Author's Notes: This fandom has made me google more books about Samurai training than I ever thought existed. Written for Queer_fest 2013.

Mike is not the type of person Kevin had ever imagined himself associating with.

Mike is sarcastic and abrasive, flamboyant, opinionated, obnoxious at the best of times and aggravating at the worst. He has a particular penchant for pushing Kevin's buttons, above all their other teammates, and Kevin hasn't yet been able to find a way to get to Mike.

He doesn't try very hard, because it's just not the kind of person he is. He doesn't enjoy causing other people aggravation.

Unlike Mike.

This week alone Mike has stolen his practice sword, added a mark to one of his symbols to change its power, glued Kevin's chopsticks together, called him "Twinkle toes", and printed out a picture of Kevin in that darned tutu and hung it on the refrigerator.

The thing Kevin can't figure out is why Mike has picked him. Why does Mike expend so much energy tormenting Kevin every day, instead of spreading it out equally over the whole team? Why does Mike insist on getting in Kevin's personal space, insist on making Kevin irritated, insist on testing the limits of Kevin's sanity?

"I don't get it," Kevin confides to Mia one afternoon in the garden, "What have I done? Does he hate me?"

"Kevin," Mia asks as she takes a seat on one of the benches, "Don't you remember elementary school?"

"What?" Kevin wonders what that has to do with the situation at all.

Mia tilts her head curiously. "You never tied someone shoelaces together or threw pebbles at them to get their attention?"

Kevin frowns. "Why would anyone do that?"

Mia grins like she knows something Kevin doesn't. "It's something kids do when they like each other."

Kevin's frown deepens, and he shakes his head, confused. "Why would anyone do things like that to someone they like?"

Mia shrugs. "It's mostly boys who are socialized not to express their feelings in appropriate ways. Girls can give flowers or valentines, but little boys have to resort to dipping their crushes hair in ink."

"What are you saying?" Kevin asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

Mia gives him a curious look. "I thought it was sort of obvious, I mean, Mike isn't the most mature person in the world."

Kevin considers. Mike gets a lot of pleasure out of the things he does to Kevin, but he also gets… a lot of Kevin's attention. If what Mia is saying is true… is any attention good attention?

"He does this stuff because he wants you to notice him," Mia says gently, watching Kevin's expression like she's expecting a bad reaction. "Switching your organized colored pens around, challenging you during training, tripping you in the hall… it's how Mike shows affection."

It's certainly not an explanation he'd considered. But then, affection in itself isn't something Kevin has ever given much thought to. It isn't that he isn't interested in having someone in his life, it's just that there never seems to be enough time.

Kevin's been training all his life. His father had told him stories about becoming a samurai from the time he was a little boy, and his mother had encouraged his swimming abilities from a young age as well. He's dedicated so much of himself to being the perfect athlete, the perfect samurai, the person scholar, the perfect son… he's never even really considered having a relationship of any kind.

Let alone having one with someone like Mike.

It's not that the thought that he might be gay hasn't ever crossed his mind. After all, he'd spent most of high school surrounded by well toned guys in Speedos. If he was absolutely straight, he would have spent a lot less time observing them.

It just never seemed important. Gay, straight, what did it matter when the situation might never come up at all?

Only now it has.

Kevin starts paying more attention to Mike. He watches the way Mike reacts to things Kevin says or does. He lets Mike continue to try to aggravate him.

Except now that Kevin understand what it means, he finds himself less aggravated by Mike's antics and more… flattered.

He even starts to reciprocate, without any clear plan about where this is going. He spoons Mia's awful food onto Mike's plate when he isn't looking, avoids Mike's furious yet hysterical gaze a moment later. He stops abruptly when Mike is following too close behind him, making Mike slam into his back and curse. He taps Mike on the shoulder while he's sparring with Mia, causing Mike to turn and then get knocked on his butt.

It's surprisingly entertaining.

And it makes working with Mike easier, Kevin notices. Now that he's in on the joke, now that he's playing back and not getting so annoyed, he and Mike seem to click in a way they hadn't before. Mike actually becomes helpful in situations where he'd otherwise just have mocked Kevin.

When he looks for it, after Mike has said something particularly funny or done something ridiculous for the umpteenth time that day, Kevin can see it, there behind his eyes. That look, the one that is definitely affection and fondness and adoration, peeking out at Kevin behind all the mirth.

And he finds that he actually, sort of, in a way, maybe, likes Mike.

"Don't do it," Kevin warns one night, feeling Mike coming up behind him while he's reading.

"You don't even know what-" Mike starts, sounding irritated.

"I know it's probably something I won't like," Kevin intoned, smirking without looking up from his book, "So just stop it."

Mike huffs good-naturedly, and he comes into Kevin's peripheral vision. Kevin glances at him out of the corner of his eye to see Mike pop a couple of ice cubes into his mouth, and then he grins and plops himself down on the couch next to Kevin. "What are you reading?" Mike says as he crushes the ice cubes with his teeth and swallows them down.

"The Warrior's Path," Kevin answers, aware that the answer doesn't matter and he's about to be made fun of for reading serious books.

"Is it good?" Mike wonders, and he leans in against Kevin's side, rests his chin on Kevin's shoulder to look down at the small print of the book.

"It's informative, yes," Kevin says, and he can't help but glance warily at Mike, who stays right where he is, feigning reading.

Kevin tries to focus on his book, finishes the page and attempts to turn it, but Mike makes an annoyed noise and reaches out to stop Kevin's hand. "I'm reading that," he says, as though it's Kevin who is being the rude one. "You read crazy fast."

"Mike," Kevin warns, trying again to turn the page.

"Kevin," Mike intones back with a grin, holding the page in place, knowing, instinctively, that Kevin won't risk tearing the page.

"Mike," Kevin says again, and he starts shifting the book out of Mike's view, jostling the shoulder Mike is resting on.

"What?" Mike demands, pulling back slightly. "I'm taking an interest in samurai literature! Like you always tell me to do! You're giving me very negative reinforcement right now."

"And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you want to stay pressed up against me like this," Kevin says quickly without thinking, and then he has to bite back a grin at the way Mike's eyes go wide.

He focuses his eyes back on his book and ignores Mike watching him. It's a challenge, he knows, even if he didn't mean it to be. Because Kevin has just admitted, out loud, to Mike, that he knows what's going on here. And there's no taking it back.

It's a tense but amusing moment until Mike finally pulls himself back and away from Kevin, going so far as to lean against the arm of the couch instead, putting his legs up on the table in front of them.

"Alright," Mike says, grinning, "Fine. I'll just be over here, calmly processing that. Not interfering with your reading. Silent, pleasant company."

Kevin laughs quietly, turning the page at last, but no longer paying attention to the book. "I find that very hard to believe."

"I can be pleasant," Mike says, and Kevin rolls his eyes, shoots Mike a quick skeptical look to egg him on. "And I can be quiet."

"This is your idea of being quiet?" Kevin wonders.

Mike doesn't answer, instead just stretches, lets out a long breath, and Kevin is more interested in watching Mike try to be silent company to him than in reading his book, because it's hilarious. Mike's inner child is straining, hard, against the confines of sitting quietly in a quiet room, and wow, Kevin thinks, Mike must really like him.

Kevin closes his book.

"I didn't say anything," Mike immediately defends himself, and Kevin laughs.

He reaches over, hits Mike over the head with his soft cover book, stands and says, "You want to go get something to eat?"

Mike hesitates. "I can just let you read," he offers, looking, for the very first time, a little bit remorseful that he's interrupted Kevin's leisure time.

Kevin shakes his head, reaches down and grabs Mike's hand to pull him to his feet. "What," Kevin wonders, amused, "Does it take the fun out of it if I come willingly?"

Mike grins at him, tilts his head back and forth considering. "A little bit," he says at last, and he laughs when Kevin rolls his eyes.

"I'll put up more of a fight next time," Kevin promises, and it feels good, because Mike gives him his fond look, and Kevin knows there will be a next time, and probably a time after that.

And it feels really good to make plans with someone, to have someone to make plans with at all, even if that someone is Mike.

Especially, Kevin thinks reluctantly, walking next to Mike and picking his feet up every time Mike reaches over to trip him halfheartedly, if that someone is Mike.