Secrets in the Night

Disclaimer: as we all know, Slam Dunk characters are the property of Takehiko Inoue. And I'm not him.

It all started with a party at Rukawa's. Of course, it hadn't been his idea to invite us over; Ayako had been the one to organize the event. It was one of those things she wanted us to do (a.k.a. forced us to do) since, according to her, it was supposed to strengthen the "team spirit" that would be crucial for the upcoming Interhigh matches. And the location had been decided by the team in terms of convenience: Rukawa's house was the closest one to school, not to mention the fact that his parents owned this huge palace where we could accommodate the whole team comfortably.

Anyway, Ayako's idea didn't seem to work so much, though, as the dynamics between the teammates remained the same as always: Kogure, ever the pacifist, mediating between Sakuragi and Rukawa, who were constantly bickering, Akagi talking awkwardly to the freshmen, the sophomores (who were already friends with each other) grouping in a corner, while Miyagi… Well, he was focused on bonding alright… only not with us teammates, but with Ayako (of course). As for me, I was having a hell of a good time, if only by myself. Aah, the magic of alcohol…

Speaking of which, at a certain point, I decided I'd liven up the party the only way I knew how to: by getting everyone good and drunk. So I started moving from one group to the next, trying to get people to play silly drinking games. Pretty simple, right? Well, apparently not, because I failed miserably. The problem was that, of the people who didn't refuse to play, only two actually got tipsy, and those were Sakuragi and Kogure. And that only resulted in Sakuragi getting more annoying than ever (could you imagine?), and Kogure barfing his guts out in the bathroom... Man, what a bunch of dorks! And they call themselves teenagers? If you ask me, those people wouldn't recognize fun if it hit them right in the face.

Anyway… the bottom line is that my plan backfired, and I was the only one that ended up getting hammered.

I only grasped my situation hours later, as I lay down in a futon on the floor of Rukawa's bedroom. The last thing I remembered was lying on the couch, unable to move, hearing Sakuragi screaming, loudly expressing his affection for each and every one of the people present (except Rukawa), while Kogure retched in the bathroom. Then there was the faint sound of conversation… And finally everything went quiet, at which point the alcohol in my blood must have put me to sleep. In the state I was in, I surely wasn't able to go back home by myself. The funny thing is, I do live awfully near to Rukawa's place. Which I guess speaks to just how wasted I got.

As for how I ended up in Rukawa's room, I can only guess; probably he didn't want his parents to find a dude passed-out on their couch when they returned from wherever it was they had spent the evening at. So I suppose he must have somehow dragged me to his bedroom (don't underestimate his strength, though; the guy may look like a sissy, but he has muscles alright!).

In any case, being in Rukawa's room couldn't have been any better for me. As a matter of fact, it was precisely what I was going for when I decided to attend the party… Now, I've got to be honest here, since there is a little detail that I omitted earlier on when I was talking about my "get-everyone-drunk" strategy. I must admit I had one very specific person in mind when I came up with that plan of mine. That's right, you got it, I was trying to get us all drunk with the hope of getting Rukawa drunk as well, so that I could take advantage of the situation and make a move on him… Yeah. Shocker, right?

Now, I know what you're thinking; me, Hisashi Mitsui, the hunk, the jock of Shohoku high, God's gift to women… infatuated with a weirdo like Rukawa? Yeah, I know. I guess that's why they say that love is blind. More like a blind motherfucker, I'd say.

Anyhow, going back to my master plan from earlier, not only did it not work with the gang; Rukawa, being Rukawa, didn't touch a beer the whole evening! That son of a bitch. Not even a drop! Hell, if the party had been at my place, I would have got wasted (as I did, anyway), but the guy spent the evening drinking apple juice for fuck's sake! So there was absolutely no way anything would have happened between us.

I know you must be asking yourself, how did my crush on Rukawa even start? Well… I guess it must have been a case of what they call love at first sight. Well, I may not have fallen for him the actual first time I saw him, but I did for sure the first time I actually paid attention to him. I remember I was looking at him during my first day of practice after my return to the team, and he just kind of mesmerized me.

He was so intense, yet so cool. And even though he barely spoke, I could feel there was a depth to him, a mysterious aura that strongly attracted me… A magnetism. I was sure there was much more to him than one could suppose, and I grew entranced, wanting to solve the puzzle that was Kaede Rukawa. So I kept watching him, thinking about him, even dreaming about him... And in no time he became my obsession.

The issue was, of course, socializing with him, which was always a difficult thing to do, specially at school. That's why being together in a different environment – particularly one in which there would be alcohol – seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to try and get something out of him, whatever that might be. Hell, I would have considered myself satisfied even with some small talk, for crying out loud! After all, given it's Rukawa we're talking about, that would have been already a lot.

Anyway, back to reality. As I was saying, I was in his room, no less… which meant I could finally satisfy my idiotic need for him… Well, not physically, of course… It's not like I was gonna rape the guy; who are you taking me for?! I mean… God, at that point I just wanted to watch him sleeping, to listen to him breathe… That's what my obsession had reduced me to.

So I got up from the futon, got closer to his bed and switched on the lamp in his bedside table, knowing that that wouldn't wake him up, since nothing ever did. And there I was, standing right next to Rukawa, watching him sleeping and feeling like an utter idiot, when all of a sudden the most unexpected thing happened.

"'Sashi…" I heard Rukawa whisper.

Instantly, I froze. Was he saying my name? Had he noticed I was creepily standing next to him in the middle of the night? My initial reaction was getting the hell out of there, going back home and forgetting all this happened. But my curiosity was stronger and forced me to stay. What was he trying to say to me?

"Hisashi… I want you… I… need you…"

I couldn't possibly believe those words were being uttered by Rukawa, despite the fact that I was actually seeing his lips move. I simply couldn't connect the sounds to the movement on his face, because what I was hearing was that unlikely.

And it didn't stop there, oh no it did not. Less than a minute passed before he continued with his monologue.

"Hisashi…" He went on. "I…"

And, after a pause that lasted fucking forever, he finally said it.

"I love you."

What. The. Freaking. HELL.

I told myself I must've been dreaming. I was probably still lying passed out on the couch downstairs… There was no way Rukawa fucking loved me. Rukawa, the guy who had earned himself the nickname of "Ice Prince." The coldhearted bastard who never showed the slightest hint of emotion in his life (at least as far as I was concerned). And now it turned out he had such deep feelings for me?

I stood there, paralyzed, unable to process what was happening. It was so bizarre. I mean, up to that point I had been constantly troubled because I just couldn't figure out how Rukawa felt about me, not being able to read his expression whenever our eyes met during practice or in the hallways. Not that there was an expression to read… and that was the main problem. In fact, at one point I even suspected that the guy couldn't care less about me, given the impassive face with which he looked at me… And, in the end, he had been just as mad about me as I was about him all along. Now, that's a shocker.

I pinched myself to make sure I was awake, which I was. And then it finally hit me that what I was hearing was coming straight from Rukawa's subconscious. There was no mistaking his true feelings.

And so it dawned on me that this was my opportunity to finally do something about my burning desire for him. I realized it was a now-or-never kind of situation, so I just went for it.

With my heart racing, I closed my eyes and slowly leaned towards Rukawa until our lips touched. I kissed him lightly and pulled away quickly, afraid of how he'd react. However, that was enough to feel the softness of his lips and to smell the sweetness of his scent. And you are entitled to kill me for saying what I'm about to say, but at that moment I swear I felt like the prince in one of those fucking Disney movies… (I know, I've become a corny motherfucker, don't need to tell me about it.)

So, as I was saying, the kiss lasted like a second, after which Rukawa opened his eyes to find me bent over him, my face just centimeters away from his and with a look that gave away the panic I was in.

"Senpai?" He said, still half asleep.

"Y-Yeah?" I answered innocently, like whatever the hell I was doing was perfectly normal.

"… Is this a dream?"

"Well… I'm inclined to think the same, but… No, it is not."

All of a sudden, his eyes widened and, without any warning, he grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me into his bed. Then he wrapped both arms around me and proceeded to give me a deep, hungry kiss (one of the most passionate kisses ever given to me, I must say). And I swear, his embrace was so tight I was afraid I would suffocate! Damn Rukawa... Who would have thought he could be so fiery? Certainly not me… But I'm not complaining, no sir. In fact, I was ecstatic. And so, consumed with desire, I let myself be swept away by the whirlpool of his passion, knowing I would no longer have to yearn hopelessly for Kaede Rukawa ever again.

- END -

A/N: This is a based-on-a-song fic inspired by "Talking in Your Sleep" by The Romantics. I didn't want to spoil the story by stating it at the beginning :)

Reviews are highly appreciated!

PS: Happy birthday, Mitchi! All the best to my bidimensional boyfriend on his day xD