Disclaimer: Characters belong to Takeshi Konomi-san.
Warning: Grammar/spelling mistakes, missing words/letters.
Pairing: One sided Sanada/Ryoma and at the end Sanada/Yukimura.
Side pairing: Atobe/Ryoma.
Summary: Sanada is holding a glass heart in his hands. His glass heart. He wishes to give it to his one sided love but that is impossible. He never noticed someone wanting to hold that fragile glass heart. He didn't notice until it was almost too late.
Glass Bone Crash
Flashing lights, laughs and overly loud music.
People pushing and pulling and bumping into each other, eyes sparkling in mirth and happiness, smile adorned faces. Their costumes so colorful and flashy; it was clear that imagination was at work here. It was a lively costume party; parade one can say. The colors and lights and atmosphere. Everything was vibrating form the notes that flew around the air.
Everyone was in high spirits and enjoying their time here. Everyone, except the vice-captain of Rikkai Dai, Sanada.
His face was emotionless like most of the time but if one would look at him, really look then that person would see the tired traits on his face, hollow eyes with a fairway look. The sadness that floated and gathered around him, wrapping a veil of despair and pain around the tall high-school student, a veil that was supposed to protect him in the beginning but now was suffocating his very being.
There was a heart made from glass in his hands. A fragile little thing. Hold it too hard and it will break, hold it too loose and it will slip out. If you warm it too much it will melt but if you don't warm it at all it will stay frozen for ever.
Sanada was holding it very carefully, hoping to give it to someone special. The Someone special that he loved with all his heart. His small glass heart.
Even dressed in his king costume, a weak try to take the boys attention away from the real King in this carnival, he didn't have the pride that a real king should have. But his eyes still followed the short boy, dressed in his princess costume, wherever he went. Every step and smile and laugh and move the boy made was seen by Sanada's hollow eyes, mesmerizing the fluent way the boy moved, the grace, the beauty of his smile and pleasant melody of his laugh.
The golden-eyed Seigaku rookie had managed to light a small light in the Emperors small glass heart. The little light soon turned into a hot fire and then a blazing firestorm took its place. A firestorm so large that nothing would be able to stop it.
The first time that the enigma that is Echizen Ryoma caught his attention was that rainy day. That rainy day when they were supposed to have the tennis match that would determine who got to go further, whose dream of winning National's would be one step closer. It was when he was venting out the stress, the excitement, the energy that just begged to be released.
The boy came and challenged him, challenged in a test of skill and power.
A simple match to see who is better, to release the pent up energy in another way besides killing raindrops and hitting the wet leaves.
The rain was pounding and it was hard to hear what he was saying. But still, Sanada watched as those lightly pink lips moved and formed words and the golden, cat-like eyes shone with that challenging light, daring you to chinken out and run away.
The rain was now hitting them both, wetting their clothes and skin. Droplets of the cold water dripped down the visor of Sanada's hat, as well as Echizen's. The light in his eyes was still there, but at the moment Sanada didn't notice it. His gaze wandered over the body under the soaked blue and white t-shirt. The boy's slight curves were now visible and the slightly tan skin could be seen under the t-shirt.
It was an enchanting sight before Sanada.
It was also the very reason for that small light to start its existence.
Sanada watched as the fire in Echizen's eyes grew smaller in size during the match. He didn't get a single point and with every bounce that the yellow ball made in his side of the court it became less and less visible to Sanada's eyes. He almost regretted playing the short boy. But deep down in him he knew that this defeat will make the boy stronger. Sanada just didn't realize it himself.
He left the court saying something to the small boy; he no longer could remember what.
And then there was another encounter right before the match between their schools; the match that would surely determine the team that will be one step closer to victory. He had the fire in his eyes again, even lighter than before than the last time Sanada hat met him. They had a small conversation between them and Sanada kept his slowly growing feelings to himself. His face showed noting that would make Echizen believe that he felt something other than rivalry towards him.
They started a game, but it wasn't finished.
Echizen believed in his team. He believed that Seigaku would win. He believed in something that wasn't possible in Sanada's eyes. But this belief also ignited the fire further and made it grow faster. It seemed that Echizen had somehow matured during the week at camp that Sanada got to know about later.
Seigaku's personal enigma came to the match proud and ready to fight to his fullest, no matter the odds and possibilities. He took Sanada's breath away again and by now the fire had turned into a firestorm.
Even Sanada himself couldn't tell when he had fallen so deep. So deep, deep in love with the short prodigy, that it was already too late to try and escape. To try and escape from the thin, velvety spider web that had wrapped around his legs and arms and neck, smothering him when Sanada tried to struggle against it.
But even when he felt such suffocating love towards the short boy Sanada didn't go soft on him during their game. Even when he felt such suffocating love towards his opponent the victory was more important that day.
All the other games behind their backs already played out and their score already know. But Sanada could have cared less about those games where the players put their soles in and bet everything on. Both Seigaku and Rikkai Dai. Even after seeing all those emotions playing out in front of him and the chance of them winning becoming slightly blurry Sanada didn't care.
He just wanted to play Echizen and win.
Yukimura was waiting for him and the cool metal medal that Sanada promised to give him.
He couldn't let Yukimura down. Not now and not ever.
So he fought till the last moment but after fighting seriously after a long time, feeling the hot sweat tickle down his body and the adrenaline and excitement flowing through his body Sanada lost. He lost fair and square to Echizen.
Echizen's belief turned out to be stronger than Sanada's unbreakable and probably baseless assumption.
Even then the fire in his glass heart only grew.
The next time that the Emperor saw his object of affections it was an unplanned, one-sided meeting in that small, rundown park that Sanada used as a short cut.
He accidentally heard Echizen's soft whispers that still managed to sound like music to him. Sanada didn't know what the small boy wonder was doing here but the small uncharacteristic curiosity took over him. It was always like this when Echizen was involved.
His legs moved, ignoring his tries of stopping and turning the other way. He silently, not making a single sound moved closer and closer to where he heard Echizen's whispers coming from. And this time he finally let the love reflect in his eyes and for the first time in all his life he took out the small glass heart.
His small glass heart.
It was in his warm, callused and sweaty palms, out for all to see. It was so fragile and Sanada held it carefully with precise movements and soft touches.
But the closer he got the clearer he could hear someone else's whispers, mixed together with Echizen's and hearing those whispers, he somehow knew so well, small cracks appeared on his glass heart. The more recognizable the whispers become the better he can see the couple and the better he can see the couple the more cracks appear on his fragile glass heart and the daggers that pierced his being became sharper.
Sanada turned away from the sight of his love and The King kissing and slowly, the same way he had come closer to them, moved away. The fragile and almost shattered glass heart in his hands. He didn't let it go and drop on the ground or warm it with hope trying to fix the cracks.
He just hoped for it to turn into stone.
And now he once again turned away from his unfulfilled love in the princess costume and Atobe clad in pirate clothing kissing and smiling smiles only meant for each other. It was too painful for Sanada to see it. The veil around him became tighter and his glass heart shattered some more, pieces of it falling on the floor, the costume clad people stepping on them and crushing into fine powder.
He left the noise, the laughs the happiness, the lights and stood outside of the crowded building, letting the darkness swallow him whole. A tear slid down his face and dropped on the dark, soft ground, disappearing quickly.
Sanada finally gave up and allowed the veil of hurt wrap around him and suffocate, hands letting go of his damaged glass heart. He watched slowly as the fragile heart fell. Just when he thought that the glass will finally touch the ground and shatter in millions of small, unfixable and unfindable pieces a hand caught it.
It wasn't Sanada's, because his were tied behind his back by the thick veil.
These hands looked soft and almost as fragile as the damaged glass heart they were holding. The owner of these hands moved closer, still hidden by the curtain of night's darkness and slowly untangled the veil from Sanada's body, one hand never letting go of Sanada's heart.
When Sanada could finally breathe again the fragile glass heart was placed in his palms again, and those equally fragile looking, warm hands helped him to hold it in place. Not too hard, not too loose, not too warm and not too cold.
"Don't let it go. I will help you fix it until you are ready to give it away again." A smile on the persons face, "This time, the one really meant for you."
Sanada didn't back away and looked into those gentle, violet eyes and he felt some pieces coming back to his heart already and cracks fixing themselves. Maybe, just maybe this time his small, fragile glass heart will be accepted.
"Thank you, Yukimura." A whisper that soon was swallowed by the night.
A/N: Lately I'm in the mood for depressing and I don't know why. .
And finally a fic not about Ryoma, though he was mentioned a bit. Hopefully I managed to convey the emotions in this fic to you.
That's all I really wanted to say so I'll wait for your feedback on this fic. It can be anything you want to tell me – my mistakes and the places I need to work on or just what you felt when you read it. :)
Thank you for reading this fic!