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No one is supposed to be in the gym at this hour.
Naturally, Draken, being the only person living on campus who’s home for the break, is sent over to check it out, and while it’s not something he’s too scared to do, it’s also… four AM.
So, obviously, he would rather be in his dorm, but his coach sounded desperate, and he’s a good person at heart, so he gave in and now he’s standing outside the enormous building, cursing the flickering light above the door as it goes out, comes back on, and then goes out for good.
Just his luck that his phone’s dead and he left his flashlight in his dorm.
Whether it’s lucky or unlucky that the light in the gym is on, he’s not sure, but at least he won’t give himself away to the trespasser.
Or so he thinks, but then the door hinges squeak and protest as he opens the oldest door in history and enters the gym, and the faint thud of sneakers against wood and the swish of basketballs going through the net starts to slow until it stops.
Draken decides to hurry into the gym so the trespasser doesn’t get away and he’s startled by the sight of… someone he doesn’t know.
Definitely a trespasser, but a trespasser who goes to this school, which is obvious from the uniform jacket he sports and the fear in his eyes when he spots Draken.
Everyone who goes to this school knows Draken, vice captain of the basketball team and loyal guard dog to the captain. They know how close he is to the coach, who’s turned a blind eye to every suspension-worthy fight he’s been in, all because of his skills on the court, and there’s not a soul on campus who won’t part like a curtain for him-
Except for maybe this guy.
The ball in his hand sails just over Draken’s head as he approaches the trespasser, and swishes through the net, bouncing off into a corner as the trespasser’s eyes widen. He’s pretty, Draken admits to himself.
Of course, he’s never been one to deny beauty, but this one feels a little harder to actually put into words.
His hair is long, blue, and dark like the sky outside, and his eyes are dopey almost, his lips forming a soft ‘o’. Something about his appearance rings a bell but he doesn’t have time to figure out why.
“You can’t be in here,” he commands, “it’s after hours,”
“Sorry, I lost track of time,” the stranger says, scratching at his cheek. He takes a step back but Draken doesn’t let him, grabbing onto his wrist.
“I’m going to have to report you to the coach for breaking and entering-”
“Breaking and entering? The door was unlocked!” he squeaks.
“Okay, then I’ll report you for trespassing,”
“What if… um what if we just pretend I was never here? You won’t report me to my brother, right?”
Draken opens his mouth to say something in response but his mouth snaps shut as his brain processes the new information.
Brother.
Brother, brother… “brother?”
“Taiju Shiba’s the coach, right?”
“... yeah,”
“I’m Hakkai, his younger brother,” Hakkai admits, his face a little too awkward to show if Hakkai’s actually proud of the information he’s relaying. He looks up at Draken through his eyelashes, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed low. “Please don’t tell him. I promise I won’t do this again.”
Draken, against his better judgment, lets Hakkai go.
Exactly a week later at the same time, Draken gets a call that there’s a light on in the gym, and then again the week after that, and by the fourth week seeing Hakkai and excusing him of his actions becomes something that’s just another part of his weekly routine.
Monday night, do the dishes, Tuesday night, empty the bins, Wednesday night, shoot hoops and listen as a stranger spills all his darkest secrets and looks at Draken with the most soulful eyes that are somehow tinged in a deep sadness, Thursday night, walk Pochi, etc.
After two months, Hakkai actually keeps his word and doesn’t exactly ‘do it again’, but this is only true because instead of breaking and entering- though he swears the jimmied keyhole was like that when he got there- he now waits outside for Draken to show up and let him in.
One night, as they’re passing the ball between them, Hakkai says “So this is our what, our ninth date?”
“... I didn’t know these were dates,”
“I guess they’re only dates to me because I’m in love with you,” Hakkai says with a shrug.
Draken forgets to catch the ball and by the time he’s figured it all out, Hakkai’s gone.
There are no more reports of trespassers afterwards.