Chapter Text
The boundary between friends and boyfriends is a tricky one, Sugawara decides this one evening when he and Daichi are curled up together under a blanket, leaning against his bed as they sit on the floor to watch a movie. They’ve had this tradition since forever, and for just as long it’s simply been what they do without second thoughts. They’re best friends, right?
But then something changed. Suga can’t pinpoint when or how or what it was that even triggered it. He’s not entirely dense, however—he knows what it means when he feels like he’s underwater whenever he’s around their team captain. He knows the way his heart skips a beat when he sneaks a shy glance over at Daichi when they change in the club room before practice isn’t something that just happens. He knows checking his hair in the mirror quickly before opening the door to let Daichi into his house for movie night is because he wants to look nice for him.
Sugawara’s certain of his feelings.
What he’s uncertain of however, are Daichi’s.
Hence, that pesky boundary conundrum.
Daichi’s short, airy laugh through his nose at a particularly ridiculous part of the movie catches Suga’s attention. He darts his gaze sideways to see the way his strong jawline and sharp profile highlights nicely in the soft blue glow of the TV screen. He’s really matured over the years, much quicker than Sugawara that’s for sure. But perhaps he’s biased—one doesn’t really pay attention to one’s own growth, figurative or literal. Suffice it to say, Sawamura Daichi has grown into quite the stunning young man. The moms at the PTA meetings say so all the time and Suga has naught the nerve to disagree.
As if sensing a stare, Daichi suddenly glances Suga’s way, and Sugawara kicks himself for not being quick enough to look away before he notices. His stomach does an uncomfortable whirl as he tries his very best not to look robotic while reaching over and grabs another small handful of potato chips to munch on. But of course, Daichi doesn’t comment on it. Why would he have reason to? They’re best friends, right? You're allowed to look at your best friend.
The movie continues without any more blunders, despite only one party being aware of the first blunder, until one particularly…intense scene.
Suga’s eyes widen as the main characters get close, speaking in hushed, sultry voices. Then the scene cuts, and they’re writhing in bed together, ravishing each other with moans and gasps that are in no way dampened by the ridiculous background music. Sure, Suga and Daichi have watched plenty of movies together—a variety of ratings to boot. They’d gotten over the awkwardness of a somewhat spicy scene a while back when accidentally watching a director’s cut of a horror film. But something about this particular scene hits Sugawara more than he’s prepared for. The main characters, up until now in the comedy plot line, were depicted as friends; nothing more than snide remarks and the occasional pleasant hug. Apparently, the cinematic universe is also trying to tell Suga something about that aforementioned boundary.
He swallows heavily and can already feel a heat crawl up his neck despite every fiber of his will saying no, calm down! Before he can panic too much, however, he hears Dachi quietly clear his throat beside him. Suga sneaks another peek at his friend, who shifts rather awkwardly and looks downward, eyes unfocused and distant. Before long, he senses Suga’s gaze on him once more, and when he looks this time, Sugawara doesn’t glance away. They hold this pose for quite some time, the lewd noises of the movie filtering over their silence.
“Weird, huh?” Daichi says with a sort of lopsided smile. He sits up a little against the bed side, but holds the soft blanket up to his chin. He looks sort of uncomfortable all things considered. “Didn’t really see them being a couple…or anything…”
“Y-yeah,” Suga agrees with a slight nod of his head before finally has to look away. He’s thankful for that handful of chips now as he lifts a huge one to his teeth and nibbles on it instead of shoving it painfully into his mouth like he normally does. It gives him something to do other than focus on the dreadfully lengthy scene playing out before them on the TV. "Kinda sudden," he mutters.
At last, the scene finally, finally ends and Sugawara is almost certain that it’s the longest sex scene he’s ever witnessed in a so-called “comedy” film. He's shocked at how long he was able to make one potato chip last, too. He can barely contain his sigh of relief when the scene transitions back to the main plot. He doesn’t contain his shiver though, feeling a bit chilly now, and he realizes Daichi has practically stolen the entire blanket at this point. Which, to be fair, is something he does quite often. Suga reaches over silently, grabbing hold of a corner to shift some over for himself.
But he can’t.
He tugs again to no avail.
“Dai,” he says. “You’re hoggin’ the blanket.”
Daichi doesn’t answer, only looks forward steadfast at the TV screen which he had so astutely avoided for practically the past five minutes.
“Daichi.”
“I’m cold,” is all he responds with and if Suga doesn’t know any better, which he shouldn’t, he swears Daichi’s face looks a little…off. “Get your own.”
“This is my own,” Suga says incredulously. “It’s my house.”
“Get your own,” Daichi repeats stubbornly which gains an annoyed scoff from Suga. But Sugawara isn’t one for easily giving up. Oh, no, quite the opposite.
He narrows his eyes and reaches over to get a better grasp on the warm quilt, gripping it tightly as he yanks it hard. Daichi, bless him for thinking he had the power to dissuade his best friend, is caught off guard, grip loosened. The blanket slips from his grasp in one smooth motion, static electricity popping and cracking as the fabric brushes along his body. His eyes widen and he scrambles— albeit too late– to snatch the blanket back. "Wait!"
“Mine now!” Suga laughs triumphantly, a light fluttering in his chest as he wraps the blanket around himself like a cape. “No more for y—Uh, dude? You okay?” His playful banter, ready to fire off like normal, is brought to a halt when Daichi suddenly curls up, bringing his knees to his chest, arms hugging them tightly as he hides his face.
“Don’t say a word,” Daichi says resolutely, voice muffled into his knees.
Sugawara doesn’t even think he can say any words right now, judging from the amount of confusion buzzing in his skull like a swarm of angry bees. He lowers the blanket and it pools around his hips like a warm, fuzzy nest. “Okay,” he responds quietly, as any good friend would do.
Moments of awkward silence pass and the movie actually finishes, credits rolling before Daichi lets out a balanced sigh and lifts his head again.
“Welcome back,” Sugawara grins and it only grows wider when Daichi shoots him a glare. He adds, more softly, “Everything okay?” As much as he likes to play around and make fun of his best friend, Suga has duties, you know. They’re close enough to know when so much is too much. And really, they’re honest with each other to a fault. Well, mostly. Sometimes Suga wishes he could tell Daichi the truth…but the fear of ruining everything is far too great. Friend-boyfriend boundary and all that.
“Yeah, it’s just…” Daichi begins but his lips go tight, gaze dropping away to stare at his socked feet, fiddling his big toes one over the other. “I—promise me you won’t laugh?”
Suga quirks an eyebrow but nods. “Yeah, sure.”
Daichi sighs again and unfolds himself, stretching his legs out. Sugawara is confused for a moment. That is, until his eyes promptly drop down, pinning the irrefutable bulge tenting Daichi’s basketball shorts. And it’s nothing to blow your nose at either. It’s way past half-mast, so to speak. He doesn’t know if a canon shoots off somewhere or if his brain quite literally implodes, but needless to say Sugawara is dumbstruck.
“You’re hard.”
“Dude—come one, don’t say it!” Daichi lifts a hand to his forehead, groaning in embarrassment before he runs it through his short cropped hair. He rubs his head furiously a couple times before letting his hand drop limply beside him. He then gestures vaguely at his own dick. “It just happened when...I mean... I don’t know.”
Suga still hasn’t looked away from it; and really, he can’t. Because…well, just because! Look at it! They’ve been friends for a long, long time. They’ve talked about all sorts of things. Certainly their conversations have gone to the more personal side sometimes—porn preference, no reason boners during class, or frustrations of not being able to rub one out when family is just so nosy. But talking about it is one thing…
“Do you, uh,” Sugawara starts speaking and he forces himself to look away from it, back up to Daichi who stares at him now with a slightly bewildered look. “Need to, like, take care of it or…?”
Daichi’s eyes shine in the filtering light of the credits, widening beyond belief. “What?! No! What the hell, Suga?”
As if through a domino effect, or perhaps his own embarrassment, Sugawara deflects loudly. “W-well! I don’t know, Dai! What do you want from me?!”
“I…n-nothing! I was just—I figured I owed you an explanation,” Daichi’s ears are absolutely red at this point. Suga can tell as much even in the dim light of the room. He’s sure his own cheeks are painted an indisputable pink at this point too.
“Alright, alright.” Sugawara somehow manages to find a semblance of calm as he lifts his hands up in surrender. “Whatever, Dai. It’s fine. It’s just, if you did want something then…I mean, I’m not like grossed out or anything. That’s what friends are for.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
There’s a good solid beat of silence. Daichi narrows his eyes and something about the air in the room shifts. “What do you mean ‘that’s what friends are for’?”
Suga feels ice slither down his spine, hazel eyes widening. “Did…did I say that?”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“…What am I saying that you think I’m saying?”
“What are—no, never mind. This is stupid,” Daichi looks like a slight breeze could knock him out right about now. He clears his throat again and adjusts where he sits, tucking his legs in to sit pretzel style. “Forget it.”
Sugawara stares at him a moment, feeling like he just let something really, really precious slip right through his fingers like grains of sand. He swallows again, laughing sheepishly as he sits more comfortably too, practically shoulder to shoulder with Daichi. “Y-yeah,” he scratches the side of his cheek. “Friends don’t do that stuff, anyway.”
There’s a short pause; curious to say the least, if not a little heavy.
“…Well, they might,” Daichi’s voice is so soft, so unlike himself that Sugawara is quite uncertain if it’s not just his wishful, horny mind conjuring it into fruition. He isn’t left pondering too long, however, as he turns to look at Daichi with pure, unadulterated shock written on his face. Daichi’s ears are still red, not that they had any chance to cool down all this time, and he pouts his lower lip.
Sugawara swallows heavy, heart thrumming like a boxer is going to town on his ribcage, and he glances down between Daichi’s legs again. A whole new wave of something courses through him and it almost has him dizzy. He lifts his hand, cupping it behind his hot, now gross and sweaty neck—so much for being chilly. “Uh, I mean…I could, yeah. But uhm, I don’t know, it’s kinda awkward.”
“Right…” Daichi scoots now, turning as he sits to face Sugawara. “Doing something like that out of the blue is sorta…intense.” They're both reminded of the movie.
“But we could,” Sugawara somehow finds it within himself to look Daichi in the eye, and Daichi looks back. He doesn’t know what he’s thinking when he continues with, “Try kissing first?”
Daichi’s expression goes slack, gaze dropping to Sugawara’s lips which Suga notes with painstaking attentiveness. The light shifts in the room as the DVD finishes its scroll through the credits and goes back to the bright title screen. It covers the room in a soft purple light, casting a new set of shadows on the sharp lines of Daichi’s face.
“Okay,” he says.
“Okay,” Suga replies.
And for a moment, Sugawara can’t breathe. He feels Daichi’s warm fingers slip under his chin, tilting it with just the slightest of nudges as he rests his thumb right below his lip. He closes his eyes, hoping, praying that it’s not a dream. And it certainly doesn’t feel like one when those warm lips press against his; salty from snacks, wet as if he’d just licked them. Sugawara sees fireworks behind his eyes and goosebumps rise on his arms and for a short moment, he thinks he finally understands the whole boundary business.
Sugawara lets his hand drop from his neck, lowering it slowly until his fingers find purchase on Daichi’s thick bicep. There’s a moment’s pause and Daichi seems to pull back ever so slightly before he lets out a soft sigh and presses in again, lips on the verge of moving. Suga replies in kind, opening his mouth a little and tilting his head to accommodate the new, slightly languid, slightly awkward movements.
Daichi’s hand slips away from Sugawara’s chin, his other lifting too as he reaches up to either side of Suga’s face. His palms are warm, thumbs rubbing small circles along his cheek bones and temples as he deepens the kiss. The slightly rough pad of his thumb brushes gently over the small, raised beauty mark below Suga’s eye when he suddenly presses harder, a silent question.
Suga more than welcomes it; opening his mouth and letting out a soft, wet, breathy moan when Daichi’s slick tongue pushes in, tasting and writhing with relaxed yet straightforward curiosity. The sensation is nothing like anything he could’ve hoped for, and then some. It's exhilerating, kinda scary, but so, so good. Sugawara doesn’t stop himself from shivering again; his whole body lighting up and the buzzing bees of nerves wreaking havoc in his mind from before have calmed into a soft glow of lightning bugs just beneath his skin.
Daichi’s soft moan is so quiet, a barely there noise of content as they make out for God knows how long. Sugawara’s jaw actually starts to feel a bit sore, tense from overuse, but it’s not like he’s going to stop any time soon. And they don’t, for quite a bit after. They sit face to face, lost in each other, tasting and moaning until they’re caught in a sudden darkness of the TV going into sleep mode.
They don’t stop abruptly, but fade comfortably into stillness. Their swollen, overworked lips part so gently that they make no noise.
And then they’re silent. Daichi presses his forehead to Sugawara’s and they’re both warm, a little breathless.
Suga licks his lips, tasting the somehow lingering bits of salt on them, and opens his eyes slowly; gaze glassy and unfocused but he finds Daichi’s eyes right away and all is cleared. They both lean back to a respectable distance, removing their hands from each other and leaving a whole new kind of cold in their place.
“Uhm,” Sugwara starts, feeling like he should say something. Anything. Because that was…
“Nice.” Daichi smirks and nods calmly, like he’d just saw some sick kill on a volleyball YouTube channel.
Sugawara blinks, synapses firing but sputtering out in the process. “…Nice?”
“Uh,” Daichi looks around for a moment, popping his lips in thought before his line of sight fixates with Suga’s once more. “I mean, cool?”
Suga lets out a groan, feeling a tidal wave of embarrassment rush through him with a vengeance. Any semblance of sanity he had gathered beforehand is lost; taken by the wind, never to return again. He topples over, hands covering his explosively warm face as he disappears into the blanket pooled around him. “I knew it. Friends don’t kiss.”
“Sure they do,” Daichi replies from above him, leaning over with a quirked eyebrow to where Suga has melted into the blanket nest. Sugawara peers out from behind his slim fingers, just enough to catch Daichi’s liquid coffee eyes, crinkled with his kind as always smile. “But that wasn’t one of those times. Don’t you think?”
Suga stares at him through his finger barrier, narrowing his scrutinizing gaze searching for some kind of trick. When he finds none, his heart does a giddy little leap that makes him feel really, rather good. “I like you, Daichi,” he says without removing his hands. He feels safe there, protected.
Daichi’s eyebrows shoot up but his smile stays all the same. “Me too.”
“And we’re talking about the same kind of ‘like,’ right?” Suga’s eyes have adjusted to the dark, and he can see Daichi still staring at him, still smiling.
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.”
“Ugh, finally.” Suga lets out a groan, mostly of relief but somewhat aggravated at himself for worrying for so damn long. Who knew all he had to do was ask! Go figure.
He hears Daichi chuckle and suddenly his warm hand finds his thigh, patting it over the blanket. “Never thought I’d say this but, thank God for no reason boners.”
Sugawara finally removes his hands from his face and shoots an incredulous look up at his best friend.
Or, is it boyfriend?
Well, details details.
“Yeah, what are you, 12?” he jabs with his words and with his hand; fingers like a blade as he stabs Daichi’s side, barely able to reach from where he lies on the ground, but somehow manages. He always manages.
“Ow! Son of a—” Daichi curls over in pain but he’s quick on the recovery, reaching over to grab Suga. Sugawara is crafty too though; a veteran in the ways of roughhousing. He easily thwarts the oncoming attack, entwining his fingers with Daichi’s as they wrestle and push. It isn’t a long match, of course. Sugawara may be swift, but he’s nowhere near an equal match against Sawamura Daichi when it comes to raw strength. His arms give out before long, causing Daichi to drop suddenly on top of him which has Sugawara’s life flashing before his eyes.
When Daichi topples onto him, laughing and grunting, they struggle some more like a pair of restless lion cubs, pushing and shoving, rolling along the floor until Sugawara has Daichi pinned onto the soft carpet. His hands press onto his hard chest, shoulders heaving as he catches his breath. He whole body feels light, like he’s floating, and he grins cheekily down at Daichi who stares up at him with parted lips and slightly shocked expression.
“We…” Daichi says a bit breathless, and Sugawara feels an odd tug in his gut when he hears him panting. “We always do this sort of thing.”
“We do, yeah.” Suga sits back on his haunches, but doesn’t release Daichi. He pats his chest, playing it like a drum. It would otherwise be a harmlessly playful act, if it weren’t for the fact that he simply needs to do something to not look at Daichi’s dick again; as horridly curious as he is about its…status. Now is just not the time.
“We’re like way older than 12, though.”
“We sure are.”
“Why the hell did it take us this long to realize it?” Daichi asks now, lifting his head from the carpet to get a better look at Suga’s drumming. “That we’re also way more than best friends?”
Suga shrugs, smiling with a delight he can’t really put into words. He doesn’t try to. He’ll just let it be as it is. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, actually.”
“Yeah?”
Another shrug. “We hang out all the time and tell each other everything. I know pretty much all there is to know about you. We share food. We have sleep overs. We practically cuddle.”
Daichi’s nods, pursing his lips in agreeable consideration.
“It just seemed sorta natural to me,” Suga admits. After a moment he pauses his hands, fanning his fingers flat against Daichi’s broad chest. “I was afraid though. That if I said something...I’d mess everything up. I didn’t know how you felt, so…”
Daichi suddenly sits up, his hands coming to Sugawara’s to hold them gently. He leans down a bit, lowering himself to look up into Suga’s hazel eyes. “Sorry you had to wait so long for my dumbass to get a clue.”
Suga puffs out a quick laugh at that. “When did you realize it?” he asks, curiosity reaching its peak.
“About 30 minutes ago when we started making out.”
“…A-are you serious?!” Suga’s face goes aflame again and he leans away, hands still held captive by Daichi who laughs heartily at his overblown reaction.
“…No?” Daichi blushes too and his eyes dart to their hands, then back to Suga, then to their hands again. Then back to Suga. “Wait, when did you realize it?”
Sugawara groans and promptly drops his head to Daichi’s shoulder. “Can we just, not talk about this anymore? I’m gonna die of embarrassment. Let’s just make out again.”
“Works for me,” Daichi laughs again as his hand slips around Sugawara to the small of his back, pushing just slightly to encourage him to sit up straight. When they’re eye level once more, he smiles at him—wide and toothy.
“Boyfriends?” Suga asks, a small glint of something unspoken and yearning in his hazel gaze.
Daichi nods curtly, the air of team captain never seems to leave him even in moments like these. “Boyfriends.”
They don’t come out of Sugawara’s room for a very, very, perhaps concerningly, long time that evening. They don’t necessarily reach the intensity of that ridiculously long scene from the film, but where’s the rush? They’ve got plenty of time to figure that out.
For now, Sugawara thinks finally cracking the boundary between friends and boyfriends code is enough to call today a win.