Title: City of Angels
Genre: Romance
Rating: K+
Pairing: Nakatsu x OC
Spoilers: Manga
Summary: And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.
Word Count: 1,183
Warnings: N/A
Disclaimer: Not mine. Summary is an Abraham Lincoln quote.
A/N: My little lion man deserves some love.
How Nakatsu manages to avoid Aiko the following Monday is a miracle in and of itself, but he has his reasons. Namely that girls still baffle and confuse him and he always feels unsure and hesitant around them. Especially when he was alone with them. Going to an all-boys High School (well, except for Mizuki), he hadn't really gotten the change to interact with the opposite sex all that much. He was never sure what to say or how to act. Aoki might be a physical therapist, but she was young and cute and well, that was kind of much for him.
So Monday comes and goes and he hobbles through practice until his coach tells him if he isn't going to the doctor, then he can go home. So Tuesday and Wednesday pass in much the same manner. With Nakatsu at home, icing and elevating his ankle in turns, watching old matches on his DVR, and eating pizza. When his ankle starts to ache he forces down the thought that maybe he should get a massage. Nope. Not going there.
This thought process goes on a loop for two days, so when he makes it to practice on Thursday he's only marginally relaxed, but his ankle feels back up to one hundred percent so at least there's that. His coach and teammates are glad to have him back and it sets his mind at ease to be back where he belongs. He just needs to shake away the hazy memory of freckles and –
"Hey!"
The shout startles him and he almost falls, but a small hand on the back his shirt yanks him upright and around. And suddenly he's staring down at flashing hazel eyes.
"You were supposed to come see me on Monday!"
Somehow it had never occurred to him that she would be here. "I – I – " He panics, his mind goes blank. This is just like High School all over again. He was never good talking to girls. Lion-hearted, indeed.
"Is there a problem over there?"
Nakatsu lights up. Saved by his coach! He opens his mouth to answer, but too slow.
"No, sir! Nakatsu-san forgot about his appointment after his lay-up. I just want to make sure he's completely ready to go!"
"Sounds good, Inoue-san! Let me know what the verdict is, we've got scouts coming out!"
He turning, trying to ask what that means. Scouts? For what? When are the coming out? But he's being insistently and determinedly dragged away from the field and back to the locker rooms. He stammers out an apology, a few questions, but everything he says is brushed off. Aiko is practically giving off sparks. When she drags him into a small room off to the right that he had never noticed she lets him go and spins around, glaring daggers at him.
"Sit." It's not a question, so he complies. "Remove your shoe and sock." When he would have opened his mouth to tell her he was fine, she arches a brow at him and her expression brokers no argument, so he does that, too. She doesn't say another word until she slides forward on a short chair and lifts his foot into her lap. When he inhales sharply at the motion, she glances up at him. "Does that hurt?"
"I – no." Her expectant expression makes him blush. "It doesn't hurt, I'm just not used to – " His mind gropes for what to say. "- things like this." It's lame, even he knows that.
But her expression is amused as she goes back to her examination, trailing her hands around his ankle and up his calf, poking and prodding and kneading. It's far too quiet.
"So, um, did you just start?"
Her eyes flicker up to him and her mouth quirks in a small smile. "Yes, last week. You would have been my first appointment." There isn't any animosity in her tone, but he apologies anyway, but she shrugs it away. "No worries. Your pal Kurosawa got a concussion on Monday, so I still had something to do."
"I thought you were a physical therapist?"
"I am, but I still have the basic medical training to help someone until they can be transported to a hospital." She's holding his ankle in her two hands, lightly pressing up in long strokes.
"So how long are you with us?"
She shrugs, and the motion is somehow sad. "I don't know."
He struggles for something else to say and settles on asking about where she came from and other innocuous questions to fill the silence. He learns she's from Tokyo, that her parents are both professors (her mother of biochemistry and her father of history), that she as two brothers who play professional sports (one baseball and one football) and a young sister who wants to be a designer. He learns that she's just his age and that she doesn't have any friends here yet. He learns that she has really soft hands and a delicate bedside manner. He learns she loves sports.
"Why don't you play then?"
She's writing in his chart when he asks and the question stills her. After a long moment, she shrugs. "My life just didn't work out that way I guess." He opens his mouth to ask another question but she cuts him off. "Well, you're lucky Nakatsu-san! You didn't do any irreparable damage by not coming to see me, so at least there's that."
He blinks. "Does this mean I can go?" His mind is already whirling with thoughts of what his coach said about a scout.
"Yes. But! If you're injured in any way, shape, or form again, I expect you to come see me when and where I tell you." There's no arguing with the look in her bright hazel eyes, so he just nods. She grins and it lights up her face. "Great! Go have fun then!"
When he makes it back to the field, his coach is impatiently waiting for him. "Nakatsu! There you are! Are you good to go?" He doesn't wait for an answer. "Great! Look, here's what's happening. There's a scout here for the National FIFA team. They're looking to fill a few spots on Japan's team for the Cup in two years." Nakatsu feels his heart skip a beat and he makes a strangled noise in his throat. "No, luckily, he's not actively scouting right now just getting a feel for everything. But we'll have a scrimmage in a few weeks with another promising team and they'll be here to scout from that." He stares at Nakatsu sternly. "Sound good?"
Sound good? It sounds great! This is everything he ever wanted. He can't wait to rock this match and blow those scouts away!
