Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21.
PRE-READING NOTE: This was set after episode 87 where the Devil Bats beat the Spiders.
There was a very good chance that Sena wouldn't make it through the rest of the evening.
After almost falling asleep on Suzuna's shoulder, Sena knew that the exhaustion of the game would have him sleeping until noon the next day, if only he could. But if there was one place he could go that would have him dancing on eggshells all night long and not even consider taking a peaceful nap, it was on the other side of the door he was facing.
He had heard from Monta that it was a 'friendly water party' but Sena had enough sense to figure that after Hiruma had sauntered in with kegs of who-knew-what, the friendly water party had turned into a diabolic water war.
What Sena hadn't expected was an empty room save for the water that was making puddles on the floor and dripping from the ceiling, all noise and ruckus dispersed. Taking an apprehensive step into the drenched mess, Sena felt his shoes squelch underneath the wetness as he wandered over to the table and chairs in the corner.
"Fucking shrimp," an astonishingly soft voice muttered, "you're late to the party."
Whirling around, Sena's eyes fell upon Hiruma, who was lounging silently in the opposite corner. Sena was surprised he hadn't seen the usually rowdy quarterback when he had entered the room in the first place, but assumed that Hiruma was probably as exhausted as everyone else was.
"Hiruma-san," Sena acknowledged, "why are you still here?"
"Thought you might show up." Hiruma explained, shrugging. A lengthy gun was resting on his shoulder as he polished it absent-mindedly.
"I – uhm – someone should clean up this mess." Sena turned around and faced the table, watching as drips of water paraded off the tabletop and periodically tapped onto his shoe. He sighed, scanning the area for towels.
"Leave it," Hiruma ordered, "let the fucking manager take care of it."
"You should be nicer to Mamori." Sena pointed out quietly. He could hear Hiruma get up from his chair and sneak up behind him. Sena sniffed the air for gunpowder to detect if Hiruma's weapons had followed him.
"Why are you still cleaning? I told you to let the manager take of it." Hiruma hissed, and snatched away the napkins Sena had located. He stuffed them inside his pockets and glared at Sena.
Sena turned around quietly, noticing that Hiruma didn't look worn-out in the least. Unlike himself, Hiruma didn't have wrinkles of weariness underneath his eyes or clothing that hung on him like dead rabbits; he looked as energized as always. Sena suddenly had the capricious impulse to lean against the taller boy like he was a pillowjust like he had done with Suzuna a while ago.
"Damn pipsqueak, don't fall asleep," long, sharp fingers were snapped in front of Sena's unsuspecting face. The lazy eyelids that had been drooping halfway-closed shot back open at Hiruma's barking.
"It was a long game, Hiruma-san." Sena murmured through a suppressed yawn.
"It was a good game," Hiruma leant forward, propping one elbow up to the table as he neared Sena's ear, "Eyeshield 21."
Quite frankly, it was embarrassing for Sena to hear his teammates speak to him in such a formal, not-even-last-name-basis, especially Hiruma. He almost preferred 'Fucking Shrimp' then to be labeled as Eyeshield 21 from his captain.
"It was a good game," Sena agreed with a sleepy nod, his words slurring slightly, "You did a good job too, Hiruma-san."
Out of the silence and the intermittent drips, Sena could detect Hiruma snorting silently. Sena knew that Hiruma never cared about the compliments being tossed at him, no matter who was the one delivering them. Sena shuffled his feet uneasily at the awkward lack of words wafting around the room. Any room with Hiruma in it was normally out of control and ridiculously loud, and to sit in a room with a behaving and quiet boy was not the Hiruma that Sena was used to.
"I was looking forward to today," Hiruma shared, hopping up onto the dry spot on the tabletop. "I knew that you were going to share that you were Eyeshield."
Normally, Sena would be surprised, but he was too tired and too used to Hiruma's astonishing information web to care. He nodded numbly.
"But I wasn't looking forward to the lack of secrecy, y'know," Hiruma continued, examining his fingers distractedly, "I was looking forward to the day that Sena Kobayakawa would become Eyeshield."
"But… but Eyeshield and I are the same person."
"You may want to believe that, but it's not true, and you know it, fucking shrimp," Hiruma pointed an accusing finger in Sena's face, "Eyeshield has undying determination and fear that only lessens with every passing moment. I used to think it's because no one knew who he was, and therefore no one cared about him, but I think it's because the field has given you courage. And today, when you took off your helmet, you and Eyeshield became the same person. And from what I saw at the game today, Sena took on Eyeshield's qualities. I'm happy."
And when Sena looked up, he was surprised to see that Hiruma did look quite happy. Even Monta had told him that during their water party, Hiruma actually looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself, with genuine smiles and non-cackling laughs. If he thought hard about it, Hiruma's true grin made him look like an angel in a devil's clothing.
"Hiruma-san," Sena ventured to ask, "Why are you so happy today?"
Hiruma chuckled before tilting his head curiously at the running back, "You don't know?" he taunted dryly, idly blowing a bubble .
Sena furrowed his eyebrows together, noticing that Hiruma had brushed the subject aside entirely.
The blonde boy hopped off the tabletop and took a step closer to Sena, "Have I congratulated you yet?" he drawled.
"On w-what?"
"So that's a no then."
"I don't think I need a congratulations–" Sena continued to mumble in unease before he felt his shoulders being squeezed in a strong devil's grip. His eyes widened in surprise before they peered at Hiruma's fingers, gripping onto Sena's upper arms as though they were hamsters he was trying to squish to death. Sena looked up awkwardly, noticing that Hiruma's eyes were only a few inches from his own.
Their closeness – it was closer than close. Sena knew he was overreacting. People had been closer than this in the past. Their bodies weren't even touching, the only exception being the death grip on his shoulders. Sena just hadn't been this close to anyone other than Mamori or his parents – especially not someone as terrifying as Hiruma Yoichi, who as far as Sena was concerned, only gave out physical contact in forms of laudatory kicks on the back.
"Uh. H-Hiruma-san–"
Dear god, he could smell the quarterback. There was dirt, mud from the field, blood from the game, thick musk, and underneath it all, a small waft of uncharacteristic pleasantness. Sena thought he would be able to smell the evil in Hiruma, but he mentally slapped himself when he remembered that evil doesn't have a scent.
Hiruma leant an unnoticeable inch forward.
Sena blinked awkwardly.
This was awkward. Oh so awkward. Sena wondered if he stared at Hiruma's hair or his ear or his nose if it would decrease the intensity of the situation. Other than Sena's thumping heartbeat and the sound of their quiet breathing, the room was silent. Sena, eyes shifting uneasily away from Hiruma's, broke the tense eye contact and stared fixedly at the blonde bangs falling onto Hiruma's forehead. Now it seemed like Sena was purposefully ignoring the other boy, which in all fairness he definitely was, but he didn't want to seem uncomfortable, and rapidly stared back into Hiruma's eyes.
"Fucking shrimp," Hiruma hissed, "shut up already."
He withdrew from the smaller boy and raked long fingers through his hair distractedly. Sena was in the middle of pondering if this intense lock-of-the-eyes was his nonverbal congratulations when he once again felt hands on his shoulders. This time, however, while his left shoulder was in the middle of being broken, Sena felt Hiruma's thumb reaching up to roughly grab his chin and force it upward. In the time of a nanosecond, Sena was whirled around to face the blonde and his lips were smashed onto Hiruma's aggressively.
"Mmph!" Sena cried out helplessly, arms flailing before they roamed upward to dig into Hiruma's elbows. Through the kiss, Sena tried to get the quarterback's attention by murmuring onto his lips, "Mm, Hir – Hiruma-san!" His voice was stifled by Hiruma's mouth, and the other boy getting irritated by the unnecessary movements of Sena's lips, growled huskily and brought his teeth into the equation.
Sena gasped in surprise as he felt something sharp sink into his lower lip, lightly poking it so Hiruma drew a small amount of blood. Long shark teeth nibbled teasingly on Sena's lips until he finally had enough coherence to open his mouth and let Hiruma's tongue wander inside.
My team captain is molesting me. My team captain is molesting me. Hiruma Yoichi is molesting me. I must be hallucinating.
Before Sena could start to make sense of the situation by creating clever inferences about Hiruma's bizarre behavior, Hiruma pulled back with a satisfied smack and grinned nefariously at the stunned running back. Sena swayed on the spot, a tad unsure of his leg's abilities to stand at the moment before he gripped the wall behind him.
"Hiruma-san…?" he questioned in a small voice. Hiruma's eyes flickered to meet with Sena's.
"Yes, fucking pipsqueak?" Hiruma blew another lazy bubble. Sena was vaguely surprised that he couldn't feel the gum sticking on Hiruma's tongue when he had used it to explore Sena's gums.
"What – what just happened?"
"We kissed." Hiruma replied simply, shrugging as he put his hands languidly over his head. Sena had always known that Hiruma wasn't one to sugarcoat his words, but the answer still astonished him.
"But – but I don't get why you would–"
"You want an explanation, don't you?" the quarterback drawled, sighing.
Sena remained silent, folding his hands together in front of himself.
"I thought it would have been obvious," Hiruma admitted, "but Sena Kobayakawa sees only what he wants to see… I should have known."
Even though Hiruma was chuckling in amusement, Sena couldn't help but knit his eyebrows together and cross his arms in slight indignance.
"Get ready for the big surprise, pipsqueak," Hiruma alerted, snapping his fingers, "I don't care about you."
Sena blinked. He wasn't sure if this was a confession of love, a confession of sin, or just a rant of exasperation. You could never be sure of Hiruma Yoichi's intentions.
"I appreciate the shocked silence," Hiruma smiled sardonically, tutting, "but even though I know you won't be, you should be honored. I don't care about anyone."
"And I'm no exception." Sena filled in dryly, feebly waving his hand.
"But you are," Hiruma hopped off of the table he had situated himself on once again and smiled eerily into Sena's face, "You see, I don't give a shit about people. But you, I just don't care about you. I actually give a shit. I give a damn. And I would care if you died, just not if you fell off a staircase."
Sena slumped, "There's only so much caring I should expect from you," he nodded, vaguely understanding Hiruma's reasoning, "I think I'll be leaving." His hand lingering on his lips, he reached for the knob only to be pulled away by the wrist.
"Hey," Hiruma snapped, "Did you not hear what I said?"
"I think so."
Sena tugged on his wrist. Hiruma's eyebrows narrowed into an angry slant as he peered critically at the smaller boy.
"I don't think you know." He tilted his head in a quiet proposal, "Should I clarify that for you?"
Vaguely, through the back of his overrun mind, Sena could hear his voice of reason murmuring logical things like Hiruma never asks for permission. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong. Run away while you can, Sena Kobayakawa. Run for your life.
"Uh."
Your tombstone will read 'Death By Genius Trickery' or 'Murdered By Surprise Explosives, Ya-Ha!' And Hiruma will laugh, laugh, laugh.
"You told me that you don't like me. And apparently that's good thing because you hate everybody else. I'm, uh, confused."
Hiruma snorted, "Do you always take everything I say so literally, fucking shrimp?" he hissed, "You've completely missed my message."
Sena was tired. He wanted to bid the quarterback goodnight, rush off to his warm, soft bed, and forget about football and the game and Hiruma's bizarre after-game activity for just a few hours while he slept his troubles away. His voice was getting woozy and he knew in a few minutes he would be slurring and rambling humiliating confessions that Hiruma would be all there for to record and then use as future blackmail. Sena could already hear the diabolic cackling.
"Message?"
"I'm fucking in love with you, fucking shrimp."
The words shot into Sena like toothpicks before they wriggled out of him from his backside. It was late and Sena wondered if he was simply hallucinating or possibly dreaming – even though he might refer to this dream as a nightmare – Hiruma's ludicrous confession. There was a lack of emotion behind his words, as always, and even though Sena expected nothing better, he wanted something more. He couldn't help but feel that he'd fallen deep into another one of Hiruma's embarrassing jokes and he wouldn't come out without some sort of inevitable pain to be had.
"Eh?" he asked, figuring it to be the simplest of all responses.
Hiruma rolled his eyes, "You really are slow, aren't you?" he taunted, "should I just show you instead?"
Sena's eyes widened to the size of tree trunks and he took two hasty steps backward until his back thumped against the wall. "No, no, I believe you, Hiruma-san…"
"And you have nothing to say, fucking shrimp?"
"What… what do you want me to say?"
Hiruma growled, "Fucking pipsqueak! Do you really expect me to do all the work?!"
Sena turned scarlet, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. How the hell did this conversation even bend its way over from playing a strong game to Hiruma's love life? And naturally, Sena was in the middle of it all.
"Hiii…" he whined meekly, "you never minded before, Hiruma-san…"
"I don't. But I know you don't mind either."
The conversation was spinning in dizzying circles. Sena wondered if this was all just a test to show exactly how bold he was. Sena knew he wasn't courageous. He also didn't feel the need to prove this to a man who could hold him between his finger and thumb and hold him over a bubbling cauldron.
"I'm not going to lose just because you can't win." Hiruma declared firmly, one of his arms snaking their way over to Sena as it wrapped its way firmly around Sena's waist and squeezed his back encouragingly.
Sena tensed, "So… you're in love with me, Hiruma-san?" he inquired softly. He never thought he would hear these words escape his lips in all of his life. It was too wacky, even for Hiruma.
"Don't worry. You're in love with me too," At Sena's stunned expression, Hiruma chuckled and leant closer to the smaller boy, grinning, "You'll see."
He pressed their lips together once more, this time being surprisingly tender compared to their previous kiss. And Sena didn't know if it was just because he didn't want to be threatened with guns, he didn't want to come off as weedy and fragile like he did with Mamori, he didn't want to lose his position on the football team, or if it was for some other unknown and unidentifiable reason, but Sena kissed back.
Yes. Hiruma had looked nonsensically happy the whole night.
AN: I just had to write this… I watching the episode where Deimon kicks Bando's ass by one point and despite the fact that I was totally in love with the Akaba/Kotaro action I was also focused on the sudden Sena/Hiruma muse that came out of nowhere. So, six pages of writing later, I present to you this slice of slash pie. Enjoy :P
Dedicated to the always-awesome Julie… I LOVE YOU, JULES!! 8D