always...

chapter 97 - terusemi

semi sat on top of his roof for the fourth time that week.

he needed some time to process everything that had happened lately; from the one night stand two weeks ago, to getting beaten up in the street, all the way up to his confrontation and confession with terushima.

the bruising on his face and ribs had already faded away and the cuts above his forehead were now scarring ever so slightly.

it's almost march already? i'll be graduating soon...

semi laid down on the cool roof tiles, the rough surface scratching against his fingertips. he stared up at the sky, its muted tones of red and orange gradually blending together.

the setter closed his eyes for a moment, content and comfortable as he noticed the barely warmer weather. he felt his chest rise and fall, the gentle gusts of wind whistling in his ears.

suddenly, he heard the sharp chirp of a car lock and jolted back up, looking around to see where it came from.

he peered over the edge of the roof to see none other than the johzenji captain, taking long strides towards his front door with a bag slung over his shoulder.

"teru!" semi called out.

terushima chuckled to himself and looked up, half-knowing that semi was probably up there already.

"hey hot shot," terushima answered back, "you gonna let me in first, or am i going to have to climb up there instead?"

"only if you tell me what's in the bag."

"that, is a surprise," the captain winked.

semi rolled his eyes, "there's a spare key stashed under the doormat!" he shouted from above.

"you know, that's not really the most secure place to keep it!" terushima called, bending down to grab the key.

"shush! just get up here already!"

terushima shook his head and let himself inside the house. he went upstairs to semi's room, and set his bag down on the bed.

he took out a few items and tucked them under his arm before stepping outside the window and climbing up to the rooftop.

terushima walked up behind semi, kneeling down and hugging him from behind. the captain rested his head on top of semi's, ruffling his ash blond locks slightly.

"hey hot shot," terushima smiled.

"why do you always call me that?" semi giggled as terushima brought his hand to semi's cheek.

"i told you. it has a good double meaning," the blond smirked.

terushima lifted his arms off of semi and unraveled the blanket that he had carried up with him. he smoothed it out on top of the roof tiles before sitting down and patting the empty spot next to him.

semi raised his eyebrows at the second year then shifted himself onto the blanket with terushima. the setter laid down, the fuzzy fibers of the fabric covering up the itchy surface of the roof.

terushima followed his lead and laid down as well, folding his hands on top of his stomach.

"how are you doing on this fine evening?" terushima asked.

semi turned his head to face him, "much better, now that you're here too."

terushima gazed back at semi, a dopey grin plastered across his face as he leaned in towards the setter and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"i could say the same," he replied, reaching up to brush back a stray strand of hair from semi's face.

semi inched a little closer to terushima, just enough so that their shoulders brushed against each other. he exhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling the air start to cool down as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

dark blues spread across the atmosphere and small glittering stars began to appear, scattered across the heavens like paint spattered onto a canvas.

semi opened his eyes, taking in the subtle glow of starlight that greeted him and noticing how his breath now curled up in the air like whisps of white smoke.

the two remained quiet for a few moments, simply watching as the nightsky developed into a sparkling mural of celestial wonder.

"the stars look beautiful tonight," semi murmured.

terushima unclasped his hands and reached down. he tickled semi's fingertips gently before lacing his fingers around them, lightly squeezing semi's hand.

terushima turned to look at semi, admiring how his skin glowed under the delicate moonlight.

"yeah...you do."

semi's cheeks flushed a light pink as he turned to meet terushima's stare.

terushima's gaze pierced straight through semi's, forcing the setter to look away, hiding his blush.

"you're so cheesy," semi tried to tease.

the captain brought their entwined hands up towards himself, "and what of it?"

he pressed his lips against semi's knuckles, never breaking eye contact as he repeated the action twice more.

semi couldn't stop smiling, a small laugh escaping him as he watched terushima.

"are you going to tell me what was in the bag?" semi wondered out loud all of a sudden.

"well, this blanket and-" terushima reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small box, "this."

the two of them sat up on the blanket and faced each other.

he lifted the lid of the container to reveal a pair of simple silver bar pendants that hung straight down from matching silver chains.

"teru-what's this for?"

the captain took one of the necklaces and reached around semi to clasp it around his neck. he repeated this with the second necklace, placing it around his own.

semi only saw the one chain hanging around terushima, confused as to where tenchi's necklace was.

"i took it off," terushima interrupted semi's thoughts.

"what? why??" semi became flustered.

"it was...a burden. it kept reminding me of all that guilt i was carrying and i realized that i need to let that go. i loved tenchi, but i don't think he'd want me to blame myself anymore."

"so these necklaces then...why?" semi questioned carefully.

"something to connect us and a personal reminder to myself that your feelings aren't fragile...that goes for me as well," terushima added.

he took semi's pendant in his hand and looked up at the ash blond.

"my love is not fragile," he whispered, pressing his lips against semi's in a soft yet passionate kiss full of both affection and lust.

terushima slowly pulled away, placing his hand along semi's jaw as his thumb swiftly brushed his cheek.

"i love you eita."

semi nuzzled his head into terushima's palm.

"i love you too."