Title: Twenty-eight Letters (my titles are always too dumb or complicated TT)
Characters: Yagyuu & Niou (oh, and a itsy-bitsy Marui cameo)
Rating: PG for one cuss word and one kiss (yes, this is really a D1 fic ;)
Summary: In which something important is admitted through numerous puzzles. 'You kiss-cheated on me' sub-story.

A light sweat had broken out across his forehead as he came close to solving one of the last puzzles that had been in the packet. Another puzzle, another letter, another step closer to finally figuring out those twenty-eight empty spaces that made up six separate words. At first he’d worked fighting back tears, now he worked with only gritted teeth to show his distress outwardly.

What was it that couldn’t be said? What the hell was he even working this hard for?

He was furious, though other emotions did come with being told that your lover had kissed someone else while you were away. Some people would’ve been consumed by sorrow, some might have simply felt empty or lost. He was so mad he could barely see straight. With these two, it was entirely possible, but it was something still unexpected and completely unwanted, and now the one who hadn’t strayed was sorely tempted to rip up all of these ridiculous equations and throw them in the face of that stupid, selfish…boy!

What did he have so far? A jumble of things that made little sense when glanced at. But he was extremely good at unscrambling messages, and he was far from mediocre in mathematics, so the problems giving letters weren’t so much hard as they were time consuming. Something trigonometric here, a graph with length scribbled instructions on it there. Seven paragraph word puzzles. Even a homemade version of a “Sudoku” puzzle. God, this had better be worth it.

Another hour or so of work was all it took, interrupted only by a few sour relinquishments of the task that were always revoked themselves when he resumed working and by dinner with the family that wondered what the sore look on his features was about and to whom he denied any comment.

He had it. All of the letters. K, V, G, F, L, Y, H, M, A, two Os, two Es, two Ts, two Is, three Us, three Ss, and four Rs. Unscrambling them would be the easiest part, and it only took him about fifteen minutes to reveal a hidden message that made every muscle in his body tense without warning.

Yukimura’s right. It’s love for sure.

The next day before tennis practice, Yagyuu adjusted his glasses, approached Niou with a determined air, and kissed him in a demanding way, placing his hand very possessively on the trickster’s hip, interrupting his conversation with Marui. He pulled away, feeling the redhead’s jealous glare boring into the back of his skull and ignoring it.

At first Niou only blinked, his face quite unable to decide whether he should look incredulous or worried, but his confusion passed and his lips formed a smirk. “I take it you got my message. Does that mean you forgive me?”

The gentleman gave his partner a stern, serious look. “Tell me to my face instead of indirectly, Masaharu.”

That afternoon, when they were walking home together, he got what he wanted.