Field - ★ - Brance

- Part Fifteen -

They both sat down on Bruce's bed again. "This is better than when you where drunk." Bruce chuckled. Vance rolled his eyes but Bruce could tell he was holding back a smile. 
"Can I ask you something?" Bruce asked, Vance nodded carefully. 
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" He asked. Vance laughed and tilted his head back a bit. "That's such a basic question." He huffed.

"I'm serious!" Bruce added, looking intensely at Vance's face. He hummed for a second, seemingly deep in thought. "I don't know." He shrugged. "What do you want to be?" Bruce frowned a bit before answering. "I would like to be a photographer. But I'll probably end up as some baseball player." He said. The blonde turned to him; "Why would you become a baseball player?" 

"It's always been my thing." Bruce paused. "My dad wanted me to play baseball, so I have been. For as long as I can remember." Vance closely listened. "It's not like I don't like baseball, I have talent for it. I just wish I could be more than just that. Creative, like my sister." He rambled. 
He went silent and his face seemed flushed. "Never mind." He muttered after Vance didn't say anything.

"No, I think you should be a photographer." Vance said, nodding in agreement. "It suits you." 
"You think?" Bruce smiled at the boy. Even though Vance had been his friend for a few days now, every time he acted nice it still caught him off guard. 

"Yeah." Vance replied. He smiled back at Bruce. "If it doesn't work out you can always return to baseball." He shrugged. Bruce nodded, and they sat quietly on the bed. Their legs where touching, but that didn't bother Bruce. He glanced at Vance's hand.
 "Where did you get that ring?" He asked him. "Oh, this old thing?" Vance raised his hand to show the ring more clearly. "I grabbed it from some store. It's just steel." Bruce carefully reached out to his hand, gently touching the ring. "I like it." He spoke softly. 

He kept inspecting it, softly holding onto Vance's palm. It was a thick steel ring, it was beautifully engraved with all sorts of swirls and symbols. Vance quickly pulled his hand back, making Bruce snap out of his thoughts. He watched as Vance hid his face, his hand covering the bottom of it. 

"Sorry." Bruce whispered. Vance stayed quiet, still covering half his face. He removed his hand and didn't say anything. Bruce looked looked at Vance's face, taking in all his features. He had always found Vance good-looking, his jaw and hair, his eyes. He turned his face away after Vance started looking back at him. Bruce sat up straight and slapped his hands on his thighs.
 "We should go do something." He stated. 

"It's like nine." Vance huffed. "What can we do in your room?" Bruce's gaze twitched around the room, looking for anything interesting. "What about chess?" He asked, or more so demanded. "Sure." Vance replied. He watched as Bruce got up and pulled out a wooden chessboard from his closet. "Fuck,"  Vance's mind was racing. "What was that whole thing with my ring.."  Vance's face had burned up for no reason, he was glad he quickly covered it though. He just had to hope that Bruce didn't notice it. 

Bruce placed the chessboard in the middle of his floor, sitting down next to it with his legs crossed. Vance lifted himself up from the bed and sat down next to him in the same way. Bruce started slowly putting the wooden carved pieces onto the board. "Uhm, Yamada?" 

"Yes?" Bruce answered. "I've never played chess." He mumbled. "I can teach you," Bruce said. "So," He started pointed at the pieces, explaining the way they move, and that he'd have to take Bruce's king. Vance nodded along even though he truly didn't understand much. 
"And this is the king!" Bruce smiled, holding up the wooden piece. 

"Alright.." Vance said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "You have the white side so you can start!" Vance looked down at the board, scanning his pieces before hesitantly putting a pawn forwards. 

___ 

They'd been playing for around three hours. Vance had gotten the hang of it, but it was obvious that Bruce was way better. Bruce used to play chess with his father, and he had been taught all the ways to strategically win. Vance on the other hand was just placing anything he could.

Vance moved a knight sideways. "Wait, you can't do that!" Bruce said. He had been focused on the game, struggling to play easy for Vance. He'd lost most rounds but that was because he was constantly helping Vance out. "Here," He grabbed onto his hand, leading the knight into an L shape. Bruce slowly removed his hand, not noticing that Vance's face had burned up again.

"Checkmate!" Bruce exclaimed. Vance tilted his head. "Again?" He said, rolling his eyes.
"You don't have to go easy on me, you know that right?" He smirked. Bruce crossed his arms and smiled. "You would stand no chance if I don't!" He laughed. 

Bruce turned to the clock. "It's already midnight!" He yell-whispered. "We were playing for that long?" He replied, a slight surprise in his tone. "Can we smoke?" Vance asked carefully. Bruce got up, reaching his hand down to Vance. Vance grabbed it, getting himself onto his feet too. 
They walked to the window and Bruce slowly opened it. Vance reached in his pocket and grabbed his pack, pulling two cigarettes from it.

He put one in his mouth, sparking it up before handing it to Bruce. Bruce carefully took it, watching as Vance lit up his own. "So," Vance said, blowing the smoke outside. "Are we going to sleep after this?" Bruce hummed in agreement. "Too bad. I could've beat your ass in chess next round, actually this time." Vance huffed. "Sure." He smiled. 

They both finished their cigarette, trying to toss it out the window far enough that it wouldn't land in the Yamada's yard. "I bet I can throw it further." Vance bragged. "Bet."
Bruce watched as Vance threw it, it landed on the sidewalk. "Pfft. I could do better." Bruce slung the cigarette butt, it rolling right past Vance's. He let out a small laugh of victory as Vance punched him on his arm softly. "Beginners luck." He groaned.

They turned around and Bruce grabbed a few clothes from his closet, tossing some to Vance after he had closed the window. "I'll go change in the bathroom." Bruce said, leaving the room. 
Vance changed into the sweatpants and baggy T-shirt. He sat down on the side of the bed. 
The silence all of a sudden caused his mind to race. He repeated Bruce touching his hand in his mind, over and over, till he heard the door open again. 

Bruce walked over to the bed, stopping as he stood in front of Vance. "Can I tackle you?" Bruce asked, in such a sweet way it almost sounded like a normal question. "Uh, sure?" Before Vance could process it Bruce tackled him onto the bed, Vance grabbed onto him and put him in a headlock before he started ruffling his hair up. "Stop!" Bruce pleaded. "My hair is already messy!" Vance laughed before letting go of Bruce. 

"That's for making me lose with the tossing contest." 
"You're still mad about that?" Bruce said, rolling his eyes again. They sat next to each other against the headboard of the bed. Vance rubbed his eyelids, struggling to keep them open. 
"Are you tired, Vance?" Bruce said smiling. Vance hummed in reply. "We can go sleep?" Yamada suggested. Another hum of agreement followed. Bruce reached over to the light on his nightstand, switching it off.

Vance laid down and Bruce followed. They were both very tired, Vance especially. He adjusted himself till he was comfortable, slightly pushed against the wall. Bruce turned over and wrapped his arm around Vance, nestling his head on his torso. He didn't say anything. Vance's muscles tensed up. He hesitated before wrapping his arms around Bruce, pulling him closer to him. 
 Vance smiled slightly, knowing Bruce couldn't see him.

They soon fell asleep.

(1372 words)