Disclaimer: Not mine.
Warning: This is yaoi. Or shounen ai. Or...just...BOYS LIKING BOYS. YEAH? And slight het, but don't let that throw you.
Summary: Their teams think it's like looking in a mirror, but Sena knows better, even if Karin doesn't.
An answer to the Mirror prompt from kirskipkat, from the es21_yaoi lj.
A/N: To The Gentleman J, OMG YES I WANT. I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT NOW. (that's what he said, hurhur)
Srsly, that would rock. And, hey...if you have any more prompts, like...just lying around, or something... :D
Koizumi Karin is blushing as she laughs.
Sena's stomach clenches painfully.
He can feel it coming. It's a little obvious—the way she's having trouble meeting his eye, the way her cheeks pink as she glances at him. The way she often touches her hair, tucking it back over an ear.
Everyone's staring at them.
"Ne, Sena-kun," says Karin, "here, let's—" A hesitation, then a look of shy determination as she rallies her courage. "—trade numbers. I-if that's all right...I'd—um—I'd like to—t-talk again..."
There's no way he can refuse without humiliating her. If it only came down to hurting her feelings, Sena thinks he might have just done it, just to get out of a more difficult situation later. As it is, Karin's worked up the nerve to ask this question in full view and earshot of nearly all of their teammates, and Sena can't bear the idea of embarrassing her in front of everyone they know.
"O-OK," he says, and he's blushing back at her. "I—that would be really nice, Koizumi-san, here—"
Karin's cell has a Chibimaru toy hanging off of it. Sena's is scratched on the back where he fell on it twice.
She's blushing again. Sena's trying to figure out what it is that she likes about him. Is it that they're both shy? That they're both surrounded by aggressively manly teammates with whom neither of them can really relate? Is it that she's so often faced with such jock behavior in her daily school life that Sena's own manner is a relief?
"Please," she says, "call me Karin."
Oh. That—that was bolder than he expected. Sena's face goes completely red, hers pinks to the ears, and from somewhere behind Sena, Kuroki and Toganou calls, "Sena, you short pimp!"
"Please ignore them," says Sena. "And—and I'm Sena...and you know that, so what—what I mean is—"
"Sena-kun," interrupts Karin.
It's all Sena can do not to flinch.
"Karin-chan," he answers.
They bow, and they're both blushing, and there's more "I'm in your care"s and "I'm in yours,"s. She rushes away with her cell phone clutched to her chest and he turns back to join his team where they've been ready to leave for nearly twenty minutes and have basically just been standing around waiting for Sena and Karin to finish flirting.
"Way to go, man!" Monta slaps his back. "Perfect match, MAX!"
"She's way too hot for you," complains Kuroki. "A girl like—"
"You're too short," says Toganou bluntly. "How're you going to date a girl twice your—"
"It's not like that," tries Sena.
No one's listening. Suzuna's giving him a peculiar glance. Mamo-nee looks—like she's stuck somewhere between concern and what could have been jealousy if it weren't Mamori who was feeling it. Kuroki, Toganou, and Monta are beginning to argue loudly, Kurita is trying to calm them down, Komusubi is attempting to help and really just pissing Toganou and Kuroki off even more, Taki is spinning around them while Ishimaru and the other support players watch—
Jyuumonji says nothing. The corner of his mouth is pulled down as if he's holding something back. He looks at Sena, a long, unfamiliar look, and then he turns and walks away, toward the exit.
Hiruma doesn't seem to have noticed anything going on. He's sitting on the lowest bleacher, earphones in and laptop open.
Musashi...
Musashi is looking straight at him, dark eyes without expression.
If Sena wanted to, he could throw his arms around Musashi's neck right now. He could run over and take Musashi's hand, right out there in public for everyone still in the area to see, and Musashi would let him because Musashi doesn't care what anyone else thinks. Because Musashi's is the kind of courage that is bold and unabashed and without fear, and no matter what anyone said or how they treated him, Musashi would not waver. He would let Sena take his hand and he would hold Sena's fingers in his and if anyone said anything about it, Musashi wouldn't hesitate to tell them It's none of your business.
Sena wants to tell him, I didn't want to take her number. He wants to say, I don't want to call her by her first name. Sena wants, more than anything, to shout at Musashi at the top of his lungs, in front of Karin and Mamori and Monta and anyone, I don't want to be a match for anyone but you!
But he won't.
So Sena just looks away, feeling Musashi's eyes on his face.
And he thinks that he hates the fact that, in the end, it was love that showed him how he really is a coward.