Guests and all of you – thank you for so many reviews! I love you people.
Raforta and mrsklemzak – thank you for approving Sendoh with Mitsui. I've never seen those two together but still wanted to give it a chance. I was just afraid that readers woudn't like it.
Happy – What were they doing on the floor? "Fighting" probably. Imagine it like that scene where Sakuragi fought with Ryota in the anime...
lcbeastly - sorry, Papa Rukawa needs to wait for the next chapter.
Kurisu – I don't even know what to say... I don't know why you like it so much but it still makes me rediculously happy!
Chapter 9
"Obstacle don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." – Michael Jordan
Was the light in Uozumi's restaurant different today? Did it always make people's skin so elusive or was it just Rukawa's skin doing this? Or maybe it were Hanamichi's eyes playing tricks on him? Or maybe it was his mind? Was he going crazy? He was pretty sure that he had never seen eyelashes as long and dark as Rukawa's. His tight black t-shirt made him look smaller even though he was anything but with his 189 cm.
He sat straight, looking all gorgeous and so... dignified. He was always like that. He was always different from other people, above them, making Sakuragi feel strange things. He was so perfect that he seemed unreal... and unapproachable. Like he would disappear if Sakuragi touched him with his crude hands. He seemed so delicate and almost ethereal... unless it was just the light.
Hanamichi rubbed his eyes as if it could help him to see Rukawa as just any other person. It never worked. It didn't work in high school and it didn't work now. Sly fox. How was he able to do that to him? It was a torture. He couldn't take his eyes off of the kitsune and any moment now Rukawa would notice. They were not kids anymore. Stupid jokes like kisses may have been acceptable back then but now Rukawa was the head of his company and surely he would not appreciate any weird rumours about his preferences. There was no doubt in Hanamichi's mind that tomorrow's meeting with Rukawa-san was going to touch this subject too. Unless, of course, it was all about it.
Then again it was Rukawa who joked about their meeting being a double date, so maybe he wasn't as stiff and stuck up as Sakuragi expected him to be?
"Oi, kitsune, do you want something more to eat?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
"Hey guys!" Mitsui was pretty quiet for the last few minutes and only now spoke. "Why don't you just fucking stop with the name calling? Grow the fuck up."
"And why don't YOU stop cursing, yakuza-kun?" Akira seemed to be waiting impatiently for a reason to start bother Mitsui again.
"Stop playing innocent, broom-haed!"
"See? Pet names are cuter than name calling. Let them use it."
Rukawa and Hanamichi looked at each other. Pet names? They would use nicer pet names if they could, but... they weren't even using their last names on the normal basis...
Rukawa was still holding one chopstick in his hand and was playing with it, dragging Sakuragi's eyes to his slender hand and wrist. He was moving the chopstick over the tablecloth but when he looked up to meet the redhead's eyes, he moved the utensil very slowly toward Sakuragi's own hand. The chopstick moved slowly over the top of his palm.
"Why don't we start using our first names, huh? What do you say, Hanamichi?"
His hand was tingling and he could feel goose bumps forming from the contact the chopstick made with his skin. He tried to answer but a hoarse sound that came out of his mouth wasn't even close to any word so he cleared his throat and tried again.
"Um... sure. Why not... Kaede..."
Rukawa answered him with a smile. Not a smirk, but a real, albeit very small but genuine smile that quirked his eyes slightly. Their two other companions were still in shock from Rukawa's proposition, so they didn't even blink at the smile anomaly.
"You know, I've never let anyone to call me by my first name."
"What? I mean... right. I mean... In America everyone called me Hanamichi, but... my guntai did too... and Akira... and Shin-chan... and...I'm sorry. I'm rambling..."
"Hey, it's fine. I got the message. I'm not special."
"No! You are! I mean... Damn it... You... "
Rukawa's eyes were still smiling so Hanamichi decided to just shut up. He was being teased. And he didn't really mind but, he would rather if his two friends weren't witnessing it. The chopstick was still brushing over his hand so he started to play with it using his index finger. It was strangely arousing. It was almost as if Rukawa flirted with him, which he wasn't, right?
"I can't believe your name is Hanamichi... a flower path..."
"Says the guy whose first name is Kaede! Maple and flowing river"
Kaede chuckled. "True, but it's still not a flower path and a cherry blossom tree."
"What can I say? I'm cute, so I have a cute name."
Rukawa snorted. "Kittens are cute. You're..."
"Gorgeous?" Sakuragi hinted helpfully, grinning like an idiot. He was pretty sure Rukawa would deny.
"No, too girly."
"Handsome?" He tried again.
"Better." Rukawa was once again smiling in this impossibly seductive way that made Hanamichi's pants get tighter.
"Stunning?" The chopstick was slowly sneaking its way into Hanamichi's sleeve.
"Perfect."
"Me or the word?"
"...ahō."
The chopstick was brushing the inside of Sakuragi's wrist tickling pleasantly. Hanamichi wanted to grab the teasing hand and hold it in his own; or rise it to his lips and kiss. He wanted to feel it on his skin and in his hair... Kaede twirled the stick between his nimble fingers and Hanamichi almost moaned as his mind started to wander to places it should not get near to during any business meeting. Because it still was a business meeting... even if they didn't really even mention any business matter... even if he was having a hard-... time.
He needed to calm down. Getting hot at his companion at that very moment was not a good idea. He turned to his friends and caught them staring pointedly at where Rukawa's chopstick was moving under his sleeve.
"What?" They didn't answer but he still moved his hand away, spoiling Rukawa's playful teasing. The brunette sighed not hiding his disappointment.
"Hey, Kaede... What would you say for a drink somewhere else?"
Kaede glared at Sendoh and Mitsui. "Some place less crowded? I'd love to."
Mitsui wanted to yell at the arrogant fucker but Akira's earlier words about swearing squeezed his throat not letting anything out.
"What about you, guys?"
The smirk gracing Mitsui's lips was truly evil. "Only to teach your arrogant fox some humility."
Mitsui – as always - was getting on Rukawa's nerves but what he said made Kaede shiver pleasantly. Tonight he was Hanamichi's.
He had fun playing with that chopstick. His ministrations kept the slight blush on the redhead's face through the whole conversation. Of course Rukawa would rather if it were his own fingers sliding under the creamy white fabric but it was all too clear that Hana was completely unsware of Rukawa's intentions. He was all flustered but wasn't really flirting back. Acting too soon could scare him off. They had met only today after all those years of separation and besides Rukawa still didn't know if the sports man is free. At least after spending some time arund him snd Sendoh he was almost sure that those two were just really close friends, nothing more.
"And what do you say, hedgehog? Are you coming as your boyfriend's chaperone or do you trust him to keep his hands off his Maple Princess?"
Rukawa chocked spitting sake onto the table. As he lifted his red face Mitsui expected to see anger in the icy blue eyes, but what he saw instead wiped the satisfied smirk off his face. Rukawa's eyes were glossy and his face almost panicked. Maybe he teased the fox enough already? Poor guy... he was really taking everything so seriously.
"Mit-chi, if you want to know if Akira is free all you had to do was ask! He's not my boyfriend, so go ahead. He's not taken."
"I don't give a shit. He gets on my nerves."
Akira was just standing with the most innocent face, scratching his head. How could someone like him get on anybody's nerves?
"Right." Sakuragi stood up first and held his hand out for Rukawa to grab. Which he did. Now the trick was to not let go.
They said their goodbyes to Uozumi thanking him for the meal and left the restaurant. Hanamichi and Kaede walked in front, still loosely holding hands and ignoring another fierce argument going on behind their backs.
"It's just like in the old days when you were walking me home..."
"Yea..." Hanamichi smiled remembering their walks and talks. "And once again I'm in for a 'talk' with your father... He knows that there was nothing between the two of us, right?"
Kaede was thinking about the answer. He wasn't sure what to say. His father knew how he felt about Hana. Everybody knew. But did he believe that there was absolutely nothing between them?
"I'm not sure... You really impressed him back then, you know? He's not used to people telling him that he can take his money and shove it up his arse."
"Maa-a... I didn't use those exact words." Kaede chuckled in response.
"You didn't have to. He got the message."
"He cares about you. You should be more grateful..."
It was an unspoken rules between them in the past that they didn't talk about private matters. They didn't want to pry into each other's lives. They were afraid to seem nosy or to make things awkward. What was between them back then was so strange and fragile that the smallest and the stupidest thing could break it and they knew it. They didn't name it, didn't solidify it so it was weak, but still it was so big that everyone could see it. What was it? They both wished they would know, but they still didn't. They were older but not much smarter about this one matter.
Now Rukawa was considering to try to change it.
"What kind of person was your father?"
Kaede squeezed his eyes shot for a moment, expecting Sakuragi to with draw, but he was in for a surprise. The redhead smiled brightly and held Kaede's hand just a bit more firmly.
"He was great. He loved me. I'm sure he went through hell raising me alone but he still did it. He didn't leave me."
Kaede wanted to hug him.
"What about your mother?" He instantly regretted asking that question because Hanamichi let go of his hand and hid both of his in his pockets.
"When my father died I was still only fifteen. Social Services contacted her and that's the only time I remember seeing her at all. I told her I didn't want to go to the orphanage. They had already made me stay there for almost two weeks before she managed to come and I've had enough. I didn't want to stay there. It was... It sucked. So she signed the papers where she stated that she would take care of me which was just paying my rent really. I still had some money from father's insurance and from selling his car. She went back to where she came from the same day. It seems that I got my hair colour after her..."
Kaede wanted to ask some more. He wanted to know everything, but... Hanamichi let go of his hand... He wanted to hug him. He wanted to tell him that everything would be alright. And then he realised that he was too late. Everything WAS alright. Hana probably could use his consolation back in high school when the wound was still fresh. That was the time when Rukawa was supposed to ask and support the redhead. He was too late. It was pointless now.
And suddenly there was Hanamichi's arm around his shoulders pulling him to the side.
"Come on. There's izakaya in here."
They had almost managed to get in when they heard a sound from behind them. Mitsui was pressing Sendoh to the wall, fisting his collar. An angry scowl was marring his forehead. Hana just shrugged and led Rukawa inside.
"Ok, have a sit. What do you want to drink?"
"No. I'll go with you."
Rukawa didn't want to be out of Hanamichi's embrace just yet so grabbed the shirt on the small of his back and pressed himself closer to the taller man. Together they walked up to the bar and once again Hanamichi let go of him to take out his wallet. Damn.
"Rukawa-shachō?"
Only then did they took notice of the three men with some women already residing in the izakaya. Hearing the honorific Sakuragi stiffened. Those were Kaede's employees. Even if they didn't witness the earlier scene in Rukawa's office they surely had some idea who he was. He was glad he wasn't embracing Kaede anymore. He didn't want to cause even more trouble to the brunette. Surely people in his office were already gossiping about them anyway.
Kaede greeted his men and introduced them to Sakuragi, calling the red head their very important client. They exchanged business cards and courteous words, though the three men were clearly not in the best form. Their female companions on the other hand were ecstatic seeing the famous basketball player and one of the most wanted man in Kanagawa.
For Rukawa something was off. Hanamichi acted strange. He was conversing politely with his employees standing good few inches away from him. When Kaede moved closer he moved away to keep the distance between their bodies.
The drunk men encouraged them to sit at their table.
"Just for one drink." Kaede didn't want to waste time around other people. He hoped they lost their 'tail' at least. He grabbed Sakuragi's arm and pushed him to sit down in the booth and slid down right beside him, their sides touching.
Sakuragi easily got into the conversation with others making Rukawa jealous. One of the women asked Hana for an autograph and Kaede was seriously tempted to slap her when she towered over the redhead presenting him with a full view of her cleavage.
"Say, Sakuragi-san, so you know Rukawa-shachou from school? How was our boss when he was a kid?"
Kaede tensed bracing himself to hear the truth.
"He was this really popular guy who stole every girl's attention, leaving us, poor common souls to fume with jealousy."
"Really?" One of the men seemed genuinely surprised, while his girlfriend chided.
"Well, I'm not surprised in the slightest."
To everyone's shock Kaede spoke.
"Hey, maybe girls liked me better but the crowd during games preferred you. That one time when you were absent they were all yelling: I just came to see the redhead..."
"Monkey." Sakuragi finished for him. "You forgot to add the key word. They wanted me to be there, to laugh at me! They liked me 'cause I was funny."
"That's not true. They wanted to see you play. They wanted to see the guy who dunked against Maki!"
"Ok, so I'm likable, but you were the absolute star of our school. I'm telling you guys, he had his own fan club with cheerleaders in uniforms with his name written on their chests, and all..."
Rukawa's employees were awed hearing those stories about their stuck up boss, who never even talked to them unless absolutely necessary, and even then he was always very terse with words. For the very first time they started to see him as a human being.
"And he was the Ace of our basketball team! But his grades were as bad as mine. How did I ended up in NBA and him as a businessman is really beyond me."
Kaede snorted at that. Hanamichi was just joking. Neither of them was surprised that Hana became a professional. Maybe at first only Anzai-sensei was really aware of that but soon enough they all knew as well – Hanamichi really was a tensai.
...
Rukawa was pressing closer and closer. Hanamichi hoped he would stop already because it was giving him a 'hard time' again and now they had an audience even worse than before.
"Hana... my beer tastes funny. Let me check yours."
Without waiting for permission Rukawa took Hanamichi's glass and drank some of his drink.
"Yours tastes better. I'll drink yours."
Sakuragi flushed, but didn't dare to oppose.
"F-fine." He took a huge swing from Kaede's glass. It tasted exactly the same as his but he also didn't dare to point that out.
Kaede yawned and hid his face in Hanamichi's shoulder.
"I'm tired."
Sakuragi looked down at the lovely face and into the dark eyes peering up at him. Damn, Rukawa was gorgeous. Everything about him was absolutely irresistible and now after a few drinks he was becoming dangerously clingy! In front of his employees!
He didn't want him to stop but also didn't want Rukawa to regret something later. Besides he really wanted to face Rukawa-san with clear conscience and chances for that were becoming smaller with every minute; with every touch Kaede initiated; with every hot breath the brunette left on Hanamichi's neck. It wasn't just lust. It was madness.
"Are you going to fall asleep on me?"
Rukawa snorted. "It was my growing sprout back then. I don't sleep so much anymore." His nose was nuzzling Hanmichi's biceps. "But it is tempting... to take a nap on you."
One of the women at their table squealed. "You two make such a cute couple."
"We're not a couple! We're just... old friends. We're not dating."
Rukawa chuckled and leaned more on Sakuraki's broad shoulder, purposely brushing his cheek with his hair. "Then what are we doing right now? A business meeting?"
"Ha ha ha... very funny, Kaede. I didn't know you have a sense of humour."
Finally the door to the izakaya burst open and two tall figures walked in. Sendoh's spiky hair was in total disarray, his lip looked swollen and his expensive clothes rumpled. Mitsui didn't look any better and they were both breathing hard. Mit-chi's shirt was dirty.
"Hey guys, were you fighting again?" Hana looked genuinely worried.
"Yeah..." / "No." They answered simultaneously pushing their hands to their pockets and looking away from each other.
"I ordered beers for the two of you." Hana pointed at two glasses on the table. For a moment they didn't move but then Akira kicked gently Hisashi's ankle and strangely Mitsui understood it as a silent order to sit and did as he was 'told'. They sat down hurriedly, side by side, and gulped down their beers right away as if they were dying of thirst and exhaustion.
For a moment they sat chatting friendly when Mitsui suddenly shot out of his seat, like burned.
"I... I'm sorry, guys, but... I'm gonna catch a cab and go already."
Akira instantly stood after him and smiled. "I'll go with you."
"No!"
"Yes. Don't act weird."
Hanamichi used this opportunity to push Rukawa gently away.
"Ok, Kaede, you look sleepy? Do you want to go too?"
Rukawa's eyes were clouded but not from the lack of sleep. It was some dangerous dark emotion that was making his eyes hot like a raw fire. He let Hanamichi to take him out of the izakaya.
The redhead was standing on the sidewalk, calling a taxi, while Rukawa was standing behind him, with his hands holding Hana's sides, snuggling against the strong and nicely toned back. He really wished he could take him home...
Mitsui unceremoniously took the passenger's seat, while the other three men sat in the back. Sendoh sat directly behind him, Sakuragi in the middle and Rukawa snuggled slightly against Hana taking adventage of the comfortable darkness of in vehicle.
Hot breath was caressing Hanamichi's neck. Kaede sat really close... His face was also very near his own... He was nervous. He could feel Rukawa's eyes on his face but he somehow just couldn't turn and face him because then their faces would be even closer and... Was that Rukawa's hand on his thigh? He looked down but it was too dark to see anything. Besides there was Kaede's jacket thrown over their laps...
And then the mysterious hand moved from his lap and snaked behind his back resting there, over his belt. It felt so nice...
"Don't forget to come to my office tomorrow." The kitsune was whispering to his ear brushing Sakuragi's earlobe with his lips. Was he doing this on purpose? Was really unaware of what he was doing? He was driving Hanmichi nuts. Had it been anyone else Hana would go home with him. He would give him what he needs and he would leave with the sun rise and then they would pretend it didn't happen during upcoming business meetings. But it was Kaede. Hanamichi knew that he wouldn't want to leave him so easily. He would want to stay and watch the morning sun dance in his jet black hair. He would want to wake him up with kisses and prepare him a breakfast or a bath. Or both. He would want to wash his hair and then dry him gently with a fluffy towel. So, yeah... maybe he wasn't completely over the kitsune just yet...
"Don't worry. I'll be there. I'm just a little afraid of what your father wants with me."
"Probably to offer you ten million."
"Don't even joke like that."
"You're right. I'm worth at least 100."
"Had you really been mine back then I wouldn't sell you, no matter how many zeroes your father would add." Hanamichi felt like something heavy had been lifted off his shoulders. It was good to finally admit that he really had it bad for Kaede back then.
Suddenly the inside of the taxi became way too hot. Blood in Kaede's veins was burning trying to keep up with his heart. It wasn't a surprise. He had seen the interview and knew about Hanamichi's crush on him in high school but the temptation to ask if he still felt that way was too great. He needed a distraction. He couldn't ask. They didn't really know each other anymore and there was no chance that Hanamichi would say yes. The fact that he was talking about that silly crush so openly only served to prove that he really was over it already. That was all. If Kaede wanted there to be something between them he would have to work for it instead of pathetically looking for remnants of something that never existed.
"Idiot."
"Yeah, I know I was hopeless. At first I thought I just want to beat the crap out of you but then... that night after the game with Kainan..."
The car was nearing Kaede's apartment so he grabbed Hanamichi's head and pressed his lips even closer to his ear and whispered, brushing it with his lips and tongue, caressing with his breath.
"I wanted to ride you that night until morning."
Sakuragi's eyes widened but then the car stopped and Kaede didn't wait with opening the door.
"That's why I always called you an idiot." He pressed his lips to Hanamichi's heated cheek in a quick goodbye kiss and slammed the door shut leaving his beloved in a nearly catatonic state.
Tsuzuku
