Work Text:
Riko considered herself to be quite lucky. Here she was, about the embark on the next part of her life with the two men in her life (minus her own father but he was a given.) They sat on either side of her, almost like forming a protective barrier. Her personal stronghold against whatever bad things may come her way. She smiled to herself as she looked outside the train window. This was her favorite place to be after all, snug in between Teppei and Hyuuga. She certainly wouldn't have minded if the rest of her life was like this.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Hyuuga raised an eyebrow at her. To which she responded by laying her head on his shoulder and reaching out to pat Teppei's knee.
"Guys, I want you to tell me a story. Something to pass the time." Yes, she was purposefully avoiding the question.
"Oh! I got one for you, Riko." Teppei pipped up, shifting so he could face her, "It starts out with a couple of first years--"
"If you're going to tell that story, you might as well let me do it." Hyuuga grumbled, "You'll tell it wrong anyways."
"You know, all I'm hearing is arguing and no storytelling. Get to it!"
"Right! So like I was saying; it all starts with a trio of first years..."
---
At first they were a duo. A boy and a girl and the world in front of them. The girl admired the boy for his tenacity and she agreed to help him in his endeavors . Through helping him, she discovered her own passion and it seemed like destiny that it would match so perfectly with his. Basketball was what brought these two together. A friendship formed quickly around this sport and it seemed like destiny. Watching him grow under her keen eyes and steady hands brought the girl so much joy. Despite the pain, it brought him happiness too. At least for a while.
Then it came crashing down around her.
The boy decided to quit altogether, to just give up on the dream he once had. He was tired of always losing, tired of feeling powerless against others much more skilled than himself. It wasn't fair to him to keep suffering so needlessly like this. And in that process of thought, he broke the girl's heart. All her hard work meant nothing, for him no less. So in turn, she too gave up. She gave up on training anyone in sports. She never wanted to watch someone give up on her again. It wasn't fair to her.
Time passes and the boy and the girl go to high school, weirdly enough the same high school for seemingly the same reason. There was no basketball team. The boy decided to become a delinquent and the girl decided to bury herself in school. The two both rejected sports, especially the one that caused them the most pain. But as fate would have it, there would be no avoiding this sport they always loved.
Thus enters the outsider. The one who towered over both of them with ease and smiled at them with the same ease. He approached the boy first, recognizing instantly that they shared a love for basketball. The boy rejected the outsider at first. He didn't want to go back to that place he was before. The outsider then turned to the girl, with the hope of continuing his love for basketball. And she too rejected him, not wanting to be disappointed again. But this did not deter the outsider. In his first meeting with the two, he decided that he liked them a lot. Through sheer will, he convinced the boy and the two of them convinced the girl.
The girl became the coach. The boy became the captain. And the outsider became the ace. The trio formed a team with the goal of being number one. But their new found journey wasn't without it's obstacles. The ace was wounded and the coach and captain vowed to remain by his side. That was what friends were for of course.
But their friendship was also a heavy burden. It hurt the ace somehow, watching the captain and the coach together. They were just so perfect together, like two halves made whole. He sacrificed his feelings and swallowed them down. To spare his precious friends of knowing that his feelings were not as innocent as he would like them to be. He had no idea that the other two were having the exact same problem.
Time passed and not a word was said. Matches were lost and won and nothing was said. Their individual feelings came to a boil and the two boys and their coach found themselves on a rooftop. Their words were a jumble as they fell clumsily past their lips. But the feelings were clear. Perhaps they had always been clear in the first place. The ace merely laughed at the inevitability of their situation.
Time passed again and this time they made a new promise. A promise to never leave each other alone. They were to remain their own golden trio, even if their titles were no longer "the ace", "the captain", and "the coach." The coach thought this arrangement to be quite unique. After all, it wasn't every day a girl like her had two precious boys on either arm. Sure, they were given strange looks and all of them could hear the whispers. But in the end it didn't matter. It never mattered what anyone else thought anyways.
So hand in hand in hand, the trio moved forward, ready to face the world outside that basketball court.
Never afraid because now they had each other.
---
"The end!" Teppei looked so proud of himself with the end of his, their story.
Riko giggled and snuggled closer to him, all while squeezing Hyuuga's hand, "That was the lamest story I've ever heard. I love it."
They were still ignoring Hyuuga's quiet grumbles about leaving certain things out. Like those times they fought. Or how they almost lost each other. Or the fact that their future was still up in the air at this point. Hyuuga wanted to point out that it's less likely for him to even pass this entrance exam for this prestigious college. (Not everyone could be as brilliant or as cunning as the two next to him.) But a simple look from the both of them shut him up.
Well not exactly. "How can the two of you be so certain that I will get in? Don't people call this the test from hell--"
"Hyuuga-kun you missed the moral of the story." Riko chimed in with a hum at the end, "The moral of the story is shut the fuck up and move in closer."
"I think Riko means that it doesn't matter." Teppei added, "We'll still be together either way. You can't get rid of us you know."
"Yeah something like that." Riko tugged on Hyuuga's arm, causing him to lean closer against the tiny girl.
And he couldn't help but think; why would he ever want to get rid of them?