replied, pausing before he continued, "...or if it was likely to continue." Ukoku flashed Tenpou a grin, then moved toward the picnic table.

Tenpou hesitated for a moment, then caught up, matching Ukoku's stride. He leaned in to nudge Ukoku's shoulder companionably. "I'm fairly certain that we weren't being watched," he said, "But as for the second, well...I assume that would be obvious with time, wouldn't it? Dense though most of them are, the rumour mill seems to grind fairly fast."

Ukoku felt a little of the tension in his shoulders dissipate as Tenpou spoke, and his grin softened a little, though Tenpou couldn't see it. He nudged Tenpou back. "I'm pretty sure we're safe on the beginning, yes," he agreed, then sighed, "You're right about the speed, though. Watched or not, I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see the rumour get there before we do." Handing Tenpou his glasses, Ukoku reached for his own.

Taking them and slipping them on, Tenpou favoured Ukoku with a crooked grin. "I do hope you're not planning to take that long," he said, then frowned as he realised that wearing his backpack would be a bad idea, and grabbed it by the top strap, instead.

Ukoku smirked, barely biting back an amused snort as he watched Tenpou with his bag, then grabbed his own. "Mm, very droll," he replied, slinging his free arm around Tenpou's shoulder, guiding him toward the alleged path. Tenpou shrugged, moving with Ukoku.

"Well, one of us ought to be."